Born in London in 1989, Reni Eddo-Lodge studied English at the University of Central Lancashire and went on to work as a journalist. In 2017, she published her bestselling book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race. Since March this year she launched the podcast About Race With Reni Eddo-Lodge. She speaks at Port Eliot festival, St Germans, Cornwall, on 28 July.
1. TV
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Because my work can feel quite serious and a lot of people respond to it with emotions that run high, I like my off-duty stuff to be quite light. And this is just a really silly cop show that’s quite self-aware and attempts to rebuff some stereotypes about police officers. I’ve been binge-watching it. There was a bit of online debate about whether it was sanitising police in the midst of Black Lives Matter. I can see all sides of that conversation, but sometimes you don’t want to overthink things – sometimes you just want to watch something silly at the end of a difficult day.
2. Food
Dough Society, London E8
I’m obsessed with this little doughnut cafe in Hackney that does completely vegan doughnuts. I’m vegetarian myself – I haven’t eaten meat for about five years – but Dough Society is doing some of the best doughnuts in London full stop, whether they’re vegan or not. They’re pretty expensive, but it’s such a treat; they’re so delicious. They’ve got one that has a creme brulee filling and a glazed hard top. I think that’s my favourite. And they do these cinnamon rolls the size of a doorstop – I have to eat them in three or four sittings.
3. Documentary
This Is the Life (dir Ava DuVernay, 2008)
I saw this at the BFI in London recently, where they’re doing screenings of Ava DuVernay’s earlier work. It’s about a rap crew that grew out of an organic food cafe in California: all these rappers rapping alongside a bar that had alfalfa sprouts and chickpeas and stuff. There were all these rules, like nobody was allowed to swear, and there was this matriarch in charge of the venue. It turns out towards the end that Ava DuVernay was a part of the crew as well. It was fascinating.
4. Podcast
Stance
I’m really enjoying this culture and current affairs podcast. Two women present it [Heta Fell and Chrystal Genesis] in a sort of transatlantic way: one is based in San Francisco and the other in London, but they don’t make it exclusively western-centric. It comes across that they have very progressive social values, but the way it’s executed isn’t contrived or didactic. I feel like it’s really adding to my cultural landscape and I’m finding out about so many interesting artists, musicians, theatre makers and authors from all around the world. It deserves a wider listenership.
5. Exhibition
James Cook: The Voyages at the British Library, London
I’m really keen to go to this exhibition on Captain James Cook, who in heavy air quotes “discovered” Australia and New Zealand. He was a Yorkshireman, but it seems that we don’t claim our colonisers or even see their actions as something that was happening on behalf of Britain at the time. And I’ve read reviews of this exhibition that say it doesn’t shy away from the controversy, which I think is a euphemism for saying it speaks openly and honestly about some of the atrocities that happened at that time in the name of British colonialism.
6. Music
Outkast: Aquemini
I’ve been listening to a lot of Outkast recently, especially their third album, Aquemini. SpottieOttieDopaliscious is definitely their best song. I was too young when the album initially came out in 1998, but I started to explore Outkast’s back catalogue when I was in my late teens. I think they model a sort of alternative blackness for people everywhere. Now is the time of year for enjoying Outkast: it’s just good music to listen to in a green space, ideally with something delicious cooking on the barbecue.
