Rafeef Ziadah is a Palestinian poet and human rights activist living in London. Her poem, “We Teach Life, Sir,” is powerful and poignant reminder of the human condition in conflict. On this bonus episode of Stories with a Heartbeat, host Will McInerney reflects on some of the stories from our past episodes covering the Chapel Hill Shooting in season 1. Rafeef's beautiful and moving poetry is emblematic of the legacy and the lasting message of life that Deah Barakat , Yusor Abu Salha , and Razan Abu Salha left behind. Listen to Rafeef's poem with the link below. Download the Bonus Episode Now Season 1 of the Stories with a Heartbeat podcast is over, but you can still download all the episodes today! Stories with a Heartbeat is a new podcast produced by North Carolina Public Radio and hosted by poet Will McInerney that uses poetry and storytelling to help us understand conflict. You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes , Google Play , or your podcast platform of choice. Check out

In 1994, actor Charlize Theron was just starting out in show business when a famous director invited her to an audition at his home. When she showed up, she found the director drinking and in his pajamas. He touched her leg; she apologized and left in a hurry. Driving away, Theron became angry — with herself: "I just kept hitting the steering wheel," she says. "I put a lot of blame on myself ... that I didn't say all the right things, and that I didn't tell him to take a hike, and that I didn't do all of those things that we so want to believe we'll do in those situations." It wasn't until years later that Theron understood her experience as sexual harassment. It's a subject that she's taking on in her latest film, Bombshell , which follows the women of Fox News who came forward to accuse then-CEO and chairman Roger Ailes of sexual harassment . Theron is one of the film's producers and also plays former Fox News host Megyn Kelly , who wrote about Ailes' unwanted sexual advances in her

The 'Lose You to Love Me' singer is announced to front an online cooking series and show off her skills in the kitchen amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.

Series creator Ryan Murphy reveals in a new interview that he has done writing the scripts for the new installment of the series, though the production has yet to start due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Filmmaker Wes Ball has signed on to do the movie adaptation of Catherine Webb's 2014 sci-fi novel using a script done by by 'Humans' writer Melissa Iqbal.

A producer on 'The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne', Jack Osbourne spills why the former Black Sabbath frontman and his wife Sharon were reluctant to share his health battle with the world.

The 'Scream' star and his wife Christina McLarty are considering to keep the cast and crew away from the public on a former cotton factory that has been converted into a working set.

The 'I the Heights' helmer is disgusted by the casting scam for the sequels of the 2018 hit film, calling it a 'direct attack' to Asian American actors pursuing 'this dream that they never thought was possible before.'

Titled 'Rihanna: Volume One', the upcoming documentary, which is directed by Peter Berg, will allegedly chronicle her problem with her manager at Roc Nation and Jay-Z, as well as her breakup from Hassan Jameel.

The 'Big Little Lies' actress, who portrayed Christina in the film franchise, makes the confession during an appearance on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast.

According to Jack Osbourne, a big-screen adaptation chronicling his famous father's early solo career and life with wife Sharon is 'absolutely' in the works.

The new mom admits she feels apprehensive about taking the role in Marvel's action movie less than a year after giving birth to her child with Daniel Craig.

The videos in question, which are taken during what looks like a photo shoot, show the actress/reality TV star appearing to have a bulge underneath her form-fitting jeans.

J.Lo and fiance A-Rod have reportedly abandoned their bid to buy the famed baseball franchise after negotiations with billionaire Wayne Rothbaum went sour.

Twenty three years after she wore the prom dress in the 'Prophecy Girl' episode, the former 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' star delights fans with her throwback look in a new social media post.

Series creator Ryan Murphy reveals in a new interview that he has done writing the scripts for the new installment of the series, though the production has yet to start due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

This arrives after Azriel announced her plans to begin a YouTube video show in which she would share her truth about what she felt and experienced when she dated the disgraced singer.

The retired NBA player has sent a thousand of free pizzas to the key workers during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown at police stations and local hospital in Miami.

Authorities seized 400 grams of fentanyl during two investigations in Nassau County this week.

The University of Birmingham has signed a sports science based agreement with the Brazilian Government this month.

Celebrating the life of a once vibrant lane, soon to be lost due to development.

Join the people of Stirchley in a celebratory walk and laying of floral tributes commemorating the life of a once vibrant street.

Exhibition aims to show Birmingham at its best.

This week, we sit down for a fascinating chat with Robert “The RZA” Diggs, mastermind of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. We talk to him about why he never had any fun as the Clan was getting famous, finding inspiration in ancient Persian poetry, and lots more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/2/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we have a two-part treat! In the first half of the show, we talk to hip-hop stars old and new at the NYC premiere of Ice-T’s documentary The Art of Rap. Guests include Marley Marl, Fabolous, Raekwon, and Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg. In part two, we have an extended chat with Jay-Z biographer and Forbes hip-hop writer Zack O’Malley Greenburg about Hov’s business mind, hip-hop branding good and bad, and lots more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/11/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we sit down with Brother Ali. Ali, whose new album Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color comes out this week, has long been one of our favorite artists. His fantastic rhyming skills are matched by lyrics that are both intensely engaged with the larger world, as well as by a sense of humanity and empathy that is all too rare amongst artists of any kind.

Then, after our talk with Ali, we have a short but revealing chat with Miss Haze of the Bay Area group 40 Love. The innovative group meshes dreamy, electronic production with smart, positive lyrics to create an ode to dreams and their possibilities. We talk to Miss Haze about chanting for world peace, alchemy, and why she loves the Bay.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/16/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk to a true Brooklyn original, Skyzoo, on the occasion of the release of his new album, A Dream Deferred. We chat with him about his new record, Bill Cosby, that time he met Total, the secrets of the world’s best sandwiches, and lots more!

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/18/ for full show notes and comments.

Welcome to The Cipher! Outside the Lines With Rap Genius has been renamed, rebranded, and improved. We begin the podcast’s new chapter with Strange Music’s favorite “White Rapper,” Rittz. We talked to the Atlanta artist on the day his latest album, Next to Nothing, was released. We spoke about syllable matching, the dark side of partying, how the 1996 Olympics changed everything, and tons more.

Rittz’ fast-rapping style first grabbed fans’ attention on Yelawolf’s “Box Chevy Pt. 3” in 2010, after a decade of grinding in the Atlanta underground. He signed to Tech N9ne’s Strange Music label, where his fast-rapping acrobatics and introspective, painfully honest lyrics fit right in. Next to Nothing continues and improves on his patented style while adding some new twists — including a fair amount of singing, which we talk about during the interview.

Make sure to follow The Cipher on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Most importantly, subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes.

About the re-launch:

The Cipher is a revamp and continuation of the long-running and critically acclaimed podcast Outside the Lines With Rap Genius. We’ve taken the show outside of the Genius family in order to devote the time and attention necessary to really make it great. For those who loved the podcast previously, we still have the same in-depth conversations, the same questions no one has ever asked before, and the same variety of awesome guests. But we’ve improved everything else — the sound, the look, the format, and more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/76/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we sit down with Harlem’s own Smoke DZA and Bluntsmoker, a member of his R.F.C. crew. They’ve just released an album called The Outsiders. Talking in a studio just down the block from DZA’s native “911” (Harlem’s 119th Street), we discuss how Harlem has changed, the overlap between pro wrestling and hip-hop, how his style and voice have mutated over the years, and tons more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/89/ for full show notes and comments.

We speak to the rapping team at the head of the powerful rap/rock group ¡Mayday! – Ben “Wrekonize” Miller and Bernardo “Bernz” Garcia. Since the early 2000s, the band has been delivering powerful music to a growing legion of fans. That fan base was dramatically increased when the Miami group teamed up with Tech N9ne’s Strange Music label a few years ago. The most recent album released by the hardworking collective is a joint project with West Coast legend Murs called, appropriately enough, Mursday.

Wrek and Bernz talk about their career and songwriting process, but also find time to discuss their famous relatives, partying with Lil Wayne, and which group member is best with a slow cooker.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/93/ for full show notes and comments.

J-Zone is a rapper, producer, musician, and author whose ability to find and chop the perfect sample is paired with a rap persona that combines raunchiness, self-depreciating humor, social commentary, and a deep love for all of rap history, including some of its more bizarre corners. And, naturally, an alter ego who just happens to be a four foot three, baseball bat wielding rodent named Chief Chinchilla.

His first album, 1999’s Music For Tu Madre, began life as a college senior project, but quickly caught on with the underground scene. He then released a ton of albums - with his Old Maid Billionaires crew, solo, with collaborators like Celph Titled, and even a record of malt liquor jingles.

But by 2009, he was noticing diminishing returns financially and creatively, and decided to get out of the rap game, a decision he explored in his 2011 memoir Root for the Villain: Rap, Bull$hit, and a Celebration of Failure. In a surprising turn of events, the book’s success inspired him to return to music to create his first new solo album in nine years, 2013’s Peter Pan Syndrome.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/108/ for full show notes and comments.

Vinnie Paz founded the group Jedi Mind Tricks when he was a teenager in mid-90s Philly. His raps about politics, mythology, war, religion, conspiracy theories, and the paranormal set him apart immediately from most of the underground rap of the era.

The group’s full-length debut was The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness, a bizarre, fascinating, and uncompromising concept album. In 2000, they put out by Violent By Design, a more streamlined and aggressive record that got a lot of attention and remains a fan favorite to this day.

Vinnie and Jedi Mind Tricks would continue through ups and downs, with frequent collaborator Jus Allah and producer and co-founder Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind moving in and out of the group over the years. Vinnie has also released records under his own name, with the Army of the Pharaohs collective, and with Ill Bill as the duo “Heavy Metal Kings.” Through it all, his expansive vision, powerful style, and devotion to his fans has remained consistent. His latest release with a reunited Jedi Mind Tricks is The Thief and the Fallen.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/111/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, our guest is Benjy Melendez, founder, President, and singer of the Ghetto Brothers. He is joined by his co-author and friend, Amir Said.

The Ghetto Brothers were one of the largest and most powerful street gangs in the Bronx in the late 1960s and early 70s - a time when the borough, and New York City as a whole, had plenty to choose from. At its height, the organization had around 2,000 members city-wide.

But after one of their key figures got killed by rival gangs, Benjy devoted his efforts to peace, and held a now-famous peace treaty meeting at the Hoe Avenue center in the Bronx in 1971 - a gathering that set the stage for the ending of the gang era and the beginnings of hip-hop.

In addition to being a powerful organization, the Ghetto Brothers were also a rock and roll band. They only released one album, 1971’s Power Fuerza, but it became a prized collectors item, notable for its surprisingly sweet lyrics and Beatle-esque melodies, Latin percussion, and unique backstory.

While parts of Benjy’s story have been shared in the new documentary Rubble Kings and even in a graphic novel, the new book by Benjy and Amir Said, Ghetto Brother: How I Found Peace in the South Bronx Street Gang Wars, is the first place Benjy shares his entire life story.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/114/ for full show notes and comments.

Joe Conzo Jr. has been called “the man who took hip-hop’s baby pictures” by the New York Times – a title that’s right on the money. Conzo, a third-generation Bronx native, first got into photography as a young boy and took to shooting pictures of his neighborhood.

But it was when he followed some high school friends who had formed a rap group to an early concert that he really found his calling. That group, the Cold Crush Brothers, was perhaps the most influential of hip-hop’s first generation. Joe was there to document their every step, from high school gymnasiums to giant clubs and movie sets. His pictures provide the single best visual record of hip-hop’s early years.

Personal troubles caused Joe to put away his camera for many years. But over the past decade, his work has been re-discovered and used for documentaries, exhibited in museums all over the world - including the Museum of the City of New York, where an exhibit of his photos is running until September 27th - and even published in a book, Born In The Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop. A fictional version of Joe appears in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Netflix series The Get Down, about the early days of hip-hop, where the real Joe was on set as a behind the scenes photographer.

NOTE: To see the photographs that we talk about during this interview, visit this episode’s photo gallery at Imgur

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/118/ for full show notes and comments.

Skyzoo was one of our first guests, a little over three years ago. On that episode, we learned all about how he came up in Bed Stuy and began his career as one of the sharpest emcees in the game.

But a lot has happened since then, and we wanted to bring Sky back to talk about it. He’s released three superb projects. There was the mixtape An Ode to Reasonable Doubt, an updating of and tribute to the Jay Z classic, which was produced by AntMan Wonder. There was his collaboration with longtime friend Torae as the Barrell Brothers. And, most importantly, there’s his newest album, Music For My Friends. That record continues Skyzoo’s tradition of smart, powerful music that tells honest, engaging stories about his life and experiences.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/128/ for full show notes and comments.

Darlene Ortiz is best-known for her iconic pose on the cover of Ice-T’s 1988 album Power, a shot that no one who has seen it has ever forgotten. But there’s far more to her than bathing suits and guns.

She was right by Ice-T’s side during his rise to the top of the rap game. The two met when Darlene was a 17 year old hip-hop obsessive, and she and Ice quickly became rap’s first power couple. She appeared on his album covers and in his videos, and was right by his side for tours, TV appearances, movie roles, and the infamous “Cop Killer” controversy.

Darlene has a brand-new memoir called DEFINITION OF DOWN:My Life with Ice T and the Birth of Hip Hop, published by Over the Edge Books.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/131/ for full show notes and comments.

Elzhi got his start as an emcee in the now-famous Detroit rap scene of the 1990s, going to shows and open mics alongside some of the city’s great talent like Guilty Simpson, Royce da 5’9”, Phat Kat, Invincible, Proof, Eminem, and Slum Village. In 2001, Elzhi would join Slum Village after J Dilla left the group. He would remain with them for nearly a decade, leaving in 2010 amidst drama with the other members and their record label.

In 2011, Elzhi released an album-length reinvisioning of Nas’ Illmatic, entitled Elmatic, which met great critical and popular success. His brand new album, inspired by his struggles with depression, is called Lead Poison.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/152/ for full show notes and comments.

Krizz Kaliko first became known to hip-hop fans in the early 2000s as the ever-present hookman and onstage foil to Tech N9ne and other Strange Music artists, lacing tracks with both singing and rapping. His solo career would begin in 2008 with the album Vitiligo, and each record after that would reveal a diverse musical personality, equally comfortable with double-time raps, r&b hooks, and even Sinatra-style crooning.

Krizz’ latest album, released this past April, is called GO.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/153/ for full show notes and comments.

Martha is the founder of the Hip-Hop Education Center, but that’s only the latest venture in a lifetime full of advocating for and advancing the culture. She began her career on the set of Yo! MTV Raps, and hasn’t looked back.

Martha is the creator of the H2O International Film Festival, a documentary filmmaker, a social entrepreneur, and, most importantly, a tireless advocate for hip-hop education.

Whether she’s working with institutions like Cornell University to archive hip-hop’s past; or keeping track of, connecting, and enhancing current efforts in hip-hop education with the Hip Hop Education Center, Martha is always playing a key role in advancing the culture, and in helping people learn while using tools they know and can relate to.

Martha also brought along a special guest for this episode, Sommer McCoy. Sommer is the founder of the Mixtape Museum. The Mixtape Museum is an archive project dedicated to advancing public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, and technique of the mixtape.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/169/ for full show notes and comments.

TC is a DJ, emcee, and producer who began his career as a teenager in the mid-1980s, releasing several singles. But even back then, he was already an important member of the Zulu Nation, and eventually became a surrogate son, confidant, and musical collaborator of the organization’s leader, Afrika Bambaataa.

TC’s main musical contribution is combining hip-hop with dance music to create a unique hybrid he calls “hipstep.” Hipstep, which has its roots in both UK dance music and Bambaataa’s early experiments with electro, takes the tempos and sounds of drum and bass, jungle, and other dance genres, and brings them together with TC’s inimitable rhymes and song concepts.

The Zulu Nation, of course, has been rocked by scandal ever since a former member, Ronald “Bee Stinger” Savage, came forward this past spring with allegations of sexual abuse against Bambaataa. We’ll get TC’s comments on that as well, and his thoughts on the inner workings of the organization.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/173/ for full show notes and comments.

Welcome to a special episode of The Cipher. This is an episode dedicated to Houston. Like countless people around the world, we were devastated by news of Hurricane Harvey and its effects on the city. If you’re a regular listener, you’ve noticed that we have many episodes discussing Houston music and culture with the city’s artists, businesspeople, and authors.

So, because of that love for Houston’s music, culture, and most of all its people, we decided to reach out to three H-town rap legends and find out what’s really going on in the storm and its aftermath, and to find out what you can do to help. We caught up by phone with Trae tha Truth, Killa Kyleon, and Z-Ro. All three have been involved in recovery efforts —in fact, you may have seen Trae on the news, rescuing people by boat. And all three have seen first-hand the devastation the storm has caused.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/213/ for full show notes and comments.

Richard “Crazy Legs” Colon is a b-boying pioneer and the longtime president of the Rock Steady Crew, arguably the most famous b-boy crew in the world. He joined the Rock Steady crew in its early days, and quickly rose to become its leader. As early as 1981, he was already getting press attention as one of the best dancers out there in the still-new form of b-boying or breaking, and he invented many of the moves we still associate with breaking today.

Crazy Legs and the Rock Steady Crew would make a series of genre-changing appearances: in movies like Wild Style, Beat Street, and Flashdance; bringing hip-hop to Europe as part of the historic New York City Rap Tour; and even recording a hit album.

After b-boying’s popularity dipped and many of the original dancers retired, Crazy Legs reinvigorated the Rock Steady Crew in the early 1990s, spurring them and b-boying on to even greater heights - performing at Lincoln Center, winning a prestigious New York Dance and Performance Award, and much more.

We spoke to Crazy Legs at on on the playground AND in the Principal’s office at PS 163 in on the Upper West Side, the home of Rock Steady Park.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/218/ for full show notes and comments.

Skyzoo is a fantastic Brooklyn rapper whose sophisticated lyrics and ear for soulful beats has long made him one of our favorites. Longtime listeners will no doubt remember that he’s been a guest on the show twice before. But this is different.

Sky approached us last month with the idea of having an in-depth conversation to tease out the themes and ideas in his awesome new record. In Celebration of Us, easily his most topical project to date, deals with police violence, gentrification, discrimination, validation, and ultimately what it means to be, as Sky is, a black man raising a black boy in America today.

He wanted to have the talk at a place near to his heart, so we met at Mike’s Coffee Shop. Mike’s is a Brooklyn diner that has been a staple of the rapper’s life since childhood, and remains one now that he has a child — his newborn son Miles — of his own.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/231/ for full show notes and comments.

Jericho Jackson is a group made up of producer Khrysis and rapper Elzhi. Khrysis is best known for his work with the rap collective the Justus League, which counts among its members 9th Wonder. He is currently a member of 9th’s production team the Soul Council. In addition to his North Carolina crew, Khrysis has produced for Sean Price and Heltah Skeltah, Jean Grae, Evidence, Talib Kweli, Black Thought, and many others.

Dedicated Cipher listeners will remember Elzhi from our talk with him on episode 152. The Detroit rapper came to a lot of fans’ attention during his time as a member of Slum Village. He followed that up with a staggering series of solo albums, including the Nas reinvention Elmatic and the deeply personal Lead Poison.

Khrysis and Elzhi’s recent joint album is called Khrysis and Elzhi Are Jericho Jackson.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/247/ for full show notes and comments.

Jiu Jitsu Master Eddie Bravo joins Joey and Lee in studio for a special edition of The Church Of What's Happening Now. Eddie is preparing for his rematch against Royler Gracie.

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MMA writer Ben Fowlkes calls in to talk about TRT and the future of MMA.

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Recorded live on 03/24/2014.

Joe Kenyon from World of Rock Records calls in to promote putting You Cant Eat Pussy With Asthma on Vinyl.

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Jiu Jitsu Coach John Evan calls in to break down Eddie Bravo's Match in Metamoris 3.

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Recorded live on 03/24/2014.

Emilio Rivera joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt in studio to talk about his new film Water and Power.

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Recorded live on 04/02/2014.

Comedian Felipe Esparza joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio.

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Recorded live on 04/07/2014.