“I’ve been appearing on other people’s podcasts for years now, and when I’ve done so I’ve had great conversations with smart people, but I’ve also thought about what it might be like to host a podcast of my own,” Gay said in a statement provided to The Root. “As I began to imagine my ideal show, there was only one woman I wanted to work with, Tressie McMillan Cottom, my co-host for Hear to Slay. Tressie is fiercely intelligent, hilarious, and genuine. She is as provocative as she is charming. Together we’ve developed a show that will cover the high brow, the low brow and everything in between. We are particularly excited to be joining Luminary and are thrilled that they have so warmly embraced our vision for an unapologetically black feminist podcast. We’re looking forward to this collaboration and joining so many other great original podcasts on the Luminary platform.”

Advertisement

“It is said that every badass woman has a group chat that keeps her lit,” Cottom noted in a statement to The Root. “The chat that lifts me up — and holds me down — is full of my Black feminist BFFs being honest about life, love, money, and culture. Hear to Slay is that group chat, set to ten. Like smart Black women everywhere, we are balancing self-care with hustling. Because of that, there is a little something for everyone. We take on the Democratic primary race in one breath and wonder why reality television can’t get good wigs in the next. This show is about everything we love and everything we love to hate. I am beyond thrilled to be co-piloting this ship with my friend, the inimitable Roxane Gay, on Luminary.”

Advertisement

Cottom is absolutely accurate in her assessment. Every badass woman does have said group chat. I know I do. The reinforcement I receive from my group of fellow badass women is akin to a Pavlovian WhatsApp, and I am grateful for it. I’m looking forward to receiving that lit-ness from two badass women and the squad of badass women they’ve chosen to slay with over the mic.

Hear to Slay debuts on the Luminary app on Tuesday, April 23. You can sign up for content now at luminarypodcasts.com.