The Gurls Talk Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep 57. Adwoa talks to Elsa Majimbo about having the confidence to be outspoken and do things your own way. May 15, 2021

Show notes

It was a total fangirl moment talking to Elsa, who has got so many of us through lockdown with her videos. Her real, honest, universally relatable, hilarious videos. Saying the things we say in our own heads but never out loud. It’s this energy that has taken the world by storm over the past year.

Elsa has a refreshing take on being unashamedly herself, refusing to fit into the mould that’s out there. A 19-year-old African woman who clearly won’t take any shit from people who think her youth and origin make her naive. Nope. Elsa talks about her future plans with the shrewd strategy of a chess player. It’s clear this is all very much the beginning for her.

I’m so excited to share this episode with you. I think we could all do with being a bit more Elsa Majimbo: “I don’t feel any kind of pressure to do anything or to look a certain way. So, what I want to do is what I do. If I don’t want to do it, I don’t do it.”

Enjoy listening. And as always, mad amounts of love.

You can follow @majimb.o and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

Ep.56 Adwoa talks to Brandon Flynn about getting sober, self-reflection during the pandemic, and what it means to be an ally. Apr 09, 2021

Show notes

It’s easy to spiral from the seemingly smallest things during the pandemic. Life has been really tough for a long time now. But one thing, one huge thing, has helped immeasurably: being sober. And in this episode, Brandon shares his experience of leaning into the AA community and reaching his first year of sobriety. Choosing a life of sobriety, he says, has been the hardest and most gratifying thing he’s ever done.

Brandon is a brilliant human, an empath, and an authentic voice on and off screen, which makes him a dream to talk to. We swap stories on living solo during the pandemic, about self-reflection and engaging in the quality of friendships. We talk about shows that are bold enough to tackle storytelling in a different way, and his character as the complex and conflicted heartthrob, Justin Foley, in the Netflix hit series, 13 Reasons Why. And lastly, we look at how the culture of curiosity plays a part in activism and community work.

Enjoy listening. And mad amounts of love.

You can follow @brandonflynn and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

Ep.55 Adwoa talks to Rosalía about what it means to be a Spanish singer on a global stage and how the pandemic is impacting the future of music. Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

Remember being squished in a sweaty crowd with thousands of people watching an insanely talented music artist performing on stage? And the artist’s energy, and the crowd’s energy feeding one another, and in that moment, your body’s buzzing with joy – you feel alive. Yeah, us too. For Rosalía, she misses the energy from performing to a large audience, she misses being around people. I think most of us do.

In this episode, we talk about how performances have had to adapt in this upside world. Being away from her Spanish home for the past year and in the US where she’s been busy working on new music, Rosalía talks about her influences and how the world closing its shutters has created a different energy to her music. With Rosalía’s Spanish heritage playing such a vital role in her identity and style, she expands on how it’s shaped her sound.

Enjoy listening to this one. And mad amounts of love.

You can follow @rosalia.vt and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

Ep 54. Adwoa chats with Stacy Sims, PhD, Global Expert on Female Athlete Physiology, and Nike Master Trainer Joslyn Thompson Rule about breaking taboos, first periods and girls dropping out of sport, and tracking your cycle to get the most out of fitness. Feb 17, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s podcast, I catch up with two formidable ladies in the fields of women’s health and sport. Stacy Sims, PhD is an expert in sex differences, and globally acclaimed for her research and TED Talk, ‘Women are Not Small Men’. She’s dedicated the last 20 years to educating women, and men, on the female body, and how it responds differently to athleticism than the male body.

Joslyn Thompson Rule, a woman with many strings to her bow, is a Nike Global Master Trainer, a Sports Therapist, and Coaching Mentor. She draws from her years of coaching women, and young girls as we discuss the benefits of working with the female cycle: how it not only boosts health and training results, but also empowers girls to own their fitness through every stage of the menstrual cycle. I talk about my experiences with puberty, how confusing navigating that time can be, and we discuss why so many girls are dropping out of sport during puberty, after getting their period. I definitely remember skipping P.E. during that early life phase. It’s crazy that something that half the population gets is still the cause of such embarrassment.

This week’s episode is a reminder to start having open conversations with girls about periods and sport early on. To be honest, I spent most of this episode enthralled by Stacy and Joslyn’s passion and commitment to this issue. And I learned a lot of things about my body, training, and the menstrual cycle that I didn’t know. Even as an adult!

Easy listening guys - and as always mad, mad love.

You can follow @DrStacySims and @JoslynThompsonRule, and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

Ep 53. Adwoa talks to Rupi Kaur about the potential of the self, the power of community and sisterhood, and the importance of amplifying marginalised voices. Feb 07, 2021

Show notes

Fangirling Rupi is an easy thing to do. If not for her raw, intimate poetry, for the way she talks about the power of her friendships and platonic, familial love. It makes talking (and listening) to Rupi feel like you’ve been friends forever.

As we ruminate life in lockdown – me in London, Rupi in Toronto – we talk about making sense of our identity in the stillness and being gentle with ourselves. In home body, Rupi’s recently released, brilliant third book of poetry, she dedicates a whole chapter to the importance of rest. And like all of her poems, she talks with such clarity of thought and warmth on everything. She tells me, “for so long, my mind wasn’t a safe space for me, so what do you do, where do you go then? If your mind isn’t a safe space.” All I can say is thank goodness for Rupi’s words. She offers hope on the darker days, and generally makes us see and feel things differently.

Enjoy listening. And as always, mad amounts of love.

You can follow @rupikaur_ and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

Ep 52. Adwoa catches up with Michaela DePrince, soloist at the Dutch National Ballet, about facing up to trauma, the fight against discrimination, and the healing power of the arts. Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s episode, I spoke to the incredible, inspiring Michaela DePrince. The epitome of poise and grace, Michaela is a dancer, author and War Child ambassador. She has overcome tremendous challenges over her lifetime, including grief, war, racism, bullying and more, all in the pursuit of what she calls ‘her soul’ – her passion for dance.

What stands out for me is her unmistakable grit; a burning desire to prove critics wrong and succeed against all odds. But that dedication is not without a price, and we discuss the emotional and mental toll that it takes to keep performing in the face of a global pandemic, personal losses, and the trauma of racism.

This week’s episode is a timely reminder to us all to seek out the space we need to take care of ourselves. For Michaela, the arts and classical ballet provide an escape and a means of expression. I hope that with the new year, we can collectively make time to indulge in what grounds us.

You can follow @michaeladeprince and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

Ep 51. Adwoa hears from activist and organizer Susan Burton on her journey from prison to founding A New Way of Life, a non-profit organization that helps formerly incarcerated women rebuild their lives and break the cycle of incarceration. Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

Warning:

This episode covers difficult topics, which some listeners may find upsetting. These areas include sexual and physical abuse, child sexual abuse, addiction, the death of a child, police brutality and systemic racism. Please practice good self-care and listen at your own discretion. If you need additional support please visit our website at www.Gurlstalk.com/hotlines

This week’s episode is a lesson in perseverance. Susan Burton is an activist and advocate for women caught in the cycle of incarceration in Los Angeles. Her non-profit organization, A New Way of Life Reentry Project, provides housing, employment assistance, legal services, and leadership development to women who have been formerly imprisoned.

In this episode, Susan shares her personal experiences growing up in south LA, cycling in and out of the prison system and finding her calling as an advocate for incarcerated women. We talk about how processing grief and trauma led to her finding a purpose: helping women restore their dignity, rebuild their lives and thrive outside of prison, just as she was able to.

You can learn more about A New Way of Life here and in Susan’s memoir Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com, follow us @gurlstalk and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

TW: police brutality, physical and sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, addiction, systemic racism, death of a child.

Ep 50. Adwoa talks to Emily Ratajkowski about being politically engaged, as both a woman and a mother-to-be. Nov 07, 2020

Show notes

She’s known as the supermodel turned actress turned writer who’s sick of being put in a box because of how she looks. This episode with @Emrata is a biggie for anyone who’s sick of being told how they should behave, how intellectual they should be, and what they should or shouldn’t have an opinion on. While the world is on fire, my conversation with Emily Ratajkowski gave me a whole lot of love. She’s taught me how to appreciate myself, and to realise my impact on the world. We spoke just before the US election, so our conversation is full of anticipation for the results.

You can follow @emrata and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

Ep 49. Adwoa speaks to acclaimed author and activist Bernardine Evaristo, about her approach to writing, activism and moving through the world as a biracial woman. Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

They say don’t meet your idols. But for this week’s episode I was lucky enough to do just that, and it was completely exhilarating. Bernardine Evaristo, the acclaimed author of one of my all-time favourite books, Girl, Woman, Other, joined me to chat about everything from her win of the 2019 Booker prize, to understanding her proximity to whiteness, to her work in theatre in the eighties.

Bernardine is a force of nature, and I spent most of this episode enthralled by her passion and vivacity. Her life, as an award-winning author of eight books, as a professor of creative writing at Brunel University London, as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, is just as rich and captivating as her storytelling prowess.

You can follow @bernardineevaristowriter and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

Ep 48. Adwoa speaks to football phenomenon Ada Hegerberg about what she learnt while recovering from an injury, the power of confidence, and how she advocates for gender equity in sport. Sep 17, 2020

Show notes

On this week’s episode, I was lucky enough to speak to Ada Hegerberg, the first woman in history to win Football’s most coveted individual prize, the Ballon d’Or.

Ada’s positivity and sense of perspective is infectious. While discussing her recent ACL injury, she explains how she viewed the healing process as an opportunity for gratitude and mental strength, as well as a chance to understand her body in new, enlightening ways.

As a passionate advocate for gender representation and equity in sport, Ada and I talk about the importance of being true to yourself, and the strength that comes from having conviction in your craft. In this powerful episode, we discuss why building up confidence is a key part of challenging norms and commanding respect.

You can follow @ahegerberg and you can follow us @gurlstalk. Please send any messages to www.gurlstalk.com and don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.

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