Hello Podfriend!

Happy New Month! Happy Pumpkin Season!

First, the good news: Your girl has been nominated for a Black Podcasting Award in the category of Best Longtime Podcast. 🥳 Winners will be announced on Friday October 17th at the first in-person ceremony in Baltimore. Wish me luck!

It’s been another whirlwind and every single day is spent trying to infuse joy into a life that is surrounded by madness. See more about where I’m getting joy in the monthly roundup later in this edition.

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m not big on Halloween and living in the USA has done nothing to change my inclination. I will still carve pumpkins with my children and take them trick-or-treating, but I’ll be proudly embarrassing them in my normal clothes. I’ll tell you how that goes down next month.

Ok, let’s get down to the business of this edition …

Here’s what’s coming up in this edition :

-Studio Update

-Pair It With

-On My Mind This Month

Remember to spread the love and tell your friends to join the party by SUBSCRIBING . Or if this edition was forwarded to you by one of our amazing pod friends, you can do the same. Thank you 😊

Alright pod friends, let’s get to business!

STUDIO UPDATE

In the latest SAL episode I’m in conversation with Bisila Bokoko, an international business woman who cut her teeth in corporate Spain and USA. Born to African parents from Equatorial Guinea in Spain, she jokingly calls herself a Decaf African and had a tough time navigating her African identity within a European culture. She now sees herself as a a bridge between the two cultures.

She shares how she became an accidental entrepreneur; creating a wine brand with no industry background and launching her philanthropic pursuits with the Bisila Bokoko African Literacy Project. 

We also discuss her latest book: The Fear and I: An Unexpected Story …

For the candid moments of our chat, you’ll have to listen to the episode because Bisila is a total vibe!

PAIR IT WITH

ETHNIKIDS

The power of storytelling is lauded over and over again in our modern culture. We also witness the impact of narrative everyday when a report is delivered in the news or someone posts a short video on a social app etc. etc. That is why Shades and Layers is so big on telling founder stories - so we can hold up a mirror to ourselves and connect with our potention. This episode is dear to my heart because it’s all about children’s literature.

Ethnikids is co-founded by Khumo Tapfhumaneyi and Tina Akuoko - there were five founders originally, but Khumo and Tina are the ones steering the ship now. It is an online children's book store that is transforming the South African book market by offering a range of inclusive books—from folktales to affirmation stories—that nurture a child's sense of belonging and self-worth. Khumo and her co-founder, Tina Akuoko believe it is fundamental to provide literature in all South African languages. Mother tongue literature can have profound psychological impact on children who see themselves reflected in the stories they read. This one is worth a revisit!

ON MY MIND THIS MONTH