Stance Podcast with Chrystal Genesis

Brian Anthony Moreland joins Chrystal Genesis to discuss what it means to produce theatre at the highest level. As Broadway's only Black lead producer, Brian has become one of the industry's most influential creative forces, bringing productions including The Piano Lesson, Othello and Joe Turner's Come and Gone to the stage. In this wide-ranging conversation, they discuss the producer's role, work...

José González joins Chrystal Genesis to discuss his fifth studio album, Against the Dying of the Light . Born in Sweden and raised by Argentine parents, González has spent over two decades crafting introspective, emotionally resonant music that blends folk, classical guitar traditions and poetic songwriting. In this wide-ranging conversation, they discuss language, identity, and the role music can...

Ria and Kevol Graham join Chrystal Genesis for cocktails and conversation at Kokomo, their family-run, acclaimed Caribbean restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Partners in life and work, the couple talk about opening Kokomo just before the Covid pandemic and building a hospitality business while raising three children in New York City. They discuss Caribbean food as layered and plural rather than...

Artist Brittney Leanne Williams joins Chrystal Genesis to talk about her evocative figurative work, where architecture, landscape, and color blur together, and the body opens into a space of transcendence, memory, revelation, suffering and the mystical. Based in Los Angeles and born in Pasadena, Brittney has steadily built a reputation as one of today's most exciting, thoughtful figurative painter...

Writer, DJ, lecturer and creative provocateur Elijah joins Chrystal Genesis to talk about his new book Close The App, Make The Ting: Transformative Prompts For The Modern Artist . In this wide-ranging conversation, they chat about how his Yellow Squares project has grown from Instagram prompts into a global project of installations, lectures, billboards, and collaborations. They dig into his early...

Singer, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Emma-Jean Thackray joins Chrystal Genesis to talk about her new album, Weirdo , an ambitious, deeply personal project written, performed, produced, mixed, and arranged entirely by Emma-Jean in her South London flat.  In this episode, they discuss how grief, neurodivergence, and resilience shaped the record, which blends elements of jazz, funk,...

Musician and artist Goya Gumbani joins Chrystal Genesis in New York's East Village ahead of his live show to talk sound, style, Miles Davis, and his new album, Warlord of the Weejuns . In this episode, the Brooklyn-born, South London-based artist reflects on the cultural influences behind his dreamy, laid-back record, where the storytelling of New York hip-hop meets London's jazz edge. Recorded ju...

Marie Mitchell joins Chrystal Genesis at home in Harlem for a cooking lesson and conversation, drawn from her debut cookbook, KIN: Caribbean Recipes for the Modern Kitchen. In this episode, Marie teaches Chrystal how to finally master a classic Caribbean staple while sharing the stories, memories and legacy behind the food. As the daughter of Jamaican-born parents, Marie's approach to cooking is a...

Stance visits London to explore the Tate Gallery show The 80s: Photographing Britain with campaigner Marc Thompson. The exhibition examines how photographers used the camera to respond to the seismic social, political, and economic shifts of the era, including the rise of Thatcherism, race uprisings, and the AIDS epidemic. It highlights photography as a vital tool for social representation, cultur...

Stance is back with singer and dancer Moonchild Sanelley as we approach our 8th year on air! In Season 4, Chrystal Genesis explores the people, places, stories, and ideas shaping our creative world. And with that, we head to South Africa to hear about Full Moon, the upcoming album from Port Elizabeth-born, Jo'burg-based singer, dancer and businesswoman Moonchild Sanelly. Born Sanelisiwe Twisha, sh...

After seven years of Stance which has spanned over 64 episodes of arts, culture and current affairs, 8 insightful Stance Takes shows, the growth of Stance Studios, multiple awards, and over 30 in-person events across the globe, we present our final show from season 3! In this episode, Chrystal Genesis takes a look at creativity, storytelling and what it means to be human through literature, music,...

On Stance, we explore the question: what does it mean to be a Jewish person of color in America today? We chat with a range of voices from this growing demographic, in the worlds of philosophy, pop culture, community organizing, and journalism.  Plus, we cover music with Jazz Musician Enji to learn more about her mesmerizing new record, Ulan. At a Sukkot celebration, a few members of the Jews of C...

This show explores Harlem, one of New York City's most historic and noteworthy places. Co-hosted by special guest, Vita, she joins her mum, Stance's host and founder Chrystal Genesis to highlight some of their favorite places. As residents of the area, they visit a handful of their favorite spots, spanning film, food and nature to uncover what continues to make Harlem one of the most distinctive p...

How do we tap into sources of hope, compassion and humanity during such turbulent times? This episode of Stance explores this question through the lenses of philosophy, poetry, and music. Professor Lewis R. Gordon is a philosopher, musician, and historian whose areas of focus include existentialism, Africana philosophy, social and political theory, theories of race, and philosophies of liberation...

We're back from our summer break to bring you a special show all about the seminal funk-punk dance band, ESG. Join us on this immersive musical journey through New York City exploring the 70's, 80's and beyond, following ESG and their unique sound and story. Starting in the South Bronx, sisters, Valerie, Renee, Deborah, and Marie Scroggins formed ESG with Tito Libran in the late 70's. They went on...

We take you to Tribeca Film Festival celebrating creative storytelling from the heart of NYC's lower Manhattan. Chrystal Genesis interviews actors and filmmakers on the red carpet and backstage to cover some of the most exciting films and TV premiering at Tribeca.  We catch up with actors including Zazie Beetz, CCH Pounder and Claire Danes to find out more about the mystery thriller TV show, Full...

Stance visits Toronto to cover Hot Docs, the largest documentary film festival in North America, known for its bold and outspoken programming. Founded in 1993 by Canadian filmmakers and producers, the festival now showcases over 200 films from across 72 countries. While at the festival, Stance views visually arresting, thought-provoking, experimental and investigative documentaries premiering in T...

We visit New York City's Chinatown with culinary historian, cookbook author, and campaigner Grace Young. The largest in the US, it is known for an abundance of markets, eateries, multi-generational businesses, and independent stores serving New Yorkers and tourists from all over the world. It is home to a predominantly Chinese Asian diaspora dating back to the mid-1800s and today this area include...

Stance delves into the spiritual realm and how it manifests through the visual arts, dance, music and poetry. An ever-evolving topic, we cover the power of spirituality through ancestral connections, imagination, movement, humor and joy.  To start, we speak with surrealist blues poet, aja monet on the artistic movements shaping her writing and community organizing. We discuss her upcoming poetry c...

Have you heard of Caste? Whether you know it well or not at all, Caste in South Asia and around the world influences everything from politics, education, media, and family relationships. It's a system which dates back centuries and today affects around 1.9 billion people. So how do we become Caste aware? We explore this and more through the lenses of literature, tech and the arts.    We speak with...

Stance is back with its sixth anniversary episode, a celebration of all things Stance loves: culture, food, music and art. In this show, Chrystal Genesis travels to the buzzing, complex and vibrant capital of Ghana: Accra. An epicenter of creativity, innovation and youth culture. While in Accra, Chrystal meets Ghanaian music collective SuperJazzClub, made up of artists, producers, filmmakers and D...

Stance celebrates the summer with a live show from Glastonbury. The most iconic music and performing arts festival in the UK. Stance takes in the sounds of the festival atmosphere and speaks with Lima-born, Berlin-based producer, DJ and vocalist Sofia Kourtesis before her show at Glastonbury's Sonic Stage. Sofia chats about her bittersweet house music, her Peruvian roots, and playing Glasto for th...

We examine sex, desire, and pleasure through visual art, literature, culture and musical critique to uncover how black women, and women of colour, navigate their sexual needs and wants.  Stance hears from Ghanaian non-fiction author Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah on her book, The Sex Lives of African Women which shares stories of over 30 African women across the continent and its diaspora.  We discuss sexu...

Stance explores Island Life through music, food, culture, and literature as well as where they sit within our imaginations. From representations on telly to Sicily's diverse culinary food history, and Haiti's culture and politics through sound, Stance attempts to get to the roots of Island Life. We hear the arresting music of Haitian American artist Leyla McCalla, as she speaks with Stance about h...

In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we examine how narratives of war shape how we see and experience conflict. Stance explores the tropes of war, racist media coverage, war as entertainment, and the current and future issues refugees fleeing Ukraine are likely to face. Plus, the impact this has on global politics and policy with Daemeah Karbeah, the co-founder of grassroots collective @Bl...