We Need To Talk About Whiteness - with Carmen Thompson

Ep 73: What's in a name? Journalist, academic and ex-TV producer Sheela Banerjee's discusses names and what they signify to society - in her new book, she takes us from the fight against racism in Britain, from Jamaica in the 60s to pre-Revolutionary Russia, each time exploring how a name contains centuries of history and acts as a portal to other worlds. So what IS in a name...? and what do we lose when we change them...

Ep72: Whiteness and its making - Dr. Carmen Thompson is a historian and author, and a highly sought out expert on Race and Whiteness in America whose scholarship has been quoted in historic court judgements in the US. She joins me to discuss her new book "The Making of American Whiteness: The Formation of Race in Seventeenth- Century Virginia".

Ep 71: Whiteness and the whitelash - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and author of a new book “American Whitelash”, Wesley Lowery joins Myriam Francois to talk the whitelash, covering racist politics and what the history of white supremacy tells us about our current juncture.

Ep70: Whiteness and culture - author, broadcaster and educator Jeffrey Boakye spent 15y in the education sector. He now provides training for schools, universities and businesses on race, identity, masculinity and education. He joins me to talk about re-telling the story of Britain through musical history, how to talk about race better and the impact of enduring perceptions of black masculinity.

Ep69: Whiteness and art curation - Samenua Sesher is the Founder and Director of the Museum of Colour, the UK’s foremost arts and heritage digital enterprise.The Museum is focused on the creative journeys of British people of colour and has as its mission to present a continually evolving online repository of once-forgotten wisdom. She joins to talk omitted heritages, the 'slave Bible' and why decentering whiteness is so vital for artists. Please note: These Things Matter: Empire, Exploitation and Everyday Racism is currently on show at The Bodleian Libraries until 19/2/23

EP68: Whiteness and 'racial reckoning' - Eve Fairbanks is an award winning writer and the author of a new book “The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa's Racial Reckoning” which explores what happened when a white supremacist state is overturned by the previously dispossessed. She joins me to discuss whiteness in post-apartheid South Africa, naviguating away from the white supremacist order, and racial reckoning. *apologies in advance for some audio issues aka echoing

Ep67: Whiteness and power - Suzanne Alleyne is a self coined 'cultural thinker' and founder of consultancy Alleyne&. Her groundbreaking research project 'Neurology of PowerTM', asks where power resides in the brain and body. She joins me to talk about empathy and privilege, power and the body, and the importance of recognising the physical as well as cultural impact of power on the very structure of our minds.

Ep66: The Stories of Whiteness - A third-generation Japanese-American essayist, poet and fiction writer, David Mura has written intimately about his life and the connections between race, culture and history. In this episode, he joins me to about his latest book, 'The Stories Whiteness tells itself', as we examine the embeddedness of white supremacy within American culture and the stories America tells itself to avoid confronting it.

Ep 65: Whiteness and maculinity - Yomi Sode is an award-winning Nigerian British writer. He was shortlisted for The Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021 and his acclaimed one-man show COAT, recently toured nationally to sold-out audiences. His latest book "Manorism" explores the lives of Black British men and boys through poetry. He joins me to talk masculinity, pop culture and having your own lexicon...

ep 64: Whiteness and the racial code - Nichola Rollock is Professor of Social Policy and Race at King’s College London, a government adviser and a widely read contributor to publications including Guardian, the FT and Vogue. She is now also the author of a new book “The Racial Code: tales of resistance and survival.” She joins me to educational attainment gaps, race in the workplace and naviguating the rules of whiteness.