Best Small Press Comic Podcasts (2025)

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Bryan D. Jones, The Southern Fault Line: How Race, Class, and Region Shaped One Family's History" (Oxford UP, 2025) 58:29

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20m ago58:29

58:29

The Southern Fault Line: How Race, Class, and Region Shaped One Family's History (Oxford University Press, 2025) explores the under-appreciated division in the South between the oligarchic rule of plantation owners and industrialists on the one hand, and the more democratic mindset of the mountain-dwelling small farmers on the other. These two mind…

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Is Sinners a New Classic of Political Utopianism? 50:35

2d ago50:35

50:35

It’s the UConn Popcast, and we analyze the movie Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan, just released on streaming. We address the political themes of the movie, focusing on its generic identity as a Southern Gothic, the historical context in which the movie takes place, its engagement with ideas of utopia, community, freedom, and the siren songs tha…

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Philip Kadish, "The Great White Hoax: Frauds, Forgeries, and 200 Years of Selling Racism in America" 1:11:14

3d ago1:11:14

1:11:14

Fake news, outright political lies, a shamelessly partisan press, and the collapse of truth, civility, and shared facts, Dr. Philip Kadish argues, are nothing new. The Great White Hoax: Two Centuries of Selling Racism in America (The New Press, 2025), a masterpiece of historical and literary sleuthing, reveals that the era of Fox News and Donald Tr…

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Judith Weisenfeld, "Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery’s Wake" (NYU Press, 2025) 55:12

3d ago55:12

55:12

In the decades after the end of slavery, African Americans were committed to southern state mental hospitals at higher rates as white psychiatrists listed “religious excitement” among the most frequent causes of insanity for Black patients. At the same time, American popular culture and political discourse framed African American modes of spiritual…

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Episode 521 - Who Gives a Buck? 1:50:10

4d ago1:50:10

1:50:10

This week the ACP take to the stars and find out how Buck Rogers is once again hitting the pages of comics! Now a public domain entity and shepherded in a new book by Allan and Ben Liska (Green Archer Comics), not only is it the perfect time to talk about this much overlooked and influential character but a perfect time to find out how working with…

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Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, "Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays and Writings" (Harper, 2025) 44:47

7d ago44:47

44:47

The New York Times-bestselling, National Book Award-nominated author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois and The Age of Phillis makes her nonfiction debut with this personal and thought-provoking work that explores the journeys and possibilities of Black women throughout American history and in contemporary times. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is at a cr…

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Robell Awake, "A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects" (Princeton Architectural Press, 2025) 53:32

10d ago53:32

53:32

Ten beautifully illustrated essays tell the stories of handcrafted objects and their makers, providing inspiration and insight into Black history and craftsmanship. Black artisans have long been central to American art and design, creating innovative and highly desired work against immense odds. Atlanta-based chairmaker and scholar Robell Awake exp…

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Rob Edwards, "Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls" (Stranger Comics, 2025) 33:03

10d ago33:03

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At the height of the Civil War, on May 12, 1862, Robert Smalls—an enslaved harbor pilot in Charleston, South Carolina—carried out one of the most courageous and cunning acts in American history. He disguised himself as a captain and, in the dead of night, commandeered the ship he worked on and sailed it to freedom. By the time Confederate soldiers …

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Episode 520 - Are Greg and Fake ACTUALLY FAKE? 1:57:01

11d ago1:57:01

1:57:01

From its first issue to its recent Eisner Award nomination, The Santos Sisters has been storming the indie comics world so Marc Koprinarov and Greg from Greg and Fake join the ACP crew to talk about their comic series, inspirations, working process and whether or not one of the trio actually exists. It's a great chat about one of the shining lights…

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Alexandria Russell, "Black Women Legacies: Public History Sites Seen and Unseen" (University of Illinois Press, 2024) 1:19:10

16d ago1:19:10

1:19:10

From Black clubwomen to members of preservation organizations, African American women have made commemoration a central part of Black life and culture. Alexandria Russell illuminates the process of memorialization while placing African American women at the center of memorials they brought into being and others constructed in their honor. Their oft…

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Rob Franklin, "Great Black Hope" (Summit Books, 2025) 47:17

17d ago47:17

47:17

Rob Franklin, Great Black Hope (Summit Books, 2025) Born and raised in Atlanta, Rob Franklin is a writer of fiction, criticism, and poetry, and a cofounder of Art for Black Lives. A Kimbilio Fiction Fellow and finalist for the New England Review Emerging Writer prize, he has published work in New England Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Rumpus amo…

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Episode 519 - From an Ashcan to a Roadblock in Comics! 1:53:35

18d ago1:53:35

1:53:35

Do you like comics?Then you are in for a treat this week, as the ACP gang are not only reunited after a week apart, but the awesome artist Andrew Krahnke (Bloodrik) joins them to talk about drawing, writing, creating ashcans and an absolute love for comics. The conversation also travels from Groo to Jaws and by the end you'll certainly have a new f…

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Brando Simeo Starkey, "Their Accomplices Wore Robes: How the Supreme Court Chained Black America to the Bottom of a Racial Caste System" (Doubleday, 2025) 1:02:39

21d ago1:02:39

1:02:39

Their Accomplices Wore Robes: How the Supreme Court Chained Black America to the Bottom of a Racial Caste System (Doubleday, 2025) takes readers from the Civil War era to the present and describes how the Supreme Court, even more than the presidency or Congress, aligned with the enemies of Black progress to undermine the promise of the Constitution…

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CHRIS WESTON for PARANOID GARDENS 1:04:39

22d ago1:04:39

1:04:39

Welcome back to the Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club! To join the club, visit https://www.graphicnovelclub.com/graphic-novel-club/ Official Website: https://www.comixexperience.com YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/comixexperience Leave a review and share! It all helps. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comixexperiencegraphicnovelclub/…

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Anthony C. Infanti, "The Human Toll: Taxation and Slavery in Colonial America" (NYU Press, 2025) 1:06:47

24d ago1:06:47

1:06:47

The Human Toll: Taxation and Slavery in Colonial America (NYU Press, 2025) by Anthony C. Infanti documents how the American colonies used tax law to dehumanize enslaved persons, taxing them alongside valuable commodities upon their forced arrival and then as wealth-generating assets in the hands of slaveholders. Dr. Infanti examines how taxation al…

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Episode 518 - There's No I in Team! 2:00:09

25d ago2:00:09

2:00:09

It's the start of a summer of comics here at the ACP, and one of the crew has already jetted off on their holiday! Friend of the show Tom Curry rejoins the surviving hosts to talk about subjects such as which is more successful, solo creators or creative teams? Theres also tons of comics banter, indie comic recommendations and, as always, awesome c…

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Episode 517 - Cutting Indie Comics Some Slack! 1:56:37

28d ago1:56:37

1:56:37

Want to know how to deal with writers block? Do you think that the big 2 will ever cease to exist? Ever wondered what happens when 3 lifelong comic fans and forced to choose which of their collection to keep and which to lose? All that and more are discussed in this weeks round of comic book chatter that was born from the ACP community. The chat ge…

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Nneka D. Dennie, "Mary Ann Shadd Cary: Essential Writings of a Nineteenth Century Black Radical Feminist" (Oxford UP, 2023) 1:02:32

28d ago1:02:32

1:02:32

In 1849, the Mary Ann Shadd Cary had not yet become one of the first Black woman newspaper editors in North America. She was decades away from being admitted to Howard University’s Law School and becoming the first Black woman to so enroll in the United States. She had not yet begun to lobby for women’s right to vote, and she had not yet emigrated …

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JOSE PIMIENTA for HALFWAY SOMEWHERE 1:24:06

29d ago1:24:06

1:24:06

Welcome back to the Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club! To join the club, visit https://www.graphicnovelclub.com/graphic-novel-club Official Website: https://www.comixexperience.com YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/comixexperience Leave a review and share! It all helps. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comixexperiencegraphicnovelclub/ …

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Karida L. Brown, "The Battle for the Black Mind" (Legacy Lit, 2025) 1:03:53

1M ago1:03:53

1:03:53

A gripping chronicle of the relentless fight for Black educational freedom--and the bold strategies to protect, nourish, and empower Black minds. The Battle for the Black Mind (Legacy Lit, 2025) is an explosive historical account of the struggle for educational justice in America. Drawing on over a decade of archival research, personal reflection, …

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Frank X Walker, "Load in Nine Times: Poems" (Liveright, 2024) 1:24:30

1M ago1:24:30

1:24:30

For decades Frank X Walker has reclaimed essential American lives through his pathbreaking historical poetry. In this stirring new collection, he reimagines the experiences of Black Civil War soldiers—including his own ancestors—who enlisted in the Union army in exchange for emancipation. Moving chronologically from antebellum Kentucky through Reco…

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JOEY ESPOSITO and SEAN VON GORMAN for THE PEDESTRIAN 1:30:49

1M ago1:30:49

1:30:49

Welcome back to the Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club! To join the club, visit https://www.graphicnovelclub.com/graphic-novel-club Official Website: https://www.comixexperience.com YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/comixexperience Leave a review and share! It all helps. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comixexperiencegraphicnovelclub/ …

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Episode 516 - A Small Press Comics Table for 3 Please! 2:01:55

1M ago2:01:55

2:01:55

Three hosts. Three questions. Three hot topics of debate. From the world of celebrity comics to classic books that just don't connect with you, this week the ACP are talking about plenty of fun comics based chat and having fun as they do so. Alongside that is a raft (other floating devices are available) of indie comics to check out and an exciting…

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Rasheedah Phillips, "Dismantling the Master's Clock: On Race, Space, and Time" (AK Press, 2025) 58:11

1M ago58:11

58:11

Why do some processes—like aging, birth, and car crashes—occur in only one direction in time, when by the fundamental symmetry of the universe, we should experience time both forward and backward? Our dominant perception of time owes more to Western history and social order than to a fact of nature, argues writer Rasheedah Phillips, delving into Bl…

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K. O'NEILL for A SONG FOR YOU & I 1:02:41

1M ago1:02:41

1:02:41

Welcome back to the Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club! To join the club, visit https://www.graphicnovelclub.com/graphic-novel-club Official Website: https://www.comixexperience.com YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/comixexperience Leave a review and share! It all helps. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comixexperiencegraphicnovelclub/ …

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Robert F. Darden and Stephen M. Newby, "Soon and Very Soon: The Transformative Music and Ministry of Andraé Crouch" (Oxford UP, 2025) 51:56

1M ago51:56

51:56

Gospel singer and seven-time Grammy winner Andraé Crouch (1942-2015) hardly needs introduction. His compositions--"The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power," "Through It All," "My Tribute (To God be the Glory)," "Jesus is the Answer," "Soon and Very Soon," and others--remain staples in modern hymnals, and he is often spoken of in the same "genius" panth…

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James B. Haile III, "The Dark Delight of Being Strange: Black Stories of Freedom" (Columbia UP, 2024) 1:18:30

2M ago1:18:30

1:18:30

An ambitious genre-crossing exploration of Black speculative imagination, The Dark Delight of Being Strange: Black Stories of Freedom (Columbia University Press 2024) combines fiction, historical accounts, and philosophical prose to unveil the extraordinary and the surreal in everyday Black life. In a series of stories and essays, James B. Haile, I…

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Episode 515 - Highlighting Comics From the Other Side of the World! 2:06:54

2M ago2:06:54

2:06:54

This week the gang talk about comics from another hemisphere, time zone and more, as they explore indie comics from Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. From highlighting cultures and legends to more straightforward sci-fi storytelling, its a fascinating and eye opening insight into creators that may not get noticed by your own comics community. Plus…

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Ariel Nereson, "Democracy Moving: Bill T. Jones, Contemporary American Performance, and the Racial Past" (U Michigan Press, 2022) 32:04

2M ago32:04

32:04

On the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, renowned choreographer and director Bill T. Jones developed three tributes: Serenade/The Proposition, 100 Migrations, and Fondly Do We Hope . . . Fervently Do We Pray. These widely acclaimed dance works incorporated video and audio text from Lincoln's writings as they examined key moments in his …

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William Jennings, "Dibia's World: Life on an Early Sugar Plantation" (Liverpool UP, 2023) 47:14

2M ago47:14

47:14

In the latest episode of Unlocking Academia, Tarin Ahmed, the host, is joined by guest, William Jennings, a senior lecturer in French at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, and author of Dibia's World.: Life on an Early Sugar Plantation (Liverpool UP, 2023). William discusses the importance of names, voice and the community life of a hundred …

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Seulghee Lee, "Other Lovings: An Afroasian American Theory of Life" (Ohio State UP, 2025) 42:33

2M ago42:33

42:33

Join me for a conversation with Dr. Seulghee Lee (Assistant Professor of African American Studies and English, University of South Carolina) about his recently published book, Other Lovings: An AfroAsian American Theory of Life (Ohio State UP, 2025). Some topics of our discussion include Adrian Tomine's graphic novel Shortcomings (2007), Gayl Jones…

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connor b. for BRING ME THE HEAD OF SUSAN LOMOND 1:19:30

2M ago1:19:30

1:19:30

Welcome back to the Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club! To join the club, visit https://www.graphicnovelclub.com/graphic-novel-club Official Website: https://www.comixexperience.com YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/comixexperience Leave a review and share! It all helps. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comixexperiencegraphicnovelclub/ …

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Episode 514 - The Mystery Deepens... 2:06:30

2M ago2:06:30

2:06:30

Its the first week of a month full of comic book chat with the three amigos of the ACP. Or, Three aMAYgos Month... which is a pun that will make the crew chuckle to themselves all month. That means nothing but pure comic book chatter, from Free Comic Book Day 2025, how to get people who know nothing about comics to try reading them, to the infiltra…

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John Lee Hooker Jr., "From the Shadow of the Blues: My Story of Music, Addiction, and Redemption" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025) 56:12

2M ago56:12

56:12

From the Shadow of the Blues: My Story of Music, Addiction, and Redemption (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025) is powerful memoir of redemption from the son of blues legend John Lee Hooker. Born in Detroit and exposed to the music world from an early age, John Lee Hooker Jr. began singing as a featured attraction in his father's shows as a teenager. His f…

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Aaron Robertson, "The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America" (FSG, 2024) 54:58

2M ago54:58

54:58

How do the disillusioned, the forgotten, and the persecuted not merely hold on to life but expand its possibilities and preserve its beauty? What, in other words, does utopia look like in black? These questions animate Aaron Robertson’s exploration of Black Americans' efforts to remake the conditions of their lives. Writing in the tradition of Said…

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Vanessa Priya Daniel, "Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning" (Random House, 2025) 53:16

2M ago53:16

53:16

In the U.S., many of the most significant social justice victories of our time have been spearheaded by women of color leaders. From the streets, to the ballot box, to elected office, no other demographic group stands up more consistently and unequivocally for human rights, democracy, and the planet. Remarkably, they’ve accomplished this despite co…

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No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice 55:43

2M ago55:43

55:43

When it comes to Confederate monuments, there is no common ground. Polarizing debates over their meaning have intensified into legislative maneuvering to preserve the statues, legal battles to remove them, and rowdy crowds taking matters into their own hands. These conflicts have raged for well over a century—but they've never been as intense as th…

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Episode 513 - Can Comics handle being this MASSIVE?! 2:24:02

2M ago2:24:02

2:24:02

This week the ACP falls down a Black Hole of indie superhero comics in the best way as they talk to Kyle Higgins (Power Rangers, Nightwing) about his series Radiant Black and the creator owned superuniverse the Massive Verse! Its an epic chat about writing indie supes, character building, tropes, positivity and also amazing and unique ways to make …

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Frederick Knight, "Black Elders: The Meaning of Age in American Slavery and Freedom" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) 1:14:03

2M ago1:14:03

1:14:03

Would there have been a Frederick Douglass if it were not for Betsy Bailey, the grandmother who raised him? Would Harriet Jacobs have written her renowned autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, if her grandmother, a free black woman named Molly Horniblow, had not enabled Jacobs’ escape from slavery? In Black Elders: The Meaning of Ag…

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Ben Arogundade, "Hollywood Blackout: The Battle for Recognition in a White Hollywood" (Cassell, 2025) 1:12:55

2M ago1:12:55

1:12:55

On February 29, 1940, African American actor Hattie McDaniel became the first person of color, and the first Black woman, to win an Academy Award. The moment marked the beginning of Hollywood's reluctant move toward diversity and inclusion. Since then, minorities and women have struggled to attain Academy Awards recognition within a system designed…

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Alexander Stoffel, "Eros and Empire: The Transnational Struggle for Sexual Freedom in the United States" (Stanford UP, 2025) 1:03:33

2M ago1:03:33

1:03:33

The history of queer politics in the United States since 1968 is commonly narrated as either a progressive campaign for state recognition or as a subcultural rejection of prevailing gender norms. But these accounts miss the true scale of queer politics in the post-war era. By centering transnational relations, practices, and infrastructures in the …