The American Writers Museum Podcasts

Episode 230: Kati Curts

This week, religious studies professor Dr. Kati Curts discusses her book Assembling Religion: The Ford Motor Company and the Transformation of Religion in America, which illustrates how Henry Ford institutionalized a social gospel. Though Ford’s efforts at the head of the Ford Motor Company have commonly been understood as secular, Ford himself was explicit that [...]

Episode 57: Sholem Asch

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Sholem Asch. Born in Poland to an Orthodox Jewish family, Asch was a novelist, playwright, and essayist acclaimed by both critics and readers alike. He was one of the first Yiddish writers to attract a wide readership in translation and was one of the best-known [...]

Episode 229: Oscar Brown, Jr.

This week, Maggie and Africa Brown discuss the legacy of their father—Oscar Brown, Jr.—and perform some of his work. This conversation originally took place February 26, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. Maggie and Africa Brown love doing what they do best together—singing with theatrics on stage. These “2 Brown Sisters” energetically [...]

Episode 56: Pauli Murray

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Pauli Murray. A poet, activist, lawyer, professor, and priest, Murray was a prolific and passionate writer. She exchanged letters with Eleanor Roosevelt and inspired the likes of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Murray’s 1950 legal book States’ Laws on Race and Color became known as “the Bible [...]

Episode 228: Rima Vesely-Flad

In this episode, Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad discusses her book The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. Black, queer, feminist, Buddhist: The Fire Inside casts a fresh new light on the radical literary legacies of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. This conversation originally took place January 29, 2026 and was recorded live [...]