Some of My Best Friends Are

Chicago poet laureate avery r. young discusses the story behind the podcast's theme song 'Lil Lillie' and how racial justice influences his work. The hosts reflect on their time working on the show and reminisce about their long-standing friendship. They also discuss the impact of music, powerful visual and performance art, the power and legacy of Emmett Till, and Avery's role as poet laureate of Chicago.

Author and TV writer Samantha Irby joins Ben and Khalil to discuss her latest book Quietly Hostile and how she uses comedy as therapy. They also touch on her work on the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That... and explore the challenges of inclusion and racism in TV shows.

The Supreme Court recently issued a decision banning race-conscious admission in higher education. In this episode, Ben and Khalil talk with Anurima Bhargava, who served in the Civil Rights Division of Obama’s Department of Justice focusing on education. Anurima also went to high school with Ben and Khalil at Kenwood Academy in Chicago. They talk about what’s great about going to a diverse school, as well as how the conservative movement plotted to get rid of affirmative action and what is lost as a result. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Ben and Khalil are talking about the future of cities. Their guest, Toni Griffin, is an architect, urban planner, and artist. She teaches at the Harvard School of Design, where she leads the Just City Lab, a team focused on community revitalization in city planning. Toni joins Ben and Khalil to talk about centering people in urban design, and her new show at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale that imagines "fantastic futures.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s a special episode from another Pushkin show we love -- The Last Archive. In the 1930s, at a women's reformatory in upstate New York, an upstart social scientist made a study that launched the field of social network analysis. It was revolutionary, but missed something happening at the same time at the same school, something we know now in part from the story of the school's most famous inmate: Ella Fitzgerald. To hear the rest of the season, visit The Last Archive show page on Apple Podcasts, at pushkin.fm, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America is the richest country on earth, and yet we have the highest levels of poverty of any advanced democracy. Why is that? And what should we do about it? Matthew Desmond joins Ben and Khalil to discuss the rousing arguments of his new book Poverty, By America: we are all culpable for this problem, and it’s on us to fix it. Additional links: Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond Correction: Parole, Prison and the Possibility of Change by Ben AustenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben and Khalil take a trip down South to Sewanee University, otherwise known as the University of the South. The school’s history is rooted in the Confederacy, and Ben and Khalil look at how that history belongs to all of America. Through various conversations and excursions, they explore what it means to be Southern, whether that identity can be made more expansive, and why the region defines every American. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. needs no introduction. The man changed the course of American history, and paid the ultimate price for his work. But in Jonathan Eig’s biography, King: A Life, we learn more about his personal life and struggle to overcome his own doubts about the Civil Rights movement. Eig joins Khalil and Ben to discuss his book and the new stories he uncovered from FBI documents about the life of Dr. King. Additional links:King, A Life by Jonathan EigSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The podcast explores the ongoing humanitarian crisis of immigration, discussing current policies and their impact on cities and resources. It also highlights the connection between the climate crisis and immigration, and proposes a more humane and sensible immigration policy. The episode features immigration lawyer and artist Carolina Rubio-MacWright, who shares her advocacy work and the importance of taking action at the local community level.

Jeff Sharlet, experienced journalist and author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, discusses the growing threats of political violence and his belief that we are in the midst of a gradually unfolding civil war. They explore Trumpism, populism, and far-right Christian nationalism, criticize fact-checking methods, and delve into personal experiences from rallies and a church practicing 'war theology'. The podcast also discusses viruses, design, cybersecurity, and the legacy of Harry Belafonte in the fight for racial and social justice.