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If you want to know how Sam Cooke, my dad, The Fugees and the Red Hot Chili Peppers helped me write a poem, then you are gonna dig this episode. I’m taking you behind the poetry of my poem Key of G and in the process I’m talking you through a lot of music I LOVE. In this episode I share some information about the Hungry Hearts anthology featuring my essay “Period Playlist.” The book is OUT NOW. Get your copy here: http://penguinrandomhouse.com/hungryhearts. To get transcripts, links, and details from each episode, check out the show notes. To continue your support of the podcast and my work, become a member of my Patreon community where you can get access to archived episodes, bonus episodes, my writing, and behind the scenes performance footage. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, for podcast clips, poetry quotes and random quips. For information on how to book me to speak or perform at a virtual event, visit amenabrown.com. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support!

This week we are in the HER living room talking about a few of my favorite things...which was mostly me talking about food. LOL I share with you my favorite food cities, my mojo city, necessary pizza toppings and who wins the Pizza Battle between NYC and Chicago. To get transcripts, links, and details from each episode, check out the show notes. To continue your support of the podcast and my work, become a member of my Patreon community where you can get access to archived episodes, bonus episodes, my writing, and behind the scenes performance footage. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, for podcast clips, poetry quotes and random quips. For information on how to book me to speak or perform at a virtual event, visit amenabrown.com. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support!

This is one of my most vulnerable episodes to date. I’m giving you a Behind the Poetry look at my poem “Here Breathing” as I tell you the really difficult time in my life that inspired me to write the poem. I talk about what it means to survive hard things, how therapy helped me heal, why it’s important to remember we are still here and why I’m glad you are here too. To get transcripts, links, and details from each episode, check out the show notes. To continue your support of the podcast and my work, become a member of my Patreon community where you can get access to archived episodes, bonus episodes, my writing, and behind the scenes performance footage. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, for podcast clips, poetry quotes and random quips. For information on how to book me to speak or perform at a virtual event, visit amenabrown.com. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support! 

Normally this time of year there’s a lot of talk about fitness, exercise, and dieting and a lot of this talk can get unhealthy pretty fast by encouraging us to have unhealthy relationships with food and our bodies. Someone who has been a good model for me on how to engage fitness while loving the body I’m in is nationally recognized 200-pound curvy fitness professional and pioneer and founder of the Curvy and Cut app, Anowa Adjah. In this HER archives episode Anowa shares how to make your health and wellness a priority and how to access your power and gratitude. For more information about Anowa Adjah, visit https://anowaadjah.com/.To check out Anowa’s app, Curvy and cut, visit https://curvyandcut.plankk.com.To get transcripts, links, and details from each episode, check out the show notes. To continue your support of the podcast and my work, become a member of my Patreon community where you can get access to archived episodes, bonus episodes, my writing, and behind the scenes performance footage. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, for podcast clips, poetry quotes and random quips. For information on how to book me to speak or perform at a virtual event, visit amenabrown.com. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support!

If you watched Sister Act 2 and you remember the scene where Lauryn Hill and another student were singing a duet of His Eye is On the Sparrow, you may remember the other singer in that duet as Tanya Blount. She is now Tanya Trotter and half of rock and roll, country soul duo The War and Treaty and I had so much fun talking all things music with her for this week’s episode! Listen in to hear how Tanya found her voice and to hear her share some of her musical favs! For more information about The War and Treaty, visit https://www.thewarandtreaty.com.To check out Tanya’s line of vintage apparel, visit https://www.shelovesvintage.com. To get transcripts, links, and details from each episode, check out the show notes. To continue your support of the podcast and my work, become a member of my Patreon community where you can get access to archived episodes, bonus episodes, my writing, and behind the scenes performance footage. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, for podcast clips, poetry quotes and random quips. For information on how to book me to speak or perform at a virtual event, visit amenabrown.com. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support! 

This week on #HERwithAmena, I’m discussing some of the best TV of 2020 with writer, theater critic, arts journalist and playwright, Kelundra Smith @anotherpieceofkay. In this clip, Kelundra talks about a TV show she can’t believe she watched this year. Check out the episode wherever you get our podcasts to her about the TV we loved and the TV we loved to hate? 

 I have never wanted a Christmas onesie as much as I did while talking to singer, author, actress, American Idol finalist, and Christmas enthusiast, Melinda Doolittle! Melinda tells me why there is no judgment for leaving Christmas decorations up all year round and dishes on her favorite Christmas songs and traditions. Grab some hot cocoa, get dressed in your favorite holiday pjs, and join me in our HER living room! For more information about Melinda Doolittle, visit http://melindadoolittle.com. Follow Melinda on Instagram and Twitter! To get transcripts, links, and details from each episode, check out the show notes. To continue your support of the podcast and my work, become a member of my Patreon community where you can get access to archived episodes, bonus episodes, my writing, and behind the scenes performance footage. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, for podcast clips, poetry quotes and random quips. For information on how to book me to speak or perform at a virtual event, visit amenabrown.com. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support!

I love gospel music and I’m so happy to talk with gospel great and vocal coach on Netflix show, Voices of Fire, Peggy Britt. Executive produced by Pharrell Williams, Voices of Fire is an inspirational show following the journey of singers and vocal coaches as they form a diverse, gospel choir in Hampton Roads, VA. Listen in as Peggy and I talk about her journey in gospel music and why it’s important to preserve gospel music tradition. For more information on Voices of Fire, visit www.netflix.com.To get transcripts, links, and details from each episode, check out the show notes. To continue your support of the podcast and my work, become a member of my Patreon community where you can get access to archived episodes, bonus episodes, writing, and behind the scenes footage. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, for podcast clips, poetry quotes and random quips. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support!

Every poem has a story. In each Behind the Poetry episode I share one of my poems, the real life story behind one of my poems, what it was like performing it for the first time and how I feel about the poem today. This week, I’m sharing my poem Roots & Wings and the very first time I ever performed my own poetry. Listen in to hear how the movie Love Jones and the legacy of my ancestors helped me to write this poem. For the show notes and transcript, visit http://amenabrown.com/herwithamena.

Is it just me or are y’all TIRED?! This week I get real about how exhausting 2020 has been and how we can take some time this month to rest and recover. I’m also talking with disabled activist, podcaster, and founder/director of the Disability Visibility Project, Alice Wong. Listen in as Alice talks about how her creative work informs her activism and why it’s important to preserve disabled history and follow the lead of the disabled community.For more information about Alice Wong, the Disability Visibility Project®, and the Disability Visibility book visit https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/.For the show notes and transcript, visit http://amenabrown.com/herwithamena.

It’s Thanksgiving week, which for me is usually a cookapalooza, but for this week’s episode I’m telling you about my first time cooking for Thanksgiving and the shenanigans that ensued quickly from there. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

This episode, I’m telling y’all my business. Wait don’t I tell you my episode on every episode?! I’m sharing a personal story about a recent moment that reminded me to say yes to myself AND I’m telling y’all about what deveining shrimp on date night and trussing chicken have taught me about relationships. In an interview from the HER archives, I’m also talking with writer, artist, musician and author, Morgan Harper Nichols about her creative process and why it’s important to hold space for other people’s stories. For more information about Morgan Harper Nichols, visit http://morganharpernichols.com.For the show notes and transcript, visit http://amenabrown.com/herwithamena. 

This week, I’m talking about how working from home has caused me to leave wearing bras in the past and how I intend to live my best sweatsuit life this fall and winter! In celebration of HBCU Homecoming season and Beyoncé’s album and Netflix special Homecoming, I’m talking with Candice Benbow in an interview from the HER archives. Candice is the creator of The Lemonade Syllabus, Red Lip Theology and founder of Zion Hill Media Group. Listen in as Candice and I talk about the inspiration we find in Beyoncé and the power of coming home to yourself. For more information about Candice Benbow, visit https://candicebenbow.com. For the show notes and transcript, visit http://amenabrown.com/herwithamena. 

Yep we made it. It’s Election Day. Whether you are headed to cast your vote or have already cast your vote, this week’s episode is designed to give you some self care tips to carry you through today and the days ahead. This week my guest is Juliana Brown Eyes, an indigenous multihyphenate and founder of Rezaissance, whose life work is telling the story of her people through film, music, and photography. Listen in as Juliana shares why indigenous stories should be told by indigenous people and why it’s important to stay connected to our ancestors. For more information on Juliana and Rezaissance, visit https://www.rezaissance.com. For the show notes and transcript, visit http://amenabrown.com/herwithamena. 

This week I’m answering YOUR questions about my favorite dance movie, my love for donuts and how to overcome imposter syndrome. I asked on social media and you answered by sharing your thoughts on things you should never say to a woman. I’m also sharing my top 5 quintessential Black girl books. For the show notes and transcript, visit http://amenabrown.com/herwithamena.

This week, I’m sharing how measuring my body for a recent video/photo shoot had me all in my feelings! Plus, I’m sharing a poetic reading inspired by Megan Thee Stallion. In an interview from the HER archives, I’m talking with my friend and singer/songwriter Jennifer Chung about her music and her own journey of loving the skin she’s in. For more of Jennifer’s music: http://www.jenniferchung.com/.For more info on Jennifer’s and her husband’s media company WATS.Media: https://www.wats.media/For show notes and transcripts, visit http://amenabrown.com/herwithamena.

The pandemic has brought me time to discover if I’m a cocktail lady or a wine lady. Let’s discuss. I’m also sharing the food and drink lessons I have learned from being broke. This week, as we are in the middle of an election season, I thought it would be fitting to return to an episode from the archives with attorney, founder, and social impact strategist, Ifeoma Ike. This episode was recorded in the Before Times (prior to the pandemic). Ifeoma shares her journey in government and law, how to effect change inside of a broken system and why marginalized people should get involved in government and politics. To learn more about Ifeoma Ike, visit https://thinkrubix.com/ifeoma. For the show notes and transcripts, visit http://www.amenabrown.com/her-with-amena-brown/episode-3.