No More Black Momma Struggle P*rn (ft. Elizabeth Ayoola & Haniyah Philogene)

I was trying to watch that new movie Straw. I don't seem that yet.

Yes, that movie took me on a roller coaster ride.

Don't no spoilers. I only got like fifteen minutes in. I don't know if I want to keep watching, Like.

Oh, well, I have thoughts. So I went to go and watch it, and then I said, I'm not gonna do this.

So because you started it and you, like me, were like, this is painful.

Thank you. So I appreciate what Tyler Perry is doing in terms of amplifying black stories, in terms of paying black women more, but I'm not gonna lie. I'm tired of the struggling, troubled or yeah, and as a single mother, I'm not trying to sit down and watch that trauma. You know, Like, the world's stressful enough right now. I don't need to watch that. I don't.

Hey bea fan. Welcome to the Brown Table. I can't believe it's only been a week since we were with y'all. It feels like it's been a year and so much has happened. But what can I say. I'm so grateful to have another week with the BAFAM and we have some incredible brand new faces. Last week I went ham. I had three panelists on the show. It was so fun, brand new voices for the BA fam. We had Alexa

I have the Grio reporter, Yes, Anya Philogeen. I'm so excited to be here with you guys today.

What a beautiful Anya religion. And we have Elizabeth Ayola Yes, Aola Iola Yes from Nerve while it's Smart Money Podcast. Welcome ladies. Hi, how are you feeling? I already gave you my little like might be cool, be cool with pep talk, which probably stressed me out more than if I hadn't.

I feel great. I feel great now we're good.

Well, yeah, I feel pretty good too. I'm not a coffee drinker TMI, but I tried a coffee this morning because I was uplate self stoptaging, and I actually feel quite energized.

So oh, okay, any shakes, Let's see the hands right right. I don't usually drink coffee.

So if we see her jitterating me, is.

That because you did your own braids? Are those microbraids?

Even?

Because that is insane?

I love small, long, but length braids. So it took me to braid these braids longer than usual, about ten to twelve hours, so I spent my entire Saturday. But The Godfather of Harlem is it cop Fathers? I started watching that and that kept me entertained while I braided?

Is that with the ugandaan? He's not from Uganda? You know how? I'm talking about the actor.

The main character. I wish I could tell you his name, but he's definitely a popular I've seen him in many movies.

Right, he was a Uganda president movie?

Yes?

Yes? Yes?

What is it? Blood?

Diamond. No, that was anyway. I know, I know the one you're talking about. I watched that movie.

He was the director of Waiting to Exhale. Why can I not think? Why can't wait listen?

It's not Forest Whittaker, right, Finally I guess the actor's name.

But now I'm panicked. I don't know anyway, it doesn't matter BA fan fact check us. But you're watching that. Well, your hair looks amazing. How do your shoulders.

Feel, honey, My shoulders are fine. It's my fingertips that really suffered. And you know, I'm in my mid thirties, so to lower back, you know, but I think it's all worth it.

You know how much did you save? How much they charged down in textas?

Oh my goodness, you know. So every time I'm about to braid my hair, I go like, just get somebody else to do it, And then I start going into Facebook groups and on Instagram and I have not seen a braider charge. And these are quite small, as you can see, any less than three point fifty and that's for medium and jumbo size. So if I wanted them this size, I could be paying around four hundred bucks. And ain't nobody got time for that.

So that's forty bucks an hour. Yeah, yeah, I could see. That's very economical.

Yeah, and I get it. I used to braid hair actually for people, and it does take a while.

It is a lot of time.

Now however, I'm still not paying that. I'm sorry, not yet anyway, not at this season in my life.

Anya, do you have protective style? What's your what's your summer protective style of choice?

Usually I'm actually looking like Elizabeth. I love a good bus down braid. Sometimes it's a color I don't know. But see, I got blessed one am I very very good friends. She braids hair, so she does my hair. Now I still pay her. I still pay her a reasonable wage, but it is a lot less than what they charge in the braiding chops. And she actually cares about my hair. It's kind of like our hangout time, like we literally will turn on a series of shows

So yeah, maybe I should get my hair braided because for me, I've only done it once, can you believe?

Oh wow?

Once? And it was a few years ago. I did. They were beautiful. I love the braids, but my butt was so tired.

And the sitting, the sitting.

And I don't know what was worse the I Actually, you guys, I paid to have them take them out too, which I know you would like get a cousin smart. And still my cousin like she only took them out, and I was so tired. I was like, don't even worry about washing combing it, like I'm getting the hell out of here. I have my cousin Anna like degunkify it because I guess like all the product and you know, goods stuff, the good and glorious stuff. But no, I

That's my well, what works for you works for you, you know so truly.

But I have children, y'all sound like you ain't got no kids.

I have a kid. He is seven, Okay, I do old enough?

Okay, old enough to entertain?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, you have.

A seven year old.

I have a seven year old. My little baby, yes, my little my little love buck.

Oh they're all struggling.

Yes, he's so affectionate and it's so sweet and I love him so much. And he's also very annoying. So I did to throw that out there, you.

See, like your little I do there. They are very annoying and they know it and you just but I annoy him back. See, he doesn't know Mama was a little sister. So I know how to be just as annoying as he does.

What about you, Anya, I do not have any kids, Iron Team, no kids. I'm living in my beautiful twenties and keep it that way.

My niece, what's the like chaotic? Every day?

Every day it feels like halfway existential crisis, halfway like, oh, but I have time. But then social media is like, oh, you don't have time. The world's like you don't have time. I'm just taking a day by day.

They're all lying, they are all.

That's how I feel when I get on TikTok and Homegirls, like today I'm harvesting my tomatoes from the garden. But she's in a different zone than me. My tomatoes won't be ready until like August, you know. But just to carry this plant metaphor, I'm saying it's not. We're all on our own journeys in the garden of life, and time is an illusion sometimes heavy on this. Sometimes your twenties have a way being permanent. So you just be careful.

Listen, listen. That's the conversation for another day.

But yesterday's turning into five and seven year olds poking you in the ribs while you're trying to sleep, you know what I mean.

Yeah, we're very careful about that on this side, very very careful. Not yet.

Oh yeah, all right, Well, I want bea fan to get to know y'all a little bit. Elizabeth, you're in Texas, Anya, where are you at?

I am in the DMV area.

Now, if anybody is a DMV native, they're gonna be like, oh no, no, no, no, no, I'm in northern Virginia. I'm in like the Alexandria area. But you know, depending on who you talk to, that's not a part of the DC Maryland Virginia conglomerate.

I'm always gagged by the DMV thing. There's three whole states. They're not small. Yeah, how y'all got lump them all together? I mean, DC is not really a state. Okay, fair, but.

Okay, Well, here's the thing. It's like, it's not all of Virginia that's included in that. It's usually like northern Virginia. The way they do it is if you can take the Metro, you can be considered into the DMV. Now, the reason why Northern Virginia is kind of like a it's the cousin that they kind of include but don't really include, is because they just introduced the Silver Line,

Before that, again, the car get on that highway.

So yeah, only good things happened on the Silver Line. Everyone's optimistic on the Silver Line. Right, We'll say that are you from there originally?

Yeah? Literally, born and raised out here, but then I went to school in New York and came back here.

So yeah, and what about elizabeth A, you're from Texas.

It's complicated.

So I told us you have a really amazing life story, so we need to get into it. But it can't take the next hour.

You're only gonna have to rate me. Yes, I'm gonna bullet point. But I am not from Texas. I am a British, American and Nigerian. So I actually moved from the UK five years ago. Well back, because I also moved from the UK to the US when I was seven, and then I left when I was seventeen after I ran away from home and my parents were like, yeah, America's not good for you. We're shipping you back to London. So then I basically did my you know what we

So holy crap, that did feel like, so is your where's your baby from? Where's his citizenship?

He's just like his mama. We have tri citizenship, so WO.

Got the combo pack.

I love it way if you talk to me long enough, Some things that I say sound British, I had. I once had a friend who called me three accents. So you'll hear. Yeah, you'll hear the Nigerian. Sometimes the American and the British come out. It just depends on who I'm talking to and what I'm talking about. I hear that.

I was just in London actually, and I went to Yeah, I went to see Beyonce and everyone said my accent was trash. But I watch a lot of Love Island that is education the UK count stand the Americans. I don't know. I think it's quite nice. You're joking maybe because like we were just obnoxious Beyonce fans in London, like they were probably Sigas, just like running those streets crazy. But I went to this really good Nigerian spot called Okara. Okay.

Yeah, I grew up eating that a lot. It is made because yes, it's made of beans and then you fry it. I used to make that once upon a time. But pretty good, would you think?

I thought it was really delicious. It was definitely upscale. It was like it was like West African street food and like upscale. So I'm sure it's the kind of food that you would probably pay, you know, like we would for you know, taco truck food. Yes, but it was very delicious and they Oh I had the best cocktail when I was there. What was it called the kojo? What else did I eat there?

Then?

I can remember? I mean, did I say at Kara kara. Yeah, I'll never.

Say it, right, I know, And that's okay. It effort counts, you know.

So yeah, and there's a little bit of Caribbean influence too. We have some plantain dish. Oh and we had this giant fish that poor guy guys I think it was a supreme I don't know. It was big and round and very dramatic, but it was lovely. I had such a good time. I'm glad in London.

It's been a year since I've gone, but me and my son are going to go in October. So I've just been craving some fish and chips. I'm looking forward to that.

Well, then, how the hell did you end up a nerd Wallet of All Places podcast?

Okay, another bullet points. Okay, so I actually do not have a journalism background, per se. I started writing poems when I was I don't know, twenty something, and then when I moved to Nigeria, I was supposed to get a job in waste management. However that didn't work out. So I was looking for a job for almost a year and someone was like, hey, want to edit a job and things are a little bit more flexible, you know, Nigeria in terms of qualifications and things like that.

So we're in Nigeria now, okay, in Lego, sir.

So it's like, well, I've never been an editor, but I've written poems. I don't know if that relates, but let me try it, you know. And that is basically how my journalism or you know, journey started. So I started out as an editor, then I would write to and fast forward when I moved back to London. Unfortunately, the Western world don't really be respecting Nigerian qualifications and work experience, so I kind of almost had to start back from scratch. And then I got a job at

Really content. Oh sorry I should have been Yeah, you were writing content. You were doing like SEO content probably exactly how to get a buy now, payloadit later. Yeah, okay.

Then I went down the content mills, which are awful, you know, just to kind of get some experience. And then I landed my first big gig and Pop Sugar, and I wrote for Pop Sugar for some time and then I just started getting more and more bylines. Fast forward to moving to the US. I worked at a nonprofit who for addiction, Yes, nonprofit for addiction. I wrote for them. Then I went to another company. And then when I was at the other company, I was at my desk and I was like, I want to work

Yeah, and you have a co host, So tell me a little bit about tellbaf'm about the Smart Money podcast. This m should be other than the fact that I was on it recently, because.

We are your financial besties, and I know that money can feel like a mystery to a lot of people. It feels very complicated and overwhelming. But we do our best to break down complex money issues and make them easy to understand. You know so, and I find so much joy in doing that because a part I left out about my career journey is I started writing about personal finance because I was on a personal journey to

So, oh, okay, I want to talk more about financial freedom and that whole concept. But Anya, I want to hear about your career journey Oh, no, pressure, you don't have to take us across oceans or anything like that.

I was about to say, I'm part of the story. I don't think it's as exciting.

It's probably closer to mine. I went to school to do something, and then I did that thing exactly.

But I feel like in journalism, though it's almost like now that feels like such a rare story. A lot of people that I've met or that I've talked to, they didn't necessarily study journalism. So I was a part of that group that I went to Syracuse. I studied magazine news and digital journalism, with a focus on digital journalism because naturally we know the attention.

Span for magazines is slowly dwindling.

Wait, I'm shocked. What year did you graduate?

I usually don't discuss that, no, just because I usually don't like people knowing too much about my age because then it turns into a thing. But I did graduate fairly recently, in the last five years.

Oh well, I have no like, that's amazing. I don't think I was just asking because I'm just shocked that because I thought I was the last journalism graduate who was like allowed to study magazines because they were like dead by the time I graduated an nine, which was like, you know, the recession be don't know, but that was when I know a little bit. Newspapers and magazine print was like on its way out, and everyone they brought to my college to talk about it was so depressed.

Yeah, no, definitely, I will say I was a part of the year. I'll say the year graduated in twenty twenty two. I want to say the year the year before that, they had just like kind of pivoted the magazine program to magazine news and digital journalism because okay, they knew they had to kind of like involve add a lot more to it. Take don't quote me on that timeline, but essentially they taught us everything like from

Black period.

I love that incredible journey because you know, you are one of the few, let me not say a few, but reliable sources that we have left because now we have journalism muddled with social media influencers, no shade muddled with you know, you know, so it's nice to see people who have read some of them deserve them shade. I ain't want to be the one to say it so much shade that you can't even see them anymore, Well, crowd them out.

No, I love that I'm getting to chat with you this early in your career. Listen, like being an elder millennial and having started my career at a magazine like you know, back in twenty ten, I moved to New York and it's just you're gonna go on such a ride. The Grio is probably just the first stop on you know the path to many different publications and it will be fun. I'll get to introduce you every couple of years. I'm not trying to encourage you, but I am. I mean,

I don't know how to do that.

So it's kind of well, yeah, we love a pivot.

This is true period.

But actually having like real people humans, especially in the age of bots two like writing content. So the way that I found you, Anya was through your story on basically like the Target boycott and what was coming next and calls for black Americans. First of all, proud. I don't know. You probably have to be like objective or whatever as a journalist, but I don't have to because it's my bob. So yeah, fuck Target. I don't shop there anymore. I'll get sponsored by someone else. It's fine,

I thought people I cover a little bit of everything nowadays, but my official title is lifestyle, So because of that, like inn at the grio that encompasses a lot of

So yeah, hey, ba fam, We're going to take a quick break, pay some bills, and we'll be right back. All right, ba fam, We're back. So are we boycotting Dollar General? Like what's happening?

Okay?

So yes, as a short answer, yes, long answer though, it's a little bit more complicated, which I think, like personally, objectively, I think this is a very.

Interesting approach to it.

So, as we know, Jamal Bryant, he leaded the forty day Fast, the forty day target Fast, which became indefinite, and he recently announced that he was doing that we should be doing a Dollar General boycott in response to the fact that Dollar General, despite black consumers making up their main market and then also being in a lot of black communities, black neighborhoods. There's apparently there's like a Dollar General in like five miles of seventy five percent

Have been giving them money.

So because of that, Jamal Bryant announced a Dollar General boycott. But the like, I think the caveat in there that I really appreciated is the fact that he acknowledged that Dollar Generals, a lot of them feed into food deserts, right, and they are in for a lot of communities, dollar General is the only place they can go to to get produced, to get groceries, whether that is because of economic challenges or because of the simple fact that there are no grocery stores within a ten mile radius of

And what they are not doing, et cetera.

So yeah, is that what it's like? We're part of Texas? Are you? And Elizabeth? Who?

I'm in sugar Land. I'm in the suburbs.

See the little pops? I don't know. I can't pop my lips like what.

You say every time.

That's a little like, I don't know. It's Nigeria and pop? Oh me do it?

You know what?

I've been doing this all my life and let me be about to tell a story. Honey, pop is happening?

Okay, but have you ever mastered it? I don't know what's wrong with me.

I don't even realize I'm doing it.

So since my Wisconsin, my background, my cousin's librarian, and she does it so good? You just remember. But go ahead, go ahead. Sugar Land, sugar baby, Where do you live?

Sugar Land?

Yes, it's such sugar Land? Okay? So is it like? What's it like out there in the burbs?

Like?

Is dollar General as big as it is? I feel like in Georgia, dollars like on the way to my dad's house, and he lives in south of Atlanta, and on the way to the Publics, which is like the big supermarket, there are two dollar generals. So really and truly he is, like I think, in that demographic, and he loves him a dollar general.

Ask you all are talking. I just thought to myself, when is he from the last time I've been to a dollar dollar general. So to answer your question in my area, I do, honey, I'm not I'm not boogie. I like to save a dollar two.

Okay, Americans are like London's posh.

I know, honey. Okay, Look, Linday has so many ghettos. I grew up right next to them.

I know.

He please, Okay, yeah, but no, there are not many dollar generals near me. There are dollar trees, but not many dollar generals. And I go up in the dollar tree, you know, when I need to get a little balloon or you know, some batteries or something.

For cheese, sell cheap hot wheels tracks if your kids into that.

Oh he was, but now the iPad has taken over, so I don't know, I know, but I only let him use it on the weekends. But still all week. He's fantasizing about that.

I oh, really and truly well that I'm I'm first of all, I'm just like I'm listening to you, Anya, But I'm also like, god, damn, did I sound that eloquent when I was three years out of school?

I know?

Thank you.

Oh you're just explaining things, remembering people's name.

I appreciate that.

What do you? Okay? So I have to be I wanted to talk to y'all. This is like way down on my list of things I wanted to chat about. But as you're talking, I was before earlier this afternoon, before my dad called me and pissed me off, telling me some health advice which he has no business giving me. Just raises my blood pressure. He interrupted me. I was trying to watch that new movie Straw with Taraji p Henson, and I think Tayana Taylor's in it. I don't seen that yet.

Yes?

Who was? Who said?

Yes?

I had you minimized on I'd seen it.

Yes, that movie. That movie took me on a roller coaster ride.

Don't no spoilers. I only got like fifteen minutes in.

I won't spoil it.

I'm only at the part it's trust the shirt out of me. I don't know if I want to keep watching, Like, oh, I loved the first have you seen it? What, Elizabeth, have you seen it yet? Well?

I have thoughts, So I went to go and watch it, and then I said, I'm not gonna do this.

So because you started it and you, like me, were like, this is painful.

Thank you. So I appreciate what Tyler Perry is doing in terms of amplifying black stories, in terms of paying black women more, but I'm not gonna lie. I'm tired of the struggling, troubled or yah, and as a single mother, I'm not trying to sit down and watch that trauma. You know, Like, the world's stressful enough right now. I don't need. I don't need to watch that. I don't for what you know, So honestly, I probably am not

So thanks for putting words to what I was processing it. And I was just I was like, I was in this very same chair and just going in. It just felt like my heart was being raked by hot coals. Just because you have to watch her endure in the first fifteen minutes, her child being taken away, her losing her job. I think, I just I think I got that far being denied at the bank, trying to Oh that bank part pissed me off. She's like a heartbreaking just all and it really is like it's like black

That's a really good question, because I.

Think this is the kind of shit that people expect our stories to be.

Thank you, and y'all see it every day, So why y'all need to watch it on the TV screen? You know? I signed up.

They don't see it every day for them, For like people who don't look like us, this is like going to the zoo, like, ooh, a wild African American, right, yeah.

Because it's like this makes me think of two incidents where I've had recently where I just randomly meet you know,

I would have just been like, yeah, I'll mention that on my very popular podcast Smart Money Nerd.

I am trying to do all that, but I might.

Listen. Sometimes you have to let them know, you do have to kind.

Of point that out.

But I do think I think you have to a good question about who is watching it, and I think there are multiple types of viewers, because while I listen, I fully agree and respect you Elizabeth for not finishing it, because halfway through me and my friend were saying they were like, why are we watching this? Why are we putting ourselves through this? But we were too far in, we were invested in the story at that point. We had to make it through the end. Like I said,

Almost.

Now I'm not saying that that is the case, for everyone, but I respect those that are like, listen, these are because there's been arguments about like, Okay, are we supposed to sweep these stories under the rug? Just because we know that it's a story, Does that mean we're not supposed to broadcast it? You know, And there's that argument. But then on the other end, you know, it's like, why do we keep showing the same stories? I think ultimately it's a testament to the fact that we need

Do it at.

Because I can't deny that he's had a very interesting and like almost unprecedented run in Hollywood and what he's been able to do in craft within himself.

But yeah, yeah, I appreciate your perspective, I think, I mean, that's what it's about. It's art, and it's like it's really how it makes you individually feel. And also I didn't even I mean, of course, Tyler Perry, he always becomes the We always have some form of this conversation when one of his films comes out and people are like, but we need him, And I wanted to talk to you all because it feels like so Sherry Shepherd I think was in the movie. She played the bank teller.

You know, at the parallels, She's also was a single mom, you know, for most of the time where she took that movie right, So maybe that's why she's able to embody it so well.

So yeah, I mean, she did say that it wasn't hard for her to like connect with the character because she knew Jania's story, Like she's like, I recognize that story, So I think that's a part of it. She also ironically did an interview where she was saying, I can't remember I can't remember what movie.

I can't remember what it was, But she.

Was working with a director who essentially asked her what role she wanted to play. She picked the role of a girl who is a little bit more quiet, and the director was like, I'm glad you said that, because

This is right.

I'm watching the little girl to Raji and the adult Toagi at the same time. Have you ever noticed that Elizabeth being a mom? Like sometimes when I'm watching someone, i just imagine them as a little kid.

Yeah, and I'm like.

This person is just a baby, Like they were just a baby going through all this.

I've been thinking that about my parents a lot lately, you know, like they were once little kids.

And have their own story in our season of forgiving them because they were just children.

Dear last night, Yeah, getting there.

Okay, It's been a flow, right, so as healing is a roller coaster, So there are times where I'm like, oh, this is great and where you know, and then there are other times I'm like that was messed up.

So mm hmmm, yeah, we got to skip past the whole Father's dave it all.

Yeah.

But the reason I brought up Sherrie is because I think she was giving an interview and to Roji also said this, like Tyler Perry was one of the first directors to pay them really well as a filmmaker, and that I love for them. They deserve to get those checks, you know what I mean? But I agree, I hope that, Like when's Ava do Rene's next movie coming out? And Gina what is it? Gina blythe Prince. She directed The Women King and a bunch of other films, but she

Oh, that's exciting.

That's like it's supposed to be. I think a dystopian like it doesn't it's not a specific country in Africa, but I think.

It's like it was inspired by Ebo culture, like the author's Nigerian.

There's a lot of lore behind that.

But yes, yeah, I believe in touches on the religion or practice. But I actually have the book at home and I picked it up again. I've had it for years and write age three. I like the audiobook, but I heard it's good. Oh I can't do audiobook. I'm so old school. I'd like to feel it and touch it and underlie.

So I just put that back down. When you're not interested in not novels are hard to get through well, what are y'all? Oh, there's so much Okay, So another thing, have y'all watched The Pit? Do you know that show on HBO? No you don't, Okay, So that's also kind of a hard to watch show. But just because I want to talk about this, it's an incredible show. I binged it. Well, I actually I couldn't binge it because

Show them those covers where there are like fifty people on the cover?

Right? If we got a Hollywood reporter does it every year every year? The Hollywood reporters, like we did one.

Vogue, like every magazine every time a new Marvel movie comes out, they fit all those superheroes on one page. It's the comments was like, it's kind of ironic because they're called variety. They got it should still happening. You got nothing?

Are we gonna say the quiet Heart out loud?

You know? I mean I imagine opening that up as their colleagues and just being like.

Where where was my invite?

Where did they get one?

I was gonna say, are the colleagues even in the building? Are the colleagues?

But those are the performances that I mean, I don't want to of course, it's like, yeah, those actors are very talented. I want to see if, like the other actors have released a statement, because one of the actors was like, it's such an honor to be on the cover, but yeah, I'm upset that they didn't include our cast mates in that case. Like I actually would be more upset with the actors being on the cover for not turning around and bringing my.

Colleague here, Like I worked with them hours every day and you didn't say nothing.

Right, Like that's what you can do with your privilege. Why didn't you thank you? That would be hell awkward to go back if you knew that's.

What would hurt me the most. And then I got to go to work with y'all the next day after y'all had this little secret cover shoot without us.

Like, no, not cute? All right, well, thanks Variety for absolutely giving us nothing. What have y'all read recently? Because there's like, it feels like everything is so dark. What is some like content? Movies, films, books that are like actually bringing you joy these days? Bring in some levity?

Can I be honest with y'all. I, as much as I work in the media and obviously I need to be on top of the news, I have been finding solace and shutting off and picking up hobby. So your girl has a painting class today for two hours that I'm trying. I have been painting, riding my bike and to those are the things that are giving me joy because I think online it can sometimes be over stimulating.

So yeah, that is.

So not I mean, that is not a hot take. It's like a healthy take. I'm glad to hear that. I So you chose painting, Yeah, I chose planting.

Yeah, but how many do you have? You're a plant mom? Oh my god, guys, I have to leave in one minute. But how many do we have?

Do you have?

You do have to leave it?

Yeah?

Oh? I thought you said one thirty pst.

Oh wait, what is Oh my god, no, what is Texas time? I always mix up the time zone pst.

Oh okay, I thought we had more time. I'm so sorry. That's okay. You can jump off and I can hang out with Anya. Well, was there anything that you wanted to, like talk about specifically before we leave, anything wanted to let us know? Anything you want to promote?

Hmm, that's tough. I feel like I'm being put on the spot. Yeah, let me think.

When does Smart Money come out?

You can just say that, okay, yes, So you can listen to Smart Money. We have episodes coming out twice a week. One is Money News in case you want to keep up to date with what's happening in the world, So we give y'all a nice little spiel rather in

So y'all do have a fun vibe. What's your co host name, Scott.

No, Sean Piles, Okay, Clement, Yes, that's Sean Piles.

Chemistry. It's fun.

It is fun, So come and listen. And I am a huge, huge, huge advocate of people trying to figure out their money, trying to start investing. Please please, I beg all my friends and family, even if you have five dollars to invest, and if you need some convincing. One of my weird hobbies is popping numbers into a

Yeah, that's a good reminder. Actually, I did have a headline I was going to share that found and I was shocked by this. But Americans are finally saving enough for retirement brings me so much joy. However, before investing, yes, but before I bounce, I would love to see the breakdown of how many black and brown people and women in that number are investing, because there's so many disparities for those groups of people. But i'd love to see more women and more people of color investing.

Me joy.

Yes, I know it's it's it's scary out here a lot of Like I was surprised to hear that at a time when I feel like what's happening in my family group chat is like, you know, should I take this money out? I've got some debt to pay off. Should I take it for my CD? Should I take it for my investment? Like that kind of conversation. So I think it's good to point out there may be some disparities there. But Elizabeth Ayula, thank you so much for joining us at the Brown Table.

Thank you. This was so fun.

All right, ba fan, We're gonna take a quick break and be right back with more of the Brown Table. I've got Anya Philagene from the Griot in the studio. Be right back, Welcome back, be a fan. Let's get back to the show, all right, Anya, NBA fan, Welcome back the beautiful berated Elizabeth had to bounce because we finally got our time zones figured out and she had to go, which is but she'll come back on the

I agreed.

I agreed. Well, what else can we chat about? Well, the No King's protest? Did you cover any of that?

Yes? And no.

That was one of those things where I was like on call for the weekend, so I was like keeping an eye out in case anything crazy happened.

Thankfully nothing did.

At least not in the DMV. Right, and we got shot in Utah a couple and then someone got run over.

Yeah, I yes, I don't know. I don't know too much about that, if I'm being honest.

No, please be honest, it's fine. I don't either. I just saw, Yeah, I think one like they had a peacekeeper, like probably like a volunteer peacekeeper at a protest in Utah shot a person who was carrying a rifle and like pointing it around and shot that person, but then hit another protester, like an innocent protester and who unfortunately

Grass, go water a plant.

But if you're at the grio, you don't necessarily get the privilege of being unplugged right and being completely out of tune with it. But yeah, so fortunately I guess there wasn't a ton of upset or unrest, but you're also having the I want to call it the parade Trump he must not be named birthday parade military party. The theme was US Army for his birthday party. And what was that? Like?

I was not there.

I know all the streets in DC were shut down essentially for miles and miles and miles, but from what I did see, I don't think they met the anticipated numbers that they thought they were going to see.

And yeah, but you know, Birthday Boy was probably cranky about that. He does a lot his crowd sizes.

I heard, I heard, I heard, I saw little snippets about that, But that's truly all I know.

That's one thing I fully tuned out of.

Yeah, and yeah, I saw you covered the cutest Well, okay, he's an eighteen year old man. But there's this eighteen year old kid who's running for mayor in a town in Alabama.

Yeah, I was literally this morning.

Fairfield, Alabama. Yeah, so how did you find out about that story?

Honestly, somebody dropped it in our slack and because I think Ben Crump had posted, he like reposted his story and his announcement and naturally came up on our timelines, and I was like.

Ben Crumb, attorney, Ben Crump is sort of a news source. I see. I get a lot of my black news first from Ben Crump. So shout out to him, right, and whoever is on his team and that madost good for a yes down for a repost. He's always like and I think people know and trust him so much. He's got that amount of power as they should because he is like a hero in so many ways. But yeah, he is an official, unofficial news source that I love.

I agree, I love that. But yeah, very very cool story. I think it's so commendable. Like he announced he made his mayor announcement like two weeks after he graduated from high school, and he's getting ready to start his freshman year of college. And I'm like, when I graduate from high school and I was about to start freshman year, I was thinking about a summer job so I could pay for all my clothes that I wanted for college, so I could look so cute and do all the things.

So where did you work? Where did you work?

I worked at Hollister for a while, and then I worked at Urban Outfitters.

It was like a split summer type of situation.

So, yeah, I was a retail girally couldn't trust myself at a bar or a restaurant.

Yeah, I knew I didn't have the patience for a restaurant.

I knew it.

I was like, I love a bad story. Do you feel like you get to cover a lot of news that it's on the positive side or more of like honestly, you know, it feels like, I'm looking at your your bylines, I check out your stuff, and I'm like, Okay, it's like it's a good mix because it's pop culture, it doesn't feel so heavy.

Probably.

Yeah.

I always tell people, I'm like, I cover more of the fun stuff than the doom and gloom, or I get to cover more of the fun stuff than people who have like more political beats and certain things like that.

So I think it's a nice balance.

You know, every now and it's political, you know, truly, Yeah, you know, yeah, that's just how I feel like. There's that there's not really that disconnected. Politics is always lurking, you know. One of the things you got I want to talk I wanted to talk about was Ananda Lewis, the MTV former MTV VJ host who passed away from breast cancer. I saw that you had covered a little bit about her story. I had not been fought. I didn't know that she was ill, and honestly, I hadn't

I think it's Ananda. I feel like everybody said Ananda, but I'm I'm not sure. I think it's a Nanda.

Gotcha yeah, Ananda, I had not really I kuindn't remember her. I was trying to think, like, where did I see her in the last MTV VJ I remember? I mean, do you even know what an MTVBJ is?

I do? I do?

But that's because I will say I am an anomaly in the sense that I was one of those little kids that used to really love watching throwbacks and stuff that like all my older cousins used to know about. I was watching that, Like I would watch reruns of One of six and Park when Free and AJ were on there, Like I loved going into the archives. I was just a culture nerd from young.

Oh that's amazing. They raised you right, yes, get your history. Well, but what was And so you know, I saw her story and I'm like, it's very sad. And you know, on this podcast we've covered breast cancer and all types of cancers in the black community and how it impacts us so much more. And part of the reason is

Yeah, she took She had said that she wanted to take a more homeopathic approach to it and more natural approach to things. Where she was it's like she was doing nothing per se, But I know she took a more like she's going to change her diet and she's Her first step was like flushing out all the toxins and doing different treatments and things that are out there that are just designed to I think, cleanse your body more so than chemo and the traditional things that we

Yeah, one of those, that's fine, right, but yeah, Yeah. What was really chilling was in an interview where she's explaining I don't know if you saw this or not, where she's explaining how her mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer and how in her mind, the mammograms that her mom did dutifully all those years was the reason why she got breast cancer. And so that's what it led Ananda to eschue her own doctor's orders to get a you know, or doctor's recommendation to get a mammogram.

It makes me think of that movie they cloned Tyrone, and I'm like, ever since that movie came out, do you see that movie?

Complex? Oh?

Is it good?

It was good. It was not spoiler the plot, but it was like centered around chicken and the impact of this one chicken spot in a community, and it like, I'll leave it at that, but it was just kind of like that whole movie had me sitting and thinking like, maybe they are really putting something in the chicken, Maybe they really are putting something in the food, because it's a little scary. It gets a little scary when you

So I just wrote it down. They cloned tyrone, They cloned tyrone. Yes, well, when I'm not with my plant babies, yes, I'll try and watch that. But I it's I was trying to. I have a five year old, and I was trying to He's been actually eating vegetables and speak with them in the garden, which is really cute to see. He doesn't always like them. Usually he doesn't like them, and he's like, oh, it tastes he's chewing it. I'm like, well,

Oh he doesn't like like anything.

Oh, everything has to be invisible or in cookhetti sauce. That's the trick. But it's hard because you know, we get these hyper like these foods that were made in labs to design to entice us and to satisfy us and tap into like those receptors, those joy receptors in our brain. And it's like and then you want us to have a turn up and be happy about it. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, we have to train ourselves to like that. Shit really might be a lost cause. But I don't know.

No, I don't think so.

I don't think his diet not in life. He's gonna survive, He'll be fine.

Okay, Okay, I mean listen, I don't know.

Everything go great, pretty god, but yeah, like he's just so stuck in his ways for him, like eating healthier is having a six piece wing instead of a twelve like you know what I mean, Oh, win is.

A window, right, you know we are slowly weaning off of it instead of like two million calories some million calories like slowly but chilly.

That's how you gotta think about things, you know.

All Right, Well, I want to take a little another quick break and I want to come back and will you join me for a brown brust brown break to close the show? Out of course, all rib i fam, we are back where you going to wrap up today's brown table. I want to excuse me. Thank our guest Elizabeth Ayula again from Nerdwallet's Smart Money podcast, from joining us and Anaya nope, Anya Anya Philogeene from the Grio

Your choice, You go first, You set the precedent.

Okay, great. So I am going to do a big boost today. And I want to preface this by saying that I really could have done a break but I feel like this was like more of a heavy topic show than I had cared for today. But I feel a lot of joy because my little community garden that I started. You don't know this, Anya unless you listen to the show. But anyway, I started this kind of like ghetto community garden with my neighbors where we just

Guys, we need community now more than ever, So I love that.

Yeah, I love it all.

Right year turn Okay, be a fan. I've never done this before my boost right oh?

Going positive? Okay? Good?

Yes, I feel like we talked about so much negitive. There's so much taking in the world. Why would we Why would you seek into that? I think naturally, my boost is literally just tuning, tuning into my voice and finding my voice and the storytelling that I'm able to

Where are you doing TikTok dances? What are you doing?

No? I So, I, like I said, new House trained us to be, you know, jack of all trades, all the things in Syracuse, and so I actually really have a love for graphic design. I love designing things, whether it's like a flyer, whether like making an Instagram post that looks really intricate or like reminds you of scrap book.

I've been leaning more into that a lot more, just because it's fun.

It fuels that left side of my brain or whatever side of the brain they say it is. So yeah, I think that's been my thing, just fueling my creativity, tapping into that a lot more, having whenever I have that spurs that spark of inspiration, leaning into it and just doing that. So I am going to boost creativity. I'm going to boost finding your voice, whatever that may mean. And for me, if you want to see more of my voice, check me out at the graio dot com.

What are you.

At? Anya?

So the way you see my name on the screen, put an ex king me right, I know it's I'm so sorry.

Origin of the spelling.

Why it's actually Arabic. Yes, I have no Arabic backgrounds. I am Haitian American.

But it means happy in Arabic.

And I had somebody actually like fully translated and tell me that it's a very specific type of happiness where it's like at the end of like a really dark tunnel, like that joy you see.

That's what they say, Anya is Now.

If that is wrong, beautiful.

That's what an Arabic speaker told me.

So it's really with it if you believe it, you know what I mean?

Amen? Amen?

So, yeah, like how I thought I was a I thought my sign was different than I'm a Leo, and I was like, wow, I am so what was it? What's before Leo must have been a cancer or something.

Anyway, if you.

Believe that it's what will become true period. I believe that it's a beautiful name. And shout out to your parents for going outside the box because where it's the.

French listen, it's there, it's there, it's just not you know.

Well. Anya Phillageen from the Grio, thanks so much for joining me at the Brown Table. I hope you'll come back. Wasn't that bad?

No, I love this. I call me on some more podcasts.

I would love to Yeah, yeah, I mean, And if you're working on anything, just feel free to shoot them over. We can help amplify even if we just share on the show. Or if you want to come back again and talk about a big story that you that you're working on. Promote your work. Get yourself out there and thank you for sharing your your POV. You're light with the ba Fam and we'll hope to see you soon. Thank you, okay, va fam, I will see you on