Coss Marte grew up in New York's Lower East Side, where he began dealing drugs at a young age, with his first arrest at only thirteen years old.

In prison, Marte was told by doctors that if he didn't start eating right and exercising, he was likely going to die within five years. This wakeup call for Marte motivated him to do calisthenics with his own body weight, losing over 70lbs in 6 months. Gaining the attention of others, Marte began training inmates, helping them lose over 1000 pounds collectively. It was in solitary confinemJoy Keys,podcast,women podcasters, black podcasters,Philly podcasters,Philadelphia,Saturday Mornings with Joy Keys,nt where Marte created a business plan to take his fitness program outside of his cell upon release; which became a reality in 2016 with the launch of CONBODY's first fitness studio, located on the same NYC street corner where Marte was arrested.

CONBODY hires formerly incarcerated trainers de-stigmatize the formerly incarcerated community and ease their integration back into society. Through the CONBODY FOUNDATION,.

Special Guests: Kalina Sanders, MD, a board-certified neurologist, specializes in multiple sclerosis and spasticity management. As a former assistant professor of neurology, she stays abreast of cutting-edge treatments and clinical research. Dr. Sanders also serves on local and national clinical advisory committees for the National MS Society. Her areas of expertise include:

Multiple SclerosisSpasticityHealth Literacy

Dr. Sander's patient-centered philosophy of care is one that aims to impact and improve quality of life. She strives to get to know her patients beyond their diagnosis. She treats each and every patient with compassion and feels a responsibility to educate them on their illness and general wellness.

Special Guest: Tanina Agosto is an enthusiastic member of the National MS Society’s New York City chapter who is committed to their mission. She has volunteered at their pediatric program, legal day, Bike MS, Climb MS and during MS Awareness Week, just to name a few. In fact, last year Tanina challenged herself by climbing 66 flights to the Top of the Rock.  Diagnosed with MS in 2008, Tanina has become involved in a big way. As a chapter ambassador, she is at ease while speaking to the public, engaging while sharing information and she is a champion at promoting the Society’s programs. Although employed full time, Tanina is someone that the Society can depend on.  Her participation in the 20s and 30s group and the Conference for African American/Black Families Affected by MS extends to community outreach where she makes connections and motivates new participants. She initiates conversations while creating a comfortable atmosphere for those she meets and defines the term “making connections”.

Robert Child is a military history writer, director, and published author with Penguin/Random House. The film rights to his book, co-authored with Denise George, The Last Eleven have been acquired. Robert Child has also garnered more than 26 writing and directing awards including an Emmy® nomination and is one of only a handful of writer/directors whose work has screened in the United States Congress. His film, The Wereth Eleven, was nominated for an Emmy® and won the highest honor at the G.I. Film Festival in Washington DC, the Founders Choice Award. In 2011, the survivor's association of the World War II aircraft carrier, USS Franklin, singled Child out for Honorary Crew Membership aboard the most decorated vessel in U.S. Naval history. Robert lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Immortal Valor The Black Medal of Honor Winners of World War II-The remarkable story of the seven African American soldiers ultimately awarded the World War II Medal of Honor, and the 50-year campaign to deny them their recognition.

Colon Cancer Awareness Month

 

Guest;: Ashwani Rajput, MD, Director, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center - National Capital Region, Professor of Surgery, specializes in the surgical treatment of melanoma as well as colorectal, pancreas and liver cancers. Dr. Rajput is a member of the Kimmel Cancer Center's comprehensive Melanoma Program.

Dr. Rajput’s research is focused on key signal transduction regulators of cancer metastases. He is the author of numerous scientific journal articles.

A graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Dr. Rajput also completed general surgery training at Case Western Reserve University and a fellowship in surgical oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

Guest: CarlaAnn Henry, a proud resident of Philadelphia for 20 years, has had the honor of working with patients, advocacy groups, providers, and researchers as both a coordinator and advocate. She gently guides patients and health communities to a better understanding of services, regulations, rights, and research progress. This has allowed CarlaAnn to make a significant impact in the lives of many, and to increase positive outcomes by connecting individuals, families, and caregivers to resources, disease management protocols, and other people living with similar health issues. CarlaAnn continues her patient-focused community impact today as the Colorectal Cancer Alliance's Community Organizer based in Philadelphia.

Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb was born in Yuba City, California, and was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was the concertmaster for the University Symphony Orchestra at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and served as the principal violist. He has performed with numerous small chamber ensembles and in the BESK string quartet. For the past twenty-three years, he has been a public and private school music educator, and is a Nobel Educator of Distinction. He also serves as an educational consultant for the Kennedy Center and as the concertmaster for the NOVA-Annandale Symphony Orchestra. The Violin Conspiracy is his first novel.

The Violin Conspiracy : A riveting tale about a Black classical musician whose family heirloom violin is stolen on the eve of the most prestigious classical music competition in the world…

Gutsy and nuanced as a vocalist, and an accomplished songwriter, arranger, and pianist as well, Judith Hill is likely the only musician who can cite Elton John, Spike Lee, Prince, and Michael Jackson among those who have sought out her talent. One of the highest-profile background singers of her generation, she got her start in the early 2000s, and in the next decade established a solo career with the soundtrack to Lee's Red Hook Summer (2012). Since making these strides, she has built a discography of increasingly refined and creative albums that includes the Prince-produced Back in Time (2015), followed by Golden Child (2018) and Baby, I'm Hollywood! (2021), all while continuing her work in support of other artists. Hill starred in the Academy Award- and Grammy-winning 20 Feet from Stardom, the documentary film showcasing the under-acknowledged work of backup singers.

Judith Hill earned a degree in music composition from Biola University, near her native Los Angeles. During the 2000s, she stockpiled background vocalist credits on releases by the likes of Anastacia, Robbie Williams, Evelyn "Champagne" King, and Rod Stewart. In 2009, she was selected to duet with Michael Jackson on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" during the This Is It concerts, and performed at the King of Pop's memorial service, where she took the spotlight for "Heal the World." During the next few years, Hill continued to work in a background capacity for Elton John, Gregg Allman, and Barry Manilow, to name only a fraction of her connections.

Hill co-wrote Iggy Azalea's Jennifer Hudson collaboration "Trouble." "Party Rockers," which Hill wrote and fronted for Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Arrangement, Instruments, and Vocals.

Nana Nkweti is a Cameroonian-American writer and AKO Caine Prize finalist whose work has garnered fellowships from MacDowell, Kimbilio, Ucross, and the Wurlitzer Foundation, and several others. Her first book, Walking on Cowrie Shells, was hailed by The New York Times review as a “raucous and thoroughly impressive debut” with "stories to get lost in again and again." The collection is also a New York Times Editor's Choice, Indie Next pick, recipient of starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and BookPage; and has been featured in The New Yorker, Harper's Bazaar, Oprah Daily, The Root, NPR, Buzzfeed, and Thrillist, amongst others. The work features elements of mystery, horror, myth, and graphic novels to showcase the complexity and vibrance of African diaspora cultures and identities. Nkweti is a professor of English at the University of Alabama.

Award-winning actor William Stanford Davis currently appears on the hit ABC series “Abbott Elementary” as the opinionated yet lovable janitor Mr. Davis. He also recurs on the sports series “Swagger” as Coach Max, in a story based in Kevin Durant’s youth basketball playing experience with the AAU circuit for AppleTV+.

This classically trained actor who is born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, is a veteran of both stage and screen. He has amassed an impressive resume that is over 70 credits long appearing in some of the most popular and award-winning tv shows over the years, most notably, playing the popular Potato Pie in Donovan’s Gym on Showtime’s long running Golden Globe-winning series “Ray Donovan” and Mr. Kym on Tyler Perry and OWN’s flagship successful series “If Loving You Is Wrong.” He has also guest starred on critically lauded programs such as  “Perry Mason,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,”  “Snowpiercer,” “Chicago Med,” ”Criminal Minds,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Lincoln Heights,” “Ally Mc Beal,” “Touched By An Angel,” and many, many more.

In film, Stan recently starred alongside Nafessa Williams and Sharon Neal in the film “A Holiday Chance,” which premiered in November 2021 on AppleTV+ and Hulu as well as the films “Please Stand By” starring Dakota Fanning and Toni Collette, “So B It” starring Cloris Leachman and Alfre Woodard and “Handsome” starring and directed by Jeff Garlin.

On stage, he was honored with an Ovation Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the 2006 Actors Studio Production of August Wilson’s “Fences,” and he performed in the musical production “North on South Central,” which won five NAACP Theatre Awards in 2004.

Desiree C. Bailey is the author of What Noise Against the Cane (Yale University Press, 2021), which won the 2020 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize and was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Poetry. She is also the author of the fiction chapbook In Dirt or Saltwater (O'clock Press, 2016) and has short stories and poems published in Best American Poetry, Best New Poets, American Short Fiction, Callaloo, theAcademy of American Poets and elsewhere.Desiree is from Trinidad and Tobago, and Queens, New York.

Cassandra “Cassie" Freeman has made her mark in everything from drama to laugh out loud comedy across film, television and the stage. She will next been seen starring as Aunt Viv in Peacock’s dramatic re-telling of THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR, entitled BEL-AIR. The drama, which hails from Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios, is expected to premiere in early 2022.

In 2019, Freeman starred as FBI agent Jackie Pettigrew in NBC’s drama series THE ENEMY WITHIN alongside Morris Chestnut. She has also starred in memorable roles in TBS' THE LAST OG, ABC's FOR LIFE, Marvel's LUKE CAGE and the acclaimed FX series ATLANTA (in the iconic Juneteenth episode). In film, Freeman most recently starred in David Gutnik's MATERNA, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She's best known for her feature roles in Spike Lee's INSIDE MAN opposite Denzel Washington and Chris Rock's I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE.

In theater, Freeman has starred off-Broadway in August Wilson’s SEVEN GUITARS, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Originally from Florida, she currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.