The BLK IRL Podcast

Welcome to the October 2026 edition of the BLK IRL Jobs Report, a monthly look at the U.S. labor market from a distinctly Black perspective, now additionally in audio form! This month: A focus on the spike in unemployment among Black women.

Every edition of the BLK IRLⓇ Jobs Report features three core sections: The Breakdown, where host and BLK IRL Founder, Dr. Anuli Akanegbu, unpacks the latest labor market data and what it means beyond the headlines; Selected Cuts, a curated look at the everyday conditions shaping how we work, learn, create, and live; and On The Board, a roundup of jobs, opportunities, and resources. 

Welcome to the September 2026 edition of the BLK IRL Jobs Report, a monthly look at the U.S. labor market from a distinctly Black perspective, now additionally in audio form! This month: Why nearly a quarter of Americans may be considered "functionally unemployed."

Every edition of the BLK IRLⓇ Jobs Report features three core sections: The Breakdown, where host and BLK IRL Founder, Dr. Anuli Akanegbu, unpacks the latest labor market data and what it means beyond the headlines; Selected Cuts, a curated look at the everyday conditions shaping how we work, learn, create, and live; and On The Board, a roundup of jobs, opportunities, and resources. 

Welcome to the August 2026 edition of the BLK IRL Jobs Report, a monthly look at the U.S. labor market from a distinctly Black perspective, now additionally in audio form! This month: Find out why economists are calling the latest jobs numbers, "surprisingly bad" and "bleak" and what that means for you.

Every edition of the BLK IRLⓇ Jobs Report features three core sections: The Breakdown, where host and BLK IRL Founder, Dr. Anuli Akanegbu, unpacks the latest labor market data and what it means beyond the headlines; Selected Cuts, a curated look at the everyday conditions shaping how we work, learn, create, and live; and On The Board, a roundup of jobs, opportunities, and resources. 

This is the final episode of the limited docuseries, BLK to School. Join our protagonist, Anuli, as she prepares for the big day and start figuring out what life looks like *after* the cap and gown.

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This is episode five of the limited docuseries, BLK to School. In this episode our protagonist, Anuli, races against the clock to graduate before her fellowship funds run out as she turns her attention to writing her dissertation while also navigating everyday life in Atlanta and university bureaucracy.

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This is episode four of the limited docuseries, BLK to School. In this episode our protagonist, Anuli, shares her reflections on methodology, ethnographic research, and doing this thing that anthropologists call “fieldwork” while living in the American South as a Black woman studying Black life.

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This is episode three of the limited docuseries, BLK to School. This episode takes place in Fall 2022 during a month in the life of our protagonist, Anuli. In this episode she receives some major career news while processing everything from social anxiety to voting in Georgia for the first time.

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This is episode two of the limited docuseries, BLK to School. Follow our protagonist Anuli as she prepares to move to Atlanta to conduct the formal fieldwork for her PhD in cultural anthropology.

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Tag along with our protagonist, Anuli, as she leaves Corporate America to go back to school in the season premiere of this limited-run experimental audio docuseries from BLK IRL.

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For the Season 3 finale, Anuli speaks with award-winning journalist, motivational speaker, and blogger L’Oreal Thompson Payton about what life is like after you get the things you’ve always wanted. Spoiler: It’s still not perfect.

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In this episode, Anuli talks with Los Angeles-based mental health therapist, author, and social media content creator, Oludara Adeeyo, about what it means to embrace being carefree, her pivot from working in the media industry to pursuing a career in social work, and the power in moving away from your home base.

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In this episode, Anuli talks with tech-focused Creative Advisor and Strategist, Sierra Imari, about her current chrysalis era, her love of The Sims, and how it feels to bet on yourself.

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In this episode, Anuli talks with interdisciplinary artist Kimberly Binns about knowing yourself well enough to know what environments you work best in, determining when it is time to pivot or change careers, and what it means to truly have a curatorial eye. 

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In this episode, Anuli talks with artist Autumn Nelson about asserting sexual agency through art, dating yourself to find yourself, and how the consumer of an art piece impacts its meaning and interpretation.

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In this episode of Black in Real Life, Anuli talks with artist Ariel Dannielle about the importance of friendship among Black women, what it means to be a hot girl, and why it is okay for art to simply be “fun.”  

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In this episode of BLK IRL, Anuli talks with mixed media artist Jasmine Best about what it means to be a “true Southern artist,” her creative process, taking agency as a Black femme, and something called “folk punk.” Jasmine is full of surprises, so you won’t want to miss this conversation!

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For season three of The BLK IRL Podcast, Anuli explores how Black people create worlds for ourselves through our creative work and everyday rituals where we are reflected, represented, and ultimately respected. Enter the world of Season 3 on the BLK IRL website (https://www.blkirl.com/season-3).

In this episode of Black in Real Life, Anuli talks with multidisciplinary artist, archivist, and curator, Sierra King, about how she got into the work of archiving, her personal approach to self-documentation, and how to curate your own career as a creative contract worker.

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In this episode, Anuli talks to New York City-based singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Garth about their shared history, his musical influences, and the ins and outs of trying to make it as an independent artist. Listen to find out why this conversation has been a long-time coming!

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Follow Garth.

Influence starts as an inside job. For season three of The BLK IRL Podcast, Anuli explores how Black people create worlds for ourselves through our creative work and everyday rituals where we are reflected, represented, and ultimately respected.

For the first episode of Season 3, BLK IRL producer and host, Anuli Akanegbu, shares where she’s been over the past year and offers a sneak peek of what to expect this season.

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For the final episode of season 2, Anuli talks to digital media entrepreneur Marie Denee of The Curvy Fashionista about her career as a content creator, how she has expanded her business over the years, and her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

In this episode, Anuli talks to the award-winning reporter and podcast host Jewel Wicker about her childhood in Atlanta, her career trajectory, and her overall thoughts on the state of the American journalism industry as an Atlanta-based reporter. 

As rapper Andre 3000 from the Atlanta-based duo Outkast proclaimed to the world during the 1995 Source Awards: “The South got something to say!” For Season 2 of the BLK IRL Podcast, Anuli travels to Atlanta, GA to learn more about the local tensions between "Old Atlanta'' and "New Atlanta'' that began to take root in the 1990s as the city prepared its bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games and how Atlanta has since evolved to become one of America’s cultural capitals.

In this episode, Anuli talks to documentary filmmaker, journalist, and podcast host King Williams about the history of gentrification in Atlanta, the tangled relationship between Atlanta and Decatur, and the Great (Re)Migration of Black people (myself included) from the American North to the American South, among a host of other topics.

As rapper Andre 3000 from the Atlanta-based duo Outkast proclaimed to the world during the 1995 Source Awards: “The South got something to say!” For Season 2 of the BLK IRL Podcast, Anuli travels to Atlanta, GA to learn more about the local tensions between "Old Atlanta'' and "New Atlanta'' that began to take root in the 1990s as the city prepared its bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games and how Atlanta has since evolved to become one of America’s cultural capitals.

In this episode, Anuli talks to Kristian Weatherspoon, the Vice President of Digital Storytelling at Atlanta History Center, about the role cultural institutions like Atlanta History Center play in interpreting history, the lasting impact of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games on the city of Atlanta, and Atlanta’s influence in the Southern U.S. as a region and America as a whole.

As rapper Andre 3000 from the Atlanta-based duo Outkast proclaimed to the world during the 1995 Source Awards: “The South got something to say!” For Season 2 of the BLK IRL Podcast, Anuli travels to Atlanta, GA to learn more about the local tensions between "Old Atlanta'' and "New Atlanta'' that began to take root in the 1990s as the city prepared its bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games and how Atlanta has since evolved to become one of America’s cultural capitals.

In this episode, you’ll travel to Atlanta with Anuli to hear how native Atlantans talk about the city’s heritage and the differences between “Old Atlanta” and “New Atlanta.”  Think of this episode as an audio documentary in its purest form!

As rapper Andre 3000 from the Atlanta-based duo Outkast proclaimed to the world during the 1995 Source Awards: “The South got something to say!” For Season 2 of the BLK IRL Podcast, Anuli travels to Atlanta, GA to learn more about the local tensions between "Old Atlanta'' and "New Atlanta'' that began to take root in the 1990s as the city prepared its bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games and how Atlanta has since evolved to become one of America’s cultural capitals.

As rapper Andre 3000 from the Atlanta-based duo Outkast proclaimed to the world during the 1995 Source Awards: “The South got something to say!” For Season 2 of the BLK IRL Podcast, Anuli travels to Atlanta, GA to learn more about the local tensions between "Old Atlanta'' and "New Atlanta'' that began to take root in the 1990s as the city prepared its bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games and how Atlanta has since evolved to become one of America’s cultural capitals.

In this episode, Anuli shares what she has been up to since BLK IRL last hit your podcast feeds and what it means for the future of her doctoral research.

The BLK IRL Podcast is an audio docuseries that explores the business of “influencing” and the power dynamics at play in the act of cultural exchange. Join host Anuli Akanegbu as she dissects themes related to race in the influencer economy through research-supported commentary and intimate interviews with predominantly Black content creators, scholars, entrepreneurs, activists, marketing experts, and cultural critics.

In this season finale episode, you will get to hear each of this season's guests share, for the first time ever, their individual responses to the question, "What does it mean to you to be Black?" It is my hope by putting the responses to this question in one episode, listeners will take away the truth that Black people are not a monolithic group and that America's Black population includes many differences that must be acknowledged and celebrated.

The BLK IRL Podcast is an audio docuseries that explores the business of “influencing” and the power dynamics at play in the act of cultural exchange. Join host Anuli Akanegbu as she dissects themes related to race in the influencer economy through research-supported commentary and intimate interviews with predominantly Black content creators, scholars, entrepreneurs, activists, marketing experts, and cultural critics.

In this episode, Danielle Prescod and I talk about the beauty and fashion industry’s reaction to last summer’s racial uprising, how she creates boundaries in her online and offline lives, and her plans to leave New York City.

The BLK IRL Podcast is an audio docuseries that explores the business of “influencing” and the power dynamics at play in the act of cultural exchange. Join host Anuli Akanegbu as she dissects themes related to race in the influencer economy through research-supported commentary and intimate interviews with predominantly Black content creators, scholars, entrepreneurs, activists, marketing experts, and cultural critics.

The BLK IRL Podcast is an audio docuseries that explores the business of “influencing” and the power dynamics at play in the act of cultural exchange. Join host Anuli Akanegbu as she dissects themes related to race in the influencer economy through research-supported commentary and intimate interviews with predominantly Black content creators, scholars, entrepreneurs, activists, marketing experts, and cultural critics.

The BLK IRL Podcast is an audio docuseries that explores the business of “influencing” and the power dynamics at play in the act of cultural exchange. Join host Anuli Akanegbu as she dissects themes related to race in the influencer economy through research-supported commentary and intimate interviews with predominantly Black content creators, scholars, entrepreneurs, activists, marketing experts, and cultural critics.

The BLK IRL Podcast is an audio docuseries that explores the business of “influencing” and the power dynamics at play in the act of cultural exchange. Join host Anuli Akanegbu as she dissects themes related to race in the influencer economy through research-supported commentary and intimate interviews with predominantly Black content creators, scholars, entrepreneurs, activists, marketing experts, and cultural critics.

The BLK IRL Podcast is an audio docuseries that explores the business of “influencing” and the power dynamics at play in the act of cultural exchange. Join host Anuli Akanegbu as she dissects themes related to race in the influencer economy through research-supported commentary and intimate interviews with predominantly Black content creators, scholars, entrepreneurs, activists, marketing experts, and cultural critics.

The BLK IRL Podcast is an audio docuseries that explores the business of “influencing” and the power dynamics at play in the act of cultural exchange. Join host Anuli Akanegbu as she dissects themes related to race in the influencer economy through research-supported commentary and intimate interviews with predominantly Black content creators, scholars, entrepreneurs, activists, marketing experts, and cultural critics.

This is the first full episode of Season 1! In this episode, Anuli talks to culture writer Shamira Ibrahim about how influencing has become the new cult of personality and how the exploitation of Black people and Black creative labor has become central to the inner workings of Internet culture.