In this episode of the Bookum Author Talks Podcast, we talk with author and journalist Colin Asher about his book The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music.

Colin shows the connection between prison, policing, incarceration, and American music, looking at the lives and careers of Lead Belly, Elmo Hope, Johnny Cash, Ike White, and Tupac Shakur.

We talk about the history of modern jazz, the cabaret card system and how police targeted jazz musicians in New York, Lead Belly and the Lomaxes, the relationship between artists and managers, Johnny Cash's outlaw image, Tupac's trial and distrust of authority, Me Against the World, and the use of hip-hop lyrics in criminal cases.

Colin also shares his research and writing process, including his conversations with Elmo Hope's family and legendary jazz musician Lou Donaldson, and how he decided which artists belonged in The Midnight Special.

Topics discussed:
• The history of modern jazz
• Elmo Hope and Thelonious Monk
• Cabaret cards and police control of musicians
• Lead Belly and the Lomaxes
• Johnny Cash and the American outlaw
• Tupac Shakur and his trial
• Tupac's Me Against the World
• Hip-hop lyrics and criminal cases
• Ike White and music in prison
• Prison and American music
• Colin Asher's research and writing process
• The making of The Midnight Special

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