Baldwin & Co. Author Talks

Ibram X. Kendi on Trump, Authoritarianism, and America’s Future

Is American democracy in danger, and what could a third Trump term mean for the nation's future? In this provocative conversation, bestselling author, historian, and antiracism scholar Dr. Ibram X. Kendi sits down with educator and cultural critic Dr. Jerid P. Woods to examine Donald Trump's political influence, the rise of authoritarianism, and the dangerous role of racial fear in American politics. Drawing from his book Chain of Ideas, Ibram Kendi explores how the Great Replacement Theory, attacks on diversity and inclusion, immigration policies, and political propaganda are used to divide Americans and consolidate power. The discussion also confronts the influence of billionaires, the manipulation of elections, and whether democratic institutions can survive growing authoritarian pressures. A timely, thought-provoking conversation about race, power, democracy, and what's at stake for America's future. Order Ibram X. Kendi Books Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9780593978023 Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #IbramXKendi #DonaldTrump #Trump2028 #Authoritarianism #AmericanDemocracy #PoliticalCommentary #USPolitics #RacismInAmerica #GreatReplacementTheory #DemocracyUnderThreat #DEI #PoliticalPropaganda #BaldwinAndCo #BlackVoicesMatter #JeridPWoods

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Ocean Vuong on Capitalism’s Forgotten People and the American Dream

In this powerful conversation, Ocean Vuong and E.M. Tran examine the people capitalism often pushes to the margins—immigrants, refugees, low-wage workers, caregivers, addicts, and elders whose lives rarely fit America’s preferred success story. Through The Emperor of Gladness, Vuong rejects the idea that dignity must come from wealth, upward mobility, or escaping poverty, arguing instead that lives built around work, survival, friendship, and care are worthy on their own terms. He challenges the mythology of the American Dream and asks us to look directly at the people whose labor keeps society moving, even when the systems around them barely see them. Order Ocean Vuong Books Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9780593831892 Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #OceanVuong #TheEmperorOfGladness #EMTran #CapitalismsForgottenPeople #AmericanDream #WorkingClass #WorkingPoor #ImmigrantStories #RefugeeStories #EconomicInequality #Capitalism #ClassInequality #ChosenFamily #MentalHealth #AddictionRecovery #Literature #Books #BookTube #AuthorTalk #WritersOfYouTube #LiteraryFiction #BookDiscussion #NewBooks #BaldwinAndCo #NewOrleans #YouTube #Trending #Viral

What Really Happened After The Knee - Colin Kaepernick, Ryan Clark & Eric Reid

What really happened after Colin Kaepernick took a knee—and how much did the NFL, the media, and even other players work to contain the fallout? In this explosive conversation, Ryan Clark, Colin Kaepernick, and Eric Reid pull back the curtain on the fear, money, pressure, blackballing, media manipulation, and internal resistance surrounding one of the most controversial protests in sports history. Kaepernick and Reid reveal how many players privately wanted to support the movement but were unwilling to risk their careers, while openly discussing the enormous personal and financial price they paid for refusing to stay silent. Nothing is off limits. They discuss NFL owners, powerful incentives, the hijacking of the protest’s message, the players who backed away, the people who worked against them, and why Kaepernick still says he would do it all again. More than a conversation about football, this is a revealing look at what happens when athletes challenge the people who control the money, the platform, and the narrative—and what it really costs to speak when silence would be far more profitable. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #ColinKaepernick #EricReid #RyanClark #NFL #NFLProtest #TakeAKnee #AthleteActivism #SportsAndPolitics #BlackAthletes #SocialJustice #PoliceBrutality #SystemicRacism #Blackballing #FreedomOfSpeech #SpeakTruthToPower #NFLHistory #PlayerPower #SportsCulture #CivilRights #KnowYourRights #Protest #Activism #BlackVoices #UnfilteredConversation #BehindTheNFL #TheTruthComesOut #NothingOffLimits #BaldwinAndCo #BaldwinAndCoMedia #NewOrleans

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I Dare You Deny Black People Reparations After Hearing This! Marcus Anthony Hunter Breaks Down The Fight For Reparations.

Nicki Minaj’s political evolution has sparked a much bigger conversation about fame, power, loyalty, and Black cultural responsibility. Marcus Anthony Hunter and David Johns go beyond the headlines to ask a harder question: what happens when a Black celebrity’s politics begin to clash with the community that helped make them powerful? This is not just a conversation about Nicki Minaj or MAGA—it’s about influence, identity, accountability, and who gets to shape the culture in this moment. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. Order Marcus Anthony Hunter Books Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9780063004733 Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org #MagaMinaj #NickiMinaj #MarcusAnthonyHunter #DavidJohns #BlackPolitics #BlackCulture #CelebrityPolitics #CulturalPower #PoliticalIdentity #BlackVoices #BlackThought #PoliticsAndCulture #CommunityAccountability #BlackIntellectuals #MAGA #TrumpPolitics #CelebrityInfluence #CultureAndPolitics #BaldwinAndCo #BaldwinAndCoPodcast #NewOrleans #BlackLeadership #SocialCommentary #PoliticalConversation #CurrentEvents

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America is Killing Poor People - Economist, Gary Hoover Explains.

The Trump administration just overhauled roughly $4 billion in homelessness funding, shifting emphasis away from permanent housing. Trump-backed changes to SNAP have coincided with about 4 million fewer Americans receiving food assistance. From food to housing, Gary Hoover asks the uncomfortable question behind “America Is Killing Poor People”: when the safety net gets smaller for people already struggling to survive, is poverty really their failure—or ours? Economist Gary “Hoov” Hoover, Executive Director of the Murphy Institute and professor of economics and law, argues that America doesn’t simply fail poor people—it often builds systems that keep them poor and then blames them for it. His warning lands at a critical moment: #GaryHoover #AmericaIsKillingPoorPeople #PovertyInAmerica #AmericanDream #EconomicInequality #IncomeInequality #SNAP #FoodStamps #HomelessnessCrisis #HousingCrisis #TrumpAdministration #TrumpPolicies #SafetyNet #WorkingPoor #PovertyTrap #EconomicMobility #WealthGap #BlackEconomics #PublicPolicy #SystemicInequality #TulaneUniversity #MurphyInstitute #BaldwinAndCo #NewOrleans #SocialJustice Order Gary Hoover Books Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9780520402621 Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter.

Kamala Wasn’t the Problem — Carol Moseley Braun Explains

Former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, offers a striking perspective on Kamala Harris and what her presidential defeat says about women and power in America. Braun argues that Harris was extraordinarily qualified, understood the issues, and “did everything right”—and rejects the idea that the loss should simply be placed at Harris’s feet. Drawing from her own experience breaking political barriers, Braun connects Harris’s treatment to deeply rooted attitudes about whether women are capable of holding ultimate authority, including serving as commander in chief. Yet she remains hopeful that those attitudes are changing as a new generation of girls grows up believing there are no positions beyond their reach. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #KamalaHarris #CarolMoseleyBraun #BlackWomenInPolitics #WomenInPolitics #WomenInLeadership #PoliticalLeadership #RepresentationMatters #BlackPoliticalPower #BreakingBarriers #WomenBreakingBarriers #AmericanPolitics #PoliticalHistory #LeadershipMatters #Democracy #MisogynyInPolitics #BlackWomenLead #Trailblazer #WomenAndPower #PresidentialPolitics #BaldwinAndCo

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Greatness Needs Resistance - Antonio Michael Downing & Jerid P. Woods

Antonio Michael Downing joins Jerid P. Woods for a powerful conversation about ancestry, identity, writing, and claiming your place in the Black literary tradition. Antonio reflects on the influence of his grandmother, overcoming impostor syndrome, removing ego from the creative process, and how doubt—even from haters—can become fuel for purpose, discipline, and greatness. Order Antonio Michael Downing Book Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9781668066102 #YouNeedHaters #AntonioMichaelDowning #JeridPWoods #BlackLiterature #BlackWriters #BlackReaders #BlackIntellectualTradition #LiteraryConversation #AuthorInterview #CreativeProcess #WritingLife #ImposterSyndrome #AncestralWisdom #GenerationalHealing #BlackExcellence #ReadBlackAuthors #BaldwinAndCo #BaldwinDialogues #NewOrleansCulture #ClaimYourPower #TrustYourVoice #TurnDoubtIntoFuel #StopShrinkingYourself #YouAlreadyAre #ItsOurTurn Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org Welcome to Baldwin & Co. Author Dialogues, the official podcast of Baldwin & Co. coffee + bookstore—a sanctuary for literature, creativity, and community. Sponsored by Baldwin & Co. Foundation 501(c)3. This podcast is your front-row seat to the world of books, ideas, and thought-provoking conversations with some of the most brilliant minds and celebrated authors of our time. At Baldwin & Co., we believe that stories have the power to inspire, connect, and transform. Through this podcast, we bring the pages of bestselling novels, memoirs, and groundbreaking works of nonfiction to life. Whether you’re an avid reader, aspiring writer, or simply someone who enjoys meaningful discussions, Baldwin & Co. Author Dialogues is here to ignite your curiosity and enrich your understanding of the world. What to Expect: Author Talks and Exclusive Interviews Join us as we sit down with internationally acclaimed authors, rising literary stars, and thought leaders across genres. Discover the stories behind the stories—their creative processes, challenges, and inspirations—and gain insights into the craft of writing.

One of The Most Haunting Stories of Modern Day Police Corruption - Jared Fishman

In this gripping and emotionally charged conversation, author Jared Fishman and Judge Calvin Johnson unpack the horrifying case of Henry Glover in post-Katrina New Orleans and the federal investigation that exposed corruption, violence, and systemic failures inside the New Orleans Police Department. Fishman reflects on his journey from international conflict zones to the DOJ, revealing how war, race, policing, and power intersected in one of the most disturbing civil rights cases in modern American history. Together, they explore police cover-ups, the “blue wall” of silence, the moral cost of institutional corruption, and how the Henry Glover case ultimately helped force reforms inside the city’s police department. Order Jared Fishman Books Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9781335429261 Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org #JaredFishman #JudgeCalvinJohnson #FireOnTheLevee #PoliceCorruption #BlueWallOfSilence #HenryGlover #Katrina #NewOrleans #NOPD #CivilRights #JusticeSystem #PoliceBrutality #CorruptionExposed #GeorgeFloyd #BreonnaTaylor #TyreNichols #WalterScott #EricGarner #TamirRice #SandraBland #SayHerName #BlackLivesMatter #DOJ #TrueCrime #SystemicRacism #CriminalJusticeReform #PoliceViolence #Accountability #CivilRightsMovement #InvestigativeJournalism #KatrinaAftermath #CorruptCops #AmericanJustice Welcome to Baldwin & Co. Author Dialogues, the official podcast of Baldwin & Co. coffee + bookstore—a sanctuary for literature, creativity, and community. Sponsored by Baldwin & Co. Foundation 501(c)3. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter.

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Uncovering Hidden Deaths by Police Officers - Terence Keel

Why are coroner's reports often incomplete or misleading? This deep dive reveals how societal biases, historical disenfranchisement, and a focus on biology over social context create a "coroner's silence," obscuring the true circumstances of many deaths, especially those involving state institutions. Terence Keel is an interdisciplinary scholar and Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) within the Department of African American Studies and the Institute for Society and Genetics. He is the Founding Director of the Biocritical Studies Lab, which examines the intersections of race, religion, law, and modern science, with a focus on police violence and forensics. Subscribe Now! This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #coronersdiary #DeathInvestigation #SystemicIssues #SocialJustice #accountability #TerenceKeel

What They Fear You Might Learn! -- Nikesha Elise Williams & Taylor Murphy

In this powerful and unflinching dialogue, Nikesha Elise Williams and Taylor Murphy examine Nikesha's book, "The Seven Daughters of Dupree" book. This conversation examines the deep intersections of history, identity, and storytelling through Nikesha's novel spanning 160 years of Black womanhood. The conversation confronts uncomfortable truths about slavery, generational trauma, and the myths America tells about itself—challenging the idea that enslaved people were passive and highlighting the many forms of resistance that have been erased from mainstream narratives. Order Nikesha Elise Williams Books Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9781668051948 Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #NikeshaWilliams #TaylorMurphy #SevenDaughtersofDupree #BlackAuthors #BannedBooks #BookBans #FreedomToRead #BlackHistoryMatters #ProtectBlackStories #CulturalErasure #HiddenHistory #TruthMatters #StorytellingPower #GenerationalTrauma #BlackWomenWriters #HistoricalFiction #LiteraryVoices #RepresentationMatters #ReadBlackBooks #BlackExcellence #SocialJustice #IntellectualFreedom #AmericanHistory #RewriteHistory #VoicesThatMatter #BooksThatMatter #LiteraryCulture #BaldwinAndCo #NewOrleansCulture

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Why Smart People Are Quitting The News - Maya Shankar & Evan Smith

In this gripping exchange, cognitive scientist Maya Shankar and journalist Evan Smith confront a disturbing reality: we are drowning in information—and it’s breaking us. From the psychological toll of nonstop news to the quiet collapse of civic participation, they unpack how doomscrolling, distrust in media, and algorithm-driven outrage are reshaping our minds and our democracy. But beneath the chaos lies something even more unsettling—people aren’t disengaging because they don’t care… they’re disengaging because they’re overwhelmed. And that may be the most dangerous shift of all. This conversation doesn’t just diagnose the problem—it exposes the invisible forces influencing how we think, what we believe, and whether we act at all. Order Maya Shankar Book Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9780593713686 Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #MayaShankar #EvanSmith #Shorts #YouTubeShorts #Viral #Trending #FYP #ForYou #WatchNow #MustWatch #Psychology #MentalHealth #Doomscrolling #MediaTrust #SocialMedia #InformationOverload #HumanBehavior #CriticalThinking #WakeUp #HiddenTruth #RealityCheck #BigIdeas

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How Black Artists Reclaim Beauty From Pain. - Irvin Weathersby Jr. & Gia Hamilton

Irvin Weathersby Jr. and cultural strategist Gia Hamilton deliver a deeply reflective and personal conversation about grief, memory, and the transformative power of storytelling. With poetic clarity and emotional honesty, Irvin shares how the loss of his father and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina shaped his writing and identity as a Black man from New Orleans. Gia Hamilton, in turn, explores the intersections of trauma and creativity, asking how Black artists reclaim beauty from pain and build archives that preserve our truths. Together, they dive into the messy, necessary work of naming what hurts—and finding liberation in the telling. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #IrvinWeathersby #GiaHamilton #BaldwinAndCo #BlackStorytelling #GriefToArt #HurricaneKatrina #BlackWritersMatter #CulturalMemory #ArchiveOurPain #BlackMenWrite #CreativeResistance #StorytellingAsHealing #BlackJoyAndPain #GriefIsPower #WritingThroughTrauma #ArtBornOfLoss #BlackCreativesUnfiltered #TruthTellingIsRadical #NewOrleansVoices #HealingThroughWords #GenerationalGrief #TraumaAndTransformation #ReclaimTheNarrative #EmotionalLiberation #BlackLegacyBuilders

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How Racist Ideas Spread! - Ibram X. Kendi & Eddie Glaude Jr.

In a landmark first-ever podcast conversation, Eddie Glaude Jr. and Ibram X. Kendi sit down for a powerful, deeply honest exchange on race, democracy, morality, and power in America. What makes this conversation so compelling is that it goes far beyond surface-level political commentary—they wrestle with whether racism is best confronted through policy, moral transformation, or both, and challenge the idea that simply “admitting” racism exists is enough. Instead, they argue that America has too often confused sentiment, symbolism, and performance with actual structural change. The conversation also takes a sharp and urgent turn into how anti-racism has been misread, politicized, and weaponized in the current era. Ibram reflects on how his work has often been flattened into something far less radical than he intended, while Eddie pushes the deeper question of what kind of people—and what kind of country—democracy actually requires. By the end, the discussion expands into a chilling analysis of Great Replacement Theory, authoritarian politics, and the dangerous narratives shaping public life around the world. This is not just a podcast—it’s a serious intellectual document of the moment. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #EddieGlaudeJr #IbramXKendi #BaldwinAndCo #Podcast #BlackThought #RaceInAmerica #Democracy #Politics #PoliticalTheory #GreatReplacementTheory #AntiRacism #BlackIntellectuals #SocialJustice #PublicIntellectual #AmericanPolitics #BlackHistory #CivilRights #CurrentEvents #ThoughtLeadership #LongformPodcast #YouTubePodcast #PodcastClips #YouTubeShorts #TrendingNow #ViralVideo #MustWatch #DeepConversation #IntellectualConversation #NewsAnalysis #cultureandpolitics

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If You’re Not Uncomfortable, You’re Not Doing Enough. Gary Chambers and Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon Talk!

Political activist Gary Chambers and entrepreneur/author Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon deliver a bold blueprint for what real Black liberation looks like—beyond hashtags and into strategy, ownership, and community-driven resistance. Reflecting on Hallmon’s book No One Is Self-Made, the duo dismantles the myth of individual success and call out the comfort-addicted, privilege-insulated tendencies stalling progress in Black communities. They challenge the “we’re not our ancestors” narrative with reverence, reminding listeners of the grit, sacrifice, and strategy our elders wielded without applause. The message is clear: we need less performance, more patience, less ego, more unity—and we must be willing to lose convenience to win liberation. From economic strategy to political discipline, this conversation is a call to stay, fight, and finish what our ancestors started. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. Order Lakeysha Hallmon Books Here: https://bookshop.org/a/20190/9780063315891 Order Baldwin & Co. Merch Here: https://shop.baldwinandcobooks.com Learn more about Baldwin & Co. Foundation: https://bcofoundation.org #GaryChambers #LakeyshaHallmon #NoOneIsSelfMade #BaldwinAndCo #BlackLiberationNow #RevolutionRequiresStrategy #BlackUnityMatters #PurposeOverPrivilege #CommunityOverClout #OwnershipIsPower #BlackExcellenceUnfiltered #EconomicEmpowerment #DisciplineOverDistraction #MovementOverMoment #StayAndBuild #UnapologeticallyStrategic #WeAreOurAncestorsWildestDreams #FinishTheWork #BlackLeadershipRising #ComfortIsNotFreedom #ReclaimTheFight #MicrowavedMovementsFail #LegacyNotLikes #RadicalCollaboration

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Black People Need to Stop Waiting for the System to Save Us! -- Ben Crump & Gary Chambers

Ben Crump is one of America’s most prominent civil rights attorneys, known for representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others in landmark cases seeking accountability and justice. Gary Chambers is a Louisiana activist and political organizer recognized nationally for his unapologetic advocacy for voting rights, criminal justice reform, and economic justice. The conversation between civil rights attorney Ben Crump and activist Gary Chambers is a political strategy session for the unfinished work of American democracy. Crump opens with a blunt reminder: legality and morality are not the same thing—a truth that echoes from slavery and segregation to modern courtrooms where justice is still negotiated rather than guaranteed. From there, the dialogue widens into a sweeping reflection on power, economics, and political courage. Both men argue that the struggle for civil rights has always been tied to economic independence, noting that every time Black Americans have accumulated wealth—from land ownership after Reconstruction to Black Wall Street in Tulsa—the rules of the game were rewritten or the prosperity violently destroyed. The law, they suggest, can be a path to liberation, but only if communities are willing to fight relentlessly to ensure it is interpreted fairly. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #BenCrump #GaryChambers #CivilRightsAttorney #JusticeForAll #BlackLivesMatter #FightForJustice #CivilRightsMovement #AccountabilityNow #JusticeNotJustLegal #BlackJustice #SpeakTruthToPower #ProtectBlackLives #UnapologeticallyBlack #EconomicJustice #BlackPower #CommunityJustice #BreakingNews #USPolitics #CivilRights #JusticeSystem #EconomicJustice #VotingRights #EducationMatters #JusticeInAmerica #LawAndPower #HistoryInTheMaking #PoliticalCourage #PowerAndJustice #FightForFreedom #DemocracyInAction #TruthToPower

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Why Black Women Aren’t Your Metaphor! -- Tia Williams

Tia Williams: Tia Williams is the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June and a veteran beauty editor who has spent decades centering Black joy and modern glamour in her storytelling. Farrah Rochon: Farrah Rochon is a USA Today bestselling author celebrated for her hit series The Boyfriend Projectand her ability to weave ambitious, relatable Black women into the heart of contemporary romance. Author of Seven Days in June, Tia Williams and author Farrah Rochon traced the long, winding road behind Williams’s success—one paved with magazine deadlines, rejected manuscripts, stubborn conviction, and a refusal to flatten Black women into symbols of struggle. Williams spoke openly about building a career by straddling two worlds—glossy fashion media by day, fiction by night—until a toxic relationship, burnout, and a self-imposed exile to Spain cracked her open creatively and gave birth to her first novel. What followed was a sharp, often funny meditation on what it means to write romance without apology: insisting that Black women can exist in stories simply to love, desire, and dream; pushing back against an industry that doubted her credibility; and embracing risk, whether that meant indie publishing, watching her work transformed by Hollywood, or folding Harlem Renaissance history and Louisiana ancestry into contemporary love stories. Along the way, Williams dismantled myths about “Black excellence,” admitted the physical toll of writing with chronic migraines, and revealed how intuition—not permission—has guided every pivot in her career. The result was a reminder that literary success is rarely linear, never polite, and often born from refusing to make yourself smaller for anyone watching. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #BlackAuthors #BlackRomance #WritingCommunity #BookTalk #AuthorConversation #LiteraryCulture #PublishingTruths #CreativeProcess #BlackWomenWriters #RomanceReaders #BookLovers #BookYouTube #WriterLife #BehindTheBook #LiteraryDiscussion #CulturalConversation #BaldwinAndCo #IndependentBookstore #ReadBlackAuthors

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Are You REALLY Safe at the Doctor? Dr. Uché Blackstock Explains The Real Reason We Mistrust Hospitals

Dr. Uché Blackstock is a renowned emergency medicine physician and the founder of Advancing Health Equity, whose memoir Legacy tackles the deep-seated racial disparities within the U.S. healthcare system. Jarvis DeBerry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and celebrated columnist known for his sharp, soulful insights into social justice and the Black experience in America. In a powerful and deeply personal conversation at Baldwin & Co., Dr. Uché Blackstock and journalist Jarvis DeBerry tear the veil off America’s broken healthcare system—exposing not just systemic racism, but the emotional and physical toll it exacts on Black patients and Black health professionals alike. From being misdiagnosed with appendicitis as a Harvard med student, to watching her mother practice medicine with soul and cultural accountability, Dr. Blackstock shares how her journey to healing became an act of resistance. Together, they challenge the myth of “trust in the system,” flipping the script to ask: can a system built on exploitation ever be trusted at all? This isn’t just a talk—it’s a reckoning. And it’s a call for Black professionals to choose joy, rest, and self-preservation over martyrdom. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter.

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Black History Is Buried—Literally. Here's Who's Digging It Up From the Water. -- Tara Roberts & Alexandra Jones

Dr. Alexandra Jones is a seasoned archaeologist and educator dedicated to empowering communities through the preservation and excavation of African American history. Tara Roberts is a National Geographic Explorer and storyteller whose work uncovers the lost stories of the transatlantic slave trade through the lens of maritime archaeology. National Geographic Explorer Tara Roberts and archeologist Dr. Alexandra Jones dove into an electrifying conversation that spanned the deep metaphor of water, the power of the divine feminine, and the urgency of community action. Using Roberts’ new memoir Written in the Waters as a launchpad, the two women explored the spiritual and political dimensions of environmental justice, Black history, and intergenerational resilience. They unpacked how water serves as both a symbol and a survival tool—a metaphor for Black femininity, flexibility, and force. With searing clarity, they challenged capitalist frameworks that destroy ecosystems and disconnect people from ancestry and collective care. What emerged was more than dialogue—it was a call to arms for radical education, systems change, and generational healing through cooperation, not heroism. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #TaraRoberts #AlexandraJones #WrittenInTheWaters #BlackHistoryMatters #EnvironmentalJustice #WaterIsMemory #DivineFemininePower #RadicalCooperation #BaldwinAndCo #ArcheologyOfTheDiaspora #BlackWomenLead #OceanAsArchive #RestorativeJustice #ReclaimTheNarrative #AncestralKnowledge #SacredWaters #DiggingUpTruth #ClimateJusticeNow #WeAreTheFuture #BlackExplorers #LiberationThroughLearning #BlackEnvironmentalists #HealingThroughHistory #CommunityOverCapitalism #SpiritualReclamation

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Why Justice Terrifies White Supremacist More Than Revenge -- Kellie Carter Jackson & Shennette Garrett-Scott

Kellie Carter Jackson is a historian and writer (author of 'We Refuse') whose work centers Black resistance, abolition, and the political meaning of freedom in American history. Shennette Garrett-Scott is a historian and author whose scholarship explores Black women’s economic power, labor, and political life beyond traditional civil rights narratives. What unfolded on that stage was not a polite author talk—it was a bracing reminder that history has teeth. Writing We Refuse in the heat of 2020, Kellie Carter Jackson rejects what she calls the “trauma porn” of American racial storytelling and replaces it with something far more unsettling: proof that Black resistance has always been deliberate, strategic, and ordinary. Again and again, she dismantles the comforting myth that Black people merely endured injustice quietly, arguing instead that refusal—through protection, flight, revolution, community care, and even joy—has been constant, if deliberately obscured. The most arresting moments arrive when scholarship meets memory: a great-grandmother who chose a child’s life with a limp over lifelong bondage; a grandmother whose loaded pistol complicates sentimental ideas of Southern gentility; siblings lost, whose names anchor grief as a form of resistance. Kellie Carter Jackson’s point is devastatingly clear: white supremacy is not only mobs and violence, but erasure, coercion, and “niceness” masquerading as morality. And yet, the conversation never collapses into despair. It insists that liberation is collective, that joy is a discipline, and that the most radical threat to injustice has always been an educated, cared-for, and politically conscious people. The result is less a lecture than a reckoning—one that refuses easy answers and demands a wider imagination of what freedom has always required. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #WeRefuse #BlackResistance #RadicalHistory #BlackHistoryToldRight #FreedomIsCollective #JusticeNotRevenge #WhiteSupremacyExposed #LiberationThinking #AbolitionNow #HistoryWithTeeth #IntellectualResistance #BlackJoyAsResistance #CommunityCare #PoliticalEducation #StoriesTheyErased #TruthOverComfort #BooksThatChallengePower #BaldwinAndCoPodcast #IdeasInConversation #ReadToResist #CulturalReckoning #BookBans #AttacksOnBlackHistory #EnvironmentalJustice #VoterSuppression #MassIncarceration #DemocracyInCrisis #FreeSpeechMatters #EducationUnderFire #WhoseHistory #PowerAndNarrative

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Why Do Black People Define Blackness & Black Progress So Narrowly? - Kehinde Andrews & Sean Goode

Sean Goode is a writer and cultural thinker whose work interrogates Black identity, power, and the political meaning embedded in popular culture. Kehinde Andrews is a scholar of Black studies and author whose work challenges liberal myths of progress and exposes the structural realities of racism and capitalism. What unfolds in this conversation is not a debate so much as a reckoning. Kehinde Andrews and Sean Goode circle Malcolm X not as a frozen icon, but as a living diagnostic tool—one that exposes how narrowly Blackness has been defined, weaponized, and sold back to Black people themselves. The discussion moves between autobiography and political theory, between gangsta rap and Garveyism, between capitalism’s seductive promises and its blood-soaked balance sheet. At its core is a shared unease: that America—and the West more broadly—is not failing to live up to its ideals, but rather succeeding at exactly what it was designed to do. Malcolm’s enduring relevance, they argue, lies in his refusal to confuse proximity to power with freedom, or survival with liberation. Whether through hip-hop’s unacknowledged intellectual labor, the false comfort of “house negro” mentalities, or the illusion that capitalism can be redeemed through intention alone, the conversation insists on a harder truth: freedom requires collective political imagination, not better branding. The tension remains unresolved—and that is precisely the point. Malcolm’s gift was never closure, but clarity. This episode is part of the ongoing conversations hosted by Baldwin & Co., a Black-owned bookstore, café, and cultural institution based in New Orleans. Baldwin & Co. exists at the intersection of literature, ideas, and community—creating space for rigorous dialogue, storytelling, and intellectual exchange. Through author talks, podcasts, live events, and community programming, Baldwin & Co. amplifies voices shaping how we understand culture, history, politics, faith, and the future. Stay connected with Baldwin & Co. across platforms: Instagram: @baldwinandco X (Twitter): @baldwinandco Facebook: Baldwin & Co. YouTube: Baldwin & Co. Website: www.baldwinandcobooks.com Visit us in New Orleans or online to support independent bookselling, discover powerful literature, and engage in conversations that matter. #KehindaAndrews #SeanGoode #MalcolmX #BlackThought #BlackLiberation #RevolutionNotReform #PoliticalBlackness #BlackIdentity #CapitalismCritique #FreedomStruggle #BlackIntellectualTradition #HipHopAsTheory #RadicalImagination #DecolonizeTheMind #GlobalBlackness #PowerAndResistance #BlackHistoryMatters #UncomfortableTruths #CollectiveFreedom #LiberationPolitics #RaceAndPower #AbolitionThinking #BlackVoices #CounterNarratives #RevolutionaryIdeas #CriticalConversations

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