Karen Frillmann

Editor-At-Large, WNYC Narrative Unit

Karen Frillmann appears in the following:

Black History Is Now: How Misty Copeland Went From Different to Special

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Continuing our Black History Month series, ballet sensation Misty Copeland shares her journey to believing she was special.

The Battle Over Black Studies

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Black studies is not about inclusion. It’s about disruption – which is why some fear it.

How Black People Remade Mississippi

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Down in the Mississippi Delta, the Lester Family made a space for themselves and claimed their land–and they didn’t need “40 Acres and a mule” to do it. 

A First Date Immigrant Story

Monday, February 13, 2023

Boy meets girl, boy’s an immigrant, they go on a first date. The date does not go well. 17 years later, the boy discovers that being an immigrant played a role, on both sides. 

American Political Myths Have Consequences For Us All

Thursday, February 09, 2023

From the “Southern Strategy” to the civil rights movement, we’re surfacing what is true about our nation’s past, and what is propaganda masquerading as history.

Black Music’s Most Memorable Moments With Emil Wilbekin

Monday, February 06, 2023

In the spirit of the Grammys, Emil Wilbekin, a founding editor of VIBE, offers a first-person history of Black popular music, from Soul Train to Beyoncé.

Putting An End To Toxic Cop Culture

Thursday, February 02, 2023

When it comes to police reform, a retired NYPD detective argues that policing as a profession must evolve or go away completely. 

History On Repeat: The Killing Of Tyre Nichols

Monday, January 30, 2023

The release of brutal footage of the killing of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols by police officers in Memphis furthers an all-too-familiar conversation about accountability and police violence.

Monterey Park: The Making of America’s First Suburban Chinatown

Thursday, January 26, 2023

A mass shooting in Monterey Park, California – on the eve of Lunar New Year – sent shockwaves through the majority Asian American ethnoburb and the Asian American community nationwide.

Living With And Learning From Estrangement

Monday, January 23, 2023

Estrangement isn’t linear. For those who have severed ties or been cut off, it can be necessary, empowering, devastating and confounding—all at once. 

The Not-So-Sunny Side of Louis Armstrong’s Legacy

Thursday, January 19, 2023

What made Louis Armstrong’s music so groundbreaking? And after he broke that ground, why were later generations of Black people reluctant to embrace him? 

The Legacy of MLK Jr. Is To Be Young, Gifted and Black

Monday, January 16, 2023

How does Martin Luther King Jr.’s generation of young, gifted, and Black people inspire today’s changemakers and their ideas for how to achieve racial justice?

New Congress, New Consequences

Thursday, January 12, 2023

From near-fisticuffs on the House floor to Kevin McCarthy’s concessions to win the gavel, the chaotic start for the 118th Congress has finally settled – with consequences for us all. 

The Future of Work As We Know It

Monday, January 09, 2023

The Great Resignation. Quiet quitting. These concepts allegedly defined the way we worked last year. Will anything change in 2023?

Faith Ringgold Creates Space for Black Americans

Thursday, January 05, 2023

Faith Ringgold’s art is an intimate dialogue and debate between generations of Black women, stretching from the formerly enslaved to today.

How Afrofuturism Redefines Our Past

Monday, January 02, 2023

Afrofuturism is an old idea that’s reaching new people. Hollywood production designer Hannah Beachler walks us through some fantastical, imagined paths to Black liberation.

Rediscovering Myself Through Rebuilding A Relationship With My Dad

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Folashade Olatunde, a WNYC Radio Rookie, shares a series of open and honest audio diaries, inviting listeners on her journey to rebuild a relationship with her dad.

YA Literature Chose Jason Reynolds

Monday, December 26, 2022

For author Jason Reynolds, the key to writing compelling young adult literature is reconnecting with the formative childhood experiences that made him.

How Singer Marian Anderson Dominated the Global Stage

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Throughout her career, American contralto Marian Anderson performed a repertoire well ahead of her time.

Billy Porter on Bringing Blackness, Queerness and Fullness to Art

Monday, December 19, 2022

What does a next level victory look like for an Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner? For actor Billy Porter - it’s an authentic sense of self.