Chicago’s own Ytasha Womack is both a scholar of afrofuturism and the author of a new book on one of the most notable figures in afrofuturistic sci-fi: Marvel’s “Black Panther.” In this episode, host Erin Allen talks with Womack about her book, “Black Panther: A Cultural Exploration,” how afro futures are everyone’s futures, and the cultural importance of T’Challa’s home country of Wakanda.

“One woman in the book said that Wakanda was as real for her as the biblical city of Canaan,” Womack said. “So for some, it’s not just some fantasy tale, it has real resonance because it synergizes all these possibilities, these hopes, these dreams.”