Juan Coleman, a Black man who lives in Vermont, voted for Donald Trump in the past and is planning to vote for him again in this election cycle. And he’s not alone. Though we won’t know the actual numbers until the election, there is an uptick of Black voters aligning with the GOP, Black men in particular. Why? In this season finale, we speak with Juan about his concerns for the Democratic party, and hear from CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend about the history of the Black vote, and how no demographic is a monolith.

How do you talk about Black death, in the media, in a way that is consistent, and intentional? How do you memorialize and humanize Black grief without perpetuating trauma? Here on Homegoings, we believe the answer is, and always has been, art. In this episode, we revisit some of the very first episodes of Homegoings, and embark on a quest with Vermont-based musicians to find out: Does grief have a sound?

***A heads up: This episode contains strong language, unbleeped swearing and explicit adult content*** In our fourth and final episode of the special series “Stereo-anti-types,” we tackle one of the most “biggest” stereotypes out there about the Black body today: the myth of the big Black penis. Host Myra Flynn speaks with Black men, including a porn star, about how this myth affects their lives and their profession, and a female sexologist who knows a lot about the origin of this stereotype that plagues Black men. A heads up that this episode is explicit, and maybe even hard to listen to. But here on Homegoings we believe most of the important stuff usually is.

Dianne Bondy is a yoga teacher and social justice activist who works to make wellness accessible for everyone – no matter their shape, size, level of ability or ethnicity. In this episode Laura Cathcart Robbins, host of the podcast The Only One in the Room, speaks with Dianne to unpack the world of wellness, and the many barriers to it.

“Stereo-anti-types” is a special series from Homegoings examining some of the most troubling, most profound and most dangerous stereotypes that apply to Black men. In part three of the series, “The myth of the stupid Black person” host Myra Flynn speaks with Tinotenda Charles Rutanhira, who came to the United States as a refugee from Zimbabwe. When he arrived, he already had a bachelor’s of commerce in business and information systems from Rhodes University in South Africa, and went on to more schooling in the U.S. to obtain a computer science degree. And still — no one would hire him.

***A heads up: This episode contains strong language and unbleeped swearing*** “Stereo-anti-types” is a special series from Homegoings examining some of the most troubling, most profound and most dangerous stereotypes that apply to Black men. In part two of the series, “The myth of the scary Black man” host Myra Flynn speaks with Kris Brown, a 6-foot-2, former drug dealer who was nearly fated to become a life-long statistic in the prison system, until his life took a turn that surprised even him.

***A heads up: This episode contains strong language and unbleeped swearing*** “Stereo-anti-types” is a special series from Homegoings examining some of the most troubling, most profound and most dangerous stereotypes that apply to Black men. In this first episode, host Myra Flynn and colleague Bryant Denton get up close and personal with podcaster Pendarvis Harshaw and comedian Marlon Fisher to tackle the myth of the deadbeat dad. Both of these men have bucked societal bias and are anything but deadbeat – but as you'll hear, it wasn't always easy.

Back in January, host Myra Flynn sat down with Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. in front of a live audience at Vermont Public studios to practice what we do best here on Homegoings: They had a very candid conversation. Together they broke down the realities of what it’s like to be a Black podcaster in a “Post-Floyd era,” the differences in African and American Blackness, and their push-pull relationship with the ever mercurial New York City. They asked each other, well — just about anything and everything. That fruitful night became a two-part video series and now, this revealing podcast episode.

There’s some irony in freedom because freedom is inherently unfree. It’s something to be defended, fought for, stood up for. It’s been hard-won in a lot of our history. It’s also elusive. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes, it isn’t even an option. So, what is freedom? How do you know when you have it? What does it sound like? How do you get more of it? This episode works to create some cognitive dissonance, on purpose, between the sounds of freedom and the reality of it. With the live sounds of Independence Day, and a candid conversation with Speech, lead MC and singer of the band Arrested Development. He is fighting for freedom in his own way.

***A heads up: This episode contains strong language and unbleeped swearing as well as discussions of sexual abuse*** In part two of “Stories from the spotlight,” we continue our deep dive into the problematic nature of the music industry, the roots of misogyny in hip-hop, and unpack what it takes to stay safe, healthy and true to yourself as a female musician of color.

***A heads up: This episode contains strong language and unbleeped swearing as well as discussions of sexual abuse*** Fame, or the idea of it, is deeply woven into our society. It’s currency — people knowing you, knowing your name, knowing your art — can be priceless for an artist. Something to spend your whole life seeking. But fame also comes at a cost, and for young women of color in the music industry, and those costs have names. They are: financial devastation, mental health challenges, violence and sexual assault. In this two-part episode of Homegoings, we’ll pull back the curtain and hear from three female musicians and an expert about what it means to be ambitious, broke and brown and Black in the music industry.

Earlier this year, we hosted a special night at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, Vermont. Five of the artists featured in our podcast took to the stage for a magical evening of poetry, music, dance and comedy. On this episode of Homegoings, we’ll hear highlights from that one night in February.