John L. Hanson Jr.
Host, Producer, In Black AmericaJohn L. Hanson is the producer and host of the nationally syndicated radio series In Black America. It’s heard on home station KUT Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., as well as weekly on close to 20 stations across the country. The weekly podcast of IBA, the only nationally broadcast black-oriented public affairs radio program, is one of KUT’s most popular podcasts.
Hanson’s love of radio started in his hometown, Detroit, as a teenager. He began as a music programmer and youth reporter for the student station in his school. Upon his high school graduation, he traveled to Austin, Texas, to attend Huston-Tillotson College, and landed a DJ slot at a small, low wattage station in nearby Lockhart where he offered a popular nightly program of jazz and soul music. Eventually he was hired by KUT radio in 1974 where his first assignment was to produce a nightly program called “Soul on FM” which became an immediate success and ultimately earned him recognition as “Best DJ in Texas” by Texas Monthly magazine in 1976.
In 1977, Hanson received a Minority Training Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which he used to learn the ropes for setting up a public affairs program for KUT. Upon his return from the CPB workshops, Hanson turned his attention to improving and increasing information about the black community, which was not effectively reaching the local media outlets. He soon created Access, a weekly, live, phone-in program on KUT, which allowed experts in various fields and endeavors to address the public about their intended impact on the Austin community. From there, Hanson was promoted to the producer of In Black America after its previous host left the city in 1980.
Since that time, Hanson has served many roles at KUT, including being the station’s interim GM on two occasions. He retired from KUT in 2011 but has continued to work on IBA and host the Old School Dance Party on sister station KUTX 98.9 Friday afternoons from 4-7 p.m. Hanson is married to the former Latischa M. Merritt; he has two children, Kacey and Michael.
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Dr. Kristen Guillory, author of "Look, Stop Hiding! How to Find Your Voice and Never Dim Your Light Again!" -
On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. pays tribute to the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have turned 93 this week.
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. presents a tribute to the late John Hope Franklin, a native of Oklahoma, alumnus of Fisk University and Harvard, and the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History and Professor of Legal History at Duke University Law School.
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Liz Rogers, founder of Creamalicious Ice Cream, and actor Terrence J.
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Sam George, media consultant and author of I’ll Get Back to You: The Dyscommunication Crisis.
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Liz Rogers, founder, president and executive chef of Creamalicious Ice Cream.
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. presents a tribute to screen and stage legends Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. presents an encore presentation of a conversation he had with the first African-American woman elected to Congress
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Kate Clifford Larson, award-winning historian and consultant and author of Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer.
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Ida Byrd-Hill, founder and CEO of Detroit-based Automation Workz.
