Before You Go

Renee Rose is the Deputy-in-Charge of the Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Section of the White Collar Crimes Division of the LA County  District Attorney's Office. Eder Hernandez works as a victims  service representative within the department. This is a busy office due to the number of scams, physical abuse, neglect, and even murder that occur. Hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh take listeners into a day in the life of a prosecutor and her team. They often find those who prey on the elderly population are often right in their own home.

This episode premiered on KBLA Talk 1580 (Los Angeles).

Our Season 2 premiere episode features hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh as they visit with stage and screen star Terry Carter. Fans of Battlestar Gallactica know him as Colonel Tigh. PBS viewers know his award-winning documentary, A Duke Named Ellington. Terry shares numerous stories from a lengthy career which includes roles on Broadway and even a history-making turn in the newsroom as the first African American news anchor when he was hired at WBZ-TV Boston.

Co-starring roles alongside  Eartha Kitt, Vinie Burrows, Diahann Carrroll and Pam Grier leave Terry a lot to talk about.  Tune in to discover the key to a lengthy and impressive career.

This episode originally aired on KBLA Talk 1580, Los Angeles.

For our Season 1 finale, we honor the words that often end our show: "Might be time to pick up the phone. There's no time like the present! What a gift." 

Before You Go co-hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh introduce this episode with the delightful and colorful reviews of Kathleen Carroll as remembered in her book My Life in the Dark. Kathleen is a retired film critic from the New York Daily News who made so many industry friends and connections she decided to bring Hollywood to her hometown of Lake Placid, New York by co-founding the Lake Placid Film Forum.  Nicole's time with Kathleen helped guide her career as an award-winning filmmaker as she took many cues from Kathleen's love of film and networking with legends behind the scenes.  

We hope this episode reminds everyone that reminiscing with friends could be the most relaxing and rejuvenating part of the day. Thank you for listening to our storytelling series. See you in Season 2!

The Before You Go conversation with James Meredith sets the record straight.  Mr. Meredith, an iconic warrior, made history during the Jim Crow era in the United States.  He integrated the University of Mississippi--a fight he won with the aid of then attorney and future judge Constance Baker Motley from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Though he won the case, federal troops were called up by President Kennedy to see that Mr. Meredith made it safely to campus. This is just the beginning of the story of a man who was  denied  his civil rights by his home state and shot by a sniper during a time when he lost two towering figures in his life.   

This episode premiered on KBLA Talk 1580 in Los Angeles.

Busy casting director Mellicent Dyane had a 30-year career before deciding it was time to direct her first film. The subject was a pressing one--her mother had suffered a heart attack and no one in her family recognized the signs. Hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh bring listeners a first-hand account from survivor Paula McLaughlin and her filmmaker daughter. Hear how the family rallied when triple bypass surgery for an 80+ year old was the only option and how a healthy lifestyle--caffeine withdrawal and all--keeps everyone on track.  

This episode first aired on KBLA Talk 1580 in Los Angeles.

Bronx, NY native Dorothy Swanston, born in 1945, is 10 years into her post-retirement career as a champion pool player. She's a three-time MVP and she and son Wayne visit with Before You Go co-host Nicole Franklin to explain the tricks of the trade--even what to look for in dirty pool! 

Shout out and RIP to Cue Lounge in the Bronx where Ms. Swanston got her start. Ms. Swanston and her teammates, who play in Yonkers, NY recently returned from a national competition in Las Vegas, NV. Hear how this pool shark and her favorite pool stick, Ms. Smooth, strategize and dominate the neighborhood pool halls. This episode originally aired on KBLA Talk 1580 in Los Angeles.

In this episode of Before You Go, hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh take listeners of their now weekly Los Angeles radio program on KBLA Talk 1580 to a quick visit with Aunt Pearlene and Menyoune in Chicago once more, then down the many roads traveled with Nicole's cousin, W. Jacarl Melton, from Nicole's maternal side of the family. Nicole calls Jacarl their "family detective." Jacarl tells vivid stories of the family ancestors all uncovered through research which he pursues to validate and document family lore. It's an exciting show--one where this Melton descendent began his family research journey when on a quest to learn all about the harrowing tale and tragic end of his ancestor Isaac "Getaway" Melton.

Visiting relatives during the end of the calendar year is tradition for millions of families. In this episode of Before You Go, hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh take listeners of their now weekly Los Angeles radio program on KBLA Talk 1580 to the South Side of Chicago. Aunt Pearlene and her daughter Menyoune always have entertaining catch-ups when Nicole calls. Why not have listeners tune in and grab some very important neighborhood history recorded from these first-person accounts? Hold on for a lot of laughs too. It's a family affair! And yes, our relative Aretha Franklin gets a shoutout as well!

Hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh introduce audiences to Nicole's longtime friend and colleague Rafee Kamaal, a groundbreaking television producer on the team responsible for the first syndicated talk show (strictly talk), hosted by Black Women. For You Black Woman aired out of New York City and was produced by Fred and Felicidad Dukes, with Kamaal in the role of associate producer. He went on to be a consulting producer as the show was rebranded as Today's Black Woman, hosted by entertainer Freda Payne and nationally distributed on ABC network O&O's. Early on in his career, Kamaal participated in the famed Third World Cinema, founded by Ossie Davis and Hannah Weinstein among other notable industry giants and independent creatives. The workshop was for responsible for training multicultural producers and production professionals for broadcast and film careers. Kamaal took to producing, line producing, executive producing and much more, which prepared him for a lifelong career in the battlefield as he secured deals for television specials and multi-season series. "This was hand to hand combat," says Kamaal of packaging and selling shows networks would not have even considered, but when aired, ended up changing the face of television. 

Some shoutouts: Third World Cinema, For You Black Woman, Today’s Black Woman, Claudine, the Black Documentary Collective, BADWest, St Clair Bourne, Warrington Hudlin, Maya Angelou and the provocative woman in the Egyptian Temple who inspired Kamaal’s quest for longevity.

This show originally aired on KBLA Talk  1580, Los Angeles.

Hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh introduce audiences to author Mary Othella Burnette. Ms. Burnette self-published her book Lige of the Black Walnut Tree: Growing Up Black in Southern Appalachia. This adventure story covers the history of her community--a number of which are her extended family members. This poignant visit back in time beautifully describes the life of Black Mountaineers from a daughter descended from quite a colorful history. Mary Othella Burnette recalls her grandmother's memory of having the Emancipation Proclamation read to her family when she was five years old. Two years later--and years before Juneteenth became a popular reference--Black Mountaineers referred to their freedom as The Great Surrender. As one would suspect, Ms. Burnette's oral interview with host Nicole Franklin is just as captivating as the words on the pages of her memoir.  Her life story is a rare peek into this slice of Americana.

Music by David Monteilh