On this episode, Marc is in conversation with author, journalist, and film producer, Todd Brewster. The two discuss their book Seen and Unseen Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice. They explain why they decided to collaborate on this project, why this book is important, and Marc has some fun torturing Todd with Buy it, Borrow it, Burn it.
May 03, 2022•46 min
On this episode, Marc is in conversation with Assistant professor of English and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, Jesse McCarthy. The two discuss Jesse's book of essays Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul? Jesse explains why he decided to introduce these essays that he has been working on since 2014, the role hip hop has in these essays, and Marc has some fun torturing Jesse with Buy it, Borrow it, Burn it.
Jun 14, 2021•49 min•Season 1Ep. 35
On this episode, Marc talks with internationally celebrated writer, radio journalist, organizer and inspiration for the prison lawyers movement, Mumia Abu-Jamal; who has been incarcerated for 40 years. Over a period of several months the two discussed the effects prison has on writing and being creative, the lack of access prisoners have to books and what role reading fiction has on the mind.
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 34
On this episode, Marc sits down with Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies, Anthea Butler to unpack her book White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. The two dive into what it means to be an evangelical and the power and clout they have, writing about faith in public, and Marc has a little fun at Anthea's expense with Buy It, Borrow It, Burn It.
May 03, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 33
On this episode Marc talks with organizer, educator, curator and NYT Best Selling Author Mariame Kaba sit down to discuss Mariame's new book; We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice. The two unpack abolition organizing, the origins of the penitentiary, the prison industrial complex and what justice reform truly means.
Mar 15, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 32
On this episode, Marc talks with New York Times bestselling author, speaker and podcast host, Luvvie Ajayi Jones. The two unpack her new book, Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual; and discuss the ideas of "how to be" "firing yourself", and asking for what you deserve. Also, Marc puts Luvvie in the hot seat for Buy It, Borrow It, Burn It.
Mar 09, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 31
On this episode, Marc is in conversation with assistant professor of English and African diaspora, Dr. Regina Bradley. The two dive into her new book, "Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip Hop South" and unpack the cultural impact of southern rap, why one chapter in the book took years to finish; and Marc gives Regina some tough choices for Buy it, Borrow it, Burn it!
Feb 22, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 30
On this episode, Marc is joined by Israel-Palestine expert Mitchell Plitnick, the co-author of Marc's new book, Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics. The two discuss why it was important to write this book, and dive into policies and politics of Israel-Palestine.
Feb 15, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 29
On this episode, Marc is in conversation with scholar-activist, public speaker, and cultural consultant, Dr. Yaba Blay; discussing the rerelease of her book "One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race". The two unpack the origins of the "one drop" rule, why the first edition of the book was difficult to get published, and Marc tortures Dr. Blay in a game of "Buy it, Borrow it, Burn it."
Feb 08, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 27
On this week's episode, Marc is in conversation with professor of neuroscience and psychology at Columbia University, Dr. Carl Hart; discussing his book "Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear". Dr. Hart discusses his views on drug use and liberty; and explains why they don't go hand and hand. He is transparent about his personal drug use, and shares his beliefs on why we should consider revising our view on illegal drug use in the US.
Feb 01, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Marc sits down with Rutgers professor and New York Times contributing critic at large, Salamishah Tillet to discuss her book; "In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece". The two discuss how she came to write about "The Color Purple", the cultural impact of the novel, and Salamishah lands in the hot seat for a game of "Buy It, Borrow It, Burn It."
Jan 25, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 25
On this episode, Marc is in conversation with businesswoman and television personality, Bevy Smith. The two dive into her new book "Bevelations", discussing why and how she walked away from a six figure job to live the life she ultimately wanted, the importance of saying "no" when an opportunity looks good but isn't really for you, why you should be Beyonce instead of Destiny's Child, and Bevy discusses what 3 books helped shaped who she is today.
Jan 18, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 24
On this episode, Marc welcomed back Assistant Professor and poet, Nate Marshall to discuss Nate's book, "Finna" a collection of poems, a first for Coffee and Books. Marc and Nate explore the themes of "Finna, including masculinity, community and family, and the role of Black language. Also, Nate gives Marc some advice on how to write a "good" poem.
Dec 21, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 24
In this episode, Marc is in conversation with intersectional body liberation advocate, author, speaker, and researcher, Dr. Lindo Bacon. The two discuss what it means to have a liberated body, how Lindo's language has changed around the term "body positivity, and having a marginalized gender identity.
Dec 14, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 23
On this episode, Marc is in conversation with New York Times Best Selling author, professor, and friend and mentor to Marc, Michael Eric Dyson. The two dive into Michael's new book; "Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America." They discuss what Michael's goal was in writing the book, cancel culture, and Marc challenges his mentor to a tough game of Buy it, Borrow it, Burn it!
Dec 07, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Alicia Garza and Marc discuss her book "The Purpose of Power" and her experiences in organizing, leading, and activism is general, and the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Nov 30, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 21
On this episode, Marc is conversation with Assistant Professor and poet Nate Marshall, along with the Uncle Boobies team to discuss former President Barack Obama's new book; A Promised Land. They dive into the importance of this book to independent bookstores, why this memoir was necessary for Obama to write, and how this book stacks up against other presidential memoirs.
Nov 23, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Marc and Kiese discuss Kiese's decision to reissue his book How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America. Kiese reveals his motivation for reissuing the book with six new additional essays, how little he got paid for his first publishing deal, thinking he would never live to see people read his art, and how a popular book written by Toni Morrison taught him to "see".
Nov 16, 2020•50 min•Season 1Ep. 19
On this special episode of Coffee and Books, Marc dives into what motivated him to write his latest book; "We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest and Possibility." He is interviewed by his friend, and fellow New York Times Best selling Author, Mychal Denzel Smith. The two break down the book and the importance of why Marc wrote the book in this current climate. Also, Mychal gets a shot at revenge when the tables are turned on Marc for the tortuous Buy It, Borrow It, Burn It.
Nov 09, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Marc unpacks the groundbreaking book Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus with Columbia University professors Jennifer Hirsch and Shamus Khan, they discuss the widespread issue of sexual assault on college campuses.
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 17
On this special episode of Coffee and Books, the 55th Anniversary of the release of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Marc examines the cultural significance of this piece of literature with oral historian and educator, Zaheer Ali. The two unpack what impact the book has had on their personal lives, Alex Haley and Malcolm X's process for writing the book, and what the enduring legacy of the autobiography will be.
Oct 26, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 16
On this episode of Coffee and Books, Marc talks with professor Bettina Love. The two discuss her book; We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom. Marc and Bettina discuss how comedy and fiction impact her nonfiction writing, what book changed everything for her, and why she identifies as a writer more than an author.
Oct 19, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 15
On this episode, Marc is in conversation with New York Times Best Selling author, Assistant Professor, activist and cultural critic, Brittney Cooper. The two discuss her book, Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower and dive into what the term "eloquent rage" means, and how she "owned her anger"; criticism of Beyoncè, what we book(s) we can expect from her next and a torturous, but oh so fun game of Buy It, Borrow It, Burn It.
Oct 12, 2020•57 min•Season 1Ep. 14
This is a special episode of Coffee and Books with the Uncle Bobbie's team, which is the coffee shop and bookstore that Marc owns. The group discusses the impact Covid had on Uncle Bobbie's and how they were able to pivot, the most sought after books at the store that you should be reading, and they discuss highly anticipated upcoming book releases.
Oct 05, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 13
This week, Marc is in conversation with New York Times best selling author, Mychal Denzel Smith, dissecting his recent book; Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream. The two examine the American identity...who we think we are versus who we actually are, when Mychal first identified as a writer, and also Marc puts Mychal through arguably the most difficult, but wildly fun "Buy It, Borrow It, Burn It" yet!
Sep 28, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 12
On this episode, Marc is in conversation with historian and Harvard professor, Fredrik Logevall discussing his new book; JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956. Fredrik discusses why it was important to him to write this book on the early years of JFK prior to his presidency, Fredrik's impressive writing process, and for the first time we hear Marc's choices for Buy It, Borrow It, Burn It, in addition to Fredrik's choices!
Sep 21, 2020•57 min•Season 1Ep. 11
On this episode, Marc is in conversation with travel writer and political consultant, Stuart Stevens discussing his book, It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump. The two dive into why he calls race the original sin of the republican party, how he tried to get some republicans to run against Trump to take votes from Trump, and what "escape" he would choose if he ever found himself to be stranded on a deserted island.
Sep 14, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 10
This week, Marc goes on a journey with historian, legal scholar and professor of history at Johns Hopkins University, Martha S. Jones. Martha discusses her new book, Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All. The two explore the importance of her book being released in the current times, her writing process, and why she would choose fact or fiction if she was stranded on a deserted island.
Sep 07, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 9
This week, Marc is in conversation with author Fatima Bhutto, discussing her fiction novel “The Runaways”. Fatima reveals why she doesn’t write for a particular audience, her hopes for “disturbing” readers with her writing, and why her love for “The Great Gatsby” may not be what it used to be.
Aug 31, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 8
On this episode, Marc discusses the prolific career of go-to ghostwriter, David Ritz. Marc and David dive into David’s career that has spanned over 45 years, and consists of over 60 books, ten of which have appeared on bestseller lists. David recounts ghostwriting for the likes of Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye, talks about his somewhat controversial book on Aretha Franklin, and also what hip hop artists he’d like to work with in the future.
Aug 24, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 7
