Tenement Yaad Media talks about bringing authentic Caribbean stories to the masses

An episode of ‘Lest We Forget’ feels like you’re listening in on a conversation between your smartest, funniest, and most approachable friends. Each episode dives into the history, both big and small, of Jamaica and the broader Caribbean.

Episodes touch on everything from plantation riots to that one time Bob Marley “kick down him manager.” It’s an essential podcast for anyone interested in deep-diving into Caribbean history.

‘Lest We Forget’ is just one project coming out of the Tenement Yaad Media, a collection of youths coming together to tell Caribbean history and current affairs not only from their perspective but platforming experts in their fields.

Accompanying ‘Lest We Forget’ is ‘Checkmate.’ This podcast focuses on current affairs, interviewing experts on both headline topics and more niche interest pieces. Finally, the group writes and features articles that you’re not likely to ever find on a conventional news site. No other outlet is tackling queerness, religion, and other socio-politics with the transparency and warmth of this collective.

Caribbean National Weekly (CNW) managed to secure an interview with the group which was conducted via email, and answers were edited for clarity.

If possible, I’d love to hear about each of the team members involved. Tell me a bit about yourselves and what drew each of you to the project?

Gabrielle Thompson-Jackson, she/her. Lest We Forget Historical Podcast

I’m a Multimedia journalist, Chevening scholar studying Producing at Met Film School. Passionate about public broadcasting, a fan of podcasts and avocado toast. Initially, I was just really happy to see and hear Caribbean history being discussed by people my age - started out as a fan! What really kept my interest was the conversational tones of Lest We Forget. It was and continues to be regional history being discussed in what sounds like an extended conversation with the listener, which makes for easy listening.

JT Davey, she/her. Lest We Forget Historical Podcast

Still a student. I was in the room when the idea of a Caribbean societal podcast was being conceptualized so I sorta got roped into the formation of Tenement Yaad Media.

Clifford James, he/him. Checkmate Political Podcast

I’m an Economics/Math Major with a keen interest in Caribbean history and politics, and a knack for teaching. Tenement Yard's objective of making knowledge of history and politics readily accessible and easy to understand for others was what attracted me.

Nashae Lannaman, she/they. TYM Interviews

I am a Pre-Call Associate, Postgraduate Law Student at the Norman Manley Law School, and Freelance Writer. I was really introduced to TYM by Paige, one of the team members. After listening to all the episodes within a few days, I really loved the concept each podcast series had. I really appreciated how both series utilized young unfiltered voices to discuss important political issues and recount important historical moments. Youth representation in these spaces is limited and where they exist aren’t well highlighted or executed. I thought TYM did a really great job at using local expressions and practices in representing the youths’ voice in the political conversation. This is why I jumped at the opportunity to join the team.

Christophe Simpson, he/him. Tenants’ Articles

I’m a writer and political organizer, with backgrounds in Business Administration and Political Science. I saw a media space emerging in an important moment and occupying an unfilled niche. The importance of the Caribbean is always understated; we are a small region that has outsized influence (in politics and history especially) that is not often accounted for. It is necessary for something to exist to cover our history, politics, and emerging developments. What I saw Tenement Yaad doing in particular was approaching both the more visible political voices in the region as well as much less visible voices of persons who are doing important work.

Paige Samuels, she/her. Checkmate Political Podcast

I am a PhD student at UWI-Mona and a Freelance Consultant with a background in political science and international affairs policy. I was a fan of the podcast before I joined the team. As a young Jamaican it was refreshing to hear young Caribbean people talk about Caribbean political issues and Caribbean history. I reached out to the team and offered to conduct research and ended up hosting for a bit.

Gabrielle Patmore they/them. Articles and Social Media

Caribbean Feminist and I’ve been a fan of Lest We Forget Podcast and Checkmate, learning more about Caribbean history and politics helped contextualize current Caribbean life and issues. An opportunity arose for me to help with managing the articles and I gladly accepted. Later on, I started managing the collectives and monitoring social media.

Kadiedra Robinson she/her. Checkmate Political Podcast

I am a communications professional, specializing in digital marketing and project management. The Tenement Yaad platform captured my attention by the way in which the platform explores themes of the past and makes the historical connection between the past and much of what is happening today.

Usheen Ewbanks, he/him 

Videographer and Editor

What was the inspiration for Tenement Yaad Media?

One of the original founders of Tenement Yaad Media wanted to attend their university graduation in a Kariba Suit and could not find a comprehensive history on the suit - what's the origin, why it is not as popular anymore, etc. So it was from there that the idea blossomed into creating this societal Caribbean space so we can rant about Kariba suit and fashion. Still, at the same time, nobody wanted to create something with their name on it as it would come across as individualistic and we didn’t want that - we wanted a very anonymous, community approach so it made sense to make a collective, instead of a person serving up themselves as content. Then, everyone in the room at the time was brainstorming names and Tenement Yaad Media was the name everyone agreed upon. 

Was there a niche that you had to fill in covering Caribbean history and current affairs?

Not necessarily. In the West Indies, most content is either entertainment, historical or current affairs. So there are a plethora of persons creating content about Caribbean history and current affairs. Tenement Yaad just took a different approach with ours. We are less academic in the history podcast space whilst being a bit more conversational but still tremendously research-heavy.

Checkmate is less opinion-based and more experts or semi-experts who have spent time looking at these issues and not just commentating but presenting solutions to these problems.

Tenement Yaad Media also takes a gendered and inclusive approach to our content. It is this view of content creation why we are probably the few podcast creators in the region who transcribe our podcasts so that persons who are disabled or just don’t like podcasts can still have access to the information. So yes, there are many people doing what we do and the niche was already filled; we just came and do our own thing differently and most people seem to like our approach so we continue. 

Why podcasts as a medium?

Podcasts are convenient in more ways than one. We ask people to write articles as well, which we feature on our site, but that is intimidating for some. It is sometimes easier for someone to just talk, especially if they have someone guiding the process by asking questions. On the other end of things, a podcast is something that someone can listen to while doing something else. 

How do you decide on topics to cover on the podcast?

All the topics are decided by the persons who worked on the Lest We Forget Podcast. Episodes are decided upon in different ways. If there's a year marking a 50th or 45th anniversary of an event, we create an episode on that. If there’s a major dispute in the media, ie. land rights, political instability, Caribbean diet, an episode is planned. Then sometimes another episode is being researched and you come across something that is of interest and a pivot episode is done on that. 

What is the research process like?

From the topic has been decided on, it takes roughly two years for that episode to be published. If you are hearing an episode in 2023, the research on that episode has started since 2021. Tenement Yaad Media does not make money so all the materials to create one episode has to be sourced without great monetary funds and that takes time. Once the materials are sourced, research and writing begins subsequently and a written draft is usually submitted a year and half later - sometimes less, sometimes more. The draft is then given to a handful of persons to check for biases, information being difficult to understand etc. We have had a few episodes that have been sent to academics and researchers who have done research relating to the information mentioned on the episode. If everything is greenlighted, episodes are then sent to be scripted and recorded. After which, publishing and transcribing comes after. 

Talk to me about Checkmate. What inspired the foray into more current affairs?

Actually, Checkmate was the first program that we created. It was first but Lest We Forget is more popular. The original goal was to understand Caribbean development from a historical point of view of how past policies, laws and events shaped the society that we live in today. However, it was difficult to tackle the historical and political view of one issue in one episode so we decided to split it. As such, Checkmate came as the political podcast, and Lest We Forget would accompany it. However, they both have evolved and today, with Checkmate, we take an expert view of current affairs - how do persons who worked with this issue, research this issue, see the issue and their solution to solve it. 

You host written articles touching on everything from technology to ‘being Muslim in Jamaica,’ what was the impetus for tackling yet another medium? 

With the exception of two of the men here, we are all of the Gen Z generation so initially we wanted to create a space where young persons across the region could just write whatever and have their issues heard. It was very much wanting people to write and write more.

At its core, no country in the West Indies has a singular problem - if it affects one country, there is a slippery slope, it will affect us all. So the portion of our website was just that - to have young people write about their issues and see how similar we as West Indians share our burden and our thoughts on the region that we live in. Still, that space has evolved, it's not just young people, anyone who is interested in re-imaging a new Caribbean has submitted something. Then, we do not have control over what people submit so we just tell people, “write”. This is why you see these diverse voices on different issues - religion, technology, climate change, Caribbean politics, queer organizing. Plus, the articles serve as an interim for when the podcasts are on break, we still have content pushing out. 

Where do you want to see Tenement Yaad Media go in the future?

Still telling stories. We would love to create more content across the Caribbean involving primary references - people who have lived through the events we discuss. We are looking to explore new media and improve our podcast offerings with layered sound design and platforming more interesting stories on Caribbean thought and society

What, that you can share, do you have in the pipeline?

We are working on a new interview health series, which will be announced later this year. There are some visual projects that we have been working on in earnest to expand to visual storytelling. For Lest We Forget, come September we will be releasing Part 2 of our series on the Grenadian Revolution - the PRG Government, the fall of the revolution, the invasion, etc. Checkmate, more episodes; and more written articles and interviews.

How can people best support Tenement Yaad Media?

We’re a media entity, so we do media. When we put out something, we want people to engage with it themselves and share it with others. To have things to put out, we need things being put in, so we also welcome people to share ideas for things we can explore, and even to share their own writings that we can publish as articles. There is also our Patreon and the donation tab on our website that persons can utilize if they want to support us monetarily.