Tavis Smiley
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 9, 2025 • 17min
Ashley Wiley Johnson joins Tavis Smiley
Autism interventionist, author, and Vice President of the Los Angeles Speech & Therapy Center, Dr. Ashley Wiley-Johnson joins Tavis in studio to discuss her latest work on autism and how we can better support people who thrive with differences and clinical disorders.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 9, 2025 • 22min
Robert Primus joins Tavis Smiley
Robert Primus, the recently fired member of the Senate-appointed Surface Transportation Board (STB), discusses his federal racial discrimination lawsuit against the Trump administration as he seeks to return to work.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 9, 2025 • 16min
Mayor Brandon Johnson joins Tavis Smiley
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson returns with the latest on his moral city budget and his new small business initiative.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 9, 2025 • 21min
Dr. Cornel West joins Tavis Smiley
Dr. Cornel West, scholar, leading public intellectual, author, and special contributor, shares his thoughts on Trump receiving the FIFA Peace Prize, his colonial style peace deal with African nations, and more. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 9, 2025 • 40min
Leonard Pitts 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 on the upcoming Supreme Court decision on birthright citizenship, the New York Times lawsuit against the Pentagon, and other trending political news.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 9, 2025 • 40min
Dr. Willie James Jennings joins Tavis Smiley
Dr. Willie James Jennings, author and Yale Divinity School professor, takes us inside Yale Divinity School’s new “eco-theological” residence hall and marks 15 years since the release of his seminal text, “The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race.”Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 9, 2025 • 17min
Oliver Chi joins Tavis Smiley
Oliver Chi, city manager of Santa Monica, California, shares details about the reparations paid to the family of Silas White, the Black entrepreneur whose Ebony Beach Club was seized by the city in the 1950s.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 5, 2025 • 22min
Dr. Cornel West joins Tavis Smiley
Dr. Cornel West, scholar, leading public intellectual, author, and special contributor, shares his thoughts on Trump's mischaracterizations of Black immigrants, why empathy is the new Christian battleground, and more. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 5, 2025 • 17min
Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead joins Tavis Smiley
Award-winning talk show host and Founding Director of the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice at Loyola University Maryland, Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead discusses the upcoming 160th anniversary of the end of chattel slavery this Saturday and how we can prepare for the 100th anniversary of Black History commemorations.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
Dec 5, 2025 • 22min
U.S Rep. Lauren Underwood joins Tavis Smiley
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) gives an update on the pushback against the ICE detention center in her suburban Chicago district and explains how she flipped a traditionally Republican seat.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
