Hoodoo Plant Mamas

Hoodoo Plant Mamas

A biweekly podcast where writers Leah Nicole and Dani Bee discuss Black spirituality, community, and culture.

  1. Ep 61: A Portal Somewhere Good with Amber Bishop

    2025-11-28

    Ep 61: A Portal Somewhere Good with Amber Bishop

    Artist Amber Bishop joins us in this episode to talk about their latest installation, A Portal Somewhere Good: Who's All Over There? We discuss Midwestern versus Southern Black regional attitudes towards nature, architectural racism, and Black folks' yard styles.  Amber  is a memory worker, artist, and filmmaker based in Ohio, dedicated to  uplifting and protecting Black stories. Her work translates her Black  experience, revisits the past, and reimagines the future, focusing on  alternative sites of memory and the Black fantastical life. As a 2022  Filmmaker's First Fund recipient, Amber is working on her first feature  documentary film. She recently completed her MFA in Documentary Studies  and Production. Currently,  she helps run a youth garden program in her neighborhood and is  expanding her art practice into video installations and sculpture. RESOURCES Amber Bishop: A Portal Somewhere Good: Who's All Over There? Pod Save the People "Can buildings be racist? A CU Boulder architect explores." by Yvaine Ye. CU Boulder Today. "Sweeping the Yard - African American Swept gardens of Southern USA." Pith + Vigor. "A lawsuit blooms in Plymouth as homeowner battles HOA over her naturally planted yard." by Chloe Johnson. The Minnesota Star Tribune. Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists by Leah PennimanCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr BOOKSHOP https://bookshop.org/shop/hoodooplantmamas Apocalypse Still by Leah Nicole Whitcomb About the Boy by Leah Nicole Whitcomb Between Us (pre-order) by Leah Nicole Whitcomb SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

    53 min
  2. Ep 60: Heirloom with Ashia Ajani

    2025-11-14

    Ep 60: Heirloom with Ashia Ajani

    In this episode we're joined by poet Ashia Ajani as they talk about their poetry collection, their family's migration story, as well as how Black folk's liberation is tied to the liberation of the land.  Ashia S. Ajani is a sunshower, a glass bead, a carnivorous plant, an overripe nectarine. Hailing from Denver, CO, Queen City of the Plains and the unceded territories of the Cheyenne, Ute & Arapahoe peoples, Ashia is the author of one collection of poetry, Heirloom (Write Bloody Publishing, 2023) and a forthcoming nonfiction collection,Tending the Vines (Timber Press, 2026). RESOURCES Heirloom by Ashia Ajani Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists by Leah Penniman Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman Black on Earth: African American Ecoliterary Traditions by Kimberly N Ruffin "BBQ Becky: The 'Woman on the Phone Meme,' Explained" by Catie Keck. Inverse. "Oakland Residents Fear Suspicious Death May Have Been a Lynching, Calling for Transparency" by Leanne Maxwell. SFist. "Family awaits results of independent autopsy on Delta State student Trey Reed" by Leonardo Bevilacqua. Mississippi Today. "Genealogy of a Vacant Lot" by Ashia AjaniCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastr BOOKSHOP https://bookshop.org/shop/hoodooplantmamas Apocalypse Still by Leah Nicole Whitcomb About the Boy by Leah Nicole Whitcomb Between Us (pre-order) by Leah Nicole Whitcomb SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

    52 min
  3. Ep 56: Saturday Magic with Nyasha Williams and Kenda Bell-Spruill

    2025-04-18

    Ep 56: Saturday Magic with Nyasha Williams and Kenda Bell-Spruill

    In this episode we talk with co-authors Nyasha and Ms. Kenda about their picture book Saturday Magic: A Hoodoo Story. We discuss intentional and conscious ancestor veneration, overlooked Hoodoo rituals in contemporary Black culture as well as allowing Black kids to see themselves in stories. Nyasha shared her process when creating her tarot and oracle decks while Ms. Kenda talked about our ancestors using astrology and dreams for healing and guidance. Nyasha Williams is a creator dedicated to healing, indigenizing, and liberation through creativity. With fifteen pieces of work published or in the publishing process, Nyasha advocates for diverse works of art, media, and literature that amplify unheard voices. Her tarot and oracle deck, "Black Tarot: An Ancestral Awakening" and "Elemental Alchemist," are testaments to her transformative artistry. Nyasha is the founder and creative director of Fire + Honey Press, a digital publishing honeycomb created toward collective liberation. You can find her on her website https://www.nyashawilliams.online/, Instagram at @writingtochangethenarrative and on The Creative Playground with Nyasha Williams on Substack. She lives on the stolen land of the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes in Colorado with her husband. Kenda Bell, a beacon of wisdom, graces the world not only with transformative coaching but also literary brilliance. An Essence bestselling author, she penned For Every Love There Is A Reason and recently ventured into children's literature with Saturday Magic, a delightful collaboration with her daughter in love. In The Ethical Selfishness Journal: 12 Pathways Back To Joy, Kenda invites women to embrace grace and self-understanding. Urging self-accountability, mirror work, boundary setting, and self-forgiveness, she crafts a roadmap for profound self discovery. Her coaching blends disciplines like Feminine Power, Bagua™ Astrology, and GROW™ & SMART™ methods, woven into her unique Joy Factor Method.™ Email her at thejoyfactormama@gmail.com for regular astrological downloads. RESOURCES Saturday Magic: A Hoodoo Story by Nyasha Williams and Kenda Bell-Spruill Root Magic by Eden Royce "Ep 47: Dreaming a New Dream with Austen Smith" Hoodoo Plant Mamas "Ep 37: Dreaming in Color with Nancey B. Price" Hoodoo Plant Mamas 8 Bill Mystery Pack/Ancestor Money Shop Our Tarot Collection on Bookshop The Enneagram for Black Liberation: Return to Who You Are Beneath the Armor You Carry by Chichi Agorom  "Kendrick Lamar plays 'Not Like Us' six times at Juneteenth 'The Pop Out' concert" by Daysia Tolentino. NBC News.Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr BE A PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

    1h 11m
  4. Ep 55: Alien Encounters, Conspiracy, and the Unexplainable with Ghrey Mbenza

    2025-04-04

    Ep 55: Alien Encounters, Conspiracy, and the Unexplainable with Ghrey Mbenza

    The honorary third member of Hoodoo Plant Mamas, Ghrey Mbenza is back to talk about the 1994 Ariel School UFO Incident in Ruwa, Zimbabwe. We delve into conspiracy, truth, and paranoia and the need for curiosity when exploring the unexplainable.  Tasha "Ghrey" Mbenza (they/she/he), more recently known simply as Ghrey,  is a black, queer, and autistic occupational therapist who is passionate about helping people of all ages reach their highest potential by identifying and building on their strengths. Ghrey is especially passionate about self-advocacy work with individuals from queer, BIPOC, neurodivergent, and/or physically disabled communities. Ghrey’s special interests include holistic cooking with a focus on  creative plating, making music, attempting to DIY everything, and their newfound love for conspiracy theory deep dives. Ghrey’s career related special interests include mental health, emotional regulation, sensory processing, and self-advocacy skills specifically with children. RESOURCES "Ep 43: Understanding Neurodiversity with Ghrey Mbenza" Hoodoo Plant Mamas "Ep 9: Stories From Our Mothers" Hoodoo Plant Mamas "Documentary explores the UFO sighting that changed the course of 62 children's lives" by Liz Tung. PBS. "A 1994 UFO Sighting by Children Changed Lives. What If This Guy Made it Up?" by Nathaniel Janowitz. VICE. "Children talk about witnessing the 1994 UFO landing at the Ariel School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe" YouTube. The Telepathy Tapes UFO TikTok "Orcas Sink Another Yacht: Why Killer Whales are Attacking Boats" by isabel Cameron. Newsweek. Paradise. Hulu. Our Oceans. Netflix. "Something strange is happening underwater, scientists stunned by mysterious marine events" The Economic Times.Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr BOOKSHOP https://bookshop.org/shop/hoodooplantmamas Apocalypse Still by Leah Nicole Whitcomb About the Boy by Leah Nicole Whitcomb BE A PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah. Our music was created by Ghrey, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.

    55 min

About

A biweekly podcast where writers Leah Nicole and Dani Bee discuss Black spirituality, community, and culture.