Off the Shelf: Revolutionary Readings in Times of Crisis
"Off the Shelf: Revolutionary Readings in Times of Crisis" is a podcast series featuring in-depth conversations with Black scholars on the University of Illinois campus and beyond. Each episode explores books and scholars they recommend we take “off the shelf” to help us understand these revolutionary times and creative agendas for the here and now. Hosted by Dr. Augustus Wood, a scholar of political economy and gentrification, labor, and social movements in late 20th and early 21st century African American urban history.
Episodes
15 episodes
S4, Episode 2: David Walton on the Past, Present, and Future of Black Studies
In this episode, we hear from guest David Walton, history professor and founding director of the Global Black Studies program at Western Carolina University. Walton takes the listener back to his childhood, when he developed...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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1:20:58
S4, Episode 1: A Conversation with Historian of the Working People Naomi R Williams
“Centering the voice of working people is so important to the work that I do.” -Dr. WilliamsIn this episode, host Augustus Wood talks to Labor Studies professor—and self-described “historian of the working people”...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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51:28
S3, Episode 2: Bill Fletcher Jr. on Strategies for Successful Organizing
In the this episode, host Augustus Wood talks to legendary writer, scholar, and trade unionist Bill Fletcher Jr. They cover Fletcher’s storied life from his early years as a teen activist and then college, labor organizing, and le...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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1:03:01
S3, Episode 1: Joe William Trotter Jr. on the Story of Black Labor in Building Industrial America
In this season opener, host Augustus Wood and guest Joe William Trotter Jr. (history and social justice, Carnegie Mellon University) engage in a deep discussion of Black working class history, grounded in Trotter's pathbreaking re...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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58:28
S2, Episode 5: Alonzo Ward on the Hidden History of Black Labor in Illinois
In Episode 5, guest Alonzo Ward (history, Eastern Illinois University) and host Augustus Wood explore the less well known threads of American labor history, specifically Black labor in Illinois. Beyond any easy, simplified r...
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44:16
S2, Episode 4: Ruby Mendenhall on Trauma, Wellness, and Community-Centered Solutions
Episode 4’s featured guest recently received the Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz Award for Humanism in Healthcare, which ho...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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41:54
S2, Episode 3: Charisse Burden-Stelly
“You're responsible for one whole bookshelf of mine,” Augustus Wood declares at one point in his interview of Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly, who takes listeners through a rich list of works and thinkers that have informed her scholarship. W...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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1:00:54
S2, Episode 2: Edward Onaci, Author of Free the Land
Season Two of "Off the Shelf" continues with historian and Illinois alumnus Dr. Edward Onaci (Ursinus College), author of Free the Land: The Republic of New Afrika and the Pursuit of a Black Nation-State. Through his work, Onaci ...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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45:00
S2, Episode 1: Ashley Howard on the Black Midwest
Season Two of "Off the Shelf" opens with the fascinating and timely research of Professor Ashley Howard (University of Iowa), a historian whose analysis of 1960s urban rebellions in the Midwest sheds light on contemporary resistance move...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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49:40
S1, Episode 6: Stacey Robinson on Art, Hip-Hop, and Black Liberation
"I have a lot more questions than answers, but I turn my questions into an art practice." In this episode, host Augustus Wood and Professor Stacey Robinson explore numerous threads—from James Baldwin and Frances Cr...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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53:06
S1, Episode 5: Ken E. Salo on Grounding Truth and Developing Consciousness
What does it mean to be human at this moment in time, with rising resource inequality, the unaccountability of big tech, and a global pandemic exacerbating already-existing poverty? Professor Ken Salo and host Augustus Wood draw f...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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59:44
S1, Episode 4: Sundiata Cha-Jua on the "New Nadir"
In Episode 4, Professor Sundiata Cha-Jua and host Augustus Wood explore Cha-Jua's concept of the "New Nadir," examining the impact of global capitalism on Black socioeconomics and community building. The discussion ranges fr...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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1:15:18
S1, Episode 3: Helen Neville on Black Liberation through the Lens of Black Psychology
Professor Helen Neville and host Augustus Wood explore Black liberation through the lens of Black psychology, discussing key research and ideas by Bill Cross (including Neville's work with him), Janet Helms, Frantz Fanon, Pa...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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44:29
S1, Episode 2: Teresa Barnes on Apartheid and Higher Education
Professor Teresa Barnes and host Augustus Wood discuss Barnes' 2018 book Uprooting University Apartheid in South Africa: From Liberalism to Decolonization, while also exploring parallels between South Africa’s apart...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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45:56
S1, Episode 1: Lou Turner on the Hal Baron Project
Professor Lou Turner and host Augustus Wood take a deep dive on the life and work of Harold "Hal" Baron (1930-2017). Baron was a Director of Research for the Chicago Urban League (1962-1968) and, later, public policy architect of ...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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1:00:29