"Thank You For Saying My Name Correctly": Season One Farewell

Don't call it a comeback. Sam and LT look back on a year of school visits, book chats, and pop-up events that turned a memoir into a community project, where first-gen stories, fandoms, and everyday art met in classrooms, clinics, and even a 24 Hour Fitness.

We also get tactical about what worked, i.e., adding visuals—childhood photos, book inspirations, family snapshots—pulled people in. Shifting the live reading to the Len Bias chapter created a bridge for sports fans and non-fans alike, blending grief, research, and the campus library into a single thread. Along the way, teen boys connected with Smart Girl through sports and comics, proving that identity and joy can share the same seat. We kept hearing the same worries about majors and careers, especially from first-gen and working-class students, and we broke down how humanities paths can lead to writing, leadership, and meaningful work.

Support came from surprising corners: a Body Pump class that built a book table out of gym gear, oncologists who opened appointments by asking about the tour, and a barbershop wall that turned our book cover into neighborhood iconography. We push back on higher ed taboos—talking openly about money, branding, and writing books people actually read—because visibility matters. 

We’re turning the page toward season two with a wider guest list, fresh topics, and the same commitment to saying names right, meeting people where they are, and keeping the conversation brave and warm.

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Chapters

• 0:00 A Barber’s Call And A Year
• 1:39 Season One Context And First-Gen Lens
• 4:38 Audience Moments That Stuck
• 7:52 The Note From Mel And Cancer Kinship
• 9:55 Themes: Teen Boys, Majors, Being Seen
• 15:20 Event Design Shifts And Visuals
• 19:36 The Len Bias Reading And Engagement
• 22:30 Community Support From Gym To Clinic
• 26:30 Money, Branding, And Higher Ed Taboos
• 29:30 Season Two Tease And Listener Input
• 40:00 Outro: LL Cool J Energy And Thanks