Nov 18th, 2008 · Darius Rucker is country music's shining new star. The former frontman for the 1990s pop group Hootie & the Blowfish has become the first black artist to have a top 10 country music hit since Charley Pride. He talks with Farai Chideya and performs three of his new songs.
Nov 17th, 2008 · Most people don't think of comedy when thinking about serving in the military or the grueling aspects of basic training. But for actor Kahlil Ashanti, a screaming drill sergeant is ripe for laughs. His humorous portrayals of those he encountered while in the Air Force, round out his Broadway one-man show, Basic Training. Ashanti speaks with Farai Chideya.
Nov 17th, 2008 · For decades, Marian Wright Edelman has been a proud bullhorn on behalf of disadvantaged children. In a wide-ranging conversation with Farai Chideya, Edelman reveals whether she'd accept a post in an Obama administration and speaks about her new book, The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation.
Nov 13th, 2008 · The controversy over California's gay marriage ban, known as Prop 8, has spilled into the streets. In some places, the fight for gay rights has turned into an public indictment of African-Americans who voted in favor of the ban. Farai Chideya moderates a conversation about race and sexual identity, the proposition's impact on American politics, and the future of coalition building between blacks and gays.
Nov 11th, 2008 · It's one thing to celebrate the election of Barack Obama, as many Africans did, but it's another to see how he lives up to Africa's high expectations. For insight, Farai Chideya speaks with Roxanne Lawson of TransAfrica Forum and Samuel Dongmo, founder of African Immigrants Movement for Barack Obama.
Nov 11th, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, met with President George Bush and Laura Bush for a tour of the White House. For more on the White House meeting and impending government transition, Farai Chideya speaks with NPR's senior Washington editor, Ron Elving.
Nov 11th, 2008 · Singer Miriam Makeba is a woman whose influence extends far beyond the world of music. Fans called her "Mama Africa," the South African apartheid government banned her albums and exiled her, and Black Panther Stokely Carmichael chose her as his wife. Makeba died this week at age 76. For more, Farai Chideya speaks with Harry Belafonte about the passing of the South African singer, and we revisit a News & Notes interview with Makeba herself.
Nov 7th, 2008 · If you turned on the television during Barack Obama's election night win, you could see a cascade of reporters sniffing, snuffling, and wiping away tears. Did these displays of emotion break down the objectivity of journalism? Farai Chideya discusses this topic with Kelly McBride.