At the onset of the pandemic, a mother relocates and experiences several unexpected life changes, including a whirlwind romance for which her 11-year-old daughter had a front-row seat.

Ep. 11 - Growing and Going: A Love Story

An audio essay reflecting on the departure of President Barack Obama and the arrival of a new administration.

Ep. 1 Sackcloth Farewell, Inauguration of Ashes

Ep. 2 Private Black Motherhood and Public White Protest

Adapted from an essay of the same name, this episode takes listeners on an excursion to Paris, as remembered by one Black mother and as told to her daughter.

Ep 3 (Don't) Forget Paris

This Hope Chest essay is about self-reflection and the challenging means by which women work to define themselves.

Ep. 4 Woman to Will-Be Woman

A single mother navigates the shifting dynamics of her family -- at a slower pace than everyone else.

Ep. 5 Birth Daze: A Co-Parenting Story

Hope Chest returns with a new essay written at SPACE on Ryder Farm's Family Residency in July 2018. A week-long artist's residency for parents and their children, SPACE on Ryder Farm affords families that ever-elusive commodity that's so difficult for many artists to find, post-parenting: time. While there, Stacia writes to Story about how the culmination of her academic and professional decisions to date have led her to face some harsh realities of late.

Ep. 6 The Art of Knowing When to Retreat

A mother meditates on marriage, in advance of her daughter's father's wedding.

Ep. 7 Something Hollowed, Overdue

Mother explores her relationship to civic duty, after taking her daughter to vote in the 2018 midterm election. Sound notes: Cuicuitte, Komiku, Podington Bear, Dilla, A Different World, The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and news broadcasts dating back to 1983.

Ep. 8 As for Me and This House (and Senate)

A meditation on navigating retreat and residency culture as a Black artist, who's constantly being reminded how risk Black people are, wherever we are, in this country, and abroad. 

Sound for this episode was recorded at the Black Artists Retreat 2019 at the Park Avenue Armory. Featured voices include Theaster Gates, Nona Hendryx, Toshi Reagon, and Esperanza Spalding. This episode also includes recordings of Joshua Brown and Atatiana Jefferson.

Ep. 9 Atatiana and the Sonic Imagination

A meditation on the loss of Kobe Bryant and his unabashed approach to raising daughters. A single mother's musings on what it means to defer to her daughter's dad.

Ep. 10 - Letting Go of Girl-Dads

A new audio essay podcast by Stacia Brown

Hope Chest: A Podcast

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