Slate Race and Identity

Environmentalism has long been viewed as a preoccupation of white, educated, affluent voters. But climate change disproportionally impacts communities of color. Now a new generation of activists is building political awareness around environmentalism in the Black community. That’s part of the mission of the Hip Hop Caucus, a group that’s been working for decades to activate young voters around climate justice as a civil rights issue. On today’s episode of A Word, Hip Hop Caucus leader Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. joins host Jason Johnson to talk about the impact of environmental policy on Black Americans, and how to harness political power around the issue.Guest: Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr., chief of the Hip Hop CaucusPodcast production by Kristie Taiwo-MakanjuolaWant more A Word? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/awordplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. healthcare system can split the country into two Americas.Your zip code, education, class status and more all play a role in the outcome of your health as well as the kind of care you receive. Fewer markers more clearly define these disparities than race. On this week’s episode of Well, Now Maya and Kavita talk about racism in American healthcare with Dr. Uché Blackstock. Her new book Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine gives a historical view of how racism has always played a role in U.S. healthcare. This book is also a memoir of her own experience as a physician carrying on the legacy of her late mother, Dr. Dale Gloria Blackstock.Health Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Health in Her HUE Irth App Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The American obsession with categorizing people by race isn’t just a problem for our institutions. For multi-racial and multi-ethnic Americans, it can be intensely personal. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by journalist Natasha Alford. She shares her own unique experience navigating America’s complicated ideas about race in her new book, American Negra: A Memoir. Alford shares how her African American and Puerto Rican heritage shaped her understanding of race in her early life, and how those ideas were challenged when she attended Harvard University and later became a journalist.  Guest: Natasha Alford, author of American Negra: A MemoirPodcast production by Kristie Taiwo-MakanjuolaWant more A Word? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/awordplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shotspotter lost a huge contract and some face when Chicago opted out of its partnership with the gunfire-identification tech company. Why can’t new policing tech seem to break the old patterns and problems?Guest: Jim Daley, investigations editor at South Side WeeklyWant more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The promise of artificial intelligence in medicine is that it can reduce the influence of human error and bias in health care. But there’s growing concern that A.I. in medicine –as in other fields– can reflect the biases and lack of diversity among its creators. And that can have life threatening consequences for African American patients. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Margo Snipe, a health reporter for CapitalB News. They discuss how A.I. can sometimes fuel medical racism, and reasons to hope that it can change.Guest: Margo Snipe, health journalist for CapitalB NewsPodcast production by Kristie Taiwo-MakanjuolaYou can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1989 murder of Carol Stuart in Boston became a national story, fueled by anxiety over urban crime. The city’s police broke down doors in the Black community, strip searched dozens of Black and brown men on the street, and arrested a Black suspect. Then Stuart’s husband was exposed as the killer. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Boston Globe associate editor Adrian Walker, who hosts the Murder in Boston podcast about the infamous case. They discuss the history of racial tension that led up to crime, and the lasting consequences for the families of the victim, the killer, and the wrongfully arrested Black suspect.Guest: Adrian Walker, host of the Murder in Boston podcastPodcast production by Ahyiana AngelYou can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthony Davis, a Pulitzer Prize winning opera composer, discusses the inspiration behind his opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X and the diverse genres he drew from. The podcast also explores creative career pivots, finding inspiration through eavesdropping, and their mutual love of science fiction.

A generation of activists –and well-meaning citizens– was pulled into intense social justice work by the murder of George Floyd in 2020. And the horrific crime, the fight for progess, and the backlash has taken a toll on their mental health. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo about her new book, Be a Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World--And How You Can, Too. It’s the collected wisdom of activists across a range of issues about how to do the hard and emotional work of confronting racism without losing hope.Guest: Writer Ijeoma OluoPodcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support for a “two-state solution” has been declining among both Israelis and Palestinians for years. If it’s time to give up on that plan, what’s the alternative? Guest: Dov Waxman, professor of political science and the director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas is one of the 24 states that has passed the CROWN Act. “CROWN” stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, and these laws are supposed to stop discrimination against Black people who wear their hair in natural styles. But high school senior Darryl George has been fighting suspension for months over his dreadlocks. The issue is now set to be decided in court in February. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Jennifer Wyatt Bourgeois, a professor at Lone Star College in Texas, and a research fellow at Texas Southern University’s Center for Justice Research. They discuss the specifics of Darryl George’s case, and why the CROWN Act in Texas seems to be falling short. Guest: Professor Jennifer Wyatt Bourgeois of Lone Star College in TexasPodcast production by Kristie Taiwo-MakanjuolaYou can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices