Thru This

Fresh Daily is a Brooklyn born and bred emcee based in Oakland, who recently released an album with Paris-based producer DJ Parental called “These Things Take Time.” The album is the first of new music he’s released since his return from an eight year hiatus. During that time away from making music, he put more energy into himself. He moved from New York City to Oakland where his life seemed to bloom in a way that New York, and perhaps, the pursuit of music would not allow. Fresh and I go back, and from afar I’ve watched his life transform. So I invited him on to catch up and talk about it. We discuss the album, the move, the hiatus, time, and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thruthis.substack.com

Filmmaker Khary Saeed Jones’ documentary Night Fight offers us an opportunity to examine how racism produces various forms of violence that can seem isolated, random, or even benign to the uninitiated. In this episode, we dig in to how a disturbing encounter in rural Canada affected Jones and inspired his deeply personal project. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thruthis.substack.com

I’ve been following Miriam Tinberg (miriam_tinny) on Instagram for some time. Her posts touch on a range of topics that get at the quirky parts of life where the language isn’t quite flushed out. With more than 160,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, she shares podcast episodes, articles on just her thoughts on things like texting styles, friends to discuss poop with, and the nuances of work. In January 2024, Miriam quit her job to pursue a life that better aligned with her values. And she’s been sharing the process of making a way for herself on her own terms. We recorded this episode in June, at a time when I was transitioning between jobs and thinking deeply about my own relationship with work. Every so often there’s an interview that feels light and natural that it feels like grabbing a drink with an old friend. This was one of those interview. Almost as soon as we logged into the session we were off to the races. So, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I did making it. If so, make sure to check out Miriam’s Substack “Open in a New Tab.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thruthis.substack.com

This episode features A.J. Ampadu aka P.So the Earthtone King, a comic book writer and publisher, and my good friend. He and I used to rap together in a crew of incredible emcees, and DJs/producers in NYC during the aughts.After years of time and effort, music as a self-sustaining career didn’t quite pan out for most of us, but we still manage to stay connected to our creativity, nonetheless. For A.J. that energy led to the creation of his own comic book company and a dream gig as a writer for Valiant Comics. I had a good time catching up with my old friend as he talked to me about how his creative drive has gotten him thru. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thruthis.substack.com

Arielle Gray is an arts reporter for WBUR, an NPR station in Boston, where I used to work. We were still co-workers when I asked Ari to be my first guest for a conversation about journalism.Ari’s a Boston native, from the neighborhood of Mattapan, who works hard to cover her community with the care and respect traditional media tends to lack when covering people of color. In fact, she received a community service award for her work some time after we recorded this.For this episode, we learn about how she got her start, why she views journalism as art, and how she sees her future in the industry.Much of Ari’s work delves into the history of Boston’s Black history. One of my favorite stories from her involves Ari tracking down two sisters captured and unnamed in a photo featured in an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts. It’s definitely worth a read or listen if you want to learn more about her work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thruthis.substack.com

As some of you may know, I most recently co-created and hosted a daily news and culture podcast for WBUR, an NPR station in Boston, called The Common. Despite the vital role it played in local news and the loyal audience it amassed, the station ultimately cancelled the show before it could reach its full potential. That broke my heart. Yet, the cancellation, along with some frustrations with journalism in general, made me realize the time has come for me to create something for myself that I own. And now, I am excited to share a new show that I began developing earlier this year called Thru This. It’s a podcast that features conversations between me and a guest about the experiences or ideas that changed their lives and moved them forward.For this first episode, I sat down with my friend Zach Mondesire. He recently adopted a child relative and had to do so between two states, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, moving the child from Philadelphia to Boston.We talked about Zach’s entry into fatherhood and the distant relationship between him and his own father, the late Jerry Mondesire, an influential figure in Philadelphia. We recorded this in late March, but Father’s Day felt like the right time to drop this episode. It took a lot of editing to mold the original two hour-plus conversation into the 30-something minute piece you’ll hear. There was a lot of moving and re-tracking—all while maintaining the integrity of the convo, of course—to create an episode that would set the bar for more to come. I am really proud of this episode both as a standalone and a starting point. I hope you stay with me on this journey. There is no set schedule or bigger release planned. This is just for us for now. Subscribe to my Substack for new episodes and other posts and updates, and please spread the word.Stay tuned. Thanks! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thruthis.substack.com