MISSION Story Slam Podcast Episode 25: Trenae Nuri

Dave Winston: [00:00:00] You good? All right.

Michael Schweisheimer: Here we go.

Trenae Nuri: Speed.

Michael Schweisheimer: One. Glad you're back with me on the Mission Story Slam podcast. This is brought to you by PWP Video and I'm Michael Schweitzheimer. I'm the executive producer at PWP and at the Mission Story Slam. I'm also a lifelong Talking Heads super fan. So this is our first episode since we had Mission Story Slam 9 just last week.

Really happy to tell you all that it was. Awesome. National Mechanics was an amazing location. I definitely want to shout out Paul and Chavis and the whole team there. Just filled the joint to the walls with our community and I'm going to tell you a little secret about that. I now have this new little fear that when we get to Mission Story Slam 10, which we've scheduled for June 4th next year, that some of you all will be like, I don't have to go.[00:01:00]

I don't have the support. It's going to be jammed. Well, I'm here to tell you, we were only Filling the room because our community has stayed so dedicated. So please mark your calendar and plan to come out and join us Tuesday night, June 4th, 2024. Help me have a high class problem that we sell the joint out.

That's what would be super cool. But last week we storytellers, including today's guest, Trinae Noorie. Trinae is the host of The Daily Podcast, which I have to tell you, I get exhausted thinking about doing a daily podcast, but her podcast is CityCastPhilly. Trinae has a degree in broadcast journalism from my alma mater, Temple.

She previously held roles at WHOI and The Wall Street Journal before taking on CityCastPhilly. Trinae. Thanks so much for joining me on the Mission Story Slam podcast. Thanks for having me, Michael. It's really, really exciting. I'm excited to have another podcast or two. I think that's really going to [00:02:00] be fun to chat a little bit about that.

But let's start with what brought you here, which is your story. You totally captivated me, the whole room, and obviously our judges who gave you that grand prize. So I'm going to start by playing your story.

Trenae Nuri: Hi, everyone. I'm Trinae Nuri. I'm the host of CityCast Philly. Which is a daily news podcast that keeps you connected to the city that we love.

But this story has nothing to do with Philly. It was the summer that I was going into seventh grade and I was at my friend Rebecca's sleepover. So we did sleepover stuff, probably eat popcorn, pizza, watch movies. Well, the very next day, my mom picked me up and she said, Come on, girl. We're going to take a road trip.

And I was like, OK, OK. It wasn't odd for my mom to do that because sometimes we would just take spontaneous rides to the beach or whatever. So I said bye to my friends and we're in the car. And my [00:03:00] mom's, like, demeanor changed. I said, Mom, where are we going? She said, Come on, girl. We're just going. Well, we're driving up 95 North and I'm like, Mom, please, please tell me where are we going?

And she says, we're going to Harlem, New York to meet your grandfather. And I was like, what? My grandfather? I didn't know I had a grandfather. So we, it's a hot summer day. We drive to Harlem, New York. We find a parking spot and we go into this high rise apartment building. We get off the elevator and, you know, as a kid, depth is a little bit different, so things might seem bigger than they really are.

And I just remember it was a long hallway. It was white and dingy. Every apartment door had a black door. It was painted black. I walk behind my mom and we're slowly walking to the door. And she [00:04:00] knocks on the door.

And a woman opens the door. And this woman probably was a nurse or a housekeeper and she gestures to the back of the apartment. Come on, come on, they're here, they're here. And this tall man wearing an all white suit with a white cowboy hat comes out. And he embraces my mom and they start crying. They hadn't seen each other in 30 years.

And I was a kid and it was like one of those Charlie Brown moments where the adults are like womp womp womp womp womp. I didn't know what to do. They embraced me too. We walk into the apartment building, we walk into the apartment, and it's a typical New York apartment. So it's a small kitchen, the living room's pretty normal, but the [00:05:00] dining room area was actually like a bar and there was wood paneling.

And it was filled and covered with all this stuff about cowboy culture. There were pistols and little figurines. Well, it turns out my grandfather was a part of the Federation of Black Cowboys in Harlem, New York. And that organization taught inner city kids all about rodeo culture and cowboy culture.

He used to call me Trey. And he had like a raspy voice. Hey, Trey. Come here, Trey. Well, I had six months left with that man. And he created this amazing collage, only four of them. He didn't go to college. He went to the New York Public Library and made this collage of history of the old black west. And he put himself right in the middle, but he put fiction.

He [00:06:00] was not a famous cowboy, but we only had six months with him. And it also turns out that, that day that we met him for the first time was Father's Day.

This, when I was thinking of the theme moving right along, I was like, I don't know, I can't move along without telling this history. And so if you have this part of history or something like this in your family, please keep it. And tell other people about it. I can't move along without that man. And I'm so thankful that I got to meet him and know him for those six months.

He's helped me in so many different ways. And so I want to dedicate this story to Willie Malone, my grandfather. Thank you.

Michael Schweisheimer: I'm curious, because you mentioned in your story that you ended up only unfortunately having six months with him, which.

Trenae Nuri: Six [00:07:00] months. Yeah. He had lung cancer.

Michael Schweisheimer: It sounds like you got to know him pretty well in that short period of time.

And I'm just like, did you have a lot of visits when your mom and he

Trenae Nuri: reconnected? Yeah, that summer was a busy summer. We would drive back and forth, it seemed like, almost every day. And because it was the summer, you know, I wasn't in school, so we made the trips. And then, we actually, he had a Ford Bronco truck and makes that makes

Michael Schweisheimer: a lot of sense

Trenae Nuri: because he's a cow connection.

Yeah, and we actually a bunch of us. I forget who all was in the car But it was a bunch of us and we got in into that Bronco and we drove all the way to Virginia to meet More family members that we had not met. And so my other family came in, it was just so great to have that experience and just meet people that we didn't know.

And then we were kind of [00:08:00] rushing cause the adults knew that time was so short. And then it just became those happy memories turned into hospital visits. And then just like conversations got confusing because you see your loved one just kind of getting lost in their illness. And, like, mentally and physically.

And so you start to see all of that wearing on him. I saw the adults just going through life and navigating relationships and pains from the past and just trying to make up for time and trying to catch up and fix things while they could. But I will be honest, I was nervous because that was the first time that I publicly told that story.

I do think about just like life. Um, especially during this time, this is the holidays. A lot of my family, we're [00:09:00] trying to get together. And I also reflect on those that have moved on, who've passed, who've been really a part of my upbringing. Oh, I, I miss my grandfather. I wish he was around. He would have been laughing knowing that.

I told that story and just seeing my career and things like that. And so, yeah, I guess this is just a reminder to us all just to connect with your family, um, because it's such a short time. Life is short. And shout out to the other storytellers. That night because they did an amazing job and I almost thought that I didn't quite understand the rules of the story slam.

I'm like, Oh my gosh, I'm telling a like personal story and not a story about an organization. And it was amazing work that people were doing in Philly. Um, and I was like, I was talking to my friend and I was just like, Oh my God, did I like totally bomb this? [00:10:00] You

Michael Schweisheimer: did. Yeah. You totally won this. Story slams are weird because you don't always know.

Who are what's going to win from night to night. The judges are always different. What's going to ring with them is always going to be different. But no, actually, I think personal stories work the best. And I think you, your story did a great job of like reminding us about a lot of things. I really appreciated your direct shout out to.

Making sure that we're all aware of, not only aware of our histories and our families, but also sharing those things. So I think, no, I think you had a lot of mission in your story. Not everyone who comes is from a non profit, but a lot of people are in that sector. So, no, I, you killed it. Obviously. Thanks.

Oh, and I want to make sure that I say your grandfather's name at least once or twice when we're talking about this stuff, because I also loved how you dedicated the story to Willie Malone. Have you learned more about the Federation of Black Cowboys in Harlem? [00:11:00] I would also hope that there'd almost be a resurgence in that movement when you think about like Concrete Cowboys coming out and stuff like that.

Trenae Nuri: Oh my gosh, that's a great film, yeah. That is a great movie. I didn't interact with them until the funeral. Okay. So, seeing the brotherhood, the sisterhood, the family of the Cowboys was just like jaw dropping. Everyone got into place. They knew what to bring, what to wear, what to say, how to support their family.

They just rallied behind us so much. It's just dope. Like just, it just opened my eyes to, and my ears to any type of story that involved Black people and. The cowboy culture. The crazy thing about this whole experience [00:12:00] is that in 2016, I was on this like journey of trying to figure out my life and I was looking for opportunities just to build my career.

And there's an organization called NPRs next gen radio. And so. This is a program to introduce recent college grads or those in graduate school into the world of audio storytelling. And I graduated from Temple with a vision of doing television news. And I really didn't think much of radio at the time because radio and newspapers were kind of like these depleting mediums.

in journalism, and a mentor of mine, Cherie Gregg, who's over at WHYY. She pulled me to the side and she said, Hey, Trinae, you should really look into radio. I'm like, radio? That is, that's [00:13:00] corny. Like, that's old school. Like, no one is into that. She's like, I don't know, Trinae. You should really look into it. It could really help you with your journalism skills.

And so I found that program, Next Gen Radio, and I didn't get in. I didn't get in the first time. The executive director, Doug Mitchell, was like, No, try again. Just try again. And I went for it again, and I got accepted. They flew me out to Tempe, Arizona, um, for a week. to do a multimedia intensive story. I was trying to figure out, okay, what are people talking about in Tempe, Arizona?

Well, there's actually a horse training program in a medium security prison. Oh, wow. And so I pitched that to the team. They're like, you know, is she going to be safe? Who's going to be her mentor? So my mentor and I, we spent an entire day in this prison. in the yard, but the [00:14:00] yard was actually a space where there were wild horses.

That's crazy. Crazy. And I have my grandfather to thank for that.

Michael Schweisheimer: It's awesome that you ended up in Tempe at a place where you could like, really make that connection. That's

Trenae Nuri: Yeah. And I just want to thank the folks out there who, you know, allowed us to come in and there had been other media outlets that covered that story, but the point of the program was to actually make it a non narrated piece, which means that there is no reporter voice.

And so. Your guest your subject the person that the story is about has to tell their own story And so the challenge in that is that you have to ask questions a certain way to get someone to answer and like a full complete thought and I met a gentleman that the story was about he was in there. He had been in there for [00:15:00] about 18 years for second degree murder, and I just asked him, what connected you with these horses?

And those horses were his baby. He had hoped that when he gets out, that he could still somehow do something that connected him with those horses.

Michael Schweisheimer: So most of the time in my life. With PwP video, I'm doing exactly that kind of interviewing where I'm, my voice is never in the videos and it is really challenging.

It's actually really, so it's interesting for me when I get to do a podcast and I know that I'm part of it. It totally changes the recipe of like how I ask questions or how I interact. So after going through broadcast journalism school, like what was it like having that one of those legs of the stool yanked out from under you?

That must have been

Trenae Nuri: hard. It was hard. And you know what? It humbled me because here I'm [00:16:00] thinking, Oh, I need opportunities that I'm in the forefront, television, and I want to be glamorous. And then. It took someone to reel me back in and like, it's not what this is about. This is about storytelling and being a voice for folks that don't have a voice.

It's about listening.

Michael Schweisheimer: We'll be right back with more of the Mission Story Slam podcast.

Dave Winston: Hi, I'm Dave Winston, and I've been a storyteller all my life. I have to tell you, we're all still very high coming off of the first Story Slam at National Mechanics earlier this month. It's a really great place to tell a story, and we had some fascinating stories that night.

And they're all available at MissionStorySlam. org. Before the Story Slam, we had a lot of people reach out to ask us about the rules. Now, personally, I'm not a big fan of rules when it comes to art. And for me, that's what a good story is, a work of art. Most of the time, I think art is about breaking the [00:17:00] rules.

But there are some rules that are necessary, I guess, like a painting should use paint or music should use sound. A story should be a story. At Mission StorySlam, our judges scores have two components, content and delivery. Three judges score the storyteller from 1 to 10. in both categories to create the final score.

We tell our judges that every story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Now, I don't think that means that they necessarily have to be in that order. Personally, I'm fond of teasing the audience with the end first and then telling them how we got there. But the story should move, at least narratively, from one place to another.

From one set of conditions to another. These are the rules of the content score. The other content rule is, does it fit the theme, which we discussed on a previous podcast. So what does it mean to have a beginning, middle, and end? And I guess that boils down to change. What is [00:18:00] different between the beginning and the end of your story?

The most powerful stories I hear are usually about how you changed, or how particular circumstances changed you. And the story is your journey of discovery. Sometimes the story is from ignorance to wisdom. But I've also heard stories where the storyteller goes from what they imagined was wisdom to accepting their ignorance.

Just like life, the journey is the important part. That's the middle I've been talking about. How did you get there? What circumstances moved you from one place to the next? I've probably heard over a hundred coming out stories where people describe coming to terms with their sexuality. None of them are the same.

Each one is a fingerprint. A unique journey. Some are full of joy. Some are full of pain. Many are a mixture of both. And every one is as unique as you are. [00:19:00] That's what's truly fascinating about storytelling. We love the way it takes us to new places. We love learning about different lives and circumstances.

But we also enjoy seeing ourselves in the story. In finding commonality and shared humanity in those new and different worlds. At PWP Video, we're always seeking the how and why in the stories we use in our videos. We share the unique experience of the people we are documenting, and find the commonality in the values of the how and why they do it.

We like to see their fingerprints on the work they do. That's also the great thing about the Mission Story Slam podcast. We get to hear more about the story behind the stories, more about the journey than you can share in five minutes, from our little family of missionaries, storytellers, judges, and Long time friends of PWP and Mission Story Slam.

The stories from our December 5th Story Slam are [00:20:00] available on our website, missionstorieslam. org. And of course, we posted links on social media. We have great stories by amazing people who are working to make the world a better place. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and now TikTok for the latest updates about what we're doing.

Or become a missionary and sign up for our slam mail email blasts on the contact page of mission story slam dot o r g

Michael Schweisheimer: I'd say welcome back, but you didn't actually go anywhere I want to talk a little bit more about your story at mission story slam just a bit because I love that you chose to support with your prize Philly cam because i'm a fan of philly cam as well, but tell me a little bit about PhillyCAM and why you chose to support them with your 250 donation for winning.

Trenae Nuri: A lot of us know it as PhillyCAM, but it's Philadelphia Community Access Media. And it literally is what is in the name. It gives the community access to media. [00:21:00] Without this organization, I'm not really sure where I would be. I walked into the doors and I was welcomed like day one. And I learned television production.

I learned how to do storytelling. I was a part of the inaugural group that created PhillyCAM Voices. Which is a monthly community based news program. And that was just a lot of fun. Just to be able to say, we actually started this and it's still going strong. This is like 2016, 2017 ish. It's just a great starting point for anyone.

You didn't have to be a recent college grad, you know, I want to change careers or I want to just try something new. I want, I have a hobby. I've always wanted to have a television or radio program about X, Y, and Z, or I wanted to tell this story. And that's literally what you can do at PhillyCAM. And so [00:22:00] sky's the limit.

And. It's not just, Oh, you're going to just tell this story, but you're going to learn skills, and you're going to meet people, and I just can't thank them enough. And I want to shout out, really, I just truly want to shout out Gretchen Clausing, the executive director. One of the pieces of advice I could give someone, doesn't matter your age, I really believe that you should always tell people what your dreams are, what your goals are.

Because Other people have access and knowledge that you may not be aware of. And I kept telling the team, I kept telling Laura Deutsch, okay, I want to do this. I want to do that. I want to do this. I want to do that. And so when opportunities come up or they hear about opportunities or things, they know who to reach out for.

Hey, I've got the perfect person. And so, for anyone who wants to just get a [00:23:00] start at podcasting, at radio, television, make a stop on 7th and Randstead downtown at PhillyCAM.

Michael Schweisheimer: Tell me about doing a daily podcast. How many days a week? Is it five or six? Five. Okay.

Trenae Nuri: Thank goodness. Right. It's amazing. I love my job.

I love it. How many are you? It's four of us. And we come out with not only the podcast, but also the newsletter, Hey Philly. And so both of those products drop in your inbox at 6 a. m. It's a labor of love. It's just knowing how to shift gears. We had a lot of news recently. And so we, we have to pivot, we have to make changes, but yeah, it's, it's really

Michael Schweisheimer: great.

So I am curious in terms of living that life, like with a 6am release time, are you, you're not recording every episode that morning though, [00:24:00] are you?

Trenae Nuri: We do most of our interviews the day before, couple days before, you know, kind of space things out. We do a lot of planning. But let's say some major, major, major news has happened.

I might track something like, Hey, we know this thing has happened. We'll cover this later in the week. Every Friday, we have the Friday News Roundup. And that is when I chat with a roundtable of other reporters, editors, and we talk about the stories that they've covered. We really highlight the local journalism in our cities.

Michael Schweisheimer: So you were saying Earlier, when you were telling your story about Sherry Gregg suggesting radio that at that point, it felt like newspapers and radio were dying on the vine a little bit, and I know that I will say You know, we are lucky to have the Lenfest Foundation in this town to support local journalism.

But I feel like our [00:25:00] radio and podcast universe is pretty strong in this area, but maybe I'm not, I do not have my finger on the pulse of that world the way that you do. Is it strong? Is there some kind of growth with things like CityCast and that I know like the Billy Penn getting acquired by HYY, but still existing doing that hyper local stuff feels like there's maybe there's some hope for local journalism,

Trenae Nuri: maybe?

Oh, yeah. I think when I tell people about the show or when people actually meet me in person and you know, we have conversations, they're like, This is what we needed. I needed a podcast that was super local, that felt like it was happening in my neighborhood.

Michael Schweisheimer: I will tell you this morning, I listened to your episode about like gift experiences, and I was very pleased to hear, I call my neighborhood, Germantary,

Trenae Nuri: it's simultaneously Germantown and Mount Air.

You know, we actually had this discussion on the team. I was like, wait. Is it [00:26:00] Germantown? Is this section Germantown or is it Mount Airy? And so we were going back and

Michael Schweisheimer: forth. So, please, pretty please, I am actually trying to get people to refer to that weird little blurred line. as German Terry. Take that, use it, German Terry.

I've got a few people who are into it. Anyhow, those are some of my neighbors might smack me upside the head if they heard me say that. Anyway, you guys shouted out Circus Arts Philly up. So many times when I hear, like, Philly focused things, it almost seems like hosts are, like, worried about getting out of Center City, like, getting into middle neighborhoods sometimes.

Oh

Trenae Nuri: gosh, I'm rolling my eyes as soon as you said it. I think that's literally not only Philly and you hear a lot of times Philadelphia is neighborhoods. We want you to feel more connected to the city and this the show is for folks that have been in living in the city for generations. The show is also for people coming [00:27:00] into Philly for the first time.

Michael Schweisheimer: Yeah, it is, it is fun. It's both newsy. It's, there's a lot of good features, but it also definitely has a lot of personality to it. And like, you're not afraid of letting it be not like overly chatty. It's not like watching the view or anything, but yet you still get those moments where you're sharing little stories and your personality comes through.

Some of your producers personalities come through. So yeah, it's been, I've really been enjoying. Enjoying the show. I'm so

Trenae Nuri: glad. I let my natural curiosity come out, you know, we come up with a plan of how we want to approach the conversation or the story. But sometimes someone says something and it really, it like perks my ears and I go, huh, let me ask you about that because I had this whole list of questions, but.

Forget those questions. Tell me more about this thing. And so, I think those add to just like the natural conversation that I'm having with other [00:28:00] Philadelphians.

Michael Schweisheimer: Obviously, you can find CityCast Philly in all of your favorite podcast spots. Apple, Spotify, what have you. Where do people find you to sign up for the newsletter, that sort of

Trenae Nuri: thing?

Sure, you can go to Philly. City cast fm. I know that's like a funky u rl, but Philly City cast FM and it's city cast. I know that sometimes people are like City, cat City, like no city. And then the word cast, C-A-T-C-A-S-T, . Oh my God. There I go. You got lost

Michael Schweisheimer: in. Oh my gosh. Oh man. That'll happen. No, no. That's going in the show

Trenae Nuri: and also YouTube.

Michael Schweisheimer: Gotcha. All right, so we can look for you there. We can get the, so it's a daily newsletter, kind of corresponds to the show. I'm glad you have a team of four. That is a lot of content to

Trenae Nuri: be putting out. It is, but it's fun. Well, where do we find you on social? At Trinaree Instagram. You

Michael Schweisheimer: should [00:29:00] probably spell Trinae for us, because

Trenae Nuri: T R E N A E, N as in Nancy, U R I.

Michael Schweisheimer: Thank you. Well, listen, Trinae, it's been Really fun to get to meet you and to have you come out to the Story Slam, to have you be our winner. Your story is fantastic, and if anyone missed the Story Slam at National Mechanics, your story is on our YouTube channel at PWP Video. People should check it out.

Let's stay in touch. I'll keep listening.

Trenae Nuri: For sure. Thank you so much for this opportunity, Michael.

Michael Schweisheimer: I also want to thank our audience. It is you, dear listeners, you are the reason that we created this podcast. We created the Story Slams, the Salon Dinners. Basically, I'm just really honored. What we started is really gelling into a community.

That has been our goal from the start, is to really form a community of do [00:30:00] gooders who believe in the power of sharing stories and having these conversations. But, we need you, dear community, to help us with some opinions. We don't have a theme locked down for the June 4th Story Slam just yet. We have some time.

But we already did get a message from one of our community members. Shout out to Janice Risch, who's the ED of the Mountain Area Business Improvement District. But Janice suggested the theme of Messenger or Messengers. And I like the idea a lot. I think it needs maybe a little bit more shape. So, throw out some ideas.

Find ways to reach out to us through our website at missionstorieslam. org and we're on the socials, Facebook, Instagram, even TikTok these days. We'll be back in about another month with a new episode of the podcast, but in the meantime, please, let's grow this community. So share the pod or the newsletters with some friends, colleagues, just people you think would enjoy what we're doing here.

And if you like this podcast and you're still listening, which [00:31:00] means you must really like it. Check out another pod that we're producing at PWP video. It's called the Mission Business Podcast. It's from your part time controller, LLC, and it highlights professionals and stories from the nonprofit sector.

Their managing partner, Jennifer Oliva, hosts the show, does a great job weaving it all together. And I'm really proud that we're producing it and we really love working with the YPTC team. The Mission Story Slam podcast is produced by Dave Winston. All the editing, and there is plenty, is done by James Robinson.

And the pod is brought to you by PWP Video. We are Video with a Mission. You can find us at pwpvideo. com. So until we're back in about a month, I will remain Michael Schweizheimer, and I do look forward to sharing the next story behind the story with you soon.

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