The Bakari Sellers Podcast

Bakari is joined by Keyshawn Johnson and Bob Glauber to talk about their new book, 'The Forgotten First,' about the first Black players in the NFL. They talk about why the racial integration of the NFL is not well known (1:49) and what they learned from writing the book (13:15) before getting into this current NFL season (16:11). Host: Bakari Sellers Guests: Keyshawn Johnson and Bob Glauber Execut...

Bakari is joined by actress and author Gabrielle Union to talk about "not balancing" her life and living with grace instead (3:08), the difficulties that come with raising her children in the public eye (8:44), and what she learned while writing her second memoir, 'You Got Anything Stronger?' (13:46). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Gabrielle Union Executive Producer: Jarrod Loadholt Producer: Kaya Mc...

Bakari is joined by Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy to talk about how clerking for Thurgood Marshall shaped his career (2:59), the legacy of Barack Obama (13:02), and the competing theories on how best to eradicate racism in America (21:42). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Randall Kennedy Executive Producer: Jarrod Loadholt Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc...

Bakari is joined by Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to talk about what his day-to-day job entails (2:40), why vaccine booster shots may be necessary down the road (11:36), why Israel is experiencing a COVID surge (17:36), and why it’s important to address how the pandemic has affected mental health (23:14). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy Executive Producer: Jarrod Lo...

Bakari is joined by rapper Rick Ross to talk about how he has had such a long and successful career as a rapper (1:00), some pieces of advice from his new book 'The Perfect Day to Boss Up' (11:49), and some guidance for this new generation of rappers (18:50). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Rick Ross Executive Producer: Jarrod Loadholt Additional Production: Kaya McMullen and Jonathan Kermah Learn mor...

Bakari is joined by New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman to talk about the situation in Afghanistan (2:53), how she fights misinformation as a journalist (14:06), Texas passing a near-ban on abortions (20:11), and more news from this week (27:45). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Maggie Haberman Executive Producer: Jarrod Loadholt Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...

Bakari is joined by the recently re-elected mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, Randall Woodfin, to talk about his thoughts on the police reform vs. abolish debate (3:08), the challenges that come along with being a mayor of a large city and working to get re-elected (11:50), and why he believes in pragmatic leadership (21:23). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Randall Woodfin Executive Producer: Jarrod Loadh...

Bakari is joined by Aunjanue Ellis to talk about how being raised in the South influences her work as an actress (2:33), her work on the show 'Lovecraft Country' (13:47), and whether or not Hollywood is finally recognizing Black talent (18:31). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Aunjanue Ellis Executive Producer: Jarrod Loadholt Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

Bakari is joined by Jurnee Smollett to talk about when she knew she wanted to be an actress (2:48), how she came to 'Lovecraft Country' and what it was like to play Leti (16:02), and the activism she does alongside her acting (22:14). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Jurnee Smollett Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bakari is joined by Rep. Stacey Plaskett, a congresswoman from the U.S. Virgin Islands, to talk about what it is like to work in the House representing a U.S. territory (2:32), her thoughts on the situation in Afghanistan (16:31), and what can be done to help Haiti after a massive earthquake that left nearly 2,000 dead (28:02). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Rep. Stacey Plaskett Producer: Kaya McMull...

Bakari is joined by Dr. Ebony Hilton, associate professor of anesthesiology at University of Virginia, to talk about some of the common misconceptions about the COVID vaccine (3:21), why we still need to be wearing masks (27:05), and why we need to be worried about future variants beyond the Delta variant (36:50). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Dr. Ebony Hilton Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more abou...

Bakari is joined by Kent Babb, a sports features writer for The Washington Post, to talk about what we should expect from this season of college football (4:46), his new book 'Across the River' about the impact of gun violence on a New Orleans high school football team (10:34), and how writing the book changed how he covers sports (17:40). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Kent Babb Producer: Kaya McMul...

Bakari is joined by Representative Karen Bass to talk about the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (2:12), her role as the chair of the House subcommittee on Africa (11:38), and the state of various bills in congress (22:52). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Rep. Karen Bass Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bakari is joined by author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi to talk about what anti-racism is, how a person can be anti-racist (2:11), where the backlash to teaching critical race theory in schools came from (13:06), and why so many American politicians have a difficult time calling America a racist country (17:18). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad...

Bakari is joined by actress Sanaa Lathan to talk about how her parents inspired her to get into acting and the pressures that have come along with it (2:25), why she wants to get into directing (13:11), and how it feels to have 'Love & Basketball' added to the Criterion Collection (23:59). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Sanaa Lathan Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

Bakari is joined by Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer to talk about why he thinks the Democratic Party is betraying Black voters (2:25), why the Biden administration has been so slow to pass voting reform measures (13:37), and the premise behind his new book, 'The Cruelty Is the Point' (19:30). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Adam Serwer Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Bakari is joined by actor and comedian Jay Pharoah to talk about how he got into comedy and the pressures that come along with doing stand-up (3:08), his newest movie 'Resort to Love' with Christina Milian (13:06), and the comics that have most inspired him throughout his career (23:58). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Jay Pharoah Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast...

Bakari is joined by Omar Epps to talk about how he got into acting and landed his first role as Q in 'Juice' (4:08), his other iconic roles in 'Love & Basketball' and 'Higher Learning' (10:09), and the pressure that comes along with entering a franchise like 'Power' (16:16). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Omar Epps Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adc...

Bakari is joined by the executive director of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, Amber Littlejohn, to talk about some of the unique challenges minority entrepreneurs face in the cannabis industry (2:36), where we stand on the federal legalization of cannabis (16:44), and the difference between decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana (25:45). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Amber Littlejohn P...

Bakari is joined by Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the leader of President Biden's Health Equity Task Force, to talk about what exactly health equity is (3:20), what COVID variants are and how worried you should be about them (9:00), and the campaign to get more people vaccinated (17:30). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith Producer: Kaya McMullen Associate Producer: Lani Renaldo Learn...

Bakari is joined by Morgan Williams Jr., a postdoctoral fellow at NYU, to talk about a recent paper he released on how the size of a police force impacts Black residents (5:00), some of the findings from his research that surprised him (16:30), and how his research fits into the overall "defund the police" debate (28:27). Read the paper here. Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Morgan Williams Jr. Produce...

Bakari is joined by CNN's senior legal analyst Elie Honig to talk about Rudy Giuliani being suspended from practicing law and what it means for him (3:39), his new book 'Hatchet Man' that chronicles Bill Barr's time as attorney general (14:33), and the differences between Joe Biden and Donald Trump's DOJ departments (20:25). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Elie Honig Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more...

Bakari is joined by actor Jamie Hector to talk about how he got into acting, his role as Marlo on 'The Wire' (4:39), his time on 'Bosch' and why he thinks the show has such a loyal fan base (13:42), and the work he does to inspire other young Black actors (18:34). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Jamie Hector Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bakari is joined by 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' executive producer Malcolm Spellman to talk about getting started in Hollywood and why he had to fail for almost a decade before he could succeed (1:40), the limitations that Black people face while working in the film industry (13:18), and working on 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' (23:21). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Malcolm Spellman Pr...

Bakari is joined by Ursula Burns, the former CEO of Xerox and the first Black woman to head a Fortune 500 company, to talk about her path to becoming the CEO (2:43), why she wants to encourage more Black women to study STEM (20:07), the mentors she's had along the way, and why it's so important to pay it forward (28:34). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Ursula Burns Producer: Kaya McMullen Engineer: Ky...