Episode
Zinzi Clemmons on the Complicated Notion of ‘Freedom’
- Podcast
- KQED's Forum
- Published
- Jun 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3286
- Processing state
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- https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC7488739357.mp3
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Summary
In her new essay collection, “Freedom,” novelist and UC Davis creative writing director Zinzi Clemmons examines what freedom means in “a world buckling from the consequences of centuries of interlocking injustices.” She grapples with the complicated legacies of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and the #MeToo Movement — and explains why she’s no longer an Afropessimist. Clemmons joins us to talk about what it means to consider freedom today for Black Americans, women and oppressed people around the world. Guests: Zinzi Clemmons, director of creative writing, UC Davis; author of the novel “What We Lose” and the new essay collection “Freedom" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices