About this episode
The episode explores how ancient cosmologies and Afrofuturism can inform future technological systems through imagination and storytelling.
Recently on Looks Like New, host Kadallah Burrowes is joined by Ytasha Womack, an author, filmmaker, and independent scholar whose work has been foundational to how we understand Afrofuturism as both a cultural movement and a philosophical practice. Best known for Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture, Womack has spent decades exploring the intersections of Black culture, technology, imagination, and liberation across writing, film, music, and embodied practices like dance. In reference to her book, The Afrofuturist Evolution, this conversation explores Afrofuturism as an active world-building practice rather than a distant or purely speculative future. Womack reflects on living inside futures once imagined by thinkers like Octavia Butler, the role of imagination in shaping present realities, and how ancient cosmologies, rhythm, and storytelling can inform more humane technological systems.
People in this episode
Host: Kadallah Burrowes
Guest: Ytasha Womack
Topics covered
- Afrofuturism
- ancient cosmologies
- technology
- imagination
- storytelling
- cultural movement
Keywords
- Afrofuturism
- ancient cosmologies
- technology
- imagination
- storytelling
- Black culture
- liberation
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture, The Afrofuturist Evolution
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