The American obsession with categorizing people by race isn’t just a problem for our institutions. For multi-racial and multi-ethnic Americans, it can be intensely personal. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by journalist Natasha Alford. She shares her own unique experience navigating America’s complicated ideas about race in her new book, American Negra: A Memoir. Alford shares how her African American and Puerto Rican heritage shaped her understanding of race in her early life, and how those ideas were challenged when she attended Harvard University and later became a journalist.  

Guest: Natasha Alford, author of American Negra: A Memoir

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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Shotspotter lost a huge contract and some face when Chicago opted out of its partnership with the gunfire-identification tech company. 

Why can’t new policing tech seem to break the old patterns and problems?

Guest: Jim Daley, investigations editor at South Side Weekly

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The promise of artificial intelligence in medicine is that it can reduce the influence of human error and bias in health care. But there’s growing concern that A.I. in medicine –as in other fields– can reflect the biases and lack of diversity among its creators. And that can have life threatening consequences for African American patients. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Margo Snipe, a health reporter for CapitalB News. They discuss how A.I. can sometimes fuel medical racism, and reasons to hope that it can change.

Guest: Margo Snipe, health journalist for CapitalB News

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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The 1989 murder of Carol Stuart in Boston became a national story, fueled by anxiety over urban crime. The city’s police broke down doors in the Black community, strip searched dozens of Black and brown men on the street, and arrested a Black suspect. Then Stuart’s husband was exposed as the killer. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Boston Globe associate editor Adrian Walker, who hosts the Murder in Boston podcast about the infamous case. They discuss the history of racial tension that led up to crime, and the lasting consequences for the families of the victim, the killer, and the wrongfully arrested Black suspect.

Guest: Adrian Walker, host of the Murder in Boston podcast

Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel

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This week, host Isaac Butler talks to Anthony Davis, a Pulitzer Prize winning opera composer whose work includes the 1986 opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, which was recently revived and produced for the Metropolitan Opera. In the interview, Anthony discusses the inspiration for X and the many genres he drew from to compose its music. He also talks about how to craft a story using music and why it’s important to him to make political art. 

After the interview, Isaac and co-host June Thomas discuss creative career pivots and the act of finding inspiration from eavesdropping. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Anthony and Isaac talk about their mutual love of science fiction. 

Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to [email protected] or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews.

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A generation of activists –and well-meaning citizens– was pulled into intense social justice work by the murder of George Floyd in 2020. And the horrific crime, the fight for progess, and the backlash has taken a toll on their mental health. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo about her new book, Be a Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World--And How You Can, Too. It’s the collected wisdom of activists across a range of issues about how to do the hard and emotional work of confronting racism without losing hope.

Guest: Writer Ijeoma Oluo

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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Support for a “two-state solution” has been declining among both Israelis and Palestinians for years. If it’s time to give up on that plan, what’s the alternative? 

Guest: Dov Waxman, professor of political science and the director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.

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Texas is one of the 24 states that has passed the CROWN Act. “CROWN” stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, and these laws are supposed to stop discrimination against Black people who wear their hair in natural styles. But high school senior Darryl George has been fighting suspension for months over his dreadlocks. The issue is now set to be decided in court in February. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Jennifer Wyatt Bourgeois, a professor at Lone Star College in Texas, and a research fellow at Texas Southern University’s Center for Justice Research. They discuss the specifics of Darryl George’s case, and why the CROWN Act in Texas seems to be falling short. 

Guest: Professor Jennifer Wyatt Bourgeois of Lone Star College in Texas

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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On this week’s episode of Well, Now, Maya and Kavita talk about practical ways to break up with diet culture with fitness instructor, speaker and educator Chrissy King. 

She’s the author of The Body Liberation Project: How Understanding Racism and Diet Culture Helps Cultivate Joy and Build Collective Freedom.

Chrissy also ties in how breaking up with diet culture is a piece of a larger conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion in the wellness industry.

If you liked this episode, check out: What “Wellness” Is and Isn’t

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected] 

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Decades before most people had heard of Barack Obama, Black Republican Colin Powell was widely believed to be on the path to the presidency. And the Republican Party was the first political home of many African Americans. But the contemporary G.O.P, led by former President Donald Trump, has introduced a new class of Black Republicans who command little respect within the community. What happened, and is there a place for Black Americans in today’s or tomorrow’s Republican Party? On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson discusses that with Clay Cane, journalist and author of The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump. 

Guest: Writer Clay Cane

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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