Sleep tips for those who struggle to sleep when they could. Essay (and transcript) available at ismatu.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribeBy ismatu gwendolyn

A letter written for Bisan, circulated to my constituency: Peace. I write to you from the floor of my bedroom in Sierra Leone. Two days ago, Iran launched successful counter-attacks against the apartheid regime occupying the land of Palestine, currently known as Israel (which bombed their embassy in an open act of war on April 1). I can hear constr…

an essay nearly entitled, “the orange trees teach me art-making.” This essay is a continuation of my prolonged look at revolutionary healers in practice to become one— where healing also includes artistry. What is my role as an freedom-minded artist, this side of revolution? Check the link to donate to the universal basic income program for Ebola S…

captioned live! we took one hour to read four paragraphs together. excerpt from: Conversations with Toni Cade Bambara, edited by Thabiti Lewis. I don’t usually save my lives because (1) that requires editing and I am already drowning in administrative work and (2) I enjoy existing in temporal space for only a moment in time, rather than being repla…

In which we engage the following theses: (1) the ruling class benefits from illiteracy. (2) short-form video entertains more than it sticks. (3) reading is a discipline distinct from listening, watching, or other forms of literacy. It’s a skill that needs to be honed separately. (4) Absolutely no one comes to save us but us. Full and accurate trans…

internet friends, I am still burning alive. Today is February 10, 2024, which marks two years since my entrance into the social internet. This has been a terrifying, incredible, world-changing transition— maybe not (yet) for the world, but most certainly for my world. I did not have any social media previous to virality on my first TikTok video. Ho…

Threadings. and quite literally everything I do is free! I only can do this because people voluntarily pay! Wow! Thank you!!!! Transcription below because someone asked for the still words. Long time no see. Hi there. If you're new here, which if you're here, I doubt you're new. I mean, but just in case. My name is Ismatu. E-S-M-A-TU. I like E, S l…

a letter to my daughter on the religion of revolution. Please lend your support to A Little Juju Podcast in their return! Juju Grant is a writer, ethnographer, show host and spiritual tower actively practicing wisdom anarchy. She so brilliantly archives African and Black Diasporatic Spiritual Traditions for free, and for the good of the people. don…

An essay from The Vault on how miraculously pain steals language. CW: mentions of self-harm. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribeBy ismatu gwendolyn

The first essay of the Revolutionary Healers series. WHAT USE is "measured rationality" when to be Reasonable means to dying quietly, all the time? Notes from the text, “How to Go Mad Without Losing Your Mind.” Full transcript, with sources, at ismatu.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or ge…

in which ismatu delivers a free-styled, spoken essay where they realize Grief as a seed blooming their bones. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribeBy ismatu gwendolyn

The primary goal of this essay is to argue for a healthy skepticism of sponsorship-saturated media amidst a new age in information sharing, with secondary goals as following: * to commit myself to The People and my people publicly by way of refusing to sell my word online, and * to name explicitly the ways refusing traditional sponsorship places me…

Since y’all stay asking me for resource lists. The here, damn! of it all. Full list and links associated at ismatu.substack.com. happy reading!! jazz of the episode: Tony x Larry Nozero, Dennis Tini Souvenir d’Italie x Lelio Luttazzi He Knows She’s Good For You x Cyril Chambers Two For The Road x Eddie Daniels, Bucky Pizzarelli I Cover the Waterfro…

In which Ismatu Gwendolyn, new to the healing profession and rooting in revolutionary thought and action, provides structure for their studies in public. As my Auntie Dequi says, “Struggle is protracted.” What we are not about to do is sit up here and study five things for five seconds. And I’m guilty of this! I constantly fight the desire to be fr…

sharing an old piece of creative writing because I, a mountain dweller, am stuck in the city and think of the sea. Originally written June of 2018 This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribeBy ismatu gwendolyn

In which we: unpack the “is she mad?” mentality, contemplate informed consent for a podcast space, and be explicit about the care infrastructure and needs of Ismatu Gwendolyn. Thanks for listening <3 Read the full transcription, annotated, at ismatu.substack.com. Jazz of the Episode: My One and Only Love x John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman Say It (Over…

notes on refusing to charge for client services. Cited: In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love by Joy James | Oshun’s Flight Cliff notes: stop asking me to settle for manna when the opportunity for community arises. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/su…

[The Preview]: Oh, then in regards to mutual aid, I keep faltering with this series because I can't, like… I think I need to find a balance between what I wanna talk about and what I feel like the public needs. Because I keep curriculum planning and then realizing we are way behind as a public where I thought we were when it comes to understanding …

No stripping did not ruin my relationship with men but you should hear how many hours in a row I can work nonstop hahahahah <3 on treating myself as a body that breathes and moves slowly. Much love. Jazz of the Episode [incomplete list]: Hour of Parting x Sun Ra Send In The Clowns x Pat Martino Lena’s Song x The Sweet Enoughs Cicada Season x Fuubut…

Therapists are part of the Soft Police (signed, an MSW). Read the full essay at Ismatu.Substack.com. Thank you for listening with an open mind! Sources: No Soft Police! Event Recording organized by Interrupting Criminalization "No Soft Police,” a chapter in No More Police! written by Andrea Ritchie and Mariame Kaba (please email me if you would lik…

I feel like i am in a zoo. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribeBy ismatu gwendolyn

Musings from my porch in Chicago that ask: am I good at hosting happiness? Am I the right shape to hold onto the life that I want? What noise do I make when I get knocked around? read this episode at ismatu.substack.com. Jazz of the episode: Why, Buzzardman, Why? x Alabaster Plume The Jordan River Song x Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru Lena’s Song x The …

on what we owe to each other in the grief. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribeBy ismatu gwendolyn

a conversation about survival, archival, and the intimacy found and lost when you grow up in the public eye. request the full transcript at ismatu.gwendolyn@gmail.com This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe…

this is the next essay in the study of self series. listen to the previous episode here. Content warning for: mentions of suicidal thought and intent, allusions towards self-harm. Nothing graphic, but it is a recurrent theme of the piece. The first time I got recognized from TikTok, I was at a porn convention. [insert the really cute but compromisi…

A child model turned grad school stripper speaks openly about the reality of being shackled to Beauty (and the negotiations you make at the top of the hierarchy). Read the full essay at ismatu.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subsc…

Welcoming in Season II of Threadings. Notes on my the orbit of my personhood. An essay once titled, “how do I love myself?” (but I didn’t know what I meant by “love,” so first i sound it out) Themes of the essay: love is the feeling that compels you to action and the action itself. Poetry is the thesis of my life and practicing it is an act of love…

in which I tell you about where I've been, where I've ended up, and where I'm going from here. Jazz of the episode: Send In The Clowns x Pat Martino On the Sunny Side of the Street x Johnny Hodges For All We Know x Ahmad Jamal Lilacs in the Rain x Junior Mance Dat Dere (Theme) x Bobby Timmons Trio The Summer Knows x Bucky Pizzarelli Down and Out x …

musings once entitled, “a therapist reflects on the whiplash of finally having relationships with my parents i am grateful for, despite it all.” In which I watch the love I have for my parents bloom and die and bloom again. Full transcription available at ismatu.substack.com Jazz of the episode: Cicada Season x Fuubutsushi Manhattan x BLOSSOM DEARI…

We owe the children of this world tangible and lasting justice— and economic justice touches every kind of oppression there is. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribeBy ismatu gwendolyn

an open letter to everyone fearful and exhausted, sent with love. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribeBy ismatu gwendolyn

Ismatu Gwendolyn, clinical social worker and former impoverished child, doubles down on the ugly (and obvious) truth of why poverty exists in the first place. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe…

If you’re reading or listening this, that means I’ve decided to pull back one of the veils of my life and tell you a little bit about my family history. My name is Ismatu Bangura, I am a Sierra Leonean Black American, and I am also the granddaughter of Paramount Chief Alhaji Bombolai [may he rest in peace]. Here is how my lineage affects my politic…

Introductions to a month-long series about poverty eradication, labor rights, and reproductive justice. Partnered with a fundraiser to help agricultural production for indigenous folks in Sierra Leone! Link to donate: gogetfunding.com/ismatu-gwendolyn Read the full essay: substack.ismatu.com SOURCES 2022 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, linke…

I do not set goals in January and I never will. I love myself too much to rush myself out of my winter hibernation. Why do we impose so much on a year that we just met? How do I hope for the harvest when I have not even tilled the earth yet? The ground is frozen! What if we just... sat and rested instead? In which Ismatu Gwendolyn discusses treatin…

You Can Find me on: Facebook Instagram YouTubeBy Nicole Gilbert

You Can Find me on: Facebook Instagram YouTubeBy Nicole Gilbert

Can true, full, and nuanced love truly exist across parasocial relationships? Ismatu Gwendolyn reflects on the dehumanizing nature of fame (no matter how small the audience) and reflects on their own conceptions of love (or lack thereof) as they accidentally became an influencer. read the full newsletter and join the bookclub: ismatu.substack.com J…

Hi I’m Nicole Gilbert and this is the Stop Scrolling, Start Sewing podcast. Each Wednesday join me as I share the ins and outs of that quilt life. If you don't have a sewing machine, can bust out a super fly Y seam, or just want to hear about the newest or coolest quilty news, this is the podcast for you. In this episode I'm chatting about all my f…

in which I read from The Annotated African American Folktales and she occasionally gives a heartfelt "mmm." listen to the full story at Ismatu.substack.com. The Twin Heroes: An African Myth adapted by Alphonso O. Stafford | from the section “Folktales from The Brownies’ Book” out of The Annotated African American Folktales This is a public episode.…

Da’Shaun L. Harrison has penned one of my favorite texts in the past five years. I have read it three times in nine months and I have become more and more delighted with the person that I become absorbing these words. In Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness, Harrison presents theoretical frameworks that compel us to me…

Hi I’m Nicole Gilbert and this is the Stop Scrolling, Start Sewing podcast. Each Wednesday join me as I share the ins and outs of that quilt life. If you don't have a sewing machine, can bust out a super fly Y seam, or just want to hear about the newest or coolest quilty news, this is the podcast for you. Sampler Spree Sew Along Sampler Spree by Su…

Instead of willing myself to love something that I simply do not, what if I was honest in my self-loathing? What might I be compelled to change if I did not feel morally bound to positivity? Read the full, pictured essay, sign up for the newsletter, and grab bonus materials at ismatu.substack.com Jazz Songs of the episode: Love, I’ve Found You by W…

In this episode of the Stop Scrolling, Start Sewing podcast I had the pleasure of chatting with Natalie Pratt of the Ginger Quilter Box. Each month the Ginger Quilter Box arrives at your door packed with fabric, a quilt pattern, notions and even a treat to keep you moving on your quilting journey! Quilt on the Wall Where to find Natalie and the Gin…

On this episode of the Stop Scrolling, Start Sewing podcast we're chatting about quilt charities and donations. Links mentioned: Quilts of Valor Quilts of Honor Project Linus Wrap them in Love Victoria's Quilts Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS The Giving Quilt You Can Find me on: Facebook Instagram YouTube…

Hi I’m Nicole Gilbert and this is the Stop Scrolling, Start Sewing podcast. Each Wednesday join me as I share the ins and outs of that quilt life. If you don't have a sewing machine, can bust out a super fly Y seam, or just want to hear about the newest or coolest quilty news, this is the podcast for you. Hi Folks! Nicole here and welcome to season…

In this episode of the podcast we're chatting about sewing studio storage. Quilt on the Wall: MJ's Messenger bag Fabric: Tula Pink Tiny Beasts Thread Catcher Wide Mouth Mason Jars Sew and Store Quilt Clips PegBoard and hook set You Can Find me on: Facebook Instagram YouTubeBy Nicole Gilbert

In this episode I'm recapping my trip to International Quilt Market 2023 in Houston, TX. Quilt on the wall: Brightly- 60x72 Designer: Cluck cluck sew Fabric: Happy Days by Sheri and Chelsi Layer cake friendly So I thought I’d recap the new things I saw, products that I’m really excited about, fabric lines that I’m drooling over, and some really gor…

what kindness do I owe terror? Is there a better relationship I can have with my own fear than kill it, ignore it, eradicate it? Ismatu Gwendolyn makes some apologies and benedictions over fear itself. read the full essay and see very cute pictures of Ismatu as a child at ismatu.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this …

How is self love entangled with parental love? I am blooming into adulthood realizing that so much of myself is directly sourced from the people that raised me. For all her flaws and despite all her fumbles, how do I love do I love this mother of mine? In the same way I love myself. Enjoy the full essay and poem at ismatu.substack.com. This is a pu…