Pod Highlight: Six Degrees of Cats

Side Quest: Creative Reconstruction with DJ CherishTheLuv

What if healing isn’t about going back to who you were- but becoming someone new on purpose?  What if your life is not something to survive, but something to re-create? In this minisode, I sit down with super multi-hyphenate creative (DJ, author, Broadway producer), CherishTheLuv to talk about creativity as survival, healing, and rebirth. From a life-altering head injury to breast cancer and remission, Cherish shares how losing memory, identity, and certainty led her into a deeper relationship with music- and ultimately, herself. We talk about what it means to take ownership of your body and your story, how trauma can reshape not just your life but your sense of self, and how creativity became the tool that helped her rebuild from the inside out. For Cherish, music became the bridge back. For me, her story was a mirror. If you would like to SEE (yup it’s video!)  the RAW full conversation between me and DJ CherishTheLuv, become a contributing member of my patreon- we got into religion, our queerness, and how making room for our creativity opens us up to love. For the full conversation, join us at patreon.com/secretlifeoftk [http://patreon.com/secretlifeoftk].  I would love to hear from you- call me on The Secret Life Line at ‪(929) 551-4363‬ and leave me a message! That and a 5 star rating and reviews help because your experiences help people feel like they're not alone.  The Secret Life of TK Dutes is hosted and executive produced by me, Keisha TK Dutes.  Special thanks: DJ CherishTheLuv, Mike Brown (Producer), C. [http://instagram.com/agtraphaus] (Engineer), Faybeo’n Mickens (Marketing), Pat Mesiti-Miller (Theme and credits music). 👉🏾 Follow DJ CherishTheLuv on IG: @DJCherishTheLuv [https://www.instagram.com/djcherishtheluv/]👉🏾 Follow Mike Brown on IG: @theartoflettingopodcast [https://www.instagram.com/theartoflettinggopodcast/]👉🏾 Follow TK on IG: @tastykeish [http://instagram.com/tastykeish]| @philosfuturemedia [http://instagram.com/philosfuturemedia] 👉🏾 Go behind the scenes on Patreon: patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK [http://patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK] TK Podcast Reccs: The Almanac of Rap [https://pod.link/1673211000] hosted by DonWill [https://www.donwill.me/aor]! If you love art, history, NYC, and Hip Hop- check out the "Graffiti Rock with Micheal Holman [https://pod.link/1673211000/episode/NmQ5MjEyMGEtNGYzOC0xMWYxLWFkNTUtMDdmYzhkOWYxNDhh]" about  the early days of hip-hop culture and the movement that brought its four elements to a national audience for the first time. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK]

Pod Highlight: Six Degrees of Cats

After Episode 3, A Season of Loss with Tah Whitty, I got a voice note from our listener/friend Z - and I had to share it. Your messages mean everything, and you can always leave me one at ‪(929) 551-4363‬. Because of the messages and feedback from folks I wanted to share an excerpt of producer, Amanda B. Nazereno's award winning podcast Six Degrees of Cats [https://pod.link/6degreesofcats?view=apps&sort=popularity], where she asks about Our Feline Fictive Kin: Are Cats Full Fledged Family?  If you’re thinking about companionship, chosen family, or just living life on your own terms- this one’s for you. Follow @6degreesofcats [https://www.instagram.com/6degreesofcats/] on IG and keep your ears peeled for a certain someone featured in another episode- Beyond Taylor Swift: Who Are Cat People? ;) Big thanks to Z for the call, Amanda (+ Binky, Snuggles, and Peanut!), and the Cat Museum of NYC for including us in their pet loss grief guide: https://www.catmuseumnyc.org/resources/grieving-a-pet [https://www.catmuseumnyc.org/resources/grieving-a-pet] TK Podcast Reccs: The Almanac of Rap [https://pod.link/1673211000] hosted by DonWill [https://www.donwill.me/aor]! If you love art, history, NYC, and Hip Hop- check out the "Graffiti Rock with Micheal Holman [https://pod.link/1673211000/episode/NmQ5MjEyMGEtNGYzOC0xMWYxLWFkNTUtMDdmYzhkOWYxNDhh]" about  the early days of hip-hop culture and the movement that brought its four elements to a national audience for the first time. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK]

Ep 3: A Season of Loss...with Tah Whitty

Grief doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like an apartment that suddenly feels too quiet. In this episode of The Secret Life of TK Dutes, TK sits down with her longtime friend Tah Whitty-  an emcee, emotional coach, and nurse who has spent over three decades watching people move through life, illness, and grief. The conversation starts with the loss of two beloved companions: TK’s cat, Feisty Mrs. Peabody, and Tah’s dog, Henry. But like most real conversations about grief, it quickly becomes about everything else. The years where things shift. The jobs that disappear. The friendships that end. The life you thought you’d have… and the one you end up building instead. Tah talks about what's underneath our human suffering and what we are reaching out for; and TK talks about the quieter griefs associated with living outside the script. Together they explore the strange tenderness that comes from loving an animal who sees every version of you- the hustling version, the heartbroken version, the version trying to hold it all together. Together they explore how animals become witnesses to our lives.   How grief cracks things open. And how sometimes the deepest teachers show up in fur, not human form. Welcome to The Secret Life of TK Dutes. Episode 3: A Season of Loss. After the conversation with Tah, TK sits down with producer Amanda B. Nazareno [https://linktr.ee/ask4amanda] for a quiet post-show reflection about what it means to move through a season of loss as in a capitalistic society, as people with marginalized identities. Watch the full behind-the-scenes Production Chat between TK and Amanda - available on Patreon. Want to share? 📞 You can call or text The Secret Life Line at (929) 551-4363, or leave a voice note at philosfuturemedia@gmail.com. Special thanks: Tah Whitty, Amanda B. Nazareno (Producer), Manny Faces (Engineer), Faybeo’n Mickens (Marketing), Pat Mesiti-Miller (Theme Music), Gabrielle Smith (Art).  👉🏾 Follow Tah Whitty [https://sociatap.com/tah/] on IG: @tahfree [https://www.instagram.com/tahfree] 👉🏾 Follow Amanda on IG: @catsuitmuse [http://instagram.com/catsuitmuse] | @6degreesofcats [https://www.instagram.com/6degreesofcats/] 👉🏾 Follow TK on IG: @tastykeish [https://www.instagram.com/tastykeish] | @philosfuturemedia [http://instagram.com/philosfuturemedia] 👉🏾 Go behind the scenes on Patreon: patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK [http://patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK] TK Podcast Reccs: The Almanac of Rap [https://pod.link/1673211000] hosted by DonWill [https://www.donwill.me/aor]! If you love art, history, NYC, and Hip Hop- check out the "Graffiti Rock with Micheal Holman [https://pod.link/1673211000/episode/NmQ5MjEyMGEtNGYzOC0xMWYxLWFkNTUtMDdmYzhkOWYxNDhh]" about  the early days of hip-hop culture and the movement that brought its four elements to a national audience for the first time. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK]

Side Quest: God Quest - A Studio Visit with Élan Cadiz

In this God quest (not-so-mini) bonus episode of The Secret Life of TK Dutes, TK pulls up to artist Élan Cadiz’s Harlem studio for a loose, unfiltered conversation about art, family, and what it means to embody an object. What starts as curiosity- sparked by episode 2 with Nicole Crowder, has TK following the thread to deeper reflection on comfort, lineage, and the expectation of being used as a tool. Élan breaks down her project An American Family Album, where family members are rendered as chairs- revealing how we see ourselves and what we carry. TK shares why following the “God quest,” even without a plan, has become essential to her healing from burnout. Pull up a chair it's time for art therapy. Follow Élan Cadiz: https://www.instagram.com/elancadiz [https://www.instagram.com/elancadiz] Learn more about An American Family Album: https://www.elancadiz.com/an-american-family-album [https://www.elancadiz.com/an-american-family-album] Read the Vogue feature: https://www.vogue.com/article/artist-turning-family-into-chairs [https://www.vogue.com/article/artist-turning-family-into-chairs] 📚 Élan's Library 📚   Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto Author: Tricia Hersey Link: https://thenapministry.com/rest-is-resistance   Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty Author: Dorothy Roberts Link: https://thenewpress.com/books/killing-black-body The Prophet Author: Kahlil Gibran Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317488/the-prophet-by-kahlil-gibran/   How I Became a Ghost Author: Tim Tingle Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/228584/how-i-became-a-ghost-by-tim-tingle/ Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches Author: Audre Lorde Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/193060/sister-outsider-by-audre-lorde/ ------------ Special thanks to Amy of Velma Jean Flowers [https://www.velmajeanflowers.com/] for calling the Secret Life Lifeline and for lifting up Sara Ahmed’s Living a Feminist Life [https://www.dukeupress.edu/living-a-feminist-life] this episode. Your reflection helped shape this conversation. 📞 You can call or text The Secret Life Line like Amy did at (929) 551-4363, or leave a voice note at philosfuturemedia@gmail.com. ⭐ If you want to help us become an award-winning podcast, rate + review the show wherever you listen and consider becoming a Patreon member at 👉🏾 https://www.patreon.com/SecretLifeofTK [https://www.patreon.com/SecretLifeofTK] Your support helps us enter award categories so they can put some respect on our names. This bonus episode was produced by Tre’ Jones Hosted and Executive Produced by Keisha TK Dutes of Philo's Future Media Post-production audio by Manny Faces. Next time we meet, we take a moment for grief in Episode 3 — coming soon. TK Podcast Reccs: The Almanac of Rap [https://pod.link/1673211000] hosted by DonWill [https://www.donwill.me/aor]! If you love art, history, NYC, and Hip Hop- check out the "Graffiti Rock with Micheal Holman [https://pod.link/1673211000/episode/NmQ5MjEyMGEtNGYzOC0xMWYxLWFkNTUtMDdmYzhkOWYxNDhh]" about  the early days of hip-hop culture and the movement that brought its four elements to a national audience for the first time. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK]

Ep 2: An Invitation to Sit ft. Nicole Crowder

Burnout doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it just asks you to sit down. In this episode of The Secret Life of TK Dutes, a late-night scroll turns into a flight to Minneapolis, an upholstery class, and a quiet reckoning with rest and healing. TK meets furniture designer/curator/editor Nicole Crowder, and what starts as a conversation about chairs becomes one about creative burnout, self-trust, and leaving hustle culture without making a scene about it. They talk about making things with your hands, about why comfort feels political, about how Black women creatives have always known how to make home out of whatever’s available. About chairs as witnesses. About the right to rest. No big reveal - just the slow realization that burnout recovery might look less like escape and more like listening. After the episode, TK sits with producer Tre’ Jones to briefly unpack what this episode shifted inside of them. The full post-episode reflection lives on Patreon. This episode doesn’t rush. It pulls up a chair and waits. Welcome back to The Secret Life of TK Dutes. Episode 2: An Invitation to Sit. Special thanks: Nicole Crowder [https://www.nicolecrowderupholstery.com/], Tre' Jones [https://linktr.ee/tre2go] (Producer), Manny Faces [https://www.mannyfacesmedia.com/] (Engineer), Faybeo’n Mickens [https://faybeonmickens.com/] (Marketing), Pat Mesiti-Miller [https://www.patmesiti-miller.com/] (Theme Music),  Gabrielle Smith [https://gabriellesmith.co/] (Art) 👉🏾 Follow Nicole Crowder on IG @nicolecrowderupholstery [https://www.instagram.com/nicolecrowderupholstery] | nicolecrowderupholstery.com [https://www.nicolecrowderupholstery.com/] 👉🏾 Follow TK on IG: @tastykeish [https://instagram.com/tastykeish] | @philosfuturemedia [https://instagram.com/philosfuturemedia]👉🏾 Go behind the scenes on Patreon: patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK [https://patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK] TK Podcast Reccs: The Almanac of Rap [https://pod.link/1673211000] hosted by DonWill [https://www.donwill.me/aor]! If you love art, history, NYC, and Hip Hop- check out the "Graffiti Rock with Micheal Holman [https://pod.link/1673211000/episode/NmQ5MjEyMGEtNGYzOC0xMWYxLWFkNTUtMDdmYzhkOWYxNDhh]" about  the early days of hip-hop culture and the movement that brought its four elements to a national audience for the first time. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://www.patreon.com/c/SecretLifeofTK]