In Honor Of John Lewis's Good Trouble

Jul 29, 2020

Dr. Janus Adams is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, historian, entrepreneur, bestselling author of eleven books, and the host of public radio’s “The Janus Adams Show” and podcast. A frequent on-air guest, she has appeared on ABC, BET, CBS, CNN, Fox News, NBC’s The Today Show, and NPR’s All Things Considered.  With more than 500 articles, essays and columns to her credit, her work has been featured in Essence and Ms. Magazines, The New York Times, Newsday, USA Today, and The Washington Post.  Her syndicated column ran in the Hearst Newspapers for sixteen years.  Her commentary has been broadcast on CBS and NPR, and published in the Huffington Post.  Her book, Glory Days: 365 Inspired Moments in African American History, was licensed by McDonald’s and reached more than 3 million readers. A pioneer of issue-oriented African-American and women’s programming she has hosted her own radio and television talk shows for more than ten years.  Her series, “Milestones in African-American Business History,” ran on public radio’s Marketplace. Her 19-hour International Women’s Day marathon broadcasts brought her to NPR as the network’s first National Arts Correspondent and opened the New York News Bureau. An entrepreneur, as founder of BackPax (a children’s publishing company) and Harambee (the first national book club for African American literature), she changed the publishing landscape for authors and audiences. A dynamic speaker and passionate storyteller, she is known for her unique perspectives on current events through the lens of history. Indeed, Dr. Adams has been engaged by history and culture since childhood.  A northern school desegregation pioneer at 8, she was one of the four children selected to break New York’s de facto segregation in the public schools in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education.  A classically-trained pianist, she is a graduate of New York’s High School of Performing Arts.  Her master’s is the nation’s first graduate degree in Black Studies.  Her doctoral chair was author and composer Shirley Graham Du Bois (widow of Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, the “Father of Pan-Africanism” and co-founder of the NAACP). Her honors include Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Shaw University and the State University of New York.

Charla Lauriston is a Los Angeles based stand-up comedian, television writer, producer, and podcast host who’s written for The Last OG, Ghosted, People of Earth, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and the upcoming Hoops on Netflix. As a standup, she’s appeared on ‘The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail’ on Comedy Central, has performed with Jonathan Van Ness and Team Coco. Hailing from New York by way of Boston by way of Haiti, Charla’s sharp observations on everything from family to race to pop culture and the absurd minutia of everyday life are delivered with a matter-of-fact punch to the gut. Her 2014 web series, Clench & Release, garnered critical acclaim that described her as “self-assured and gleefully sarcastic” (WNYC) and “one of the most exciting and original voices in comedy” (Splitsider). Yes, she’s very tired and plans to retreat to the woods in 2035. 

Keisha "TK" Dutes is an independent audio producer and co-host of TK in The AM, recently celebrating 1000 episodes of live streaming morning radio on Bondfire Radio. With experience spanning terrestrial radio (WBAI-NY) , online, podcast (Buzzfeed's "Thirst Aid Kit") and audio drama, her life is in audio is all encompassing. TK's has a passion for Black audio drama, having produced W.E.B DuBois' The Comet, and  The Weeksvile Project, a story about about a free Black community Brooklyn, N.Y. She also spreads the gospel of radio and podcasting through workshops and mentorship, and was recently listed on Current.org's "Black Talents in Public Media You Should Know." Currently, she is on the board of the Association of Independents in Radio, and works with Roxane Gay and Tressie McMillan-Cottom as an Executive Producing Consultant on their podcast, Hear To Slay on Luminary. 

Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf