Think Humanities

Foster Ockerman, Jr., a Lexington native, seventh-generation Kentuckian, attorney, and historian passed away in December of 2022. Ockerman appeared at the Kentucky Book Festival multiple times, and, today on the THINK HUMANITIES podcast, we remember him by listening to an interview with him from October in which he shares stories about Lexington and Kentucky. THINK HUMANITIES is made possible by generous support from the Spalding University Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing.

Need a new book to read in 2023? Try The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson! Bill Goodman of the THINK HUMANITIES podcast talks to Kim Michele about The Book Woman's Daughter, which was selected as Kentucky Humanities' 2023 Kentucky Reads selection. The novel will be at the center of statewide conversations on the coming of age, the importance of family, literacy, access to education, and the dangers of stereotyping. For more information, visit kyhumanities.org/programs/kentucky-reads-book-womans-daughter THINK HUMANITIES is made possible by generous support from the Spalding University Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Man Graduate School of Writing.

How do we honor bell hooks? Some of those closest to bell consider how she wanted to be remembered and how they—and the world—continue to mourn and honor her. They explore ways in which we can put bell’s work into action and ensure her legacy continues.

bell’s friends and colleagues, including Linda Strong-Leek and Zillah Eisenstein, dive into discussions of the divine and desire, transformational love, bell’s philosophies, and how she continues to impact the world.

bell’s loved ones, including Crystal Wilkinson and Chad Berry, share bell as they knew her and share stories about how they met bell, her favorite—and least favorite—pieces of pop culture, sharing meals, and bell’s feelings about Appalachia and Kentucky.

Who was bell hooks? On this episode of bell hooks: becoming, being, beyond, we hear from her younger sister, Gwenda Watkins Motley, about bell’s youth in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and the Watkins family dynamics. Colleagues Silas House and Beth Feagan examine bell’s relationships to community, reading, and writing as she grew up and made the decision to move to California.

We're wrapping up our series of reruns with part 2 of Bill Goodman's discussion with William H. Turner, author of "The Harlan Renaissance: Stories of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns." They talked about Turner's book, which was recently nominated for the "Book of the Year" Award from the Museum of African American History and about the process of integration in Kentucky. THINK HUMANITIES is made possible with generous support from the Spalding University Sena Jeter Naslun-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing.

This week we're re-listening to one of our best shows ever, a two-part interview with author William H. Turner. Turner's book is entitled, "The Harlan Renaissance: Stories of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns." Bill Goodman and Turner talk about the book and assumptions and myths about Appalachian African Americans. Tune in next week for part two of their conversation. THINK HUMANITIES is made possible with generous support from the Spalding University Sena Jeter Naslun-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing.

This week we're highlighting some of our best THINK HUMANITIES episodes. Take a listen to this conversation from earlier in the year with L. Scott Miller, a Kentucky folk musician. Bill Goodman talks to him about how he became a folk musician and about other legends of Appalachian and Kentucky folk music. Scott Miller is available to give talks about folk music across the Commonwealth through the Kentucky Humanities Speakers Bureau. For more information and to book a program, visit kyhumanities.org. THINK HUMANITIES is made possible by generous support from Spalding University's Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing.

Over the next few weeks we'll be highlighting some of our best THINK HUMANITIES episodes. Take a listen to this 2020 conversation with Dr. Amy Murrell Taylor, who joined host Bill Goodman to talk about her award winning book "Embattled Freedom: Journeys Through the Civil War's Slave Refugee Camps." THINK HUMANITIES is made possible by generous support from the Spalding University Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing.