Writer and activist adrienne maree brown’s book Pleasure Activism hit shelves last year and created waves in Black feminist and activist circles. Her politics of radical pleasure, self-help, society-help, and planet-help are needed now more than ever.

Today on the show, Wednesday host Ali Muldrow spends the hour with adrienne maree brown to discuss what pleasure activism means in 2020 during the summer of COVID and the ongoing fight for Black lives.

They cover myriad topics including the case for Black rest and reclaiming Black time, the role of elders and wisdom in movement work, call-out culture on social media, seeking belonging and spirituality in shared networks, the pitfalls of pessimism, and nurturing vision and imagination for our collective future.

adrienne maree brown is the author of Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good (AK Press, 2019), Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds (AK Press, 2017), and the co-editor of Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements (AK Press, 2015). She is the co-host of the podcasts How to Survive the End of the World and Octavia’s Parables. adrienne is rooted in Detroit.

Today’s interview with adrienne maree brown was also livestreamed on Facebook. You can watch the archived video here.

Cover image: “Adrienne Maree Brown on The Laura Flanders Show” by The Laura Flanders Show, licensed under CC BY 3.0 / border color and text added