In this long-form, unscripted year-end episode, Jacob Newsome is joined by returning guest and chosen-family collaborator Brandon Ellington for a raw, wide-ranging conversation about survival, rupture, and transformation in 2025.

What begins as a reflection on the growth of Power of the Narrative, from global listeners to interviews with activists, artists, and families shaped by loss, unfolds into something deeper: an unfiltered reckoning with money shame, institutional betrayal, abusive relationship dynamics, spiritual disillusionment, and the slow, nonlinear work of reclaiming one’s life.

Jacob speaks openly about financial precarity, job loss, and the psychological residue of growing up without material safety, naming how capitalism, trauma, and shame intertwine, especially for Black and marginalized communities. Rather than romanticizing struggle, the episode reframes survival as data, not deficiency, and rejects the lie that worth is measured by stability or silence.

Brandon mirrors and grounds the conversation with his own story of upheaval: leaving a harmful relationship, rebuilding a sense of home, rediscovering joy through creation, self-care, and radical self-prioritization. Together, they explore what it means to choose oneself without apology, even when healing is incomplete and the future uncertain.

The episode moves fluidly through deeply personal terrain and broader cultural critique:
– how institutions protect themselves rather than people
– how elders can minimize harm in the name of order
– how silence is often mistaken for maturity
– and how telling the truth publicly carries real social cost

Jacob reflects on leaving spaces that could not hold queer, trauma-informed truth, and on channeling what he learned into new work, including trauma-informed programs for system-involved youth and a forthcoming narrative nonfiction book rooted in witnessing, accountability, and human complexity.

There is laughter. There is grief. There is anger without spectacle. And beneath it all runs a single throughline: narrative is not decoration, it is power. Whoever controls the story controls what is remembered, what is forgiven, and what becomes possible.

This episode does not offer clean resolution or packaged healing. Instead, it stands as a living record of two people mid-transformation; choosing clarity over comfort, integrity over belonging, and truth over containment.

In mythic terms, this is not the return of the hero seeking approval.
It is the departure of the storyteller who no longer needs permission.

Host: Jacob Newsome
Guest: Collin Roach
Production: Power of the Narrative (in partnership with KPFT Queer Voices)
Recorded & Mixed by: Jacob Newsome
Full Video Episode: Coming soon

In this charged and inspiring conversation, Jacob Newsome sits down with Collin Roach — a 23-year-old actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler — whose story is a testament to resilience, creativity, and rebirth.

From a childhood cut short by concussions to building a new world through film, Collin reveals how loss, imagination, and discipline shaped him into a multidimensional artist. The conversation unpacks what it means to belong in a world that tries to box you in, and how performance became both therapy and purpose.

Together they explore:

• Collin’s journey from athlete to actor to professional wrestler

• How a devastating injury unlocked his storytelling gift

• The art and psychology of wrestling as performance

• His collaboration with filmmaker Wayne Cella on Insignificant

• Portraying queer love with authenticity and respect, as an Ally

• Grieving lost dreams and finding power in reinvention

• Legacy, identity, and the weight of being young, gifted, and Black in Hollywood

This episode is an anthem for anyone standing at a crossroads — unsure which dream to chase first, but unwilling to stop running.

Quote from Collin:

“I don’t want to be an actor. I don’t want to be a wrestler.
I want to be an entertainer — the best version of all of it.”

Follow & Support:
Website: ⁠Power of the Narrative⁠
Instagram: ⁠**@PoweroftheNarrative⁠ | ⁠@jnewsome232⁠ | ⁠@collinrroach⁠
TikTok: ⁠@jacob.newsome3⁠
Watch: ⁠Insignificant⁠ (directed by Wayne Cella)
Support the work: ⁠Buy Jacob a Coffee⁠

Listen on Spotify, KPFT 90.1 FM, and wherever stories wrestle their way into truth.

Host: Jacob Newsome
Guest: Raquel Willis
Production: Power of the Narrative
Recorded & Mixed by: Jacob Newsome & Riverside.fm
Full Video Episode: Coming soon

In this luminous and soul-stirring conversation, Jacob sits down with Raquel Willis, award-winning Black trans activist, journalist, and author of The Risk It Takes to Bloom, to explore what it means to embody truth, power, and liberation in a world that often denies both.

Together, they trace the sacred threads of Southern roots, ancestral wisdom, and trans brilliance. Raquel opens up about her father’s influence, the fire of her grandmother, and the spirits of movement ancestors like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Monica Roberts, and more. She reflects on the delicate line between survival and freedom, the price of authenticity, and the revolutionary magic of belonging.

This episode is a meditation on becoming, on what it costs, what it gives, and what still waits to be born.

They discuss:

• Reclaiming the South as a cradle of liberation

• Lessons from The Risk It Takes to Bloom

• The beauty and danger of Black trans visibility

• Desire, legacy, and love as radical acts

• The politics of grief, joy, and spiritual resistance

Raquel’s Call to the World:
“Be radically defiant. Do not obey.”

Follow & Support:
Website: ⁠Power of the Narrative⁠
Instagram: ⁠**@PoweroftheNarrative⁠ | ⁠@jnewsome232⁠ | ⁠@raquelwillis_⁠
TikTok: ⁠@jacob.newsome3⁠
Book: ⁠The Risk It Takes to Bloom⁠
⁠

A Father’s Search for Truth, Justice, and a Son Who Never Came Home

Host: Jacob Newsome
Guest: Willie Smith
Production: Power of the Narrative (in partnership with Texas Center for the Missing)
Recorded & Mixed by: Jacob Newsome and Riverside.fm
Full Video Episode: Coming soon

On January 12, 2018, 19-year-old Jared Chavis got into a black Ford Fusion in Houston, Texas—and was never seen again. Seven years later, his father, Willie Smith, is still searching for answers.

In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Jacob sits down with Mr. Smith to revisit the night Jared vanished, the botched investigation, the heartbreak of unanswered questions, and the love of a father who refuses to give up.

Together they discuss:

• The events surrounding Jared’s disappearance

• The silence and negligence of law enforcement

• The emotional toll on Jared’s son and sister

• What it means to seek justice in a system designed to forget

• A direct call to those who were there that night

This episode is more than a podcast. It’s a plea. A demand. A sacred record.
And we won’t stop until justice speaks.

Crime Stoppers Tip Line:
$10,000 REWARD for information leading to Jared’s location and the arrest of those responsible.
Contact Houston Crime Stoppers or call 713-222-TIPS

https://crime-stoppers.org/solve-crime/unsolved-crime/5611318

• Website: Power of the Narrative

• Instagram: @PoweroftheNarrative | @jnewsome232

• TikTok: @jacob.newsome3

• Support the work: ⁠Buy Jacob a Coffee⁠

  Share your story: ⁠Submit via this form⁠ All Links: ⁠Linktree

  Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere your spirit searches for truth.

Host: Jacob Newsome
Guest: Wayne Cella
Production: Power of the Narrative
Recorded & Mixed by: Jacob Newsome and Riverside.fm
Full Youtube Video Episode: Coming soon

What if the trauma we survive becomes the raw material for the art we create?

In this brave and soul-deep conversation, Jacob sits down with filmmaker and actor Wayne Cella to explore what it means to live and create after childhood sexual abuse, queer erasure, and years of silencing. With searing honesty and poetic clarity, Wayne reflects on healing as a nonlinear process, filmmaking as exorcism, and friendship as both mirror and medicine.

Together, they unpack:

• Surviving priest-perpetrated abuse in childhood

• Making art from grief, rage, and queer becoming

• Trauma responses vs. true desire in intimacy

• Why stories save us and why silence kills

• How chosen family heals what bloodlines could not

Wayne’s films Insignificant, Talisman, and Mercury aren’t just projects. They’re ritual containers for reclaiming voice, queerness, and power.
This is a conversation about the ache of memory, the genius of inner children, and the courage it takes to stay alive when the world tells you you shouldn’t be.

If you’ve ever felt like your softness was unsafe or like your rage had nowhere to go this one’s for you.

Connect with Us:
Website: Power of the Narrative – Empowering change through storytelling and healing education
Instagram: @PoweroftheNarrative | @jnewsome232
TikTok: @jacob.newsome3
Support the work: Buy Jacob a Coffee
Share your story: Submit via this form
All Links: Linktree

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your soul-fed.

In this devastating and urgent episode of Power of the Narrative, Jacob Newsome sits with Alejandro Carrillo and advocates to share the story of Mayolo Carrillo—a father, grandfather, and beloved brother who vanished near Eagle Pass after trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border to say goodbye to his dying mother.

Mayolo's family opens up about their heartbreak, the systemic failures they’ve faced, and the haunting silence from investigators. They are doing what law enforcement refuses to: searching every day, following every clue, and demanding the dignity Maolo deserves.

This is not just one family's grief, it's a mirror reflecting how immigrant lives are treated as disposable.

• “He risked his life to say goodbye.”

• “We’re doing the police’s job.”

• “To them, he’s just another person. To us, he’s everything.”

Featuring: Alex Carrillo

Host: Jacob Newsome

⁠Linktree – All the links⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Buy Jacob a coffee⁠⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠⁠Power of the Narrative⁠⁠⁠ – Empowering change through storytelling and healing education Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@PoweroftheNarrative⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠@jnewsome232⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠@jacob.newsome3⁠⁠⁠

Your story matters. Tell it here: ⁠⁠⁠Submit via this form⁠⁠⁠

Listen On: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your soul-fed.

https://crimesolverscentral.com/blog/post?name=a-sons-final-journey-the-disappearance-of-mayolo-23084

https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/missing-person-namus-mp143114

On April 23, 2021, Iris Santos, a radiant, fierce, 22-year-old trans woman, was murdered outside a Chick-fil-A in Houston. Her mother, Maria Carreon , never received a call from police. She found out through neighbors.

In this deeply intimate and heartbreaking conversation, Maria tells the story the media never fully captured: the pain of losing her youngest child, the coldness of the system, and the spiritual love that Iris carried everywhere she went.

“She hugged me over and over before she left,” Maria says. “Like she knew it would be the last time.”

This episode is a sacred testimony of grief, justice, and a mother’s refusal to let her daughter’s name fade.

Featuring: Maria Carreon

Email: [email protected]

Tiktok: Marita482
Host: Jacob Newsome
Justice for Iris Santos

Learn more or share tips: [713-222-TIPS]

https://crime-stoppers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Iris-Santos-Revised-Media-Flyer-HPD-539367-21-Murder-@-8600-Westheimer-Rd.-Inv.-M.-Barrow.pdfhttps://crime-stoppers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Iris-Santos-Revised-Media-Flyer-HPD-539367-21-Murder-@-8600-Westheimer-Rd.-Inv.-M.-Barrow.pdf

Content Warning: This episode includes discussions of anti-trans violence, murder, grief, police neglect, and trauma. Listener discretion is advisedHow to support:

⁠Linktree – All the links⁠⁠

⁠⁠Buy Jacob a coffee⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠Power of the Narrative⁠⁠ – Empowering change through storytelling and healing education Instagram: ⁠⁠@PoweroftheNarrative⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠@jnewsome232⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@jacob.newsome3⁠⁠

Your story matters. Tell it here: ⁠⁠Submit via this form⁠⁠

Listen On: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your soul-fed.

https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-mourns-iris-santos-latinx-trans-woman-killed-in-houston

What happens when we stop trying to “beat the odds” and start rewriting the whole system?

In this special guest feature on KPFT's Growing Up in America, Jacob Newsome—founder of Power of the Narrative and Sinclair Scholars—sits down with hosts Bob Sanborn and Carolyn Roberts to unpack how trauma shows up in public education, why most school systems fail to address it, and how narrative healing can change the game.

Topics include:

• Why “trauma-informed” education is rare—and necessary

• How poverty and identity shape student outcomes

• What it really means to “rewrite your story”

• Equity, resilience, and systemic transformation

This isn’t just a segment. It’s a call to build a new kind of education—one rooted in honesty, care, and healing.

Recorded at KPFT 90.1 FM Houston Interview originally aired June 11, 2025

⁠Linktree – All the links⁠ ⁠Buy Jacob a coffee⁠ Website: ⁠Power of the Narrative⁠ – Empowering change through storytelling and healing education Instagram: ⁠@PoweroftheNarrative⁠ | ⁠@jnewsome232⁠ TikTok: ⁠@jacob.newsome3⁠

Your story matters. Tell it here: ⁠Submit via this form⁠

🎧 Listen On: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your soul-fed.

What happens when a school district holds over half a billion dollars…
…but says there’s no room for trauma-informed care?

In this episode, I share my full public comment delivered live at the June 3, 2025, Humble ISD Board Meeting.

With $540 million in revenue and $160 million in reserves, the district claimed they had no funds to support equity-driven, student-centered programming. So I took the mic, and spoke truth to silence.

This isn’t just about one speech.
It’s about a pattern:

Proposals ignored
Vendors ghosted

Students left behind

It’s about the lives at stake when comfort is prioritized over courage.

⁠Linktree – All the links⁠ ⁠Buy Jacob a coffee⁠ Website: ⁠Power of the Narrative⁠ – Empowering change through storytelling and healing education Instagram: ⁠@PoweroftheNarrative⁠ | ⁠@jnewsome232⁠ TikTok: ⁠@jacob.newsome3⁠

Your story matters. Tell it here: ⁠Submit via this form⁠

🎧 Listen On: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your soul-fed.

Host: Jacob Newsome

Production: Power of the Narrative

Recorded & Mixed by: Jacob Newsome and Riverside.fm

What does it sound like when love leaves you hanging?

In this special episode of Power of the Narrative, I share a raw, unfiltered phone call between me and my now ex-partner, Wayne (performing under the stage name Weaux).

This conversation, legally recorded during the final moments of our relationship, captures, in real time, the dissonance, avoidance, and fear that often hide beneath the surface of “bad timing” and emotional pullback.

This is not just a breakup. This is a case study in covert emotional avoidance, designed to teach, not to shame. I’m releasing this audio for educational purposes, as a guide to help others recognize the subtle, exhausting patterns that often leave one partner seeking clarity and the other dodging it.

In this episode, you’ll witness:

– Ambiguity disguised as maturity

– Emotional centering and guilt inversion

– Boundaries mistaken as punishment

– The quiet grief of being someone’s “almost”

Key Moments to Listen For:

• 
  

  [00:30 and on] – I ask for clarity on our relationship structure. My ex sidesteps the question, redirecting to LA and “timing.”

• 
  

  [04:11] – My ex centers his discomfort with my silence, framing my need for space as emotional neglect.

• 
  

  [06:55] – I assert my boundary: “You’re centering your feelings and asking me to hold them.” Watch how emotional labor is silently outsourced.

• 
  

  [08:02] – Communication style becomes a scapegoat to avoid deeper accountability.

• 
  

  [10:11] – The silent breakup is confirmed: “So you don’t want to move in… okay. That’s clear now.”

• [13:30+] – I reclaim the narrative. I name the pattern. I walk away, not in rage, but in revelation.

This is not shared out of malice. All names and identifying details have been removed or altered. This is about reclaiming power through emotional truth, and helping others name the invisible patterns that keep them stuck.

Trigger Warning: Emotional manipulation, abandonment, commitment phobia, and covert narcissistic dynamics.

For anyone who’s ever been trapped in a relationship that promised potential but feared definition, this episode is for you.

Follow Power of the Narrative for more episodes on relational liberation, trauma recovery, and rewriting the stories we’ve been forced to survive.

Linktree – All the links⁠ ⁠Buy Jacob a coffee⁠ Website: ⁠Power of the Narrative⁠ – Empowering change through storytelling and healing education Instagram: ⁠@PoweroftheNarrative⁠ | ⁠@jnewsome232⁠ TikTok: ⁠@jacob.newsome3⁠

Your story matters. Tell it here: ⁠Submit via this form⁠

Listen On: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your soul-fed.

Disclaimer: This episode is shared for educational and reflective purposes. All recordings were made legally under Texas’s one-party consent law. Names and identifying details are used in a limited, factual capacity in accordance with fair use and free speech protections. No commercial exploitation of the individual is intended.