The Culture Soup Podcast®

What if the most sophisticated leadership training you ever received happened before you turned 15, and it happened in church? In this fireside chat recorded live at Greater Life Church in Dallas, L. Michelle Smith joins Pastor Stephen G. Brown for a conversation that moves between sermon and scholarship, between science and story. Drawing from her bestselling book Call & Response: 10 Leadersh...

Episode Summary: What if the most sophisticated leadership training you ever received happened before you turned 15 — and it happened in church? In this powerful conversation recorded live at Greater Life Church in Dallas, L. Michelle Smith joins Pastor Stephen Brown for a fireside chat that is equal parts sermon, scholarship, and strategy session. Drawing from her bestselling book Call & Resp...

"It was important to me to not just go on a hunch..." LMS Watch this clip from my recent book tour stop at Texas Christian University's Brite Divinity School with my friend and classmate, Rev. Dr. Shonda Jones as she probes about my research methodology for my new bestseller Call and Response. No pressure at all...right? I always get a little nervous when I'm speaking to a well-credentialed schola...

There is something powerful about returning to a university campus to talk about leadership. At Texas Christian University, our conversation around Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church (Amistad Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing and JVL Media) was not just about a book. It was about formation. It was about where leadership really begins. About the spaces that q...

Show Notes: Call & Response at TCU — A Conversation on Culture, Leadership, and Legacy At Texas Christian University’s Carr Chapel, L. Michelle Smith returned to her alma mater for a powerful conversation on Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church, joined by Rev. Dr. Shonda Jones, Executive Vice President and Dean of Brite Divinity School. What unfolded was more than a...

If you couldn't be in the room, now's your chance to be a part. TOMORROW at noon, Thursday, March 5 we'll be streaming video of the kickoff to the Call and Response book tour that happened at the Barnes & Noble bookseller at Hillside Village on multiple platforms. It will be featured here on Linkedin, so grab your colleagues, family and friends and bring a journal: Cynt Marshall and I will be...

The Culture Soup Podcast® Live from Barnes & Noble: Call & Response — 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church In this special live episode of The Culture Soup Podcast®, L. Michelle Smith celebrates the launch of her newest book, Call & Response: Ten Leadership Lessons from the Black Church, recorded live at Barnes & Noble in Cedar Hill, Texas. Joined by trailblazing executive a...

In the first episode of year seven of the Culture Soup Podcast, L. Michelle Smith sits down with equity strategist, author, and Waymaker Change Group founder Tara Jaye Frank for a timely and deeply personal conversation about leadership, grief, obedience, and self-preservation. They explore the making of Tara’s new book, You Are Before the World: Lessons on Doing Good Without Being Undone, includi...

In the first episode of year seven of the Culture Soup Podcast, L. Michelle Smith sits down with equity strategist, author, and Waymaker Change Group founder Tara Jaye Frank for a timely and deeply personal conversation about leadership, grief, obedience, and self-preservation. They explore the making of Tara’s new book, You Are Before the World: Lessons on Doing Good Without Being Undone, includi...

Because sometimes, we must rest from it all and center ourselves... Don't miss my compelling conversation with my friend, author and founder Tara Jaye Frank who just released her new book "You Are Before the World" an ode to the "helpers" who find themselves needing help themselves but rarely seeking it. We also have a very candid conversation about publishing that you won't want to miss. The Cult...

In the final installment of the Leadership Revival Series, L. Michelle returns to the third and final pillar of the Call & Response Leadership Revival Framework: leadership theory. This episode includes: • A reading from When You Receive the Language for What You’ve Lived • A deeply personal full-circle story about meeting Abby West (now VP & Editorial Director at Amistad Books) • A throwb...

In this third installment of the Leadership Revival Series, L. Michelle Smith brings the journey full circle. After exploring history & culture in Part 1 and applied science in Part 2, today’s episode takes us into the final pillar of the Call & Response Leadership Revival Framework: leadership theory. This episode weaves together research, lived experience, and a deeply personal full-circ...

While everyone is talking about mid-career pivots and layoffs at the top, we’re overlooking a key group hit hardest by today’s shaky job market: college seniors. The Class of 2025 is entering a world of work that looks more like a tightrope than a career ladder. I sat down with my friend and colleague Leilani M. Brown, CEO of Giant Steps and author of From Campus to Career, to talk about what this...

he Class of 2025 is shaken. Join me and Leilani M. Brown as we unpack how today’s grads can shift with intention—despite a wobbly job market. Practical tools, straight talk & career clarity await. Let’s talk about your giant steps forward.

The Class of 2025 is "shooketh." Join me and Leilani M. Brown as we unpack how today’s grads can shift with intention—despite a wobbly job market. Practical tools, straight talk & career clarity await. Let’s talk about your giant steps forward on The Culture Soup Podcast, streaming everywhere you watch or listen today.

Putting on my university faculty hat for a second... I may be on break from lecturing on campus, but as a board member and graduate alum of one of the best strategic comms schools in the country, TCU Bob Schieffer College of Communication, I still have a heart for young scholar leaders. And I recognize that the Class of 2025 Is shaken by a less than accommodating job market. So what now? Today’s g...

Resilience isn’t just about bouncing back—it’s about building a system that makes you stronger, wiser, and better. Join me for Episode 195 of The Culture Soup Podcast with my mentor coach and longtime friend, Valorie Burton, bestselling author of Rules of Resilience. We’ll unpack 10 practical rules for thriving through uncertainty and leading with authenticity. This extended edition streams live t...

What if resilience isn’t about “bouncing back”… but building a system? In Ep. 195 of The Culture Soup Podcast, I talk with my mentor coach + friend Valorie Burton about her upcoming book Rules of Resilience. 10 ways to get better, wiser & stronger—even when life feels messy. Episode drops Thursday. Full details + blog link in bio [link] #RulesOfResilience #ValorieBurton #Leadership #PositivePs...

What does resilience really look like? In this episode of **The Culture Soup Podcast**, I sit down with my mentor coach and dear friend of 25+ years, **Valorie Burton**—bestselling author of 14 books and CEO of the Coaching and Positive Psychology (CaPP) Institute. Her newest book, *Rules of Resilience: 10 Ways Successful People Get Better, Wiser, and Stronger*, releases September 16, 2025. Togeth...

She was there. Not watching the footage—in it. Errin Haines (@emarvelous) recounts what it felt like on the ground in Ferguson as a Black journalist. Press badge on. Still targeted. No distinction made. In an era where covering the story can make you the story, we need to talk about what’s really happening to Black journalists on the frontlines. No press freedom, no democracy. Watch. Listen. Share...

Guest: Errin Haines, Editor-at-Large at The 19th News, award-winning journalist, political analyst, and candidate for President of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Episode Summary: What happens when the organization that once spoke truth to power… goes quiet? In this candid and courageous conversation, host L. Michelle Smith sits down with her friend and media powerhouse Errin...

Black journalists are being pushed out, silenced, and erased—at the very moment when we need them most. I sat down with journalist and truth-teller Errin Haines, editor-at-large at The 19th and candidate for president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), to talk about the urgent state of our media ecosystem—and what leadership looks like when the press is under fire. From the f...

At what point does corporate sponsorship compromise the mission? That’s the bold question I asked journalist and NABJ presidential candidate Errin Haines on the latest episode of The Culture Soup Podcast. Her response was clear-eyed and candid: “It can be difficult to hold people accountable when you depend on them for your survival.” Too many legacy advocacy organizations are still playing defens...

Black journalists are under fire. Press freedom is being tested. And NABJ? It’s time to reboot. In this raw and real convo, I sat down with journalist and editor Errin Haines (@emarvelous) to talk about: Why Black stories still aren't safe How legacy orgs are going quiet at the worst possible moment And how AI could help us fight back if we know how to wield it This isn’t just a convo—it’s a call...

Well, here's a first. I have never in the seven year history of The Culture Soup Podcast released the full opening monologue before the show streams; yet, uncommon times demand uncommon action. This is the opening to Thursday's show with my friend Errin Haines, editor-at-large from THE19th, MSNBC Political Commentator, and candidate for president for The National Association of Black Journalists (...