Album / Aquatic Gardener, Godspeed (GÄD’SPĒD)
Album / Aquatic Gardener, Godspeed (GÄD’SPĒD)DC musician Jamal Gray’s latest project is this rich instrumental collection of moody hip-hop beats.
Website / Black Power in DC
George Derek Musgrove, a UMBC professor and coauthor of the essential DC book Chocolate City, is behind this en-grossing new resource (blackpowerindc.umbc.edu), which maps important sites of Black activism. It launches February 1.
Podcast / End on End
Two appropriately unpolished hosts work through the entire Dischord Records catalog, album by album. You probably won’t hear in-depth interviews about most of these recordings anywhere else.
Album / Jonathan Parker, The Remainder
Now living in New York, this jazz saxophonist grew up in this area and performed around here for years. With his new album, he and his DC-based group have recorded an ode to his hometown.
Book / Mike Nichols: A Life by Mark Harris
Acclaimed film historian Harris’s latest is a deep accounting of a director who made several films related to Washington. We cannot wait for dirt on the making of Heartburn.
Podcast / Hang Up and Listen: The Last Last Dance
If you tore through ESPN’s recent Michael Jordan docuseries, this hourlong podcast episode about his career coda with the Wizards serves as the untold final chapter.
Book / Black Broadway in Washington, DC by Briana A. Thomas
What started as a story in Washingtonian has grown into this more expansive history of U Street as a hub for African American culture.
Books / Faceless Faces in Public Places by Sam Kittner and We Keep Us Safe by Shedrick Pelt
Two photo tomes that capture a uniquely tumultuous year in our city. Kittner offers pictures of street life during the pandemic, while Pelt documents the protests that have mobilized Washingtonians.
Rob Brunner grew up in DC and moved back in 2017 to join Washingtonian. Previously, he was an editor and writer at Fast Company and other publications. He lives with his family in Chevy Chase DC.
