One family's matriarch does all she can to honor her late husband's memory, save her son from despair, and support the dreams of her daughter — Is there hope for them, a family who the world is against, a family who already feels death inside the walls of their dwelling? The play: A Raisin in the Sun  The playwright: Lorraine Hansberry LET'S GET LIT!!!  - View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod  Sources for theme discussion: The Lasting Effects of Covenants and...

What would you give for 2.4M dollars? Would you give up everything, and if so, in what order would you choose to abandon your life and everyone in it? One man must quickly decide his answer. What he chooses and what happens next is a story that uncovers the not-so-secret depravity of an entire country. The book: No Country for Old Men The author: Cormac McCarthy  LET'S GET LIT!!!  - View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod   Find Alexis and Kari online:   Instagram...

This episode was first published on April 14, 2022, and it's still one of our favorites.  We return next week with a new episode covering No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. Enjoy! America's Most Wanted was a television show launched by a man who knew what it meant to lose a child forever, in the blink of an eye, to the hands of a monster. He took his pain and helped others find their missing children before it was too late. Today, we discuss how that man, Jon Walsh, lost his son and...

Not all heroes wear capes or have long epic trilogies written about them. Some live quiet lives, doing what they can to protect the most vulnerable. In a small Irish town, one man must choose if he'll become a hero or remain a silent enabler of a horrific system perpetrated by the church of his community.   The book: Small Things Like These The author: Claire Keegan  LET'S GET LIT!!!   - View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod   Find Alexis and Kari...

An enslaved woman on a cotton plantation is considered an outcast by her fellow Africans, and as she comes into womanhood, her problems increase. What will she decide when a new enslaved man, Caesar, invites her to escape? The book: The Underground Railroad The author: Colson Whitehead LET'S GET LIT!!! - View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod Find Alexis and Kari online:  Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod ...

Alexis and Kari are on a well-deserved break this week, so we'd like to share one of their favorite past episodes with you, The LITeratti.  This week's theme, How to Survive a Crisis, is inspired by an amazing non-fic graphic novel, now turned into a film! One girl, the beloved only child of progressive parents, is sent to school in Austria. This is the story of her childhood, growing up in a time of war and revolution. Her parents hope that she'll escape what they see as Iran's oppressive...

Why do you travel? Is relaxation your strongest motivation, or is it a desire to fill your IG feed with enviable photos? Do you look for comfort when abroad? Or do you hunger to taste the culture of others? Would you like to be treated like royalty? Or do you humbly present yourself as a guest in the home of another? One woman shares with us her travel philosophy as she strives to become the first Black woman to visit every country in the world. The woman: Jessica Nabongo The book: The Catch...

When should you give your kids cell phones, and what's the best way to teach a child about technology? We discover the answer in this episode's theme of the week, but first — It is a riveting story of a company that toppled global giants before succumbing to the ruthlessly competitive forces of Silicon Valley.  The book: Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry  The authors: Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff  LET'S GET LIT!   - View...

Do you have what it takes to endure in the wilderness if lost? Chances are you have everything you need to survive in your backpack. In this week's themed discussion, we'll explain how to use your tools to live another day if lost. Share this episode with your hike-loving friend. Then, it's on to our book.    Helena has a loving husband and two beautiful daughters, but there is a deadly secret she's never told them. It is the mystery of her past, who she is and where she's from. When Helena's...

A filmmaker pulls together a writer's unfinished work to reveal truths about racial relations in America.    The writer: James Baldwin  The book: I Am Not Your Negro   LET'S GET LIT!   - View the video podcast here: https://youtu.be/OXCf8CaUJ2Q  Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod; Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using...

One of the most iconic figures of the 21st century faces the impact of a life-threatening conspiracy. After serving his country for decades, Oppenheimer's government proceeded on a campaign to take down this leader and burn his world to the root. This is the thrilling conclusion of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.   The Book: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer   The Authors: Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin   LET'S GET...

A brilliant and ambitious physicist whose connection to communism makes the FBI suspicious pushes through moral dilemmas to become the father of the atomic bomb.   The Book: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer   The Authors: Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin   LET'S GET LIT!   - View the video podcast here: https://youtu.be/OXCf8CaUJ2Q  Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod; Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook —...

You just boarded a flight to New York. There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard. What you don't know is that your pilot's family was kidnapped thirty minutes before the flight. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane. Enjoy the flight. The Book: Falling The Author: T.J. Newman LET'S GET LIT!   - View the video podcast here: https://youtu.be/OXCf8CaUJ2Q  Find...

SEASON 5 IS HERE - and our first book is a doozie!  The year is 1920, and the wealthiest people on earth all belong to one Native American tribe, The Osage Nation of Oklahoma. Soon, a trail of corpses unearths a sinister plot involving greed, murder, and the foundation of the FBI. After a spoiler-filled discussion, we'll break down some of history's most notorious American crime cases.   The Book: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI The Author: David Grann ...

Hi readers! Our fourth season has ended, and we're preparing for year five (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!). In the meantime, we're revisiting our favorite episodes from the past and sharing them again with all of you. This week, we're rediscovering the thrilling heist of Harlem Shuffle by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead.    Looking for something new? Check us out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod Support our show and grab something bookish chic at our...

Hi readers! Our fourth season has ended, and we're preparing for year five (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!). In the meantime, we're revisiting our favorite episodes from the past and sharing them again with all of you. This week, we're rediscovering the book Black Cake, now an Oprah-produced miniseries on Hulu.   Looking for something new? Check us out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod Support our show and grab something bookish chic at our...

Hi readers! Our fourth season has ended, and we're preparing for year five (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!). In the meantime, we're revisiting our favorite episodes from the past and sharing them again with all of you. This week is for the LAMBLY. Mariah Carey is a girl from New York State with Irish and Black American roots. She has a father, mother, brother, and sister but no family.  What she does have is the following: The most weeks at number one on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart for any artist in...

While this season might be coming to a close, the world of literature continues to expand endlessly. With a fifth season on the horizon, we eagerly anticipate unearthing new narratives, unexplored genres, and captivating conversations with authors and bibliophiles alike.   Stay connected with us on YouTube, where we'll share weekly bonus content (https://www.youtube.com/@LitSocietyPod).   To our incredible listeners who have journeyed with us through the pages year after year, thank you for...

Popular obsession with genealogy has some twisted roots. Let's talk about it - but first: An award-winning actress and gladiator receives a call from her parents on a routine afternoon. Their nervous hesitations let her know something is wrong. She turns her car around, drives to the home, and sits in the living of the people she's known all her life as mom and dad, her protectors, her withholding parents. There, in that familiar home, they share a secret that begins to unravel the loose ends...

Two men have formed an unlikely friendship, traveling from place to place, working toward one united dream: Owning their own ranch, a place in the world where they'll belong. This dream becomes their life's purpose, but it is as unreachable as happiness.     The men: George and Lennie The book: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck   LET'S GET LIT!   View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod   Find Alexis and Kari online:  Instagram —...

In a memoir that is part true crime, part horror, a pop princess details how her life was taken captive by her family and how we all just stood by and watched.   The pop princess: Britney Spears The book: The Woman in Me LET'S GET LIT!   View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod   THEME OF THE WEEK SOURCES: PBS:...

SURPRISE! It's a bonus episode!!! Today, we want to share an exciting preview of a Shakespeare podcast we think you will enjoy: Play On Podcasts!  Each episode explores plays from Macbeth to A Midsummer Night's Dream in a way anyone can easily understand, created by some of America's most captivating playwrights, directors, and composers and performed by awarded stage and screen actors. This preview features the one and only Keith David. You know him from classic films such as Barbershop,...

From the streets of Baltimore to the big screen, this actress has done a lot of living. You may have heard about her, read the blogs, and listened to the gossip revolving around her marriage to megastar Will Smith, but this is her life, her story, in her own words.   The actress/mother/daughter/friend/wife/mother: Jada Pinkett Smith The book: Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith   YOU'RE LISTENING TO LIT SOCIETY LET'S GET LIT!   View the video podcast...

The former president of the United States is on a manhunt for his daughter's killers. With the help of current and ex-military and foreign operatives, he will travel half the world for the most significant moment of his life. Will he be successful? Is more at stake in this mission than he realizes? The book: This is PART 2 of The President's Daughter by Bill Clinton and James Patterson YOU'RE LISTENING TO LIT SOCIETY LET'S GET LIT! View the video podcast...