Stay with me here. You really haven’t heard it all when it comes to talking about race.

CA Davis, host of A Latto Thought. Photo by Joe Martinez Photography.

I imagine that you’ve been signposted to a few podcasts on this subject this year, and the usuals do the rounds – for good reason, we need them. But perhaps you’re tired of ‘learning.’ I get it. I think that we have reached a stalemate when it comes to race-based podcasts, which happens when any subject is thrust into the forefront of our everyday lives in a short space of time.

Following the BLM protests this summer we were overwhelmed with reading lists, more lists on how to be antiracist and podcast recommendations (my own show included). And I did wonder what everyone did with all this information. It was a lot to process. Maybe too much. And now it’s all died down, maybe it’s time to reflect on what content is not only available, but also dynamic and accessible. Podcasting needs to improve the dialogue on race and make the content more diverse, not only in terms of who is hosting, but also in terms of the content they cover. We don’t have too many podcasts on race – but they seem to be at each end of a spectrum with nothing bridging the gap.

We have shows that share personal accounts of racism – the anecdotal stories. We have the heavyweight conversations telling historical accounts of how we’ve got to where we are and what we need to do about it – the serious and instructive shows.

What’s missing is the engaging content that accompanies you through the events that have created the complex structures and misconceptions surrounding race, alongside real stories of people who were affected by these events… without leaving you feeling exhausted by the end of it. If you’ve yet to find a show like this, I’ve found one for you.

CA Davis, Host of A Latto Thought. Image by Joe Martinez Photography.

A LATTO thought is hosted by filmmaker, digital storyteller and producer, CA Davis. CA works at Northwestern University in a small department that supports humanities research and pedagogy. His role is to take professors’ research and locate the stories within their work to create films that both academic and non-academic audiences can enjoy.

CA takes you on a huge ride through some of the most important events in the history of racial stereotyping, including – importantly – contemporary mixed-race misconceptions. In the episode ‘takin’ it back’ you will hear why we have achieved a “false sense of progress” regarding mixed-race people (especially those in positions of power). Our bodies are used as momentary vapours to veil over the truth about how much we have progressed, in part due to the ‘cultural firsts’ such as electing a Black president and a Black female Vice President, or having a Black Royal Family member. Yet, these individuals are mixed-raced. And it’s mixed-race bodies that are wrongly used as markers of a racially progressive society.

In the latest episode ‘kinfolk, not skinfolk’, CA draws you right into the falsehoods of DNA testing until you are rewinding to hear every word. Just as you’ve grasped a new and complex idea, he pulls you right out of feeling comfortable with a thud of a great bassline, witty quip and lighter chat. The balance of sound, narration and the super-high, cinematic production quality, makes it an engaging listen.

A LATTO Thought is stimulating and educational. You’ll finish the show feeling contemplative but energised. That’s a rare thing in this genre of podcasts.

Listen to A LATTO Thought on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on the A LATTO Thought website.

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Lou Mensah founded Shade Podcast to create a safe space for rigorous & inclusive conversations on Representation within the Arts.

Before launching Shade Lou worked on various commissions as a photographer, including stills for Directors Anthony Minghella & Sundance winner Marc Silver plus Mike Figgis; gaining awards for her work from Nick Knight and the late Alexander McQueen.

Launched just over a year ago, Shade Podcast has been received well by both the audience and press. Miranda Sawyer (The Guardian) said of Shade “Every episode gave me something new to think about. Inspiring!” – whilst Esquire has listed Shade as one of the ‘Best 2020 Podcasts you can listen too.”

Season 4 is due to be launched in Jan 2021. Listen on Acast, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. 

Read more reviews by the Pod Bible team.

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Photo from brianjackson.net

The first episode is a reflection on this years Independence Day, which Jackson describes as “One of the most unusual Independence Days ever.” They discuss the disconnect between the national holiday, and the African-American experience. We are led into the 34 minute chat as they read passages from Frederick Douglass’ Independence Day speech “This Forth of July is yours, not mine” as they move on to candidly share their thoughts on education, and how it’s failed children in part by its focus on everything over and above the valuing of the human experience. They both came late to learning about Douglass’, long after their traditional learning experience at school. LaMar muses over this and declares education as the “Mis-education system.”

“They teach you the value of money. They should teach you what real value means.”

The music section follows, focusing in this episode on John Coltrane. The hosts explore their adjacent healing journey’s through Coltrane’s work. LaMar’s situation comes throttling to the fore here:

“You have my body. I’m gonna take this pain and communicate it on the highest level. I can go back to my cell and put on John Coltrane and I’m on a completely different vantage point.”

These conversations are an invitation to explore this reckoning point in our history, honing the lens on the Judicial system which has failed us, and the music that has saved us.

“We’ve got lessons to learn and contributions to make. This was John’s contribution. I just want it to be said that I loved somebody. That’s what John Coltrane is saying.”

Jackson concludes “This universal consciousness that we’ve been through, is the understanding that we are all connected. If there is going to be a next evolutionary step, then this is it.”

As I revelled in the beauty of this conversation, I was pulled right back out of it with a reminder that the recording is taking place through the phone line from a prison. We hear an abrupt “You have one minute remaining” message interrupt the call. LaMar continues “Education strips us of the knowledge that we are connected. Strips us of who we are. To ourselves or each other. That’s the tragedy. We are being reminded of our connection by people like John Coltrane.”

And that was it. The call is cut off with an automated “Thank you for using GTL” (the inmate telephone service) as Jackson wraps the show. The conversations will stay with you, lift you and offer a re-connection with the work of both Coltrane and Jackson. But with the abruptness of that final phone click, a part of me is certainly reflecting on where we are as a society following this year’s resurgence of the Black Lives Matter Movement. As I do so, my heart is right there with LeMar in that cell.

Lou Mensah founded Shade Podcast to create a safe space for rigorous & inclusive conversations on Representation within the Arts.

Before launching Shade Lou worked on various commissions as a photographer, including stills for Directors Anthony Minghella & Sundance winner Marc Silver plus Mike Figgis; gaining awards for her work from Nick Knight and the late Alexander McQueen.

Launched just over a year ago, Shade Podcast has been received well by both the audience and press. Miranda Sawyer (The Guardian) said of Shade “Every episode gave me something new to think about. Inspiring!” – whilst Esquire has listed Shade as one of the ‘Best 2020 Podcasts you can listen too.”

Season 4 is due to be launched in Jan 2021. Listen on Acast, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. 

The post REVIEW // Pieces of a Man with Brian Jackson appeared first on POD BIBLE.

The friend who mentioned Caroline’s show also mentioned Episode 28 specifically, in which the host interviews Danni Mullen, the proprietress of Semicolon Bookstore in Chicago. Over the past month, Semicolon has gained attention not only as a bookstore run by a Black woman, topping lists of Black-owned businesses to support as part of the Black Lives Matter movement, but also because of the store’s charitable work with #ClearTheShelves. This initiative allows school children to come into the store and select books for free, while also providing them the dignity of experiencing a transaction with a receipt upon making their selection.

The conversation between Danni and Caroline covers everything from the attention the store has gotten over the past month to the support the GoFundMe that financially backs the initiative has received. Overall, however, the one word best used to describe the conversation is “uncomfortable”. This is not to say the show isn’t brilliant, the episode isn’t powerful and funny, it’s all of those things and more. But what is important for everyone who listens to take away is how they feel, alone in their homes or their cars, as Danni explains the interactions she and her staff have had as more white patrons come into her store, looking for books by Black authors, about racism, and the things they feel empowered (and also entitled) to say. The shame and second hand embarrassment felt by the listener as she details the ignorant and offensive things these shoppers say is inescapable. Don’t give in to the desire to shut off the podcast; this is important.

It takes a lot of courage on the part of both women to create something like this. As podcast fans, we know that a well-crafted interview is much harder than it looks. What may be even more difficult, however, is to recognise that the measures of a so-called “good interview” are irrelevant when you are confronted with a situation in which something honest is allowed to play out. 

There is nothing cruel or unusual about the interaction between host and guest. It is simply a true conversation between two individuals during a highly electric, emotional and important time. Danni presents her truth, her lived experience and what happens between the stacks at her bookstore, knowing how uncomfortable her host and many of the listeners will become. But this does not stop her because it is not the responsibility of people who experience racism to make people who have benefited from a racist society feel better. Acknowledging this discomfort, existing in it, and then moving forward in a thoughtful and actionable way are all parts of how human beings learn. To Caroline’s credit, she acknowledges how awkward she feels, but she doesn’t cut all of those parts out of the interview. As podcasters, we often value beautiful soundscapes and precise timing over the honesty of painful pauses and the stutter-step of embarrassment. Instead, Caroline envelopes us in it, like an immersion therapy in audio form.

This is not to say the podcast is 50 minutes of being hammered over the head. Danni Mullen has an incredible laugh, and both she and Caroline offer plenty of humour (in particular, her item at the end of the episode had me in tears.) What makes this conversation so real and recognizable is that it contains both bold honesty and fits of giggling. This is how we speak to one another in our everyday lives, because life exists in those moments in between the deeply serious and the levity. Learn your lessons. Hear from people who are different from you. Really listen to what they are sharing with you. Connect over a mutual point of humour. Descend into uncontrolled laughter. Regroup. Support their endeavours. Amplify their voices. And repeat.

Gee Thanks Just Bought It drops new episodes on Fridays on Spotify and everywhere you get your podcasts. Check out their website, their Instagram, or you can follow Caroline on Twitter.

Semicolon Bookstore is located in Chicago, IL. Visit their GoFundMe page to support the #ClearTheShelves initiative.

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