68 episodes

I started ‘Am I Allowed to Like Anything’ because I wanted to create a space for people to feel good about shouting out the stuff in culture they’re into, during a time when it’s easier to riff about the things we hate. I talk to guests about their work, their lives, and how they maintain their optimism in this world. #AIATLA is a capsule podcast. There will be 100 episodes.

Am I Allowed to Like Anything‪?‬ Darian Symoné Harvin

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.7 • 46 Ratings

I started ‘Am I Allowed to Like Anything’ because I wanted to create a space for people to feel good about shouting out the stuff in culture they’re into, during a time when it’s easier to riff about the things we hate. I talk to guests about their work, their lives, and how they maintain their optimism in this world. #AIATLA is a capsule podcast. There will be 100 episodes.

    Wellness Realness | Ep. 069 ft. Annya Santana

    Wellness Realness | Ep. 069 ft. Annya Santana

    Founder of the gender fluid skincare brand Menos Mas, Annya Santana, joins me to talk about her wellness journey; growing up as the middle child of a family who emigrated from the Dominican Republic to the Bronx, high school days (bullying, acne, acting school), blossoming into who she is today, and repping for her community in the wellness space.



    +1 SEGMENT [family edition]:

    Being proud of our brothers

    Taking a chance and talking to people we used to be too shy to reach out to (and how to approach doing that)



    Follow Annya on IG! @annyasantana  | @menos.mas! 

    Follow Darian on Twitter! @dariansymone | IG! @darian



    Big thanks to Red Bull Studios in NYC.

    • 42 min
    Pushing Past The Internet's Expectations Of Us | Ep. 068 ft. Alex Wolf

    Pushing Past The Internet's Expectations Of Us | Ep. 068 ft. Alex Wolf

    Writer and digital anthropologist Alex Wolf joins me for her second time on #AIATLA (she first came on three years ago!). Since then, she left the company she started to become an artist. She catches me up on the process of publishing her first book, 'Resonate,' and first short documentary, #ATTN4$, pronounced "attention for sale." The essence of our conversation is how we manage our love/hate relationship with the internet, and maybe, how you can too. 

    Alex's first episode (wouldn't hurt to listen to both)

    +1 SEGMENT:

    - Alan Watts (January 6, 1915 — November 16, 1973)

    - Beauty YouTuber and image activist Jackie Aina

    - Summerella and jstlbby a.k.a Amber Wagner



    Follow Alex on Twitter! @alexwolfco | IG! @alexwolf

    Follow Darian on Twitter! @dariansymone | IG! @darian



    Big thanks to Anchor Studios in NYC.

    • 57 min
    The (Ongoing) Process Of Becoming A Better Writer | Ep. 067 ft. Jasmine Sanders

    The (Ongoing) Process Of Becoming A Better Writer | Ep. 067 ft. Jasmine Sanders

    After a long break, #AIATLA is back — and writer Jasmine Sanders joins me. She writes for Jezebel and her work appears in the New York Times, BuzzFeed News, Catapult and New York Magazine. Jasmine talks to me about her to desire to continue writing stories that illuminate and broaden how Black people are portrayed in media, how she continues to grow as a writer and the beauty aesthetics she admired while growing up. 



    +1 SEGMENT:

    - Late night trips to Sephora 

    - Tata Harper resurfacing mask

    - Linen in the summer (both to wear and sleep on)



    Follow Jasmine on Twitter! @JasMoneyRecords



    Follow Darian on Twitter! @dariansymone | IG! @darian

    • 57 min
    Why Beauty Gets So Deep, So Quickly | Ep. 066 ft. Brooke DeVard

    Why Beauty Gets So Deep, So Quickly | Ep. 066 ft. Brooke DeVard

    Brooke DeVard, host of the Naked Beauty podcast, joins me! Brooke is a marketing and strategy specialist formerly of Viacom and now Instagram. She’s had an amazing career in media two far, including working in London, where she met her now husband. We talk about her life growing up on the Upper East Side of NYC, married life, our approaches to beauty and if it’s possible to have a soft spot for Soundcloud rappers.

    +1 SEGMENT:
    - My House on VICELAND and what the drag scene teaches us about beauty
    - Soundcloud rappers
    - SHHHOWERCAP

    Here's how you can contribute to the making of #AIATLA: d.rip/darian

    Follow Brooke on Twitter + IG! @brookedevard | www.nakedbeautypodcast.com

    Follow Darian on Twitter! @dariansymone | IG! @darian

    Footnotes: www.theseam.co/aiatla-brooke-devard-naked-beauty

    • 31 min
    Fashioned Through The Fire And The Foolishness | Ep. 065 ft. Tre'vell Anderson

    Fashioned Through The Fire And The Foolishness | Ep. 065 ft. Tre'vell Anderson

    On this episode, I sat down with Los Angeles Times reporter Tre’vell Anderson to talk about his work covering Black and LGBTQ Hollywood, growing up an military brat, and our current skincare faves.

    +1 SEGMENT:
    - Cardi B + Amara Le Negra
    - My Jade Roller. FIGHT ME. And you can sign up to receive my newsletter on what skincare routine here: https://www.dariansymone.com/skin-care

    Here's how you can contribute to the making of #AIATLA: d.rip/darian

    Follow Natalie on Twitter! @trevellanderson | IG! @rayzhon
    Follow Darian on Twitter! @dariansymone | IG! @darian

    Footnotes: www.theseam.co/aiatla-trevell-anderson-la-times

    • 42 min
    Be A Force | Ep. 064 ft. Natalie James / NJinLA

    Be A Force | Ep. 064 ft. Natalie James / NJinLA

    Natalie James (also known as NJinLA) is a Los Angeles native who I met when I moved to the city. She’s a creative producer & music, travel and food writer. She's a radio host on NTS, DJ and is just getting started in A&R. We talk about her journey through therapy, how she got thrown into DJing, and growing up Mexican American, in a working class family in LA.

    +1 SEGMENT:
    — Amanda of @idealblackfemale on IG
    — Erin Christovale (@erinzulie), Assistant Curator at the Hammer Museum & Co-curator of #MadeinLA2018
    — City Girls, latest album: PERIOD.
    — Road trips 3

    Here's how you can contribute to the making of #AIATLA: d.rip/darian

    Follow Natalie on Twitter + IG! @NJinLA
    Follow Darian on Twitter! @dariansymone | IG! @darian

    Footnotes: theseam.co/aiatla-natalie-james-njinla

    • 1 hr 10 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
46 Ratings

46 Ratings

DNat716 ,

Relevant AF

The content is relevant AF, and a signal through the noise of social media stars and influencers. These are the content and culture creators.

Sunshine J ,

Honest & Excellent

I’ve been meaning to write this review for a long time and just finished the Symone Sanders episode that kicked my tail into action! I am so proud of the care that Darian takes in crafting her questions. The conversations are candid, they talk about what her audience really wants to know and it’s sooo refreshing! It’s a breath a fresh air as a serial npr podcast listener. (No puns intended, they just happen!) I’d have to say the most recent episode with Symone Sanders, someone who I have always wanted to know more about is an instant favorite and a must listen. Her conversation with Nadia Lopez, the Principle of Mott Hall Bridges Academy brought me to tears awhile back. This content is excellent and I encourage anyone who enjoys Podcasts to subscribe ASAP and get your life.

mrmusic87 ,

Dope

Just found this pod, keep it up, loved the Gia ep

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