Edible Activist Podcast

Soilful: the feeling when mind, body, and spirit connect with the earth. In this episode, Xavier Brown shares defining moments and perspectives in agriculture. His belief is that everyone should embody a "soilful" lifestyle and highlights the importance of black people defining their place in agriculture. We also honor the legacy of Horace Pippin, a black veteran, artist and seedkeeper, and talk through how Xavier has created a system to support black farmers through the production of fish peppers to create his infamous Pippin Sauce.

The WaterHole is a gem in the Mt. Rainer community where residents, artists, and moms of toddlers come to nourish their minds, bodies and souls with organic, cold-pressed juices. Lisa Harris, an artist and resident herself, is the owner and operator who started the juice bar after the passing of her dad back in 2013. TWH is the first and only juice bar in Mt. Rainer, a quaint and hippie town nestled in between northeast D.C. and Hyattsville, which is also home to many creatives. Lisa is not only making history as an African-American entrepreneur in her town, but she is truly passionate about health and wants her neighbors to "live organically."

Dreaming Out Loud is what everyone should be doing, right? Founder and executive director Chris Bradshaw thinks so and believes that everyone should feel empowered to "dream out loud." Chris' organization has been working to fix a broken food system for the last decade, realizing that the systematic structures at-large are no accident. He wants marginalized communities to be in a space where they can dream into reality and have access to better jobs, food, education, and more. Listen in as you hear Chris share why our food and economic system is so jacked up, the work that DOL is doing in wards 7 & 8, along with him recounting a story from his lineage-- one of death and escape from Rosewood, Florida.

A juice bar that is turning DC communities natural! Jerri Evans is a DC native and the owner of Turning Natural, a collection of five juice bars that serve up delicious smoothies and fun vibes in and outside of DC. Growing up in Southeast, corner stores filled with sugar and processed foods were at proximity to Jerri and her peers; she has witnessed firsthand the health disparities around her, including her late mother who was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. Jerri is continuing the legacy that her mother started, Turning Natural, and is on a mission to create an entire health movement!

Growing rice in the DC region + healing people?!? Dr. Nazirahk Amen is on a mission and we're here for it all! In this episode, you'll learn how Dr. Amen, a licensed naturopathic doctor, Chinese Medicine practitioner, and acupuncturist is connecting to the land, defining health and what he calls, dis-ease, along with how he helps people to heal and live authentic healthy lifestyles.

D.C. native, Myeasha Taylor, has been pushing locally grown produce over the last ten years! She's a farmer, food systems advocate, project manager, and a go-go + Bmore club enthusiast. In this episode you'll hear how the passing of her grandmother led to creating a path in the health and agriculture space, her experience growing food in Baltimore city, and the narrative that she's hoping to change for her D.C. community.

In the City of Brotherly Love, community residents are building green spaces in the hood, fighting for land access, demanding answers from the city, and banding together to honor what our ancestors built on the land. In this episode, you'll hear about Melissa and Leta's journey to Philadelphia to capture the bravehearts of this city.

Chef Brazil thought he was going to the Arts Institute of Philadelphia for fashion design, until he ended up graduating with a culinary degree! For the last 15 years, Brazil has been throwing the "spyce" in his dishes and is the owner of Spyceco, a personal chef company. He creates intimate dining experiences for clients like NBA players, couples, and friends, while having to cater to the dietary needs of his clientele due to health challenges and sporting conditions. Heart healthy dishes are an important aspect of his business, along with cooking with local ingredients. Tune in!

Three black dynamic women entrepreneurs who are spicin' it up in their businesses: Milan Jordan-Durham, founder, The Cultured Kombucha; Rabia Kamara, pastry chef and owner, Ruby Scoops, and Kehmari Norman, founder, Ksquared Flowers. These three Spicin' Womenpreneurs share how they have created their own lanes: from crafting a delicious kombucha line, to whipping up sorbets and ice cream with locally sourced ingredients, and creating an array of floral wellness products. Each of them bring an aspect of health-wellness, self-care and joy within the products they have beautifully mastered. All three women also make up part of the The Spice Girl collective, a group of 21 black women business-owners, at The Spice Suite in Washington, DC. Listen in!

Sabrina Nelson is a professional artist, vegan, dope mom, and Detroiter. During her travels to D.C. she graced the show and shared her story of making the decision to go plant-based to stop family illness. But beyond her veganism, Sabrina is a 24/7 creator who is FEEDING the mind, body and soul of individuals who encounter her murals in Detroit, her sketch books, online and everywhere else. "My art is my weapon," says Sabrina. And as a creator, she believes that using her artistic capabilities as a voice for justice issues and activism, such as food, water, poverty, women, and much more, is a responsibility.

Meet Farmer Dom Hosak! In this episode, you'll learn about his educational journey in the public health field that ultimately led to him ditching his PhD program to farm full-time at the THEARC in SE, Washington, DC. Dom is a builder and believes in acquiring skill sets that sustain us, especially as black people. And as a new dad to a beautiful baby girl, he shares how important is to him to build a safe homestead lifestyle for his family.

FoodTalksDC's creator, Melissa Jones and visual artist/photographer, Leta Harrison continue conversations about their travels to Detroit back in September 2018. Listen in on Part II as they talk about this amazing photo-series which documented people color in the food and farming space for FTDC's Edible Activist campaign!

FoodTalksDC's creator, Melissa Jones, is chatting up her favorite city, DETROIT, in this episode! Back in September 2018, Melissa and photographer, Leta Harrison, traveled to Detroit to kick off FTDC's Edible Activist campaign where they met with people of color in the food and farming space to document their narratives and perspectives. The two have began sharing Part I of their photo-series on social media this week. Listen in as they rave about their love for the 'D' and what this experience was like for them.

Meet Kaylah, Melan and Saskia, the three beautiful soul sisters behind Eat For Beauty DC, a platform for sharing how they redefine beauty through intentional food and meditative experiences. In this episode, you will learn how the trio's paths divinely crossed in Washington, D.C. and in Hawaii (yes, Hawaii) that ultimately led to the birth of EFBDC. These ladies are on a journey to developing what they call higher-self lifestyle systems for optimal healing and inner/external beauty!

Geoff "Geo" Edwards is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist and arts educator. And on any given day, you will find him in the garden, clinic or classroom. In this episode, Geoff paints a vivid story of, what he calls, a "rites to wellness" experience with one of his clients and how he integrates the three healing spaces into his practice, Nu Healing Arts.

Shanna and Francois Tiayan are living the homestead life! In this episode, hear how the couple are bringing a new face to the homesteading space as an African American family, living a nontraditional lifestyle in one of DC Metro’s suburbs.

The conversations were so full that we had to continue another round with Chef Khepra! In this episode, he takes us to Paradise Health as we discuss his book on fasting and cleansing the body. He also shares what his food journey has revealed to him and how being a leader in the community is a responsibility. Be prepared for transparent dialogue about how our bodies should fully-function so we can all move towards optimal health.

From a small town in Upstate New York to Washington, D.C., Chef Khepra has been on his raw food journey for almost 20 years. Chef takes us back to the 80s, where artists like KRS-One raised his consciousness about food, challenging him to take a different approach to what he was feeding himself. And as the owner and operator of Khepra's Raw Food and Juice Bar located on H Street in D.C., his mission is to feed customers raw live foods that are healing and healthy for the body. Khepra also shares the secret behind coconut water and why this is the only water source he consumes!

In this episode, you will hear the story of Trina Cobbler who is a doula, yogi and farmer with West Indian roots. Influenced by her Jamaican mother, who was a great cook, Trina had to get back to her roots for the healing she needed for her own body. She took to medicinal methods and yoga to alleviate painful cycles and sluggishness. Trina created People's Medicine as a way to help heal individuals by using organic teas, herbs and vegetables. When Trina cooks meals, she honors her late mother by bringing her into the kitchen so she can prepare food with love.

Chef Lauren Von Der Pool is taking us back to the jungle on this episode. A renowned raw + vegan chef who has worked closely with Serena & Venus Williams, Stevie Wonder, Michelle Obama, Common, and many more, this Guyanese Island gal wants you to connect with your higher self through nutrient-rich foods and pure energy. Lauren walks us through her challenging journey growing up in Washington, D.C, one that led her to starting a business at the age of 16 to selling food outside of Howard University. She's now serving up the best-of-the-best in LA, and globally, operating her food truck and still finds time to come back to D.C., her hometown, for her summer youth food program.