Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 82

Georgia at the Intersections: Housing Affordability

'Over the past year, Atlanta’s median home prices have increased nearly 24  percent and according to the real estate brokerage firm Redfin -- Atlanta home purchases have been particularly targeted by investors- which means flipping and reselling for even higher prices.  As housing prices rise, the city’s racial demographics are also shifting.  White residents coming to Atlanta have vastly outnumbered the arrival of new Black residents, a reversal of trends from previous decades, when Black residents made up the majority of Atlanta's population.  The Takeaway spoke with Jim Burress, a WABE reporter who's been covering Atlanta’s housing market for nearly 14 years and Bambie Hayes-Brown, CEO of Georgia Advancing Communities Together, an organization representing non-profit housing and community development groups in Georgia.'

The Whiteness of Wealth: Dorothy Brown on How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans

'All Of It speaka to former tax attorney and professor of law at Emory University Dorothy A. Brown, who's also author of the book, The Whiteness of Wealth. The book touches on how racial biases in the tax code can often limit people of color from building generational wealth.'

The Peculiar Physics Of The Wiffle Ball

'Shall we play a game - of Wiffle Ball? Invented in 1953, this lightweight alternative to a baseball is perfectly suited for back yard romping. The design of the Wiffle ball guarantees that you don't need a strong arm to throw a variety of pitches. But how does that happen? Jenn Stroud Rossman, mechanical engineering professor at Lafayette College, tells Emily Kwong and Maddie Sofia about the surprising science behind the Wiffle ball's wicked curve.'

Samora Pinderhughes: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

'The opening piano notes are barely sufficient warning to brace for the sweet and powerful voices that transport us to Samora Pinderhughes' Tiny Desk (home) concert. "The Cry" heralds our journey into the Bay Area native's sophomore album, GRIEF. The vocalists move briefly out of frame for "Masculinity," a probing, open letter that addresses masculine stereotypes with directness and compassion. The song blooms beautifully, with Pinderhughes accompanied by strings, a background chorus, and his sister, renowned flutist Elena Pinderhughes. Between tunes, Pinderhughes greets us and shares that the setting for this Tiny Desk (home) concert is his exhibition, "The Healing Project," at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Five years in the making, the project explores trauma and healing from structural violence with conversations, film, music and art created by incarcerated artists, including the artist Pitt Panther.'

The Limits with Jay Williams | Rapper Denzel Curry On His New Measurement of Success: Peace of Mind

'Denzel Curry brought his rage to rap. For years he's been known for taking a crowd and turning it into a moshpit. It was his way of taking his internal pain and expressing it. These days, though, Denzel is looking inward and so is his music. Now his mission is to find peace, and he wants the rest of us to find it too.  Denzel pioneered the Soundcloud rap movement, but the death of his friend, XXXTentacion, made him reconsider his own relationship to fame. In this episode of The Limits with Jay Williams, Denzel talk about the pressures of fans and how to take care of oneself once you become an icon.'

Janelle Monáe's 'Dirty Computer' Comes Alive in a New Collection of Stories

'Our memories, our dreams and our emotions — these are the parts of us that exemplify our humanity. But in Janelle Monáe's new collection of short stories, The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer, those are the things that contaminate us — they make us "dirty." The Afrofuturistic world of Dirty Computer, first explored in Monáe's Grammy-nominated album from 2018, now fills the pages of a new book. Co-written with authors Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, Eve L. Ewing, Yohanca Delgado and Sheree Renee Thomas, the five fictional narratives find Black and queer protagonists grappling with how to embrace their full selves in a world set out on erasing their individuality. Monáe spoke to NPR's Weekend Edition about the nightmare that sparked the sci-fi world of "Dirty Computer," the oppressive revolution her characters live under, and creating art in a way that feels authentic.'

Code Switch: A Makeup Company Gets a Facelift

'Today, if you are a woman of color and you're searching for makeup that will complement your skin tone, you have plenty of options. Step into any big-box beauty store, like Sephora or Ulta, and you'll see a dazzling array of foundations from palest bisque to deepest, darkest brown. But it wasn't always that way. This is the story of an African American company that was formed to fill a niche market; how that company soared to success and then became complacent about its success. How it eventually disappeared. Then, how it reentered the market just last fall, when what it had once offered was no longer unique. That company was – and is again – Fashion Fair cosmetics.'

In Her Shoes: Zazie Beetz

'How does a lady go from "breakout star" to established actress? In Her Shoes' Lindsay Peoples sits down with the star of Atlanta, The Harder They Fall, and Deadpool 2, Zazie Beetz, to talk about that journey, avoiding burnout along the way, and the joys of facing fear head-on.'

Powered by Breath and Electronics, Tuba Player Theon Cross Plays to Win

'Theon Cross is a stunning tuba player, a member of Mercury-nominated group Sons Of Kemet, and a central figure on London’s new music scene. He’s also just released a solo album full of inventive ways of processing and extending the tuba’s sound, while drawing on Caribbean music, grime, jazz, and the city’s spoken word scene.  He and his quartet offer live, instrumental versions of some of those songs for the Soundcheck Podcast. On his latest album, Intra I, there are TWO tubists, his teacher Oren Marshall, and himself, along with guest vocalists Remi Graves, Shumba Maasai, Afronaut Zu, Ahnansé, Consensus. Cross speaks to how he pushes his sound with processed tuba, exploiting all the technological tools that he can get his hands on, in addition to beat displacement for more unpredictable rhythms.'

How To Make A Yummy Vegan "Duck" Curry With Chef Charlise & Comedian Dean Edwards

'Dean Edwards, who considers himself a part-time vegan, chats with Chef Charlise aka @Vegan Soulicious about some of his favorite vegan meals as the two whip up a delicious pot of mock duck curry filled with eggplant, ginger root, tomato paste, and a bevy of delectable ingredients.' -- MadameNoire