Writers Bloc Presents: Joan Baez and Justin Richmond

Joan Baez changed– and charged– our world. She ignited so many social movements– anti-war, social justice, equal rights, through the sheer power of her voice. That voice could shatter anyone’s complacency and could serve as a call to action or a balm. We cannot understate her impact.

It is with a different voice that Joan comes to us now and tells her most intimate stories: through her poems. Of course, her songs are poems too, and her book, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, is a revelation of her life’s experience. We learn, through her poems, about her relationships with other iconic voices: Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and others. Through her poems, we learn about her experiences with family filled with joy, elation, and grief. Consider this collection, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, a diary that tells us more than prose ever could.

In conversation with music podcast host extraordinaire, Justin Richmond. He is the co-host and producer of the podcast Broken Record, which he hosts with Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times editor Bruce Headlam, and Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin. He created and hosts the podcast Started from the Bottom, and was a producer and arts reporter for NPR’s All Things Considered.