Slate Race and Identity

For decades, critical race theory was something discussed almost exclusively by scholars and academics. That was before conservatives turned it into a political football, even though most couldn’t define it properly. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by UCLA Law Professor LaToya Baldwin Clark, a leader of CRT Forward. That’s a project that tracks attacks on CRT, and works to re...

When Dana and Luke first started dating at the office they kept their relationship a secret. Most of their colleagues didn’t know they were a couple until they got engaged. They didn’t want any undue pressure or outside judgment. That’s because Dana is a proud Black, Ghanaian woman from central Florida and Luke is a white man from Kansas. Dana’s wondering how she can preserve her identity while th...

Black residents of Indianola, Mississippi, were fed up with decades of separate-and-unequal classrooms. When a white outsider got hired as school superintendent, they decided to take a stand. This week, Joel Anderson tells the story of how their boycott of white businesses transformed the community and captivated the nation. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline...

It really is hard, but Aisha, Veralyn, and Marissa say goodbye. Aisha talks to her dad, Hartford Courant columnist Frank Harris III, there is a final quiz and the Represent team reminisce. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Represent show page on ...

Aisha Harris talks to two black female filmmakers at different points in their careers: veteran director Leslie Harris, who helmed the cult classic Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. and up-and-coming filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly...

Slate producer Veralyn Williams and Robin M. Boylorn, an associate professor at the University of Alabama and member of the Crunk Feminist Collective, unpack the blackness of Harry and Meghan’s wedding, from Doria Ragland’s dreadlocks to Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon. Then, podcast producer Renay Richardson gives her perspective on the royal wedding as a black, British woman and explains how she b...

Aisha talks to Kristen Meinzer, co-host of When Meghan Met Harry about her obsession with the royals and makes a case for why skeptics should care about this royal love connection. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Represent show page on Apple Po...

Aisha Harris talks to filmmaker Justin Simien about making season two of his Netflix series, Dear White People. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Represent show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/representplus to get access wh...

Comedians Hari and Ashok Kondabolu chat with Aisha about their new podcast, The Kondabolu Brothers, their pre-woke watching stories, and Hari responses to The Simpsons’ latest Apu episode. Note: This conversation took place the day before Hank Azaria appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to advocate for listening to the criticisms of the South Asian community and suggest that he’d be will...

Aisha Harris and Mashable writer Angie Han, discuss cultural representation in Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, which is set in Japan. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Represent show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/representpl...

Here are three of our favorite Pre-Woke Watching segments. Also, we're partnering with Slate’s video team to bring visuals to these conversations. Check out our inaugural video in this series. Hear more from actor, writer, and video producer Dylan Marron in episode 36. Tell a friend to subscribe! Share this link: megaphone.link/represent Email: represent@slate.com Facebook: Slate Represent Twitter...

Aisha Harris and producer Veralyn Williams discuss A Wrinkle in Time. And our conversation at the Speak Up, Rise Up festival with BuzzFeed’s Bim Adewunmi and Latino USA’s Antonia Cereijido about shameful representations in film and tv. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subs...

Aisha Harris and writer/TV critic Jasmine Sanders take a closer look at Showtime’s The Chi and its depiction of Chicago. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Represent show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/representplus to get...

Aisha Harris and Chris Lamberth, actor/comedian and host of host of the Mundane Festival podcast, recap everything that went down at the Oscars last night. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Represent show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, vi...

Aisha Harris talks A Fantastic Woman, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, with Slate science intern Alex Barasch. And we revisit two conversations we had with two first-time directors who are up for big awards this Sunday: Yance Ford, whose Strong Island is nominated for Best Documentary, and Greta Gerwig, whose Lady Bird is nominated for 5 awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and...

Aisha Harris talks to Black Panther production designer Hannah Beachler about her process when taking on new films, creating the imagery behind Wakanda and much more. Also, Gene Demby, host of NPR’s Code Switch, comes on to discuss the hype around Black Panther. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your fa...

Aisha Harris is joined by producer Veralyn WIlliams and chief political correspondent Jamelle Bouie for a spoiler-filled review of Black Panther. They discuss the politics of Wakanda vs. black America, what makes the movie’s fight scenes so compelling, and much more. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of yo...

Aisha Harris chats Wesley Snipes about cult favorite, Blade and trying to bring Black Panther to the big screen more than 20 years ago. Also, Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Senior programmer, Ash Clark recently, joins us to discuss their  film series, Fight the Power: Black Superheroes on Film. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Rep...

Aisha Harris chats women's rights attorney Gloria Allred and film producer Marta Kauffman, about their new Netflix documentary, Seeing Allred, advocating for women’s and minority rights, and Gloria’s fraught relationship with the media. Also, in the wake of the current re-examination of Quentin Tarantino and his filmmaking style, Aisha and film critic Candice Frederick, discuss what it’s like to b...

Aisha Harris has a very candid conversation with Jane the Virgin's Jaime Camil about his career, the double standards for men and women in Hollywood, why studios should be trying to reach Mexican audiences, and much more. For links on what we discuss check out our show page. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly...

Live from Sundance Film Festival, Aisha Harris is joined by Slate’s movie critic and Culture Gabfest host Dana Stevens. They swap Sundance stories and talk to director Sebastián Silva about his latest film, Tyrel. For links on what we discuss check out our show page⁠. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Represent and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from t...

Aisha Harris and Mark Harris, Vulture writer and author of Pictures at a Revolution and Five Came Back, breakdown their Oscar nomination predictions. Also, Aisha talks to Charles Burnett, a revered filmmaker who emerged from the period of groundbreaking black independent filmmaking known as the LA rebellion, which took place from the late 1960s-1980s. For links on what we discuss check out our sho...

Aisha Harris talks to actor Bambadjan Bamba of Suicide Squad, The Good Place, and the upcoming Black Panther. He shares why he came out as undocumented and asks Hollywood to stand with immigrants in the industry, including those under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA. Learn more about Bamba’s #StandWithBamba campaign here, and read more in Slate about DACA her...

Aisha Harris talks to DeVon Franklin about his latest book, The Hollywood Commandments: A Spiritual Guide to Secular Success, the subtle ways in which movie studios attempt to engage faith-based audiences with ostensibly secular films, and more. Also, Aisha and producer Veralyn Williams share what they consumed over the holidays. For links on what we discuss check out our show page⁠. Join Slate Pl...

Aisha Harris and Monica Castillo, New York Times film writer, discuss Time’s Up, the ambitious initiative for fighting sexual misconduct, driven by hundreds of women in the entertainment industry. Also, the latest winner of, The Great American Baking Show, Vallery Lomas, joins us to talk about her love of baking and the show's sudden cancellation after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced aga...