All Of It with Alison Stewart

[ORIGINALLY BROADCAST ON MAY 3, 2022] Inspired by the opening of the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York today, we reair our Full Bio conversation with Kostya Kennedy, author of a new biography about Jackie Robinson, called, True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson. The book comes almost 75 years after Robinson made his professional baseball debut. For this installment, we talk about Robinson's playing career in Canada, and how he first suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

CORRECTION: The introduction to this segment calls Branch Rickey the manager and team president of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was actually the general manager and team president.

[ORIGINALLY BROADCAST ON May 5, 2022] Inspired by the opening of the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York today, we reair our Full Bio conversation with Kostya Kennedy, author of a new biography about Jackie Robinson, called, True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson. The book comes almost 75 years after Robinson made his professional baseball debut. For this installment, we talk about the twilight of Robinson's career, his disagreements with Dodgers management, and his decision to retire.

"Funny Pages” is an off-beat new movie, currently in theaters and on demand, about an aspiring illustrator who drops out of high school to pursue a career in comics in Trenton, New Jersey. Indiewire calls it “the year’s wildest comedy.” Its director Owen Kline and star Daniel Zolghadri join us.

*This segment is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.

WNYC/ WQXR news host Sean Carlson breaks down some of the most recent news headlines this week including back-to-school COVID protocols, monkeypox and New York gun law enforcement.

*This segment is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.

For Friday's installment of our August Full Bio series, we speak with Gene Jarrett, dean of the faculty and English professor at Princeton, and author of a new biography about the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, called, Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird. On fourth and final day, we learn about Dunbar's relationship with Booker T. Washington, as well as his struggles with illness and his early death at the age of thirty-three. Plus, we hear WNYC's Michael Hill read a selection of Dunbar's poetry.

As we head into Labor Day weekend, It's time for a whole hour dedicated to gardening, both in your apartment or your yard. Jessica Walliser, horticulturalist and author of the book Container Gardening Complete, and Joel Flagler, Professor at the Rutgers University School of Environmental & Biological Sciences and Rutgers Agricultural Extension Agent for Bergen County, join us again to give us some ripe gardening tips, and to take listener calls.

*This segment is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.

Ora Washington was a star athlete in a time when sports was segregated and black women were not encouraged to be athletes. She dominated Black tennis and basketball for over two decades, but her story is not widely known. A new podcast from the BBC, called Untold Legends: Ora, tells her story. Former WNBA player and co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, and host of the podcast Renee Montgomery joins to discuss.

*This episode is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.

Oscar-winning songwriter Bret McKenzie is best known as one half of the New Zealand comedy duo, Flight of the Conchords and as the songwriter for multiple Muppets films. His new album, which is also his solo debut, is a serious effort called "Songs Without Jokes." McKenzie joins us for a Listening Party.

McKenzie has upcoming concerts at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on 10/19, Capitol Theater in Port Chester on 10/20, and at Webster Hall on 10/22.

*This segment is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.

For our ongoing back-to-school week series, we talk about parenting and race. Helena Andrews-Dyer, senior culture writer for The Washington Post, has a new book called, The Mamas: What I Learned About Kids, Class, and Race from Moms Not Like Me. The book is about her experience as a black mom in a group called "The Mamas," a group of neighborhood moms who live in a rapidly gentrifying D.C neighborhood. After the protests for racial justice in 2020, Andrews-Dyer found her relationship to "The Mamas" change, and wanted to understand why. She joins us to discuss, and take calls from parents.

*This segment is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.

Serena Williams extends her farewell tour after another win at the U.S. Open. We discuss the athlete's retirement announcement, career and legacy as one of the greatest tennis players in the world with New York Times assistant sports editor Elena Bergeron.

*This segment is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.