Vulgar Geniuses

On our season 3 premiere, we talk to visual artist and Kentucky Native Noel W. Anderson about his solo exhibit HEAVY IS THE CROWN, now showing at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, Georgia. Anderson’s manipulated images printed on large distressed tapestries, photos, and vintage Ebony magazines advertisements ask us to wrestle with where we stand at the intersection of race and access. This exhibit i...

As we close another year in this ponderosa dodging Omarion, we bid farewell to 2021. This year taught us to pivot when needed, change what didn't work, and expect the unexpected. We take one final look to see how we did with our 2021 resolutions, talk about our favorite books and interviews, and our hopes for the future. Join us on the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast as we recap the best of 2021!

It's the last episode of Season 2 of The Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, so we bring you the gifts of all gifts! For our finale, we talked to National Book Award Finalist Robert Jones, Jr., author of the New York Times Bestseller 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒔. This week's interview was recorded live by the Orange County Library System in Orlando, Florida.  We sit down with Robert to discuss how after 14 years, he co...

In this episode of The Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we talk to young adult author Cristin Bishara about her sophomore novel VIAL OF TEARS. Cristin shares with us the familial connection, and inspiration, behind this novel that begins with her great-grandfather in Lebanon in 1954.   Sisters Sam and Rima are transported to the underworld after receiving a magical family heirloom from Lebanon contai...

Kiese Laymon is one of our generation’s most prolific writers. His profound voice in American literature beckons us to take account of the areas in our lives that thirst for revision. In our interview with Kiese, we talk about his beautiful work 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 that invites readers to bear witness to Black children learning to love in the deep south where time has no bounds.  Kiese also shares...

Some of you may find yourself dealing with turkey-induced hangovers or fighting back road rage in black Friday holiday traffic today. But before you crank up Mariah's All I Want For Christmas, spend some time with us as we talk about Netflix's series THE CHAIR. We're joined by our resident academic, Dr. Ginger, to discuss this binge-worthy show. THE CHAIR stars Sandra Oh as Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim, who mu...

Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi’s newest novel, 𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔, brings us into the mind of Arezu, a young Iranian-American woman who has returned to Spain to confront the ghost of her traumatic past. Manipulated into having an affair at 18 years old with her father’s 40-year-old step-nephew, Omar, Arezu must now contend with the fallout of that crippling summer We speak with Azareen about this soul-s...

Ayana Gray’s debut novel 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒚 is a splendid and masterfully written story that has sealed its place in our fantasy canon. This pan-African tale takes us to the mythical city of Lkossa, where we meet Koffi, a young indentured woman who is on the brink of learning of the magical gift she possesses. We talk with Ayana about the birth of an idea that became a New York Times best-selling nove...

Dante Stewart's debut memoir 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏' 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒆: 𝑨𝒏 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆 is a story of a young man's transformation as he grapples with the intersectionality of race, the sins of America, and the possibility of radical and necessary change within the Christian church.  Stewart's willingness to expose his inner conflict with anti-blackness from his past set him on a metamorphic pilgrimage. Divin...

Tis’ the season for things to go bump in the night, and during this witching hour of the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we talk to author Isabel Yap about her debut short story collection 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑰 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓. These scary stories intertwine Filipino mythology with the present-day, sure to make readers ask themselves if everything is what it seems. Isabel shares her publishing story, how she chose to integr...

We head back down south to Bogalusa, Louisiana, in our interview with middle grade author Leslie C. Youngblood to talk about her sophomore novel 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓. This story is a follow-up to her critically acclaimed 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑺𝒌𝒚, which tells of two young girls wrestling with a loved one's illness and uncovering secrets that will rock both of their worlds.  Leslie C. Youngblood reveals ho...

It's National Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month, and we jump off this year's celebration with a special interview with YA author Daniel Aleman. His debut novel 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 follows Mateo, a gay teenager in New York City who must keep his sister safe after his parents, undocumented Mexican immigrants, are detained by ICE. We talked to Daniel about how he drew upon the stories from his community t...

Threaded between the Spanish moss trees and buried on the shores of beaches, Dantiel W. Moniz wants the world to know that there are stories in the South. In her debut short story collection 𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒌 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒕, Moniz injects a new way of storytelling by rearranging the preconceived points of view of the human condition. Dantiel joins us on the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast to talk about growing up in Jacks...

Khalisa Rae brings us to the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in her poetry collection 𝑮𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑨 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍’𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕.  Rae’s work dissects her journey from the Midwest to the south as she is confronted with the collective pain inflicted upon those who preyed upon Black bodies.  We talk with Rae about the power of language within poetry, her criticism of black girl magic and i...

For the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, you should know that we will always choose the blackest option, and in this episode, we're joined by the authority of Black culture and Queerness. Storyteller and filmmaker Amber J. Phillips sits down with us to talk about her debut short film 𝑨𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 . 𝑨𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 is a three-part short film exploring the limitations and radical possibilities of identity from the p...

Gabriela Garcia’s debut novel 𝑶𝒇 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒕 chronicles the lives of a Cuban matriarchal family line that spans over five generations bringing their story to present-day Miami, Florida. Garcia masterfully examines the mother/daughter relationship through Carmen and her daughter Jeanette, a recovering drug addict. Jeanette takes in a neighbor’s child after witnessing the child’s mother being tak...

Months before its release, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 was on the tips of everyone's tongues. The thriller debut novel from Zakiya Dalila Harris gripped readers this year and snatched all of our edges. Set in the white-dominated world of publishing, we are introduced to editorial assistant Nella Rogers. Everything changes when Nella meets Hazel-May McCall, the newest employee at Wagner Books. What appear...

Gina Yashare is the reincarnation of her grandmother Patience, sent to fulfill all of her dreams to live an authentically free life unfettered by men or children. She dreams of making a name for herself in America as a comic, but it will take having to endure the insidious racism of the UK and her loving but strict Nigerian mother to make it all happen. In this episode, Yashere joins us on the sho...

This week we trade our comfy clothes for trench coats and magnifying glasses as we get lost in the debut mystery novel 𝑨𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒅𝒐𝒃𝒐 by Mia P. Manansala. This delicious deathly novel is the first in the culinary 𝑻𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒆'𝒔 𝑲𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑴𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚 series.  Mia speaks to us about how she decided to place food and murder as the major plot points of her novel. She also discusses writing mysteries to giv...

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 is a multilayered novel that explores the impact of racism and gentrification within the lives of two families in North Carolina. Tensions rise when a new integration program brings more Black students into a predominantly white high school. On this episode of the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we interview New York Times Bestselling author Naima Coster about how difficult childhoo...

𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝑨𝒏 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 by Cathy Park Hong walks us through her experiences of racial discrimination throughout her life. Hong explores identity, race, and how the United States continues to disregard its role in the erasure and discrimination of Asian Americans.   As we conclude our series in honor of AAPI Heritage Month, we welcome back sociologist Dr. Ginger to discuss all o...

Dust off your passports everybody because on this episode of the Vulgar Geniuses podcast, we board a flight to India in the YA novel 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑴𝒊𝒓𝒛𝒂 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 from author Sheba Karim. Karim’s book dives into the heavy topics of grieving for a loved one and the fear of moving on. Readers will get locked in watching the romance blossom between the protagonist Noreen and her very handsome tour guide...

In the debut memoir, 𝑷𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝑴𝒆 𝑼𝒑 𝑻𝒐 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅𝒔, by author Brian Broome, comes a series of stories in which he shares his experiences of growing up gay and black in Ohio. In this novel, Brian allows the reader to sit with him as he sorts through and wrestles with the memories from his childhood of racism and toxic masculinity. In this episode, we sit down with Brian to dig deeper into these raw, vuln...

Mahogany L. Browne's novel 𝑪𝒉𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒌𝒚 is grounded in the truth that Black girls are worthy of love and protection in a world that works hard to destroy them. She talks to us about the importance of being honest with young people and teaching them how to take up space in the world.  Mahogany shares with us what lessons she has learned in her youth, her time as a journalist and slam poet, and...

𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔, the debut novel from Sanjena Sathian, is where ambition meets alchemy. Neil Narayan, a teenager of Indian immigrants living in Atlanta, finds himself struggling to find his place in the world.   Neil discovers that Anita and her mother have been making a potion to achieve success by infusing lemonade with gold stolen from their Indian neighbors. In this episode, we talk to journalist...