It's the most wonderful time of the year! April is right around the corner, and we're are gearing up to celebrate a major milestone. That's right! The Vulgar Geniuses will be crossing the threshold of a new year, as we are turning two years old! On today's special episode of the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we fill you in on our plans for a month-long celebration. We're having a party, and you are all invited! There will be giveaways, special podcast episodes, and more!
Mar 30, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 12
After captivating readers with her debut memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi returns with her fifth book, Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times. Nafisi implores the reader to look to the power of literature as America wrestles with censorship in the aftermath of the Trump presidency. In our conversation with Azar Nafisi, she makes her case for us to be diligent in our pursuit of defending our freedom to read books that challenge us, encourage our growth,...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Jason Mott's award-winning novel HELL OF A BOOK is a bold and imaginative story that takes readers through a multidimensional universe where magical realism, humor, and breaking of the fourth wall, examine love and grief. Mott's protagonist embarks upon a book tour, but soon the unnamed author finds himself followed by a young Black boy who may or may not be imaginary. On this episode of The Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we talk with National Book Award winner Jason Mott about writing without constra...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 10
Set in a fictional suburb of New Orleans, THE LAST SUSPICIOUS HOLDOUT dissects the lives of African Americans during the 15 years between the Reagan era to the night before Obama is elected president. Each story finds itself connected by threads of recurring characters exploring the effects of the emergence of crack cocaine in the early 90s to neighborhoods ravaged by gentrification. In this episode, we speak with Ladee Hubbard about the creativity behind this gripping book, her relationship wit...
Mar 11, 2022•59 min•Season 3Ep. 9
LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE took audiences by surprise this year at the Sundance Film Festival. This debut film came from the creative mind of Director and Screenwriter Martika Ramirez Escobar. Combining magical realism and action reminiscent of the 80s, we meet Leonor, a once-prominent name in the film industry, who now finds herself struggling to make ends meet. When attempting to work her way back into the film world, a tv falls on her head putting her in a coma, where she has a dream in which she ...
Mar 07, 2022•56 min•Season 3Ep. 8
IMAKEMADBEATS is standing on the precipice of the dawning of a new day in Memphis, Tennessee. In one hand, he holds a beat machine, and in the other, he has the deed to the most sought-after property known as the Orange Mound Tower, worth $50 million. Music producer, film screenwriter, and community leader, James Dukes, joins us to talk about his award-winning short film THE DEVIL WILL RUN. He also talks about teaming up with fellow Memphian Victoria Jones to bring generational wealth back to Bl...
Feb 28, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In this episode, we speak to New York Times bestselling author and National Book award finalist Ibi Zoboi about her recently released biography 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹 𝑪𝑯𝑰𝑳𝑫: 𝑨 𝑩𝑰𝑶𝑳𝑶𝑮𝑰𝑪𝑨𝑳 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑳𝑳𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 𝑶𝑭 𝑶𝑪𝑻𝑨𝑽𝑰𝑨 𝑩𝑼𝑻𝑳𝑬𝑹. This stunning and imaginative story tells the life of a young Octavia learning to dream beyond the stars to create stories where Black people live in futuristic worlds. Ibi Zoboi's book marries prose and poetry to tell of the extraordinary life of a ...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 6
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 is the newest poetry chapbook from writer Mant¿s (Tyra Jamison). This multifaceted work expands over themes of transformation and liberation, with the Black Femme at the center of each piece. This book comes from the publishing hands of author Deesha Philyaw and artist Vanessa German. In our interview with Mant¿s, we talk about the writers who have influenced their work, the mentors that guided them in helping to begin to define the craft of writing, an...
Feb 16, 2022•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 5
Writer/Director Adamma Ebo & Producer Adanne Ebo debuted their film, Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. this year at the Sundance Film Festival. After a major scandal rocks the congregation at the Wander to Greater Paths Church, Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) and his wife Trinitie (Regina Hall) attempt to bring his flock back home. The Ebo Sisters sit down with us talk about their journey to finding their way behind the camera lens, love for all things anime, and how pivotal growi...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 Frida Liu had a very bad day. After receiving a phone call from the police that her child was in their custody, Frida must explain why she left her 18-month-old baby home alone for two hours. Finding herself in a fight for her child's life, Frida is court-ordered to spend one year in a highly guarded rehab facility to learn how to become a good mother. We speak to New York Times Bestselling author Jessamine Chan about the inspiration behind t...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Malinda Lo, author of Last Night At The Telegraph Club and newly-minted recipient of the 2021 National Book Award, joins us on today's episode. We talk about her highly celebrated novel and the necessity of seeing herself reflected in the books that she writes. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a story of a Queer teenage Chinese American girl in the mid-1950s who falls in love and must now come to terms with the truth about her sexuality, and what this revelation could mean for her relationshi...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 2
On our season 3 premiere, we talk to visual artist and Kentucky Native Noel W. Anderson about his solo exhibit HEAVY IS THE CROWN, now showing at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, Georgia. Anderson’s manipulated images printed on large distressed tapestries, photos, and vintage Ebony magazines advertisements ask us to wrestle with where we stand at the intersection of race and access. This exhibit is part of Telfair Museums’ Legacy of Slavery in Savannah Initiative, a multi-year project to conside...
Jan 12, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 3Ep. 1
As we close another year in this ponderosa dodging Omarion, we bid farewell to 2021. This year taught us to pivot when needed, change what didn't work, and expect the unexpected. We take one final look to see how we did with our 2021 resolutions, talk about our favorite books and interviews, and our hopes for the future. Join us on the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast as we recap the best of 2021!
Dec 31, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 39
It's the last episode of Season 2 of The Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, so we bring you the gifts of all gifts! For our finale, we talked to National Book Award Finalist Robert Jones, Jr., author of the New York Times Bestseller 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒔. This week's interview was recorded live by the Orange County Library System in Orlando, Florida. We sit down with Robert to discuss how after 14 years, he completed one of the most beautiful love stories and necessary novels of our generation. As Marlo...
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 38
In this episode of The Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we talk to young adult author Cristin Bishara about her sophomore novel VIAL OF TEARS. Cristin shares with us the familial connection, and inspiration, behind this novel that begins with her great-grandfather in Lebanon in 1954. Sisters Sam and Rima are transported to the underworld after receiving a magical family heirloom from Lebanon containing a magical burial coin belonging to the immortal god Eshmun. They must battle demons and gods to do all...
Dec 10, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Kiese Laymon is one of our generation’s most prolific writers. His profound voice in American literature beckons us to take account of the areas in our lives that thirst for revision. In our interview with Kiese, we talk about his beautiful work 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 that invites readers to bear witness to Black children learning to love in the deep south where time has no bounds. Kiese also shares with us his most recent encounter with Black Abundance, growing up and going to school in Miss...
Dec 03, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Some of you may find yourself dealing with turkey-induced hangovers or fighting back road rage in black Friday holiday traffic today. But before you crank up Mariah's All I Want For Christmas, spend some time with us as we talk about Netflix's series THE CHAIR. We're joined by our resident academic, Dr. Ginger, to discuss this binge-worthy show. THE CHAIR stars Sandra Oh as Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim, who must navigate her new role as the first woman to be the academic chair of the English Department at Pe...
Nov 26, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi’s newest novel, 𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔, brings us into the mind of Arezu, a young Iranian-American woman who has returned to Spain to confront the ghost of her traumatic past. Manipulated into having an affair at 18 years old with her father’s 40-year-old step-nephew, Omar, Arezu must now contend with the fallout of that crippling summer We speak with Azareen about this soul-stirring, complex novel that watches one’s inner struggle to find peace and healing whil...
Nov 19, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 34
Ayana Gray’s debut novel 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒚 is a splendid and masterfully written story that has sealed its place in our fantasy canon. This pan-African tale takes us to the mythical city of Lkossa, where we meet Koffi, a young indentured woman who is on the brink of learning of the magical gift she possesses. We talk with Ayana about the birth of an idea that became a New York Times best-selling novel. And we speak about the search for identity in fiction as African Americans must recko...
Nov 12, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Dante Stewart's debut memoir 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏' 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒆: 𝑨𝒏 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆 is a story of a young man's transformation as he grapples with the intersectionality of race, the sins of America, and the possibility of radical and necessary change within the Christian church. Stewart's willingness to expose his inner conflict with anti-blackness from his past set him on a metamorphic pilgrimage. Diving into works from James Baldwin, bell hooks, and June Jordan gave him the...
Nov 05, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Tis’ the season for things to go bump in the night, and during this witching hour of the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, we talk to author Isabel Yap about her debut short story collection 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑰 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓. These scary stories intertwine Filipino mythology with the present-day, sure to make readers ask themselves if everything is what it seems. Isabel shares her publishing story, how she chose to integrate topics such as queerness, immigration, and trauma, and how the stories she heard g...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 31
We head back down south to Bogalusa, Louisiana, in our interview with middle grade author Leslie C. Youngblood to talk about her sophomore novel 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓. This story is a follow-up to her critically acclaimed 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑺𝒌𝒚, which tells of two young girls wrestling with a loved one's illness and uncovering secrets that will rock both of their worlds. Leslie C. Youngblood reveals how an encounter with James Baldwin changed her life forever, why she chose to w...
Sep 24, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 30
It's National Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month, and we jump off this year's celebration with a special interview with YA author Daniel Aleman. His debut novel 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 follows Mateo, a gay teenager in New York City who must keep his sister safe after his parents, undocumented Mexican immigrants, are detained by ICE. We talked to Daniel about how he drew upon the stories from his community to help build the moments he created in his novel, the necessity for more narratives to ha...
Sep 17, 2021•48 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Threaded between the Spanish moss trees and buried on the shores of beaches, Dantiel W. Moniz wants the world to know that there are stories in the South. In her debut short story collection 𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒌 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒕, Moniz injects a new way of storytelling by rearranging the preconceived points of view of the human condition. Dantiel joins us on the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast to talk about growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, and how it shaped the stories she wanted to tell. We also delve into ...
Aug 27, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Khalisa Rae brings us to the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in her poetry collection 𝑮𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑨 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍’𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕. Rae’s work dissects her journey from the Midwest to the south as she is confronted with the collective pain inflicted upon those who preyed upon Black bodies. We talk with Rae about the power of language within poetry, her criticism of black girl magic and its ties to the strong black woman archetype, how she came to accept her queerness, and t...
Aug 13, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 27
For the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast, you should know that we will always choose the blackest option, and in this episode, we're joined by the authority of Black culture and Queerness. Storyteller and filmmaker Amber J. Phillips sits down with us to talk about her debut short film 𝑨𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 . 𝑨𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 is a three-part short film exploring the limitations and radical possibilities of identity from the perspective of a jaded politico, Black storyteller, and pop culture enthusiast with...
Jul 30, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Gabriela Garcia’s debut novel 𝑶𝒇 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒕 chronicles the lives of a Cuban matriarchal family line that spans over five generations bringing their story to present-day Miami, Florida. Garcia masterfully examines the mother/daughter relationship through Carmen and her daughter Jeanette, a recovering drug addict. Jeanette takes in a neighbor’s child after witnessing the child’s mother being taken away by ICE. Gabriela Garcia joins us on the Vulgar Geniuses Podcast to talk about ...
Jul 23, 2021•51 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Months before its release, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 was on the tips of everyone's tongues. The thriller debut novel from Zakiya Dalila Harris gripped readers this year and snatched all of our edges. Set in the white-dominated world of publishing, we are introduced to editorial assistant Nella Rogers. Everything changes when Nella meets Hazel-May McCall, the newest employee at Wagner Books. What appears to be a great addition to the workspace becomes a suspenseful trek in microaggres...
Jul 09, 2021•51 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Gina Yashare is the reincarnation of her grandmother Patience, sent to fulfill all of her dreams to live an authentically free life unfettered by men or children. She dreams of making a name for herself in America as a comic, but it will take having to endure the insidious racism of the UK and her loving but strict Nigerian mother to make it all happen. In this episode, Yashere joins us on the show to talk about her debut memoir 𝑪𝒂𝒄𝒌-𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Jun 11, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 23
This week we trade our comfy clothes for trench coats and magnifying glasses as we get lost in the debut mystery novel 𝑨𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒅𝒐𝒃𝒐 by Mia P. Manansala. This delicious deathly novel is the first in the culinary 𝑻𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒆'𝒔 𝑲𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑴𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚 series. Mia speaks to us about how she decided to place food and murder as the major plot points of her novel. She also discusses writing mysteries to give her mom something she would love to read, reflecting on her ...
Jun 04, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 22
