Babylon Makes The Rules

In this episode of Babylon Makes the Rules , Dr. Negus sits down with Matthew Harvey , President of the Fort Des Moines Museum & Education Center . Join them for a conversation as they share perspectives, experiences, and insights on topics that matter to our community. Thank you for listening to Babylon Makes the Rules .

In this episode of Babylon Makes the Rules, Dr. Negus welcomes Bishop M.D. Eppright, author of Won't He Do It?, for a thoughtful conversation about faith, purpose, leadership, and the experiences that shape us along the way.

What happens when a community takes control of the airwaves? In this episode, Dr. Negus talks with Jamal Muhammed — author, activist, and co-founder of the legendary KUCB Radio movement in Des Moines, Iowa. They discuss revolutionary organizing, Black media, resistance, community power, and the fight to create independent voices outside the system. Before podcasts… there was liberation radio.

In this episode, Dr. Negus sits down with Dr. Yusef Ben-Levy, a scholar of ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, and Gnostic literature, for a deep dive into what the Bible actually says in its original languages. From the true pronunciation of “Amen” to the feminine grammar of God’s name, to the African roots embedded in the Greek alphabet, this conversation dismantles centuries of mistranslation and...

Savoy, founder of Focus Inc. in Ankeny, Iowa, sits down with Dr. Negus on Babylon Makes The Rules to unpack a decade on the front lines of youth mental health in Polk County. His story is raw, complex, and unflinching — a mirror of the struggles many communities quietly face every day. Growing up in an environment marked by addiction and neglect, Savoy faced choices that no kid should ever have to...

In this solo episode, Dr. Negus reads and unpacks his nine-page article on what he calls “The White Jesus Syndrome” — a psychological and spiritual condition rooted in European colonialism that reshaped African identity, theology, and self-perception for generations. This is not a surface-level critique of imagery. It is a deep examination of how power works. Dr. Negus traces how Christianity — a...

Dr. Negus sits down solo on Babylon Makes The Rules to trace a harrowing line from the 1944 execution of 14-year-old George Junius Stinney — the youngest person ever executed on death row in the United States — to the systemic discrimination facing African-American men today. In this episode, Dr. Negus unpacks how structural racism, compounded by “double discrimination” — being Black and carrying...

Dr. Negus sits down solo on Babylon Makes The Rules to revisit the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, framed around Iowa’s recent House File 424 and the ongoing fight for equity and accessibility. From the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, Dr. Negus breaks down the legislative history and explains the five key titles of the ADA — showing how far we’ve come, and ho...

Dr. Negus sits down solo on Babylon Makes The Rules to expose the illusion of racial progress in the United States. Despite landmark civil rights legislation, centuries-old structures continue to enforce inequality, leaving Black families, communities, and individuals systematically behind. In this episode, Dr. Negus draws on Derrick Bell’s interest convergence theory and hard empirical evidence f...

Join Dr. Negus and Emmett Phillips in an engaging discourse on American ways in our latest episode. Don't miss out as they delve into the origins of religious practices, the meaning of civilization, the transformation of ancient traditions and more! Phillips is a first generation Liberian American, artist and educator specializing in poetry, hip hop and theater.

In this powerful episode, Dr. Negus fearlessly confronts the complexities of the political and social landscape in America. Opening with the resolute mantra, "I speak my mind, I fear no evil, I take my time, I help my people, I stand my ground, I will not crumble, I keep my crown, here in this jungle," Dr. Negus sets the tone for an unapologetic exploration of the challenges and triumphs...

Dr. Negus focuses on historical and contemporary data that members of the African Diaspora are encountering while they meander through this maze known as American society.

Negus sits down with Broadlawns clinical health coach Corey Dion Lewis to shed light on healthcare disparities that lead to an overall poor health within the local Des Moines community, and more specifically "Blacks' mistrust in the U.S. healthcare system".

Everyday discrimination scale

African Americans returning and repatriating to Ghana 🇬🇭 Join Dr. Negus and Gerald Brown Jr. as he shares his unique journey as an African American stationed in Qatar comparing and contrasting the individual changes to a new society, exploring his experiences, identity, and the profound significance of connecting with the Motherland. 🌍✨ #AfricanDiaspora #HomecomingJourney

In this episode of Babylon Makes the Rules, special guest Mikal Settle from Blaise Training gets behind the mic and discusses his journey in being a business owner, fitness accountability, ownership of money and connecting with the community

Program Coordinator, TECH & TEACH Apprenticeship Programs, Mr. Dennis Henderson comes on the episode and talks about what it means to be an inclusive healthcare provider. Inclusion means more than just participating in the meeting(s), or having a prominent title, it’s having a voice at the meeting(s) and that voice is accepted and respected.

In this episdoe, Dr. Negus does a quick historic review of the film, "Killers of the Flower Moon".

In this episode, Dr. Negus features special guest King Nisa, as they talk about other humanitarian crisis events and genocides that are currently taking place in the world. How African global events and massacres seem to be overlooked and ignored by mainstream media.

In this episode, Dr. Negus talks about the travesties that are happening in Gaza between Israel & Palestine. Other topics like genocide, the lies the media tells and how people associate the word ghetto with Black.

In this episode, Dr. Negus talks about the average house hold wealth in the U.S. The debt America has with the African-American community. And the numerous holocausts that happened throughout history.

One unlucky evening in 1984, Ricky Daye was riding in a Buick with a broken taillight in San Diego. The police pulled the car over and thought they recognized Daye's face from a WANTED sketch. He was arrested and five months later convicted of the brutal rape and kidnapping of a young San Diego mother. Daye spent 10 years in California prisons, insisting all the time that he was innocent. Fina...

In this episode, Dr. Negus, goes back in time and gives tribute to African-American athlete John D. Bright and describes the decline of the late athlete as he was assaulted on the gridiron.

In this episode, Dr. Negus goes into great detail about the history and experience of Jack Trice, not as a football player, but as a human being.

Dr. Negus sits down with RJ Miller, from Greater Opportunities and discuss some of the social issues students face in the metro area, community involvement, and the real meaning of being involved with the community. Greater Opportunities- Nonprofit organization Urban Outreach, Student Advocacy, Education, Youth Empowerment, Grassroots, Youth Inreach,