A Sunday afternoon at the end of May. Lockdown had begun to lift, but only to Tier Picnic-with-a-housemate and had not yet reached Tier Cocktails-with-anybody-who’s-face-you-hadn’t-seen-everyday-for-three-months. Cabin fever however, was taking a backseat as the increasing levels of anger and grief sparked by the murder of George Floyd by the US police were felt on a global scale. Social media was alight with powerful posts, protests and the sharing of educational content from every corner of the world. I, as many others, felt struck with a sense of obligation to learn more and do better but ‘where do I start’ also rang through my overwhelmed mind. It was that afternoon that a post shared by an old university friend landed on my Instagram feed with a refreshing air of interest:

“Welcome to Brown Sugar: The Podcast, where we have candid conversations about everything from careers to culture, race to relationships, identity and anything in between. Grab your tea, we’ll bring the sugar!”

Six months and ten episodes later, I had the pleasure of catching up with Hannah, Rachelle and Aky to discuss the growing success of the project they launched in May of this year - Brown Sugar: The Podcast. Accustomed to the welcoming yet polished atmosphere created by the team throughout their first season, their cheery tones as we Zoomed, almost had me thinking I was crashing a recording of episode 11! There is more however to the dynamic relationship between these three women, than the banter that breezes through their recordings. The Brown Sugar (BS) girls met at Durham University where between them they not only achieved degrees in Politics, Biomedical Sciences and Spanish and Philosophy, but also refined their diverse and nuanced perspectives as Black women living in 21st century England. Post-graduation years saw the girls debating race-related politics, the obstacle course of their twenties and their dating conquests and catastrophes in regular animated phone calls, until lockdown momentum propelled Brown Sugar: The Podcast into motion.

“Edutainment”

The goal of Brown Sugar is to be an equilibrium of ‘edutainment,’ a term used by BS host and e-commerce analyst Rachelle to capture the happy place between learning and laughing. Effective ‘edutainment’ in an intersectional landscape requires us to “realise that we have more similarities than differences and acknowledge where we overlap – this makes it easier to understand people, be less myopic when thinking about your story and therefore solve problems together rather than apart.”

“The best way to know someone is to listen to their stories.”

Hailing from Texas, brand partnerships manager Hannah views the podcast as a place for discussing ‘Black womanhood.’ Whilst it aims to reach Black women however, BS has received a warm reception from non-Black listeners wanting to better understand the every day lives of their Black peers in a relatable and practical format. Hannah believes that storytelling is the best tool for genuinely engaging people in experiences to which they might not otherwise be exposed. Episode 3 discusses ‘offing your wig’ – the term used by BS to describe the potentially vulnerable process of a Black woman revealing her natural hair to a new partner for the first time. This can be something of a dating milestone, yet one which many of the girls’ non-Black friends were completely unaware until now. As with the rest of the series, the topic is made digestible, the illustrations are anecdotal, witty and real-life and the message is therefore delivered with clarity.

“There is no such thing as a monolithic voice.”

Although BS hope to share one or multiple perspectives on Black British life, the girls make no claim to being ‘the voice of Black London.’ They remind me, that their stories only represent the lives that they have led as there is “no such thing as a monolithic voice”. Instead, they hope to tackle hermeneutic injustice – the lack of language available for people to express their feelings of oppression, because “sometimes not knowing what you’re feeling can be even more frustrating than the feeling in itself. Before micro-aggression was even a word so many people thought they didn’t know why they felt a certain way but just that they did do and we hope we can help with that.” It is exactly this sensitivity and wisdom in expression which can be heard throughout the BS series and which will no doubt continue to drive it forward.

“The power of discussion”

Whilst spirited debate between Hannah and Rachelle brings real dimension to each episode it is the voice of rationality belonging to digital health analyst Aky that gives synergy to each discussion. I asked Aky what her takeaways would be for the first season, since three are given to listeners at the end of every episode. For Aky, “the power of discussion” has been something which she has grown to appreciate: “the way we discuss things and break down topics has, from the feedback we’ve received, given people a fresh perspective. We launched during the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement which was unintentional, but the podcast inadvertently gave us a safe space to talk about these issues at a time when it was so important. We have had some incredible messages from people who simply wouldn’t have reflected had we not started the conversation”.

“a sign of intelligence is being able to change your opinion when presented with new information”

Listeners are not the only ones to reflect however, as the girls seek always to “look at both sides of the coin.” Rachelle recalled that “a sign of intelligence is being able to change your opinion when presented with new information” and for Hannah, the most important lesson from the podcast is the need to “interrogate one’s own assumptions.” Regularly, the girls begin discussing a topic by asking questions – ones to which they often have answers from the beginning. By the end of an episode however, each nook and cranny of the issue has been intricately examined, with the hosts ultimately reaching often different and more refined conclusions. To navigate this ‘fluid and dynamic learning process’ as Aky describes it, with such introspect, whilst also remaining alert to their listeners and keeping them amused, demonstrates real skill in the modern art of podcasting.

What’s Next?

Not shy of success, since Brown Sugar launched only six months ago Hannah, Rachelle and Aky have already been involved with well-known dating app, Bumble’s recent ‘Black Love’ campaign as well as featuring in GQ and collaborating with the East-London-based Zebra Crossing Podcast. Rachelle explained that “the BS mission statement is to educate, inspire and entertain – if BS can continue to do that but in different formats that would be great as long as the brand grows with those same values in check.” I asked the girls what’s next for Brown Sugar and whilst Aky oh so diplomatically seeks deeper interactions with listeners, Rachelle hopes only for “world domination.” If you weren’t already convinced, it looks like Brown Sugar: The Podcast, is without doubt one to watch.

Brown Sugar: The Podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow @brownsugarpod for more information, and to be the first to hear about series 2.

Words by Lucy Firestone