The first two episodes of the Dave Chappelle, Talib Kweli, and Yasiin Bey’s Midnight Miracle podcast have launched on Luminary.
The first episode, titled “How to Inspire,” is available for free via YouTube and elsewhere and sees the hosts making good use of the experimental form they’re taking with this series.
“How do you make somebody want to live?” Chappelle asked at the top of the first episode. “Like, how do you make somebody want to live? Seriously, if someone you love was actively, slowly killing themselves, what are you gonna do?” From there, the hosts spoke between clips of the late Amy Winehouse.
Also in the first episode, Bey reflected on a show with Chappelle during which he unknowingly consumed several edibles before Robin Williams took the stage for a surprise set.
The first episode features—in order of appearance—Radio Rahim, Mo Amer, Chris Rock, Donnell Rawlings, Jarobi White, and Questlove. The second episode features—also in order of appearance—Questlove, Radio Rahim, Lamorne Morris, and Jon Hamm.
Meanwhile, the second episode—titled “Gladiator Circus World” and billed as the “Side B” to “How to Inspire”—sees the hosts going deep on everything from the performative provocateur aspect of many present-day Republicans to Alex Jones’ notorious comments about eating one’s neighbors. A little over 14 minutes in, after a hilarious back-and-forth about Rush Limbaugh receiving the Medal of Freedom from Trump, Chappelle asked for his own medal.
“Give me the Medal of Freedom like you gave Rush Limbaugh, but keep the cancer,” he said.
And closer to the end of the second episode, new music from Black Star made its global debut. Fans have been eagerly awaiting a full-length follow-up to the duo’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star album since its acclaimed release back in 1998.
While the first episode of Midnight Miracle is available for free, listening to the second requires a Luminary subscription. For more info, click here.
As previously reported, Midnight Miracle episodes were recorded during Chappelle’s “2020 Summer Camp” era. More than 100 hours of content was carefully edited down to an episodic format, with a single season currently planned for release.
“Making a podcast isn’t the obvious next move for me, but it’s the right one,” Chappelle previously said when announcing the new podcast. “The Midnight Miracle gives you a look into how me and my friends process the world around us, and I think it will change the way listeners think of what a podcast can be.”
