An episode of ‘Lest We Neglect’ feels such as you’re listening in on a dialog between your smartest, funniest, and most approachable mates. Every episode dives into the historical past, each huge and small, of Jamaica and the broader Caribbean.
Episodes contact on all the things from plantation riots to that one time Bob Marley “kick down him supervisor.” It’s a necessary podcast for anybody thinking about deep-diving into Caribbean historical past.
‘Lest We Neglect’ is only one challenge popping out of the Tenement Yaad Media, a set of youths coming collectively to inform Caribbean historical past and present affairs not solely from their perspective however platforming specialists of their fields.
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Accompanying ‘Lest We Neglect’ is ‘Checkmate.’ This podcast focuses on present affairs, interviewing specialists on each headline matters and extra area of interest curiosity items. Lastly, the group writes and options articles that you just’re not more likely to ever discover on a standard information web site. No different outlet is tackling queerness, faith, and different socio-politics with the transparency and heat of this collective.
Caribbean Nationwide Weekly (CNW) managed to safe an interview with the group which was carried out through electronic mail, and solutions have been edited for readability.
If attainable, I’d love to listen to about every of the workforce members concerned. Inform me a bit about yourselves and what drew every of you to the challenge?
Gabrielle Thompson-Jackson, she/her. Lest We Neglect Historic Podcast
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I’m a Multimedia journalist, Chevening scholar finding out Producing at Met Movie College. Captivated with public broadcasting, a fan of podcasts and avocado toast. Initially, I used to be simply actually completely satisfied to see and listen to Caribbean historical past being mentioned by individuals my age – began out as a fan! What actually stored my curiosity was the conversational tones of Lest We Neglect. It was and continues to be regional historical past being mentioned in what feels like an prolonged dialog with the listener, which makes for straightforward listening.
JT Davey, she/her. Lest We Neglect Historic Podcast
Nonetheless a pupil. I used to be within the room when the thought of a Caribbean societal podcast was being conceptualized so I sorta received roped into the formation of Tenement Yaad Media.
Clifford James, he/him. Checkmate Political Podcast
I’m an Economics/Math Main with a eager curiosity in Caribbean historical past and politics, and a knack for educating. Tenement Yard’s goal of constructing data of historical past and politics readily accessible and simple to grasp for others was what attracted me.
Nashae Lannaman, she/they. TYM Interviews
I’m a Pre-Name Affiliate, Postgraduate Regulation Pupil on the Norman Manley Regulation College, and Freelance Author. I used to be actually launched to TYM by Paige, one of many workforce members. After listening to all of the episodes inside a couple of days, I actually beloved the idea every podcast sequence had. I actually appreciated how each sequence utilized younger unfiltered voices to debate necessary political points and recount necessary historic moments. Youth illustration in these areas is proscribed and the place they exist aren’t properly highlighted or executed. I assumed TYM did a extremely nice job at utilizing native expressions and practices in representing the youths’ voice within the political dialog. For this reason I jumped on the alternative to affix the workforce.
Christophe Simpson, he/him. Tenants’ Articles
I’m a author and political organizer, with backgrounds in Enterprise Administration and Political Science. I noticed a media house rising in an necessary second and occupying an unfilled area of interest. The significance of the Caribbean is at all times understated; we’re a small area that has outsized affect (in politics and historical past particularly) that isn’t usually accounted for. It’s obligatory for one thing to exist to cowl our historical past, politics, and rising developments. What I noticed Tenement Yaad doing particularly was approaching each the extra seen political voices within the area in addition to a lot much less seen voices of individuals who’re doing necessary work.
Paige Samuels, she/her. Checkmate Political Podcast
I’m a PhD pupil at UWI-Mona and a Freelance Guide with a background in political science and worldwide affairs coverage. I used to be a fan of the podcast earlier than I joined the workforce. As a younger Jamaican it was refreshing to listen to younger Caribbean individuals speak about Caribbean political points and Caribbean historical past. I reached out to the workforce and provided to conduct analysis and ended up internet hosting for a bit.
Gabrielle Patmore they/them. Articles and Social Media
Caribbean Feminist and I’ve been a fan of Lest We Neglect Podcast and Checkmate, studying extra about Caribbean historical past and politics helped contextualize present Caribbean life and points. A chance arose for me to assist with managing the articles and I gladly accepted. Afterward, I began managing the collectives and monitoring social media.
Kadiedra Robinson she/her. Checkmate Political Podcast
I’m a communications skilled, specializing in digital advertising and challenge administration. The Tenement Yaad platform captured my consideration by the way in which during which the platform explores themes of the previous and makes the historic connection between the previous and far of what’s taking place in the present day.
Usheen Ewbanks, he/him
Videographer and Editor
What was the inspiration for Tenement Yaad Media?
One of many unique founders of Tenement Yaad Media wished to attend their college commencement in a Kariba Swimsuit and couldn’t discover a complete historical past on the swimsuit – what’s the origin, why it’s not as in style anymore, and many others. So it was from there that the thought blossomed into creating this societal Caribbean house so we will rant about Kariba swimsuit and trend. Nonetheless, on the similar time, no one wished to create one thing with their identify on it as it might come throughout as individualistic and we didn’t need that – we wished a really nameless, neighborhood method so it made sense to make a collective, as an alternative of an individual serving up themselves as content material. Then, everybody within the room on the time was brainstorming names and Tenement Yaad Media was the identify everybody agreed upon.
Was there a distinct segment that you just needed to fill in masking Caribbean historical past and present affairs?
Not essentially. Within the West Indies, most content material is both leisure, historic or present affairs. So there are a plethora of individuals creating content material about Caribbean historical past and present affairs. Tenement Yaad simply took a special method with ours. We’re much less tutorial within the historical past podcast house while being a bit extra conversational however nonetheless tremendously research-heavy.
Checkmate is much less opinion-based and extra specialists or semi-experts who’ve hung out taking a look at these points and never simply commentating however presenting options to those issues.
Tenement Yaad Media additionally takes a gendered and inclusive method to our content material. It’s this view of content material creation why we’re most likely the few podcast creators within the area who transcribe our podcasts in order that individuals who’re disabled or simply don’t like podcasts can nonetheless have entry to the knowledge. So sure, there are lots of individuals doing what we do and the area of interest was already stuffed; we simply got here and do our personal factor in a different way and most of the people appear to love our method so we proceed.
Why podcasts as a medium?
Podcasts are handy in additional methods than one. We ask individuals to jot down articles as properly, which we characteristic on our web site, however that’s intimidating for some. It’s typically simpler for somebody to simply speak, particularly if they’ve somebody guiding the method by asking questions. On the opposite finish of issues, a podcast is one thing that somebody can take heed to whereas doing one thing else.
How do you resolve on matters to cowl on the podcast?
All of the matters are determined by the individuals who labored on the Lest We Neglect Podcast. Episodes are determined upon in several methods. If there’s a yr marking a fiftieth or forty fifth anniversary of an occasion, we create an episode on that. If there’s a significant dispute within the media, ie. land rights, political instability, Caribbean weight-reduction plan, an episode is deliberate. Then typically one other episode is being researched and also you come throughout one thing that’s of curiosity and a pivot episode is finished on that.
What’s the analysis course of like?
From the subject has been selected, it takes roughly two years for that episode to be revealed. In case you are listening to an episode in 2023, the analysis on that episode has began since 2021. Tenement Yaad Media doesn’t generate profits so all of the supplies to create one episode needs to be sourced with out nice financial funds and that takes time. As soon as the supplies are sourced, analysis and writing begins subsequently and a written draft is often submitted a yr and half later – typically much less, typically extra. The draft is then given to a handful of individuals to test for biases, info being obscure and many others. We’ve got had a couple of episodes which have been despatched to lecturers and researchers who’ve completed analysis referring to the knowledge talked about on the episode. If all the things is greenlighted, episodes are then despatched to be scripted and recorded. After which, publishing and transcribing comes after.
Discuss to me about Checkmate. What impressed the foray into extra present affairs?
Really, Checkmate was the primary program that we created. It was first however Lest We Neglect is extra in style. The unique objective was to grasp Caribbean improvement from a historic viewpoint of how previous insurance policies, legal guidelines and occasions formed the society that we stay in in the present day. Nonetheless, it was troublesome to deal with the historic and political view of 1 problem in a single episode so we determined to separate it. As such, Checkmate got here because the political podcast, and Lest We Neglect would accompany it. Nonetheless, they each have advanced and in the present day, with Checkmate, we take an skilled view of present affairs – how do individuals who labored with this problem, analysis this problem, see the difficulty and their resolution to resolve it.
You host written articles pertaining to all the things from expertise to ‘being Muslim in Jamaica,’ what was the impetus for tackling one more medium?
Aside from two of the boys right here, we’re the entire Gen Z technology so initially we wished to create an area the place younger individuals throughout the area may simply write no matter and have their points heard. It was very a lot wanting individuals to jot down and write extra.
At its core, no nation within the West Indies has a singular downside – if it impacts one nation, there’s a slippery slope, it should have an effect on us all. So the portion of our web site was simply that – to have younger individuals write about their points and see how comparable we as West Indians share our burden and our ideas on the area that we stay in. Nonetheless, that house has advanced, it’s not simply younger individuals, anybody who’s thinking about re-imaging a brand new Caribbean has submitted one thing. Then, we don’t have management over what individuals submit so we simply inform individuals, “write”. For this reason you see these various voices on completely different points – faith, expertise, local weather change, Caribbean politics, queer organizing. Plus, the articles function an interim for when the podcasts are on break, we nonetheless have content material pushing out.
The place do you wish to see Tenement Yaad Media go sooner or later?
Nonetheless telling tales. We might like to create extra content material throughout the Caribbean involving major references – individuals who have lived by the occasions we talk about. We need to discover new media and enhance our podcast choices with layered sound design and platforming extra attention-grabbing tales on Caribbean thought and society
What, that you would be able to share, do you’ve got within the pipeline?
We’re engaged on a brand new interview well being sequence, which shall be introduced later this yr. There are some visible tasks that we now have been engaged on in earnest to develop to visible storytelling. For Lest We Neglect, come September we shall be releasing Half 2 of our sequence on the Grenadian Revolution – the PRG Authorities, the autumn of the revolution, the invasion, and many others. Checkmate, extra episodes; and extra written articles and interviews.
How can individuals greatest assist Tenement Yaad Media?
We’re a media entity, so we do media. After we put out one thing, we wish individuals to interact with it themselves and share it with others. To have issues to place out, we want issues being put in, so we additionally welcome individuals to share concepts for issues we will discover, and even to share their very own writings that we will publish as articles. There may be additionally our Patreon and the donation tab on our web site that individuals can make the most of in the event that they wish to assist us monetarily.