We’re huge fans of Baratunde Thurston, 34, at Flipboard. A humorist and former digital director at The Onion, Thurston pretty much makes his living these days as a public speaker, logging a few hundred thousand miles a year. It’s easy to see why: He’s endlessly interesting to listen to—and even more fun to interview. We sat down with him in New York City recently to discuss, among other things: his book, How to Be Black; the state of social media; and whether we’ll ever reach a point where talking about race is boring.