Palestinians are not begging anyone to acknowledge our humanity. It is the world's we are questioning.

i had a three-day text message conversation with Mychal Denzel Smith. we talked Ninja Turtles, family, writing and more: timbarnescomedy.substack.com/p/text-intervi…

Excellent essay by the always insightful Mychal Denzel Smith 👊🏾

For ESPN's 'Hip-Hop 50' series, I wrote about Jay Z, Michael Jordan, and how it's the story (true or not) that shapes how we talk about who's the greatest espn.com/nba/story/_/id…

For ESPN's 'Hip-Hop 50' series, I wrote about Jay Z, Michael Jordan, and how it's the story (true or not) that shapes how we talk about who's the greatest espn.com/nba/story/_/id…

I recently became a father. When @AmyRosary asked if I could write some thoughts about that, I was glad to have the space to explore some of the feelings (and fears) I’ve had, which turned into this piece for SELF: self.com/story/new-fath…

You should make this piece I did for ESPN (about opera, boxing, masculinity, sexuality, transformation, redemption) your weekend read: espn.com/boxing/story/_…

I rarely tweet these days (read: past 5 years), so I know when I do it gets lost in the ether, but I really want you to read this one, please and thank you

I rarely tweet these days (read: past 5 years), so I know when I do it gets lost in the ether, but I really want you to read this one, please and thank you

For ESPN, I wrote about Terence Blanchard's opera in jazz 'Champion' (opening today at Metropolitan Opera), which tells the story of Emile Griffith—the boxer who killed an opponent after he taunted Griffith with an anti-gay slur
espn.com/boxing/story/_…

What a beautiful story from the incredible Mychal Denzel Smith about opera, boxing, queerness, and masculinity

Phenomenal article

For ESPN, I wrote about Terence Blanchard's opera in jazz 'Champion' (opening today at Metropolitan Opera), which tells the story of Emile Griffith—the boxer who killed an opponent after he taunted Griffith with an anti-gay slur
espn.com/boxing/story/_…

Erick Tavira was the 17th person to die on Rikers last year. His path there began when he was trying to check himself into a hospital for a psychiatric crisis, but was arrested in the waiting room instead. A story about policing and mental health: hellgatenyc.com/erick-tavira-s…

Benoit Blanc subverts the typical cigar smoker archetype in the most refreshing way #KnivesOut gq.mn/IZ5tdmq

For GQ Magazine, I wrote about Benoit Blanc's cigars, and how the Knives Out hero subverts the cigar smoking archetype gq.com/story/benoit-b…

My email has been busy this morning because this Fox News write up said Dr. Phil 'schooled' me on defunding the police, but I'm mostly offended the screen grab they used looks like I'm in the middle of singing 'On the Wings of Love' foxnews.com/media/dr-phil-…

For New York Magazine, I profiled Chris Alexander, Executive Director of New York’s Office of Cannabis Management, to see what it takes to establish a legal weed market that (hopefully) avoids the pitfalls other states have faced nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Chris Alexander and the Office of Cannabis Management are building an entire government organization from scratch. Mychal Denzel Smith reports nym.ag/3iOULWd

To be young, Black, and creative in Virginia in the early 2000s “was not a recipe for any type of success one could predict,” Mychal Denzel Smith writes. Yet the region produced stars—Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Allen Iverson—who rewrote the rules of pop culture. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…