Dwight E. Brooks expands Earth, Wind & Fire analysis into podcast form

Retired media scholar Dwight E. Brooks has turned his academic work on Earth, Wind & Fire into a documentary podcast called Tracking Earth, Wind & Fire. The project extends his Bloomsbury book on That's the Way of the World and is aimed at preserving the band’s history, influences and cultural impact across audio and video platforms.

Why it matters: - The project connects scholarship to a broader audience through audio and video storytelling. - Brooks is using the podcast to preserve the historical context around Earth, Wind & Fire and Maurice White’s creative development. - The effort also pushes back against inaccurate music trivia and flattened accounts of Black musical history.

What happened: - Retired media scholar Dwight E. Brooks launched Tracking Earth, Wind & Fire, an episodic documentary podcast series about the band’s legacy. - Brooks built the podcast on his 2022 Bloomsbury Academic book, Earth, Wind & Fire’s That’s the Way of the World. - The book is part of Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 series and examines the group’s 1975 album That’s the Way of the World. - The podcast is distributed across audio and video platforms, including YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

The details: - The book combines archival research with original interview material from Verdine White. - Brooks examines how Maurice White fused R&B, funk, jazz, rock and African musical traditions into music aimed at spiritual elevation and self-actualization. - The podcast traces Maurice White’s early years as a session drummer at Chicago’s Chess Records. - The series also covers White’s work with the Ramsey Lewis Trio, the formation of The Salty Peppers and the creation of Earth, Wind & Fire. - Episode themes include “Welcome to Chicago, Maurice White,” “Playing Chess in Chicago” and “Creating His Concept.” - Brooks says the show will examine how the Black Arts Movement and anti-war demonstrations of 1968 shaped White’s musical philosophy. - Future episodes are set to explore Earth, Wind & Fire’s collaborations, side projects, studio recordings and work with arranger Charles Stepney. - Brooks says the series will also look at the band’s influence on pop, funk and hip-hop producers.

Between the lines: - The podcast format gives Brooks room to expand beyond the album-focused scope of the book. - The project positions Maurice White not just as a hitmaker, but as a musician shaped by specific institutions, collaborators and political currents. - Brooks is framing music history as a media-literacy issue, arguing that careful documentation helps protect cultural memory.

What's next: - Brooks plans deeper dives into Earth, Wind & Fire’s creative collaborations and studio history. - New episodes are expected to continue the chronological and thematic exploration of Maurice White’s career. - The podcast will keep rolling out across audio and video channels as a continuing documentary series.

The bottom line: - Brooks is turning a scholarly book into a multimedia archive of Earth, Wind & Fire’s origins, influence and long cultural reach.