All Of It with Alison Stewart

"Flatbush Misdemeanors," created by comedians Kevin Iso and Dan Perlman, follows two longtime friends, one a struggling artist and the other a mediocre high school teacher, as they struggle to figure their lives out. Perlman discusses the inspiration and his role on Showtime's critically-acclaimed comedy series, which is currently airing its second season.

The East was a cultural organization founded in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, in 1969, with a mission of Black empowerment. Members built a school, local food co-ops, and even a publisher to support Black Brooklyn. Tomorrow, a free screening of a new documentary about The East, called, "The Sun Rises in The East," will be presented by BAM at the Jitu Weusi in Clinton Hill. Director Tayo Giwa and producer Cynthia Gordy Giwa join to discuss the history of The East and the making of the documentary.

According to a new major exhibition at The Jewish Museum, the years 1962 to 1964 are crucial in understanding New York City art history. The show, called New York: 1962-1964, was curated by the late art historian and curator Germano Celant, before his death in 2020. On view are 150 works by various artists who were creating in New York in the early 60s, responding to major political and social changes in the United States. Claudia Gould, director of The Jewish Museum, and Darsie Alexander, the museum's chief curator, join us to discuss the exhibition. New York: 1962-1964 is on view until January 8, 2023.

Caring for an elderly or ill relative can bring up complicated feelings. For author Lynne Tillman, it brought up feelings of frustration, duty, and sometimes resentment. She writes candidly about the complicated emotions she felt caring for her sick mother in her new book-length essay, Mothercare: On Obligation, Love, Death, and Ambivalence. She joins us to discuss, and to take calls from listeners who have grappled with similar challenges.

With summer drawing to a close, you've still got time to fit in one last summer read! All Of It and Get Lit producer Jordan Lauf joins us to recommend some new and upcoming books, as well as some old favorites. Plus, we take listener recommendations and calls!

Jordan's Recommendations 

Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi 

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell 

On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

The Old Place by Bobby Finger 

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates 

Listener Recommendations 

Honey and Venom - Confessions of an Urban Beekeeper by Andrew Coté

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart 

Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen

Unrequited Infatuations by Steven Van Zandt 

Mr. President by Miguel Ángel Asturias, translated by David Unger 

Salman Rushdie, the novelist who has been the target of a fatwa issued by the Iranian government since 1989, is recovering from a stabbing at an event on Friday in western New York. Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, the literary human rights organization where Rushdie was once president, joins us to discuss the context and freedom of speech significance of the attack and we play an excerpt of our interview with Rushdie about his novel Quichotte from 2019.

Penguin Random House wants to absorb its rival Simon & Schuster. The publisher says the merger would be good for authors by increasing advances. But the federal government says it would create a publishing behemoth that would harm writers and consumers, and it has sued to block the merger. Now, one of the most closely watched antitrust trials in U.S. history is unfolding in a Washington D.C. courthouse. Hillel Italie, books and publishing reporter for the Associated Press, joins to help explain the plot twists.

A new coming-of-age novel, Big Girl, tells the story of eight-year-old Malaya Clondon in a rapidly gentrifying 1990s Harlem. Author Mecca Jamilah Sullivan joins us to discuss her debut novel as part of our ongoing series, 2022 Debuts.

[REBROADCAST FROM September 14, 2021] Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead joins us to discuss his latest novel, Harlem Shuffle, a family drama and crime novel set in 1960s Harlem.

The legendary New York band Blondie is back with a comprehensive box set, Blondie: Against All Odds 1974-1982, and two shows at Pier 17 on August 17 and 18. Longtime drummer Clem Burke joins to discuss.