Hello Podfriend!

Greetings from Boston! Wherever you are in the world, I hope the new season is bringing some good vibes with it. We recently experienced the first warmth of the season on this side of the world and took some moments to take it all in in our backyard. It’s all going in the right direction, after a looooonnnnngggg winter.

How is life treating you these days?

All is good on my end despite the circus-like news headlines we read everyday - from school shootings to political scandals and leopards eating people’s faces IYKYK.

Earlier this month I also had a second visit for 2025 from my SA bestie and we visited so many places including the African American Heritage Museum and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Do visit them if you’re ever in town.

Before we get into the rest of the newsletter, a reminder to share this edition and ask your friends to join our squad. If this edition was shared with you, please subscribe.

Here’s what we’re doing in this edition:

-Studio Update

-Also This Month

-Giving me Joy and Pause This Month

Alright pod friends, let’s get to business!

Performance Coach and Happiness Expert, Brandi Hudson is on a mission to help you unlock your full potential in all aspects of your life. In the latest episode, she walks us through her B.A.S.E. framework that she has used to help many corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and individual clients. She says, “Whatever you desire was already meant for you.” Her job is to get you to a point of unwavering belief that what you dream of is possible for you and achievable.

With her dedication to working with clients who look like her, she has a special understanding of navigating systemic barriers to success, how to honor your heritage in a professional setting and relying on your intution as a guide for taking important decisions.

How can you think about personal development in the age of self-styled Personal Development “experts” on your social media feed? Well, it’s in the name: Personal. Not every coach is going to be for you and so, we speak to different life and business coaches to set you on the right path to success. The goal at the SAL podcast is to meet you where you are in terms of your career/entrepreneurial journey or your life. During an earlier season of the podcast, we spoke to Naketa Thigpen, the founder of the Thigpro Balance and Relationship Management Institute. Her goal is to guide couples and ‘potent individuals’ to a fulfilling and balanced life through what she calls being intentionally selfish.

The Spring flowers are doing their magic and so is the return of the warm sun to the North. We have planned some outdoor activities with bikes and hiking boots for the next while and I’m excited to get out there!

My Spring started indoors with a Mary J. Blige concert - one of my many birthday presents from hubby for the big five zero - and I was in heaven. First because I’m a day one fan, and the tour is called For My Fans, and I’d never seen so many Black and Brown people in Boston before. The joyousness in the atmosphere was one for the books. I will never forget. People were up on their feet almost the entire time (just under two hours), an singing the songs word for word. She mixed hits from her early days with new tracks from her new album, her latest album: Gratitude. Love the tracks Don’t F**k Up and God’s Child. My only gripe is that she didn’t perform Real Love, what’s up with that?!

On my reading list for May is Chimamanda Adichie’s Dream Count. It’s been sitting on my shelf for about a month now and the main reason is that I’m not hearing any excitement in the reviews. So if you’ve read it and you think it’s up to the standard we are used to from Chimamanda (or not), do hit reply and let me know what you made of it! I have a stack of non-fiction from the public library that I haven’t looked at yet.

Speaking of non-fiction, my recommendation this month is the biography of one of the most neglected Anti-Apartheid heroes in South African history, Robert Sobukwe. The book is called How Can Man Die Better and written by journalist Benjamin Pogrund. Mr. Pogrund has an interesting past himself having lived both in Apartheid South Africa and Israel. See what you make of his comparison between the two countries in an August 2023 opinion piece for The Guardian. Now, South Africa commemorates Human Rights Day (which should be called Sharpeville Day) on March 21st and Robert Sobukwe was the leader of what was supposed to be the launch of an Anti-Pass law campaign on 21 March 1960. Instead it became a bloodbath when police opened fire on the gathered crowed killing 69 people and injuring 180 (some reports say 250) others. I was thinking about this book because Sobukwe was arrested and jailed for leading this protest. This was exactly his aim: burn your Pass (ID book) and invite arrest. But then, Pretoria created a special law called the Sobukwe Clause, which allowed them to extend Sobukwe’s imprisonment annually - first in isolation on the infamous Robben Island and later under house arrest - without due process or a hearing. Bad things happen when a government finds ways to avoid the rule of law in order to promote whatever narrative it wants its people to believe. Those two words ‘due process’ are the reason why I’m recommending this book at this time.

My listening this month includes Slate Media’s podcast How To! It’s an advice podcast where they take your most pressing and interesting questions and find an expert answer them. It has taken the place of their discontinued favorite of mine, Hear Me Out. Love the episode on their Living at Odds mini series, which focused on Making Amends for Ancestors. This episode particularly resonated with me in light of South Africa’s ongoing quest for ‘Truth and Reconciliation’ thirty years after the fall of Apartheid. The Constitutional Court recently ruled that there is no statute of limitations for crimes committed during South Africa’s darkest era. This is because international law classifies Apartheid as a crime against humanity, and there is no time limit for prosecuting crimes against humanity. 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

I’m also loving Radiotopia’s Weight For It with host Ronald Young Jr. Yes it’s been around for a while but I’m only getting a chance to listen now. He gets into all things about navigating life in a bigger body. From plus-sized clothing to body positivity, shame, health concerns and dating. In the current season he’s talking to others with similar experiences and it makes for great listening.

Tracy Chapman reissued the vinyl for her 35th anniversary of her self-titled debut, so you know your girl was there at the record store on the day that it was released. Shout out to the guy at Wanna Hear It Records in Watertown for remembering the crazy lady who called to find out if he’ll have it in stock on the release date 😅. Love that it is a transparent orange disc. 😍

I’m looking forward to Mother’s Day this year because I overheard my little menfolk planning what to do for me on that day. Or maybe it’s wishful thinking and that’s not what they were doing at all. Either way, very sweet to happen upon a bonding sessions where you are the topic of discussion.

Soon after that I’ll be reconnecting with the radio world at the WBUR Festival. It’s the local public radio station (NPR) in Boston and they are celebrating conversations with some of America’s leading thinkers, authors, politicians, journalists, creatives and speakers. Can’t wait!

Have you seen Sinners yet? I hate horror and vampire anything, but I’ll go just because anything Ryan Coogler does is always stellar. Love how he gave a filmmaking lecture / behind-the-scenes as part of the promotion for his reunion with Michael B. Jordan. Geeky boys rule! All the behind the scenes content for this film is amazing. Mostly I’ll go because Hollywood is full of jealous people. The headlines for the mainstream reviews are despicable. Sinners had a record-breaking opening weekend ($61 million) for an original film and their focus was on how far the movie is from being profitable. Nuff said. Anyway, the other thing I’m looking forward to is a review (which I’m sure is coming) from Phetha and Kuntha at The Black Sterring podcast. In addition to being insightful on issues of representation and on the pulse of everything TV, Film and Music, they’re always fun to listen to. I particularly enjoy their voices when I’m homesick.

And finally to get a break from it all - if I do get the time that is - I’ve been watching a comedy series called Home Economics which streams on Hulu in the USA. I highly recommend following the journey of three siblings of vastly different financial means: billionaire, middle class and precarious financial situation. They find themselves in some deeply embarrass-ing* (said in a Nigerian accent) and cringeworthy moments, but the core of their rivalry and how they sometimes fail to understand and see each other feels true because we’re sometimes blind to how we affect our siblings.

Ok Podfriends, that’s all from me this time around . I’m going outside. 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)