Al Letson (born August 8, 1972) is an American writer, journalist, and radio and podcast host. Since 2013, he has served as the host of the radio show and podcast '' Reveal'' from the

Center for Investigative Reporting The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in Emeryville, California. It was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and has since grown into a multi-plat ...

and PRX. Before that, he created and hosted the show '' State of the Re:Union'', distributed by

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

and PRX.

Early life and career

Letson was born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

, the son of a minister. At the age of twelve he moved with his family to Orange Park, Florida, a suburb of

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. As a teenager he became interested in recording and hip hop, spending much of his free time in the studio and participating in Jacksonville's music and arts scene. After graduating from Orange Park High School, he took a job as a flight attendant for

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

, allowing him to participate in

poetry slam A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...

s across the country.Bosworth, John (September 27, 2007)
"npr’s american idol"
. eujacksonville.com. Retrieved September 6, 2012.

Performance poetry

Letson regularly appeared in slam poetry performances across the country and on TV including Russell Simmons's ''

Def Poetry Jam ''Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry'', better known as simply ''Def Poetry Jam'' or ''Def Poetry'', is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by estab ...

'', and CBS's Final Four Pre-Game Show. In 2000, he won the Atlanta Grand Slam and placed third in the

National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year an ...

competition.

Playwriting

Letson began writing plays and acting, and in 2001, he produced his first

one-man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

, ''Essential Personnel'', in Jacksonville. The show earned him commissions for his work and performances across the country. In 2004, the

Baltimore School for the Arts The Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) is a public performing arts high school located in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Maryland, United States and is part of the Baltimore City Public Schools system. Established in 1979, The Baltimore School for the ...

commissioned him to write ''Chalk'', a "poetical" combining stage acting with poetry. Other plays include ''Griot'' and ''Julius X'', a retelling of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

'' set in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

in 1965. His solo show ''Summer in Sanctuary'' opened Off-Broadway at the Abingdon Theatre Company in 2011 In 2007, Letson produced a short film which he released on the internet. This led to an appearance on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

film-themed reality show ''

On the Lot ''On the Lot'' is a single season reality show and online competition for filmmaking, produced by Steven Spielberg, Mark Burnett and David Goffin. The show, which aired on Fox, featured filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, wi ...

''.

Public radio

Al Letson and the crew of State of the ReUnion at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards

In 2007, Letson discovered a radio competition called the Public Radio Talent Quest. The program, organized by the

Public Radio Exchange The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...

(PRX) and the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...

(CPB), used the competition as an open search for new public radio talent. The five-round competition began with more than 1,400 applicants and was voted on by fans, professionals and celebrity judges. Letson submitted a pilot for '' State of the Re:Union'', and was chosen as one of three winners. From there, Letson's ''State of the Re:Union'' and

Glynn Washington Glynn Washington (born 1970) is a media personality and producer. He is the host, creator and executive producer of '' Snap Judgment'', a radio / podcast/ stage / television show distributed by PRX. Early life and education Washington was born in ...

's ''Snap Judgement Radio'' were awarded funding by the CPB. The first season of ''State of the Re:Union'' aired in 2010 and the show continued for six seasons, ending in 2015. ''State of the Re:Union'' won 3 consecutive Edward R. Murrow awards, 2

NABJ Awards The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

, 3

NLGJA Awards NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, is an American professional association dedicated to unbiased coverage of LGBTQ issues in the media. It is based in Washington, D.C., and the membership consists primarily of journalists, students, edu ...

, and a Peabody in 2015. In 2013, Letson hosted pilots of ''Reveal'', a podcast/public radio show from PRX and

The Center for Investigative Reporting The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in Emeryville, California. It was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and has since grown into a multi-plat ...

. The first pilot of ''Reveal'' received a Peabody and went into full production in 2014. Letson went on to become the full-time host of the program. He received the 2020 Gerald Loeb Award for Audio for the episode "Amazon: Behind the Smiles". In 2016, Letson began hosting his own story podcast, ''Errthang Show!.'' In 2021, hosted a radio show Mississippi Goddam: The Ballad of Billy Joe (nominated for Peabody Award).

Comics

Letson credits comic books with teaching him how to read and helping him conquer dyslexia. He worked on two independent comic books, ''Imperfect'' and ''Planetfall''. In 2016, he was chosen by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

to participate in the 2nd DC Comic writer's workshop. Letson and his cohorts learned DC's production methods and were given the opportunity to write for the company. His first story for DC came out in November 2017.

Rally Against Hate

On August 27, 2017, Letson intervened to stop a man from being beaten during a protest. During a

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

"Rally Against Hate" demonstration that he was covering, Letson saw five masked protesters beating an unarmed man with sticks. Fearing for the man's life, Letson used his body as a human shield and encouraged the protesters to discontinue their attacks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letson, Al Living people 1972 births American male poets 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights American radio producers American public radio personalities African-American radio personalities Writers from Jacksonville, Florida American male dramatists and playwrights People from Plainfield, New Jersey People from Orange Park, Florida 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American poets Gerald Loeb Award winners for Audio and Video 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American people