Questions You Didn't Ask

"You may be fighting one fight, but all our fights are connected. When we separate them, we lose power."

In this episode of Questions You Didn’t Ask, Niasha Fray and Dr. Paul J. Fleming explore how solidarity across movements—like immigrant rights and racial justice—is essential in dismantling systemic injustice. They challenge privileged individuals to act beyond awareness and offer tangible frameworks to take meaningful steps forward.

What Awaits You:

• How privilege without action perpetuates inequity
• Practical strategies: the “Get Your People” model
• Applying prevention thinking to address root causes
• Using imagination to envision a better, equitable society

Sponsored by: Chanelle R. Walker, M.Ed., the Teacher Wellness Guru and CEO of Professional Inspiration, whose excellence in educator wellness (including her TEDx talk The Elephant in the Classroom) powers this series. Learn more at www.professional-inspiration.com

Listen & Engage:

• Listen now on your favorite podcast platform including YouTube
• Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/niashafray

In this powerful kickoff to Beyond the Band-Aid: Prevention, Power & Public Health Equity, Niasha Fray sits down with longtime friend and fellow justice-centered public health leader, Dr. Paul J. Fleming – Associate Professor of Health Behavior & Health Equity at the University of Michigan and author of the upcoming book Imagine Doing Better: Why Policies Backfire and How Prevention Thinking Can Change Everything (Hopkins Press – available for pre-order now).

From growing up in suburban Illinois, to serving in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua, to challenging the roots of health inequities, Dr. Fleming shares his journey toward “prevention thinking” – a framework that goes beyond quick fixes to address the root causes of injustice. Together, Niasha and Paul unpack:

• Why prevention-first policies save lives and resources
• How poverty, politics, and power shape community health
• The role of intersectionality, diversity, equity, and inclusion in public health
• How privilege and identity impact the fight for social and economic justice
• Why centering minoritized communities is key to lasting change

This episode is more than a conversation – it’s a call to reimagine what’s possible when we lead with imagination, equity, and collective action.

🔗 Pre-order Dr. Fleming’s book: pjfleming.com/imaginebetter

🔗 Follow Dr. Fleming: pjfleming.com | LinkedIn

Support the Series Sponsor: Special thanks to Chanelle R. Walker, M.Ed. – The Teacher Wellness Guru, CEO of Professional Inspiration, LLC. Learn more at professional-inspiration.com.

Join the Conversation & Stay Connected: 💬 Subscribe, rate, and share Questions You Didn’t Ask on your favorite podcast platform. 📩 Sign up for the Niasha Fray Consulting LLC newsletter: niashafray.com/contact

Find Niasha Fray Consulting LLC on:

🔗 LinkedIn: Niasha Fray Consulting LLC

🔵 BlueSky: @nfconsultingllc.bsky.social

📰 Substack: @niashafray

FINALÉ — Trippin’: Black Men, Land & Liberation (Ep. 4) “It’s not men. It’s the myth.” In this finale, host Niasha Fray and Charles E. Chambers (The Phat Cat)—Marine Corps veteran, wellness entrepreneur, and founder of Set‑Trippin’ and The Phat Cat Life—dig into toxic masculinity, apathy, capitalism, rites of passage, breathwork, and vulnerability as real strength.

Charles shares how community, nature, and mindfulness reshape Black men’s wellness journeys, while Niasha reframes what it means to prepare our children for life vs. just “the world.”

Episode 4 is live—stream now, share your favorite quote, and subscribe. Follow @thephatcat_life and search “The Phat Cat Life” to support Charles’ work.

#TrippinPodcast #BlackMenHealing #HealthEquity #VulnerabilityIsStrength #QuestionsYouDidntAsk

Welcome back to Questions You Didn’t Ask, the podcast powered by Niasha Fray Consulting LLC, where transformational dialogue meets radical healing.

In this episode, host Niasha Fray is joined by Charles E. Chambers—a Marine Corps veteran, creative director, wellness entrepreneur, and founder of Set Trippin Outdoor Adventures, CEC Imaging, and The Phat Cat Life.

Charles shares how his personal journey through addiction, recovery, and community-building led him to create powerful platforms for healing and Black-led liberation. Together, Niasha and Charles explore land, legacy, mental health, and what it really means for Black men to reclaim their space.

✨ Whether you’re here for the healing, the storytelling, or the strategy—this episode will move you.

🔗 Connect with Charles E. Chambers:

🌿 Set Trippin Outdoor Adventures: www.set-trippin.com

🧠 The Phat Cat Life (resources & social platform): www.thephatcat.app

🎨 CEC Imaging (branding & multimedia): www.cecimaging.com/home

📲 Social Media:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thephatcat_life

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thephatcat

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/cec-imaging

YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCCsklSu6leUx1elBvc4J_lw

🎧 Listen to more episodes: www.niashafray.com/podcast

🤝 Partner with Niasha Fray Consulting LLC: www.niashafray.com/partnership-opportunities

📺 Subscribe on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@NiashaFrayConsultingLLC

In this transformative episode of Questions You Didn’t Ask, host Niasha Fray continues her powerful conversation with Charles E. Chambers—wellness entrepreneur, brand developer, and founder of Set Trippin, a bold outdoor adventure company centering Black men and community healing.

Also known as The Phat Cat and founder of CEC Imaging, Charles shares personal reflections on sobriety, functional alcoholism, and the real meaning of mindfulness. With honesty and warmth, he breaks down how reconnecting with nature became part of his healing journey—and why that access matters more than ever.

Niasha and Charles explore how environmental justice, nature access, and community wellness intersect with mental health, trauma recovery, and liberation for Black communities. They unpack the legacy of redlining, urban development, and air pollution—and the need to reclaim green spaces for restoration and survival.

Learn how Set Trippin curates guided outdoor experiences—including camping, hiking, and journaling—with a full team of wellness professionals. From forest treks in the Allegheny Mountains to group breakthroughs around the campfire, this episode spotlights the power of showing up, being present, and healing together.

🌱 Don’t miss this episode if you’re curious about:

• How outdoor adventure can support Black men's wellness
• The impact of built environments on health equity
• The legacy and future of environmental justice
• The role of mindfulness and community in addiction recovery
• How to join a Set Trippin experience (spoiler: no camping experience required!)

🎙️ Want to promote your business to our growing community of 1,000+ listeners passionate about wellness, public health, and transformation? Email Niasha at [email protected] to discuss podcast sponsorship and ad opportunities.

☕ Enjoying the show? Support it by buying Niasha a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/niashafray – every cup helps sustain bold conversations like this.

🌿 In this episode, host Niasha Fray talks with Charles E. Chambers—founder of Set Trippin Outdoor Adventures and creator of The PhatCat. They share how Black men can heal by spending time outside, telling their stories, and building new businesses. We learn why nature can help our minds, how history shapes us, and what it takes to break free.

🎯 Key Takeaways

• 🔥 How racism, money worries, and social pressure can lead to drinking and drug use in Black communities
• 🌲 Research from the American Psychological Association shows that time outdoors can lower stress, calm anxiety, and sharpen thinking
• 🛖 Stories of Black conservation leaders who have always cared for the land, from the first Black staff at the Smithsonian to today’s outdoor groups
• 🚀 Charles’s journey: quitting alcohol and drugs, hitting the road for six months, and starting outdoor trips that change lives
• 💡 Simple tips for using walking, camping, and sharing your story to boost mental health and stay connected to others

🔗 Resources & Links

• Charles E. Chambers | Set Trippin Outdoor Adventures https://www.thephatcat.app/home

• The PhatCat on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thephatcat_life/

• Learn More about Niasha Fray Consulting LLC https://niashafray.com/

🔔 Subscribe now and turn on notifications so you’re first to hear each episode of Series 2: Trippin’: Black Men, Land & Liberation”!

In this powerful finale of Sankofa & Solidarity: Uncovering Black and Native Legacies for Health Equity, host Niasha Fray is joined one final time by historian and award-winning author Dr. Alaina E. Roberts for an unflinching conversation about land, identity, memory, and power.

From Tulsa to Treaty Law, they trace how freed Black people in Indian Territory acquired land, built communities, and redefined what freedom meant in the West. But they also uncover the backlash—from federal rollbacks to racial violence—and the erasure of Black-Native histories in mainstream education and policy.

💬 “What action should everyday people—especially scholars, policymakers, and those early in their journey—take to amplify these hidden histories so we can be better informed to advocate for justice?” – Niasha Fray

In this finale, we reflect on:

• 🏞️ Black land ownership in Oklahoma & beyond
• 🔥 The political erasure of Black-Native histories
• 📚 Frederick Douglass’s controversial Westward migration stance
• ⚖️ The long shadow of Reconstruction-era policies
• 🗳️ What justice looks like when we remember fully—and act collectively

🎧 Binge the full series now on your favorite platform or start with Episode 4.

📘 Learn more about Dr. Roberts’ work: alainaeroberts.com/books

☕ Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/niashafrayo

In this powerful continuation of Sankofa & Solidarity: Uncovering Black and Native Legacies for Health Equity, host Niasha Fray is joined once again by award-winning historian Dr. Elena Roberts for a discussion on land and power after emancipation.

This episode unpacks:

The story of Black Freedmen—formerly enslaved people held by Native nations—and the land they were granted in Indian Territory How these land allocations helped build thriving Black communities like Tulsa’s Greenwood District The federal policies (like the Homestead Act and Reconstruction-era treaties) that reshaped identity and racial hierarchy Frederick Douglass’s complex support of Black westward migration—and what it reveals about freedom and belonging The violent backlash to Black landownership in the West, including the Tulsa Massacre How the fight over land continues to shape health and justice today

Niasha and Dr. Roberts invite us to consider a deeper truth: land has always been about power and survival.

If Episode 2 asked us to sit with hard histories, Episode 3 challenges us to ask what freedom looked like in the aftermath of slavery—and what stood in the way.

Learn more about Dr. Alaina E. Roberts and her work: alainaeroberts.com

Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/niashafrayo

We’re continuing Season 4 of Questions You Didn’t Ask with the second episode in our series: Sankofa & Solidarity: Uncovering Black and Native Legacies for Health Equity.

In this follow-up conversation, Niasha Fray and historian Dr. Alaina E. Roberts go deeper—confronting the political, cultural, and emotional realities of what it means to be Black and Native in a society shaped by settler colonialism, anti-Blackness, and historical erasure.

This episode unpacks:

🔍 The truth about Native American slaveholding—especially among the so-called “Five Civilized Tribes” 🧬 The complexities of identity and citizenship for Black descendants in tribal communities 🧠 How systems like the Dawes Act and blood quantum policies still shape who’s considered “Native enough” 🤝 What true solidarity looks like beyond symbolic gestures—and what’s still standing in the way 🎬 Reflections on Killers of the Flower Moon, the violence of erasure, and why Black-Native histories must be made visible

Through it all, Niasha and Dr. Roberts return to one essential truth: we can’t build justice or equity without reckoning with the past—and making space for the people it tried to erase.

🧭 If Episode 1 asked us to look back, Episode 2 challenges us to sit with the hard questions that arise when we do.

📘 Learn more about Dr. Alaina E. Roberts and her work: alainaeroberts.com 🎙️ Subscribe and follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Audible, or your favorite platform. 💻 Stream or read the transcript at: niashafray.com/podcast ☕ Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/niashafrayo

Welcome to Season 4 of Questions You Didn’t Ask! We're opening with a bold and necessary four-part series: Sankofa & Solidarity: Uncovering Black and Native Legacies for Health Equity.

In this premiere episode, Niasha Fray sits down with award-winning historian and author Dr. Alaina E. Roberts to explore what it really means to "look back in order to move forward." Drawing on her acclaimed book, I've Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land, Dr. Roberts challenges the sanitized narratives we were taught in school and reveals how the histories of Black and Native American communities are deeply intertwined—through land, enslavement, survival, and resistance.

Together, we unpack:

• Why Native American slaveholding remains absent from mainstream conversations
• How intergenerational trauma connects to modern-day health disparities
• The romanticized myth of “having Indian in the family” within Black culture
• Why Native communities often resist acknowledging Black ancestry
• What true solidarity between Black, Native, and other marginalized communities could look like—especially in public health

🧠 This is more than a history lesson. It’s a call to truth-telling, reconciliation, and reimagined systems that promote collective healing and justice.

📘 Learn more about Dr. Roberts: https://alainaeroberts.com 🎙️ Subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Audible, or your favorite platform. 💻 Stream or read the transcript at: https://niashafray.com/podcast ☕ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/niashafrayO

#QuestionsYouDidntAsk #HealthEquity #BlackAndNative #PublicHealth #DecolonizeHistory #AlainaRoberts #SankofaAndSolidarity #TruthTelling #BlackVoices #IndigenousVoices