On Theme

A Very Special Roll Credits Sep 07, 2024

Yves and Katie give credit where credit is due…one last time.

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The Black Muse Sep 06, 2024

Black folks were in European paintings in the 19th and 20th centuries. A lot of the time, they were servants ... or shadows. Props in the background. But sometimes, they were the subject of portraits. Today, Katie and Yves go on a journey through a couple of these models' lives.

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Dearly Departed Aug 29, 2024

Ever wonder what’s the last story that will be written about you? For many people, it’s in their obituary. In today’s episode, Katie and Yves look through strangers’ obituaries and share their stories…one more time.

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Switching Sides Aug 22, 2024

There's a fine line between radical and conservative. Well, that was the case for writer George Schuyler and activist Eldridge Cleaver, who went rogue and turned right-wing in the 1900s. Katie and Yves get into their political pump fakes.

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Little Literature Lessons Aug 15, 2024

Who will teach the babies? We will, and we’ll do it through books. Today, Katie and Yves talk with Dolisha Mitchell, a children’s literature expert, about how we use books to pass down traditions and lessons to our beautiful Black babies.

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Same Year, New Stories? Aug 08, 2024

Katie and Yves share their progress on what they’ve been writing and give spirited reviews of their latest reads.

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Copaganda Aug 01, 2024

What does the Bad Boys movie have to do with Atlanta’s Cop City? A lot, it turns out. In this episode, Katie and Yves uncover how copaganda shapes public perceptions and justifies systemic injustices.

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Minding Their Business Jul 25, 2024

Sometimes being nosy pays off. In today's episode, Katie and Yves discuss eavesdropping, punkah fans, and small acts of resistance.

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Black Donald Trump Jul 18, 2024

Donald Trump is everywhere — cable news, social media, those silly red hats, Black sitcoms and rap lyrics. Wait, what? That’s right. In this episode Katie and Yves are looking at Donald Trump’s cameos in Black sitcoms and rap music to track how Black folks’ attitudes toward The Donald have changed over time.

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Wash Day Woes Jul 11, 2024

Black haircare YouTubers built a brand-new storytelling genre from the ground up. So today on the podcast, Yves and Katie give them their much-deserved credit. Then they speak with LaToya Ebony, a content creator and actress who's been giving us haircare game on YouTube for over a decade.

LaToya Ebony Hair

LaToya Ebony

Someday Sunday

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Black, White, and Read All Over Jul 04, 2024

Ever wonder why news can feel so different depending on where you read it? In today’s episode, Katie and Yves compare how Black and white newspapers cover the same topics. From big events to everyday stories, we'll explore why the news isn't always so black and white.

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Branding While Black ft. Bridget Todd Jun 28, 2024

People have been branding themselves for a long time, but personal branding is a whole new beast in the digital age -- especially for Black folks. Katie and Yves speak with Bridget Todd of There Are No Girls on the Internet about what it means to share carefully crafted personas on social media.

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Do We Need More Slavery Movies? Jun 20, 2024

We're done with the trauma for trauma's sake. But can we trust folks to make informed, nuanced stories about enslaved people? Cheyney McKnight of Not Your Momma's History is skeptical. Katie and Yves speak with her about the horror of slavery films in Hollywood, her favorite movie about an enslaved person, and the kinds of slavery movies she wants to see in the future.

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Join us in ATL on Juneteenth! Jun 18, 2024

Join us on Juneteenth for a special edition of Write Club Atlanta!

Write Club is a literary event where writers go head-to-head on opposing topics. Expect amazing writers, stories that will take you on an emotional roller coaster, and an appropriate amount of joyous yelling.

All Black writers. Blackity Black themes. Come see 'bout it.

This event will take place at 7 Stages Theatre in Atlanta.

Doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8.

Tickets $10 at the door.

Head to ontheme.show/juneteenth-write-club-atlanta for more info.

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Survival of the Crunkest Jun 13, 2024

Crunk music. Snap music. They go together like Atlanta and hip-hop. For the brief and delightful time that crunk and snap were in the limelight, hip-hop felt so carefree (and chaotic). Katie and Yves take a trip back to the aughts to pay homage to the two genres that brought people together — in real life and on the internet.

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Archive Alive Jun 06, 2024

Yves and Katie share the mic with archivists who detail the funniest or most poignant stories they’ve discovered while in the stacks.

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A VERY Important Announcement May 02, 2024

Katie and Yves share a very important announcement about the show.

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Living, Breathing Poetry Apr 25, 2024

Many anthologies of nature poetry and Black poetry have excluded Black nature poetry. But Black people have always written poetry about nature. We write about the land that supports us and challenges us. We write about the animals we care for and the disasters that destroy our homes. We write about the rivers we cross and the soil we till.

Black nature poems reflect the enormous range of experiences that we have in our physical environments. As they show us, nature can haunt, and nature can heal. In today’s episode, Katie and Yves discuss the work of a few writers who train their words on the natural world.

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Pixel Power Apr 18, 2024

Every photo tells a story. In this week’s episode, Katie and Yves take a look at specific instances when pictures were used for good…and for evil. Sometimes they expose the truth, but sometimes they obscure it.

Act I: The Most Photographed Man In America

How Frederick Douglass used his portraits to advance the abolitionist movement.

Act II: The Polaroid Protest

Two Polaroid employees discover that the company's technology was being used by the South African government to enforce apartheid. How they forced Polaroid into becoming the first major American company to withdraw from South Africa.

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Rediscovering THE Pauline Hopkins Apr 11, 2024

Pauline Hopkins was a literary pioneer in the science fiction, fantasy, romance, and detective genres. She wrote plenty of short stories, essays, books, and plays.

But as is the case with so many Black women writers from the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hopkins’s work fell into relative obscurity. Thanks to the work of scholars like Dr. Claudia Tate, Dr. Mary Helen Washington, and Ann Allen Shockley, Hopkins is now getting recognition for being the literary pioneer that she was.

There are many more pieces to Pauline’s puzzle that have yet to be found. But the rediscovery of Pauline’s legacy is an ongoing labor of love. In this episode, Yves and Katie honor the life and work of the legendary author and editor Pauline Hopkins.

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The Myth of Atlanta Apr 04, 2024

It’s 404 Day, an annual celebration of all things Atlanta. And because Katie and Yves love Atlanta — Black Atlanta specifically — they’re talking about the myths Atlanta perpetuates and how those myths impact Black folks.

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On Risk and Liberation With Raquel Willis Mar 28, 2024

Folks in all kinds of media are great at crafting stories that use misinformation and disinformation to sway opinions about transgender people. When you’re the target of this kind of damaging propaganda, it can be super important to create spaces where you can take control of your own narratives.

Enter "The Risk It Takes to Bloom," a new memoir by award-winning author, activist, and media strategist Raquel Willis.

As we approach the end of another Women’s History Month, we speak with Raquel about the beauty of Black trans people telling their stories with agency … and how honest, personal storytelling helps pave a path toward freedom.

Keep up with Raquel:

raquelwillis.com

@raquelwillis on all social platforms

Buy "The Risk It Takes to Bloom"

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Diary Dialogues Mar 21, 2024

A lot of us would never want our diaries to see the light of day. But that hasn't stopped people from archiving and publishing their own and others' diary entries.

It's not just about exposing people's secrets, though. Through these diaries, we get to learn more about historical eras and about the day-to-day experiences of our ancestors. We get a sneak peek into the private, interior worlds of everyday people, unmarred by the specter of surveillance.

To be honest, it does feel a little voyeuristic ... but we’re lucky to have the diaries we do. So in this episode, Katie and Yves grab their tiny keys and crack open the locks on a few Black women's diaries — and we get a glimpse of their lives during Reconstruction, during the Harlem Renaissance, and today.

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Literary Detectives Mar 14, 2024

What happens when a writer’s words are read for the last time? If they’re lucky, curious readers make sure that never happens. And if they’re blessed and highly favored, their readers spread the gospel far and wide. Today, Katie and Yves discuss Alice Walker’s search for Zora Neale Hurston and speak with Michael A. Gonzales, a writer who rediscovered Diane Oliver’s writing in a little-known anthology. And the rest, as they say, is literary history.

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Which One Of Y’all Want Beef? Mar 07, 2024

Storytelling ain’t always love, peace, and kumbaya. Sometimes our favorite storytellers beef with each other in public. And we, the audience, eat it up.

In this episode, Katie and Yves take a walk down a beef-laden memory lane, reexamining feuds between Zora Neale Hurston and other Harlem Renaissance writers.

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The Last Image Feb 29, 2024

In the U.S., funerals are typically sad occasions, and mourning must be private and appropriate. But as much as Americans like to be uptight about death, post-mortem photography is an art that's been around for a long time, and it's still alive today.

Katie and Yves delve into the funerary photography of James Van Der Zee, the controversy of posting images of the dead on social media, and the spectacle of "extreme embalming."

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The Real-Life Rosa Parks Feb 23, 2024

Most of us have known of Rosa Parks since we were knee-high to a grasshopper, but how much do you actually know about Rosa Parks the person?

Katie and Yves discuss fictional depictions of the civil rights activist and speak with her niece, Sheila McCauley Keys to gain a new perspective on Ms. Rosa Parks.

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Rhyme and Punishment Feb 15, 2024

A new documentary — As We Speak — explores the weaponization of rap lyrics in the legal system, shedding light on using artistic expression as evidence in criminal trials.

Directed by J.M. Harper and featuring hip-hop artist Kemba as a guide and character, the film delves into how rap lyrics have been used in court, examining the impact of this practice on the music industry and its artists.

Yves and Katie caught up with J.M. and Kemba to talk to them about As We Speak and the implications of criminalizing an art form.

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Bona Fide Blackface Feb 08, 2024

Blackface was born of white folks’ racism and tired imaginations. It was about how white people co-opted Black stories and impersonated Black folks. But it was also about how Black people subverted those narratives and constructed their own.

In this episode, Katie and Yves talk about how the practice of blackface has been a pervasive ill in the history of U.S. culture and entertainment — and an opportunity for Black performers to hone their craft.

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What Would King Do? Feb 01, 2024

It seems like everyone invokes the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., from leftist organizers to conservative pundits. “If Martin Luther King was alive, today he’d….” or “Dr. King didn’t die for you to be…” or “What would King do?”

And while Dr. King is no longer alive to weigh in, he did let Ebony Magazine readers know what he’d do in certain situations through his advice column, Advice For Living. In this episode, Katie and Yves take in Dr. King’s advice, flaws and all.

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Music Is for Movement Jan 25, 2024

Throughout history and across the world, Black people have used protest songs to boost morale and inspire action. In this episode, Katie and Yves explore the history of protest songs created to uplift major social movements, including the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.

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The Art of War Jan 19, 2024

Katie and Yves delve into the often overlooked yet impactful role of Black artists in times of war.

Join us as we unravel the stories behind the artwork, songs, and poetry that have played a crucial role in shaping perceptions, challenging systemic injustices, and advocating for change on the frontlines and beyond.

We also talk with surrealist blues poet, aja monet, about how she uses art to support Palestine.

Read aja’s poems in My Mother Was A Freedom Fighter

Listen to aja's album When the Poems Do What They Do

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New Year, New Stories Jan 11, 2024

What stories are you looking forward to this year? What stories will you create? Katie and Yves chat about all the stories to come in 2024.

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This Episode Slaps! Jan 04, 2024

We’re diving into a realm filled with characters who make us grit our teeth, furrow our brows, and sometimes—let's admit it—make us itch to reach into the story and deliver a perfectly executed whack!

Listen to see if you’d slap the same characters we would.

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I’d Like to Thank My Haters Dec 28, 2023

Haters get a bad wrap and for good reason. They demean, ridicule, and well...hate, but they are often the catalyst in many of the Black stories we know and love.

We hear about haters in songs, memoirs, acceptance speeches. It’s possible that without haters, we would only have a fraction of the Black stories we have today.

In this episode, Katie and Yves discuss haters’ place in the Black storytelling ecosystem.

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The Black Struggle Industrial Complex Dec 21, 2023

Katie and Yves head to the movies to watch American Fiction. Afterward, they discuss the anatomy of the Black Struggle Industrial Complex™ using examples from the movie and Erasure by Percival Everett.

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Becoming Armchair Archivists Dec 14, 2023

Katie and Yves talk with Ambar Johnson, an oral historian who created a guide specifically to help collect family stories. We discuss the dos and don’ts of gathering family histories, and Yves uses the guide to interview a family member.

Download Ambar Johnson’s guide on collecting family stories at dandelyonsstudios.myflodesk.com

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The Rap-to-Act Pipeline Dec 07, 2023

Some rappers put the brakes on their music careers and flipped the script — literally. In this episode, Katie and Yves discuss three different hip-hop artists who made their way down the rap-to-act pipeline and consider how we can reflect on their reinventions.

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Everybody Got A Hot Sixteen Nov 30, 2023

With hip-hop in its 50th year, the music genre and cultural phenomenon has gone from the block to the world’s stage.

In this episode, Katie and Yves are taking it back to the block (and the cubicle and the classroom and the grocery store checkout line) and delving into the role of amateur rappers play in storytelling.

Discover how these part-time rappers become modern-day griots, chronicling the highs, lows, and hidden truths of their neighborhoods.

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For Great Art, We Grateful Nov 23, 2023

Here at On Theme, the season to give thanks for Black stories is year-round, ya dig? As a small token of gratitude, Katie and Yves dedicate an episode to their appreciation for Carrie Mae Weems’s “Kitchen Table Series” and Fannie Lou Hamer’s 1964 speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Check out Carrie Mae Weems’s Kitchen Table Series

Read “Carrie Mae Weems by Dawoud Bey” in Bomb Magazine

Listen to Fannie Lou Hamer’s full speech

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Advice For The Wise…And Otherwise Nov 16, 2023

Who do you go to for advice? In this episode, Katie and Yves revisit Princess Mysteria’s 1920s advice column and speak with author and podcast host Damon Young about advice, storytelling, and faulty iPhone chargers.

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Raising Our Glasses Nov 09, 2023

Oh, shoot! Your best friend’s wedding is tomorrow and you didn’t prepare a toast. No worries. In this episode, Katie and Yves break down the key ingredients of the perfect toast using examples from their favorite movies and TV shows.

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We Might Regret This Episode Later Nov 02, 2023

If you’re an artist, it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’re going to create art that you’re not happy with at some point. But when Black artists have to look back at past works that didn’t age well on the race front, the regret can run deep. In this episode, Katie and Yves dive into Octavia E. Butler’s, Viola Davis's, and Ernest Hogan’s stories of remorse and reckoning.

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Toward the Danger Oct 26, 2023

In today’s episode, Yves has beef with jokes about Black people running away from danger in horror movies. But the best stories have dramatic reversals, and even the most stubborn minds can be changed. Katie and Yves get into the complexity of the well-intentioned jokes and speak with Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, a horror expert who isn’t afraid to look in the mirror and say “Candyman” five times.

Follow Dr. Means Coleman on X @MeansColeman

Purchase “The Black Guy Dies First” and "Horror Noire"

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The Other OTHER Magical Negro Oct 19, 2023

There are Black folks who are real-life colleagues with the supernatural. Then there are Black folks who are sacrificial fictional characters in problematic storylines. Then there’s the other other “magical Negro”: the one who performs the art of magic. Katie and Yves delve into the history of Black magicians and the significance of the stories they told. Then they return to the present for a conversation with modern-day magician Nicole Cardoza.

Keep up with Nicole Cardoza:

blackgirlmagician.com
@nicoleacardoza on Instagram

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Addicted to Anti-Blackness Oct 12, 2023

Katie and Yves are joined by journalist and author of “When Crack Was King,” Donovan X. Ramsey. They discuss his new book, the media’s role in exacerbating the devastating effects of crack, how hip-hop artists memorialized the early days of crack in their rhymes, and the unhinged PSAs put out during the crack era. (Ahem, looking at the Partnership for a Drug Free America PSA: “Make no mistake — drug abuse is the new slavery.”)

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TV FOMO IRL Oct 05, 2023

Art inspires. But what happens when the lives we see on the screen leave us feeling disappointed with our own lives? In this episode, Katie and Yves talk with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford of Therapy for Black Girls about what to do when our expectations don’t match our reality.

Follow Dr. Joy on social media @hellodrjoy Buy Dr. Joy's book "Sisterhood Heals"
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A Love Letter to Black Stories Sep 28, 2023

Dear Audience,

In today’s episode, we pour back into Black stories a modicum of the love that they’ve given us.

In admiration & gratitude,

Katie + Yves

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This Is the Beginning Sep 28, 2023

Who doesn't love a great beginning? Katie and Yves introduce themselves and discuss the art and science of capturing audiences’ imagination by examining the first episodes of “Abbott Elementary” and “I May Destroy You.”

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