Black in the Middle

We kick off Season 4 with a New Years update, unpacking the holidays and getting those baby fresh resolutions on wax. What did we learn in 2022? What does 2023 have in store for The Middle? And what's with all the floppy top hair these days?

On this final Black in the Middle of 2022 we sit down with actor, stand-up comedian and FAMU alum Mateen Stewart. We discuss Mateen's journey from Detroit to Hollywood, all the talent and hustle that got him there and how he found stand-up along the way. Then we get real. Mateen tells us how the unexpected loss of his mother in 2020 changed his life and informs his comedy. Is it hard to be funny in the wake of tragedy? And in this age of cancel culture, what's off-limits onstage?

Mateen Stewart is a Detroit native and Los Angeles local. He can be seen on season 9 of Comedy Dynamics' "Coming to the Stage" and in the upcoming film "The Devil Runs Kansas City." Mateen has been featured onscreen with Ben Stiller and Andy Daly and hosts "Late for Work" Sundays at the Hollywood Improv. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and is a proud graduate of Florida A&M University.

Sometimes you hit RECORD and get more than you bargained for. Every week during our preproduction meeting we keep the tape running, just in case somebody says something profound. Usually all we get is funny nonsense to play before the theme song... This time we got a whole episode.

Recorded before our Kanye ep a few weeks back, this Black in the Middle is an off-the-cuff conversation about leadership, motivation, fatherhood and the duality of man.

PAY YOURSELF FIRST. T-Bone's mantra drives this week's Black in the Middle as we tackle another debate from the comment section. Does it make sense to accumulate wealth for future generations even if it comes at the expense of our own enjoyment? Is that our responsibility as black fathers in white America? And if so, how well are we pulling it off?

This episode of Black in the Middle comes straight from the comments section. A social media clip from our interview with The Situational Therapist went viral and... Y'all went off in the comments. Some of you agreed. Some of you disagreed. It was a fantastic back and forth.

One comment that really made us think involved White Adjacency, or the idea that POC in white spaces enjoy life advantages based solely on a proximity to whiteness. Do we think that's true? Is it unavoidable in the middle? And does it explain why we've always felt stuck in between? Listen up and find out.

A few weeks ago we had Glenn Sandifer II on the pod to discuss his High Value Man relationship book, 'The Middle Ground.' This week we're cracking the book back open to unpack our thoughts on Mr. Sandifer's theories. Where did we agree? Where did we disagree? And was Herm really mad though?

This week's Black in the Middle is off the cuff as Kanye West invades our regularly scheduled Autumn Update. We discuss Ye's latest controversy and then unpack what's been going on in our three corners of the world... Business, parenting and relationship

This week we sit down with Derrick "The Situational Therapist" Hoard to discuss his path from nuerodivergent child of a tyrannical mother to successful therapist and TikTok star. What starts as an interview develops into something bigger as Tim, Travis and Herman open up about their own parenting and relationship struggles. This is a raw and revealing episode you won't want to miss.

Derrick Hoard is a licensed marriage and family therapist, avid gamer, and adult survivor of childhood abuse and neglect. He's also The Situational Therapist, a social media persona he uses to straight talk complex psychological issues and remove the stigma of experiencing childhood abuse. Derrick's sometimes challenging but always engaging videos have amassed over 900K followers on TikTok. 

It's all about the music on this week's pod. The boys take a trip down memory lane and discuss their most influential songs and artist through the different stages of life. We had to reach WAY back into the vault for this previously UNRELEASED episode from Season One.

We do not own the rights to any of the music mentioned. All rights belong to the respective owners. No Copyright Infringement Intended.

Romantic relationships are challenging under the best of circumstances. Throw in the rigors of an increasingly demanding business world and you have a recipe for dating frustration and failure. On this week’s pod the boys interview author, executive leader, business strategist (and fellow FAMU alum) Glenn Sandifer II. Glenn’s new book, The Middle Ground, explores the complex dynamics of business and romance.

Herm wants you to know that Glenn’s views are his own as we discuss the differences between High Value Men and High Value Women, why there’s so much friction when you choose the wrong kind of partner and how successful men can avoid relationship failure in a modern world.