Openness Over Empathy — Jason Reynolds on Friendship
From Unban Coolies by Christopher Lau
October 14, 2025 · 17 min · Season 12 · Episode 1
About this episode
Jason Reynolds discusses the importance of friendship and storytelling in creating understanding and connection among readers.
Jason Reynolds joins UNBAN COOLIES to explore how stories create space for every reader. We talk about friendship as the most valuable relationship, why difference should pull us closer, and why openness can be more honest than empathy when you cannot know someone else’s life. Jason reflects on Long Way Down, the pressure to stay silent, and what it takes to break cycles. He shares a work in progress about the bully — and why humanizing kids who cause harm can help us change the environment around them. We unpack his library is a menu metaphor and why book bans do not protect children; they erase choices and experiences. Plus: creative instinct, trusting your voice when school did not, and the role of books in classrooms and libraries. About Jason Reynolds: #1 New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down, Look Both Ways, Stamped, Stuntboy, and Ain’t Burned All the Bright. Recipient of a Newbery Honor, Printz Honor, NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors. Former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Based in Washington, DC.
People in this episode
Host: Christopher Lau
Guest: Jason Reynolds
Topics covered
- friendship
- storytelling
- book bans
- empathy
- humanizing bullies
- creative instinct
- literature in education
Keywords
- friendship
- empathy
- book bans
- Long Way Down
- storytelling
- creative instinct
- literature
- education
- bullying
- humanization
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: New York Times, NAACP, Coretta Scott King
Books & works: Long Way Down
Places: Washington, DC
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