The Marissa Mitchell Show: November 10, 2026

Spending. Plus, we're live with Fox's Jake Hamilton. He's got the scoop on the upcoming crime thriller Paper Tiger and streamline your Thanksgiving dinner prep. Tony's TV dinner is teaming up with a speakeasy on H Street for some Thanksgiving catering. All that when they're here with us tomorrow. All right, looking forward to the show, and then also a final look at the weather. Yeah, nice today, nice tomorrow, and then rain by the end of the week. Okay, that's all you need to know. Yeah. So enjoy the day tomorrow. It all goes downhill after this. Exactly. Enjoy the weather. All right, ladies, thank you so much. And that's what we need, right? Something easy to ease on into our days. I put the E in easy girl. You've got a good figure here. You know what I'm saying? Oh, because it's going to be a full hour of fun, of positivity. I am so excited. I cannot wait. Already going off. I cannot wait. You're going to pull double duty for us, too. Yes, I am. We'll get her started. Let's do it. The Marissa Mitchell Show starts now. Welcome to the Marissa Mitchell Show, where we have an attitude of gratitude. And I would say we have that each and every day. But, you know, it gets harder in this Thanksgiving season. So all hour. We're going to push for an attitude of gratitude from honoring trailblazing activists to thanking our body by first taking care of it. We hope you leave here with some perspective and appreciation. Coming up in the hot sheet, the theme continues. Pop star Nick Jonas is thankful for his challenges in his eight-year marriage. See if you agree with his reason for finding the silver lining in arguments with his wife. And you're going to want to give a round of applause and a big thank you to DC's Heritage Signature Chorale. They're going to perform for us live in studio ahead of their big concert. It looked like it would never end. And we recognize trailblazing women like D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who marched on Washington. Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Chatelain is here talking about her new book and highlighting the unsung women behind the movement. And a health hack that's rooted in taking care of our bodies. I'm going to introduce you to an app that tracks women's health and some easy-to-make recipes. I'm so glad you're here, Renetta, because I understand we're going to have some salmon bites coming up in a bit. That's in our kitchen. First, though, we have a lot of trending topics to get to. Some of you may be thankful when you hear how they turned out. Others, maybe not so much. We're going to tread lightly. Media personality and reality star Brandon McLaughlin is here, and tech founder Renetta Jones. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you. You're on the couch. And come on, fiance. That's my fiance. I want to sit right next to you because I want it to rub off. You know my sister, you know the whole trend, it's a fiance, so it's I-S-S-A. So I've been saying it's a fiance. Yeah, I'll take it. Thanks for coming. Let's begin though with love. Actor Jonathan Major says it was truly at the core of his relationship with actress Megan Good. In fact, he was broke and had nothing to give when they first met. That's his words, not mine. Major's continued to share despite his rough financial situation. He said And she stayed. He credited her with supporting him through his 2023 criminal trial. You know, it ended with a misdemeanor harassment and assault conviction. Also, Marvel cutting ties with him. He was slated to be in a whole bunch of movies with them. The couple, though, has since remarried and married, really, the first time. And Megan says that their dynamic makes her excited to one day have children. So here's my question to both of you. Being there for someone at their lowest when it's the beginning of a relationship, Do you see that as something that could either strengthen or complicate it or both I think it strengthens that I think the issue in today's world is people are so quick to cut and run because you have everything at your fingertips you can get on your phone and get back on a dating app or so many people around and I think that we don't see those marriages lasting as long as we did in the past where you see 50 year marriages, 70 year marriages where nowadays it's you get to 5 years and people are congratulating you because it is so easy to quit getting run. So I love it. I love when When someone stands by their person through Through thick and thin, and it makes it stronger to know that that person, they're not going anywhere. I agree. They're there for you. I mean, sometimes you don't even truly know a person until you've seen them go through something. Would you agree? It's not exactly. Absolutely. Yeah. I think you have to be with someone at their lowest in order to really know who they are. Otherwise, how do you get past the thick and thin of everything? I know in my situation, that is the best. We strengthen each other when we're sick or have challenges. That's been strengthening time. That's the time that you really see. I think they say back in the day, you pull the cover. And then that's when you see the best parts of people. I think it's for friendships, too, right? Friendships, same thing. Friendships, too. It's easy. It's fun out there. But when someone goes through something, that's where you show your real friendships are at. Oh, yeah. I always say lose money, lose somebody, or lose your health, and you'll find out who your true friends are. Absolutely. That's when you see who will show up and be there. I think that's when you actually see who you are as well. As well, yeah. Because if you don't know who you are, then who, I mean, how can you be friends or have a... Intimate level of anyone else. You know, you maybe want to throw this book across the room. That's the truth. If I ever heard it. If you watch this show, you know I'm a big fan of thrifting. I dedicated a whole hour to thrifting. I did. And I have been since the sixth grade. But now I've got to make room for other second-hand shoppers at the checkout because it is becoming a thing. Especially now, what was once considered cheap or thoughtless is now becoming a popular way to shop and save money around the holidays. A survey by ThredUp found that 62% of Americans plan to buy at least one second-hand item this holiday season. And more than 70% are open to giving or receiving a pre-owned gift. So, you get a gift that was pre-loved, pre-used. Are you thankful or are you low-key offended? I'm thankful they even thought about me. Yeah. So, I'm thankful for the gift itself. I think if someone gave you a gift, be thankful for it. I don't really care if they had used it or it's slightly used. I think we are the society of just surplus. And we just absolutely buy, buy, buy, shop, shop, shop. And there's so many. good reusable items out there, I mean there's all these clothing shops that are secondhand that are full of amazing clothes designer clothes and no one goes brand new on them and you don't know what's in there, but you'll see them at a brand new store or sort of ready clothing and they're lined up paying X amount of money for it why go over here. I need all my coins. Me too. You know what I'm speaking of? A wedding to plan? I mean, come on. Absolutely. Especially you. Absolutely, yes. Yeah, there's nothing wrong with secondhand. Not at all. Actually, I think it's one of the best gifts. I think it's thoughtful. A lot of times we don't know where to shop. Might as well go ahead and find something. One thing about me, you will find me on a Saturday morning with my coffee in your neighborhood thrift store. I think it also shows that you know the person, too. If they saw an item and thought, thought of you. That's what I love. You know, and they're like, oh, whether it was brand new or not, but they looked at this item and said Brandon would love this. Exactly. That means more to me than whether it was brand new. And still spent money. It doesn't matter how much. 100%. It's less than what they had. Because it's not about the dollar amount on what they spent for me. Alright, well we know that how you shop can certainly be a status symbol, but what about being unavailable? According to a new report from Vice, therapists say if you are hard to reach, it signals that you are busy. Successful and in high demand, but there's a catch sometimes not answering that text or that phone call isn't about looking important. It's about being burnt out. They encourage people to set healthy boundaries. And I think many people out there would be thankful for more free time. But do you think being unavailable signals a higher or more important status, you think? Well, I'm trying to figure out maybe that's why men don't text you back. I'll be right back. They're trying to say, yeah, maybe that's what it is. Well, I think nowadays, especially with the younger generation, they have cleared out their schedules. You cannot reach them after five. They will tell you in a heartbeat, no, these are my boundaries. Work starts the next day. But I think that one of the things, and I had to learn this, burnout is real. You have to have a safe space. You have to carve out these hours and say, hey, I need time to restore. Yeah, you cannot pour since I have these, but from an empty cup. Absolutely. 100%. But it's tough. I'm in real estate, and I have to be available at all times because there's been times where it's been 11 o'clock at night. We're at a call, and I was like, do I answer this or not? Because, again, it's setting boundaries, and I answered it. They wanted to see a couple million dollar property in the morning. Oh, come on. And they wanted to write an offer. We got it under contract. If I didn't answer that call, they were calling the next person. They would have called the next agent. So you sit back and think of that situation and go, well, it was a very big sale for me, and if I did not. Take that call at that time. But then again, it's going against me setting my boundary. So it's really, it's tough these days. But I do respect someone being able to put their phone down. Because just because you have a phone in your hand doesn't mean you have to be accessible to everybody all the time. So, and that's what people mistake. They see, oh, I saw someone, they were scrolling or they posted on Instagram, but they didn't text me back. They don't have to. They don't have to text you back. That could be their time to just scroll. And then also, if you call somebody and leave a voicemail or send an email, you don't have to then go into their DM on social media and bug them there, too. Give people at least, I always say, 48 hours. And also, if you're leaving voicemails, we don't need your number anymore. That part. We know who called. It's your fault. Yeah, that's a little redundant. I know how to reach you. That's the audience thing. I've done that. I'm just putting that out there. You can reach me. I'm like, I know. Wow. It's on my phone. But I think, too, if you're truly busy. Then you are busy, but I do not agree with coming off unavailable or flexing that you're unavailable. No, just to those friends that go, oh, I'll respond in 30 minutes to do it. Like, oh, I don't have time for that. Yeah, then you're just not authentic. People in dating life, too, where they go, oh, I'm going to wait on purpose. For me, if I see the text, I don't care if I'm interested, you know. I want to respond to them and get back to my day. I'm not thinking like, oh, I'll get back in 20 minutes because then they're going to think I'm busy. It's in my game. Yeah. You don't want to be left on read too long. No. Because then that could be a red flag. Now you and I need to talk because there is a way for you to keep going without... Out, out and in. Answering your phone 25 times a day. Oh, is this a commercial break? Yeah, we definitely did. Okay. And we'll be right back. We'll be right back. It's a connection here. It's a lemon tip. That's down. This one I need to help you with. Thanksgiving is certainly ramping up, and so is our attitude of gratitude. I'm thankful to have you guys on the show, to be honest. I'm thankful to be here. I had Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Maisha Chatelain. She's going to take our couch with her brand-new book, and it honors the untold story of women who made the March on Washington possible. Plus this. Thank you, ma'am. And in today's On the Mic, the Heritage Signature Chorale, they're going to sing Get This Acapella. Meet the beloved DC group ahead of their season opener, 27 Seasons in the Making. Then we're going to round things out in the kitchen with Renetta and a chef as they talk about a new app for your health over food. We'll be right back. Back now with the Hot Sheets. Listen, this show makes connections, and I feel like you two are just friends over here. They were just talking during the commercial break. I'm an investigator. We've got Brandon McLaughlin. We also have tech founder Renetta Jones. Brandon, I want to give you the opportunity to share some exciting news that you just got last week. Yes. So we shot our first DMV Serhant calendar, and it was partnered with the Humane Rescue Alliance, and we had our first dog adopted within 12 hours of the photo shoot. So we're super excited. It's already working, and that's what we're here for. So very excited. If you don't know about it, you may invest your life. True Alliance are a great organization. Find them. I certainly look forward to the calendar every year. So next time when you come, I'm going to see if you can maybe get the dogs, new owners and the dogs to come on. Absolutely. It'll be a blast. Let's do it. Yeah, we got to give back to our furry friends. All right, it's time for the hot sheet. We're going to start this with an explosive popularity of biopics in recent years. I feel like every movie is a biopic. You feel that? Oh, yeah. And I want to know, this was my question this morning, is Hollywood making too many of them? We know the Michael Jackson one, definitely. Broke records. I love my family. I just want to do my own thing. You let your light shine. Where do you want to go? You'll see. It's hot in here. That movie crossed the billion-dollar mark over the summer. Previously, Bohemian Rhapsody was a top-grossing one. Upcoming, we have The Beatles, Snoop Dogg, Joni Mitchell, Madonna's working on one. This whole idea that there are too many biopics, that's what I think. Is that hot or not? I don't think it's too many because I think it keeps... So you give it a not? No, I love it. Oh, okay. I don't think there's too many, because I don't want that to die, right? I think the younger generation now sees them and sees this new Michael Jackson movie, and then they start learning about Michael Jackson. If we stop making them, then it becomes history at that point, right? And then... What do we do now at that point? So I don't know. I like that. I like it. Let's keep going. You gave it a hot on the biopics. Let's keep it going. Let's keep it going. I definitely think it's hot also because there's some that I really didn't know their full story on. So it's nice to go back in here, like find out some of the stories that I didn't know. So I think it's definitely hot. Yeah. Okay. Well, you all have kind of changed. I'm going to do hot and not. The reason why I'm on the not side of this because I like original. It works, and I know that there are various things about people's lives that we do not know, so we will be learning for the first time. But I want us to also be creative and create new stories for people to see. Well, it's kind of like old-school songs when someone new puts a spin on it. Yeah, it's like a remix, right? It brings more light to the original song. And every time they do it, it always goes back to the original, and you always see the original push back out again. You mentioned the Michael Jackson. One thing I am glad to see come out of that, I think the younger generation, they weren't around for the allegations and the controversy. So they're able to look at him strictly for his music. You see them, I think, appreciate him in a different way than many of us do. I agree. All right. So we're going to also continue to focus on things. So we're going to talk about gratitude journals, because according to psychologists from Cleveland Clinic, putting pen fundamentally to paper rewires how your mind processes your day. And some benefits of that kind of journal include combating negativity bias, which focuses the mind on positives rather than the threats, improving mental health. It lowers anxiety. It builds It also forces mindfulness, which slows down the. The racing that goes on in your mind all day. And finally, it doesn't really erase reality, but it allows comfort to coexist with stress. Gratitude journals, hot or not? You already know. Yeah, I think that's absolutely true. I mean, come on. If somebody would have said not, I would have taken it and thrown it. Yeah, absolutely. Why do you have to write it down and see it to believe it? Sometimes you just have to get it out. And now it's pen to paper. For me, there's a lot of times I actually, I don't. And I get it out I just get my entire feelings and thoughts out and to me it's just like a relief. Yeah, I leave it there and I go on about my day call it a regurgitation. It's just there because for me it just will spin and ponder and ponder if there's a thought I just haven't got out yet and then later on I'm not able to focus on something else because I haven't finished that thought for me I love it I love it. I use mine to start the day, pour into and pour out of, so it's the beginning and end of the day, and it's something that I've taught my children, it's just something special, it just keeps me grounded, yeah. I think too, it's so many thoughts always in your head, being able to see something down, to visualize it, whether you type it or write it, it keeps things into perspective, and you can see like, oh my gosh, that happened, I'm so proud that that was able to manifest, and it gives you that extra oomph to keep on going. Absolutely. Sometimes I'll read it later, and I'm like, it wasn't as big. Sometimes I'll type out some things that are in my head, and up here, it's crazy. But I put it on paper, and I'm like, ow. Why was I worried about that? Yeah, you can't see the forest for the trees. Exactly, exactly, exactly. When Nick Jonas is getting candid about what the eight years of marriage to Priyanka Chopra, they're such a cute couple. I just want to say that. They are, they're gorgeous. What those marriage years. I'm jealous, but I love that. Yeah, they're gorgeous. We actually shared some of the lessons that he's learned in a recent episode of the No Magic Pill podcast, including having calm, level-headed conversations to keep conflicts from escalating. But he says there's always room to grow. Yeah, I mean, we're certainly still learning lots of things and not perfect in any way. All right, he said enough. Nick and Priyanka married in 2018 before welcoming their daughter in 2022. Being thankful for challenges that make you grow in a marriage or any kind of relationship, hot or not? You gotta be thankful. Absolutely. Absolutely. I think it shows who the real person is, like we talked about earlier. But it makes you stronger. And I think the people seeing, you know, them get through things together, it's just on the other side of it. You know, I don't know. It's just, to me, I love it. It's their absolute relationship goals. When you meet people and they're like, oh, we never fight. I'm like, ooh, ooh, ooh. And the sky isn't blue. 100%. 100%. Yeah. So I love it. Transparency. I mean, it's the key. Thank you. They just, I love that couple. They're just so cute together. It's adorable. I love it. But the transparency just, again, builds on everything. And I love the couple that can voice when they're going through things. They don't put this picture perfect life out there. And then behind the closed doors, there's issues. Yeah, you hear the grass isn't greener on the other side, and sometimes it's not even grass. Right, exactly. You know, I'm on turf. Come on out there. It's time now for Tucker's take. We got meteorologist Taylor Grinda. She's in for Tucker this week. Come on. Come on in, friend. We got room. Look at you matching the couch today. Where do I stand here? We're good? Okay, yeah, I know. It does fit in. And it kind of matches the weather right now. It's going to be a really nice day today and tomorrow. It's kind of chilly to start out. We'll end up near 70 today. And then we have some rain and some really cold air by the weekend. Oh, well, I guess it's to be expected, right? It is November after all. Which I love it for someone going through menopause. Like, I love when the sun is out and it's a little cooler temperature. It works out. You know what I'm saying? I get random hot flashes. So I love. I'll be standing at Walgreens. I'm like, you know me. I don't know if this segment is coming off as a trick, but you've got to come back and talk about menopause. So 50 and Sonny, bring it on. Come on. Thank you for getting that out of him. That was great. Don't go anywhere because we've got so much coming up. I'm super excited. DC's Heritage Signature Chorale, they are here, and they're going to perform for us live in studio in celebration of their 27th season. And then later in our burst of joy, Billy Joel is making a comeback. So good to hear about it. When the star is set to return to the stage following his brain disorder diagnosis. All that and more on the other side of the break. Yes, you better find what you're singing about. Because you've got to give an account in the judgment you've had in mind. Oh, you just heard the power of D.C.'s Heritage Signature Chorale, and you are going to get even more of it live a cappella because they are here on the Marissa Mitchell show. You're in for a treat. Artistic director and founder Stanley J. Thurston is here. Twenty seven seasons. How about that? It's huge. It's huge. I had to be here. Oh, and thank you all for coming. Thank you. You're all standing by for the performance. But first, though, I want to talk about this season, this upcoming concert and what you hope it will bring to the people. Yeah, this is a season we wanted to go back to the poetry of African-American writers. So the poetry of Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Margaret Bonds, and the music by Margaret Bonds and Adolphus Hailstork. So this is music that is part of the history of America, but it also tells our story of that struggle that happened in those early years. And bringing us to where we are today. I'm so glad that you talk about that fabric that's part of the tapestry of American history. That's right. It has to be there. I was listening to the voices since we booked this segment. Can you audition for this? Because everyone can sing lead. Everybody's capable. Oh, yeah. Audition Heritage Signature Chorale dot org. A lot of folks have sung this kind of music in college or maybe in their church choirs. It's a great organization to be a part of. So yeah, audition. Come on in. All right. And real quick. When is the concert? Saturday, November 14th at First Congregational Church. It's on 9th and G downtown six o'clock p.m. this Saturday. Okay, that's coming up this Saturday. But you know what? In just four minutes, they're going to perform some of it for us. So do not go anywhere. Because if you thought Me chatting with D.C.'s Heritage Signature Chorale was something. Just wait until you hear them sing. That's coming up next. This edition of On the Mic, we show our gratitude for history and music with a performance by D.C.'s Heritage Signature Chorale. He's got the whole He's got the hold. He's got the verse. He's got the whole He's got the beast of the fields. It feels right here. He's got the hold. In your hands, we have people in our kitchen laughing as well. That was sick. Thank you, Marissa. Thank you. Oh, my goodness. And this is just some of what the people can experience on November 14th. It's a little piece. We'll have an orchestra with us. We're doing a segment from opera. We're doing our chamber singers and our full choir. So it's a whole evening. But these are five of our soloists that are with us today. Oh, no wonder. No wonder. You can hear them wave. You've got to project, you've got to project, right? So about how many people make up the entire chorale? Oh, it's about 70 members in the full choir. And the walls don't fall down? Well, sometimes they shake a little bit, they shake a little. You all have been on some of the biggest stages in the world, I mean, with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cathedral Chorale Society, a choral society. Talk about some of the highlights over the years. Big highlights are certainly singing in the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra. Also at Carnegie Hall. We performed at Carnegie Hall. We did our debut there several years ago. We've been on tour in Paris and Austria. We've also been performing here at Strathmore. We've got all the concert halls, DAR, Constitution Hall. So it's been a wonderful ride just bringing this music to life. I just love how a matter of fact, you know, Carnegie Hall and the Strathmore Kennedy Center. I'm starting to run. I don't know, Egypt next week will do something. But, I mean, that just shows how powerful and illustrious this group is and what you all have meant to the broader DMV community. Well, I mean, we stand on the shoulders of so many great performers. You know, this music, all the folks that were connected to the HBCUs. I went to HBCU, Howard University. HU? Come on, yeah. I got to do it. Every time I hear Howard University, I got to. They taught us all this rich music. We said, well, we have to bring this back to life again. It was so empowering to me as a student. I said, we've got to do this once we grow up. So we grew up, and here we are. And the music is just part of what people are going to experience. There's also poetry involved. You're highlighting history. We're highlighting history because we wanted to tell the story. A lot of the times, you know, we miss some of the parts of the story because we hear little bits. So we say, let's connect the dots together and fill in all these pieces that may have been just sort of... Tossed aside or left out. And it's enriching for us to hear this music come to life. A lot of it we weren't even aware of ourselves. You know, I didn't hear about it when I was in school, but I learned about it. And now ethnomusicologists and researchers are bringing all this music back to life, so we've got to do it. And that's why you're connecting the dots. Connecting the dots. That's part of this year's theme. That's it. That's the main thing for this year. All the poetry that tells the real story of what... What we were living during that time, and it really just is such a rich history. And opera, it's classical music, it's concert music. It's all of it. It's all of it, yeah. And these singers that just have all this capability. And I'm coming your way, you all. Get ready. I'm ready. How often do you all practice? Once a week. We practice once a week, but there's a lot of work done, of course, at home. Okay, I would imagine. Yeah. But we decided to sort of push up the speed of our rehearsals so people do more work at home. And then we come in, and then... And you look so familiar, my sorority sister, yes, and I believe that I saw you perform at a Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony, and she brought the crowd to their feet, I remember that, tears too. Thank you. So what does it mean to you, and tell us your name and why you wanted to be a part. Well, musical greetings. I am Aaliyah Waheed. And just to be a part of this. Wonderful chorale, wonderful singers. It is amazing. It truly is amazing, and to work with this phenomenal, the Stanley Thurston, it's phenomenal. Oh, my goodness. And I feel that, and I sense, you know, family, you all come off to be really close and really love each other. How has your experience been? Oh, my goodness. I have known Mr. Thurston since I was 16. We have grown up together. So he knows all your secrets. He knows them all. Okay. He knows them all. So I'm Deetra Battle-Washington. And I'm a soprano. And I sing now in the alto section. So we learn how to read different styles, different genres. And it's like, I'm multi-octave talented. One thing about Mr. Thurston is that he opens up our eyes to see that we can trust him. He's not going to lead us any way that does not give us height. He elevates us as a choir, and he is a master at what he does. Oh, you make me want to join, but my vocals aren't there yet, but my heart's in the right place. What's your name? Wayne Ginning. Wayne, you seem to be very happy to be a part of this. Yeah, I am. I actually grew up in this choir. I started singing with Heritage at the age of 19. Right after high school, pretty much. And just singing with Stanley, he doesn't keep you in a box. He doesn't. And it shows. And it just opens up. Yes. Well, good to see you, Mr. Johnson. It's great seeing you also. My future father-in-law. And we are excited. We are really, really excited. And I've seen you sing before me, and it's all in you, and we've been taught. Generations of singers in the area. So this is just part of what you do. Oh, yes. Ronald Johnson. And we are happy to have you join our family very soon. We are excited about this. But singing with Stanley and the Heritage Signature Chorale is truly an honor to be able to sing with such voices and to bring this. And he's right from bringing it from the college choir. I'm a Hamptonian, you know, and all of that and just sharing this music. And it's wonderful. Discovering these African-American composers and what some of this music has been buried and we are bringing it up. Oh Oh, the elevation. It's the elevation. For me last but not least my name is Andrew Smith and for me with Stanley and the Heritage Signature Chorale Since my master's, it has been a great opportunity to work with them, and so I'm grateful to be a part. Okay, speak in voice. I mean, you all can do it. Your voice is just abound. Thank you so much. And Mr. Stanley Thurston, thank you for coming. And one more time for people so they can get tickets and be there on the 14th. Where do they need to go? Go to HeritageSignatureChorale.org for your tickets, and it's at First Congregational Church. Or come to the door. You can get tickets there this Saturday, the 14th, at 6 o'clock p.m. 9th and G, First Congregational Church. And let them know Marissa sent you. Yes, yes, yes. You'll get a discount. Hey, our attitude of gratitude continues. Thank you all for coming. My spotlighting a brave group of women who fought for our social and civil rights. Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author Marsha Chatelain is here with her brand new book, sharing the stories of the sheroes who put it all on the line. During March on Washington. Plus, give thanks to your body with an app that helps to track your health and an easy-to-make salmon recipe aimed at supporting your bones, muscles, and sleep cycles. We'll be right back. The shoes are wrapping. Our attitude of gratitude continues with Health Hacks, all aimed at showing thanks to our ever-changing bodies. We've got to make sure we fuel up and we're ready to take on our days. I'm back with tech founder Renetta Jones and private chef Stacey Jones. Any relation? Mother in love. Mother in love. I stole it from you. I heard you say it a little while ago. There you go. You're here in the kitchen with a salmon recipe and a lentil recipe that supports our health. First, though, Renata, I want to get into your app. Yes, so the app is called Crown Change, and the app was actually started because I was experiencing perimenopause symptoms, and I didn't have anyone to talk to. I didn't have a community, but I was being seen at the VA, and I had a therapist that asked me to start journaling my experiences, so I couldn't just stop there. I created an app. And I needed a community, so I started asking friends, family, other people what they were experiencing. And so I created this space for people to give insights. And the VA offered a fair for menopause, and I'm not a nutritionist. My therapist was there. And so in the app... It became that safe space for all of that information that I collected. That is just remarkable. And with the information insights, there's also recipes. You're able to track your health. Those are some of the features. Absolutely. You can track your health. You can also put voice notes in so you can remember to tell your doctor when you're going. There is no security issues because of the fact that all of your information is saved. On your device and Renata, you also create these, I guess, curated experiences over food, over drinks when you're having these discussions. And that's really where Chef Stacey comes in. So before we talk about what you all brought today for our show, tell me about this, this effort to bring those conversations to the table. So unfortunately, two years ago, I got really ill. And before then, I had an event planning business. And in that business, I came up with an idea called Curated Cocktails and Tales. Got it. It was a way to bring back conversation to the table. And that's where the community came in, bringing in private chefs as new chefs to give them a platform and to open up the table for women and network. And socialize about. Important conversations. You know, I just heard everybody eats. Everybody gets something out of it. Chef Stacey, tell me about your involvement. Because, I mean, you could be involved in so many things. Why this one in particular? Mainly because it's my family. And that's a big problem. And I don't really see a lot of men involved in this type of situation. So why not be the first one? I'm so glad. Listen, we've dedicated an entire hour to perimenopause and menopause. And we've had a lot of other segments leading up to this. I'm getting up to that as well, and I had Dr. Ian Smith on, and my first thing out the gate was like, you're a man talking about this, hallelujah, I didn't say hallelujah, I wanted to say hallelujah, but it's important because it impacts us all. Well, first of all, a lot of people don't realize that men play a big part in the support. In the community, they have to be educated just as much as we need to be educated, because if they don't know, a lot of times people label us as crazy. Yeah. And that has been the biggest stereotype. Crazy, difficult, all of that. We're throwing it all away. Let's get into what you brought in and why it works for this platform. So right now, I'm actually. Cooking the meals, actually. So, actually, the actual person giving me the ingredients and actually making the menus is actually Renetta herself. Yeah. So, I have it easy. All I have to do is just come in here. You just plate it? Come in here, cook the food, and plate it. Renetta, why did you choose what you chose to bring? I see the salmon bites and cakes. We have the salmon cakes for muscle support. Okay. We have the chickpeas that are also for joint support. But we have lentil, a warm lentil salad. Which is also for our muscles and joints, we have a combination and I also wanted to just add in some fruits. And also, a special mocktail. Are you going to make that now, especially for me? Just for you. Okay, so you came up with the ingredients. Who put the food together? Me. See, I tried again. You said try it. You know, I don't want to steal it all. I don't want to steal it all. I'm going to have my chance and my opportunity to implement what I wanted into this program. But right now, I'd just love to see somebody actually taking the steps forward. Yeah, taking the initiative. I mean, that's what it means. So, I'm going to grab something over here. Now, Chef Stacey, what do you have going on here? So over here, I'm actually going to create a compote, a red berry compote for the Greek yogurt. And I'm also going to finish off salmon bites that are also pre-seeded. Okay, well, I want to let you do your thing and hook that up for us quickly. And I want to try this mocktail. Tell us about what you're pouring up there. So actually, you have tonic water. Which is, I use this instead of using simple syrup, it has less sugar. Because one of the things that we have to be careful with is putting a lot of sugar. Just like you had Dr. Smith on and he talked about how a lot of times sugar is one of the biggest things that is... It's a huge culprit. A culprit. And a lot of times we use a lot of sugars, additional sugars. But in this mocktail, we're just using natural fruits. For sweeteners, I have just a little hint of lavender. I can taste the lavender, just a little bit. The blue raspberry. Cucumbers and blueberries. It's tasty and the best part it's healthy. I have no guilt for what I'm enjoying. Where can people find your app? They can find my app right now at Crown Change. We have all the information listed here for the show. Well, thank you so much. And I also want to thank you for your service. She's a veteran, y'all. So thank you for what you've done in serving our country. We appreciate it. And thank you, Chef Stacey, as well. Well, next up, we're going to show Gratitude to the brave generations who've paved the way for us, including those who marched on Washington more than 60 years ago. You could not see the end of it. It stretched so far down from the Lincoln Memorial that it looked like it would never end. So all of our fears that this first-of-a-kind march would not, in fact, materialize was I was blown away. This is a snippet from Fox 5 DC's award-winning March on Washington, 60 Years Later, a 30-minute special that I wrote, booked, and produced alongside one of our standout photographers, Alma. It chronicles the movement and women like... D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who paved the way and worked as volunteers and also helped to lead it. We often focus on King, but women had a lot to do with how that story unfolded. You can still find that documentary on Fox Local. But there's now an even deeper dive into the work that women did in one of the most pivotal movements in the entire world, not just the U.S. Here now is Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author Marsha Chatland. Congratulations on your new book. Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to be here to talk about exactly, as you say, the gratitude we should have for these women who are part of the March on Washington and whose impact we see today with the recent blue wave in the electoral process. We knew that Black women showed up to vote, and they organized for these victories. We had Eleanor Holmes Norton, who was a teenager at the time, working with SNCC. Some of the women's names we know, some of them we do not. Can you tell us about a couple of the unsung sheroes you're highlighting? Well, it was amazing that the choral was here today, because one of the people in the book is Eva Jesse, who was a musical genius in her time, one of the most important Black choralists, who then people lost sight of. And so Eva Jesse was the choir director for For the 1963 March on Washington, we have women like Prince Melson Lee, whose husband Herbert Lee was killed in Liberty, Mississippi for voting rights in 1961, who is also an honoree for the March on Washington. And we have women like Gloria Richardson, who is from this area, who led the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee. And these are three of the 11 women who are in my book. Also, Rosa Parks is in the book, and I think when people think of her history, they think about the bus boycott. What many don't know is that she lost a lot financially for years after that because of what she did and how she stood up by sitting down. Talk about those insights into her history that maybe most people don't know. Like a lot of black women activists of the time, when they took a stance against Jim Crow, against segregation, they buried... They carried a lot of the brunt of that action. And so Rosa Parks had a hard time finding employment. She always experienced financial precarity throughout her life. And one of the things I really focus on in the book are the ways that these women, even though people knew their work, they were never fully given their dues. And they really paid the price. Yeah, they never truly got their flowers. Absolutely not. And unfortunately, we've lost, you know, with time so many over the years. I'm curious to know, have you spoken with any of the women or their families? Since this has been issued, I was honored to speak to the families in the writing process. So I talked to Prince Melson Lee's daughter, Ruby, her granddaughter, Carrie. I talked to the family of Gloria Richardson. I talked to people who were at the March on Washington, like Rochelle Horowitz and Joyce Ladner, people who were there in that moment. And they didn't know the impact they were going to make, but they knew they were making history. And I think that all of us in each. Moment of our lives has that opportunity. How has it made you better completing this work? Oh gosh, you know, I think for me I now see The importance of everyday people. It's not about the heroes. It's not about the people who are on the podium. It's all the people who are willing to work together and to give each other grace, to give each other kindness. And that is really the heart of struggle. It's not just bravery. It's also about goodness. I have to tell you here, when I was reading your bio, it's not every day that we have a Pulitzer Prize winner here on the couch. And I just had to put some respect on your name. Oh, I appreciate that. I think that is beautiful. And it certainly honors. There's the work, because I know this is not easy. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears, I'm sure, went into this work and your other two books. Finally, where can people go to get the books and also to pass them down to the children so they'll know their history? Wherever books are sold, you can read the book. And if you want to know more stories of the women who made the March on Washington, I have a podcast called Walking the Path, and Ronald Young Jr. helped me produce it. And we together are able to tell as many stories as possible and continue to tell stories in your family. And ask questions and be curious like the women in this book. Marsha, thank you so much for it all. We'll be right back with a preview of tomorrow's show. Welcome back. Our attitude of gratitude continues into bursts of joy with a legend set to return to the stage. The piano man himself, Billy Joel, is heading back to the stage for his first official show since revealing his brain disorder diagnosis. The piano man announced he's going to perform December 14th at Florida Atlantic University. The show, which is an exclusive event for FAU students, will also include a Q&A and some music. Doctors diagnosed the icon with the condition that impacts his balance, his hearing, and his vision, but he's keeping on keeping on. Dollar dollar bill, y'all. Cashable money. Dollar dollar bill, y'all. And the Wu-Tang Clan getting their flowers to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of their debut album. Complex Magazine is praising the group's industry-rocking record deal, where they signed with Loud Records, but each member was also able to pursue solo deals at other labels. This was virtually unheard of at the time, defying a core convention of music, and their music and legacy continue on as well. We'll be right back after this quick break. Thanks again for joining us today on the Marissa Mitchell Show, and I hope you really enjoyed and took something away from our attitude with gratitude.