Shoga Speaks
Join Filmmaker Dr. Robert Philipson as he explores the intersection of Black and Queer identities, Black-Jewish interrelations, and Music.
Shoga Speaks
Latest Episodes
"Out of Africa" As Colonial Apology
Robert Philipson invites his old friend Joseph Mbele — a fellow Swahili scholar he first met as a graduate student in 1986, and who later hosted him in Dar es Salaam during his own dissertation research — onto the podcast to have a conversation...
From Minstrelsy to Broadway, Part Two
At the turn of the 20th century, African American artists faced a fundamental question: how could they prove their citizenship and claim their place in American culture? Historian and musician David Gilbert traces how the first generation of Af...
From Minstrelsy to Broadway, Part One
In 1896, Ernest Hogan's "All Coons Look Alike to Me" became the first song to sell a million copies in America, making him a star and setting off the "coon song craze"—an era in which African American performers and composers achieved unprecede...
The Jewish Roots of John Garfield
This episode explores the life and legacy of actor John Garfield (born Julius Garfinkel), focusing on how his Jewish roots shaped his identity, artistic choices, and political stance. Journalist Robert Nott, author of He Ran All the Way: Th...
