By Layla
The podcast currently has 11 episodes available.
Where does rest come into the picture on the journey of becoming a good ancestor?
In this episode, Layla and Tricia Hersey, founder of The Nap Ministry and author of Rest Is Resistance, dive deep into why we need to prioritize rest in order to thrive.
Tricia Hersey is a poet, performance artist, writer, theologian, and activist best known as the founder of the organization The Nap Ministry. She refers to herself as the Nap Bishop and advocates for the importance of rest as a racial and social justice issue.
Rest is Resistance is a must-read for anyone dedicated to becoming a good ancestor.
Together they explore:
“The experimentation for these economic systems that we are under now came on the backs and bodies of black people, on those plantations making millions and millions and millions of dollars. Without our bodies, without that machine labor, none of this world would be happening right now. People seem to think that’s over, that capitalism has morphed into something better but it’s that exact same engine that’s driving capitalism now, the idea of profit over people, the idea of working a body at machine level pace, trying to automate a body.”
- Tricia Hersey, author of Rest Is Resistance and founder of The Nap Ministry
Episode Ten, The Become A Good Ancestor Podcast
Learn more and follow Tricia:
Website: http://www.triciahersey.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thenapministry
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenapministry/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thenapministry/
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
How does one become a changemaker?
In this episode, our book club facilitator, Reema Zaman interviews host Layla Saad, about the journey that led to her role as founder of Become A Good Ancestor.
Layla Saad is a founder and CEO, educator, and best-selling author of the groundbreaking book, Me and White Supremacy. Layla is an East African, Arab, British, Black, Muslim woman who was raised in the West and lives in the Middle East. She combines her work as an educator with her unique intersection of identities to guide her audience on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation, and social change.
Through her work, Layla has helped countless change-seekers tap into their power and pursue their purpose in service of liberation, healing, and joy for all.
Together they explore:
“Faith is the right word. Because I'm very much a faith-led person and leader. And that's how I show up. So I recognise, for me, my beliefs are that it's important for us to show up for the work. And it's also equally important for us not to think that only we know everything of what it's going to look like. And I think it's so important to leave moments open for spontaneity, for miracles for things that are you know, opportunities, luck, grace, things that we can't engineer or predict. ”
- Layla F. Saad, Founder and CEO of Become A Good Ancestor
Episode Nine, The Become A Good Ancestor Podcast
Learn more and follow Layla:
Website: https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/about-layla
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laylafsaad/
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
Book Club
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/book-club
Patreon
www.patreon.com/becomeagoodancestor
BookShop
U.S.: https://bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-us
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-uk
What are the characteristics of an “aunty” in your culture, and is it perceived as a label of endearment or exile?
In this episode, Layla Saad interviews Priya Malhotra, the author of Woman of an Uncertain Age, which is a witty and poignant novel about a middle-aged widow during a time when the parameters and ideas of midlife are being challenged.
Priya has been a writer and journalist in New York for over 20 years and has contributed to publications such as Newsday, Timeout New York, the Times of India, The Japan Times, Asian Art News, Cosmopolitan, and News India Times. She has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, and she grew up in New Delhi, India.
Together they explore:
Woman of an Uncertain Age published by Bedazzled Ink Publishing Company is our October 2022 selection in the Become A Good Ancestor book club.
“I also really wanted to play with the term coming of age. We associate the term coming of age with somebody younger, traditionally young or an adolescent. You know, so what does it mean if you come of age in your 50s? So, you know, I really wanted to play with that.”
- Priya Malhotra, author of Woman of an Uncertain Age
Episode Seven, The Become A Good Ancestor Podcast
Learn more and follow Priya:
Website: https://www.priyamalhotra.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/writer_priya
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
Book Club
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/book-club
Patreon
www.patreon.com/becomeagoodancestor
BookShop
U.S.: https://bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-us
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-uk
Black joy is not just a weapon of resistance, it’s a tool for resilience, and it’s possible to use joy to access healing.
In this episode, Layla Saad interviews Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts, the author of Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration, which has been critically acclaimed and lauded by celebrities like Kerry Washington, literary writers like Kiese Laymon and Deesha Philyaw, and media outlets like Good Morning America, Essence Magazine, and USA Today.
Black Joy is a community offering in the form of a collection of lyrical essays about the way joy has evolved, even in the midst of trauma.
Together they explore:
Black Joy published by Simon & Schuster is our September 2022 selection in the Become A Good Ancestor book club.
“The next baton pass is not about, “yes, take this pain and rage and keep passing it down.” Yes, there's work to do. Yes. There's policy to change. Yes, absolutely. Let's continue to stay on the necks of the people that are trying to oppress us. Absolutely. And also, breathe, drink your water, enjoy your children, dance, and create because that's how they survived actually. And that's how we will thrive, like that's the next step.”
- Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts, author of Black Joy
Episode Seven, The Become A Good Ancestor Podcast
Learn more and follow Tracey:
Website: https://www.traceymlewis.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tmlgwriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmlewis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmlgwriter
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
Book Club
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/book-club
Patreon
www.patreon.com/becomeagoodancestor
BookShop
U.S.: https://bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-us
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-uk
The patriarchy hurts everyone, including men. Does that mean we need a man’s point of view on it?
In this episode, Layla Saad interviews Frederick Joseph, a two-time New York Times bestselling author, the International Literacy Association’s 2021 Children’s & Young Adults’ Book Award recipient, a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list-maker for marketing and advertising, an activist, and philanthropist.
His book, Patriarchy Blues: Reflections On Manhood is a thought-provoking collection of essays, poems, and short reflections, explores issues of masculinity and patriarchy from both a personal and cultural standpoint.
Together they explore:
Patriarchy Blues published by Harper Collins is our August 2022 selection in the Become A Good Ancestor book club.
“When you lead with love within spaces with people you actually do love, it makes way for the accountability to be done in a way where change can happen.”
- Frederick Joseph, author of Patriarchy Blues
Episode Six, The Become A Good Ancestor Podcast
Learn more and follow Frederick:
Website: https://frederickjoseph.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fredtjoseph/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fredtjoseph
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
Book Club
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/book-club
Patreon
www.patreon.com/becomeagoodancestor
BookShop
U.S.: https://bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-us
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-uk
Have you found your people? How have those relationships helped you love yourself more?
In this episode, Layla Saad interviews Kate Johnson, writer, Buddhist meditation teacher, and facilitator, who leads courses and retreats integrating somatic movement, social justice, creativity, and the practice of wise relationships.
Her book, Radical Friendship: Seven Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World, is an incredible piece of work chock full of stories and practical methods to nurture the relationships in your life.
Together they explore:
Radical Friendship published by Shambhala is our July 2022 selection in the Become A Good Ancestor book club.
“Another reason I wanted to write the book is I needed a book-length piece of paper to be able to write out what I feel is the spiritual practice of holding our awareness both in the ways we are privileged and the ways we’ve been oppressed by society, and learning how to be in right relationship with other people who also have their own constellation of privileges and oppressions.
That is a mindfulness practice and it is one that takes kind attention and a lot of love. The opportunity there is we get to wake up to the ways we’re not free yet. I think that can only happen in the rub of relationships.”
- Kate Johnson, author of Radical Friendship
Episode Five, The Become A Good Ancestor Podcast
Learn more and follow Kate:
Website: https://www.katejohnson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellokatejohnson/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/specialkatejohnson
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hellokatejohnson/
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
Book Club
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/book-club
Patreon
www.patreon.com/becomeagoodancestor
BookShop
U.S.: https://bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-us
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-uk
Good Ancestors, you’re on a mission to do the work that actually makes a difference. We’re on a mission to show you how to map out your unique liberation journey.
It’s time to transform from ‘change-seeker’ to ‘changemaker’. Learn to maximize your impact and prevent burnout while dismantling systemic oppression.
Enter our premiere course, Claim Your Space, a self-study to uncover your next steps towards becoming a changemaker.
In this bonus episode, Layla Saad interviews Nina Everflow, an extraordinary instructional design, and course creation consultant. This course simply wouldn’t exist without her so get ready for a behind-the-scenes listen to the story of how this course came to be.
Together they explore:
Purchase Claim Your Space here.
Learn more and follow Nina:
Social Accounts
https://www.instagram.com/nina.everflow
https://www.facebook.com/everflowcoach
Website
https://ninaeverflow.com/
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
What does your mind conjure when thinking of home? How does that feel?
In this episode, Layla Saad interviews Lola Akinmade Åkerström, an award-winning visual storyteller, international bestselling author, and travel entrepreneur.
Together they explore:
Lola’s debut fiction book, In Every Mirror She’s Black published by Sourcebooks Landmark is our June 2022 selection in the Become A Good Ancestor book club.
“Regardless of Kemi’s background or Brittany’s background or Muna’s background, the first thing you see is the color of their skin, their Blackness. But as you read the book you see that all three women have really nothing in common, they’re very different individuals. And that’s the point of the book: to show this multidimensionality to Black womanhood.”
- Lola Akinmade Åkerström, Author of ‘In Every Mirror She’s Black’
Episode Three, The Become A Good Ancestor Podcast
Learn more and follow Lola:
Social accounts
@lolaakinmade
Book social account
@ineverymirror
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
Book Club
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/book-club
Patreon
www.patreon.com/becomeagoodancestor
BookShop
U.S.: https://bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-us
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-uk
“I am interested in reclaiming a contemplation that is not exclusive to whiteness, intellectualism, ableism, or mere hobby. And as a Black woman, I am disinterested in any call to spirituality that divorces my mind from my body, voice, or people.”
– An excerpt from This Here Fleshby Cole Arthur Riley
In Episode 002 of Become A Good Ancestor, Layla Saad interviews writer, liturgist, and speaker, Cole Arthur Riley.
Cole’s NYT bestselling book, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us is our May 2022 book selection in the Become A Good Ancestor Book Club. To find out more about the book and to join us in the book club click here.
In her stunning debut, Cole weaves stories from three generations of her family with contemplative reflections to discover the necessary rituals that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.
Cole’s writing has been featured in The Atlantic, Guernica, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post. She is also the creator of Black Liturgies, a space that integrates spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black literature, and the Black body; and a project of The Center for Dignity and Contemplation where she serves as Curator. Cole currently serves as the spiritual teacher in residence with Cornell University’s Office of Spirituality and Meaning Making.
In this interview, Layla and Cole explore:
“This is the spirituality that if I’m going to do this, I want to communicate this kind of contemplation, this kind of spirituality when it’s intergenerational, when that’s embodied, when that’s emotional.”
— Cole Author Riley, Author of This Here Flesh, Episode 002 of Become A Good Ancestor Podcast
Learn more and follow Cole Arthur Riley:
Website: https://colearthurriley.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackliturgies/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackliturgist
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackliturgist/
Join the Become A Good Ancestor Community:
Website https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
Book Club https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/book-club
Patreon www.patreon.com/becomeagoodancestor
BookShop
U.S.: https://bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-us
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-uk
“To believe in the better, to believe in your future, to shout in the midst of a country on fire, to stare down the lions, to shake the foundations of the empire, to make meaning in the face of death, to fail, to create, to live, and to love–this is the stuff of hope.”
– An extract from Danté’s Debut Book ‘Shoutin’ In The Fire: An American Epistle’
In honor of the first Episode in the relaunch of The Good Ancestor Podcast, Layla Saad interviews Danté Stewart, an African-American speaker and writer on the intersecting topics of race, religion, and politics.
Dante’s debut Book ‘Shoutin’ In The Fire: An American Epistle’ is our April 2022 book selection in the newly rebranded Become A Good Ancestor book club. To find out more about the book and to join us in the book club click here.
Danté Stewart is a speaker and a writer whose work in the areas of race, religion, and politics has been featured on CNN and in The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Sojourners, The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, Comment, and elsewhere. He received his BA in sociology from Clemson University and is currently studying at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Layla Saad opens up the conversation to some inspirational topics, such as:
“Little by little I stopped going home, I started going around white people more and more. And then doing that, that came with the script that you are exceptional, that you are not like them, you are different.”
- Danté Stewart, Author of ‘Shoutin’ In The Fire: An American Epistle’
Episode One, The Good Ancestors Podcast
Learn more and follow Danté Stewart:
Website:
https://www.dantecstewart.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/stewartdantec/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/stewartdantec
Join the Become a Good Ancestor Community:
Website
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/become_a_good_ancestor/
Book Club
https://www.becomeagoodancestor.com/book-club
Patreon
www.patreon.com/becomeagoodancestor
BookShop
U.S.: https://bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-us
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goodancestorbookclub-uk
The podcast currently has 11 episodes available.