Our Body Politic

We’re uplifting Indigenous voices! First, Farai interviews Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on what she’s learning from the survivors and descendants of the Federal Indian Boarding School system. Then, Farai speaks with Deputy Director of Western Native Voice, Ta’jin Perez, on the fight for tribal sovereignty. Plus, we revisit a 2014 conversation about Native American media from the podcast, “One With Farai” featuring Bird Runningwater, co-executive producer of the forthcoming TV series "Sovereign", and former director of the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program.

Hagar Chemali, foreign policy expert and host of the YouTube Show "Oh My World”, facilitates a conversation with OBP creator and host, Farai Chideya and foreign policy enthusiast and creator of the “What in the World?” podcast, Bunmi Akinnusoto about what pro-Bolsonaro Brazilians storming their congress tells us about extremism here in the US and around the world.

Farai interviews senior news writer and founding staffer at The Trace, Jennifer Mascia on the recent shootings in California, and what's going wrong with gun regulations in the US. Then, she speaks with the President of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Thema Bryant on how to identify individuals who are prone to committing acts of domestic terrorism, as well as how affected communities can heal from gun violence.

Content Advisory: Mentions of various types of gun violence and suicide.

Want more 'Our Body Politic' Episode 123? Here's the full conversation between guest host and NPR Correspondent Cheryl Corley and Washington Post personal finance expert Michelle Singletary. They talk through the importance of choosing the right financial planner, what Black families need to know about wealth, and why it's never too late to learn financial literacy.

Our Body Politic joined KPCC’s Public Radio Palooza for a special live taping featuring Farai in discussion with Dr. Safiya U. Noble, Professor of Gender Studies and African American Studies at UCLA, board member of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, and author of Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, about how to address inequities caused by the tech industry. Farai also interviews Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times best-selling author of How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success and Palo Alto councilmember about her goals to address wealth disparity and community displacement. We also feature live performances by singer-songwriter, Monica Martin, who opens up about her journey to becoming a musician.

Farai interviews transmedia conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas and art curator, Rujeko Hockley about building an artistic legacy as life partners, and the role public and collaborative art plays in shaping our society. Then on our roundtable, Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai is joined by Washington Post columnist, Karen Attiah and Entertainment Correspondent for Scripps News, Casey Mendoza to discuss the latest in entertainment and pop culture, including Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle’s quest to control their narrative.

Two years after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Farai interviews Dr. Barbara F. Walter, Rohr Professor of Pacific International Relations at the University of California, San Diego, and author of the New York Times bestseller, How Civil Wars Start, on the serious threat factionalism poses to American democracy. Then, Farai talks to former FBI agent, counterterrorism expert, and Associate Senior Vice President of Homeland Security, Dr. Erroll G. Southers, who details how and why homegrown violent extremism is widening the distance between Americans and a solid democratic process, and what is being done to stop it.

Our Body Politic celebrates the new year by re-airing our 100th episode. Farai reflects on some of the show’s most impactful moments of news and political coverage over the past two years with OBP regular contributors Karen Attiah, columnist for the Washington Post and Tiffany Jeffers, associate professor at Georgetown University Law Center. The trio examines the current political atmosphere, its origins, and reflect on how issues like reproductive rights, the COVID-19 crisis, and the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Insurrection could impact this year’s midterms elections and why cultivating hope and safeguarding democracy is more important than ever.

This week we re-air an episode from June 2022, featuring a past interview between Farai and the late intersectional activist, lawyer, educator, and author Urvashi Vaid who led movements for a range of progressive issues, including AIDS advocacy, LGBT rights, and prison reform. The pair discuss Vaid’s legacy as a leading figure in social change and what it truly takes to change the lived experience of everyone— to achieve lived equality. Then in our series, “Our Body Politics Presents…” we feature the podcast Truth Be Told with host Tonya Mosley who interviews minister and writer Danté Stewart about how to cultivate “little experiments of liberation” while experiencing and navigating repetitive acts of American violence.