With the rise of social & political activism movements picking up steam on social media in the last 4-5 years, we've seen several topics usually relegated to academic circles enter mainstream conversations. Feminism being a major one. Generally speaking, we believe this trend to be a positive one, however many times as men, we have failed to really grasp what Feminism is and specifically what Black Feminism really is. It's important for us to have this conversation because there are a bunch ...
Feb 27, 2019•1 hr 27 min
This week on #LetsTalkBruh we break from our regularly scheduled format and discuss the panel we participated in last week entitled: Let's Hear it From the Boys: Black Masculinity in the Age of #MeToo. We recap our thoughts on the panel and open up the conversation to those of y'all who couldn't make it. Obviously a conversation surrounding Black men and the role we play in the MeToo era deserves more than just a recap type of conversation, so definitely expect for us to cover this topic in more...
Feb 20, 2019•46 min
When's the last time you embraced your boy for more than the usual dap + hug combination? We're talking a good, long lasting 5-10 second hug. It's probably been awhile, right? Well if you're anything like us, we can certainly relate and for good reason. For most of us, we're usually taught that the two types of acceptable touch are reserved for the 2 F's: fucking or fighting. So anything longer than the usual dap+hug makes us extremely uncomfortable. So that brings us to today's episode on Plato...
Feb 13, 2019•1 hr 1 min
This week on Let's Talk Bruh we talk about the revolving door of fetishisation. Often times, if our masculinity revolves around sex, we unintentionally become complicit in our own fetishisation. There is a history in this country going back to slavery of both white men and women using our bodies for labor, sex included. When we weren't in control of our bodies, we subsequently lost control of the portrayal of our bodies in media. Thus creating a particular narrative, stereotype, and racist sexua...
Feb 05, 2019•1 hr 9 min
Back in August of last year we dropped an episode on male friendships. We covered how trash we can be as friends sometimes and even brought in research that suggests men struggle at maintaining fulfilling friendships. We also talked about what men can do to establish deeper connections with each other. So today we revisit the subject but dive a bit deeper on the subject and cover not only male friendships, but the rise of Men's Groups popping up around the country. However when it comes to Men's...
Jan 30, 2019•1 hr 7 min
Have you ever felt emasculated? In a relationship? At work? By just being a Black man in this country? Coming off of last week's new Gillette #TheBestMenCanBe ad, and the American Psychological Association's new guidelines for treating men and boys we discuss the response from large numbers of men who felt that these efforts are emasculating men and taking part in the constant effort to attack traditional masculinity. We talk about why these efforts are NOT emasculating men and discuss through h...
Jan 23, 2019•1 hr 13 min
We have a full slate of in-depth topics to hit yall with in 2019, but before we get too deep we had to catch up with a good ol venting session. Why is that the holidays are so damn stressful? From panic attacks, to thug tears, to family relationships, the holidays bring on a lot. So we take some time this week to recap our holiday breaks this week. We also pivot near the end of the episode and discuss our conundrum being the center of attention when folks ask about our podcast. Follow Let's Talk...
Jan 16, 2019•36 min
By now, if you've been on social media at all over the past 5 days you've seen your TL discuss the new Lifetime documentary, "Surviving R. Kelly" produced by dream hampton . Today we talk a bit about the documentary, our own experiences growing up in close proximity to R. Kelly, and a look at the impact of the documentary going forward. We hope the impact of the documentary helps to bring justice to the survivors of R. Kelly and end the decades of sexual abuse and trauma they have endured. Follo...
Jan 09, 2019•47 min
If you could describe your 2018 in one word, what would it be? Growth? Transition? Trash? Well, hopefully not that last one. Regardless of how you look at it, we've all made it to the end of the another year so there's gotta be at least ONE W in there we can all be proud about. And speaking of 2018 W's we talked about our personal 2018 wins this year as well as the following: - 2018 Wins: What we're proud of - 2018 Losses: Areas of improvement - What we've unlearned this year - 2018 Let's Talk B...
Dec 19, 2018•1 hr 8 min
We're back for round 2 and this time we brought the professionals with us. This week we were joined by Tasnim Sulaiman from Black Men Heal . She's a therapist who comes across sex and sexuality related issues with her clients so we had the great opportunity to ask her all the questions that we couldn't get to the bottom of in last week's episode like: Can sex be considered successful without an orgasm? Who's really responsible for your orgasm? We also get to the bottom of PE because what does it...
Dec 11, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Yall thought we'd go all year and NOT have an episode about sex? As we wrap up 2018, we're hitting yall with a 2-part series on that 3 letter word that so many of us love. From consent, to losing our virginity, to our current feelings about sex, we cover it from all angles in this episode. This episode was important because we wanted to not only break down sex & intimacy but also discuss those sometimes taboo subjects. C'mon fellas we've all been there. We know those 2 letters all too well. ...
Dec 05, 2018•1 hr 14 min
When talking about brotherhood, how often do we include gay brothers into that conversation? As a society we've made progress in terms of LGBTQ rights, but we certainly have a long way to go in order to be better brothers to gay men especially in our community. On today's episode we talk with The Great Jayden aka Jayden Hollywood about the relationship between gay and straight black men. On Let's Talk Bruh we talk a lot about masculinity from a straight male perspective, but it's important to ta...
Nov 28, 2018•57 min
MINI EPISODE ALERT Here's something for your Thanksgiving Dinner conversations with grandma: The Kinsey Scale. Now at this point, you may be wondering wtf the Kinsey Scale even is. So to briefly explain, in 1948 The Kinsey Scale determined that people typically did not fit into exclusive heterosexual or homosexual categories. Essentially suggesting that sexuality is fluid. The Kinsey Scale measures sexuality from 0-6. For example: 0 being exclusively heterosexual, 3 being equally heterosexual an...
Nov 21, 2018•21 min
According to the calendar, Cuffing Season is officially upon us. Dating, relationships, situationships, swiping left and right is in full swing so it was only right to break down our thoughts on relationships. We talk about love languages, how we want to be loved, and what's important for us in relationships. We talk about the dreaded "C" word and what compels us to commit to someone. By no means do we claim to be relationship experts, but with our experiences we offer some keys to happy relatio...
Nov 14, 2018•1 hr 27 min
We spend of a lot of time on Let's Talk Bruh talking through the ways that men are impacted by patriarchy. So we discuss vulnerability, Black male privilege, Black men's health and more as a way to combat those issues. But we haven’t as much as we should have talked about some of the ways that Women are impacted by patriarchy. So in today’s episode you’ll hear us start that conversation and we couldn’t do it alone. We invited our friend Taylor to share some of her experiences to the mic, but don...
Nov 07, 2018•1 hr 12 min
This episode is the heart of this podcast. This episode is the reason we do Let’s Talk Bruh. This episode wasn’t in our plans but perhaps the universe planned it for us. A much needed conversation between 2 Black Men, 2 brothers and friends, ex roommates, trying to figure this shit out one podcast at a time. This conversation is the result of when things get swept under the rug for so long that eventually they become impossible to ignore. It’s a tough conversation for a number of reasons because...
Oct 31, 2018•43 min
When you see the word, "family" what comes to mind? Maybe it's mom, dad, sister, brother. Maybe it's summertime cookouts, holidays, and family traditions. For many of us, family is all we have. But how do you define family? Do you include chosen family like friends? We talk about it all in this episode and get some help from the good brother BeMo Brown. We also talk about what "Breaking the Cycle" looks like within in our families, family secrets, current frustrations with our families, and what...
Oct 17, 2018•1 hr 18 min
We're continuing our look at masculinity in culture this week by examining how masculinity and toxic masculinity were both presented in Season 3 of HBO's Insecure. If you remember a few months ago in June, Issa Rae commented that for the upcoming season she wanted to examine Black Masculinity and toxic masculinity as they relate to Black Women. This statement alone caused many of us Black Men to collectively lose our minds, because how on earth could a Black Woman have any knowledge on how Black...
Oct 03, 2018•49 min
You ever remember riding in the car with your mom as a kid and turning to a different station or feeling wild uncomfortable when you knew your favorite MC was about to say some problematic shit? Maybe you can relate to this, but maybe not. The point is, it's interesting to note how sometimes we're more sensitive to certain lyrics when women are present. Have you ever felt conflicted while listening to your favorite artist? Or maybe you block it out completely and just enjoy the music? In today's...
Sep 26, 2018•1 hr 19 min
So this week we called an audible. We had plans to drop our Hip Hop episode but during our discussion, we got into a slight debate over whether or not Black Men need a male Beyoncé. For everything Beyoncé represents and means for women and specifically Black Women, Jeremy believes it would be dope to have a male version who would uplift Black Men in a similar way that she does for Black Women. Currently, Jeremy believes that there is a void when it comes to mainstream male artists who make music...
Sep 18, 2018•13 min
We're hitting yall from all angles today! We value the small and growing community that we're building with the #LetsTalkBruh fam so in this episode we really wanted to include yall in the conversation. Coming off of last week's Black Male Privilege Episode we wanted to recap the episode a bit, respond to some feedback as well as some pushback we received. It was important for us to address some of our blind spots with topics we may have missed during the discussion as well as speak to the respo...
Sep 12, 2018•1 hr 11 min
Black. Male. Privilege. The mere idea of this concept is controversial and causes pushback for many of us. But let's talk about it because this is real. As Black Men we exist in a rather unique space of both oppression AND privilege. However when we talk about Black Male Privilege, first and foremost, we are not saying we possess the same privilege that white people and white men do. Black Male Privilege is based on the privilege that we experience in relation to Black Women. Black Male Privileg...
Sep 05, 2018•1 hr 3 min
Would you say that you're a good friend? Be real. Cuz lemme tell you, as we discussed in this episode, apparently there's legitimate research proving just how trash men can be when it comes to our friendships. Ask yourself this question, how many of your friends fit into 1 of these 3 categories: Activity based, Convenience based, or Mentor based friendships? In this episode we take a look at some of this research, examine why it's sometimes difficult for men to make new friends, and even discuss...
Aug 29, 2018•55 min
It's been awhile since dropped the script and hit y'all with a good ol fashion venting session and let's just say it was much needed. This week's topic? Going the doctor. Recently we both went to a volunteering event, shoutout to Be Great DC, and got our blood pressures taken. Needless to say, both of our readings were a lot higher than we anticipated and caused us to pause and re-examine our health. So in this venting session you hear us talk through this frustration as well as the importance o...
Aug 22, 2018•26 min
Fellas, when's the last time your eyes got sweaty? Can you even remember the last time your allergies started acting up? Jokes aside, when did you know it was okay to cry? Growing up, most of us are taught that crying is not an acceptable part of manhood so we suppress those natural urges. Needless to say, today we dive all the way into our feelings and talk about not only when we knew it was okay to cry, but vulnerability as a whole. What it looks like for us today, what it looked like for us a...
Aug 13, 2018•58 min
Chakras. Meditation. Crystals. Reincarnation. The Universe. Retrograde and a bunch of other sh** that happens to be brand new for us too. See the thing is, we don't pretend to be the experts here on #LetsTalkBruh and we're not afraid of talking about concepts that we have little to no information on. Today we talked about this concept of Spirituality and what it means to us. We invited a couple friends on, Michelle and Deb, to join our conversation and act as our spiritual guides for this journe...
Aug 08, 2018•49 min
This episode completes our 3 part series on Mental Health & Therapy. Now, this by no means will be the last time we ever discuss mental health on #LetsTalkBruh, but it was important for us to discuss these issues now and continue to discuss them as they play a significant role in our lives. In this episode you'll hear us talk to 2 therapists, Dr. Justin Hopkins as well as Jeremy's own personal therapist, Dr. Jonathan Goode. So needless to say we got schooled by the professionals in these qua...
Aug 01, 2018•56 min
How often do you really think about your mental health? I mean, it's easy to know when we're physically sick or in pain, but mentally? Naw. Not so much. To be honest, as your hosts we really just started considering our own mental health to be important probably less than a year ago. So we took this episode as a moment to reflect on how stress, anxiety, and depression has shown up in our lives. We also talk through the ways in which we cope with mental health issues and explain what self care lo...
Jul 25, 2018•53 min
We're back with another installment of #LetsVentBruh and this week we broke from the script and stumbled upon the topic of therapy. In the upcoming weeks you'll hear us have a few deep dive conversations on the topic of black men in therapy with some licensed professionals who actually know what they're talking about, but for now you'll hear from us. In this episode Jeremy talks about his own recent therapy experiences and Kyr starts to process what therapy may look like for him, deflections and...
Jul 10, 2018•22 min
Now, #LetsTalkBruh is not a music podcast, so this won't be a 4:44 album review. However your hosts happen to be 2 hip-hop heads so we felt obligated to tackle this topic. Last Saturday (6/30/18) marked the 1 year anniversary of Jay-Z's 4:44 album. An album in which he was far more vulnerable than most mainstream rappers exhibit on wax by admitting his infidelity in his marriage with Beyonce and the affect it had on not only himself, but his wife, children and family. So we used that cultural mo...
Jul 04, 2018•51 min
