The Trend With Justin A Williams

Jstin A Williams talks with author Jack R. Bialik about forgotten ancient knowledge, from Roman vending machines to ancient skull surgery and the rise and fall of civilizations. #TheTrend #podcast

Justin A Williams talks with Greg Gifford about his book Lies My Therapist Told Me and a biblical look at mental health. #TheTrend #podcast

Justin A Williams talks with Richard M. Anderson about Mars, space habitats, and the biology of survival. #TheTrend #podcast

Justin A Williams talks with Alexia Melocchi about film financing, rights, and how creators can protect themselves in Hollywood. #TheTrend #podcast

Justin A Williams talks with physician and author Terry Rousseau about teen anger, mental health, and the power of a dog. #TheTrend #podcast

Author John Amos joins Justin A Williams on The Trend to talk about his book Call of the Bugle, the Charge of the Light Brigade, the bronze plaques that started it all, and an 1890 recording of a bugler who rode in the charge.Balance is Endurance.Substack: https://substack.com/@authorjustinawilliams

Pen Densham's love of making images started with his father, a cameraman who made short films for British theaters. At four, Pen rode a live alligator in one of them. In this episode, Justin and Pen go back to where it started. He left school at 15 and started selling his photographs, including shots of the Rolling Stones for the BBC. At 19 he moved to Canada, where his films went on to win more than 60 international awards and two Oscar nominations. Norman Jewison was so impressed by Pen's first drama as a solo writer/director that he mentored him into Hollywood.

Pen talks about the parents who shaped him and the moral code that has guided his work. He also explains why he wrote Azeem, a Black Moorish warrior played by Morgan Freeman, into Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. That choice changed who gets to be a hero in one of the oldest legends in the Western world. From there the conversation moves to myth and legend, why we keep retelling these stories, and who gets to tell them.

They close on Pen's new chapter. After a celebrated film career, he has turned to experimental fine art photography that captures the emotional essence of nature rather than the landscape itself. His book Qualia collects his most striking images, from swirling koi ponds to kaleidoscopic "Organic Mandalas," capturing feelings that words can't describe. businessnewsthisweekbusinessnewsthisweek

It's a conversation about legacy, courage, and creative freedom with a filmmaker who has spent his life riding the alligator.

Before the culture had a mainstream stage, one man in Queens pointed a camera at the streets and hit record. This week on The Trend with Justin A. Williams, I sit down with the legendary Ralph "Uncle Ralph" McDaniels — DJ, VJ, director, archivist, and the co-creator of Video Music Box, the first television show in the world built for hip-hop, and still the longest-running music video program ever made.

Since 1983, Ralph has been the eye behind the culture. He put Jay-Z, Nas, Biggie, and LL Cool J on screen before the world knew their names, directed over 400 music videos, co-produced films like Juice, and quietly built an archive of more than 20,000 hours of footage that amounts to a living record of hip-hop history. He even coined the on-air shout-out. If you grew up on New York rap, you grew up on Ralph — whether you knew it or not.

We get into the origin of Video Music Box, what it took to document a movement in real time, the ascent of AI usage and why Ralph believes the pioneers themselves need to be the ones teaching the culture. This is a conversation about vision, preservation, and building something that outlasts you.

Tap in. You're watching the blueprint.#Trend with us

Some voices don't just perform — they minister. On this episode of The Trend with Justin A. Williams, Justin welcomes Khristian Dentley, the baritone of Take 6, the most awarded a cappella group in history and a defining voice in modern gospel. Khristian traces his journey from singing in church as a boy to joining a group whose harmonies have shaped generations, reflecting on where his gift began and what has kept it alive. But this conversation reaches beyond biography. Khristian and Justin dig into music as something deeper than entertainment — a force meant to be felt, to teach, and to endure. They talk about how song can hold us through our deepest pains and still point us toward hope, healing, and good. Whether you come for the gospel legacy or the philosophy of sound, this is an episode about why music matters, and why it lasts.

In this special episode, I sit down with Kori and Marcia Withers — the daughter and wife of the legendary Bill Withers — for an intimate conversation about family, music, and the stories that endure. We dive into their beautiful new book, Grandma's Hands, inspired by one of Bill's most beloved songs, and explore how it carries his spirit forward for a whole new generation of readers.

Along the way, Kori and Marcia share reflections on Bill's remarkable career — from his late start in music to becoming one of the most soulful and authentic voices in American songwriting — plus a behind-the-scenes look at their own writing process and what it means to steward a legacy this profound. It's a heartfelt conversation about love, memory, and the hands that shape us.

Tune in for stories you won't hear anywhere else, straight from the Withers family.