Don't @ Me with Justin Simien

When political institutions shut out wide swaths of people, the path to change is often through culture. Hip-hop scholar Jeff Chang gets political with Justin, calling out the strengths and stressors among black and Asian communities in California and American culture more broadly.

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Zazie Beetz is back, with her writer-actor boyfriend David Rysdahl. Justin also brought his boyfriend, Rick Proctor, into the studio. Both baes are white. We discuss the deep personal growth and public perils of our interracial love.

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Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Deadpool 2) opens up about her struggle with anxiety, her biracial identity, and what becoming a public figure has meant for her personal journey on subjects like race and gender.

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Robin Thede broke new late night ground with her excellent (and widely adopted) show The Rundown on BET. What’s next for her and will we ever see a return of The Rundown? Plus, what to watch when we’re avoiding the news cycle: namely, POSE and Random Acts of Flyness.

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DuVernay is her last name. Array is her company. But on social media and to film and TV audiences worldwide, the director of A Wrinkle in Time and Selma needs very little introduction. Her name is simply Ava. Ava and Justin met when they both worked in publicity, and discuss how Hollywood will only make room for more voices and stories through systemic change. Plus, how Ava balances the stories she wants to tell and the desire to be recognized through awards, and her upcoming project for Netflix, Central Park Five.

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Cheryl Dunye’s 1996 film “The Watermelon Woman” was the first feature directed by a black lesbian. Cheryl traces her personal story and blend of AIDS activism, academia, and art school that prompted her to make the film, and the too-hot-to-touch subjects she’s exploring in her next feature.

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Angel Lopez is the new mold of Hollywood gatekeeper: gay, Latinx, a producer who also writes, a professional astrologer. He and Justin get real about being your authentic self in an industry built on sameness that’s obsessed with sales and sequels.

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Kimberly Peirce’s breakout film “Boys Don’t Cry” was ahead of its time in 1999. Justin and Kim talk about the language around gender and sexuality, from who can say “butch” to what happens when previously accepted terms go out of vogue.

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Who can use the N-word? How many writers and artists have a film like Moonlight waiting to be made? What was ScarJo thinking? We get into it with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, platonic life partners and the incredible duo behind the new film Blindspotting.

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Barry Jenkins gained worldwide recognition with Moonlight, his film about the life of Chiron, a young black man in Florida struggling with his sexuality and a drug-addicted mom. Also of course, the whole Oscars catastrophe. Despite evidence (and awards) to the contrary, Barry doubts his own brilliance. We get into that, the best movie ever made (and the worst in recent memory).

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