In this, our final episode of season 5, we’re so excited to be joined by Malorie Blackman, award winning writer, and hero of so many of our childhoods. It’s an incredible episode, and one we’re so excited to share with you as we prepare for our next season.  Nie and Natty talk to Malorie about primary school memories, career expectations, anti-racism in writing and fiction, and what her career has meant to so many young black people in the UK.  Malorie shares with us a poem she wrote in the...

This week on Growing up with gal-dem, Nie and Natty are reflecting back on song lyrics with east London singer songwriter Olivia Dean in this beautiful and warming episode. In our penultimate episode of the season, expect some laughs, lots of love, and so so so much wisdom shared. Looking back at lyrics she wrote over 2 and a half years ago, Olivia reflects on what it means to be grounded in the present, how the pandemic has forced us to grow in new and unexpected ways. Olivia shares her...

This episode of season 5 we’re joined by the incredible and award-winning author Leah Johnson. Reflecting (and cringing) back on a Facebook 30 day challenge post (remember those?!!), Leah talks us through growing up as a queer black girl. Reflecting on self-esteem, early relationships and romantic versus familial love and coming out, Leah shares invaluable life lessons for teenagers, encouraging us to love and allow ourselves freedom and room to grow.  Leah has two incredible books out now,...

This week we’re joined by Sudanese-Australian writer, broadcaster and award-winning social advocate Yassmin Abdel Magied. Nie and Natty listen in as Yassmin reads through an op-ed she wrote for Brisbane Times in 2012 titled How racist are we? . Looking back, Yassmin reflects what it’s like to grapple with the expectation of expertise on racism as a person of colour, and how her own plans and career aspirations changed in the face of these expectations.  Yassmin also talks to Natty and Nie...

Content warning: this episode contains detailed discussion of dieting, weight loss, specific weights, and discussion of disordered eating. For more information and recommended reading and listening, please check out the rest of the show notes for a list of brilliant articles, resources, and podcasts dealing with these topics.  This week on Growing up with gal-dem we’re joined by award-nominated author and editor Sara Jafari. Ahead of the US publication of her debut novel The Mismatch, we...

We’re here with a special bonus episode published in partnership with the Mayor of London. With the COVID-19 Vaccinations now available to people of all age groups, we wanted to take some of the most common questions about the vaccines on offer straight to a trusted voice. In conversation with Dr Adwoa Danso, the GP behind the online platform The Clinic Diaries, we answer questions about the vaccines and menstruation, the importance of making empowered and informed decisions for yourself, and...

Welcome back to Growing up with gal-dem, this week we’re joined by Lila Iké, genre-bending artist whose work touches reggae, hip hop and R&B. Joining us from Jamaica, Lila’s extract reads from an old Facebook bio written when she was 15. Reflecting on the wisdom and foresight she shared as a teenager 12 years ago, Lila talks through existential teenage thoughts and feelings, grounding yourself as a musician, and the importance of mentorship, friendship and collaboration in creative...

We’re back with season 5 of growing up with gal-dem, welcoming our new host Niellah Arboine!  This week, we’re kicking off with a bang with incredible artist Cat Burns, celebrating introspection, self-care and self-respect in the wake of her incredible new single Into You.  Looking back on an iPhone note recorded in lockdown, Cat, Natty and Nie discuss what it means to hold yourself to a higher standard, the strength we can draw from voicing your opinions, the sacred space that is the Notes...

It’s the final episode of this season of Growing up with gal-dem, and our last episode with Charlie! We’re rounding out the season with a special episode featuring everyone’s podcast dream girl-group, The Receipts. Joined by Tolly, Milena, and Audrey, we dig up old facebook statuses, blog posts, and recap the inevitable learnings (and cringes) that come as you grow up online.  Covering everything from their upcoming book Keep the Receipts, to bride prices, motherhood, and “unleashing the...

This week on Growing up with gal-dem, Natty and Charlie are joined by Christine Checinska, curator at the V&A and fashion historian. Christine talks us through her childhood as a creative child, teacher reports and advice on nurturing her skills, and how her interest in blackness, fashion, and self-imaging started.  Covering everything from diasporic fashions, respectability politics, and the nuances of black womanhood, this week’s episode is a beautiful journey into conversations and...

This week on Growing up with gal-dem, Charlie and Natty are joined by Sri Lankan musician Priya Ragu, who’s work fuses her Western influences with her South Asian origin and merges intercultural accumulation of traditional rhythms and contemporary r&b and soul. Raised in Switzerland by refugees of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Ragu and her brother, Japhna Gold, were not encouraged to pursue music, however Ragu did it anyway.  Priya joins Natty and Charlie to talk through her vision board -...

This week on Growing up with gal-dem, Natty and Charlie are joined by award winning British Sudanese economist and writer Nesrine Malik. Reflecting on her upbringing and travel to the UK, Nesrine talks to Natty and Charlie about what it means to navigate the worlds of education and work having grown up in the Middle East and Northern Africa, and how our need to mythologise, create stories, and sometimes delude ourselves is a universal trait.  Nesrine reads an extract from an article written...

Content warning: mentions of assault.  This week we’ve brought you a bumper 50 minutes worth of podcast, a beautiful conversation between Natty, Charlie, and the incredible poet, activist, writer and actor Staceyann Chin. Covering everything from motherhood, queerness, creativity and growing up in the Caribbean, Staceyann brings us into her world and how her upbringing and experiences in both Jamaica and the United States have informed her creative and activist organising.  Reading her...

This week Natty and Charlie are joined by Liv Francis-Cornibert, writer, Advocacy Academy alumni, and co-founder of the group Legally Black to discuss burnout and mental health within activist and social justice work circles.  Reflecting on a poem written for an online diary, Liv, Natty, and Charlie talk about how hard it is to reconcile intersectional politics and work with our capacity to work and hold multiple stories at once, and how often we sacrifice our mental health in the process. ...

On this episode of Growing up with gal-dem, Natty and Charlie are joined by author of My Past Is a Foreign Country Zeba Talkhani, who reads us an extract from a journal. Reflecting on a friendship breakup from her teen years, Zeba talks about how memories are not always reliable, how recognising our wrongs is key to growth at any age, and the power of vulnerability and expressing our hurt.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re back with another season of Growing up with gal-dem, and this season Charlie and Natty are joined by incredible artists, speakers, and authors for 8 episodes. In this first episode of the new series, we’re joined by the incomparable Sampa The Great, who reads a poem from 3 years before, and talks about racism in the music industry and community, how our words and power can become affected by the hurt we feel, and how we can find strength and healing in shared community.  Sampa shares...

In the last episode of Season 3, we're joined by the incredible OluTimehin Adegbeye, a Nigerian writer, speaker, and founder of Quietly Queer. OluTimehin discusses parenting in a queer relationship in Nigeria, compassion-focussed activism, and protecting your peace. Reading a letter that she wrote at 25 to herself aged 16, OluTimehin reflects on what it means to accept yourself as existing both within and beyond your body, how to find self love in oppressive environments, and what it means to...

This week on Growing up with gal-dem, Natty and Charlie are joined by Mireille Harper, award winning editor, writer, sensitivity reader and author of the viral infographic 10 steps to Non Optical Allyship. In extracts from private messages and submitted essays, Mireille reflects on the ways we try to mask and shield our feelings to appear strong, and the resilience we can find by accepting our vulnerabilities, our weaknesses, and our softness. From toxic friendships to stressful...

This week on Growing up with gal-dem, Charlie and Natty are joined by musician and DJ and the new host of Trippin's Roots & Ritual podcast, Yasmin Shahmir, as we discuss travel, ancestry, and ritual, as well as what it means to truly listen - not just to hear. Reading an extract from her journal, Yasmin reflects on femininity and duality and uses this as a jumping point to discuss the importance of using ritual and conversation to truly connect and listen to our elders and communities....

On the podcast this week we’re joined by writer, author and broadcaster Afua Hirsch.  She shares an extract from an article she was featured in when she was 18, marking the beginnings of her long history of writing about being black in Britain. In the rest of the episode, Afua speaks about the alienation that can come with being unapologetically black, why she’s unfazed about critics calling her ‘divisive’ and how she came to the decision to no longer put energy into trying to change the...

CW: mention of assault In this week's episode of Growing up with gal-dem, Natty and Charlie are joined by BAFTA Breakthrough actor Susan Wokoma. Reflecting on an email sent to a boyfriend while travelling, Susan reflects on the many moments of independence she's had growing up - be it leaving home early, travelling solo around Europe, or confronting grief and death. Through the conversation Natty and Charlie celebrate Susan's ability to share and reflect joy in so many ways, and bring...

This week we're joined by bestselling and award-winning author Yaa Gyasi, who's debut book Homegoing made waves in 2017. Back this year with a new book Transcendent Kingdom, which has been longlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction, Yaa speaks to Charlie and Natty about fulfilling childhood dreams, pandemic puppies, and the power of words and writing in rebellion. We're updating our on-site transcriptions of our podcasts! Check our website to find them now.   See acast.com/privacy...

On this week's episode of Growing up with gal-dem, we're joined by Georgina Lawton, columnist, podcaster and author of the new book Raceless. Georgina shares her love of travel with a diary excerpt from her time in Thailand, and reflects on learning your limits, passport privilege, and how to travel responsibly.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's episode of Growing up with gal-dem, Natty and Charlie are joined by food writer and editor of new food publication Vittles, Jonathan Nunn. Jonathan reads us an early review of his from online food forums, and explores how social media in all its forms has shaped the world of food journalism, and what he's learned along the way. We are updating the transcripts on our website - thank you for bearing with us! You can find episode transcripts here.   See acast.com/privacy for...

This week on Growing up with gal-dem we're joined by international dominatrix and empowerment coach Madam Storm who introduces us to the world of dominatrixes and dungeons, and reads us a letter she wrote to her sister years ago. Reflecting on the importance of self confidence and believing in your own self-worth, Madam storm tells us how she grew up and learned to love herself, and the role that her community of Black dominatrixes is having in her own personal growth and celebration. We...