0:00

I went to bed election

0:03

night thinking about 2019.

0:05

I needed to remember a

0:07

good moment, a time when

0:09

I felt hopeful, when that

0:12

light inside of me wasn't

0:14

dim, but burning and bright.

0:16

2019 was the year that

0:18

I went to, because that

0:20

is the year that I

0:23

started this show. Truth be told.

0:27

You I've never worked

0:29

on anything that has come

0:31

together as quickly as this

0:33

show did. The idea came

0:36

one night while hanging out

0:38

with my friends, fellow journalists

0:40

Christina and Sandia. We were

0:42

actually spread out on Christina's

0:44

living room floor and her

0:46

couch and just riffing about

0:48

the kind of show that

0:50

we needed to hear. Outside

0:52

of the daily deluge of

0:55

news about impeachment hearing lawsuits

0:57

and hate crimes, and Trump's

0:59

face plastered at top of

1:01

every news cycle, every hour,

1:03

on the hour. It didn't

1:05

really take us long to

1:07

figure it out. A friend,

1:10

Christina said, the one you call

1:12

after a long day, the one who

1:14

gets you. And that friend,

1:16

Sandia continued.

1:18

is you, Tanya. Over five

1:21

seasons, I've had a chance

1:23

to learn from some of

1:25

the greatest thinkers and

1:27

storytellers of our time

1:30

about how to survive

1:32

and more importantly radically

1:35

thrive in a changing

1:37

America. I've tried to

1:39

be a friend by opening up

1:42

space and really listening because

1:44

I'm on this journey too.

1:46

to figure it all out.

1:49

Dear truth be told, dear truth be

1:51

told, I need your help. Which

1:53

is why it meant so much

1:55

for me to hear from some

1:57

of you days after the 2024

1:59

election. that you were listening

2:01

back to some of our

2:04

older episodes. And so I

2:06

decided to listen back to,

2:09

and it has been so

2:11

emotional because there is so

2:13

much wisdom and soulful, life-affirming

2:16

conversations that I really need

2:18

it right now. So beginning

2:21

January 6th, we're going to

2:23

revisit some of my favorite

2:25

truth-be-told episodes. Over nine weeks,

2:28

you'll get to immerse yourself

2:30

in conversation that is bold

2:33

and spirited and curious and

2:35

unfiltered. You know, we had

2:37

these weird draconian out-of-date theories

2:40

and theses about what it

2:42

means to be a man,

2:45

particularly a black man. And

2:47

they owe, it don't work

2:50

no more. I know. You

2:52

know, and you know, the

2:54

only, we need more therapy

2:57

than just our barber. We're

2:59

going to go back to

3:02

that time on the show

3:04

when wise ones answered your

3:06

burning questions about life and

3:09

love and relationships and how

3:11

to find hope and it

3:13

all feels so dark This

3:15

is so much conflict because

3:17

how dare I how can

3:19

I be full of joy?

3:22

It is conflicting That's a

3:24

big question, isn't it? And

3:26

yet it's so easy. Being

3:28

able to have these conversations

3:30

on Truth be told, they

3:32

really helped me get through

3:34

some rough times in my

3:36

life, and those dark days

3:38

during the pandemic, and that

3:40

thing we called a racial

3:43

reckoning that never really was.

3:45

If we can begin to

3:47

tap back into the rest

3:49

practices that our ancestors were

3:51

doing, resting is the foundation

3:53

for a liberated world. Listening

3:55

bag, I realize that the

3:57

topics that we've taken on

3:59

are now more relevant than

4:01

ever. Even those fun moments,

4:03

like my combo with the

4:06

late great Nikki Giovanni, about

4:08

food, there's so many nuggets

4:10

of wisdom. You know, I

4:12

want to ask you about

4:14

your grandma's greens. I cook

4:16

greens every Sunday and every

4:18

Sunday I fall short. They're

4:20

good enough. There's something those

4:22

old ladies did. I don't

4:24

know, they smiled or, you

4:27

know, or they said please,

4:29

or something that you and

4:31

I aren't doing. But what

4:33

I remember, and I'm sure

4:35

you do also, is you

4:37

had to cook your ham

4:39

hunk the day before, and

4:41

then it went into the

4:43

refrigerator, and it cooled. And

4:45

I think that that might

4:47

be one of the things

4:50

that we're missing, is that

4:52

patience to wait. Welcome back.

4:54

And if you're new, welcome

4:56

to truth be told. I

4:58

am glad you're here. We're

5:00

about to step into the

5:02

unknown in this country as

5:04

we live through thick history.

5:06

Moments in time that shift

5:08

our consciousness and ways of

5:10

being. And so we need

5:13

the wisdom of each other

5:15

now more than ever. So

5:17

let's get comfy together and

5:19

dive in. Beginning

5:23

January 6th, truth be

5:25

told, time to thrive

5:28

wherever you get your

5:30

podcasts.