Baldwin & Co.: Author Dialogues

About Baldwin & Co.: Author Dialogues

This podcast is your front-row seat to the world of intellectual thought, creative expression, books, ideas, and thought-provoking conversations with some of the most brilliant minds and celebrated authors of our time.

Publisher

DJ Johnson

Category

arts · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Jan 2025

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

49 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   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

2. 

   11 Oct 2026

   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

3. 

   28 Sept 2026

   MAGA Minaj? Marcus Anthony Hunter Breaks Down Nicki Minaj’s Political Shift.

   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

Who has been a guest on Baldwin & Co.: Author Dialogues

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Bakari Sellers
• Tamron Hall
• Rebecca F Kuang

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

15 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 12 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

10

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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