Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, cultural critic, and author of numerous books, including They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, A Little Devil in America, and There’s Always This Year. He’s very passionate about music, as is evidenced in his massive collection, purchased online and at concert venues, of concert t-shirts, band sweatshirts, and other vintage apparel linked to various artists. Hanif walks us through his criteria for selecting which shirts to buy as well as what will determine the coming culling of his collection down to a more manageable 70. He also details the white whale that’s still out there, the item he dreams of: Tina Weymouth’s Talking Heads jacket last spotted onstage in Rome in 1980. Tina, if you still have that jacket, give us a call. Fall asleep as you listen to Hanif, who has a lovely soothing voice, take you through his closet and his thinking.

Learn more about Hanif Abdurraqib and his writing by visiting his website, www.abdurraqib.com. Get your Hanif Abdurraqib Portrait T-Shirt from the Bread & Water Print Shop (and not Wal-Mart) by going to their shop at www.breadandwaterprintshop.com or www.tinyurl.com/hanifshirt.

Go to www.maximumfun.org/join and select Sleeping with Celebrities to support our show.

Hey Sleepy Heads, is there anyone whose voice you’d like to drift off to, or do you have suggestions on things we could do to aid your slumber? 

Email us at: [email protected].

Follow the Show on:

Instagram @sleepwcelebs

Bluesky @sleepwithcelebs

TikTok @SleepWithCelebs

John is on Bluesky @JohnMoe

John’s acclaimed, best-selling memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback.