People Interacting with People
A podcast about People Interacting with People. In April 2015, I became homeless. I decided to embrace this homelessness and what followed was five years of nomadic life, over 250 moves in Canada and the United States, on an average budget of roughly $22 a day.
While sitting in a 24 hour diner in Toronto on my first two homeless nights, a young man sat beside me and when I told him about my experience - spending 9 hours each night at the diner, getting a free coffee and a brownie on my second night - he turned to me and asked:
"Do you think you'd be having the same experience if you were Black?"
Over those next five years, I had a series of "chance" encounters with Black people and had some very interesting conversations. I documented some of them in writing but when I compiled them into a 300 page script during the pandemic, I realized that - in writing it myself - I had lost the authenticity of the other person's voice.
And so, I decided to hit the road and reconnect with some of these wonderful people while also leaving myself open to meeting new ones. These are our conversations.
Episodes
46 episodes
S3 EP7: Spotlighting Unsung Heroes, Meeting Madeleine, Breaking Out of the "Black Box", Learning to Laugh, & Bringing Balance w/ Kesha in Atlanta
S3 EP6: Selling Real Estate, Brokering Car Deals, Navigating Canada's Healthcare, Making Music, & Working with Celebrities w/ Destiny in Miami
S3 EP5 Part 2: Pursuing Artistic Endeavours, Finding the Right Support, Understanding the Black Man, Having the "Black Talk" & Moving with Grace w/ Anna in Fort Lauderdale
S3 EP5 Part 1: NAACP Advisories, Food Deserts, Housing as a Human Right, Getting Political, & Growing Up in the South w/ Anna in Fort Lauderdale
S3 EP4 Part 2: Money, Power, Rap Music, Pop Culture, & The Black Family w/ Gordon in North Carolina
S3 EP4 Part 1: Having the Whitest Name Ever, Serving in Iraq, Surviving in the Chain Gang, Liking Yourself, & Living in the Moment w/ Gordon in North Carolina
S3 EP3 Part 2: Five Minutes of Fame at The Apollo, Becoming Mr. D, Paid Line Ups, Police Encounters, & Personal Choices w/ Danny aka Mr. D in North Carolina
S3 EP3 Part 1: Coming Up in the Bronx, Being a First Generation B-Boy, Originating Moves, The Evolution of Hip Hop, & Showing Up to Show Out w/ Danny aka MC Ski Jump in North Carolina
S3 EP2 Part 2: Living in Your Authenticity, Being Blessed But Bullshit, Performing Poetry, Living as a Same-Gender-Loving Male, & Liberating Yourself w/ Artis aka DJ ART.IS in Anacostia, D.C.
S3 EP2 Part 1: What Art Is, Learning to Pivot, Planting Seeds, Finding Your Tribe, & Saying YES to Opportunities w/ Artis aka DJ ART.IS in Anacostia, D.C.
S3 EP1 Part 2: The Oldest Known Religion, Rap Music as Therapy, Lost Souls in Prison, The Evolution of an Artist, & Shooting Music Videos on the Fly w/ DeMar aka Fly Guy Impulse in Catskill, NY
S3 EP1 Part 1: Petty Crimes, Police Brutality, Gang Banging, Prison Life, Trauma, & Reintegrating Back into Society w/ DeMar aka Fly Guy Impulse in Catskill, NY
SIZZLE 6: Introducing... Damien, Namel, & Fferé
SIZZLE 5: Introducing... Mac, Allison, & George
SIZZLE 4: Introducing... Marq, Dominion, Maya, & Daijon
SIZZLE 3: Introducing... Jerry, Alex, Quatae, & Lisa
SIZZLE 2 - Introducing... Aleathia, Myles, Judith, & Kerric
SIZZLE 1: Introducing... Cat, Dray, Leka, & Kumei
S2 EP10: Working at a Boys' Maximum Security Prison, Healing Male Trauma, Owning a Gun, Playing Baseball & Being Yourself w/ Leka in Catskill, NY
S2 EP9: Becoming a Minister at Ten, Recognizing Trauma, Doing the Work, Loving Yourself & Living Fearlessly w/ Cat in the Bronx
S2 EP8: Starting a Juice Business, Serving Your Community, Taking a Risk, Following Your Passion, & Understanding How Energy Works with George in Catskill, NY
S2 EP7: Growing up in the Bronx, Living in a Psych Ward, Traveling the World, Having Run-ins with the Police & Making it Happen with Jerry in Albany, NY
S2 EP6: Guns, Getting Shot, Disability Culture, The Grammys, Working with Snoop Dogg & Being Ahead of One's Time with Namel in Harlem
S2 EP5: Hair Freedom, Beauty Standards, Learned Behaviours in Childhood, The Value of Lived Experience & When Art Goes Beyond the Artist with Aleathia in Manhattan
S2 EP4: Hypnosis, Sound Healing, Generational Trauma, Past Life Regression & The Power of the Spoken Word with Quatae in D.C.