All Of It with Alison Stewart

A new documentary film from radio host and cultural critic Elvis Mitchell looks at the history of Black cinema, especially the explosion of films in the 1970's. He joins to discuss, "Is that Black Enough For You?!?"

It's new month and there's a new slate of TV and streaming programming. Vulture's Kathryn VanArendonk joins to share her picks for the best shows and limited series to check out, especially over the holidays.

This November marks the 44th anniversary of the death of Cuban artist Juan Francisco Elso, who died from cancer at the age of 32 in 1988. Elso is known for being a prominent member of the Renaissance movement in post-revolutionary Cuba in the 1970s, creating sculptures that later received international recognition. His life was cut short, but a new exhibition at El Museo del Barrio, Juan Francisco Elso: Por América, displays Elso's art alongside work from over thirty colleagues and contemporary artists based in Latin America. Curators Susanna Temkin and Olga Viso join to talk about Elso and the exhibition, which is on view until March 26.

We air highlights from our October Get Lit with All Of It book club event! Our author this month was A.M. Homes, who joined us to discuss her novel, The Unfolding. The story follows the Big Guy, a powerful Republican donor whose life starts to unravel after the results of the 2008 election. Hear Alison's interview with Homes, as well as some of the audience Q&A portion of the evening.

Missed the event? Watch it in full here.

To find out more about our Get Lit with All Of It book club, and our partnership with the New York Public Library, click here, and follow us on Instagram at @allofitwnyc.

[REBROADCAST FROM NOVEMBER 5, 2021] Canadian roots musician Allison Russell has been a member of several bands, including Po’ Girls, Birds of Chicago, and Our Native Daughters alongside Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Leyla McCalla. Earlier this year, she released her debut solo album, Outside Child, an autobiographical record of childhood abuse and survival. Russell joins us for a Listening Party, and we end on a special performance of "Hy-Brasil" featuring Sista Strings.

[REBROADCAST FROM MAY 11, 2022] On her new solo album, Breaking The Thermometer, former Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters bandmember Leyla McCalla explores the history of Radio Haiti, the country's first independent radio station and one of few to broadcast in Haitian Creole. Along with original acoustic compositions and traditional Haitian songs, McCalla includes personal interviews and radio broadcasts to tell the station's story. McCalla joins us for a Listening Party.

Multi-media artist Laurie Anderson joined as the musical guest at our October Get Lit, with her friend, author A.M. Homes. Anderson discussed her career and performed improvised works based on Homes's The Unfolding. Her set also honored her late husband Lou Reed, the anniversary of whose death coincided with the event.

Missed the event? Watch it in full here.

To find out more about our Get Lit with All Of It book club, and our partnership with the New York Public Library, click here, and follow us on Instagram at @allofitwnyc.

[REBROADCAST FROM JUNE 21, 2021] On Amythyst Kiah's new album, Wary + Strange, the folk and roots musician, and member of the group Our Native Daughters, broadens her sound, mixing together Americana, rock, and more. Kiah joins us for a Listening Party.

Ahead of a performance at Carnegie Hall by "Our Native Daughters," a banjo-based group, we revisit our conversation with bandleader, composer, multi-instrumentalist and Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens, who was one of the featured musicians in our 'Get Lit! With All Of It' book club.