Hello Podfriend!

Greetings from Boston! The summer just refuses to arrive in this part of the world. While writing most of this edition, I was sitting at the library (my office) with a shawl around my shoulders, it was pouring down and the temperature at a balmy 9*C. Come now, it’s almost June! Hopefully this week’s rains will be the last of the season. The lead photo is meant to summon the weather I want to experience for the next few months.

Hope all of you moms, deputy moms, aunties and other mother figures had a great Mother’s Day this year. Mine was beyond splendid! It was great to lie in on a Sunday, something that doesn’t happen often, have breakfast and lunch that I hadn’t prepared myself served to me. I also managed to squeeze in the first game of tennis for the season. Whoop!

The web edition of this newsletter features a photo of the meal that my little menfolk prepared, without assistance from the parents: grilled cheese with blueberries and grilled tomato soup. 🥰

There’s a lot to get through today, so let’s get to it: shall we? Oh, remember to share with your friends and as them to join in the fun at SAL.

Here’s what’s coming up:

-Studio Update

-Also this month

-On My Mind this Month

Alright pod friends, let’s get to business!

We’ve never had a filmmaker on the podcast, so I’m stoked that Johannesburg-based writer/director, Karabo Lediga is the first one. WOOP! She is currently riding the wave of her debut feature called Sabbatical, a mother-daughter story that must been seen by everyone for its honesty, humor and top tier entertainment value

The main character, Lesego was a high flying corporate type on a CEO track when a professional scandal forces her to return to her childhood home and confront the truth of her relationship with her overbearing and judgmental mother, Doris. I won’t give away much about the film.

…But I will definitely tell you that my conversation with Karabo offers so many insights into the South African and Global film world. We get into her career trajectory, how to network and how funding works in the film industry. We also discuss her other credits, including Netflix’s first Africa Original, Queen Sono, her very own award-winning short film, What did You Dream . She also briefly touches on her winning partnership with her filmmaker/comedian/actor brother, Kagiso Lediga and sister-in-law, Tasmin Andersson at the independent film house, Diprente. Tasmin’s producer credits include Queen Sono and my absolute favorite good laugh, Big Nunu’s Little Heist

PS. Sabbatical will be available on Amazon Prime from the 6th of July.

When Shaina Rainford started losing her hair due to COVID-19, she dug deep into the family vault. Five years before her own experience with hair loss, Shaina’s younger sister went through her own hair loss journey. The person who solved the puzzle both times was their mom. 🥳

When doctors told the family that her sister’s hair will never grow back, mom was not interested in the negative talk. She researched some natural ingredients and herbs that she could use on a child’s scalp, and created a concoction in her kitchen lab. Today, that formula is now Bask and Lather’s top selling product, their Hair Elixir Oil.

Shaina Rainford took that formula and built a robust family business that she plans to pass on to her children. Find out about some of Bask and Lather Co’s big milestones over the past five years of operation

“Not all hair loss is created equal, so there is no ‘one-size-fits-all or a magic pill to fix it.” That’s from a post on Dr. Sharleen St. Surin Lord’s Instagram account. She is a dermatologist with her own hair loss treatment and she says that getting a medical consultation before putting anything on your scalp is something she recommends. Only 1% of doctors in the US are dermatologists, so there’s a long waiting time, but she promises that it’s worth the wait. I spoke to Dr. Sharleen in July 2022 and some of her wisdom is still valid today

Following the Roman Catholic Conclave live on public radio was not on my bingo card for 2025, but that did happen. Things must be really bad to be looking to the Vatican for direction. See, I’m a lapsed Catholic and while I got a lot of good things from the church, there’s a lot that I cannot reconcile: from the lack of participation of women, the LGBTQ+ rejection and pro-life stance. Anyway, we are in for interesting times since everyone on this side is calling Pope Leo XIV an American Pope. The Vatican has firmly declared him the second pope from the Americas. As we all know, choice of words is everything, friends🍿🎬.

Speaking of word choices: Lately, I’ve been intrigued by the word ‘refugee’. Our South African cousins arrived in the USA on a chartered flight looking rather cheery, unbothered and some with far too many goods for people who are fleeing persecution. Amongst all the flurry, I took a moment to revisit Thabo Mbeki’s 1996 speech: I AM AN AFRICAN and hope that someday, it will become mandatory learning in History and/or Social Studies at South African Schools. In fact, if I had to be minister of education, students wouldn’t be able to matriculate from high school unless they could write an essay about any part of the speech as part of their final exams. Let me know if the children in your life have been asked to watch or read i.

Anyway, it’s clear to me that the spirit of the new South Africa encapsulated in this speech simply cannot reach these so-called refugees. When Apartheid fell, they were warmly welcomed into the new South Africa. There have been no material repercussions as “pay back” for any atrocities committed before our new democracy. Without the guaranteed cushioning (jobs, housing and a false sense of safety) of a corrupt Apartheid government , they claim discrimination and genocide… Is this what happens when you are convinced of your fake sense of superiority?

🎥🍿 I’m assuming that we all saw what happened when the current resident at Mahlamba Ndlopfu arrived in Washington DC. There are many things to say about that encounter, but I still want to live in the land of the free, so I’ll focus on the South African side of things. A special nod goes to President Cyril Ramaphosa for demonstrating top tier self-control throughout the meeting. Even the comments from some members of the SA delegation would have made me lose my cool. Meanwhile, back home, there are some South Africans who were disappointed and wanted more pushback from the South African leader, but Mr. Ramaphosa had a larger mission than defending himself in that room. And a special shout out goes to NPR for a balanced coverage of the meeting between the two leaders. I have avoided most analyses from US media because news coverage over here infuriates me even on a good day, but I hear that the coverage was fairly balanced. And soon we will find out if the final deals and proposals were worth the dressing down Mr. Ramaphosa took for Team SA.

This month’s book recommendations are books that I read many years ago: inspired by the main themes addressed in the movie, Sabbatical.

Zimbabwean author and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions and Ghanaian novelist Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes: A Love Story. Both stories center Black girls who receive a Western education in Southern and West Africa, respectively, and how this affects their life outcomes for better and/or worse. The women in both books get a Western education, which alienates them from their mothers’ worlds or homes of origin. There are various other post-colonial issues that are addressed in the books...

And …. The same topics mentioned above are also tenderly addressed in the film, Milisuthando by South African filmmaker, Milisuthando Bongela-Davis. Incidentally, Tsitsi Dangarembga was recently in conversation with Ms. Bongela-Davis after the screening of the film in Barcelona.

Stoked to find out that Skunk Anansie have a new album coming out later this month. Am I going to the concert when it rolls around? I’m already losing my ish!

I’m recommending Chidinma Azubuike’s But What Do I Know podcast as well as Myleik’s Teele’s Podcast. Good vibes only and self improvement advise for Black women. Both women also share their podcasting journeys for those curious about this creative space.

I haven’t listened to it yet ,but Emma Grede’s Aspire podcast is bound to be good. The Good American and Skim’s Co-Founder & Partner had an enjoyable interview with Dragon’s Den  co-host and investor, Steve Bartlett on his podcast, Diary of a CEO. I must say that it did take me a few days to get through the 2-hour plus talk.😮‍💨

I also recently stumbled on a new offering on the block called Not Just One Thing, for all you multi-hyphenates out there. Host, Kudzi Chikumbu, a former TikTok executive, talks from his own experience and gives advise on how to build a fulfilling portfolio career. He tackles topics like mindset shift and redefining success, and chats to different innovators, including media entrepreneur and founder of Blavity, Morgan DeBaun. I was excited to hear that his first guest was his own father, SImon Chikumbu. Mr. Chikumbu senior came from a village in his home country of Zimbabwe, studied engineering and rose up the ranks to the top of Corporate South Africa. It’s a much needed voice in our uncertain times: what even is career or career planning in the face of AI disruption?

Ok, Podfriends that’s all from me this time around . I’m waiting for the sun to return before I head outside, but do keep an eye on the @shadesandlayerspodcast IG page for my adventures in and around Beantown.

Until next time, please do take good care.

Cheers,

Kutloano

(your host with the most)