My Home is Special

Tenured professor, stress expert, and longtime friend Modupe Akinola joins the podcast for a deeply grounding conversation. With all her accomplishments, you might not expect "silent meditation" to b…

This month’s storytime is about a powerful pilgrimage trip to Charleston, South Carolina with our church, where we explored the deep African American history rooted in that city. The experience felt …

Eric Williams is the creative force behind The Silver Room and a driving presence behind some of Chicago’s most beloved cultural events. In this episode, we talk about how he got his start, what keep…

Back in the day, when the gym was life and bad decisions felt like good ideas, I learned a lesson the hard way.  It's one I I should have passed down before my son caught the gym bug. In this story t…

You don’t expect to see horses trotting through the streets of Chicago—but Murdock (the man with no first name), the founder of the Broken Arrow Horseback Riding Club, is changing that. With a whole …

Ever been out-negotiated by your own kid? In this Father's Day-inspired solo episode, Keith shares a hilarious and heartwarming story from over a decade ago, when his oldest son used corporate-style …

This week, I’m talking with Rahamaan Statik—an artist whose work I’ve admired long before we ever met. Though we've only crossed paths in person a couple times, he welcomed me into his world to talk …

This week’s mini-episode is a story I told a while back about being a Black college student in Boston—a city that, at the time, had a reputation. And yeah... my first experiences definitely lived up …

This week’s guest is the incomparable Lily Be—storyteller, teacher, host, and all-around powerhouse. I’ve known Lily for years, and every time I see her on the mic, I’m blown away by how she commands…

In this mini episode, I'm taking you to my second home—on the mic at Grown Folks Stories—where I share what should've been a dreamy first trip to Hawaii. Spoiler: things did not go as planned. Enjoy …

Aaron is a poet, founder, investor, and artist—someone who moves effortlessly between the worlds of creativity and entrepreneurship. From the poetry slam stage to the startup pitch room, he shows how…

After looking at the content I want to share in the weeks ahead, I decided to make a change to the publication schedule for the pod.  I also have some content that I want to share about *my* home.  I…

You’ve never heard a sound like this Gangstagrasss before and in this episode I talk with a longtime friend, Dolio, about its origins.  After years of denying that he was an artist, one night in NYC …

In this episode, I catch up with longtime friend and founder of Ten to One rum, Marc Farrell. Marc isn’t just building a rum brand—he’s on a mission to elevate an entire category while sharing the ri…

In this episode, I sit down with Rocxana to talk about her home, Guatemala. We dive into everything from our pre-trip expectations  to recapping our on-the-ground experiences.   Of course, we wrap up…

Kick off Super Bowl week with record-breaking football coach David Shaw. In this episode, Coach Shaw shares what makes life on the sidelines so special to him—and it’s not just about the X’s and O’s.…

In this episode, I chat with my friend and pastor, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, about his unique sense of "home" within the Black church tradition. While I thought we’d talk about "the pulpit" as his home…

This episode features my friend Rahel, who I’ve known for over a decade and who’s the co-founder of Ilava, an African fashion company. Rahel is doing more than just designing clothes—she’s helping to…

Hi everyone! Just a quick update—we’re taking a break this Monday, but new episodes will be back starting January 6th, with a fresh one every other Monday after that. In the meantime, I want to wish …

In this episode, I chat with my friend Binkey, a masterful event host who takes his craft seriously. Binkey isn’t just there to hold a mic—he’s there to create unforgettable vibes from start to finis…