Dec 2, 2025
Hosted by Lissa Jones, the 100th episode is an expansive, deeply moving celebration that honors the elders, the artists, the activists, and the community that built—and continues to fuel—the Black literary tradition.
Highlights include:
• A newly released archival segment featuring J. California Cooper Recorded...
Oct 2, 2025
In Episode #99 Lissa talks with Author Debra J Stone about her new middle grade novel, The House on Rondo (University of Minnesota Press).
Rooted in the lived histories of Minnesota’s Black communities, The House on Rondo offers a deeply personal window into the destruction of a thriving neighborhood through the eyes...
Aug 24, 2025
Adela Woods is sixteen years old and pregnant. Her parents banish her from her comfortable upbringing in Indiana to her grandmother’s home in the small town of Padua Beach, Florida. When she arrives, Adela meets Emory, who brings her newborn to high school, determined to graduate despite the odds; Simone, mother...
Jul 15, 2025
Looking forward to an intriguing summer read, Lissa talks with author Valerie Burns about her latest work.
Packed with a delicious mix of cake, chaos, and crime, Icing on the Murder is a page-turner that’s sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats and leave them craving more!
In this fourth...
Jun 20, 2025
Ink, Identity, and Imagination: Literature as a Catalyst for Black Determination was the plenary discussion for From Resistance to Resilience: The Evolution of African American Reading, The Givens Foundation's Annual Conference held June 3, 2025 at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of...