The Daily - Special Episode: An Interplanetary Jazz Legend, a Cosmic Vegetable and a Psychic Prodigy

Episode Date: May 27, 2023

This weekend, we’re bringing dispatches from Times critics and writers on great music, TV, movies, recipes and more. They’re all part of a new series called “NYT Shorts,” available only on NYT Audio, our new iOS audio app. It’s home to podcasts, narrated articles from our newsroom and other publishers, and exclusive new shows. Find out more at nytimes.com/audioapp. On today’s episode: Five minutes to fall in love with jazz legend Sun Ra. A food critic’s love letter to the eggplant.  Recommendations from a Times editor on what to listen to, watch and who to follow this weekend. 

Hi, I am so glad you're here. I'm Kim Severson. I write about food for The New York Times. I'm here to tell you about a brand new project we've been cooking up. It's an audio app. It's called NYT Audio, and it's got all the shows you already know and love, like The Daily, plus some exclusive new shows, reporters reading the articles they've written, and so much more. of new shows, reporters reading the articles they've written, and so much more. Including something I'm especially excited about called NYT Shorts. These are little gems, nuggets of fun

delivered directly to you from our editors, reporters, and our critics. Hello, everybody. I am Jay Wertham. I'm Melissa Clark. My name is Elizabeth Egan. And I'm A.O. Scott. My name is Yohandi Kamalafet. I'm Gilbert Cruz. And I'll be here for the next few Saturdays so you can get a taste of some of these new stories. Okay, here we go. Today we have some old music for you to revisit, an ode to a very sublime vegetable, and some very cool recommendations to keep you busy this weekend. First up, my colleague Marcus Moore, who writes about music.

Listen, we're going to make it work. It's like jazz. It's a jazz improv, man. That's all it is. We're going to figure it out. My name is Marcus J. Moore, and this is 5 Minutes to Love Sun Ra. I always want to tell people about some good music or some good news, and that's why I'm here.

I'm here to spread the gospel of Sun Ra. I'm here to talk about Space is a Place as an incredible jazz song, and hopefully these five minutes will help you fall in love with Sun Ra the way that I did. It was the year 2010. It was the summertime. And somebody online was talking about Sun Ra. And I just wanted to see what was going on because I thought maybe it was traditional jazz or something like that.

And the first thing that comes up is Space is the Place. Space is the place. Space is the place. I was hooked right away, but I also was uncomfortable in a way. All this atonal screeching and you have these raucous drums. The first thing that struck me when I heard the song was the mantra, space is the place, repeated over and over, permeating itself into your skin.

At the time, I didn't know what that meant. But I like music like that that challenges me. I like music where I may not get it on the first hit, but as long as it elicits some sort of emotion, I got to check it out. Sun Ra was born Herman Blunt in Birmingham, Alabama. And he became Sun Ra following an out-of-body experience in college, where, according to him, his body was taken over by aliens. His body was taken over by aliens. And once he had that out-of-body experience,

he just sort of gradually brought in the cosmic elements to his music. He believed that black people would not find liberation on this planet and that they should seek refuge on other planets. He was operating in the 50s and 60s when he saw very clear indicators of racism, Jim Crow South, you know, civil rights struggles and things of that nature. And he just, you know, instead of trying to coexist, he said, OK, let's just separate and let's just find somewhere else, you know, where someone like a Marcus Garvey was trying to get people to go back to West Africa, he just wanted to bypass the whole planet somehow.

So that's going to come out in the music. Space is the Place is an album released by Sun Ra in 1972. And the track itself, in my estimation, is a two-part song. In the beginning, you hear the mantra more prominent. You hear June Tyson singing Space is the Place over and over again as a mission statement for Sun Ra Orchestra. But then in the second half, you have the instrumentation that takes over. You hear the conga drums.

You hear the saxophones. You hear Sun Ra playing keys. You hear all of this stuff going on. on. It conveys the same sense of joy and freedom that the mantra does, but it's more revivalist. You know, it's based in African tradition, meaning we're just going to play, we're going to summon the spirits, we're going to knock the dust out, we're going to be free, and we're going to be joyous. Anytime I hear that, it almost feels to me like, okay, we're taking off.

For those of you who are looking to get into the song, I would say buckle up. It's a very adventurous track, but in a good way. Yes, it can be intimidating to hear all of this going on at the same time, but just give the music a chance. Once you get into what he's talking about, and once you start studying what Sun Ra was about, the rewards are astounding. Sun Ra died in 1993.

He is somewhere in space, back where he belonged, among the planets, playing his organ. You know, we say the phrase a lot of times, ahead of its time. I truly think Sun Ra was ahead of his time, for sure. And that's why he's having a revival still to this day. And now, from outer space, somehow that's a perfect transition to a cosmic vegetable. Here's our critic at large, Tejal Rao, with a love letter. Let me tell you why I love eggplant. Let me tell you why I love eggplant.

Grew up calling it aubergine, which is what the British call it and the French call it. Eggplant is a very funny, just like a funny word to me. Aubergine sort of fits it better, I think. I mean, eggplant is one of the most beautiful vegetables, and the variety of eggplant is cosmic. You can get eggplant that are tiny, that are almost like beads, and then there's long, slim, bendy eggplant. There's big, you know, chubby, bulbous eggplant that look like babies.

And they're in all colors. They're soft, creamy white. They can be almost melon orange. All shades of purple, sometimes so deep that they look black. I mean, the most wonderful thing about eggplant, I think, is the texture. Fried eggplant, where the skin goes a little bit crisp and what seems spongy when it's raw becomes basically like dense and creamy. And that's one of my favorite things. Although lately I've been steaming eggplant,

which sounds like it wouldn't be very good and is just incredible. It kind of breaks down against the steam and slumps and becomes really, really tender. The thing that's special about eggplant is how luxurious it can feel. I didn't always like eggplant. I mean, some people just don't like eggplant, so fair enough.

But some people think they don't like eggplant. But I think they've actually just experienced undercooked eggplant. So it still is a little bit firm and spongy and that's so unpleasant. And generally it just means that it hasn't been cooked long enough to get fully, thoroughly, properly tender and creamy. Here are a few really delicious different things you can make with eggplant. So if you want ridiculously luxurious, creamy eggplant that's almost kind of starting to disappear into hot pasta and tomato sauce,

you can make a variation of the Sicilian pasta dish, Pastella Norma. Pieces of fried eggplant cooked in olive oil, so they soak up a lot of that oil, they get really tender, the edges get just a tiny bit crispy, mixed with tomato sauce, some cheese, fresh basil leaves, and hot pasta. You know, that's a really, really simple and rewarding way to cook it. If you want kind of a really smooth melting texture, you should char eggplant, you know, leave it whole, just wash it, dry it, and you can either put it against a flame on your gas stove or turn it over charcoal or an electric grill and just let the skin

completely char so that it blackens and starts to flake and the eggplant gets kind of slumpy and starts to shrivel and gets very, very soft. And that smoky flavor that's on the skin kind of permeates the meat of the eggplant and it's completely perfumed and infused with it. That is the beginning of baba ganoush. It's really easy once the eggplant cools down a little bit to just take off that charred skin, which you don't need anymore. And then you emulsify it with tahina, with sesame seed paste and olive oil, lemon, garlic. And that is sort of one of the most beautiful things

you can do with eggplant. It makes the most of its texture. Finally, now that you're all nice and soothed, we have an answer to that age-old question. What should I do now? NYT Shorts has a regular feature we call Staff Picks that lets you in on what our editors and reporters are spending their time on. Here's one from a pal whose advice I always listen to.

Hi, my name is Nikita Richardson, and I am a senior staff editor on the food section here at the New York Times. And I also write a weekly newsletter called Where to Eat New York City about eating at restaurants and other places, carts, whatever you want to, whatever you're interested in. Life is full of amazing things to listen to, read, watch, and I know it can be truly overwhelming. I'm with you on that. So here are a few of my favorite things right now that will hopefully brighten your day. These are your staff picks. my favorite things right now that will hopefully brighten your day. This is the singer and rapper, Dochi. Um, she's what's next. She is what's new. Dochi is going to be your favorite artist.

I first encountered her on TikTok. Somebody doing a lip sync video. It was like for Halloween to her song Spooky Coochie. It's just like she's going a thousand miles an hour. You don't get any breaks. She wears like outfits that are kind of cool and gothic. She has like an almost like Lil' Kim back when she like the black lipstick type vibe but she also has a very soft side that comes out in other songs that I can't even mention the name of because it has an expletive in it.

She has the range. I'll say that. She has the range. But also like the world that we currently live in with R&B artists and female rappers, all that skews extremely light skinned, which is not a knock. Everyone is awesome. But it's like when I look around, I'm like, but none of these women look like the majority of black America which is a lot of very dark-skinned people and Doichi is very dark-skinned like dark dark I think she'd just be an amazing representation for like teenage girls who love this kind of music and all that so I really want to see her blow up for more reasons than just because the music is good.

And the music is good. Her new song, Block Boy, which features Kodak Black, is also really, really good. And the music video is amazing. Everyone should watch it. It's amazing. And that is the rapper and singer Dochi.

You like to read? Oh yes, I love to read. What do you like to read? The 1996 film Matilda. Everything. But lately I've been reading Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens. I could read him every day. How could anyone not be familiar with Matilda? That's the first question, alright? It is literally one of the best children's films ever made, ever. It is a film that I have come back to more times in my life than is probably safe or legal. What's funny? Come on, spit it out. Speak up.

Matilda is a film about a little girl who grows up misunderstood in a family of people who are not like her at all. I'm smart, you're dumb. I'm big, you're little. I'm right, you're wrong. And there's nothing you can do about it. She goes to a school where she's also not understood by the principal. But she discovers that she has the power.

And she literally has a power. It is being psychic i think i got them down watch this i always think of it as the dream that every little kid has which is that you have a superpower you have a secret power it's the reason that everyone loves harry potter right having psychic powers gives her agency to put her on the same level as adults. Matilda is somebody who really stands up for herself and who is able to like change her fate. And the trunchbull was gone, never to be seen or heard from, never to darken a doorway again. It's so much, it's such a good movie. It's such a good movie.

This is the Instagram account, OldNYMag. That's O-L-D-N-Y-M-A-G. Oh, such a great account. Look at these covers, man. It's so good. OldNYMag is archived old covers of New York Magazine. Funny, okay. This is from August 3rd, 1987.

Brides at Last. Women over 40 who beat the odds. What you will see are basically just the covers of issues going back mostly probably 30 years, 30, 40 years. They have a cover from 1992 that says, Bill Clinton, who is this guy? You know, I think it's really awesome to realize that, like, these narratives always come back around.

You know what I mean? Like, that Bill Clinton cover I just said, like, who's this guy? I remember when they had, like, a very similar cover for, like, Bill de Blasio. Everyone's like, who's this guy from Brooklyn? Like, where'd he come from? And they had a cover that was like, meet the de Blasio. Everyone's like, who's this guy from Brooklyn? Like where'd he come from? And they had a cover that was like, meet the de Blasios.

It's just like a, it's a time capsule. I love it. Why women's dresses don't fit and other true tales of the Garbage Center. Like, I don't know why women's clothes still don't fit. And that was in 74. So that is the Instagram account, oldnymag. All I want is, I'm trying to think of how to say it so it doesn't sound terrible. Say it terrible.

The reality TV series, Couples Therapy. So what I want is to have zero responsibility to have all the sex I want without any work on my part. It is a series in which the psychologist Orna Goralnik treats, I think it's four couples per season. I'm not sure Drew feels understood. No. It is fascinating to watch. It's not like your standard reality TV when you're watching Love is Blind and you're like, you know, where you're sitting there and you're like popcorn. You're like, oh my God, these people are so messy.

It really is. It feels so human and so, so real. You feel that I need affection. Mm-hmm. And it's more about being seen. It's really like relationships that are queer. Here's this woman that I've been dating for six months, and she's going into surgery to completely alter her anatomy.

Relationships with people who are from a different community, like an Orthodox Jewish couple. We're in a socialist cooperative now. And every person has to contribute. In the case of marriage, I feel like socialism isn't the worst model. I'm right to we're in a socialist cooperative now. And every person has to contribute. In the case of marriage, I feel like socialism isn't the worst model. I'm sure you feel that way. I call it personally the best show about New York City

because it is based here. The couples that she has brought onto the show, it feels like real New Yorkers, like real people who live here. And, you know, have to wait for the A train to arrive like the rest of us. Haven't I always made sure you weren't top of stuff? Made sure you had insurance

so you could take care of things? It really draws out incredible observations about human behavior. Yes. She also brings her dog, so that's a huge part of why you should watch the shows, because the therapist has a dog that is in every episode and is so cute and good.

Oh, hi. Oh, how cute. That's the reality TV show, Couples Therapy. So again, here are my staff picks the rapper and singer doichi the 1996 film matilda the instagram account at old and my mag the tv show couples therapy i'm nikita richardson i hope you heard about something you like or are interested in. and more on our new audio app. It's available for free to New York Times News and All Access subscribers. Download the app now at nytimes.com slash audio app. This episode was produced by Tina Antolini, Elissa Dudley, John White, and Alex Barron.

Edited by Wendy Dorr and Lynn Levy. Engineered by Daniel Farrell, Corey Schreppel, and Sophia Barron. Edited by Wendy Doerr and Lynn Levy. Engineered by Daniel Farrell, Corey Schreppel, and Sophia Landman. Special thanks to Paula Schumann and Sam Dolnick. Thanks for listening. I'll see you back here Saturday.