Black Boomer Besties from Brooklyn

An old photo stops Leslie cold and causes her to reevaluate the story she’s been telling herself. She shares the moment she looked back at pictures from years ago and was taken aback- not just about her excess weight but about the woman she saw behind her eyes.  That realization initiated an honest conversation about weight, how Angie’s self perception differed, what it means to “stop caring”,  an...

A 7.7 earthquake hits near home, and suddenly “we’re fine” doesn’t feel like the full story. After coming back to Panama from Angie’s brother’s funeral, she and Leslie sit in that unsettling space where gratitude, grief, and responsibility all show up at once.  Listen, share this with a friend who’s carrying too much, and subscribe and leave a review. What do you want your dash to stand for? Links...

In this week’s episode, Angie has found exercise and tattoo “therapy” to be useful coping tools to help move stress through her body instead of letting it camp out in her head. What does Les think?  Our conversation goes deeper (no surprise there) into how differently we approach permanence. One of us wants surety, plan B, and plan C. The other is more willing to live with change, even if the mean...

We’re taking the week off due to a death in the family ( Ep198 In the Midst of Deep Grief ), so we’re sharing a rebroadcast that still feels surprisingly current and a little ironic, especially with the way we talk about love and relationships. We steal a page from a favorite interview format ( WildCard with Rachel Martin ) and ask each other the kind of questions you don’t casually toss around at...

Death is the one certainty many of us spend a lifetime dodging and when it arrives, it can leave families overwhelmed, unprepared and emotionally broken. This week we’re recording in the middle of real grief after Angella loses her beloved eldest brother, Clifford. We use this touching  moment to guide a deeper conversation about what it can look like to face death with care instead of fear and av...

We start this week’s episode with shoutouts to  listener comments and a real-life look at some of the logistical considerations behind Angella’s recent move to Panama.  Then we get more serious with a deeper talk about how “good intentions” and looking out for others can unintentionally put our own needs at the center. We use relationship stories and hard-earned self-awareness to consider how to t...

A missed flight, the need for an extra suitcase, and a room full of Black women celebrating each other at this year’s Exodus Summit International Meetup in Panama is where our conversation starts, but it quickly turns into something deeper.  As lifelong best friends this week we’re talking about what it takes to imagine a life different than our current one. We now know that the moment we stop edi...

We’re together in Panama! It’s the first time Les is seeing Angi’s new apartment in real life and you get to see it too! Panama City is perfect for a “soft landing”, full of sky scrapers and the conveniences of the US but it’s only one part of this beautiful country. More cities to follow! We’ll both attend ExodUS Summit’s 2nd International Meetup with over 70 other Black women who live, are consi...

We bring Angi’s older brother, Mark, on the mic for family stories that quickly turn into an unfiltered look at life as the only Black officer on a naval ship and what war at sea does to your mind and your priorities. We laugh about Brooklyn memories while we sit with the weight of combat, loss, and the lifelong work of fully coming home whole.  If this conversation gives you something to think ab...

We discuss why joy doesn’t always come naturally and why we still choose it on purpose, especially after decades of being trained to strive, endure, and stay resilient. We share what it looks like to tell the truth about hard seasons, define what joy means for us and why we take action even when fear grips us. Want behind the scenes content, Join us on Patreon at $5 or $10 level:  https://patreon....

The things that have brought us success can become our biggest source of burnout, and it often happens so quietly that we don’t even notice until our bodies, our partners, or our coworkers say it out loud. In this episode we dig into a pattern that shows up everywhere: overusing a strength until it goes from serving us to costing us.  Leslie brings in an article  Overusing A Strength: 5 Signs for...

Fight! Fight! This week, we debate HBCU dress code bans on bonnets and do-rags, and we end up in bigger questions about freedom, culture, and who gets to define “professional.” We sit on opposite sides, but we keep it honest as we discuss respectability politics and the constant policing of Black bodies. In journalist Don Lemon’s video commentary series Lemon Drop, three prominent African American...

A few days of missing daily checkins with Ang leaves Leslie feeling some kinda way: yeah, she’s a jealous bestie.  So join us as Ang gives all the juicy updates of her adventures in Panamá and gives Leslie a few surprises to boot.  Links to people and places mentioned in this episode: Black Expats in Panama (BEIP) https://youtube.com/@blackexpatsinpanama?si=w7IuN54v-yiynBMZ Roshida Dowe https://yo...

She was in her fourth supermarket on a 105-degree day, carrying raw chicken store to store like it’s totally normal, all for the right dried peppers to make adobo.  Turns out both of us Besties have obsessions. Listen to hear how we  navigate our differences with empathy, even if it's forced.   Want behind the scenes content, Join us on Patreon at $5 or $10 level:  https://patreon.com/user?u=...

We close out our summer deep dive on Tara Roberts’ Into the Depths podcast by sitting with the final two chapters, “Healing” and “Rooting,” and the question of how we tell the truth without surrendering our joy. From the Sao Jose shipwreck found in South Africa to family land in North Carolina, we discuss evidence, memory, and what repair can look like when we refuse to look away. Listen, then lea...

This week, we continue with Tara Roberts’ National Geographic podcast Into the Depths, episodes 3 & 4.  Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica is where she meets Afro-Costa Rican teen divers bringing up pieces from wrecks linked to Danish slave ships. Should descendants and local communities be the ones who name, interpret, and keep what they find or is it the responsibility of acad...

12.5 million Africans were brought to the Americas between the 1500s and 1800s. 1.8 million died along the way. More than 40 countries are involved in the commerce of human beings. So, did you do this week's homework assignment? If you listened to episodes one and two of National Geographic Explorer Tara Roberts ’ podcast Into The Depths , move to the top of the class! In this episode, Bestie...

The Besties kick off a summer “podcast book club” and explain why they’re committed to intentional joy that includes facing fear instead of pretending it doesn’t exist. Leslie and Angella also share a hilarious listening mistake before announcing their first pick, Into the Depths - Podcast ,  a powerful series about Black scuba divers searching for slave trade shipwrecks and the history they hold....

Moving countries is one kind of reset. Writing about your life is another.  Angella and Leslie catch up on life in Panama City then talk about what it takes for them to contribute chapters to an upcoming anthology with their friend and editor Kim Coles. The Besties unpack perfectionism, the writing blocks that surprised them, and the practical tricks that finally helped their writing flow to compl...

This episode is a quick check in from The Besties while Les is still sweaty after her daily walk and Ang is close to departure in the airport lounge. Despite some unexpected baggage fees, she survived and is excited for what lies ahead. Want behind the scenes content, Join us on Patreon at $5 or $10 level:  https://patreon.com/user?u=83534204 Get Angie’s eBook:  We’re Too Old for This! The Inquisi...

Changing your mind can feel like a character flaw, especially when you’ve already said “I’m not doing one more thing.” Then life changes the facts, your schedule shifts, the pressure drops, and suddenly the decision that once felt right needs an update. That’s where The Besties start: one of them decides to add something back into the plan before a major move abroad, and they talk through the judg...

Your calendar is full, your body is tired, and then a shiny new opportunity shows up and whispers, just add one more thing. Besties Angella and Leslie know that voice well, and they’re putting it on the table with zero filter.  From last-chance travel plans before a major move to the impulse to stack “productive” tasks on top of family time, they trace how overcommitment gets dressed up as respons...

What does it feel like to watch your entire life drive away on pallets headed to Panama? Leslie admits she’s in her feelings, and we laugh through the petty moments while still naming the truth: transitions can sting even when they’re good.  We talk joy, grief, and the guts it takes to start over abroad. Listen now then tell us, what would you keep? What would you be happy to see go? Want behind t...

Are you the kind of person who is automatically suspicious of people’s intentions? Besties Angella and Leslie are bringing you a real-time example of how fast our brains can write a story that isn’t even true and then treat it like evidence. The Besties have completely opposing views.  If you’ve ever thought, “Everybody would think of it that way,” this conversation might make you take a pause. Su...

A random Brooklyn day turns into a full-on love letter to Black-owned brands we trust and repurchase, plus a hard look at how we talk ourselves out of supporting Black-made luxury. Our faves for self-care and home: Oia Wellness for beautiful home fragrance, BklynBarSoap for oils and body care, Harlem Candle Company for candles that connect scent to Black history, plus Tilted Crown Products body bu...