Teju Cole’s Meticulously Curated Playlists

During these uncertain times, Teju Cole is curating playlists that reflect current events and his own thoughts on history and music. Brittle Paper has compiled the playlists, which include titles like “songs without words” and “melodious uncle.” For the playlist titled “take my hand,” Cole writes: “Thinking with Arthur Jafa about making culture in freefall. Thinking with Saidiya Hartman about grieving as a way of making life with one another. A moment of rebuilding will come—for the survivors—and the features by which we will recognize each other in that rebuilding are being quietly established right now.”