Kisses from Kenya Episode 24: Outbreaks, Obstacles & Opening Nights

EPISODE 24: Outbreaks, Obstacles & Opening Nights

New York moves to remove barriers to voting, Ebola is back in the headlines, and Brendan has a conversation about sexuality with his gentleman that does not go the way he planned. This week has range.

In this episode:

• Opening conversation - a new bill in New York targeting voting barriers: what it does and why it matters for Americans abroad
• Whose America Is It Anyway? - Ebola patients blocked from entering Kenya; the CDC calling for volunteers to screen at home; global outbreaks and the politics of who gets protected
• Lost in Translation - Vuyanzi discovers that chicken bites are in fact just chicken, and has feelings about it; Brendan attempts to discuss sexuality with his gentleman via video and miscalculates significantly
• All Joy Matters - Queer Joy: a trip to the theatre together to see a Kenyan play; Black Joy: Catch and Release is out and someone feels liberated

Democrats Abroad Kenya, voting rights New York, Ebola outbreak 2026, Black diaspora podcast, American abroad Nairobi, living in Kenya, African diaspora, Kenyan theatre, overseas voters

Kisses from Kenya is the podcast for Americans living abroad who haven't stopped paying attention. Subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss an episode.

#KissesFromKenya #DemocratsAbroad #VotingRights #Ebola #BlackDiaspora #AmericanAbroad #NairobiPodcast #AfricanDiaspora #KenyanTheatre #QueerJoy

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:06

Hey, Kisses from Kenya is produced by Democrats Abroad Kenya, but everything you hear in this podcast reflects our personal perspectives.

Brendan 0:17

As Americans living in Kenya. Yes, nothing we say should be taken as the official stance of Democrats Abroad Kenya, Democrats Abroad Global, or the Democratic Party. And this is an entertainment space and not an official policy platform.

SPEAKER_03 0:33

Thank you. Before you press record, think about what you want to talk about. You start the conversation. Huh? Huh? Do you have something you want to start talking about before you press record?

Brendan 0:45

For what?

SPEAKER_03 0:46

Just our opening conversation.

Brendan 0:47

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

You do have something.

Brendan 0:49

Why are you feeling my left hand all?

SPEAKER_03 0:52

I don't know.

Brendan 0:53

This is it's just we can continue the conversation we were just having about your New York voter registration. Because I am exciting you. Oh what? Are they gonna change? There is a bill proposed in the New York State legislature that would help make it easier. So I mean it's not like it's piece by piece, right? So but this would at least do is remove the requirement that because you know right now it's like when you request the absentee ballot, you have to send that physically back. Yeah, or else they'll throw out your vote. Yeah. And then when you vote, you have to send that physically back.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Yes.

Brendan 1:28

So there's a bill in the legislature and in the state assembly and in the state senate to remove the requirement that you send the physical copy of the absentee request back.

SPEAKER_03 1:39

Wait, wait a minute, but no, no, no, no, hold on one second. When the request, I could send it by email, but I had to print it out.

Brendan 1:48

Like so I have to fill it out, print it out, and then still Yeah, but so the request right now the law says that when you request, you still have to send that physical one because they have to match it against the electronic one.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

However, I could send it, I was able to send it by email. It's physical, but it's by email.

Brendan 2:10

Well, that currently some of that stuff also varies from county to county. That's so cool. They're making it so that there's no more requirement of sending anything back from the request. Okay. So if like you fill out the FPCA, like I'm from apart, you've you've requested. That's it. You don't have to do anything else. Okay. So that's what they're changing.

SPEAKER_03 2:31

Okay, that's good. How will they change that? Okay, it is it is a great step, and I hope that it passes.

Brendan 2:37

And the co-sponsor in the Senate co-sponsored it because I asked her to when I was an alpha.

SPEAKER_03 2:42

That is so awesome.

Brendan 2:43

See how I centered myself in your in your celebrating. Like a white man. I am coming to stick myself right in the middle of that.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

That reminds well, I won't say it. That reminded me of something that happened downstairs. It actually wasn't. A white man, no, no, no, the white man looking at you and saying, It's over there, right? And I'm like, dude, I just spoke to you two minutes ago and told you exactly what you're asking Brendan. I was so annoyed by that in a smiley way. You wouldn't have known that I was annoyed, but I was smiling.

Brendan 3:19

You should have been like, excuse me.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

It was ridiculous. Anyway, anyway, let's keep going. Oh, oh my gosh, we didn't even know. This is Kisses. This is Kisses from King. I am Vuyanzi.

Brendan 3:31

And I'm Brendan.

SPEAKER_03 3:33

Yes, and we're just talking about how hard it is for me as a New York voter to vote from abroad. And a lot of people are very always surprised by this because New York is such a progressive state.

Brendan 3:44

You think allegedly.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

Yeah.

Brendan 3:48

However, remember how long it took them to decriminalize marijuana?

SPEAKER_03 3:54

Because the government probably I mean, actually, it really took them a while. Oh man. So anyway, um, well, it's good to know. Thank you for speaking. Which are you allowed to say which representative that was, or you don't want to say?

Brendan 4:09

Her name is Pat Fehey.

SPEAKER_03 4:10

Pat Fehey, okay.

Brendan 4:11

And she represents the town I grew up in, Gilderland.

SPEAKER_03 4:15

Gilder?

Brendan 4:15

Gilderland.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

Gilderland.

Brendan 4:17

I I mean she represents like a good part of the capital district. Um but I've known her since I was like eight. Because my dad ran her campaign when she ran for like town clerk or something. Oh 20 years ago. Oh my gosh, that's her way up to State Center.

SPEAKER_03 4:35

Okay, we see her rise. What what county is that in, by the way?

Brendan 4:39

Albany County.

SPEAKER_03 4:40

Oh, it is in Albany County. Okay, great. Thank you. We thank Brendan for getting that getting the move on that bill.

Brendan 4:49

Of course, now her team ignores me when I'm like, oh also, here are all the other things I want you to do to also you can just email your ballot back and not have to do all this for yes.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

Oh, it would be so nice. Because I will I will have to be nervous, I will have to DHL mine and it'll be like 50 bucks. Yeah. Yeah. That's believing, that's what I have to do to vote. So um, speaking, I was gonna try to segue into this. However, I was on my I wasn't doom scrolling, I was purposely looking for something for us to talk about. And I saw something that I said, oh shit. And what I saw was at this point, it'll be past it by the time you guys are watching this.

Brendan 5:28

Well, who knows?

SPEAKER_03 5:29

Oh, who knows, right?

Brendan 5:30

In the spirit of not spreading disinformation, we have removed certain claims that were made and later debunked and were found online. But we'll continue the conversation after this. I mean, that that's what they said. That's not what they meant. What they meant is y'all say something.

SPEAKER_03 5:56

Get out, basically. Yeah, rusty. It was like get the fuck out. It was like we were looking for a reason to get the ones out. No, thanks, Ebola. You know, like I mean, you know.

Brendan 6:10

If they're already there, why would they have to leave? Because, like, do they think that they're gonna like transmit it through like radio waves?

SPEAKER_03 6:17

This is but this is exactly what it is, right? Now it's a chance to get the Africans out. You didn't want them there in the first place, and now they're saying, okay, well, it's Ebola, so the Africans have to leave. That's some bullshit right there. That's the cover.

Brendan 6:29

First of all, I'm like, haven't y'all ever seen like every like contagion, like every outbreak movie ever? It is always like some old white lady that starts happy because we just let her go whenever she wants to go. They figure she already is not in the don't matter. She in there coughing on everyone, they're like, it's fine, she might just have a little pneumonia, but she old. But really, what she's coughing on is white food.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

Seriously. So, you guys, that's what's going on right now.

Brendan 7:06

Um they need to kick out all the white women.

SPEAKER_03 7:10

I'll let you know.

Brendan 7:11

When is Ultra gotta go?

SPEAKER_03 7:14

I'll let Mr.

Brendan 7:15

She was the one that started it in that outbreak movie back in.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

Oh, yes, outbreak yeah, with um, was it Dustin Hoffman?

Brendan 7:21

No, yeah, that was Dustin Hasner. That was based off a Robin Cook novel.

SPEAKER_03 7:24

Oh, yeah.

Brendan 7:25

I used to love Robin Cook. I the dramata straight.

SPEAKER_03 7:29

That was also I don't I'm not familiar with that author.

Brendan 7:32

He was like, he wrote like medical thrillers, like when those were big, like in like the 90s. Really? Yeah, it was like in like the Dean Koontz, like Stephen King, and like Robin Cook was like the medical side. Oh, okay. And so it'd always be these stories about like because he like was a medical doctor, like by training, and then he became an author.

SPEAKER_03 7:52

And so his fans were happy with that one. There were a few.

Brendan 7:55

I mean, he was like New York Times bestseller, like 50 times over.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

No, I'm saying at the first, I'm leaving the practice to become an um a writer.

Brendan 8:04

Yeah, he he was the one that wrote outbreak. He wrote um, there were a few different ones that were all because there was like Congo, you remember that one? Where they like um they were like the they had brought like the I think chimpanzees for like medical research, and then they like had like the you know scratch one of the employees, and then the outbreak came from there.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

Oh gosh.

Brendan 8:28

And then there was another one that he wrote where it was like people who were like under anesthesia but like weren't like asleep. I just said frozen like while they were getting operated on. They were frozen, like they were like anesth anesthetized, but like not like like they're aware. Oh god, yeah, jeez. Good stuff. Reading some dark stuff in upper elementary school.

SPEAKER_03 8:54

That was elementary school.

unknown 8:56

Good lord.

Brendan 8:57

I will say um I turned 10 in 1997.

SPEAKER_03 9:01

Okay, you don't need to tell that to anyone ever. I won't tell you how old I turned in 1997, but I had three kids already, and I'm not an ancestor.

Brendan 9:12

Soon I'm gonna have to like light a candle and be like Frion T. Move the flame left if you're here with that chicken bone. Like, show me aside, Frionzi! What are we gonna talk about this week?

SPEAKER_03 9:30

You guys, I'm not ancient. He talks me like I'm ancient. Oh god, oh my god. Um, you know, I can't even deal with I can't deal with this anymore. I just okay, oh, and I thought this was interesting. At this time, the CDC is looking for volunteers to screen for Ebola in the States. Volunteer boys, so they can screen. Did you know this? Are you are you processing what I'm just like, what the f what? Yes, CDC.

Brendan 10:06

The same motherfuckers that were like, we cut all the money for like protective gear. And they So what am I gonna do? Wrap myself in a fucking hefty bag? I'm gonna get the glad force flex and like hope that that's enough.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

This is this is where we are right now with the Fabrice Sense.

Brendan 10:25

So like maybe that'll repel the virus part of it.

SPEAKER_03 10:28

Let me tell you, this is where we are right now. That's what's up. That is what's up.

Brendan 10:34

That man got a worm in his brain. And um You know who I'm talking about. The oh the guy.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Wait, wait. You know what's up.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

Oh God. Okay, let's RFK Jr. Yeah, and and speaking of that, you know, if you were talking like that, I wouldn't understand what you were saying. So I'd need a translation. Let's go to lust and translation.

Brendan 10:57

You so you cheesy. You're just corny.

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Oh gosh.

Brendan 11:02

Um what's been happening with me later?

SPEAKER_03 11:05

Oh god. I'm so sorry. I can't stop yawning. Oh gosh, I think it's my menopausal body. You want to know how old I was in 1997? Uh-huh. I'm not telling you. 42. I wasn't 42 in 1997. Go ahead. Go ahead. Jesus. I was in my 20s. Wow. So for the podcast, Brendan just gave this look, this stank ass.

Brendan 11:41

So you like you were like driving like a Jetta when Jettas were cool.

SPEAKER_03 11:47

Let me just by the way, I drove a Jetta like a few years back.

Brendan 11:52

Not surprised at all.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

Is something wrong with the Jetta? I love my Volkswagen. There was something wrong with that. It wasn't cool.

Brendan 12:02

I mean, you know.

SPEAKER_03 12:03

Oh my god. Wow.

Brendan 12:04

You're like a homosexual in 1991.

SPEAKER_03 12:09

Homosexual in 1991. 1992, I was driving a Dodge.

Brendan 12:14

A Dodge what?

SPEAKER_03 12:15

Shadow. Yes.

Brendan 12:17

I thought you were gonna say a minivan, caravan.

SPEAKER_03 12:19

No, no, I got one of those, but of course you should. Okay, go ahead.

Brendan 12:24

Update New York cards. Um am I lost in translation? Yeah. What have I translated lately? Um, I think, well, I mean, there's been a lot. Um wanna just share one. I feel like I haven't shared anything spicy yet. Do you want a spicy one?

SPEAKER_03 12:48

No, I can't handle it because I'll fall off the chair. I'm so tired, and I'm now having a hot flash of clay.

Brendan 12:55

See, I start talking about Dick, and then she over here schmits it all over the place. You got real wet real fast.

SPEAKER_03 13:02

I'm so clammy. I am, I am.

Brendan 13:05

I don't think anyone wants their bats to be clammy, though. That sounds like a East infection. Clammy. Um so actually, this was an interesting Lawson translation moment, right? So I have, you know, this gentleman.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

Which one? Which one is it? Do I know?

Brendan 13:32

Maybe not. Um in you know, I was in Accra like a few weeks back. And you know, the thing about her is it's like, I mean, he's very like he's like he's a freak. He's a big big old freak. Like stuff he'd be saying, stuff he'd be doing.

SPEAKER_03 13:48

He's a very freaky boy.

Brendan 13:49

Put me through the mattress, like you know, I'm already sweating. Um and so like I forget like how this came up, but it's like at some point, like we were talking about like sex with other people. And you know, I was like telling about like, you know, I have like this guy who like really likes when I send him like material audiovisual materials documenting my encounters with other people.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

Oh, really? Like, wow, that's you are like freak. I love it.

Brendan 14:27

So like tell this guy about it. Yeah, and I was like, Well, I mean, do you want to see one of them? And he was like, Okay, so I showed him. Yeah. And it was almost like maybe it was like like yours, like you're like, that's like like that's fine, that's okay, kind of thing. Like, because it was like then like later when we were like at lunch, he was like, I didn't really like that.

SPEAKER_03 14:50

And I was like, But you said okay to watching him. Yeah, he said okay. He said okay to watching him.

Brendan 14:56

Well, well, but like again, it's like one of those where I'm like, did you were you're just saying that because you like wanted to appease me, or was it like, was it that you were actually saying, like, that's all right, like I don't want to, but I took it as like enthusiastic consent.

SPEAKER_03 15:13

And you were like, okay, here it is.

Brendan 15:15

It's right here my favorites. Scroll through, make your selection. I have a whole album. Thank you for calling 1-900.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

You didn't remember. Oh I do remember chat lines. I didn't remember that's what they were called, 1-900.

Brendan 15:35

Well, they were 1-900 numbers because there was 1-800 numbers which are toll-free, and then there were 1-900 numbers.

SPEAKER_03 15:39

Oh, the one I there was a heavy charge on this too.

Brendan 15:43

Miss Cleo was a 1-900 number too.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

I never called her. Did you ever call Miss Cleo?

Brendan 15:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:48

Are you serious?

Brendan 15:49

I mean, I got my ass beat because that was an expensive ass. I know. They got all kinds of chat. The 1900 numbers were real big in like 93, 94. I do. And there was a thing where it was like you could call and it was like Freddie Krueger, like 1900, like, and you would call and like they would like say stuff. Yeah, like it would say stuff to you.

SPEAKER_03 16:11

I do remember one time it's like, hey, who's this? Like, I'm from here, I'm from here, I'm from there. But it's like, what was the purpose of that? I don't even know why I was on the post.

Brendan 16:22

Oh, I never that's always for some horny shit. I never chat like the chat rooms, like Yahoo chats.

SPEAKER_03 16:29

Yeah, but I used to just be in there.

Brendan 16:31

ASL, ASL, ASL.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

What is ASL?

Brendan 16:35

Age, sex, location.

SPEAKER_03 16:38

Oh my god.

Brendan 16:39

17M. Ohnected in New York.

SPEAKER_03 16:43

What? What were you doing at 17?

Brendan 16:46

Freaked out shit.

SPEAKER_03 16:48

I didn't even know they did that. I used to talk like innocently to people on the chats.

Brendan 16:53

Oh no. Oh no. My own was not on the internet. AOL and the messenger. Be freaked out.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

What?

Brendan 17:01

Back in the day.

SPEAKER_03 17:04

I missed the whole thing.

Brendan 17:06

Yeah, they're like, I'm doing research for a term paper. Really, it's like, where are you at? What? Are you alone right now? Private message me.

SPEAKER_03 17:19

Okay, this is crazy. Okay. Anyway. Um, oh gosh, that was so lost in translation.

Brendan 17:25

Yeah, tell me about your chicken bite.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

Yeah. Anyway, I think I have food trauma from the United States because there's certain foods I will not even get. So one of them is like um like chicken nuggets or something. And for with the chicken nuggets, um I don't think they're real, right? I think about McDonald's and I really don't want to eat that. And so today, Brendan got some chicken bites that are like chicken nuggets. And I ate a couple because I was hungry. And it was real chicken. Oh my gosh. It was it was real chicken. So from now on, I know I can order stuff like that, and it's gonna be real chicken. That's that's all I have. Okay. Uh it makes me excited that I can eat that. I didn't realize how traumatized I was from that. And um, oh is that really traumatizing though? No, but it's more dramatic, so allow me to be dramatic.

Brendan 18:20

Uh never not that.

SPEAKER_03 18:23

I know. I love your drama.

Brendan 18:26

They got no voice, but she got drama.

SPEAKER_03 18:28

Oh, and also I kind of gave it away a little bit, but I do want to talk about black joy because it did bring me joy. Um, because what? Why are you doing that?

Brendan 18:42

I wasn't a help. I had taken that because I did the shit.

SPEAKER_03 18:48

No, this is for real. Now, there was a guy who I I allowed him to come back in my life this week for a minute, because I had caught him and released him, and then he all of a sudden it was like a whack-a-mole. I had blocked one guy and then another guy popped up. And so it was him. He's very selfish. He's a very selfish man. But I said, okay, you know, is he a selfish lover? I told him he could come over, we could talk. However, after talking to him, he he is very selfish and went. I think my sister listened to by by the way, some of this, and she's like, ugh.

Brendan 19:34

I mean, I think my daddy listens to these, and I'm always like, I mean hi, Dad. I'm like, you know what you got, so there ain't no surprises over here.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

But I no, but I feel so liberated. So I sent him a goodbye. It's like a dear John letter. I sent him a dear goodbye text, and I told him, I said, I rather wait to see who God has for me. And then I said, I love you with the love of the Lord. Take care.

Brendan 20:04

I would block you. I would block you so bad. I'd be like, block me back.

SPEAKER_03 20:12

Why would you block me? He's selfish. He shouldn't won't care. Why would you block me for that?

Brendan 20:20

I'm gonna wait for who the Lord has for me.

SPEAKER_03 20:25

I wanted to like throw that in there because he always likes to say things like that makes him feel like we are like the 700 club.

Brendan 20:33

Like, what the fuck are you talking about? Okay, Pat Robertson. Jerry Falwell.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

What was the other guy's name?

Brendan 20:47

Jimmy Faye Baker.

SPEAKER_03 20:49

With Jimmy Swagger, Jimmy Swagger. But no, because he likes to throw out like like Christianese type of stuff. So that's why I specifically wanted to just come back with the same energy. I wanted to come back with the same energy.

Brendan 21:02

That's the Gemini. Yeah. So I'm gonna be the bigger person, but I'm gonna purposely attempt to wound you in a way that I know only how to do that. You know what? It's so sad.

SPEAKER_03 21:12

It's exactly right. It's like I was very manipulative, but whatever. I don't care. What is your queer joy?

Brendan 21:20

Um I need you to focus. I need you to focus. I'm looking at my list to decide which one I want to share. I had a spicy last time translation, so I'll choose a uh wholesome.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

There is no wholesome view. There's no wholesome view.

Brendan 21:42

There's always some wholesale.

SPEAKER_03 21:44

I was about to say this whole is not wholesome. Okay. What?

Brendan 21:50

We had a wholesome queer black joy a few weeks ago when we went to the theater together. We never talked about that on the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 21:56

Oh my gosh, we didn't. Okay, next we'll we'll tell them about that. I think that was beautiful. I love that. I want to do that again.

Brendan 22:02

I can't make that my joy. Or do you want to like colonize it?

SPEAKER_02 22:08

Reverse! No, you didn't sing reverse, colonize it. All right, fine. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. I thought yes, that's your joy.

Brendan 22:15

Vuyanzi and I went to the I almost said the movies to the theater. The theater.

SPEAKER_03 22:21

A play. A nice play.

Brendan 22:22

Yeah, a play, a Kenyan play. It was called Fragments.

SPEAKER_03 22:26

Fragments, yeah.

Brendan 22:27

And poor Vuyanzi, like, was so stressed because she was like, Am I gonna understand what's going on? And I was like, it won't be that much, Swahili. You'll be fine. And then I think I looked over like 10 minutes into the performance, and she was just there, like, and I get like we kept whispering, like, are you okay? Do you understand what's happening?

SPEAKER_03 22:51

I got it. I got it. But then they started speaking a little bit more English. Yeah.

Brendan 22:55

Well, once they started whipping that baby fetus around and that backpack.

SPEAKER_03 22:59

Yo, the fact that you just said that, people are gonna be like, What kind of show?

Brendan 23:06

What kind of it was very real. It was really real. It was real sex like the year 2005. You remember that show? Real sex. Oh HBO late night.

SPEAKER_03 23:19

I used to, yeah.

Brendan 23:20

Bad taxi cab confession.

SPEAKER_03 23:22

I never saw the taxi cab ones, but real, real sex. I actually at least don't like that show a lot.

Brendan 23:27

I know you used to be watching that like squirming around on that seat. I already know. She's like, I had to put down a towel. I believe nothing has changed in the 40th of our years.

SPEAKER_02 23:48

Yo. Okay, let's just end the show now. You guys, remember to subscribe.

Brendan 24:00

Like, subscribe, comment. We're on all streaming platforms. Yeah. You also can become a supporter on BuzzSprout and send us some coins. Not a lot, just a little, but make it a recurring monthly support. Yeah, I love it. It'll help us make more of these. You know, maybe next time we can like get a oh we gotta go. Duty calls. Basically. Anyway, this has been Kinshas from make sure you register to vote.

SPEAKER_03 24:31

Oh yeah, do that. Okay. This is Kinshas from K.

Brendan 24:35

See you next time.

SPEAKER_03 24:36

Duty Calls. I think we we got two episodes done. Should we just leave it there?

Brendan 24:40

Yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_03 24:41

Okay.