Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes

Maori talks with Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate, renowned chefs and founders of Honeysuckle Provisions, an Afro-centric grocery and cafe in West Philadelphia. In this conversation, Omar reflects on the food surrounding his childhood neighborhoods and how Black foodways brought him back to Philadelphia, while Cybille talks about growing up Haitian on Long Island. The duo also discuss their fav...

Maori talks with multi-talented musician, composer, and artist Jason Moran. Jason shares his early influences growing up as a young musician in Houston—the John T. Biggers’ painting hanging in his parent’s home, Public Enemy on the radio, and Thelonious Monk’s hit song “‘Round Midnight”. We learn why he prefers to call what he does Soul Music rather than Jazz and how the destruction of Black cultu...

Maori chats with award-winning actor and multimedia artist Danielle Deadwyler ( The Harder They Fall, Till, Station Eleven ). The two discuss Danielle’s experience growing up in Atlanta, her mother’s determination to give her access to the arts, and how the experiences of Black women’s labor have influenced her art and practice. Danielle also shares why theater is her favorite medium and what it’s...

Maori chats with multidisciplinary artist and author Fariha Roísín ( Like a Bird , Who Is Wellness For? ). Fariha talks about growing up Bangladeshi in Australia, what it’s like to have a Marxist parent, and her journey towards becoming more connected to her name. We also hear why poetry helps her express herself more freely––and more precisely,  how she moves past fear when sharing very personal...

Maori talks with award-winning producer/director Lisa Cortés and model and advocate turned filmmaker Bethann Hardison, who worked together on the documentary Invisible Beauty, about Bethann’s life. In the episode we hear how they both got their start and navigated their trailblazing careers without roadmaps. Maori also finds out how they met in “a New York that doesn’t exist anymore” and how Betha...

Season 3 returns on Oct 11, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday through Nov 8. From Invisible Beauty 's producer Lisa Cortés and co-director Bethann Hardison, to Till actress Danielle Deadwyler, we have five exciting new conversations to dive into. Make sure you're subscribed! Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @man...

Bonus episode! This special episode was recorded live this summer at the 2023 BlackStar Film Festival. Maori and guest co-host, multimedia artist, Rashid Zakat interview New York Times Magazine writer and community care worker J Wortham. The three discuss technology beyond screens and devices, the safe space created at Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, and J’s forthcoming book, Work of Body . And get re...

Maori chats with cinematographer Michael "Cambio" Fernandez. Cambio's credits as a DP include the award-winning projects The Burial of Kojo , directed by Blitz Bazawule; Beyoncé's Black Is King ; Walter Thompson-Hernandez's If I Go Will They Miss Me ;  and most recently, Sing J. Lee's The Accidental Getaway Driver . In this episode Cambio talks about his non-tradition...

Maori talks with LA-based curator and writer Meg Onli, whose work attends to the intricacies of race and the production of space. She is the co-curator of the 2024 Whitney Biennial, previously served as the director and curator of the now-shuttered The Underground Museum in Los Angeles, and was prior to that the Associate Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. Meg tells Maor...

In this episode, Maori talks with her  friend, D’Lo, a Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor and writer who uses humor to discuss family, gender, and sexuality. Beyond his stand-up and multi-character solo shows, D’Lo has appeared on popular TV shows like Looking, Mr. Robot , Sense 8, and the new Quantum Leap. Most recently, he appeared in the feature film Bros . D’Lo shares how being trans was his firs...

In this episode, Maori talks with critically-acclaimed director, writer, and actor Cherien Dabis. Cherien is known for directing episodes of Only Murders In the Building , Ozark , and Ramy . In addition to her work in television, Cherien has had a prolific career as an independent filmmaker with her films May in Summer and her groundbreaking 2009 debut feature, Amreeka , which depicted the life of...

Maori talks with filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, the brilliant co-creator and showrunner of FX’s breakout hit Reservation Dogs . Filmed in this home state of Oklahoma, the sitcom follows the lives of four Native teenagers living on a reservation who are on a mission to head to California while dealing with the death of their friend. He is also the director of the short films Goodnight, Irene (2005) and F...

Everyone's talking about Season 3 of Many Lumens ! Get excited for the return of the podcast — premiering  April 19, 2023 — and 10 new conversations between host Maori Karmael Holmes and the most groundbreaking artists, change makers, and cultural workers.  BlackStar Projects , home of Many Lumens and the BlackStar Film Festival, creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of B...

Bonus Episode! Maori chats with the renowned filmmaker, activist, and this year’s Blackstar Film Festival Luminary Award Recipient, Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay!, Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake). Mira talks about her childhood, how she made her way from India to the United States to attend Harvard, and her early artistic influences including theater, photography, and cinema vérité. The two explore the...

Maori talks with fashion designer Telfar Clemens and creative director Babak Radboy, the principal forces behind the iconic TELFAR fashion label. Clemens and Radboy share their connection being 'third culture kids,' the organic nature of their creative partnership, and how they've navigated the fashion industry together. They also discuss other projects in the works, namely building...

Maori chats with musician, poet, artist, cultural worker, and professor Camae Ayewa, also known by her stage name Moor Mother. Camae talks about her early life growing up in Aberdeen, Maryland and her formative influences. They also discuss her journey as an artist, from her early days performing in Philly’s underground music scene to her successful solo project, bands, and involvement in the Blac...

Maori talks with Oakland-based, artist, writer, and curator, Astria Suparak. Astria’s curated exhibitions, screenings, and performances have appeared at art institutions and festivals worldwide, as well as far more unconventional spaces, including roller skating rinks, sports bars, and rock clubs. In their conversation they talk about her introduction to Riot Grrrl culture as a teen and the intell...

Maori chats with poet, activist, mother, and professor Sonia Sanchez ( Homecoming, We a Baddddd People, Homegirls and Handgrenades, Morning Haiku ). Sister Sonia’s accomplishments are vast and include being named Philadelphia's first poet laureate in 2012, receiving the first Presidential Fellow at Temple University, and most recently being awarded the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. Maori an...

Maori chats with renowned painter Amy Sherald, who documents contemporary Black American experiences through otherworldly figurative paintings. Amy talks about what life was like for her growing up in a small Southern city and her process of self-exploration and honing her craft. They discuss the nuances of her artistic practice, career trajectory, and what life has been like since the release of...

Maori and guest co-host Rashid Zakat chat with their friend, artist, musician, and filmmaker Terence Nance ( An Oversimplification of Her Beauty , Random Acts of Flyness ). The three talk about Terence’s childhood and the long term impact of growing up in a family of creatives, drawing inspiration from love, and the importance of community for Black artists. Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you l...

Maori chats with powerhouse producer Deniese Davis ( Insecure , A Black Lady Sketch Show ), founder of two media companies — Color Creative and Reform Media Group — that seek to uplift and champion Black and brown voices. In their conversation, Deniese shares her journey from being a rising basketball star to helping to shepherd the cultural phenomenon that was Issa Rae’s Insecure. They also discu...

Maori chats with writer, artist, and chef Tunde Wey, known for his gastronomic projects that critically poke fun at and examine gentrification, economic inequality and the enduring neo-colonial politics of food today. Tunde shares how stepping out of family expectations of success is a full circle process, and discusses what it’s like being back home in Nigeria. They talk about how his understandi...

Maori chats with visual artist, filmmaker, writer, and photographer Sky Hopinka, director of maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore and a co-founder of the Indigenous film collective COUSIN. They discuss creating work that isn’t beholden to whiteness and the impact his family has had on his artistic practice. The two also get into what it means to protect and nurture space for those you hold...

In this episode, Maori talks with Princeton African American Studies Professor and prolific author Imani Perry ( South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation ). The two talk about shared geographies and discuss how the places they belong to have shaped who they’ve become. They get into Imani’s commitment to beauty, her family, and the intellectual tradition...

Maori chats with kindred spirit and prolific writer Jeff Chang, author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation . In their conversation they time travel back to the 80’s and 90’s, looking at how hip-hop transformed their politics and shaped their outlooks on the world. They also discuss how to learn from failure, Black and Asian solidarity, and the significance of chosen famil...