State of the Union with Cornel West

As election day approaches, philosopher, public intellectual, and Harvard professor Cornel West joins us for a state of the union. We discuss the challenges of 2020 (06:42), our neofascist gangster President (8:37), his “Robin Hood-like sensibility” (11:30), Dostoevsky’s grim view of civilization (16:25), discovering our purpose from womb-to-tomb (21:22), and the legacy of being a “jazz man” (30:11) who fights for justice, love and freedom (35:14). To close, a reading Giacomo Leopardi’s Wild Broom. For more, www.talkeasypod.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Radha Blank: The Forty-Year-Old Version

Writer/director Radha Blank joins us! We talk about taking back control of her voice in her debut film, now available via Netflix, The 40-Year-Old Version (6:04), the catharsis of rapping under the moniker Radhamus Prime (11:11), the experience of coming out as an artist to the world (20:52), the personal family archiving within the film itself (26:56), the importance of portraying a different version of Black life on screen (34:25), and why she needed to make a love-letter to New York City. (41:02) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rep. Ilhan Omar: What Can America Look Like?

Growing up Black in this country, Angela Davis taught Rep. Ilhan Omar that you must be “internally liberated to fight for external liberation”. As the first Somali-American elected to Congress, Omar has routinely fought for that external liberation. She joins us today, from Washington, to discuss the passing of George Floyd and her father (5:55), the challenge of making police reform a bi-partisan issue in Congress (11:18), the valuable mistakes made in her first term in the House (15:44),her refusal to “assume the posture of the good immigrant” (21:25), how she's handled the personal, xenophobic comments from President Trump (24:55), why she continues to reinvest in the youth (32:10), and what she hopes America will look like in the years ahead (40:15). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Claudia Rankine: Just Us

The illustrious author, poet, and playwright, Claudia Rankine, joins us with the release of her latest book, Just Us: An American Conversation. We discuss the conversations (3:12) and relationships (24:12) that comprise Just Us, the problem with color-blindness, a personal shift in perspective following her cancer diagnosis (16:53), how history remains present for black people (27:29), and why we must repeatedly unpack what privilege looks and sounds like in this country (40:26). To close, Claudia reads a timely and moving excerpt from Just Us (52:52). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Me and You and Miranda July

In a world yearning for connection, Miranda July’s latest film, Kajillionaire, may be just what we need right now. This week, the multi-hyphenate artist processes personal milestones amidst this pandemic (16:00), the complexity of parent-child relationships (19:00), the intended audience forMe and You and Everyone We Know (24:37), how unexpected pockets of human interaction fuel her creativity (31:05), the (im)possibilities of connection (38:43), and her hopes of balancing the work of an artist and a mother (44:01). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mythmaking with Jena Malone

In the search for radical honestly, Jena Malone is a true, multi-hyphenate artist: actor, musician, writer, dancer. Today she joins us to discuss her need to grow outside of acting (1:50), a relocation to Las Vegas that altered her trajectory, (4:23), creating control in chaos throughout childhood (6:42), the business challenges of being a child actor (16:58), juxtaposed with the agency it gave her (22:50). Then, before we go, Jena reflects on the work she's most proud of to date, while honoring the younger self that supported her family (38:33). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Play It Again: Gloria Steinem

Rest in peace to the estimable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We begin with a moment to reflect on Ginsburg's enduring legacy, and how it must continue in her absence. Then, we turn to Gloria Steinem. A contemporary and friend to RBG, we hope revisiting this discussion (from 2019) may give you some hope in these turbulent times. The trailblazing activist and author discusses a life-altering procedure she had completed at age 22, why she helped create the women's liberation movement alongside Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Flo Kennedy, and how she learned to become angry—on her own behalf—about the race and gender discrimination across America. . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Carrie Coon / Cat Solen

A bonus episode! First up we sit with actor Carrie Coon (Fargo, The Leftovers) to discuss living a double life in her twenties (5:19), how acting serves as an outlet for honesty (7:39), the marital and moral intricacies of her new film, The Nest(13:14), motherhood in a pandemic (19:39), finding value in her work (26:22), and a re-defined sense of purpose as we emerge from this moment (30:24). Later we talk to Cat Solen, director of the Adult Swim series The Shivering Truth. She discusses the allegory and surrealism of The Shivering Truth (42:50), her love and fear of scary movies as a child, and the sense of responsibility she felt to take care of the world (46:02), the production process of an episode between her and Vernon Chatman (52:37), learning to embrace her work and not feel the need to apologize for her passion-turned-profession (1:00:18), and the significance of “The Wizard of Speed and Time” and Mike Jittlov and his animation stand (1:07:14). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Janelle Monáe, Past and Present

Janelle Monáe believes she's “connected to the future”.And I believe her. But right now she (like all of us) is forced to confront the present. This week we sit with the visionary artist to discuss the painful timeliness of her latest film, Antebellum (5:40), and how it aims to humanize black women (8:40). We also dive into her love of sci-fi growing up in the midwest (12:22), the gift of being fired from OfficeDepot (17:57), the Wondaland collective (26:12), and, finally, the importance of art and accountability in our strange, new world (36:59). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brittany Howard is a “Living Miracle”

Growing up in the Athens, Alabama, singer-songwriter Brittany Howard acutely understands this moment in America. We talk about how Trump preys on the low-income communities she grew up in (6:48), the crisis in Kenosha (11:06), her ever-evolving spiritual relationship with her sister, Jaime (12:46), her departure from the Alabama Shakes (19:11), looking for a challenge in everything she does (22:08), the stories behind three of her love songs, and, finally, the miracle of of her journey, from the girl who borrowed her sister’s guitar to the woman performing around the world (35:30). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.