This July weekend, we review two of the biggest summer movies of 2025: Jurassic World: Rebirth and The Materialists . Mike breaks down why Jurassic World is stuck in a loop of reboots and clichés, even with big stars like Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali. And what would it take to save this franchise? Then Jack reviews The Materialists , a romantic drama exploring love, class, and status in modern dating culture starrign Pedro Pascal, Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans. We also officially launc...
Jul 06, 2025•33 min
In this episode, we welcome Nyasha Hatendi , the creator, writer, director, and producer of Audible's new audio horror drama, Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi . He opens up about his motivations for creating Sacrilege, the influences behind its horror, his collaboration with actor Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things , and how truth and story have the power to bring people together. Episode Summary – Truth-telling in an age of lies – BBC to QCode: audio evolution – America, Zimbabwe, UK roots – W...
Jun 19, 2025•42 min
In this special sponsored episode, we're partnering with Audible for our first-ever audio drama analysis, breaking down the groundbreaking supernatural thriller " Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi " starring Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things . Created by Zimbabwean-American filmmaker Nyasha Hatendi, this six-episode supernatural horror audio drama follows an African-American family from Detroit whose luxury heritage tourism trip to Zimbabwe unleashes an ancient shapeshifting spirit - part man, ...
Jun 04, 2025•34 min
This week we deconstruct Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS from a Latino and Black perspective. It's a film that is creating deep cultural conversations about Black originality and the business of Black culture globally. We explore its cultural symbolism, audience reactions, Variety's media bias, and the troubling Asian release rollout that may hint at anti-Black bias in Asian markets. Episode Summary (2:00) – White audiences, Black movies: The paradox (4:00) – Ryan Coogler enters director-auteur status (7...
May 02, 2025•37 min
If AI can make human-like art, do we still need the artist? In this episode we unpack the OpenAI's 'Image Editor' and the Studio Ghibli AI trend, and discuss the cultural, economic, and existential implications AI poses to Black and Latino artists. Episode Summary: AI Art: Speed & Quality Enjoying vs. Fearing AI Art Copyright Crisis Is the Artist's Career in Peril? Audience Over Artists? Art vs. Commerce Struggle Inflection Point The Japanese Copyright Law Loophole Prompt Engineers Replacing...
Mar 31, 2025•33 min
In Opus , Ayo Edebiri plays a journalist invited into a world of celebrity power, but is she there to observe, or be consumed by it? This week on Brown & Black, journalist and filmmaker Mark Anthony Green joins us to unpack his A24 directorial debut, Opus . We dissect the film's underlying themes, including the seductive power of validation, the blurred lines between journalism and celebrity, and how Black horror and comedy can expose the darker truths of our human condition. Episode Summary...
Mar 14, 2025•35 min
Is Donald Trump's Kennedy Center takeover the start of a cultural whitewash? This week on 'Brown & Black,' we examine what happens when the most powerful man in America seizes control of the nation's most prestigious cultural institution. The President's takeover of the Kennedy Center has sparked fears of a whitewashing of African-American and Latino culture. From shrinking opportunities for artists of color to the threat against Spanish-language media, are we witnessing the beginning of sta...
Mar 04, 2025•25 min
How do you make a America whiter without saying you're making it whiter? In this first episode of 2025, during Black History Month, we dissect what does Trump's dismatling of DEI and the self-sabotaging deportation crusade, mean or businesses and media?And how much damage will be done to Blacks and Latinos before they get their way? Then we discuss why the backlash to the 13-time Oscar-nominated Netflix musical "Emilia Perez" isn't about "foreigners stealing Latino stories." It's about the power...
Feb 03, 2025•35 min
In this special Thanksgiving episode, we’re sharing some of our favorite movies and TV shows we’re currently watching or bingeing. Hopefully, you’ll find something to add to your Thanksgiving watchlist. From Black documentaries on 70s cinema and military-style action TV shows to a surreal film tackling female ageism, we’ve included a mix of Latino, Black, and mainstream selections that we enjoyed. We think that after watching these, you’ll have a lot to talk about over the holidays. Episode Summ...
Nov 26, 2024•29 min
It’s November 7, 2024. Latinos are clearly becoming the next ‘whites’ and represent what the Republican Party may look like in the future. This episode promises to challenge everything you thought you knew about Latino identity in the U.S. Back in April 2024, we spoke to Political Psychologist Efren Perez, a UCLA Professor of Political Science and Psychology, who holds a PhD from Duke University, about his research on what are the true psychological and political factors that are driving many La...
Nov 07, 2024•54 min
What does responsible AI use look like in the music world? This week, we sit down with Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., the man at the helm of one of music's most revered institutions, to discuss AI’s current and future impact on the music industry - especially for creators of color - and how the Recording Academy is confronting this challenge head-on. Harvey reveals what’s at stake: artist rights, the moral challenges AI presents, and how the Grammys are preparing for the inevitable surge of AI-gen...
Oct 27, 2024•41 min
Land, land, land. What if your ancestors kept the land they were promised? How would your life be different? In this episode, we speak with Mother Jones Editorial Director, Jamilah King, about a story meant to be hidden in the annals of history. She and her investigative team used AI to unearth evidence that could force the nation into a reckoning with reparations and finally confront its buried truths. Episode Summary: 3:15 - Explosive findings from '40 Acres and a Lie' impacting African Americ...
Oct 13, 2024•47 min
What happens when a pandemic exposes the realities that wealth and privilege usually hide? Author Regina Porter stops by our show to discuss her provocative new novel, "The Rich People Have Gone Away," a title that says it all. It's a book with sharp social commentary where characters are forced to confront their own moral complexities about privilege, race, and class, set against the backdrop of COVID-19 in New York City in 2020. Porter also reveals how she builds complex characters, as well he...
Sep 23, 2024•45 min
With the recent announcement of WB’s "La Bamba" remake, we ask: Did Hollywood whitewash Luis Valdez’s 1987 film classic, and will the remake do better? And how much of your identity would you sacrifice to be seen by mainstream media? In this raw and unfiltered episode of Brown & Black, we use the announcement of the "La Bamba" remake to discuss identity, assimilation, and the paradox of Latino representation in mainstream media. Episode Summary: 📝 Revisiting La Bamba in 2024 Ritchie Valens'...
Sep 04, 2024•45 min
In this episode, we explore how pop culture and social media are driving Kamala Harris's potential presidential election and how her multicultural background (Black and Indian) is challenging the power structures in American politics. We also examine the new lawsuit involving Flamin' Hot Cheetos creator Richard Montañez and PepsiCo for defamation as he fights for recognition as the product's creator. How significant is Montañez's potential court case win for Latino representation? Episode Summar...
Jul 29, 2024•41 min
Kimberly Bryant, the founder of "Black Girls Code" and the "Black Innovation Lab," joins us for a can't-miss conversation about the real threat AI poses to people of color if we don't wake up now. This episode is a wake-up call. We dissect the implications of the recent news headlines involving FKA Twigs and the misuse of Tupac's voice by Drake. Plus, how to design laws, ethics, that will not allow us to be left behind. Will we be able act with the urgency needed before it's too late? Episode Su...
Jun 12, 2024•37 min
Has white privilege sabotaged Beyoncé? In this episode, we analyze the recent revelation how AMC's CEO undermined Beyoncé's Renaissance concert film, costing her millions, while protecting Taylor Swift's release. Was this decision based on business or unconscious bias? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 03, 2024•27 min
Should race and ethnicity be combined in the next Census? In this episode, we discuss the Census Bureau's recent announcement of their proposed changes to the race and ethnicity categories, particularly for Hispanics. What potential risks will that on the Afro-Latino community? Will 2030 see Hispanic/Latinos in the United States be pressured to conform to White or will they double down on Latino identity? Episode Summary: Discussion on combining race and ethnicity into one question Robert Santos...
May 23, 2024•26 min
Are Latinos becoming the next whites, and what role does politics play in this ideological shift? We talk to Political psychologist Efren Perez, a UCLA Professor of Political Science and Psychology, who holds a PhD from Duke University. His research focuses on race, ethnicity, politics, and society. He recently wrote an article in Newsweek titled "Why the Politics of Republican Latinos Suggests They Want to be White." In it, he argues that some Latinos view whiteness not as a race but as an ideo...
Apr 19, 2024•48 min
Sheila E broke barriers as both a talented percussionist and an Afro-Latina artist. In this episode, she reveals the personal motivations behind creating her first salsa album now, "Bailar," and explores her relationship with Latin music and identity. Her answers offer a unique window into the challenges and triumphs of embracing heritage and language through music. She also discusses how personal this salsa album was to her as a way to connect with her father, Latin jazz artist Pete Escovedo. T...
Apr 06, 2024•24 min
In tribute to the life and career of legendary actor Louis Gossett Jr., we are re-airing our 2020 interview with him regarding his role as Luis Garcia in 'The Cuban'. In this conversation, Mr. Gossett Jr. shared his insights on embracing international cultures and his love for Cuba. 'The Cuban', where Gossett plays a Cuban jazz musician in a nursing home with dementia. The episode explores the sensitivity around the importance of cultural representation in film, and the unification of Brown and ...
Mar 29, 2024•56 min
Mike and Jack have an in-depth discussion with a claimed Afro Cuban singer Daymé Arocena about her new album Alkemi, she opens up about her struggles as a black Latina woman in this industry, how we perceive black skin, how we perceive Latina women with black skin, body image in the pop music industry and how has that all impacted and Influenced the way she sees herself as an artist. What kind of reclamation does a black Latina woman in the music industry today have to go through? Learn more abo...
Mar 24, 2024•46 min
In this episode, progress vs. preservation. We discuss the alarming white backlash targeting Latino interns and how AI is impacting the film industry and creators of color. We explore how these two stories set the stage for a broader debate on diversity in the digital age. The Smithsonian Latino Museum is being sued for its pro-Latino internship program designed to increase Latino representation. What other Latino programs are next? We discuss why they are the latest target in a growing wave of ...
Feb 29, 2024•29 min
Does Colman Domingo's Blackness overshadow his Latino heritage, making him invisible to the Afro-Latino community? In this episode, we'll analyze how Latino and Black films and actors fared in the 2024 Oscar nominations. We'll also discuss Colman Domingo's groundbreaking Best Actor nomination as the first Afro-Latino LGBTQ+ actor, and whether his potential win will resonate with the broader Afro-Latino community. We then dissect America Ferrera's historic Oscar nomination as the third Latina to ...
Feb 07, 2024•33 min
Is the DE&I backlash in America casting a shadow over award-season voters? In our first 'Brown & Black' episode of 2024, we have a critical exploration of DE&I's impact on Hollywood's award season. We'll also dissect the ratings and their implications, analyze the Latino shutout and its contributing factors, and share our predictions for which Latino and Black movies and talent will secure the coveted Oscar nominations. *Main topics* Concerns that DE&I initiatives are being disma...
Jan 21, 2024•38 min
This week Mike and Jack examine why Netflix is depositing $100 million dollars into Black banks; Lin-Manuel Miranda's revered Broadway musical ' Hamilton ' has been released on Disney+ and is receiving backlash from historians for glorifying slave-owners. Has art become more significant than historical facts? And in 1983, artist David Bowie challenged MTV VJ Mark Goodman on why MTV didn't play Black music in primetime. Chuck Creekmur, co-founder and co-CEO of AllHipHop.com joins the show to expl...
Jan 10, 2024•48 min
In this episode, we share our top Latino and Black films of 2023. Jack chose: "At the Gates," a psychological thriller that flips the traditional Latino immigrant story. "Radical," based on an inspirational true story that highlights the power of education in some of Mexico's poorest schools. "They Shot the Piano Player," an animated docudrama about a music journalist uncovering the mysterious death of a Brazilian piano player. Mike chose: "The Color Purple," a joyous and powerful musical rendit...
Dec 19, 2023•30 min
For over three decades, legendary storyboard artist Warren Drummond has been the inspiration and creative force behind some of Hollywood's most iconic films, such as "A Beautiful Mind" and "Straight Outta Compton", collaborating with industry giants like John Singleton, Ron Howard, and Denzel Washington. Warren joins the show to discuss his new book, 'A Hard Day's Work,' in which he offers a rare glimpse into his artistry, the perseverance and resilience that led to his breakthrough in Hollywood...
Dec 09, 2023•43 min
Listen to this heated discussion on the controversial reverse discrimination lawsuit from white employees against Gannett for its diversity efforts in news, plus we tackle the 'woke' backlash of the film 'The Marvels' for its focus on diverse female superheroes. We ask, is DE&I under attack? Can diversity thrive in a divided America, or have we reached a reverse tipping point? And what does the future hold for a multicultural America? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
Nov 17, 2023•44 min
Happy Halloween! 🎃 Fear, a universal emotion, resides within each of us. As children, we quivered at tales of demons, ghosts, and mysterious noises in the dark—stories predominantly told from a white perspective, often neglecting the rich tapestry of Latino and Black experiences. This month, we take you back to our classic 2020 Halloween episode, where we delve deep into the world of Latin and Black horror cinema, grounding ourselves in the folklore of our own chilling tales. From influential L...
Nov 13, 2023•41 min
