Enoch Pratt Free Library Podcast

Miss Jessie's is a memoir and business guide full of inspirational life lessons and unique business advice from Miko Branch, the CEO of Miss Jessie's, the company that revolutionized the hair-care industry.

When Miko and her sister, Titi, were children, their grandmother Miss Jessie taught them independence and showed them the value of being "do it yourself" women, all while whipping up homemade hair concoctions at her kitchen table. As a co-founder of Miss Jessie's, Miko reveals how she and Titi applied their grandmother's lessons to create a successful business from scratch.

A charming and enlightening look at the women behind the brand, Miss Jessie's is full of entertaining stories and invaluable instruction that can be applied to any business.

Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.

Recorded On: Wednesday, August 12, 2015

In the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre, many expected a broad strengthening of gun control laws and a reconsideration of America's gun culture. Yet the gun rights movement, headed by the National Rifle Association, has gained ground in its fight against gun control laws. Gun rights advocates argue that firearms are essential in maintaining freedom. In Do Guns Make Us Free?, Firmin DeBrabander examines the ways that proliferation of guns impacts freedom and finds that a heavily armed citizenry diminishes core freedoms for all of us.

Firmin De Brabander is an associate professor of philosophy at Maryland Institute College of Art.

Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.

Recorded On: Wednesday, July 29, 2015

News headlines, social media and talking heads paint a problematic picture of black womanood. In The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America, Tamara Winfrey-Harris  points out the warped prejudices behind that narrative and replaces them with the complex, hopeful reality of what it's actually like to be a black woman in America. She explores the impact of stereotypes on black somen's experiences with marriage, motherhood, health, sexuality and beauty.

Tamara Winfrey-Harris' work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, In These Times, Ms. magazine, and a variety of online publications.

Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.

Recorded On: Tuesday, July 28, 2015

In celebration of Baltimore Pride 2015, the Pratt Library presents a conversation with Joe Wenke, author of The Human Agenda: Conversations About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity; Gisele Alicea (aka Gisele Xtravaganza), fashion model; and Y-Love, hip-hop artist.

Despite the progress in the movement toward marriage equality, the LGBT community continues to face difficult, and often heartbreaking, odds. With The Human Agenda, Joe Wenke got people to talk with, not at, each other about a whole range of issues -- growing up, coming out, finding one's identity, family, marriage, parenting, careers and much more.

Joe Wenke is a writer, social critic and LGBT rights activist. He is the founder and publisher of Trans Uber, a publishing company with a focus on promoting LGBT rights, free thought and equality for all people.

Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.

Presented in partnership with GLCCB (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland) (www.glccb.org) and the Maryland Commisson on Civil Rights (www.mccr.maryland.gov).

Recorded On: Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Recorded On: Saturday, July 18, 2015

In Injustices, constitutional law expert Ian Millhiser argues that the Supreme Court routinely bent the arc of American history away from justice. He explains how the Court seized power for itself that rightfully belongs to the people's elected representatives and ignored rights that are explicitly protected by the Constitution. Millhiser tells the history of the Court through the eyes of the everyday people who have suffered the most, from Reconstruction to the present day.

Ian Millhiser is a senior constitutional policy analyst at the Center for American Progress and the editor of ThinkProgress Justice.

Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.

Recorded On: Wednesday, July 8, 2015

A black teenage boy is dead. A white man kiled him. Was he standing his ground or was it murder? Using the Trayvon Martin case as the foundation for her story, Victoria Christopher Murray weaves a tale about the two women who are dealing with the tragedy: Janice Johnson, the mother of the victim, and Meredith Spencer, the wife of the accused.

Victoria Christopher Murray is the Essence bestselling author of more than 20 novels, including The Ex Files; Lady Jasmine; and The Deal, the Dance, and the Devil. She is a three-time NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Fiction.

Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.

Recorded On: Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Far from the trendy cafes, designer boutiques, and political protests and crackdowns in Moscow, NPR host David Greene found the real Russia. Midnight in Siberia chronicles Greene’s journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway, a 6,000-mile cross-country trip from Moscow to the Pacific port of Vladivostok. In four-bunk cabins and stopover towns sprinkled across the country’s snowy landscape, Greene speaks with ordinary Russians about how their lives have changed in the post-Soviet years.

David Greene is cohost of NPR's "Morning Edition." Former Moscow bureau chief for NPR, he has spent more than a decade covering politics and events from the White House and abroad.

Writers Live programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.

Recorded On: Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Welcome to Mahalia’s Sweet Tea, the finest soul food restaurant in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Halia Watkins has her hands full cooking, hosting and keeping her boisterous young cousin, Wavonne, from getting too sassy with customers. One customer, the fast-talking entrepreneur Marcus Rand, is annoying enough when he’s alive – but finding him dead on her ceramic tile floor after hours is much worse.

A. L Herbert grew up in Prince George’s County and Charles County. This is his debut novel, the first in the Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery series.

Recorded On: Tuesday, June 23, 2015

In his debut novel, Jabari Asim explores urban life in the first years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, using the intertwined stories of a retired “leg breaker,” an aging kingpin, an altruistic pediatrician, and a foster child turned college student. Set against the grim backdrop of a deteriorating neighborhood, Only the Strong features strong characters, whose stories are deeply rooted in the book’s time and place.

Jabari Asim is the author of many works of fiction, nonfiction, essays, poetry, and drama. He is the executive editor of The Crisis, and is an associate professor of creative writing at Emerson College.

Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.

Recorded On: Wednesday, June 17, 2015