The Breakfast Club - The Devil Wears Prada 2 Breakdown: Media, Power & Finding Yourself in the Chaos

Episode Date: May 5, 2026

This week on The Latest with Loren LoRosa, Loren is joined by media powerhouse Alexis Bennett Parker for a real, unfiltered conversation about The Devil Wears Prada 2—and how closely it mirrors the reality of today’s media industry. From the fall of legacy magazines to the rise of digital dominance, they break down the film’s biggest themes: power, ownership, relevance, and what it really takes to survive in an ever-changing industry. The conversation goes deeper than the movie, touching on career pressure, being “the only one in the room,” balancing ambition with real life, and the constant search for purpose and validation. They also get personal—talking about burnout, boundaries, chasing success, and the importance of showing up as your full, authentic self.  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the iHeart. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this.

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Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clivert Show on The I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a homeguard that knows a little bit about everything and everybody. You know if you're going to lie about that, right? Lauren came in. Hey, y'all, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is another episode of the latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on all things, pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the conversations

that shake the room, baby. Now, before we get started, I do have a guest to hear with the meet today. We will be diving into all things, journalism, into all things, fashion, and the fearless pursuit of, you know, everything in between,

the media landscape, and just being an entrepreneur and a hustler in the space. So I called, I phoned a friend, and I was like, hey, girl, DeVore's proud of it is out, I want to talk about it on the podcast, but I want to have a conversation,

with someone about it. And I want to talk to someone who I know is like in the, in the midst of it, you know what I mean? So I have a friend that will be joining me and I'm going to let her introduce herself. But low riders, you guys know we check in behind the scenes of the grind here first. So we'll also get a chance to do that with her. So joining me right now is my sister from another mister from a very well-dressed another mister. I love it.

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me. Of course. Thank you for joining us. So our podcast community, there are 9 million plus listeners. They are called the low riders because they be riding hard, okay? They ride hard for us.

But, you know, introduce yourself to them. Give a little bit of your background and, you know, what you've done, where you are now. And then we'll get into the check-in. Yeah. So I'm Alexis Bennett Parker. I've been working in media for over 10, 12 years now. I've worked historically at mostly legacy magazines. So I come from Vogue, El, Cosmo, InStyle, and now I am overseeing shopping, commerce content at Essence, Refinery 29, and the Sundown Media portfolio group.

So I'm excited for today because this is my life. Exactly. And real life. So me and Alexis, we met. I don't even remember what you. year that was, I want to say it might have been like 2012, 2013. Somewhere around there, yeah. Yeah, it was somewhere around there.

So Cosmopolitan Magazine used to do this fun fashion and fun, fearless and fashion conference or something like that. It was those words, but I just don't know if I'm putting them in the right order. But they would do this conference. It was basically like you would come. You would get to listen to like editors and assistants and all these people from Cosmo magazine talking about working in the industry and, you know, just try and figure your way out in life. And I just remember we were in like the holding area and like a lobby. And mind you guys,

I had like found out about it on, I think like Instagram. And this was like early Instagram. Like you, I don't even think you could post videos for real Instagram at that point. But I had found out about it because I was like having this whole little blog that I was doing. And I just knew my life went. I was supposed to be had a magazine. And I went, I caught the bus from Delaware State University. I went. I got there. And I just remember seeing these two black girls. And I just remember seeing these two black girls and I was like they are the only two people in here that look like me I'm gonna just go talk to them and I walked up and was just like hey I don't remember what I said but I just remember I walked up and we've been friends every since and Alexis has had such an amazing career like

she says these things so casually but you know getting able to see you know being able to see you go from you know someone who wanted to move to New York and figure out all these things to actually moving here I remember you started it was in style right? Yep, I started at Instile. Yeah, it was InStyle magazine. And when you were at EnSty Magazine, what was your role there? I had several different roles back and forth. I'm kind of like boomerang, but I started off as a fact checker. That was my very first role. And basically a fact checker is the person who literally just make sure the magazine doesn't get sued so that every sentence makes sense. So, yeah. And then, and at that, and at that,

time. I did like an internship at Cosmopolitan magazine for about just a winter break. So maybe like a week or two. But I thought it was so fire. I'm like, you're getting to live the dream. Girl, you're working at the magazine. And then you went off from Install into other things. But I remember mostly the internet becoming such a big conversation and magazines just not,

physical magazines just not being at the forefront and the internet being a thing. And I remember Vogue made it such a big deal that they were going to Vogue.com. and leaning more there. And, like, they were trying to do more, like, hip, young stories and the shopping things. And you went there. Yeah. And that was, like, such a turning point for the magazine, for the conversations around magazines.

But you were there really early. Like, was your team even really big? You're, like, the only person I knew that worked on that side of things. Yeah. So, I was definitely, I feel like, one of the, like, earlier people in shopping content and basically shopping content for a magazine is, like, it's one of the newest revenue. streams whereas in the past magazines have always been about you know getting advertisers to just you know buy a page or whatever yeah whereas like the shopping content is more so about taking the

stories we're already doing we're already writing about but figuring out okay instead of just telling you about this trend I'm going to tell you how you can shop it how you can get it and then we make affiliate revenue um from it so again it's kind of like just this newer way of like trying to keep the lights on because as you know like no nobody's buying print magazines anymore. But one of the things that I always thought was fire was like when I would like, I might be like visiting New York or like I know my mom was going through all of her like health stuff and I was here and you would invite me to things or we would run into each other at things.

I remember people just being so in all of your work. And like I remember we were at an event in Nordstrom and I just, I was like, yo, they are like fanning out in here over you. And I thought that that was so respectable and so fire because. it wasn't that you were like, you know, on the magazine every day and your faces in the magazine, your work was actually garnering money at a time where people didn't understand how to make money with their cross-section of magazines and products. And you were actually so good at what you were doing and it was so accurate and it was so to the point,

you have found a niche for yourself as a black woman in a space that isn't really as friendly to us as it still should be. But you found yourself in this space and you were making money for these brands and not just like small brands, small brands as well, but I mean, we were in Nordstrom. And there were some of the heads of Nordstrom that found out that you were there and they came down to personally just say, thank you. That was like pandemic time too. Like nobody was spending money. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what I love. I think that's the most rewarding part is like not only are you making money for the company you work for, but it's these brands, it's these retailers, like it's this

chain effect. And it really just helps the fashion industry as a whole. So I love. love, like, being able to, like, use my words to actually turn readers into shoppers. And, again, I don't take it lightly. Like, I take it as an honor because at the end of the day, I want people to feel like they can trust me. If they read a story by Alexis, like, I know she's going to tell me these items are truly the best and it's not like she's just trying to sell me something that's, like, subpar. So we take it seriously and I love it.

Yeah, I mean, but I just, the reason why I point that out is because I feel like, you know, I was thinking about this as I was watching the Devil Wors Prada too, which is the review we'll get into here just about how aligned a lot of the people that I admire in the industry. I admired them because like everything that I

think should be happening is what you guys are already doing. Like, you know, the ability to like be honest, to tell the truth to like actually like do the work but also like be enjoyable and like, you know, like all those things. And I remember being in a fashion closet and literally I was so grateful for that job

and so grateful for Shiona Tarini who was the reason that I got that opportunity. But I remember being in there and just being like, this is amazing and this is like the dream. But these people, these women in here don't have enough say so for me and enough like ownership. And not that anybody that works in a fashion closet now,

you know, I'm not knocking anything. But I just really remember feeling like I don't know. I think I'm a bit too opinionated to being here. I think I don't believe in the way that this hierarchy is set up. They don't make enough money to be, you know, obeying this hierarchy. I just always felt like there was like another way. And then I think about people like you who've made your own way. And I think that's why, you know, I've always been from a distance, I've always admired the things that you've been able to set up for yourself. So I know, in this time, when they're getting, you know, departments are chopping, digital departments are chopping,

black writers and you know black people in media no matter where you are whether it's black or white are like becoming non-existent you know we do this thing here at the latest with Lauren the Rosa the podcast called checking in behind the scenes of the grind and this part of the podcast is really just like a how are you because I find it where I don't take the time to check in on myself so I make I built it in the podcast so I could do it for myself but when I have guests I like to check in on them as well too so how are you? So how are you? Are you? Like, for real, how are you doing? Back on the ground?

I'm good. I cannot complain. Like, you know, it's not just, you know, people say, oh, I'm good. Just as, like, a reaction. Like, I really genuinely mean that. I'm in a great place. I just started this new job two months ago. Like, I wrote six months before I got my offer. I wrote down exactly what I wanted on one line of a piece of paper, and I kept writing it over and over until I got to the end six months later I got exactly what I asked for like I cannot complain. So I'm in a great place. I'm feeling good mentally, spiritually. I'm spending time with my family right now in Florida with my grandma, my mom. And so I just feel like really blessed to be able to, one, have a job that I love and to also be able to try to like balance it with family and personal

life. And I mean, I don't even like the word balance because I do feel like the job that I have is like a job that it's a job that I would be doing even if I didn't have the job. Like shopping online is just like fun to me. So yeah, I don't even have to think of it as like balancing or anything. But I'm just, I'm in a really happy mental state right now. And so I'm grateful for that. That's good to know. I am too. I am too. It's a, I think it's an everyday new experience because like as like, like, as like, like work grows, the, the talent side of it all grows. And as much as I've always wanted to figure out the talent side, once you get in it, it's like, it's a, that balances a lot of, because it's hard work on both ends. Like you're burning yourself on both ends. So you know me, I'll burn to

the very, very end if I had to to make sure that I'm maintaining, you know, work and all the things. So learning how not to burn myself too much has been a task. But I think I've gotten a better handle on it within these last like two to three months. So very, very. new, but yeah. I wanted to say, like, I just, you mentioned ownership too earlier. Like, I feel like you've always been on it and I just have to say

like how proud I am of you for like seeing that. Everything you're doing with like brown girl grinding, like having your own, especially in this day and age where it's like, you know, we see the magazines. They're constantly shrinking. These companies that are huge legacy companies getting smaller and smaller.

But at the same time, like journalism is not dead. It's still, I would say it's even more important now. Now everybody has a microphone. Everybody can tweet. Everybody can say something, but not everybody is fact checking. Not

everybody is actually following up on a source. A lot of people are just reading a headline and making a story out of that without even knowing the facts. So I commend you for everything that you're doing because you are like upholding the journalistic standards and integrity

of the industry and you are proof that like it still matters and it's important. So I had to say that really quick. I had to thank you, give you your flowers. I appreciate it. Experience Harry Styles live in London, England at Wembley Stadium. This is Harry Styles. IHard Radio wants to send you and a mate across the pond

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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam Jay and I'm Alex English Each episode we pick it here unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill Waxing all about crack in the 80s To be clear 84 is big to me not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know

I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you for finishing that. sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, that actually brings us right on into the latest. So let's get on

into it. So we are here because the Devil Words Prada franchise has dropped a new instulsion. Devil Wars Proudatitude dropped and it is doing amazingly well in the theaters following its opening weekend. It surpassed the Michael movie for the largest opening of a live action film. It is making money. But I'm not surprised that it's making the money it's making.

You know, you have Ann Hathaway, Murrell Street. Like the original cast has all returned as always a good sign for success for, you know, a second installment of something. So it had everything all to set up. You know, they were going to have the PR budget. they were going to have all the things that it needed. But I was worried like, okay, when we get to it, is the story going to be good this time around? I saw it today.

I know you saw it yesterday. I was very impressed by the movie. I loved it. Yes. I was so impressed. You know, I want to start from the beginning of the movie. And I think that this is something that we both can really identify with just how prevalent and fast the industry

is changing. And it's always been changing. We literally just talk through the fact that we've lived through various different changes of the industry from blogging to Instagram to Instagram, to Instagram not even having video, to, you know, you honestly anchoring in a big part of the dot com and the shopping space on these couture websites. The movie starts out having that conversation in real time. And I thought that was, I'm like, yes. I felt like, so y'all sitting here with us right now. Yes. I'm so glad. I don't want to, are we going to do spoilers?

I don't want to spoil it. I don't want to do spoiler alerts, but like if you're watching this, we are going to get a bit into like overall, like overall, like vague subjects and feelings from the movie. So spoiler alert, spoiler alert, spoiler alert that it may spoil a bit, but don't give out like actual factials,

you know? Okay. I will say, that one year, when I was working at Self Magazine, I was there, I was on the dot com. I was there when they laid off the entire print team, the entire print team. And that, and then I've seen that happen over and over again. So it's like, I feel like, I mean, obviously like we, like we, anyone can see it coming, like magazines are dying, right?

but I'm just so glad that the movie touched on that because it's real. And I will say like, again, like I already said, like I think you're doing a great job. Like, we still need journalists, but at the same time, like the magazine industry and the whole media, that legacy media business model is dead. Like, it's not profitable. And of course there are still magazines around, but like a lot of them are just. spending money and they're not making money. And it's more of like an ego thing. But but you still like, why are so many billionaires trying to buy media companies now?

Because they still want to control the narrative and it's important. Yes. So, but it's not. So for example, there's rumors that Jeff Bezos might buy Vogue for Lauren Sanchez. And it's like, do you think that he's buying it because he thinks it's going to be more profitable than Amazon? No. It's like, it's just having control of the narrative.

and being a part, being able to control media is still powerful. Why do you think Elon bought Twitter? A media. It's not because he thought it was going to make more money than Tesla or SpaceX. It's just the narrative and being able to control it. And I thought, I thought the way that they even had that conversation about, you know, the hands that, you know, media falls in and where it almost got to versus where it landed. You know, just it made me think a lot about where we are today with like people's intentions behind the purchases of like what we're seeing with like even like some of the mergers that we're seeing like the whole sky dance and Paramount and Warner Brothers and like I'm like, oh my God.

This is like the most fashion friendly way of saying politically, y'all is something wrong right now. Y'all should wake up. Like I love that. I feel like it didn't even feel like. an activist movie, but there was so much advocacy in this movie. Like, Andy is an advocate of like people in human things. And I think in the world today, we all have to be like that because the things that are happening are literally messing up our daily lives as humans, like down to like gas and

grocery and, you know, like it's not just like, oh my God, I can't afford my favorite Starbucks in magazine anymore. It's like, no, you might can't afford to take your child to daycare. And the same people who are doing that are also about to control the way that people call them out about that. And that's scary. Mm-hmm. And it goes back to that. That's why independent journalism is so important, too.

A lot of companies are being silenced. And, you know, like, I think it's so important for people like you to just have a voice and to continue to, like, do the work that needs to be done. And that ownership. So having your own is so important. Yeah. But you know it's crazy. Like before I like like even I've always had this like all right, I want to be like this. Like you can't get around me, this institution and then like people and whatever they come and we work together.

I never really understood or maybe I just didn't know it was independent media. I always thought about it like owning a business. like the person who owns the business can kind of maneuver the way that they want to. And if you don't owe anybody financially, then you kind of can get a bit more safe. So now, don't get me wrong, I have a corporate job, right? Like I work at I heart still with breakfast club. So there are people that like, you know, a job is a job. But at the same time, I think what I love about the breakfast club in this phase of my life is

I was so blessed to be at a place where even though it's a job, you still are able to be like, I don't fuck with that. No. Like, and I was, I've always been, I mean, TMZ was that way as well. Like, people like to, you know, make it this like big, dramatic, you know, exit. But TMZ was like that as well. I was very much Angela Davis in there. Like, and to the point where I used to text my black group chats and be like,

yo, am I doing too much now? Like, you know, because even if they didn't want to hear you, you, they wouldn't stop you from saying it. They wanted people to interject. They wanted people to, so I've always been in those, those situations, but I was watching this movie like, I hope that, because I left feeling inspired. I left feeling like I wasn't doing enough. And I'm like, I hope it makes other people feel like that too.

Like, I don't care where you work. If you're there, you're there for a reason. Like the reason why I mentioned you in that dot com space, because when I was with you that day at Nordstrom and I saw that, I'm like, the conversation right now, especially in the pandemic, was. support everything black, support everything black. And I was like, this is going to come and go. The black squares is going to be way down the timeline after a few posts after that.

Them people kneeling at the capital going to get up. And we still need people that are like in the spaces that not even just fighting for everything black, but just fighting for like things that makes sense to humans and that we need and that we care about. And having a person like you that is very respected, but knowing you and knowing your moral integrity as a person, was like, okay, this is fire. And that's what, like, when I think about Devil Words proud of the second go around, I think we get to see Andy in this space of like, she's still searching for that gratification and that like that need to feel like I'm doing something good, which I want to touch on that

too because I feel like I still have that. And I've been trying to figure out why. But she's her own person to the point where like she's not backing down off her morally where she stands. Find that from the first. movie. She's so confident in this movie. Yeah. I mean, like you said, not to like a perfection, right? She's still like, you know, is looking around the office and like what other people are wearing and she's, you know, wondering what she's going to wear when she goes to the Hamptons.

But there's like a quiet confidence in her. And I love how she like leans into like her new role at the magazine. And but again, like it goes back to like that broken business. model the metrics matter when Meryl Streep's character like asked her like what were the page views on that story you wrote. Right. Like, well, I wrote this great story, but nobody read it. Yeah. Like, I think, you know, in that case, Andy could have like maybe put the story on her social

media because again, like, as we know, like one real or one TikTok can get way more views than a visit to, you know, a website. So I don't know. That was just like a good. felt part of the movie. I thought it was just interesting, too, though, to see how much she still, there was still that satisfaction, and we won't say exactly what the satisfaction that she was looking for, but there was still that sense of needing and longing for something.

Yeah. And I've recently, like, you know, as I get to, like, certain points in career, and just in life, and I felt like Andy's at the same place in life as me right now. I don't know how old she actually is in this second film. but I find myself sometimes still needing that like, oh, you did a great job. And I thought I was like so unneeding of that and like, you know, in my groove and, you know, black woman, you can't tell me nothing. And then I started receiving criticisms and I couldn't take it.

And I had to readjust, number one, how I took it because I need critique to get better. But also I had to understand what to filter out, what shouldn't be a critique, like something, what I shouldn't let live on me. me because there's so much coming at you at one time. And I just, it made me wonder like, why is it the industry we work in as media people, as journalists, um, where we're constantly wanting that like you did good because it's not common? Or is that just a human thing that they touch on in the movie of just like the, the feeling of like, I don't know, like admiration and, and, you know, like all things good from people that you admire. I think it's a human

thing. Like I think that for us specifically it might be magnified because of our industry, because of the optics and just like the way that it's set up and glamorized. But I do think it's a human thing to like just kind of like sometimes want someone to say like you're doing a great job. But at the same time, what I've been personally trying to work on is like being more stoic too. And, you know, even when someone like gives me a compliment or if I, you know, have a certain success or win in my career. Like, I'm always thinking about, okay, what's next? How can I do more?

How can I, you know, compete with myself? And so, like, keeping this internal scorecard too. So that way I'm like, you know what? I said I was going to work out this morning and I worked out this morning. Like, just trying to, like, internally be the person that's pat and my own back and not always, like, looking forward from others because you can't control what others will say. And, I mean, that's a whole other conversation because I I do think, I feel like when we see our people get to a certain level of success for some reason, it's just like, okay, now you need to come back down because you're too much.

Yes. And that's crazy because in the movie, in the movie, in Devil Words Part of Two, I felt like people weren't trying to drag her down, but she herself was always her parent for what if this is all over tomorrow. Because of the way her industry was going, and I think just because of how many risks she said to take to where she gets to, which I try to. to talk myself out of feeling every day. And I'm like, when I was watching her, I'm like, I thought this was just a black girl thing. No. We're so few far in between, especially in certain rooms and at certain levels, I'm always like, yo, if I wake up tomorrow and all this is over, what do I have? Don't buy that because just in case, don't buy this.

And she was doing that. Andy was doing that. And then I think, too, it's a sign of the times too, because we are constantly being told we're all going to be replaced by AI. Like, that is happening too. So it's just kind of, I don't know, I think people are moving to, I think, just being like a little bit more conscious that things can be here today, gone tomorrow. But it's so hard to like, I feel like when I was really going through my darkest time over this last year, not just in this last year of 2026, but this last like full year, right? The darkest time that I was going through was when I was second guessing myself, second guessing my instinct.

And a part of it was like I was receiving so much critique at one time and I was letting some of it live on me. Then the other part of it was me just preparing to like wake up and it all be going and not be able to do it again

and not understanding that like regardless of where you go you are who you are, you got it or you don't. It's like I feel like Andy's constant battle is that because we saw that endeavor worse part of one then we saw Endeavor Wars product too, and I feel like she came out of it faster in the second movie.

But the fight was there again, and I was like, okay, so no matter, new levels, new devils. For sure. I think as long as we have breath in our body, especially if you're an ambitious person, I feel like we're always going to be like chasing for something. Experience Harry Styles live in London, England at Wembley Stadium. This is Harry Styles. wants to send you and a mate across the pond with flights from Virgin Atlantic, hotel from trip central.ca,

tickets, and $1,000 cash. Here we got it! Download the free IHeart Radio app. Listen to IHeart new music for 10 minutes. Enter to win. Every day is another chance to see Harry Styles. Very excited to see you with the show. Kiss all the time, disco occasionally, available now.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced game. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor. the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of it.

of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Now talk a bit about, and you know, to your discretion, because I know this is your real work life and real life. When people watch this movie, one of the biggest things, especially, you know,

for the new kids who are watching it and who are learning who Anna Wintor is and it's MetGala season right now. I feel like because of this movie, even me, because of this movie, I have such a view of like what Anna Wintor is probably like because I know that Merrill Streep's character was fashioned after her. what is it really like working with Anna Wintor? I will say I have so much respect for Anna and I know like nobody's perfect on this planet but I've learned a lot from her

from working with her seeing her how she works how she operates this woman is the best at what she does right and so I enjoyed it I enjoyed every moment of it like when I heard the news that she was going to step down from editor-in-chief, like, that was, I was sad. Like, I'm not going to lie. And I'm so excited that Chloe Mall is now there,

who I also got to work with while I was at Vogue. But it's inspiring. It makes you want to be better. Like, wake up every single day and do the best that you can do at any and every job that I've gone to onto afterwards. So I enjoyed it so much. Is she very hands-on? Because when I worked at TMZ,

And since then, when I talk about TMZ, everybody always wants to ask me about what my experience was. And what they're directly asking me is, what is it like working on Harvey Levin? And I tell people, you can say whatever you want about him, but he is one of the most hard working people I've ever met. He is involved in every story. If he can be, he is at work before we get there, after we leave, working all weekend. Like, he really lives and breathes this. And we saw that a lot with Merrill Streep's character. You know, when you live and breathe it and, and,

some of the things you lose in your real life, is Anna Wintor like that as well where she truly lives and breathes every article, every word, every pitch that is going out from Vogue? Yeah, I mean, she's always the first person in the office there every single day. So she's really like in the work, in the thick of it. But at the same time, I think part of her brilliance is that she also knows what she doesn't know. And so she'll hire the best around her. So for example, like me doing editorial commerce content, like Anna's not an e-com expert.

She is a magazine expert. And so she hired a very, very smart, brilliant team of e-commerce writers. And like my former manager, Lisa Aiken, who is an e-com vet, such a smart, brilliant woman. So for us, like, when it came to like e-com stuff, she kind of just was like, y'all do your thing. like y'all got it as long as it looked great and wasn't in conflict with like the overall brand of vogue um no like if you didn't hear from her no news was good news that meant you were doing well oh i know so yeah exactly yeah and i feel i mean even with breakfast club too people always talk to me about um envy charlemagne just like but more so i feel like envy and charlemagne because

me and just are both new there and people are always always wondering like what is it like to be around like they've been doing it for so long and like even now some days I'd be like I can't believe I'm really at the breakfast club but like I remember early on just like watching them and and still happens today I just like watch them like go watch them come in and out of segments and talk breaks and all these things that I'm learning and they just do it so easily and I just be like hello like yeah but it's like I'm like I'm I mean, but these people have really been doing it and doing it very, very well for a long time. But I think one of the things that I admired a lot about coming to the Breakfast Club's team was, I mean, Harvey definitely hires.

One thing he's going to do was put together something higher team and get it done or keep it internal and figure out and identify who's best for it. But one of the things that happened at Breakfast Club that didn't happen at TMZ for me was they allowed me to own the only, my space a bit more. And I think that's why people got to feel like, you know, I feel like my presence was felt on the show because I felt and appreciated that. So, you know, it's not like I didn't appreciate my job at TMZ, but it's different when you feel like you're just a piece of something versus when you're like a part of the real full I'm here and I own my piece of the puzzle growth of something. And I think we saw that with Andy and in the double words proud of two as well when there were big decisions on the line

that needed to be made and Miranda Presley finally backed off Merrill Streep's character and let her character just be great like let Andy let in Hathaway do

what she knew that she could do you know and it turned out great for everybody I don't know if you've had an experience like that or just what you're thinking around was when you saw her coming to her own in that way but it made me smile because I remember my first time feeling like oh girl you're the magic yes yes i've definitely had those moments um and it's special it's

really special um when someone allows you to thrive and creates an environment for you to thrive and to just do you do what you're you know how to do best so um i love that andy finally had that moment in the in the sequel me too and i thought a part of a real grown-up conversation in the first movie and the second movie that we saw is like prioritizing life outside of work and what happens in the long run because being a career driven woman has always been such a hard conversation of like can you have it all and figuring out how to have it all while also balancing a very high pressure very demanding job you know we saw in the devil words Prada. One, how Miranda Presley's character, Merle Sheep's character, she lost a lot because of, you know, certain decisions that she made. And I think Andy learned from that and Hathaway learned from that in the first movie. And it paid off well in the second movie by how she handled some of her life decisions outside of work. And that resonated with me too because I think right now I'm learning that things are only going to grow, you know, God willing, and I'm excited for that. But I am like, I,

I love, you said you home with family and I'm like, oh, I look back on the time when I was in Delaware with my mom and I'm just for like that year where I was trying to figure everything out. And I cherish that time so much now because I don't have that much time to just be with them and like get the being the crevices of the small things, waking up every morning and the breakfast is, you know? And it's difficult once you get moving and shaking trying to like keep that balance. But I think that's why you should cherish every moment that you're in, right? So like cherish the grind season that you're in right now.

And I think that anything that like every time you say yes to something, you're automatically saying no to something else. And that's okay. Sacrifice is fine. Like this is like sometimes something has to give so that you can have something else. And I don't think it's like there's no right or wrong way. I think what the thing to focus on is like what do you want out of life and going after that wholeheartedly, regardless of what everybody.

else thinks what regardless of what everybody else says you should have like maybe i don't like i don't want balance maybe i don't want to have kids like and that's okay like because whose life is it is mine um so so yeah i love that they kind of like highlight that in the film as well like you know if you choose in one thing sometimes that means saying no to something else so and that's okay in it but i think when you're in it it feels like like because i i feel guilt a lot i don't know how you feel but when you're in like this fast-paced media space or if you're just new and building anything one thing does lack and I always feel guilty about it when it does like and I'm still learning how to talk myself through that that guilt and that feeling I don't know if you've gotten to a place

of like you know when things do lack how you kind of talk yourself through that um I think for me I've I've definitely I'll admit been selfish and so even if I do know I love that about about you, by the way. I admire that about you so much. You're going to leave when it's time to leave. You're going to do what you need to do for yourself. I'm not always, I'm not fully there. I've learned that I'm very people pleasing in this phase of my life. I mean, I've definitely have those days, too, where I'm like, in my head, thinking about, okay, what do people think about me? But like, once I've made up my mind about something, then I'm just kind of like, F everybody else, F, everything else. Like, this is what I want and this is the decision I'm going to make. And so, I think it's just important to be self-aware. And, like, for me to even say, like, I'm selfish, that took me, like, a long time to get there. And I don't think it's a bad thing to be, like, full of self, which is, like, what the word means.

Because you can't help other people out if you're not, like, preserving your own peace of mind. And so I've, yeah, I've made decisions. Like, I just live my life based off of, okay, what do I want? And I'm in control. If other people don't understand, then that's fine because they're not living my life. So. I Heart Radio is throwing it back.

20s, the decade. To the days of huge hits and unforgettable albums. A non-stop stream of the biggest and best. Drake, Rihanna, Beyonce, Katie Gaga, the weekend. And more. All your decade defining favorites all in one place. Hi, it's Katie Perry. Hey, it's Bruno Mars.

This is Kesha. Find 2010's The Decade on the Free iHeart radio app, preset the station, so it's always one tap away. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. One of the things that I've always thought about when I watch movies like Devil Wars Prada or Sex in the City, even girlfriends, is like the differences between white women in a space or others, anybody. and then black women in this space. Because for me, it's like, okay, I want to balance my life because I want, you know,

a full life outside of work. But when I think about my need to always show up, always be the person that can do it, always be the person that stays late, it's not because I love to please people. Like, I'm very much so like, I ain't kissing ass. It's more so like I feel like I'm out of sight, out of mind. Like, I'm already at a disadvantage

because I may be one of only in a space. So let me overachee. because I feel like I have to and that puts you on a never-ending hamster will. Yeah, I've definitely, I have been that person all the time and I mean, so many places like going into

these different magazines where it's like you're the only black girl or you're going on a press trip with a brand, you're the only black girl. And so yeah, you definitely I mean, I don't like dwell on it like, oh my God, I'm the only bad person but I do think it probably does affect like, which

I don't think it's a bad thing to go above and beyond like so but definitely yeah trying to be I'm the first one in the office every day and the last one to leave like I do those things and I guess it's more about like I guess I'm asking you when did you learn to say healthy boundaries within that because I had to learn before I left my last job I one of the things I was happy about is I learned the boundary of being like no and no yeah before that no was obsolete because I'm like oh it's only me in here i gotta do it or they're gonna find another black girl no i think if you try to say yes to everything which i have been that person and i have done that before then it gets to a point

where like you're not being you're not getting in your best work on all of those things yes so like at some point you got to be like listen i'm already working on x y and z if you want my help with this thing over here like i can help but i'm gonna have to prioritize some things or like which one do you want me to get to first like you have to like set those boundaries because at the end of the day like you don't want to be trying to do it all and then you're doing it all sloppily like or you know you want every every single thing you touch to be its best and to be excellence um so that's how I've learned like okay I can't I got something's got to give we got to make decisions I've learned a hard lesson in that as well to even be on a breakfast club because like

now it's like whatever I put out there girl it's on me So it's no cruise control on days where like I might not be at my best. It's like every day I got to like, you know, censor and figure it out. In closing, and thank you so much for joining me in this conversation, one of the things, like one of my like overall moral of the story, things that I took away from watching Devil Words, Prada 2 was just, it's a journey to find yourself. And when you find yourself, even in times where like you might slip,

don't divert from it because it always garners you the best success. Like seeing 10 toes down on who you are and who you want to become and what it takes to get there. And people will feel that. Like people need Andy's presence, just not even her work, but her personality, her smile, her jokes, her gullableness at times. It was so refreshing in her absence was felt when she left. And you could tell because once, you know, they started rekindling. things, you're like, oh, okay, they felt her on a personal level.

And for me, I, I'm always like, I just want to make sure that when I show up, I'm able to show up as my full self. And in doing that, I'm able to, like, I'm always thinking about, like, impact. Like, how am I, how is my presence here impacting someone's life even once I'm going? So watching her operate in her full space and do the things she did, it's like, all right, yeah, like, girl, like, you're doing it. Like you're doing what you need to be doing. And that's not even nothing for you to think about.

You just do it. I don't know if you had like an overall takeaway or anything like that from the movie. No, I love that. I think especially like when you look at the most successful people in the world, the way they show up to work, they're like 100% honest about their work. And I feel like you can't do your best work if you're not, especially in the industry that's about taste and style. If you're not honest about it, like you can't. produce the best. If you kind of lie in and like, oh, we'll let that slide. We'll let them get away with that or I'm going to bite my tongue on this. Like, you got to show up as yourself. And that's the only way I think that you can put out your best work is if you show up as yourself. And I'm so glad that Andy is like thriving and bringing like this different quirkiness to the office. Like, and for me, it's inspiring because I'm like, okay, you know, I might not like like certain things about myself or it might be different than every than other, everybody else I work with.

but like that's who I am and that's why I'm there because we don't all need to be homogenous we need to all like have a different perspective that we bring to the table so it's just overall inspiring and go see the movie if you haven't yes and it was her callback

it was her thing like you I saw one of you know she wrote down as like the you know how to get into the industry and stay I feel like you know she got into the industry a very traditional way where it's like you know you really do start off as like I remember being in the fashion clause and it being like, oh, this ain't just in movies, child. You really do start from like,

what the heck. Okay, don't talk to that person. Don't do that. But you're learning in the midst of all of that. I think you're learning a lot just about structure and discipline and tough skin. But her call back when she was down and out was the fact that she showed up every day as herself and she had continued to do that work long after she left there. So when they needed a person, they knew exactly like people talk about branding themselves. And I'm always like, yo, if you're a person, why you got curate yourself, just be a person. She curated herself naturally by doing her work and her work got her callback when she needed a dang job.

Exactly. I loved it. It was. It was. It was. I have, uh, I, I,

I, I, yes. Like, I'm going out tonight, um, for Met Gala just to, like, hit some after parties and I'm about to head home to, like,

wash the carpet and stuff. But it made me even want to do, like, it's like, I want to get into the, the shits more. Like, I'm doing well, but like, I need to find a way to a lot more time. Like, I just left with all these things on my mind of like, babe, world is your oyster.

And you need that reminder sometimes, especially at our big age. You're like, it's easy when you're young and you all, you know, googly eye. Yeah. The work continue. There's more to be accomplished. So I'm inspired in every way. We're about to take this to the next level. Yes, we are.

Cheers. We don't have nothing to cheers with, but cheers. Yeah. All right, y'all. So this has been another episode of the latest with Lauren La Rosa, the podcast, and my lowriders, I tell you guys every single episode, y'all could be anywhere with any old body, but y'all choose to be right here with me every single episode, and I appreciate you guys so much for that. Don't forget, we have the Brown Girl Grinding merch at Brown Girlgrinding.com,

and for a limited time, if you use B-G-G-G-L-O-V-E at checkout, I'm showing y'all some love and giving y'all some money off your products. It's a little surprise, but only if you. You've watched or listened to this podcast. Will you know that? I'll catch you guys in my next episode. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When a group of women discover

they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I bowed. I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe.

on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.