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Beyoncé is coming. To properly prepare for the arrival of her 7th studio album Renaissance, Brittany is joined by entertainment journalist, hive member, and certified Bey enthusiast, Sylvia Obell, to rank the top songs from Queen Bey. Join us for RANKED!: The Beyonce Experience Edition!

This week, Eric interviews journalist Pendarvis Harshaw and filmmaker Brandon Tauszik about their groundbreaking online documentary, Facing Life. Facing Life follows the stories of eight formerly incarcerated people adjusting to life outside of California prisons. Make sure to stay tuned til the end for an announcement about Eric!Facing LifeFacing Life in the LA TimesPendarvis Harshaw: https://www.kqed.org/author/ogpennInstagram TwitterBrandon Tauszik: https://brandontauszik.com/InstagramTwitter

Bridget Todd, host of There Are No Girls on The Internet, joins the show this week to talk to us about all things tech, social media, and digital landscapes. She’s covered everything from sex trafficking myths that go viral to Kanye West’s bizarre intimidation tactics towards a Georgia election worker in 2020. Join Brittany and Bridget as they cover the manosphere’s crypto connection, the racial politics of online harassment and the endless search for a safe space online.   Check out There Are No Girls On the Internet today: https://www.tangoti.com/

This week, journalist and author Aaron Foley joins the show to talk about his debut novel, Boys Come First. The book follows Dominick Gibson, Remy Patton, and Troy Clements; three Black gay milennial men trying to figure their lives out in an ever-changing Motor City. There's love, friendship, tenderness, success, and a LOT of steamy sex scenes... but most importantly, it's a love letter to the city of Detroit. Put this on your summer reading list TODAY!

After our episode with Tirhakah Love on Kendrick Lamar's latest album, Brittany and Eric realized there was another conversation brewing right under the surface: pop culture's reckoning with queerness and how it challenges the "traditional" ideals of Black masculinity. Between the tumultuous relationship between Lil Nas X and BET, Jerrod Carmichael's latest HBO special "Rothaniel," and Isaiah Rashad's leaked sex tape, Brittany and Eric are in conversation (again) with Tirhakah on how far hip-hop and comedy have ~really~ come when it comes to queerness. 

This week, Brittany and Eric return to the show that started it all: The Real World. As long time fans of the original New Orleans season, the For Colored Nerds crew was SUPER excited for the reunion, The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans. Brittany and Eric reflect on the original series, their favorite moments, what they loved about the reunion, and, most importantly, they chat with everyone's favorite cast member from the New Orleans series: Melissa Beck. 

Brittany and Eric are comin' for your top five. After weeks of buzz, questions, conspiracies, and callouts, it's safe to say Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers is Kendrick Lamar's most controversial work. With help from Vulture writer Tirhakah Love, the For Colored Nerds crew gives their raw and unfiltered reactions to the album.

This week, Brittany and Eric chat with theologian, writer, and author Candice Marie Benbow about her book, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who've Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn't Enough. To say the book challenges every idea of religion that we’ve come to know as gospel is an understatement. Candice refers to God not as He but They/Them, she encourages the need for grace by telling her own story of being ‘the other women,’ and she makes the case that the Bible is a more overtly sexual text than we think. These ideas may come as a shock to most...but what's that old saying? If you scared, go to church!

This week, Brittany chatted with Nicole A. Taylor, writer, master home chef, producer, and cookbook author about her latest cookbook Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations. From rhubarb BBQ sauce to corn dogs there's something in this cookbook for everyone. And, they get into the importance of honoring Juneteenth's origins in Texas.

Have you ever felt bad for critiquing a Black film for fear of "no more being made"? Feeling so-so about this season of ATLANTA? Are you looking for someone, somewhere who can just say what's been sitting on your chest for so long? Look no further. Angelica Jade Bastien, Vulture film & TV critic, joins the show to give her unfiltered, deeply researched, and incisive commentary that we've grown to love in her work. She's written about all your favorite films and TV shows from I May Destroy You to Candyman and she doesn't hold back. Angelica and Eric get into the value of black criticism, reviewing Candyman, and season 3 of Atlanta. You really don't wanna miss this.

From The Slap Heard Around to World to Rihanna's pregnancy, we've heard all the possible takes on our juiciest celebrity gossip. But there's one voice missing from the pack.. the one, the only, Wendy Williams. This week, Brittany, Eric, and Ira Madison III  (Keep It) get into what makes Wendy the shock jock we hate to love, why her absence is so missed, and how the gossip landscape has grown because of her influence. 

What's good, For Colored Nerds fam? Brittany and Eric are back this week with David Dennis Jr. David is a writer, educator, and author of a new memoir, The Movement Made Us. The book recounts the life of David’s father, David Dennis Sr., a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement. It follows David Sr.'s life from his first CORE meeting to the Freedom Rides and more. Through firsthand accounts from David Sr. and letters from his son, we see the ripple effects of his movement work and most of all, his relationship with David Jr.

Today we have a very preview from the Washington Post’s daily show, Post Reports. Every weekday, host Martine Powers walks listeners through the news of the day. In this particular episode, reporter Danielle Douglas-Gabriel talked with Black women about the student loan debt freeze and what they’ve been able to do while their payments remain paused.  

Today we have a very special clip of Well-Read Black Girl, where the host and creator, Glory Edim, talks to actress Gabrielle Union about Bring it On.

This week, Brittany chats with iconic journalist, magazine editor, and novelist, Danyel Smith, about the release of her new book, Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop. From celebrating the enduring impact of Phillis Wheatley's poetry to giving insight into Whitney Houston's relationship with Bobby Brown - there's a little something for everyone. And to top it all off, Danyel's book is not just a love letter to Black women but a memoir of how these Black women in particular have showered her life with love, ambition, and empathy through their gifts. 

In honor of Black Maternal Health Week, the For Colored Nerds crew chats with Gabrielle Horton and Martina Abrahams Ilunga, the hosts of NATAL, a podcast about giving birth while Black. NATAL is in its second season and follows the lives of three Black families in rural America. Stay tuned for a deep dive into reproductive justice, reverse migration, and a special announcement from our very own Eric Eddings.

Verzuz, Issa Rae's empire, and dinner with Jay-Z - oh my! Trapital founder and host Dan Runcie joins the show to talk all things music, culture, and the business that keeps it going. From Pusha T’s Arby’s Spicy Fish diss track to what the future looks like for Gen Z artists – Dan’s got the answers!

This week, Brittany and Eric take on the increase of Black characters in period dramas, a genre that mostly known for its predominantly white casts. From The Gilded Age to Hamilton, they deconstruct what does and doesn't work about these portrayals with the help of Martine Powers, host of The Washington Post's "Post Reports” and period drama superfan. And in the second half of the episode, they chat with executive producer and director of The Gilded Age, Salli Richardson-Whitfield about The Gilded Age, her career and what's to come.

This week, For Colored Nerds brings back RANKED. To honor the 31st anniversary of Robert Townsend's The Five Heartbeats, Brittany and Eric rank the best Black Fictional Music Acts of ALL TIME. This is RANKED: The Faking the Funk Edition. You won't wanna miss this.

In January, New York Magazine published a retrospective on the 10 years since Trayvon Martin’s death and the subsequent birth of Black Lives Matter. Since its evolution from rallying cry to non-profit, questions have been asked about its structure, organization, goals and leadership. NYMag spotlighted two organizations in their coverage - The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and Campaign Zero. The reporting details the conflict between the hope for change and revolution and the alleged desire for fame and notoriety amongst leaders who arguably became the de facto faces of “the movement.” The stories also raise questions that feel urgent as the movement for Black lives continues to evolve. This week, Brittany and Eric chat with Ernest Owens, journalist and writer of "The Rise and Rupture of Campaign Zero''. In the second half of the show, culture writer and journalist Shamira Ibrahim joins Brittany and Eric to talk about the growing conflict between activism, entertainment, fame and the continuing fight for freedom. “The Rise and Rupture of Campaign Zero” (Ernest Owens - New York Magazine - January 2022): https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/01/campaign-zero-rise-and-fall.html Campaign Zero's board statement in response to the New York Magazine piece: https://impact.campaignzero.org/message If you would like to read the Campaign Zero impact DeRay shared with us in his statement, you can find it here: http://impact.campaignzero.org