Fear, Faith & Afro Bubblegum: Wanuri Kahiu on Following the Idea That Won't Let Go

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From Creative Vision to Cultural Movement: Wanuri Kahiu on Funding Bold Ideas and Building a Brand Bigger Than Your Work In this rich and unfiltered conversation, award-winning Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu — the director behind Rafiki and Hulu's Washington Black — gets radically honest about what it actually takes to bring a bold, unconventional creative vision to life. Because having the idea is one thing. Finding the belief, the village, and the funding to make it real? That's something else entirely. Wanuri breaks down: * Why excellence alone will never be enough — and what you actually need beyond craft * How she spent seven years pitching Rafiki before getting the yes that changed everything * Why a no is never the end — and how to turn rejection into the beginning of a relationship * How naming a movement (Afro Bubblegum) gave her community permission to claim their right to joy * What it means to understand yourself as a brand — and why that realisation set her free * Why the ideas that keep haunting you are the ones you're meant to follow * How to pitch your creative vision to funders when your story sits outside the dominant narrative Plus: Wanuri shares the daily four-hour practice that keeps her creative output consistent — and the dead-simple phone hack that makes it actually work. Chapters: 05:00 — When excellence isn't enough: redefining success on your own terms 07:14 — The creative process: from blank page to unshakeable belief 09:40 — The idea that keeps coming back — and why you must follow it 12:11 — Self-doubt, spirals, and the cycle every creative goes through 15:28 — Directing Washington Black and making mistakes at the highest level 21:50 — How to turn a no into the beginning of a relationship 40:44 — How to pitch when you're outside the dominant narrative 45:00 — The four-hour daily practice that changes everything Connect with Wanuri: Website: wanurikahiu.com Instagram: @wanuri Resources mentioned in episode: 🎬 Washington Black — now streaming on Hulu 🎬 Rafiki — Wanuri's landmark Kenyan love story, funded in part by the World Cinema Fund 🎉 Blankets & Wine Festival, Nairobi — Wanuri's most Afro Bubblegum real-life experience 🎨 Afro Bubblegum — the cultural movement Wanuri co-founded celebrating African joy, imagination, and creative freedom 🎥 Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón) — the film Wanuri credits with changing how she thinks about what the camera can do Nigerian designers mentioned: * Fruché * Zero + Maria Cornejo 📧 JOIN [https://lovekindcure.kit.com/9a6eb6b63e] - Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs. Ready to turn your ideas into influence? APPLY [https://madamespeakersays.com] for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.

When Failure Is the Point: Joan Godoy on Why Taking Up Space Takes Nothing From Anyone Else

You've spent years making other people powerful. You built the thing, ran the coalition, trained the leaders, held the room together. Somewhere in all of that — you stopped asking what you want. Not the organization. Not the mission. You. This episode is the intervention. Joan Godoy is the CEO of Radical Partners, co-founder of Fuckup Nights Miami, and one of the most quietly radical builders in the social impact sector. She spent $1.5 million dollars a year amplifying other people's leadership. And then her executive coach asked her one question that froze everything — and set her free. By the end of this conversation, you will know exactly why you keep giving your authority away, what it is actually costing you, and the one move that starts building it back in your own name. Here's what you'll walk away with: * The question that will make you stop hiding behind the institution you built — and start claiming authority in your own name * Why failure is not a lesson to extract — it's the thing that made you brave enough to jump * How to know when a crisis is actually an invitation to build something nobody else has the guts to build * The hybrid model that saved Radical Partners — and why it applies to every woman sitting between two worlds afraid to claim either * Why the most dangerous move a builder makes is staying invisible inside the thing she created * The three Cs that tell you exactly where your authority lives — independent of any title, any org, any room that hasn't let you in yet * What it actually costs to step into the center — and why your coach has never asked you that question This is not an episode about Joan. This is an episode about the moment you stop building authority for everyone except yourself. CONNECT WITH JOAN: radicalpartners.org Instagram: @radicalpartners MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 🔥 Fuckup Nights Miami — the global movement in 200+ cities built on one radical premise: go public with what didn't work 🏛️ Leadership Lab — Radical Partners' flagship five-month cohort for BIPOC community leaders, nearly 200 graduates deep 🌍 Global Shapers Community — World Economic Forum initiative where Joan first refused to give the accomplishment speech — and accidentally started a movement 📖 The Fuckup Nights Manifesto — the document that broke open a two-hour conversation that changed everything 🧠 Arathi Ramapushnam — the executive coach whose one question dismantled years of self-erasure 🎙️ Abstract on Netflix — why bold work always divides the room, and why that means you're doing it right TIMESTAMPS: 03:00 — The accomplishment speech she refused to give — and what happened when she told the truth instead 09:15 — Failure sucks, but it instructs: what shame actually is, where it comes from, and why you'll never outrun it 18:40 — How to know when to stay silent and when to act: the George Floyd moment that built Radical Partners' most powerful program 27:00 — The hybrid bet: how she moved from 90% grants to selling more than they raise — and what that unlocks for you 36:20 — The $1.5 million question: what it actually costs to make everyone else visible when you're still invisible yourself 42:00 — The one question your coach has never asked you — and why answering it changes everything 51:00 — The three Cs: how to locate your authority when it has nothing to do with your title, your org, or anyone's permission 55:30 — Rapid fire: Guatemala or Miami, the failure she won't applaud, bachata, and chocolate-covered humanity 📧 JOIN [https://lovekindcure.kit.com/9a6eb6b63e] - Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs. Ready to turn your ideas into influence? APPLY [https://madamespeakersays.com] for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.

3 de may de 20261 h 13 min

Fear, Faith & Afro Bubblegum: Wanuri Kahiu on Following the Idea That Won't Let Go

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