Puja Prakash

Amid protests for racial equality and police reform, many Americans have called for the dismantling of systemically racist structures within our society. For some, that work begins with defunding (or abolishing) the police and other forces behind the largest private-prison population in the world and investing in community-led solutions instead. Liberation Library, a nonprofit organization that sends books to incarcerated youth in Illinois, is one group behind that effort.

What time is “wine-o’clock” for Mary J. Blige during quarantine? “Anywhere from 2 [PM] to 2 in the morning,” she says. On the latest episode of a Zoom of One’s Own, however, we started a little earlier. The music legend, actress, and now winemaker, Mary J. Blige joined us for a special tasting of her new wine, Sun Goddess, and the story behind her new endeavor.

My mom and I have similar taste in reality TV. We usually call each other after watching Real Housewives (even though she’s a much bigger fan) and watch Food Network and Cooking Channel shows together. But we’ve never started a show together and watched it live each week. That changed with Bravo’s new reality show Family Karma. When the show was first announced, my phone lit up with text messages from family and close family friends asking me if I’d heard about it.