- 17
- Episodes
- 2025
- First episode
About Beyond The Table
Beyond the Table is a cinematic podcast exploring culture, history, music, film, food, and true crime. Hosted by Amanda Clemons, the show centers Black culture, queer perspectives, and overlooked stories through immersive sound and storytelling—featuring music deep dives, cultural history, contextual true crime, and a monthly Soul Food rewatch. New episodes every Tuesday.
- Publisher
- Amanda Clemons
- Category
- arts · society & culture
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 5 Oct 2025
- Latest episode
- 6 Jan 2026
Latest episodes
17 episodes in the feed.
6 Jan 2026
Starting the Year Right: New Year Traditions in the Black South
January has not always been about reinvention. In the Black South, New Year traditions were shaped by history, uncertainty, and care. Long before resolutions and goal lists, the New Year was a moment of preparation—marked by food that sustained, homes put in order, and communities entering the year together. In this episode of Beyond the Table, explores the origins and meaning of New Year traditions in the Black South, from the foods prepared on January 1 to the practice of Watch Night and collective reflection. These traditions were not about superstition or spectacle, but about steadiness, continuity, and readiness in the face of an uncertain future. This episode opens the year with a grounded reflection on what it means to begin again—not by erasing the past, but by carrying forward what has endured. Resources & Further Reading History & Cultural Context The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson — Context on Southern Black life, continuity, and tradition. Bound to Respect by Darlene Clark Hine — Explores domestic order, care, and discipline in Black Southern households. Library of Congress — African American traditions and cultural practices in the U.S. South. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — Cultural history of Black life, foodways, and faith practices. Foodways & Tradition High on the Hog by Jessica B. Harris — Foundational text on African American food history. Southern Foodways Alliance — Research and oral histories documenting Southern food traditions. Toni Tipton-Martin, The Jemima Code — Historical documentation of Black culinary knowledge and survival cooking. Faith & Watch Night National Museum of African American History and Culture — Watch Night and Emancipation history. Henry Louis Gates Jr., PBS essays on Emancipation Watch Night traditions. African Methodist Episcopal Church archives — Historical accounts of Watch Night services beginning December 31, 1862. Seasonal & Cultural Reflection E. Franklin Frazier, writings on Black family structure and community continuity. Oral histories from the Works Progress Administration Slave Narratives Collection.
31 Dec 2025
Thank You for Listening: A Reflection on Culture, Memory, and Building Beyond the Table
Hello, I'm Amanda. Welcome to Beyond the Table stories of culture, memory, and meaning. In this short episode, I wanted to pause and say thank you. Beyond the Table launched in October, and this moment is an opportunity to acknowledge the listeners who showed up quietly, consistently, and with care. This episode reflects on what it has meant to build this show, the importance of attention and listening, and the gratitude that comes with creating something rooted in culture, memory, and meaning. This is not a recap, but a moment of appreciation and reflection as the year winds down. Tomorrow, a new bonus episode drops our Soul Food rewatch, covering Season One, Episodes Four and Five. Thank you for listening, and for being part of the early life of this show.
24 Dec 2025
Christmas in the Black South: Food, Faith, and the Quiet Meaning of Home
In this Christmas episode, we explore Christmas in the Black South a tradition shaped by food, faith, memory, and the enduring pull of home. Looking beyond commercial narratives, this episode traces how Christmas became a moment of rest, gathering, and continuity in Black Southern life. From the historical roots of holiday pauses during slavery to the lasting significance of Watch Night services, Southern foodways, and returning home, we examine how culture transformed constraint into tradition. This is a story about kitchens and churches, sound and memory, migration and return, and the quiet meaning of belonging. Designed for Christmas week listening, this episode is reflective, historical, and grounded in lived experience. If this episode resonates with you, consider sharing it with someone who might appreciate this story. All sources and references are listed below. Follow the show on Instagram: @AmandaPaints1214 Tictok: beyondthetablepod Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com SOURCES & REFERENCES National Museum of African American History and Culture — Religion in African American History — African American Foodways and Cultural Memory Library of Congress — Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narratives Collection National Park Service — Watch Night and the Emancipation Proclamation Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns Henry Louis Gates Jr., The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton, Slavery and the Making of America Pew Research Center — Religion and African American Communities Southern Foodways Alliance — Oral histories on Southern food traditions and holiday cooking
17 Dec 2025
Erased: The Life and Murder of Philip DeVine
In December 1993, three people were murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska: Brandon Teena, Lisa Lambert, and Philip DeVine. While Brandon Teena's story became nationally known, Philip DeVine a twenty-two-year-old Black man was nearly erased from public memory. This episode centers Philip DeVine's life, presence, and death, and examines how race, media framing, and popular culture shaped which victims were remembered and which were forgotten. In this episode, we explore: • Who Philip DeVine was and why he was in the home • The events of December 31, 1993 • How the legal system documented all three victims • How Philip was removed from national storytelling • The role of race in victim erasure • Why restoring Philip's name matters today All resources used to build this story are listed in the show notes so you can explore this further. New episodes of Beyond the Table are released every Tuesday. Follow the show on Instagram: @AmandaPaints1214 Tictok: beyondthetablepod Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com Resources Journalism and Reporting • NBC News — "Man pleads guilty in teen lesbian's slaying" • Associated Press (AP) — Coverage of the murders, arrests, and trials • Lincoln Journal Star — Local reporting on the 1993 triple homicide • Omaha World-Herald — Trial and sentencing coverage Documentaries • The Brandon Teena Story (1998) — Documentary that references the full case • Boys Don't Cry (1999) — Referenced for cultural context and erasure analysis Academic and Cultural Analysis • C. Riley Snorton — Black on Both Sides • Jack Halberstam — In a Queer Time and Place Written and produced by Amanda Clemons © 2025 Beyond the Table. All rights reserved
10 Dec 2025
The Black Mall: A Cultural History of Buying, Belonging, and Becoming
In this episode, we explore the rise and fall of the Black mall one of the most important and overlooked cultural spaces in late twentieth-century America. From segregation-era restrictions to the emergence of malls as Black social hubs in the 1980s and 1990s, this episode traces how Black consumers reshaped retail, identity, and community across generations. We take you through the history of restricted access, postwar suburbanization, the migration of Black families into new commercial spaces, and the cultural energy that made malls feel like community centers, fashion runways, and social worlds. We also look at the economic forces that led to mall decline and what remains culturally, even after the escalators stopped. New episodes of Beyond the Table release every Tuesday. Follow the show on Instagram: @AmandaPaints1214 Tictok: beyondthetablepod Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com Resources Business Insider — "The rise and fall of the American Shopping Mall" Brookings Institution - Black Buying Power Atlas Obscura — "The Life and Death of the American Mall" Forbes - "It's the End of the Mall As We Know It ... And I Feel Fine" Written and produced by Amanda Clemons © 2025 Beyond the Table. All rights reserved
2 Dec 2025
Fifteen and Fearless: The Murder of Sakia Gunn
In May 2003, fifteen-year-old Sakia Gunn, a Black lesbian girl from Newark, was murdered in an act of homophobic violence that most of the nation never heard about. This true crime episode centers her humanity, her courage, and the community that refused to let her story disappear. In this victim-centered true crime episode, we explore: • Newark's queer youth culture in the early 2000s • Who Sakia was before the violence • The events of that night and the immediate aftermath • The media's lack of coverage • The community response and marches • How Sakia's death shaped visibility, advocacy, and safety for Black LGBTQ youth New episodes of Beyond the Table release every Tuesday. Follow the show on Instagram: @BeyondTableShow Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com Resources Used in This Episode: • Out In New Jersey — "Remembering Sakia Gunn" • The Murder of Sakia Gunn and LGBT Anti-Violence Mobilization • NBC News — "Man pleads guilty in teen lesbian's slaying" • Queer Newark Oral History Project — Rutgers University • Advocate — "Remembering Sakia Gunn" *]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "request-691b88a2-9744-832c-a2e1-c50b78609b72-10" data-testid= "conversation-turn-44" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> Written and produced by Amanda Clemons © 2025 Beyond the Table. All rights reserved.
25 Nov 2025
Echoes of the Feast: A Thanksgiving History of Food, Culture, and Tradition
Echoes of the Feast: A Thanksgiving History of Food, Culture, and Tradition is a cinematic, time-traveling journey through the real story of the American Thanksgiving meal. This episode moves across centuries to reveal how each dish on the table came to be — shaped by Indigenous agricultural knowledge, colonial hardship, national mythmaking, Black culinary traditions, migration, and modern reinvention. Through immersive soundscapes and historical narration, the episode traces: Indigenous harvest practices of corn, beans, squash, wild turkey, and maple sugar The reality of seventeenth-century survival and why the 1621 gathering was not the first "Thanksgiving" Nineteenth-century writers and political leaders who invented the holiday as a unifying national tradition The deep influence of Black cooks in the post-emancipation South, whose foodways transformed the holiday table The Great Migration, which carried Southern dishes — including dressing, sweet potatoes, greens, and macaroni and cheese — into cities across the country The rise of industrial food brands like Ocean Spray, Libby's, and Campbell's, which standardized the mid-twentieth-century Thanksgiving menu And the modern feast, shaped by chosen families, fusion dishes, cultural diversity, and evolving traditions This is not a story about myth. It is a story about people — about how history, culture, and memory have shaped the meal we recognize today. Echoes of the Feast is part of the Beyond the Table Thanksgiving arc, alongside: • What's Cooking — a cultural exploration of the 2000 film and the families it brings to the table • Thanksgiving, Everywhere — a journey across global gratitude traditions and how communities honor harvest, survival, and gathering If Beyond the Table resonates with you, please follow, rate, and share the show. Your support helps these stories reach more listeners. Written and produced by Amanda Clemons. Resources: "What Was Eaten at the First Thanksgiving?" — History.com "The Story Behind Thanksgiving's Most Polarizing Dish" — Food & Wine "How the Traditional Thanksgiving Feast Has Evolved Over Centuries" — National Geographic "African American Origins to Thanksgiving Foods" — TN Tribune "At Black Thanksgiving, both body and soul are fed" — Los Angeles Times "How Thanksgiving Cuisine Earned a Place at the Table" — Library of Congress Blog "Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?" — Britannica "As an African American Who Loves Thanksgiving, Must I Simply Ignore the Historical Suffering…" — Religion Dispatches
18 Nov 2025
What's Cooking? (2000) - Where Culture and Queer Truth Share a Table
To mark the film's 25th anniversary, this episode revisits What's Cooking? (2000) a groundbreaking multicultural Thanksgiving film directed by Gurinder Chadha. Four families. Four kitchens. One holiday lived through Black, Latin, Vietnamese, and Jewish identities including one of the earliest and most tender portrayals of queer family truth in early 2000s cinema. Amanda explores why this film was ahead of its time, how it reflected the real America long before Hollywood embraced intersectionality, and why its message still matters today. Continue the Thanksgiving Arc, if you enjoyed this episode… Listen to Thanksgiving Everywhere a tour of gratitude festivals and harvest traditions around the world. Next week… Stay tuned for Echoes of the Feast, one meal told across centuries, where every table keeps a piece of history." Resources & References Emanuel Levy, "What's Cooking? Film Review" – Variety (2000). Kevin Thomas, "'What's Cooking?' Simmers in Los Angeles Melting Pot" – LA Times (2000). Mary Pattillo, Black Picket Fences (University of Chicago Press, 1999) Karyn Lacy, Blue-Chip Black: Race, Class, and Status in the New Black Middle Class (University of California Press, 2007) Rubén G. Rumbaut – "Assimilation and Its Discontents" (International Migration Review) Jay Michaelson – "Queer Theology and the Traditions of Judaism" Loan Thi Dao – "Negotiating Culture: Intergenerational Conflict in Vietnamese American Families"Journal of Comparative Family Studies Andrea Weiss – Vampires and Violets: Lesbians in Film (Penguin, 1992) Patricia White – UnInvited: Classical Hollywood Cinema and Lesbian Representability (Indiana University Press, 1999) Dan Jurafsky, The Language of Food (W. W. Norton, 2014) Trailer Attribution Contains a brief excerpt from the official What's Cooking? (2000) theatrical trailer — © Lions Gate Films. Used under fair use for commentary and criticism. Credits Written & Produced by Amanda Clemons Instagram: @BeyondTableShow Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com You can find Beyond the Table wherever you listen to podcasts — including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. Copyright © 2025 Beyond the Table Podcast. All rights reserved.
13 Nov 2025
Living Colour: Sound, Rage & Revolution
In this bonus episode of Beyond the Table, we explore the power, defiance, and cultural impact of Living Colour the groundbreaking Black rock band that reshaped the sound and politics of late-20th-century rock. From Cult of Personaility to Desperate People to Funny Vibe and Which Way to America, we examine how their music confronted racism, capitalism, and identity while redefining what Black artistry in rock could be. We also look at Corey Glover's solo album Hymns especially "One" and "Little Girl" and how his vocal storytelling deepens the band's emotional legacy. This episode blends history, cultural memory, and musical meaning into a ten-minute immersive story. Living Colour Playlist A curated selection of songs inspired by this episode. 🎧 Listen on Spotify: Living Colour Sound, Rage & Revolution Living Colour: Sound Rage & Revolution Songs Mentioned Living Colour Cult of Personality Desperate People Funny Vibe What's Your Favorite Color Which Way to America Open Letter to a Landlord Corey Glover — Hymns One Little Girl Interviews & Articles 1. Rolling Stone – "Living Colour on Their Legacy and the Future of Black Rock" 2. Guitar Player Magazine – "Vernon Reid Breaks Down His Sound" 3. NPR Music – "Living Colour: Cult of Personality and the Politics of Rock" 4. The Guardian – "Living Colour: Still Loud, Still Necessary" 5. New York Times Archive – Coverage of Vivid and Time's Up Books & Scholarly Sources 6. Black Rock Coalition Manifesto – Founding Principles (Vernon Reid co-founder) 7. Rip It Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds 8. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America by Tricia Rose Support the Show If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or iHeartRadio, it helps the show grow. Connect Instagram: @BeyondTableShow Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com
11 Nov 2025
Thanksgiving Everywhere
Before there was an American Thanksgiving, there was gratitude spoken in every language under the sun. In this immersive episode, Beyond the Table travels across continents and centuries to explore how people around the world give thanks through food, ritual, and community. From the yam festivals of West Africa to Caribbean Harvest Sundays, Indigenous harvest ceremonies, and modern diaspora feasts — Thanksgiving, Everywhere reveals that gratitude isn't bound by borders or myth. Written and produced by Amanda Clemons, this story-rich soundscape blends history, memory, and music to remind us that giving thanks is not a holiday it's a way of living. Explore the episode references below to learn more: 🌍 Cultural & Historical References: Jessica B. Harris, High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America (Bloomsbury, 2011) Michael W. Twitty, The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South (Amistad, 2017) Toni Tipton-Martin, The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks (University of Texas Press, 2015) Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration (Random House, 2010) Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage – African American Foodways Collection National Museum of the American Indian – Harvest and Green Corn Ceremony Resources Caribbean "Harvest Sunday" traditions documented by the Barbados Museum & Historical Society and Jamaica's Institute of Jamaica If this episode resonated with you, share it stories like these travel best by word of mouth. To connect with me, email beyondthetablecast@gmail.com or follow at @beyondtableshow on Instagram. You can find Beyond the Table wherever you listen to podcasts — including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio.
9 Nov 2025
November Trailer — Stories of Gratitude & Belonging
This November, Beyond the Table explores stories of gratitude and belonging where culture, memory, and meaning come together in sound. Hosted and produced by Amanda Clemons, this special preview invites you to pull up a seat for a month of reflection, creativity, and connection. New stories every Tuesday.
4 Nov 2025
The Grocery Store Revolution Lesbian Pulp and the Secret Shelf of Desire
In the 1950s, you could find them between the canned goods and the cigarettes paperbacks with neon covers and whispered stories of women who loved women. Before Pride marches or queer bookstores, there was pulp: printed on thin paper, sold for a quarter, and hidden in plain sight. In this cinematic episode, Amanda explores the rise of lesbian pulp fiction the grocery store paperbacks that became lifelines. Featuring the stories of Women's Barracks, Spring Fire, Beebo Brinker, and the readers who turned shame into survival. References & Resources Mentioned: Women's Barracks (1950) — Tereska Torrès Spring Fire (1952) — Vin Packer (Marijane Meaker) Odd Girl Out and Beebo Brinker Chronicles — Ann Bannon Strange Sisters: The Art of Lesbian Pulp Fiction — Jaye Zimet Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold — Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Madeline D. Davis Archives: Lesbian Herstory Archives (https://www.lesbianherstoryarchives.org/) (Brooklyn, NY) ONE Archives at USC Libraries (https://one.usc.edu/) (Los Angeles, CA) Documentary: Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992, National Film Board of Canada) New episodes drop every Tuesday. For questions email beyondthetablecast@gmail.com.
28 Oct 2025
The Black South and the Supernatural
Halloween Feature: In the Black South, the supernatural isn't a story told just for scares it's a history of faith, protection, and remembrance. In this cinematic Halloween bonus, Amanda explores: African spiritual traditions that shaped hoodoo and rootwork. The legends of haints, boo hags, and night doctors and the real histories behind them. How the church merged ancestral belief with the Holy Ghost. Everyday rituals of protection the "science" of brick dust, coins, and psalms. The evolution of Black supernatural storytelling in film and culture. This is the kind of story told by moonlight one that lingers long after the last word. Resources and References: All materials are shared for educational and cultural commentary under fair use. Zora Neale Hurston, Mules and Men (1935) Yvonne P. Chireau, Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition (2003) Harriet A. Washington, Medical Apartheid (2007) Kasi Lemmons, Eve's Bayou (1997) Ashon Crawley, Blackpentecostal Breath (2016) Catherine Yronwode, Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic (2002) Drums and Shadows (WPA, 1940) Lovecraft Country (HBO, 2020) The South Carolina Encyclopedia Guide to South Carolina Folklife (2014) Stay Connected: 📸 Follow the show on Instagram: @BeyondTableShow ✉️ Reach Amanda at beyondthetablecast@gmail.com 🎧 New episodes drop every Tuesday follow the show wherever you listen.
28 Oct 2025
Soul Food Rewatch - S1E3:Heart of the Matter
In Episode 3 of Beyond the Table, Amanda and her pit bull Priscilla dive into "Heart of the Matter," which aired on July 12, 2000. Directed by Kevin Hooks and written by Patricia Green, this episode asks what happens when we stop performing strength and start facing the truth. Amanda explores themes of perception, honesty, and control as the Joseph family begins to unravel and rebuild in unexpected ways. In the Legacy Check-In, she looks at how the year 2000 was defined by image from glossy magazines. Soul Food stood out by doing the opposite: showing what happens when the masks come off and the truth finally shows through. It's an episode about honesty, perception, and the courage to get to the heart of what really matters. Follow @BeyondTableShow on Instagram and email BeyondTheTableCast@gmail.com for feedback, memories, or your favorite Soul Food moments.
22 Oct 2025
Soul Food Rewatch - S1E2:The More Things Stay the Same
In Episode 2 of Beyond the Table, Amanda joined again by her pit bull Priscilla dives into Season 1 Episode 2 od Soul Food The Series: "The More Things Stay the Same," which aired on July 5, 2000. This episode digs deeper into the Joseph family's secrets and the cost of keeping them. Amanda connects those cultural shifts to the reality of Black business ownership about 1.2 million Black-owned firms in 2000 versus over 3.6 million today tracing how secrecy, resilience, and self-reliance shaped both family and entrepreneurship. It's an episode about what we share, what we hide, and how truth becomes legacy. Follow @BeyondTableShow on Instagram.
21 Oct 2025
Soul Food Rewatch - S1E1: The More Things Change
In the debut episode of Beyond the Table, Amanda joined by her pit bull Priscilla begins the rewatch journey through Soul Food: The Series. We start with "The More Things Change" the pilot episode that aired June 28, 2000. Directed by Eriq La Salle and written by Felicia D. Henderson, it reintroduces us to the Joseph sisters Maxine, Teri, and Bird as they try to hold their family together after Big Mama's passing. Amanda explores how the series carried forward the heart of the 1997 film while building a new world for weekly television. She looks at themes of grief, responsibility, and what happens when love and legacy collide. In the Legacy Check-In, we step back to the summer of 2000: Be With You by Enrique Iglesias tops the Billboard charts, The Perfect Storm rules the box office, and BET's $3-billion sale to Viacom reshapes Black media ownership. It's soulful, nostalgic, and thoughtful the start of a rewatch rooted in memory, culture, and connection. Follow @BeyondTableShow on Instagram or send an email to beyondthetablecast@gmail.com for updates, behind-the-scenes notes, and upcoming episode drops.
5 Oct 2025
Trailer — Welcome to Beyond the Table
Beyond the Table continues to grow widening its lens and deepening its sound. What began as a Soul Food rewatch has evolved into a cultural magazine: a cinematic sound journey through stories of Black culture, queerness, memory, and belonging. Inthis Beyond the Table Trailer, host Amanda Clemons shares the spirit of the show and its new rhythm ten-minute stories released each week, where culture, sound, and soul meet. 🎧 New episodes every Tuesday 📱 Follow @BeyondTableShow on Instagram Written, produced, and narrated by Amanda Clemons. © 2025 Beyond the Table. All rights reserved.
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