The Limits with Jay Williams

This week, Auntie Oprah (as Jay calls her) lent us an episode from Trials to Triumphs, a podcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Hosted by Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins, Trials to Triumphs discusses the personal and professional struggles of innovators–just like The Limits.

On today's episode, Ashley speaks with actress and singer Amber P. Riley. Amber is best known for her role as Mercedes on the hit comedy-drama series Glee. She also starred in the West End debut of Dreamgirls and won season 17 of Dancing with the Stars in 2013.

Amber and Ashley discuss reaching contentment by nurturing authentic relationships, embracing stillness and finding peace. Amber also gets real about building her Glee family, and how she managed the loss of beloved costars.

Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter. Email us at [email protected]. For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus.

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This week, we revisit one of Jay's favorite conversations with the incomparable Niecy Nash. In her own words, Niecy has made it "from the hood to Hollywood." She talks to Jay about her early days in Hollywood with clarity–and hilarity.

The 2022 Oscars may be infamous now for very different reasons, but this interview originally happened the month prior, when the nominations were still being scrutinized for lacking diversity. Niecy got real about the deeper reasons the Academy so often overlooks Black women, and why she isn't looking for its approval.

Her outlook is faith-based and positive, not in small part because she has found love again with her wife, musician Jessica Betts. As she reflects on her evolving sexuality, Niecy confirms that finally, she feels seen.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. This week, we'll look back at some of the best wisdom guests have given Jay on how they remain strong and grateful, with advice from Megan Rapinoe, Mero the Kid and Nike executive Larry Miller.

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On today's episode of The Limits, Jay speaks with Colman Domingo, star of stage and screen. He's the ultimate character actor, known for stealing scenes in films like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Selma, and If Beale Street Could Talk. He embodies every character he takes on, most recently earning an Emmy nod for his role as father-figure Ali to Zendaya's Rue on HBO's Euphoria.

Colman is a triple threat in Hollywood, with experience as a producer, director, and writer. He just wrapped shooting the film adaptation of the musical version of The Color Purple, where he plays the villain, Mister. Through the conversation, Jay could not believe that a man so full of reflection and empathy could tap into that kind of darkness so convincingly. As Colman puts it, he "chooses the light," channeling negative energy into making poignant art. He also has this wisdom for aspiring Black artists: "No one can tell you not to create. So just create the thing--and don't wait."

Alongside his extraordinary talent as an actor, Colman's depth as a human being is every bit as impressive. In this moving conversation that brought both men to tears, he and Jay discuss expressing needs and boundaries in relationships, finding identity in fractured families, and grieving the loss of beloved parents.

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In this week's episode of The Limits, Jay talks to Steve Stoute, a music executive responsible for shaping the careers of the biggest stars in recent memory. Nas, Mariah Carey, Will Smith...Steve Stoute's resume rivals any of the biggest players in the industry.

He spent the '90s molding talent at Interscope Records alongside Jimmy Iovine. But in 2004, when he felt his vision for marketing wasn't being realized, he left Interscope and founded his own firm, Translation. The company now has a net worth of over 30 million dollars with clients like HBO, Nike and Beats by Dre, and it sits directly at the intersection of advertising and music.

Now, Steve's attempting to shake up the music industry once again with his company UnitedMasters, which gives artists the ability to distribute their music across platforms without signing to a label.

Steve talked to Jay about his journey from the trenches of the music industry to mogul status, his relationship with Nas, the current state of hip-hop, and how he thinks advertising and marketing models in the streaming era need to be totally reimagined.

And because Steve's a guy who prefers to stay out of the limelight, he asked not to be on video. But we'll be back with full video content on NPR YouTube channels next week.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits.

Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter. Email us at [email protected].


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On today's episode of The Limits, Jay talks to legendary fashion designer, Dapper Dan. For over five decades, "Dap" has revolutionized the way hip-hop and fashion have influenced each other, dressing the likes of Eric B. and Rakim, LL Cool J and Salt-N-Pepa. He also always makes sure everything goes down in his native Harlem, where Jay met up with him.

Once a gambling prodigy, Dap briefly went to prison on drug charges, but he came out with a renewed respect for Black culture and sensibilities. He started dressing gangsters and hustlers, and gained popularity for repurposing the logos of brands like Gucci for hip-hop icons.

When the FBI came after his namesake Harlem store, it seemed like Dap would have to shut down for good. But he remained a cultural fixture, and in one of life's great ironies, built a new chapter in his career in a 2017 partnership with Gucci.

At 77, Dap thinks like a historian, relating everything he has made to the musical and cultural movements of the time. He tells Jay how Harlem has evolved, how he's managed to always look forward, and who he sees as this generation's successor to his vision.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. This week, Dap talks about the wisdom he imparts on Harlem youth today.

Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter. Email us at [email protected]. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67046jn8010

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On today's episode of The Limits, Jay sits down with his mentor: the all-time great, Duke college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, better known as Coach K. For Jay, this is the man who helped him channel his inner rage and insecurities as a teenager into reaching the ultimate heights of college basketball. He was also one of Jay's biggest supports after Jay's career-ending accident.

Over 42 seasons at Duke, Coach K won five championships and guided hundreds of players to their greatest potential. He coached icons like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Steph Curry in the Olympics, bringing home the gold three times. He built trust across generations of players--always putting in the work to reach them physically and emotionally, individually and as a team.

But as his career soared, his physical and mental health suffered, and he reveals to Jay the ultimatum that pushed him to turn to therapy to show up as a better man for his players, and for his family.

It's one of many reasons Jay calls Coach his second father.

Coach K also discusses his retirement, and the moments that now give him true happiness. And Jay and Coach get into what their relationship has meant over the years, and how that continues to evolve.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. This week, Coach K talks about working with NBA Finals MVP Steph Curry.

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We're in instant replay mode this week on The Limits, revisiting Jay's conversation with billionaire tech mogul Mark Cuban.

Whether it's the NFL or the NBA, healthcare policy or America's two-party political system, Mark Cuban believes that when you buck tradition, you begin to grow. In this episode, the Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank investor challenges NFL franchise owners to rethink who they hire and why.

He applies that same logic to the healthcare industry, where he is upending the market by flipping it on its head and selling more directly to consumers. These big ideas come from a man who hustled his way from his working-class roots all the way to the billionaire club. At a time when the American dream feels completely out of reach, Mark explains why he still believes in it.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter. Email us at [email protected].

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One of Al Harrington's biggest takeaways from his sixteen-year run in the NBA? Never let a rookie take your spot. The former power forward constantly found ways to evolve the game to outsmart new competitors — and, in his words, "provide a new offering."

In his post-game career, he's used that mindset to build the cannabis company Viola, which sells high-quality forms of marijuana. But Viola's mission isn't solely to sell product. Instead, Al wants to ensure that Viola gives Black and brown entrepreneurs significant opportunity in the legal, multi-billion dollar cannabis industry.

Al recognizes how decades of the American War on Drugs have ravaged Black and brown communities with disproportionate mass incarceration rates for marijuana-related offenses. He wants to offset that lasting harm by finding seats for entrepreneurs of color at the table.

Al sat down with Jay to discuss the stigmas he has overcome as a Black former NBA player building a cannabis company, the challenges he's facing bringing up Black entrepreneurs in the space, and why Viola is the LVMH of weed. Plus, he talks about his preferred strain of cannabis, and what to ask for in a dispensary.

EXPLICIT CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussion of drug use and is only appropriate for adult audiences.

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When New York multi-hyphenate Jon Gray set it upon himself to bring the Bronx to the world through food, he faced two battles: establish a successful business at the tail end of a recession, and overcome the high-end culinary world's historically white gaze.

Now, Ghetto Gastro, the food collective he co-founded, is connecting the dots between fashion, design, hip-hop and the culinary arts. They've created unforgettable food experiences and products in collaboration with Nike, Microsoft, Airbnb, Beats By Dre and more. They're known to bill corporate giants well into the six figures for just a few dozen dinner guests.

Jon was raised in a nurturing, education-forward household in the Bronx. As a teenager, he sold drugs to afford things his peers couldn't. In conversation with Jay, he talks about how he transitioned from that lifestyle--and applied some of those same skills--to a multidisciplinary career in the arts that he "reverse-engineered," in his words.

He also explains how Ghetto Gastro is not only about creating value, it's about capturing that value, circulating it back to Black people through donations, and thereby channeling new opportunities into the community directly.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. On this week's Plus episode, Jon discusses his personal and spiritual connection to the late designer Virgil Abloh.

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U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe is of course a champion on the field, but off the field, she's a champion for the causes that matter. She has long been one of the biggest voices advocating for equal pay in the U.S. Soccer Federation, which was historically reached via collective bargaining agreements this month.

Now, as she's reaching the end of her trailblazing run in professional soccer, Megan sat down with Jay Williams to talk about the path to equal pay for the U.S. Women's National Team, and what work still needs to be done across professional sports.

Plus, she reveals whether she'll appear in the 2023 World Cup, the sacrifices she has made as a lifelong athlete, and whether or not a future in politics is in store for her.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. On this week's Plus episode, Megan discusses equal pay in the international arena, and how she has remained at the top of her sport.

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