Nicholas Boggs’s “Baldwin: A Love Story,” is many things at once. It’s a comprehensive biography of James Baldwin. It’s a nimble excavation of Baldwin’s work, filled with astute literary analysis of his books and prose. And, most pressingly, it’s an argument for a new critical framework to understand Baldwin through the lens of love. The biography is structured around Baldwin’s relationships with a series of men — relationships that, as Boggs outlines, shaped Baldwin’s life and writing in crucial ways. Boggs joins MJ Franklin on this week's episode to talk about his new book.
Other works mentioned in this discussion:
Zadie Smith’s essay “Conscience and Consciousness: A Craft Talk for the People and the Person,” from her new collection “Dead and Alive”
“James Baldwin: A Biography,” by David Leeming
“Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood,” by James Baldwin, illustrated by Yoran Cazac, edited by Nicholas Boggs and Jennifer DeVere Brody
Chicago is suing the Trump administration again. In the Loop looks at that latest lawsuit and what voting to end the government shutdown could mean for senior Senator Dick Durbin’s political legacy. Plus, time for a retail reality check following a presidential post dissing Chicago’s shopping mecca, Michigan Avenue. In the Loop breaks down those stories with David Greising of the Better Government Association, Sophie Sherry of the Chicago Sun-Times and Mack Liederman of Block Club Chicago.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
In this episode, Rivers is hangin' out at Disgraceland Studios with comedian and author Kym Kral! We chat about a recent news story out of Mississippi involving a bunch of escaped monkeys ridden with disease and anger issues. Then, we sample a canned mocktail called "IMPROV!" made by a pretty weird guy out of San Diego. Kym takes us on a tour of her Denver suburban town of Littleton, Colorado and Sam shows up right at the end! Follow Kym on all forms of social media @KymKral. Check out her podcast "Kral Space" and read her book 'Confessions of a Recovering Party Girl'. Follow the show on Twitter @TheGoodsPod. Rivers is @RiversLangley Sam is @SlamHarter Carter is @Carter_Glascock Subscribe on Patreon for UNCUT video versions of the podcast as well as TONS of bonus content! http://patreon.com/TheGoodsPod Pick up a Goods from the Woods t-shirt here: http://prowrestlingtees.com/TheGoodsPod
Plus: The U.S. agrees to cut tariffs on Switzerland down to 15%. And Jaguar Land Rover reports a quarterly loss after a crippling cyberattack earlier this year. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
Ah, the Wild West days of the pre-bot internet! In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel return to the days of yore, when pretty much anyone could anonymously create a website for pretty much anything. As they discover, our friends at the CIA did, in fact, make a bunch of misleading websites for surreptitious communication. And this conspiracy worked until it didn't. When the web came unraveled, people died.
Today's podcast notes eerily similar stories in the New York Times and the Washington Post on Trump's supposed troubles with MAGA—leading us to ask, is there such a thing as MAGA without Trump or independent from Trump? Give a listen.
