The Ink Is Black Podcast

Two girls. Same wound. Completely different fates. In Tayari Jones' Kin, it's not just motherlessness that shapes Niecy and Annie. It's what Honeysuckle, Louisiana decides each girl's loss is worth. This episode digs into respectability politics, the mothers who showed up flawed and anyway, and what it costs a community when it decides some girls don't deserve grace. Spoilers included. Trigger warning: unsafe abortion, pregnancy loss, childhood abandonment, and trauma. Next month: Leave Your Mess at Home by Tolani Akinola.

This month, we're celebrating Women's History Month with a read that hit differently. "With Love from Harlem" by ReShonda Tate is the story of Hazel Scott: jazz prodigy, film star, civil rights warrior, and one of the most famous Black women in America. A woman who made history as the first Black person to host her own national television show. A woman who was brilliant, bold, and completely on fire. And then she met Adam Clayton Powell Jr. In this episode, we're getting into all of it: the love, the sacrifice, the cost of building your life inside someone else's ambition, and what it really means to choose yourself when everything around you is asking you not to. We're also talking about McCarthyism, erasure, and the devastating truth that Hazel Scott didn't just lose her show. She was nearly scrubbed from history entirely. This one got personal. And I think it might for you too. ⚠️ Spoiler alert: This episode discusses the full arc of the novel, including the ending. If you haven't finished the book yet, read it first and come back. I'll be here. Next month's read: Kin by Tayari Jones.

She's a full-figured Dominican doctor in Victorian England. He's a newly titled Duke with something to prove. And together, they are absolutely not playing around. This month on The Ink is Black, we're diving into Adriana Herrera's A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke, book four in the Las Leonas series, and honey, this one has layers. Yes, there's a love story. Yes, it's a good one. But underneath all that romance is a woman named Aurora who has been carrying things most people never knew she was holding. We're talking about what it means to be Black in white spaces, to be a woman fighting for other women's bodies while the world tries to make decisions about your own, and what happens when the person who hurt you never stopped hurting people until someone finally stood in the way. This episode includes a spoiler discussion and addresses themes of sexual grooming, abortion, and reproductive rights. Please listen with care and skip ahead if you need to. And stay until the end, because March is coming, and we're heading to Harlem, Next up: With Love from Harlem: A Novel of Hazel Scott.

Season 2 kicks off with Edwina Findley Dickerson's The World Is Waiting for You: part memoir, part spiritual guide, all about stepping into the life you were called to live. Host Tiffani Staten unpacks Edwina's journey from poverty to purpose, the power of strategic faith moves, and why your calling is bigger than just you. It's about lineage, service, and legacy. If you're setting intentions for the new year or wondering what's next, this episode meets you exactly where you are. Plus, get a sneak peek at February's pick: A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera. Because the stories are Black, the voices are rich, and the plot always thickens.

Host Tiffani Staten digs into People Person by Candice Carty-Williams, a wild and heartfelt story about five half-siblings who are forced together after a violent incident and must decide what family truly means. Through humor, chaos, and painful honesty, the siblings confront their absent father, grow into chosen roles, and learn that being a "people person" is about presence and acceptance, not charm. Like & Subscribe! Follow me on Instagram @theinkisblackpodcast

Host Tiffani Staten reviews Cebo Campbell’s Sky Full of Elephants, a speculative novel that explores a post‑racial dystopia after an event causes white people to drown themselves. The episode addresses heavy themes, including suicide, generational trauma, identity, and the damage of internalized racism. Staten reflects on characters’ journeys toward self‑actualization, the novel’s vision of a thriving Black community (the kingdom of Alabama), and the importance of collective healing, cooperative economics, and imagining liberation. The episode closes with a preview of December’s pick, People Person by Candace Carty-Williams.

On this episode of The Ink Is Black, host Tiffani Staten dives into Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis — a haunting exploration of family secrets, inherited pain, and the supernatural threads that bind them. Through the story of Mira Owens’s search for truth, from her mother’s mysterious disappearance to a hidden world of vampires and werewolves, Tiffani unpacks how silence, shame, and sacrifice pass through generations like a curse. Blending myth and metaphor, this episode asks: What does it take to break free from the cycles we didn’t create but still carry? With spoilers included, Tiffani reflects on how Lewis’s darkly magical tale reminds us that healing begins when we stop running from the past and start naming it.

Host Tiffani Staten reviews Khalia Moreau’s He Burns by the River, exploring its vivid Trinidadian setting, lyrical voice, and themes of identity, family, spirituality, and the symbolism of river and fire across the African diaspora. Staten shares a personal connection from a writers’ conference, praises the book’s honest portrayal of Caribbean life, and highly recommends it—teasing next month’s pick, Blood Moon by Brittany S. Lewis. Follow her @theinkisblackpodcast or connect at tiffani.staten.com

In this bonus episode, host Tiffani Staten reflects on Tina Knowles' memoir Matriarch, exploring how Knowles transformed personal struggle into collective empowerment. From witnessing her professional friends being disrespected at salons to needing an escape route from an unfaithful marriage, Tina built Headliners as both survival strategy and sanctuary for Black women. The conversation covers industry pushback, generational wisdom, the art of lifting while climbing, and the emotional cost of holding everyone together. Staten connects Knowles' journey to the ongoing navigation Black women face today—creating spaces where we can thrive unapologetically. Read more in Tiffani's companion blog post: HERE.

In the debut episode of The Ink is Black, host Tiffani Staten dives deep into Esi Edugyan's "Washington Black" alongside Hulu's stunning new adaptation starring Sterling K. Brown. From the brutal cane fields of Barbados to the frozen Arctic and beyond, Tiffani traces Wash's complex journey to freedom while examining his complicated bond with Titch—mentor, savior, or something more troubling? With full spoilers, she explores how art and science become Wash's pathway to self-definition, compares the book's lyrical storytelling to the series' bold adaptations, and discusses what it means when trauma shapes us but doesn't have to define us. Plus: Fresh Ink Spotlight on Jamila Minnicks' "Moonrise Over New Jessup," a sneak peek at September's pick "He Burns by the River" by Khalia Moreau, and the promise of a bonus episode on Tina Knowles' "Matriarch."

Welcome to "Ink is Black," where host Tiffani Staten shares her passion for books by Black authors. Join this monthly book club with a soulful twist, exploring stories by Black writers from all over the world. Discover the tales that resonate, from memoirs that tug at your heartstrings to page-turners that keep you reading late into the night. Dive into the cultural richness of Black storytelling and experience the journey of beloved books as they make their way to the big screen. Next episode, she will kick off with Esie Edugyan’s "Washington Black," as we explore its themes of freedom and friendship, alongside Hulu's new series adaptation. And don't miss the bonus episode on Tina Knowles' "Matriarch." Subscribe, share with fellow book lovers, and let's enjoy these rich, vibrant stories together.