June Additions

A round-up of June 2026 additions to the podcast and Substack archive.

In this month’s newsletter:

1. New on the podcast in June

2. Continued conversations

3. One from the archive

4. Coming in July

New on the podcast in June

New episodes of the Additions to the Archive podcast drop every Tuesday. By subscribing wherever you get your podcasts, you will never miss an episode. But here’s a recap, just in case.

I was thrilled to be in real life conversation with guest, Dr. Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor when she was in New York City for the launch of her book, Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me. After such a thoughtful conversation on the pod about her scholarship around the n-word and her relationship with her father, the legendary comedian Richard Pryor, it was great to have a chance to go even deeper with her before a live audience.

If you’re looking for a summer fiction read, check out my spoiler-free conversation with screenwriter and author Kyra Davis Lurie about The Great Mann, her reimagining of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic, The Great Gatsby.

I love meeting new people through their books, but it’s nice to welcome old friends back too. It was great to have performance scholar, Dr. Cheryl Thompson back to the podcast in June to discuss the follow up to Canada and the Black Atlantic, Staging Blackface in Canada: Public Amusements, Variety Shows, and Racial Acts in an Age of Imitation, 1898–1919.

I am frequently inspired by the work of independent historians. One of those historians is Eric K. Washington, whose latest project, Where Harlem Rests at the Woodlawn Cemetery, made for a fascinating discussion, not just of New York City history, but about the nature of museums and the preservation of memory.

Finally, I was excited to speak with Texas Poet Laureate Amanda Johnston about her latest book, Praisesong for the People: Poems From the Heart and Soul of Texas, on the eve of the 20th Anniversary of the organization she founded: Torch Literary Arts, amplifying Black women writers.

Continued Conversations

Podcast guests and I usually find ourselves continuing our conversation long after I hit “stop” on the podcast recording. When that happens, we take our discussion over here to Substack.

I was thrilled to get further reading recommendations from author and public historian Eric K. Washington, who recommended several great biographies of Harlem Renaissance-era figures, all of whom feature in his project pamphlet, Where Harlem Rests at the Woodlawn Cemetery.

Where Harlem Rests: A Reading List with Public Historian Eric K. Washington

Summer 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of Torch Literary Arts, an organization founded to elevate and support Black women writers. Its founder, Amanda Johnston, chatted with me about what it takes to build a literary legacy.

Building Literary Legacy with Poet Laureate and Torch Founder, Amanda Johnston

One from the Archive

July is upon us, and that means an abundance of semiquincentennial celebrations, especially in US history circles. I keep thinking about my conversation with diplomatic historian, Dr. Ronald Johnson, and his book Entangled Alliances: Racialized Freedom and Atlantic Diplomacy During the American Revolution.

Coming in July

We’re going to sizzle in July on the podcast, with an exploration into Gullah-Geechee culture in Gullah-Geechee Diasporas: Knowledge, Culture, and Black Lowcountry Legacies with Dr. Muhammad Fraser-Rahim and Dr. Elizabeth West. Award-winning poet Phillip B. Williams will be on the pod talking about his new collection, Lift Every Voice. And summer is the time to be outdoors! And we will do so with Maria Pinto, talking about her groundbreaking book, Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival, and Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery, talking about When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy. Find all this, and more, wherever you get your podcasts.