Seasons of Change, Episode 6: Great Grief Live! On Holiday Part 2
Great Grief
Grief comes to live with us all eventually, and she needs no invitation. In this bonus holiday episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon appreciates the quiet moments shared in the kitchen with her late father and wonders aloud how to curate her space for the holidays now that grief has made a home in her home. In this previously-recorded live edition of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon shares her memories of the lessons her grandma's wooden spoon and wisdom gave her about gathers with community to create a warm space for us to sit with our loves and our losses in the company of those who also...
info_outline
Seasons of Change, Episode 5: Great Grief Live! On Holiday Part 1
Great Grief
Grief cannot tell time. She comes and goes as she pleases. In this bonus holiday episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon remembers the lessons of her grandmother, honors those we've lost, and holds space for our holiday grief with poetry and song. In this previously-recorded live edition of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon shares her memories of the lessons her grandma's wooden spoon and wisdom gave her about gathers with community to create a warm space for us to sit with our loves and our losses in the company of those who also know suffering. The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to...
info_outline
Seasons of Change, Episode 4: Holiday Season
Great Grief
The festive season carries such a high expectation of joy that can feel inaccessible for so many grievers. In this previously-recorded live edition of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon gathers with community to create a warm space for us to sit with our loves and our losses in the company of those who also know suffering. Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. This is episode four in the second four-episode...
info_outline
Seasons of Change, Episode 3: The World Since You Left
Great Grief
How do we communicate with those who have “gone?” Is it even possible? In this episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon sets about asking the moon, the sun, and even the leaves how she might get in touch with her beloved Phil. If grief shows us that time isn’t linear, maybe sorrow is more than a season. Maybe it’s a portal. Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. This is episode two in the second...
info_outline
Seasons of Change, Episode 2: Ashes, Ashes
Great Grief
Grief can take us to our knees—right back to the dirt, dust, and the earth, from which all things grow. In this episode of Great Grief, Nnenna Freelon consults Mother Nature—and a Black woman hemp farmer—to lean into how we might grow on even in harsh environments and bitter seasons. Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. This is episode three in the second four-episode season of Great Grief with...
info_outline
Seasons of Change, Episode 1: Falling
Great Grief
In this episode of Great Grief, we follow Nnenna Freelon on a walk through the woods, where she contemplates autumn, the changing of the seasons, and the possibility of renewal after everything dies. Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. This is episode one in the second four-episode season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Seasons of Change." The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to talk about the...
info_outline
Trailer - Season 2: Seasons of Change
Great Grief
Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, season 2: "Seasons of Change," launches November 28, 2023. The seasons are changing, an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. In the latest series of Great Grief, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost. For many people, holidays are a time of celebration marked by family, faith, and food. This time of year can...
info_outline
Wailing Women, Episode 4: Black Widow
Great Grief
The podcast Great Grief takes shape around Nnenna’s own great grief, which she experienced after the death of her husband, Philip Freelon, in 2019. A wife for nearly 40 years, Nnenna wonders in this episode what to make of the term "widow."Perhaps loss does not make her into a widow. Perhaps it is turning her into something else altogether. This is episode four in our four-part season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Wailing Women," exploring the profound beauty and irreparable losses we experience as Black women through story and song. Listen to all four episodes, touching on the...
info_outline
Wailing Women, Episode 3: Hairstory
Great Grief
Our relationship with our hair is a complicated entanglement. It holds our history, personality, and identity. It also holds our grief. In this episode, "Hairstory," Nnenna sits us down in the chair at her mother’s beauty salon, where for generations, Black women have celebrated one another and have gathered to discuss hair—the grief over it, and the grief under it. This is episode three in our four-part season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Wailing Women," exploring the profound beauty and irreparable losses we experience as Black women through story and song. Listen to all...
info_outline
Wailing Women, Episode 2: Sister Sister
Great Grief
No woman makes it through life without a sister. In grieving the death of her baby sister, Nnenna alights on all the ways Black women experience sisterhood. Through faith, family, and struggle, we inhabit a deep solidarity that allows us to hold one another close, even at the very end. This is episode two in our four-part season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Wailing Women," exploring the profound beauty and irreparable losses we experience as Black women through story and song. Listen to all four episodes, touching on the shock of widowhood, the bittersweet of sisterhood, and the...
info_outlineIn this episode of Great Grief, we follow Nnenna Freelon on a walk through the woods, where she contemplates autumn, the changing of the seasons, and the possibility of renewal after everything dies.
- Read a transcript of this episode.
- Join Scalawag and Nnenna Freelon in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 10 for "Great Grief—Live! Home for the Holidays," a live music performance and uplifting conversation exploring loss, love, and how to move forward with grief during the holidays. Reserve your tickets today.
This is episode one in the second four-episode season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Seasons of Change." The seasons are changing—an apt metaphor to talk about the shedding, withering, and falling away that accompanies the most painful parts of grief. This season, Nnenna looks to nature and the cyclical movement of time to delve deeper into loss, creating rituals and making discoveries that help us reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the ones we’ve lost.
---
Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it. Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences—topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South. Seasons 1 and 2 are available now on all podcast platforms.
- Learn more about Great Grief and find upcoming live events near you.
- Check out the archive of essays in Scalawag's grief & other loves series.
- Join the Great Grief Facebook community.