'Zola,' 'The Other Black Girl,' Hot Weather Recipes, Full Bio: James Beard Cooking School, Sex Trafficking Myths, Hiss Golden Messenger

Writer and director Janicza Bravo joins us to discuss her acclaimed film, "Zola," co-written by playwright Jeremy O’Harris. Zola is a Detroit waitress who befriends one of her customers, Stefani, who convinces her to join a weekend of dancing and partying in Florida. "Zola" opened in theaters on June 30.  Our July Get Lit with All Of It author, Zakiya Dalila Harris, joins us for a preview conversation ahead of our July 29 book club event. We are spending the month reading her debut novel The Other Black Girl, a thriller set in the mostly-white world of publishing. Chef and recipe developer Vanessa Seder joins us to discuss her new book, Eat Cool: Good Food for Hot Days: 100 Easy, Satisfying, and Refreshing Recipes that Won't Heat Up Your Kitchen. John Birdsall, author of The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard, joins us for the June installment of Full Bio about the life of chef, author, teacher, and television personality James Beard. In Part 4, we learn about the birth of the James Beard Cooking School, how Beard railed against "gourmet" and advocated for the democratization of American cuisine. After our conversation with Janicza Bravo, whose film "Zola" tells the true story of a woman who became accidentally involved in sex trafficking, we're joined by Melissa Girl Grant, staff writer at The New Republic and author of Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work, to debunk some common myths about sex trafficking, and discuss how anti-trafficking legislation has often hurt self-employed sex-workers more than human traffickers. Hiss Golden Messenger bandleader MC Taylor joins us for a Listening Party for the band's latest album, Quietly Blowing It, which was written and recorded in the early months of the pandemic. Following the Grammy-nominated album Terms Of Surrender, the new release has been described by Rolling Stone as “the North Carolina roots artist’s best LP yet.”