To call Lori Tharps a storyteller is a bit of an understatement. She is a journalist and author whose work lands at the intersection of race and popular culture. 

And her bio backs that up.

Lori, who was an associate professor of journalism at Temple University,  has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vibe, Essence, Glamour, and Entertainment Weekly magazines.

She is the author of several acclaimed books that deal with race, culture and identity including  Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain,  Same Family Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America’s Diverse Families and the novel, Substitute Me.

And if that’s not enough, she’s the host  of two podcasts –  My American Melting Pot, that focuses on conversations at the intersection of race and real life AND the aptly titled,  My Bloody Hell, a show that focuses on perimenopause.

With that background, you can imagine,  we cover a lot of ground, because if there’s anything Lori knows how to do – it’s how to capture a story. In this episode, she discusses her  personal observations on  culture,  Blackness and the messaging she received growing up.  She shares the intentional lessons on identity  she passed on to her multicultural children as well as  voices of the uncomfortable conversations that have to happen in interracial marriages.  Lori also discusses why moving to Spain during a pandemic was the right thing to do.

Race and identity is a powerful thread in much of Lori’s work and her reflections. And what a rabbit hole we go down.