Pursue Truth (with Jemele Hill) – Episode 18 of Rants & Randomness

Awesomely Luvvie — October 30, 2018

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My peoples, welcome to Rants & Randomness. I am Luvvie Ajayi, your wacky wordsmith and host, and this is my podcast where I am talking about things I’m loving, things I’m side-eyeing, and having great conversation with really interesting people.

Download Episode 18 Transcript

On this episode, my feel good is the LuvvFest that my friend threw me, I’m ranting about people who don’t vote on purpose, and spotlighting the company I’m really loving called Mess in a Bottle. My guest is the incredible Jemele Hill, so this is going to be a really good show.

Feel Good

I’m feeling really good about the LuvvFest, a party that my friends decided to surprise me with a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome because they know it’s been a rough couple of months, so they decided on a random Saturday to trick me, get me out of the house, and when I walked back in they were all waiting and yelled, “Surprise!” There was food, there was drink, there was red velvet cake, which is my favorite, and then they wrote notes for me to read for when I need to be filled up even more.

My Rant

For this week’s rant, here’s the thing: we are in some dire times. This upcoming midterm election is critical, and it feels critical in a way that a lot of elections haven’t felt as critical. It just feels like we are in a moment where we either sink or swim, and this is why I am ranting about people who do not vote.

My Randomness

This week, I am shouting out and spotlighting Mess in a Bottle. Mess in a Bottle is a t-shirt company that puts meaningful messages on their shirts that come in a reusable bottle, and it was created in 2016 by Kalilah Wright who left her six-figure job as an architect to pursue this passion. Serena Williams is rocking her “QUEEN” army fatigue jacket in Paris. Lena Waithe wore her, “Keep creating dope shit until someone notices” t-shirt. A couple of weeks ago I was in Amsterdam and I ended up wearing one of her grilled bomber jackets. Kalilah works so hard, and she is transparent about her journey as an entrepreneur. Her products are great. Great quality.

My Guest: Jemele Hill

This week, my guest is Jemele Hill. Jemele is a staff writer for The Atlantic where she explores the intersection of race, culture, gender, politics and sports. The award-winning sports journalist and commentator recently left ESPN where she spent 12 years in a variety of roles, including senior correspondent and columnist for ESPN’s The Undefeated.

Prior to joining The Undefeated, Hill co-anchored Sports Center with her long-time friend and colleague, Michael Smith. As you may remember, last year she gained the attention of the White House when she Tweeted that President Donald Trump is a white supremacist, one month after deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. In August 2018, the National Association of Black Journalists awarded Hill with Journalist of the Year Award. Jemele is also co-founder of the Lodge Freeway Media Production Company she formed last year with her best friend from college, Kelley Carter. A native of Detroit, Hill is a proud Michigan State alum.

In this episode, we are talking about getting laser focused on what you want out of life and grabbing it, why it’s critical to have a strong sense of who you are in the world, and why speaking truth matters now more than ever.

You can follow Jemele on Instagram at @jemelehill. As always, much love to the Chicago Recording Company, where I record each episode!

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Download Episode 18 Transcript