Marcus and Jordan sip on Negronis, share a recipe for shrimp ceviche, and Marcus asks Jordan what the cast of Little Mermaid would look like if every character was played by Black women. Also, some updates on actions against heartbeat bills and a few shoutouts to Southerners who are getting the work done.

Marcus and Jordan talk about the legacy of New Orleans culinary legend Leah Chase, co-founder of famed restaurant Dooky Chase. They discuss her life and her importance as a patron of Black art, an entrepreneur, and as a woman who loved people in a profound way. This one is more serious than we usually are, but y'all we had feelings to sort out. The Chocolate Therapy Podcast has been made possible by a grant from the Highlander Research and Education Center.

Chattanooga based burlesque performer Juno Mars joins shares her recipe for coconut milk mashed potatoes and chats with Marcus and Jordan about burlesque, sex positive performance art, food preferences, and several random tangents. We really enjoyed talking with her.  You can follow Juno Mars on all social media platforms as @JunoMars You can purchase her pro-choice merch at www.bonfire.com/my-rights-1/ Follow us at @CTPYALL on Twitter and Instagram and find us on Facebook at The Chocolate Therapy Podcast This podcast has been made possible by a generous grant from the Highlander Research and Education Center

For this episode, we've decided to talk to our very own Jordan Scruggs about reproductive justice in the South. Jordan has been working for reproductive rights since they were in highschool and has an extensive background in that work. Jordan and Marcus start with a lovely brunch featuring gourmet cheese grits and then go into the failures of abstinence only sex ed, the need for abortion access, and they patent a new brand of gender inclusive menstrual products.  If you want to support reproductive justice in the south, check out the links below for a few places to start. https://www.healthyandfreetn.org/ http://tnstories.org/ http://www.sparkrj.org/ https://www.arc-southeast.org/ https://yellowhammerfund.org/ https://msreprofreedomfund.org/ https://www.sistersong.net/ https://sisterreach.org/ https://allaboveall.org/   The Chocolate Therapy Podcast is made possible by a generous grant from The Highlander Research and Education Center

Jordan gives their rundown of the Met Gala campy realness, Marcus concocts a decadent praline recipe, and they hash out some of the trash legislation coming through the South with some advice on how to take a stand against it. (Hint: It might not be boycotts). You can read Jordan's Met Gala ranking here: https://ello.co/jordanscruggs/post/osuu0l0vsgeqdz69p4ulaa

We continue our conversation with Chattanooga poet Erika Roberts. We ask her about Black Fridays, a movement that supports Black entrepreneurship and network building in the Chattanooga area. Also, at this point the rum and wine are starting to take effect, so we get a little extra. But what else is new?

WE'RE BACK! And to kick off Season 2 we have Erika Roberts aka Velvet Poetry sharing FOUR new recipes with us. In Part one, we talk about the food (of course) and her work as a poet and creative leader in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The interview ran long, but was SO much fun we are releasing it in two parts. In part two, Erika talks about Black Fridays. That's a really great local effort to build support for local Black businesses inspired by similar work being done in other cities. Look for that to drop Friday, May 3rd! For this season, we'll be spending more time with folks we know in and around Chattanooga to highlight just how Black and beautiful our corner of the south is. You can find Erika as Velvet Poetry on Facebook and IG. And as always you can find us @CTPYall on all the things. Shout out to Highlander Research and Education Center for supporting us and thank you for listening!

A short announcement from your hosts Marcus and Jordan about some of what's in store for Chocolate Therapy this year!

Marcus and Jordan have been on a longer than anticipated hiatus, but they're back with a new Side Dish! Serving up THREE recipes for your holiday feasting along with a recap of the midterm elections and their thoughts on public education and the vanishing middle class. You know, fun topics to bring to the Thanksgiving table. Enjoy!

It's been awhile since Marcus and Jordan got together to do a little side dishing. This week, they try out Maya Angelou's famous Banana Pudding recipe. They go in on some of the major political events of the past three weeks, from appointing trash to high office to even trashier expressions of support from a certain moderate Southern Dem. They also take a minute to discuss why they love Dolly Parton.   Maya Angelou's Banana Pudding Recipe: https://www.oprah.com/food/banana-pudding