2 Couples, 1 Poet, a Rock Band and a Dog

Death, Sex & Money

• Episode: 2 Couples, 1 Poet, a Rock Band and a Dog
• Website: Death, Sex & Money
• Feed URL: http://feeds.wnyc.org/deathsexmoney
• Duration: 00:07:00
• Published: 2015-06-03 06:00

In celebration of Death, Sex & Money's one year anniversary, we brought two married couples, one Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, a rock band, a dog and a turquoise couch onto the stage at BAM for a special live show during WNYC's RadioLoveFest.

First, I sat down with the author, Slate columnist and Barneys ambassador Simon Doonan, and his "impossibly younger" husband, the pottery mogul and designer Jonathan Adler. We talked about their first date (Adler wore rollerblades) and all that's happened since.

Then, poet Tracy K. Smith got candid about one of the first times she used language to establish an emotional relationship – during a "chaste epistolary romance" with one of her high school teachers. She burned the letters in college, but her writing career continued.

W. Kamau Bell, whom you may have heard on a recent episode talking about the fallout from his FX show coming to an end, joined us with his wife, Melissa Hudson Bell. And they brought some good news: Kamau has a new show coming out next year on CNN, called The United Shades of America. The show won't keep them from raising their daughters in the Bay Area, where they have an extended family network. We talk about that, and about teaching biracial children about race – and then, racism.

And I share a few words about the origin of this show itself. The idea for Death, Sex & Money really started about four years ago, in a crappy Williamsburg apartment, on the night I decided to get a divorce.

Thank you for listening. And please don't stop, because this is going to keep getting better.

Hear our house band for the evening, Luscious Jackson, performing their hit song "Naked Eye" live during our show.  

(Richard Termine)

(Richard Termine)

(Richard Termine)