The Sexy, Multi-Dimensional Genius of Roberta Flack | Cannonball

Wesley has a practice as a new year begins of saying goodbye to those who won’t be coming with us. He could have easily done an episode on any number of household names. He could have done the same with people who weren’t the biggest names, yet still loomed large for many. But out of all the artists who passed in 2025, Wesley decides to dedicate time to Roberta Flack. The critic and scholar Daphne A. Brooks, a friend of Wesley’s, joins him to reflect on treasured moments in Flack’s music. They reminisce on the powerful range of her discography, the quiet it kept and the fire it sparked in others. Read more: http://nytimes.com/2026/01/01/podcast... “Cannonball” is a podcast from The New York Times, with the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Wesley Morris. Every week, Wesley talks to writers, artists and friends about the culture that moves us — the good, the bad and whatever’s in between. Surprisingly personal and never obvious, new episodes drop on Thursdays. Watch "Cannonball" on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe:    / @cannonballpodcast   Follow NYTimes:   / nytimes   Subscribe to NYT Audio: https://bit.ly/3Qz3GZu