This week, Mungi speaks with Dr. Jean Augustine, the first Black woman to be elected to Canada's House of Commons. They discuss Dr. Augustine's life's work consisting of service, advocacy, and activism; and she shares what her experience was like as the first Black woman MP and some of the successes she has had. They also speak about intersectionality and the loneliness that occurs when your identity is not represented. With several institutions named after her, including the Jean Augustine...

Fellow The Brand is Female Podcast Studio host, Shayla Oulette Stonechild joined Mungi this week to discuss her work, the issues affecting Indigenous people today, and reclaiming power. Shayla is at the forefront of Indigenous women's wellness. Utilizing her skills as a powerful speaker and thought leader, Shayla is the founder of the “Matriarch Movement', a non-profit organization dedicated to highlighting Indigenous voices and providing wellness workshops to BIPOC women across Canada. In...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by Sinikiwe Stephanie Dhliwayo, a creative, an entrepreneur, an educator, and a speaker who is steadfast in her belief that Blackness and humanity are inextricably linked. She is driven daily by a deep desire to change the narrative of what it looks like and feels like to be well. An immigrant from Zimbabwe, Sinikiwe's work is imbued with Ubuntu and in this episode, she and Mungi discuss the mission of her wellness company, Naaya, as well as how she...

Today's guest is Dawn Gifford Engle. Dawn is a filmmaker, an activist, and Co-Founder of The PeaceJam Foundation. She has been recognized for excellence in filmmaking, a well-decorated director, Dawn is the recipient of 12 Best Director awards. She wrote and directed the award-winning documentary films, Rigoberta Menchu: Daughter of the Maya, Desmond Tutu: Children of the Light, Adolfo Perez Esquivel: Rivers of Hope, Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired, Betty Williams: Contagious Courage, The...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by Esméralda de Belgique, journalist, documentary-maker, keynote speaker, and author. Princess Esméralda is a member of the Belgian Royal family and the aunt of the current monarch, King Philippe. Throughout her career, she has co-produced documentaries and written several books about her family, environmental issues, and women Nobel Peace Prize winners. In this episode, HRH speaks to Mungi about the rewarding experience and learnings she got both...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by Courtney Martin, Activist, Feminist, Author, Entrepreneur, and Journalist. Her book, Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially-Divided America From my Daughter's School provides lessons that help white parents wondering if it's too early to speak to their young kids about racism—spoiler: it's not. Courtney is also the visionary behind the Substack newsletter, called Examined Family, and she co-founded the Solutions Journalism Network, FRESH...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by Dennis Marcus, the Executive Director of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights UK, an educational charity that works to inspire people to make human rights a reality in their everyday lives. Dennis co-founded the social impact agency Ubuntu London, working with leading politicians, global NGOs, and high profile activists, including honouring Nelson Mandela's co-accused Denis Goldberg, Ahmed Kathrada, and Andrew Mlangeni. Dennis also managed Patricia...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by the one and only Tre'vell Anderson. Tre'vell is an award-winning journalist whose work is dedicated to centering those in the margins. Tre'vell has worked for the LA Times, Out Magazine and is currently Editor-At-Large for Toronto's Xtra. In this episode, Tre'vell and Mungi discuss how they got into entertainment journalism, the possibility models they have looked to for inspiration into how their life could be, and their experience coming up as a...

Meet Zeinab Badawi, Sudanese-born British Television and Radio Journalist. Zeinab has worked extensively in the British media for four decades and is best known for her work at BBC World News TV and on BBC World Service Radio, on programs such as Hard Talk and Global Questions. Zeinab is the current chair of the Royal African Society and a director of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. She also serves on the advisory boards of the think tanks Afrobarometer and the...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by the Founder and Executive Director of Black Women in Motion, Monica Samuel. Black Women in Motion is a Toronto-based, youth-led organization that empowers and supports the advancement of Black women, gender-non-conforming, and non-binary survivors of gender-based violence. Monica is an educator, community builder, social entrepreneur, and DEI consultant whose work over the last 10 years has focused on anti-oppression, equity, mental health, sex...

This week’s guest teaches us that it is our differences that make us stronger. Meet Alphonso B. David, an accomplished and nationally recognized LGBTQ2S+ civil rights lawyer and advocate, and the president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Mr. David is the first civil rights lawyer and the first person of colour to serve as president of HRC in the organization’s nearly 40-year history. He has served at the forefront of the movement for LGBTQ2S+ equality for more than a decade and has worked...

This week on the podcast, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by Theodore R. Johnson III. Theodore is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Fellows Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, where he undertakes research on race, politics, and American identity. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, he was a National Fellow at New America and a Commander in the United States Navy, serving for twenty years in a variety of positions, including as a White House Fellow in the first...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by Carole Stone CBE. Carole is a British Author and Freelance Radio and Television Broadcaster, who spent 27 years at the BBC, starting her career as a newsroom secretary and eventually becoming the producer of Radio 4‘s flagship discussion programme, 'Any Questions?' In 2018, Stone established The Carole Stone Foundation to support her belief that connecting people, exchanging ideas, and building friendships around the world is essential to creating a...

Today’s guest is the epitome of leadership. This week on the podcast, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. Serving as Wisconsin's 45th Lieutenant Governor, he was elected on November 8th, 2018 and is the first African American to serve as a Lieutenant Governor in Wisconsin— the second African American to ever hold statewide office. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Lt. Gov. Barnes is the son of a public-school teacher and a manufacturing assembly line worker—both...

This week, Mungi is joined by Randy S. Stevens, the Head of St. Timothy's boarding school for girls, where she attended high school. Randy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Government and International Studies from the University of South Carolina and a Master’s of Public Administration from Cornell University. Previously, Randy held various administrative positions including Robert G. Engel Associate Dean of Students at Cornell and served as Dean of Student Life at Northfield Mount Hermon School....

This week on the podcast, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by John Allen, a South African journalist with experience in newspapers, news agencies, a journalists’ union, churches and South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Over the course of his career, John has worked in the U.S., the U.K and South Africa, and has won awards in South Africa for his excellence in defence of press freedom, and in the U.S. for excellence in church journalism. John shares his experience working with...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by British actress, director, and writer Kelechi Okafor. Kelechi is the host of the Say Your Mind podcast, where she explores her journey of unapologetic self-acceptance. Mungi and Kelechi discuss the serious topics of motherhood, racism, and dealing with and overcoming shame. The two discuss the ever-changing concept of empowerment, and how they hope to inspire people to empower themselves in the work they do. Listen to this episode to hear why it’s so...

Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American, born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. A well-known businessman and entrepreneur, he is a managing partner of Applied Information Management, a consulting firm specializing in business development with a niche focus on start-ups and providing executive counsel. Sam is known for being instrumental in the establishment of two publicly traded firms: the Palestine Telecommunications Company, which was the first Palestinian private telecommunications platform,...

This week, Olivia Charmaine Morris joins host Mungi Ngomane to talk authenticity, inclusion, and intersectionality. With over a decade of industry experience, Olivia is a film & TV producer, having worked for Kerry Washington's Simpson Street Productions, as well as current shows like "The Last OG", starring Tiffany Haddish and Tracy Morgan. In 2020, Olivia felt the urge to create an authentic space that embraces intersectionality and fosters inclusion. This urge led her to start her own...

This week, host Mungi Ngomane is joined by the Canadian actor and producer behind the Netflix show 21 Thunder, Emmanuel Kabongo. While today he is known for his acting work, few people know that years ago, Emmanuel had to make a choice between the stage and his other passion, basketball. Emmanuel opens up to Mungi about his family's journey moving from the Congo to South Africa, and finally, Canada, and discusses the hardships his family endured while living in South Africa. Listen as the...

This week, we're so excited to introduce the women behind the Instagram account 'No White Saviours'. No White Saviours is an advocacy campaign led by a majority female and majority African team of professionals based in Kampala, Uganda. In this episode, host Mungi Ngomane speaks to Alaso Olivia and Kelsey Neilsen about their work that aims to disrupt and deconstruct the traditional power structures between the African continent and the Western world. Hear all about the "White saviour...

This week, Mungi is joined by Faisal Saeed Al Mutar. Faisal was raised in Baghdad and has firsthand experience with authoritarian regimes. An outspoken writer and activist, he survived the Iraq Civil War, the murder of his brother, and several kidnapping attempts before becoming a refugee in the United States in 2013. Faisal has founded several initiatives, including the popular Facebook page Global Conversations, which curates discussion on controversial topics regarding human rights,...

This week, southern belle, author, and creator Candice Marie Benbow joins Mungi to discuss her work that intersects beauty, baking, faith, feminism, and culture- including a strong emphasis on giving voices to Black women’s shared experiences of healing. Candice has written for various outlets and in 2015, she started the Red Lip Theology podcast to encourage women to embrace themselves. Her first book, “Red Lip Theology: Essays at the Intersection of Faith and Black Feminism”, is currently...

Dr. Aminata Cisse is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in the treatment of mental health disorders. As well, she is credited as a creative and writer. One of her most recent pieces, published on her blog 'Am Tarr Musings' explores the fetishism of interracial relationships. This week, host Mungi Ngomane and Aminata have a candid conversation about improving the lives of Black women, what Black women can use to cultivate joy in their lives, and the way our systems need to change in...