Soon to be former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has always been a horrible human being. I hoped he would be impeached, but I'll settle for his resignation. In addition to his mistreatment of women, he was horrible on so many policies that matter to us. And what's wild is that his nursing home scandal is as bad as anything he's ever done and that's not even what took him out.

Let me share where I think we are as a country right now in this pandemic - as the cases and deaths begin to spiral out of control...again. It's a painful sign of what's ahead for our country. I'll also make a few predictions on what's next.

If you are still here, thank you. Today I am just checking in.

While I'm away, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. 

This re-run episode of Sick Empire features two very different food educators who purposefully planted themselves in environments where they teach their passion for food and gardening by promoting access and knowledge in overlooked and all but forgotten Black neighborhoods. You’ll hear the host Branden Janese interview Kurt Evans, a chef who curates dinners to end mass incarceration, teaches culinary arts to kids on Rikers, and employs a staff of returning citizens at his pizza shop in Philly. Branden also interviews Yemi Amu, an aquaponic educator who talks about the power of healing in the garden, and shares her experiences teaching her non-gentrified Brooklyn community how to grow produce, herbs and proteins from recycled water.

While I'm away, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. 

Here I play four of the most powerful clips from the speeches and interviews of Malcolm X. They are also painful because they shouldn't even be relevant anymore, but he literally could've said these things yesterday. Listen and learn. 

While I'm away, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. 

Today, here's a re-run episode where I breakdown exactly why police brutality is functionally legal in the United States by unpacking a Supreme Court case that currently protects even the worst officers in cases of police brutality. To hear more on the subject go back and listen to episode 13 & 14 as this was the first in a three part series. 

While I'm away, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a re-run episode where I breakdown the percentage of crimes solved by police. 

Here's a hint. Cut your guess by at least 90%. It's so damn low.

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's an episode of Momentum Advisors from February where they broke down cooperative economics. It's a great one! Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform!

The fourth principle of Kwanzaa is "Ujamaa": Cooperative Economics. This is often defined as coming together to build and maintain our own businesses and real estate to profit from them, together. Black people have been building and benefitting from cooperative economics for decades, particularly in parts of the economy where we’ve been cut out by major institutions. In this episode, we explore the various ways you can capitalize on cooperative economics today. 

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a very special episode of Sick Empire. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform!

On Season 2 of Sick Empire we are focusing on the healing practices and journeys of Black folx in New York and across the country to share the diverse paths of healing that we can explore after the coronavirus has left so many of us in sick in more ways than one.

You’ll hear our host Branden Janese interview an eclectic group of modern day healing practitioners, from a Reiki Master and yoga teacher in West L.A, to a holistic advocate in Atlanta, to a New York based Black feminist professor, scholar and mental health therapist.

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes of The Breakdown as well as episodes from some of our other podcast series. 

I'm fighting for it. You're fighting for it. But let's take a moment to define what justice means for families impacted by police violence and racial terrorism on today's rerun episode of The Breakdown.