Rough Drafts is a Black digital salon hosted by Maurice Rippel and Luke McGowan-Arnold. Maurice and Luke, classmates from their time at a small liberal arts college in the 2010s, reconnected after their respective odyssey in the early 2020s. Through their work facilitating writing groups and public events at a bookstore in Philadelphia, the idea for this podcast emerged, and in fact, was requested. Rough Drafts is exactly what it sounds like: ideas in their nascent stages, first impressions, best foot forward. The concept of each episode is simple: we bring a topic, present a question, or a works-in-progress; we do some research, then have a conversation (often with a guest who commits to reading, research and hot takes). The goal is to start a conversation, and commit to learning, growing, and building for the next draft.