Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates is arguably the strongest voice of his generation on the role of race and identity in American politics and culture. He’s the author of several books, including “Between the World and Me,” “We Were Eight Years in Power,” and “The Beautiful Struggle,” and the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant and a National Book Award. For this week’s episode, we feature a conversation between Coates and host Jason Johnson, recorded live at the recent Cascade PBS Ideas Festival. They discuss everything from the diss track battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, to the campus protests over the Middle East, to the limits –and necessity– of participating in electoral politics.
Guest: Award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates
Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola
Want 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
Working: A Classic Opera Gets an Overdue Update
John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Time Travel Via an Assortment of Journal Entries
ICYMI: The Ethics of the Therapist-Influencer
What Next TBD: Scarlett Johansson vs OpenAI
Dear Prudence: My Nonreligious Boyfriend Is Meeting My Ultra-Religious Parents. Help!
A Word: Haitian Chaos, American Neglect?
What Next: Diddy’s Reckoning
Culture Gabfest: Can Babes Make Childbirth Funny?
Decoder Ring: Why Are We Still Using Fat Suits?Why Are We Still Using Fat Suits?
Outward: Behind the Scenes of ‘Gays Against Briggs’ with Christina Cauterucci
ICYMI: The Aftermath of a Layoff
Well, Now | “As Little Regulation as Guns”: How Social Media Hurts Youth Mental Health
Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs - Ep. 1: A Hotbed of Homosexuality
Hear Me Out: Colonialism Never Ended
How To!: Confront a Vindictive Neighbor with Tig Notaro (Encore)
Death, Sex & Money: The Night Magic Mushrooms and Jam Bands Helped Me Walk Again
Hang Up: The Wolves Chomped the Champs
Working: A Much-Needed History of Queer Women’s Spaces
Gabfest Reads: Why Americans Care About Animals
John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Moving in New York Twenty Years After September 11th.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Stuff You Should Know
On Being with Krista Tippett
TED Radio Hour
The Turn of the Screw
Great Expectations
Planet Money
The Dinner Party Download