Busy Being Black with Joshua Rivers cover art

Busy Being Black with Joshua Rivers

Busy Being Black with Joshua Rivers

Written by: W!ZARD Studios
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 The award-winning podcast that centres and celebrates queer Black liveliness.2026 Josh Rivers Social Sciences
Episodes
  • all my poems are sad n*gga poems with Ben Ellis

    all my poems are sad n*gga poems with Ben Ellis
    Oct 21 2025
    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 ⁠contribute towards production costs⁠. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    59 mins
  • our miraculous hearts with Phoebe Boswell

    our miraculous hearts with Phoebe Boswell
    Sep 21 2025
    A tender meditation on grief, healing and courage with multidisciplinary artist Phoebe Boswell, who creates portals that return us to our miraculous hearts. You can surrender to Phoebe's paintings at Ben Hunter Gallery in London until 12 December. For more on how this conversation and Phoebe's art have landed in my life, head to @busybeingblacktube. The heart-rending composition in this episode is by bassist Gregg August, commissioned by Phoebe Boswell, and is included with Phoebe's permission. 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. — Thank you: 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 contribute towards production costs. The song 'Busy Being Black' was created for the show and in collaboration with Lazarus Lynch and Joshua Pleeter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    58 mins
  • Black duende with Mojisola Adebayo

    Black duende with Mojisola Adebayo
    Jun 25 2025
    Inspired by Afrosurrealism, surrealist philosophy and the archetypal imagination, the Black Marvellous is a growing collection of conversations that adventure into Black imaginative vigour—in art, attitude and life. Who better than Mojisola Adebayo to remind us of the adventure and irreverence of Black artistry, during and beyond times of crisis? In this conversation, which originally aired in February 2023, Mojisola takes us on a journey from Goldsmiths University to Antarctica, to space and back again, to explore how we utilise performance to challenge the sanctity of whiteness, what an orgasm-seeking space odyssey tells us about the world-changing potential of queer Black pleasure, and how the reanimation of the life and story of Henrietta Lacks prompts us to consider our own genealogical and cosmic immortality. — Thank you: If this conversation resonates with you, here are three ways you can show your love: leave a comment, rating, or review; share this conversation on social media; or ⁠contribute towards production costs⁠. The song 'Busy Being Black' was created for the show and in collaboration with Lazarus Lynch and Joshua Pleeter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    59 mins
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