Brown Ambition

On this week's  Brown Buzz , Mandi Money is breaking down the stories affecting our money, our careers, our communities, and our everyday lives. First up, the WNBA is making history, with the Atlanta Dream heading to the finals and fans showing up in record numbers. But with all that momentum comes a bigger question: Will the investment, respect, and compensation finally match the talent thes...

What if getting ahead didn’t require you to outwork, outperform, or out-hustle everyone around you? This week, we’re revisiting Mandi's  conversation with leadership and inclusion strategist Ruchika T. Malhotra — author of Uncompete: Rejecting Competition to Unlock Radical Success . In a world obsessed with winning, Ruchika’s message is a breath of fresh air: true succ...

This week on  Brown Buzz , Mandi Money is breaking down the headlines shaping our money, careers, culture, and everyday lives. First up, LeBron James’s reported $15 million partnership with Polymarket raises questions about the growing popularity of prediction markets and how these platforms are marketed to people who may already feel financially behind. Mandi explains how prediction ma...

What happens when you grow up knowing what it feels like to not have enough money? For La La Anthony , that feeling became part of the fuel behind her ambition. Raised by a single mom, La La learned early that she wanted to build a life where she could take care of herself and never have to feel guilty about asking for money. That independent spirit eventually took her from an unpaid radio interns...

This week on Brown Buzz , we’re cutting through the headlines and getting into the stories that affect our money, careers, and lives. First, Mandi discusses the allegations involving Cornell and LSU, why Title IX is not the same thing as a criminal investigation, and what students and survivors should know if they want to explore a report to law enforcement. TW: From  02:21 - 11:05 this...

What happens when the thing that makes you feel most like yourself doesn’t fit neatly into the version of success you were raised to pursue? For Alexis Nikole Nelson, aka The Black Forager , that question has shaped nearly every chapter of her life. From growing up as a curious, outdoorsy kid who learned about plants in her mother’s garden to studying environmental science and theater,...

Brown Buzz is back! Mandi breaks down the Nikole Hannah-Jones school-choice debate, the latest in the Nolan Wells case, why the AI job apocalypse may be more complicated than it sounds, and what SAVE borrowers need to do now. In this episode •    Nikole Hannah-Jones, school segregation, and the emotional cost of impossible parenting choices •    Why repair and account...

In this episode, Mandi sits down with Dr. Tasneem “Dr. Taz” Bhatia , a board-certified physician and integrative medicine expert, to talk about women’s health, hormones, healthcare, and what it really means to advocate for yourself. Dr. Taz shares her own experience of becoming a doctor who became the patient after struggling with fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, hair loss, and o...

In this special Friday episode, Mandi celebrates the BA Fam, shares the origin story behind Brown Ambition, and introduces Brown Buzz—your new end-of-week roundup of the headlines shaping your money, career, culture, and life. This week on Brown Buzz: •    The Federal Reserve raised interest rates. What does that mean for credit-card debt, variable-rate loans, savings accounts...

What happens when the ambition that helped you build your life starts costing you your well-being? For many ambitious women, especially women of color, success can come with a hidden cost: saying yes when we’re exhausted, pushing through when our bodies are asking us to slow down, and measuring our worth by how much we can accomplish. But wellness isn’t just about massages and self-car...

What happens when you spend years pouring everything into your career, relationships, and success only to realize they aren’t pouring the same love back into you? In this episode of Brown Ambition, Mandi sits down with journalist and author Tiffany D. Cross to talk about her new book, Love, Me: A Letter to Black Women in a Toxic Country, Career, and Relationship . Tiffany opens up about her...

September can be a powerful time to get visible, activate your network, and pursue the next role—but smart career strategy is not just about landing a new job. It is also about protecting your options before year-end budget decisions and possible restructurings. In this solo episode, Mandi shares how to use the fall hiring window, make yourself easier to hire, and create a no-panic layoff-re...

This week's  BA Q&A , Mandi is joined by friend of the show Naseema McElroy of Financially Intentional to answer a question from Serena, a 28-year-old multi-passionate entrepreneur torn between beauty and holistic health. Naseema drops gems on the power of niching down , embracing your unique story, and positioning yourself as a Key Person of Influence . If you’re feeling stuck betw...

Hey BA Fam! Mandi Money is back with a Brown Boost, Brown Break because there’s simply too much happening to stay quiet. First, Mandi turns her attention to Gary, Indiana, where tens of thousands of residents were left without power following severe storms. She talks about what the crisis reveals about racial inequity, the communities that too often get overlooked by mainstream media, and wh...

Mandi responds to a listener trying to help her 59-year-old mother recover from a costly retirement mistake after medically retiring from a job she held for 19 years. After discovering her mom had just $36,000 left and had accidentally withdrawn her retirement balance instead of rolling it into an IRA   the listener is left figuring out how to protect what's left without creating an even bigg...

Hey BA fam, it’s Mandi Money ! Today I’m bringing you a  Brown Ambition Rewind featuring my conversation with physician, author, entrepreneur, and health equity advocate Dr. Uché Blackstock . We get real about burnout, identity, ambition, and what it takes to walk away from spaces that no longer serve you. Uché shares why she left a prestigious academic career, the e...

This week, Mandi is reporting live from the National Association of Black Journalists convention with reflections, real talk, and a reminder that the best opportunities at a conference rarely come from simply being in the room. First, she breaks down how to turn conferences, industry events, and professional gatherings into meaningful networking opportunities. From preparing before you arrive to m...

Mandi Money closes out the Summer Money Reboot series by rethinking what ambition looks like when the goals you once chased no longer fit the life you're living today. If you've ever reached a milestone and wondered, Is this still what I want? , this episode is your invitation to redefine success on your own terms. Mandi explores the difference between Brown Ambition and toxic ambition , sharing w...

Mandi Money continues the  Summer Money Reboot series by exploring what happens when your finances look good on paper but your life no longer feels like it fits. If you've ever found yourself questioning a career that once excited you, wondering whether your spending reflects what you actually value, or feeling like you're chasing goals that no longer belong to you, this episode is your invit...

In this solo episode, Mandi digs into the messy, public fallout around Children of Blood and Bone author Tomi Adeyemi and Insecure alum Amanda Seales — two Black women who chose to speak openly about mistreatment tied to projects that should have been “safe” for them. Using their stories as a lens, Mandi explores how misogynoir shows up when Black women tell the truth at work, wh...

MandiMoney continues the Summer Money Reboot series by shifting the focus from getting out of debt to making your money work harder through investing. If you've been contributing to your 401(k), opened a retirement account years ago, or simply wondered whether your investment strategy still fits the life you're living today, this episode is your invitation to stop investing on autopilot and start...

Mandi responds to a listener who feels increasingly frustrated by a newly promoted coworker who still comes in late, leaves early, and seems to get more grace because she has kids. What starts as a question about fairness turns into a deeper conversation about working parents, workplace stigma, professional branding, and why resentment at work is often pointing to something bigger underneath. Mand...

MandiMoney continues the  Summer Money Reboot series by tackling one of the most emotionally charged topics in personal finance: debt . Whether your balances grew because of rising costs, inconsistent income, a family emergency, or simply trying to keep life moving when your paycheck couldn't keep up, this episode is a reminder that debt isn't a character flaw, it's a financial challenge that...

In this BA Q&A, Mandi kicks off a brand‑new listener clinic for the Summer Money Reboot series and answers a letter from a listener she calls “Erin,” who is juggling Walmart shifts, side hustles, vending machine dreams, and plans to become a single mom by choice.   Mandi shares why she’s finally ready to try stock trading after attending Teri Ijeoma’s New York City...

MandiMoney continues the  Summer Money Reboot series by tackling one of the hardest financial seasons to navigate: rebuilding after life knocks you off course. Whether it was a layoff, medical emergency, divorce, caregiving, or simply an economy that changed faster than your paycheck could keep up, this conversation is about letting go of shame and creating a realistic path forward. Grab the...