Thecuriousmanspodcast Matt Crawford

I speak with author and advocate Tahira Rehmatullah about her and Akwasi Owusu-Bempah's book, Waiting To Inhale: Cannabis Legalization and the Fight for Racial Justice. From the start drug laws have been targeted towards Black, Brown and Indigenous Americans and their communities have suffered for generations because of these policies. Rehmatullah details how legalization is just one aspect of the Cannabis movement, and that we also need racial justice going forward as well as for those who have already been persecuted. I implore all to give this book a read as this is an issue that affects us all in some surprising and endemic ways. 

Matt Crawford speaks with conservationist, farmer, historian and author Thomas Curren about his book, All Join Hands. This is the story of what happens when a ten-thousand-year-old musical tradition is put in the hands of a 17-year-old Boston boy in 1947 and a conservationist decides to write his story. The result is pure poetry and something that will stir emotions locked deep in our DNA. We all dance, and we have always done so for the basic reason of communal connection and sharing. This book brings us back to those roots in the form of country dancing. Jump in line and give it a read.

Matt Crawford speaks with author T.C Boyle about his new novel, Blue Skies. A family drama set on the coasts of both California and Florida dealing with the effects of climate change. When Cat decides she wants a snake to wear as "living jewelry" she sets off events that will impact her and her entire family. A lurking read that will make you close one eye as you turn the pages, Boyle has done it again. A seething commentary on our current society and our habit of selfish self-indulgence, this is a read you won't put down. 

Matt Crawford speaks with author Rosanna Staffa about her book, The War Ends At Four. Renata, an Italian acupuncturist in Minneapolis, is called back to her father's deathbed in Milan. Being back home makes her remember how she was treated and starts her questioning where she truly belongs. A book about finding home and our place in the world, Staffa brings rich depth and emotion to this read that will grip you from the start. I think we can all find a little home in this book and as Staffa says, for her, home is writing.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Del Smith about his book, Discovering Life's Purpose. Smith takes us on his faith-based journey to ask us all the questions, what is life's purpose and how we can find ours? This is a book though for both the religious and the secular. Smith takes a fresh and interesting look at organized religion, which he calls The Club and details his own journey from atheist to devout Christian.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Chris Campion about his book, The War Is Here. July 1967, after the arrest, beating and imprisonment of cab driver John Smith by local police, the city of Newark erupted in protest and retaliation. First by the mostly African American community and then by the Newark police and the National Guard. Over five days, 26 civilians would be killed by police gunfire with thousands of rounds fired. Bud Lee, a 26-year-old self-taught novice photographer for LIFE magazine would capture these images. Campion has compiled those images here, along with a forward from the current mayor of Newark Ras J. Baraka and his own essay. This is a book that will viscerally change its reader. I hope you will all pick it up, read it and have a conversation about it.