Your Attention Please

What do historical Black figures and comics have in common? Everything, according to comic creator and advertising CCO Jimmy Smith. Kimberly and Jimmy sit down to talk about art, social justice, and opening doors others have shut. Jimmy opened his own door by writing The Truth, a comic book that tells the story of a reimagined superhero fighting against the most colossal and controversial of American enemies: bigotry. Originally pu...

If y’all assumed Kimberly Drew didn’t know her way around a board, then you’re wrong. This week Kimberly swag surfs her way into a dynamic conversation with CEO and founder of Black Girls Surf, Rhonda Harper. Rhonda has been surfing for decades, and after riding waves in Hawaii, California, and Senegal, she’s now planting roots in South Africa. Rhonda shares her important experiences as a Black woman in the ...

Director and photographer Annie Bercy has been creating in film since the days before selfies, and in this past year has produced work for artists such as Cardi B, SZA, and Ciara.For this episode, Annie sat down with Kimberly Drew to talk about motivation, faith, and her new short Riley, produced in collaboration with Hulu for Your Attention Please. Riley tells a story of Black girlhood, hair, beauty, and becoming, all inspired by ...

This week Kimberly sits down with Pride Fund CEO Densil Porteous, who takes us home. He honors the memory of his mother, her influence on the values he and his partner teach their daughter, and how his work to financially uplift LGBTQ+ business is rooted in compassion. He invites us to be vulnerable, to dream, and to do the work. 

For more information about Lambda Legal, visit https://www.lambdalegal.org/.

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This week Kimberly chats with the founder of the first and only Black-owned anime studio in Tokyo, Arthell Isom. Arthell shares his beginnings as a kid from New Jersey who liked to doodle, and how his passion for background art lead him to his dream apprenticeship in Japan. Now, as the CEO and art director of his anime studio D’ART Shtajio, Arthell is living like the protagonist of his own anime.

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What happens when fashion meets faith and spirit meets style? Twin designers Soull and Dynasty Ogun of L’Enchanteur speak with Kimberly about the importance of heritage and design. For these artists, discovering their individual style and the LE standard meant first reconnecting to family history, their West African and Caribbean roots, and centering the spirit to make their own everything. 

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Where does memory lie and how can we bring it to the surface? This week Kimberly chats with archaeologist Justin Dunnavant, who’s made it his life mission to preserve Black heritage. He shares moments from his early beginnings in the field, his most incredible finds, and his hopes for the future of archaeology and the academy. Justin invites us on a journey through not only land and sea but time and space. 

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This week, Kimberly sits down with Mississippi-raised, Houston-based urban farmer Jeremy Peaches, who built the largest aquaponics greenhouse in the city. He explains why farming is historically relevant, and why the life of a farmer has its own unique tune. When you think of a farm, you probably picture big fields, overalls, very old McDonald, and rural. But Jeremy is breaking all of those stereotypes and bringing his agricultural...

Digital technology has brought society far, but can it bring us further? Engineer and entrepreneur Asmau Ahmed says yes. She joins Kimberly Drew this week to share how her failures have led her to redefine success, and why she’s so passionate about revolutionizing big tech and access. Asmau also gives us a sneak peek at the blueprints for the equitable future she imagines for her children.  

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Jennifer King has been passionate about sports since her schoolyard days, when she knew she had an edge over all the guys around her. And she’s turned that passion into a career as the first Black woman to be a full-time coach in the National Football League. As a running backs coach for the Washington Football Team, Jennifer works long hours to keep her players prepared and focused on whatever comes next. But in order to get...

Kicking off our second season of Your Attention Please: The Podcast, Screen Actors Guild Award-winning stunt actor Jazzy Ellis joins host Kimberly Drew to talk about the value of learning to fall. Jazzy got started stunting nearly ten years ago in Louisiana, and has since starred in major Hollywood blockbusters and advocated for stunt actors of color. Throughout her time in the industry, she’s learned the importance of repres...

Before Coco and Breezy started designing eyewear, they didn't know much about the industry they were diving into headfirst. But they did have a love for sunglasses and a lifelong ambition to become entrepreneurs. Now, the twins are DJs, producers, and co-founders of a community called The Lorca in addition to being owners of a trailblazing eyewear company. Kimberly, Coco, and Breezy close out the series with a candid conversat...

In 2019, Tomi Adeyemi followed up her best-selling debut novel, Children of Blood and Bone, with another installment in the Legacy of Orïsha series, Children of Virtue and Vengeance. Readers have fallen in love with Adeyemi's stories, which are magical and transporting but also so resonant in today's world. In this episode, Kimberly chats with Tomi about believing your dreams are possible, having the right ...

Plant stylist and artist Hilton Carter is all about making homes feel cozy and vibrant – including his own home, where he has hundreds of plants. But he also stresses that plants are living things that must be tended to with care, not treated as props. Kimberly – a self-professed “proud plant mom” – talks with Hilton about bonding with plants, stereotypes about plant people, and how...

Ibtihaj Muhammad made headlines in 2016 when she became the first woman to represent the U.S. at the Olympics wearing a hijab. Even though she’s no longer a competitive fencer, she’s still collecting wins left and right. She’s an athlete, author, and activist with her own Barbie. And, as Kimberly puts it, Ibtihaj is “an example for so many of us who see an imperfect world and want to do something about ...

When Nicole LaPointe Jameson became the CEO of the esports organization Evil Geniuses in 2019, she took the helm of a brand that had a well-established presence in the gaming world. But it was also floundering. Nicole quickly brought in new talent and made other changes to energize the company at a time when the entire industry was dealing with growing pains. 

Kimberly and Nicole sit down to talk about the wellness of players, ...

Phillip Youmans was thrown into the spotlight when his film “Burning Cane” won big at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and was picked up by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY. Even when he’s not behind the camera or on set, he has a vision that’s so singular and clear that it’s impossible not to be inspired by him. Kimberly sits down with Phillip to talk about the confidence it takes to sell your art, the pain a...

Iddris Sandu is an architectural technologist, which means that he’s a real-life wizard with code, constantly building something out of nothing. And his particular brand of magic is his ability to create meaningful connections between the worlds of technology, hip-hop, and design. He's literally constructing our future.  

In this episode, Iddris and Kimberly chop it up about always ...