Black Out Loud with Geoff Bennett

Today, Cari talks with PBS NewsHour co-anchor Geoff Bennett about his book “Black Out Loud” and why the ’90s felt like a once-in-a-lifetime run of Black TV—“how did all of these shows exist on the air at the same time?” He traces the history from minstrelsy and vaudeville to comics like Moms Mabley, Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor, and the Fox era that helped power “In Living Color,” “Martin,” “Living Single,” and more. Jeff explains the shift wasn’t just culture, it was business: networks later “pivot[ed] to whiter audiences,” and that helped end the boom.

After listening to this episode, you’ll walk away understanding how comedy “lowers our defenses,” why representation changed real choices (like the “Maxine Shaw effect”), and why today we have “way more volume, but…less impact.”

Connect @CariChampion @GeoffRBenett

Read: Black Out Loud By Geoff Bennett

Subscribe Cari Champion's YOUTUBE Channel

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.