The Bridge: Spirit in the Dark

[This edition of my Hit Parade—“The Bridge” bonus series is available to Slate Plus subscribers only. A link to the episode show page is below. To sign up for Plus—and tell Slate that Hit Parade sent you!—visit slate.com/hitparadeplus.]

In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Emily Lordi, an author, critic and Vanderbilt University professor who focuses on Black popular music and has written extensively on Aretha Franklin. In her book The Meaning of Soul, Lordi argues that soul music in the late ’60s and early ’70s told a story about Black resilience, and Franklin, as the Queen of Soul, personified African-Americans’ transcendence over struggle and their ambitions toward self-determination.

Next, Chris quizzes a Slate Plus listener with some music trivia, gives him a chance to turn the tables with a question of his own, and previews the next full-length episode. Slate Plus members can sign up for a chance to be our trivia contestant on a future episode here.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.