Vulgar Geniuses

On this special episode we talk about all of the celebrations that will cap off our month long birthday anniversary! So dust off your tuxes and gowns, pull out your box wine and glasses, 'cause we're having a party!!! Go to www.vulgargeniuses.com for more information on all of the events we have planned! 

Hala Alyan will make you take inventory of the secrets you may be holding. In 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔' 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒚, we are given a window into the lives of the Nasr family. The secrets that each person clutches weigh heavy on their heads, but it is up to them to either carry it or suffer the repercussions of their confession.  We continue our anniversary celebration in conversation with the brilliant poet and...

𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂, 𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑬 is a thought-provoking introspective of what the future would look like in a post-white supremacist society. Sasha Banks’s poetry captivates while it initiates the decolonization of the readers’ minds to consider a life where Black lives thrive. On this episode of the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we talk to Banks about her collections of poems, how she did a deep dive into the world of s...

Take two parts Betty Davis, one part Grace Jones, and a pinch of Eartha Kitt, and you have one of the best rock & roll heroines to grace the fictional stage. On this special episode of The Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we sit down with journalist & author Dawnie Walton to talk about her much-anticipated debut novel, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑶𝒑𝒂𝒍 & 𝑵𝒆𝒗.  We place Walton center stage as she...

Elizabeth Acevedo has nothing to prove when it comes to her writing, she is a master of the pen. Her third novel, 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒑 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅, will leave you wanting for more in every line. In this beautiful story written in verse, we meet Camino and Yahaira. Two young women bound together by a man who straddles two worlds, the United States and Dominican Republic. After the father dies tragically in a fli...

What began has siniphobic remarks to scapegoat the source of the covid-19 virus from the former President of the United States of America; soon turned into a call for open season on America's Asian citizens. On today's episode we question if America can finally reckon with the sins of its forefathers. We talk to Dr. Ginger Jacobson, host of the Squeezin' Lemons Podcast, to discuss the rise in hate...

Today’s show is hands down one of the most fun interviews of the season. We talked to Nicole Glover about her debut fantasy novel, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔. Set in the Reconstruction Era in Philadelphia, we meet Hetty and Benjy Rhodes, a former enslaved couple who were conductors for the Underground Railroad. The couple soon finds themselves forced to enter the world of solving murder cases when one of thei...

𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 is the fourth novel by the brilliant New York Times bestselling author Patricia Engel. Holding us captive from the first sentence, Engel proves her commitment to leading each reader into a masterclass of how a finely crafted story can leave us all wanting to follow each character well beyond the last pages. In this episode of the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we sit down with Patricia...

Every day is deals day, and today we struck gold with the biggest deal of all. This week, we welcome New York Times bestselling author Mateo Askaripour to talk about his debut novel 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌. After two prior attempts to sell manuscripts, Askaripour found that his passion for storytelling would eventually mesh his imagination and real-life experience in the tech startup world.  𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌 introdu...

If you want something done right, you better have Regina King do it for you. In her feature film directorial debut of the Golden Globe-nominated movie 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑰𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒊, King masterfully wields her camera like that of Thor’s hammer, giving audiences a chance to witness a legend coming into her own behind the silver screen.   Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown celebrate Muhammed Ali bec...

Director Shaka King reunites Get Out stars Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield as they deliver Oscar worthy performances in the biopic 𝑱𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒉. Stanfield plays William O’Neil, a car thief turned informant for the FBI sent in to infiltrate the Chicago Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Kaluuya plays 21 year old activist Fred Hampton serving as Chairman of the political movemen...

When Artist Alisha Wormsley coined the phrase, “There are black people in the future,” she must have seen who was coming our way. On today’s show, we sit down with new author, Kosoko Jackson, to speak about his debut novel 𝒀𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑰𝒔 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚, a story about being young, black, and queer based in the world of sci-fi. Jackson speaks with us about how he came to write this book, the screen time this...

It seems that everything Kacen Callender touches turns to pure gold, and in this episode we discuss their most recent award winning crown jewel, 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔. King is a 12 year old boy who believes that his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly after he unexpectedly passes away. This young adult novel tackles subject matters of grief, homophobia, and racism. On today’s episode we...

Set in intersecting realities of truth and television, 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 by Charles Yu is a scathing and hilarious commentary on the racism, invisibility, and erasure of Asians in American History and Hollywood. The story takes place in the Golden Palace Restaurant featured in the procedural cop show “Black & White”. Willis Wu plays “Generic Asian Man” but is gunning for the coveted “Kung Fu...

𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒆 was a letter written by author Ta-Nehisi Coates to his then 15 year old son. This epistle was Coates' account of what autonomy means in the body of a Black man navigating the streets of West Baltimore as a young boy, Howard University as a blossoming young man, well into fatherhood.  In this episode of Vulgar Geniuses, we review the star studded HBO adaptation, based...

Deesha Philyaw set the literary world on fire in 2020 with her sexy, powerful, and thought provoking short stories in her book 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔  Her work explores intertwining themes of sex, religion, family, and how the lines of morality are never black and white. On this Season 2 premiere of Vulgar Geniuses, we sit down with the incomparable National Book Award Finalist Deesha P...

2020 wasted no time in setting a match to all of our plans this year, but like a phoenix we rose from the ashes and created a place where we could invite you all to come along and escape from the worries of the day. On this season finale of Forks & Fangs we present our year in review. We say goodbye to the wannabe dictator in office, hello to the age of revolution and vaccines, and remember th...

When Matt Ruff gave his blessing to Producer/Screenwriter Misha Green, he told her, "It's yours now. Go for it.". Not only did she go for it, she hit a home run!  On today's episode of FORKS X FANGS we bring in special returning guest, Jonathan "Fro" Perry, as we wrap up our series finale of Tiny Bites discussing episode 9 & 10 of HBO's Lovecraft Country. 

Kali Fajardo-Anstine's carefully and wonderfully crafted work is one of our generations most important works to read.  Her novel 𝑺𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂 & 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂 deals with the struggles of love and death, and how both of those factors forever shaped the lives of the characters in her stories. Based in Denver, Colorado we follow the people in 11 linked short stories that focus on the lives of Indigenous...

We're back with another installment of Tiny Bites featuring HBO's 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚! Hippolyta gets sucked into a portal triggered by a time machine, and Dee is chased down by demon twins after being cursed by two white police officers.

First thing first! Black women y'all did that! Congratulations to Kamala Harris, the 46th Vice President of the United States of America!!! On this episode of FORKS X FANGS we discuss Veronica's birthday pick, 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝑬𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝑾𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒐𝒅 by Zora Neale Hurston. We dive deep into the life of Zora and Janie, as well as Veronica's obsession with both of those women, tattoos, and Florida History.&nbsp...

More answers are met with more questions for HBO's 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚. This week on this special edition of Tiny Bites, it seems as Franz Kafka himself must have really like this show and wanted to pay tribute to Misha Green. We discover that Ruby wakes up in the body of a white woman,  Montrose seeks solace in the arms of an secret lover, and Atticus falls in love with a nine-tailed magical c...

The debut novel from writer Kiley Reid has proven to find a special place among the newest contemporaries. 𝑺𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝑨 𝑭𝒖𝒏 𝑨𝒈𝒆 drops us dead center into an explosion of drama. Despite being the babysitter, 26 year-old Emira, a Black woman, is wrongly accused of kidnapping a 3 year-old white child in a grocery store. Emira is thrown into a whirlwind of lies, white privilege, and videotape. Reid's attent...

The Vulgar Geniuses duo take a backseat during this episode of FORKS X FANGS. We are joined by resident kid correspondent, Olivia Wang, as she reviews the novel 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒌 by Kelly Yang. Semi-based on the life of the author, readers learn about Mia Tang who has moved from China with her parents to make a new life in America.  To make ends meet, her parents take a job at the Calivista Motel. Unable...

In her chapbook 𝑪𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒔 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒘𝒂𝒎𝒑,  Michelle Flores gives us glimpses into her life as a granddaughter, being a caregiver to a dying parent, and the Cuban lineage that runs deep in her veins. We also learn of a hilarious family secret and the family ties to her children's book 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒕.