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Hey, family. I’m Neo Griot—Afrocentric, Pan-African, secular humanist, atheist, skeptic. And this is Rational Black Thought—where we don’t do feel good pieces, we do the hardcore truth.  

Episode 267 is titled: “ Y'all think it's bougie, I'm like, it's fine-But I'm tryin' to give you a million dollars worth of game for $9.99” which are lyrics from the song  The Story of O.J. by Jay-Z.  The Story of O.J.” (from 4:44, 2017) is Jay-Z’s financial-literacy-and-racial-reality track: it’s about ownership, credit, generational wealth, and the fantasy that money makes you “not Black.” The whole song uses O.J. as a symbol of that delusion (the “I’m not Black, I’m O.J.” idea), and the video leans hard into America’s racist iconography to make the point sting.  

So when he says he’s trying to give you “a million dollars worth of game for $9.99,” he’s basically saying: you’re calling me bougie because I’m talking assets, credit, and ownership, but I’m handing you life-changing economic strategy for the price of a cheap product. It’s a value proposition: stop being entertained and start being equipped.
 
Jay-Z called it ‘a million dollars worth of game for $9.99.’ I’m giving you a more than a million dollars of game for free, because I am talking about generational power not just generational wealth.  And if you still treat it like background noise, that’s on you. The problem isn’t the price. The problem is we keep refusing the lessons that would make us dangerous.”  “Free doesn’t mean worthless. Free means I’m removing excuses.”-Neo Griot

Intro:

Quote of the Week: bell hooks

Unmasking the News: 

Minneapolis: when the state lies first, and investigates never 

A government of Vibes and Fake Numbers 

The “Children’s Pastor” Predator and the Machine That Protected Him 

Good News: A Family Win and Blueprint

Bible Study with an Atheist:  Build-A-Belief Workshop: Christianity as Personalized Cult

Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

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Peace, family. I’m Neo Griot—Afrocentric, Pan-African, secular humanist, atheist, skeptic.

And this is Rational Black Thought—where we don’t do bedtime stories for adults.  Episode 266 is titled: “We are the winners if we unclose our eyes.” which are lyrics from the song Nostalgie Amoureuse by the group Zap Mama led by Marie Daulne.
 
I am not using this as a hashtag. It’s meant as a survival manual. It is saying the truth is before us, we just need to open our eyes and see it, and remaining indifferent in the face of injustice is the same as not seeing it, perhaps worse.  

The world rewards one thing consistently: people who can see clearly—especially when the system is designed to blind them. 

Intro:

Quote of the Week: Del Jones

Unmasking the News: 

Davos Lies and the Weaponization of Ignorance 

Jim Jordan murders justice and lets the criminals off the hook 

Another week, another “holy” scandal

Good News: The Black Fund: Investing to Benefit All

Strategies for Black Power: Systemic Enemy Analysis—A strategy narrative for people who are done being fooled

Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

Sources:

• https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-address-donald-trump-president-united-states-america/
• https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-prosecutor-smith-condemn-false-narratives-about-probe-house-testimony-2026-01-22/
• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/18/louisiana-clergy-abuse-korey-lavergne?
• https://theblackfundcentraltx.org/celebrating-collective-impact/

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 Welcome to Rational Black Thought. I’m your host, Neo Griot. This week’s theme: Is about moving beyond survival, it is time for us to stop “living to fight another day” and to start fighting to win…for good.  Our title today comes from Gil Scott-Heron from his song “Winter in America” the words seem even more apropos today, it feels like a “nuclear winter in America”:  

The Constitution, a noble piece of paper 

Would free society. It struggled but then died in vain 

And now Democracy is ragtime on the corner Hoping for some rain

 And looks like it's hoping Hoping for some rain  

It's winter in America

And ain't nobody fighting

 ‘Cause nobody knows what to save  

This is exactly how I feel sometimes, I feel that resistance is futile, but I cannot allow myself to wallow and die in that ideology, I have to get the fuck up and figure it out. 

Agenda

Intro:

Quote of the Week: Maya Angelou

Unmasking the News: 

• From “…of the people” to “…of the party that can rig the system” 
• Only one in five support Trump’s Greenland stunt. That’s supposed to stop him? Cute 
• The Gospel of PR 
• Good News:  Howard’s “AI-native” Move

Bible Study with an Atheist: Christianity: the biggest MLM in human history:

Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

Sources:

• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/15/justice-department-voter-information?
• https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/just-one-five-americans-support-trumps-efforts-acquire-greenland-reutersipsos-2026-01-14/
• https://www.fox23.com/news/former-claremore-pastor-enters-guilty-plea-in-peeping-tom-case/article_c6a005df-a2cc-473f-8873-e47230c78a26.html
• https://www.blackenterprise.com/howard-university-ai-engineering-course/

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Our title today comes from Ay-Shay (an African musician) from her song “The Way I Feel” whose words really struck me this week, some of the other lines from this song are:  

I feel like I'm not the only one who's frustrated 

I feel like something's goin' wrong, I can't escape it 

I feel that the destinies of those who are meant to be the best Are in the hands of liars

Now the world is on fire 

- Asa, The Way I Feel

Intro:

Quote of the Week: Frantz Fanon

Unmasking the News: 

• Democracy Watch: Trump 2.0: Authoritarianism + Imperialism 
• ICE Went Trigger-Happy — Trump Backed It 
• The Apology Is Noise, the Prayer Is Useless Theater 
• Good News:  Not Just “Success” Strategic Infrastructure

Strategies for Black Power: Blueprint: Resist the Empire:

Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

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Welcome to Rational Black Thought. I’m your host, Neo Griot—secular humanist, skeptic, atheist, Afrocentric, Pan-African… and morally allergic to propaganda.  

This is a year-end audit episode. Not a highlight reel. Not a “best-of” montage. An audit. Because reflection is not nostalgia—it’s strategy. It’s how you stop repeating cycles that were designed to keep you tired, confused, and compliant.  

So today we’re doing three things:  

1. We’re going to look back at the major themes from the past year of Unmasking the News. 
2. We’re going to forecast 2026—not with wishful thinking, but with pattern recognition.
3. And for Bible Study with an Atheist, we’re going to expose one of the slickest scams in modern religion: pseudo-science for God—and why “generic God” still doesn’t get you to anybody’s holy book. 

Intro:

Quote of the Week: Octavia E. Butler

Unmasking the News: 

• Democracy Watch: Authoritarianism as a System, Not a Personality 
• Religious Corruption: The Charity Gap and the Opacity Advantage 
• Good News: Black Capacity Still Wins

Bible Study with an Atheist: Pseudo-Science for God — and Why “Generic God” Doesn’t Get You to Religion:

 Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

Sources:

• https://commongood.cc/reader/a-few-rules-for-predicting-the-future-by-octavia-e-butler/?
• https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/trump-administrations-campaign-undermine-next-election?
• https://www.epi.org/publication/trumps-assault-on-independent-agencies-endangers-us-all/?
• https://faithcommunitiestoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FACTs-on-Finance-Report_Trends-on-Congregational-Economics_Mar-2022.pdf?
• https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2025/02/25/black-entrepreneurs-indianapolis-growth?

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Intro:

Quote of the Week: Frantz Fanon

Unmasking the News: 

• Democracy Watch: When Reality Collapses at the Top: 
• Foreign Policy Watch: “Quarantine” as Empire-Speak and Nigeria: A Crusade Fantasy in Modern Clothes: 
• The Holy Hustle Continues: 
• Good News: Black Success That Circulates Power: 

Strategies for Black Power: South Africa & Rhodesia — Independence Without Power Is a Costume:

Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

Sources:

• https://www.factcheck.org/2025/12/factchecking-trumps-rapid-fire-prime-time-address/?
• https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/white-house-orders-us-forces-focus-quarantine-venezuela-2025-12-24/?
• https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-launches-strikes-against-islamic-state-militants-northwest-nigeria-trump-says-2025-12-25/?
• https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/brooklyn-church-pastor-pleads-guilty-tax-evasion-scheme?
• https://www.reuters.com/world/china/keith-lee-named-creator-year-first-ever-us-tiktok-awards-2025-12-19/?

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Intro:

Quote of the Week: James Baldwin

Unmasking the News: 

• Democracy Watch: The Chief of Staff as Confessor: When the Mask Slips: 
• When Empathy Dies, Fascism Smiles: 
• Holy Robbery: 
• Good News: Capacity, Not Vibes: 

Bible Study with an Atheist: The Immorality of Divine Tribalism: From Eden to Genocide:

Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

Sources:

• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/18/trump-vanity-fair-interview?
• https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-harsh-comments-rob-reiners-murder-spark-rare/story?id=128421268&
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdil/pr/former-southern-illinois-pastor-sentenced-prison-fraudulently-obtaining-covid-19?
• https://www.aamu.edu/about/inside-aamu/news/university-confers-455-degrees-honoring-historic-cohort-with-104-first-generation-graduates.html?

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The Irrational Resolution of Cognitive Dissonance (Case Study)

• Brief Setup
• What Was Said
• Cognitive Dissonance 101
• How the Somali Republican’s Mind Is Likely Working
• Identity-Protective Cognition: When Truth Loses to Tribe
• Historical & Psychological Roots: The Colonized Mind
• Why This Matters Beyond One Man on CNN
• The Insidious Nature of Irrational Dissonance Resolution
• A Rational Way to Resolve the Dissonance
• Bringing It Back Home: Our Own Dissonance
• Call to Action

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Intro:

Quote of the Week: Maya Angelou

“For Africa to me... is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.”  

Unmasking the News: 

• Trump’s Map of Minority Rule: 
• Trump’s Statements, Performative with a Body Count: 
• Preying on the Vulnerable: 
• Good News: The BLACKprint for Black Economic Power: 

Strategies for Black Power:  A Psychohistory of White Supremacy – and How We Kill Its Power:

Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

Sources:

• https://www.newsweek.com/map-donald-trump-approval-rating-each-state-10-months-11127534
• https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-says-airspace-above-surrounding-venezuela-be-closed-its-entirety-2025-11-29/
• https://abuseguardian.legalexaminer.com/laurence-banville/legal/greenwood-pastor-and-ex-calhoun-falls-mayor-johnnie-waller-sexual-abuse-lawyer/
• https://usblackchambers.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-2026-Blackprint.pdf

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Intro: 

Quote of the Week: Bell Hooks

“...“white supremacy” is a much more useful term for understanding the complicity of people of color in upholding and maintaining racial hierarchies that do not involve force (i.e slavery, apartheid) than the term “internalized racism”- a term most often used to suggest that black people have absorbed negative feelings and attitudes about blackness. The term “white supremacy” enables us to recognize not only that black people are socialized to embody the values and attitudes of white supremacy, but we can exercise “white supremacist control” over other black people.”

Unmasking the News: 

• Texas Tries to Jim Crow the Map (Again): 
• When the Monster Eats Its Own: 
• Beating Children “in Jesus’ Name”: 
• Good News: Black Brilliance in the Engine Room of Tech: 

Bible Study with an Atheist: Five Core “Truth” Claims of Christianity — and Why They Collapse: 

Reflections and Call to Action:

Closing/Outro: 

Sources:

• https://www.newsweek.com/samuel-alito-texas-election-map-supreme-court-challenge-11100706
• https://www.thedailybeast.com/mtgs-boyfriend-brian-glenn-sides-with-trump-in-furious-maga-divorce/?
• https://www.bet.com/article/3539sw/pastor-at-atlanta-megachurch-arrested-after-son-arrived-to-school-with-blood-on-his-pants
• https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/11/21/inaugural-black-in-business-awards-program-celebrates-entrepreneurs/

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