All Of It with Alison Stewart

[REBROADCAST FROM January 27, 2022] Silvana Estrada is a rising singer-songwriter from Veracruz, Mexico, whom NPR's Alt.Latino has named one to watch for 2022. Her debut solo album, Marchita, whose title translates to "withered," explores heartbreak through minimalist, intimately recorded songs based in part in the folk tradition son jarocho. Estrada joins us for a Listening Party.

Estrada will be performing a free concert at Summerstage in Central Park tonight.

11-time NBA Champion and 5-time MVP Bill Russell died at the age of 88 on Sunday. But Russell was always adamant he was more than an NBA superstar. At the end of the day, he wanted to be thought of as a man. Jemele Hill, contributing writer to The Atlantic, and Howard Bryant, senior writer for ESPN, join us to commemorate Bill Russell the man, Civil Rights activist, coach, and one of the greatest ever to play the game of basketball. Plus, we take your calls.

Basement Bhangra was a dance party fixture in New York City that brought South Asian dance music to an inclusive crowd. Now, the party is celebrating its 25th anniversary this weekend at Central Park SummerStage. DJ Rekha, who's run the party since its beginnings, joins us to discuss.

Following the massive success of the podcast and Netflix series Song Exploder, creator and executive producer Hrishikesh Hirway has launched a new off-shoot for literature lovers, called Book Exploder. The podcast, hosted by journalist and author Susan Orlean, features authors like Min Jin Lee, George Saunders, and James McBride breaking down one passage from one of their works, showing how much work goes into every paragraph of a book. Hirway and Orlean join us to discuss. The first episode of Book Exploder launches today.

With the news last week that that Choco Taco could be discontinued, many are having strong feelings about beloved confections, and what it means to say goodbye to them. Jon Prince, President at candyfavorites.com, a 3rd-generation candy wholesaler, joins us to talk about how tasty treats comfort us during hard times, and how we come to feel so strongly about them. Plus, listeners call in to share their Choco Taco memories, and remembrances of other discontinued sweets.

The goal of journalism is to inform people. But many are finding themselves so distressed by the news that they are actively avoiding it. Journalist Amanda Ripley recently wrote a piece for The Washington Post called, "I stopped reading the news. Is the problem me — or the product?" and she argues that it's time for news outlets to rethink their purpose -- and start focusing on what humans need, which she says is agency, dignity and hope. Ripley joins us to discuss.

We continue our series 2022 Debuts, spotlighting debut authors, with Patricia Wants To Cuddle. The story follows the final contestants of a reality dating show who suddenly find themselves in a survival situation... and in love with one another. Author Samantha Allen joins us to discuss her debut novel.

HBO's "We Met in Virtual Reality" is a groundbreaking documentary filmed entirely online, within a platform called VRChat. The film follows the avatars of real world human beings interacting and exploring their virtual world, at bars, atop roller coasters, and on dinosaur safaris. Director Joe Hunting joins us to talk about his feature-length debut.

Once there was a time when Facebook and Instagram seemed to be the dominant social media platforms. Now the field is much more crowded, and those platforms are competing with newer apps like TikTok, Discord, and most recently, BeReal. Where do things stand now, and how are companies like Meta attempting to compete? Cal Newport, a New Yorker contributing writer and associate professor of computer science at Georgetown, joins us to discuss his latest piece for the New Yorker, "TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants."

In 1993, a new student enrolled in Jono McLeod's class at Bearsden Academy -- Brandon Lee, a 16-year-old junior. Except that wasn't his real name, and he wasn't a teenager. Decades later, Jono McLeod unravels the story in his new documentary, "My Old School."