Reckon True Stories

While we're on season break with Reckon True Stories, here's a sneak preview from Season Three of Ursa Short Fiction, Deesha's other podcast with author (and True Stories producer!) Dawnie Walton. Show notes: Follow Season Three in your favorite podcast app. Support the show with a membership or one-time contribution, and get access to bonus episodes: ursastory.com/join Read more about Dawnie Walt...

Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon chat with the hilarious and multitalented Samantha Irby, author of multiple wickedly funny essay collections, as well as writer for multiple television series. Samantha talks about her own confidence and how she’s able to write guiltless memoir pieces. She distinguishes between the experiences of watching what she’s written versus reading what she’s written. Has she...

Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon dig into a classic essay by Toni Morrison, “The Work You Do, the Person You Are,” published in The New Yorker in May 2017. They talk about labor and self-identity — how our feelings of worth can become so closely tied to the work we do, in ways that can become unhealthy, both in the corporate world and in the art we create.  Kiese Laymon: “Without labor and work, I...

On the latest episode of Reckon True Stories, Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon are joined by MacArthur Genius and National Book Award Winner Dr. Imani Perry to discuss genre, personal stories and the ethical commitment to those we write about, the utilization of craft to bring the reader close to the experience and the body, the body as political, Black women and silence, mobility, music, and mothe...

Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon discuss the “manosphere,” — specifically how Black men show up in the space of it, and how Black women respond to it. Deesha talks about a “de-centering of romance” and recognition that women have come to see that their lives are full and beautiful without being partnered with a man who does not listen to or respect them.  They are interested in the deconstruction o...

Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon sit down with Minda Honey to discuss her recently published memoir, The Heartbreak Years, and the role that Honey’s own experiences, and the stories told to her by family, have had on shaping her work.  With her debut, Honey — who also edits Black Joy at Reckon — was praised for her ability to linger in the body and the desires of a Black woman while also seamlessly...

Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon chat with writer Alexander Chee, author of Edinburgh, The Queen of the Night, and How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. The three writers talk about their journeys in the publishing industry, and what success has meant to each of them, specifically in regards to money. They discuss Chee’s essay, “My Inheritance Was My Father’s Last Lesson To Me,” where he writes a...

Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon discuss the complicated process of writing about family — specifically parents. They talk about the ways parents fail, how they disappoint, but why it is important, and necessary when writing about family and those we love, to give them grace, and allow them the room to make mistakes. They ask the question, What do we owe to those we write about? And they call for w...

Deesha and Kiese welcome acclaimed writer, poet, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib, author of There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension. They talk about music—the significance of music to their youth and their lives now, their listening practices, and Abdurraqib’s process of creating playlists. They also discuss basketball and what is so special, so singular, about Columbus in terms...

Acclaimed author Roxane Gay joins Deesha and Kiese for a wide-ranging conversation about her writing journey, bringing your whole self to the page, the pressures of social media, and the value of criticism.  Gay talks about her forthcoming book on writing advice, How to Be Heard, and Deesha and Kiese ask about her current pop culture influences—what she’s watching and who she’s listening to—and De...

In the premiere episode of Reckon True Stories, co-hosts and acclaimed authors Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, Long Division) come together to kick off a season where nonfiction takes the spotlight. They talk about their own journeys to writing nonfiction, the distinctions they make between their essay w...

Reckon and Ursa Story Company are proud to present Reckon True Stories, a new podcast hosted by acclaimed authors Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, Long Division), all about the stories we tell and how they impact our culture.  Guests for Season One include writers Roxane Gay, Imani Perry, Alexander Chee,...