Touré is an accomplished writer, cultural critic, podcaster, and TV host. His latest endeavor is the Touré Show, a podcast highlighting the success stories of Black actors, musicians, politicians, athletes, activists, and allies of the Black community.
Through in-depth and inspirational interviews, Touré takes listeners inside the worlds of folks like comedian Roy Wood Jr. and Westworld actor Jeffrey Wright, who share their successes, struggles, and advice for listeners.
Touré Show celebrates the Black community and the too-often-overlooked contributions of Black folk to the fabric of America. It’s quickly becoming one of the most popular Black podcasts in contemporary culture.
In 2020, Touré Show became a Webby Award Honoree for the in-depth episode on the Central Park Five.
Who Is Touré?
Touré is a writer, TV host, music journalist, and podcaster. He’s also a father, husband, brother, son, and Brooklynite. Born in Boston in the early 1970s, Touré grew up squarely in the middle class. He’s well known for exploring Black identity and the concept of post-blackness—the idea that a person can be rooted in but not restricted by their race, or by prescribed definitions of race.
Touré’s Career and Accomplishments
Covering Touré’s many accomplishments and contributions would take more white space than we’ve got here, but we’ll give it a shot.
In just two decades Touré has written five books, including the critically acclaimed Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means To Be Black Now, which the New York Times described as “one of the most acutely observed accounts of what it is like to be young, Black, and middle-class in contemporary America.”
His writing career began at Emory University, where he founded a black student newspaper, The Fire This Time. He landed a writing internship at Rolling Stone in 1992 and over the years has written about some of the biggest names in music, from Beyoncé to Kanye to Adele. Touré has contributed essays and articles to an impressive medley of esteemed publications, including The New Yorker, Essence, Time, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The New York Times, Ebony, and others.
Oh, and did we mention Touré’s TV career? He covered News and Public Affairs programming for BET and served as CNN’s first pop culture correspondent. From 2012 to 2015 he co-hosted The Cycle on MSNBC alongside Ari Melber, Krystal Ball, and Abby Huntsman, where he was known for interjecting race theory into the show’s political discussions.
And he has an adventurous side. In 2008 Touré tried his hand at rodeo clowning, lumberjacking, and other unusual jobs and activities as the host of the reality show I'll Try Anything Once.
Suffice it to say, the man is busy.
Why You Should Be Listening to Touré Show
Touré digs deep on his show to learn how successful people got where they are and glean insights from their triumphs and struggles. Listeners come away with practical advice and tools they can use on their own journeys. As one listener put it:
“Touré is my favorite writer/interviewer. He never ceases to feature prominent people in the black community whose stories don’t frequently get told in Black safe spaces.”
Start reaping the rewards of one of the best African American podcasts of our times—subscribe, listen, and be inspired.
Listen to other amazing and insightful podcasts hosted by Toure, including democracy-ish and Who Was Prince?