The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome back to The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine ! Grab your favorite mug, settle into a comfortable spot, and let out that breath you didn’t even realize you were holding. It’s Sunday, which means it is time to pause, reflect, and realign before a new week begins.

### "It feels like we're in a dream tonight..." **...But what happens when the dream refuses to let you wake up?** Step onto the moonlit veranda in *A Curse*, a deeply moving entry from the new collection, **When Memories Become Nightmares**. The air smells of damp earth and night-blooming jasmine. The wicker swing creaks gently on rusted chains. And there he stands—broad-shouldered, solid, and pe...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Setting the Scene Welcome back, Akua community, to another storytelling session here on The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine. I’m your host, Rakia Ari. All week, we have been sitting with the deep, grounding wisdom of the Yoruba proverb: “One who carries a basket of eggs does not dance.” We have unpacked the meaning...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Happy Sunday, Akua community! Welcome to another Sunday Mental Health Check-In. As we wind down the weekend and prepare to step into a brand new week, it is the perfect time to pause, take a deep breath, and recenter our minds. Today, we are grounding our reflection in a piece of timeless wisdom from the Yoruba peo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome back to The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine . Happy Friday, everyone. You’ve officially made it to the end of the week, and you know what that means—it’s time to settle in, take a deep breath, and join us here in the Friday Short Story Corner. Today, we are traveling to the meandering bend of a great, sun-d...

Unveiling the Shadows: A Glimpse into “When Memories Become Nightmares” “When Memories Become Nightmares” is a dark and evocative exploration of what happens when our past refuses to stay buried. As teased in the recent visual promos, it is fundamentally a story of love, profound loss, and the inescapable things that refuse to let us go. The narrative delves into the terrifying reality of nostalgi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome back to Soundtracks of Wisdom , the official music and mindfulness column of The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine. In a digital landscape that constantly demands our immediate reaction, our hottest takes, and our loudest voices, true power often lies in the exact opposite. This week’s featured track, “Archit...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome back to a very special episode of Friday’s Short Story Corner , right here on The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine on Substack! Today, we are excited to bring you an immersive experience that bridges the gap between the written word and visual storytelling. We are diving deep into the suspenseful and atmosph...

Every creator knows the suffocating, frustrating grip of writer’s block. For Rakia Ari, breaking free from that creative rut didn’t start with a grand, sprawling manuscript. It started with a simple, low-pressure goal: planting tiny, two-sentence “story seeds” every week. What began as a quiet exercise under The Akua Projects banner to keep the creative muscles working has now blossomed into a cap...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome back to the Akua Projects’ Podcast, the audio companion to your favorite cultural and lifestyle magazine. I’m so glad you’re tuning in today. It’s Sunday, and you know exactly what that means—it’s time to slow down, pause the hustle, and settle in for our weekly Sunday Mental Health Check-In. Today, we are...

A Week of Reflection, Creativity, and Inner Peace at The Akua Projects Welcome back to another incredible week at The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine ! Whether you are looking for emotional grounding, captivating storytelling, or just a safe space to unpack your week, our Substack has been overflowing with fresh content. This week, we took a deep dive into what it means to anchor ourselves amid th...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome back to The Akua Projects’ podcast magazine, and a very happy Friday to you all. You’ve tuned in to the Short Story Corner, your weekly space to pause, reflect, and get lost in a good narrative. I’m your host, [Host Name]. Today, we are exploring the profound wisdom of a traditional African proverb. It goes...

When Memories Become Nightmares is a compelling collection of flash fiction and vignettes that explores the dark intersection of nostalgia, grief, and trauma. What began as a simple, low-pressure exercise to combat writer’s block evolved into a global anthology of haunting narratives. The author details a unique creative journey in the preface: initiall… This is a public episode. If you'd like to...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome back to the table. You’re listening to a special mid-week edition of The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine . I’m so glad you decided to pull up a chair and spend a few minutes with me today.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome to another Sunday Mental Health Check-In here at The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine. Sundays offer a natural pause in the week—a moment to step back, breathe, and recalibrate before Monday rolls around. Today, we are focusing on mental resilience and how we protect our energy from the inside out.

Here at The Akua Projects, we believe that wisdom shouldn’t just be read—it should be felt. It should resonate, echo, and linger with you long after you’ve scrolled to the bottom of the page. That’s why we are thrilled to introduce Soundtracks of Wisdom , a groundbreaking new auditory companion to our Substack magazine. What are the Soundtracks of Wisdom? As we continue to explore culture, growth,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Welcome back, short story enthusiasts, to another Friday here at The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine . I’m so glad you found your way back to the Short Story Corner today. The candles are lit, the old printing press is resting, and the shelves are practically humming with new tales to share. Have you ever found you...

I’ve set this story during the Jin-Song wars, a time of great conflict in 1200s China. I focused on a beautiful, specific memory—the plum blossoms—and twisted it into the very thing that now haunts them, linking their past happiness directly to their present trauma. For more stories from When Memories Become Nightmares , visit our Lulu. Com store. When Memories Become Nightmares is a compelling co...

Grab your tea, coffee, or water, get comfortable, and let’s take a collective deep breath before the new week begins. ☕️✨ This week, we are anchoring our mindset with a powerful African proverb: 🦁 “A lion does not turn around when a small dog barks.” (Egypt/Various) What does this mean for our mental health? It’s a beautiful reminder to protect your peace. Do not let small distractions, petty c...

Hey everyone! 👋🏽 If you caught our latest Women That Inspire Me piece in the magazine (or listened to this week’s book club episode!), you know we are deep in our Audre Lorde era right now. Her words are so dense and powerful that an article alone just doesn’t do them justice. So, I wanted to bring the conversation here to the chat so we can unpack some of her heaviest hitting concepts together....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com The Wissahickon Wake-Up Call & Leaning on Your Village Welcome back to the cozy corner, family. In this week's episode of The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine , host Rakia Ari is unpacking the heavy baggage of the week and reflecting on the major themes from our recent Sunday Mental Health Check-Ins. We are talking...

Here at The Akua Projects, we believe that wisdom shouldn’t just be read—it should be felt. It should resonate, echo, and linger with you long after you’ve scrolled to the bottom of the page. That’s why we are thrilled to introduce Soundtracks of Wisdom , a groundbreaking new auditory companion to our Substack magazine. What are the Soundtracks of Wisdom? As we continue to explore culture, growth,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the pressure we put on ourselves to do everything all at once. We want to secure the bag, perfect our craft, and show up for everyone around us—simultaneously. But recently, a powerful Yoruba proverb has been sitting heavy on my spirit: "The hunter who chases two rabbits catch...

When Memories Become Nightmares is a compelling collection of flash fiction and vignettes that explores the dark intersection of nostalgia, grief, and trauma. What began as a simple, low-pressure exercise to combat writer’s block evolved into a global anthology of haunting narratives. The author details a unique creative journey in the preface: initially writing short, two-sentence "story seeds,"...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com Pause, Breathe, Reflect: Welcome to Sunday’s Check-In 🌿 Hello beautifully beautifully made people, and welcome to Sunday’s Mental Health Check-In right here on The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine . I’m your host and writer, Rakia Ari. Sundays are often caught in the crossfire between the exhaustion of the week we...