Episode 7 in our series on the great essays is about James Baldwin’s ‘Notes of a Native Son’ (1955), an essay that combines autobiography with a searing indictment of America’s racial politics. At its heart it tells the story of Baldwin’s relationship with his father, but it is also about fear, cruelty, violence and the terrible compromises of a country at w ... Show More
Aug 26
The Lives of the Philosophers: Camus
In our series about how twentieth-century philosophy and biography intersect, David talks to philosopher Alex Carter about the life of Albert Camus, novelist, playwright, journalist, celebrity and public intellectual. What makes Camus a philosopher as well? How was he shaped by h ... Show More
58m 42s
Feb 2024
James Baldwin's Shadow (Throwback)
James Baldwin believed that America has been lying to itself since its founding. An insightful commentator on Black identity, American democracy, and racism, he saw something deep and ugly and stubborn in American culture, and never hesitated to call it by its name — to bear witn ... Show More
44m 24s
Jan 2024
Great American Authors | The Enduring Message of James Baldwin | 7
In 1948, James Baldwin left for France, hoping to find an escape from the racism he experienced in America. But Baldwin returned to the U.S. frequently, to witness and write about the struggle of the Civil Rights movement. Today, Lindsay is joined by Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Pro ... Show More
38m 10s
Sep 2021
Ruth Rogers on James Baldwin
<p>The chef and co-founder of The River Cafe, Ruth Rogers, picks the life of the writer and activist James Baldwin.</p><p>A writer, poet, playwright and activist, Baldwin was known as a trailblazing explorer of race, class and sexuality in America and the “literary voice of the C ... Show More
27m 59s
Oct 2021
In 'The Matter of Black Lives,' generations of Black thinkers probe American racism
Back in June 2020, during a summer of protests for racial justice, the New Yorker republished 'Letter from a Region in my Mind," a seminal James Baldwin essay calling out the ignorance of liberal white Americans. In the following months, writer Jelani Cobb put together a collecti ... Show More
8m 45s
