Race Unwrapped

Race Unwrapped

Louisville Public Media

Episodes 31
Avg. Duration 30m
Activity Highly Active
Since Nov 2020
Latest Episode Jun 2026

Outreach Signals

Has Video

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Consistency
64%
Hosting
feeds.lpm.org

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

In America, we like to think that we're always talking about race. Like the conversation is happening everywhere, all the time. But race is embedded in society in ways we don't even think about -- just like fish don't see the water they're swimming in. In Race Unwrapped, host Michelle Tyrene Johnson tackles different ways to unwrap and unpack race and identity.

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episode season

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Recent Episodes

S5E2 'It's about speaking life into people.' Chelsey Green on musicians as changemakers

Jun 10, 2026 34m

There’s nothing like the right combination of music and lyrics to crystalize a moment... or a movement. It’s why we’re asking every guest this season their favorite protest songs: everyone has an…

S5E1 'How do I tell the story of the world we want?' Stacey Abrams on writing thrillers to save democracy

Jun 03, 2026 22m

Most people know her as a political juggernaut. She’s a former minority leader of the Georgia state House, whose coalition building in that state became a blueprint for campaigns across the country.…

Coming Soon: Race Unwrapped Explores Art as Protest

May 20, 2026 1m Trailer

Race Unwrapped returns on June 3, with a season about art as an agent of social change. Over ten episodes, host Michelle Tyrene Johnson will speak with artists of color from many disciplines. Music,…

Juneteenth Special: Black Women and Political Power

Jun 17, 2025 43m

Juneteenth is the perfect time to talk about community, resilience, and strategic organizing. Join host Michelle Tyrene Johnson and A'shanti Gholar, leader of Emerge, for a conversation about how we…

S4 Gifting a Soulful Christmas (The Encore!)

Dec 13, 2024 57m Bonus

The winter holidays are sneaking up on us again, and this year, more of you joined us on Race Unwrapped than ever before! To celebrate, and to thank you, we hope you don't mind a regift. We're…

S4E7 ‘You already have what it takes to run for office’

Oct 30, 2024 25m

Production was well underway on this season of Race Unwrapped when America experienced what our guest just calls “The Switch.” President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and suddenly we were…

S4E6 ‘Unless we have hope, then we can't have these conversations’

Oct 23, 2024 35m

Back in the day, Jesse Jackson told us to keep hope alive. And when Barack Obama first ran for president, his image became almost synonymous with hope (maybe you still have one of the posters). We’ve…

S4E5 ‘They've completed their sentence and they're still disenfranchised from voting’

Oct 16, 2024 24m

Four million people won’t be allowed to vote in the upcoming election because of laws in 48 states that restrict your right to vote if you’ve ever been convicted of a felony. Most of the folks…

S4E4 ‘If we really care about representation, then we should be for eliminating obstacles’

Oct 09, 2024 30m

So you live in one of the states that require some form of ID to vote. Everyone has one, right? In fact, there are lots of reasons someone might not have a valid ID. And getting one takes time,…

‘If your vote wasn't so powerful, nobody would be trying to suppress it’

Oct 02, 2024 28m

So far this season we’ve learned a lot about voter suppression tactics and how they weaken our democracy. This episode and next, we’ll meet some folks who are working to reverse the damage and make…

S4E2 'Democracy should not be a partisan issue’

Sep 25, 2024 29m

The Voting Rights act of 1965 said certain states had to check with the federal government before making any changes to their election laws. Sixteen states were subject to this “preclearance” process…

S4E1 'How do we stop these Black folk from voting?'

Sep 18, 2024 34m

Since the 15th Amendment gave Black men the right to vote in 1870, policy makers have thrown obstacles between marginalized voters and the ballot box. The tactics may change, but the erosion of…

S4 Coming soon... We're unwrapping race and democracy

Sep 03, 2024 2m Trailer

Race affects our world, whether we're thinking about it or not. And this season, we're unwrapping how it influences our democracy. From literacy tests in the Jim Crow era to the voter ID laws of…

Gifting a Soulful Christmas

Dec 21, 2023 57m

Hey y’all! Michelle Tyrene Johnson here. You usually hear from me in the summertime, but I’m popping in with “Gifting a Soulful Christmas,” an hour-long exploration of Black holiday music!I spoke to…

A Black gay comedian walks into a comedy club…

Sep 06, 2023 46m

Black don’t crack, except when it comes to cracking jokes. And Keith McGill does it for a living. McGill is a Louisville native and class clown who took it to a microphone for the first time when he…

When the voice in your head is an old white man named Everett

Aug 10, 2023 27m

On this episode of Race Unwrapped, we meet Pooja Reddy, a comedian and writer whose family immigrated from Hyderabad in southern India to Glasgow, Kentucky. Her humor draws heavily from her childhood…

NPR’s Eric Deggans unwraps the curious and careful career of Eddie Murphy

Jul 26, 2023 47m

In the early 1980s, a young Eddie Murphy stepped into the national comedy scene and revitalized a flaccid “Saturday Night Live.” His career since then has been a fascinating reflection of how white…

Are you laughing with me or at me? Second City’s Anne Libera unwraps the ethics of comedy

Jul 12, 2023 34m

Sometimes people just know their stuff. And in the case of Anne Libera, her stuff is comedy and she knows it well. Libera is a professor of comedy at Columbia University in Chicago. She’s also the…

How could you joke about THAT?!

Jun 28, 2023 32m

A Black Baptist minister, a Chinese Buddhist monk and a White Presbyterian walk into a bar… and for more than one reason, they may not all laugh at how the joke ends. This season of Race Unwrapped…

S3E1 How Rain Pryor uses humor to explore race (and what she learned from her dad, Richard)

Jun 15, 2023 32m

Comedian Richard Pryor didn’t leave much on the cutting room floor when it came to comedy.Not sex, family, religion, or politics. Certainly not race, or being Black in America.Many of today’s…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Race Unwrapped have?

Race Unwrapped has published 31 episodes since November 2020, covering topics in Society & Culture.

Is Race Unwrapped still active?

Race Unwrapped is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 30m.

How do I contact Race Unwrapped for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Race Unwrapped, including email and social media links.

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