Ep 78: How To Citizen with Baratunde Thurston
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Ep 78: How To Citizen with Baratunde Thurston
Episode 78: Show Notes
Baratunde Thurston is a writer, activist, comedian, podcaster, and media personality who holds space for difficult and complex conversations with his unique blend of humor, wisdom, and compassion. He is an Emmy-nominated host who has worked for The Onion, produced for The Daily Show, advised the Obama White House, and wrote the New York Times bestseller, How To Be Black. He is the executive producer and host of the How To Citizen Podcast, which Apple named one of its favorite podcasts of 2020 and for which Baratunde received the Social Impact Award at the 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards.
In 2019, he also delivered what MSNBC’s Brian Williams called “one of the greatest TED talks of all time,” titled, ‘How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time’. Baratunde has an incredible ability to integrate and synthesize themes of race, culture, politics, and technology to explain where our nation is and where we can take it.
In today’s episode, we dive into his backstory, including his upbringing in the ‘Chocolate City’ of Washington DC and how he learned to wield words across media in service of liberty and justice, plus so much more!
What stands out about this interview is Baratunde’s constant commitment to evolution and how he has made process not just a part of his life or an occasional focus, but a lifestyle. Baratunde believes that it’s about the journey, not the destination; it’s about the process, not the outcome.
This is a fascinating conversation that provides yet more evidence that we're all born with everything that we need to find our true calling, we just have to be unafraid to do the things that make our heart sing. Tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
Baratunde reflects on his favorite toys and activities as a child; Lego and dodgeball.
More on his upbringing and what it was like growing up in a predominantly Black city.
A candid account of the death of his father, who was shot when Baratunde was seven.
Insight into his overall positive perception of growing up as a Black man in America.
Baratunde on the extreme survival and resilience that human beings are capable of.
New challenges and opportunities that came with moving to a more white school.
How young Baratunde thought about success and the influence his mother had on him.
The pressure he felt to perform well and contribute in order to help his mother help him.
Recognizing the sacrifice his mother made and the need he felt to respect and honor that.
How Baratunde wields words across media in service of liberty and justice.
Why he describes a high school trip to Senegal as one of the happiest moments in his life.
The foundations of his relationship with comedy; how he came to use it as a political lens.
What he hoped to do once he graduated from Harvard and how he ultimately took the path into the “fog of corporate strategy consulting.”
How Baratunde became a successful comic by allowing his day job to facilitate his night job.
One of his earliest popular jokes and what his name communicates about him.
Baratunde on his less than traditional journey as a stand-up comic and the various opportunities it afforded him as a result.
The genesis of How to Be Black and the ‘audacious permission’ that the title granted him.
Occupying his place at the intersection of race and technology and politics; how Baratunde knew he was ‘on purpose’.
His podcast, How to Citizen with Bartunde, which he says was born from the ashes of failure.
How he perceives success these days: navigating, valuing, and investing in key relationships.
What he has learned about being open to how he feels, what he wants, what he’s good at, and how that intersects with what the world needs.
Tweetables:
“There wasn't really a ton of time for self-reflection or a sense of loss or a sense of lack. We didn't have money but, damn, we were wealthy. I had plenty to do. I felt a lot of love. I had a really good foundation, even with the crack wars out the window.” — @baratunde [0:21:14]
“I [thought of] success not in terms of what I would be when I grew up, but how do I contribute to me being here now and the pressure I felt to approach something like perfection and make this all worth it.” — @baratunde [0:30:08]
“I got pretty entrepreneurial myself with doing stand-up and trying to create products that I could sell [because] artists that have products do better than artists who just have jokes.” — @baratunde [0:54:45]
“My name is a good structure. I love my name. If I have to introduce myself, I can just say my name. It communicates a lot: Baratunde Rafiq Thurston. Alright, so we're not dealing with a John Brown here. This is different.” — @baratunde [0:57:58]
“There's a lot of things I've started and not finished in the traditional path, but they've helped build me. I've graduated in a different lane or created a different lane.” — @baratunde [1:01:53]
“The intersection has been clear to me for a while. Don't make me choose between race and technology and politics. Let me be somewhere where I can be all those things.” — @baratunde [1:12:41]
“It's important to me to keep navigating, valuing, and investing in key relationships.” — @baratunde [1:17:14]
“What I've learned so far is to be open. I'm in the continual process of being in tune enough with myself to know how I feel, what I want, what I'm good at, and how that can intersect with what the world needs.” — @baratunde [1:21:02]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
'How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time'
Baratunde Thurston on LinkedIn