Brown Enough

Chris wrote an essay for Modern Love in 2019 about dating—and breaking up with—white women that went viral. Hear all about the essay, its aftermath and how friend-of-the-show Grasie Mercedes had a similar experience that led to her reaching out to Chris! This episode was originally aired as part of Chris' documentary podcast, Rubirosa. To hear more, scroll down to the bottom of this feed and click on "Rubirosa Episode 1: Haunted." 

To read Chris' Modern Love essay, click here.

Today, we’re listening to actor Grasie Mercedes, who stars in NBC’s Grand Crew. Though she identifies as Afro Latina, she's never been cast as such. We go deep into why that might be. Plus, casting director Victor Vazquez tells us about why it’s important to see ourselves reflected on more creative projects. And how that representation can’t be monolithic

What and who do you include in a national Latino museum?

That’s a question that many have been asking since late 2020, when Congress green-lit the creation of The National Museum of the American Latino. It’s a new addition to the Smithsonian Institution’s roster of national museums, many of which intend to preserve the history and culture of the United States.

The fight to create The National Museum of the American Latino spans across decades. The idea was sparked by a damning 1994 report, commissioned by the Smithsonian itself, which concluded that the institution had a pattern of systematically excluding Latinos and Latinas from its programming and its staff. One of its top recommendations? To create a museum highlighting Latinos and Latinas in this country.

Now, in 2022, the museum is making moves. Even though there’s no building to house it yet, the National Museum of the American Latino has appointed a board, hired an inaugural director, and has even debuted its first show in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. In the midst of all this, many are beginning to wonder what the vision of this museum will be, and how it plans to capture the wide diversity of Latino history and culture in the United States.

Show page: https://www.latinousa.org/2022/09/02/latinomuseum/

Apple Podcast Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-a-national-latino-museum/id79681317?i=1000578129968

What started off as a hobby crafting beer at home turned into a real business for Juan Camilo, who’s now the founder and owner of Dyckman Beer Company in New York. Juan was born in the Dominican Republic and at the age of five he came to the U.S., where he grew up between Washington Heights and the Bronx. Using his cultural influences, Juan infuses Dominican flavors to make unique craft beer. Listen to learn more about Juan and the secret recipes he's working on.

Did you know that wine actually has roots that date back to Asia? There's a lot we get wrong about wine, according to our guest Justine Belle Lambright, a co-founder of Kalchē Wine Cooperative and expert on all things food & beverage. Listen to learn about Justine's experience in the industry and how they're changing the game with their own business.

Growing up, Jesse Havea didn’t see themselves represented on screen or on stages of Broadway shows. But everything changed when they started doing drag under the name Brita Filter. Being the first Polynesian queen on RuPaul's Drag Race inspired Brita to carve out their own space in the performance world through drag and find ways to bridge divides with their conservative Mormon family members.

New Year got you feeling reflective? Us, too. So today we're bringing you a conversation between Chris and Dr. Kira Hudson Banks, an expert on race and how humans make meaning out of it. Chris walks through the steps of what called "Racial Identity Development Theory" with Dr. Banks -- from the first time he noticed his own race to the moments in his life that have changed how he thinks about his place in the world. 

Learn more about Dr. Banks' work and listen to her podcast: Raising Equity

 

We are looking for stories about your names. Do you have a name that’s unique, one that’s hard for others to say? Do you have a funny story, an origin story? What do you think is special or beautiful about your name? Let us know! Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected]. You could wind up on a future episode.

Lisa Solomon is a mixed media artist and author obsessed with color. So who better than her to explain the beauty behind the color Brown?

We are looking for stories about your names. Do you have a name that’s unique, one that’s hard for others to say? Do you have a funny story, an origin story? What do you think is special or beautiful about your name? Let us know! Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected]. You could wind up on a future episode.

Twenty one year-old Nalleli Cobo spent more than a decade fighting to shut down an oil well across the street from her home in South Los Angeles. Nalleli says it's no coincidence that this well, and thousands of others like it, exist primarily in communities of color. Tune in to hear about the activism that won Nalleli the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize -- aka the Green Nobel Prize -- and what she says we can all do in the fight against climate change.

Chris gets a storytelling masterclass from Martina Castro, the founder and CEO of Adonde Media, a multilingual podcast company. Martina is the host of several shows including the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. But you’ll be surprised to hear that speaking Spanish at home was a challenge for her growing up. Now, she is an amazing storyteller both in English and Spanish on a mission to make stories that reach global audiences.