Corner Table Talk

"The massive challenges that Tommy has faced in life have been no match for his soaring talent and indomitable spirit. If he had lady parts, my search would be over."  Jim Carrey, comedian and actor In preparing for this episode with Tommy Davidson , I read Tommy's memoir, Living in Color: What's Funny About Me,  which recounts his personal triumphs having been abandoned as an infant, adopted and...

"In Miami, all roads lead to Craig."  Virgil Abloh , fashion designer, artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear  No one of our generation has played a more influential role in defining, redefining and shaping the culture in Miami than Craig Robins . Craig is a visionary in the truest sense of the word, nothing short of brilliant. However, it was his unpretentious personal warmth and willingne...

So why does what we eat matter? A growing body of science in the field of cognitive nutrition shows that the “food-brain connection is actually one of the most powerful drivers of our overall well-being. What we eat matters not only for our physical health but for our cognitive and mental health, affecting our risk of anxiety and depression. The science is clear: we can eat our way to better brain...

"With the recent stress of the environment and the virus, there's a great deal of hopelessness and a sense of a lot of insecurity around the future," says Sally Greig , our guest this week. Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. It is a part of physical well-being. Sally is a psychotherapist and clinical...

In honor of Black Music Appreciation Month and singer, songwriter  Phyllis Hyman , our guest is Glenda Gracia , the executrix for The Estate of Phyllis Hyman and the former founding Executive Director of the Black Music Association  responsible, along with other music execs, for lobbying then President Jimmy Carter to launch the perennial celebration of Black Music Mo...

One Mother’s Day, Yvonne Durant's life took an interesting turn while dining with her twin sister, Yvette, at the popular restaurant, The Cellar, on NYC's Upper West Side. "My eyes started to wander across the room to the front of the entrance. When a flash of orange [jumpsuit] caught my eye. I remember thinking Harry Krishna and going back to my salad. I think Yvette whispered 'Mi...

Making plant-based dishes fun and indulgent while honoring Southern foodways through the lens of her beloved Virginia childhood memories,  Chef Shenarri Freeman, aka “Shenarri Greens,” is Executive Chef of Cadence , a plant-based restaurant with Southern soul in New York’s East Village. Chef Shenarri, a 2022 James Beard Award nominee - Emerging Chef, fully embraced veganism...

In this episode, Brad Johnson turns over his hosting duties to guest host, James Beard nominated  reporter for Eater Los Angeles , Mona Holmes , who turns the proverbial table on Brad Johnson to find out more about this career restaurateur and entrepreneur, along with his recent endeavor as podcast host of Corner Table Talk . His career started in the mid-seventies at...

The actor, Clifton Powell has appeared in over 100 feature films and television shows with some of his most memorable roles being in major movies such as Clifton's role as Ray Charles' longtime band manager and friend, Jeff Brown, in Ray (for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination), or as Cutty, with his cold whispering taunting of Lorenz Tate in the cult classic, De...

On the way to Cleveland, Ohio to continue earning his chemistry and physics degree after his university in Senegal shut down due to student strikes, a young Pierre Thiam was waylaid in New York City having been robbed of his father's savings within one week of arriving. His introduction into New York City's restaurant world, borne out of necessity for survival and to...

Adam Platt , one of America's most beloved food critics, has been the chief food critic for  New York Magazine since 2000. The son of a career US diplomat posted to Taiwan, Hong Kong and elsewhere, Adam and his hungry brothers (including actor Oliver Platt ) grew up devouring dim sum in Hong Kong, giant platters of Peking duck in Beijing, fresh-baked croissants in Paris and pierogi on the sno...

Hailing from a family of restaurateurs, Cyrus Batchan recently opened Camphor, a French-Indian inspired neighborhood restaurant in the downtown LA Arts District. As the founder of No.8 Hospitality , Cyrus has conceived and operated several nightlife concepts and restaurants including: Lock & Key and Nightshade in Los Angeles;  Larrea in Las Vegas; and Skylight Nha Trang and...

Franklin Sirmans, the Director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) advocates that art can significantly contribute to personal and societal wellness. Located on Miami's beautiful Biscayne Bay, PAMM's mission is to promote artistic expression and the exchange of ideas advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture, design, reflecting the diverse communi...

Bryant Terry is a James Beard Award-winning food activist, chef, educator and the author renowned for his efforts to create a healthy, equitable, and sustainable food system. "A large part of my mission...is to move Afro-diasporic food focus from the margins closer to the center of our collective culinary consciousness and to put its ingredients, cooking techniques, and flavor profiles into wider...

Earning the trust and respect of NBA greats such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant to create award-winning iconic photos is only part of what Andrew Bernstein does.  As the longest tenured NBA League photographer, he has covered 40 NBA Finals and 38 All-Star Games as the senior NBA photographer and is currently the official photographer for the LA Lakers, LA Clippers, LA Kings...

This episode originally aired on January 20, 2022, a few days before the tragic death of Regina’s son, Ian Alexander, Jr. Out of respect for Regina, Ian Sr. and their family, we stopped featuring and unpublished the episode upon learning the news. This is the re-release of the episode. With a desire to create art and be involved with stories that speak to her, the talented Regina King has a...

The beachfront resort, Bruce’s Beach, run for and by Black residents of the community, located in Manhattan Beach, was one of the first enclaves of Black leisure in the Los Angeles area during the Jim Crow era. Willa and Charles Bruce bought the land in 1912 and despite harassment and violence from white neighbors, it thrived until the 1920s when the city council used eminent domain to seize...

After 27 years as the chief editor of Essence magazine and the visionary credited with building the brand, Susan Taylor left publishing to devote her life to building an organization that is devoted to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty among African Americans. A community-mobilization movement, National CARES Mentoring Movement is the only organization dedicated to providing mentorin...

A long-time friend of Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X), Dr. Julius Garvey is the only surviving son of the founder of the United Negro Improvement Association, the Honorable Marcus Garvey, and activist and journalist, Amy Jacques Garvey. In this episode, he shares insights with host, Brad Johnson and the Ambassador on topics including his view on the current world order being out...

In this episode, the highly accomplished  Paula Williams Madison , converses with host,  Brad Johnson , on topics including the evolution of fake news from the perspective of an award-winning journalist and media executive, her position on "Defund the Police" having formerly served as VP of the Los Angeles Police Commission, and tracing her ancestral roots d...

With her smooth, velvety voice, the R&B/Soul singer Meli'sa Morgan is known for her string of urban contemporary hits starting in the mid–1980s through the mid–1990s. Meli'sa began her singing career at nine years old as a member of the Starlets of Corona gospel choir. She went on to study music and theatre at The Juilliard School Performing Arts Conservatory in New York. Meli'sa b...

Inspired by his mother's missionary travels and a college professor's dare, Nathan Fluellen set out to travel the world in 2004 and thus far, has visited 60 countries and six continents. In his latest series with the Africa Channel,  Escape With Nate: In Search of Black Utopia, Nate sits down with today’s top Black travel influencers and celebrities and explores how travel opens the doo...

Street-art and hip-hop pioneer, Fred Brathwaite, aka Fab 5 Freddy, is a cultural influencer whose career encompasses graffiti artist, rapper, an internationally exhibited painter, video and TV-commercial director, screenwriter, film scorer, actor, lecturer, television personality, and creative director of museum exhibits. Along with friends and contemporaries, Futura 2000, Keith Haring, Lee Quinon...

With affordable housing reaching crisis levels, Ken Lombard, having led numerous successful real estate investments and business ventures that fostered economic improvement and urban renewal in underserved minority communities throughout the United States, is on a mission to improve lives and strengthen communities through innovative solutions that start with quality affordable housing.  In N...

Philly-raised and Harlem-based, Earl Monroe is a Hall of Fame basketball player voted one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history along with being 1968 Rookie of the Year, a four-time NBA All-Star and a member of the 1973 New York Knickerbocker Championship team. After a successful career in basketball, Earl spent more than 30 years in the entertainment business, producing off-Broadway musicals...