This week, Justin talks destiny with some true destiny experts. None other than Kelly Rowland from Destiny's Child and up-and-coming actor and singer Elle Lorraine talk about how they knew what their destiny was, when they knew it, and who inspired...

Writers Marvin Lemus and Travon Free solve the world's problems. Or, maybe they don't? Plus, Kanye West, black celebrity, and why Dia de los Muertos is not a Halloween costume.

How political is black art, and how much can black people critique it? A recent New York Times piece by Wesley Morris suggests that black art in this day and age is being critiqued for its politics rather than for its quality. Justin sits down with...

Janet Mock is a director, producer, writer, activist, and a two times over New York Times bestselling author. But if she had to define her life's work, she'd tell you she was a storyteller.

Meet the man responsible for “Netflix and chill,” bingeing, and a new business model that allowed for shows like Dear White People. Justin is joined by his boss, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

Lena Waithe is an actress and producer, but always a writer first. The Emmy-winner returns to talk about her projects in development (Queen and Slim, Twenties, Them), her creative process, and how she stays hungry.  

When political institutions shut out wide swaths of people, the path to change is often through culture. Hip-hop scholar Jeff Chang gets political with Justin, calling out the strengths and stressors among black and Asian communities in California...

Zazie Beetz is back, with her writer-actor boyfriend David Rysdahl. Justin also brought his boyfriend, Rick Proctor, into the studio. Both baes are white. We discuss the deep personal growth and public perils of our interracial love.

Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Deadpool 2) opens up about her struggle with anxiety, her biracial identity, and what becoming a public figure has meant for her personal journey on subjects like race and gender.

Robin Thede broke new late night ground with her excellent (and widely adopted) show The Rundown on BET. What’s next for her and will we ever see a return of The Rundown? Plus, what to watch when we’re avoiding the news cycle: namely, POSE and...

DuVernay is her last name. Array is her company. But on social media and to film and TV audiences worldwide, the director of A Wrinkle in Time and Selma needs very little introduction. Her name is simply Ava. Ava and Justin met when they both worked...

Cheryl Dunye’s 1996 film “The Watermelon Woman” was the first feature directed by a black lesbian. Cheryl traces her personal story and blend of AIDS activism, academia, and art school that prompted her to make the film, and the...

Angel Lopez is the new mold of Hollywood gatekeeper: gay, Latinx, a producer who also writes, a professional astrologer. He and Justin get real about being your authentic self in an industry built on sameness that’s obsessed with sales and sequels.

Kimberly Peirce’s breakout film “Boys Don’t Cry” was ahead of its time in 1999. Justin and Kim talk about the language around gender and sexuality, from who can say “butch” to what happens when previously accepted terms go out of vogue....

Who can use the N-word? How many writers and artists have a film like Moonlight waiting to be made? What was ScarJo thinking? We get into it with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, platonic life partners and the incredible duo behind the new film...

Barry Jenkins gained worldwide recognition with Moonlight, his film about the life of Chiron, a young black man in Florida struggling with his sexuality and a drug-addicted mom. Also of course, the whole Oscars catastrophe. Despite evidence (and...

Actors Marque Richardson and Kellee Stewart digest the new documentary, Whitney, which explores the complicated life of Whitney Houston. Plus, how Marque and Kellee learned to inhabit people’s lives in their characters.

Justin is joined by friends and fellow directors Tiffany Johnson and Dime Davis. Each one has a different journey to finding their voice as a filmmaker. All three are nurtured by peers, and terrified of speaking ill of another black person’s film...

Join in as Justin sips and spills some tea with Lena Waithe (The Chi, Master of None) and Misha Green (Underground).

Join me, Justin Simien (Dear White People, Bad Hair), each week for unfiltered conversations with the stars, artists and creators shaping our culture. Beyond the knee-jerk reactions and Twitter hot takes, my guests and I get real and raw. Don't like...