The term "white mediocrity" isn't meant to offend, it's simply a reality. Michael Harriot explains why average white people can achieve great things because they live in a society that's designed for them to succeed. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"When they see Black people living without pain and suffering it is shocking" Michael Harriot analyzes why society is so infatuated with watching trauma in entertainment especially when it comes to stories about Black people. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"Guns and racism are American traditions." It's Wypipo Wednesday. Michael Harriot continues his breakdown on why wypipo are so fascinated with guns. theGrio Daily is an original podcast from theGrio Black Podcast Network #BlackCultureAmplified

Music Courtesy of Transitions Music Corporation

"Colonizing is not just asking or suggesting people change things, it's changing things to benefit yourself." Michael Harriot helps you understand just how deep America's colonizing roots really go.

"We know that disparities exist and we don't fix them, which is a system of racism." The only way to correct systemic racism is to put a system in place that addresses it. Michael Harriot takes on the naysayers who claim systemic racism isn't real by providing several examples throughout the American education system, criminal justice system, and more that prove that it is. 

"The Supreme Court just said, y'all doing it wrong but they didn't fix it." It's been 69 years since The Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka deciding that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The decision is considered a cornerstone of the civil rights movement but was it really justice? Michael Harriot shares history about the landmark decision you've likely never heard and explains that while it was significant it didn't go far enough.

"They are fighting against telling the truth. They are fighting to teach kids lies." In the conclusion of this three-part series, Michael Harriot calls out the lawmakers and racist Americans who are pushing the false CRT narrative that is not rooted in historical fact.

"They say critical race theory means America is a racist country. It doens't mean that." As Michael Harriot's series explaining the two CRTs continues, he introduces you to the man we have to thank for the recent CRT movement that is based on lies. He'll explain Christopher Rufo's agenda to rebrand critical race theory and how he's managed to convince dozens of states to follow his lead.

"What most people are upset about is not Critical Race Theory, it's CRT." Did you know that CRT and critical race theory are not the same thing? Michael Harriot, who studied critical race theory, is here to drown out the noise and stick to the facts. In this three-part series, he'll explain the difference between the two theories and why one is something that was manufactured by white people. 

"If some people get to exercise a right freely and in any way that they want, and other people can't, then it's not a right. It's a way to discriminate." The laws and "rights" of Americans are not created or enforced equally. Michael Harriot uses examples to prove why many freedoms white Americans have only apply to them.

"Everybody is a person of color, white is a color." Michael Harriot explains why he doesn't like the term "people of color." It's a phrase we hear often these days, likely meant to be politically correct but in reality, it's centered around whiteness. 

"It's not just white people; it's conservatives; they are the Dr. Frankenstein in this analogy." Society can't agree on much but we can all agree that monsters aren't real, they're fiction that's created. Michael Harriot tackles some of the biggest arguments used by conservatives pointing out that they're just monsters, fictitious theories made up to scare us. 

"The cryptocurrency of whiteness is declining in value." Much like cryptocurrency, Michael Harriot explains that whiteness has been mined out of nothing yet is extremely valuable. 

"Black people with guns are white people's zombie apocalypse." Michael Harriot breaks down why white people love guns so much. And yes, it all comes back to racism. theGrio Daily is an original podcast from theGrio Black Podcast Network #BlackCultureAmplified

Music Courtesy of Transitions Music Corporation

"Black excellence has as much to do with the supremacy of whiteness as it has to do with the excellence of Blackness." Michael Harriot talks about the few Black billionaires in America to dismantle the argument that if one Black person is successful then oppression no longer exists.

"We want to see if we can verify or justify some of those racist concepts." What would happen if America flipped it's racists and systemic policies around and it was white people who were affected? Michael Harriot takes a look at what that might look like.

"It's not just about fairness, it's about making your product as good as it can be." Michael Harriot debunks the myth that any attempt at equity is an attempt to achieve equality of outcome. This concept simply isn't possible because minorities are subject to economic, social, political and educational deficits that white people do not experience.

"Every institution in this country that matters is controlled by white people." White people disproportionately make up the federal government, hold positions of power in the judicial system and run the country's most influential companies, yet there's a feeling at the moment they're being pushed out of power. Michael Harriot is here to calm their fears, they're still in charge. 

"Seeing the other side makes everyone's argument stronger but you can't present a straw man argument just to sound smart." Let's talk about contrarians. Michael Harriot dives into the straw man arguments that are often used against Black and brown people and why they are problematic. 

"A lot of the things we think of as conservative aren't really conservative; they're just white." The term conservative has come to mean certain things yet the policies they support don't often back their ideologies. For instance, it makes no sense to say you support small government but then back pro-life policies that are ultimately the federal government telling a woman what to do. Michael Harriot shares several other examples of the hypocritical thinking and explains that conservative really just means "pro-white."

"The history of racism is what they don't want you to know." The push to keep accurate Black history from being taught is nothing new and Michael Harriot highlights several times throughout history that anti-CRT has been the norm. 

"White ain't a culture, it's just the leftovers from everybody else." When identifying your race, ethnicity and nationality, things can get confusing. Michael Harriot admits even he has questions. As he answers a viewer who asked "what race are you?" he dives into the fact that all these categories are really just made up by white people.

"We know that nothing applies to all people." When society refers to a neighborhood that houses predominantly white residents, it's referred to as "the middle class" or a "rich neighborhood" but when an area that houses mostly Black families is described, it's called "a Black neighborhood." Why is that? Michael Harriot is here to explain and introduce you to default socialization.

"The next time you ask me why Black people or me in particular are so obsessed with race, the answer is, I'll stop when y'all stop." theGrio Daily continues a series of episodes that answer listener's frequently asked questions. Michael Harriot starts with addressing the amount of attention and focus that's put on racial labels in American society.

"The American education system has never been color blind." In part 2 of the Merit Myth, Michael Harriot continues to debunk the myth that everything white people got is through hard work. 

"We ain't gonna give this country away after we built it." As Michael Harriot answers one of the questions he's asked most often, he explains that America would be unrecognizable if Black people returned to Africa. Insisting, if Black people leave, they should take with them all the knowledge they've been forced to give America for free. 

"If white people cared they'd figure it out but white people don't care, they feel bad." Michael Harriot breaks down key issues like police brutality, school shootings and reparations to show that while some white people say they support change they don't take the necessary steps to actually make it happen. Supporting his opinion that white people may feel bad but they don't really care. 

"I done told you 100 times!" It's a celebration as theGrio Daily reaches 100 episodes! Michael Harriot gives some insight into what it takes to sustain a successful podcast and shares advice for those who are looking to start their own. 

"They'd rather stop you from being on the team than for them to lose." Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have recently become a flashpoint for conservatives but do you understand why? Michael Harriot explains that these policies are just another way for white Americans to push minorities out of the room. So instead of working with minorities and tapping into their skills and knowledge, they'd rather not have them on the team at all. Michael claims fear of being out performed is behind the racist tactics. 

"They hate law and order because we are fighting for law and order." The concept of law and order is a rallying cry for conservatives but Michael Harriot goes back in history to identify moments when Black people were the ones following the law yet they were the group to be punished. 

"I don't have any evidence that good cops exist." Michael Harriot takes a bold stance with his theory that there is no such thing as a good cop and he uses occupational research and data to back it up. 

"The first step to solving crimes, enforcing laws, and keeping people safe is to abolish the police." What if we've got it all wrong and our policing systems are actually doing more harm than good? Michael Harriot explains why Americans, especially Black Americans, would be safer if we abolished the police and started over with more intentional and targeted programs.

"We don't know how many people are killed by the police each year." Michael Harriot argues that it's about time the government starts tracking police violence and more importantly killings. There are no national, state-level, or local databases that house those numbers and there are no laws or policies that require police departments to report the information, which Michael believes gives them free rein to continue deadly over-policing. 

"Racism takes not just a mental toll, not just a societal toll, not just an economic toll on the citizens of America but we have to bear a physical burden, it's an actual weight that we have to carry." The idea that racism is a disease is no longer just a metaphorical concept but instead now proven by medical science. Michael Harriot explains the research that began in the 1970's that led to this conclusion.

"A lot of our parents were involved in the civil rights movement and we don't even know it." There are many untold stories of the Civil Rights Movement and Michael Harriot is here to tell you about twins Bessie and Ike Williams who were part of a group that gave us our right to agree to disagree.

"Whiteness is an affirmative action.” In this two-part series, Michael Harriot debunks the myth that if Black people work hard, they can get everything wypipo get. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast byTheGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

Music Courtesy of Transitions Music Corporation

"If you were at the front of the bus, the back of the bus, all of the seats belonged to white people." Before Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycotts a woman in South Carolina took the issue of segregated city buses all the way to the United States Supreme Court. In this episode of theGrio Daily, Michael Harriot tells the story of Sarah Mae Flemming. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"There is no such thing as soul food, it's all Black food, we are the ones who feed your soul." As our Black History Month conversations continue, Michael Harriot examines Black people's contributions to cuisine. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"Black taxpayers were funding the educational opportunities for whites, that was theft." Reparations are often discussed only in terms of slavery and Micahel Harriot explains that Black people being compensated for their contributions to America goes far beyond slavery.

"In a state that had been decimated economically by the Civil War, they found a cash cow, the mass incarceration system." The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world and Black and Latino people are disproportionately affected by mass incarceration. Michael Harriot explains why that reality is intentional and began with "Black codes" following the Civil War.

"Why not teach them from children's books with characters that look like them?" Michael Harriot teaches us about a former school superintendent whose legal battle with the state of South Carolina led to an anti-CRT campaign and an overhaul of school district personnel across the state.

"When you make the education system equal, it might be predominantly or disproportionately Black." Before historically Black colleges were recognized, The University of South Carolina was an institution with a 90% Black student body. Today, the university is predominantly white and Michael Harriot explains how it got that way.

"It is absolutely a lie to say that Black people do not want or value education." The power of education was not lost on American slaves and despite the threat of death, they taught themselves to read and write. As Michael Harriot continues to share Black history you're likely not familiar with, he explains the crucial role Black people played in creating America's public school system. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"If you ever attended a public school you can thank South Carolina's Black voters." The Anti-CRT movement is popular with conservative circles, but it did not start with former President Donald Trump or Governor Ron DeSantis. Thankfully we have Michael Harriot to explain where the hate for "wokeness" began.  TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

 "If there is such a thing as Black America, then South Carolina is the Capital of Black America." We hear the term "Black America" all the time. Whether it's on the news or just in regular conversation. Have you ever thought to yourself what is the capitol of Black America? Well, Michael Harriot has and he's here to tell you where you can find it. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"The most excellent Black immigrants still don't have access to the same stuff that the most mediocre white people do." Michael Harriot continues amplifying Africa with his continued conversation with Dr. Christina Greer about the diversity of Blackness across the diaspora. 

Michel Harriot uses facts and data to dispel the myth known as Black-on-Black crime. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. “Black-on-Black crime is the biggest hoax since ‘liberty & justice for all.”  #BlackCultureAmplified (First Air Date: 07/1/22)

Music Courtesy of Transitions Music Corporation

"You don't reduce the totality of your ancestors to something white people did to us." Michael Harriot brings on Dr. Christina Greer to talk about her book Black Ethnics and how being Black is a lot more diverse than people think. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"Are you an African, an African American, or are you just Black?" There is still some confusion to how Black people should identify. Michael Harriot breaks down how we are all connected and why there are different identities to being Black. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"There's nothing certain in life but death, taxes and wypipo-ing." As Michael Harriot wraps up The Wypipo Awards he touches on categories including "The Whitest Thing That Happened This Year," "The Crime of the Year" and actress Paula Patton's unseasoned fried chicken also gets an honorable mention. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified