Great Grief

Nnenna Freelon
  • 4.8 (44)
  • PERFORMING ARTS

A podcast about loving greatly through grief WITH NNENNA FREELON. Jazz singer Nnenna Freelon extends an invitation to improvise with loss in her award-winning podcast Great Grief. As a widow and self -described grief sojourner, Freelon uses tools she learned as a jazz musician to live with sorrow’s song.
Bearing witness to loss and change with musically supported storytelling, listen to Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon. Find it wherever you find your podcasts.

  1. DEC 16

    Holiday: Home is Where our Spirits Reside

    December has been calling all year long. This holiday offering from Great Grief is an invitation to pause, to listen, and to remember what the heart craves — belonging, rest, and communion with spirit. Featuring a summer moment of joy and reverence with Paperhand Puppet Intervention, this piece honors our oldest ancestors and calls to our beloveds on both sides of the veil. Every goodbye ain’t gone. 🎧 Season 3 of Great Grief returns weekly beginning January 13, 2026. Great Grief is a podcast about living greatly through grief and is available everywhere you get your podcasts. Special thanks to Naima Harrell, Andrew Berinson, Donovan Zimmerman, and Larkin Consulting.

    10 min

  2. 12/26/2024 · BONUS

    Seasons of Change, Episode 6: Great Grief Live! On Holiday Part 2

    Grief comes to live with us all eventually, and she needs no invitation. In this bonus holiday episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon appreciates the quiet moments shared in the kitchen with her late father and wonders aloud how to curate her space for the holidays now that grief has made a home in her home. In this previously-recorded live edition of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon shares her memories of the lessons her grandma's wooden spoon and wisdom gave her about gathers with community to create a warm space for us to sit with our loves and our losses in the company of those who also know suffering. The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. This season, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost. --- Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it. Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences—topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South.  Check out the archive of essays in Scalawag's grief & other loves series. Join the Great Grief Facebook community.

    34 min

  3. 12/23/2024 · BONUS

    Seasons of Change, Episode 5: Great Grief Live! On Holiday Part 1

    Grief cannot tell time. She comes and goes as she pleases. In this bonus holiday episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon remembers the lessons of her grandmother, honors those we've lost, and holds space for our holiday grief with poetry and song. In this previously-recorded live edition of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon shares her memories of the lessons her grandma's wooden spoon and wisdom gave her about gathers with community to create a warm space for us to sit with our loves and our losses in the company of those who also know suffering. The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. This season, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost. --- Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it. Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences—topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South.  Check out the archive of essays in Scalawag's grief & other loves series. Join the Great Grief Facebook community.

    34 min

  4. 11/28/2023

    Seasons of Change: Holiday Season

    The festive season carries such a high expectation of joy that can feel inaccessible for so many grievers. In this previously-recorded live edition of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon gathers with community to create a warm space for us to sit with our loves and our losses in the company of those who also know suffering.  Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "Great Grief—Live! Home for the Holidays," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. Reserve your tickets today. This is episode four in the second four-episode season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Seasons of Change." The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. This season, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost.  --- Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it. Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences—topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South. Seasons 1 and 2 are available now on all podcast platforms. Learn more about Great Grief and find upcoming live events near you. Check out the archive of essays in Scalawag's grief & other loves series. Join the Great Grief Facebook community.

    53 min

  5. 11/28/2023

    Seasons of Change: The World Since You Left

    How do we communicate with those who have “gone?” Is it even possible? In this episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon sets about asking the moon, the sun, and even the leaves how she might get in touch with her beloved Phil. If grief shows us that time isn’t linear, maybe sorrow is more than a season. Maybe it’s a portal.  Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "Great Grief—Live! Home for the Holidays," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. Reserve your tickets today. This is episode two in the second four-episode season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Seasons of Change." The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. This season, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost.  --- Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it. Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences—topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South. Seasons 1 and 2 are available now on all podcast platforms. Learn more about Great Grief and find upcoming live events near you. Check out the archive of essays in Scalawag's grief & other loves series. Join the Great Grief Facebook community.

    35 min

  6. 11/28/2023

    Seasons of Change: Ashes, Ashes

    Grief can take us to our knees—right back to the dirt, dust, and the earth, from which all things grow. In this episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon consults Mother Nature—and a Black woman hemp farmer—to lean into how we might grow on even in harsh environments and bitter seasons. Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "Great Grief—Live! Home for the Holidays," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. Reserve your tickets today. This is episode three in the second four-episode season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Seasons of Change." The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. This season, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost.  --- Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it. Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences—topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South. Seasons 1 and 2 are available now on all podcast platforms. Learn more about Great Grief and find upcoming live events near you. Check out the archive of essays in Scalawag's grief & other loves series. Join the Great Grief Facebook community.

    31 min

  7. 11/28/2023

    Seasons of Change: Falling

    In this episode of Great Grief, we follow Nnenna Freelon on a walk through the woods, where she contemplates autumn, the changing of the seasons, and the possibility of renewal after everything dies. Read a transcript of this episode. Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "Great Grief—Live! Home for the Holidays," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. Reserve your tickets today. This is episode one in the second four-episode season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Seasons of Change." The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. This season, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost.  --- Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it. Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences—topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South. Seasons 1 and 2 are available now on all podcast platforms. Learn more about Great Grief and find upcoming live events near you. Check out the archive of essays in Scalawag's grief & other loves series. Join the Great Grief Facebook community.

    39 min

  8. SEASON 2 TRAILER

    Trailer - Season 2: Seasons of Change

    Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, season 2: "Seasons of Change," launches November 28, 2023. The seasons are changing, an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. In the latest series of Great Grief, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost.  For many people, holidays are a time of celebration marked by family, faith, and food. This time of year can also be a period of remembrance. Yes, grief has a seat at the table. But grieving in the holiday season doesn’t have to be a solo or solemn affair.  Sunday, December 10, 2023: Come visit with Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, for Great Grief—Live! Home for the Holidays. Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon invites you to join her for a live music performance and an uplifting conversation to explore loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays.  Accompanied by keyboardist Andrew Berinson, Nnenna will share her story and discuss the process of healing through word and song. Great Grief is produced by Nnenna Freelon and Scalawag, a grassroots Southern media organization committed to building political and social consciousness, in collaboration with OnlyUs Media, a Durham-based, Afrofuturist production company. Reserve your tickets today. --- Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it.  Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences, topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South. Learn more: https://scalawagmagazine.org/great-grief/

    1 min
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Trailers

4.8
out of 5
44 Ratings

About

A podcast about loving greatly through grief WITH NNENNA FREELON. Jazz singer Nnenna Freelon extends an invitation to improvise with loss in her award-winning podcast Great Grief. As a widow and self -described grief sojourner, Freelon uses tools she learned as a jazz musician to live with sorrow’s song.
Bearing witness to loss and change with musically supported storytelling, listen to Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon. Find it wherever you find your podcasts.

Information

  • Creator
    Nnenna Freelon
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023
  • Show Website
    Great Grief

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