Fantastic Blackness

Hosts Shanté Paradigm Smalls and Tavia Nyong'o discuss Shanté's new book, Hip Hop Heresies: Queer Aesthetics in New York City

Thanks to our ace producer Alex van Gils and to NYU Press for the cover image of Hip Hop Heresies. Artwork by Qrky. Music in this episode by B.Q.E. “Understand/Overstand” and Blocka Beats, “Peace and Grow.” Peace Out!

In this two part conversation with MacArthur Genius Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Shanté and Tav discuss making black theater and television now. In addition to Branden’s work on adapting Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred (1979) and Alan Moore’s Watchmen (1986) to the screen, topics discussed include #WhiteTheaterWeSeeYou , #BlackLiveMatter, and the enduring influence of Performance Studies on all three.

Part 2 of 2.

In this two part conversation with MacArthur Genius Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Shanté and Tav discuss making black theater and television now. In addition to Branden’s work on adapting Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred (1979) and Alan Moore’s Watchmen (1986) to the screen, topics discussed include #WhiteTheaterWeSeeYou , #BlackLiveMatter, and the enduring influence of Performance Studies on all three.

Part 1 of 2.

For the first episode of season two of Fantastic Blackness, hosts Tav and Shanté discuss Lovecraft Country, and what could have been (and may still be if picked up by another streaming service or network) on Season 2.

For show notes, check out the substack:

https://fantasticblackness.substack.com/p/spooky-pride-2021-hbos-lovecraft

Hosts Shanté and Tav welcome guest Jayna Brown (Media Studies, Pratt Institute) to discuss Octavia Butler’s Parable series and her forthcoming book, Black Utopias.

Recorded via videoconferencing during COVID-19 quarantine.

This episode's image contains original book cover artwork by John Jude Palencar.