Charla Lauristonis a Los Angeles based stand-up
comedian, television writer, producer, and podcast host who’s
written for The Last OG, Ghosted, People of Earth, Unbreakable
Kimmy Schmidt, and the upcoming Hoops on Netflix. As a standup,
she’s appeared on ‘The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail’ on Comedy
Central, has performed with Jonathan Van Ness and Team Coco.
Hailing from New York by way of Boston by way of Haiti, Charla’s
sharp observations on everything from family to race to pop culture
and the absurd minutia of everyday life are delivered with a
matter-of-fact punch to the gut. Her 2014 web series, Clench &
Release, garnered critical acclaim that described her as
“self-assured and gleefully sarcastic” (WNYC) and “one of the most
exciting and original voices in comedy” (Splitsider). Yes, she’s
very tired and plans to retreat to the woods in
2035.
Dr. Janus Adams is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, historian,
entrepreneur, bestselling author of eleven books, and the host of
public radio’s “The Janus Adams Show” and
podcast. A
frequent on-air guest, she has
appeared on ABC, BET, CBS, CNN, Fox News, NBC’s The Today Show, and NPR’s All Things Considered. With more than
500 articles, essays and columns to her credit, her work has been
featured in Essence and Ms. Magazines, The New York Times, Newsday,
USA Today, and The Washington Post. Her syndicated column ran
in the Hearst Newspapers for sixteen years. Her commentary
has been broadcast on CBS and NPR, and published in the Huffington
Post. Her book, Glory Days: 365 Inspired Moments in African
American History, was licensed by McDonald’s and reached more than
3 million readers. A pioneer of issue-oriented
African-American and women’s programmingshe has hosted her own radio and television
talk shows for more than ten years. Her series, “Milestones
in African-American Business History,” ran on public radio’s
Marketplace. Her 19-hour International Women’s Day marathon
broadcasts brought her to NPR as the network’s first National Arts
Correspondent and opened the New York News Bureau. An entrepreneur, as founder of BackPax (a children’s publishing company) and
Harambee (the first national book
club for African American literature), she changed the publishing
landscape for authors and audiences. A dynamic speaker and
passionate storyteller, she is known for her unique perspectives on
current events through the lens of history. Indeed, Dr.
Adams has been engaged by history and culture since
childhood. A northern school desegregation pioneer at
8, she was one of the four children
selected to break New York’s de facto segregation in the public
schools in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. A
classically-trained pianist, she is a graduate of New York’s High
School of Performing Arts. Her master’s is the nation’s first
graduate degree in Black Studies. Her doctoral chair was
author and composer Shirley Graham Du Bois (widow of Dr. W. E. B.
Du Bois, the “Father of Pan-Africanism” and co-founder of the
NAACP). Her honors include Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from
Shaw University and the State University of New
York. March 10th – April
30th Check out her SISTER DAYS
MOTHER/DAUGHTER* BOOK CLUB: a timely, life-affirming,
leadership-building, intergenerational 7-week virtual retreat for *mothers,
daughter, sisters, sistas, and sisterfriends rooted in her
groundbreaking book, Sister Days: 365 Inspired Moments in African
American Women's History.
Hollie Harperis a writer/comedian/actress from
Cape May, New Jersey. She’s a co-host of the nationally trending
Twitter Storytelling Chat“BlerdDating”. Her
blog“Hollie Harper INK”on Medium has Top Writer status in Parenting,
Black Lives Matter and Racism. She's the creator of the
popular sketch comedy showAMERICAN
CANDY. They have played
the Comic Strip, Gotham Comedy Club, BAM Café as well as the
Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. Team CANDY is presently editing a
pilot they shot last winter and Time Out Chicago named themone of the five groups to
watch.She's a regular
host forWest Side Comedy Club.Since the pandemic started she's
produced three smash shows on Zoom with them. As an actress she
recently starred in the Off-Broadway production of Melanie Maria
Goodreaux's"The White Blacks". And she works withGold
ComedyandStand Up Girls,
two programs that empower young women by teaching them standup
comedy.
Always hosted by Marina
Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black
Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The
Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing,
and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf
About the Podcast
A podcast featuring women of color with different views on topics hosted by Marina Franklin.