This week Skye & Amanda read a Positive Psychology article titled “Cognitive Distortions: When Your Brain Lies to You” by Courtney E. Ackerman, MA and discuss the ways that we all tend to have errors in our thinking, that can impact the way we see ourselves, those around us and the world. 

The two define cognitive distortion and its tie to our survival instincts, as well as coping mechanisms. They then run down the line of the 16 types of cognitive distortion and how they see themselves and others in each. 

The ladies discuss everything from how black and white thinking impacts our habit building to how overgeneralization gets in the way of finding love to feelings around hearing feedback during performance reviews at work. Find out who is dealing with the aftermath of gaslighting and questioning cognitive distortion vs reality and who sees how cognitive distortion has led to being controlling with loved ones. 

Listen in to learn the ways that jumping to conclusions gets in our way and is a bigger deal than many of us realize. 

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! highlight is: Support for Hurricane Ida Victims:
Imagine Water Works
Another Gulf is Possible
Southern Solidarity 
Cajun Navy Relief                              

Check out what Skye & Amanda have been loving this week:
Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu 
Cleo Sol’s new album, Mother
Black Girl Songbook Podcast 
Frères Branchiaux Candles

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores: 

Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership. 

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:

Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission.

After discussing erotic intelligence last week, Skye & Amanda decide to give erotic a go. The two read Erotique Noire/Black Erotica, an anthology of literature that explores and celebrates Black sensuality. They each give their honest opinions about whether the book met their erotic expectations and question what exactly it is they are looking for in a hot and steamy story. Amanda realized her need for a relationship build up and Skye puts us on to where she finds the best erotic and sensual audio storytelling. 

Listen in on some of the ladies’ favorite pieces from Erotique Noire and which ones they found to be more interesting. Learn about their findings, from new historical facts to sex tips. They end with sharing questions to ask yourself and your sexual partners around likes, fantasies, and desires. 

Books mentioned in this week’s episode are linked to our Bookshop.org shop* 

• Erotique Noire/Black Erotica

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! highlight is: Eat Okra

Follow Eat Okra on IG @eatokratheapp and download their app to find Black-owned restaurants in your area.                                    

Check out this episode’s Book EP for Amanda’s sex playlist 

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores: 

Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership. 

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:

Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission.

On this week’s episode, Skye and Amanda explore the question, is it possible to keep desire alive in a long term secure relationship? After reading Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence by reowned couples therapist, Esther Perel, who challenges our idea of modern love and sex in relationships, the two discuss finding the balance between love and sexual desire. 

Listen in to hear the ladies breakdown their understanding of eroticism and erotic intelligence, both before and after reading this book. With Skye currently dating and Amanda in a long term relationship, they talk through both their different and similar perspectives on Perel’s theories for how to maintain the passion - from finding the balance between separation and closeness, to open communication around sexual desires and temptation, to taking a look at how past trauma, childhood and attachment styles impact the importance of sex.

Books mentioned in this week’s episode are linked to our Bookshop.org shop* 

• Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence by Esther Perel

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! highlight is: Hanahana Beauty 

Follow Hanahana Beauty on IG @hanahana_beauty and check out their website for the products.                                        

Check out this episode’s Book EP for Amanda’s date night playlist 

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores: 

Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership. 

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:
Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission.

This week Skye & Amanda read The Games Black Girls Play by Kyra Gaunt, where Gaunt explores how the traditions of black music are intertwined in the games black girls grow up with. The ladies go down memory lane thinking of all of their girlhood fun from hand clapping songs to double dutch to cheer & dance routines. The two also discussed the forms of play that they would like to incorporate into adulthood as they work to tap into their inner child. 

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! highlight is: Rebundle
Follow Rebundle on IG @rebundle.co and check out their website for the products. 

Books mentioned in this week’s episode:

• The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores:
Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership. 

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:
Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission.

On this week's episode, Skye & Amanda are debunking the myth of adulthood. After reading the article, "For Millenials, The Dream of Adulthood is Dead- & That's OK," the two discuss what being an "adult" really means to them and how societal expectations no longer apply. Considering all that millennials have gone through, the ladies discuss the factors and decisions that are unique to their generation and how it has shaped their worlds. Hear why Skye might be struggling with certain perceptions of being an adult and how Amanda has come to embrace it.

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! highlight is: Career Shop for Women
Follow Career Shop for Women on IG @careerchasers and check out their website for the products.            

Articles mentioned in this week’s episode: 

• For Millenials, The Dream of Adulthood is Dead, & That’s Ok
• When Are You Really an Adult?
• 
  

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores: 

Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership. 

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:
Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission.

It’s the one year anniversary of the Long Story Short podcast. To celebrate, Skye & Amanda look back on the past year, discussing their feelings on having been committed to the show for this amount of time and the ways that the podcast has changed their lives for the better. 

Hear about each of their favorite episodes, which ones they’ve had the most fun doing and which episodes were the toughest to record. The two check in on where they are with their self development and how they’ve grown after reading specific books. They end by speaking the future of Long Story Short into existence. 

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores: 

Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership. 

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:

Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission.

On this week’s episode Skye & Amanda are unpacking what it truly means to be a minimalist. The two read a book that they have both been excited to get their hands on; newly released, The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less by Christine Platt. After gushing about their love for Platt, they each give their overall thoughts on the book, the difference between their original idea of minimalism vs Platt’s afrominimalist take on this attainable and culturally rich lifestyle change, and share what made this the perfect time in their lives for this read.

Listen in to learn the principles of afrominimalism, as Platt would describe them and each hosts personal reflections on some of the underlying, deep rooted reasons why people accumulate so much. Hear about Skye’s fear of buying things and the ways that Amanda now sees where she’s gone wrong in the past with her attempts at decluttering her life. 

The ladies end with a breakdown of the 4 step process to beginning to live with less, in order to make space for the things that really matter.

Books mentioned in this week’s episode are linked to our Bookshop.org shop* 

The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less by Christine Platt 

Skye & Amanda’s Pockets of Joy:

• Esther Perel ‘Where Should We Begin?’ Podcast 
• Frères Branchiaux candles, home and body products 
• Alexandra Winbush candles 

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! follow up is: Darlene Okpo, founder of Adanne Bookshop
Follow Adanne on Instagram at: @adanne.co for more about upcoming community events 

Come out to our first in person event: a discussion on All About Love by bell hooks at Adanne on Saturday, July 24th at 2pm. 

Check out this episode’s Book EP for Amanda’s cleaning playlist 

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores: 

Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership. 

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:
Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission

In this week’s episode the ladies are back with another TV x book hybrid episode! This time they’re giving book recommendations to the cast of The Best Man (1999 Movie). Skye & Amanda explain how rewatching the show recently has changed their original point of view and why it was completely necessary to talk about their thoughts. Hear the two discuss whether or not they would put up with any of the shenanigans going on within the movie. 

Books mentioned in this week’s episode are linked to our Bookshop.org shop* 

The Artist Way by Julia Cameron
The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism
The Will to Change by bell hooks
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty… by Dr. Aziz Gazipura
How to Stop Being a Bitch by Barb Bailey
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Should I Stay or Should I Go by Ramani S. Durvasula
Original Flava: Caribbean Recipes from Home by Craig McAnuff
Set by Alexandria House
Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab
State of Affairs by Esther Perel 

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! highlight is: Vilissa Thompson of Ramp Your Voice

Follow Vilissa on Instagram at: @vilissathompson and check out the website

Check out this episode’s trivia game Support Black Authors Trivia Game

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores:
Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership. 

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:
Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

The break is over! Skye & Amanda are back with all new episodes. Hear a bit of how each of the ladies spent their time off. Before they hop into their book talk for the week, Skye gives her take of the long awaited, Life After Death by Sister Soulja (spoilers are given). 

The two start their summer off with the newly released romance novel, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. Listen in as Skye & Amanda discuss how they felt about the book and ask each other “what would you do?” questions based on the storyline. Find out whether they think you could fall in love in 7 days, could they go 15 years pretending they don’t know an old flame, would they rewrite a part of their personal history to make it sound better, do they believe in second chances at love and more. 

Books mentioned in this week’s episode are linked to our Bookshop.org shop* 

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams 

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! highlight is: Jayah Arnett of My Projects Runway
Follow My Projects Runway on Instagram at @my.projectrunway

Check out this episode’s Book EP for Amanda’s young summer love playlist 

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores: 

Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership.

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:
Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission.

We all make mistakes but do we all know how to apologize to those we hurt, disappoint or frustrate? This week Skye & Amanda read When Sorry Isn’t Enough by Gary Chapman & Jennifer Thomas and discuss the 5 apology languages. The two break down Chapman and Thomas’ approach to forgiveness and reconciliation through understanding and becoming fluent in the ways that we each need to give/receive an apology in order to truly move forward.

Listen in to learn each of the 5 languages, how they are best used and which ones most resonated with each of the ladies. 

Books mentioned in this week’s episode are linked to our Bookshop.org shop* 

• When Sorry Isn’t Enough: Making Things Right with Those You Love by Gary Chapman & Jennifer Thomas

This week’s ‘Bout That Action! highlight is: Health in Her Hue 
Download their new app on Apple Podcast or Google Play.

Check out the new Black woman-owned bookstore in Brooklyn, Adanne. Visit in person, shop online and follow their IG page for upcoming events and announcements. 

Support Long Story Short and Local Bookstores: 

Libro.FM - get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use the code LSSPODCAST when signing up for your first month of membership.

Long Story Short Audience Survey: To make Long Story Short the best podcast it can be, we would love to learn more about you, our loyal listeners. Please help us by taking this brief survey.

Long Story Short Hotline: (646) 543-6232

Follow us online:

Instagram: @LongStoryShortPod
Twitter: @LSSpodcast
Facebook: @LongStoryShortPod
Email: [email protected]

*Purchasing books through Bookshop.org earns Long Story Short a small commission.