Benjamin Hedin's guest appearances

Benjamin Hedin

African American Profile

Skylight Books Podcast Series

See Hear 

Story in the Public Square

Elizabeth Hinton

Paul Tremblay

Ann Friedman

Michael DeForge

Paul Haddad

Luis Martinez

Tamara Saviano

Jody Houser

Jake Jabbour

Beth Pickens

Gil Anidjar

Kelly Lytle

Janelle Wong

John Atkinson

Janet Fitch

OwlTail

Maaza Mengiste

Under the Spell is the first novel by Benjamin Hedin, a dazzling new voice in American fiction. Newly widowed Sandra is searching her husband’s email for financial information when she discovers a correspondence between him and a woman named Ryan. Rather than simply sharing the news of the death, Sandra, who is shocked and hungry for details, instead impersonates her husband as she writes back to Ryan. This bold course of action will expose the secrets and solitude within her marriage, prompting her to reconsider everything she once held dear.Unmoored and seeking connection, Sandra also meets Lee, a single mother with a drinking problem, and begins babysitting her daughter. But Sandra can’t stop herself from continuing the correspondence with Ryan, in the process uncovering more about her husband—and Ryan herself. Produced by Maddie Gobbo, Lance Morgan, &amp; Michael Kowaleski. Theme: "I Love All My Friends," an unreleased demo by Fragile Gang. Visit https://www.skylightbooks.com/event for future offerings from the Skylight Books Events team.

<a href="https://www.skylightbooks.com/book/9780810143722" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Under the Spell</a> is the first novel by Benjamin Hedin, a dazzling new voice in American fiction. Newly widowed Sandra is searching her husband’s email for financial information when she discovers a correspondence between him and a woman named Ryan. Rather than simply sharing the news of the death, Sandra, who is shocked and hungry for details, instead impersonates her husband as she writes back to Ryan. This bold course of action will expose the secrets and solitude within her marriage, prompting her to reconsider everything she once held dear. Unmoored and seeking connection, Sandra also meets Lee, a single mother with a drinking problem, and begins babysitting her daughter. But Sandra can’t stop herself from continuing the correspondence with Ryan, in the process uncovering more about her husband—and Ryan herself. Produced by Maddie Gobbo, Lance Morgan, &amp; Michael Kowaleski. Theme: "I Love All My Friends," an unreleased demo by Fragile Gang. Visit <a href="https://www.skylightbooks.com/event" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.skylightbooks.com/event</a> for future offerings from the Skylight Books Events team.

SKYLIT: Benjamin Hedin, "UNDER THE SPELL" w/ Maaza Mengiste

Sam Pollard

This episode was made possible with the gracious collaboration of Newport Film and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities’ “Culture is Key” Project. In the 1960s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation spied on civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sam Pollard and Benjamin Hedin tell that story in a powerful documentary that shines a light on race, power, and the politics of personal destruction. Sam Pollard’s career as a feature film and television video editor and documentary producer and director spans almost thirty years. He recently served as Executive Producer on the documentary “Brother Outsider,” the Official Selection for the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. His first assignment as a documentary producer came in 1989 for Henry Hampton’s Blackside production “Eyes On The Prize II: America at the Racial Crosswords.” One of his episodes in this series received an Emmy. He returned to Blackside as Co-Executive Producer/Producer of Hampton’s last documentary series, “I’ll Make Me A World: Stories of African-American Artists and Community.” Benjamin Hedin has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Slate, The Nation, The Oxford American, The Chicago Tribune, Poets and Writers, Salmagundi, The Georgia Review, and other publications. He is the editor of “Studio A: The Bob Dylan Reader” and author of the nonfiction chronicle, “In Search of the Movement: The Struggle for Civil Rights Then and Now.” Triquarterly Books will publish his first novel, “Under the Spell” in the spring of 2021. He also produced and wrote of the Grammy-nominated documentary “Two Trains Runnin’.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was made possible with the gracious collaboration of Newport Film and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities’ “Culture is Key” Project. In the 1960s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation spied on civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sam Pollard and Benjamin Hedin tell that story in a powerful documentary that shines a light on race, power, and the politics of personal destruction. Sam Pollard’s career as a feature film and television video editor and documentary producer and director spans almost thirty years. He recently served as Executive Producer on the documentary “Brother Outsider,” the Official Selection for the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. His first assignment as a documentary producer came in 1989 for Henry Hampton’s Blackside production “Eyes On The Prize II: America at the Racial Crosswords.” One of his episodes in this series received an Emmy. He returned to Blackside as Co-Executive Producer/Producer of Hampton’s last documentary series, “I’ll Make Me A World: Stories of African-American Artists and Community.” Benjamin Hedin has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Slate, The Nation, The Oxford American, The Chicago Tribune, Poets and Writers, Salmagundi, The Georgia Review, and other publications. He is the editor of “Studio A: The Bob Dylan Reader” and author of the nonfiction chronicle, “In Search of the Movement: The Struggle for Civil Rights Then and Now.” Triquarterly Books will publish his first novel, “Under the Spell” in the spring of 2021. He also produced and wrote of the Grammy-nominated documentary “Two Trains Runnin’.”See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

MLK/FBI with Sam Pollard and Benjamin Hedin

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson had pushed for the passing of the Civil Rights act, making segregation in America illegal. The governor of Mississippi, the law and the KKK vowed to keep doing things their way, and continued to perpetrate violence on the local African-American population. They also made life extremely difficult for students from the northern states committed to the Summer Project which was devoted to getting African Americans in Mississippi to register to vote. The powers that be in Mississippi didn't like "outsiders" interfering in their business. Three students, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were all murdered by the local law representatives. Quite separate from these tragic events, three young blues fans from the east coast and three from the west coast went searching in Mississippi for their blues heroes Son House and Skip James who had not been heard from for many years. They were naive about the events of the Civil Rights movement and their own danger. Their hopes were to learn from their heroes and coax them out of musical retirement.  The stories are part of a 2016 documentary called Two Trains Runnin’. It’s directed by Sam Pollard and produced / written by Benjamin Hedin. Both men have a long history in film and book relating to the period covered in this documentary.  For episode 57 of See Hear Podcast, Bernard, Tim and Maurice were thrilled to have Benjamin come onto the show to discuss the film and the history behind it. These stories are parallel but converge. There are moments of terror trying to fathom man's inhumanity to man, and there are moments of celebration when the love of music brings people together. The film is rivetting viewing. Make this episode a priority – it’s an important one. We are hugely grateful for his time. You can download the show by searching for See Hear podcast on iTunes or download from http://seehear.podbean.com. You can purchase or rent the film at https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/two-trains-runnin/id1412361651 (and we highly recommend that you do). See Hear Podcast is also now available on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/show/58DUosxlE6vZHqgRdjKqZR If you dig what we do, could you please rate us at iTunes or even better, spread the word that the show exists on social media or at your next barbecue, gig, or marathon run so more folks can tune in. Please join our friendly Facebook group at  http://www.facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast You can send us emails at seehearpodcast@gmail.com to suggest films you'd like us to discuss, give us your thoughts on what we do or anything else music-film related.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson had pushed for the passing of the Civil Rights act, making segregation in America illegal. The governor of Mississippi, the law and the KKK vowed to keep doing things their way, and continued to perpetrate violence on the local African-American population. They also made life extremely difficult for students from the northern states committed to the Summer Project which was devoted to getting African Americans in Mississippi to register to vote. The powers that be in Mississippi didn't like "outsiders" interfering in their business. Three students, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were all murdered by the local law representatives.   Quite separate from these tragic events, three young blues fans from the east coast and three from the west coast went searching in Mississippi for their blues heroes Son House and Skip James who had not been heard from for many years. They were naive about the events of the Civil Rights movement and their own danger. Their hopes were to learn from their heroes and coax them out of musical retirement.    The stories are part of a 2016 documentary called Two Trains Runnin’. It’s directed by Sam Pollard and produced / written by Benjamin Hedin. Both men have a long history in film and book relating to the period covered in this documentary.  For episode 57 of See Hear Podcast, Bernard, Tim and Maurice were thrilled to have Benjamin come onto the show to discuss the film and the history behind it. These stories are parallel but converge. There are moments of terror trying to fathom man's inhumanity to man, and there are moments of celebration when the love of music brings people together. The film is rivetting viewing. Make this episode a priority – it’s an important one. We are hugely grateful for his time.   You can download the show by searching for See Hear podcast on iTunes or download from <a href="http://seehear.podbean.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://seehear.podbean.com</a>.   You can purchase or rent the film at <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/two-trains-runnin/id1412361651" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/two-trains-runnin/id1412361651</a> (and we highly recommend that you do).   See Hear Podcast is also now available on Spotify. <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/58DUosxlE6vZHqgRdjKqZR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/show/58DUosxlE6vZHqgRdjKqZR</a>   If you dig what we do, could you please rate us at iTunes or even better, spread the word that the show exists on social media or at your next barbecue, gig, or marathon run so more folks can tune in.   Please join our friendly Facebook group at  <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast</a>   You can send us emails at seehearpodcast@gmail.com to suggest films you'd like us to discuss, give us your thoughts on what we do or anything else music-film related.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

See Hear Podcast Episode 57 - Interview with Benjamin Hedin about Two Trains Runnin'