Season 3 of WDET’s ‘Created Equal’ Explores Race in America

Season 3 of Created Equal, “Writers on Race, from Ralph Ellison to Colson Whitehead,” features some of the most important voices in literature and the national conversation on racial inequities.

WDET, Detroit’s NPR station, presents a new season of the podcast “Created Equal.”

Season 3 of Created Equal, “Writers on Race, from Ralph Ellison to Colson Whitehead,” features some of the most important voices in literature and the national conversation on racial inequities.


Listen to the Created Equal Season 3 trailer now:


Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson in one-on-one interviews that were recorded throughout 2020, “Created Equal” pulls apart the strings of inequality that run through the American experience. Each episode explores the question — How did we arrive at this moment in history?  

The conversations were conducted on Detroit Today, in the WDET studios on Wayne State University’s campus throughout the pandemic and civil unrest of 2020. Each episode consists of a conversation between Henderson and one writer, exploring the role of their work in the conversation about race in America.  

New episodes will be added weekly beginning November 25, and will be available wherever you get your podcasts as well as on-demand at WDET.org.


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Season 3 Episodes:

EPISODE 1 — Ibram X. Kendi, author of “How to Be An Antiracist
A conversation with 2016 National Book Award-winner Ibram X. Kendi about his book “How to Be An Antiracist,” a New York Times #1 Best Seller in 2020.

EPISODE 2 — Colson Whitehead,  author of “The Nickel Boys
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Colson Whitehead talks about his novel “The Nickel Boys” and the influence of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man on his explorations of race in America. 

EPISODE 3 — Carol Anderson, author of White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
Dr. Carol Anderson author of White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, a New York Times Bestseller that was chosen as a New York Times Editor’s Pick for July 2016.

EPISODE 4 — Sarah Broom, author of “The Yellow House
Sarah M. Broom, author of The Yellow House discusses the roles of ritual and home for African Americans as told in her New York Times best-selling book which won the 2019 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

EPISODE 5 — Jim Wallis, author of America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America  
Sojourners founder Jim Wallis, author of America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America discusses what it means to be a white ally in 2020.

EPISODE 6 — Harriet Washington, author of “A Terrible Thing to Waste 
Harriett Washington, winner of the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, discusses environmental racism.   

EPISODE 7 — Eric Deggans, author of “Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation
Eric Deggans discusses how prejudice, racism and sexism fuels some elements of modern media. Deggans is NPR’s first full-time TV critic.

EPISODE 8 — JM Holmes, author of “How Are You Going to Save Yourself
JM Holmes, author of the collection of short stories “How Are You Going to Save Yourself,” talks about the roles of race and gender in his writing.

EPISODE 9 — Jerald Walker, author of “How to Make a Slave”
Writing Professor and author Jerald Walker discusses his poignant collection of essays called “How To Make A Slave,” which is a finalist for a National Book Award. In the book, Walker reflects on growing up on Chicago’s Southside, what it means to depict Black American life with authenticity and what he hopes to teach his children about the complex joy of the African-American experience.

EPISODE 10 — Poet Caroline Williams Randall
Award-winning poet and activist Caroline Randall Williams talks with Stephen Henderson about her work and what gives her hope during this dark time in American history.

EPISODE 11 — Eddie Glaude, author of “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own”
Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. is chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University and the author of the new book “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.” He and Stephen Henderson discuss “the efficiency of American exceptionalism as an ideology.”

EPISODE 12 — Maria Hinojosa, author of “Once I Was You”
Emmy award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa is the host of Latino USA and author of the new memoir “Once I Was You.’ She and Stephen Henderson talk about being a proud immigrant journalist and why she calls herself a “democracy junkie.”

EPISODE 13 — Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”
Psychologist and author of “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria?” Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum discusses her groundbreaking 1997 book with Henderson in the context of this moment of cultural and racial reckoning. They talk about how young people internalize race, systemic racism through suburban communities and the importance of cross-racial friendships.


Created Equal Season 3 is supported by the Michigan School of Psychology

 

Author

  • Meta Stange
    Meta Stange is the Digital Content and Engagement Manager for 101.9 WDET, overseeing the station's digital editorial content. She enjoys reading, making bad jokes, and hanging out with her dog, Salmon.