Busy Being Black with Joshua Rivers

W!ZARD Studios

3.9 (87)
Society & Culture
Updated Bimonthly

The award-winning podcast exploring queer Black creative, cultural and spiritual vitality.

Jul 9

Archival Pleasures — Dr Ajamu X

Dr Ajamu X explores taking responsibility for what we create, and the punk-radical necessity of tending to archives that reflect and honour the complex and pleasureful lives of queer Black folk—now and in the so-called past. Regular Listeners have access to the full and ad-free conversation on Busy Being Black's Patreon. This conversation was recorded at the 2025 Kinfolk Convening in Manchester. 'I think we have a reluctance to talk about pleasure for pleasure's sake; to validate it, we feel we have to attach it to something else like politics or sexuality. Sometimes it's just the thing itself. There is a reluctance to talk about what makes us feel good—what we want done with our Black bodies, with our lovers or with our friends—[because] we live in a pleasure-phobic society.' ⁠Dr Ajamu X⁠ is a darkroom and fine art photographic artist, whose practice, aesthetics and theoretical provocations privilege sensuality, and the tactile, material elements of the photographic act. Ajamu's work is held in numerous private and public collections, including the Autograph ABP, Tate Britain, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. Busy Being Black's theme music was created for the show by Lazarus Lynch and Joshua Pleeter. The oceanic cellos that open the show were created for Busy Being Black by Dylan Halverson. Cover photo of Ajamu © 2024 Henry Mills See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 1

Foundations of Excellence — Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason

There is perhaps no better person to speak to about Black creative expression and excellence through art than Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason—the matriarch, mother and woman who makes possible the prodigious creativity of the seven Kanneh-Mason siblings. In her book, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, Kadiatu shows that the key to a creatively fulfilling and purposeful life is in how we live in between the highs and the lows—the relationships we nurture, the humour we entertain and in the routines we build that honour and sustain our passions. Part II of my conversation with Kadiatu continues on Patreon for Regular Listeners: patreon.com/busybeingblack This conversation was recorded at Manngington Book Bash 2025, one of the UK's most cherished literary festivals. If the interiority & craft of authors, writers & artists stir your imagination to whirling, come to Mannington Book Bash 2026. Thank you to Henry Layte and the team at the Book Hive. Busy Being Black's theme music was created for the show by Lazarus Lynch and Joshua Pleeter. The oceanic cellos that open the show were created for Busy Being Black by Dylan Halverson. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jun 24

Not So Minor Black Figures — Brandon Taylor

I sat down with award-winning author Brandon Taylor live at Brixton House Theatre to mark the UK launch of his latest novel, Minor Black Figures. Our conversation explores what happens when Black artists resist the demands of the always-on attention economy to instead embrace the archives, tend to our cultural inheritances and allow ourselves—and the characters in our art—the messy complexities we are so often encouraged to hide. 06:20 How's your heart? 18:00 Real Life in a Black Square Summer 36:00 Minor Black Figures in Interminable Pandemics 43:00 It's okay to be an uppity negro Get your copy of Minor Black Figures from your local bookshop. This episode includes the voices of: Lorraine Hansberry and Pamela Sneed. If the interiority & craft of authors, writers & artists stir your imagination to whirling, come to Mannington Book Bash. Busy Being Black is only sustainable with community support. Become a Regular Listener on Patreon ✷ patreon.com/busybeingblack See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 24

Sensuous Knowledge — Minna Salami

As we bear witness to the destruction of our world and kin through handheld technologies designed as slot machines, and increasingly disoriented by the hourly oscillations between the cannibal horror and unutterable awe of being human in 2026, Minna Salami reminds us that we won’t build new worlds with the same words that built this one. Read that again, friends. With her full-bodied philosophy, sensuous knowledge, she calls us back to the wild, sensate, subterranean and queer within and beyond us so that we can reclaim what europatriarchal knowledge systems taught us was uncivilised and savage—including the innumerable ways of knowing that have nothing to do with taxonomies or science or murder. Minna says that ‘freedom is the ability to conjure and then create of our lives the sense of rapture and joy that is our birthright.’ And we know very well that europatriarchal knowledge systems quite explicitly do not offer that as an option About Minna Salami ✷ Minna is an acclaimed afrofeminist scholar, author and cultural critic. Her publication, Kaleido, explores society, culture and power through the kaleidoscopic method: a sensuous, multilayered and epistemically polyamorous approach to knowledge that draws from multiple intersections and cultures. Busy Being Black is the award-winning podcast for Black LGBTQ+ creative, cultural & spiritual inquiry. If the podcast moves you, please: Support ✷ https://buy.stripe.com/aFa3cw82KfqeeNE0UdgjC00 Subscribe ✷ http://www.youtube.com/@busybeingblacktube Follow ✷ https://www.instagram.com/_busybeingblack PERKS + PARTNERS advaya creates courses to awaken the human spirit & inspire purposeful action in the world. Otherworlds begins on 12 May and provides the perspectives, practices & community we need to become active & empowered agents for emerging futures: https://advaya.life/otherworlds 🔑 BUSY-OTHERWORLDS for 15% off advaya+ membership Founded in 1969, Pluto Press is one of the world’s oldest radical publishers & their focus remains making interventions in contemporary struggles: https://www.plutobooks.com/?s=imagination&post_type=product 🔑 BUSY50 for 50% off See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 18

Dancing to Freedom — Candice D'Meza

My bodacious conversation with theatre-maker and cosmological enchantress Candice D'Meza opens with my poem, Our Life Together. Inspired by an exchange between Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin, the poem is a fitting expression of the ways Black artists think, feel and create across time and space to build the worlds we need now. Candice D'Meza builds liberated worlds through art, cosmology and the Imagination Institute, where she teaches others to reclaim the operational divinity & living power of the Black radical imagination: https://www.candicedmeza.com/ How to inhabit the version of yourself that has already made it through Why the crisis of imagination leaves us vulnerable to the violent desires of capitalism Embracing the body's curriculum and learning through pleasure instead of pain What Harriet Tubman teaches us about the impossible Why they can never make us forget who we are Busy Being Black is the award-winning podcast for Black LGBTQ+ creative, cultural & spiritual inquiry ✷ https://www.busybeingblack.com/ If the podcast moves you, please: Support ✷ https://buy.stripe.com/aFa3cw82KfqeeNE0UdgjC00 Subscribe ✷ http://www.youtube.com/@busybeingblacktube Follow ✷ https://www.instagram.com/_busybeingblack PERKS + PARTNERS advaya creates courses to awaken the human spirit & inspire purposeful action in the world. Otherworlds begins on 12 May and provides the perspectives, practices & community we need to become active & empowered agents for emerging futures: https://advaya.life/otherworlds 🔑 BUSY-OTHERWORLDS for 15% off advaya+ membership Founded in 1969, Pluto Press is one of the world’s oldest radical publishers & their focus remains making interventions in contemporary struggles: https://www.plutobooks.com/?s=imagination&post_type=product 🔑 BUSY50 for 50% off See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 25

The Paradise of Our Intimacy — Dean Atta

Poet and author Dean Atta returns to Busy Being Black to share how therapy, memoir-writing and entering into his "big man stage" have transformed his relationship with his mental health, creativity and self-acceptance. The episode opens with a joint reading of Dean's poem "Two Black Boys in Paradise"—the poem that inspired the BAFTA-winning animation of the same name—and closes with Dean reading "On Days When" from his poetry collection There Is Still Love Here. Busy Being Black is the award-winning podcast for queer Black creative, cultural and spiritual vitality. If the show moves you, consider ⁠buying me a coffee or a book⁠. Dean Atta is an award-winning Black British writer from London known for his heartfelt storytelling rooted in his Greek Cypriot and Jamaican heritage. He writes poetry, fiction and nonfiction for all ages. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 10

The Alchemy of Black Joy — Rosel Jackson Stern

Art is a vital mechanism through which we process grief and sustain life. In times of intense discord, denying our impulse to create often results in destructive behaviours. Artist and writer Rosel Jackson Stern offers a gentle provocation to anyone feeling paralysed by the current geopolitical climate: find and nurture even the tiniest moments of joy. By anchoring life in joy, Rosel has built an artistic and spiritual practice that moves them closer—with every prayer, sweep of the brush and stroke of the pen—to a world where queer Black people experience an abundance of peace, community and creative vitality. It is in and through our joy we find our freedom, and this episode is a reminder that liberation is rooted in the timeless intimacy of the present moment. Watch this conversation. About Rosel ✷ Rosel Jackson Stern (they/them) is an artist, journalist and writer whose creativity spans several mediums and modalities. The purpose of their work is to carve out space for the unknown, and is a testament to what happens when we take leaps of faith. Busy Being Black is the award-winning podcast for Black LGBTQ+ creative, cultural & spiritual inquiry. If the podcast moves you, buy me a book. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
10/21/2025

All My Poems Are Sad N*gga Poems — Ben Ellis

Today marks eight years since Busy Being Black first came to life: on 21 October 2017, I produced and hosted an event called Forbidden Fruits, anchored by a conversation about love, intimacy and belonging among queer Black men. I couldn't have known in that moment how much I would need this space. Ben Ellis is a poet—and a poet in the way James Baldwin, Toni Morrison and René Ménil meant it: one ordained to dive into the unconscious and awaken the rest of us with their marvels. I am stunned and struck by the energy of Ben's poetry, his vulnerability, his rage. I am enlivened by his sensitivity, his heartache and his desire for peace of mind. I am grateful to honour my own thresholds by bearing witness at the gates of his. If you enjoyed this conversation, you'll enjoy the ⁠Black Marvellous⁠: a growing collection of conversations that adventure into Black imaginative vigour—in art, attitude and life. — Chapters 00:26 Are you avoiding your own emergence? 02:04 The ordination of the bard: 8 years of Busy Being Black 12:43 Ben recites Pansies 16:32 All my poems are sad n*gga poems 24:19 There is no word for depression in my native tongue 29:25 Who is served by the performance of our grief? 33:16 Ben recites Milkshake 37:09 Can we reclaim any spirituality from within the religions that have harmed us? 47:23 I am Black first and Black also 51:00 Ben recites To Orlando 53:37 Peace of mind 55:55 Every gesture is a prayer when you know who you are — Thank you: This episode includes wisdom from ⁠Candice D'Meza⁠, ⁠Rev. Jide Macaulay⁠ and ⁠Bayyinah Bello⁠. If this conversation resonates with you, there are three ways you can show your love: leave a comment, rating, or review; share this conversation on social media; or ⁠buy me a book⁠. The songs 'Busy Being Black' and 'Baptism' were created for Busy Being Black and in collaboration with Lazarus Lynch and Joshua Pleeter, and Dylan Halverson, respectively. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Trailer

Come Into This

Busy Being Black is the award-winning podcast exploring how we live in the fullness of our queer Black lives. Each week, I have conversations with academics, artists, activists, thinkers and change-makers who help me and listeners understand ourselves as complex and complicated, messy, beautiful and vibrant people making the grandest and noblest attempts to thrive. Whether we’re searching for our place in the vast expanse of the universe or tracing our ancestral lineages through dance, guests on Busy Being Black bring their hard earned wisdom to your ears and heart each episode. From Black Trans Feminist theory to poetry, HIV/AIDS activism and questions of Black masculinity, Busy Being Black centres queer Black hope, as we discuss what it means to show up as ourselves against the odds. Busy Being Black is by us, for us. In the words of poet and activist PJ Samuels: "Come into this; it’s flavoured, fully seasoned. Taste. Look what was made for you." #busybeingblack busybeingblack.com twitter.com/_busybeingblack instagram.com/_busybeingblack instagram.com/_joshrivers See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

3.9

out of 5

87 Ratings

The Art of Creating Space.

07/21/2022

Kidd97

In searching for the words to describe this authentic and beautiful way of storytelling - the word that came to mind for describing this oeuvre’s embodiment was nuance. Nuance in the same way that a photo might have many different shades of gray. Rivers uses his lived experience, as well as those of others, to frame and articulate what it is to be a black queer body in this world. Being black and queer is not a monolithic experience and these in depth, evocative, conversations are a testimony to just that. There is something for everyone to glean and hopefully in that process you can learn to live in the fullness of your identity.
A Must-listen Podcast

07/17/2022

drrondotcom

Josh Rivers and this podcast is my respite from the foolishness that is in this world. I feel heard, seen, and understood! Please listen and let Josh and his guests show you what doing the Lord’s work really is!
The best black queer podcast ever

10/04/2019

LazEli

I stumbled upon “Busy Being Black” while researching black and queer content, and my ears and heart could not be more satisfied. Josh Rivers, the smart, curious, and dynamic host, curates a wide range of black/POC queer experts discussing a diversity of issues from race and sexuality, empowerment and liberation, to self-care and spirituality. Rivers takes listeners on a journey, unpacking so many layers to the black queer experience. Rivers also shares his personal stories with listeners, offering a richer texture to the interviews and dialogue at large. Nowadays, when people ask me how I’m doing, I often find myself saying “living my best black queer life,” or simply “busy being black!” Thanks to Josh Rivers for doing such culture-shifting work and for sharing light, one conversation at a time.
The quintessentially down-to-Earth and thought provoking

08/05/2018

Shannon Rivers

Josh does a great job of getting into things that matter to the LGBTQ+ community. He teases out deep thoughts and feelings of those who he is interviewing. Listen and you won’t be disappointed! This down-to-earth, emotive, and passionate podcast breaks through many of the walls black people even beyond the Queer community have guarding us.