Trims And Talk Podcast

Lungani Sibanda, Donald McLean and SACMHA
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  • MENTAL HEALTH
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The podcast is centred on discussing men's mental health, particularly within the Black community, using the culturally significant barbershop as a backdrop. It combines a barbershop's informal and communal atmosphere with serious, impactful conversations about mental wellness. Each episode features a variety of guests, including therapists, community leaders, and everyday people, who share their personal stories, challenges, and insights related to mental health issues. The podcast aims to break down stigmas, foster open communication, and provide a supportive space for open honest talk.

  1. MAR 17

    Mothers Who Shape Minds: Women, Research & Leadership in Academia

    In this episode of the Trims and Talk Podcast, we sit down with two remarkable women from the University of Sheffield, Dr. Stephanie Ejegi-Memeh and Dr. Kate Fryer  for a thoughtful conversation about motherhood, academia, leadership, and community responsibility. Released around International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, this episode reflects on the many roles women hold as mothers, scholars, researchers, and leaders, often navigating professional spaces that have historically been dominated by men. Dr. Stephanie Ejegi-Memeh is a Research Fellow in the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations at the University of Sheffield. Her work focuses on mental health, wellbeing, health inequalities, and the lived experiences of illness, particularly how racial and gendered inequalities shape health outcomes. Dr. Kate Fryer is a Research Fellow in the Primary Care Research Group within the School of Medicine and Population Health. She leads the Deep End Research Alliance, a pioneering initiative focused on tackling health inequalities and ensuring that research involving underserved communities is inclusive, collaborative, and grounded in real community participation. Both of these women have also been instrumental behind the scenes in helping create the institutional space within the University of Sheffield that allowed conversations like Trims and Talk to happen, supporting initiatives that centre  men’s mental health and honest dialogue within our communities. In this episode we explore: • What it means to be highly educated women and mothers working within academia• The pressures of research environments that demand constant innovation and intellectual leadership• Why research must be done with communities rather than on communities• How women continue to shape institutions, families, and the intellectual spaces that influence future generations For me personally, this conversation is also an acknowledgement. Having been raised and shaped by mothers, sisters, aunties, and grandmothers, I recognise the profound role women have played in shaping my worldview. This episode is both a celebration and a thank you to the women whose work often happens quietly, but whose influence is deeply felt in our communities, our institutions, and our lives.

    1h 7m

  2. MAR 16

    The Minds That Shape Minds: Motherhood, Academia & Leadership

    In this episode of the Trims and Talk Podcast, we sit down with two remarkable women from the University of Sheffield, Dr. Stephanie Ejegi-Memeh and Dr. Kate Fryer  for a thoughtful conversation about motherhood, academia, leadership, and community responsibility. Released around International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, this episode reflects on the many roles women hold as mothers, scholars, researchers, and leaders, often navigating professional spaces that have historically been dominated by men. Dr. Stephanie Ejegi-Memeh is a Research Fellow in the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations at the University of Sheffield. Her work focuses on mental health, wellbeing, health inequalities, and the lived experiences of illness, particularly how racial and gendered inequalities shape health outcomes. Dr. Kate Fryer is a Research Fellow in the Primary Care Research Group within the School of Medicine and Population Health. She leads the Deep End Research Alliance, a pioneering initiative focused on tackling health inequalities and ensuring that research involving underserved communities is inclusive, collaborative, and grounded in real community participation. Both of these women have also been instrumental behind the scenes in helping create the institutional space within the University of Sheffield that allowed conversations like Trims and Talk to happen, supporting initiatives that centre  men’s mental health and honest dialogue within our communities. In this episode we explore: • What it means to be highly educated women and mothers working within academia • The pressures of research environments that demand constant innovation and intellectual leadership • Why research must be done with communities rather than on communities • How women continue to shape institutions, families, and the intellectual spaces that influence future generations For me personally, this conversation is also an acknowledgement. Having been raised and shaped by mothers, sisters, aunties, and grandmothers, I recognise the profound role women have played in shaping my worldview. This episode is both a celebration and a thank you to the women whose work often happens quietly, but whose influence is deeply felt in our communities, our institutions, and our lives.

    1h 7m

  3. JAN 29

    Still Learning, Still Becoming: A Cultural Injection with Wayne Reid

    In this episode of Trims and Talk, the conversation unfolds without performance or pretense just thoughtful exchange, humour, and reflection shaped by lived experience. Wayne Reid joins us as a guest whose presence is quietly grounded. The discussion moves from the familiarity of barbershop culture into deeper considerations of identity, perception, and what it means to move through the world as a Black man in spaces that often misunderstand or oversimplify. What begins with everyday observations gradually opens into reflections on how assumptions are formed and how character is built in response to them. A central theme of the episode is community. Wayne speaks about the importance of spaces such as Storm / Black Men’s Chat, describing them as a form of cultural nourishment a place to reconnect, to disagree without fracture, and to hear perspectives shaped by different generations and life paths. In a society that can isolate men as they age, these spaces offer something vital: connection without demand, belonging without performance. The conversation also traces Wayne’s professional journey and the role mentorship has played in shaping it. He reflects on moments where others recognised potential before he did himself, and how those moments quietly redirected his trajectory. These reflections sit alongside thoughtful insights on fatherhood, particularly the emotional complexity of watching a child step into independence and learning, in real time, how to let go while remaining present. Mental wellbeing is explored not as a fixed destination but as an ongoing process responsive to life’s transitions, responsibilities, and losses. The episode acknowledges resilience not as constant strength, but as the ability to adapt, reflect, and continue becoming. This episode captures the spirit of Trims and Talk at its best: a space where conversation is unhurried, humanity is centred, and growth is understood as a lifelong practice.

    1h 8m

  4. JAN 25

    Trims & Talk – Part Two: What Comes Next

    If Part One was about where we come from, this conversation is about where we are choosing to go. In Part Two, I return to the mic with my co-host Donald MacLean to talk about the next chapter—about intention, responsibility, and what it means to keep showing up as men, educators, and community workers. We reflect on the future not as a blank slate, but as something shaped by what we already carry: our histories, our losses, our lessons. We talk candidly about ageing, purpose, and the quiet work of staying committed to learning, to conversation, and to creating spaces where men can speak honestly about their inner lives. This episode looks toward 2026 and beyond not with grand declarations, but with clarity. With an understanding that progress is often slow, relational, and unglamorous. That the work is not about visibility, but usefulness. Not about having answers, but about asking better questions. We speak about legacy not as something dramatic, but as something lived. About continuing Trims & Talk, continuing the work within the Black Barbers Project, and continuing to hold space for dialogue rooted in trust rather than performance. Part Two is not a conclusion.It is a commitment. A conversation about staying the course.

    1h 8m

  5. 12/22/2025

    Trims & Talk – Part One: Where We Come From

    This episode is about beginnings—spoken quietly, honestly, without performance. In Part One of this two-part conversation, I sit with my co-host, Donald McLean, and we do what we have always done best on Trims & Talk: we lay foundations. We talk about where we come from, how we were raised, and how history—personal and collective—shapes the way we see the world. The conversation opens in the everyday rhythms of life: Christmas plans, children, grandchildren, moving house, and the quiet responsibilities that mark parenthood. From there, it widens into something deeper. Donald reflects on growing up in Nottingham as a child of the Windrush generation—born here, formed here, and rooted in Britain with a certainty that needs no explanation. I reflect on my own journey—from Zimbabwe to the UK—arriving as a young economic migrant, learning what it means to call more than one place “home.” We talk about belonging and unbelonging. About being called “English” in Jamaica. About being labelled “Khiwa” back home. About how identity is negotiated not in theory, but in lived moments. We speak about books—how reading became a bridge to the world when television and radio were absent. We remember school libraries, teachers, curiosity, and the quiet violence of having your reality corrected in red ink because it did not fit someone else’s knowledge. This episode is also about history—who tells it, who sanitises it, and who is left out. We discuss why ordinary lives matter just as much as kings and battles. Why curiosity is essential. Why shielding children from uncomfortable truths robs them of understanding—and why forgetting history ensures its repetition. Part One is not about conclusions. It is about context.About listening.About making space for complexity. This is the ground on which the rest of the conversation stands.

    1h 3m

  6. 12/13/2025

    Caribbean Footsteps: The Legacy of Leroy Wenham

    In this powerful and deeply human episode of Trims & Talk, Lungani “Uncle Lou” Sibanda and Donald McLean sit down with one of Sheffield’s cultural pillars — Leroy Wenham — a man whose life traces the arc of Caribbean arrival, survival, and triumph in the UK. Leroy takes us back to 1963, when he arrived from St Kitts as a 10-year-old boy stepping into the cold streets of Leeds,one of a handful Black children in his school and part of the only Black family on his street. He speaks candidly about those early years — the kindness of one neighbour who offered warmth and cups of tea, and the silence of others who never spoke a word. He tells the truths many Caribbean migrants of the 60s know too well:if you didn’t fight, you got beaten every day.And how those lessons shaped the man he became. From there, Leroy walks us through his rise as Sheffield’s first Black full-time youth worker in 1979, the building of a Black youth work team, and the impact those relationships had on preventing unrest during Britain’s 1981 riots. We explore his visionary role in the African Caribbean Fortnight, the early cultural festivals that paved the way for Black History Month in Sheffield; his passion for carnival culture; and his groundbreaking work on BBC Radio Sheffield’s Back A Yard. And finally, we dive into his current work with Sheffield Museums on the three-year exhibition Caribbean Footsteps(2024–2027), a living, breathing celebration of Caribbean history, culture, and creativity in the city. This episode is a journey through migration, memory, community, youth work, creativity, and the making of a cultural elder.It is history told not from a book, but from the mouth of a man who lived it. If you want to understand Sheffield’s Black story, you must sit with the people who built it.This conversation is one of those moments. 🎧 Listen now and step into the legacy.#TrimsAndTalk #CaribbeanFootsteps #SheffieldHistory #WindrushLegacy

    1h 24m

  7. 11/10/2025

    Love Beyond Blood: Adoption, Identity, and Belonging with Skye Curtis

    In this episode of Trims and Talk, we sit down with Skye Curtis — an inclusive practice expert, researcher, and community engagement lead with the South Yorkshire Adoption Agency. Black and mixed-heritage children wait, on average, 1.5 to 2 years longer to be adopted than their white peers — and are less likely to be adopted at all. Skye’s work seeks to change that by raising awareness, building partnerships, and co-designing culturally responsive adoption pathways that honour identity and belonging. Joined by Donald Mclean, both share lived experiences as adoptive parents in a deeply human conversation about race, love, and the courage to open one’s home and heart. Dedicated to my niece Libby  — because sometimes, family is what we choose. #TrimsAndTalk #AdoptionStories #BlackCommunity #LoveBeyondBlood

    1h 10m

  8. 11/05/2025

    Fire and Faith: Luca’s Story

    In this episode of Trims and Talk, we sit down with Lucas Cawthorne , a Sheffield firefighter, father, and member of the 6+1(Six Plus One) The Movers running group and Storm Men’s Group. Raised by a white mother and shaped by a not always present father, Luca’s story is one of resilience, faith, and identity. He speaks on legacy honouring an uncle who never made it into the fire service and his deep desire to be the kind of father he never had. Grounded in his Christian faith, Luca reflects on what it means to lead, to love, and to build community as a young Black man in modern Britain. 🔥 A conversation about fire, fatherhood, and finding faith in the spaces between.

    1h 18m
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About

The podcast is centred on discussing men's mental health, particularly within the Black community, using the culturally significant barbershop as a backdrop. It combines a barbershop's informal and communal atmosphere with serious, impactful conversations about mental wellness. Each episode features a variety of guests, including therapists, community leaders, and everyday people, who share their personal stories, challenges, and insights related to mental health issues. The podcast aims to break down stigmas, foster open communication, and provide a supportive space for open honest talk.

Information

  • Creator
    Lungani Sibanda, Donald McLean and SACMHA
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Lungani Sibanda, Donald McLean and SACMHA
  • Show Website
    Trims And Talk Podcast