Created and hosted by award-winning journalist Farai Chideya, Our Body Politic is unapologetically centered on reporting on not just how women of color experience the major political events of today, but how they're impacting those very issues. Weekly episodes feature in-depth conversations about the economy, health, politics, education, the environment, and the most prescient issues—because all issues are women's issues. Tune in every Friday everywhere you listen to podcasts, and on public radio stations around the country.
Black Country Music Stars on Diversifying The Genre
On this episode of Our Body Politic, guest host Mara S. Campo looks at the foundational role of Black Americans in country music, and the barriers to entry that still exist. First we hear Mara’s conversation with professor Francesca Royster, author of “Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions.” Then Mara talks with country music singer Brittney Spencer who was one of Rolling Stone’s 25 artists to watch in 2023. We round out the show hearing grammy-nominated Mickey Guyton speak with Mara about paving the way for other Black women in country music.
16 Feb 2024TRANSCRIPT
How Native Women Are Working to End the MMIW Crisis
On this special episode of Our Body Politic produced in partnership with Level Forward, we highlight the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women’s (MMIW) crisis. Guest-host Andrea Ambam, an Artist and Host of Level Forward’s More to Talk About, speaks with Lorna Cuny, a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe from South Dakota and Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Medicine Wheel Ride and Darlene Gomez, attorney at her law firm Darlene Law, who serves on the MMIW-R Task Force for New Mexico and is General Counsel for Medicine Wheel Ride, about The Medicine Wheel Riders, a national group raising awareness about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s crisis. Then Andrea Ambam speaks with Alecia Onzahwah, about her efforts to arm Indigenous women with information (through The Skye Woman Project) and tools to defend themselves (through Skye Woman Beauty). We round out the show with Andrea speaking with Prairie Rose Seminole, co-director of the documentary We Ride for Her about owning the Native narrative through community filmmaking.
9 Feb 2024TRANSCRIPT
Can BIPOC Musicians Shape the Future of Classical Music?
Can the world of classical music become more inclusive given its history? On this episode of Our Body Politic, guest host Celeste Headlee, a journalist and best-selling author, speaks with Professor Philip Ewell, professor of music theory at Hunter College about the history of classical music and Blackness. Then Celeste speaks with professor and Harpist Ashley Jackson about the significance of performing the works of Black female composers. Celeste is also joined by 8-time Grammy-winning musician Christian McBride on the links between jazz and classical music. We round out the show with Lara Downes, concert pianist, musical creator and host of the NPR video series Amplify, about performing for others and her hope for making an impact on the next generation.
Inside a recent episode
Black Country Music Stars on Diversifying The Genre
Published 23 Feb 2024 · Transcript excerpt
[…] The banjo is an African instrument. Yes, the banjo is an African instrument, and the instrument has been adapted and changed over the years, but definitely for a long time in the 18th and 19th century, banjo music was perceived by people who were writing about it in the United States as black American music. […]
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