CHILLY GRITS Rev. Manikka Bowman & Aisha Francis, Ph.D

The advice of our grandparent’s generation often included this nostalgic saying as a parting phrase of caution and care. Tune in to learn how Depression Era banking practices gave rise to this saying, which then became a reminder to stay watchful and keep one’s wits about them. The conversation turns to insightfulninstances when the hosts unwittingly took wooden nickels in the workplace, and gave themselves space to gracefully recover.

This episode builds on a phrase that gives hope to those searching for an ideal romantic pairing. The conversation yields to the importance of bringing similar hopefulness and persistence to the inevitable search for solutions in the professional setting. Whoever you are, whatever your preferences and perceived imperfections may be, there's a leadership style and pathway to solutions for you. Our hosts share their experiences of rallying workplace colleagues to rise to the challenge of way making when the path forward isn’t clear.

In this show, the hosts contemplate a saying that touches on one of the most taboo images of negative stereotypes associated with Black people--monkeys. Listen in to learn more about how this turn of phrase is used across Southern cultures to encourage folks not to let distractions thwart progress. It is also a refrain that often comes up in African-American cultural productions like R&B songs and poems during the 50s and 70s.

If the South is known for anything, it's charm and making nice. In this episode, the hosts consider the pros and cons of being socialized to be polite at the expense of being transparent. The conversation also considers the nuances between being nice and being kind.

As a leader, how do you steward relationships and cultivate community capital that lasts for the long haul? You call upon the collective resources of your network judiciously and don't waste people's time. In this episode, the hosts tackle Chicken Little or Henny Penny syndrome and discuss how to call up reinforcements when life inevitably serves you a bowl of lemons.

Chilly Grits Podcast returns for Season 2 with a saucy phrase as the show opener. The hosts leverage their memories of this idiom and Toni Morrison's classic novel, The Bluest Eye, to dissect the origin story of the expanded phrase "They don't have a pot to piss in or window to throw it out of." Listen to learn about this class-conscious Southern saying, which is a roast rooted in the LGBTQIA culture of creative expression.
Dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Sylvia Myers (1943-2023)