Have you ever chatted with an Unapologetically Black Unicorn? Someone who symbolizes freedom, power, strength and is a true force of nature and thought, ‘WOW people need to hear this’? Now you can and learn how to be a U.B.U. too! Join the weekly conversation with host Keris Jän Myrick, an unapologetically black unicorn in their own right, and nationally recognized mental health advocate chatting with amazing U.B.U. folk who are advancing all things mental health, racial justice, and anything cool to enhance human existence.
Episodes
27 minutes ago
27 minutes ago
Keris recorded this podcast on Christmas and shares a Christmas memory from her childhood. She shares the struggles people have during the holiday season and the magic of a picture she saw of a Black Santa when she was young. Keris remembers the sacrifices her dad made and she wants you to know that it gets better.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Chacku Mathai (he/him) is an activist in the human rights movement for people with psychiatric histories and he is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Chacku shares his journey through immigration, racism, mental health systems, peer support and activism, weaving together his lived experience, cultural wisdom and resistance to oppressive systems. They talk about how they explore what it means to build healing spaces where people do not have to shrink themselves to belong and how liberation, storytelling and collective care are key components of their work.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
In this interactive episode of Unapologetically Black Unicorns, Keris transforms complex policy into “The Medicaid Maze”, a storytelling board game that reveals the real-life challenges of navigating Medicaid. Through dice rolls and card draws, she explores how small policy shifts and everyday barriers can drastically affect people’s health coverage and stability. Blending empathy and advocacy, this episode invites listeners to rethink what it really means to survive and stay covered within America’s healthcare system.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Dec 02, 2025
Tuesday Dec 02, 2025
Neil Gong (he/him) is an assistant professor of sociology at UC San Diego, where he does research on psychiatric services, homelessness, and how communities seek to maintain social order and he is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Neil explains the genesis of his book “Sons, Daughters and Sidewalk Psychotics” which focuses on mental illness and homelessness in Los Angeles. They talk about the complexities around quality of care and harm reduction, the benefits of using ethnography and covering the three broad problems for US mental health policy from the book.
“Sons, Daughters, and Sidewalk Psychotics: Mental Illness and Homelessness in Los Angeles”: https://a.co/d/iOHrgWB
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
In this episode Keris invites us to gather around The Truth-Giving Table, a reimagined Thanksgiving ceremony rooted in truth-telling, mourning, gratefulness and freedom. As attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility continue to threaten honest conversation, Keris shares personal reflections as an African American and Mvskoke (Muskogee) on what it means to hold gratitude and grief at the same time. Through four powerful movements, each with sensory prompts, reflections and moments of stillness, this episode offers a path toward healing, remembrance and collective liberation.
The Truth Giving Table Guidebook.pdf
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Saturday Nov 15, 2025
Saturday Nov 15, 2025
Keris opens up about grief, political turmoil and the unexpected ways community keeps us grounded when systems fail. In this emotional episode, she reflects on carrying her father’s ashes through a government shutdown and finds hope in collective care. Keris shares a deeply personal story about loss, resilience and how love and community help us move forward even in turbulent times.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Nov 11, 2025
Tuesday Nov 11, 2025
Dr. Ikwunga Wonodi (he/him) is a psychiatrist, an Afrobeat Poet and he is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Dr. Wonodi talked about what afrobeat poetry represents and his personal journey in becoming an afrobeat poet. They talk about pidgin, how afrobeats has been used as a vehicle for change, his poem and songwriting process and his message on homelessness and mental illness.
To listen or purchase Dr. Woondi’s music check out:
"Calabash: Afrobeat Poems by Ikwunga Vol.1": https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ikwunga/30240928
“Deep Sleep”: https://music.apple.com/us/album/deep-sleep/270004179
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Nov 04, 2025
Tuesday Nov 04, 2025
Dr. Jorge Partida del Toro is a Curandero, a Psychologist with international experience working with child soldiers and building intentional communities and he’s an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Dr. Partida Del Toro gives the backstory for how he got into psychology and how his grandmother played a significant role. They talk about institutional and structural racism, mixing Curanderismo Healing and Western Psychology and valuing the connection to our communities.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
In this interactive episode of Unapologetically Black Unicorns, Keris transforms complex policy into “The Medicaid Maze”, a storytelling board game that reveals the real-life challenges of navigating Medicaid. Through dice rolls and card draws, she explores how small policy shifts and everyday barriers can drastically affect people’s health coverage and stability. Blending empathy and advocacy, this episode invites listeners to rethink what it really means to survive and stay covered within America’s healthcare system.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Oct 21, 2025
Tuesday Oct 21, 2025
Alvin Lee (he/him) is the Executive Director of GENup and he is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Alvin shares the backstory of how he got into student activism and what it is like being a young person in a space with older adults. They talk about why education is a fundamental issue for everyone, how his work in education impacts BIPOC communities and why representation matters in school curriculum.
For more information visit: https://www.generationup.net/
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.