Sherrilyn Ifill still believes in the future. The famed civil rights attorney reflects on her time with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LCD) fighting against systemic racism in the courts. And she also has thoughts about the legitimacy crisis of the Supreme Court.   Credits: Curtis Fox is the producer. Our researcher is Yessenia Moreno. Production help from Kaitlyn Adams and Meg Pillow. Theme music by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugiura. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June Diane Raphael on the psychological challenge of being a woman on TV and film sets, and why she’s leery of being “the good girl.” The comedian/actor/screenwriter/podcaster also talks about everything from menstrual moods to career ambitions. Plus, Roxane recounts the plot of one of her favorite bad movies.   Mentions: “Oh God, A Show About Abortion” https://www.ohgodshow.com/ “Battleship” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440129/ “How Did This Get Made” podcast...

Designer and podcaster Debbie Millman on creativity, vanity projects, and how to inspire people to change. Also, she is Roxane’s wife, and Roxane tells us how they met and fell in love. Mentions: Marcy Dermansky’s novel “Hurricane Girl” http://www.marcydermansky.com/hurricane-girl-book C.J.Hauser’s book of essays “The Crane Wife” https://cjhauser.com/ “The Crane Wife” essay in Paris Review https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/07/16/the-crane-wife/ “Why Design Matters: Conversations with...

Imani Barbarin uses humor and truth to bring attention to the increasingly dire plight of disabled people in America. The pandemic has revealed a broken system that keeps the disabled in poverty. She talks about how she personally deals with the injustice, and what might be done to improve things. Also, what makes a joke a good joke for the disabled?   Mentions: ●     Imani Barbarin’s Tik Tok feed: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/imani-barbarin?lang=en Credits: Curtis Fox is the producer....

Actor, comedian and memorist Cameron Esposito is practicing vulnerability. Here she talks to Roxane about their gender-fluidity, about why performing feels normal for them, and about why it’s important not to be funny all the time.   Mentions: ●     Take My Wife on Starz https://www.starz.com/us/en/series/38334/episodes?season=1 ●     Save Yourself https://www.esowonbookstore.com/book/9781538701362 ●     A Million Little Things https://abc.com/shows/a-million-little-things ●     Rape...

Devotional artist Genesis Tramaine is painting some of the most striking portraits of our time. She talks to Roxane about her process and her practice, and how her faith informs it all. Also, Roxane reflects on her own religious upbringing. Mentions: ●     Recent Gallery Show https://www.alminerech.com/artists/5928-genesis-tramaine ●     Genesis Tramaine’s Instagram Page https://www.instagram.com/genesistramaine Credits: Curtis Fox is the producer. Our researcher is Yessenia Moreno....

Actor, producer and director Numa Perrier is making space for herself. Her autobiographical film “Jezebel,” about a young woman grieving for her mother while working as a cam girl in Las Vegas, breaks new ground in independent cinema for its complex candor. Roxane talks to her about how a girl from a Washington state farm ended up making TV and movies. Plus, Roxane on the hell that is contemporary air travel. Mentions: The Monet-Rothko Exhibit in France...

Cultural critic Margo Jefferson deconstructs her nervous system… or at least explains to Roxane how the culture, not just family, has made her who she is. She talks about her new memoir, which situates cultural criticism alongside personal memories. Also, Roxane reflects on what memoirists reveal, and don’t reveal, to their readers. Mentions: ●     C.J. Hauser’s essay “The Crane Wife” https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/07/16/the-crane-wife/ ●     C.J. Hauser’s memoir “The Crane Wife”...

1980’s movie star Ally Sheedy is back with a plum role in a new TV series. She talks to Roxane about her other careers as an editor and teacher. Plus, Roxane speculates on why The Slap (at the Oscars ceremony) has grabbed so much of our attention. Mentions: ●     Single Drunk Female https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13790652/?ref_%3Dfn_al_tt_1 ●     Ally’s essay on Hollywood sexism that Roxane edited...

Roxane on the pleasures and perils of collecting art, and a conversation with one of the artists whose work she collects. Barbara Kruger came up through the magazine industry, where she applied her editorial design skills in the making of provocative, conceptual images, films and sculptures. She talks about her belated success, and how there’s not just one art world anymore.  Mentions: ●     Barbara Krugers LACHMA exhibit https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/barbara-kruger   Credits:...

How Janicza Bravo turned a hilarious Twitter thread into a hilarious movie. Aziah King’s epic Twitter thread about a road trip gone bad took the internet by storm in 2015. Several years and a pandemic later, Janicza Bravo translated it into “Zola.” Here, she explains some of the creative decisions she made—like not showing the nudity. Mentions: ●     Aziah King’s original Twitter thread....

Sanaz Toosi channeled her anger about the Muslim travel ban into comedy. Her play “English,” set in Iran, explores the lives of an English teacher and her students. She talks to Roxane about the experience of so many immigrants–imperfectly speaking a second language, never fully fitting in. Plus, Roxane reflects on her own parents’ accents. Mentions: ●     “English” at the Atlantic Theater Company. https://atlantictheater.org/production/english/ ●     Eleven Madison Park...

Cerise Castle broke the first extensive investigation about alleged gangs in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in a 15-part series for KNOCK LA. Now, Cerise Castle reports with a bodyguard by her side. Roxane and Cerise discuss the shocking details of Cerise’s investigative series and political, and personal, consequences of her work. Plus, Roxane reflects on the frustrated ambitions of the movement to change the police.  Mentions: ●     KNOCK LA: A Tradition of Violence: The History of...

Dorothy Brown says she got into tax law precisely because it had nothing to do with race. After twenty years of research, Dorothy discovered—and this is going to shock you—the tax system is racist as hell. Roxane and Dorothy explore how the tax code caters to white Americans in almost every way, from home ownership to marriage. Plus, Roxane reflects on the collective responsibility of paying Uncle Sam. Mentions: ●     Dorothy A. Brown: The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System...

Randa Jarrar says her skin is neither thick or thin when it comes to attacks on her writing. Roxane and Randa explore how to stay creative under difficult circumstances. Plus, Roxane reflects on the toll her haters have taken on her and her writing. Mentions: Randa Jarrar’s books: https://randajarrar.com/home/books/ Credits: Curtis Fox is the producer. Yessenia Moreno is the intern. Production help from Kaitlyn Adams and Meg Pillow. Theme music by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugiura. Learn...

Comedian and actress Nicole Byer on the ups and downs and ups of her young career, and why things are looking up for fat, Black performers. Plus, Roxane waxes poetic about her cake catastrophes. Mentions: ●     Killing Eve https://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/killing-eve/seasons/season-1--1010619 ●     Nailed It! https://www.netflix.com/title/80179138 ●     Grand Crew https://www.nbc.com/grand-crew ●     Zola (MOVIE) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5439812/ ●     Big Beautiful Weirdo...

 Crime novelist S.A. Cosby on tragic masculinity, growing up poor, and what he wants people to understand about the South. Plus, Roxane talks about the important escapist pleasures of genre fiction. Mentions: ●     Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250252708 ●     Abbott Elementary: https://abc.com/shows/abbott-elementary ●     The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel....

What do pottery and pot do for Seth Rogen? The writer and actor talks to Roxane about the pleasures of making something that doesn’t matter, the secrets of his longstanding collaborations, and about what he brings to the weed business. Plus, Roxane tells how she got eaten by an edible. Mentions: ●     Euphoria: https://www.hbo.com/euphoria ●     Houseplant: https://www.houseplant.com ●     Yearbook, by Seth Rogen: https://www.yearbookthebook.com ●     Empire Records movie:...

Novelist Terry McMillan set the table for so many Black creative women working today. She tells Roxane about how she became a writer without knowing she was one, and how she continues to write narratives that so many Black women identify with. Mentions: ●     Roxane’s Story “North Country” is in her book Difficult Women: https://roxanegay.com/books/difficult-women/ ●     Terry McMillan’s Website: https://www.terrymcmillan.com/ ●     New York Times article, The Joys (and Challenges) of Sex...

Roxane introduces the new podcast with her former co-host, Tressie McMillan Cottom. They talk about the new year, new endeavors (including a new dog), Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s vacuity, and the real meaning of Morgan Wallen’s mullet. Mentions Tressie's New York Times newsletter: https://www.nytimes.com/column/tressie-mcmillan-cottom Credits: Curtis Fox is the producer. Yessenia Moreno is the intern. Production help from Kaitlyn Adams. Theme music by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugiura. Learn...

 New year, new show. The Agenda kicks off January 25. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Isabel Wilkerson reframes race and racism in her book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Here she talks about what inspired the book and about the craft behind her complex, big narratives. Spoiler: it doesn’t involve outlines. Plus, Tressie and Roxane on why you need to read more than one book about racism. Mentions: Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents Hear To Slay theme music by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugiura. Curtis Fox is the senior producer. Sarah Wyman and Catherine Fenollosa are...

Activist and storyteller Amber J. Phillips on the importance of being who you are, politically and publicly. Also, journalist Brittany Gibson on the breathtaking scope of new Republican voter suppression efforts. Notes:  Articles on voter suppression by Brittany Gibson Amber J. Phillip’s Instagram Hear To Slay theme music by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugiura. Curtis Fox is the senior producer. Sarah Wyman and Catherine Fenollosa are the producers. Production help from Lauren Garcia and...