Blacksplained

Every week, Blacksplained asks an expert, scholar or person who knows what they’re talking about to tackle one question. This week, we’re talking neurodivergence, online psychology and misinformation about mental health with Dr. April Scott, director of Strategic Initiatives and Wellbeing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-M).She holds a B.S. in psychology from Tuskegee University, so we had to talk about the bonnet debate. She’s a Black woman with an M.S. in clinical psychology from Barry University and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Auburn University, so we had to talk about Cheyenne Bryant. She did her dissertation on hip-hop’s effects on Black women’s self-image, so we couldn’t avoid the debate over Yung Miami’s hit song.And since she has worked across multiple settings, including substance abuse treatment programs, community mental health centers, a Veterans Affairs hospital, group practice and university counseling centers, you’ll discover that what you believe about behavior, therapy and mental health is a combination of misinformation, misunderstanding and one of the most addictive drugs in history.That’s why Dr. April Scott, an actual psychology expert, is here to Blacksplain:Is the internet making us dumber?Chapters00:00 Understanding Mental Health Professions03:07 The Complexity of Mental Health07:15 Challenges of Diagnosis and Overconsumption of Therapy37:23 Phenomenon of Imposter Syndrome and Personality Traits41:25 Pathologizing Personality Traits42:22 Personality Disorders vs. Quirks43:21 Sensory Overload and Racial Bias58:40 Influence of Music on Body Image56:16 Historical Impact of Racism in Research01:11:27 Respectability Politics and Campus Norms01:22:25 The Internet and Mental Health01:30:16 Influence of Social Media on Behavior

Are we actually in a literacy crisis? Or is the hand-wringing about this so-called “literacy crisis” about who gets to determine the books and the newspapers and the stories that are deemed “serious”?I knew just the person to ask.Dr. Ahmad R. Washington is the department chair and an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development at the University of Louisville. Besides winning a slew of awards for his research on using hip-hop as a tool for counseling and educating Black males, he was inducted into the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars and served as an inaugural antiracism commissioner for the American Counseling Association, the largest organization for professional counselors in the world.His research explores multicultural school counseling and anti-Blackness in education and the helping professions. And since he’s responsible for educating the people who become teachers, counselors, and—this is the important part—the people who determine what is worthy of learning, how we develop students, and how we determine if we’re doing it right, who better to Blacksplain what we get wrong about America’s literacy crisis?

If Christopher Columbus “discovered” America for white people, then Rod and Karen Morrow reverse gentrified the internet. After all, when Elon Musk “discovered” the website he now owns, Rod was already making his case for being considered one of the founders of Black Twitter. HBO made a show about a fictional universe with dragons, witches and white people with cousins, but Rod and Karen helped focus the Black gaze on The Game of Thrones. From working at HBO as Bomani Jones examined sports (and America) through a uniquely Black lens to teaming up with a writer named Michael Harriot and a little-known producer named Pharrell Williams on Drapetomaniax, Rod and Karen are basically the internet’s Black Lewis and Clark.And when it comes to the fastest-growing form of media in the world, the Charlotte, N.C., couple host The Black Guy Who Tips, the longest-running Black podcast on Cheyenne Bryant’s internet.That’s why we sat down with Rod Morrow to talk about his origin story, how the landscape has changed during his 16 years in the game and whether the podcast space needs more Black voices.If you wanna hear how someone feels about a topic they heard some people talking about, you’re in luck. The world is filled with places where white perspective is framed as objectivity. It’s called whitesplaining.But if you value truth, expertise and lived experience from a Black perspective…Let me introduce you to the Black podfather, the OG of RSS feeds, or (my favorite —Negro Rogan.Today, the Black guy who tips Blacksplains how to decolonize the podcast space.Because he already did it.

Can white people code-switch, or is it a genetic ability that Black people are born with, like clapping on beat or making white people “fear for their lives”? Is it the same as “talking white” or is it a technical skill that people like Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Ketanji Brown Jackson learned at the Respectability Politics School for Black Excellence? Do all white Gen-Zers (including Post Malone, Tyler Herro and Miley Cyrus) go through a Blaccent phase or are they reverse code-switching?This is why Blacksplained exists.Each week, we ask scholars, experts and people who know things to tackle one specific question about history, politics, culture, science or whatever’s got people talking. The smart, funny and insightful conversations end up in the most unexpected places while staying rooted in facts, truth and something that is often missing from the public discourse: a Black perspective.Sunn m’Cheaux is a sociolinguist, musician, educator, and Harvard University’s first (and only) Gullah instructor. m’Cheaux’s social media posts contextualizing language, race and culture have made him one of the internet’s favorite public scholars.Rachel Elizabeth Weissler is a raciolinguistic emotion perception researcher, African-American English scholar and a professor at the University of Oregon’s linguistics and Black studies departments. Dr. Weissler uses experimental methods from sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and history to explore how Black language is used, how it changes and how it’s appropriated.But today, professors m’Cheaux and Weissler are going to Blacksplain:“Can white people code-switch?”Chapters00:00 The Origin of Southern Accents02:04 The Diversity of Southern Accents04:05 The Influence of English Variations06:45 The Impact of Language on Social Standing11:07 The Concept of 'Talking White'16:12 The Authenticity of Accents and Dialects40:04 The Significance of Home and Contact44:33 Context and Culture46:16 Linguistic Gatekeeping47:50 Preserving Black Language54:08 Authenticity of Black Music01:00:43 Cultural Evolution and Ownership01:19:08 Defining Country Music

Each week, host Michael Harriot will pick one question about history, politics, science, culture or anything else worth talking about. But instead of giving his opinion or sharing his feelings on the subject, he’ll bring in a scholar, expert or professional who actually knows what they’re talking about. But these discussions won’t be neutral, performatively palatable or sterilized to make people comfortable. Instead of using “objectivity” as a standard (pronounced “Hoo why itt”), we’ll dive into each subject from an unapologetically Black perspective, grounded in real expertise and delivered with the wit, candor and cultural fluency that informs our ways of knowing. The result is a show that doesn’t just inform you; it will recontextualize what you thought you knew, give you new insight and make you realize that you aren’t going crazy. We’ll have real experts like today’s guest, attorney Lisa E. Davis Besides being one of the foremost entertainment and sports attorneys in the country, Davis is a certified “Super Lawyer” and the author of the new book: Our Minds Were Always Free: A History of How Black Brilliance Was Exploited—and the Fight to Retake Control. Today, she will help us answer the question: Can you steal Black genius? Let’s find out.One question. Actual experts. Real answers.Welcome to Blacksplained.TakeawaysTheft of intellectual property has had a profound impact on the Black communityThe limitations of the law in addressing intellectual property theft are evident Ownership and control are critical in the music industryThe role of record companies in curation and marketing is still significant in the digital ageChapters00:00 Theft of Intellectual Property01:12 Blacksplained: A New Perspective02:12 The Exploitation of Black Brilliance03:31 The Impact of Intellectual Property Theft06:44 The Legacy of Intellectual Property Theft08:37 Intellectual Property and Capitalism11:24 The Limitations of the Law16:03 The Impact on Music and Art20:15 Ownership and Exploitation27:41 The Difference in Cover Versions30:05 Theft and Responsibility32:44 Ownership and Control35:31 Masters and Catalog Leasing41:09 Intellectual Property and Creativity47:11 Record Companies and Curation49:14 The Role of Algorithms52:28 Black Creativity and American Culture

As we approach the 200th anniversary of the Black press, many people wonder if anyone is keeping that mission alive. If so, who? And how do we support them?Well, Blacksplained has the answer. Each week, ContrabandCamp’s newest weekly podcast poses one question to a scholar, expert or someone who actually knows what they’re talking about. This week, ContrabandCamp senior correspondent Tiffany D. Cross and Michael Harriot sat down with the founder of the Black Star Network streaming service and the host of the daily news show Roland Martin Unfiltered to answer this episode’s question:“Is the Black press still alive?”Chapters00:00 Defining Journalism and Content Creation03:00 The Role of Truth in Media06:02 The Responsibility of Journalists09:45 The Importance of Facts in Opinion Columns13:07 The Impact of Subjectivity in Sports and Music15:20 The Power of Facts in Debates19:58 The Significance of Showing Up for Black People22:08 Mission-Driven Service24:14 Financial Support and Funding25:36 The Importance of Black-Owned Media26:34 Challenges and Opportunities in Black Media27:38 Community Support and Engagement29:53 The Role of Black-Owned Media in Society31:38 Building and Sustaining a Media Business33:26 The Power of Black-Owned Media34:52 Sustaining Independence and Growth39:26 The Value of Black-Owned Media40:24 Sustainable Business Growth