The Drip

The Spoilers welcome in the new year with a rollicking discussion of Nella Larsen's Harlem Renaissance classic, Passing in this episode -- and let me tell you they have some strong feelings about the characters in this book. As she does in the novel, the radiant Clare Kendry garners much of the attention, but we have plenty to say about Irene and her very complicated mind as well. We bravely tackl...

This episode begins quietly, with the Spoilers in a contemplative mode, as they feel their way through the dark forest of Dimaline's intriguing new novel about a young Metis woman's search for her missing husband. White occasionally pausing to ponder theoretical subjects such as human morality, culture, belief, and the architecture of consciousness, the spoilers do their best to figure out the mys...

In a raucous holiday episode, the Spoilers laud Radha Blank's heartwarming tribute to New York City and creaky black knees. With a hilarious and Irreverent critical eye, the Spoilers have nothing but good things to say about this funny, insightful, and heartwarming film. They love Radha's edge, they love her dope AARP lyrics, and they LOVE D (don't even get us started on that love scene). This is...

Let's just be honest: Blanche White is the best Black domestic detective there ever was. Don't worry if you haven't heard of her. Some of the Spoilers hadn't either. She's smart. She's bold. SHE'S THE BEST. In this episode we basically won't let Anita end the show because we can't stop talking about how much we love this book. Let this episode be your introduction to the wonderful world of Blanche...

The Spoiler are back in this special 25th episode talking everything from from Stuart Hall to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Once again the Spoilers struggle a bit with their non-mastery of the graphic subgenre, but in the end do a pretty dang good job talking about the text and the art of this wonderful piece series of books. Want to escape the temporal hellmouth that is 2020 for about an hour? Here's...

The Spoilers are back with a love-fest episode for the ages. Beginning with an profession of gratitude and love for our own faithful host, we then tackle questions of genre, religion, bilingualism and translation, sexuality, the body, refusal, performance, and finding your voice -- all in an amazingly supportive and affectionate way. Inspired by Acevedo's beautiful book, we remember fondly our own...

In this rangy episode, the Spoilers are introduced to an underground classic of Black feminist literature. With a main character like few others in literature, this novel leads the Spoilers into discussions of traditional vampire mythology, consent and violence, death and immortality, and the responsibility of vampire parenting. Along the way Anita quotes Sadiya Hartman and Ocean Vuong, Adriana in...

Finally! The Spoilers get to talk about Todd's favorite book, BINTI -- and man was it work the wait. Times have been tough lately, but the Spoilers seem enlivened discussing this wonderful award winning novella. They tackle a mess of thorny issues, but they do a lot of laughing along the way. If you want to hear an extensive conversation about a shrimp ship, tentacle hair, ancient tech, and ritual...

If you've been missing the us during the lockdown, fear not! We're back with a new jumbo episode for all y'all to dig into. Recording in the shadow of Covid 19, Ahmaud Arbery, and the George Floyd murder, the Spoilers take solace in the Vai maxim whispered by the narrator of Moore's compelling novel: "Fengbe kemu beh" -- we have nothing, but we have each other. In this episode we give you the rund...

It's been so long since the Spoilers have all been the same room together and now their reunion looks even less likely to happen anytime soon. But that ain't going to stop them from recording the podcasts your lonely ears crave! In this episode the Spoilers discuss two recent films directed by black women -- QUEEN AND SLIM and ATLANTICS. As usual it's a wide-ranging conversation that veers from so...

Even with everything that's been going on with us (something we keep obliquely referring to but but giving no details), Adriana and Todd found time to go see THE WHITE CARD performed at one of Saint Paul's treasures, Penumbra Theatre. Needless to say, I was fantastic, and we have a lot to say about it. We had our conversation in another wonderful Saint Paul staple, Nina's. It was packed and loud,...

In this new-to-you episode the spoilers gush over another amazing novel by Colson Whitehead. There's lots to talk about, and in the end, what seems like it could be a depressing conversation turns out to be a rather uplifting one (Crystal is getting tired, y'all). Don't miss the Spoilers getting deep into this novel and confusing each other with questions such as, "Who the heck is Jack?" It's defi...

The Spoilers are back after a bit of a hiatus, and man, do we have an episode for you. In our triumphant return to the mics, we take up Gene Yang's sprawling graphic novel, AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. This colorful, complex feat of storytelling had us all over the place -- from the Google Empire to classic 80s sitcoms to the Baby Jesus. We spend a good deal of time trying to figure the whole book out,...

In this episode, our first with Crystal on remote from DC (we're still working on the tech-it'll be better next time), we rail against the arbitrary nature of rules and regulations while thinking about the ways that our stories are all connected. We gotta be honest, we all fell in love with this wonderful book about Orly, his godmother, and the little boy she tries to help. It's a timely, heartbre...

In this episode, the Spoilers get to work talking about whiteness, representation, art, race, and the spectacle of black death. Sure, it sounds heavy, but the Spoilers bring all their serious thinking power as well as their decidedly enduring humor to bear in grappling with some of the most difficult social issues in play in our society today. For those of you out there thinking about how to have...

Once again the Spoilers take on a poetry collection and the result is astonishment, tear-filled silences, and general veneration of the genius of Danez Smith. As usual, we ask more questions than we give definitive answers, in the process modeling an engagement with poetry that requires only that the reader/listener have an emotional response -- and we have SO darned many. Bottom line is that this...

In this episode, the Spoilers go back to high school to take on one of the most beloved and widely taught plays of the 20th century. Bravely confronting their literary prejudices, they reexamine this classic of African American literature while getting a little bit feisty in the process. Housing discrimination, masculinity and patriarchy, morality, and how to lose $6500 in a day are some of the fa...

We're calling this a Driplet, but it's actually more of a teenage Drip about to head off to college. So if you've got the time, buckle up and listen to the Spoilers get all tied up in hilarious knots arguing about Jordan Peele's new movie, US. I mean, they go deep, deep down into the underground trying to figure out what Peele is up to. There's confusion, resentment, skepticism, and even anger --...

In this episode, the Spoilers get all excited about Michelle Obama's lovely memoir. As always, we have some gripes, but it is mainly all love for our favorite First Lady (No offense, Hillary). We start on the south side of Chicago with more of Crystal's remembrances of her childhood hood and move on to black motherhood, women in the workplace, community organizing, mentors and friends, parental sa...

There's just not much we don't like about Barry Jenkins' adaptation of James Baldwins' novel IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK. It's a layered, lush, beautiful depiction of black love that really touched us all. But if you know the Spoilers you know we are always going to have something contentious to talk about. This episode is no exception. We spend a lot of time talking about Tish, about the depiction...

In this Episode, the Spoilers are back to gush over Kiese Layman's amazing new memoir, HEAVY. There's not much to say except we were pretty much knocked out by the audacity of Laymon's writing and we talk almost endlessly about the countless ways that we were amazed. The show is fifty minutes long, but we could have gone for another two. But you know Anita wasn't going to let that happen ('cause s...

This special episode has a little bit of everything. The Spoliers, satiated by an unbelievable Ghaniain meal prepared by their friend Nasreen, fight through the haze of the itis to tackle some deep issues in Yaa Gyasi's wonderful novel HOMEGOING. And as they do it, they have plenty of trouble remembering the names of all those characters ("they" means "Todd"). They talk about genre, clock some lit...

In this episode the Spoilers go another round with the THE HATE U GIVE, but this time it's the movie. In it we discuss what a Black Lives Matter movie might look like, question the apparently dwindling black lighting budget, and you knew we were going to complain some more about Chris. It gets a little rowdy, but we keep our Spoiler selves on point with a rash of academic-type hot takes that may o...

Do you hear what I hear? Yup -- THE DRIP is back and this time you can actually hear us talking! In this episode, the Spoilers work through how to think about representations of sexual violence in the wake of Kavanaugh; they talk marriage, mass incarceration, race and masculinity, and creepy Roy dolls; and they resist the desperate urge to line up on Team Roy or Team Celestial (no Team Dre). This...

In this episode, Adriana proves how big her brain is by easily besting Todd in a literary genre battle, Crystal reveals which story "elicited the most emotional reaction," and Anita shouts out Todd's mom. Also, Carmen Maria Machado gives us an excuse to fan-folk LAW AND ORDER. All the while, we sip delicious drinks and listen to the same dulcet tunes we used to hear at Lake Cofee House. Wait - hav...