Hey, Sis!

Happy New Year! We’re excited to be closing out 2018 on a high note by welcoming yet another fantastic guest on the show. This time around it’s Anitra Durand Allen. Torn by the demands of a full-time career and a full-time commitment to managing the careers of her super kids, Anitra walked away from a six-figure salary to pour her time and talents into creating success in her own family. Now, she is a certified family coach, speaker, author, and the Creator & Chief Mom at The Mom On The Move, an online resource and community providing success tools for motivated moms with busy families. Driven by the desire to be “just a wife and a mom,” Anitra uses the skills she gained as a corporate project manager to run the most important organization in her life: her family. Through evidence-based, easy to apply changes in communication, she helps moms and wives reduce stress and improve outcomes with their spouses, partners, and children. Anitra is married to her college sweetheart, Harold. They are raising their two daughters — a professional actress and an All-American sprinter — in Louisville, KY. Find her on social at: www.instagram.com/TheMomOnTheMove www.facebook.com/TheMomOnTheMove www.twitter.com/TheMomOntheMove We also sounded our Air Horn for actor and all-around fabulous, fierce woman Taraji P. Henson and the launching of her nonprofit, the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, aimed at combating the stigma around mental health in the African-American community. Listen in and join the conversation!

Hey, hey! We’re back with a fresh, new episode. This week we’re chatting it up with Charnaie Gordon of Here Wee Read. Charnaie is a wife, mom of two, computer programmer by day, blogger/influencer by night, self-proclaimed lifelong learner, podcast junkie and Distinguished Toastmaster. Her blog, Here Wee Read, is where she is currently expressing her creativity and passion for reading, diverse literature, and literacy. Her children and her husband are her inspiration and her followers/supporters are her book-loving tribe. More than anything else, she cares about connecting people with great books they'll love. In her world books are an absolute necessity. Charnaie is passionate about instilling a love of reading, lifelong learning, and curiosity in her kids. She hopes to inspire others to do the same with their children.  Charnaie is also the creator of the Bookstagram Choice Awards on Instagram, a contributing writer for Brightly and a contributing writer for Laila Ali's blog.  She's also working with her two children on their family community service project, 50 States 50 Books, a project helping to close the literacy gap in the United States.  So far she and her children have collected and donated 650 diverse children's books to 13 different states.  Their goal is to donate 50 diverse children's books for each of the 50 U.S. states and donate them to children in need around the country.  A forthcoming gracious 800 book donation from Hachette Book Group will help them complete 16 additional states in the coming weeks.  Taking their total number of states left to complete down to 21.  Find her online at hereweeread.com and @hereweeread on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  You can find her children at @50states50books. We’re also sounding our Airhorn for legendary actress, Cicely Tyson, who at 93 received an honorary Oscar.

We’re back at it, this time with our friend and special guest Natasha C. Nicholes. Who’s that, you ask? Listen. Basically, the woman is no joke. Natasha is a serious maker. To be a serious maker, you need the ability to see things not as they are but as what they can be. Not only that, you need the skills to make that vision into reality. That is Natasha’s super power. Where others saw an abandoned lot on the Southside of Chicago, Natasha saw a community garden overflowing with greens, fresh food for her neighbors, and chickens. Because of Natasha’s community leadership and hard work, the We Sow We Grow Community Garden allied with local stores, won features on the Harry show and in the Chicago Tribune, and was a 2017 Iris Award Nominee for the Best Philanthropic Work of the Year. Not only does Natasha grow food, she grows humans. She made four bold and brilliant children with her husband — and even made two of them at the same time. She even homeschools. But when she was researching online to find families like hers, she didn’t find any voices of African Americans represented. So of course, she created her own space at Houseful of Nicholes. Find her on social at: Twitter - @NatashaNicholes; IG - @Natasha Nicholes; and FB - We Sow We Grow We also sounded out Air Horn for the incomparable Michelle Obama (a.k.a. Our Forever FLOTUS) and the release of her bestselling memoir Becoming.

Welcome back! Last episode we introduced you to the new focus of the podcast. We’re talking to women just like us: work-at-home-moms with creative, slightly unconventional careers. This week we got into the importance of carving out time for ourselves to recharge the batteries. Maybe that looks like a professional development conference that you attend every year or a quiet retreat you go to so you can center on your art/writing/business for two days or perhaps it’s getting together with some chill, like-minds and going for a hike every Saturday to hash things out. Hey, maybe it’s just getting a decent hotel room in your town for a night by yourself to do whatever you damn well please. Make that staycation a mom-cation. It’s all about recharging and taking a few clean breathes, free of guilt and stress. Amen! Tell us: How do you make time for YOU, the “me” before you became a mom? Let us know, ‘cuz we’re nosy and we like to share good intel with our people! We also sound the Air Horn for all the women who became elected officials and made history in the 2018 midterm elections. Listen in!

Hey, hey! We’re back with another fresh episode. Circle up because this one’s important. We’ve decided to narrow the focus of our podcast to zero in on a particular type of woman: creative work from home moms. We’re talking about the entrepreneurs, the writers, the artists, the bloggers, the consultants, the freelancers, the business owners, the creatives. Those women who juggle making a living working for themselves with taking care of their homes, kids and partners while working from home offices, co-working spaces and Starbucks. We have a strong connection to these women because they are us. And we want to make sure that we’re cutting through the BS and shame and guilt out there to provide good resources, support, and community for other creative work from home moms out there. Listen in for more on our pivot. And let us know what you think!

We’re back after a week’s break, and we’re fired up all over again. This time we’re All A Twitter about the steady rise of white people calling the police on Black folks just living. These latest outrageous stories have one man in St. Louis being physically blocked from entering his own building because white woman and her puppy decided that he didn’t belong there; white woman in Brooklyn calling police on Black child(!) after falsely accusing him of groping(!) her at the deli; and a young white man in SoCal calling the police on a Black woman for daring to search her own car’s trunk. Worst part is? This is just a handful of these kinds of infuriating stories. Damn, it’s like, can we live? (Answer seems to be: nope.) We’re also honoring activist and original Me Too founder Tarana Burke again. This week marked one full year since the #metoo movement’s second iteration went viral. We’re looking at how far we’ve come and how much more ground needs to be torched in order to set down a new and better path for survivors.

We’ve got a hot + fresh Nsquared episode for you. Starting things off, we’re All a Twitter about the Season 3 finale of Insecure and finding out what happened to Ghost Bae (a.k.a Nathan, Issa’s barber boo). We also get into another buzzed about topic right now: Kanye West. Whether it’s that awful MAGA hat or his pro-trump rants, we’re basically asking the same thing you are … WYD, Kanye? This leads us into the main topic this week: mental health and the importance of investing in meaningful self-care. For Black women, it’s almost a revolutionary act to put your mental health and wellness as priority one, and we get into how we’re doing exactly that. Plus, we sound our Air Horn for Atlanta-based psychologist Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and her great resource Therapy For Black Girls, an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls. The site can even help you find a therapist in your city! So, relax, relate, release, and listen in!

It’s another Nsquared episode! This time we’re talking about friendships as an adult, specifically when you go through a major life change like moving or having a baby. Maintaining friendships as an adult is hard enough but sometimes big changes like a new baby can shatter them completely. We’re sharing our experiences and giving some tips on how to keep those friendships going strong even after that little bundle of joy joins the party. We’re also All A Twitter about the disgusting mess of the Supreme Court Nomination process for Kavanaugh. And we’re sounding our Airhorn Salute for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and her bravery in coming forward with her testimony. *Programming note: we recorded this episode before the Senate hearings for both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh that took place on Thursday 9/27

We’re back with another N+N episode! This time we’re all abuzz about the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards which aired earlier this week. On the real, this year’s Emmys were a bit of a snooze but there were still some fun moments — The Fonz! Betty White! Teddy Perkins! — and we dive into each of them. We also talk about some of the new, diverse shows slated for this Fall season. We sound our Airhorn Salute for the one and only Regina King who won her third Emmy for her starring role on Netflix’s Seven Seconds.

It’s an N-squared episode fresh and ready for ya! This week we’re All A Twitter about — #spoileralert! — that tall, cool, drink of Big Gulp, Lawrence (Jay Ellis), walking back into our lives on HBO’s Insecure. This means we got a brief visit from our fave sidekick, Chad (Neil Brown. Jr.), too. We’re also buzzing about Lena Waithe’s powerful acceptance speech for the Shot Caller Award she won at the recent Black Girls Rock ceremony. She encouraged us all to “get free” of the limited thinking, restricted narratives, stereotypes, and unnecessary fear about what other people think of you, and instead live out loud as your authentic self. This leads into our larger conversation about tennis great Serena Williams and the tired-ass “angry, Black woman” trope too many of us have to deal with every damn day. And we close out the show with an Air Horn Salute for 20-year-old, Women’s U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka. Get in to this!

This week we're chopping it up with A'Driane "addyeB" Nieves, a USAF veteran, self-taught artist, activist, and speaker with a heart for serving others and social good. She’s the founder of Addie Addye Studios, and gallery & boutique in Philadelphia that serves women artists of color. She's also a mental health advocate living with bipolar disorder, and runs an online mental health support group for women of color called Tessera Collective. She empowers women to transform brokenness in their lives into power and beauty, and amplifies the voices and experiences of those marked as Other in society through her written and visual work. She believes creating and viewing visual art that addresses themes such as racism, mental health, and recovering from trauma can serve as a catalyst for personal growth and social change.Her work has been featured on BlogHer, Everyday Feminism, Upworthy, Buzzfeed, Mashable, The Fourth Trimester Bodies Project, Sheryl Sandberg's "Option B" platform, and MISC Magazine. Her artwork has been exhibited at Wild Goose Festival, Johnson State College, WORKS San Jose, and most recently at Rare Device in San Francisco. She lives in New Jersey with her robotics loving husband and three boys. Plus, we sound the Air Horn for Nike and their newest ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. Nike will air its first "Just Do It" ad narrated by Colin Kaepernick during the NFL season opener Thursday night. How do you like them apples, NFL? Listen in!

We're back with another fresh one and another lovely guest! We welcome our friend and fave IG Influence LaShawn Wiltz. LaShawn is the creator of Everyday Eyecandy where she blogs about motherhood, her life, her passion for capturing everyday moments through photography and trying to find her version of balance through it all. She was the 2017 Mom 2.0 Summit IRIS Award winner for Best Instagram And 2018 winner for Best Photography. She is also VERY passionate about helping everyone live their best Instagram life. Based in Atlanta, GA, you can find Lashawn on Instagram, capturing the beauty in life’s everyday moments, documenting her days as a working wife and mom with a half-finished coffee in one hand and her camera in the other. LaShawn is also on Twitter: @lashawnwiltz and FB: @lashawnsphotoblog. We also sounded our Air Horn Salute for pioneering NASA mathematician and "human computer" Katherine Johnson, who celebrated her 100th birthday this week! So glad that she's able to see and feel all the well-deserved admiration, love, and gratitude going her way. 

We're excited to welcome our homegirl Amber L. Wright to the show this week! Amber is a communication coach, consultant, and owner of Words Well Said, LLC. Her superpower is helping women take their voice off mute and use it to change their lives. A popular speaker and award-winning educator, she is known for her hilarious, authentic, and inspiring approach to speaking and teaching. An expert in storytelling, she has helped a stellar roster of clients tell their stories at TEDx events, SXSW, and Harvard. She’s been featured in or mentioned on sites like Forbes, Mashable, Fast Company, and Black Enterprise. Her debut book, Can We Talk? 10 Life Lessons on Finding Your Voice and Finding Yourself, was released in 2017 and is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com. She’s a married mom of two, a proud lefty, and card-carrying member of Beyonce’s BeyHive. We're also sounding out Airhorn for Crazy Rich Asians, whose box office success is further proof that #RepresentationMatters, but it also brings in the big dollars. 

Hey, hey! Not only are we back with a new N+N episode, but it's another episode that we recorded sitting right next to each other. We could get used to this! This week we're All A Twitter about the return of HBO's Insecure for its third season. And we're issuing a major spoiler alert because we dive right into what's going on. We're also talking about Black women and the power in getting outdoors. We highlight a few women and organizations who are doing their part to help make the outdoors a more colorful, reflective place, including Nailah's Color Outside. Lastly, we sound our airhorn for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezfor her historic nomination and what it means for the future of the Democratic party.

We're back! So excited to kick-off Season 3. Even better: We actually recorded the episode sitting right next to each other. So the laugh factor was definitely leveled up. We dive into what everyone seems to be talking about (uh, basically, always)... Beyoncé. This time it was her takeover of the September issue of Vogue magazine. Not only did she grace the cover, but Beyoncé also served as creative director for the issue, including handpicking the photographer for the cover shoot: 23-year-old Tyler Mitchell. He is the first Black fashion photographer to shoot a Vogue cover in 126 years. A HUNNID AND TWENTY SIX YEARS! Wow! (But also, wow. Shameful.) Plus, we sound the air horn for all the magazine September issues with strong, creative, powerful Black women on their covers. As Lena Waithe said on Insta: "We don't just move the needle forward; we are the needle." Hell, yes!

Well, here we are at the end of Season 2. But, the good news is, you can catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 during our hiatus — relieve the magic from the beginning — and we'll be back in the summer with all new episodes! On this season ender we get All A Twitter about the danger and frustration of Being Black in America with the latest awfulness that went down in a Starbucks in Philly. Then we move into something hella better: Beyoncé headlining Coachella! King Bey took the stage as the first Black woman to headline the music fest, and then she destroyed it. Her historic performance was bold, badass, and Black as hell! She also kept the goodness flowing by announcing $100K scholarship donations to four HBCUs. And we sound our final Air Horn of Season 2 for cyclist Ayesha McGown, who plans to be the first African-American female pro cyclist. Hell, yeah! Listen in, and remember to hit us up on social media. We're still out there during the brief hiatus. Catch us at @heysispodcast on FB, IG, and Twitter!

We're back with a brand new episode! This time, we're talking about motherhood, career and the myth that women can't do both. After Cardi B announced her pregnancy on SNL, there were some naysayers implying that her choice to become a mother would derail her career. We call BS. And so does she in this Hot 97 clip. We're also All A Twitter about the ongoing investigation into Trump and his corrupt cronies and we talk a bit about Tony Robbins and his warped view on the #MeToo movement. Plus we're sounding our horn for Cardi B — between the pregnancy, the album debuting at #1 on Billboard and co-hosting the Tonight Show, she's living the best week ever! 

Welcome to April! We're getting into the swing of things of the new, bright second quarter of the year by talking about goal setting. How do you go about getting closer to your big goals? Well, don't answer that! Not until you hear some of our smart tips for managing your passions and pulling your dreams within reach. Also, we're All A Twitter about this creepy video of dozens of TV anchors from Sinclair Broadcast Group reciting the same speech warning against "biased and false news." Like some kind of bizarre hostage video. Plus, we sound the Air Horn for the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the fearless, South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former wife of the late Nelson Mandela.  

We're back at it! Fresh, new N + N episode just for you. This time we're taking on some important debates that have been burning up social media. First, WHO THE HELL BIT BEYONCÉ??! We join the digital sleuthing to crack the case. Then we move into the sheets discussion — as in, do you use a flat sheet on your bed or do you just slide right into the fitted sheet and let your comforter/quilt/duvet/blanket act as your only cover? (We let you know from the gate that we are TOTALLY on Team Top Sheet!). We also delve into some other "what do you do at your house" questions and remain surprised by some of the answers. Plus, we sound the Air Horn for Naomi Wadler, the youngest speaker (she's 11!) at the recent March For Our Lives rally in D.C. This fifth grader's speech was passionate and powerful, leaving anyone who watched or listened to it utterly inspired. We look forward to hearing more from this bright, young mind. Have a listen and let us know what you think!

It's time for another exciting episode! We're All A Twitter about Cynthia Nixon throwing her hat in the Gubernatorial race for New York, and we're talking more about the newest season of Atlanta on FX. Plus, we sound our air horn salute for Tomi Adeyemi, author of the bestselling new YA series Children of Blood and Bone. We're also excited to welcome to the show Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, who sits at the nexus of one of the world’s leading entertainment and media companies, WME. After selling her own small company to the William Morris Agency, Walsh served on the Board of Directors as the first woman ever and continued serving at WME after the company merged with Endeavor. As the head of WME’s Worldwide Literary, Lectures, and Conference Divisions, she steers the industry’s most prominent book business with the largest presence of any agency on the New York Times Best Seller List. She has stewarded the careers of some of today’s most seminal literary lions such as Alice Munro, Arianna Huffington, Sheryl Sandberg, Sue Monk Kidd, Jeannette Walls, Tom Clancy Estate, Ken Burns, Curtis Sittenfeld, Amy Bloom, Brené Brown, Janet Evanovich, and Oprah Winfrey among others. Walsh spearheaded the launch of WME’s conference division, beginning with the creation of the WME Women’s Summit, and constructing national conferences for Oprah Winfrey with The Life You Want Tour, Arianna Huffington’s Thrive, Cosmo Magazine’s Fun Fearless Life, and the premiere Christian women’s conference Women Of Faith. Most recently, Walsh is the founder of Together Live, a multicultural touring event that brings an array of thought leaders, activists, athletes, and celebrity guests to cities across the country for a night of inspired talks and interactive conversation focused on purpose, community, and social action. She also hosts a podcast, Do It on Purpose presented by Together Live. Walsh lives in Manhattan with her husband and three children. You can follow Jennifer online on Instagram and tap into the Together Live community with the Together app.

Be honest; have you ever been at a party and someone asks 'What do you do for fun?' and been completely stumped? You're not alone. According to research, women find it especially hard to get lost in hobbies or leisure time where the sole purpose is fun — not for the kids, not tied to some obligation — but pure, selfish fun. We've noticed the same thing about ourselves so we decided to talk about it. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Do you have hobbies or is leisure time a foreign concept in your life? We're also All A Twitter about A Wrinkle In Time and its box office success. But we're not so pleased about the peeps who are trying to pit Black Panther and A Wrinkle In Time against one another. This article by Sylvia Obell sums up our thoughts on that disheartening business. Plus, we're sounding off our airhorn salute for the young star of A Wrinkle In Time, Storm Reid. Have a listen!

It's March 8th, and we're celebrating! Not only is it International Women's Day, but it's also the one year anniversary of Hey, Sis! Podcast. Release the doves! On this episode we're taking it back to the reason why we started this show in the first place: raising the volume on women's voices, honoring their stories. We're also All A Twitter about the Oscars (bring on the inclusion riders!) and this #HereWeAre campaign, plus we sound the air horn for director and screenwriter Dee Rees.  ANDDDD... introducing our first-ever giveaway! One lucky listener will win a special one-year-anniverary prize pack highlighting some of our previous guests. That means signed books from Tia Williams, Colleen Oakley and more; a cool journal and pen duo; and a stylish Brave New World Designs tee all arranged in a chic tote bag. All you have to do to enter is follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and tell us which episode of HSP or guest on the show was your fave. Good luck! 

And we're back up in place! In his new episode we are All A Twitter about... what else? #WakandaForever Yes, we've seen Black Panther, and can barely catch our breath. Black Excellence on full display! Plus, we're giving Janelle Monáe her propers for her highly anticipated new album Dirty Computer. We're also excited to welcome to the show author and long-time journalist, Colleen Oakley, whose novels Before I Go and Close Enough to Touch have been named best books by People, Us Weekly, Library Journal and Real Simple. Colleen lives in Atlanta with her husband, four children and the world's biggest lapdog, Bailey. Find out more about Colleen and her books on: Twitter: @OakleyColleen; Facebook: /writercolleenoakley; and Insta: writercolleenoakley. And we sound the HSP Air Horn for Emma Gonzalez, the 18-year-old Stoneman Douglas High School senior and mass shooting survivor who is a passionate, powerful activist and advocate for gun control, leading the charge for change in the #NeverAgain Movement. Definitely dig in and have a listen!

It's another Nsqaured episode! This week we're hootin'-n-hollerin' for the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Though we're both more about that Summer Olympics life, we still have lots of love for the winter rock too. It's all so thrilling! From Team USA's snowboarding star Chloe Kim and history-making speed skaters  Maame Afua Biney and Erin Jackson to Nigeria's first-ever bobsled team and the Jamaican bobsled team the there are so many powerhouse women of color out on this grand stage showing what dedication and excellence look like. Plus, we're All a Twitter about the Quincy Jones no-effs-given interview on Vulture.com. We're also raving about National Portrait Gallery's unveiling of the long-awaited portraits of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Breathtaking! And we sound our Airhorn for Team USA figure skater Mirai Nagasu and her rare triple axel feat. Listen in! 

Hey, hey! We're back this week with our super sized Superbowl episode and giving you our hot take on football's biggest night: Superbowl LII. We talk about whether Justin Timberlake's halftime performance was hot or not (spoiler: this scathing review of the performance from the Daily Beast basically sums up our thoughts) and then dive right into the best part of the Superbowl — those commercials. Listen in to hear our run-down on the good, the bad, and the just plain weird. And if you need a quick refresher of some of the ads that ran, check out this NPR article. We also sounded our airhorn for Tayari Jones who released her new novel, “An American Marriage,” earlier this week to high praise. It's Oprah’s newest book club pick, so you know it's good. 

It's another N-squared episode, hot and fresh out the oven. This week we're going back to college — in our minds, at least — to talk about relationships and dating. After watching a recent episode of the new, fab series Grown-ish in which the young, college student characters get into a conversation/soft debate about what terms like "hooking up" really mean. Is it sex or just hanging out? Are you dating if you're "kickin' it" or are you just casual with it? And then how do dating apps like Tinder shake up the game?  We're also All A Twitter about the world premiere of Black Panther (a.k.a. Maximum Black Excellence) and all the post-Grammys chatter. And we sound the HSP Air Horn for U.S. Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and the more 140 brave women who gave heartbreaking, yet powerful victim impact statements against former U.S. Gymnastics doctor Larry Nasser, accused of sexually abusing over 100 people while under his "care." Stand up and speak out, Aly! You are making incredible, meaningful impact on so many lives. 

Annnnnd we're back with another fresh episode for you! This week, we got serious and discussed the rising maternity mortality rate in the U.S. — particularly for Black women who are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth or shortly afterwards. We mentioned Serena Williams' complications post-childbirth as well as some of the organizations that are shedding more light on this public health issue, like the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. We're also All A Twitter about the new Aziz Ansari sexual misconduct allegations, and we're giving a special Airhorn Salute to Franchesca Ramsey and her new book, available for pre-order now!

Happy, happy new year! We're back with the first episode of 2018 and we're sharing our strategies for setting -- and hopefully keeping -- our intentions for the upcoming year. Neither of us are resolution gals, but we do like to go through Susannah Conway's process of picking a word or theme that will define the new year. We're also All A Twitter about the Golden Globes, the Times Up organization and that electrifying speech from Mama O. Have a listen!

  Here we are... the last HSP episode of 2017. Can you believe it? Nah. Same here. Yes, it's been a bumpy road filled with lots of crazy and crazy-making news, but there were also lots of bright spots! We're celebrating one in particular: this heartwarming tale of two unlikely characters (a 21-year-old Black rapper from Harlem and a 81-year-old white lady from Florida) becoming true friends over the game Words With Friends. Aww, how many points does the word "adoraboo" get us? Also, we're sounding the Air Horn for TIME magazine's revolutionary pick for Person(s) of the Year. Have a listen! And Merry, Happy, Joy to you and yours!

It's time for another Nsquared episode! 'Tis the season for holiday cheer and this week we're talking all things Christmas -- from holiday traditions to gratitude, believing in Santa Claus to those pesky Elves on the Shelves. We cover it all. Plus, we're All A Twitter about the latest sexual harassment allegations against Matt Lauer. And to keep things a little light, chatting about our favorite sweet treats in honor of National Cookie Day. Lastly, we're giving an air horn salute to the one and only Cardi B., who is having the best year ever. Have a listen!

We're amped to have Christine Koh as a guest on the show. This woman is doing it all and doing it well. She's a former music and brain neuroscientist turned Internet unicorn. Christine is the creative director at Women Online (a communications firm that specializes in using social media for good), founder/editor of Boston Mamas (a pioneering hyperlocal lifestyle blog), co-host of the Edit Your Life Show (a podcast devoted to helping people edit their lives to make room for awesome), co-author of Minimalist Parenting (a book to help parents enjoy family life more by doing less), and designer/co-owner of Brave New World Designs (a stylish, advocacy-oriented design collection). Christine’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Redbook, Boston Magazine, The Boston Globe, Woman’s Day, and more. And she is the 2017 Iris Awards winner of Podcast of the Year. Were we lying about how fantastic she is? Nope.  Plus, we get our fascinators ready for the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle next spring! And we sound the Air Horn a second time for a writer and storyteller bringing her vision to Showtime early next year.

We're hyped to have actor, producer, and author Robinne Lee join the conversation! The daughter of Jamaican parents, Robinne was born and raised in Westchester County, New York.  A graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School, Robinne has spent the past several years acting, writing, and producing.She is best known for her film roles opposite Will Smith in “Hitch” and “Seven Pounds,” and Don Cheadle in “Hotel for Dogs.” Robinne is also recognized for her work in “Deliver us from Eva,” “National Security,” “13 Going on 30,” and “Hav Plenty.” Recently she completed shooting “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed” playing the role of “Ros Bailey.” And her past television appearances include recurring roles on BET’s breakout hit “Being Mary Jane,” and “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.” She is currently starring opposite Mario Van Peebles in the supernatural series “Superstition” which debuts this fall on the SyFy Channel. This summer, Robinne’s debut novel, THE IDEA OF YOU was published by St. Martin’s Press, to much acclaim. The story is of an unexpected relationship that develops between a 39-year-old divorced art dealer and a considerably younger member of a world famous boy band. It’s as much a love story complicated by celebrity, as it is the journey of a woman fully coming into her own. An avid runner and an aspiring ballerina, Robinne lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children, and we're so pleased to have her on the show!  For more information, visit www.robinnelee.com, and follow her on: Twitter: @robinnelee; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therobinnelee/; and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinnelee/ We talked about growing up under the heavy weight of Caribbean Parents' Expectations; Hollywood's gross "open secret" implosion; her favorite movie scene; and how she's working on bringing her sexy back. Later in the show we sounded the HSP Air Horn for Ibtihaj Muhammed and her fab, new, hijab-wearing Barbie doll! 

Let's hear it for another fab episode! This time, it's just us and we're talking about the oddly controversial topic of kid sleepovers. Nicole recently wrote an article in Good Housekeeping outlining her stance on the subject (spoiler: it's a no for her, dawg) but Nailah has a different point of view. Where do you land? Plus we're All A Twitter about the historic results from this week's elections. We're starting to see a glimmer of something we haven't seen in awhile -- Hope! And we're shouting out Shalane Flanagan, the first woman to win the NYC Marathon in 40 years. All good stuff all around. Listen in!

It's another Nsquared episode, and we're keeping it light this time around. Don't we all need a break from the heavy, harrowing and horrible? YES. The answer is absolutely yes. We got into the vibe of the season and talked about Halloween. We get into some of our fave traditions and the ones that need to be thrown in the trash (ugh, trunk-or-treat); "classic" Blades Fam old school costumes; and the candies we always go for first. (Step off, candy corn! Nobody's talking 'bout you, witcho gross self.) Plus, we are All A Twitter about Amazon Key, the new service for Prime Members that allows couriers to have access to open your door to leave packages for you. Um, whuuut?! And we sound the Air Horn Salute for our friend author Angela Flournoy, who is teaming up with Issa Rae to pen a new '90s family drama for HBO. Yaaaay! So proud of Angela! Have a listen.  

We're back with another Nsquared episode! We tackle some of the tough things happening in the news this week, particularly the continued fall-out from the Harvey Weinstein revelations. We shine a light on the #MeToo campaign and talk more about the harassment, assault and abuse that women suffer through each and every day as well as some of the societal shifts we need to see to achieve real change.  We also send a well deserved Air Horn Salute to Tarana Burke, the original founder of the #MeToo movement, who has been working to amplify the voices of assault for the past decade. Be sure to check out her organization at MeToo.support

We're chatting it up with Regina R. Robertson, editor, writer, and author of He Never Came Home: Interviews, Stories, and Essays from Daughters on Life Without Their Fathers. She's the West Coast editor of Essence magazine and her byline has been featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, on TheRoot.com and the Associated Pressnewswire. She has also been quoted in The Los Angeles Times and appeared as a featured guest on AM Joy, The Real, NPR, TV One and KTLA-TV. Recently, Regina has been crafting scripts for shows like Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood Awards, Street Style Block Party and the three-day Empowerment Experience at the Essence Music Festival. You can find her on Twitter @reginarobertson, IG at @reginarrobertson and her website. We're also All A Twitter over the gross Harry Weinstein sexual harassment and assault case (yuck). Here's the massive expose in The New Yorker (be careful with this one; it's very disturbing and explicit). And we sound the Air Horn Salute for actor Gabrielle Union for opening up about her painful experience with miscarriage. It is such a common struggle for women—so glad that people are speaking up and giving voice to such a personal experience.

  This week we're chatting with The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, Heidi W. Durrow! She's also the winner of Barbara Kingsolver’s 2008 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction and a book club favorite. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky was hailed as one of the Best Novels of 2010 by The Washington Post, a Top 10 Book of 2010 by The Oregonian, a Top 10 Buzz Book of 2010 by The Boston Herald, and a Top 10 Debut of 2010 by Booklist. In 2011, Durrow was nominated for a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Debut.She is also an award-winning podcaster and host of "The Mixed Experience," where she explores the multiracial experience in pop culture, academia, and history. Durrow is also the founder and executive director of the Mixed Remixed Festival, an annual public event celebrating the mixed-race experience. It is the largest nationwide gathering of multiracial people in the country. You can follow her here:  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/author.heidi.durrow/ Twitter @heididurrow We also got into the horror of the Las Vegas mass shooting (and what Congress needs to do instead of sending "thoughts + prayers" ). And we sound the air horn for Moms Demand Action, an org that continues to put in the work toward gun sense in America. Listen in.

This week’s special guest is Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of the books The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her novels have been named best books of summer by People, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, InStyle, PopSugar, BuzzFeed, Goodreads, and others. We talked diversity and representation in books, "unlikable" female protagonists, and how to make the perfect iced tea (naturally). Plus, we’re All A-Twitter about the #TakeTheKnee protest and the sudden shift the movement has taken since 45 inserted himself into the conversation. We're keeping the sports theme going with our Air Horn Salute for a woman in sports journalism who is speaking her mind and not backing down. Listen in!

We got right into it talking about the good, bad and what the hell is he doing here of the 2017 Emmy Awards, plus we chatted with our first guest of Season 2: Lindsey Day! She is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of CRWN Magazine, a print publication about natural hair and the women who wear it. A digital marketing strategist by trade, her focus is harnessing digital tools to positively shape culture. Through CRWN, she seeks to immortalize the hairstory of black women in print, shifting the standard of beauty for Black women—for good. Since 2016, CRWN has been featured by Forbes, Elle, Essence, Saint Heron, Girlboss, Nylon, Yahoo! Beauty and more; and in 2017 Day was named by The Huffington Post as one of seven Black Innovators Who Are Creating A Better Tomorrow. Prior to her role as a print publisher, Day developed her expertise working for major corporations such as Interscope/Geffen/A&M and DreamWorks Animation. She has also been instrumental in several startups, including an online magazine she founded in 2009, Made Woman, and Intern Queen Inc.; both of which are primarily focused on the empowerment, education and advancement of professional women. Plus, we sounded the Air Horn Salute for this talented woman who is speaking her truth and winning big. Hint: She can wear the hell outta a tux. Listen in! 

Aww, yeah! Season 2 all up in your area. We are back from our month-long hiatus with an extra serving of excitement. Welcome, welcome! In our first episode back, we're talking a bit about what kept us busy through August (spoiler: Color Outside Retreat for Nailah and prepping for the promo of Nicole's forthcoming novel HAVE YOU MET NORA?), plus we get into what's coming up this season. We're All a Twitter about Insecure's finale; Leslie Jones living her very best life; the beauty and fab inclusiveness of Fenty Beauty, the new makeup line from our Bajan sistren Rihanna; the outstanding Well-Read Black Girl Festival; and Time magazine's "Firsts" cover series on groundbreaking women. And of course we touched on the monster hurricanes in Texas, the Caribbean and Florida. We also sounded the Air Horn Salute for a charming, bright sports ace. Basically, we're so amped to be back in effect! Listen in.

It's the last episode of HSP Season One! Can you believe it? Nope. Same. It's been a total blast hanging with you for these last 21 episodes, and we hope you've enjoyed the ride. More to come for Season 2, kicking off after Labor Day in September! In this ep, we took a walk down HSP memory lane, highlighting some golden moments and fine lessons we've gathered from our inspiring guests. We were hyped all over again after talking about what we've learned so far doing this show. Definitely treat yourself and click back to some of our #flamesemoji episodes. We also were All A Twitter about the return of Issa Rae and Insecureon HBO and the box office smash hit Girls Trip. Speaking of the hilarious-good-time movie, we sounded our Air Horn for one of its stars: Tiffany Haddish. She's the best! And after catching her (now viral) video of her Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance showing how comedic storytelling is done, we can all agree: SHE READY! We'll be on hiatus through the month of August, but we're definitely still around on social media. Hit us up @heysispodcast on Twitter, FB and Instagram or drop us a line at hello@heysispodcast.com. Tell us some of your fave moments from Season One. Remember to review us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. And tell a friend about us! We appreciate your love and support. Later, Sisters!

Settle in folks, we have another exciting episode coming your way. This time, we're chatting with Jessica Ashley, a content strategist, content creator and coach. She's the founder and voice of Single Mom Nation and its sister podcast, Single Mom Nation Radio. She's an award-winning blogger with more than 40 million page views and 40,000 comments, and now also helps single moms thrive through creative divorce coaching. Jessica wears inappropriately high heels to the playground, and is mom to a Tae Kwon Do-ing, awkward breakdancing, stand-up comic 12-year old son and a feisty, delicious-cheeked toddler known online as Boss Lady. She lives with her kids and chef boyfriend in Chicago. You can join the Single Mom Community on Facebook and on Twitter: @singlemomnation We're also discussing the brand new Carter twins, Black motherhood and letting women just be. Plus we're shouting out an amazing sprinter and athlete on breaking a new record. We told you, it's a good one.

We're back with another Nsquared episode! And it's a good one too, if we do say so ourselves. We dive into some of the craziness that's been happening in politics this past week, including Aussie reporter, Chris Uhlmann's searing takedown of Trump after the G20 Summit and the disturbing Pew Research report on Republican's growing distrust of higher education. We also talk about our favorite Summertime Jams (some of them are on this list) and the Summertime Reads we're looking forward to gobbling up. Lastly, we salute Amy Siskind, who has been diligently documenting everything #notnormal about this newest administration. (Beeteedubs, the photo above is from our recent visit back home to Montreal. It's outside of our old elementary school!)

It's another Nsquared ep, y'all! We haven't done one of these in a while since we've been so fortunate to have a fab run of guests these last few weeks. #praisehands But what makes this one even more special is that we are coming to you from Montreal, our beloved hometown. So this means we're also sitting next to each other. Always a treat! We talk about how these MAGA supporters continue to show out, plus we sing our hometown praises. (Montreal was kind of the guest on this episode.) Then we get into our guilty pleasure TV shows*. Spoiler alert: Naked & Afraid and The CW teen shows factor in large here. And we once again salute another U.S. Congresswoman who is all about persistence. Listen in! (*Here's that old Trading Spouses "The God Warrior" episode we mentioned. Stained our brains!)

We were happy to have Bassey Ikpi sit in on our chatfest. Bassey is a Nigerian born, American raised writer and mental health advocate. She has been featured in international publications and media outlets from fashion magazines to profiles chronicling her work and life as a mental health activist. Bassey has written for several media platforms from digital to print on the topic of mental health and pop culture. With social commentary being a focus of her work, Bassey has  recorded original poems for Girl Effect’s Invisible Barriers, the Kaiser Foundation’s, HIV/AIDS campaign, Knowing Is Beautiful and There is No Comfort In Silence for Global Grind and World AIDS Day. She is the founder of the mental health organization The Siwe Project and creator of #NoShameDay. She is currently working on her first memoir, Making Friends With Giants (Harper Perennial), out fall 2018. You can follow Bassey on Twitter/Instagram/Snapchat: @basseyworld We also were All a Twitter about The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu (yes, still!) and sounded our air horn for two athletes who prove that boundaries only exist in our minds. Listen in!

We're coming back atcha with another great episode! We're talking to Laura Fuentes, the CEO of Fuentes Media, Founder of MOMables, and a Lifestyle Entrepreneur. She's the Author of 3 cookbooks, Executive Producer of video campaigns, makes television appearances, has competed (and won!) on Food Network, and often partners with brands in digital campaigns in both English and Spanish. With her background in Global Economics, MBA in Business Development, and 7 successful years growing her online businesses, Laura helps other entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses in LauraFuentes.co. We also dive into some of the heavier things that have been happening in the last few weeks including the Bill Cosby mistrial and the Philando Castile verdict. As well as touching on that superb Teen Vogue article, How to Masturbate If You Have a Vagina. Lastly, we're honoring Valerie Castile and all the other mothers who have tragically lost children to police brutality. We touch on the importance and power of her rage, but this article from Very Smart Brothas sums up what we're feeling perfectly.  

Are you ready to get pumped up? You need to be, friends, because this conversation with Morra Aarons-Mele is going to set you right! We're talking autonomy, lift each other up, and trying to live without jealousy with this wise woman. She's the founder of the award-winning social impact agency Women Online and The Mission List, a social change influencer database. She is an internet marketer who has been working with women online since 1999, when she helped Hillary Clinton log on for her first Internet chat. Morra has launched online campaigns for President Obama, Malala Yousafzai, the United Nations, and many other leading figures and organizations. She's also the host of the popular podcast "Hiding in the Bathroom," found on PodcastOne and part of the Forbes Network. Her forthcoming book of the same name will be published by Harper Collins in fall 2017. Morra has written for BlogHer as well as The Harvard Business Review, The Huffington Post, MomsRising, The Wall St Journal, The New York Times, and The Guardian. She and husband Nicco Mele live in Boston with their three children. Follow Morra on Twitter @morraam and her website womenandwork.org. We also rave about the new Black Panther trailer because IT WAS PURE FLAMES! And we sound the air horn for two more sisters in the pesistence, because some of these women Senators are not to be messed with.  

We're sharing our fourth and final interview from our Mom 2.0 Summit series with the one and only Erika Nicole Kendall. Erika is the writer behind the blog A Black Girl’s Guide to Weight Loss, where she chronicles her journey from 330-lb couch potato to nutritionist and personal trainer. Erika has partnered with brands from Microsoft and Asics to the U.S. Army to inspire people to live healthier lives in a positive and uplifting way. Listen in!

We're rolling through our Mom 2.0 Summit series and chatting with Julie Clark, a full-time mom and former teacher best known for founding The Baby Einstein Company, a start-up business that was born in her basement and became an internationally acclaimed, multimillion-dollar company in less than five years. Julie’s new business is WeeSchool, a media company that gives parents fun, positive ideas for play with their wee ones and helps them understand child development.  We also share our take on the women-only screenings of the new Wonder Woman movie planned in Austin, Texas. And we salute one young champion athlete who's not here to smile to make you comfortable. Have a listen! 

We're continuing our Mom 2.0 Summit series with Rachel Hofstetter, a former food editor at O, the Oprah Magazine and the author behind the best-selling book Cooking Up a Business. Rachel is the co-founder of guesterly, a software platform that enables anyone to create a custom who's who directory for events and groups and now serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Chatbooks, the super-easy subscription photo book company.

It's the first of our Mom 2.0 Summit series! We're talked with Heather Greenwood Davis, a Contributing Editor at National Geographic Traveler,  award-winning freelance writer and columnist, and the voice behind GlobetrottingMama.com, an international family travel blog. The mom of two was also named Traveler of the Year in 2012 after a yearlong family trip around the world that hit 29 countries on six continents in 12 months.