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When our host Brittany Luse first heard of The Woman King – a film about an all-women warrior unit defending the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the years of the Atlantic slave trade – the idea made her nervous. Hollywood's record with Black historical dramas is pretty checkered. But then she saw it. -
For a long time, Dungeons & Dragons was stereotyped as a game for nerdy young white guys in their parents' basement. But not anymore — the game has exploded in popularity and players of all backgrounds are joining in. Guest co-host Andrea Gutierrez talks to Jasmine Bhullar and Persephone Valentine, both content creators and dungeon masters, about how D&D has become an exciting medium for marginalized people to tell new kinds of fantasy stories.
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Fangirls often don't get taken seriously in pop culture. But in her new book, Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It, culture reporter Kaitlyn Tiffany explores just how much fangirls have shaped online life. -
In FX's Reservation Dogs, Dallas Goldtooth plays the character "Spirit" — a Native American warrior in feathers and buckskin who curses and makes dirty jokes. Dallas also brings his irreverence to the frontlines of protests against oil pipelines.
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We don't often think of Hawaii and the Korean peninsula as having any kind of shared history. But author Joseph Han disagrees — and he makes the case in his debut novel Nuclear Family.
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These days, it seems everyone wants to be an influencer. But as content creators realize that it's a demanding, often short-lived career, they're forcing us to think hard about the future of an industry that's still on the rise.
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Once again, Americans are asking how to end mass shootings. With consensus on gun laws unlikely, some are turning to Hollywood to help change the narrative. Can those who control the levers of culture shift the public's relationship with guns? Guest host Elise Hu speaks with former video game designer and now TV writer Nadra Widatalla about a world where on-screen heroes don't rely on guns.
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Name a Black musician from the 1970s and chances are Bruce Talamon has photographed them. The Jackson 5. Aretha Franklin. Marvin Gaye. Donna Summer. Bob Marley. The list goes on.
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Guest host Juana Summers talks with Danyel Smith about her new memoir, Shine Bright: A Personal History of Black Women in Pop. As a previous editor-in-chief for both Billboard and Vibe magazines, host of the Black Girl Songbook podcast, and longtime music reporter, Danyel uses her expertise to spotlight the stories of pop powerhouses like Gladys Knight, Mahalia Jackson, Whitney Houston, and more.
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With more extreme antisemitic attacks on the rise and more antisemitic rhetoric in the mainstream, antisemitism has become an increasingly pressing issue in the US. But at the same time, the conversation around antisemitism is getting more fraught.
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Guest host Juana Summers speaks with co-authors Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy about their new book, Big Feelings: How to Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay.
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You may see it in the news or on social media. You may be feeling different in your relationships or with your job. The "vibe" has shifted. Our guest host Jasmine Garsd is joined by Elamin Abdelmahmoud, culture writer for BuzzFeed News and host of CBC's pop culture podcast Pop Chat, to learn more about this vibe shift and why we all may be feeling a little off right now.