0:00

Here on the Black Information Network, we

0:02

highlight black voices. Black

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narratives are chronicled here, and Black stories

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are shared, often by the fantastic

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people behind the very stories themselves. During

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Black History Month, we naturally have to

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further exalt these Black storytellers,

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as is our duty. But as we will

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learn today, with respect to Black storytelling,

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there's levels to this. Eve's Jetcote

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is a writer and podcast host and producer.

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A writing has appeared or is forthcoming

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in The New York Times, Art in America,

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Paper Monument, and many others. In

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addition, she has hosted several podcasts,

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including This Day in History, Class

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Unpopular, and Afropunk Solution

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Sessions, and she has produced and

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executive produced many others. Katie

0:46

Mitchell is a writer and the owner of the bookstore

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Good Books. Inspired by

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the stories she heard growing up that were passed

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down by her very Southern and very

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black family, she joined Voces

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with Eves to create the quintessential podcast

0:59

about Black storytelling on theme,

1:02

and we are fortunate to have them both as

1:04

our guest today.

1:07

This is the Black Information Network Daily

1:09

Podcast, and I'm your host Rams

1:11

This jah all right, Eves

1:13

and Katie, Welcome to the show. It's been a long time

1:16

coming. How are you both feeling.

1:17

Today, Yes, it has

1:20

Thank you for having us today, Yeah.

1:22

Thank you for having us. I'm excited

1:24

to talk to you.

1:25

All right, let's get to it. So around

1:27

here we start our stories in the beginning,

1:30

So give us a little bit about your background

1:33

and sort of what led you to your

1:35

career, path, to your podcast and to

1:37

this conversation today. Eves will start with you

1:39

and then Katie will follow up with you.

1:41

Okay.

1:42

So, yeah, So I grew up in

1:44

the Atlanta area. I grew up in College Park and

1:46

on the south side of Metro Atlanta,

1:49

and I've just

1:51

always loved storytelling, always loved being

1:54

a consumer of stories and a writer of stories.

1:56

Was really interested in being a writer. It was like my

1:58

childhood dream.

1:59

So it's been something that I've been connected to

2:01

for a really long time,

2:05

always invested in black stories and invested.

2:07

In black lives.

2:08

And this podcast came about after

2:10

doing a lot of other podcast work. As everyone

2:13

heard before, I have been podcast

2:15

hosting and producing for several

2:18

years now and talking

2:20

about history a lot, talking about black stories

2:22

and the importance of being socially engaged

2:25

in those podcasts and so it was natural for

2:27

me to do this podcast with Katie,

2:29

who I've been friends with for a

2:31

very long time I guess like two decades

2:34

or something like that at this point. So

2:38

as both of us love black stories

2:41

and have a history together of caring

2:43

about these similar things together,

2:46

it was very natural for us to work on a show

2:48

about black storytelling. So we ended up

2:50

here because we know how important it is to uplift

2:53

and elevate the voices of people

2:55

who are sharing black stories and who

2:57

are creating amazing work in

3:00

general.

3:01

Fantastic, All right, Katie, tell

3:03

us a bit about yourself.

3:05

Yeah, as you mentioned, I own the bookstore

3:07

Good Books, atl And

3:10

one of my favorite writers, Tony Morrison, always

3:12

says, if there's a book that you want to read

3:14

and it doesn't exist, then you must write it. And

3:17

there was a void

3:19

I felt in the podcasting world

3:22

and the podcast I was listening to, and I

3:24

really wanted to have a show

3:26

that talked about black storytelling all

3:29

the time, not just in February,

3:31

not just during Juneteenth, not just when

3:33

something really tragic happened, and you

3:35

know, they're giving the black people their hour to tell

3:37

their stories. But I wanted it to be a

3:39

weekly thing where black people could

3:41

come and hear about different stories, whether

3:44

it's you know, stories they've always known

3:46

or stories they're just now hearing. And

3:48

that's when I asked Eves, like, Hey,

3:50

I know you're into podcasting, what do you think about

3:52

this? And it kind of went from there.

3:55

Okay, So in short, we'll keep

3:57

going with you, Katie, tell us a little bit about

3:59

on and give our listeners a

4:02

little bit more about it.

4:03

Sure. So on theme is

4:06

about black storytelling in all its

4:08

forms, and so it's not just movies,

4:10

it's not just books. Sometimes we're talking

4:12

about obituaries. Sometimes we're

4:14

talking about haters in black

4:16

horror and why black people are always seen running

4:19

away from the danger. So

4:21

we really go deep and why

4:24

we want to, and we go not just

4:26

American stories. We're talking about Black people

4:28

across the diaspora. So

4:31

we're we're going deep on all the mediums,

4:34

all the topics, and I think sometimes

4:36

you'll be able to tell which topics are mine and which topics

4:38

are eaves because we have like different interests

4:40

which I really like and how we operate

4:43

with the storytelling. So there's something for

4:45

everyone if you love black storytelling.

4:46

Okay, all right, Eves, Well, give me give me an example

4:49

of some some topics that you like, because

4:51

now my interest is peaked.

4:54

So I really love historical ones. As I mentioned earlier,

4:57

I really like to go do deep

4:59

dives into his So, for instance,

5:01

we had one about regret. So we

5:03

did an episode that was based around

5:05

some research that I was doing on Ernest Hogan,

5:08

who was a composer who created coon

5:10

songs back at the end of the eighteen hundreds

5:12

in the early nineteen hundreds, and it

5:14

made me think about regret and how

5:17

there are a lot of race related

5:19

topics that we focus on, all the race

5:22

related regret that black storytellers

5:25

and black artists have to deal with, And so we

5:27

kind of threat that through line for

5:29

what regret feels like and what it looks like for

5:31

people like Ernest Hogan who were put in positions

5:34

where they were doing

5:36

work in the time that they had to do.

5:37

They had to make money, they had to sustain a living.

5:39

There were still artists, but also

5:42

there were all these other opplicant implications

5:45

of the work that they were doing. So that's

5:47

one example of the type. In the horror episode

5:49

that Katie mentioned earlier, it was this

5:52

whole idea in my head that I had

5:54

of horror being like so

5:56

frequently seeing black people run away

5:59

from the danger, when in real life

6:01

and in non fictional times, we so

6:03

often go toward the danger, like

6:05

it's what we do is like stand up to things.

6:07

We're very resilient, we have all these forms

6:10

of resistance. So I had to reckon

6:12

with that and did so with doctor Robin Armin's

6:14

coleman, who wrote the book The Black Guy Dies

6:16

First and also horror

6:18

and noir and has done a bunch

6:21

of research way more than I have on black

6:23

horror, and we talked to her about that, and

6:25

I think Katie's episodes are like really fun.

6:28

She does stuff on rap. We did one

6:30

on rappers,

6:32

and we've done one on through lines of like

6:34

rap to act.

6:35

So I think.

6:38

Katie's are really like heartfelt and

6:41

like oftentimes you know, obviously

6:44

involve a lot of like narrative storytelling

6:46

and research and history into things like that

6:48

too, So I think we.

6:50

Balance each other out well in that

6:52

regard.

6:53

And I tend to do things that are just

6:55

like I don't know, like I

6:58

have these theories in my head, and

7:00

I think it's really fun to tease them out

7:02

through storytelling in the podcast.

7:06

So, Katie, earlier

7:09

you mentioned something about

7:12

you didn't want to just have those

7:14

special episodes

7:17

during Black History Month or Juneteenth

7:21

or Kwanza or you know, a tragedy

7:23

or something like that, and that made

7:26

me think about, you know, who

7:29

would tune in because there's a lot of people, there's

7:31

a lot of interest particularly around those times,

7:34

especially from non black people. And

7:37

I wanted to ask, you

7:39

know, who's in your mind when

7:41

you create an episode of on Theme?

7:43

Who is your listener? Is

7:46

your listener an old person,

7:48

a young person? Is this listener? Look like this

7:50

is it come from this background? You

7:53

know how much money they make? You know who's in your brain?

7:56

Who all do you make the show for?

7:59

When I think about our listener, I think of someone

8:01

who is just very curious

8:03

and loves black culture on

8:06

a deep level and not a superficial

8:08

Oh I'm going to, you know, put on a pin

8:11

and that says black lives matter, and I've done

8:13

I've done what I had to do for black people, and

8:16

so that can be anyone of any race. Obviously,

8:18

we're black women and we are

8:20

going to center black women black

8:23

folks generally, but

8:25

I think our audience is just

8:27

curious and loves black culture, and it's

8:29

interested in diving deep into that each

8:32

week on different topics. And

8:34

we hope that when people listen to the episode,

8:36

they don't just sit there and keep all the new

8:38

things that they learned, but they actually go out and talk

8:40

to different people and say, hey, I just really learned

8:43

about this guy named Ernest Hogan and he sound

8:45

coon songs and he kind of regretted it afterward,

8:47

but you know, he felt like he had to make

8:49

his bag and what do you think about that?

8:52

All right, I'll take that Black Information

8:54

Network.

8:55

I think it's caused us to really to focus on the equity

8:57

and inclusion.

8:58

Piece and not just the diversity piece celebrating

9:00

black history.

9:02

The die is classed.

9:03

As I said, we're not asking, We're saying this is the way it's.

9:05

Going to be.

9:06

And now making sure that yeah,

9:08

that was a first, but it will be the only

9:10

time that that's happened. We want to make sure that we can continue

9:13

to do new things because our story

9:15

continues.

9:25

We are here today with Eves, Jeffcote, and

9:27

Katie Mitchell posts of on Theme,

9:30

a podcast about black storytelling. So

9:40

how about this eves talk

9:43

us through what it is. You hope that

9:46

at first time listener of

9:48

on Theme will walk

9:50

away from the show having learned

9:52

not just about an episode, not just about a character,

9:55

but about themselves,

9:58

maybe about the show, or maybe about you, per

10:00

what do you want to listen or lead the show with?

10:03

Yeah, so I guess I will start by saying,

10:05

I definitely like if they learn some of

10:07

something about me, that's fine

10:09

and well, but I really want them to

10:11

learn about black stories. I want

10:13

them to learn about the people that we're talking about

10:16

in the episodes. I want them

10:18

to walk away more open and receptive

10:20

to new ways of thinking about black stories.

10:23

I want them to walk away and

10:26

maybe learning about new books and new

10:28

films and new plays and new forms of

10:30

media that they haven't enjoyed

10:32

that are by black people. And I just want

10:34

them to walk away with like understanding

10:37

the totality the breath of the narrative

10:40

that we do have and how expansive it is, because

10:43

you know, this show is anybody can listen

10:45

to this and learn something, and I think that

10:48

it's really important to understand that.

10:50

Like, I know, one thing we kind

10:52

of rag on.

10:53

In the show is that you know, there's this saying

10:55

that a lot of people like to say, is that black people are

10:57

not a monolith. But the reality is

10:59

is that it's it's true. There are so many

11:01

different stories that we have. And

11:03

I hope that people walk away

11:05

understanding that and walk away knowing that

11:08

if they need to say I don't know at any point

11:10

in time, that that's okay,

11:12

and that if they want to change

11:14

their ideas or their minds about something, then

11:17

that's something that they can do as well. And

11:20

yeah, and that black stories

11:22

are important, and that the

11:26

ones in the past, the present, and the ones

11:28

that are to come are all like adding

11:30

to the total narrative of all the things we have

11:32

to say in the diaspor around the world.

11:35

Okay, So let's go with the ones to come,

11:37

the ones that have not yet been

11:40

recorded. So a

11:43

recent episode you had

11:47

had been both of you talking to Ambar

11:49

Johnson. So give

11:51

us let's say, two

11:54

guests each that you'd

11:56

like to have or no, let's go

11:58

with two guests, one guests each that you'd like

12:00

to have in the future. So we'll start with you,

12:03

Katie, give us a guest and then we'll come back to

12:05

you, Eves. Okay, I

12:08

would.

12:08

Love to have Nikki Giovanni on

12:11

the show. She actually

12:13

is writing before to my book, and she

12:15

has been someone who I admired

12:18

for a really long time, and she's done

12:20

a ton of interviews, so I would have loved to

12:22

get to talk to her about something that she's

12:25

never talked about before, which

12:27

when my grandfather died,

12:29

I went through this period of time where I was just reading

12:31

a lot of obituaries and I

12:33

found her sister's obituary, which she wrote,

12:36

and it was just so beautiful. And I would

12:38

like to talk to her about the process of writing

12:40

obituaries and the storytelling that goes into

12:42

telling someone on story possibly for the

12:45

last time. For a lot of us who aren't

12:47

well known and not super famous, that

12:49

might be the last time anyone writes about us.

12:52

So I would love to dig deep with her

12:54

about what that process was like for her

12:56

and what she thinks about the storytelling

13:00

aspect of writing optuories.

13:02

Okay, and eats a guest

13:04

from you, I

13:07

guess I'll say.

13:08

Someone who we've been thinking about having on is

13:10

Raquel Willis. She has a

13:12

recent memoir and we'd love to talk

13:14

to her about that and

13:17

just learn more about her story and

13:20

get to talk to her about what it means

13:23

for trans people to tell their stories in media.

13:25

Okay, I would say fantastic. All

13:28

right. Well, besides on

13:30

Theme, you know you too

13:33

are very accomplished individuals,

13:35

and now that our listeners are getting to know who you

13:37

are, let's talk

13:39

about something else you're working

13:41

on or what's next for either you or

13:43

for on Theme. So we'll

13:46

keep going with you, Eaves, and then we'll come back to you, Katie.

13:49

So we have a lot of cool episodes coming

13:51

up on on Theme. We have one where

13:53

we talk to the niece of Rosa Parks

13:55

about who Rosa Parks really is

13:57

because a lot of times we have these conceptions

14:00

of these big.

14:01

Figures that are that have narratives.

14:03

That seem like they've been really well defined

14:06

in Black history, that are often

14:08

just not the full story.

14:09

So we're talking to Rosa Parks.

14:11

We have a lot of cool episodes

14:14

coming up that where Katie and I get to talk

14:17

about things that we like about in

14:19

in black storytelling and narratives,

14:22

like storytellers on the

14:24

internet, black haircare

14:27

YouTubers, and many

14:29

others that we're excited about but just looking

14:31

forward to being able to touch different

14:33

parts of media, some

14:35

that we haven't touched on, touching

14:37

on the more like poetry, like

14:40

plays, like podcasts,

14:42

and all different kinds of media.

14:45

Okay, right, and

14:47

Katie, any anything in the pipeline

14:49

for you.

14:51

Yeah, I'm super excited about elishaw that

14:53

we're going to be doing in June in Atlanta.

14:56

It's called White Club, and we'll

14:58

be letting different writers,

15:01

local writers kind of compete kind

15:04

of like Fight Club but rite club, so they're competing

15:07

and their crowd decide

15:09

two wins based on who cheers the loudest. So

15:12

that's going to be a really fun thing for us, our first

15:14

time doing a live show in

15:16

a collaboration with someone. I

15:18

really love working with other writers and other artists,

15:21

especially in the Atlanta area, because

15:23

for me, this is all about building community

15:26

and having conversations. So when we're able to take

15:28

that out of the studio, when it's not

15:30

just us, which I love having just conversations

15:32

with us, they're bringing it to a larger audience, and

15:35

an in person audience is always fun. And

15:37

for me personally, I'm writing a book called

15:39

Pose Stupid People, which is about black bookstores

15:42

in the United States, so I've had the

15:44

opportunity to travel across the country

15:47

and talk to folks that have had

15:49

bookstores all the way from the sixties

15:52

to twenty twenty four. And

15:55

so that book will be coming out next

15:57

year.

15:57

Nice, okay, all right, Well,

16:00

listen, you're gonna need to

16:03

put down some roots here. You're gonna have to

16:05

create some connective tissue for our listeners.

16:08

So let's keep going. Let's

16:10

let our listeners know how we can keep

16:12

up with everything that you're doing, your

16:14

social media websites, anything like

16:16

that, and of course how they can get on theme.

16:19

So please continue, and then Eaves

16:21

will come back to you for your content

16:23

as well, so.

16:25

They can listen to this show on

16:28

any streaming platform on

16:30

Theme Show, and our

16:32

Instagram is also on Theme Show. We love

16:34

getting letters from our listeners so they

16:37

can message ut it hello at

16:39

on them dot show, and our website

16:42

is on Theme dot Show.

16:43

Nice okay, all right, And Eve's.

16:47

So yeah, the easiest way to find

16:49

me personally is on Instagram

16:52

at not Apologizing.

16:55

You can also head to my website which

16:57

is Evesjeffcoat dot com. And I know

17:00

how you spell that is y V E S.

17:03

And then Jeff Cote j E F

17:05

F C O A T. You can find me

17:07

there and I would love

17:09

to talk to anybody if anybody has

17:11

any messages about anything that was

17:13

said on the show. We love feedback

17:15

and love having conversations with people.

17:18

So that's all right, that's

17:20

definitely going to stand out not apologizing.

17:23

I dig that.

17:24

Thank you all right.

17:26

Well, I'll be sure to give you a follow,

17:28

and I know our listeners

17:30

will do the same. I'd like to thank you both,

17:33

uh of course for coming onto the show,

17:35

but also for you know, the work that you're doing. This is

17:37

fantastic. You know, obviously these stories need

17:40

to be told, and I feel like you're

17:42

a justitude to be doing it. I of course got a chance

17:44

to listen to to a couple of your episodes,

17:46

so you have a fan in me and

17:49

you know, come back sometime and let's do it again. All right,

17:52

Thank you.

17:53

And thanks thank you for what you do with spreading

17:56

spreading the word about other people's

17:58

podcast and you know, get it, getting

18:00

the information out about what Black Books are doing.

18:02

Absolutely yes, you as well, you

18:04

know I got you. Don't even worry about it. Well once again,

18:07

Today's guests are Eves, Jeff Cote and

18:09

Katie Mitchell, hosts of On

18:11

Theme, a podcast about black

18:14

storytelling. This

18:16

has been a production of the Black Information Network.

18:19

Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have

18:21

some thoughts you'd like to share, use the red microphone

18:24

talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. While

18:26

you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download all

18:28

of our episodes. I am your host

18:31

Ramse's Jaw on all social media and

18:33

join us tomorrow as we share our news with

18:35

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18:40

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