//SPOILERS FOR LONG DIVISION// Mississippi author Kiese Laymon joins us for our season finale. We discuss the revised version of his novel Long Division, explore themes of freedom, language, and timelessness, and talk about creating art separate from the white imagination. Kiese Laymon is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon is the Libby Shearn Moody Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice University. Laymon is the author of Long Division, which won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for fiction, and the essay collection, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, named a notable book of 2021 by the New York Times critics. Laymon's bestselling memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir, won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and was named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times. The audiobook, read by the author, was named the Audible 2018 Audiobook of the Year. Laymon is the recipient of 2020-2021 Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard. Laymon is at work on the books, Good God, and City Summer, Country Summer, and a number of other film and television projects. He is the founder of "The Catherine Coleman Literary Arts and Justice Initiative," a program based out of the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University, aimed at aiding young people in Jackson get more comfortable reading, writing, revising and sharing on their on their own terms, in their own communities. Kiese Laymon was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2022. RESOURCES * Long Division [https://bookshop.org/a/93534/9781982174828] by Kiese Laymon * "We Need to Reckon with the Rot at the Core of Publishing [https://lithub.com/we-need-to-reckon-with-the-rot-at-the-core-of-publishing/]" by Elaine Castillo. LitHub. BOOKSHOP https://bookshop.org/shop/hoodooplantmamas BE A PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

We're joined by Starr, founder of Reckon's Black Joy. In this episode, we discuss the highs and lows of healing, leading when you feel unqualified, and Black joy as our birthright. Jonece Starr Dunigan (She/her/hers) is a journalist who gives the microphone to communities that are often ignored by mainstream media. Guided by empathy, her reporting centers the stories, movement work and voices of Black, brown and queer people. Her writing strives to amplify and empower readers instead of exploiting them of their traumas. Starr is also the founder of Reckon's Black Joy (formerly Black Magic Project), a media brand under Reckon that's highlighting the multiple ways we as Black people cultivate liberating joy in our lives. RESOURCES * "Blessings six years of Black joy have taught me. [https://www.reckon.news/black-joy/2023/02/blessings-six-years-of-black-joy-taught-me.html]" Jonece Starr Dunigan. Black Joy. * Nolaskinsentials [https://www.nolaskinsentials.com/] * Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good [https://bookshop.org/a/93534/9781849353267] edited by adrienne marie brown * Diving with a Purpose [https://divingwithapurpose.org/media/] BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

In this episode, we're joined by Veronica Agard as she discusses her educational project, Ancestors in Training. We think about what how to honor our ancestors, what we want to leave our future descendants, and how to best utilize our time here on Earth. Veronica Agard (Ifáṣadùn Fásanmí) (she/her) is a poet, writer, community educator, and connector at the intersections of Black identity, wellness, representation, and culture. She experiments with creative healing modalities and puts theories learned into practice. She curated the Who Heals the Healer series and the conference of the same name and facilitates the Ancestors in Training educational project. Her initiatives are housed in her freelance platform, Vera Icon LLC. Described as living in the future, Veronica is guided by the past and carries out her dreams in the present. RESOURCES * Ancestors in Training Syllabus [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gX8rr1g0r_TohAIXok0HgZfm5xw9KyY3t2PZn5Z63sk/edit?usp=sharing] * Ancestors in Training Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/lists/ancestors-in-training-syllabus] * Legendborn [https://www.tracydeonn.com/legendborn] by Tracy Deonn * Dani's Writing Residency in Senegal [https://www.gofundme.com/f/danis-writing-residency-in-senegal?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined] GoFundMe * "The Science Behind Smudging [https://uplift.love/the-science-behind-smudging/]." Uplift. * "Are you ready to become your descendants wildest dreams? Ancestors in Training shows you how. [https://www.reckon.news/black-joy/2022/11/unleash-the-superpower-of-your-lineage-with-ancestors-in-training.html]" Black Joy x Reckon BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

Are you ready to feel more energized, focused, and supported? Go to zen.ai/hoodoo [http://zen.ai/hoodoo] and add nourishing, plant-based foods to fuel you from sunrise to sunset. In this episode, Leah needs a literary agent, and Dani needs help finding affordable housing in DC. We discuss our experiences with Black excellence and how it's overrated, steeped in capitalism, and ultimately ruins art. RESOURCES * "Where the Parents [https://leahnw.medium.com/where-the-parents-at-black-children-in-white-spaces-bfc1531ba1cb?sk=5d9a72fdd103b4af8442d37b855069c7]" Medium. Leah Nicole Whitcomb. * "Black youth face rising rates of depression, anxiety, suicide. [https://edsource.org/2022/black-youth-face-rising-rates-of-depression-anxiety-suicide/666405]" Ed Source. Carolyn Jones. * "It's not about the children," Black writers on the truth behind banned books. [https://www.reckon.news/black-joy/2023/03/its-not-about-the-children-black-writers-on-the-truth-behind-banned-books.html]Black Joy. Danielle Buckingham. * Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer. [https://bookshop.org/p/books/write-for-life-creative-tools-for-every-writer-a-6-week-artist-s-way-program-julia-cameron/18566825] Julia Cameron * Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am [https://www.netflix.com/title/81074570]. Netflix. * "We're not good enough to not practice. [https://www.kieselaymon.com/blog/2015/1/11/were-not-good-enough-to-not-practice]" Kiese Laymon. BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

In this episode we're joined by Nancey B. Price of the Dreaming in Color Podcast. We discuss her work, Black people's relationships to dreams, our childhood nightmares, and how daydreaming influences our creative process. Nancey B. Price is a self-taught collage artist, writer and storyteller with an appreciation for all things Black, Southern and imaginative. In all of her creative pursuits, she seeks to build worlds in which Black people can exist freely in all their beauty and complexity. Her visual works have been featured in various publications, including O, the Oprah Magazine, Garden & Gun Magazine, BlackJoy x Reckon, and The Bitter Southerner. She uses words and performance to take her audience on a journey of selfhood, spirituality, and ancestry. Her stories have been featured on You Had Me At Black, and as the executive producer and host of the podcast, Dreaming In Color with Nancey B. Price, she highlights the importance of dreamtelling in the Black community by creating space for each of her guests to share a dream story and deconstruct its meaning in their waking lives. Follow Nancey B. Price on Instagram (@nanceybprice [https://www.instagram.com/nanceybprice/]) and Dreaming in Color (@dreamingincolorpod [https://www.instagram.com/dreamingincolorpod/]). If you'd like to support her work, you can donate to her GoFundMe [https://www.gofundme.com/f/dreaming-in-color-sponsorship-drive?utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined]. AD: Are you ready to feel more energized, focused, and supported? Go to zen.ai/hoodoo [http://zen.ai/hoodoo] and add nourishing, plant-based foods to fuel you from sunrise to sunset. RESOURCES * Dreaming In Color with Nancey B. Price [https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dreaming-in-color] * "Black people and their plants: It's more than a lifestyle [https://www.reckon.news/black-joy/2023/03/black-people-and-their-plants-its-more-than-a-lifestyle.html]." by Danielle Buckingham. BlackJoy x Reckon * Dream Singers: The African American Way with Dreams [https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Singers-African-American-Dreams/dp/1630260487] by Anthony Shafton * "God Visits Me in a Dream [https://blackfemme.co/god-visits-me-in-a-dream/]" by Danielle Buckingham. Black Femme Collective. * "What the Earth Carries [https://www.raisingmothers.com/what-the-earth-carries-danielle-buckingham/]" by Danielle Buckingham. Raising Mothers. * "Episode 202: Reclaiming My Dream [https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Swth82rmRNKhxUiCfta6D?si=fc41fa5a6b73442b]" Leah Nicole Whitcomb. Dreaming in Color with Nancy B. Price.  BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

We're back y'all! For our Season 6 premiere, we're talking about how we conjure alternate realities in our writing. We discuss the documented gaps in the historical lives of Black people, our resistance to writing about the past, as well as how to honor our ancestor's stories. We think about the timelessness of the South, the optimism in current afroftuturist work, and the purpose of dystopian stories.  RESOURCES * Long Division (revised [https://bookshop.org/p/books/long-division-kiese-laymon/16690006]) by Kiese Laymon * I am - Daily Affirmations [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/i-am-daily-affirmations/id874656917] App * Love, Lizzo [https://www.hbomax.com/feature/urn:hbo:feature:GYzWbGgR2pma1rgEAAAAt] (documentary) * "The Limitations of the Slave Narrative Collection [https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/articles-and-essays/introduction-to-the-wpa-slave-narratives/limitations-of-the-slave-narrative-collection]"  * Kindred [https://bookshop.org/p/books/kindred-octavia-e-butler/11629395] by Octavia Butler * Bloodchild and Other Stories [https://bookshop.org/p/books/bloodchild-and-other-stories-octavia-e-butler/577106?ean=9781583226988] by Octavia Butler * "Reclaiming Our Time [https://www.torchliteraryarts.org/post/friday-feature-julia-mallory]" by Julia Mallory  * "You Will Know Your Tribe by Their Joy [https://www.instagram.com/p/CO1KpJgn_p9/?hl=en]" by Julia Mallory * Pet [https://bookshop.org/p/books/pet-akwaeke-emezi/12112023] by Akwaeke Emezi * Earthseed: The Complete Series [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/earthseed-octavia-e-butler/1126539158] by Octavia Butler BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

In this episode, we go over our Spotify Wrapped, recap our personal highs and lows of 2022, and discuss our hopes for 2023. RESOURCES * Levar Burton Reads [https://www.levarburtonpodcast.com/] podcast * WNBA Authentic Voices Fellowship [https://wnba-books.org/wnba-authentic-voices-program/] * Courage to Write Grant [https://degrootfoundation.org/discovering-emerging-voices/courage-to-write/] * "Sometimes It Works Out but Sometimes It Don't [https://open.substack.com/pub/leahwhitcomb/p/sometimes-it-works-out-but-sometimes?r=17juyj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web]" Leah's newsletter. * "These Black Witches Are More Magical Than Halloween Myths Would Have You Believe [https://madamenoire.com/1326918/these-black-witches-are-more-magical-than-halloween-myths-would-have-you-believe/]." MadameNoire. Leah Nicole Whitcomb * "Won't You Celebrate Yourself [https://leahwhitcomb.substack.com/p/wont-you-celebrate-yourself]" Leah's Newsletter BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Tasha, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

Let's get real about therapy! Dr. Money joins us to discuss "Ep 27 When Therapy is Not Enough." We get into Black Femininst Narrative Therapy, what it is, and how Dr. Money uses it in her practice. We discuss systemic suffering masquerading as mental illness, the ethics of involuntary hospitalization, and how everyone thinks they're sicker than they actually are. Dr. Money also answers your listener questions! Dr. Montinique "Money" McEachern (her/she) is a Black lesbian healer with her own practice, Combahee Therapy, based in what is now called Philadelphia, but is the original home of the Lenape people. She is the oldest child of her momma, and grew up surrounded with the stories of Black women, so it is no surprise that her therapeutic approach merges Black feminism and Narrative Therapy. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has a PhD in MFT as well. When she's not therapizing, she is hosting QueerWOC: The Podcast, a podcast for the social and mental wellbeing of sapphics of color. RESOURCES * "EP 27 When Therapy Is Not Enough [https://zencastr.com/z/a7xmT1CR]" * "The Combahee River Collective Statement" PDF [https://americanstudies.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Keyword%20Coalition_Readings.pdf] * Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome [https://www.joydegruy.com/post-traumatic-slave-syndrome]. Dr. Joy DeGruy * The Salt Eaters [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-salt-eaters-toni-cade-bambara/6700790?ean=9780679740766] by Toni Cade Bambara * "Session 271: Being Mindful About How We Use Mental Health Terminology [https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xquAFdYAmt615rQRCYcGg?si=aa5da80785df4d9a]." Therapy for Black Girls * "Ep 107: Twenty Twenty DONE [https://open.spotify.com/episode/7CJWGpAKwZGH1hKNJnBIor?si=TBIxIEMXTc6EBOMQQrvj3A]." QueerWOC * What's Your Grief Podcast [https://open.spotify.com/show/5MhN8AGI7BtpfbP0FxCBgI?si=85082416549442e4] * Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health [https://open.spotify.com/show/58qWkCeg2Y5uvA15PhAjZl?si=d4ff22dfd841463c] * "Ep 112: Take a Mental Health Day [https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rrsnnsU1DoCYlVHScfNL6?si=55cb305f14124380]." QueerWOC * "Ep 108: Do it for the Dopamine [https://open.spotify.com/episode/7gbYpVPcmFm2jGeqMvXdt8?si=e87ea6dc4ba8442b]." QueerWOC * My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies [https://bookshop.org/p/books/my-grandmother-s-hands-racialized-trauma-and-the-pathway-to-mending-our-hearts-and-bodies-resmaa-menakem/6454227] by Resmaa Menakem * Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery [https://bookshop.org/p/books/sisters-of-the-yam-black-women-and-self-recovery-bell-hooks/11024262?aid=16068&ean=9781138821682&listref=black-feminist-toolkit] by bell hooks * Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza [https://bookshop.org/p/books/borderlands-la-frontera-the-new-mestiza-5th-edition-gloria-anzaldua/18243812?ean=9781951874025] by Gloria Anzaldua BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Tasha, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

It's the end of the world...as we know it. We talk with Cherise Morris about her work, our anxieties and frustrations around the end of the world, and the hope we need to build a better future. Cherise Morris is an award-winning writer, interdisciplinary performance artist, ritualist, spirit worker and healer born and raised in rural Virginia and living in Detroit, MI. RESOURCES * "MEMO: It's Almost the End of the World [https://cherisemorris.substack.com/p/memo-its-almost-the-end-of-the-world]" Substack. Cherise Morris. * Parable of the Sower [https://bookshop.org/p/books/parable-of-the-sower-octavia-e-butler/17337777] by Octavia Butler * "The End of the World [https://open.substack.com/pub/leahwhitcomb/p/the-end-of-the-world?r=17juyj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web]" Substack. Leah Nicole Whitcomb * "MEMO: We are Living [https://cherisemorris.substack.com/p/memo-we-are-living]" Substack. Cherise Morris. * Cherise Morris Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/cherisenm] BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Tasha, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

In this episode we're joined by the lovely Sirene Wata. We discuss African water spirits and deities, water as a tool of enslavement and liberation, and the many ways water has showed up in our lives, writing and work. CONTENT WARNING: Mention of Suicidal Ideation 19:25-21:22 Sirene Martin is a multimedia artist hailing from south central Kentucky. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Pan-African Studies from the University of Louisville with an emphasis in Gender and Sexuality studies. In her art, Sirene seeks to be in conversation with the ancestral spirits that hold her. These conversations act as a portal as she travels into the creative space to conjure worlds and realities that are often refused to her in the material world as a Black Transgender Woman. As a Hoodoosaint, she is a historian and archivist. Recording and caring for the stories of her ancestors, her art elevates the rich Root culture and religions of the Black folks that made Kentucky their home. RESOURCES * American Horror Stories Installment 2, Episode 5 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmwQmHGcVaw] * "Ep. 52 Black is King! [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-a-little-juju-podcast-43086878/episode/ep-52-black-is-king-69946474/]" A Little Juju Podcast * Bite Size Halloween [https://www.hulu.com/series/bite-size-halloween-2b6c50a7-535b-4a37-9bf5-e075ab26a68b] * Perfect Black [https://www.kentuckypress.com/9780813151151/perfect-black/] by Crystal Wilkinson * "Ep 16: We Perfect Black with Crystal Wilkinson [https://open.spotify.com/episode/76gHrwIqWDjiEXYIwBsKw9?si=nhB2OIVkScm-eP9LxINqUQ]" Hoodoo Plant Mamas * "Water [https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZXkSw7exEosMEWhkDnl3P?si=b3eab410aa434a45]" by Joy Postell BE A PATRON!  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Tasha, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.