Navigating Black Womanhood, Media Careers, and Money Moves (ft. Elizabeth Ayoola & Haniyah Philogene)

Brown Ambition

iHeartPodcasts

Careers, Education, Self-improvement, Investing, Business

4.9 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2025

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At the Brown Table this week, Mandi invites two brilliant voices: Elizabeth Ayoola, host of Smart Money by NerdWallet, and Haniyah Philogene, lifestyle reporter at TheGrio. They dive into the chaotic beauty of career pivots, being Black women in media, and the emotional labor of storytelling.

We talk motherhood, dating, the cost of protective styles (spoiler: \$400 braids are wild), and the complex feelings around Tyler Perry’s latest Netflix hit. The convo gets real on how Black trauma is marketed—and why we need more diverse storytelling for us, by us.

We also chat about:

What it really means to be "financially free" in your 30s

The evolving landscape of Black journalism in a post-DEI world

How social media impacts our timelines—literal and emotional

Why storytelling is political, and who gets to shape the narrative

Plus, Elizabeth breaks down how she got into personal finance with no journalism degree—and why she wants you to start investing (even if it’s just \$5). And Haniyah gives us the inside scoop on Black consumer power, boycotts, and making sense of it all in your group chat.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:04.2	Run a business and not thinking about podcasting.
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0:07.5	More Americans listen to podcasts than ads supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora.
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0:15.7	Learn how podcasting can help your business.
0:17.6	Call 844-844-I-Hart.
0:21.3	Welcome to the U-V-V-U podcast.
0:23.6	I'm Lex Barrero, inviting you to go beyond the titles and the accolades of the world's
0:27.9	most successful entertainers.
0:29.7	Each week, we take off the Cape and get real about the inner battles, childhood stories,
0:34.6	and the moments that shaped our guests.
0:36.5	Get inspired to become the best version of you.
0:39.5	Listen to You versus You podcast on the Iheart radio app or wherever you get your podcast.
0:45.9	Have you ever thought about going voiceover?
0:49.1	I'm Hope Woodard, a comedian, creator, and seeker of male validation.
0:57.1	I'm also the girl behind Boy Sober,
1:03.7	the movement that exploded in 2024. You might hear that term and think it's about celibacy,
1:10.4	but to me, Boy Sober is about understanding yourself outside of sex and relationships. It's flexible. It's customizable. And it's a personal
1:13.1	process. Singleness is not a waiting room. You are actually at the party right now.
1:18.5	Let me hear it. Listen to voiceover on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:27.2	A lot of times big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways.
	...

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