Shows
SyllyThe Dating DowryWelcome back to Sylly, a podcast for the curious and critical. We’re your hosts, Mbiye Kasonga and Tembe Denton-Hurst. In episode 11, we’re discussing the transactional nature of modern dating. We’ve noticed a trend of women online who post content about finding rich men to date and marry, alongside conversations about how couples split their finances, and we wanted to explore the macro trends that might be informing this behavior. We leveraged two primary texts for this conversation. The first is a journal article by Megan Sawey that explores the reasons why women engage in suga...
2025-10-161h 30
Naked BeautyBring Back the ExpertsIn this episode of Naked Beauty, we’re unpacking a macro trend in the industry: experts are back in the spotlight. My producer, Mbiye Kasonga, joins me to discuss the trend of consumers seeking guidance from experienced professionals online, and how that’s reflected in recent beauty launches led by expert makeup artists and dermatologists. Sephora is particularly invested in expert-led brands, with brands like Danessa Myricks, Charlotte Tilbury. Brooke shares her personal experience with professional makeup artists, and Mbiye discusses the trends that preceded this moment in beauty culture and the environmental factors that might be contributing to it...
2025-10-0635 minSyllyA Close Reading of Dominion by Addie CitchensWelcome back to Sylly, a podcast for the curious and critical. We’re your hosts, Mbiye Kasonga and Tembe Denton-Hurst. In episode ten, we’re diving deep into our favorite contemporary fiction read of 2025 so far: Dominion. In this spoiler-filled episode, we delve into the book’s intricate characterizations, thematic complexity, and how it offers a rich commentary on patriarchy and gender roles within a tight-knit community. We also touch on Citchen’s compelling depiction of women’s roles in the church and their struggle for autonomy and self-worth. Thank you for listening! As always, if there’s an...
2025-09-241h 19SyllyDeep Reading and Deep Writing with Tembe Denton HurstWelcome back to Sylly, a podcast for the curious and critical. We’re your hosts, Mbiye Kasonga and Tembe Denton-Hurst. In episode nine, we’re throwing it back to the very first podcast we ever recorded together. I (Mbiye) interviewed Tembe for my book podcast Unbound last summer. We dove deep into Tembe’s debut novel, Homebodies, her early reading habits, and her writing practice.As always, if there’s anything you want us to talk about on the pod during our office hours, email us at: syllythepod@gmail.com. Thanks for listening, and we’ll be back wi...
2025-08-2958 minSyllyThe Sylly Summer Reading SpecialWelcome back to Sylly, a podcast for the curious and critical. We’re your hosts, Mbiye Kasonga and Tembe Denton-Hurst. In episode eight, we each share three book recommendations perfect for summer reading in August, emphasizing literature that explores deep relationships, identity, and personal transformation.As always, if there’s anything you want us to talk about on the pod during our office hours, email us at: syllythepod@gmail.com. Thanks for listening.Subscribe on Substack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-08-0858 min2025-07-251h 242025-07-151h 13SyllyThe Power of IllegibilityWelcome back to Sylly, a podcast for the curious and critical. We’re your hosts, Mbiye Kasonga and Tembe Denton-Hurst. This week we’re talking about legibility from a different perspective, thinking through how it protects us. We do this by examining the work of two artists: Simone Leigh and Amy Sherald, thinking of what they’re work is saying and how it impact us. It’s worth mentioning that Amy Sherald has a major show on right now at The Whitney and it’s brilliant. Everyone should see it.As always, if there’s anything you want us to t...
2025-05-241h 20SyllyThe Cost of LegibilityWelcome back to Sylly, a podcast for the curious and critical. We’re your hosts, Mbiye Kasonga and Tembe Denton-Hurst. This week we’re thinking about legibility and what it costs us, as human beings and more specifically, as Black women. To investigate we dove into two primary texts. Tembe brought Sula to the table (again), and Mbiye analyzed a TikTok by kadencecentana, which asks the question—is content creation the new hoop dreams? (yes).As always, if there’s anything you want us to talk about on the pod during our office hours, email at: syllythepod@gmail.co...
2025-04-051h 16SyllyWhat Do We Owe Each Other?Welcome to Sylly, a podcast for the curious and critical. We’re your hosts, Mbiye Kasonga and Tembe Denton-Hurst. This week, we talked about community. more specifically, we spent some time with Mbiye’s primary text, What is Community Anyway, an article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review. In a world where community is diluted by the internet and weaponized by brands to get us to buy stuff, it’s important that we come to a shared understanding of community. Tembe’s text, Sula, rounds out our discussion of community and friendship, helping us dive deeper into the question undernea...
2025-03-141h 35SyllyA Close Reading of All FoursThank you for listening to Sylly! Keep up with us on Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-03-011h 362025-02-1341 minNaked BeautyBrooke Devard on Building Naked BeautyIn the last episode of the year, I was the Naked Beauty interviewee. Our incredibly talented producer, Mbiye Kasonga, and I sat down to reflect on the previous two years we’ve spent working together. She asked me about my interest in storytelling and my experiences after a full year of working for myself and taking creative risks. It gave me a chance to talk about my early interests in audio storytelling and the inspiration I drew listening to Wendy Williams after school every day. We also talked about our professional partnership and how committing to decisiveness and rejecting pe...
2024-11-2558 minNaked BeautyA Braiding Renaissance ft. Mbiye Kasonga and Utibe Mbagwu“It feels like love is being stitched into your head”When it comes to Black beauty culture, braiding is arguably one of the most important rituals that we can participate in. Not only is it a form of wearable art, but it’s a way to build relationship and community with others. Tune in as I sit down with Naked Beauty producer Mbiye Kasonga and soon-to-be Douse founder Utibe Mbagwu to discuss their favorite braiding styles, what makes for an incredible braiding experience, braiding etiquette, braiding as a form of technology and luxury, and the value of hav...
2024-02-1958 min
The Hue ReportBeauty Rituals and Faves with Olivia + MbiyeSend us a textThe Hue Report's producer Mbiye Kasonga and I are kicking off season four with a beauty speed round of our own. We're chatting about our earliest beauty memories, must-have products, and so much more. Press play to hear from us! Let us know your thoughts on the episode! Tag us on Instagram @thehuereport or email us at hello@thehuereport.comJoin The Hue Report community on Instagram: @thehuereportStay in touch with Olivia on Instagram: @oliviahancock_Stay in touch with Mbiye on Instagram: @mbiye_k
2022-10-1733 min