Our Body Politic

Guest host Natasha Alford, in for Farai Chideya, explores political coalition building through three lenses. From the national stage - to hotly contested state races - to local politics - elected officials owe a duty of care to the constituents they serve. But how do politicians at all levels of government communicate with marginalized communities and how do those communities get their voices heard?

Guest host and Washington Post Columnist Karen Attiah sits down with writer, historian, and scholar Jelani Cobb at the 2023 Just Economy Conference to discuss the challenges facing journalists of color in today’s media landscape.

Guest host Hagar Chemali, foreign policy expert and Creator and Host of the YouTube show "Oh My World!" looks closely at the latest in international policy, from the conflict in Ukraine to US and China Relations, and finally, the recent election in Africa’s largest democracy, Nigeria.

Another OBP Extended Edition! Guest host Natasha Alford speaks with former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes on the hotly contested election for State Supreme Court in Wisconsin.

This week, we share a panel from the 92nd Street Y’s State of America Summit. Host Farai Chideya asks: who defines America’s Values? We discuss the power of storytelling and civil society with Bird Runningwater, CEO of Cloud Women Media, award-winning author and Harvard Professor Suketu Mehta, author Anna Malaika Tubbs, and Washington Post Contributing Columnist Danielle Allen.

Guest host and ESPN executive Marsha Cooke continues a conversation about black women in the media. Panelists share how they focus on building inclusive content for Black audiences including expanding coverage to undercovered topics and communities. The guests are Mary Annaïse Heglar, Co-creator and Co-host of the Hot Take podcast Lauren Williams, Co-Founder and CEO of Capital B.

Three years after the first lockdowns in the US, we look at how public health has changed and how we have changed with it. Plus a new book, “Black Women Will Save the World: An Anthem,” explores black women’s contributions to the Biden administration.

The Turkish government's weak response to the region’s devastating earthquakes may signal the beginning of a political shift away from the current administration. We speak with Prof. Ali Tekin, a political scientist on the ground. Then we pivot to a conversation about apologies–how to give and how to receive– with co-authors of the book “Sorry, Sorry, Sorry: The Case for Good Apologies", Marjorie Ingall and Susan McCarthy.

When the College Board removed concepts like “intersectionality, mass incarceration, reparations, and the Black Lives Matter movement” from its Advanced Placement African American Studies course, both educators and students were alarmed. These changes are just one of the results of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 'Stop “Wrongs to our Kids and Employees” Act,’ otherwise known as the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, passed in 2022. Guest host Natasha Alford, Senior Correspondent for The Grio, speaks with Dr. Keisha Blain of Brown University and Sommer Brugal, reporter at the Miami Herald to learn how the policy is affecting students right now. Next Amara Abdullah, a student organizer and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard talks about her work for justice for Black students in schools, and author Marisa Renee Lee describes collective grief and how the erasure of Black history prevents necessary healing.

There are at least 18 documented gangs inside the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Farai speaks with award-winning reporter Cerise Castle about her 15-part investigative series that explores the complex history of ‘deputy gangs.’ Her reporting finds that this group has terrorized and murdered Angelenos for decades with litigation related to these cases costing the County just over $100 million over the past 30 years. Later, Karen Attiah, Washington Post columnist and show contributor, leads our weekly roundtable ‘Sippin’ The Political Tea,’ on the importance of authentic self care including social media breaks. Attiah is joined by Morra Aarons-Mele, host of The Anxious Achiever podcast AND a forthcoming book with the same title; and Isa Watson, author of Life Beyond Likes and founder & CEO of the Squad app. Content Advisory: Descriptions of police violence

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.

NPR Correspondent Cheryl Corley guest-hosts this week’s episode on the racial wealth gap and how Black Americans are working to narrow it. First, Corley speaks with former Alderwoman of Evanston, Illinois’s 5th Ward Robin Rue Simmons about how her organization, FirstRepair, is helping people across the nation in the fight for reparations. Corley also interviews the founder and executive director of Black Women Build Baltimore, Shelley Halstead, about how homeownership helps build wealth and community. Then, Corley and Washington Post personal finance expert Michelle Singletary discuss the importance of choosing the right financial planner, and why it's never too late to learn financial literacy.

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.

Farai is joined by Karen Attiah, Our Body Politic contributor and columnist for the Washington Post, and Dr. Sarah J. Jackson, Presidential Associate Professor of communications at the University of Pennsylvania and coauthor of Hashtag Activism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice, to discuss what Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover could mean for women of color users. Then, we reach into the archives for a past conversation between Farai and Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments about how race relations inform financial security and the vitality of providing financial literacy for people of color.

This week in our Political Remix series, we’re bringing back some of Farai’s key interviews with three women of color exploring the impact of gun violence and policing in the U.S. First, Farai speaks to activist, therapist, and mother, Nelba Marquéz-Greene on the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting. Then, we get reflections from Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice, on policing and justice right after the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Plus, Farai speaks to former Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall on bridging the divide between Black communities and the police.

Farai interviews Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry, award-winning journalist, author, and host of WNYC’s “The Takeaway”, on reimagining how we view U.S. history and politics, specifically regarding how Black women in media and academia shape our nation’s progress. Then, Farai speaks with Tiffany Dufu, founder of The Cru, a peer coaching platform that provides women with community and resources to achieve professional goals and advance their careers.

This week we revisit an episode from our archives. First, a past conversation between Farai and author of Sign My Name to Freedom, Betty Reid Soskin, who retired at age 100 from her work as a National Park Ranger and community historian. Then in “Our Body Politics Presents,” we hear from Tonya Mosley’s podcast “Truth Be Told” where she speaks to Ayanna Brown, a mother who graciously details her cycle of loving, losing, grieving, and persevering. And on “Sippin’ the Political Tea” Farai speaks with professor and Vice Chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, Dr. Mercedes Carnethon and author of 55, Underemployed and Faking Normal, Elizabeth White on how to age well, physically, emotionally and financially.

This week, Farai interviews Jemele Hill, contributing writer for the Atlantic and author of the new book, Uphill: A Memoir on how her upbringing informs her impassioned writing and reporting. Then we receive insights on the 2022 midterm election results from political reporters across the nation such as Alex Nguyen with the Texas Tribune, Hibah Ansari with Minnesota’s Sahan Journal, and Lauren Gibbons of Bridge Michigan. And on our weekly political roundtable, Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai is joined by Kimberly Atkins Stohr, senior columnist for the Boston Globe and inaugural columnist for the Emancipator, and Sabrina Rodriguez, national politics reporter for the Washington Post.

This week, Farai interviews Tia Mitchell, Washington Correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and chair of the National Association of Black Journalists about the U.S. midterm election results in Georgia and what they tell us about the nation’s political atmosphere. And on this week’s roundtable foreign policy expert, host of “Oh My World” on Youtube, and Our Body Politic guest host, Hagar Chemali, is joined by Ash Sarkar, contributing editor for UK-based media company Novara Media, and Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs, to talk about the latest political news in Brazil and the United Kingdom.

This week on the show we’re presenting a midterms special where we highlight different races across the nation. Farai interviews Cheri Beasley, former Chief Justice of North Carolina’s Supreme Court on her race to replace retiring Republican senator Richard Burr. We hear from Tene Darby, chairperson of the Lancaster City Democratic Committee in Pennsylvania, on the midterm races happening in her state. Then, Farai speaks with Democratic state representative Dr. Yadira Caraveo on what she hopes to bring to Colorado state’s newly created 8th Congressional district. Farai is then joined by Astead Herndon, national political journalist and New York Times podcast host about how voters’ concerns are dictating their political affiliations and deepening polarization and division.

This week, Farai interviews Kiara Imani, Esq on how navigating “Black disprivilege” throughout her life led her to write her debut memoir “Therapy Isn’t Just for White People”. Then, Farai speaks to affirmation musician, Toni Jones, about how she uses music as a tool for healing. And on the weekly segment, Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai is joined by Dr. Kali Cyrus, psychiatrist, activist and co-founder of Gemma and Adriana Alejandre, trauma therapist and founder of LatinX Therapy on the state of our collective and personal mental health journeys, and how they are shaped by what’s happening in the world.

This week Farai talks to Wisconsin’s Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes about what inspired his run for the U.S. Senate, and how he sees the politics of division. Then, foreign policy expert Hagar Chemali interviews Firuzeh Mahmoudi, co-founder and Executive Director of United for Iran, about the youth and woman-led protests for bodily autonomy in Iran. And on our weekly segment, ‘Sippin’ the Political Tea,’ Farai is joined by Michelle Singletary, financial columnist at The Washington Post and Bryan Greene, Vice President of Policy Advocacy at the National Association of REALTORS®, to break down how inflation and rising interest rates affect homeownership.

This week, we’re offering another political remix of some of our most enlightening political conversations to provide context ahead of the 2022 Midterms. We bring back Farai’s interview with Tara Setmayer CNN political commentator and contributor to ABC News on why she chose to break her loyalty with the Republican party. Then, Farai speaks to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton about the fight for D.C. Statehood and Yamiche Alcindor, anchor and moderator of Washington Week on PBS and Washington Correspondent for NBC News on lessons from covering the Trump era. And on the weekly segment Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai is joined by Errin Haines, founder and editor-at-large for The 19th and April Ryan, political analyst and The Grio’s White House correspondent to process the guilty verdict for former officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, police reform, and the early days of the Biden-Harris administration.

This week, we’re spotlighting a powerful voting bloc: Generation Z. First, Farai interviews Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Democratic nominee for Florida’s 10th Congressional District, about how his Afro-Cuban identity and work as an organizer and musician help shape his political platform and views. Then Farai is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and host of MSNBC’s “Into America” Trymaine Lee who shares what he’s learned about the political interests of young Black voters attending historically Black colleges and universities in his new series, “The Power of the Black Vote.”

This week, Farai speaks with reporter and WAPT-TV news anchor Troy Johnson on Jackson, Mississippi’s recurring water crisis, and why catastrophes like this so often happen in communities of color. Then, we share again Farai’s conversation from April with Carmen Yulín Cruz, former mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, about how she guided her people through the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. And on our weekly segment, Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai is joined by Kim Wehle, law professor and advisor at Protect Democracy and Tammy Patrick, Senior Advisor to the Elections program at Democracy Fund to discuss election security ahead of the 2022 midterms.

This week, we’re re-airing some of Our Body Politic’s most noteworthy and illuminating political interviews from the past two years. In preparation of the 2022 Midterms, we’re looking at how some of the most pressing political issues continue to shape our nation by revisiting conversations with key public officials like New York Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James, who shares insights on holding Jan 6 insurrectionists accountable, scholar Geraldo Cadava, who breaks down the history of Hispanic Republicans, and Bertica Cabrera Morris, a longstanding Republican organizer and businesswoman. We also hear from U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawai’i who shares how being the only immigrant in the U.S. Senate shapes her politics, and Wes Moore, the current Democratic nominee for governor of Maryland, who shares how his ancestors’ experience with white supremacists and his service in the U.S. military inform and inspire his political career.

This week, Farai interviews Dr. Sayu Bhojwani, civic entrepreneur and founder of Women’s Democracy Lab, about what it takes to create a more inclusive democracy and what current intraparty tensions reveal about the election field ahead of the midterms. Then, we re-air a conversation from “One With Farai” featuring Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry and her 2011 book “Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America.” And in this week’s segment of ‘Sippin’ the Political Tea’, Farai interviews Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs and Hagar Chemali, foreign policy expert and host of “Oh My World!” on YouTube, about the death of Queen Elizabeth II amidst the United Kingdom’s energy crisis.

This week on Our Body Politic, creator and host Farai Chideya interviews Anita Kumar, longtime reporter and first-ever senior editor of Standards & Ethics at POLITICO, on the 2022 midterm elections landscape. Farai and Kumar delve into how issues like political violence and extremism, abortion rights, and even media coverage are playing for the upcoming elections. Then, Farai interviews Carmen Rita Wong, writer, journalist, finance expert and author of the new memoir “Why Didn’t You Tell Me?” Wong candidly shares how discovering a series of family secrets surrounding her heritage led her to re-examine her race and culture, while also forging a path for discovering and living as her most authentic self.

This week on Our Body Politic, creator and host Farai Chideya interviews Bryan Greene, consulting producer on the Oscar-winning documentary, “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” and Vice President of Public Advocacy at the National Association of REALTORS. Farai and Greene discuss how events like the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival serve as opportunities for Black Americans to thrive in the face of social and housing discrimination. Then in our series, “Our Body Politics Presents…” we feature the podcast Truth Be Told with host Tonya Mosley who interviews author and scholar Dr. Marcia Chatelain and founder of Feed Our Soul Adrienne Wilson about how Black Americans are seeking and achieving equity by decolonizing their relationship to food.

This week, Farai interviews Steven Thrasher, LGBTQ scholar, journalist and author of “The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Diseases Collide.” Thrasher offers insights from his new book on how systematic marginalization determines who is most affected by public health crises like HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and now – monkeypox. Then, Farai speaks to Howard Polskin, president and founder of “TheRighting,” a newsletter, site and social media feed that compiles and disseminates far-right political commentary to cross pollinate the divided media audiences in the U.S. and combat disinformation in the news.

This week, Our Body Politic celebrates its 100th episode. Host Farai Chideya 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, host Farai Chideya interviews longtime TV and film producer and now co-director of the Sundance award-winning documentary Aftershock, Tonya Lewis Lee and one of the film’s featured subjects, reproductive justice advocate Shawnee Benton-Gibson. Benton-Gibson’s daughter died in October 2019 after giving birth – one more fatality in a long epidemic of Black maternal mortality. Farai also speaks to Lewis Lee one-on-one about how her work in media and experience as a children’s author led to her work as a maternal health advocate. Then, in our weekly segment Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai interviews legal analyst and NYU Law professor Melissa Murray and University of Pennsylvania Ph.D History candidate Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon about the impact and implications of the highly politicized conviction of WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia.

This week, Our Body Politic re-airs a timely episode from November 2021. Host Farai Chideya talks with author and China expert Leta Hong Fincher about how feminists face up to the country’s authoritarian regime and the similarities with gender-equality struggles in the U.S. Sixto Cancel, CEO of the non-profit Think of Us, shares his experience in the foster care system and what their organization is doing to reform it. Chef Kia Damon explains why she prefers the term “food apartheid.” On Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai dives into the details of saving for retirement as Black women with Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post and Gwen McKinney of the media platform Unerased: Black Women Speak.

Is friendship truly the greatest gift of life? This week, Our Body Politic guest host and acclaimed radio journalist Celeste Headlee interviews psychologist, educator and author of the forthcoming book Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make– and Keep– Friends, Dr. Marisa Franco, who shares insights on the mental and physical benefits of social interactions and community building and how in times of loneliness, people are prone to inadvertently sabotage these critical bonds. Then, Headlee speaks with award-winning journalist and TV critic Eric Deggans about how the legacy of racism and exclusion and its continuation in fantastical mega-franchises like Star Wars serves to threaten any future fandoms, as newer generations are increasingly diverse.

This week, Farai interviews New York Times bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims on what adulthood— or “adulting”— looks like for millennials and Gen Zers, and how generally we can all live with more authenticity in her new book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult. Then in the weekly segment, Sippin’ the Political Tea, we revisit an enlightening conversation about abortion access for Black women and girls between Farai, Georgetown law professor and OBP legal contributor Tiffany Jeffers, and UC Irvine law professor, Michelle Goodwin.

Who deserves and enjoys access to “America the Beautiful?” This week OBP guest host and veteran broadcast journalist Celeste Headlee interviews Baratunde Thurston, writer, activist and host of the new six-part PBS series, America Outdoors, about the new series and how we can collectively increase diversity in outdoor recreation and lean into more sustainable practices in nature. Then in the weekly segment, Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai speaks to Washington Post opinions columnist and OBP contributor, Karen Attiah and public defender for Legal Aid Society of New York and political commentator, Olayemi Olurin about the latest news in the Jan 6 Committee hearings, President Biden’s alleged tactics to address high gas prices, and the controversy around Senator Tiara Mack twerking on Tik Tok.

What does the movement for workplace equity and inclusion look like today? This week, Our Body Politic guest host and acclaimed radio journalist Celeste Headlee interviews Reshma Saujani, CEO of Girls Who Code on her new book PAY UP: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It’s Different Than You Think) and how equal pay for moms is the next frontier. Then, Headlee speaks to author and Franklin Covey inclusion and bias thought leader, Pamela Fuller, on how unconscious bias continues to plague workplaces and what might be done about it.

This week, Farai is joined by Washington Post investigative journalists and co-authors, Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa to talk about their new biography His Name is George Floyd and why they chose to document George Floyd’s life, legacy, aspirations and the systematic marginalization that derailed him from the American dream. Then Farai interviews writer and visual artist, K. Ibura about her debut youth novel, When the World Turned Upside Down, that explores overcoming adversity with the help of community during racial reckonings and COVID. And on the weekly segment Sippin’ the Political Tea, Breya Johnson of the Black Women’s Health Imperative joins Farai to discuss the fallout of the Supreme Court decision on abortion rights and what it means for all women and birthing people.

This week, Our Body Politic presents a special episode where Farai exclusively speaks to former Watergate prosecutor, legal expert and MSNBC analyst Jill Wine-Banks about the House Select Committee’s investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Wine-Banks offers insight into the shocking evidence that is coming out of the ongoing public hearings, the real life harm election officials are facing across the country due to disinformation, and answers OBP listeners questions surrounding the proceedings and what the outcome could mean for the future of U.S. democracy.

This week, Our Body Politic honors politics and pride, 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.

This week, Farai speaks to the filmmakers of a new documentary The Big Payback Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow along with a key voice from the film founder and executive director of FirstRepair, Robin Rue Simmons. The film follows the growing movement for reparations for centuries of government policies blocking Black wealth. Then in the “Our Body Politics Presents…” series, we feature a conversation between “This Day in Esoteric Political History” podcast hosts Jody Avirgan, Nicole “Niki” Hemmer, and Kellie Carter Jackson with special guest Jelani Cobb, New Yorker writer, about the evolving language used to describe Black Americans. Plus, in our weekly segment, Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai speaks to Mutale Nkonde, CEO of AI for the People and Kelsey Butler, equality reporter for Bloomberg News about the growing presence and impact of disinformation online and how the government could effectively intervene and curb it.

This week, we are revisiting some of OBP’s most joyous interviews starting with Farai’s conversation with two publishers of color, Elizabeth Méndez Berry, vice president and executive editor at One World, an imprint at Penguin Random House, and Lisa Lucas, senior vice president and publisher at Pantheon and Schocken Books on celebrating the work of BIPOC authors and critics. Then public health professionals and sisters Nilufar Kayhani and Nazineen Kandahari share the inspiration and beauty behind starting the Afghan Clinic, an online space that serves the health needs of fellow Afghans. Farai then speaks with Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro, about finding joy in the great outdoors and encouraging others to do the same. And in the weekly roundtable Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai talks with fellow women of color journalists, S. Mitra Kalita, founder and publisher of Epicenter NYC, and Jenni Monet, CEO of URL Media and author of newsletter Indigenously about what it means to identify as women of color and why identifying as one can evoke both personally powerful and political implications.

At Our Body Politic, the impact and experiences of Black women and other women of color takes center stage. This week, Farai interviews award-winning journalist, producer and author Danyel Smith, whose latest book, Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop offers insight into Danyel’s career in music journalism and highlights Black women’s seismic - and sometimes unsung - influence on the world of pop music. Then Our Body Politic presents a conversation between TransLash podcast creator and host Imara Jones and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, producer and actor Janelle Monae. Janelle opens up about the challenges of exploring their queerness in the public eye. And in the weekly segment Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai speaks to licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Riana Elyse Anderson and Girltrek co-founder Vanessa Garrison about health and wellness practices, specifically how to honor and communicate your needs in the wake of mass shootings.