"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor

For this Long Read, we head to The Independent for "Barrel Children: Windrush families and the emotional burden of migration" By Nadine White. The piece explores the rarely talked about 'Barrel Children', Caribbean children that got flown out to Britain when not growing up with their parents. The variety of shocks, from location change to literally getting to know their parents for the first time,...

In a week where: Will Smith resigns from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. The World Cup draw goes down. The Grammys come & go. Channel 4 will be privatised and sold off. Elon Musk buys stake in Twitter, getting onto the board of directors. In Environment: (7:09) The stealthy threat of microplastics has gotten to the point where I'm beginning to see memes about it. And when it...

For this Long Read, we head to The Guardian for "‘It’s a culture war that’s totally out of control’: the authors whose books are being banned in US schools." By Claire Armitstead. The article contains oral opinions from US-based authors who have had their seminal works banned and 'Free Speech' advocates who, as you can imagine, feel this recent trend threatens a core tenet of American life. Thank...

In a week where: A new male birth control pill is found to be 99% effective in mice. The Academy Awards come & go. With one very notable highlight. Met Police issued 20 fines for COVID-19 breaches in Downing Street. 18-year-olds in Spain to receive €400 culture vouchers. Bruce Willis is forced to retire from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia. In the first of two Film segments - (5:44)...

In a week where: P&O Ferries fired 800 people with plans to rehire via an agency. F1 is back. A Boeing 737 operated by China Eastern Airlines crashed in southern China with 133 people aboard.  Russia moves into the Ukrainian seaport city Mariupol.  LeBron James moves into 2nd place in NBA All-Time scoring. In Climate: (6:37) In the continuation of the slow death of civilisation at the hands of...

In a week where: UK sanction Russian Oligarchs.  Actor Jussie Smollett is sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months probation after he was convicted on five of six felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police. The BAFTAs Film Awards come & go. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy virtually addresses US Congress.  Nazanin Zaghari-Radcliffe returns to the UK after six years in Ir...

For this Long Read, we head to Andscape (formerly The Undefeated) for a piece named "What’s in a Black name? 400 years of context." by Soraya Nadia McDonald. The piece explores Black names, why Black people change their names and provides context on Black people's (especially in America) quest for identity. Thank you for listening! If you want to contribute to the show, whether it be sending me qu...

For this Long Read, we get into Crack Magazine's feature article: "Top Boy: To Be Continued", written by Tshepo Mokoena. With the formerly cult classic, now worldwide classic "Top Boy" returning this month, Crack rolls out the red carpet for its stars Ashley Walters, Kano, Little Simz & Michael Ward. Thank you for listening! If you want to contribute to the show, whether it be sending me quest...

In a week where: Australian cricket legend Shane Warne dies aged 52. WNBA star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for the past month. World total COVID-19 deaths reach six million. Dizzee Rascal is found guilty of assaulting his former partner. The First-person to receive a pig-heart transplant dies two months after surgery. In Education: (9:36) It's been one year since the murder of Sara...

In a week where: Russia invade Ukraine. Happy Women's History Month. Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to win the Carabao Cup.  House of Lords vote to remove Clause 9 of Nationality & Borders Bill. British MPs are to receive a 2.7% increase in pay, going from £81,932 to £84,144. In Politics: (6:39) We talk about one of the biggest elephants in the history of rooms, the Russian invasion of Uk...

In this Long Read, we get into a report via The Guardian: "Revealed: Credit Suisse leak unmasks criminals, fraudsters and corrupt politicians" By David Pegg, Kalyeena Makortoff, Martin Chulov, Paul Lewis and Luke Harding. The report details the leak, given by an anonymous whistleblower to The Guardian and several other news orgs around the world and includes many names of people with varying level...

The most rewarding thing about discovering music (or any art form) for yourself is when you find a gem, that artist you would've had no chance of spinning if you didn't build the net for yourself. For this interview, I talk to one of the latest gems. Maryland based lyricist Backwood Sweetie dropped "Christina Shauntay'", under a fresh name, after a years-long hiatus. And once it came out in the dy...

In a week where: Wales implement a two-year living wage for 18-year-olds leaving care. A black woman in America has been cured of HIV.  Storm Eunice & Franklin tear through the UK. The Queen has tested positive for covid. Russia vs 'The West' continues. In Music: (5:23) Jamal Edwards died aged 31. A tragic loss of a person that was a major figure in what is now the vibrant UK Rap/Hip-Hop/MOBO...

In the first Long Read, we get into "How we ended up with a Winter Games amid China's human rights crisis" By ESPN Senior Writer Sam Borden. The piece explores how China got the Winter Olympics when they have on average six days of snowfall per year, what they have learned from many other countries of their ilk getting major events despite shoddy human rights track records and the absurd demands t...

In a week where: Dame Cressida Dick resigns as Metropolitan Police Commissioner. Russia & US evacuate diplomats from Ukraine. LA Rams win SuperBowl 56. Russian ice dancer Kamila Valieva is cleared to continue competing after failing a drug test. Andrew & Virginia Giuffre reach a settlement over sexual abuse claims. In Film/TV: (8:38) "Bel-Air", the dramatic reboot of the comedy classic "Th...

There are some artists that are unmistakable. And the reasons for that unmistakability can vary. For this interview with Chicago-based Vic Spencer, the reasons are many. When it comes to the music, it's the voice, flows and ability to take pleasure in constantly rolling up with one hand and shitting on wack rappers with the other. And when you spin this interview, you gather that the persona is bu...

In a week where: The Winter Olympics are underway. Spotify removes over 100 episodes of Joe Rogan Experience after clips of Rogan saying the N-word resurface. Kier Starmer is mobbed by "freedom protesters". Oscar nominations drop. The BRIT Awards comes & goes. In Tech: (7:35) Facebook is FINALLY showing signs of dying as their user base shrinks for the first time. In Music: (16:12) As someone...

In the 2nd interview of 2022, I catch up with Ian Kelly who I interviewed around this time in 2019 . Kelly has been busy in the past three years and this year seems like it's poised to be his year. We talk about being bicoastal, the pandemic, sports, his tunes and of course, another Top 5. Thank you for listening! If you want to contribute to the show, whether it be sending me questions or voicing...

In a week where: Rafael Nadal wins The Australian Open, taking his total Major tally to a record-breaking 21. Manchester United's Mason Greenwood is accused of rape and assault. Cincinnati Bengals will face the LA Rams in the Super Bowl.  Sue Gray finally drops the 'Partygate' report. Sony acquires Bungie for $3.6 Billion. In Music: (6:31) The Spotify/Joe Rogan relationship has been tested recentl...

Interviews are back ladies & gentlemen! And we begin the new set with an artist that threw me her music last year and was someone that I immediately put on my list for interviews I want to do. First-gen Nigerian-American, born & raised in Illinois, currently residing in Atlanta, Osay dropped her debut EP "Chapter One..." last year after forays into spoken word and artistic development. We...

In a week where: Microsoft buys Activision/Blizzard for $75 Billion.  Ex-Tory Christian Wakeford defects to Labour. Meat Loaf dies aged 74. Nusrat Ghani claims she was sacked as a minister partly because of her "Muslimness". A coup goes down in Burkina Faso. In the first of three Music Segments: (6:07) There's a Bob Marley exhibition going down in London throughout February and your boy is definit...

In a week where: Prince Andrew is now just Andrew after getting stripped of his Royal & Military titles. Australia rejects Novak Djokovic's visa again and deports him. A volcano in Tonga erupts and causes a tsunami. BBC license fee will be frozen and scrapped in 2027. All UK COVID restrictions could end in March. In the first of two Film/TV segments: (3:41) Jed Mercurio, best known for spearhe...

In a week where: Novak Djokovic and Australia compete in the "how can I root for both to lose?" competition. The "Colston Four" is acquitted from criminal damage charges. Citizens of Kazakhstan protest. State responds with a violent response. Actor Sidney Poitier dies aged 94. Calvin Simon, the co-founder of Parliament-Funkadelic, dies aged 79. In Race & Society: (3:53) "The Colston Four", fou...

In a week where: 1. Ghislaine Maxwell, is found guilty on sex trafficking-related charges. 2. Betty White dies aged 99 3. Max Julien, star of "The Mack", dies aged 88 4. Winnie The Pooh, Hemingway, Agatha Christie novels & over 400k sound recordings enter the public domain. 5. It's the anniversary of the US Capitol Riots. In the first of two segments on The Arts: (7:00) Music at it's full pote...

To end the year, hosts of the various 5EPN podcasts come together to reflect on the year that has been 2021, the podcasts themselves and finish with a fun team exercise. To everyone that has listened to a 5EPN Podcast this year, on behalf of everyone in the 5EPN, we thank you for your listenership, your time and we hope we can join you as you begin your journey through 2022. The music was "Nothing...