13. Dancing for Freedom | Dr. Malik Boykin

TW: Fatal and racist violence in the U.S.

Emily chats with Dr. Malik Boykin, who opens up about how dancing, writing hip hop rhymes, and challenging his self-doubt in the mirror keeps him going, with a challenging life and career.

Malik opened up previously, in episode 12, about early life experiences and challenges he faces as a Black man and Professor.

This episode covers:

· Malik’s love of 90s hip hop, and his dreams to perform in Africa, publish a Nature paper, and become a full Emeritus Professor

· The support Malik received from his graduate department following significant loss

· Finding time to get to a dance floor (hip hop/Afro-beat/electronic music) and let go of stress by dancing

· Actively seeking and taking up every opportunity to get help

· Despite the challenges, Malik never considered quitting – not because quitting should be stigmatised, but because this path felt like his calling

· Getting comfortable with critical feedback, on repeat

· Using mirror work to challenge self-doubt

Resources:

· Dr. Boykin’s Research Lab

· Malik Starx the artist

The full transcript of the podcast is available here, with many thanks to Dan Ranson

For mental health support, please contact your GP or use the appropriate support for your country at https://checkpointorg.com/global/

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Recorded 29/05/2021.

Sound: Mindset by Ketsa is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, available through Free Music Archive.