New Podcast Explores Past, Present and Future of Black Studies
August 20, 2024
John Drabinski and Ashley Newby’s “The Black Studies Podcast” is supported by a $100k grant from the Mellon Foundation.
John Drabinski, a professor in the University of Maryland’s English and African American and Africana Studies (AAAS) departments, is the co-creator of “The Black Studies Podcast,” a series of conversations examining the history of the field.
Supported by a $100,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, Drabinski and Ashley Newby, a lecturer and director of undergraduate studies in AAAS, launched the show in May and have thus far featured conversations with more than 30 scholars from across the country. Each shares stories about what got them interested in the field and how that interest materialized during the course of their academic career. They share insights on where the field is headed next.
Drabinski and Newby currently release one to two podcast episodes per week, and plan to do so through Spring 2025. They are also planning a research-focused speaker series with AAAS this fall, and a spring symposium that will allow students from Black Studies departments throughout the DMV to come to UMD to present their work, then witness scholars of the field do the same.
Listen to “The Black Studies Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and YouTube, or subscribe to the series on Substack.