Episode 214

Arnetia Walker has lit up stages and screens for decades and she joins us this week to review her stunning show biz resume, including her latest entry, Bookie, the Chuck Lorre Max comedy on which she is currently slaying as Grandma.

We are also joined by artist and Holocaust Survivor Erika Kahn, a first-hand witness to the consequences of authoritarian rule, scapegoating, and nationally sanctioned brutality. Erika offers vital insight for us in our fight against a dangerous wave of fascism.

Orphaned as a child, Arnetia Walker’s showbiz career began at New York City's High School for the Performing Arts where her talent and dreams were nurtured and encouraged. Arnetia was embraced by a similar culture of community and support when she won her first Broadway role with Hal Linden in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window and then A Raisin in the Sun. Both  Lorraine Hansberry's plays.

With a favorable alignment of the stars and talent recognition from Michael Bennet, Arnetia went from understudying Stephanie Mills in The Wiz to co-starring in Dreamgirls… a show within which she ultimately played every starring character. (But not on the same night.)

As gifted an actor as she is a singer, Arnetia talks about her slew of TV appearances, including her lead role in the Witt Thomas Harris sitcom, Nurses and the circumstances under which that part prevented her from being cast in  E.R.

Currently, she is stealing every scene as the ruthlessly direct Grandma in Bookie. Arnetia shares what it's like to work with Chuck Lorre and Sebastian Maniscalco. She tells us about her cabaret era and her passion for cooking and she boldly takes on a round of IMDB Roulette that jars some treasured TV memories!

Then, Centenarian Erika Kahn recalls her childhood in Nazi Germany, and she contrasts and compares the climate which led to the Nazi atrocities with that of our current perilous pivot point in America. Erika is a tenacious activist whose words of hope and optimism are essential for those of us taking on the rise of American fascism.

In recommendations --

Fritz: Netflix Series 'American Manhunt: OJ Simpson'

Weezy: The Movie 'Studio One Forever' (2023), streaming on several platforms