Why think about the current winter Olympics when we can instead talk about the Olympians of the 1990s? This week we look back at some of the most prominent figure skaters of the 90s, especially my favorite: Surya Bonaly.

Podcast music: “Couture Fantasy" and "Mid Western”, by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Licenced under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0

TW/CW: This episode mentions slavery, anti-Black racism and violence,, family separation, genocide, body horror, death, suicide, and rape.

This week's episode on Octavia E Butler's time travel masterpiece, Kindred, goes deep into the book's themes the legacy of slavery through time and space, and the complexity of emotions when you know that the line of your ancestry is drawn with blood and tears. Although the episode does spoil the plot from beginning to end, it won't spoil the experience of reading Butler's inimitable writing.

The video by @onyxpages (35. Kindred by Octavia Butler - Graphic Novel (Also: Being Forced to Care About Characters)) referenced in the episode can be found here.

This episode was edited by Jacqueline J. Basse..

Podcast music: “Couture Fantasy" and "Mid Western”, by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com Licenced under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0

Why would I read the books already on my "to be read" pile when I can instead add five or so extra books? On this week's Ok Real Quick Pod we add a few books to the already teetering stack.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Between Friends & Lovers by Shirlene Obuobi

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Sky Full Of Elephants by Cebo Campbell

Death Of The Author by Nnedi Okorafor