Brooklyn Magazine: The Podcast

The blog Black-Owned Brooklyn started in 2018 as a passion project to provide a curated guide to Brooklyn-based Black-owned brands, shops and businesses—and to tell the stories of the people behind them. Now, in 2021, Black-Owned Brooklyn is that and much more. The site has become a vital borough-wide resource and place for building community, with nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram. Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa, the Bed-Stuy based couple that runs the site, don’t fixate on the ills of gentrification but rather celebrate the rich tapestry of culture that not only remains in Brooklyn but is thriving.

Brooklyn news and views you can use: bkmag.com Email: [email protected] Follow along on Facebook: Brooklyn Magazine Twitter: @brooklynmag Instagram: @brooklynmagazine Follow Brian Braiker on Twitter: @slarkpope

Gabriel Garzón-Montano has had a stunning run for someone who has done virtually no self-promotion: He first caught the ear of singer Meyer Hawthorne, who sent his self-produced debut to Stones Throw Records. That landed Garzón-Montano on tour with Lenny Kravitz in 2014, which is where he was when he learned that Drake wanted to sample his song “6 8." His music has since evolved from spare R&B, influenced by Prince and Stevie and even Radiohead, to include elements of reggaeton, ambient, folk and trap. On June 18, you can see him for yourself when he performs at the inaugural Brooklyn Magazine Festival at the LeFrak Center, Lakeside in Prospect Park. Details at bkmag.com/bkmf

Wyatt Cenac is an Emmy-winning writer, comedian, actor, producer and former correspondent for The Daily Show most recently behind the HBO docu-series “Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas.” Donwill, a Brooklyn-based rapper and comedian, is half of the hip hop duo Tanya Morgan. Together they’ve been “Shouting at the Screen” for a decade. They’re bringing their live show to Nitehawk Prospect Park on April 28, where they will provide live commentary over a blaxploitation film of their choice. We discuss the series, their respective careers, the intersection of music and comedy, going to the Apple store and more.

The bicycle, a simple machine that has remained largely unchanged for 200 years, has served as a tool of both freedom and oppression, ushered in the space age, been sexualized, demonized, mythologized, and is still, to this day, ridden by a huge swath of humanity. Today’s guest is Jody Rosen, a New York Times Magazine contributing writer, Brooklynite, and urban cyclist, who comes fully clipped-in to discuss all of the above: He is the author of the new book “Two Wheels Good,” out this week. Let’s ride.

Death of Classical is a concert series with a point to prove: People may say that classical music is dead, but if you host gorgeous performances in crypts, catacombs, mausoleums and graveyards where the dead have made their permanent homes ... the living tend to turn out in droves. Created by Andrew Ousley, the Death of Classical series returns to Green-Wood Cemetery this month with a run of shows that highlight Handel paired with hotdogs and whiskey, and that’s just for starters. Ousely joins the podcast to discuss his populist approach to classical, his personal connection to the music—and the best burger in Brooklyn.