Stop Waiting for Permission, with Danielle Brooks

Danielle Brooks is booked, blessed, and building her own table! The Oscar-nominated actress joins Brittany for a heartfelt conversation about her latest film, If I Go, Will They Miss Me?, and why Black boys deserve softness, joy, and the freedom to be themselves. Danielle opens up about the challenges of knowing her worth in Hollywood, how The Color Purple helped her release years of self-doubt, and why she's stepping into a new era as an executive producer and filmmaker. Plus, Brittany and Danielle get personal about motherhood, the legacies they're building for their children, and what it means to raise free Black kids.Then, in Untrending News, Brittany breaks down the latest AI whistleblower warnings and asks why tech leaders are getting credit for sounding the alarm on dangers they helped create, while the Black women who warned us about AI's harms have been sidelined. Who's really accountable for the future we're building? 

What if the revolution starts on a stage? This week, former musical theater kid Brittany sits down with women-of-the-season Jocelyn Bioh, a Tony-nominated playwright, and Whitney White, Tony-nominated director, to talk about  School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (and their previous collaboration Jaja’s African Hair Braiding They get into colorism across the Black diaspora, immigration, beauty standards, and why art can be one of the sharpest tools we have.Then, Dr. Brittney Cooper joins the group chat to reckon with Gloria Steinem’s legacy and what it means to give our movement elders room to learn, evolve, and do better. Because whatever your gift is, the question remains: How will you use it to go get free? 

She’s the tenacious Florida state rep who pulled off a stunning upset in last month’s primary for the U.S. Senate—and now everyone’s talking about Angie Nixon. This week, Brittany sits down with the candidate on everyone’s lips (even Laura Loomer’s) to hear about how she won despite being outraised nearly 17 to 1, why she won’t let political labels (like “Democratic Socialist”) define her, the misogynoir facing Black women in public life, and why she wants everyone, even Laura Loomer, to have the healthcare they need. Then, it’s the Group Chat! Regular Dr. David J. Johns and new chatterJovian Zayne join Brittany to break down the threats facing mail-in voting and the concrete things we can all do to protect our ballots. Plus, they remember the incomparable Dolly Parton and, inspired by Jovian’s new book Soft Landings for Hard Days, get into the value of being just a little bit gentler. 

In less than three months, the midterms will be upon us. Should we be panicked? Confident? Somewhere in between? Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with political strategist and Native Land Pod co-host Angela Rye to talk about all of it: the rise of progressive candidates, what Democrats would do if they had “nuts and ovaries,” and why Black voters continue to shape the future of American politics. (And don’t miss Angela’s words for people who keep telling Kamala Harris not to run…)

In a moment when Black-led institutions are facing unprecedented attacks, Brittany sits down with two visionary women who know what it takes to build, protect, and transform them from the inside. Reverend Dr. Shavon Arline-Bradley, President and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women, and Bishop Vashti McKenzie, the first woman elected bishop in the AME Church, discuss why Black women's leadership has always been essential to movements for justice, the unseen work required to keep institutions alive, and how faith, sisterhood, and shared power offer a blueprint for the future. Together, they explore why real change requires both protest and institution-building, and why protecting the spaces we create for ourselves may be one of the most radical acts of all. 

He’s the much-watched governor making political headlines—but long before Wes Moore was the governor of Maryland, his wife Dawn Moore was a political superstar there. In this rare joint sitdown, they join Brittany Packnett Cunningham for a wide-ranging conversation about public service, governing through one of America's most politically turbulent moments, and what it’s like to be the only Black First Family of a state right now.. They also tackle the Trump administration's impact on Maryland, and address controversies around reparations, data centers, and women's leadership. Then, Brittany is joined by Dr. Brittney Cooper for Untrending news—including the tragic death of 16-year-old Juliana Nzita; what’s up with gender testing in women’s tennis; and all the joy on display during WNBA All-Star Weekend.   Mentioned in this episode: Politics, Morality and Civility by Václav Havel https://ttf.org/product/politics-morality-and-civility/ 

If everyone is against the Republican hatemongering, why can’t we, you know, get rid of them, for real this time? YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen, author of the new book The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World, has the answer. He sits down with host Brittany Packnett Cunningham to explain. They get into Brian’s theory of why “wrong and strong” is beating “right and weak,” and they both dish out some free advice for Democrats about what real winning would look like, and how we can get there (fast, please).  Then Brittany is joined by group chat bestie Dr. David Johns to break down the latest Untrending news, from the government's handling of a nationwide cyclospora outbreak to the Heritage Foundation's latest attacks on women's sports. Also: Shakira Shakira! 

What does reparations actually mean? And why is it important to talk about right now?  In this special live episode of Undistracted, Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with someone perfectly positioned to answer those questions: Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project creator and New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. Together, they get into why the economic practice of slavery requires an economic solution (yes, reparations is broader, but “frankly, I’m most interested in cash,” says Hannah-Jones); how reparations for Black Americans is different (and isn’t) from Germany’s reparations to Holocaust survivors; and why, most of all, our history shows that we have to have hope. Plus, in the group chat, Brittany hears from Liberation Ventures’ co-founder and CEO Aria Florant and author and activist Preston Mitchum, for a conversation about their own personal relationships to reparations, and how imagining a different future is itself an act of resistance. We want to thank Liberation Ventures for their support of this podcast. You can support their work by following @LiberationVenture, joining the #WeekOfRepair hashtag and/or signing up for their newsletter at: https://www.repair-is.org/take-action And we’d like to thank these key reparations activist groups for joining the live event audience: The Braxton Institute, The Black-Eyed Susans for Repair, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, Why We Can’t Wait Coalition, DC Justice Lab, Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center and Get Free. 

It’s a magic moment for sports—and no, we’re not talking about the Knicks over in the MNBA, we’re talking the WNBA, where women just negotiated a huge, historic new collective bargaining agreement for themselves. What’s next, and what can the rest of us learn from this victory? Brittany Packnett Cunningham is joined by journalist, author, and media powerhouse Jemele Hill for a conversation about how these players fought for “dignity and respect,” and why they’re more activist than many male athletes. They also unpack how the Men's World Cup is influencing America's global reputation (maybe…for the better?), and the political power of the soccer stadium. Plus, Dr. Brittney Cooper joins the group chat to talk about Michelle Obama’s speech, her sorta-friendship with George W. Bush—and the four-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v Wade.

As we get ready to celebrate Juneteenth and the nation's 250th anniversary, Brittany Packnett Cunningham is asking: What would it actually take to repair the worst of America’s history, and build the future we deserve? To talk about the idea of reparations, Brittany sits down with The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer to unpack why this idea matters now, why “we’re not just talking about slavery,” and what we should learn from other countries that have done it (successfully and not). Then, group chat bestie Dr. David Johns joins Brittany for an Untrending News conversation on what reparations would look like—and the joy they would unlock. This episode launches a special Undistracted series on reparations in 2026. It was produced with support from Liberation Ventures and The Meteor Fund. You can support Liberation Ventures’ work by following their page, @LiberationVentures, joining the #WeekOfRepair hashtag, and signing up for their newsletter: https://www.repair-is.org/take-action