March 19, 2025 • 28 mins
Minnie questions Kweku Mandela, film producer, surfer, and social change advocate. Kweku shares how he feels his family legacy has impacted his global outlook, what role the arts and culture play in social movements and maybe even his stance on life from other planet.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
It's not that bad, Like the sharks aren't the problem.
It's just how cold it is.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Do you sometimes put your wet suit by your bed
and the minute you wake up, you put it on
because someone told me to do that, and then you
literally have to go ah when you're already in your
wet suit, Like I get up, go to the bathroom
and put my wet suit on, and then it's like, oh,
no a minute.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
That makes a lot of sense, though, that could because
you usually go to the beach and then it's like, oh,
let's go look at the what there's that floor? Yeah,
and a process you go through. He's definitely answer something.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Hello, I'm mini driver. I've always loved Proust's questionnaire. It
was originally in nineteenth century parlor game where players would
ask each other thirty five questions aimed at revealing the
other player's true nature. In asking different people the same
set questions, you can make observations about which truths appear
(01:03):
to be universal. And it made me wonder, what if
these questions were just the jumping off point, what greater
depths would be revealed if I asked these questions as
conversation starters. So I adapted Pru's questionnaire, and I wrote
my own seven questions that I personally think are pertinent
to a person's story. They are when and where were
you happiest? What is the quality you like least about yourself?
(01:26):
What relationship, real or fictionalized, defines love for you? What
question would you most like answered, What person, place, or
experience has shaped you the most? What would be your
last meal? And can you tell me something in your
life that's grown out of a personal disaster? And I've
gathered a group of really remarkable people, ones that I
(01:47):
am honored and humbled to have had the chance to
engage with. You may not hear their answers to all
seven of these questions. We've whittled it down to which
questions felt closest to their experience, or the most prizing,
or created the most fertile ground to connect. My guest
today is the film producer, social advocate and activist Quaku
(02:11):
Mandela Amua. Quaku is the kind of social advocate who
effects change on a global level. He is a founding
member and ambassador of jen Endit, a collective of HIV
AIDS organizations committed to seeing the end of AIDS in
our lifetime. He also sits on the board of the
Amazing Global Citizen By the Way, their extraordinary concert will
(02:34):
take place in Central Park in New York City this September,
and Charlie's Sarren's Brilliant Africa Outreach Project. It's hard to
speak about Quaku without contextualizing the legacy he comes from
as the grandson of Nelson Mandela. Quaku's written about his
grandfather over the years, and something he wrote has stayed
and resonated with me deeply, perhaps on account of the
(02:58):
times we're living in and particularly what has been apparent
in this first half of twenty twenty five. Quaker wrote,
my grandfather would always say that if we as humans
don't transcend this cycle of hatred and violence that we
find ourselves in so often, we will always be prisoners.
Quaku carries with him this torch of peace, justice and reconciliation,
(03:22):
which to me at the cornerstones of his grandfather's legacy.
We had such an interesting chat about the sacrifices his
family made to be in politics, about music as a
form of activism, and the role of art as a
way of addressing major issues in society. Time and again
we both return to the theme of our children and
the hopes that we can and will make a better,
(03:46):
kinder world for them. In your life, can you tell
me about something that has grown out of a personal disaster.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, you know, I always wanted my son to meet
my aunt because she was such a big factor in
my life of really pushing me to follow my passions
from a young age. Like I think she brought me
my first CD and I listened to that thing for
like forty eight hours straight, just on her feat, and
she came out like four am in the morning.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
She's like, you really love music. You should do something
with music.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
I was like, all right, okay, And then I ended
up starting that festival around HIV and AIDS awareness and
followed my passion for live music and live events. And
she was seminole undoubtedly and pushing me that way. So
I definitely wanted her to meet my son. But COVID
started and you know, you couldn't travel. I was in
(04:41):
New York. She had just come back to South Africa
and she passed away, and I remember just how weird
it was watching her funeral memorial on YouTube.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
I remember saying to myself that every day I was
going to wake up and like tell my son I
love him and just told him and just carry that
out into the world.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
And yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
It's helped build my relationship with him, and I think
it's also affected how I treat people in the world.
There's lots of things I understand now that I probably
didn't understand when I was younger, about what one can
represent without even knowing it by coming from the legacy
which we all have because we all have parents and
grandparents and great grandparents who did good things and some
(05:26):
that did that. And so I just hope my son
feels that as he grows up and he realizes that's
what he eminate's.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
From and that's something that he will learn from you, Like,
have you in your life felt the weight of that
legacy or it was just what you knew and so
you incorporate it into your daily life And is that
the way in which you'll pass it on to your child,
do you think?
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I think for a long time I was told what
that was meant to be, and there was the expectation
of what I was meant to be. But then you
come into your own where you realize through all the
things you've learned and the experiences you've had what that
means to you, and that's the most important thing that
you carry forward. And it's just the essence that I
think is instilled in you, whether you want to call
it DNA, whether you want to call it grounding or
(06:08):
beliefs or teachings. And so I hope again, through his experiences,
which will be very different from line, that he'll find
and figure out how that relates to him.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Is that part of the films that you make and
the music that you're involved in is storytelling like a
really important aspect of your life because you come from
a big story and South Africa has a big story.
I mean, I know every country does, but like we're
talking about this now, do you think that's part of
what you choose to do for a living? Like that
is an extension of that?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
It could be.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, I've never thought of it that way, but now
that you've said it, I'm like, oh, that makes a
lot of sense. So there's been three big things in
my life. One is the idea of how you can
bring people together in a music concert. When I was
four and a half in Boston Park with Harrismith, not
really knowing anything about that band, but knowing that they'd
brought a bunch of people together really piqued my interest filmmaking.
(07:00):
The ideas that you could tell stories and those could
move people to think differently or feel something that they
didn't feel before. That was always something that struck at me.
And then the idea that you can build community, which
goes back to something you've talked about on this and
you can do that in many different forms, but the
easiest is through storytelling and getting people to realize that
(07:20):
they have more in common than they don't exactly. So
that's always been something. I guess organizing has always been
something that I've been good at.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
What person, place, or experience has most altered your life?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
I would say place definitely, again, coming back to Africa
when I was ten, and then coming back later my life,
returning and there is something unique about the people here,
the warmth, the resilience that I'd seen in glimpses around
the world, but just really came home, and I think
to find my belief in humanity, So my fervent kind
(08:01):
of desire to want to be able to make sure
the continent is seen and treated in a respectful way.
And an equitable way. So I would say that's definitely
been place for me that had an undeniable impact.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Do you have a very clear recollection as a ten
year old boy of arriving back and what did you feel,
Because you've been in America, right, so do you remember
do you have like crystal memories of what that was like?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I remember was one day I went outside my driveway
and there were these guys there standing in Zulu attire
and they had spears and.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
My mom screamed, she was like sorry, she grabbed. I
had no concept. I was like, oh, these guys look
so cool. I was like, I've never seen anyone who
just look like this.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
But at the time, there was this conflict going on
between the Zulus and close so it was like very
dangerous and I.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Just remember that moment very vividly.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Going to class with a group of kids that were
very diverse and from all over the world. There were Greek,
they were or Cheguese there, or British kids in my class,
and you know, again meeting people that did not have
a lot by any stretch of the means of what
I'd grown up with before, but that were just so
positive and content all of those moments really stuck with me.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Do you think there's, like you said, concentration of kindness
of coming back to South Africa? What creates that in
that particular place, Like when you say that people are
just so lovely and kind? Do you think there is
something that engenders that.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
I think experience, I would imagine plays a role a
country that had gone through this major shift and was
trying to figure out what it was the tension of that,
but also I guess the belief that you have to
have that things can get better.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
And then I think there's also just nature.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
What relationship, real or fictionalized, defines love for you?
Speaker 1 (10:09):
I think for most of my life the kind of
anecdotal idea of romance in the movie would have equated
love the ability to show someone you care to be
affectionate display public affection for someone else.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Those things still inspire me.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I think I'm just more pragmatic having been in relationships
and come out of them in the concept of sacrifice
and what that means. And again I always told myself
I never wanted to do politics, largely because I know
the human toll right that takes on someone and their
family and their loved ones. But ultimately, when I think
back on that in the context of my family, when
(10:47):
I think about those sacrifices that not just my grandfather made,
my grandmother's.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
My uncle, my aunts.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
It was for me in the sense the kind of
true expression of love, the idea that you were doing
something that it was bigger than yourself at such a scale,
and doing it fearlessly even though there was so much
danger and unknown and.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Risk attached to that.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And so I would say, for me, yeah, as I
get older, that's something I've started to think about a
lot more as a reflection of true love.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
H It's funny because I think on a small or
a bigger level, sacrifice it is a huge part of love.
It's not the romantic part that we talk about, but
it is a huge cornerstone of the things that we
And maybe sacrifice is alongside compromise, the idea of what
we do for those that we love that are not
(11:35):
necessarily choices we'd make for ourselves. But you know that
for a kind of greater good, we seem to be
pretty far away from that. In our world. Everything's become
so protectionist now it's not about sacrificing for a greater good,
but rather protecting more for our own gain slash, I
guess security, But.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I think that's what the image of love has been
presented to us, as something that we are meant to protect.
Like you're not meant to go out of your way,
You're not meant to compromise or sacrifice. You're meant to
feel good, You're meant to feel happy and special, and you're.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Meant to be upbeat.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
And I think the real toll of what love is
is when you're willing to let something go, no matter
what it is, because you know that something greater can
come from that and those around you can benefit from it.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Was that part of Global Citizens That organization for me
feels like a kind of embodiment of like a love
that is shared and spread around and actually is foundational
and has the kind of infrastructure. Was that something you
were really interested in being involved with, because it really
does feel like an expression of love. I mean, that's
simplifying it, But was that part of that?
Speaker 1 (12:42):
I don't know if it was an expression of love
for me, and if it is, to be honest with you,
I think I had been part of starting a concert
when I was twelve, when I was really young and
just idealic, and at the time I got out, I
was going through like my cold Play phase where I
was just listening to.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Them over and over.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
I ended up calling a promoter and got lucky the
right person spoke to me and four Triple six y four,
which was an HIV and AIDS awareness concert, was born.
And because I had that experience, and I'd also spent
time in Australia, I was introduced to some of the
co founders of Global Citizen and they'd asked if I
wanted to be a part of it, and I took
(13:20):
some time. About a month later, I went back to
them and said, yeah, I'm open to this, but we
actually have to be global. We can't just do a
concert in New York. And so it was born out
of that, in this idea that we could end extreme poverty.
And back in twenty twelve and twenty thirteen, we had
the Millennial Development Goals that Jeffrey Sachs and a bunch
of really smart people had dreamt up around how the
(13:43):
world could look to defeat poverty, which was something that
my grandfather had been really passionate about when he retired.
This idea that poverty was man made and it could
be ended by us in our actions. And I think
we were very idyllic. We didn't necessarily have a roadmap,
and we obviously didn't know the things that would come
in our world, and so.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
It was born out of that.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
It's definitely more we've obviously had COVID, You've had compounding
conflicts in the world, and as you said, a world
that's become more protectionists and.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
More nationalists in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
And so I think the organization is kind of figuring
out and finding what it represents in a modern era.
What I'm proud about with Global Citizens the idea that
people can mobilize behind something. Yeah, they can believe something
that's bigger than themselves, and the idea, yeah, that their
impact in actions can equate something really special. But the
only time will tell if that's real or just smoke
(14:39):
and mirrts.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I think there's something really beautiful though about the idea
of everybody from whatever socioeconomic background, culturally, the idea that
you can affect change. And there's something about Global Citizens
that makes the way the information is presented, in the
way engagement works, that feels like anybody can help. Beginning
(15:01):
affecting change, like within their local community on a grassroots
level or on a bigger sid like however you want
to get involved. I remember it's like when I first
met Chris one hundred years ago, we would both work
for Oxfam. I opened for him and Ram because Michael
Stipe was also really involved. And I remember sitting in
the green room with like backstage in London, all these
unbelievable people and all these beautiful musicians were sitting around
(15:23):
talking about the amelioration of poverty, like what does that
look like? How does that look How can you use
this tangible platform? And remember this was before social media,
and it's really like, well, here we are using this
platform here to talk about things. So what we say
in between songs? And I was like, I'm not saying
anything because you guys are saying all the stuff, but like,
(15:43):
how you at your own level, how do we talk
to each other. I've loved I've watched in the sidelines
of the expansion of Global citizens and I really love it,
like it inspires loving me and like lots of other
people that I know. So I think it's very cool.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
I hope it will inspire a new generation to figure
out how it is that they move the needle, and
that it may not necessarily be through music events, it
may be through a new form of storytelling. And maybe
do them realizing that they have unique communities that exist
amongst themselves, and then how do they apply pressure. Because
when I think about any of the kind of great
(16:19):
what it's Woodstock, whether it's Freeman Della concert and a
lot of them have existed. Some really did have an impact,
others were just moments to galvanize people and exist in
that moment solely right, And I think with all of
the information we have, it's hard to have a breakthrough
and so global sys since then a good job of
finding a model potentially works in certain parts of the world,
(16:43):
it's not going to work everywhere. And so that's where
the next generation really has to evolve.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
It, I think, and figure it out. So interesting just
talking about community called Jefferson was on the show the
other day and he was talking about the loss of
the third place, which so the first place being home,
second place being work, and the third place being community
and whether that was church or the village hall, or
the sports matches or the places that we used to
(17:10):
go to find that and when I was a kid.
That's where any kind of activism came out of those
places where sort of people would come together in a
time that wasn't home and wasn't work and would start
moving things forward. And we live in a community in
California where that's very much in play. It's interesting watching
my kid, he's sixteen, and how him and his friends
(17:31):
are doing that, like, yes, in addition to all of
their gaming, and they're this, and they're that, this idea
of like minded souls and what can we do and
how can we do this together as opposed to them
being so isolated. And I don't know if it's a
function of COVID and needing to be part of something
and not so isolated, but I think it's really interesting
and I do think that that's where I think that's
the key. And I watched these kids sort of starting
(17:54):
to unlock that idea that it's community that is transnational.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Do you think that bards and still plays a little
role in helping us, I guess address major social issues
that we have.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Yes, hugely. But I think there is a huge problem
in the arts being seen as some kind of dessert
to the meat and potatoes of a far more prosaic academics.
I don't know. I have advocated and I will never
stop on the idea that creative thought for me comes
out of the art. It comes out of music and
(18:28):
kids finding their voice, no matter whether that's what they
want to do in their life, but learning to speak
and to articulate how you feel text that you read,
to stand up, to feel heard and seen, to experiment
with music and with words, with reading. I think it's
phenomenally important. I really do. And it's interesting my kid
goes to a school where they don't mind even if
you are just a full blown academic scholar, you will
(18:51):
play a musical instrument, or you will be in the choir.
It's fully just this is part of your whole brain development.
This is as vital as double physics. Yeah, I stand
by that. Do you think that? Do you think that
it's possible?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
I think when I look back, and maybe this is
just the fact that we're looking back right when you
look back at Woodstock and what that'spawned, or a lot
of the cultural boycott that existed during a part that
it felt like it really broke through, and I think
now I see a lot being done. I just don't
know if it actually breaks through and it comes to
(19:26):
the whole idea of who controls what we see, censorship,
all of that that you can have a debate and
a conversation around. I think I'm still trying to figure
out that's possible.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
I think it's changing at such a fast pace, like
with no regulations, and it's such a crazy free for all.
I agree, but I think if everything is going to
get thrown into that crucible anyway of the Internet of
social media of this world, then I'm going to go
through in as much of the arts and communication as
I possibly can. Because I agree with you. I think
(19:57):
it's wayward and it's clearly without a plan, but I
still think we're better off with it than without it.
So what quality do you like least about yourself?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I would say I've always felt the need to be accessible,
whether that's in real life or taking time to engage
and listen to people, friends, colleagues, and that can be
a lot, And I know there's plenty of moments now
that I look back, I'm like, oh, I wish I
could have got that time back, because I listen a lot.
(20:34):
I think earlier today I was on a call for
an hour hearing someone's business idea, and I knew probably
five minutes and I was like, I really don't want
to do this conversation really, but stuck with it and
I just listened and took the time. And I would
say that's something I do wish that I could be
a lot better because I realized how fleeting time can be.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Do you feel like a responsibility because people hold you
in high regard and they come to you. Do you
feel that it's impossible to create a boundary.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
I feel it's hard to create a boundary.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I just think it's something that's innate in me, the
kind of need or want to be there for people
and to let them know that they are seen or
they are heard. And I can't explain why that is,
but it's just always been there.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
It sounds like a very amazing quality. But it does
sound like you probably don't have as much time for
yourself because you do that for other people.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yeah, it's a taxing quality, and I think it's something
I didn't think about a lot before, but I've definitely
started to realize, particularly prompted by that question.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
It's really interesting because a lot of people would look
at that and go, gosh, that's an amazing trait, But
to actually have the awareness that it takes its toll
being fully available all the time, like that idea of accessibility.
No one's ever answered that question that way. It's really
true that these things that we are told are virtues
can also be really difficult for us to hold in
(21:50):
our own lives.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Take note of Yeah, yeah, will you tell me when
and when you were happiest?
Speaker 3 (22:12):
You know?
Speaker 1 (22:12):
I thought about that a lot before coming on. And
it's crazy because there's so many ways one could answer
that question in a lot of ways. I could say
right now being at peace with myself where I'm at,
but also at the same time realizing I'm in a
world that's not at peace with itself. So I probably
(22:33):
would have to say being with my son at the
start of COVID. I think he was four and a
half months old. He woke up early and I just
picked him up and put him on my chest, stopped crying,
and we just laid there. I just foundered that moment,
how simple it was, but how much it affected me.
And I definitely have other moments professionally, being on a stage,
(22:53):
being part of bringing together one hundred thousand people in
South Africa to celebrate my grandfather's centennial. Being in nature
and realizing that I can connect with something that's bigger
than me, it was just something, you know. I think
now that I've gotten older, I try and do more
and more. I've made a concerted effort to move out
of cities, and so even though I'm speaking to you
from Johannesburg, I typically spend my time in a place
(23:15):
called the Garden Room, which is about four hours outside
of Cape Town, and it's got the most amount of
biodiversity in Africa. But it's also just a really majestic,
magical place where the scenery changes every ten to twenty minutes.
There's always a new adventure around the corner.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Wow. And is that somewhere that you go with your
kids as well, or is that somewhere that you go
to retreat just you?
Speaker 1 (23:37):
You know, I go there with friends, have gone there
with some of my family as well. We went when
I was younger, and now it's mainly become a place
that I go to.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Like my retreat.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
It's maybe obvious to say, but it's an enormous legacy
that you live with it in like the paradigm of
your name and your life and how you're choosing to
live within your life. When you said at the very
beginning that you would say that you were happiest now,
but that we are living in such a deeply unhappy
time like in our world. Do you think that you're
constantly looking at the bigger picture just because that's part
(24:09):
of how you have always lived or is it something
that you consciously faster to stay connected with all of that.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Going back to the question, everything's about framing and how
we frame our minds, how we frame ourselves in any
given time. There was a large part of my life
where I was so sheltered from everything that I barely
knew that there are different continents that existed. And this
was my early childhood, growing up in liberal Arts America
and New England, and so the idea of understanding that
(24:39):
there's conflict or turmoil, all of those things evaporate. And
it was only when I was ten I moved to
South Africa and it was a vibrant place but also
a very chaotic place that was finding itself that I
really started to get a grasp of the rest of
the world.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
And what that meant and the impact that had.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
And so yeah, I would say I'm definitely always looking
at myself personally, but then also the larger scope and
trying to figure it out. And I've had many a
moment where I've had to challenge my own perceptions of things.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Yeah, I guess we all do. And maybe it's a
good thing. Maybe that is like the sort of soulful
checks and balances that we check in with. Sometimes I
feel like if I'm having a bad day, it's because
I have to trace it back to things that I've read,
or things I've been made aware of, or things that
I'm giving my time to that you just can't stay
immune to what is going on around us. But it
(25:26):
then somehow piggybacks onto the way that you're looking at
your own life.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
So maybe it's just about awareness. What question would you
most like answered?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Probably are we alone in this galaxy in the world.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
There's so many questions, but that would probably be the
big one, because I think it would push us as
a human civilization to maybe think bigger, more considerate, and
lose the.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Elements of selfishness and greed that we have.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
If we thought we weren't sovereign in this galaxy.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
If we actually knew there was more out there and
it wasn't a debated topic, it wasn't something that was secret.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
I feel like just since all of those videos with
the flying pyramid and everything, I was like, are we
seriously still debating now that the government declassified all of
these We're.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Just confused at this point, right right, we don't know.
It's the way.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
It's been sold to us now is like it's like,
oh that's yeah, that's probably believable, but I don't really care.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
You know. It wasn't like this.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Thing where they're like they exist, right, and this is
how they exist and this is where they come from.
It was just like one of those well maybe because
there's this evidence, but then there's also these people that
say this, so no one really knows.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
It's so human, I think, to think that we are alone,
like it's so typical like man as a species, to go, yep, no,
it's just us. It's like, it's highly unlikely that it's
just us.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
True, But would you go to your kids' school and
tell him and all his classmates and as parents that
you believe.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
That audience success?
Speaker 2 (27:04):
You know, I definitely take that video of like the
US Air Force with that very shocked pilot. I'd take
that video and no, no, look kids, watch this TikTok
and now let's talk about aliens. And I want you
to draw me a picture because what kind of alien
do you think lives in a pyramid? Is like, yeah,
I could see you doing that, many I'm not sure
(27:25):
it would answer any questions. I might frighten the children. Oh, Quakie,
thank you so much, Thank you so much for spending
the time. It's so good to meet you, and it's
so good to talk to you. I'm very grateful. Thank
you for your time. Mini Questions is hosted and written
by Me Mini Driver, Executive produced by Me and Aaron Kaufman,
(27:50):
with production support from Jennifer Bassett, Zoey Denkler, and Ali Perry.
The theme music is also by Me and additional music
by Aaron. Special Banks to Jim Nikolay Addison, O'Day, Henry Driver,
Lisa Castella, Anick Oppenheim, Anick Muller, and Annette Wolfe, a
(28:10):
w kPr, Will Pearson, Nikki Ito, Morgan Levoy and mangesh
at Ticketdore
It's not that bad, Like the sharks aren't the problem.
It's just how cold it is.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Do you sometimes put your wet suit by your bed
and the minute you wake up, you put it on
because someone told me to do that, and then you
literally have to go ah when you're already in your
wet suit, Like I get up, go to the bathroom
and put my wet suit on, and then it's like, oh,
no a minute.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
That makes a lot of sense, though, that could because
you usually go to the beach and then it's like, oh,
let's go look at the what there's that floor? Yeah,
and a process you go through. He's definitely answer something.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Hello, I'm mini driver. I've always loved Proust's questionnaire. It
was originally in nineteenth century parlor game where players would
ask each other thirty five questions aimed at revealing the
other player's true nature. In asking different people the same
set questions, you can make observations about which truths appear
(01:03):
to be universal. And it made me wonder, what if
these questions were just the jumping off point, what greater
depths would be revealed if I asked these questions as
conversation starters. So I adapted Pru's questionnaire, and I wrote
my own seven questions that I personally think are pertinent
to a person's story. They are when and where were
you happiest? What is the quality you like least about yourself?
(01:26):
What relationship, real or fictionalized, defines love for you? What
question would you most like answered, What person, place, or
experience has shaped you the most? What would be your
last meal? And can you tell me something in your
life that's grown out of a personal disaster? And I've
gathered a group of really remarkable people, ones that I
(01:47):
am honored and humbled to have had the chance to
engage with. You may not hear their answers to all
seven of these questions. We've whittled it down to which
questions felt closest to their experience, or the most prizing,
or created the most fertile ground to connect. My guest
today is the film producer, social advocate and activist Quaku
(02:11):
Mandela Amua. Quaku is the kind of social advocate who
effects change on a global level. He is a founding
member and ambassador of jen Endit, a collective of HIV
AIDS organizations committed to seeing the end of AIDS in
our lifetime. He also sits on the board of the
Amazing Global Citizen By the Way, their extraordinary concert will
(02:34):
take place in Central Park in New York City this September,
and Charlie's Sarren's Brilliant Africa Outreach Project. It's hard to
speak about Quaku without contextualizing the legacy he comes from
as the grandson of Nelson Mandela. Quaku's written about his
grandfather over the years, and something he wrote has stayed
and resonated with me deeply, perhaps on account of the
(02:58):
times we're living in and particularly what has been apparent
in this first half of twenty twenty five. Quaker wrote,
my grandfather would always say that if we as humans
don't transcend this cycle of hatred and violence that we
find ourselves in so often, we will always be prisoners.
Quaku carries with him this torch of peace, justice and reconciliation,
(03:22):
which to me at the cornerstones of his grandfather's legacy.
We had such an interesting chat about the sacrifices his
family made to be in politics, about music as a
form of activism, and the role of art as a
way of addressing major issues in society. Time and again
we both return to the theme of our children and
the hopes that we can and will make a better,
(03:46):
kinder world for them. In your life, can you tell
me about something that has grown out of a personal disaster.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, you know, I always wanted my son to meet
my aunt because she was such a big factor in
my life of really pushing me to follow my passions
from a young age. Like I think she brought me
my first CD and I listened to that thing for
like forty eight hours straight, just on her feat, and
she came out like four am in the morning.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
She's like, you really love music. You should do something
with music.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
I was like, all right, okay, And then I ended
up starting that festival around HIV and AIDS awareness and
followed my passion for live music and live events. And
she was seminole undoubtedly and pushing me that way. So
I definitely wanted her to meet my son. But COVID
started and you know, you couldn't travel. I was in
(04:41):
New York. She had just come back to South Africa
and she passed away, and I remember just how weird
it was watching her funeral memorial on YouTube.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
I remember saying to myself that every day I was
going to wake up and like tell my son I
love him and just told him and just carry that
out into the world.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
And yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
It's helped build my relationship with him, and I think
it's also affected how I treat people in the world.
There's lots of things I understand now that I probably
didn't understand when I was younger, about what one can
represent without even knowing it by coming from the legacy
which we all have because we all have parents and
grandparents and great grandparents who did good things and some
(05:26):
that did that. And so I just hope my son
feels that as he grows up and he realizes that's
what he eminate's.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
From and that's something that he will learn from you, Like,
have you in your life felt the weight of that
legacy or it was just what you knew and so
you incorporate it into your daily life And is that
the way in which you'll pass it on to your child,
do you think?
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I think for a long time I was told what
that was meant to be, and there was the expectation
of what I was meant to be. But then you
come into your own where you realize through all the
things you've learned and the experiences you've had what that
means to you, and that's the most important thing that
you carry forward. And it's just the essence that I
think is instilled in you, whether you want to call
it DNA, whether you want to call it grounding or
(06:08):
beliefs or teachings. And so I hope again, through his experiences,
which will be very different from line, that he'll find
and figure out how that relates to him.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Is that part of the films that you make and
the music that you're involved in is storytelling like a
really important aspect of your life because you come from
a big story and South Africa has a big story.
I mean, I know every country does, but like we're
talking about this now, do you think that's part of
what you choose to do for a living? Like that
is an extension of that?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
It could be.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, I've never thought of it that way, but now
that you've said it, I'm like, oh, that makes a
lot of sense. So there's been three big things in
my life. One is the idea of how you can
bring people together in a music concert. When I was
four and a half in Boston Park with Harrismith, not
really knowing anything about that band, but knowing that they'd
brought a bunch of people together really piqued my interest filmmaking.
(07:00):
The ideas that you could tell stories and those could
move people to think differently or feel something that they
didn't feel before. That was always something that struck at me.
And then the idea that you can build community, which
goes back to something you've talked about on this and
you can do that in many different forms, but the
easiest is through storytelling and getting people to realize that
(07:20):
they have more in common than they don't exactly. So
that's always been something. I guess organizing has always been
something that I've been good at.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
What person, place, or experience has most altered your life?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
I would say place definitely, again, coming back to Africa
when I was ten, and then coming back later my life,
returning and there is something unique about the people here,
the warmth, the resilience that I'd seen in glimpses around
the world, but just really came home, and I think
to find my belief in humanity, So my fervent kind
(08:01):
of desire to want to be able to make sure
the continent is seen and treated in a respectful way.
And an equitable way. So I would say that's definitely
been place for me that had an undeniable impact.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Do you have a very clear recollection as a ten
year old boy of arriving back and what did you feel,
Because you've been in America, right, so do you remember
do you have like crystal memories of what that was like?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I remember was one day I went outside my driveway
and there were these guys there standing in Zulu attire
and they had spears and.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
My mom screamed, she was like sorry, she grabbed. I
had no concept. I was like, oh, these guys look
so cool. I was like, I've never seen anyone who
just look like this.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
But at the time, there was this conflict going on
between the Zulus and close so it was like very
dangerous and I.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Just remember that moment very vividly.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Going to class with a group of kids that were
very diverse and from all over the world. There were Greek,
they were or Cheguese there, or British kids in my class,
and you know, again meeting people that did not have
a lot by any stretch of the means of what
I'd grown up with before, but that were just so
positive and content all of those moments really stuck with me.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Do you think there's, like you said, concentration of kindness
of coming back to South Africa? What creates that in
that particular place, Like when you say that people are
just so lovely and kind? Do you think there is
something that engenders that.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
I think experience, I would imagine plays a role a
country that had gone through this major shift and was
trying to figure out what it was the tension of that,
but also I guess the belief that you have to
have that things can get better.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
And then I think there's also just nature.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
What relationship, real or fictionalized, defines love for you?
Speaker 1 (10:09):
I think for most of my life the kind of
anecdotal idea of romance in the movie would have equated
love the ability to show someone you care to be
affectionate display public affection for someone else.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Those things still inspire me.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I think I'm just more pragmatic having been in relationships
and come out of them in the concept of sacrifice
and what that means. And again I always told myself
I never wanted to do politics, largely because I know
the human toll right that takes on someone and their
family and their loved ones. But ultimately, when I think
back on that in the context of my family, when
(10:47):
I think about those sacrifices that not just my grandfather made,
my grandmother's.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
My uncle, my aunts.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
It was for me in the sense the kind of
true expression of love, the idea that you were doing
something that it was bigger than yourself at such a scale,
and doing it fearlessly even though there was so much
danger and unknown and.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Risk attached to that.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And so I would say, for me, yeah, as I
get older, that's something I've started to think about a
lot more as a reflection of true love.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
H It's funny because I think on a small or
a bigger level, sacrifice it is a huge part of love.
It's not the romantic part that we talk about, but
it is a huge cornerstone of the things that we
And maybe sacrifice is alongside compromise, the idea of what
we do for those that we love that are not
(11:35):
necessarily choices we'd make for ourselves. But you know that
for a kind of greater good, we seem to be
pretty far away from that. In our world. Everything's become
so protectionist now it's not about sacrificing for a greater good,
but rather protecting more for our own gain slash, I
guess security, But.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I think that's what the image of love has been
presented to us, as something that we are meant to protect.
Like you're not meant to go out of your way,
You're not meant to compromise or sacrifice. You're meant to
feel good, You're meant to feel happy and special, and you're.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Meant to be upbeat.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
And I think the real toll of what love is
is when you're willing to let something go, no matter
what it is, because you know that something greater can
come from that and those around you can benefit from it.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Was that part of Global Citizens That organization for me
feels like a kind of embodiment of like a love
that is shared and spread around and actually is foundational
and has the kind of infrastructure. Was that something you
were really interested in being involved with, because it really
does feel like an expression of love. I mean, that's
simplifying it, But was that part of that?
Speaker 1 (12:42):
I don't know if it was an expression of love
for me, and if it is, to be honest with you,
I think I had been part of starting a concert
when I was twelve, when I was really young and
just idealic, and at the time I got out, I
was going through like my cold Play phase where I
was just listening to.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Them over and over.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
I ended up calling a promoter and got lucky the
right person spoke to me and four Triple six y four,
which was an HIV and AIDS awareness concert, was born.
And because I had that experience, and I'd also spent
time in Australia, I was introduced to some of the
co founders of Global Citizen and they'd asked if I
wanted to be a part of it, and I took
(13:20):
some time. About a month later, I went back to
them and said, yeah, I'm open to this, but we
actually have to be global. We can't just do a
concert in New York. And so it was born out
of that, in this idea that we could end extreme poverty.
And back in twenty twelve and twenty thirteen, we had
the Millennial Development Goals that Jeffrey Sachs and a bunch
of really smart people had dreamt up around how the
(13:43):
world could look to defeat poverty, which was something that
my grandfather had been really passionate about when he retired.
This idea that poverty was man made and it could
be ended by us in our actions. And I think
we were very idyllic. We didn't necessarily have a roadmap,
and we obviously didn't know the things that would come
in our world, and so.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
It was born out of that.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
It's definitely more we've obviously had COVID, You've had compounding
conflicts in the world, and as you said, a world
that's become more protectionists and.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
More nationalists in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
And so I think the organization is kind of figuring
out and finding what it represents in a modern era.
What I'm proud about with Global Citizens the idea that
people can mobilize behind something. Yeah, they can believe something
that's bigger than themselves, and the idea, yeah, that their
impact in actions can equate something really special. But the
only time will tell if that's real or just smoke
(14:39):
and mirrts.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I think there's something really beautiful though about the idea
of everybody from whatever socioeconomic background, culturally, the idea that
you can affect change. And there's something about Global Citizens
that makes the way the information is presented, in the
way engagement works, that feels like anybody can help. Beginning
(15:01):
affecting change, like within their local community on a grassroots
level or on a bigger sid like however you want
to get involved. I remember it's like when I first
met Chris one hundred years ago, we would both work
for Oxfam. I opened for him and Ram because Michael
Stipe was also really involved. And I remember sitting in
the green room with like backstage in London, all these
unbelievable people and all these beautiful musicians were sitting around
(15:23):
talking about the amelioration of poverty, like what does that
look like? How does that look How can you use
this tangible platform? And remember this was before social media,
and it's really like, well, here we are using this
platform here to talk about things. So what we say
in between songs? And I was like, I'm not saying
anything because you guys are saying all the stuff, but like,
(15:43):
how you at your own level, how do we talk
to each other. I've loved I've watched in the sidelines
of the expansion of Global citizens and I really love it,
like it inspires loving me and like lots of other
people that I know. So I think it's very cool.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
I hope it will inspire a new generation to figure
out how it is that they move the needle, and
that it may not necessarily be through music events, it
may be through a new form of storytelling. And maybe
do them realizing that they have unique communities that exist
amongst themselves, and then how do they apply pressure. Because
when I think about any of the kind of great
(16:19):
what it's Woodstock, whether it's Freeman Della concert and a
lot of them have existed. Some really did have an impact,
others were just moments to galvanize people and exist in
that moment solely right, And I think with all of
the information we have, it's hard to have a breakthrough
and so global sys since then a good job of
finding a model potentially works in certain parts of the world,
(16:43):
it's not going to work everywhere. And so that's where
the next generation really has to evolve.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
It, I think, and figure it out. So interesting just
talking about community called Jefferson was on the show the
other day and he was talking about the loss of
the third place, which so the first place being home,
second place being work, and the third place being community
and whether that was church or the village hall, or
the sports matches or the places that we used to
(17:10):
go to find that and when I was a kid.
That's where any kind of activism came out of those
places where sort of people would come together in a
time that wasn't home and wasn't work and would start
moving things forward. And we live in a community in
California where that's very much in play. It's interesting watching
my kid, he's sixteen, and how him and his friends
(17:31):
are doing that, like, yes, in addition to all of
their gaming, and they're this, and they're that, this idea
of like minded souls and what can we do and
how can we do this together as opposed to them
being so isolated. And I don't know if it's a
function of COVID and needing to be part of something
and not so isolated, but I think it's really interesting
and I do think that that's where I think that's
the key. And I watched these kids sort of starting
(17:54):
to unlock that idea that it's community that is transnational.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Do you think that bards and still plays a little
role in helping us, I guess address major social issues
that we have.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Yes, hugely. But I think there is a huge problem
in the arts being seen as some kind of dessert
to the meat and potatoes of a far more prosaic academics.
I don't know. I have advocated and I will never
stop on the idea that creative thought for me comes
out of the art. It comes out of music and
(18:28):
kids finding their voice, no matter whether that's what they
want to do in their life, but learning to speak
and to articulate how you feel text that you read,
to stand up, to feel heard and seen, to experiment
with music and with words, with reading. I think it's
phenomenally important. I really do. And it's interesting my kid
goes to a school where they don't mind even if
you are just a full blown academic scholar, you will
(18:51):
play a musical instrument, or you will be in the choir.
It's fully just this is part of your whole brain development.
This is as vital as double physics. Yeah, I stand
by that. Do you think that? Do you think that
it's possible?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
I think when I look back, and maybe this is
just the fact that we're looking back right when you
look back at Woodstock and what that'spawned, or a lot
of the cultural boycott that existed during a part that
it felt like it really broke through, and I think
now I see a lot being done. I just don't
know if it actually breaks through and it comes to
(19:26):
the whole idea of who controls what we see, censorship,
all of that that you can have a debate and
a conversation around. I think I'm still trying to figure
out that's possible.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
I think it's changing at such a fast pace, like
with no regulations, and it's such a crazy free for all.
I agree, but I think if everything is going to
get thrown into that crucible anyway of the Internet of
social media of this world, then I'm going to go
through in as much of the arts and communication as
I possibly can. Because I agree with you. I think
(19:57):
it's wayward and it's clearly without a plan, but I
still think we're better off with it than without it.
So what quality do you like least about yourself?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I would say I've always felt the need to be accessible,
whether that's in real life or taking time to engage
and listen to people, friends, colleagues, and that can be
a lot, And I know there's plenty of moments now
that I look back, I'm like, oh, I wish I
could have got that time back, because I listen a lot.
(20:34):
I think earlier today I was on a call for
an hour hearing someone's business idea, and I knew probably
five minutes and I was like, I really don't want
to do this conversation really, but stuck with it and
I just listened and took the time. And I would
say that's something I do wish that I could be
a lot better because I realized how fleeting time can be.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Do you feel like a responsibility because people hold you
in high regard and they come to you. Do you
feel that it's impossible to create a boundary.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
I feel it's hard to create a boundary.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I just think it's something that's innate in me, the
kind of need or want to be there for people
and to let them know that they are seen or
they are heard. And I can't explain why that is,
but it's just always been there.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
It sounds like a very amazing quality. But it does
sound like you probably don't have as much time for
yourself because you do that for other people.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yeah, it's a taxing quality, and I think it's something
I didn't think about a lot before, but I've definitely
started to realize, particularly prompted by that question.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
It's really interesting because a lot of people would look
at that and go, gosh, that's an amazing trait, But
to actually have the awareness that it takes its toll
being fully available all the time, like that idea of accessibility.
No one's ever answered that question that way. It's really
true that these things that we are told are virtues
can also be really difficult for us to hold in
(21:50):
our own lives.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Take note of Yeah, yeah, will you tell me when
and when you were happiest?
Speaker 3 (22:12):
You know?
Speaker 1 (22:12):
I thought about that a lot before coming on. And
it's crazy because there's so many ways one could answer
that question in a lot of ways. I could say
right now being at peace with myself where I'm at,
but also at the same time realizing I'm in a
world that's not at peace with itself. So I probably
(22:33):
would have to say being with my son at the
start of COVID. I think he was four and a
half months old. He woke up early and I just
picked him up and put him on my chest, stopped crying,
and we just laid there. I just foundered that moment,
how simple it was, but how much it affected me.
And I definitely have other moments professionally, being on a stage,
(22:53):
being part of bringing together one hundred thousand people in
South Africa to celebrate my grandfather's centennial. Being in nature
and realizing that I can connect with something that's bigger
than me, it was just something, you know. I think
now that I've gotten older, I try and do more
and more. I've made a concerted effort to move out
of cities, and so even though I'm speaking to you
from Johannesburg, I typically spend my time in a place
(23:15):
called the Garden Room, which is about four hours outside
of Cape Town, and it's got the most amount of
biodiversity in Africa. But it's also just a really majestic,
magical place where the scenery changes every ten to twenty minutes.
There's always a new adventure around the corner.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Wow. And is that somewhere that you go with your
kids as well, or is that somewhere that you go
to retreat just you?
Speaker 1 (23:37):
You know, I go there with friends, have gone there
with some of my family as well. We went when
I was younger, and now it's mainly become a place
that I go to.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Like my retreat.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
It's maybe obvious to say, but it's an enormous legacy
that you live with it in like the paradigm of
your name and your life and how you're choosing to
live within your life. When you said at the very
beginning that you would say that you were happiest now,
but that we are living in such a deeply unhappy
time like in our world. Do you think that you're
constantly looking at the bigger picture just because that's part
(24:09):
of how you have always lived or is it something
that you consciously faster to stay connected with all of that.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Going back to the question, everything's about framing and how
we frame our minds, how we frame ourselves in any
given time. There was a large part of my life
where I was so sheltered from everything that I barely
knew that there are different continents that existed. And this
was my early childhood, growing up in liberal Arts America
and New England, and so the idea of understanding that
(24:39):
there's conflict or turmoil, all of those things evaporate. And
it was only when I was ten I moved to
South Africa and it was a vibrant place but also
a very chaotic place that was finding itself that I
really started to get a grasp of the rest of
the world.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
And what that meant and the impact that had.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
And so yeah, I would say I'm definitely always looking
at myself personally, but then also the larger scope and
trying to figure it out. And I've had many a
moment where I've had to challenge my own perceptions of things.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Yeah, I guess we all do. And maybe it's a
good thing. Maybe that is like the sort of soulful
checks and balances that we check in with. Sometimes I
feel like if I'm having a bad day, it's because
I have to trace it back to things that I've read,
or things I've been made aware of, or things that
I'm giving my time to that you just can't stay
immune to what is going on around us. But it
(25:26):
then somehow piggybacks onto the way that you're looking at
your own life.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
So maybe it's just about awareness. What question would you
most like answered?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Probably are we alone in this galaxy in the world.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
There's so many questions, but that would probably be the
big one, because I think it would push us as
a human civilization to maybe think bigger, more considerate, and
lose the.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Elements of selfishness and greed that we have.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
If we thought we weren't sovereign in this galaxy.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
If we actually knew there was more out there and
it wasn't a debated topic, it wasn't something that was secret.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
I feel like just since all of those videos with
the flying pyramid and everything, I was like, are we
seriously still debating now that the government declassified all of
these We're.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Just confused at this point, right right, we don't know.
It's the way.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
It's been sold to us now is like it's like,
oh that's yeah, that's probably believable, but I don't really care.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
You know. It wasn't like this.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Thing where they're like they exist, right, and this is
how they exist and this is where they come from.
It was just like one of those well maybe because
there's this evidence, but then there's also these people that
say this, so no one really knows.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
It's so human, I think, to think that we are alone,
like it's so typical like man as a species, to go, yep, no,
it's just us. It's like, it's highly unlikely that it's
just us.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
True, But would you go to your kids' school and
tell him and all his classmates and as parents that
you believe.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
That audience success?
Speaker 2 (27:04):
You know, I definitely take that video of like the
US Air Force with that very shocked pilot. I'd take
that video and no, no, look kids, watch this TikTok
and now let's talk about aliens. And I want you
to draw me a picture because what kind of alien
do you think lives in a pyramid? Is like, yeah,
I could see you doing that, many I'm not sure
(27:25):
it would answer any questions. I might frighten the children. Oh, Quakie,
thank you so much, Thank you so much for spending
the time. It's so good to meet you, and it's
so good to talk to you. I'm very grateful. Thank
you for your time. Mini Questions is hosted and written
by Me Mini Driver, Executive produced by Me and Aaron Kaufman,
(27:50):
with production support from Jennifer Bassett, Zoey Denkler, and Ali Perry.
The theme music is also by Me and additional music
by Aaron. Special Banks to Jim Nikolay Addison, O'Day, Henry Driver,
Lisa Castella, Anick Oppenheim, Anick Muller, and Annette Wolfe, a
(28:10):
w kPr, Will Pearson, Nikki Ito, Morgan Levoy and mangesh
at Ticketdore
Host
Minnie Driver
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com