Stance Podcast with Chrystal Genesis

We’re back from our summer break to bring you a special show all about the seminal funk-punk dance band, ESG. Join us on this immersive musical journey through New York City exploring the 70’s, 80’s and beyond, following ESG and their unique sound and story. Starting in the South Bronx, sisters, Valerie, Renee, Deborah, and Marie Scroggins formed ESG with Tito Libran in the late 70’s. They went on to perform across the world and record dozens of records influencing artists in all genres, with their music being sampled over 500 times. The band’s body of work is rooted in New York City’s electric music scene, which spans Latin groove, hip-hop, rock, funk and more. In conversation with Chrystal Genesis, the band’s lead vocalist, guitarist and co-founder Renee Scroggins, shares her perspective on ESG’s origins, era-defining sound, and future. We find out more about the band’s new documentary “Are You Serious?”, new album and plans for their farewell tour. Stance hears from Carol Cooper, a journalist, professor and cultural critic,  who was there to document ESG hitting New York City’s vibrant music scene for the first time. They both discuss the city’s booming creativity and crumbling economy, as well as what made 70-80’s NYC so unique. If you like what you heard, please subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis Special thanks to producer Zara Martin. Visit Stance's website at stancepodcast.com for more info and links from this episode.   

We take you to Tribeca Film Festival celebrating creative storytelling from the heart of NYC’s lower Manhattan. Chrystal Genesis interviews actors and filmmakers on the red carpet and backstage to cover some of the most exciting films and TV premiering at Tribeca.  We catch up with actors including Zazie Beetz, CCH Pounder and Claire Danes to find out more about the mystery thriller TV show, Full Circle, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Prolific actor Steve Buscemi chats about his directorial project The Listener. It is an intimate look at the experiences of calling a helpline, as we follow one night in the life of volunteer helpline worker Beth, played by Tessa Thompson. Filmmakers So Young Shelly Yo and Guo Guo discuss their Korean American coming-of-age drama, Smoking Tigers, following the life of teenager Hayoung who navigates her shifting identity and working-class reality. Writer-director Noam Kaplan's drama covers Israeli politics, the struggle for liberation and womanhood in his engrossing new drama, The Future. Jennifer Esposito chats with Chrystal about reinventing the organized crime genre, by centering women, in her directorial debut film, Fresh Kills. A powerful, layered drama exploring the complicated dynamics of a mob family.  If you like what you heard, please subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis Visit Stance's website for more info and links from this episode. 

Stance visits Toronto to cover Hot Docs, the largest documentary film festival in North America, known for its bold and outspoken programming. Founded in 1993 by Canadian filmmakers and producers, the festival now showcases over 200 films from across 72 countries. While at the festival, Stance views visually arresting, thought-provoking, experimental and investigative documentaries premiering in Toronto from across the world.  Chrystal Genesis interviews makers of the films including Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?, covering Hong Kong’s fight for democracy through the political rise of lawmaker and activist Nathan Law to becoming most wanted by the age of 26. This World is Not My Own is an innovative portrait of self-taught visual artist Nellie Mae Rowe in 20th century Georgia, USA, through vivid dreamscapes and animation. The Homes We Carry follows Sarah, an Afro-German mother to a newborn, who dreams of being united with her family having been separated by two continents, Africa and Europe, in a moving search for home. Echo Of Everything explores the transformative power of music across cultures through science, history and philosophy. Plus we share a list of other compelling and important international films for you to check out.  If you like what you heard, please subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis Visit Stance's website for more info and links from this episode.   

We visit New York City’s Chinatown with culinary historian, cookbook author, and campaigner Grace Young. The largest in the US, it is known for an abundance of markets, eateries, multi-generational businesses, and independent stores serving New Yorkers and tourists from all over the world. It is home to a predominantly Chinese Asian diaspora dating back to the mid-1800s and today this area includes communities from Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and more.  On a tour through the area, Grace guides Chrystal around Chinatown’s streets and landmarks. They begin at 65 Mott Street, the oldest tenement building in NYC, followed by a visit to Mee Sum Cafe, a local hangout since 1967 and now a household name known for its casual setting, Zongzi Chinese tamales, ginger tea, and small plates. Together they explore Grace’s favorite food markets, fishmongers and bakeries in the area.  To end, Chrystal visits Grace’s home where she learns about the art and history of the wok, and how to make the perfect stir fry. In conversation with Chrystal, Grace shares why Chinatown is a living encyclopedia, the still felt impact of COVID-19 and anti-Asian racism, and the importance of supporting Chinatown’s history and future.  If you like what you heard, please subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at Stance Podcast and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis and visit Stance's website for more info and links from this episode. 

Stance delves into the spiritual realm and how it manifests through the visual arts, dance, music and poetry. An ever-evolving topic, we cover the power of spirituality through ancestral connections, imagination, movement, humor and joy.  To start, we speak with surrealist blues poet, aja monet on the artistic movements shaping her writing and community organizing. We discuss her upcoming poetry collection Florida Water, and album When The Poems Do What They Do.  We cover writer and journalist Emma Warren’s book Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dance Floor, an intimate look at movement through the personal, social and cultural history of dance.  We speak in conversation with visual artists Senga Nengudi Fittz and Kaylynn Sullivan TwoTrees who were both members of the Just Above Midtown (JAM) creative space which centered African American creatives in the 1970s and 80s in NYC. We explore the spiritual links between art, history and tradition, and their collaborative performance piece Tying & Un-tying at the MoMA in New York.  This episode is guest-edited by Tamika Abaka-Wood, a cultural anthropologist, creative strategist, and founder of Dial An Ancestor. If you like what you heard, please subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis  

Have you heard of Caste? Whether you know it well or not at all, Caste in South Asia and around the world influences everything from politics, education, media, and family relationships. It’s a system which dates back centuries and today affects around 1.9 billion people. So how do we become Caste aware? We explore this and more through the lenses of literature, tech and the arts.    We speak with Mumbai based author and journalist Anindita Ghose about her highly praised debut novel The Illuminated. A lyrical, human and provocative story set against India’s tense contemporary political landscape.    Dalit rights activist, Thenmozhi Soundararajan discusses her powerful debut publication The Trauma of Caste: A Dalit Feminist Meditation on Survivorship, Healing and Abolition. She is joined in conversation by Model, engineer & DJ Seema Hari who shares their experience of caste oppression and the power of travel and transformation.   If you like what you heard, please subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis  

Stance is back with its sixth anniversary episode, a celebration of all things Stance loves: culture, food, music and art. In this show, Chrystal Genesis travels to the buzzing, complex and vibrant capital of Ghana: Accra. An epicenter of creativity, innovation and youth culture. While in Accra, Chrystal meets Ghanaian music collective SuperJazzClub, made up of artists, producers, filmmakers and DJs to find out more about their alternative sounds of the city. In conversation with Sandy Alibo, founder of social enterprises including Freedom Skatepark, we go for a tour of the park and hear how community-led projects and entrepreneurship shape the city’s burgeoning youth population. To end, art and food unite in a sundown dining experience at the creative space and restaurant Palm Moments, owned by model Anastasia Cobbinah, in collaboration with ceramicist Ella Bulley and Chef Kwame Fiafoli. Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis

Stance celebrates the summer with a live show from Glastonbury. The most iconic music and performing arts festival in the UK. Stance takes in the sounds of the festival atmosphere and speaks with Lima-born, Berlin-based producer, DJ and vocalist Sofia Kourtesis before her show at Glastonbury’s Sonic Stage. Sofia chats about her bittersweet house music, her Peruvian roots, and playing Glasto for the first time. Her recent EP Fresia Magdalena features tracks influenced by family relationships, loss, community, and hope. Before hitting the stage at Glastonbury, Sofia chats with Stance about how nature, joy, and activism inform her work, and how Berlin as a creative hub enriches her sound. Plus Stance spends the weekend taking in the sounds and atmosphere of the festival just for your ears. Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis

We examine sex, desire, and pleasure through visual art, literature, culture and musical critique to uncover how black women, and women of colour, navigate their sexual needs and wants.  Stance hears from Ghanaian non-fiction author Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah on her book, The Sex Lives of African Women which shares stories of over 30 African women across the continent and its diaspora.  We discuss sexual expression through poetry, performance and visual art with American poet and editor of erotica Samiya Bashir & South African visual artist Lady Skollie. UK based Journalist and culture editor at gal-dem, Kemi Alemoru explains how sex is depicted in music, film, and wider popular culture, through the lens of black women.  We end with music as we chat with award-winning producer, composer and DJ, The Twilite Tone. We hear his debut solo album The Clearing which celebrates a space to be free by breaking away from the past.  This episode is guest-edited by Charlene pPrempeh, founder of A Vibe Called Tech, a creative agency championing Black creativity and innovation. Subscribe, write us a review and join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis stancepodcast.com

Stance explores Island Life through music, food, culture, and literature as well as where they sit within our imaginations. From representations on telly to Sicily’s diverse culinary food history, and Haiti’s culture and politics through sound, Stance attempts to get to the roots of Island Life. We hear the arresting music of Haitian American artist Leyla McCalla, as she speaks with Stance about her new album Breaking The Thermometer. We have an energetic conversation dissecting all things White Lotus set in Maui, Hawai’i, in a group chat with journalist Mitchell Kuga based in Honolulu, editor and writer Maura Walz stationed in LA, and film publicist Yung Kha in London. Living in Sicily, American author, Mary Taylor Simeti reveals the global influences which have for centuries shaped Sicilian cuisine. She speaks with Stance through an anthropological lens and also shares some of her favorite Sicilian dishes. British author, Alice Albinia presents a reading of her futuristic feminist island novel, CWEN. Her upcoming novel has been shaped by the past seven years she spent traveling around the edges of Britain, piecing together ancient, medieval and modern myths of islands ruled by women. Plus, Island expert and professor of sociology, Godfrey Baldacchino breaks down the narratives of Islands. For over two decades, Godfrey has researched islands in connection with topics including identity, small states and politics. Join the conversation at stancepodcast.com and all podcasting apps @stancepodcast @chrystalgenesis stancepodcast.com