Last week, I finished listening to the audiobook of King: A Life, which is exactly what it sounds like: a comprehensive biography of Martin Luther King Jr. It was released in 2023, and it surprised me that there seemingly wasn’t something akin to a definitive biography released about MLK before then. The author, Jonathan Eig, went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Biography the following year. But why would you listen to the endorsement of Columbia University and the Pulitzer Prize Board when you can listen to me, a guy who mistakenly takes the 6 train uptown instead of downtown somewhat regularly. This book is quite lengthy, but worth spending some time with, especially if, like me, you’ve never truly reckoned with MLK the person and only considered MLK the icon/figure. So, on this 40th MLK Day, I thought, why not give a timely and comically easy book recommendation? I especially recommend the audiobook, with exquisite narration from actor/narrator/guy I recognize from The Wire, Dion Graham.

And for a bit more on MLK and smart takes in general, I’d direct you to a concise segment from one of my favorite people in media, Bomani Jones.