This Conversation with Author Jason Reynolds is a Gift

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

For the past decade, Jason Reynolds has become an inspiring voice in the literary world. He’s a New York Times bestselling author and as of this month, a 2024 MacArthur fellow.

Reynolds sits with us today to share his latest YA novel Twenty-Four Seconds From Now… (10:32), why he was interested in writing a story about boyhood and masculinity (13:00), and an early passage from the book (16:50) that captures the distinct rhythm of his writing (19:00). Then, we talk about the story structure of this new novel (21:00), how Queen Latifah’s Black Reign introduced him to poetry (23:00), and how his early memories of writing (30:00) and a singular high school teacher (40:00) saved his life.

On the back-half, Reynolds describes a meaningful post-college job at rag & bone (51:00), what he’s seen in the education system post-pandemic (1:05:00), his hope for the next generation (1:15:00), and his lifelong mission to embolden students to see the value in their own narratives (1:27:25).

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