Episodes

Today Trevor opens the show with a preview of whats in the works at CSHQ and then Ken and Mario jump on and the trio talk SJI comedy, and what sets it apart from other forms of stand-up and sitcom. Then in part 2 The Sharks dig in to ‘Brick-gate’ and all the trappings around it. You can read that article here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/brickgate-revives-age-old-argument-black-men-women-rcna104423 This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www...

Today Jason England joins Trevor and Ken to talk about his latest article ’50 Years Later, Is There Anything Left Of Hip Hop?’ . Get prepared for an engaging 2 hour conversation about where hip hop has gone as an art form, who have been its greatest beneficiaries and posing the largest question of all “maybe hip hop is dead?” This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com/posts/88778088. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon....

Today we have Josh Olson on the show to talk w/ Trevor about the writers strike. Thru comparison of the politics and creative forces that drove movie and TV making of past with that of the present, Trevor and Josh end up agreeing on more topics than either expected. Get that extra buttery popcorn popped, because in this Labor Day special we are going to Tinseltown! This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com/posts/88767031. Become a paid ...

Today, Trevor and Ken sit down for a special 3 part marathon episode! Delving deep into what the Sharks refer to as ‘Future Killers’, Ken and Trevor examine why no new innovation is being built for the betterment of future life, but rather innovations are just retooling an old and tired package. Dissecting the evolution of Black Conservatism and Liberal ‘shucking and jiving’ as examples of the watering down of our ability to progress, plus taking a raw look at Charlamagnes recent interview with ...

Today we have Mtume Gant joining Trevor and Ken on the show to talk about the 1966 psych horror movie ‘Seconds’. The film tells the story of a middle-aged New York banker who, disillusioned with his life, contacts an agency known as “The Company” which specializes in providing “rebirths” under new identities and appearances altered by plastic surgery. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com/posts/87646908. Become a paid subscriber for...

Today Trevor Vida and Kenny sit down to give their reviews of the movie ‘They Cloned Tyrone’. A pulpy, sci-fi mystery caper in which an unlikely trio investigates a series of eerie events, alerting them to a nefarious conspiracy lurking directly beneath their hood. Fontaine, a neighborhood drug dealer, is shot dead by rival Isaac and then is very shocked to wake up in his bed the next morning unharmed. He and Slick Charles and Yo-Yo begin looking into the incident, and their search eventually le...

Today Trevor sits down for a solo show to talk thru his current views of the writer’s strike as well as its possible outcomes. With a semi-deep dive into wall street to show how it is itself a Panzi scheme to help illustrate the rationale of the executives of studios and streamers and then in part 2 goes all in on how he believes the strike will end and who will benefit and who will be cast aside. Links mentioned in this episode are: Age of Easy Money (full documentary) | FRONTLINE – https://w...

Today Ken and Mario sit down with friend of the show Jetay Barber, a former MMA fighter and current pro gamer. With the conversation revolving around racism in both the fighting and gaming worlds as well as the inherit racism in the WWE, the Sharks get down in dirty in the octagon for this special West Coast ep. Link to Jetay ‘stinky gamer’ rant (starts at 2min mark): https://youtu.be/ECB-q9cs5GI This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon....

Today Trevor, Ken, and Mario sit down to ask the question, have we had this conversation before? It seems these days the public discourse is actually just one giant loop. As social media stars continue to lead the narrative they just can’t seem to stop talking about the same old things. Utilizing clips to help illustrate their point the Sharks dive deep into this current problem in conversation. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com...

This week, Trevor, Ken, and Mario sit down for a casual conversation about the goings ons both on and offline. BLM, Boxing, and more are covered in this laid-back session. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com/posts/83800184. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access to the entire archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for...

This week Ken and Mario become your new favorite True Crime podcast. Launching off the episode’s conversation with a focus on Lonnie David Franklin Jr. aka ‘The Grim Sleeper’. The Grim Sleeper was an American serial killer who was responsible for at least 10 murders and one attempted murder in LA from 1984 to 2007. This episode takes an overarching view of many serial killers and looks at what aspects of their life these men had in common. The documentary “Grim Sleeper: The Most Prolific Serial...

This week, Trevor, Mario, and Ken sit down to talk about the series Snowfall in comparison to The Wire and Power. Relating parts of the series to real-life experiences, this is a deep dive into the accuracy, originality, and accessibility of a show that has put many opinions on the fence. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com/posts/82420708. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access to ...

Today we have Jessa Crispin on the show to talk to Trevor about the social media platforms, and their users, who are keeping the wrong conversations going and proliferating a dumbing down of the articles being written on todays society. Jessa Crispin is the author of My Three Dads and The Dead Ladies Project, both published by The University of Chicago Press, The Creative Tarot, published by Touchstone, and Why I Am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto. She is currently the editor-in-chief of th...

Today Trevor sits down with Gregory Pierott to discuss his newest book Decolonize Hipsters. Gregory Pierrot is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Connecticut at Stamford. Along with Decolonize Hipsters, he is also the author of, The Black Avenger in Atlantic Culture (UGA Press, 2019), and co-editor of An Anthology of Haitian Revolutionary Fictions (UVA Press, 2021). He is also a translator, and co-host of the Decolonize That! webcast series with Bhakti Shringarpure. His writi...

In todays episode, we have not 1, not 2, not 3… but all 4 sharks together to discuss the new Chris Rock special. Vida, Ken, Trevor, and Mario all sit down and share their individual takes on the special, Chris Rocks’ role in stand-up comedy and the history of Black Comedy that led up to him. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com/posts/80688757. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access ...

Today Trevor sits down with returning guest Richard Purcell to discuss Nella Larsen’s book ‘Passing’. Set primarily in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the 1920s, the story centers on the reunion of two childhood friends—Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield—and their increasing fascination with each other’s lives. The title refers to the practice of “racial passing”, and is a key element of the novel. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www...

Today Ken sits down with Nayka of ‘Knockouts with Nayka‘ to talk about the latest and greatest boxers, the blow-by-blows of dealing with boxing twitter, and Naykas move from the Bronx to Miami. This is a free unlocked episode. To get early access to future episodes, become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and also get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes,...

Trevor goes 12 rounds with the complicated relationship between connection and contact. How most news and events are becoming instantly normalized and moved on from. Utilizing examples from TV and Twitter headlines, pulled from over the last few years, the picture expands itself to understand the differences between a ‘work’ and ‘content’, and being a creator of context rather than content. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com/post...

Today Vida and Ken it down to discuss the movie ‘You People’ and the social stigmas that it exploits, ignores, and rationalizes. ‘You People’ is a 2023 American romantic comedy directed by Kenya Barris, which he co-wrote with Jonah Hill. Its plot focuses on an interracial and inter-religious couple, namely a white Jewish man and a Black Muslim woman, and how their families reckon with modern love amid culture clashes, societal expectations and generational differences. This is Part 2 of a two-p...

Today we have Avery Edison, Kieran McLean, and Chris Jesu Lee on the show to discuss the much-debated virtues (or lack thereof) and the rabid fan base of the movie ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 is free to all paid subscribers over at www.patreon.com/posts/78918976. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access to the entire archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for pat...

Today Trevor Ken and Mario sit down and thru a multitude of examples, examine the ‘death of the elder’. Now rather than being the holders of knowledge, the old heads are now just extra weight… in this topsy-turvy America as the practicalities of maneuvering the tech-obsessed modern era continuously change, once you hit 50 it’s time to hang up your opinions and follow the masses as the voices and fingers that hold court are becoming younger and younger. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part...

Vida sits down with Communications Skills Coach Jason Hall and Philosophy Professor and Attorney Tim Golden to discuss the importance of communication, connection, and community. Jason and Tim host Mowtown Philly, a podcast where they emphasize the importance of effective communication, which fosters deep connections and builds community. Jason Hall is a Communication Skills Coach with a 20-year background in the field of speech-language pathology. He is an expert at helping entrepreneurs and in...

Today Trevor, Ken, and Mario sit down to hash out the details in asking the question, “Is there a Black Community?”. Working thru the different meanings of “community” especially now that we live in the digital age – dissecting it down, and comparing how neighborhoods acted in the past to the present, The Sharks try to find the bottom in this timeless question. This is a preview for a full patreon only episode. The full version is available over at www.patreon.com/posts/76003771. Become a paid ...

Today Trevor and Ken sit down to talk about the lingering effects of lockdown on the way people interact and communicate on social media and how a lot of that has leaked over into the real world. This is a preview for a full patreon-only episode. The full version is available at www.patreon.com/posts/75678085. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, d...