Busy Being Black

Busy Being Black with Josh Rivers is the podcast exploring how we live in the fullness of our queer Black lives.

Society & Culture
101
Patrick Vernon OBE: Museum of Grooves
In conversation with Patrick Vernon OBE, the activist, historian, former politician and cultural curator and one of the Black Britons who has been instrumental in uncovering a Black British identity.
49 min
102
Alex Reads: Healing Is the Only Option
In a searching and probing conversation, we discuss whether (and how) we exist outside of our Blackness, the meaning of life and the vital and never-ending importance of self-reflection.
49 min
103
Jean Lloyd: Emancipating the Human Spirit
To start the year, we explore the difference between talking and communication; forgiveness and making peace with unanswered questions and missing apologies; the urgent, important and life-long work of being ourselves whether or not the world affirms u...
59 min
104
John Amaechi OBE: Everyday Jedi
John Amaechi OBE on greatness in the mundane, the attendant anger of any awakening and the moment he realised he could be a Jedi.
57 min
105
Otamere Guobadia: No Redemption in Masculinity
Otamere Guobadia is a writer whose words are searing, prescient and beautiful, striking at the heart of issues we battle with everyday.
49 min
106
Campbell X: Visible
Campbell X is an award-winning filmmaker whose work often explores queer masculinity and desire, reframing our queer Black lives outside of the white gaze and disrupting the oppressive Eurocentric white paradigm through which we see the world and ourse...
76 min
107
Kelechi Okafor: Go Back to the Source
Kelechi Okafor takes me on a deep-dive into Yoruba spirituality, the numinous guides she calls upon everyday and how her social media has always only ever been for herself.
59 min
108
Christania: Build Your Own Table
Today, I’m in conversation with Christania, the editor and chief of queer Black online magazine AZ Mag. Together with a small group of queer Black women, Christania set up AZ mag because she didn’t see herself reflected in mainstream LGBTQ media. AZ Ma...
59 min
109
FKA: Too Black, Too White
Alongside drag as art and how FKA has learned to thrive in their gender fluidity, we dive into sex, drugs and desire; the validation we’ve sought in the arms and beds of white men; and what they’ve learned about the importance of loving other Black folk.
57 min
110
Shahmir Sanni: The Whistleblower
Shahmir Sanni was thrust into the international spotlight after blowing the whistle on Vote Leave’s law-breaking during the EU referendum. Shahmir is a reminder to us all that the only way to secure the future we deserve is to fight for it.
54 min
111
Dr Kehinde Andrews: Black Radicalism for the 21...
Through this book, Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century, Dr Kehinde Andrews reminds those of us with the fire of radicalism in our bellies, that the future we imagine is very, very possible.
60 min
112
Travis Alabanza: Black Bones and Cycles
Travis Alabanza is an electrifying talent and one of the most prominent and emergent queer voices in the crossover of arts and politics. They've performed at the Tate, had their poetry published on highly-regarded platforms and tours their work in...
66 min
113
Reverend Jide Macaulay: House of Rainbow
Reverend Jide Macaulay is the theologian and spiritual leader behind the House of Rainbow, a welcoming and affirming community for LGBTQ people and our allies alike to join in the celebration of their faith. Reconciling our sexuality and our faith, tho...
58 min
114
Lady Phyll: Mother of the Movement
At one of the lowest moments of my life, Lady Phyll reached out, literally held me and helped nurse me back to life. She's well-known as the co-founder and executive director of UK Black Pride and for turning down an MBE from the Queen in 2016 in ...
74 min
115
Phil Samba: I Am Not a Stereotype
At just 28, Phil Samba is already a legend. When he writes, we read and when he speaks, we listen. His openness about both his sexuality and his sexual health means he’s often inundated by other young Black men who want to know more about him — how he...
66 min
116
Tobi Kyeremetang: Permission
Tobi Kyeremateng is a theatre, festivals and live performance producer who focuses on carving out space for young black people in theatre.
52 min
117
Dean Atta: Black Flamingo
I'm in conversation with Dean Atta, a poet whose work is deeply rooted in his experience as a gay black man and through which, he tussles with, or extols the virtues of, what it means to live and love and survive while Black.
57 min
118
Lili Ming and Kenny Jones: Transparency
A conversation with Lili Ming and Kenny Jones, founders of Transparency -- a new platform created by, for and in service of the global trans community.
53 min
119
Topher Campbell: Fetish
Busy Being Black means we’re busy building our legacy. What can we create that answers the questions we have today and which provides a manual for those of tomorrow? Topher Campbell is a Jerwood Award-winning director of stage, television and film who ...
51 min
120
Micheal Rice: Black Diamonds in Ice Castles
This episode of Busy Being Black contains references to situations and substances some might find uncomfortable to listen to. Living in the fullness of our queer Black lives means learning to live in the messiness. This was a lesson I learned as I deal...
42 min
121
Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE: The Persistent Optimist
Busy Being Black means that those of us at the embattled intersections are often busy doing the life-giving work of loving ourselves a little bit harder. Throughout my conversation with the persistent optimist Rikki Beadle-Blair, I’m reminded of just h...
55 min
122
Marc Thompson: Possibility and Appropriation
Busy Being Black means the search for possibility and meaning in our lives is endless. In part two of my conversation with Marc Thompson, a gay Black elder, HIV activist and writer, we wax lyrical on everything from our favourite books to the role cult...
51 min
123
Marc Thompson: I Have a Virus Older Than You
Busy Being Black means we recognise we did not get here alone. Marc Thompson is a gay Black elder, an HIV activist and writer, and one of three founders of Black Out UK, a platform dedicated to amplifying the stories of gay Black men. In my first of tw...
49 min
124
Ryan Lanji: Hungama
Busy Being Black means cultivating a mindset that allows us to constantly embrace and celebrate cultures outside our own. Ryan Lanji, an art and fashion curator, was raised in Canada in a melting pot of cultures and realities that has left a lasting im...
39 min
125
Bisi Alimi: Angelic Troublemaker
Busy Being Black means we refuse to let wherever we come from define where or how far we will go in life. This is just one of the lessons I was reminded of in my conversation with Bisi Alimi, the activist and angelic troublemaker behind the Bisi Alimi ...
55 min