Identity Unboxed

Welcome to Identity Unboxed. Through the pursuit of Black liberation, we amplify Black voices, highlight the journeys and achievements of remarkable Black individuals, and preserve our narratives to expand access to diverse career pathways through storytelling. This is an affinity space for Black individuals to engage in vibrant discussions rooted in equity, justice, liberation, and healing. From the corporate world to creatives, we are committed to documenting Black contributions that elevate Black humanity across the diaspora while preserving our narratives through engaging conversations.

Identity Unboxed is a society podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 79 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Identity Unboxed, a society show with 79 episodes published.

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  Episode #4

  Telling the Story of the Black Diaspora Through Pizza with Isaiah Ruffin

  Sep 28, 202649 minS4

  Thank you for tuning into this episode of Identity Unboxed. Through the pursuit of Black liberation, we amplify Black voices, highlight the journeys and achievements of outstanding Black individuals, and preserve our narratives to expand access to diverse career pathways through storytelling. This is an affinity space for Black individuals to engage in vibrant discussions meant to ignite the audacious leaders innate within us to move toward sustained prosperity for our community rooted in equity, justice, and liberation. From the corporate world to creatives, we are committed to documenting Black contributions that elevate Black humanity across the diaspora. Biography: Chef Isaiah Ruffin is a classically trained culinary chef and the co-owner of Pizza by Ruffin in Seattle, Washington. His journey to becoming a celebrated chef in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood is a story of military service, global exploration, and a deep commitment to community.Ruffin began his culinary career in the U.S. Army before earning his culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University. He honed his skills in restaurants worldwide, including in Italy, Denver, and Washington, D.C. With his wife and business partner, Colleen Constant, he first made a name for himself operating a wood-fired pizza food truck from a converted school bus in Colorado.Seeking a more vibrant and diverse food scene, the couple relocated to Seattle. They officially opened Pizza by Ruffin in October 2024 after a successful Pi Day pop-up in South Lake Union. The restaurant serves Roman-style pizza that features a light, crispy crust developed through a labor-intensive 48-hour cold fermentation process. Ruffin’s menu is a culinary exploration of the Black diaspora, featuring globally inspired creations like "The Doro" with Ethiopian chicken stew and a Somali lamb pizza. All meats are halal (excluding pork), and ingredients are sourced locally.Beyond the kitchen, Ruffin is dedicated to community building. He and his wife do not accept tips; instead, they direct funds to their nonprofit, the Food Lit Foundation, which supports school gardens and food literacy. "Community is one of the reasons we moved to Seattle in the first place," Ruffin explains. "Not just to be a part of one, but to help build it, make it bigger and stronger." Career Advice: “Always ask: How can you use your position to make the industry and your community stronger and more inclusive for the next generation? It's about being unapologetically yourself and using your heritage as a source of strength and innovation, not a hurdle. My greatest piece of advice is to build a career that serves your life, not the other way around, and to use your platform to lift others as you climb. Last but not least, learn some electrical and plumbing.”

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  Episode #3

  Encapsulating the Beauty of South Africa Through the Lens of Artistic Vision with Aisha Yahaya

  Sep 21, 20261h 12mS4

  Thank you for tuning into this episode of Identity Unboxed. Through the pursuit of Black liberation, we amplify Black voices, highlight the journeys and achievements of outstanding Black individuals, and preserve our narratives to expand access to diverse career pathways through storytelling. This is an affinity space for Black individuals to engage in vibrant discussions meant to ignite the audacious leaders innate within us to move toward sustained prosperity for our community rooted in equity, justice, and liberation. From the corporate world to creatives, we are committed to documenting Black contributions that elevate Black humanity across the diaspora. Biography: Aisha Yahaya is a photographer and visual storyteller based in Cape Town, South Africa. Aisha earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Mixed Media from the University of Cape Town in 2024. Whether it’s capturing live events or producing engaging visual content for schools, Aisha believes that creativity is a powerful tool for learning, expression, and connection. To combine her artistic background with formal education, she returned to the University of Cape Town in 2025 and earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. Aisha uses art as a vessel to capture the beauty of the human experience and illuminate Cape Town's rich culture and history in Cape Town, South Africa. Career Advice: My greatest piece of advice for Black professionals is to KEEP GOING. As a freelance photographer, there are times when imposter syndrome kicks in, and I felt like I did not belong in certain spaces, especially in Cape Town where there are so many talented creatives; it's so easy to feel less than. I realize that if I had taken a step back and given up, I would not have reached the level of confidence I feel in my work.

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  Episode #1

  Medical Mythbuster: Demystifying Medicine for the Masses with Dr. Joel Bervell

  Sep 7, 20261h 4mS4

  Thank you for tuning into this episode of Identity Unboxed. Through the pursuit of Black liberation, we amplify Black voices, highlight the journeys and achievements of outstanding Black individuals, and preserve our narratives to expand access to diverse career pathways through storytelling. This is an affinity space for Black individuals to engage in vibrant discussions meant to ignite the audacious leaders innate within us to move toward sustained prosperity for our community rooted in equity, justice, and liberation. From the corporate world to creatives, we are committed to documenting Black contributions that elevate Black humanity across the diaspora. Biography : Dr. Joel Bervell, MD is a Ghanaian-American physician, Peabody Award-winning science communicator, and one of medicine's most recognized digital voices. Known online as the “Medical Mythbuster,” he has spent his career pulling buried truths into the open. Through viral digital storytelling, he challenges misinformation, exposes inequities in healthcare, and makes complex medical concepts and systems understandable to millions. His platform reflects the reach of that mission. With more than 2 million followers across @joelbervell, Joel reaches over 15 million people every month and has generated more than 500 million impressions, not by simplifying medicine, but by refusing to let its most uncomfortable realities stay hidden. Long before his audience reached millions, Joel was organizing around inequity inside medicine itself. He earned his BA in Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology from Yale University before completing a Master's in Medical Science at Boston University. He later attended Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, where he served as Medical Student Council President, founded the Coug Health Academic Mentoring Program (CHAMP), and helped expand opportunities for underrepresented students pursuing medicine. His academic work has been published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. His work has been featured by The New York Times, NPR, Good Morning America, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Vox, WebMD, and more. That mission has carried him into rooms that shape public conversation and policy: the White House, the FDA, the Clinton Foundation, TED, SXSW, Aspen Ideas: Health, the Milken Global Conference, the Congressional Black Caucus, Google, Meta, and the Association of American Medical Colleges. He advises the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the Council for Responsible Social Media on misinformation and health equity. The recognition has followed. In 2025, TIME Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential Digital Voices. He is a 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30, a 2024 TED Fellow, a Smithsonian Channel Cyclebreaker, a Scientific American Revolutionary, and a Rock Health Top 50 Leader in Digital Health. He has won two Webby Awards (2025 and 2026) and a 2023 Anthem Award Gold. He was also named a National Minority Quality Forum 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health and received the National Medical Association's Emerging Scholar Award, the organization's highest academic honor for a student. Mashable called him "your next must-follow creator." Beyond medicine and media, Joel is the co-founder of Hugs For, a nonprofit that has mobilized hundreds of volunteers, raised over $500,000, and organized service trips across Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. He also serves in advisory roles with Every Cure and the Ron Brown Leaders Network Council. Career Advice: “Stay curious longer than everyone else. Your career will be defined less by having all the answers and more by being willing to ask better questions and learning how your unique skills make you able to approach problems and reach solutions differently.”

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  Identity Unboxed

  The Power of the River with Ed Taylor

  May 4, 20261h 56mS0

  <p>On this special episode of Identity Unboxed, we sat with Dr. Ed Taylor, Professor at the University of Washington College of Education and Dean and Vice Provost, at UW Undergraduate Academic Affairs, as he discussed his new memoir, ‘The Power of the River’. Ed takes readers on a journey from Lompoc, California, through a childhood marked with loss but grounded in the love and support of family and community, to a singular moment that changed everything for a boy set up by the system to be a cog in the machine.</p>

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  Identity Unboxed

  Tiana's Narratives — Multitudes of Blackness

  Apr 29, 202626 minS0

  <p>In our bonus episode of Identity Unboxed, ‘Occupying Opposing Worlds — Blackness, Identity, and Class,’ Tiana sat on the other side of the interview table as Brad interviewed her about her personal journey, as told through various narratives she has written over the past few years. This episode is a compilation of Tiana narrating short stories: “Don’t Touch My Hair”, "Lineage," and “The Little Black Cowgirl."</p><p><br></p><p>“Amidst the Pews” - This piece explores her relationship with religion as a young Black girl embedded in the Evangelical Lutheran church amidst the pews of a nearly exclusively white...

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