May 2026: James McBride’s Deacon King Kong

About this episode

Jen Hatmaker and James McBride engage in a deep conversation that transcends the initial book discussion, exploring McBride's life experiences and insights on various topics.

We were supposed to talk about Deacon King Kong. We did not. When Jen sat down with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist James McBride to discuss the Jen Hatmaker Book Club's May selection, the conversation took a hard left turn into something far richer — a wide-ranging tour through one of the most remarkable lives in American letters. James opens up about a scrappy and troubled adolescence in Brooklyn, getting straightened out in the heat of the Louisville, Kentucky summers, and the music that quite literally saved him. He reminisces about touring Europe as a young musician and playing saxophone alongside Stevie Ray Vaughan at Antone's in Austin, traveling with Michael Jackson on the Victory Tour as a young journalist, surviving the Boston Globe's newsroom in the 1980s, writing songs for Anita Baker and Grover Washington, working with Quincy Jones, and getting dressed down by Harry Belafonte in a writers' room. Along the way, he reflects on race, art, faith, forgiveness, music, storytelling, old cars, and why the best writers are simply the people paying closest attention. He also shares what gives him hope about America right now — and it might surprise you. Of course, we touch on…

People in this episode

Host: Jen Hatmaker

Guest: James McBride

Topics covered

• literature
• race
• music
• storytelling
• forgiveness
• American culture

Keywords

• James McBride
• Deacon King Kong
• literature
• music
• race
• storytelling
• forgiveness
• American culture

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Deacon King Kong

Places: Brooklyn, Louisville, Kentucky, Austin, Boston

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