Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 74

The Federal Prison System is in Crisis

'An ongoing Associated Press investigation into the Federal Bureau of Prisons is uncovering rampant employee misconduct, coverups, under-staffing and neglect across the agency's 122 prisons. We speak with The Marshall Project reporter, Keri Blakinger, and president of the AFGE Local 506 union for correctional officers, Joe Rojas, about the corruption and abuse and how that impacts the lives of employees and incarcerated people.'

Stephanie Hsu on “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

'Everything Everywhere All At Once is in a genre all its own—you could call it sci-fi-martial-arts-family-drama.  Stephanie Hsu plays both Joy, an angsty teen-ager struggling with her immigrant mother, and Jobu, an omnipotent, interdimensional supervillain.  “The relationship between Evelyn and Joy in its simplest terms is very fraught,” Hsu tells Jia Tolentino.  “It’s the story of a relationship of a daughter who’s a lesbian who is deeply longing for her mother’s acceptance … but they keep chasing each other around in the universe and they can just never find one another. Until of course they launch into the multiverse and become nemeses”.'

Listening Party: Leyla McCalla's 'Breaking The Thermometer'

'On her new solo album, Breaking The Thermometer, former Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters bandmember Leyla McCalla explores the history of Radio Haiti, the country's first independent radio station and one of few to broadcast in Haitian Creole. Along with original acoustic compositions and traditional Haitian songs, McCalla includes personal interviews and radio broadcasts to tell the station's story. McCalla joins us for a Listening Party.'

Study Finds Many American Mayors Face Political Violence

'Recent results from a survey conducted by the Women Mayors Network indicates that nearly all mayors report experiences with threat and harassment. The problem is particularly acute for women and women of color mayors. We speak with Heidi Gerbracht, Founder and director of the Equity Agenda and Co-founder of the Women Mayors Network, about what this reveals about the health of our democracy.'

The Cartoonist the US Right-Wing Political Establishment Loves to Hate

'If you’ve been online, and especially on Twitter, then you probably know the name Eli Valley and his brushy drawings that use the grotesque and absurd to make larger points about life, culture, and politics. But it wasn’t until the Trump administration that the New York City-based cartoonist was propelled into the public spotlight. Valley was attacked by a wide range of politicians, particularly Republicans, including Meghan McCain, who called the comic he drew of her “one of the most anti-Semitic things I have even seen.” McCain is not Jewish, and Valley is, not to mention that his father is a rabbi. In this conversation, Hyperallergic asked Valley to tell us about how he got his start in comics, how he builds on the long history of satire and graphic humor in the Jewish American tradition, and how he copes with the public spotlight while he struggles to survive as a full-time artist.' 

‘They just give me the mic and point the way:’ Shirley Caesar Remains the Queen of Gospel

'You may recognize some of the big names in gospel music like Kirk Franklin and Yolanda Adams, but these stars follow in the wake of the Queen of Gospel: Durham-native Pastor Shirley Caesar. Host Leonda Inge talks with Pastor Caesar about her experience during the pandemic and coming home to perform in Raleigh, North Carolina.'

LARB Radio Hour: Margo Jefferson's 'Constructing a Nervous System'

'Writer and critic Margo Jefferson joins Kate Wolf to speak about her latest book, Constructing A Nervous System: A Memoir. A formally inventive and exacting assemblage of personal history and deliberation that delves into Jefferson’s familial legacy, her battles with depression, and the oppressive construct of the model minority, the book is also a cultural reflection. It touches on such subjects as Ella Fitzgerald, Bud Powell, Ike Turner, and Willa Cather, especially as they manifest in the author’s conception of herself. With a kaleidoscopic sense of voice, Jefferson enacts here the constant toggle of the self, from the harshness of the superego to the curiosity, pain and enthusiasm of the child and most of all, the ingenuity of the writer.'

'Black Girl Songbook' – Alpha Girl: Ella Mai | Chapter 31

'Ella Mai takes Black Girl Songbook host Danyel Smith through her journey as an artist, from sitting in her room in London releasing music via her social media pages through the moment her hit song ‘Boo’d Up’ broke wide open, to penning her latest project.'

Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes: Yaba Blay

'Many Lumens host Maori Karmael Holmes sits down with close friend Dr. Yaba Blay, a producer, professor, cultural consultant, self-described “maroon academic,” and author of the award-winning book, One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race. The two discuss beauty and the pressures Black women face to conform, how to step out of the isolation and rigidity of the academy, and finding your way through time and geography.'

The Creative Process: Treva B. Lindsey, PhD · Black Feminist Historian · Author of America, Goddam: Violence, Black Women & The Struggle for Justice

'Treva B. Lindsey, PhD is a Black feminist historian and Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at The Ohio State University. She is the recipient of several prestigious fellowships including the ACLS/Mellon Scholars and Society Fellowship, The Equity for Women and Girls of Color Fellowship at Harvard University, and The Woodrow Wilson Career Enhancement Fellowship. Lindsey is the founder of the Transformative Black Feminisms Initiative at Ohio State and the co-founder of Black Feminist Night School at Zora’s House in Columbus, Ohio. Her latest book entitled America, Goddam: Violence, Black Women, and The Struggle for Justice explores contemporary violence against Black women and girls and how they mobilize to halt violence against them.'