Tavis Smiley

40 Episodes
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By: KBLA Talk 1580

"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.

Val Whitting joins The Tavis Smiley Show with Guest Host Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey.
Today at 6:14 AM

Former WNBA player, two-time Stanford national champion, and mental performance coach, Val Whitting, shares guidance on how athletes, especially women and girls, can build their confidence and performance to overcome mental health challenges.

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Valentino Dixon Joins The Tavis Smiley Show with Guest Host Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey
Today at 6:10 AM

Formerly incarcerated visual artist, aka the Prison Picasso, Valentino Dixon, tells his story of being in prison for 27 years, unjustly, and how he turned the tragedy of incarceration into the triumph of artistry and entrepreneurship.

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Kelley Robinson joins The Tavis Smiley Show with Guest Host Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey
Today at 6:05 AM

President of the Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Kelley Robinson, talks about their Let’s Get Free initiative, discrimination, and more.

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Sharon Kyle joins The Tavis Smiley Show with Guest Host Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey
Today at 6:03 AM

Publisher of The LA Progressive, civil rights advocate, and former law professor, Sharon Kyle, breaks down when politicos say “cultural issues,” what they really mean about race and power.

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Jonathan Collins & Richard Fowler joins The Tavis Smiley Show with Guest Host Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey
Today at 5:57 AM

Co-director of the Politics and Education program at Teachers College at Columbia University, Jonathan Collins, and FOX News contributor and journalism professor at Georgetown University, Richard Fowler, give their analysis about the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting and other trending political topics with special guest host Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey.

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Aida Mariam Davis Joins The Tavis Smiley Show with Guest Host Danielle Moodie
Yesterday at 6:31 AM

As America celebrates its 250-year anniversary, social justice organizer, DEI expert, and author of Kindred Creation: Parables and Paradigms for Freedom, Aida Mariam Davis shares her insights about how Black people can respond, resist, and recover during this pivotal moment.

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Prentis Hemphill Tavis Smiley Show with Guest Host Danielle Moodie
Yesterday at 6:30 AM

Therapist, organizer, and author of What It Takes To Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change A Whole World, Prentis Hemphill talks about how we can process the collective grief from the horrific tragedies of the murder-suicide in Virginia and the mass shooting of children in Louisiana.

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A.B. Burns-Tucker Joins The Tavis Smiley Show with Guest Host Danielle Moodie
Yesterday at 6:27 AM

Attorney, political commentator, and social media influencer, A.B. Burns-Tucker talks about trending political topics with guest host Danielle Moodie.

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Tavis Smiley Honors Prince
Last Thursday at 10:09 PM

Insightful conversations with thought leaders, opinion makers, celebrities, authors and artists. Plus, socially conscious commentary that challenges listeners to re-examine the assumptions they hold, and expand their inventory of ideas.

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Aaron Regunberg joins J. Johnson
Last Thursday at 3:12 AM

Aaron Regunberg, co-host of Fighting Fascism, the new podcast from The Nation magazine, explains who they will be featuring, what the Democratic Party could do about it, and lessons from FDR and the New Deal.

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Mike Sargent joins J. Johnson
Last Thursday at 3:11 AM

Mike Sargent, founding member of the African American Film Critics Association & Black Film Critics Circle, is back to assess the cultural impact of the new Michael Jackson film and previews the summer movie season, which is nearly upon us.

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Dr. Jill Stein joins J. Johnson
Last Thursday at 3:09 AM

Dr. Jill Stein, former Green Party presidential candidate, joins guest host, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, with an update on the Green Party’s surge in the U.K. and the progressive perspective on the conflicts with Iran, Venezuela, and potentially Cuba.

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General Carter Ham joins J. Johnson
Last Thursday at 3:06 AM

Gen. Carter Ham (Ret.), the former second commander of U.S. Africa Command, gives his global threat assessment, particularly if the Pakistan negotiations between Iran and the U.S. do not go ahead.

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Chuck Hagel joins J. Johnson
Last Thursday at 3:03 AM

Chuck Hagel, former Defense Secretary under President Barack Obama, joins his fellow cabinet colleague and guest host, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, with an insider’s take on the conflict with Iran, potential negotiations in Pakistan, and dissent within the Republican Party.

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Mayte Garcia joins Tavis Smiley
04/21/2026

Former wife of the transformative artist Prince and founder of Live4Love Charities, Mayte Garcia joins Tavis in studio to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the passing of the musical legend.

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Jeh Johnson joins Tavis Smiley
04/21/2026

Jeh Johnson, former Homeland Security secretary under President Barack Obama, gives his take on the sustainability of the Department of Homeland Security and why he believes Congress has to stop with these funding fights.

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Amber Littlejohn joins Tavis Smiley
04/21/2026

Attorney and minority business advocate Amber Littlejohn talks about the struggles of Black entrepreneurs opening dispensaries and equitable justice, as she works to reduce arrests and imprisonment for non-violent cannabis offenses.

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Dr. Cornel West joins Tavis Smiley
04/21/2026

Author, scholar, leading public intellectual, and special contributor, Dr. Cornel West gives his insights about social justice, political and spiritual matters facing America and beyond.

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Marcus Anthony Hunter joins Tavis Smiley
04/21/2026

Marcus Anthony Hunter, professor, founding chair of the Department of African American Studies at UCLA, and author of Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation, discusses his efforts to ensure accountability for the reparations movement in Washington State and gives his analysis on trending political topics.

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Blair Underwood joins Tavis Smiley
04/16/2026

Blair Underwood, the multifaceted, award-winning actor, director, and producer, goes inside his new text A Soldier’s Wife: My Mother, the Marvelous Mrs. Marilyn A. Underwood and reflects on his distinguished career.

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Gloria Purvis joins Tavis Smiley
04/16/2026

Gloria Purvis, senior fellow with the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University and host of The Gloria Purvis Podcast, contemplates the potential impact of the battle between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo on Black members of the Catholic Church.

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Algernon Austin joins Tavis Smiley
04/16/2026

Algernon Austin, director of Race and Economic Justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, returns with the latest economic data on Black folks, including their report Advancing Black Workers in the South: An HBCU Research Initiative and their “Majority Agenda” policy package.

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Rep. Chris Rabb joins Tavis Smiley
04/16/2026

Progressive Pennsylvania State Rep. Chris Rabb returns with an update on his campaign for Congress and shares how the party can move forward from the infighting between centrist and progressive Democrats.

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Ruben Navarrette joins Tavis Smiley
04/16/2026

Nationally syndicated columnist and writer of the Navarrette Nation on Substack, Ruben Navarrette, gives his analysis about the political impact of Trump’s feud with the Pope and other newsworthy topics

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Martin Luther King III joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Martin Luther King III is back to reflect on his father’s assassination 58 years ago this month, his speech “The Other America,” and the new push to increase homeownership in Black communities, as we highlight the signing of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

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Matt Duss joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy and former foreign policy advisor for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), gives his take on the political death of a far-right European dictator, the Coalition of the Unwilling when it comes to Iran, and other top stories of the week.

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Susannah Heschel joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Susannah Heschel, professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College and daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, discusses the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement on her life and how those lessons can be applied today.

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Dr. Donna Adams-Pickett joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

This week we celebrate Black Maternal Health with Dr. Donna Adams-Pickett, renowned OB/GYN and founder of the Augusta Women’s Health and Wellness Center in Georgia, highlighting the urgent need for awareness, advocacy, and action around maternal health disparities.

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Arwa Mahdawi joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Arwa Mahdawi, columnist for The Guardian, author of Strong Female Lead: Lessons from Women in Power, and creator of the viral satirical website Rent-A-Minority, shares her thoughts on how we can remove Trump from office if we can’t use the 25th Amendment, and other political topics.

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Tonika Lewis Johnson joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Tonika Lewis Johnson, award-winning photographer, social justice artist, and MacArthur Fellow, audits the history of America’s racist real estate practices such as land sale contracts, overtaxation, and the Black tax.

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Steven Dean joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Steven Dean, Boston University law professor, helps us “celebrate” tax day with his most recent text, Racial Capitalism and International Tax Law: The Story of Global Jim Crow.

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Ben Crump joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Ben Crump, national civil rights attorney, talks about the uphill battle of banning no-knock warrants, the Henrietta Lacks case settlement, and more.

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Retired Major General Dana Pittard joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Retired Major Gen. Dana Pittard is back with straight talk about the Strait of Hormuz and the military safeguards in place if a U.S. president with cognitive issues has his finger on the button.

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Bill Kristol joins Tavis Smiley
04/15/2026

Bill Kristol, editor-at-large for the center-right publication The Bulwark, and a co-director of the advocacy organization Defending Democracy Together, returns with his analysis about Trump surrendering to Iran and other trending political topics.

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Jenique Jones joins Tavis Smiley
04/13/2026

Jenique Jones, executive director of the global organization WhyHunger, joins Tavis in studio to explain why hunger is not inevitable and how wage equity, profit reinvestment, and updated poverty thresholds could strengthen food security.

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Dr. Angela Simms joins Tavis Smiley
04/13/2026

Dr. Angela Simms, assistant professor of sociology and urban studies at Barnard College–Columbia University and former legislative analyst for the Bush and Obama administrations, goes inside her new text, Fighting for a Foothold: How Government and Markets Undermine Black Middle-Class Suburbia.

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Shawn Harris joins Tavis Smiley
04/13/2026

Shawn Harris, former Democratic candidate for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, may have lost the special election but talks about the wins he helped make for Democrats in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former district.

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Dr. Cornel West joins Tavis Smiley
04/13/2026

Author, scholar, leading public intellectual, and special contributor, Dr. Cornel West gives his insights about the Trump administration’s attack on anti-Christian rhetoric, Cuba, and more.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.


Connie Rice joins Tavis Smiley
04/13/2026

Connie Rice, civil rights attorney and co-founder of the Urban Peace Institute, gives her analysis about the Democrats’ call for Trump’s impeachment and other trending political topics.

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Vanity Constance Joins Tavis Smiley
04/13/2026

Community builder Vanity Constance recalls the days when she helped remove the Wilmington, Delaware statue of slaveholder Caesar Rodney - and what it means that the Trump administration will put it on display in Washington, D.C. this summer. 

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