TW: Fatal and racist violence in the U.S.
Emily chats with Dr. Malik Boykin, who opens up about how dancing, writing hip hop rhymes, and challenging his self-doubt in the mirror keeps him going, with a challenging life and career.
Malik opened up previously, in episode 12, about early life experiences and challenges he faces as a Black man and Professor.
This episode covers:
· Malik’s love of 90s hip hop, and his dreams to perform in Africa, publish a Nature paper, and become a full Emeritus Professor
· The support Malik received from his graduate department following significant loss
· Finding time to get to a dance floor (hip hop/Afro-beat/electronic music) and let go of stress by dancing
· Actively seeking and taking up every opportunity to get help
· Despite the challenges, Malik never considered quitting – not because quitting should be stigmatised, but because this path felt like his calling
· Getting comfortable with critical feedback, on repeat
· Using mirror work to challenge self-doubt
Resources:
The full transcript of the podcast is available here, with many thanks to Dan Ranson
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Recorded 29/05/2021.
Sound: Mindset by Ketsa is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, available through Free Music Archive.
