James Baldwin and the Black Atlantic w/ John Drabinksi (E222)

This will come as a total surprise, but I really like James Baldwin. I know, it’s shocking. I always kept it subtle, like how I named this podcast after his book The Fire Next Time, and how I have been bringing him up every other episode for years, and how I have a shelf that is just for books by him and about him.

The reason I like James Baldwin is that I’ve found something for me in his work, something that I can not just relate to but also use to understand the wider world, including my own world. This is a curious thing in the context of Baldwin because he was, ultimately, an American writer. An African-American writer, to be exact of course, but his Americanness is something which he took to heart. Not in a weird nationalist way but rather in a sort of matter-of-factly kind of way. So how did I come to relate to him? That’s one of the questions we explored here, but to be honest it’s not even the main one. What I wanted to know, and what my guest ⁠John E. Drabinski⁠ has explored in his book ⁠So Unimaginable a Price: Baldwin and the Black Atlantic⁠, is why did Baldwin, a man clearly concerned with the fate of the world, rarely engage with the Black Atlantic and might even be described as an ‘anti-diaspora’ thinker, at least to some extent. This is a conversation about Baldwin, yes, but ultimately it is a conversation about shifting identities and perspectives in a rapidly changing world, one which seems to be changing even faster now than it did during Baldwin’s time.

John E. Drabinski is Professor in the Department of African American and Africana Studies, with a joint appointment in the Department of English. Along with Ashley Newby and Brie Gorrell, he co-hosts ⁠The Black Studies Podcast⁠, which documents the history and future of the field of Black Studies from the perspective of students, professors, artists, and activists. He is both co-editor of ⁠Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy⁠ and co-editor of the book series ⁠Global Black Critical Thought⁠ on Cambridge University Press.

Mentioned:

⁠James Baldwin Review⁠
I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck
⁠Black Cultural Archives⁠, Brixton
⁠Being Black and British with David Olusoga⁠

This episode was first released for Patreon supporters on 14 August 2026 and made public on 24 August 2026.

The video version is also premiering today.

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Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design), israa’ (Sound Editor), ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics) and ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions).

One response to “James Baldwin and the Black Atlantic w/ John Drabinksi (E222)”

Michael Loeb

August 24, 2026 at 3:22 pm

I’m looking forward to this very much. I’m heading into my work day, so it will have to wait.
https://youtu.be/24CZZFO6VZI
Had you spent much time with this? For NPR it sounds more like a scripted episode of Millenials are killing Capitalism than CodeSwitch. I’ve recommended it to many.

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