Black etc podcast

My guest for this episode is Jason A. England, acclaimed writer, cultural critic, and English professor. We use Jason's controversial piece lamenting the state of popular hip hop as an entry point into a broader conversation about the damaging effect the "can't knock the hustle" ethos has had on the music as well as Black culture writ large. We discuss the illusory appeal of representation, inclus...

My guest for this episode is Anela Malik, who is a writer, speaker, food and travel enthusiast, and social media influencer. She is the author of the book American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States and the host of the Black food and travel series Our Block . We discuss the difference between online and real-life Black culture, the importance of maintaining integrity as a social...

My guest for this episode is Lamont Jack Pearley, Executive Director and founder of Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation & the African American Folklorist Magazine . He is an applied folklorist, an African American music historian, a traditional country blues artist himself, and an inductee into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. We discuss a host of topics, including the meaning of...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Constance Bailey, Assistant Professor of African American Literature and Folklore at Georgia State University and Digital Media Editor at the American Folklore Society . She has multiple books in the works, including the upcoming Get It While It's Hot: Gas Station, Roadside, and Convenience Cuisine in the U.S. South and The No Limit Reader: Music, Place, and Space...

In this episode, I speak to film critic, writer, podcaster, and musician Marcus Pinn of the blog Pinnland Empire and the podcast Zebras in America . We discuss the history of efforts to build a Black film canon, groupthink in modern Black film criticism, and the reasons that critics like Armond White and Angelica Jade Bastién stand out as unique figures. We also get into the limitations of using r...

In this marathon episode, I speak to Boston writer and hip hop historian Dart Adams about the history of the hip hop canon starting from the early days of recorded old school classics through the mainstream/underground schism of the late 90s and beyond. We talk about the development of the rap album as a serious artistic form and how Dart defines the 2 "golden eras" of hip hop. Dart's contribution...

My guest for this episode is community organizer, food writer, educator, and social media influencer. KJ Kearney. He is the creator of the James Beard Award winning Instagram account Black Food Fridays , the newsletter Who Made The Potato Salad ?, and the live Black food storytelling event Bite The Power . We have a wide-ranging discussion about several topics, including the history of red rice as...

The guest for this episode is renowned playwright, author, educator, and activist J.e. Franklin. Ms. Franklin is the founder and producing artistic director of Harlem's Blackgirl Ensemble Theater, Inc. and has written numerous plays, including the seminal "Black Girl," which has been on stage, TV, and film. We discuss her decision to make her home in New York City, after growing up in Houston, her...

My guest is writer and music critic Chris Stevens, who hosts the R&B podcast On The Groove Line . Chris and I discuss the first ever quiet storm R&B radio broadcast by Melvin Lindsey at Howard's WHUR radio station, which aired 50 years ago and sparked an explosion of quiet storm radio programming on Black radio in multiple cities across the U.S. We get into the hallmarks of the music itsel...

The guest for this episode is Charla L. Draper, Chicago food writer/consultant and former food editor of Ebony & Southern Living . I talk to Ms. Draper about her early Black food writing influences as well as trends in Black and soul food over time. In addition, we discuss the recipe development, testing, and curation efforts she led in the Ebony Test Kitchen and her general role as food edito...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Aneeka Ayanna Henderson, Associate Professor in the Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies Department at Amherst College. Dr Henderson and I discuss the historical, political, and cultural context of Black marriage in the U.S. primarily through the lens of Black American popular culture. We focus heavily on her first book, Veil & Vow , in which she critically an...

In this episode, I speak with siblings Alima Wheeler-Trapp and Ali J. Wheeler of the arts organization and archive The Black Canon , which is committed to preserving and promoting African American literary, performing, visual and media arts. We spoke about the extensive collection of film, music, theatre, and print items that their father, James E. Wheeler amassed over several years as well as wha...

My guest for this episode is Chef Rahman "Rock" Harper, who is a chef, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and food media personality based in the Washington, D.C. area. We explore the differences between home cooked vs restaurant soul food, the need for Black Americans to reclaim soul food in the commercial space, and the pros and cons of mainstream and social media with respect to soul food. Chef Roc...

The guest for this episode is Sheree Williams. She is Publisher & Owner of Cuisine Noir Magazine as well as Executive Director of the nonprofit The Global Food & Drink Initiative. She is also, among other things, a journalist, consultant, and a photographer. We discuss how she acquired and expanded Cuisine Noir , the impact of Black food, wine, and travel storytelling, and the changing soc...

My guest for this episode is Cam James, music artist, filmmaker, investigative journalist, and rising star in online political media. Cam is the creator of countless popular Youtube investigative videos highlighting the scams & scammers targeting Black communities. We speak about the relationship of these scams to the scammer ethos in the U.S. at large. In addition, Cam walks through how he we...

My guest today is Dr. Jared Ball, author, activist, independent media figure, and professor of Africana & Communication Studies at Morgan State University. I talked to him about his book, The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power . We explored the history of the claim that Black Americans have immense buying power that can be focused to bring about their collective economic uplift, the lac...

My guest today is Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson, who is a professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland College Park. She studies African American foodways and culture. We had an extensive discussion about new directions in Black American food and scholarship. In addition to speaking about new and exciting scholarship and efforts in Black American food, we also talked about her prior wo...

For this episode, my guest is boxing business attorney, card game enthusiant, and author, Lamont Jones. We talk about his book, The Gist of Bid Whist: The Culturally Rich Card Game From Black America , and explore the history of the partner card game bid whist as well as some of the ways African Americans made the game their own. Lamont has incredible stories about iconic Black cultural and histor...

In this episode, my guest is celebrated soul food scholar, author, and speaker, Adrian Miller. We discuss the history of the term “soul food,” soul food dishes and trends, the perception of the cuisine, and several of Adrian's award-winning books. Adrian's website: adrianemiller.com Adrian's social media handle on (Instagram, BlueSky, & Twitter) is @soulfoodscholar Full show notes here: blacke...

In this episode, I speak with drummer Jay Mumford of The Du-Rites about the history of funk drumming styles from the '60s through the '80s. We also discuss Jay's childhood funk fandom and how he eventually made the decision to become a professional funk drummer himself later in life. This episode is a funk music history lesson jam-packed with deep knowledge and music references. You can find Jay's...

This is a brief precursor episode in which I provide some background about myself, why I created the podcast, and what to expect from the full episodes going forward.

Trailer for the Black etc podcast, a podcast about how culture and ideas spread among Black Americans, especially outside of mass media. Host: Ian Yusef