Tavis Smiley
"Tavis Smiley" is the flagship program for KBLA, America's newest progressive radio network and LA's first Black-owned talk station. Broadcast live across southern California on 1580AM and around the world on KBLA1580.com and TuneIn, this podcast presents the best of Tavis Smiley's conversations with activists, influencers, thought leaders, and cultural vanguards.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Reggie and Vincent Calloway joins Tavis Smiley

Reggie and Vincent Calloway join Tavis in the studio to share their new single, “6 Pack,” and reveal whether they ever did get love, peace, happiness, and/or “lots and lots of money” after their most famous hit, “I Wanna Be Rich.”
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Ashley Walters joins Tavis Smiley

Ashley Walters, the Emmy-nominated star of the hit Netflix series “Adolescence,” talks about his critically-acclaimed role as Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe, as well as his feature directorial debut “Animol” and the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan film “Remain.”
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Dr. Cornel West joins Tavis Smiley

Scholar, leading public intellectual, author and special contributor, Dr. Cornel West, shares his analysis on Trump calling for a long-term extension of federalizing police in DC and more.
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Nekima Levy Armstrong joins Tavis Smiley

Renowned civil rights attorney and founder of the Racial Justice Network, Nekima Levy Armstrong, discusses the impact of being in a police state and other trending political stories.
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Nii-Quartelai Quartey joins Tavis Smiley

Nii-Quartelai Quartey joins Tavis Smiley.
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Béchir Sylvain and Jacquil Constant join Tavis Smiley

BĂ©chir Sylvain, the Haitian-American co-star of this summer’s megahit “Jurassic World Rebirth” and this year’s host of the Haiti International Film Festival, joins Tavis in the studio with the fest’s creator Jacquil Constant.Â
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Chris Smalls joins Tavis Smiley

Chris Smalls, founder of the Amazon Labor Union, is back, fresh off the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza where he was arrested by Israel Defense Forces.
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L.A. Mayor Karen Bass joins Tavis Smiley

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass offers her advice for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser about how she can handle and prepare Washingtonians for National Guard troops on the streets.
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Christina Greer joins Tavis Smiley

Political scientist, associate professor at Fordham University and author Christina Greer gives her analysis about what’s next for D.C. as National Guard troops arrive, along with other trending political topics.
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Diane McKinney-Whetstone joins Tavis Smiley

Diane McKinney-Whetstone, acclaimed author, goes inside her latest novel, “Family Spirit: A Novel,” about a Philadelphia family of clairvoyants as they grapple with their “Knowing” — their extraordinary gift passed down through generations.
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Latham Thomas joins Tavis Smiley

Latham Thomas, world-renowned doula and founder of Mama Glow, takes us inside her new audiobook, “Peaceful Parenting: Mindful Meditations for Pregnancy, Parenthood, and Promoting Harmony at Home.”
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Elliot Knight & Uli Latukefu joins Tavis Smiley

Elliot Knight and Uli Latukefu, co-stars of the new Amazon Prime series “Countdown,” stop by the studio to celebrate their show’s success and reflect on their previous projects, like Uli’s role in “Young Rock.”
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Traci A. Curry joins Tavis Smiley

Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Traci A. Curry, director of the new NatGeo series “Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time,” takes us back 20 years ago this month in her five-part documentary executive produced by Ryan Coogler.
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Leonard Pitt Jr. joins Tavis Smiley

Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and Director of The Center for Urban Journalism at Morgan State University, Leonard Pitts Jr, gives his analysis about Trump's D.C. takeover and other trending political news.
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Lula Washington joins Tavis Smiley

Lula Washington, founder and artistic director of the Lula Washington Dance Theatre, talks about their upcoming celebration of 45 years of socially conscious dance, resistance, and legacy at The Ford in Los Angeles.
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Fred Redmond joins Tavis Smiley

Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American labor official in history as Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, says we’re in the middle of another Hot Labor Summer with a big Boeing strike, a beautiful bus tour, and bad Black unemployment numbers.
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Julie Su joins Tavis Smiley

Julie Su, the former acting Secretary of the U.S. Labor Department, takes us inside the July jobs report and gives us a human reality check on how AI will impact our working lives.
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Dr. Cornel West joins Tavis Smiley

Scholar, leading public intellectual, author and special contributor, Dr. Cornel West shares his analysis about the Trump administration’s proposal for a $1B settlement with UCLA and more.
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Adolph Reed, Jr. and Kenneth W. Warren joins Tavis Smiley

Adolph Reed, Jr., Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, and Kenneth W. Warren, University of Chicago English professor, share their new book which drops this month, “Black Studies, Cultural Politics, and the Evasion of Inequality: The Farce this Time.”
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Mark Cuban joins Tavis Smiley

Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana University alum, gives his take on Elon Musk's America Party and his pitched battle with Big Pharma.
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Kellie Easton joins Tavis Smiley

August is National Wellness Month and the President of Action4Equity, Kellie Easton, talks about The Better Ancestors Framework and how we can shift from a healthcare system grounded in structural racism to one grounded in healing and justice for everyone.Â
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Dr. Cornel West joins Tavis Smiley

Scholar, leading public intellectual, author and special contributor, Dr. Cornel West, talks about new developments in Gaza, the racist roots of redistricting, and more.
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Dr. Robert Drummond joins Tavis Smiley

Physician scientist Dr. Robert Drummond joins Tavis to unpack the latest move by Trump HHS secretary RFK Jr. to cancel $500 Million dollars for vaccine research.
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Mustafa Santiago-Ali joins Tavis Smiley

Executive Vice President of the National Wildlife Federation and Founder/President of Revitalization Strategies, Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, talks about the EPA’s decision to abandon science and the law as it guts regulation of climate pollution.
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Willa Robinson and Ryan Sorrell join Tavis Smiley

Willa Robinson, retired owner of Willa’s Books, and Ryan Sorrell, founder of the Kansas City Defender, tell us how her iconic store will live on as a local newsroom and public archive.
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Michael Steele joins Tavis Smiley

Michael Steele, former Republican National Committee chair and co-host of “The Weeknight” on MSNBC, is back to explain why the current threat to the Voting Rights Act is coming from inside his own party.
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Mondaire Jones joins Tavis Smiley

Mondaire Jones, U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner, reflects on today’s 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and shares why he co-authored the John Lewis Act when he served in Congress.
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Marcus Anthony Hunter & Rodericka Applewhaite join Tavis Smiley

Professor of African American Studies at UCLA and writer Marcus Anthony Hunter gives his analysis about the future of the Voting Rights Act at 60. Rodericka Applewhaite, former Director of Black Media for the Biden-Harris adminstration and now VP of Media Relations at Focal Point Strategy Group, is back to reflect on a profoundly different political landscape since her time inside the White House.
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Marique Moss joins Tavis Smiley

Marique Moss, Afro-Indigenous educator, cultural strategist, and small business owner, takes us inside her delicious debut book, “Sweetgrass and Soul Food: A Memoir in Poems,” which even comes with its own soundtrack!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68gSmGehcZVfX6tnD78874
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Basil Watson joins Tavis Smiley

Basil Watson reveals the inspiration behind his sculpture of escaped slave and South Carolina lawmaker Robert Smalls, which will become the first statue of a Black individual in the State House.
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Michael Fauntroy joins Tavis Smiley

Associate Professor and Founding Director of The Race, Politics, and Policy Center at George Mason University, Dr Michael K. Fauntroy talks about Trump's attack on diversity and Black leadership at George Mason University and the Voting Rights Act at 60 years old.Â
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Victoria Chege joins Tavis Smiley

Victoria Chege, one of the thousands of federal employees who were laid off via email last February, tells us why her TikTok protest videos are gaining traction and how these cuts will devastate services in Black communities.
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U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) joins Tavis Smiley

U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) unveils his “bicameral, bicoastal” resolution to recognize August 11, 2025, as “Hip Hop Celebration Day” and responds to the latest news from Capitol Hill.
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Lindsey Stewart joins Tavis Smiley

Lindsey Stewart, Black feminist philosopher and an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis, talks about her new book, "The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine and 400 Years of Black Women's Magic" and how Black women's ancestral spiritual beliefs forged a secret well of health and power for modern America.
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Mayor Eric Adams joins Tavis Smiley

New York City Mayor Eric Adams joins Tavis to talk about the midtown Manhattan shooting, his re-election campaign and Housing Week in NYC.
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Dr. Cornel West joins Tavis Smiley

Public intellectual, professor and author Dr. Cornel West shares his thoughts about the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and why we must know the truth, regardless of attempts to delete history.
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Katrina vanden Heuvel joins Tavis Smiley

The Nation magazine's editorial director and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel gives her analysis about the future of public broadcasting, Gaza and other trending political topics.
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Marc Morial joins Tavis Smiley

Marc Morial, former New Orleans mayor and now president of the National Urban League, tells us why Black America is in a State of Emergency with the Trump administration.
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John E. Jacob joins Tavis Smiley

John E. Jacob, former president of the National Urban League and author of his new memoir, “I Will F.E.A.R. No Evil,” takes us back to 1980 when candidate Ronald Reagan addressed the Urban League’s convention, two days after his seminal Philadelphia, Miss. speech.
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Fmr. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush joins Tavis Smiley

Former U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) joins Tavis from the studios of WVON in Chicago to talk about the new memorials and walking tour honoring the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, which he found with Fred Hampton.
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