Three months into their tenure at GBH, Tyree Rush isn’t wasting any time shaping GBH News Rooted’s dynamic presence. As Executive Producer of the next iteration of GBH’s Basic Black, their average day varies from writing material for segments, talking with community members, visiting authors and university professors to source panelists for a discussion, to filming B-roll or cutting up footage of an upcoming episode.
Originally from Atlanta, they graduated from Georgia State University in 2016 with a degree in Media Entrepreneurship — a major the university modeled after Rush’s independent study curriculum. Equal parts genre-bending polymath and whip-smart humorist, they are a storyteller at heart, weaving anecdotes and observations alongside socio-political analysis.
They are also relentlessly curious. “Lately I’m trying to discover my post-30s hobby,” they say. “I feel like I’m either about to get into DJing or golf. I don’t know which, and I don’t know who I will become as a result of it. But it is happening.”
We sat down with Rush to figure out what else is happening, specifically with their work on GBH News Rooted. Along the way, we touched on everything from the comedic stylings of Richard Pryor and Tina Fey, to the enduring relevance of Tituba’s place in the Salem Witch Trials, and their ultimate goals for GBH News Rooted.
What are you reading or listening to right now?
I’m reading a bunch of stuff for work, but outside of that, I’m rereading Vagabonds by Eloghosa Osunde. It’s a composite novel that’s a fictional account of the underbelly of Lagos, Nigeria.
It’s a really fun read. I like to read things that maybe aren’t a strict linear narrative, because you can kind of put it down and pick it back up, and you don’t have to quite remember everything that happened before. The narratives are interconnected, but it’s not all the same story.
Who is your role model or inspiration?
I like to think I’m the child of Dick Gregory and Max Robinson. Max Robinson was the first Black anchor for ABC World News, and Dick Gregory was a comic who was very politically conscious. That’s the kind of work I want to do with GBH News Rooted.
When I was a researcher and segment producer for the Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock, seeing Amber flourish in her career really inspired me. Not just writing for Seth Meyer’s Late Night and appearing on Roy Wood Jr.’s show, but also adapting The Wiz and Some Like It Hot into new Broadway shows — really branching out. I always find it inspiring to see people who can be an authentic version of themselves in multiple places or contexts.
As a writer, my Atlanta twin Donald Glover really inspires me. Seeing Atlanta thrive as a character-driven, auteur project was dope. I also love Tina Fey; she’s just a really funny writer. 30 Rock is timeless — even the stuff that’s bad was bad on purpose.
I admire the work of people like Richard Pryor and, oddly enough, Steve Harvey, because he has managed to turn a comedy career into being one of the hardest-working, most ubiquitous people working across all platforms.
He’s got some incredible outfits, too
Yeah, there’s a whole Instagram page dedicated to that. I gotta get my suit game up.
Why did you become a writer for TV and other media?
I think I’ve always loved storytelling in any capacity. I always knew I wanted to tell these cool stories, and figuring out that griots [storytellers or oral historians in the West African tradition] are very much a part of Black culture helped me contextualize what I wanted to do.
I did think that I was going to be a novelist at one point. I worked in radio for a bit, thinking it would lead me to the music industry. But I was named the inaugural fellow for a program at AMC where I worked as a creative exec for a year and a half. I got to produce two original films — one series that was scripted, and then two unscripted series.
Then I landed on the television side, and have been there ever since. Television’s changing, though. GBH News Rooted is a TV show, but it’s also a podcast, and exists on social media. But writing is central to all of those formats.
You seem like someone who has a lot of interests and who throws themselves headlong into them.
Yes, that is true; I’m no stranger to a Wikipedia wormhole. But I think my creative superpower is in process and execution. We all love having ideas, but when it’s time to figure out how far we can stretch $15,000 for a project, that’s where I really excel. And the world of media is shifting in so many ways, I’m just really drawn to figuring out a way to keep the art forms alive within this changing media ecosystem.
How do you think you developed that talent for economical storytelling?
I was a middle child of six kids. I knew that if there was a field trip that cost $15, my parents didn’t have six sets of $15 for us to all go. I learned how to be crafty with a budget and how to pitch ideas. It definitely built character.
Can you talk about launching GBH News Rooted as a video podcast?
The first episode aired on October 1. It will be a weekly video podcast on Spotify, appearing as well on YouTube and broadcast. I think GBH as a whole is looking to exist across multiple platforms. Last election, we learned that Gen Z is the largest voting bloc and they’re getting a lot of their news from TikTok, Snapchat, Spotify, etc. If we’re gonna be relevant there, we have to show up there.
GBH News Rooted is different from many other shows because it’s specifically focused on the Black community and people of color. Sometimes when we think about that, we tend to homogenize it or make it a monolith. But this is an intergenerational program. If we want to have meaningful conversations with different types of Black people, we have to meet them where they’re at. And a lot of them are not on linear television.
What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on for Rooted so far?
Currently, I’m working on an episode looking into traditional African religions through the framework of the Salem Witch Trials. We just did an interview with the education director for the Salem Witch Museum about Tituba and her misunderstood history as the first person accused in the Salem Witch Trials. She’s also the only person to survive being accused, which adds some interest to the speculation of her being a witch. I’m excited to see the reception to that episode, because it’s premiering around Halloween.
We also had a roundtable conversation about hip-hop and its roots in political messaging — whether it still meets that aim 50-plus years after its conception. People were really into that. And with [hip-hop] being in its 50s, the genre warrants being preserved by public media. We’re figuring out ways to do that in Boston with some of the artists that are coming up, so I’m really excited about continuing conversations around the music.
What are your hopes for GBH News Rooted?
When Say Brother, a precursor of Rooted, first aired in the 60s, it was a national show. Now, granted, there were only five television channels back then. But I think the conversations we’re having now are nationally relevant, and I really would like to see the show get on PBS member stations across the U.S.
Boston is still a great seat for that, because it’s such a transient city, and the New England area holds so much American history, and by extension, Black history. I’d like to see continued engagement as we build out our social platforms, seeing more people commenting and reaching out with stories. I’m really excited to dig into the conversations that people want to see. Getting to the root of it, so to speak.
How have you found Boston so far?
I moved here for the job, so I’ve learned so much about all the different cultural hubs — not just in Boston, but Worcester and beyond. I dig the farmer’s markets in Roslindale. Of course, I spend a lot of time in Dorchester for the show, but recently I went to the Lower Mills neighborhood, and that was really beautiful.
I’m living in Allston, so this past September’s Allston Christmas was great for picking up people’s old furniture and things as they moved out. Although I did not find a Vitamix. And I still gotta get some boots for the winter.
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Watch GBH News Rooted segments on YouTube, video podcasts on Spotify, and full episodes here and on GBH 2 on Tuesdays at 7:30pm.
Looking to check out GBH News Rooted’s predecessors? The American Archive of Public Broadcasting, a collaborative between GBH Archives and the Library of Congress, has added more than 300 interviews, segments, and episodes to its Say Brother/Basic Black special collection.Stay rooted in updates about the show by signing up for the GBH News Rooted newsletter here.
