One of the hardest practices is self-love, especially when it feels like the world is against you. Today we hear the story of Regina Louise, an author and personal growth coach, who learned how to define love on her own terms after growing up in and out of foster care.  Regina finds her voice in a story that shows us that true love doesn’t always come from the outside.

Sai Sion, creator and performer of the Afro-futuristic audio space drama, His Saturn Return, goes on intergalactic adventures. Duran Durag learns important life lessons from DJ Saturn, challenging his ego. Topics include storytelling dynamics, confusion on Pluto, using words as swords and shields, missions and disappointments, astrology, apologies, and phone calls.

We don’t often hear stories about Black men struggling with infertility. Today, we meet Jared Wright and his wife Erica, who share their story about their road to parenthood.

Today, it’s personal. Leila takes a walk through a town close to her heart- Charleston, South Carolina- to discover the Black presence in the architecture, and buildings that hold countless stories and secrets from history about Blackness. As she learns about the hands that built Charleston, she also questions her role in the changes…

When we have feet in two worlds, how do we choose to live in one place, and not the other? Today we’re handing over the mic to our friends at NPR’s Rough Translation, hosted by Gregory Warner. In this episode, ‘Home is where the hustle is’, Nigerian author Chibundu Onuzo is thinking about moving from the UK to Lagos, and she’s getting advice from her big brother, filmmaker Chinaza Onuzo, about having enough “hustle” to succeed back home in Nigeria. 

‘Black don’t crack’ is said like it’s a badge of honor, but is this phrase making us more insecure about aging? Hana and Leila explore the phrase with writer Patia Braithwaite who writes, ‘Black don’t crack is stressing me out.’  We also Stoop it with Dr. Michelle Henry, a dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon who explains what really happens to our skin as we age, and what she’s seeing when it comes to her Black patients. Is ‘Black don’t crack’ causing more harm than good?

We’re Stoopin it in Australia and meet Indigenous journalist Rhianna Patrick as she navigates this question- why do I call myself ‘Black’? Rhianna takes us along as she unpacks what Blackness means Down Under. It’s complicated, and we meet people along the way who help her navigate this question. Dr. Jackie Huggins digs into the history of Indigenous peoples’ relation to Blackness, artist/journalist Daniel Browning explains why some young Indigenous people are identifying as ’Blak’- without the ‘C’, and Aurora Liddle Christie ponders her Jamaican-Indigenous Australian roots. Will Rhianna get any closer to understanding her use of the term ‘Black’?

Angelica Lindsey-Ali is known to tens of thousands of Muslims worldwide as The Village Auntie. She’s a Black American Muslim therapist, wellness educator, public health professional and- sexpert. Through her platforms, she advises Muslim women on how to tap in to their femininity. She teaches them about arousal and erotic dance, and says female sexual pleasure is a neglected part of Muslim teachings, and a sacred act of worship that’s rooted in ancestral African ritual and practice. We meet Angelica, we hear how she came to this work, what she learned along the way- and the trauma, trolling, and anti-Blackness that almost led her to abandon it all. *A note to our listeners: this episode contains explicit sexual language, and a story of assault.

Why do some of us feel shame about the foods we eat? We ask people how they feel about eating foods that are used to stereotype Black people, and unpack the history behind some of this food shaming. From choosing what to drink on a flight, to a watermelon eating contest- we’re trying to get to the root of this with American Studies professor, Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson, Anthropologist Dr. Gail Myers, and award-winning chef Bryant Terry.

Hana and Leila have been doing some dreaming. What do their dreams mean? In this season finale, they talk to someone who can help - Dr. Loma Flowers, a psychiatrist and dream interviewer. Plus, they dig into the world of dreaming and the significance of dreams in Black cultures.