Black Boomer Besties from Brooklyn

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...

Your phone is full of messages, photos, and threads you swear you’ll scroll back to someday. But what happens when the platform changes, an account disappears, or “someday” never comes? We’re Angella and Leslie, two 60-something Black women from Brooklyn on a joy journey, and we’re making the case for something radically simple: handwritten letters, cards, and real written correspondence. We dig i...

We’ve talked for years about writing our story, but talking is safe (and cheap) and the blank page is not. This time we’re doing it: we’re each contributing to a chapter in Kim Coles’ latest anthology Legacy GIFTs, a project built around gratitude, intention, forgiveness, triumphs, and self-love. And once we say it out loud, there’s no hiding from the work of putting pen to paper. We get honest ab...

A toxic job doesn’t just waste your time. It can hijack your body, shrink your thinking, and convince you that staying small is “safe.” We sit down with Dr Kimani Norrington Sands, licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Lifting As We Climb Consulting, to talk about the 2026 Job Liberation Virtual Summit for Black Women and why this moment demands more than motivation. We need strategy, comm...

Legacy can feel like a loaded word, like you need a big house, a perfect family tree, and a fortune to leave behind. We don’t buy that. We’re two 60-something Black women, best friends for almost 50 years, and we’re talking about legacy as something you’re already building right now through your values, your relationships, your stories, and the way you show up in community. We also shout out a res...

E very joy journey includes facing difficult decisions and conversations; the parts few people enjoy thinking about. This week, Besties Angella and Leslie are challenged to plan, and update plans, to prepare for sickness and death; a topic Leslie embraces but Ang, not so much. If you’ve been putting off these essentials of healthcare/estate planning, press play, set a deadline and do one concrete...

Angella is packing up her apartment and moving to Panama. The dream is real and the joy is real, but so is the day-to-day grind. Turning off utilities, figuring out bins, deciding what can fit in a pod, and realizing that “excited” sometimes feels like pure logistics. Leslie says she’s “pre-missing” her bestie, and they don’t gloss over how a 50-year friendship shifts when one of them will soon be...

You know that one thing you swear you could never give up? The nightly glass of wine, the “double rice,” the burger that used to hit just right. We get honest about what happens when your body starts telling the truth and you finally listen. The Besties start this episode with Leslie’s Dry January, not as a trendy detox, but as a real test of discipline. Then the twist hits: when she goes back to...

In this episode, the Besties dig into the role judgement plays in impacting one’s joy. In typical fashion, they come to this inquiry by unpacking everyday events that they have differing views about.  Do we make assumptions and judge others too quickly and harshly? If those we judge can’t hear what we say behind their backs, does it mean that our comments are harmless? Angella and Leslie consider...

Offering tea to a new home health aide who doesn’t speak English spirals into a deeper discussion about how culture, power, and language shape care and dignity. The Besties explore the different worlds they come from. Angella grew up in Jamaica, where domestic help is common and etiquette is clear; Leslie was raised in Brooklyn, where that setup feels rare and historically loaded. That contrast re...

CONTENT WARNING: SUICIDAL IDEATION & THOUGHTS (TIMESTAMP 19:03-24:26) The Besties were together again to help Leslie’s son have a smooth transition out of the hospital after a 4 month stay. In their time together three things unfolded that challenged their sensibilities and led them to  choose kindness and humanity by going the extra mile.  If this conversation moved you, share it with a frien...

A recent YouTube video from Stephanie Perry, co-founder of ExodUS Summit, demands that Black people desiring to move abroad, wait until extraction, supremacy, American exceptionalism, and Black excellence (defined here as exalting extraordinary effort and status as the most desirable traits that Black people can have) before going.  The Besties question their readiness, as usual with deep reflecti...

Think aging steals happiness? Think again. As Leslie celebrates her 64th birthday.  As The Besties celebrate Leslie’s 64th birthday in Costa Rica, they share stories that are both tender and hilarious, including the moment the mic literally dropped from the makeshift inverted trash can setup and the reasons they’re done with perfectionism for good. The heart of this episode is love: how limited ti...

Sexuality often gets boxed into the bedroom, but the truth is it shapes how we move through everything: work, parenting, friendships, faith, and our relationship with our own bodies. That expansive view sits at the heart of The Besties’ conversation with licensed clinical social worker and certified sex therapist Chanta Blue, who helps women release shame and claim pleasure as a birthright. She re...

Ready to rethink the intimacy rules you didn’t know you were following? The Besties continue their conversation with ethical non-monogamy coach Taylor Sparks for a candid, laugh-out-loud and deeply practical tour through radical honesty, jealousy management and the real difference between privacy and secrecy. From first-date filters to long-term agreements, Taylor shows how to trade guesswork for...

What if the rules you grew up with about love and loyalty aren’t the only ethical guides for successful relationships? Clutch your pearls this week as Besties Angella and Leslie sit down with Taylor K. Sparks, the 65 yr old Owner of Organic Loven —a holistic sexual health educator, intimacy entrepreneur, and ethical non‑monogamy coach—to unpack how consent, communication and curiosity can transfor...

What really stands between you and retirement: the numbers, or the story you tell yourself about them? Besties Angella and Leslie open the closet—literally, with a funny cashmere moment—and then open up about the deeper calculus of stepping away: identity, security, and the pull to live more joyfully while they can. Book a free coaching consultation with Angie here: https://calendly.com/rhythmwigs...