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The Know Your Caribbean Podcast

The Know Your Caribbean Podcast

Know Your Caribbean 25 Episodes Jul 29, 2026

Coming from the much loved platform Know Your Caribbean, this podcast is geared entirely to telling the stories of the Caribbean, its history and culture, food, music and more. Including the fan favourite Gangsta Stories from the Caribbean. Here to uplift, empower through education in ways that make you feel connected to yourself. So get to know yourself through Know Your Caribbean. Hosted by Fiona Compton with special guests.

Episodes

The Caribbean has it's own Martial Art?
The Caribbean has it's own Martial Art? Jul 29, 2026 1:01:07 In this episode we are joined by Kalinda Champion, singer, drummer and filmmaker Keegan Taylor, as we discuss the history of the Caribbean's very own martial art - known as Kalinda or Calenda. Found across the region, birthed in Africa. Rooted in centuries of resistance, secret societies, and how we managed to defeat Europe, Kalinda is at the heart of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo
Your Roots Are Your Remedy: The Psychology of Knowing Your Caribbean
Your Roots Are Your Remedy: The Psychology of Knowing Your Caribbean May 16, 2026 58:26 What if the key to your mental health wasn't found in a therapist's office, but in the pages of your nation's history? In this powerful bonus episode, host connects with Audrey Augustave, LPC, LCADC, NCC — psychotherapist, Gottman-trained couples therapist, and practice owner of A Nurtured Life Psychotherapy — for a conversation that bridges Caribbean heritage and psychological healing. Audrey bre
The difference between Slavery in the USA and the Caribbean
The difference between Slavery in the USA and the Caribbean Mar 15, 2026 25:19 In this episode of the Know Your Caribbean podcast, host Fiona Compton explores the history and structure of slavery in the Caribbean and the United States. Drawing from Caribbean historical perspectives, the conversation examines how plantation economies, colonial systems, and resistance shaped life across the region. From the scale of plantation societies to the cultural surv
90 Seconds into Oblivion - The Mount Pelée Eruption in Martinique
90 Seconds into Oblivion - The Mount Pelée Eruption in Martinique Feb 19, 2026 22:27 In this episode, we dive into the devastating 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée on the Caribbean island of Martinique—a disaster that obliterated the thriving city of Saint-Pierre in minutes. Through eyewitness accounts and historical insight, we explore how warning signs were missed, how a deadly pyroclastic surge changed volcanic science forever, and why this eruption remains one of th
The First Moko Jumbie
The First Moko Jumbie Sep 23, 2025 48:29 In this episode we explore the first written record of a Moko Jumbie - a stilt walker - in the Caribbean. Through the exploration of the record we cover the arrival of 3 Slave ships from 3 different parts of Africa, life of the Kalinago and Garifuna people as their land is slowly yet violently being taken away, African music and masquerade, and how 440 African children were separated from their fa
Obeah, Murder, and Prostitution in the Post Emancipation Caribbean
Obeah, Murder, and Prostitution in the Post Emancipation Caribbean May 16, 2025 32:12 In 1840's Saint Lucia the tides have turned for Black women on the island. Abandoning the plantations that enslaved them, they took to the streets as sex workers taking agency over their bodies. White priests ventured not into the depths of the countryside to indoctrinate the Christian faith, and so in the enclaves of the countryside, African spirituality prevails. Here we uncover an obsessive man
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, Jab Jab, and African influence on Carnival
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, Jab Jab, and African influence on Carnival Feb 3, 2025 31:58 Drawing on the observances from writer Charles Day, we look at the beautiful traditions of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, in the 1850's and how illegal slave trading assisted in African cultural preservation in Carnival, and so much more. Link to Charles Day's book - Five Years Residence in the West Indies : https://archive.org/details/fiveyearsreside02daygoog/page/n269/mode/2up?view=theater Hosted
Jumbies, Indentured Labour, and Wizards of Saint Vincent
Jumbies, Indentured Labour, and Wizards of Saint Vincent Sep 23, 2024 43:12 Continuing of our interpretation of Charles Day's book - Five Years in the West Indies, we head to Saint Vincent to hear a detailed description of an Igbo stilt walker, jumbles, life of indentured labourers and much more about Caribbean customs we still have today,See Below for further reading notes : https://thevincentian.com/a-brief-historical-overview-of-the-portuguese-in-st-vincent-and-the-gre
Wuk up and Landownership - life in 1850's Barbados
Wuk up and Landownership - life in 1850's Barbados Sep 6, 2024 42:59 Reading excerpts of Charles Day's book - Five years the West Indies, this highly racist account of life in the Caribbean unintentionally captures the beauty of Black people in the Caribbean. Show notes for references:Buckra - buckraNOUNbuckra, buckrasderogatory US, West Indian A white person, especially a man.OriginMid 18th century from Ibibio and Efik (m)bakara ‘European, master’.M
The Story of the Soucouyant and the Loogaroo
The Story of the Soucouyant and the Loogaroo Oct 31, 2023 24:31 She fall sunder many names, from the Boo Hag in the Carolinas, the Old Higue or Ole Haig in Guyana, Asema in Suriname, Soucouyant in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad, Martinique, Guadeloupe and more, even Louisiana. But who is she? Let's hear some stories about the elusive Soucouyant, closing off the episode with a a powerful story of resistance Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
Junkanoo Jam Session Part Two - The Bahamas
Junkanoo Jam Session Part Two - The Bahamas Feb 6, 2023 17:34 In our second instalment of the Junkanoo Jam series, we take a look at Junkanoo in the Bahamas.(see Jamaican Junkanoo in part 1) The largest Junkanoo parade in the world, glitzy, glamorous, large and in charge. But what are the fundamentally African roots of Junkanoo in The Bahamas? Let's see where underneath the gold and glitter are sparks of resistance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo
Obeah, Mermaids and Magic
Obeah, Mermaids and Magic Jan 20, 2023 51:33 Touching on many topics, from how descendants of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean worshipped Mami Wata/ Mama Dlo, danced the 'Calenda' and Bele, and how rain was conjured out of nowhere in the heights of droughts.Excerpts from the book 'Obeah and Witchcraft in the West Indies' by Hesketh J Bell.Featured Kalinda music by : Red Drum Drumming - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMwyhjknOAkBele Music

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