The Audio File: Mija

I always found tales of immigrants to be fascinating. They offer a window into a world that I can only imagine. I often find myself pondering several questions. What would it be like to leave behind the land of my birth? What would it be like to try to assimilate into a totally different culture? What, if any, aspects of my own culture would I preserve and pass on. The audio drama we’re reviewing today deals with these questions, and a lot more. It is the tale of immigrants; their trials and tribulations, their triumphs and tragedies. We’re taking a look at Mija from Studio Ochenta. 

Mija is a story about families of immigrants. Those alive, those long gone, and those still dreaming. Each season is a self-contained story that follows a different family of immigrants. Season one follows a Colombian family in New York, season two follows a Chinese-Vietnamese family in Paris, and season three follows an Egyptian family in London. The story of each family is told by its own Mija, which means “my daughter” in Spanish.

As I said in the intro, stories of immigration have always fascinated me. The Italian part of my dad’s half of the family came to America via Ellis Island, and eventually found their way to New Orleans. We don’t know too much about the German and Irish parts. Meanwhile, my mom’s side of the family has been here since before the American Revolution. In fact, I had a few ancestors who were part of Jamestown. As is often repeated, all Americans, except for Indigenous people, have ancestors who came here from other lands. It was an interesting experience listening to Mija when I did. Immigration has become a hot-button issue as of late.

So, a bit of terminology before we got forwards. The narrators of season one and two are both called Mija. For the sake of convenience, we shall differentiate them as New York Mija and Paris Mija. Technically, the narrator of season three is also a Mija, but she’s more often referred to as Binty, which means roughly the same thing in Arabic. So, we shall call her Binty.

Season one is, in my opinion, the best of the three main Mija seasons. Season one is a very personal story for Studio Ochenta founder Lory Martinez. She drew upon her own experiences and the stories of her family, with some embellishments, to craft season one of Mija. Unsurprisingly, Lory also provides the voice of New York Mija. It was also from season one that I learned where Studio Ochenta got its name from. New York Mija grew up on Ochenta Street in Queens. I wasn’t familiar with that street. So, I looked it up, and realized that I actually did know it, because Ochenta means Eighty in Spanish. It was in that moment that I knew I had brought shame upon all of my Spanish teachers. And to my mom, who lived in the Panama Canal Zone for a few years during her childhood.

Getting back on topic, I could tell from the first episode that this was a very personal story for Lory Martinez. There was love and affection in every aspect of season one. The way she describes New York and Bogota paints such a vivid picture. I felt like I was there along with the characters. The story of season one is not only a tale about immigration, but also a tale about heritage and culture. We get the story of New York Mija’s parents, and how they made a new life in a new land. But we also get the story of her family members back in Colombia. In fact, even that ties into the theme of immigration. Several of Mija’s family members had to move from the Colombian countryside to Bogota as a result of violence from insurgency groups. It was scary, and hard at times, and certainly wasn’t what they planned for. And yet, they built new lives in a new home.

I often saw shades of my own family in New York Mija’s story. The scene where she reveals that she is part of a group text with several members of her extended family was super relatable. My aunt, uncle, and cousins all live in Temecula, which is a suburb of San Diego. So, naturally, we don’t get to see each other often. But we stay connected with the group text and phone calls. My parents are both from South Louisiana, but had to move to North Louisiana to find work as lawyers. For reference, North Louisiana and South Louisiana are basically two different states. My mom has talk about how hard it was for her to be away from her support network when I was first born. And yet, thirty years later, here we all still are. I also learned what a pollo chico is. It’s a chick that sticks very close to its mother hen. So, a mama’s boy, basically. Mija mentions that her dad and brother are both major pollo chicos. I guess I’m also a pollo chico.

Season one of Mija is a story of surviving and thriving, but there is also a strong undercurrent of melancholy throughout it all. For example, Mija’s maternal grandparents weren’t able to attend her parents’ wedding because the U.S. embassy rejected their visa applications. Then there’s also the reasons why the episodes tend to be ten minutes long. Mija’s father worked as a taxi driver, and often long hours at that. Oftentimes, Mija only had ten minutes each morning to really spend time with him. In the final episode, Mija talks about how her extended family doesn’t often get to be together because of how spread out everyone is, and how difficult travel can be. She also reiterates that many immigrant families face this problem as well.

But there is also hope. Throughout season one we are introduced to the concept of el cacumen. It’s kind of like good luck, but there’s more to it than just that. It's kind of like saying that things might be bad, but we’ll make it through somehow. Clearly, everyone who was part of season one of Mija had el cacumen on their side. The central question throughout Mija is, well, what is home? And where is home, for that matter? The answer that Mija goes with is that, where you have family and friends who love you, then that is your home.

I’m not the only person who thinks that season one of Mija is absolutely fantastic. Lory Martinez was interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered. She discussed the origins of Mija, and various behind the scenes details. There is a slight irony that Lory Martinez has become an immigrant herself. She moved to Paris in 2015, and it is where Studio Ochenta is based. Apparently, her family didn’t take it well at first, but they came to terms with it once they got to listen to season one of Mija.

Mija is not just devoted to its global scope purely in terms of story. Mija is available in multiple languages. Currently, English and Spanish are the only languages that all four seasons are available in. Seasons one and two are available in French, season two is also available in Mandarin, and season three is available in Arabic. However, Studio Ochenta is working to translate all four seasons of Mija.

With the success of season one, there was the obvious question of what to do as a follow up. There could still be more stories from New York Mija, but that didn’t seem right. Though, Studio Ochenta did eventually release a series of short vignettes set in the life of New York Mija and her family. But no, everyone decided that the story of Mija wasn’t just limited to a Colombian family in New York. There are plenty of Mijas all over the world. The question, then, was where to go next?

Studio Ochenta teamed up with Melanie Hong to tell the story of a Chinese-Vietnamese family living in Paris. Season two had some good ideas, and it certainly meant well. However, it was also plagued by some serious growing pains. It was pretty clear that the Mija team were still trying to figure out exactly what the podcast would be going forward. One theme they wanted to emphasize was the common connections between the stories of immigrants. This is all well and good, but the execution left something to be desired. Several bits of Paris Mija’s dialog are copied almost word-for-word from New York Mjia. This is most apparent in the episode that focuses on Paris Mija herself, and in the final episode, especially the twist at the end. We also get an episode where Paris Mija takes us on a tour of Paris; much as New York Mija showed us around Queens. Good idea, but again, undercut by the self-plagiarized dialogue.

I also feel that season two bit off more than it could chew. In season one, there is certainly a feeling that there’s more to the story of New York Mija’s family than we see. However, with season two, it feels like the Mija team tried to squeeze too many ideas into only eight episodes. Paris Mija is unique in that she has a multiethnic background. However, given the limited scope of the season, I felt we didn’t get to explore the two sides of her heritage as much as we could have. Also, her parents are divorced and she has a stepfather, but this doesn’t factor into the plot as much as you might think. Now, as far as narration, Melanie Hong tried, she really did. Unfortunately, she just couldn’t compete with Lory Martinez’s performance in season one. Part of that was down to the lackluster script, but part of it was due to English not being Melanie‘s first language. There were a few times it was kind of hard to understand her, and I had to rewind the podcast a few times.

Now, I want to be clear here. I did not hate season two. It had it’s flaws, to be sure, but it also had plenty of moments where it shined, especially in the later episodes. That all being said, there was still a lot of room for improvement, and I consider it to be the weakest season of Mija.

It would seem that the Mija team were well aware of the need to iron our the kinks. I’m happy to report that season three saw a notable improvement in quality, and a welcome return to form. I’d also like to take a moment to say how grateful I am that the protagonist of season three had a name other than Mija. It makes writing this review that much easier. Season three is structurally inverted compared to its predecessors. The previous seasons start with Mija, then her brother, her parents, a cousin, her grandparents, and then a family reunion. In season three, we go in reverse order. Occasionally, I had trouble keeping track of who was who, but it didn’t take me long to get the hang of things. In other inversions, instead of a force of good fortune, like el cacumen in season one, we get the evil eye, the bringer of woe and misfortune. Binty’s family always tries to remain humble, and avoid boasting, for fear that they may attract the gaze of the evil eye.

The narration also saw a notable step-up compared to last season. Rana Abdelhamid overall does an excellent job with the narration. My only issues is that Binty has lived most of her life in London, but doesn’t have even the slightest trace of a British accent. It just seems a bit odd. Binty also differs in how her story came to be. Unlike the previous season, there’s not a single writer. Rana Abdelhamid and Mona Elboghdadi are the head writers, while Sadia Azmats and Alya Mooro acted as cultural consultants about the Arab/Egyptian-Londoner experience. So, I would assume that Binty contains elements of all four women, making her something of a Franken-Mija.

Binty and her brother move to New York towards the end of the season. I was wondering if New York Mija was going to make an appearance, but no, this never happens. I suppose that was for the best. Season three is supposed to be Binty’s story; there’s no reason to tie it into the stories of the other Mijas. On that topic, season three did a much better job of showing the common connection among the experiences of Mijas and their families. I felt that it did so in a far more organic way than season two did. There’s no repeated dialog to be found. The episodes are also slightly longer than in the first two seasons. This gives season three a bit more breathing room to tell its story.

Another difference I noticed is that we don’t get an episode where Binty takes us around London. In fact, Binty, and to a lesser extent her family, seems to have something of a disdain for London. We get plenty of loving descriptions of life in Alexandria, but not really any of London. In previous seasons, the Mijas and their families took great pride in their new homelands. The previous Mijas also embraced themselves as the blending of multiple cultures. Binty, by contrast, considers herself to be Egyptian first, and everything else second. Binty mentions that, when she was younger, she tried really hard to assimilate. Then, later in life, she really threw herself into her Egyptian heritage. Though, the impression I got was that she simply swung from one extreme to the other. Compared to the other Mijas, Binty seems to still be struggling to come to terms with her identity, and isn’t totally comfortable in her own skin.

Season three puts more of an emphasis on the bigotry and prejudice that Binty and her family had to overcome. We do get hints of this with the other Mijas, but its more of a background detail. This does add to season three having a more distinct tone compared to its predecessors. That said, I felt that it got laid on a bit thick at times, and occasionally things got a tad preachy. I would argue that season one worked in part because it took a somewhat understated approach when it tackled serious issues. I also have to ding one scene in the episode about Binty’s mom. She grew up in Alexandria, but moved to London to work in the egyptology department at the British Museum. One of the things that strikes her when she moves to London is that she see Muslim women wearing hijab outside of mosque and prayers. Uh, do what now? I find it hard to believe that she wouldn’t have seen that plenty of times in Egypt.

Honestly, though, those two points are really my only critiques of season three. It was a noticeable step up from season two. Season three didn’t quite reach the same heights as season one, but it got very close, and proved to be a worthy successor.

There’s also a spin-off miniseries called Mija Música. It is something of an unofficial fourth season of Mija. It is a notable departure from the main series in terms of style. It follows a young man named Gavilán. He lives in New York, but he is originally from Monterey, Mexico. He has found himself back in Monterey due to his grandfather’s Lolo’s funeral. Lolo was a musician who had a passion for Colombian vallenato music. Gavilán is determined to investigate his grandfather’s music career. Along the way, he’ll explore the history of vallenato, and discover some secrets about his grandfather.

Like I said, it's different, but that’s not a bad thing. I wasn’t familiar with vallenato music, but I had fun learning about it. The episodes are a bit shorter than in the main Mija seasons. Speaking of music, I also wanted to take a moment to discuss the use of music in the main Mija seasons. Each season uses music from its respective immigrant culture to help set the mood. It was one of those little touches I appreciated, and it helped give each season its own feeling. And that is most certainly true of Mija Música as well. You’ll be well acquainted with the many styles of vallenato by the time the miniseries is over.

We’ve had three seasons, and one miniseries, of Mija so far. I certainly hope that this is not the last we’ve heard from Mija. It tells the stories of families of immigrants. Those who leave the land of the birth to seek a better life, those who stay behind, and those with feet in both worlds. It is a celebration of community, culture, and the places we call home. It is absolutely fantastic, and I can’t recommend it enough. Give it a listen today.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Young Ben Franklin: Welcome to New York

Sometimes a great audio drama dies after only one season. Other times, an audio drama is specifically designed to be a limited series. Then, on rare occasions, there are shows that looked like they’d only last one season, but wind-up getting more seasons. We’re going to be taking a look at a show which falls in the third category. We’re taking a look at Young Ben Franklin: Welcome to New York. 

When we last left our hero, fourteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin was about to depart from Boston to either New York City or Philadelphia. I assumed it would be the later, but it would seem that I was wrong. New York is a vibrant, but also very seedy and corrupt, city in 1722. Ben’s going to need all of his wits and cunning if he’s going to stay out of trouble. Along the way, he’ll make some new allies, and several new enemies. There’s plenty of thrills and adventures to be had in the next exciting chapter of young Ben Franklin’s life.

Well, I have to be honest, I was not expect this to be the Gen-Z Media show to get a sequel. Don’t get me wrong, season one of Young Ben Franklin was absolutely fantastic, and I loved it. However, the ending felt like it tied everything together pretty well. There weren’t any dangling plot threads, or hints that a new season might be on the way. But then there’s been exciting things happen behind the scene at Gen-Z Media. Gen-Z Media was recently purchased by Wondery. They’re a podcast network that has help make several fantastic shows such as 1865, Imagined Life, Blood Ties, American History Tellers, and a pretty good adaption of The Handmaid’s Tale. To any parents reading this, I must here warn that most of the shows I just mentioned are decidedly not kid-friendly. 

Anyway, funnily enough, it wasn’t all that long ago that Wondery got purchased but Amazon. So, this means more money all around. And more money means more audio dramas. I wonder what other Gen-Z Media shows will be getting new seasons? I hope this means we won’t have to wait as long for season three of The Natureverse.

Some of you will probably note that Benjamin Franklin never visit New York City during his youth in real life. Old Ben notes, towards the end of the season, that this is one of the events that didn’t make it into the history books. So, you can view Young Ben Franklin in general as the untold story of the lost years of Benjamin Franklin. Well, assuming that Old Ben can be trusted, and isn’t embellishing/fabricating any details.

Ben makes new allies in the form of some local ne’er-do-wells called The Dirty Dogs. They’re pretty clearly a stand-in for Ben’s friends from season one, The Wharf Rats. Though, there are a few slight differences. The Dirty Dogs are headed by a charismatic Irishman named Danny Quinn, who doesn’t really have an equivalent within The Wharf Rats. Well, perhaps he parallels Ben himself to an extent. Danny is extremely quick-witted and can talk his way out of just about any situation. He also crafts incredibly intricate plans, often on the fly, but always manages to pull them off. I think my favorite member of The Dirty Dogs was Ruby. She’s the token girl of the group, but she’s streetwise and tough-as-nails. She’s can be a bit jerk at times, and is very snarky towards Ben, but is also kind of endearing. In fact, she’s the first person Ben encounters upon arriving in New York. She pretended to be in need of help, but then mugged Ben at knifepoint after she lured him into a back alley.

In other characters, there’s Hannah. She is a free person of color, and hopes to open the first school for black children in New York. Hannah is a fictional character, and thus, her plan is doomed from the start. Young Ben Franklin has its fun, and bends historical events slightly, but tries to be reasonably true to the historical record. But hey, her granddaughter gets to attend New York’s first school for black children in 1794, so, not a total bust. Overall, I thought that Hannah was reasonably well written. That being said, I found there were a few times the dialogue got a tad clunky. When Ben first meets Hannah, she sasses him around and launches into a lecture about how being a slave is very different from being an indentured servant. Okay, fair point, but it could have been delivered in a far more organically. I’m not a big fan of delivering messages didactically. I find to be lazy, and bad writing in general.

On the other hand, I liked how this season touched on more serious issues, such as the legacy of slavery in Early America. When we think of slavery, we tend to think of places below the Mason-Dixon Line, such as Charleston or New Orleans. However, many Northern states also practiced slavery prior to, and even several decades after, the American Revolution. Many streets of New York and Philadelphia were built using slave labor. The dockside of Manhattan used to be home to a fairly large slave auction. Quite ironic in the case of Pennsylvania, which later become a major stop on the Underground Railroad. New York granted gradual manumission starting in 1799. Full abolitions of slavery in New York was finally achieved in 1827.

Personally, I think that it is good that Young Ben Franklin touches on these issues. In many ways, America’s schools still don’t do a proper job teaching about slavery. Some people say that isn’t patriotic, but I disagree. It is perfectly patriotic to learn from the mistakes of our past. How else will we be able to build a truly better future for all Americans?

I won’t give away the villain of the season. However, I will say that the twist was both refreshing and genuinely surprising. I did not see it coming. So, hats off to Gen-Z Media for that.

There are four mini-episodes that preceded that main episodes of Welcome to New York. They are an interview with historian, and Benjamin Franklin scholar, Dr. George Boudreau. He talks about all sorts of interesting facts about the real Benjamin Franklin. For example Benjamin Franklin invented the world’s first swim fins. This fact winds up getting working into the main show. Swimming was one Benjamin Franklin’s favorite forms of exercise. Another fun fact is that printing presses required a lot of upper body strength to operate. As such, Benjamin Franklin was quite muscular in his youth. We also learn about some of Dr. Boudreau’s own escapades. For instance, he once discovered one on Benjamin Franklin’s original lightning rods at an excavation at Liberty Hall in Philadelphia. He was moved to tears by the thought that he was holding something that Franklin himself once touched. Some tourist were walking by, including a small boy who said “Daddy, a fat man fell into a hole in the ground, and now he’s crying.” ‘

Dr. Boudreau also educates listeners about Benjamin Franklin’s personal failings. Later in his life, Benjamin Franklin spoke out again slavery, and was the president of an abolitionist society. Despite this, he also owned five or six slaves over the course of his life. And yes, they were slaves, not freemen. Franklin’s letters to his wife make that very clear. It is certainly important to praise Franklin for his achievements. Indeed, there is much to celebrate about the man. At the same time, it is also important to acknowledge his shortcomings as an individual.

Unfortunately, the main show fails to do the latter. True, Old Ben does mention that he regrets that he didn’t speak out against slavery sooner. However, he also fails to mentions that he owned five or six slaves. I get why Gen-Z Media probably did this. It would be kind of hard to root for Young Ben if the listeners know he will grow up to be a slave owner. All of his speeches about liberty and freedom would certainly ring a bit hollow. It would also give the unfortunate impression that he got sick of Hannah bossing him around, and tried to get revenge on her by proxy.

Overall, however, I was very pleased with Young Ben Franklin: Welcome to New York. It would seem that Young Ben will be on many more adventures in the relatively near future. In fact, we’ve got a Halloween Special on the way. I wasn’t expecting Young Ben Franklin to be getting any sequels, but I’m excited to see where the story goes. We need more quality historical fiction aimed at kids. Young Ben Franklin is certainly doing its part to bring a quality historical fiction audio drama experience for the whole family to enjoy.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Harlem Queen

 As you may have gathered, I listen to a lot of podcasts, especially audio dramas. Having such a packed listening schedule means that it sometimes takes me a while to get around to certain shows. But, as the saying goes, good things often come to those who wait. That brings us to the audio drama that we'll be reviewing today. We're taking a look at Harlem Queen.

Harlem Queen takes place in the 1920s during the height of the Harlem Renaissance. Unsurprisingly, then, it is set in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. It follows Madam Stephanie St. Clair. She ran numerous gambling institutions, which some might refer to as criminal enterprises, given that they operated outside of the law. She invested this money back into the Black community, and supported several Black artists and entrepreneurs.  She  was also a social activist who advocated for great equality for Blacks. The audio drama follows Stephanie's life as she keeps rival gangs, such as the Mafia, out of Harlem, and wrestles with her personal demons.

Harlem Queen is created Yhane Smith. It was funded by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. As I understand it, the grant was to provide money for works of art relating to the history of New York City, especially Manhattan. Thus, we have a wonderful historical fiction audio drama set in 1920s Harlem. It is great to see arts funds supporting quality audio dramas. We really need more of that. It would be really nice if Louisiana, the state I live in, had a similar program, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

As I have already noted, this audio drama was well worth the wait. I'd never heard of Stephanie St. Clair before listening to Harlem Queen, but now I want to find out more about her. Apparently, many of her gambling operations we based around Policy Banks. I'm still not entirely sure what Policy is, but from what I've been able to gather, you place bets on numbers, and you have to get three right to win a prize. How much you bet is up to you, and you can do something where you win if you only get two, but you get less money. Also, you have people called Numbers Runners going around collecting people's bets, and telling everyone what the winning numbers are. Somehow this was able to generate wealth within the Black community. Again, I'm not entirely clear on how it all works.

You guys know I'm a sucker for historical fiction, so I was instantly draw to this audio drama. Interesting that Policy plays such a big role in the plot. Bronzeville, another historical fiction audio drama that also involves a highly successful Black community funded by Policy; albeit in 1940s Chicago, rather than 1920s New York. 

Anyway, back to Harlem Queen. The show being set during the Harlem Renaissance means that Stephanie runs shoulders with several notable Black writers and artists. For example, Langston Hughes appears in one episode at a gala that Stephanie is hosting. I love pretty much all the writers of the Harlem Renaissance, but I've always had a soft spot for the works of Langston Hughes, so I very much appreciated this.

In other cameos, at one point Stephanie has a brief chat with Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston is going back to her home state of Florida to collect the testimony of former slaves as part of a book she's writing. Though she can't think of a name for the novel at the moment. Stephanie suggests Their Eyes Were Watching God, but Zora dismisses it as too wordy; though she promises to give it thought. Joke being, that's the name she eventually settled on.

Season one's primary storyline involves Stephanie working to keep the Mafia out of Harlem. Besides protecting her investments, Stephanie does have altruistic reasons for this. The Mafia have made it very clear that they want to sell hard drugs in Harlem. Stephanie might run a Policy Bank, and isn't averse to indulging in a little alcohol, because Prohibition is in full-swing after all. However, she draws the line at things that are actively harmful, in a major way, to her community.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed season one. My only complaint would be that I wished there had been more episodes. Thus far, each season of Harlem Queen has only had four episodes. The episodes also tend to be on the shorter side, so each season clocks in at about an hour or so. Don't get me wrong, it keeps things brisk and moving along at a good pace. I just love the show so much I wish there was more of it.

To talk about season two, I should probably discuss something I've left out til now. Stephanie has an illegitimate daughter named Michele. Michele is light skinned enough to pass as white, but doesn't know that she is half-black, or that Stephanie is her mother. Stephanie used to work as a maid for a wealthy family in Guadeloupe. Her employer's son had a...less than consensual relationship with her, which resulted in pregnancy. So, she moved to Canada, and then to America to make a new life. That would explain her French accent, which I often wondered about during season one.

Stephanie wanted to give Michele a chance at a better life. So, Stephanie set her up at a fancy boarding school and constantly showers her with gifts. Stephanie takes a rather different view of the whole "Spare the rod and spoil the child" line from the Bible. Her assistant even notes this, saying essentially "You know, that's not how my daddy interpreted it."  It might seem odd that Michele could pass a fully white, despite being half-black, but genetics doesn't always do what you expect it will.

Of course, all of this does come back to bite Stephanie. Her enemies eventually figure out that Michele is her daughter and plot to kidnap her. Stephanie's quest to get Michele back, and struggling with if she ought to tell her the truth about who she is, forms the plot of season two. Stephanie also has to do all this without anyone else discovering the truth. On a micro level, Stephanie's deceit has caused Michele to become very racist against black people; though she does soften a bit by the end of the season. 

Also, there a scene where Stephanie is hosting another gala, and examples of black food include fried fish and gumbo. I always associate gumbo as being a Louisiana thing, and not strictly a black one. Do other states, especially Northern ones, eat it too? I suppose it could be a side-effect of the Great Migration. Help me out in the comments if you know.

Right, I should probably explain about the Great Migration. During the 1920s, Black Americans in the South faced a number of misfortunes. Institutional racism, a series of nasty floods, and various other things did not make it a good time to be Black. So, millions of Black people collectively threw-up their hands and said "Screw this!" and moved to the North en masse. Make no mistake, there was still racism in the North, but it was less overt, and more importantly, not enshrined in law, like in the South. This gave Blacks a genuine chance at upward mobility. This also lead to a flowering of black writers and artists, but we already covered the Harlem Renaissance.

The voice actors are all very talented. I don't know if they are professionals or not, but they certainly sound professional. Also, I just love how each episode opens with an old timey radio announcer setting the stage for the episode.

All in all, season two is a worth follow-up to season one. Season three continues the momentum, and I can't wait to see what season four has in store for us. Well, I don't think I really have much more to add. Harlem Queen is another great historical fiction audio drama, and you should listen to it as soon as possible. You can binge the whole thing in about three hours. Though, fair warning, after that you'll be hungry for more.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.