The Root Presents: It's Lit!

This week we have the hilarious and multi-talented Phoebe Robinson on the show! Listen to hear Phoebe talk about how she came to write her third and most recent collection of essays, Please Don't Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes, what she hopes broader society starts to realize about women in their 30s, and why she's so excited about her publishing imprint with Penguin Random House, Tiny Reparations Books.

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This week we're speaking with the ever-inspiring Alicia Garza. Alicia is an activist who is perhaps best known for co-creating the Black Lives Matter movement alongside Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. She’s also a principal at the Black Futures Lab, and the strategy and partnerships director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Alicia's book, The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When Things Fall Apart came out in October of last year, and just this month was released in paperback.

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This week we have the brilliant Jill Louise Busby (aka jillisblack) on to talk about her debut collection of essays, Unfollow Me: Essays on Complicity. Listen to hear Jill talk about the experience of being a prominent voice on social media, the social scripts we give to non-Black people and how that impacts us, and the varied ways in which we discuss and use identity.

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This week we're sitting down with the lovely and multi-talented Gabrielle Union to talk about her latest memoir, You Got Anything Stronger? which is a follow-up to her 2017 New York Times bestselling memoir, We're Going to Need More Wine. Listen to hear Gabrielle talk about the intense experiences that inspired the book, the heavy realizations she's had about her career, and why she felt compelled to be so open and honest about her own life.

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Hello, It's Lit listeners! We've been on a bit of a hiatus but we are returning next week with some brand new episodes. Thanks for sticking with us, and we can't wait to bring you some new conversations with some amazing writers next week!

RECAST: This week we have the legendary, award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni joining us on It's Lit. Nikki is the author of over 30 collections of poetry including the New York Times bestselling Bicycles: Love Poems, and has a brand new volume out called Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose. Listen to hear the iconic writer talk about her perspective on where we are currently as a country, the advice she gives to young writers, and why food plays such an integral role in her work.

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This week we're talking with award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, Jason Reynolds. Best known as a prolific YA writer, Jason is the author of numerous books including Ghost, Long Way Down, Look Both Ways, and As Brave As You, and he is also the 2020–2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Jason's latest book is an adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi's Stamped From the Beginning called Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. Listen to hear Jason speak with Danielle and Maiysha about why he loves writing for middle-grade audiences, the arduous process of adapting an award-winning piece of literature, and the unique magnificence of Black children.

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This week on It's Lit we're joined by author, academic, “crunk feminist” and 2017 Root 100 honoree Brittney Cooper, author of the New York Times bestseller Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower. Listen to hear Brittney talk about Black women's political power, the importance of emphasizing Black feminism, and why she will always ride for Beyoncé in spite of her critics.

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This week we're speaking with the brilliant Salamishah Tillet to talk about her latest book, In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece, which is a deep dive into the history of Alice Walker’s famous novel, as well as an examination of the cultural response to the book, and the movie and musical that followed. Listen to hear Salamishah talk about how the project came to her, the process of researching the beloved book's backstory, and what it was like to interview Alice Walker herself.

In addition to being an author, Salamishah is also a professor at Rutgers University, a contributing critic-at-large for the New York Times, and is the co-founder of A Long Walk Home, which is an organization focused on empowering young artists and activists to end violence against all girls and women.

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This week we're sitting down with the talented and prolific fiction writer, Tia Williams. Tia is truly a writer in every sense of the word—she’s been a beauty editor for magazines like Elle, Glamour, Essence, and Lucky, and she’s currently the Editorial Director at Estee Lauder. She’s also written five critically lauded novels, including the African American Literary Award-winning novel The Perfect Find. Tia's latest romance novel is the instant New York Times bestseller, Seven Days in June, and we had the honor of getting to talk to her about how the inspiration for the story came to her, her approach to writing sex scenes, and how she musters the discipline to write a full novel while also having another full-time job in addition to being a mother.

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This week we're speaking with artist, music historian, and DJ Adrian Loving about his new book, Fade 2 Grey: Androgyny, Style and Art in 80's Pop Music. Listen to hear Adrian and Maiysha dive into their love of '80s music and Gen X culture, and talk about how we can learn to appreciate some of the iconic artists of the decade—from Prince to Bowie to Grace jones—on a whole new level.

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