We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brendane Tynes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brendane thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

Alyssa, the other co-host of the podcast, actually came up with the idea. We both are getting our PhDs at Columbia University, and we’ve built a great friendship. We discussed current events over the phone all the time, so when Alyssa suggested we take our conversations off WhatsApp and into a podcast, I was like “Absolutely! How do we do this?” As the 2020 uprisings happened all over the world, we thought our voices as Black queer women would provide more insight into what’s going on. We honestly had no idea that it would take off in the way that it did. In the beginning, we doubted whether people would want to hear us, but it took off! Our family, friends, and colleagues donated thousands of dollars to help with production costs. They seeded into us so that we could flourish. Their support really showed us how valuable we were.

Brendane, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Black queer feminist storyteller and scholar from Columbia, South Carolina. Alyssa is a writer and scholar from Toronto, Canada. We’re both Anthropology PhD Candidates at Columbia University. Together we host Zora’s Daughters Podcast. Zora’s Daughters is a society and culture podcast that uses Black feminist anthropology to think about race, politics, and popular culture. We are two Black women anthropologists-in-training who follow in the legacy of Zora Neale Hurston and other Black women ethnographers. In our three segments What’s the Word?, What We’re Reading, and What in the World?!, we dig deeper into social issues in a way that is accessible and entertaining. By prioritizing the issues of Black women and other marginalized groups, we empower listeners to develop the tools and language that starts conversations and sparks change.

We are proud of the community we’ve built around the principles of Black feminism. Everyday we hear from our listeners about how the podcast has provided a space for them to learn, to grow, and to feel seen in a world that invisibilizes the struggles of so many marginalized people. It is an honor for us to learn and to grow alongside our listeners, and I believe we model that vulnerable process of change well. We don’t see ourselves as the supreme holders of knowledge; rather, we introduce concepts to listeners and empower them to learn more.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Whew! We had to learn early on that increased visibility also can increase the violence you face online. Everyone wants to go viral, right? The potential to earn money or fame entices many people, but that was not my or Alyssa’s goal. So when the fame came, we were unprepared to deal with the amount of attention, DMs, emails, and demands we received. We had to learn how to set boundaries on our time and that we didn’t need to do everything. We, in a sense, had to tell our inner Strong Black Woman to sit down somewhere and rest. That was hard. Releasing control of every aspect of the podcast either through delegating to another person, or just letting things go for our own sanity, was hard to do.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of doing this work has been the strengthening of my and Alyssa’s friendship and sisterhood alongside the community we’ve built together. As a Gemini, I love to talk. And I love to be around people who encourage me to see my life differently. I believe that walking in my purpose as a creative has allowed me to generate more love and more peace in my life. The ZD Podcast community has walked with us through the highs and lows of our graduate career and lives. It has been a true blessing, especially during the pandemic.

Contact Info:

• Website: zorasdaughters.com
• Instagram: @zorasdaughters
• Twitter: @zoras_daughters

Image Credits
Photo of Brendane: Shae McCoy ZD Cover Art: Whitney Ingram Photo of Alyssa: Devin Hill