a space to breathe: a podcast for black men

What does success mean? What does failure mean? How do we navigate each of them as Black men? On this episode, SirG comes back to the pod and we discuss the answers to these questions and our experiences with success and failure as Black men. As always, we hope you feel seen, brotha! This episode will serve as the last episode before we pause for a bit while Brennan adjusts to fatherhood. We hope...

For our BHM episode, Matt comes on the show to talk about what it means to leave a legacy. We talk about how legacy can extend beyond financial matters, the importance of black men leaving legacies, how it relates to our history as Black people, as well as a little bit about the legacies we are creating for our families and future generations. As always, we hope you feel seen brotha! Follow and su...

It often seems easier, safer, and even smarter for Black men to show up as versions of ourselves that are not authentic and to remain guarded with those around us. So many things in our daily lives tell us that authenticity and vulnerability render us weak. In this episode, Rico stops by the pod and we discuss the ways in which authenticity is actually power and vulnerability is truly courageous f...

Joy may seem like an inaccessible emotion for many black men. Between the realities of black manhood and the pressures we may find in our every day lives, it can be hard to experience true joy. In this episode, Matt and Brennan talk about their experiences with joy and why it is important for black men to experience it. As always, we hope you feel seen brotha! Follow and subscribe if you like what...

This has been a tough few weeks in Memphis. We're learning more and more about the death of a Black man named Tyre Nichols as a result of bodily harm inflicted by five local police officers. Unfortunately, this hasn't been the first time we've seen this, and it is almost guaranteed not to be the last. Trey popped on the show to create space to process how these instances of Black death and racial...

Finding purpose and why is all the buzz, especially at the top of a new year. Yet, what does this look like for black men? Does it even feel accessible in the same way as seems for mainstream culture? Justin comes back through the pod and he and Brennan dive into this topic and encourage black men to dream! As always, we hope you feel seen brotha!  Follow and subscribe if you like what you're...

And we back! On this first episode of the season, Matt jumps back on the pod and we talk about what we've been up to since Season 1 ended, Brennan's reflections as fatherhood swiftly arrives, lessons from 2022, and how we're approaching 2023. We hope you enjoy this episode as we warm-up for the next season!  Follow and subscribe if you like what you're hearing! Follow Brennan Allan Steele on...

For our final episode of season 1, Brennan talks to his dad, Allan. They have a candid conversation about the ups and downs of their relationship, Allan offers advice to Brennan as the father-to-be, and they take another important step in healing their relationship. We hope this gives you the courage to talk to the loved ones in your life and that you seek healing in your own relationships! We'll...

We have seen a wide range of images of black masculinity this year in the media. From Will Smith's slap heard round the world to Kanye's anti-semitic comments and John Wall's vulnerability about his mental health struggles, there's been a wide range of depictions of black manhood in popular culture. This week, Brennan sits down with his brotha Mario and attempts to make sense of each of these men'...

As men, we're not taught how to deal with emotions like fear and anxiety, even though we all feel them at certain points. Instead of working to understand and process them, we stuff them and they come out in other less healthy or effective ways. On this week's episode, we brought Matt back on to start to talk about the difference between fear and anxiety, the things we are fearful of and anxious a...

If you don't know by now, Brennan is going to be a father soon! This is exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time, so we brought our brotha, SirG back on the pod to help him process through the beauty, responsibility, and fears of being a dad - a #GirlDad in particular. We also talked about being a father even in spite of our varied relationships with our fathers, and why Black fatherhood i...

On this episode, Rico joins us again and we discuss boundaries and self-care. More specifically, we discuss what it means to set boundaries, how they serve as a form of self-care, our own journeys with setting boundaries, and how they impact us in our manhood. If you're struggling to set and maintain your own boundaries, we hope this gives you a good starting point. As always, we hope you've feel...

On this episode, Justin jumped back on the show, and we had an authentic conversation about the pressures we feel as men. We talk about external and internalized pressure, the impacts of unhealthy levels of pressure, and how we can start to release some of the pressure we feel as men. As always, we hope you feel seen and can resonate with some of what was said!  Follow and subscribe if you li...

So many men we know (including us!) have struggled with loneliness. I brought Matt back on the show to talk about our experiences with loneliness, why we think men experience it, and its impacts on us as men. We also talk about how to get connected to others to start building your community. As always, we hope this episode sees you and helps you a little bit a long the way. Follow and subscribe if...

Faith and the church are major influencers in the ways we show up as people, and they can definitely be a part of how we understand what it means to be a man. On today's episode, I sit down with two of the pastors from my church and my friends, Mike and SirG. We talked about formations of manhood in the church, how Jesus and the Word actually give us space to identify with our emotions as men, and...

Men struggle with body image, too! So why don't we really talk about it? On this episode, I sit down with my brotha Rico and we dive into our own journeys and struggles with body image, why we think men don't talk about it, and share some advice and encouragement from what we've learned as black men who struggle with body image. As always, we hope you feel seen by this episode wherever you find yo...

The answer to the question of what it means to be a man is still pretty elusive. On this episode, I sit down with my brotha, Trey Willis, and we attempt to parse through some aspects of manhood. We discuss the formation of masculinity, the impacts of our relationship, or lack thereof, with our fathers, and the sacrifice that comes as men show up for their families and in the world. We hope you fee...

In this episode, I sit down with my friend and colleague, Matt, and we talk about expressing emotions as black men. Specifically, we talk about the guidance, or lack thereof, we received in learning how to express emotions, why it is not acceptable in society for men to express their emotions, and the implications for us as men when we don't have a means to release and emote. We're all about knowi...

In this episode, I sit down with my best friend, best man, and brotha, Justin and talk black men and community. We talk about the importance of having deep friendships and brotherhood with other black men, how friendships mirror other relationships, and navigating the seasonality of friendship. We spend a lot of time talking about the story and nature of our friendship, so I hope you take somethin...

Check out our trailer for a new podcast with author, educator, and mental wellness advocate Brennan Allan Steele as the host. On this podcast, we hold and create space for black men to breathe. By breathing we mean being whole, fully ourselves, as well as open and vulnerable without the pressures we feel as black men in our personal lives, professional lives, and society in general.