Episode 449
with George Saunders, Talib Kweli, and Jillette Johnson
Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello put a spin on some of our listeners’ favorite words and phrases; hip hop performer and activist Talib Kweli recounts stepping away from big-budget rap culture to become an independent artist; bestselling author George Saunders revisits his love of teaching through unpacking 19th century Russian literature; and singer-songwriter Jillette Johnson performs her incidentally-titled song "I Shouldn't Go Anywhere."
Talib Kweli
Hip Hop Artist & Author
Talib Kweli is a Brooklyn-based MC who earned his stripes as one of the most lyrically-gifted, socially aware, and politically insightful rappers to emerge in the last 20 years. Kweli commands attention by delivering top-tier lyricism, crafting captivating stories, and showing the ability to rhyme over virtually any type of instrumental. In 2011, Kweli founded Javotti Media, a platform “for independent thinkers and doers.” Kweli has set out to make Javotti Media (which released his 2011 album, Gutter Rainbows, and is named after his paternal grandmother) into a multi-media powerhouse. Website
George Saunders
Author
George Saunders is the author of eleven books, including Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for best work of fiction in English. George has received MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, the PEN/Malamud Prize for excellence in the short story, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2013, he was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. In support of his work, he has appeared on The Colbert Report, Late Night with David Letterman, All Things Considered, and The Diane Rehm Show. His stories have appeared regularly in The New Yorker since 1992. Website
Jillette Johnson
Singer-Songwriter
Pianist and singer-songwriter Jillette Johnson makes melodic, ruminative pop music largely centered around her resonant vocals and classically-influenced piano parts. Her debut full-length album, Water in a Whale, appeared on Wind-Up Records in 2013. Four years later, Johnson released her sophomore long-player, All I Ever See in You Is Me, produced by Dave Cobb in Nashville's famous RCA Studio A to critical acclaim. Now, Jillette Johnson returns with hard-won optimism on her third studio album, It’s A Beautiful Day And I Love You, which carries harmonic and emotional heft akin to Patty Griffin’s Flaming Red or Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark. Twitter • Listen
