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.
Shamon Brown Jr. on Music, Ownership & What's Next
PAST EPISODES
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.
50+ Shows. No Film School. How Tony McCuin Became One of TV's Most Powerful Live Directors
In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with an award-winning live television director, Tony McCuin — the man behind the NAACP Image Awards, Password with Keke Palmer, Big Brother, the Super Bowl, BET's Celebration of Gospel, Soul Train Awards, and over 50 major productions — for one of the most behind-the-scenes conversations we've ever had.
Algee Smith: From Broke in LA to Euphoria, Jamie Foxx & Owning His Music
From sleeping on a friend's couch in North Hollywood, surviving on El Pollo Loco and 7-Eleven Slurpees, to booking the New Edition Story AND Detroit in the same month — Algee's journey is one of radical faith, relentless study, and a refusal to shrink. In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with the actor, recording artist, and NAACP Image Award nominee to talk craft, ownership, representation, and what it really takes to build a career across two industries.
Hollywood's Top Publicist Reveals What It Really Takes to Make Stars | Shannon Barr
What does it actually take to shape the careers of Hollywood's biggest stars — and survive the chaos behind the scenes? Veteran publicist Shannon Barr pulls back the curtain on 20+ years in entertainment PR, from her early days at ICM to managing crises at 3 am, losing client John Singleton, and what it really costs to get the press you deserve.
From Interning at Hot 97 to the Met Gala with Rihanna — Entertainment Journalist Gia Peppers
What does it actually take to build a two-decade career in entertainment journalism — across NBC's Today Show, Hot 97, Essence, Access Hollywood, BET, and the Met Gala red carpet with Rihanna?
In this episode of NAACP+'s Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with her close friend and NAACP Image Awards-nominated journalist, podcaster, and host Gia Peppers for one of the most candid, funny, and genuinely inspiring conversations in the series so far.
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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