New York Times columnist Charles Blow is renowned for his visual arguments that feature charts and essays as a unique form of opinion journalism. He is also a regular commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and the BBC, among other networks. The Root magazine recently named him the 11^th most influential African American in the world. A departure from his usual style and subject matter, Fire Shut Up in My Bones is a memoir of Blow’s difficult childhood in a small Louisiana town. Though he eventually escaped his hometown, he found it more difficult to escape the deeper legacy of slavery, family demons, and violence. 

In conversation with Solomon Jones