The Black Canon: Preserving Material Culture (w/ Alima Wheeler-Trapp & Ali J. Wheeler)

My guest for this episode is Chef Rahman "Rock" Harper, who is a chef, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and food media personality based in the Washington, D.C. area.

We explore the differences between home cooked vs restaurant soul food, the need for Black Americans to reclaim soul food in the commercial space, and the pros and cons of talking soul food in mainstream + social media.

The guest for this episode is Sheree Williams, Publisher & Owner of Cuisine Noir Magazine as well as Executive Director of the nonprofit The Global Food & Drink Initiative.

We discuss Cuisine Noir, the impact of Black food, wine, and travel storytelling, and the media’s changing social and political landscape.

My guest for this episode is Cam James, music artist, investigative journalist on YouTube, and rising star in online political media.

We speak about the scams targeting Black communities and the relationship of these scams to the broader scammer ethos in the U.S.

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Jared Ball — author, activist, independent media figure, & professor — about his book, The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power.

We explore the history of the claim that Black Americans have a GDP-like buying power that can be focused to bring about their collective economic uplift, the lack of evidence supporting the claim, & Black media’s role in spreading & popularizing the claim.

My guest for this episode is professor and author Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson.

We speak about exciting new scholarship and efforts in Black American food and also touch on her prior work: how chicken played a prominent role in Black entrepreneurship as well as the inherent anti-Blackness of food shaming.

For this episode, my guest is boxing business attorney, card game enthusiant, and author, Lamont Jones.

We talk about his book, The Gist of Bid Whist: The Culturally Rich Card Game From Black America, and explore the history of the partner card game bid whist as well as some of the ways African Americans made the game their own.

In this episode, my guest is celebrated soul food scholar, author, and speaker, Adrian Miller.

We discuss the history of the term “soul food,” soul food dishes and trends, the perception of the cuisine, and several of Adrian's award-winning books.

A conversation with drummer Jay Mumford of The Du-Rites about the history of funk drumming styles from the '60s through the '80s. We also discuss Jay's childhood funk fandom and how he decided to become a professional funk drummer later in life.

This episode is a funk music history lesson.

A brief precursor episode to provide some background about me, why I created the podcast, & what to expect going forward.

Trailer for The Black etc podcast