Free Library Podcast

In conversation with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

In Sito, Laurence Ralph explores the murder of San Francisco teen Sito Quiñonez and his family's long-reverberating grief and grace. Ralph, the stepfather of Sito's half-brother, tells this story both as an academic who has studied violence and class, as well as someone enmeshed within this family. His other books include of Renegade Dreams: Living Through Injury in Gangland Chicago and The Torture Letters: Reckoning with Police Violence. The Director for the Center on Transnational Policing and a professor at Princeton University, Ralph is a former tenured professor at Harvard University, a Guggenheim Fellow, a fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. He has also earned fellowships from the Guggenheim National Science Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Ford Foundation.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is the Leon Forrest Professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University. Formerly a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University for eight years, her books include From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, How We Get Free, and Race for Profit, a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in history. Taylor has been named one of the hundred most influential African Americans in the United States by The Root and Essence Magazine named her among the top one hundred ''change makers'' in the county. She has been appointed as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians by the Organization of American Historians. A guest on such outlets as Democracy Now!, The Intercept, and All Things Considered, she has contributed opinion pieces to The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Paris Review, among many other periodicals.

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The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/27/2024)

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6abc Action News morning edition.

Co-promoted by the American Constitution Society

The Scott Waugh Endowed Chair in the Social Sciences Division, Professor of Sociology & African American Studies at UCLA, Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter coined the term ''Black Lives Matter.'' His books include Black Citymakers: How The Philadelphia Negro Changed Urban America, The New Black Sociologists, and Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life, coauthored with Zandria F. Robinson. He formerly served as the Inaugural Chair of UCLA's African American Studies Department and President of the Association of Black Sociologists, his research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and Social Science Research Council, and he has appeared across a wide array of print and broadcast media. In Radical Reparations, Hunter ventures beyond the contentious current debate about the country's responsibility for atoning for its earlier sins to lay out an ambitious but practical seven-point compensation plan for Black Americans.

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The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/22/2024)

In conversation with Zoe Sivak

Maura Cheeks is the author of Acts of Forgiveness, a debut novel that imagines a contemporary moment in which our government has approved reparations for Black Americans-but only if they can prove they are the descendants of enslaved people. Based on a feature-length article she produced during a masthead reporting residency at The Atlantic, R. Eric Thomas calls the book a ''generous and empathetic study of burden and inheritance, consequence and regret.'' Cheeks has contributed other writing to a variety of publications, including the Paris Review, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, Tin House, and Lenny Letter.

Zoe Sivak is the author of Mademoiselle Revolution, an NPR Best Book of 2022. Zoe advocates for diverse stories and characters in historical fiction, where she strives to explore famous male figures through the lenses of the women beside them--women who could have existed, even if history left them behind. Zoe received her Juris Doctor and masters in public health in Philadelphia, where she continues her work in healthcare and shares a home with her partner, Adam, and two cats.

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The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/21/2024)

In conversation with Airea D. Matthews

Phillip B. Williams is the author of two acclaimed poetry collections, Thief in the Interior, which won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and a Lambda Literary Award; and Mutiny, which was a finalist for the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection and the winner of a 2022 American Book Award. A creative writing professor in New York University's MFA creative writing program, he is the recipient of a Whiting Award and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and the National Endowment for the Arts. A surrealistic epic about the complexities of freedom and the boundaries of love, Ours tells the story of an 1830s-era conjuror who destroys plantations and spirits enslaved people away to a magically concealed community.

Airea D. Matthews is the 2022–23 Philadelphia Poet Laureate and directs the poetry program at Bryn Mawr College. Her collection Simulacra won the 2016 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Best American Poets, Gulf Coast, Harvard Review, and VQR, among other journals. Matthews' other honors include a 2022 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, a 2020 Pew Fellowship, and the 2016 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award. Addressing themes of income inequality, commodification, and conventional economic theories, her most recent book Bread and Circus combines poetry, prose, and imagery to tell an intimate story about the author and her family.

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The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/20/2024)

In conversation with award-winning journalist and broadcaster Tracey Matisak

Screen icon Billy Dee Williams is perhaps best known for his role as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars movies The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. His dozens of other film appearances, which date back to the 1950s, include roles in Lady Sings the Blues, Brian's Song, Mahogany, Nighthawks, and too many others to list; his similarly prolific television career includes starring turns, appearances, and cameos in more than 40 dramas, sitcoms, and TV movies; and he has acted in seven acclaimed Broadway plays. His many honors include induction into the Black Filmmaker's Hall of Fame, two NAACP Image Awards, a primetime Emmy nomination, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and recognition from the African-American Film Critics Association. Also a prolific and prize-winning painter, Williams has seen his work displayed in museums and galleries around the world. In What Have We Here, he tells the story of his childhood in 1930s Harlem, his remarkable career, and his triumph over Hollywood racism and typecasting.

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The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/17/2024)

In conversation with Bill Marimow

''Perhaps the finest reporter in America'' (The Miami Herald), Calvin Trillin has written more than 400 nonfiction and comic articles for The New Yorker since 1963. His book include U.S. Journal and Killings, collections of his columns from between 1967 and 1982. A former Time columnist and syndicated columnist at The Nation, Trillin wrote and performed two one-man shows, wrote a play that was staged at the American Place Theatre, and has appeared across a wide variety of media outlets. He has also published two comic novels, four books of political verse, and three memoirs, and his humor collection Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin won the Thurber Prize for American Humor in 2012. Replete with his signature empathy and wit, The Lede is a portrait of journalists and their craft constructed through curated articles from his six-decade career.

As a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Bill Marimow twice won the Pulitzer Prize for public service. The editor in chief of the Inquirer from 2006 to 2017 and formerly its vice president of strategic development, he also served as vice president of news at National Public Radio and editor in chief of The Baltimore Sun. His other honors include two Silver Gavel Awards from the American Bar Association and two Robert F. Kennedy awards.

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The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/15/2024)

In conversation with award-winning journalist and broadcaster, Tracey Matisak

Paul Alexander's bestselling and acclaimed biographies include portraits of James Dean, Sylvia Plath, John McCain, and J. D. Salinger, the last of which served as the basis of a documentary that appeared on HBO, PBS, and Netflix. Alexander's nonfiction has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Nation, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone, as well as numerous literary journals. He is also the author of several stage plays and screenplays. A writing teacher at Hunter College in New York City and a former fellow at the Hoover Institution, he holds memberships at the PEN American Center, the Dramatists Guild, and the Academy of American Poets. In Bitter Crop, the first new biography of Billie Holiday in more than 20 years, Alexander presents a transcendently soaring look at the legendary jazz singer's last year of life.  

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The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/13/2024)

In conversation with Ellen Yin

A New York Times bestselling children's author and illustrator, Grace Lin earned the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, the Theodor Geisel Honor for Ling and Ting, and the Caldecott Honor for A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Her novel When the Sea Turned to Silver was a National Book Award Finalist. Recognized by former President Obama's administration as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling, Lin was awarded the Children's Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association. She also provides commentary for New England Public Radio, book reviews for The New York Times, and she hosts the podcasts kidlitwomen* and Kids Ask Authors. In Chinese Menu, she serves up insights on the history, legends, and myths behind favorite American Chinese dishes.

High Street Hospitality Group founder and co-owner Ellen Yin operates some of the country's most acclaimed eateries, including a.kitchen + bar, Fork, High Street Restaurant & Bakery, The Wonton Project, and High Street Hoagies. In 2023 she was named ''Outstanding Restaurateur'' by the James Beard Foundation Awards. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, she is involved with several community-centric organizations, including the Sisterly Love Collective and the Independent Restaurant Coalition, and she sits on the Board of ''The Philadelphia Award.''

Because you love Author Events, please make a donation to keep our podcasts free for everyone. THANK YOU!

The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/12/2024)

In conversation with novelist and musician Wesley Stace 

Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize for Prophet Song, a ''brilliant, haunting'' and ''crucial book for our current times (The Guardian) that tells the dystopian but plausible tale of a family caught in the clutches of an increasingly authoritarian Ireland. His other novels include Red Sky in Morning, featured on NPR and named a best book of the year by The Irish Times, The Toronto Star, and the Irish Independent; The Black Snow, winner of France's Prix Libr'à Nous for Best Foreign Novel; Grace, winner of the 2018 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year; and Beyond the Sea, published to international acclaim and winner of France's 2022 Prix Gen de Mers. Lynch previously served as chief film critic for Ireland's Sunday Tribune newspaper and regularly contributed film articles to The Sunday Times.

Because you love Author Events, please make a donation to keep our podcasts free for everyone. THANK YOU!

The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/9/2024)

In conversation with Shantrelle Lewis

Ruha Benjamin is the author of Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code, a ''galvanizing'' and ''inventive and wide-ranging'' (The Nation) look at how new technologies reinforce social inequities; and Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want, a pragmatic yet poetic vision of the ways in which our minor everyday choices can add up to larger societal growth. Also the author of many scholarly publications, she is a professor of African American studies at Princeton University, where she is the founding director of the Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab. Benjamin's writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN, The Root, and Vox, among numerous other media outlets. A revelatory call to action, Imagination calls for readers to consider the arena of the mind as a very real space for struggle, interconnectedness, and societal change.

Shantrelle P. Lewis is a multi-hyphen creative and scholar who accesses multiple disciplines to help elucidate African Diasporic history, aesthetics, culture and spirituality. After premiering at BlackStar Film Festival, her critically acclaimed directorial debut, In Our Mothers' Gardens, was released on Netflix via Ava Duvernay's Array. Her book, Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style, was published by Aperture in 2017. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, NPR, BBC, Washington Post, Slate, The New Yorker and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She co-founded Shoppe Black with her husband and fellow Howard alum, Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson. As an initiated Lukumi Sango Priest, hoodooist and New Orleans native, Shantrelle can be found waxing poetic about all things African spirituality online and in person at the Beaucoup Hoodoo Shop, the annual Beaucoup Hoodoo Fest this October and within her community, ATRS Book Club.

Because you love Author Events, please make a donation to keep our podcasts free for everyone. THANK YOU!

The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.

(recorded 2/7/2024)