Send us a text

A teenage diary named Nancy. A snowstorm walk after a father’s refusal. A boot camp commander who sees what no one else did. Yasmin Charles joins us for a fearless conversation that traces a path from Port-au-Prince to Brooklyn to the Navy—and into the kitchen where healing meets hunger.

We open with the shock of migration and the ache of colorism, not in headlines but inside a blended family. Yasmin describes bullying, parentification, and the quiet violence of church masks—how scripture can become a shield that hides wounds instead of treating them. A single moment in boot camp flips the script: being chosen to lead becomes proof that her voice belongs in the room. From there, the culinary track and nutrition science collide, and she begins teaching food as medicine without sacrificing flavor, pushing back on an entertainment-only food culture that feeds epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

The story turns raw and practical: deportation as a teen, a sister’s suicide attempt averted, and months living in a car while attending Norfolk State. Those pages forge her mission as a homelessness advocate. She lays out a dignity-first blueprint—keys, private rooms, on-site therapists, and job support—arguing that empathy and structure solve what charity drives rarely do. Along the way, we unpack choosing a child-free life, setting boundaries with family, and reframing forgiveness to include real healing. Yasmin’s voice is clear, warm, and unflinching, and her recipes for resilience are as useful as her kitchen tips.

Come for the story, stay for the tools: nutrition you can use tonight, language for trauma you can carry, and a vision of community that looks like care. If this conversation moved you, follow and subscribe, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find these stories and join the conversation.

Support the show

Do us a favor and like, comment, share, and subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. To see the full video on YouTube go to Listen Up with Host Al Neely

Reach out to us on our socials and hit us up with any questions!

Email: Info@listenup.biz
Instagram: ListenUp4U
Facebook: Let's Talk About It - Listen Up
Twitter: ListenUp@Listenup4U
Website: listenup.biz

YouTube: Listen Up with Host Al Neely

Send us a text

A decorated high school art teacher walks away from the system—and finds a bigger canvas. Jessica Chivon joins us to share how she traded classroom constraints for a studio-first life, why students are hungry for handwriting and analog craft, and how sketchbooks can quietly reveal anxiety, resilience, and hope. Her story threads personal transformation with a larger cultural shift toward authenticity in an age of AI and instant everything.

We dig into the tensions inside modern education: AP-heavy schedules that sideline creative courses, permission-slip politics around museum nudes, and the chilling effect of censorship on curious minds. Jessica makes a compelling case that art has always been a grassroots technology—pen, paper, and an idea are enough to move people—and that’s exactly why it gets squeezed. From Shepard Fairey’s Hope poster to Norman Rockwell’s late civil rights works, we explore how images carry social change. She also spotlights Kehinde Wiley’s portraits and sculptures, which center Black subjects in heroic, Renaissance-inspired frames, reframing who belongs on the wall and why representation matters.

COVID turned out to be an unexpected studio residency. With document cameras and livestreams, Jessica discovered that adults crave real instruction without the commute, and that kindness plus clear steps can turn “I can’t draw” into daily practice. She’s building an online school rooted in community, modeling a path many creatives quietly consider: use tech to teach, keep the work human, and let the craft lead. If you care about arts education, mental health, and finding your creative voice amid noise, this conversation offers practical insight and a hopeful map forward.

Enjoy the episode, then subscribe, share it with a friend who needs creative fuel, and leave a review to help more listeners find these stories.

Support the show

Do us a favor and like, comment, share, and subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. To see the full video on YouTube go to Listen Up with Host Al Neely

Reach out to us on our socials and hit us up with any questions!

Email: Info@listenup.biz
Instagram: ListenUp4U
Facebook: Let's Talk About It - Listen Up
Twitter: ListenUp@Listenup4U
Website: listenup.biz

YouTube: Listen Up with Host Al Neely

Send us a text

Some stories aren’t meant to be told once; they’re meant to be lived, spoken, and reshaped until the truth inside them finally lands. That’s where we go with poet Tony B, whose book Runaway Home charts a fierce, tender path through grief, reinvention, and the power of choosing your own voice. We start with the line that won’t leave her alone—“I write because I don’t know what else to do”—and follow it from midwestern roots to a thousand-mile drive toward the Atlantic with nothing but a car, $4,000, and conviction.

Tony opens up about losing her husband and father, pouring love into a restaurant that ultimately failed, and rediscovering her craft during the stillness of COVID. She explains how writing helps her process what she’s learned, while performance functions like confession, turning poems into actions. Together we unpack the structure of Runaway Home—family, relationships, grief, and the title section—threaded with acceptance, forgiveness, healing, and love. We talk about the difference between happiness and joy, why the ocean became a place to be rather than do, and how she learned to cancel old “subscriptions” to beliefs that didn’t honor her life.

This conversation is raw, grounded, and filled with lines you’ll carry. You’ll hear how agency grows when we own our choices without denying what’s been done to us, how a voice becomes clearer when it’s spoken aloud, and why place matters when it resets your rhythm. If you’ve ever felt the pull to start over, to reframe your story, or to find home inside yourself, Tony’s journey will meet you where you are. Stream now, share it with someone who needs courage for a leap, and if it resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what belief are you canceling next?

Support the show

Do us a favor and like, comment, share, and subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. To see the full video on YouTube go to Listen Up with Host Al Neely

Reach out to us on our socials and hit us up with any questions!

Email: Info@listenup.biz
Instagram: ListenUp4U
Facebook: Let's Talk About It - Listen Up
Twitter: ListenUp@Listenup4U
Website: listenup.biz

YouTube: Listen Up with Host Al Neely