NAACP+ Inside the Industry
Pulling Back the Curtain
NAACP+ Inside the Industry is a new original podcast series offering an unfiltered look at the entertainment business through one-on-one conversations with the people shaping it.
NAACP+ Inside the Industry pulls back the curtain on film, television, music, fashion, sports, and digital culture, spotlighting the creatives, executives, and tastemakers driving today's entertainment landscape. Through candid, in-depth interviews, each episode explores personal career journeys, current projects, and the realities of navigating both the business and creative sides of the industry.
Meet the Woman Behind the NAACP Image Awards
PAST EPISODES
From TikTok to Ryan Coogler's Red Carpet: Juju Green (Straw Hat Goofy)
He wasn't trying to become famous. Juju Green was working in advertising, talking about movies to anyone who would listen. And one night, his TikTok about Tom Holland breaking character in Avengers: Endgame went viral. That was just the beginning.
In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with film critic, creator, podcaster, and voice actor Juju Green — better known as Straw Hat Goofy — for one of the most fun, honest, and genuinely insightful conversations in the series about what it actually takes to build a career out of pure passion in the digital age.
Beyond the Gates: The Inside Story of How the First Black Daytime Soap in 25 Years Got Made
For over 25 years, there was no Black daytime soap opera on television. Sheila Ducksworth decided that was going to change.
In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Sheila Ducksworth — president of the CBS Studios NAACP venture, executive producer of Beyond the Gates, and influential architect in Black television — for a conversation about what it actually took to bring the first Black-led daytime soap opera in over 25 years from a childhood dream to network television.
The Showrunner Behind All American, Found & Homecoming — Nkechi Okoro Carroll
In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Nkechi Okoro Carroll — the showrunner and creator behind All American, All American: Homecoming, and Found, and one of the few Black women in history to have three shows running simultaneously on one network — for one of the most candid conversations about what it actually takes to run a show, protect your creative vision, and build something that lasts.
Shamon Brown Jr. on Growing Up on The Chi, Voicing Michelangelo & Building His Empire
In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with actor, recording artist, entrepreneur, and voice of Michelangelo, Shamon Brown Jr. — best known as Papa from Showtime's The Chi — for one of the most candid and genuinely inspiring conversations in the series so far.
Mario Van Peebles on Black Cinema, Ownership & the Fight That Never Ended
Thirty-five years after New Jack City changed Hollywood, Mario Van Peebles is still at it — and this conversation proves exactly why.
In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with actor, director, writer, and producer Mario Van Peebles for one of the most wide-ranging, genuinely funny, and deeply important conversations in the series so far.
She Cast Beyoncé, Halle Berry & Jamie Foxx — Casting Director Robi Reed
Host Ariana Drummond sits down with Emmy Award-winning casting director and producer Robi Reed — one of two Black women in history to win an Emmy for casting, a Hampton University alumna, and the woman responsible for some of the most culturally defining films and television in Black Hollywood history.
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We want to give audiences a real understanding of how this business works — not just the highlights, but the strategy, the challenges, and the decisions behind the scenes. These are the conversations people don't always get to hear, but need to.
- Robin Harrison, Vice President, NAACP Hollywood Bureau