Arts
Our guest is Tamara Payne, who's the primary researcher and co-author (along with her late father, the esteemed investigative journalist Les Payne) of "The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X." The recipient of the 2020 National Book Award, this biography draws upon countless interviews in order to contextualize Malcolm's life not only within the Nation of Islam but also within the broader sweep of modern American history. Per the Los Angeles Times: "Payne frequently revises or expands the historical record, offering the most detailed new account of Malcolm's early years; the clearest argument yet (with new sources) that Earl Little, Malcolm's father, died in an accident and not in a racist murder; the revelation that Shorty (the friend played by Spike Lee in the movie) is actually a composite; a deep dive into Malcolm's ill-advised meeting with the Ku Klux Klan; and intriguing specifics on the assassination and its aftermath."