PODCAST · society
Corner Table Talk
by Corner Table Media / Brad Johnson
After years of lowering the velvet rope and pulling out chairs on both coasts for countless guests, Brad Johnson puts his warm, present and welcoming hospitality skills to use as the host of Corner Table Talk, covering topics spanning FOOD + DRINK + CULTURE. Following the guest conversation, international speaker, writer, and diplomat Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz) spends a few moments unpacking the discussion and lets us in on some of the interesting people, places, and things that have her attention in HOW WE MOVE.Brad Johnson’s career in hospitality began in the early 70s in the dish pit of his father’s renowned NYC restaurant, The Cellar, followed by his subsequent storied road creating high profile establishments, from the lavish LA nightclub The Roxbury (yes, that Roxbury) to the Melrose Avenue soulful hotspot, Georgia, and the James Beard Award-nominated Post & Beam.Instagram: cornertabletalk and postandbeamhospitalityLinkedIn: Brad Jo
Episodes
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S5:E3 Jamila Robinson I Play the Notes That Aren't There
"We wanted to explore the ways that food can be a muse.” Jamila Robinson Looking through the pages of Bon Appétit’s inaugural Art & Design issue (May 2025), I realized that I wasn’t just reading. Each spread and story resonated with me, reminding me why the hospitality industry initially appealed...
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S5:E2 Chip Wade I Centering the Salt Shaker
"You can't take a photo of hospitality." Chip Wade When my long-time friend, Eric Williams of Stone Williams Group, offered to connect me with Chip Wade, I immediately said yes. I was curious to learn more about the CEO of legendary New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer's Union Square…
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S5:E1 Greg Dulan I Community Hero
"When I got burglarized, it really didn't faze me... I went back to that day as a teenager, looking at my father's face, seeing the determination as he swept up that glass." Greg Dulan I met Greg Dulan almost 40 years ago while he and his father, renowned restaurateur Adolf Dulan, were visiting...
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S4:E5 Clarence Otis Jr. I From Watts to the Corner Office
"The future in this country is one where the folks setting the pace will be more diverse than ever. That’s baked in, and while there’s backlash, the numbers will ultimately tell the tale." Clarence Otis Clarence Otis Jr., former Chairman and CEO of Darden Restaurants Inc., is busy these days...
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S4:E4 Jeff Friday I Empowering Black Cinema
"I'm an activist with an artistic mask on." Jeff Friday The 28th Annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) takes place in Miami, June 12-16, 2024. This year's event promises to be bigger and better than ever, with a stellar lineup of films, panel discussions, parties, workshops, and…
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S4:E3 Billy Dee Williams I Chandelier, Baby!
"Don't worry so much, stay positive, move forward, enjoy life. It's a gift, an astonishing, beautiful, absurd gift. Be kind and be curious. Chandelier, Baby!" Billy Dee Williams These words, spoken by screen legend and multi-talented Billy Dee Williams, offer a simple yet profound mantra for...
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S4:E2 Marcus Samuelsson I Going Global, Staying Local
"As people of color, we’ve always dealt with crisis but what has never stopped is our capability to invent. We created some of the best dishes during the roughest times. We created some of the best art. Art, where does hip hop come from? It comes from struggle. We created some of the best music...
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S4:E1 Overtown EatUp! LIVE 2024 I The Magic of Culinary Community
Overtown EatUp! is first and foremost a love letter to the “Harlem of the South ''and its profoundly important role in shaping the Miami of today. Food is more than just sustenance; it's a story, a community, and a way to bring people together. In this episode, we take you to the heart of…
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S3:E10 James Beard Award Winners LIVE 2023
The mission of the James Beard Awards is to recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive. Each year…
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S3:E9 Eriq La Salle I Creating Transformative Moments
"A friend of mine once told me, he said, 'you don't build houses, you direct' because building a home is the same way that I direct. I don't know which comes first, if anything, I try to curate whatever it is I'm doing to create a transportive moment,...
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S3:E8 Raoul Roach I A Fortunate Life
"My father said that when you look at the cultural traditions of people, the European cultural tradition is a generation makes a mask. They put it up on the wall, put a glass box around it, and they point to it and say that's the greatest mask that's ever been made. The African tradition is every...
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S3:E7 Curtis Stone I Before Cooking Was Cool
"It's hard to hire female chefs. It's hard to hire African American chefs because there's just not as many people interested in it, which I'm like, yeah, and that's why we need to promote it, and that's why we need to give them opportunities far beyond what might seem reasonable because we want...
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S3:E6 Alexander Smalls I Harlem Globetrotter
"My journey has really been following the path throughout the African diaspora, on five continents, chasing the knowledge of essentially how through slavery, Africa changed the global culinary conversation." Alexander Smalls Alexander Smalls began his illustrious career as a restaurateur in the...
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S3:E5 Rick Rosenfield I Spago for the Masses
"What we saw right away, and I would say that to anybody who engages in the fantasy of going into the restaurant business, in the end, it is not about the concept, it's about the people that work with you, work for you. Because if we didn't understand it was about the people, we would have died...
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S3:E4 Stephanie Allain I Content Matters
"Everything is in a cycle, and the cycle is dictated by the audience's needs and wants, the studio's needs and wants in terms of the financial bottom line, right? Those two very evolving organisms are always trying to sync into the right gear. So, I don't worry anymore because it always comes…
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S3:E3 Dolores Robinson I And Here's To You Mrs. Robinson
"I have to say at some point I did have to see that resume. There was a point where if you were a newcomer, I had too much to do. I had people come in my office. When I got on a little further into the business. Rodney King came to my office because he wanted me to do a project with him.…
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S3:E2 Jamila Ross & Akino West I Little River on the Map
"Miami has always been a unique place, right? In comparison to the rest of the states. I feel like I'm in a different country and it's just so Caribbean, it's so island. So the city is special in that way. Today there's this boom and the energy has shifted toward culture. And when I say culture…
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S3:E1 Kwame Onwuachi I Breaking Bricks at Lincoln Center
"When I do anything, I like to break all the bricks. What was here before Lincoln Center was old San Juan Hill, a very affluent or a very popular Afro-Caribbean, Afro Latino area. It just spoke to me. It was like, I'm supposed to be here. I'm supposed to revive the stories of the people and give…
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S2:E30 Kevin Powell I Voice of the Village
"Remember, 1992 was the year that Naughty by Nature had a huge song called O.P.P. It was a megahit. Jonathan [Editor-in-Chief] asked me if I wanted to write an article about Treach from Naughty by Nature. I was like, heck yeah. He didn't tell me that Albert Watson was shooting the cover, the…
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S2:E29 Def Sound I I Been
I been honest I've had my heart broken like promise I been decolonizing my closet I been intentional with my dollars I been I been learning boundaries I been done with jobs payin hourly I been thinking a lot more while I'm showering I been putting my 10,000 hours in I been thinking bout ownership…
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S2:E28 Jackie Summers I It's His Spirit
"If you go back 500 years, West Africans knew hibiscus to be a powerful medicinal plant, full of antimicrobials, full of antioxidants, natural source of vitamin C. It's a natural aphrodisiac. They would make a tea from this flower, and this was part of their ceremony and their traditions. Then...
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S2:E27 Toni Ann Johnson I You Have To Go Deeper
"Unapologetic in her due process, not waiting, not stopping, not pausing. If we don't do that, it won't get told. It won't get bought. We all know that we've submitted our various original pieces over the decades, mind you. Just sit down and do it ourselves, tell our stories and presume, not...
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S2:E26 Vanessa Bell Calloway I Team Work Makes The Dream Work
"My only competition was myself. And I just kept saying, You just need one spot. You just need one scholarship. So, when it was my turn, I danced for Jesus, honey. I danced like I had never danced before." Vanessa Bell Calloway Leaving her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio and following her dream,...
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S2:E25 Jayne Kennedy Overton I Jayne 2.0
An 'icon' is much more known than a celebrity. They are someone who leaves a mark on history. They have a strong depth of significance. They are a person who is well known, and who people look up to. Jayne Kennedy Overton embodies that description breaking barriers when she became the first woman...
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S2:E24 Caroline Randall Williams I Speaking Truth
What is a monument but a standing memory? An artifact to make tangible the truth of the past. My body and blood are a tangible truth of the South and its past. The black people I come from were owned by the white people I come from. The white people I come from fought and died for their Lost…
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S2:E23 Tommy Davidson I It's OK To Be Me
"The massive challenges that Tommy has faced in life have been no match for his soaring talent and indomitable spirit. If he had lady parts, my search would be over." Jim Carrey, comedian and actor In preparing for this episode with Tommy Davidson, I read Tommy's memoir, Living in Color: What's...
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S2:E22 Craig Robins I In Miami, All Roads Lead To Craig
"In Miami, all roads lead to Craig." Virgil Abloh, fashion designer, artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear No one of our generation has played a more influential role in defining, redefining and shaping the culture in Miami than Craig Robins. Craig is a visionary in the truest sense of…
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S2:E21 Tracye McQuirter I By Any Greens Necessary
So why does what we eat matter? A growing body of science in the field of cognitive nutrition shows that the “food-brain connection is actually one of the most powerful drivers of our overall well-being. What we eat matters not only for our physical health but for our cognitive and mental health,...
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S2:E20 Sally Greig I Mental Wellness
"With the recent stress of the environment and the virus, there's a great deal of hopelessness and a sense of a lot of insecurity around the future," says Sally Greig, our guest this week. Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to...
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S2:E19 Glenda Gracia I Honoring Phyllis Hyman
In honor of Black Music Appreciation Month and singer, songwriter Phyllis Hyman, our guest is Glenda Gracia, the executrix for The Estate of Phyllis Hyman and the former founding Executive Director of the Black Music Association responsible, along with other music execs, for lobbying then…
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S2:E18 Yvonne Durant I Quite the Contrary by Design
One Mother’s Day, Yvonne Durant's life took an interesting turn while dining with her twin sister, Yvette, at the popular restaurant, The Cellar, on NYC's Upper West Side. "My eyes started to wander across the room to the front of the entrance. When a flash of orange [jumpsuit] caught my eye. I...
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S2:E17 Chef Shennari Freeman I Soulful Vegan Vision
Making plant-based dishes fun and indulgent while honoring Southern foodways through the lens of her beloved Virginia childhood memories, Chef Shenarri Freeman, aka “Shenarri Greens,” is Executive Chef of Cadence, a plant-based restaurant with Southern soul in New York’s East Village. Chef...
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S2:E16 Brad Johnson I A Lifetime Reading Rooms
In this episode, Brad Johnson turns over his hosting duties to guest host, James Beard nominated reporter for Eater Los Angeles, Mona Holmes, who turns the proverbial table on Brad Johnson to find out more about this career restaurateur and entrepreneur, along with his recent endeavor as podcast...
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S2:E15 Clifton Powell I Fully Real
The actor, Clifton Powell has appeared in over 100 feature films and television shows with some of his most memorable roles being in major movies such as Clifton's role as Ray Charles' longtime band manager and friend, Jeff Brown, in Ray (for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination), or...
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S2:E14 Chef Pierre Thiam I African Cuisine Making Moves
On the way to Cleveland, Ohio to continue earning his chemistry and physics degree after his university in Senegal shut down due to student strikes, a young Pierre Thiam was waylaid in New York City having been robbed of his father's savings within one week of arriving. His introduction into New...
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S2:E11 Adam Platt I Scowling Boiled Owl
Adam Platt, one of America's most beloved food critics, has been the chief food critic for New York Magazine since 2000. The son of a career US diplomat posted to Taiwan, Hong Kong and elsewhere, Adam and his hungry brothers (including actor Oliver Platt) grew up devouring dim sum in Hong Kong,...
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S2:E13 Cyrus Batchan I The Restaurateur Mindset
Hailing from a family of restaurateurs, Cyrus Batchan recently opened Camphor, a French-Indian inspired neighborhood restaurant in the downtown LA Arts District. As the founder of No.8 Hospitality, Cyrus has conceived and operated several nightlife concepts and restaurants including: Lock & Key…
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S2:E12 Franklin Sirmans I Wellness Through Art
Franklin Sirmans, the Director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) advocates that art can significantly contribute to personal and societal wellness. Located on Miami's beautiful Biscayne Bay, PAMM's mission is to promote artistic expression and the exchange of ideas advancing public knowledge…
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S2:E10 Bryant Terry I Maestro of Plenty
Bryant Terry is a James Beard Award-winning food activist, chef, educator and the author renowned for his efforts to create a healthy, equitable, and sustainable food system. "A large part of my mission...is to move Afro-diasporic food focus from the margins closer to the center of our collective...
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S2:E9 Andrew Bernstein I Courtside Vision
Earning the trust and respect of NBA greats such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant to create award-winning iconic photos is only part of what Andrew Bernstein does. As the longest tenured NBA League photographer, he has covered 40 NBA Finals and 38 All-Star Games as the senior NBA...
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S2:E3 Regina King I Making the Moment Count
This episode originally aired on January 20, 2022, a few days before the tragic death of Regina’s son, Ian Alexander, Jr. Out of respect for Regina, Ian Sr. and their family, we stopped featuring and unpublished the episode upon learning the news. This is the re-release of the episode. With a...
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S2:E8 Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson I Spatial Justice
The beachfront resort, Bruce’s Beach, run for and by Black residents of the community, located in Manhattan Beach, was one of the first enclaves of Black leisure in the Los Angeles area during the Jim Crow era. Willa and Charles Bruce bought the land in 1912 and despite harassment and violence…
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S2:E7 Susan Taylor I What Have You Come To Teach Me
After 27 years as the chief editor of Essence magazine and the visionary credited with building the brand, Susan Taylor left publishing to devote her life to building an organization that is devoted to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty among African Americans. A…
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S2:E6 Dr. Julius Garvey I An African Mind
A long-time friend of Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X), Dr. Julius Garvey is the only surviving son of the founder of the United Negro Improvement Association, the Honorable Marcus Garvey, and activist and journalist, Amy Jacques Garvey. In this episode, he shares insights with...
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S2:E5 Paula Williams Madison I Family Prosperity Education
In this episode, the highly accomplished Paula Williams Madison, converses with host, Brad Johnson, on topics including the evolution of fake news from the perspective of an award-winning journalist and media executive, her position on "Defund the Police" having formerly served as VP of the Los...
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S2:E4 Meli’sa Morgan I Her Way
With her smooth, velvety voice, the R&B/Soul singer Meli'sa Morgan is known for her string of urban contemporary hits starting in the mid–1980s through the mid–1990s. Meli'sa began her singing career at nine years old as a member of the Starlets of Corona gospel choir. She went on to study music...
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S2:E2 Nate Fluellen I Citizen of the World
Inspired by his mother's missionary travels and a college professor's dare, Nathan Fluellen set out to travel the world in 2004 and thus far, has visited 60 countries and six continents. In his latest series with the Africa Channel, Escape With Nate: In Search of Black Utopia, Nate sits down with...
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S2:E1 Fab 5 Freddy I Avant Garde Maestro
Street-art and hip-hop pioneer, Fred Brathwaite, aka Fab 5 Freddy, is a cultural influencer whose career encompasses graffiti artist, rapper, an internationally exhibited painter, video and TV-commercial director, screenwriter, film scorer, actor, lecturer, television personality, and creative...
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S1:E43 Ken Lombard I Clear Vision
With affordable housing reaching crisis levels, Ken Lombard, having led numerous successful real estate investments and business ventures that fostered economic improvement and urban renewal in underserved minority communities throughout the United States, is on a mission to improve lives and...
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S1:E42 Earl "The Pearl" Monroe I Earl's Pearls
Philly-raised and Harlem-based, Earl Monroe is a Hall of Fame basketball player voted one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history along with being 1968 Rookie of the Year, a four-time NBA All-Star and a member of the 1973 New York Knickerbocker Championship team. After a successful career in...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
After years of lowering the velvet rope and pulling out chairs on both coasts for countless guests, Brad Johnson puts his warm, present and welcoming hospitality skills to use as the host of Corner Table Talk, covering topics spanning FOOD + DRINK + CULTURE. Following the guest conversation, international speaker, writer, and diplomat Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz) spends a few moments unpacking the discussion and lets us in on some of the interesting people, places, and things that have her attention in HOW WE MOVE.Brad Johnson’s career in hospitality began in the early 70s in the dish pit of his father’s renowned NYC restaurant, The Cellar, followed by his subsequent storied road creating high profile establishments, from the lavish LA nightclub The Roxbury (yes, that Roxbury) to the Melrose Avenue soulful hotspot, Georgia, and the James Beard Award-nominated Post & Beam.Instagram: cornertabletalk and postandbeamhospitalityLinkedIn: Brad Jo
HOSTED BY
Corner Table Media / Brad Johnson
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Corner Table Talk have?
Corner Table Talk currently has 92 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Corner Table Talk about?
After years of lowering the velvet rope and pulling out chairs on both coasts for countless guests, Brad Johnson puts his warm, present and welcoming hospitality skills to use as the host of Corner Table Talk, covering topics spanning FOOD + DRINK + CULTURE. Following the guest conversation,...
How often does Corner Table Talk release new episodes?
Corner Table Talk has 92 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Corner Table Talk?
You can listen to Corner Table Talk on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Corner Table Talk?
Corner Table Talk is created and hosted by Corner Table Media / Brad Johnson.
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