In part 2 of our series with TIME'S UP, veteran stunt choreographer La Faye Baker and 1st AD/Director Shawn Pipkin join hosts Fanshen Cox and Anya Adams to talk about improving safety for women behind the camera, navigating (and dismantling) toxic workplace environments, bullying and verbal/emotional harassment on set, colorism and the power of speaking up for fellow crew.

Ann James is an intimacy choreographer, director, producer, and educator whose organization, Intimacy Coordinators of Color, promotes "decolonized intimacy practices" and inclusive hiring practices in the entertainment industry.

In this episode, she reveals how to make set intimacy more inclusive, respectful, and encompassing of various gender identities, sexualities, racial identities, and disabilities. Listen as she talks with co-hosts Anya and Fanshen about the danger of people-pleasing, protecting others on set and the power of being "bystanders in the room," and why OnlyFans is on the verge of a revolution for sex workers.

In part 1 of the series, we speak to TIME'S UP Foundation COO Monifa Bandele about the worldwide impact of Black women's art, our voices, and holding Hollywood powerbrokers accountable for change. She also tells hosts Fanshen Cox and Anya Adams about the importance of disrupting unequal power systems to create "a new normal."

We're back with a new season of truth-telling and celebrating with hosts Fanshen Cox and Anya Adams!

First up with our hosts is an original "Sista Brunch-er," Shawn Pipkin! Shawn is a 1st AD and director whose list of credits include Grey's Anatomy and Greenleaf. She's also a Directors Guild of America committee member.

Shawn talks about the movement that inspired our podcast, the importance of mentoring emerging black talent on the set and why it's good to be "the dumbest person in the room" (her words, not ours!). Then, take notes as she breaks down the growing trend of "calls" for diverse talent by employers.

Redelia Shaw is a producer and educator; she leads the Media Production program at Santa Monica College, where we taped many of our episodes for this season. Her projects include "Race Relay," a multi-media production that explores the state of race relations in America today.

She co-produced the documentary "Cocaine Prison," which screened at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. An industry second assistant director, Shaw has also worked on "Scandal," "The Office," "Queen Sugar" and "House of Lies." She is also a member of the Western AD/UPM Council Education Committee and the DGA African American Steering Committee.

Felischa Marye is a TV writer. She’s also the creator and co-executive producer of “Bigger,” the hit comedy series on BET+ comedy series which recently got picked up for a second season.

Felischa left a successful career in public relations and marketing to move to attend UCLA’s MFA in screenwriting program. While she was in school, she sold a pilot to HBO and was later staffed for two seasons on Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why.” Listen as she tells Anya and Fanshen why she waited to chase her Hollywood dreams, the day she met Eric Monte, the writer of the classic film, "Cooley High," how she keeps representation of race and class authentic and so much more.

Music Credits:

Stock Media provided by AudioKraken / Pond5

Stock Media provided by BenBeats / Pond5

Felicia Pride creates content in all kinds of ways. She was a writer on Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar and is developing the erotic romance feature film Deeper with Universal Pictures and Will Packer Productions.

She’s also the brains behind The Create Daily, a popular resource that curates jobs and opportunities for underrepresented creators. She says she created it in 2012 to thrive professionally and have ‘successful, long-ass fulfilling creative careers that we pay forward.’

Now she’s adding ‘Director’ to her title, with the online release of her short film, “tender,” which she has released through her production company Felix and Annie. The movie, which is a love letter to all Black women, follows two seemingly different women - as they share a very intimate morning after.

Listen to her words of inspiration - and discover what exciting (network TV related) things are in her future.

Music Credits:

Stock Media provided by AudioKraken / Pond5

Stock Media provided by BenBeats / Pond5

Our conversation with Elon Washington will give you LIFE.

 We talked to Elon in late 2019, and this conversation feels just as relevant today. We talk about the importance of telling Black stories without the white gaze, why it's important to celebrate who we are in the media and how to pace yourself when you have to talk about repesentation all the time.

This screenwriter and community organizer has a passion for providing visibility for underrepresented voices. She is the founder of Black Film Allegiance, a virtual platform promoting collaboration and creative opportunity for up-and-coming filmmakers. She's also the Development Manager for Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions where she addresses current and upcoming projects.

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Music Credits:

Stock Media provided by AudioKraken / Pond5

Stock Media provided by BenBeats / Pond5

Bola Ogun is a first-generation Nigerian-American writer, director, and producer who made her directorial television debut last year on Ava Duvernay’s Queen Sugar. Since then she's directed episodes on other shows including LEGACIES, LUCIFER and SIREN.

She’s participated in several training programs, like the AFI Directing Workshop for Women and the Warner Brothers Directors’ Workshop. One of her short films, Are We Good Parents? premiered at SXSW in 2018.

Jenise Whitehead is a digital utility and film loader. If you don’t know what that is, you’ll find out all about it on this episode. She learned her trade through Panavision’s two year program in 2016 and has worked on several shows since, including “Insecure” on HBO and the Netflix show “Gentefied”.

She’s a talented musician and actually studied Spanish in college. She didn’t think about working in Hollywood until she went to the OutFest of Los Angeles, where she heard about a program called “Outfest Outset.” She applied to the program, got in and co-directed a movie, called “Gideon’s Cross.”

Anya and Fanshen talked to Jenise last summer - in Anya’s apartment, no less - about how to advocate for yourself when you’re relatively new to the game -- and  even about how she improved her earning power.