The Black Studies Podcast

40 Episodes
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By: Ashley Newby and John E. Drabinski

The Black Studies Podcast is a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Johanna F. Almiron - Scholar and Critic
#133
Last Friday at 2:00 PM

This is Brie Gorrell and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today’s conversation is with Johanna Faith Almiron, a longtime educator, organizer, and scholar currently based in Nyack, New York, and...


Bonnie Thornton Dill - Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Maryland
#132
Last Wednesday at 2:00 PM

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today's discussion is with Bonnie Thornton Dill, Dean and Professor Emeritus at University of Maryland. Shel was appointed Dean of th...


Eola Lewis Dance and Jennie K. Williams - Kinfolkology Project, Howard University and University of Virginia
#131
Last Monday at 2:00 PM

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Eola Dance and Jennie K. Williams, co-founders and directors of the Kinfolkology proj...


André Brock, Jr. - School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology
#130
05/23/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today's conversation is with André Brock, Jr., who teaches in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Institute of...


Stephanie Shonekan - Dean of Arts and Humanities, University of Maryland
#129
05/21/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Stephanie Shonekan, who is Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at U...


Kojo Damptey - Musician and School of Social Work, McMaster University
#128
05/19/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Kojo Damptey, a musician and scholar who is completing doctoral studies in the...


Corey D.B. Walker - Dean of the School of Divinity, Wake Forest University
#127
05/16/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Corey D.B. Walker, who is Dean of the School of Divinity at W...


Sharon Harley - Department of African American and Africana Studies, University of Maryland
#126
05/14/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today's conversation is with Sharon Harley, who teaches in the Department of African American and Africana Studies at University of Ma...


Paul Joseph LĂłpez Oro - Program in Africana Studies, Bryn Mawr College
#125
05/12/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Paul Joseph López Oro, who teaches in and is the director of th...


Tahirah Akbar-Williams - Research Librarian, University of Maryland
#124
05/09/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


M. Keith Claybrook - Department of Africana Studies, California State University, Long Beach
#123
05/07/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Theodore R. Foster III - Department of History, University of Louisiana, Lafayette
#122
05/05/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Theodore Foster III, who teaches in the Department of History, Geography, and Phil...


Jessica A. Newby - Department of History, Johns Hopkins University
#121
05/02/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


M. Shadee Malaklou - Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Director of The bell hooks Center, Berea College
#120
04/30/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with M. Shadee Malaklou, who is Chair of and teaches in the Department of W...


Ula Taylor - Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, University of California, Berkeley
#119
04/28/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today’s discussion is with Ula Taylor, who teaches in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Univ...


Matthew Simmons - Program in African American Studies, University of Alabama, Birmingham
#118
04/25/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Matthew Simmons, who teaches in the Program in African American Studies at Univ...


Blair LM Kelley - Department of American Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
#117
04/23/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today’s discussion is with Blair LM Kelley, who is Joel R. Williamson Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies at the Univ...


Alexis Pauline Gumbs - Poet, Scholar, and Troublemaker, Durham, North Carolina
#116
04/21/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today’s discussion is with Alexis Pauline Gumbs, a scholar and poet living and working in Durham, North Carolina. In addi...


Kelli Morgan - Founding Executive Director, Black Artists Archive
#115
04/18/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Kelli Morgan, who is Founding Executive Director of the Black Artists Archive in D...


Charles Athanasopoulos - Department of African American and African Studies, Ohio State University
#114
04/16/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Charles Athanasopoulos, who teaches in the Department of African American and African Stud...


Marisa Parham - Department of English, University of Maryland
#113
04/14/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Marisa Parham, who teaches in the Department of English at University of Mary...


Kesewa John - Department of History, Goldsmiths University
#112
04/11/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Kesewa John, who teaches in the Department of History at Goldsmiths University in L...


Serie McDougal - Department of Pan-African Studies, California State University, Los Angeles
#111
04/09/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Serie McDougal, who teaches in the Department of Pan-African Studies at California Stat...


Marlene Daut - Departments of French and African American Studies, Yale University
#110
04/07/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Marlene Daut, who teaches in the Departments of French and African American Stud...


Charlene Carruthers - Department of Black Studies, Northwestern University
#109
04/04/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Charlene Carruthers, who is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Black Stud...


Michele Reid-Vazquez - Department of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies, Bowdoin College
#108
04/02/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Michele Reid-Vazquez, who teaches in the Department of Africana Studies at Bowdoin Coll...


Courtney R. Baker - Department of English, University of California, Riverside
#107
03/31/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Courtney Baker, who teaches in the Department of English at University of Cali...


Alexander Weheliye - Department of Modern Culture and Media, Brown University
#106
03/28/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today's discussion is with Alexander Weheliye, who teaches in the Department of Modern Culture and Media at Brown University. He is...


LaTaSha Levy - Department of Afro-American Studies, Howard University
#105
03/26/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with La TaSha Levy, who teaches in the Department of Africana Studies at Howa...


Stacie McCormick - Department of English, Texas Christian University
#104
03/24/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today's discussion is with Stacie McCormick, who teaches in the Department of English, Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies, and Women an...


Derrick White - Department of African American and African Studies, University of Kentucky
#103
03/21/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Derrick White, who teaches in the Department of African American and Africana Stud...


Jeffrey Ogbar - Department of History, University of Connecticut
#102
03/19/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today's discussion is with Jeffery Ogbar, who teaches in the Department of History at the University of Connecticut where he is...


Ashley Smith-Purviance - Department of African American and African Studies, Ohio State University
#101
03/17/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Ashley Smith-Purviance, who teaches in the Department of African American and African Stud...


Brie Gorrell, Ashley Newby, and John E. Drabinski - Departments of Africana Studies and English, University of Maryland
#100
03/15/2025

This is Brie Gorrell and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, graduate and undergraduate students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is between myself, Ashley Newby, and John Drabinski, hosts of The Black Studies Podc...


Sharon P. Holland - Department of American Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
#99
03/14/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Sharon P. Holland, who teaches in the Department of American Studies at Univ...


Marisa Fuentes - Department of History and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Rutgers University
#98
03/12/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today's discussion is with Marisa Fuentes, who teaches in the departments of History and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Ru...


Fred Moten - Department of Performance Studies, New York University
#97
03/10/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Fred Moten, who teaches in the Department of Performance Studies at New York...


Abdul Alkalimat - Department of African American Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
#96
03/06/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Abdul Alkalimat, Professor Emeritus in the Department of African American Studies at Univ...


Martha S. Jones - Department of History, Johns Hopkins University
#95
03/04/2025

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.

Today's discussion is with Martha Jones, who is Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. Sh...


Zebulon Miletsky - Department of Africana Studies, Stony Brook University
#94
02/28/2025

This is John Drabinski and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today’s conversation is with Zebulon Miletsky, who teaches in the Department of Africana Studies at Stony Broo...