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Get your popcorn! It’s movie night on The Stoop. Whether during filmmaking booms or busts, Black entertainers and filmmakers found a way to show Black love on screen. We explore the history of love in Black movies with film scholar Dr. Artel Great. From the first Black kiss filmed in the 1800s, to the 90's romance renaissance and beyond, we go down Black film memory lane to dissect some iconic moments of Black love on the silver screen.

This season we're leaning into love in all its forms — starting with the city of love, Paris. Leila meets with Sutanya Dacres, an American in France, who transformed her life after heartbreak through the joy of cooking. She also lets us in on the secret ingredient that makes French life feel so romantic.

The Stoop is back with season 10! This season, Leila and Hana are exploring love in its many forms.

Sometimes it’s easier to hold back than be completely honest, especially when talking about some of the themes that are brought up on The Stoop. Today Hana and Leila share some moments that made them uncomfortable but also made them realize the importance of sharing the discomfort.  As we approach our 100th episode, let’s be 100% real. 

Hana spends a day in Nairobi with Kenyan Instagram comedian, Hope Hajir. Hope made it to the U.S. and was living her life when a tragic event gave her pause. While many people who reach the U.S. find ways to stay, Hope decided to return to Nairobi and talks about the experience of not wanting to live the American Dream.

This summer, The Moth and The Stoop are getting cozy and sharing stories. Today, we invite special guest, Suzanne Rust, the host of The Moth storytelling series, to share a tale she loves. This story is by Ivan McClellan, a photographer who lives in Portland, Oregon. Ivan found something very unexpected in his hometown of Kansas City, Kansas when he learns about the black rodeo. In this double feature, we also stoop it out with Suzanne about The Stoop’s episode —episode 75 —“Black don’t crack?” and how we really feel about aging.

What’s it like when everyone at home speaks a language you don’t understand? That’s the story of Claudia, a Ghanaian American who grew up not speaking her home language —her ‘Mother Tongue’. But everybody else did, including her own siblings. The effects were real: disconnect, frustration, shame, and at some point a full on identity crisis. We also ask other people in the diaspora if they speak their home languages, and Hana contends with her own kids’ lack of fluency, and what it means.

Leila travels back to Cuba —and to her 20s —in this special episode about Havana, dance, hair, proud negras, and finding your voice. This story is told in collaboration with Meditative Story, hosted by Rohan Gunatillake.

It’s a term of endearment but not everybody wants to be your “Auntie.” Today, Leila and Hana unravel some of the emotions and stereotypes tied to being an “Auntie.” They did into the deeper connections to ageism, the evolving meaning of the term, and discuss the weight of “respectability handles” within Black culture.

Interest in psychedelics is ramping up. People are even claiming that psychedelics can help heal racial trauma. But should we believe the hype? Can psychedelics bring us pleasure and joy? Or is the new psychedelic gold rush perpetuating the same old harm? Producer Natalie, takes hosts, Leila and Hana, on a sonic trip to talk to a few new and seasoned psychonauts: Tonya Mosley, host of Truth Be Told and Fresh Air, decolonized psychedelic educator and practitioner, Buki Fadipe, and psychiatric nurse practitioner and organizer, Kwasi Adusei.

Today, The Stoop has a special episode. The war in Hana’s home country, Sudan, continues. Hana has been feeling the conflict here at home in the States. Today we pause and take a moment to reflect on the music that has been holding people together, and we highlight the voices of Sudanese Americans who are living through a reality that their homes may never be the same. Many thanks to the kids of SANC School in California, musician Mazin Jamal and legendary songstress Salma Elassal for her songs of longing that carry us through these hard times.

Hana has a dilemma. As a diasporan, is she basically a diluted African? This question arises when Hana and Leila travel to conduct workshops at a conference in Kenya. Hana finds that she’s questioning her place —she’s African, but she’s a diaspora African —and she wonders how she’s seen, and what her role is, as someone who flies in from the West. In Nairobi, Hana gets some advice on diaspora privilege from Africa Podfest’s Melissa Mbugua, then in California she chats with fellow diasporans who are also asking, how should we conduct ourselves in Africa?