Native Land Pod

On this episode hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum answer YOUR questions at the AfroTech conference in Houston, Texas. 

AfroTech is a hub for Black S.T.E.M professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs, & visionaries. It was founded in 2016 by Blavity Inc. and aims to inspire future Black leaders within the tech industry where Black professionals are significantly underrepresented. Black workers accounted for just 7.4 percent of the high-tech workforce and 5.7 percent of high-tech managers, despite making up nearly 12 percent of the total U.S. workforce, according to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

On this week’s MiniPod of Native Land Pod, it’s a boys takeover. Andrew Gillum and Bakari Sellers discuss the recent spate of violence during homecoming weekend at our HBCUs. 

There has been some hysterical reporting about violence around the Howard University and Lincoln University campuses. Surely, violence surrounding large gatherings at our HBCUs is a cause for concern, and we’ll talk about it. Also, there’s a (false) media trope about violence at HBCUs that media outlets are playing into, and our hosts are going to correct the record. 

And of cou...

On episode 103 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, and Bakari Sellers are TOGETHER at a studio in Houston, Texas. 

Starting on November 1st, SNAP (food stamps) benefits will reportedly run out of funding, affecting more than 40 million Americans, or about 10% of the country. This despite the fact that the federal government could easily appropriate funds to continue the SNAP program through November. This is a result of the federal government shutdown which will soon be the longest shutdown in U.S. history. 

This shutdown is doing dama...

On this special SoloPod, Angela Rye and attorney A.B. Burns-Tucker (A.K.A. IAMLEGALLYHYPE) tackle California’s proposition 50, CA reparations measures, and answer YOUR questions. 

This episode originally aired as an Instagram live stream on 10-23-25. 

Proposition 50 seeks to redraw California’s electoral maps to give Democrats as many as 8 more seats in the U.S. Congress. It’s the only measure on the ballot for CA voters this November. 

Recently, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a reparations bill to create a Bureau for Descendents of American Sla...

The Perfect Neighbor debuted this month as the #1 film on Netflix, bringing attention to Stand Your Ground laws through the story of Ajike “AJ” Owens. AJ was killed in 2023 by her neighbor Susan Lorincz, a woman known throughout the neighborhood as “The Karen." This documentary, told through police bodycam footage of the confrontations leading up to the horrific murder, is part of a movement for social change. 

On this MiniPod, our hosts Angela Rye, Tiffany Cross, and Andrew Gillum speak with the mother of Ajike Owens, Pamela Dias, and executive producer of the film, Takema Robinson...

On episode 102 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, and Bakari Sellers are joined by Charlamagne Tha God, host of The Breakfast Club, to talk about the controversy NLP stirred up with our “anti-intellectualism” episode last week. Our hosts also cover Trump’s grifting, a call for a general strike, and an update on threats to the Voting Rights Act. 

Trump is seeking $230M in damages from his own Justice Department for investigations into him, the 2016 Russia-election-interference investigation and the investigation into his handling of classified documents. Is it likely that he’ll ac...

Native Land Pod hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum are LIVE at CultureCon 2025 for a special conversation about where they see politics intersecting with creative spaces. PLUS questions from the audience. 

CultureCon started in 2016 as a small gathering of Black creatives in Imani Ellis NYC apartment. In less than 10 years, it has become one of the world’s most premiere gatherings of creatives and cultural influencers, with Black talent at the center.

And of course we’ll hear from you! If you’d like to submit a question, check out our t...

The federal government shutdown is impacting broad swathes of American life, from health care costs, to plane travel, to baby formula, to federal workers and members of the military missing pay checks and ending up at food banks. 

On this episode, we'll hear from some of the folks who have been impacted, and talk about how WE get ourselves out of this mess. 

Contact your members of Congress: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

Want to ask Angela Rye a question? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to parti...

Our MiniPod this week is inspired by one of your questions. Should we attend the No Kings protest? How do we maximize our political power through other methods besides voting? 

We’ll hear some personal testimony from Andrew about what it means to folks like Letitia James and Lisa Cook, and all the folks being unjustly targeted by the Trump administration, about what it means to see folks protesting the same system that’s grinding them down. 

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: www.instagram...

On episode 101 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, and Bakari Sellers talk about Ignorance. 

Some Ignorant young Republican leaders had their group chat leaked, as reported in a recent Politico article. You are NOT going to believe what these 20 and 30-something conservatives in positions of power said when they thought they were in private. Their racist and violent rhetoric illuminates how young conservatives think and how these words become policy, see below–

LA county has declared a state of emergency due to the ICE raids taking place...

On this special episode of Native Land Pod, host Angela Rye is joined by attorney for the Legal Defense Fund, Janai Nelson. Ms. Nelson joins us just after leaving the Supreme Court, where she argued a case which could have radical implications for the Voting Rights Act and redistricting across the country: Louisiana v. Callais. 

In 2024, Louisiana was found to be in violation of the VRA and was forced to redraw their congressional map. The original map created only one majority Black district out of six total districts, in a state where roughly 1/3rd of th...

On this week’s SoloPod, Angela Rye breaks down the charges against New York’s Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James, and connects them to a larger pattern of powerful Black women being unjustly prosecuted. 

SPEAKING OF DISRESPECT TO BLACK WOMEN, our NLP hosts called out Stephen A Smith last week for his comments disparaging Congresswomen Jasmine Crocket over her lack of “civility.” Stephen accused his critics, including our hosts, of attacking him without substance. Sir, these attacks have substance, and we are happy to explain. 

The Trump Justice Department has charged Letitia James wi...

Does Black Girl Magic tread on Black men? Some have said that the renewed positive focus on Black women and girls has cast the triumphs and plights of Black men into the shadows. Let’s dispel some notions and interrogate this y’all. 

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/

Welcome home y’all! 

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We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast. <...

We are celebrating episode 100 of Native Land Pod!! With our hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, AND Bakari Sellers. 

Bakari joins as our fourth host of Native Land Pod! Like Angela, Bakari is the child of an activist, and similar to Andrew, he made history when he became the youngest South Carolina state rep back in 2006 (beating a 26 year incumbent). He brings his sharp wit, cutting political commentary, and sibling-like sass. Welcome Bakari!! 

Native Land Pod has launched a Substack for our 100th episode! Subscribe here and get exclusive access to o...

On this week’s MiniPod, our hosts Angela Rye, Tiffany Cross, and Andrew Gillum are joined by the host of Therapy for Black Girls: Dr. Joy Harden Bradford. 

You may have seen the 12 year old who caused 70K worth of damage after having his phone taken? Or perhaps you’ve seen the back and forth between Serena Williams and Megyn Kelly (CLIP FIXED) over cotton plant decorations in a hotel lobby. We’ll get therapist Dr. Joy to help us unpack these viral clips, PLUS we’ll hear from friend of the show, Roland Martin. 

On episode 99 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum talk shutdowns, Bad Bunny at the super bowl, and a new directive from Trump to go after “domestic terrorists.”

Republicans and Democrats are once again at an impasse on the budget, meaning the federal government is officially shut down. Democrats are making a stand over health care. The Trump administration is threatening to use the shutdown to enact more cuts and layoffs. Our hosts outline what’s at risk and predict what comes next. 

Puerto Rican super star Bad...

Yet again we find ourselves on the verge of a Federal government shut down. The Democrats are staging a fight over expiring health care subsidies that could boost health care premiums for tens of millions of Americans. Trump and Republicans are refusing to negotiate. 

After a last-minute meeting between President Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and their Republican counterparts, the shutdown looks all but certain. 

Angela Rye gets an update on the situation from Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. Jasmine Crockett. With a special appearance from...

Join hosts Angela Rye, Tiffany Cross, and Andrew Gillum live from the 54th Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference (CBCF ALC) for a conversation made for this moment.

This special live recording brings together a rotating panel of esteemed guests to talk about how we move forward as a people. Hosts center power, policy, and progress, in their discussion about what it takes to carry that work into the next generation. We dig into the future of Black political power, the fight to protect voting rights and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and the role...

What do you do when family members ask you for money? It can become a real problem, particularly if you’ve “made it” in their eyes, and they start hitting you up like an ATM. On this week’s MiniPod hosts Tiffany Cross and Andrew Gillum navigate money and family. 

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/

Welcome home y’all!

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We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature yo...

On episode 98 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum address the selective application of the first amendment, the right to free speech. 

Our first guest, Karen Attiah, was (until recently) an op-ed writer for the Washington Post. She was fired last week after writing a post on social media that said she wasn’t going to mourn Charlie Kirk, a white man who promoted violence and vitriol. She did not celebrate his death or condone political violence. The Washington Post fired her for having a hot take, which is LITERALLY HER...

On this week’s MiniPod: the internet has been CRAZY lately. After a tumultuous week filled with rage, death threats, and extreme emotion, our hosts Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, and Tiffany Cross discuss how they are protecting their peace.

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/

Welcome home y’all! 

—---------

We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast. 

Instagra...

On episode 97 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum address Charlie Kirk’s murder AND the collective response to it. 

We are all in agreement that Charlie Kirk’s assassanation was gruesome and horrible. But can we also agree that pre-emptively blaming Black folks for it, sending death threats for criticizing Charlie, and Attorney General Pam Bondi promising legal action against “hate speech” is also gruesome and horrible? Our hosts talk about their personal experience with Charlie (and his supporters) and discuss the fallout from his death. This is not a right v...

On this week’s SoloPod, Angela Rye speaks with Michael Harriot about white-on-white crime. 

In the last few months we’ve seen Charlie Kirk murdered, children killed at Annunciation Catholic Church, and a Minnesota state lawmaker assassinated by a psycho in a Michael Myers mask. White-on-white crime is upending our politics and making people afraid to gather in public. Enough is enough. 

Read Michael Harriot’s data-driven piece on who commits the most political violence and hate crimes in the USA: https://www.contrabandcamp.com/p/are-leftists-coming-for-you-heres?r=c0yw&utm_medium=ios...

Afeni is an activist and community organizer based in Washington D.C. who was recently brutalized and detained by her city’s police just for filming. 

Afeni joins our hosts, Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, and Tiffany Cross to tell the story of her arrest and what federal control of D.C. means for the resistance to Trump’s crackdown. We get a peak inside the life of an activist and a critical perspective on the city’s current governance. 

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: www.i...

On episode 96 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum take a look at Kamala Harris’ new tell-all memoir, the possibility of a Trump 3rd term, and the extrajudicial killings by the U.S. and Israeli militaries. 

In Kamala Harris’ new memoir, she speaks candidly about her relationship with Joe Biden, his staff, and the 2024 race for President. She holds nothing back and our hosts speculate her criticism of Biden will NOT be taken lightly by the establishment.   

Trump has not explicitly said that he’s going to run for a...

The Supreme Court lifted restrictions on I.C.E. this week, allowing agents to profile people for arrest based on things like speaking English with an accent, work location, and race/ethnicity.

On this week’s SoloPod, host Angela Rye is joined by attorney and political correspondent at the Shade Room, A.B., and the executive director of BAJI (Black Alliance for Just Immigration), Nana Gyamfi. 

Follow BAJI @instabaji 

Want to ask Angela a question? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to participate in the chat. 

Wel...

On this Native Land MiniPod, our hosts Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, and Tiffany Cross are joined by the founder of Black-owned social media site FanBase, Isaac Hayes III, and TV producer Tamisha Harris. 

Black folks cannot be liberated until we control our own media. Social media companies are shaping the way we think, we need to have a conversation on how Black folks can mitigate the harm and boost the help on Black-owned platforms like Fanbase.

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: www.instagram.com/reel/C5j...

On episode 95 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum take us to D.C. for updates in the Epstein saga PLUS unbelievable statements of SUPPORT for Trump from D.C.’s mayor. 

A group of sexual assault survivors testified in Congress this week, the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghilaine Maxwell. Democrats have said that the government is complicit in Epstein’s crimes and that the blame goes “all the way to the top.” They have support from across the aisle in a rare moment of bi-partisanship. 

D.C.’s May...

On this week’s SoloPod, Angela Rye talks with Elizabeth Booker Houston about her contract with Chorus and the online controversy over a Wired article about dark money going to dem influencers.

Chorus is a non-profit organization that allegedly pays influencers to push Democratic Party messaging. This came out in an article in Wired magazine written by Taylor Lorenz. Elizabeth is going to go over her contract with Chorus and tell us why she thinks Taylor’s reporting is questionable. 

Welcome home y’all! 

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We want to he...

In a recent live pod recording at Invest Fest in Atlanta, NLP host Tiffany Cross raised a potentially inconvenient question: Given capitalism’s roots in slavery, can that system ever actually serve Black people?

Today, she is joined by fellow hosts Angela Rye and Andrew Gillum to discuss and debate that question in more depth.

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: http://www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/ and send to @nativelandpod. 

Welcome home y’all! 

...

On the 20th anniversary of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Native Land Pod hosts Angela Rye and Tiffany Cross recall the failure of the federal response to that tragedy and make connections to today and the future.

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: http://www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/ and send to @nativelandpod. 

Welcome home y’all! 

—---------

We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the pod...

On episode 94 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum discuss the police takeover of Washington D.C. and have a frank – and emotional – conversation about what to do when leaders attempt to govern without the consent of the people.

A listener offers one solution to the dire situation: self-sustaining municipal communities. Another listener has some pushback for Angela’s recent SoloPod (but she has receipts). 

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: http://www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/ and send to...

A recording of NLP's live conversation at Invest Fest in Atlanta! Hosts Angela Rye, Tiffany Cross, and Andrew Gillum are joined by Rev. Jamal Bryant and Dr. Key Hallmon to discuss the impact of the recent Target Fast and how Black entrepreneurs can thrive.

If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: http://www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/ and send to @nativelandpod. 

Welcome home y’all! 

—---------

We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nat...

On this week’s MiniPod, African American Vernacular English (AAVE) explained by our hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum. 

Are you on code?? We got a question from the creator of NLP’s theme song (see his credit at the bottom of this description) that sparked a larger conversation about ebonics, African American English. PLUS a bonus question about how to become a politician. 

What does “on code” mean to you? Leave us a comment–or better yet, check out this tutorial and send us a video: www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_o...

On episode 93 of Native Land Pod, hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum are forced to remind all of us that slavery was, in fact, bad. 

Fitness trainer and TV personality Jillian Michaels was on Abby Phillip’s CNN show recently making some wild claims about how slavery wasn’t that bad, wasn’t just committed by white people, and wasn’t actually that big of a part of the country’s founding because “only 2%” of Americans owned slaves… We have so many questions y’all–like why this person with no journalism or history experience fea...

Angela Rye is joined by Texas State Representative Nicole Collier LIVE from the state house floor. 

The Texas House Speaker has directed state troopers to follow Democratic representatives, the ones who fled the state to quash a vote on redistricting earlier this month, until they vote on new electoral maps later this week. For refusing this Republican surveillance, Rep Collier has been detained on the house floor, where she’s been told she must remain until the vote is held, or she accepts police escort. She could be locked in for two whole days. 

 <...

On this week’s MiniPod, our host Tiffany Cross has a story to tell Angela Rye and Andrew Gillum. Tiffany almost got into a fight on a cable news roundtable. We have some juicy behind the scenes details that segues into a surprisingly intellectual conversation about working in media while Black (spoiler alert: the Karens are everywhere).   

In addition, the hosts answer one of your questions about voter registration. There’s a connection to the redistricting wars, the Shelby vs. Holder Supreme Court decision, and the shockingly recent history of voter suppression. 

If you’d...

On Episode 92, our hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum would be remiss not to address the crackdown happening in our nation’s capital. 

The residents of Washington D.C., a city with more than 40% Black residents, are under siege. We hav reports from the ground of federal agents rolling out in overwhelming force and literally showing up on folks’ doorsteps. Trump’s stated goal is to crack down on “crime,” homelessness, and teenagers. Our hosts watch some clips and discuss, featuring friends of the show, Ty Hobson-Powell and Elizabeth Booker Houston. 

Then an...

Angela Rye is joined by leaders and members of the Black community in Washington D.C. to discuss Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police, the deployment of the national guard, and his threats toward Black youths. 

Cora Masters is a political scientist and the forever first lady of D.C, where she logged decades of service, including as leader of the Recreation Wish List Committee. She is the widow of the former D.C. mayor Marion Barry. 

Tony Lewis Jr. is a D.C. community activist and author of Slugg...

At Native Land Pod, community is everything. Y'all listening are like family. Now, we want to hear what you think! 

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