Episode 111

full
Published on:

4th Aug 2026

[RE-RELEASE] Recontextualizing Baldwin

One more vacation episode! This episode was originally released on April 9, 2024.

Happy Tuesday, Classmates! Did you survive all the earthquakes and eclipses?! Oh good, because do we have jam-packed show for you today! First up, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and The New Yorker theater critic Hilton Als, editor of the new book God Made My Face: A Collective Portrait of James Baldwin. We chat with Hilton all about the legacy of the legendary James Baldwin and the lessons his life and work can offer us today (0:18:14). After that, stay tuned for part 2 of Paige's Kinfolk conversation with Hannah Mayree of the Black Banjo Reclamation Project (0:45:53). Plus, the Morning Announcements with Emile (0:41:54) and a little Pure Black Joy (1:02:37) to get you to the end of the week. Take your seats, everybody. Class is in session!

Hosts: Lee Bynum, Rocky Jones, Paige Reynolds (Mabolé Inawale)

Guests: Hilton Als, Hannah Mayree

Contributor: Emilia Mettenbrink

Producer: Rocky Jones

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Links

Hilton Als (Website)

God Made My Face: A Collective Portrait of James Baldwin (Book) (Exhibition)

Black Banjo Reclamation Project (Website)

James Baldwin at 100 (Website)

Sugar Hill Salon Chamber Music (Website)

Ensemble Obiora (Website)

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About the Podcast

The Score
News and commentary about art and pop culture seen through a Black and queer lens
It's time to put the arts on game! Hosts Lee Bynum, Paige Reynolds, and Rocky Jones are three Black, queer artists and pop culture aficionados, who are working every day to bring more diversity, equity, and inclusivity into the arts. Noted by The New York Times as one of the "Podcasts Opera Pros Tune To" in 2021, The Score is their provocative, thoughtful, and humorous commentary on the industry's past, present, and future, as seen through an antiracist and unapologetically Black and queer lens. Each episode features a variety of stories from a variety of perspectives that bring People of the Global Majority, queer, trans and nonbinary folks, and everyone else into the discussion of ownership over and access to the arts. From the opera house to the statehouse to your house, each episode will amplify the voices of those in the field who are pushing the boundaries of what opera is, who it is for, and how it can transform us and our communities.