Real Talk On Godtalk

This week’s Real Talk question asks: how important are names? YaYa and TRUTH switch gears for a bit of celebrity chit-chat, diving into the drama surrounding country artist Collin Obina Chibueze, better known by his stage name, “Shaboozey.” The Nigerian-American performer’s stage name is essentially a mispronunciation of his family’s native Igbo surname, which means “God is ruler, God is king.” After his name was used as a running gag at the 2024 Country Music Awards, the interwebz was in an uproar! With many different opinions about the implications of  pronouncing and mispronouncing of ethnic names—-  the real talk question of this week asks.. just  how important are names? Religious texts across beliefs have a thing with names, with The Bible mentioning over a dozen names of God, lists names in genealogies, and has characters that  meaningfully change names in both the old and New Testament— they gotta count for something.  Then for the Moon reading,  YaYa is starting a series preparing for the winter solstice ways we can fortify our body, minds and sprit for the darker days ahead.

It’s New Years Eve! A time to reflect on the old and get ready for the new. In this episode YaYa and TRUTH catch up on the best parts of the holiday season and share what they’re doing to prepare mentally, physically and spiritually for 2025. Then for the Moon reading YaYa explores the practice of creating vision boards to provide you with tips for bringing your dream life out of the imagination, on to the paper, and subsequently into real life.

It’s post election day… there’s that. Everyone seems to have a million opinions, think pieces and analyses on the bleak outlook for our country but for this episode TRUTH and YaYa want to take another angle, examining  what it means to; "keep the faith" even and ESPECIALLY in times of "crisis" by asking the real talk question "Is there anything left to even have faith in?"  Then for the Moon reading YaYa is talking about Scorpio season and the ways we can all incorporate BIG Scorpio energy into our lives for the better.

You know what time it is! TRUTH and YaYa are back with their Halloween antics and in this episode they’re connecting with Nyya Toussaint, Haitian and Black American Pastor and scholar of the Sociology of Religion, Linguistics, and International Affairs. Nyya’s research interests focus on interreligious engagement between African Diasporic Religions and Christianity and he’s here to dive into the real talk question of the week, "Spiritual Possession… inherently good or bad?" Then in the Moon reading YaYa welcomes us into the ever alluring and mysterious season of the Scorpio and  provides us with some resources if we want to go a little deeper into our own personal moon readings. You can connect with Nyya on @nagobredrin or @lanbiakmanchet The Garden Within by Dr. Anita Phillps can be found here: www.anitaphillips.com/book

On this episode of Real Talk on Godtalk YaYa and TRUTH explore the psychological and social reasons we lie and spiritual cost of dishonesty as well as the steps we can take to navigate it all. Then, YaYa will take us through the Moon reading and how we can ride the energetic wave of Thursday October 17th Full Moon in Aries. Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions of sexual abuse. Please proceed with caution or skip this section if necessary. This particular section is from 27:00-33:00  Link to article referenced in the section above - The Detail: Pedophile priests dumped in the Pacific

Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed and on auto pilot? --going to the gym, cooking, cleaning, and basically waiting for the weekend as the world around us seems to burn? On this episode YaYa and TRUTH are here to talk about their approach to the Real Talk On Godtalk podcast as a way to gain alternatives to that repetitive cycle and why they hope to offer a perspective on ways to access 'something more' through a deeper relationship with God. 

In this episode YaYa and TRUTH are getting into the greatest holiday cross-over event of the year– we’re talking about Hallowen and her sister/ cousin/ neighbor celebrations of Samhain, Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and All Saint/ All Souls Day. The pair of co-hosts get real about death, the existence of the spirit realm and what we all can gain from  celebrating and remembering our loved ones lost.

Join YaYa and TRUTH on the B Side! These episodes are where you -our RTOGT community- ask the questions and bring up the topics of conversation. For this B Side episode, we are talking about Oomancy. Join the conversation!

In this latest episode YaYa and TRUTH are back with a new and improved, 'Community Pastoral Care' segment where the pair give some insight into the latest Pew Research Center project titled Modeling the Future of Religion in America. They explore a projected future where the majority of American people identify as religious 'nones' or 'somes' (ie. people who either have no religion or who identify as spiritual but not religious).  Later in the episode TRUTH delves deep into her process of discernment when making big decisions; especially for people who may not be connected to the church or to sources of spiritual guidance. And then finally, for the Moon Reading, YaYa takes us through what to expect for the final days of this period of Mercury in retrograde.

We'reee baaaack! (again). On this episode your favorite co-hosts take a look at what Smith’s autobiography “Will” tells us about God, self and the courage it takes to let go of those things that no longer serve us. Then for the Moon reading we're learning to ride the energetic wave of the upcoming Autumn equinox to step confidently into the change of season.

We’re all familiar with ritual fasting for holidays like Lent and Ramadaan, and then there are practices like intermittent fasting that the girls are doing for weight loss, even married folks are out here taking celibacy breaks… but what’s the true spiritual value of fasting? Will the practice really make us any closer to God and are there times it can do more harm than good? Then, YaYa will take us through the moon reading, looking ahead to the March 20th Spring Equinox, sharing everything you can do to start again with a fresh, clean slate and good energy for the upcoming season.

YaYa and TRUTH are BACK for another season of Real Talk On Godtalk. Listen to what YaYa and TRUTH have been up to since their last episode.

This week YaYa and TRUTH sit down with the Hip-Hop Theologian Bridget, to discuss the women of hip-hop, their lyrics, impact, and our theological reflections.

Usually on the podcast YaYa and TRUTH focus on the conversations they have with guests and each other, but this week they're trying something a little different, and offering a series of affirmations to help guide the inner conversations we all have with ourselves. In honor of 'Giving Tuesday', Real Talk On Godtalk is giving YOU affirmations inspired by scripture to positively inform how we relate the world, our sense of self and our physical bodies. The show is also collaborating with 418 Ministry to make double the impact by providing essential personal items for LGBTQ+ community members in the NYC area, sourced by local, Black, LatinX and Women owned businesses. 

November has been a rough month for the influencer couples of the Christian Evangelical church. From Relentless church Pastor  John Gray’s public apology "honoring" his wife after (yet another) cheating scandal, to Elevation church  pastor Carl Lentz being removed from leadership for his own infidelity, playboy pastors (and their wives) have been getting caught up in the comments section!  In a world where any publicity can be good publicity, YaYa and TRUTH, ask  the real talk question of the week, “when celebrity culture meets the church world, who really wins?” Then in the Moon reading YaYa concludes the ongoing series Zodiac 101 where she covers concepts in Astrology for beginners.

It's almost Halloween and this week we’re talking Hoodoo, Voodoo, witchdoctors and magic! In this episode we’re connecting with Katryna, Hoodoo/rootwork practitioner and owner of Brooklyn Roots Tarot Readings and Magic Services Shop, to discuss what our society understands and MISunderstands about magic...and asking the real talk question of the week, “What is it we’re so afraid of…is it the Blackness or  the Magic?” Then in the Moon reading YaYa will take us through part two of our new series Zodiac 101, where she covers concepts in Astrology for beginners.

*Explicit Content TRUTH and YaYa are getting ALL up in the business about sex, love and romantic relationships for the single LTR'd and Married crowds. They’re asking the real talk question of the week, “What does the quality of our romantic relationships tell us about our ways of understanding God?”. Then in God and the World, like everybody else we’ll be speculating on what Trump's COVID-19  diagnosis will mean for the trajectory of the upcoming election, but unlike everybody else, we’ll be talking about what that has to do with the Hindu and Bhuddist concept of Karma. And finally, this Moon Reading is the first in the series called Zodiac 101, where YaYa covers concepts in Western Astrology for beginners.

On the first episode of the new season, YaYa and TRUTH catch up on life 7 whole months into the Pandemic and discuss their own spiritual and religious journeys. TRUTH is holding strong as a follower of Jesus and YaYa ... not so much. Things get interesting when they ask the Real Talk question of the week, “who needs religion anyway?” Then in God and the World, we’re talking about the fires in California and what America’s history with wildfires can teach us about how to constructively deal with our own strong drives and emotions.

It's the LAST episode of the season so you know what that means... YaYa and TRUTH are going out with a BANG! This week on God and the World the pair are taking stock of 2020 and wondering...are these signs of the end times? --- we’re talking Apocalypse, murder bees, the Mother’s day weekend polar vortex and ALIENS confirmed... what the heck is going on here? Next, it's all about Access -- Even though we're mostly stuck at home, with 24 hour connectivity, it can feel like the outside world  has more access than ever before, so how do we decide who and what has how much access to us and when? Then for the Moon Reading, you'll be getting time in advance to get it together for the Summer Solstice. And finally we’re bringing back Community Pastoral Care.   Trigger Warning -- For the community Pastoral Care segment we will be discussing the murder of Ahmaud Arbrey and then praying together about it. This is some heavy stuff, and we understand that you just may not be here for it right now. The segment runs from 51:27 - 1:08:00 -- Be gentle with yourself and skip it if you need to care for yourself in that way.

This Week YaYa and TRUTH discuss what happens when you talk to God but it feels like God is not talking back. The pair ask the real talk question of the week: Is spiritual depression a thing? Why does it feel like spirituality just isn’t working for me right now? Then in the moon reading YaYa tries something new and TRUTH updates us with #500forflint.