LISTEN: Rapper Oddisee Shows Off D.C., Maryland & Virginia Pride In These 5 Tracks

Despite living in New York City, rapper Oddisee’s devotion to the D.C., Maryland and Virginia region permeates his music–from his most recent album, “The Iceberg,” released in February, 2017, to his work with Diamond District, a local hip hop trio. Born Amir Mohammed and raised in Prince George’s County, Md., Oddisee is back in town to perform at D.C. concert venue 9:30 Club on April 20. Before the show, he’ll join The Kojo Nnamdi Show to talk about how the Washington region influenced him. Tun

Nine Lessons On History, Islam And Local Washington From The Smithsonian’s Art of the Qur’an Exhibition

At a time when the Qur’an and Islam are at the center of national and local political debates, a new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery in downtown Washington celebrates the art rather than the politics of the holy book. The exhibition, which runs until February 20, 2017, features a collection of 60 manuscripts from the late seventh to early 17th centuries that display the calligraphy, illumination and decoration techniques that were commonly used to beautify the Qur’an. Chief cura

How An Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony Sparked Conversation About Changes in Shaw

Today marks the last day in business for Zenebech, one of the most popular and longstanding Ethiopian restaurants in D.C. The closing is a loss for those who visited the spot for affordable, authentic Ethiopian food. It also speaks to the changes happening in the Shaw neighborhood, where the restaurant’s building has been sold to developers who plan to turn the space into an apartment building and retail complex.

Breaking Down Sexual Harassment On D.C.'s Metro By The Numbers

Last week, The Kojo Nnamdi Show tackled the challenging topic of street harassment in our region. The conversation was personal for many of our listeners—and members of our staff—who called in to the program or took to Twitter to share their frequent and often scary experiences of being harassed in our city’s public spaces. One of our guests on the program was Jessica Raven, the executive director of Collective Action for Safe Spaces or CASS.  Jessica told Kojo that in curating her organization