The Complexity of Mom Friends, Listening Party: Bret McKenzie's 'Songs Without Jokes,' Full Bio, Untold Legends: Ora Washington, Serena Williams' Legacy Call-In
All Of It with Alison Stewart | Sep 1, 2022
For our ongoing back-to-school week series, we talk about parenting and race. Helena Andrews-Dyer, senior culture writer for The Washington Post, has a new book called, The Mamas: What I Learned About Kids, Class, and Race from Moms Not Like Me. The book is about her experience as a black mom in a group called "The Mamas," a group of neighborhood moms who live in a rapidly gentrifying D.C neighborhood. After the protests for racial justice in 2020, Andrews-Dyer found her relationship to "The Mamas" change, and wanted to understand why. She joins us to discuss, and take calls from parents.
Oscar-winning songwriter Bret McKenzie is best known as one half of the New Zealand comedy duo, Flight of the Conchords and as the songwriter for multiple Muppets films. His new album, which is also his solo debut, is a serious effort called "Songs Without Jokes." McKenzie joins us for a Listening Party.
For Thursday's installment of our August Full Bio series, we speak with Gene Jarrett, dean of the faculty and English professor at Princeton, and author of a new biography about the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, called, Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird. On day three, we learn about the women in Dunbar's life, like how he met his wife, Alice Nelson Dunbar. But we also speak about Dunbar's own demons, and his struggles with depression and alcohol abuse throughout his life. Plus, we hear WNYC's Michael Hill read a selection of Dunbar's poetry.
Serena Williams extends her farewell tour after another win at the U.S. Open. We discuss the athlete's retirement announcement, career and legacy as one of the greatest tennis players in the world with New York Times assistant sports editor Elena Bergeron.
Ora Washington was a star athlete in a time when sports was segregated and black women were not encouraged to be athletes. She dominated Black tennis and basketball for over two decades, but her story is not widely known. A new podcast from the BBC, called Untold Legends: Ora, tells her story. Former WNBA player and co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, and host of the podcast Renee Montgomery joins to discuss.
*This episode is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.
