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The Power and Politics of What We’re Called
December 15, 2025 • 1 hour, 19 minutes
On this episode, Three for the Founders are taking on a single idea—names—and stretching it across culture, politics, history, comedy, and the intimate corners of family life.
Reynaldo Antonio Macias, Lybroan James, and Jon Augustine open with the spark: pop culture and present-day politics giving them déjà vu. Succession’s slime, a debate-night “empathetic” performance from J.D. Vance, and the Hillbilly Elegy-to-DC pipeline all raise the same question: How much of identity is real, and how much is branding? From there, the episode shifts into something deeper—and a lot more personal.
Lybroan tells the now-legendary Nike Town story, recalls decades of bureaucratic friction over his name, and tracks the three-generation lineage of “Lybroan.” Antonio walks through his own evolution from “Antonio” to “Tony” to “Reynaldo,” mapping how school, family, culture, and professionalism each tried to rename him. Jon traces Ellis Island edits, the tale behind “JON without the H,” and the family threads behind his kids’ names.
Together, they explore why Black naming traditions are creative, historical, and political—born from a legacy where Black people were once denied literacy, self-definition, and even the right to name their own children. They unpack patriarchy in surname traditions, the emotional calculus of naming kids, the chaos and comedy of names that sound gentle versus names that clap like a snare drum, and the everyday politics of mispronunciation—from Kamala to Zohran Mamdani to your kid’s classroom roll sheet.
Along the way, they drop a Rams-game field trip story about gentle authority, salute students, supporters, and producers (Sabah James, Daniela Macías, Wil Gatuda), and put out the ongoing call: Popeye’s, let’s talk sponsorship—preferably live from the Underground Station at Tower of London.
The episode closes with a promise: this was just part one. Math names, Middle Eastern names, and a full decolonization of credit—yes, including Lybroan’s push to rebrand the Egyptian theorem—are coming next.
Thanks for joining us. Still got questions? Other things to say? Hit us up at Three for the Founders on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok and let us know. Til the next time...left on founders...we out!
