WOCU Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

We’re back with season two of the Women of Color Unite Podcast! Did you miss us?

The Women of Color Unite Podcast: How Hollywood Works… Or Doesn't pulls back the velvet curtain on the entertainment industry: the wins, the wild stories, and the “you can’t make this up” moments that define life behind the scenes. The show brings you real talk from people who live it, love it, and occasionally have to fight it. Each episode dives into creativity, career chaos, and those rare moments when Visibility, Innovation, and Access actually align.

In our premiere episode, we have an illustrious guest, Brenda Gilbert of BRON Studios. Now a board member of Women of Color Unite, Gilbert has produced over 125 projects, including “The Willoughbys” and “Loudmouth.” She joined our hosts, Cheryl L. Bedford and Nicci Freeman, to share her journey from business to film production, the importance of authentic storytelling, and the challenges she faced in the industry.

Links mentioned:

• “Surrounded” trailer

• “Loudmouth” trailer

• “The Willoughbys” trailer

• “Reggie” trailer

• Instagram

• WOCU

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nwabata Nnani and edited by Lauren Bonett. It’s hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Nicci Freeman.

Transcript

If you want to submit responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to podcast@wocunite.com. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @wocuniteorg @gypsycarpetbagger and @Cheryl_CLBP.

Women of Color Unite is finally back with a new season!!! This season Cheryl will be hosting will her good friend Nicci Freeman. They'll be interviewing industry professionals both behind and in front of the camera. You do not want to miss this! So be sure to tune in October 23rd!

On this episode of the Women of Color Unite podcast, Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper recap the first season of the WOCU podcast, and reflect on the WGA and SAG strikes so far.

Subscribe to the Women of Color Unite Podcast to never miss a new episode. Become a premium subscriber today and get access to our “Hot Tea” bonus segments and the video versions of the podcast for only $2.99 per month: Subscribe here

Links mentioned:

• Billy Porter Says He Has To Sell His House Due To Hollywood Strikes, Slams Disney CEO Bob Iger: ‘F**k You’ (yahoo.com)

• Geena Davis institute studies on colorism

• National institute of health - colorism

• Reaganomics has not worked

• Crutches & spice instagram

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nwabata Nnani and edited by Lauren Bonett. It’s hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper.

If you want to submit questions or responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to podcast@wocunite.com. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @wocuniteorg @manondereeper and @Cheryl_CLBP.

Recorded with Riverside

On this episode of the Women of Color Unite podcast, Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper sit down with Dr. Sarah L. Webb to discuss the much avoided topic of Colorism in Hollywood. 

Subscribe to the Women of Color Unite Podcast to never miss a new episode. Become a premium subscriber today and get access to our “Hot Tea” bonus segments and the video versions of the podcast for only $2.99 per month: Subscribe here

Links mentioned:

• Dr. Sarah L. Webb: https://colorismhealing.com/

• Dr. Sarah L. Webb (@colorismhealing) • Instagram photos and videos

• ‘Diversity Fatigue’? Hollywood Loses 4 DEI Leaders in Less Than 2 Weeks

• Ms. Foundation Releases Landmark Study on Philanthropic Giving for Women and Girls of Color

• Dr. Akosua Lesesne's (@siecretreat) Instagram 

• Colorism in Casting Call for 'Straight Outta Compton' NWA Film

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nwabata Nnani and edited by Lauren Bonett. It’s hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper.

If you want to submit questions or responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to podcast@wocunite.com. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @wocuniteorg @manondereeper and @Cheryl_CLBP.

Recorded with Riverside

On this bonus episode, our hosts Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper are joined by Women of Color Unite’s Head of Education, Dr. Akosua Lesesne, who responds to Roanna Renee’s story of how she experienced sexual battery at the hands of a VP of DEI in Hollywood - what the implications are, and what the future holds for DEI in the entertainment industry.

Subscribe to the Women of Color Unite Podcast to never miss a new episode. Become a premium subscriber today and get access to our “Hot Tea” bonus segments and the video versions of the podcast for only $2.99 per month: Subscribe here

Links mentioned:

Dr. Akosua Lesesne's Instagram 

https://lovenowmedia.com/the-me-too-movements-new-program-director-has-a-history-of-healing/

me too. Movement (metoomvmt.org)

All the women are white, all the blacks are men (book link)

Her Words | Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee

DR. Deguar Analysis

“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” Assata Shakur  

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nwabata Nnani and edited by Lauren Bonett. It’s hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper.

If you want to submit questions or responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to podcast@wocunite.com. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @wocuniteorg @manondereeper and @Cheryl_CLBP.

Recorded with Riverside

TRIGGER WARNING!

On this episode of the Women of Color Unite Podcast, Roanna Renee shares her story of sexual battery, betrayal, and the total disregard of Black female victims.

If you or someone you know has been sexually harrased, battered or assaulted, please reach out for help to the National Sexual Assault Hotline 1(800) 656-4673. Please speak to someone today.

This is dedicated to all the women of color left out of #MeToo.

Links:

• https://metoomvmt.org/
• California Penal Code 243.4 PC - https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=243.4.&lawCode=PEN
• Book: But Some of Us are Brave https://www.amazon.com/But-Some-Us-Are-Brave/dp/1558618988

Subscribe to the Women of Color Unite Podcast to never miss a new episode. Become a premium subscriber today and get access to our “Hot Tea” bonus segments and the video versions of the podcast for only $2.99 per month: Subscribe here

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nwabata Nnani and edited by Lauren Bonett. It’s hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper.

If you want to submit questions or responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to podcast@wocunite.com. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @wocuniteorg @manondereeper and @Cheryl_CLBP.

Recorded with Riverside

This episode, Cheryl and Manon break down the diversity paradox and how Hollywood is leaving billions of dollars on the table. Over and over, studies have shown that more diverse representation in film and TV positively impacts both viewership and the bottom line, yet marginalized communities are still severely underrepresented on-screen. 

In our hot tea segment for premium subscribers, we talk about pitching our own projects, all of which have marginalized leads, and some of the (positive and negative) responses we’ve had. Perhaps the most perplexing: “this is too diverse”. 

Subscribe to the Women of Color Unite Podcast to never miss a new episode. Become a premium subscriber today and get access: Subscribe here

Links mentioned:

• Non-White Audiences More Likely To Watch Shows With Diverse Casts – Deadline

• Diverse TV Resonates With Audiences, UCLA Study Finds | Time

• Taika Waititi Addresses Hollywood's Issues in Diversity & Inclusion: "What's Taking So Long?" - YouTube

• The Prevalence and Portrayal of Asian American and Pacific Islanders across 1,300 Popular Films (uscannenberg.org)

• Hispanic and Latino Representation in Film: Erasure On Screen & Behind the Camera Across 1,300 Popular Movies (uscannenberg.org)

• Inclusion in the Director's Chair: Analysis of Director Gender and Race/Ethnicity Across the 1,600 Top Films from 2007 to 2022 (uscannenberg.org)

• As women age with longevity on their side, the financial future is female (rbcwealthmanagement.com)

• We We Need More Movies About Older Women Like Book Club (katiecouric.com)

• Ageism in Hollywood: ‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen It’ | Next Avenue

• Hollywood Losing $10B in Potential Annual Revenue From Black Inequity, Says McKinsey Report – The Hollywood Reporter

• A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults with Disabilities (air.org)

• Disability Representation In Hollywood - The Pioneers You Probably Don’t Know Enough About (forbes.com)

• Understanding the Multi-Billion Dollar LGBT Market – Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication (fsu.edu)

• Taylor Sheridan Interviw https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/taylor-sheridan-yellowstone-interview-1235519261/ 

• Pride Never Stops Hulu https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bianca-del-rio-hulu-livestream-pride-marches-1235649130/

• Non-White Paper CSA https://wocunite.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CSA-WOCU-Non-white-Paper-Sep-13_compressed.pdf

• WOCU Seal https://wocunite.org/wocu-seal/

• Michael Harriot’s Takedown of Nikki Haley https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1672893653008695298

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nwabata Nnani and edited by Lauren Bonett. It’s hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper.

If you want to submit questions or responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to podcast@wocunite.com. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @wocuniteorg @manondereeper and @Cheryl_CLBP.

Recorded with Riverside

This episode, Cheryl and Manon break down what Diversity, Equity & Inclusion departments do at the studios and other production companies, and how they have become yet another tool in the toolbox of Hollywood gatekeepers.

In our hot tea segment for premium subscribers, we talk about Uber’s “Don’t Call Me Karen” event, and how that led to their DEI Officer being suspended. Oof. And what about that “backlash” from Asia about casting Halle Bailey as the Little Mermaid? Our thoughts may not be what you expect.

Links mentioned:

• Chief Diversity Officer Demographics and Statistics [2023]: Number Of Chief Diversity Officers In The US (zippia.com)

• Pocket Change: How Women and Girls of Color Do More with Less (forwomen.org)

•  “Diversity Within”: The Problems with “Intersectional” White Feminism in Practice | Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society | Oxford Academic (oup.com)

• I am a Woman of Color and I am not endorsing Nithya Raman by Cheryl L. Bedford

• Book: But Some of Us Are Brave Edited by Akasha (Gloria T.) Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith

• Screenwriters Contest Transparency Initiative 

• Uber Suspends DEI Chief After Employees Complain of Insensitivity - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• Box Office: The Little Mermaid Doused in China After Racist Backlash (The Hollywood Reporter)
  

Subscribe to the Women of Color Unite Podcast to never miss a new episode. Become a premium subscriber today and get access: Subscribe here

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nwabata Nnani and edited by Lauren Bonett. It’s hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper.

If you want to submit questions or responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to podcast@wocunite.com. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @wocuniteorg @manondereeper and @Cheryl_CLBP.

Recorded with Riverside

Welcome to the first episode of the all new podcast from Women of Color Unite (WOCU)!

Join us as we get a colorful introduction to WOCU's founder, Cheryl L Bedford and WOCU's VP Manon De Reeper. Learn about who they are and how WOCU came to be. You definitely don't want to miss hearing about their first meeting!

Stick around to hear some insightful perspective on the current WGA strike and how this impacts women of color.

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WGA Strike Resources: ⁠WGA STRIKE RESOURCES⁠

Research article about intersectionality in non-profits: ⁠“Diversity Within”: The Problems with “Intersectional” White Feminism in Practice | Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society | Oxford Academic (oup.com)⁠

Subscribe to Women of Color Unite Podcast to never miss a new episode.

Become a premium subscriber today and get access: Subscribe here

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nalonni Madden and Sameena Mustafa, edited by Lauren Bonett and Nwabata Nnani, and hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper.

If you want to submit questions or responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to ⁠podcast@wocunite.com⁠. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @thejtclist @manondereeper and @CLBP_cheryl.

Recorded with Riverside

Welcome to the WOCU Podcast, an inspiring platform by Women of Color Unite! Join us as we dive into meaningful conversations, share powerful stories, and uplift voices from our community. Subscribe to our channel and get ready to explore diverse narratives shaping our world today. In this YouTube Short, we give you a glimpse into our podcast. Enjoy insightful dialogue, dynamic guests, and actionable advice designed to empower, inspire, and unite women of color across the globe. The WOCU Podcast - is a place where diverse voices thrive. Use the hashtag #WOCUPodcast to join the conversation! Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe to stay updated with our latest content. #WOCUPodcast