Oprah/Whitney Drama, Fast Food Tiers & Rogue Robotaxis

Explore how Jay-Z, Oprah, and modern tech redefine personal responsibility in this episode of the Raised by Her podcast.

In this dynamic episode of the Raised by Her podcast, the hosts dive deep into the core theme of cultural and personal responsibility. The conversation unpacks the powerful impact of fatherhood and parental affirmation on child development, highlighting Jay-Z’s public alignment with Blue Ivy's hair journey alongside personal reflections on growing up tender-headed in Black hair culture. The dialogue shifts toward media ethics as they critique Oprah Winfrey’s controversial Cannes Lions keynote regarding Whitney Houston’s legacy, contrasting it with firsthand executive insights from managing the legendary Fly City Music Festival in Dayton, Ohio. Finally, they analyze the 2026 customer satisfaction shifts shaking up fast-food giants like Chick-fil-A and Jersey Mike's, the sudden Waymo autonomous vehicle safety recalls, and the shocking viral fallout of a JP Morgan Chase executive's public misconduct.

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TIMESTAMP: 

00:00 The 50-Year Sisterhood Secret
02:32 Jay-Z, Blue Ivy, & The Black Hair Journey
04:15 Growing Up Tender-Headed: Lessons From Dad
09:32 Oprah vs. Whitney Houston’s Estate: Who Is Right?
19:21 Wild Backstage Demands: Fly City Festival Secrets
26:36 Why Jersey Mike’s Ended Chick-fil-A’s Streak
33:50 The Ultimate Fast Food Tier List Revealed
38:50 Waymo Recalls & The Danger of Self-Driving Cars
51:26 Remembering Tony Brown: Black Journalism's Icon
54:06 Fired! The Fateful Knicks Trash Can Decision
59:54 Living With Intention & Responsibility

🎤 New episodes every week. Honest conversations between mother and daughter on family, womanhood, and navigating life across generations.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Thank you so much for joining us on the Raised by Her podcast. It really helps us out. If you download, subscribe, like, and love. And also please leave us a review. Welcome back to Raised by Her. How are you? I'm doing well.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

How are you? Today's a good day. Every day is a good day when you're on this side of the earth.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Well, this is a true statement. Yes, that is absolutely a true statement. We actually haven't talked in a little bit, and you were just showing me some of your activities from the weekend. And I loved the uh messages from your girlfriends and how, like, really being a part of a sisterhood and having good girlfriends. Gosh, it really makes all the difference.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

It makes all the difference in the world. And what I really appreciate is the fact of in this busy world with so many people doing so many things, they're taking the time to spend with each other. And we've had this long-term ref friendship over the years. How long? Oh, um, well, for um one of the sisters in the group since I was a little girl. So you know. So y'all have seen each other through all the things. All the things of life, all the changes, and we're still here. And we're celebrating together. Still here and together, and and really celebrating all the changes in lives and growing up. And uh our parents were in real estate, and her grandmother was the c uh owned the company that um my parents worked for in real estate way back then, and we remember playing with each other as little girls. So then moving on through life and and going through the various organizations and being able to celebrate life and the challenges, and still today being able to love each other in a unique way.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

That's so cool. Um, because I just like in other relationships and friendships, you can grow together or you can grow apart. So I think it's it's awesome that you all have found a way to grow together over 50 years. Authentic.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Oh, yeah. More than that. More than 50 years. Well, yes, because if uh I'm 75. And so we were playing together when we were um, you know, seven, eight, nine, ten years old. So yeah, so that's good.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

It is good.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

You know, God is good and life is good.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yes, yes, ma'am. Well, okay, so you know, we do our our recap of the previous we uh our mini recap um based on the responses that we receive. And we actually got a lot of great response across a number of different uh clips that we put out, but I wanted to start this conversation leaning back into the fatherhood uh and blue ivy and Jay-Z and Jay-Z changing his hair in part, not holistically because of blue ivy, but in part because of blue ivy and um the challenges that she was having with getting comfortable with her hair texture. Can I read you some of those responses? Okay, that sounds good. Okay. So one person said, I like to keep my hair long as well to match my son's. When he tells me or his mom that he likes our hair, we can say, We like our hair too. It's like ours. And it's a simple thing, but it feels good to share that love of self. Oh, and that comes from a father.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

It comes from a father. And I I really appreciate that. Good.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Another person said, My daughter has the same hair texture, and I remember consciously telling her since she was a baby how beautiful her hair is. Sometimes I call her big curly, but she takes it out the big Afro puff. She loves her hair and rocks any style comfortably, but her favorite is styling, her favorite style is putting it up in the big curly puff. It's our job as parents to help our kids love and appreciate themselves before, oh, this curse word. Before some others out in the world try to tear them down. What Jay-Z did was beautiful and makes all the internet trolls look like idiots.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

I can really appreciate that connection with what your father thinks of how you look. Because as a little girl, um, my father used to talk about, uh he would say, you know, hi beautiful, hi sweetie. And and that just makes you feel good. And it becomes your norm. It does become my norm. And then I do remember when um I cut my hair, talked my mom into it for the first time, short haircut. Yeah. And when my and my father didn't know anything about it, and when he came home from work, oh my goodness, he looked, he said, what did you do to your hair? And he said something like, I don't remember specifically, but oh no, it's it's like you're being bald or something. And it crushed me. I had never thought about daddy's response. Yeah. I was thinking about how I finally wore mommy down to do what she wanted to do. Do what I wanted to do. That was the first time. And then when I went away to college, that was the first time I had an afro. And I, you know, like like the other black students. Oh yeah, I mean it was like the 70s, right? Oh, yes. Oh, he wasn't a fan of that either? Uh no. No, okay. Neither of my parents were a really fan of of that. It was, it was, but it was the style of the time. I had a lot of hair. Right. And so I had this, as many other students on campus, this big afro. And they looked at me and thought, what, what, what are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 5:27

I'm surprised my grandmother, because she never wore her, she wore her hair. She wore her hair in an afro. I mean, yeah, it wasn't a big, massive, right.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

She cut it. Mine was pretty big at the time. I you're with the style. I was with the style, and I hadn't mentioned it. You know, this is my freedom of being me on on the college campus. So there was that moment too. So parents have such an impact on how their children feel about themselves in terms of their look for a moment. And then you go on and you do you.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Yeah, you do you. That's so interesting. That's funny. I I don't think I'd heard that version of that story. Oh, yes, yes. I have some pictures like to show you the afro. Yeah. Um, and then as you were talking, I was trying to remember. I can't remember my father ever giving me any negative feedback about the way that I looked. Perhaps you all had to have some conversations as my style evolved and you were like, well, let me tell her, or something like that. But I my my how I remember my father is him really just that piece that you're talking about with my grandfather, just pouring into me in terms of like, I love you, you're beautiful. Right. And um, yeah. So did you guys have to have conversations about my my hairstyle in particular?

SPEAKER_02 6:37

But I know for a fact my overall style, but but my hairstyle or I can um let me bring you to a moment when uh the very second or third time you had to go to the hairdresser. Oh yeah. And you decided to go you did not like going to the hairdresser because you had long, thick hair. Yeah. And so your father decided that he would take you. He volunteered, he said, let me let me take her and and drop her off. But he didn't take you and drop you off. He took you and he wanted to stay there because you were so nervous. Well, drama. Yeah, you had a lot of drama because you kept saying that drama and trauma. Well, you said she was hurting your I'm tenderheaded. Well, I know you are tenderheaded. I You've got to have a light touch. Um so after that experience, the hairdresser asked for him not to bring you back because he stayed and because she said you acted out even more. You were about five years old at that point.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

So um that's also something that never leaves you, you know, being um tenderheaded and being in your hairdresser's chair and having it pulled and styled. And I don't think I was acting out. I think I was acting in the moment. You think so? Yes, it was true to how I was feeling. Okay. Well, let me just say that that is the moment that I remember in terms of the remaining ally in my hair experience. That's awesome. Great story. Yeah, yeah. And I'll just read one last uh one last comment on that from one of our viewers. This is a brilliant testament to how important we are in our kids' lives. So much of our children loving themselves come from how we show up day in and day out. Kudos to Jay-Z for doing what needs to be done. To all the rest out there, keep it up. We teach lessons that will last long after we leave this earth. Absolutely true.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

And we do appreciate those comments. So we ask you all to continue commenting on things that you like, things you agree with, things that you don't like, because we believe it helps the dialogue, the conversation, and it helps to move us forward and helps to move our culture forward in supporting one another.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Yes. Yes. Conversations are critical. Conversations are cool. Honesty is critical. Honesty is critical. Yes. And sharing your experience. There's nobody else that has that experience. So it's what makes you uniquely you, and it's a part of the gift that you can give to others.

SPEAKER_02 8:53

And we think that the Raise by Herf platform, right here on this couch, whether you are watching us on YouTube or listening to us, allows us to be able to dig deep into some of those lessons and the legacies of who we are, what we are, and our history. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

Um, hot topics. There was a lot going on this week. Um, this was certainly a week full of culture and commentary. Okay. Um, and so uh we're gonna talk about things that seem all over the place. We have some personal stories with and connections to each of the stories, but we have a lot to choose from, which was which was fun. You're just nodding, like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, Donna. All right. So, did you happen to see um the articles and feedback that Oprah received based on one of her keynote speeches at the Cannes at the Cannes Festival?

SPEAKER_02 9:45

I was interested in the Cannes Festival um because my familiarity with Cannes had to do with the Cannes Film Festival, which has been going on for a number of years, and having been in black film and black theater, um I I knew about that. Uh, I did not know that there was a uh an event that happened after the film festival, which a lot of uh black celebrities, athletes, and many people who are in black culture actually attend. And that's where Oprah had a comment. So I was familiar with the fact she was there. I was not familiar with the story that she told that really started being controversial.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

So she was at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, uh, and it's held in France every June. And that's actually the festival I'm more familiar with, and not so much the film festival.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Oh, really? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Um, but for folks who aren't aware um of what the Cannes Festival of Creativity is, think of like Super Bowl, Coachella, and the Oscars all rolled into one for corporate marketing and media executives.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

Okay, so that's why Oprah was there and why um the superstars in a sense of culture were there as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Yes. So executives, brands, global brands, creatives, creators, um, all descend on the French Riviera every year for this festival. So Oprah was invited and she did a headline keynote. And I think it's important to mention that this keynote was get being given directly to creatives and um content uh creatives and um creators, because I think it gives some context to her, to why she might have said what she said. Okay. Um, but the the vibe of her speech was focusing on how to use your influence responsibly and how to show restraint and how to build trust with your audience.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

So see, I really like that context because what that means is there's some authenticity to what it is you're responsible for saying and some uh I think credibility, hopefully, for what you're sharing. Okay, go ahead. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

So um one of the examples that she used to make one of her points was um that dur in 20 in 2009, uh Whitney Houston had an appearance on her show. And from Oprah's telling of the story perspective, perspective, okay, Whitney relapsed and she was high and she ended up falling off the stage. And so she could have utilized that moment and I mean her her show was doing fine and she has good ratings to play. But it could have Oprah could have utilized um that moment and not kept it a secret and uh you know, probably had even greater ratings and have just utilized the moment in a different way. Instead, she chose to tell her studio audience um to not share this. Like, please don't share this. Um, this we want to keep this under wraps. This is um not a moment that we want highlighted. Okay. And so I can appreciate that perspective. This uh her telling the story very much has folks divided. I mean like 50-50. So um if you are team Oprah in a sense, um you are saying that this was a really good example of um how to behave responsibly and how to protect uh your guests. And you couldn't, the impact of the story would have been lost if she didn't utilize Whitney Houston's name. Um she couldn't say, you know, I just had a celebrity and this is what happened to them, and so I protected them by this. The a part of the power of the story is how um important Whitney Houston, how big and famous Whitney Houston was um or is. Uh she they also say that uh Oprah telling that story wasn't her highlighting Whitney's addiction. Like she they were she wasn't revealing anything new. Everybody was aware that Whitney Houston struggled with addiction.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

And we know that that in Whitney's career that there were highs and lows. We know that there were starts and stops. We also know that there were people in her circle of influence that um people really um I I think decided were influencing her in a negative way, and that's why she would go back on drugs. I mean, there was a lot of controversy with the Whitney story and how it was impacting her career. It was a struggle. It was a real struggle. So I I can appreciate Oprah uh Oprah's discretion in 2009 in deciding not to reveal that story. Why, why now? Why as an example?

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Why now? Uh well, okay, let's get into the why now of it because that's a part of what people are criticizing Oprah for. They're saying that this is awful timing and that she revealed the story because uh Whitney has passed away, and so there's no opportunity for a defamation lawsuit. And they are also saying that she uh, which I actually think the timing is interesting. I don't think, who knows, but I don't think that Oprah would have told this story if Whitney were still alive, if her mother was still alive, if her daughter was still alive. I mean, this is, you know, this is now kind of like past, very much past news, if you will, from my perspective. And it was an example of just being discreet about what it is. Right. It was an example in the broader context. This whole speech wasn't about this particular thing. All right. Um the backlash that Oprah is receiving is uh led directly by Whitney's estate, Pat Houston, um, her former hairstylist, Tiffany Dixon, and um a very like protective fan base uh of Whitney. And we are Whitney fans. Yes, we are. We are Whitney stands, actually. Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

Um but the We're Whitney fans, and we stand behind her because she had extreme talent. Oh, absolutely. She was she was someone who could back her back it up. She didn't need to have all of the instruments and everything. She could she could do it a cappello. She and from a youngster all the way through her career, she was uh not only a diva but a star, and she was absolutely beautiful and multi-talented. So there will never be another like her. Not with that voice, oh no.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Um I will always, always we always always, always love you. Yes. Um Pat Houston released a statement saying that uh Oprah's recount of that incident was inaccurate and that Whitney was not high during that engagement, and that she tripped and fell because that area of the stage was dark and she was unfamiliar with it. And she criticized Oprah for uh focusing on the hardship, some of the hardships of Whitney's life versus focusing a story on uh some of the highs of Whitney's life.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

Okay, so now I I would wonder, did um did Pat who did she hear Oprah's entire speech? Or was that this is you know, or just as a clip, because you know, sometimes we're criticized highly for um things that we say when people are just looking at the clips and not hearing the whole context of of the story. So what we do know about Whitney is what we just shared, that she had highs and lows and she had challenges. Uh it's it seems to me that because this happened with an audience, uh, she was on stage. There are other people who were there. Uh I I think I read someplace that that um this was during a sound check and not really during the tape, not during the taping of the um the Oprah show at that point. There are a lot of witnesses. So if if if people want to go back and say this is what it was or this wasn't what it was, I think that's they now have license to do so. They do because it's been lifted. Yes, it it's um it's a time and space. Um if the question is, do you think that it's okay to use an example like that? Yes, I do. There you go. Because I think it gets the attention of people about what Oprah's uh broader context was supposed to be. She is saying, use your platform, use your voice, use your stage to be able to help a problem or help solve a problem, and you don't always have to take advantage of other people's challenges or downfalls and then make a name for yourself. And in today's world, in social media, more often than not, people will decide to move it forward for their own gain. Oprah did not do that at that point. So um, wow, but you say people are really split a lot. 50-50. 50-50. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

So I'd be like, Yeah, we'd like to we'd like to know what other people think as well. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I I'm very curious to to hear what our audience thinks about this. They think that this was a good example that really drove home the point of utilizing your platform responsibly and showing restraint and building trust. Or do you think it was an inappropriate example? And if so, I'm curious to know why. Why?

SPEAKER_00 19:19

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

Well, thank you for sharing that. Uh it it makes me think of the many times that I have interacted with stars and superstars, both in a positive way and in a negative way. And what I used to do generally is just sit down and talk with the record representatives from the various uh record companies about the problems that my programmers um or that my staff, executive staff were having with whoever it was. We didn't then go and tell the um the other stations and the other people that, you know, so-and-so did this or acted a certain kind of way, or that their writers were completely and totally ridiculous, because some of the things that our stars ask for would just make you wonder why.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Well, okay, so this is good. Which what's the can you remember the craziest writer that one of um the celebrity artists had?

SPEAKER_02 20:19

I don't know if the the craziest, but um, because we had a certain dollar amount that we were spending on our festivals. In in Dayton, Ohio, we used to have a large festival called the Fly City Music Festival. It was fabulous. And so this was in the 90s, and so we had several stars and superstars and the new talent coming in. We had a good mixture. We started early in the morning and we would go to um late evening, and we had many acts coming every hour. And so our record companies would come in and and bring some stars and some superstars. Some of the writers had things like um they want MMs, but they only want one color of MMs. So I'd had they would want staff members to then go into the MM bags and only and take out that's such an interesting request because all MMs taste the same the Skittles, you know.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Like I I could actually understand the Skittle scenario, different flavors, but all MMs are the same. I I have no idea.

SPEAKER_02 21:19

But but anyway, so that would be a a request. Um, because we had a lot of people coming in from various cities, the hotel rooms within the close proximity to the park might be all booked up. So let's say we had we we've blocked um 20 rooms in one hotel and 20 rooms in another hotel. Okay, so now all 20 rooms, and now one of the record companies will say, okay, now so and so can can make your festival. Well, the rooms are all taken up. So we have now a hotel that is not within close proximity, but we have to get another hotel room that has certain requirements. I d I just remember this specifically because We got the hotel room, and then I get a phone call that within the hotel room for one night for this particular festival, there were not doors on the closets of the hotel room. And the the star, the particular entertainer, did not want to stay in that hotel room because there were not doors on the closets in the hotel room. So I said, Is the room clean? The bed's okay. I wonder, I wonder what trauma that brings up for him. That's I have no idea. Uh so I I I think that there are just all kinds of things that were uh challenging in terms of some of the writers. Uh we usually had white towels for the performers. Well, some performers did not want white towels to wipe off their sweat. They wanted black towels because the white towels might leave um residue with on their beards. Um so we we would also try to accommodate the certain kind of uh water that people wanted. We would try to accommodate I get that water tastes different. Water tastes different. Um we did have um, I think it was, I don't know if it was Aretha Franklin. I can I can say this at one point, um, only wanted a certain color uh limousine, and so we had to go out of town and get a certain color limousine. Um so that's interesting. Differ different people, different riders, different situations for different people.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Interesting. Well, thank you for sharing that.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

Um hopefully I did not, my point is I did not, or my executives didn't then call the other radio stations and say, look, this person is I this person is being challenging in terms of what it is they're requiring of us. And we just want you to know that you're gonna have a problem with this person, or to be able to downgrade the artist because he or she was not being cooperative with that. Well, there'sn't there's no inside talk?

unknown 24:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

I didn't give each other a heads up. Well, there were probably some inside talk with my pro with my programmers. I say, but but I'm saying that. What's he just gonna look like? You really have to be, I I believe, authentic in what you passed along and then how you impact that artist's future and performances in the fut in in uh in relationships because radio was very much significant in the success of the artist as well.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

Uh sure. I I mean, yes, yeah, I can see that. I don't think that I I mean it's an interesting um point in terms of whose responsibility is it. Um you're it sounds like you are taking kind of some of the responsibility of the success of an artist on uh based on what their behaviors may or may not be. I would argue, although I realize it's a totally different time, um, that it is the responsibility of the artist uh to manage their behaviors and make it work for the industry that they want to be a part of.

SPEAKER_02 25:11

I agree with you in terms of the industry they want to be a part of, but uh it was a day-by-day person-by-person circumstance that we had to deal with that. And the reason why I brought up the Fly City Music Festival is because that was our biggest festival and we're dealing with multiple requests, multiple artists. Um we had to get um um multiple um those big vans that um multiple um mobile homes to be able to house the trailers. Yeah, the big trailers, yeah. So you you had requests within the trailers, and then you had requests outside the trail outside the trailer for their hotel rooms. And so all of it was uh a lot of logistics. A lot of logistics. But the staff did a great job and the record companies loved to loved our festival and to support us.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

And so it was and the community loved it. I mean I people still talk about it. They do I move away to come back and they're still talking about it. And they visit.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

Well, it was it was well done. It was something that in the 90s we didn't have anything like that in in our area, so people came from from all over from other states and never participated. I think our large our largest crowd way back then was like 25,000, and that was a lot back in the 90s.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

I think it's a lot now too. For all those folks who put together events of 25,000 plus, I think they would all say, Yeah, it's quite a bad. So we love doing it, so yeah. Um, okay, perfect. Well, um, moving on from Oprah Whitney and All Things Festival. All things festival. So I thought this was um, well, I think it's funny because I'm a consumer and I have this doesn't impact business at all. But um, according to the 2026 American Customer Satisfaction Index restaurant study was just came out, Jersey Mike's is now the new king of fast food customer satisfaction. And they have officially ended Chick-fil-A's historic 11-year streak at the top. And I thought I was like, wait, what?

SPEAKER_02 27:15

Well, when you sent me that particular uh clip and you said, you think we might want to talk about this, I thought, wow, this is great to know that Jersey Mike's has now moved into number one. One, because I haven't been to Jersey Mike, so now I'm going to have to go. I I have not had a Jersey Mike sub. So I will I will do that. I mean, I can go to Subways if I want a sub, but uh that was that was interesting for me. But Chick-fil-A is my go-to for chicken because I like that. I thought it was interesting in that story is the amount of time that you have to wait in line for your fast food orders, which was a part of this story as well.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

So the study evaluates thousands of customer surveys, but um they focus on freshness and quality, menu variety and value, and rapid quality expansion. So it makes sense that waiting in line would be one of the questions or one of the metrics that they use. Now, this is not to um uh diss Chick-fil-A in any way. They they missed out by a point. So they are still doing they're still doing very, very well they had a 11-year run.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

So to me that's uh that's not bad at all. But also Jersey Mike's has expanded. They opened several franchises, uh, I think over 200 throughout the United States this past year. And that was pretty impressive to me because what we get the indication of is there are more fast food places that are closing down. I know we've had several Wendy's that have closed in uh in this area. We've had a few McDonald's that have closed, and so especially in certain neighborhoods. So I was glad to see that there are franchises that are still uh doing well.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

It's I think this caught my eye as well because I, similar to you, had never been to a Jersey Mike's until a few years ago. My sister-in-law, I was down in Atlanta, and my sister-in-law ordered from there and she was like, You want Jersey Mike's? And I was like, Well, I've never had it. And it was like, What? Okay. Um but I also was like, eh, I'm glad you know they are doing well. But like to me, so when I think of subs like you, I think Subway, but then I know they've had their own share of challenges. So I now think Penn Station. Penn Station. Which is more localized, so it wouldn't be like a Park of a National Day.

SPEAKER_02 29:36

But I think Penn Station is um is good. What I think is is important about this story is that in a time when fast food is not really fast food anymore, we're talking about being able to get in and get out, but to have something that you like. This past week I went to an Asian fast food place. Let me see if I can get this name Pandically. No, no, no. It was fusion, few, few. And um, and I I was with um one of your your aunts and um her grandson, and they he wanted sushi. And so this is not a fast food shape. Well, it it's fast food in terms of uh um Asian food because you go in and everything is sort of automated to you, but it's it's set up like a subway or whatever. You can choose what you want. Oh interesting. That's what I kept saying. I then in an Asian restaurant that had this kind of uh this kind of food, uh, and then they had the bowls, and but it was all Asian food. Um and it made me think while I was there, because our cultures have changed and because society has really embraced more of we'll say the the sort of quick service. Um yeah, we're here for the convenience. Yes, yes. And so And that's not going away. No, no. So whatever your taste is, whatever your taste buds are, you can find someplace to go and you don't have to sit down and be served for an extended period of time. Um so I I had to do a deeper dive.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

I was like, well, we really like this story. I did well, so because fast food to me, I I'm not like a big consumer of fast food, but I do have two staples, which I'll talk about in a second. Because then I was like, well, where do they rank? Where are I, you know, I had all the questions. Okay. And then so Chick-fil-A, um, I also think that Chick-fil-A and Jersey Mars are in two different categories. You know, subs and chicken are two different. So just like hamburgers are different than chicken. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. So Chick-fil-A, to your point about that being your go-to, it's still outranked KFC, Raising Canes, and Popeyes. Sure. Okay, I could see that. Can you? Okay. I've never been to Raising Canes. I have once. Okay. You went straight by the I I went right back to Chick-fil-A. That is absolutely correct. And then I I hope I don't get kicked out of the culture for this. So um my first experience at Popeyes was in college when I was in Atlanta. Okay. And so that makes sense, down south. Uh so you know, everyone's kind of ordering their food. They're like, Donica, what do you want? And I was like, I've never eaten here before. I don't um so I was like, you know, what just we didn't have any Popeyes in in uh Ohio for a long time.

SPEAKER_02 32:18

For a long time. Okay, okay. So that that's I will I will tell you because we were all excited by the time when we got the first one.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Okay. Um so I just ordered a biscuit. And I also I think it's important to mention, give some context. I I'm not a huge carnivore, period. I line more towards the vegan, vegetarian. Right. So you were raised that way. So it was now, you know, we do eat chicken, but there are things that we don't. So okay, go ahead. Um, and so I remember biting into the biscuit, and it was delicious, but I was also like, oh, this could be a problem. Like it was so delicious that it could become addictive. And I didn't want to eat the chicken. All I wanted was a biscuit. So I was like, I cannot have a place that I go and just like order a bunch of biscuits and even it's counterproductive to where I'm wanting to go in the future. That's exactly right. So I understand that. That was I haven't been back to Popeye since.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

Well, I like Popeyes uh generally because of the the chicken was okay, but the sides were really cool because none of the other places had some of the sides that they that they used to serve at Popeye's. So I think it was southern and it it had a kind of taste, but also an opportunity to have something that was a little bit different. I mean, we've talked about it before. People like their chicken and they like it a certain kind of way. It is very, very uh, I think, uh culturally ingrained to be able to have your chicken in a certain kind of way. It's just like your uh your sweet potatoes or your yams are a certain way and your mac and cheese. You know, just don't mess up those kinds of of not mess up staples.

SPEAKER_01 33:48

Yeah, that's right. Okay. Okay. So can I give you how some other chains ranked? Okay. All right. So wait a minute, these are categories. So I want you there's the chicken category, there's the burger category, there's the subcategory. I'm about to walk through through all categories. I'm gonna go to top tier, middle tier, and then the the bottom tier. All right, give us that information. Give us the information. Okay. Because I was fascinated. Like I said, I need a deep dive. I'll get it. All right. Um, okay, so top tier Jersey mics, as we've just discussed, Chick-fil-A, Jimmy John's, and Panda Express. Okay. Were the four top tier? Um, I like Jimmy Johns and Panda Express. Yeah, they're okay. Yeah, I've been more than once. Sorry. Uh the middle tier, uh, KFC, culvers, and Burger King.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

Um, they're building uh culvers um here. Uh we have one other one here in our area. That's a pretty new chain for us. What do they even serve? Um if you know. Well, yeah, well, the the the meals that I've had, I've been there maybe two or three times uh and I've had their fish. So really good fried fish. But they have it's uh across the board. It's uh the food was good, it tasted um ready-made, if you will. Okay. And uh yeah, so you'll I think you'll probably like it. It's it's sort of family style. Never try it, but you know. Well um for the fish or talk to your husband about it. Okay, yeah, that's right. He's more adventurous. There's one night. Um there's one being built uh not too far from here now, and I just happened to drive by it the other. I thought, oh, they're building one close and uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

Okay. Um bottom tier, McDonald's and Dairy Queen were tied for the lowest scores across the major measured brands. I've never been to a Dairy Queen. Did they say why? Uh well, I mean, I just off of the metrics, I guess they just lack freshness and quality. Oh, okay. And lack menu variety.

SPEAKER_02 35:45

And I just they were fixed in in in 2026 since it. Uh they used to be the standard bearer, so uh McDonald's I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 35:53

Yes, I was actually surprised to see that. I yeah. I wonder if that that third tier of like rapid quality expansion, because I do find there's a difference. Like when you go to a McDonald's, I'm like, okay, there's a specific McDonald's I want to go to, and then there's some that I don't even want to touch.

SPEAKER_02 36:08

Um, what I found over the last few years in terms of a challenge with McDonald's is that their ice cream machines were always down. We have to end down seven times. Well, or I mean, it was and and I one place, another place, so I think they were having a real problem with that. Um, I like soft surf. Well, I like all ice cream machines. Yeah, I love ice cream. And so in the summertimes, I can just be riding on my way someplace and decide, I want a cone. So I'll go in and then they'll say me. Um, I'm sorry, that the machine is down. And I'm thinking, it was down two cities ago. Why is it down here? And uh so that that's a problem. I also think that in terms of Dairy Queen, that's why I go there because they they serve huge soft serve ice cream cones. And also in Dairy Queens, um, I really like their banana splits because they use the splits. They have banana. Oh, they go in on the desserts. Yeah, other food too, or is it dessert? Well, they they started expanding. They do have other food too, but I have not eaten the food there. I have only gone there for the ice and and desserts. Um, so um that's my familiarity with Dairy Queen.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

My go-to for fast food, and this is years in the running, is Chipotle and Panera. I know Panera is one for you. Yeah. Yeah. So where do they rank? Are they low? Right. Okay. They're both middle tier. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

So I was like, okay, there's yeah, I think uh fresh food there. Um I you I like the quality, uh I like the uh the service. Um I have not liked the price increases that they've had over the last few years, so I will tell you.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

For Panera. For Panera, but um even I don't think it's matched the quality. I think that's been my issue. The price increases, but then I'm like, but it's where where am I seeing these increases in terms of my customer experience? Overall, it's been challenging, I think so.

SPEAKER_02 37:52

Okay. Well, thank you for sharing that information.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

Yeah. I mean, I I can get excited about food. People think I don't get excited about food. I I can, particularly when it's centered around convenience.

SPEAKER_02 38:02

Yes. And fast food. There, there is the um I I think when you were growing up, you we did not go to a lot of fast food places. And so I could see where um you would say, well, you know, I I can go to college and I haven't really had these very experiences. So uh and that was a result of your grandmother saying that it's very important that you learn how to not only choose your food but to eat in certain kind of places. So, Grandmama, we appreciate the fact that you try to instill in both your granddaughter and your daughter, make sure the food that you choose is nourishing, it's good for you, and it's a part of keeping you healthy for that long life that you want to live.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

Not try to instill, she instilled it, she instilled it. I mean, I, you know. Yes. Mission accomplished, grandmother. There you go. There you go. Thank you. All right. So another thing that came onto our radar were some articles around Waymo. And I think it caught my eye, and then I just kept saying it over and over, because I had my first interaction with Waymo a few weeks ago when I was in San Francisco. But I I obviously had heard of the company, but I was like, what is, you know, um, then I didn't want to ask anybody because everyone else seemed to know exactly what these strange looking vehicles were. Yeah, with the these massive sensors. I was like, what in the world?

SPEAKER_02 39:23

And so are you familiar with it? I'd read news stories about them. I have not been inside one. Uh I was sort of fascinated years ago when uh the they were created and people in the larger cities were using this. So you want to give some background on what it is. Yeah. And but I've I haven't been in one. So when you were in San Francisco, you were inside.

SPEAKER_01 39:44

I wanted to, but nobody would, nobody would do it with me. Um and then I didn't I didn't want to, which very rarely stops me from doing anything, but um based on the overall schedule, that's all I can I couldn't take a joy ride on a Waymo and then kind of make the other meetings and things that I had to do. But other people, they were like, oh no, we don't do driverless cars, like we we hate them. And I had the exact I wanted to do it, and I was like, oh, I'd absolutely do this. And um it would take one of uh I have had positive experiences in Ubers and Lyfts, but sometimes I feel like the drivers can be a little chatty, even though they now have but I know I'm not the only one because they now have a function where you can tell people not to talk to you. Well, see, okay, there's a difference between us because I like the chatty um driver.

SPEAKER_02 40:36

Well, Waymo's not for me, no, but I like the chatty drivers because I get a good sense of where we're going, something about the neighborhood, something about the peop people. I want to know about where I am if I'm in a strange city, and to be able to experience that city, give me some information, not just from the people that I know there, but from the people I don't know there.

SPEAKER_01 40:54

I mean, that that's fair. I I guess I shouldn't say I always want to talk to somebody. Um it just depends on what else I'm doing.

SPEAKER_02 41:02

I was gonna say you're probably on your device. You know, I'm I'm not sitting there on my phone or on my device, just I just got on the phone.

SPEAKER_01 41:07

You're much more in the moment. I I very much in the moment, yes. So okay, what what's the Okay Wayhout? So so for folks who who are not familiar, Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company and it operates commercial fully driverless ride hailing services. And so you can um use an app to hail a robo taxi without a human driver in the front seat. And it is uh publicly commercially available in 10 US metropolitan areas, including San Francisco, LA, Phoenix, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Atlanta. So the reason that this uh article caught my eye, though, um was because was because Waymo has voluntarily voluntarily recalled almost 4,000 vehicles after multiple incidents where where their vehicles have entered freeway construction zones and drove past closure signs. And uh when they had to file with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, they were like, oh so sorry. There's a uh there was a flaw in our software. Um, and so it has been inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of freeway hazards and or recognizing construction zones. Now think about that.

SPEAKER_02 42:31

You're now sharing here in real time that the car with its without the driver is going into construction zones, not only in one place, but in several cities, because there is a defect in the software within the the car itself. That doesn't give anyone any kind of feeling of safety and security. Okay, okay, because I'm I'm saying let me just go back to say anything that doesn't have a person in that driver's seat that's driving it. I've told you this because you have a car that is what self-what is it called? Self-self-driving Tesla. Self-driving uh Tesla. And um it's it's kind of challenging. Just recently I there was a news story where one of the self-driving Teslas was in a very terrible car accident. You were telling me about this. Yeah, someplace out out um out west. And um someone was killed. But this the car was driving itself and it it uh rammed into a home and uh it it killed an uh an elderly lady in in the home. Uh and the the uh the driver who was in the car said that uh I mean, you know, they were devastated. Uh of course, very sorry that this happened, but the car just on its own went off course. So I'm saying that to to indicate that. we have to be really careful. And you when you're doing the selfless, not selfless, you're doing the self-driving. Eventually on selfless driving. Right, right. You do have to pay attention. In the news story, the the question was um what are the requirements? And you know the uh Tesla's technology requires the eyes to be a certain place and you and that you can't just be sitting there on your You heard my car yell at me. Well yes make beeping and and all that because I but I I'm I'm just thinking about what does this say about our attention span and what it is we're doing and the safety of these vehicles on the car. I'd like to know what other people think. If if you're listening to this conversation or or viewing us, let us know what do you think about this technology? How safe do you feel and do you agree that in this day and age we need to be uh a little more cautious as we move forward because what Waymo is getting ready to do is to go overseas too they're they're expanding their brand to other cities now larger cities um throughout the world.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

That's um I am so sorry to hear about um that death that that's awful. It is awful um our heart goes after family too because I I have some additional questions. And again I haven't I hadn't seen the the story or the article but being somebody that does do um self-driving often um and love it to your point there are a ton of um mechanics within that self-driving experience that require you to pay attention and so if I'm driving towards a home like you take over and it lets you know so I'm like was it malfunctioning like I don't I I'm I'm curious about um that and also at first when you were talking I was like I wonder who's responsible because it's self-driving but it would absolutely still be the driver. Like even when you're self when the car is driving itself as amazing as that is you still have the ultimate responsibility of making sure that you um and your vehicle are are doing so safely.

SPEAKER_02 46:07

The um the news story which didn't take a a super deep dive indicated that the driver was not found to be um incapacitated in any way uh the driver was you know was not intoxicated or uh and so uh they're under the whole thing is under fur further investigation and of course uh Tesla had come out with a statement that they were very sorry that this happened too but they believed that the vehicle was operating in the appropriate way. Oh really? But but everything was still under investigation because this was very early on. Gotcha they were reporting the story in in real time. My whole point is just we need to be cautious and we need to be more thoughtful and we need to make sure that as we move forward with with technology and AI that we're doing it not only responsibly but that we understand that there are perhaps uh there's a downside to this and I don't want to be in a a car that's going to take me into I'm I'm you know I'm in the back seat and all of a sudden we're going to into a zone that says road closed because it's under construction and I have no say so and I can't even say sir ma'am you're going into you know because is there a device in the back seat that allows you to maybe have to have a Waymo experience then come back and report back.

SPEAKER_01 47:26

Well I guess maybe I do because you have to honor one of those things. You know for this podcast I'm willing to do certain certain things but um yeah I don't know. You might draw the line there. Yes. Well I do just want to mention that the Waymo recall was triggered was triggered by 13 separate incidences which happened in April and May and they happen in Arizona and San Francisco. And I do feel like that is that's quite a bit of error to have your vehicle go awry 13 different times over a two month period. I can I can see why uh that was a challenge. But Waymo has had the appropriate response and one of the things I was paying attention to they were like okay we we we see it um and we have fixed the the bug or the error and so now our vehicles have been updated um to address that software issue. And that is one of the things I love about these I don't know what you call them tech cars or like self-driving cars because you don't have to take anything into a shop or anything unless there's some uh like physical issue. But it's literally that it's that like okay let me do this update. Okay, my car is now fixed within an hour and then you can just keep it moving. They can't even do that on our TVs.

SPEAKER_02 48:38

I don't know why they can do that on the phone. But but I I like the fact that the the corporation did come out with the statement take responsibility say we're gonna fix the problem owned up to uh their part of this and admit it that there is a problem.

SPEAKER_01 48:53

Yes well I also think like with these new technologies there you you're gonna run into two issues and uh a part of now I'm trying to remember back I do not have these statistics in front of me but the major cause of um traffic issues and driving issues is human error. Yeah. And so I I believe that these this technology is going to be helpful. That's what I believe. Now I can't speak for corporate interests or who is running these companies and and all the different challenges that that you know lie there. But I do think ultimately in this particular scenario I just think it it overall will be helpful. And I've had such a positive experience and it took me it took me a minute to adopt it for a whole host of reasons. We actually talked about it on past podcasts about my my entry uh my forced entry into into even having a Tesla and um but it's I don't know I just I find it to be helpful. But I also think one of the themes I'm seeing throughout all the stories we're talking about is responsibility.

SPEAKER_02 50:02

Well and I can honestly say that um because your father was uh an engineer um aeronautical engineer um he absolutely embraced new technology and when we would have conversations about the future what he would talk about is the excitement of being able to be a problem solver in the future he would say you know this is where we're going and this is how we're going to be able to solve some of the problems that we have in the world and this is going to benefit more than it is going to be a uh a problem and so I I remember those conversations didn't always understand what he was talking about. I will say that you know I want to say speak speak English you understand but um individuals who are that creative and who have I think that mindset are the kind of individuals who set us um those of us who have the opportunity to live longer lives set us on a trajectory to be able to see some exciting things but to live a better life if you can embrace if you will new technologies I just want people to do it responsibly.

SPEAKER_01 51:09

Yes that that's a fair ass doing it responsibly is a fair ass because I would I'd be very frustrated if in 2026 I was required to still travel by horse and buggy.

SPEAKER_02 51:18

Well I yeah well because everybody in the world is everybody we are navigating to evolve. Right so yeah so good good mindset and a good story. You know I I think um you've been sharing all these things one of the things that I wanted to uh share was um the fact that this past week one of um the icons in black journalism passed on uh his name was Tony Brown and Tony Brown was uh an individual who was uh he was an author he was a speaker he was not only uh a journalist but he was one of the frontbears of um black journalism in back in the 80s and 90s um he secured the first sponsorship of a large major company in 1977 for his Tony Brown's journal he was on PBS and because I worked for public broadcasting for a number of years I had an opportunity to meet him and he was a longtime um host and executive producer of Tony Brown's uh journal and uh in the 70s when he first started producing uh television uh it was not something that you would see on major broadcasting uh a black man who was an executive producer who was a journalist and who had an opportunity to interview all of the major individuals making an impact in in this country so he passed away this this past year but he did have the number one rated syndicated uh educational talk show um on PBS for a number of years. When he used to come to uh Dayton Ohio he would uh talk about the fact of our responsibility those of us who were in media back then and it wasn't a lot of people back in the in the um 70s and and and eighties but he would he would say that uh what we have to do is we have to make sure that our voices are heard in a way that people can hear us and understand us. And it reminds me of something that your your husband says often to me he says you know it's not preaching it's it's teaching but it's really just talking about certain things. And and I believe that that Tony had that kind of mindset in terms of what he did and how he went about it. He was also the catalyst for one of the shows that I produced called Like It Is that actually went on to to be on public broadcasting and so uh I am grateful for Tony Brown and his journal and his many visits to our area here in Dayton Ohio and the many lessons that he has given to black journalism and black America throughout his lifetime. So God bless him and his family.

SPEAKER_01 54:00

Yeah absolutely may he rest in peace and in power yes absolutely absolutely thank you for sharing that yeah well we have one more story that um would not leave my timeline. So I'm like okay okay okay we'll give our thoughts so um there's a JP Morgan Chase executive who um actually let me back up. All right so the New York Knicks won the championship. Absolutely you were watching um that whole series intensely yes so intensely yes yes all right and so to mark the historic occasion New York had placed custom limited edition blue and orange Knicks themed public trash can bins across the streets. Mm-hmm Holler Valley City yes they yes all right so a JP Morgan Chase executive um chose to tip over the specialized trash can dump all the trash out onto the street and then haul it away like carry it with her and like people like this video is almost like she set up the video herself like it was clear as day and she even rode on the subway with it. And so people are like what in the world like we can see you type thing and like what in the world as a result um she was terminated from her job and then she received a a small fine from for littering your streets and or stealing the the um trash bin or both she received a $175 fine from the New York City Department of Sanitation for littering and impeding operations but faced no criminal charges. But people are like why would you do this? So they did a deeper dive on her and found out that but they believe her executive salary to be around like 3000 ish. And so they were like so you chose to make a momentary decision and lose your corporate salary for for what reason? And then there was discussion around like is it fair that you can lose your job when you are not actually at the job doing your and I my res I was like yes yes everybody if you think for whatever reason that you let go. Or yeah for your behavior while you are not actually at your job you are mistaken.

SPEAKER_02 56:32

You know what and she was dressed in all of the Nick's um paraphernalia she had the hat on she had the shirt on I mean she was obviously a Knicks fan I you absolutely represent not only where you work but you represent I think a lot of other things about the culture of the place you work to what the rules and regulations are. I I didn't read the story that you're talking about uh for the uh in terms of the questions but I do believe that even when you're off the clock you're representing who it is that you work for. Yes yes it's yeah something to to keep in mind yes I I I also I used to say to uh our radio station employees on a regular basis um you represent uh Haw Sanders Broadcast properties in addition to representing yourself and your conduct when you're out and about whether and and because we were in entertainment so you're you're going to bars you're going to festivals you're going to lots of different celebrations just remember that people will choose to listen to us or not listen to us as a radio station based upon our conduct and not everybody is perfect and people do make mistakes but this was an intentional act that this particular person I think ma'am we can see you right she was very walking she did she could go by a a a uh yeah she could I mean this got millions and millions of views across uh social media so uh many many many people saw her do this and she was sir her job to because it posts like really went and they did a deep dive she was the executive director of community and industry engagement for card and connected commerce I'm not quite sure what I would say but I also feel like that's very JP Morgan case they they give these uh really interesting titles I feel like they focus more on the titles than they do on the salaries but still you said she she was making over $300,000 so like I'm saying allegedly that's what the internet was was well but but regardless of what she was making it's not appropriate to do that what what she did and it's not appropriate to decide then you're going to I I think uh litter the streets with anything you know when and you're the director of community and again a man okay exactly see this is this is where I this is where I used to say to you all the time please think about the repercussions of the things that you do go out have fun enjoy the moment but Donica please think about the repercussions and the people that are around you please say to them if I lose my mind for a moment please bring me back to sanity you know because that's what I used to say to my friends you know we're gonna go we're gonna have a good time we're gonna but if one of us decides to lose our mind just allow somebody to please please help keep the group in yes yes you know be be be your brother's keeper here so because there was someone with her uh in the video I saw someone you know why didn't that person say uh you know maybe we shouldn't do this well I think maybe she she must have gone there with the intent I mean she was very focused.

SPEAKER_01 59:51

Yes um okay but anyway I guess our point that whole again I feel like this has been an episode on responsibility.

SPEAKER_02 59:58

Perhaps that is the best way to say it. Live a responsible life think about your actions think about the repercussions um have fun do the right thing but still there can be I think extenuating circumstances where people take the risk and it's not worth it.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:14

And yeah it's it's not worth it. So I I'm curious to hear um what our viewers and our listeners did they see this story? Did it come up on their feeds? I'd be surprised if it didn't because like I said it was everywhere. But what are your thoughts when you when you watch this happen and then when you saw the additional context around who this person was um or is uh I've I'm curious to get people's people's thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:40

Why would someone can't make the conscious decision to do that? That yeah I'm helps us understand yes yeah really I mean we really have that it really surprises me in at this day and age. So um good.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:53

Busy week coming up yes okay somebody um I was at a dinner um on on Friday and so they were talk talking about their weekend plans and they were like so what are you doing this this weekend Donica and actually I hadn't given it like a ton of thought like I knew we had this and then I have like all this prep I need to do for next week and I was like well now I have to think about it. So thank you for bringing that up but uh yeah a busy week coming up but all good things.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:21

Good that's wonderful well that's what we want we want you Donica and we want everyone who listens to us and those who watch us to live a life you love.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:30

Yes live a life you love and please continue to like subscribe comment and one of your comments might even get read on the podcast. We will see you next week.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:41

Take care bye bye she's got wisdom she's got deck she's got questions she's got let's gonna lie with the comment that's the key of the mother