Here We Go Again: The “Secure DC” Crime Bill and Oppressive Policing
Release Date: 04/01/2024
It’s Over Now: Goodbye Season 10!
Broke-ish®
Well, it’s over now! Amber and Erika have officially said, “Farewell” to Season 10. What was supposed to be a single episode featuring John Hope Bryant turned into a rundown of financial literacy’s “greatest hits”, which we spent the season debunking one at a time. In this final episode, we recap the season and highlight our motivation behind this strategy and what we hope you learned. As always, we can’t wait to come back and talk about all the “ish”! It’s over now, but we’ll be back soon!
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Myth Buster #7: Poverty is a Mindset
Broke-ish®
On this payday, Amber and Erika explore the impact of generational poverty on Black communities and the systemic barriers to wealth accumulation. Joined by Taylor Darks, a PhD candidate at Florida State University, who studies reparations policies, we lay out the evidence that poverty is more than a mindset. Dr. Darks highlights the Evanston, Illinois reparations program, which provides $25,000 for homeownership or repairs, and the controversy surrounding cash payments. The discussion also touches on the broader implications of reparations, the role of black women in the movement, and the...
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Myth Buster #6: “Racism exists, but I’ve proven it’s a barrier you can get over”
Broke-ish®
On the first payday of Black History Month 2025, Amber and Erika find themselves yet again debunking John Hope Bryant’s foolish, false assertion that “racism is a barrier that Black people can get over.” The second Trump presidency has people questioning that contention, but this episode demonstrates that racism has been entrenched in every aspect of American life - politically, economically, socially, and culturally - since its inception. Through discussion of three key eras in history, we demonstrate that racism was literally designed to be insurmountably imbued into every system and...
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Myth Buster #5: Black Americans Didn’t Get the Memo
Broke-ish®
On this payday, Amber and Erika discuss the concept of "model minorities" and how it relates to the expectations placed upon Black descendants of enslaved people to use tools like financial literacy to “pull themselves up by the bootstraps”. They highlight the challenges faced by Black Americans compared to other ethnic minorities and immigrants. Dr. Patrice Sims, a sociologist, joins the discussion to explain her book "The Fallacies of Racism," which addresses the fallacies that perpetuate racial inequality. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the epistemology of ignorance and...
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Myth Buster #4: The Computer Doesn’t Know What Race You Are
Broke-ish®
On this New Year’s Payday, Amber and Erika are busting another myth from our interview with John Hope Bryant. Bryant casually remarked, “If you go to the computer at midnight, the computer doesn’t know what race you are.” The evidence, however, suggests that that is false, and technology and AI is laden with the same biases and racism present within our society. Our guest, Memme Onwudiwe, a Harvard trained space lawyer and EVP of AI company Evisort, breaks down the basics of emerging AI and explains how bias can creep into seemingly neutral technology. We also discuss real examples of...
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Myth Buster #3: Banks Don’t Care What Color you Are
Broke-ish®
On this payday, Amber and Erika are continuing the “Myth Busters” series, debunking the erroneous statement that banks are race neutral and “don’t care about color”. Dr. Justene Hill-Edwards, University of Virginia professor and author of “Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank”, joins us to discuss the first bank in American history created for Black Americans. Not only does Dr. Hill-Edwards’ book offer insight into the challenges faced by the formerly enslaved during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, but it also illuminates the racism and inequity...
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Myth Buster #2: Slavery and Race Neutrality
Broke-ish®
Amber and Erika are back on this payday debunking another one of John Hope Bryant’s false statements. During his interview, Bryant contended that slavery as an institution was race neutral and existed long before the colonized iteration primarily rooted in anti-Blackness. Dr. Kehinde Andrews, renowned author, scholar, and historian joins us to unpack why this statement is misleading and erroneously dismissive of the residual impacts of anti-Black colonization and enslavement. Starting with the Arab slave trade and feudalism, we trace the defining markers of anti-Black enslavement and its...
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Myth Buster #1: Financial Literacy is the Civil Rights Issue of this Generation
Broke-ish®
Amber and Erika promised to spend the remainder of Season 10 debunking the financial literacy myths you heard in Episode 1. Well, we’re making good on that promise by interrogating John Hope Bryant’s claim that “financial literacy is the civil rights issue of this generation”…whatever that means. Broke-ish All-Star and our Black Liberation Media comrade, Dr. Jared Ball, joins us to unpack the fallacies and insidious white supremacy underlying the statement. Join us to learn why capitalism and a good budget won’t save us from this broken “ish”! This episode is supported, in...
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Financial Literacy Myths: The Greatest Hits
Broke-ish®
Whew, chile! Broke-ish is starting Season 10 with a bang - literally and figuratively. John Hope Bryant, chairman and CEO of Operation Hope, the nation’s largest nonprofit provider of financial literacy resources, joins us to discuss the ins and outs of financial literacy. But the conversation gets interesting when Amber and Erika push back on Bryant’s belief in a colorblind and race neutral economic system in which anyone can succeed if they are financially literate. Throughout this interview, you’ll hear some of the most common myths on the virtues of financial literacy as a tool to...
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Still Ten Toes Down!
Broke-ish®
Broke-ish is ten and officially a preteen! And like most prepubescent knuckleheads, we’re still a (mostly) delightful mix of unserious, curious, determined, and ever-evolving. We open Season 10 by recapping some of the notable shenanigans that occurred during our break, including Diddy being remanded without bail, Eric Adams’s indictment, and CBS Morning’s interview of Ta-Nehisi Coates. Then we discuss what the Brokers can expect this season and how you can be apart of what we explore in Season 10z Press play to get the scoop!
info_outlineOn this payday, Amber and Erika discuss “Secure DC”, the new crime bill recently enacted in the nation’s capital that harkens back to the “tough on crime” approach of the 80s and 90s. Despite history and data overwhelmingly demonstrating that increased policing and carcareal punishment do not reduce crime, we attempt to unpack the reasons why our policy makers constantly revert to this losing strategy. But most importantly, we highlight the anti-Blackness at the core of over-policing and criminal justice policies that ignore the poverty, inequity, and lack of resources that often fuel criminal activity. Press play to get the scoop!