The Besties reflect on a morning of quiet prayer that turned into a cascade of miracles: a son spoke, moved, answered questions, and became eligible for a transfer to acute rehab. Leslie describes the emotional whiplash of being both a physician and a mom when a loved one is ill. While Besties Angella and Leslie share their relief, they pivot to sharing practical wisdom on the conversations and structures families can have in place when crises arise. Book a free coaching ...

The Besties trace Angella’s pivots from a 30 plus year corporate career in IT to becoming an entrepreneur who works in theater, showing how one bold choice can open a chain of unexpected doors. Craft, culture and courage meet in scenes from The Color Purple, Motown design, and a 40+ wig design for Legally Blonde The Musical. The heart of the episode explores how many of us, especially Boomers, are wired for “surety”—the prescribed path through degrees, titles, and predictable outcomes but tha...

The Besties share a candid and honest account of navigating a son’s sudden critical illness while balancing the roles of mother, physician and partner. Joy and grief sit side by side as they lean on community, faith and psychotherapy to move from fear toward steadier ground. 0:00 Welcome And Framing The Conversation 1:31 A Mother And Physician In Crisis 3:00 Transplant Realities And Infection Risk 3:56 Hospitalization And Unspeakable Fear 6:26 Five Lessons Begin: Lean On Community 8:12 ...

Changes in menopause are more than just mood and temperature swings; it is a rewiring of bone biology. The Besties sit down again with Dr. Toni Otway, a New Jersey Board Certified OB-GYN physician, to unpack how falling estrogen levels accelerate bone loss, why height can shrink over time, and what it truly takes to prevent fractures that derail independence. Instead of chasing a perfect bone density number, they focus on a smarter target: fracture prevention through timely hormone ther...

A thirty-year-old sweater sparks a surprising truth: when your clothes outlive trends, milestones and possibly lifespan, maybe the smartest style move is to stop buying and start noticing. The Besties celebrate their three-year mark by replaying a fan-favorite conversation that ages well- filled with stories about closets, boundaries, and the everyday choices that quietly define who they are. Chapter Markers 0:00 Anniversary Replay Setup 2:20 Show Intro And Warmup 4:10 Closet Clutter An...

The moment someone says you’re “too much,” you face a fork in the road: get smaller or get clearer. We chose clarity. To mark three years of Black Boomer Besties from Brooklyn, the Besties rebroadcast a past episode where a relationship that ended: not because love was absent, but because the container couldn’t hold who Angie was becoming. What followed was a surprising kind of closure, the kind your body recognizes before your brain does. If you’re navigating midlife love, boundaries, and re...

A FaceTime that wouldn’t connect, a birthday ice cream run, and a red box hidden under a saucer—then four words that change everything: will you marry me? We’re celebrating a surprise engagement that’s decades in the making and unpacking what it means to choose love, with clarity, later in life. We retrace the moment—how he kept a three-month secret, returned the first ring, and enlisted his sister to find the one that felt right. From there, we go deeper: how our definition of love has shift...

Two best friends trade wildcard questions about possibility, mortality, love, and “enough,” mixing belly laughs with clear-eyed truth. We unpack being overlooked, parenting triggers, belonging in medicine, and building a good life rooted in self-agency and joy. Thank you for listening. We really appreciate you. And we appreciate our Patreon subscribers too. You can join our Patreon Besties Squad Squad for a five or ten dollar monthly pledge. It helps us, and we can bring new content new conte...

Besties Angella and Leslie, two 60-something year old Black women, reveal their concerns over artificial intelligence and explore how AI can enhance rather than threaten their lives. They reference an episode of John Hope Bryant’s Money and Wealth podcast entitled “How Black America Can Win with AI” where Bryant and his guests Van Jones and Sheldon Gilbert illustrate how AI can serve as a “survival guide, a playbook and a warning label” How Black America Can Win with AI | John Hope Bryant, Va...

The Besties explore their fears about moving to Panama while choosing to let joy shine through instead of letting fear take control. This candid conversation reveals their concerns about relocating abroad and how they're working through them to embrace this life-changing adventure. Chapter Markers: 0:00 Reconnecting and Introduction 2:39 Fears About Language Barriers 15:20 Missing Family and Leaving Children 20:05 Career Identity and Financial Concerns 29:14 Death Planning and Residency Statu...

Dr. Dianah Lake shares her journey from personal crisis to fitness transformation, creating a holistic wellness program specifically designed for high-achieving women who prioritize everyone else's needs above their own. Her approach addresses not just physical fitness but mental health, hormonal balance, and the unique challenges women face during perimenopause and menopause. Dr Di Fitness Facebook Page 0:00 Meet Dr. Dianah Lake 6:09 Finding Fitness Through Personal Crisis 13:41 Self-Agency ...

Angella and Leslie explore how choosing joy over fear transformed their lives, particularly in relationships. They share personal stories about leaving marriages that weren't serving them, despite the comfort of familiarity and fear of the unknown. Chapter Markers: 0:00 Welcome to Black Boomer Besties 5:02 Choosing Joy Over Fear 13:17 Angella's Marriage Journey 22:00 Leslie's Decades-Long Marriage 33:10 The Beautiful Home That Wasn't Happy 41:20 Fear of Leaving vs. Finding Joy 47:00 Finding L...

Michelle Malawer is a money coach for women. She joins The Besties to explore how unresolved financial issues may create barriers to joy and fulfillment in our lives. She explains that money struggles affect people at all income levels. Her coaching focuses on understanding the stories and mindsets behind money behaviors, not just numerical solutions. Michelle recognizes that financial shame often prevents us from seeking help or having honest conversations about money so she prov...

Black Girls Go Global is changing the world through their one-week STEAM educational program where young Black women travel internationally to learn about sustainable development. Board members Rolanda Goodwin and Lisa Randolph share how this organization is creating pathways for Black girls in STEAM fields where only 2% of the workforce is African American women. Visit blackgirlsgoglobal.org (IG: https://www.instagram.com/black_girls_go_global to learn more about supporting this organization...

When Emory University professor and scholar Dr. Karida L. Brown began researching America's segregated education system, she didn't expect to uncover a radical history of resistance, innovation, and profound courage. Yet after eight years of meticulous archival work across America and South Africa, that's exactly what she found. Dr Brown’s latest book, "The Battle for the Black Mind" reveals extraordinary stories of Black women educators who created schools with nothing but vision and determi...

This week Besties Angella and Leslie explore how to invest now to create a future that their older selves will thank them for. They were inspired by an 82-year-old patient who's maintained friendships since high school and lives vibrantly in her ninth decade. 0:00 Welcome to Black Boomer Besties 2:05 An 82-Year-Old Inspiration 6:20 Future Self Letters and Financial Preparedness 15:40 Health 2.0: Physical Fitness for Aging 22:57 Lymphatic Health and Body Maintenance 27:17 Messages from Present...

Dr. Hervé Damas shares his transformative journey from NFL player to cannabis wellness pioneer, sparked by his mother's cancer recurrence and her powerful challenge to him to find his true purpose. His path through medical school, personal health struggles, and ultimately walking away from a lucrative radiology career demonstrates the power of betting on yourself when facing life's greatest challenges. References:Dr. Damas CBD https://www.instagram.com/doctordamas/?hl=en https://www.instagram...

Dr. Hervé Damas, founder of Dr. Damas CBD, shares his riveting journey from a student at NYC’s prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School (The Bestie’s alma mater) to becoming a successful cannabis pioneer and entrepreneur. With a few amazing milestones achieved along the way- All American scholar-athlete, NFL linebacker, college professor, and physician, Dr Damas is truly a modern day Renaissance Man. Besties Angella and Leslie allow his nail-biting story to unfold over two episodes, ...

When Leslie confesses she approached Angie for career coaching because "I'm not good at too many things”, the statement stops Angie in her tracks, considering Leslie is an accomplished anesthesiologist who returned to medical school at 36 as a single parent. This moment of disconnect between achievement and self-perception becomes the catalyst for exploring why we struggle to recognize our own worth. Their honest exchange demonstrates how trusted relationships can help us challenge our limiti...

Book a free coaching consultation with Angie The Besties talk about joy A LOT! And want to make sure that people are getting its true meaning, and what it’s not, to stay clear of all the toxic positivity out there. Toxic positivity occurs when people don't allow themselves or others to experience hard emotions, quickly trying to move them to a "positive" place. Joy requires going through difficulty and sometimes involves setting boundaries or doing hard things for long-term fulfillment, and b...