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Shea Serrano talks about his hip-hop book, upcoming TV series and Twitter army of kindness

Author Shea Serrano has done the world a valuable service: He has proven that it’s possible to use Twitter to do good.

Photo by Larami Serrano

He and his followers have given hundreds of thousands of dollars for everyone from needy college students to people who just need help paying the light bill.

When he’s not doing that, he’s writing and podcasting for the sports and pop culture site The Ringer. And when he’s not doing that, he’s writing New York Times bestsellers.

His new book, which just came out Tuesday, is likely to be his fourth to make the bestseller list. It’s called “Hip-Hop (and Other Things),” and it’s not only thoroughly entertaining, but it serves as a textbook of sorts on the musicians who made hip-hop such a force.

That textbook thing makes sense because Serrano used to be a teacher. How he became a writer … that’s a story you should stick around for.

Show notes

Music in this episode

  • MC Hammer, "Addams Groove"
  • Geto Boys, "Mind Playing Tricks On Me"
  • JBlanked, "Trippy"
  • UGK feat. OutKast, "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)"
  • Ketsa, "Hip-Hop Instrumental 1"
  • Public Enemy, "Don't Believe the Hype"
Tommy Tomlinson has hosted the podcast SouthBound for WFAE since 2017. He also does a commentary, On My Mind, which airs every Monday.