This week on In The Meanwhile, Nora and Marcus speak with the one and only Tricia Rose: cultural critic, Brown professor, and professional breaker of lazy narratives. We get into “metaracism” (aka the system isn’t broken, it’s working as intended), why stories move policy more than charts, and her interactive project Way Outta No Way that makes systemic racism visible without putting you to sleep. Rose points to real leverage points, like ending property-tax funding for public schools, and reminds us that collective care (and yes, jokes) are strategy, not fluff. If you’ve ever wondered how to steal the pen back from power, this is your starter kit.

Note - 9/15/25: the original version of this episode contained an error in Professor Rose's title. Professor Tricia Rose is the Chancellor’s Professor of Africana Studies and Director of the Systemic Racism and Resilience Project at the John Nicholas Brown Center for Advanced Study at Brown University.

Mentioned in the episode:

Tricia Rose | Tricia Rose and Larry Elder on Al Jazeera (Internet Archive) | Way Outta No Way | The Nap Ministry | Metaracism by Tricia Rose | Wild Faith by Talia Levin | History lives here at NAAM

Follow Prof. Rose:

https://www.instagram.com/proftriciarose | https://bsky.app/profile/proftriciarose.bsky.social 

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Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare | Readying to Rise 

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Music: No Tears for a Wolf · Ahamefule J. Oluo · Okanomodé. Used with permission.

Logo by Nikki Barron.

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