Tayari Jones has had quite the literary career. Her 2018 novel An American Marriage was a New York Times bestseller and an Oprah’s Book Club Pick. Her latest novel, Kin came out earlier this year, and once again it was a bestseller and an Oprah’s Book Club Pick.

Kin tells the story of two Black girls— best friends who grow up in the Jim Crow era in a town called Honeysuckle, Louisiana. Neither one of them knows their mom, a fact that looms large in their lives. They both leave Honeysuckle— one for college and the other in search of her mom. They go on very different, sometimes heartbreaking journeys. But their shared childhood always binds them together.

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Tayari Jones: Bestselling author of five novels, including An American Marriage and Kin, both of which were selected for Oprah's Book Club. She is Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University and the Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She was recently named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2026.

<a href="https://www.tayarijones.com/">Tayari Jones</a> has had quite the literary career. Her 2018 novel <a href="https://www.tayarijones.com/books/an-american-marriage/">An American Marriage</a> was a New York Times bestseller and an Oprah&rsquo;s Book Club Pick. Her latest novel, <a href="https://www.tayarijones.com/books2/kin/">Kin</a> came out earlier this year, and once again it was a bestseller and an Oprah&rsquo;s Book Club Pick.
<a href="https://www.tayarijones.com/books2/kin/">Kin</a> tells the story of two Black girls&mdash; best friends who grow up in the Jim Crow era in a town called Honeysuckle, Louisiana. Neither one of them knows their mom, a fact that looms large in their lives. They both leave Honeysuckle&mdash; one for college and the other in search of her mom. They go on very different, sometimes heartbreaking journeys. But their shared childhood always binds them together.
GUEST:
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<a href="https://www.tayarijones.com/">Tayari Jones</a>: Bestselling author of five novels, including <a href="https://www.tayarijones.com/books/an-american-marriage/">An American Marriage</a> and <a href="https://www.tayarijones.com/books2/kin/">Kin</a>, both of which were selected for Oprah's Book Club. She is Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University and the Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She was recently named one of Time Magazine&rsquo;s 100 most influential people of 2026.
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Disrupted is about the changes we all encounter and the forces driving those changes. Some disruptions spark joy and possibility. Others move us to take action and re-evaluate our world. But the show isn't just about those disruptions; it’s about embracing them, exploring new perspectives, and feeling more connected to ourselves and our communities. Host and political scientist Khalilah Brown-Dean creates a place where changemakers come together to help us see the world differently and challenge us to grow together.

Visit ctpublic.org/disrupted for more! 

Disrupted is about the changes we all encounter and the forces driving those changes. Some disruptions spark joy and possibility. Others move us to take action and re-evaluate our world. But the show isn't just about those disruptions; it’s about embracing them, exploring new perspectives, and feeling more connected to ourselves and our communities. Host and political scientist Khalilah Brown-Dean creates a place where changemakers come together to help us see the world differently and challenge us to grow together.
Visit <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/disrupted">ctpublic.org/disrupted</a> for more!