Episode 404: Hanif Abdurraqib’s Nod to Witnessing in ‘There’s Always This Year’

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

Kinda crazy, right? That someone like Hanif Abdurraqib (@nifmuhammad) would agree to be on this little podcast, which just turned eleven on March 20.

Hanif needs next-to-no introduction, but here’s a little bit about him. His book A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance was a finalist for the National Book Award. He’s the author of the essay collection They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us and the poetry collections A Fortune for Your Disaster and The Crown Ain’t Worth Much. His latest book is There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House).

It’s a masterpiece; Hanif is a masterpiece.

In this conversation, we talk about productivity, envy, specificity, intentionality, and a nod to witnessing. It’s great stuff, great talk.

Continue reading “Episode 404: Hanif Abdurraqib’s Nod to Witnessing in ‘There’s Always This Year’”

Episode 109—Jean Guerrero Tries to Solve the Mystery of Her Father

Jean Guerrero, an award-winning journalist, came by to talk about her memoir Crux. Photo credit Stacey Keck

By Brendan O’Meara

“I could leave my father as a mystery because he was the mystery I was trying to solve,” says Jean Guerrero, @jeanguerre on Twitter.

I’ve often wonder how to not just make the podcast better but different. What would that entail? 

Could writing an extensive blog post about the guest instead of just show notes be seen as different yet adding value? I’m not sure. 

Continue reading “Episode 109—Jean Guerrero Tries to Solve the Mystery of Her Father”