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We are starting the year with a heart of gratitude and a clear plan for what comes next. We celebrate five years of Strictly Facts by looking at how this community-built project became a classroom, a living archive, and a love letter to Caribbean voices. Along the way, we reflect on the milestones of 2025. We revisit why this space exists: to center Caribbean history as a global story rooted in everyday life. Our growth didn’t come from hype. It came from trust—the emails, classroom shares, kind reviews, and the steady support of a diaspora that knows the value of telling our own stories.
Now we turn the mic to you. Year five is a year-long celebration shaped by listener ideas. Send us your hopes and questions. Tell us what you want to learn, who should join us, and how this show can keep serving the region and its global family. We’ll keep honoring the past, standing in the present, and building a more complete record of Caribbean life together.
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Produced by Breadfruit Media
Episode Transcript
Welcome to Strictly Facts, a guide to Caribbean
history and culture, hosted byme, Alexandra Miller.
Strictly Facts teaches thehistory, politics, and activism
of the Caribbean and connectsthese themes to contemporary
music and popular culture.
(00:22):
Hello, hello everyone.
Happy New Year and welcome backto a brand new season of
Strictly Facts, a Guide toCaribbean History and Culture.
I'm your host, Alexandria, andit feels good to be back with
you all for our very firstepisode of 2026.
I hope the start of the yearfinds you well, grounded,
(00:43):
hopeful, and surrounded bycommunity.
Whether you are tuning in fromthe Caribbean, from the
diaspora, or anywhere inbetween, thank you for being
here with us as we step intoanother year of storytelling,
learning, and celebrating ourbeautiful region.
And of course, I could not startoff the year without also
setting a very happy, belatedIndependence Day to our Haitian
(01:07):
brothers and sisters across theworld who just celebrated 222
years since their declaration asthe world's first black
republic.
So big up, big up, big up, bigup.
Before we move forward, I wantto take a moment to look back
with gratitude at 2025 becauseit was truly a milestone year
(01:28):
for the podcast.
Over the past year, we continuedto deepen our conversations
about Caribbean history,culture, migration, identity,
and memory, and we welcomedincredible guests, students,
scholars, elders, creatives, andcommunity voices to the show.
Together we explored the topicsthat stretched from the
(01:49):
political to the deeplypersonal, reminding us that
Caribbean history is notabstract.
It is lived, embodied, andalways unfolding.
In the midst of doing this,something really magical
happened.
Strictly Facts was honored withthree podcast awards in 2025 by
the Alliance for Women in Mediaand Care Biz Network out in New
(02:12):
York, recognizing us for ourpodcast excellence.
These awards don't belong to usalone.
They are truly reflection of allof you as well.
The listeners who tune in everyepisode, they honor the
educators who bring theseconversations to our classrooms,
both literally and figuratively.
(02:33):
They belong to the students, uh,to the elders who share their
wisdom and knowledge with us.
They honor Caribbeanstorytelling as intellectual
labor, they honor our ancestors'voices, and they honor the
region.
And for that I am trulygrateful.
And as if the start of the newyear wasn't meaningful enough,
(02:55):
this month also marks five yearsof strictly facts.
Five full years, which to meseems crazy just to think about
that, you know, we've been onthis journey together for so
long already.
You know, for me, thinking aboutit, five years of researching,
of recording, of editing, ofgrowing, questioning, laughing,
(03:17):
and honestly, sometimes even alittle bit of crying.
Um, five years of building adigital space dedicated to
honoring Caribbean voices,Caribbean stories with accuracy,
with warmth, with care, withdignity.
And when the show began, youknow, I said this many moons ago
now, the goal was simple buturgent.
(03:38):
It was to create a space whereCaribbean history could be told
fully, not as a footnote, not asa backdrop, but as central,
global, and deeply human.
Over the few years we've beendoing this thing together, the
podcast has grown not just inaudience, but in depth.
(03:59):
Our conversations have movedfrom introjectory storytelling
to richer, more layeredreflections about power,
belonging, gender, migration,environment, memory.
We've expanded our lens whilestill holding onto the core
intention.
Caribbean people deserve to seethemselves reflected in our
(04:20):
history with dignity.
And five years later, I'm reallytruly incredibly proud of what
we've built together.
This podcast, for me and for I'msure many of you, has never been
just a show.
It has always been a classroom,a community archive, a love
letter, and a space ofremembrance.
(04:42):
As I reflect, I think of howmany of you have been here since
the beginning, and how many ofyou have also recently
discovered us and decided tostay.
I'm grateful for every message,every kind review, every episode
shared with a friend, um,anybody who's posted their
Spotify wrapped and all of thosethings.
(05:03):
It's really meant a lot to me.
And you have helped this projectgrow, not through hype, but
through trust.
And that means more, truly, thanyou know.
So as we enter 2026, I want youto all be invited into helping
shape the future of StrictlyFacts.
This will be a year-longcelebration of our five-year
(05:24):
anniversary, and we're planningto mark it in meaningful ways,
more reflective conversations,more collaborations, more
storytelling that centers thevoices and histories that
deserve the spotlight.
And I'd love to hear from you.
So, what would you like to seein 2026?
Environmental history, diasporastories, cultural traditions,
(05:46):
women's history, a live event,workshops, maybe?
Let me know.
Your hopes and ideas have helpedshape this space.
So please reach out, message us,email me, and tell us what
inspires you, what you want tolearn, and how this podcast can
continue to serve thiscommunity.
Because the work has always,always been collaborative.
(06:11):
As we begin this new year andcelebrate this major milestone,
I want to say an immense thankyou.
Thank you to every guest who hasshaped and shared wisdom and
research.
Thank you to every listener whopresses play.
Thank you to the scholars,students, educators, cultural
workers, and families who makethis space for Caribbean history
(06:32):
in our lives.
Thank you to Breadfruit Media,my podcast family, of course.
And thank you all just ingeneral for trusting me,
trusting strictly facts with ourstories.
I'm honored to continue thisjourney with you.
And it wouldn't be, you know, ananniversary celebration if we
didn't do it with a littledancehall style.
(06:54):
So I'm kicking off our year'sStrictly Fact Sounds with the
baddest birthday tune.
So in the words of Busy Signal,happy birthday, my friend, or my
podcast.
One more year, pandemic guanolavibe, give thanks for life.
Next year we're doing it again.
So here's to 2026, to five yearsof strictly facts, and to all
(07:16):
the stories still waiting to betold.
I'm Alexandria.
This is Strictly Facts, a guideto Caribbean history and
culture, year five.
Stay tuned.
We're just getting started.
Lickle more.
Thanks for tuning in to StrictlyFacts.
Visit StrictlyFacts Podcast.comfor more information from each
episode.
(07:37):
Follow us at Strictly Facts Podon Instagram and Facebook and at
Strictly Facts PD on Twitter.
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