Local Color

Jason V. talks with entrepreneur Tony Jia. When he was young, Tony’s parents moved from Beijing, China to North America, living first in Vancouver, Canada then putting down roots in Fairfax County, Virginia. As those roots took hold, so did the idea of entrepreneurship take hold in Tony’s mind.

Using his passion for building things and the spirit of his business-minded father, Tony took the less traveled path to find himself and build businesses that protect and celebrate Asian identity. 

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonya Miller Hall is currently Senior Advisor of Arts and Culture in the Baltimore Mayor’s Office. Tonya returned home to Baltimore after building a PR career in New York City. Though NYC gave Tonya many professional experiences, coming home to Charm City gave her one experience she never expected — her name in the local paper.

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason V.’s conversation continues with brothers Donta and Will Henson, the founders of Los Hermanos Tequila. The brothers had each taken a different path in life, but they shared a love of tequila. The pandemic brought them back together, and they decided to turn their passion into a business. They named their tequila brand after the unbreakable bond of their brotherhood.

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brothers Donta and Will Henson are the founders of Los Hermanos Tequila. They’d each taken a different path in life, but they shared a love of tequila. The pandemic brought them back together, and they decided to turn their passion into a business, naming their tequila brand after the unbreakable bond of their brotherhood.

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DaQuan Brown, founder of Woo’s Miracle Moss, learned about sea moss while researching holistic medicine to help his grandmother recover after a surgical procedure. He took his knowledge of the subject and turned it into a business, where he packages and sells sea moss and educates clients on alternative medicine.

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios. The views expressed are solely Jason V.'s.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Names hold power in our lives, and life has a weird way of moving in a circle. For A’Lelia Bundles, her name shaped her life, and in turn, her life circled back to her name. She’s the great great granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker, but it was something she kept to herself because she wanted to be her own person.

In this revisited conversation, listen as we talk about A’Lelia’s childhood in Indianapolis, making her own way in media and journalism, and how from graduate school to the present day, A’Lelia carries and protects the stories of her ancestors as well as her own story.

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fran Ngong worked in corporate America and suffered from venous insufficiency and extremely dry skin. After discovering shea butter, Fran decided to start a business, Fran’s Organic Bodycare, that shares the wealth of “good health” with the world.

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, Jason V. sits down with Elizabeth Byler, founder of Eden Environments. Listen as Elizabeth talks about the culture shock of moving to the U.S. from East Africa, their inspiration to start their own business, and the “invisible” world of size inclusive and trauma informed interior design.

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the year comes to a close, I want to replay my interview with (now outgoing) Your Public Radio President and CEO, LaFontaine E. Oliver. In January 2023, he'll join New York Public Radio as their President and CEO.

I want to personally thank LaFontaine (among others who are current and former WYPR employees) for taking a chance on me and giving me the opportunity to distribute my podcast through Your Public Studios. It's already led to great opportunities and from an analytics standpoint...things are looking up! I'm hard at work on new episodes and ideas for 2023. Happy (almost) New Year!

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason V. talks with Lisa Snowden, founder and editor in chief of The Baltimore Beat, a Black owned and operated nonprofit newspaper. Lisa grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, and after receiving her degree in journalism, she started her career on TV Hill. After years of honing her craft including a stint in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Lisa launched, then re-launched, The Baltimore Beat to provide local Black stories by local Black journalists, in an industry that routinely struggles with representation in the newsroom. 

Local Color is hosted and produced by Jason V. and is distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.