A lot of us have a conflicted relationship with food, but lately I’ve been tapping into the idea of finding joy in eating. Experiencing the tastes, smells, thoughts, and feelings of enjoying a meal. Food is a central part of every human culture and a big part of the human experience! I talk about food as a way of connecting to yourself or a location and the new food tours I'm leading this summer. Then I speak with Phil the Blerd Explorer (@theblerdexplorer) about food in Korean culture and his new ebook, The Black Travelers' Guide to Daegu South Korea. | @ibmarkwest | www.heymarkwest.com

---

Check out a Mark West foodie adventure through Tour Chicago: www.tourthechi.com

With your booking, you also support Palenque LSNA, a woman of color led nonprofit organization serving the residents of Logan Square. Palenque LSNA is a catalyst for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities and allies to take care of one another and take strategic action for systemic change and a just, resilient, and joyful future. | www.palenquelsna.org

---

Phil The Blerd Explorer is an avid traveler and travel content creator based in South Korea. Blerd, means Black Nerd. He aims to produce travel information from the viewpoint of a Black person in an effort to demonstrate to the community how traveling the world can be an enriching and life-changing experience.

About the Book: “Over the years black tourism has grown into a billion dollar industry. It's a wonderful feeling to see more black travel content on social media. Unfortunately our presence is still minimum compared to other demographics. The Blerd Explorer has returned to create a new travel guide for black people by black people. This guide will focus on one of the largest cities in Korea, daegu. For the first time, readers will be able to read stories from other Black people who have lived in Korea.”

Check out his ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Travelers-Guide-Daegu-South-ebook/dp/B092R7LRPL

This episode is edited and produced with music and other features in the Real Talk with Mark West episode, "#26: The Art of Living | D'ya Eat?"

A lot of us have a conflicted relationship with food, but lately I’ve been tapping into the idea of finding joy in eating. Experiencing the tastes, smells, thoughts, and feelings of enjoying a meal. Food is a central part of every human culture and a big part of the human experience! I talk about food as a way of connecting to yourself or a location and the new food tours I'm leading this summer. Then I speak with Phil the Blerd Explorer (@theblerdexplorer) about food in Korean culture and his new ebook, The Black Travelers' Guide to Daegu South Korea. | @ibmarkwest | www.heymarkwest.com

---

Check out a Mark West foodie adventure through Tour Chicago: www.tourthechi.com

With your booking, you also support Palenque LSNA, a woman of color led nonprofit organization serving the residents of Logan Square. Palenque LSNA is a catalyst for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities and allies to take care of one another and take strategic action for systemic change and a just, resilient, and joyful future. | www.palenquelsna.org

---

Phil The Blerd Explorer is an avid traveler and travel content creator based in South Korea. Blerd, means Black Nerd. He aims to produce travel information from the viewpoint of a Black person in an effort to demonstrate to the community how traveling the world can be an enriching and life-changing experience.

About the Book: “Over the years black tourism has grown into a billion dollar industry. It's a wonderful feeling to see more black travel content on social media. Unfortunately our presence is still minimum compared to other demographics. The Blerd Explorer has returned to create a new travel guide for black people by black people. This guide will focus on one of the largest cities in Korea, daegu. For the first time, readers will be able to read stories from other Black people who have lived in Korea.”

Check out his ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Travelers-Guide-Daegu-South-ebook/dp/B092R7LRPL

My friend Tracey Redding from the Art Institute of Chicago (@artinstitutechi) joins me to talk art, beauty, and anime. Beauty has become a sore subject in today's world, understandably so. It stirs up a sense of anxiety, fear, and, at times, self-hatred. I recently came to the realization that beauty is an essential part of a fulfilling life, and to seek out beauty in the world is to find the beauty within you. @ibmarkwest | www.heymarkwest.com
---

Mark West's Art of Living | Family Meal - Are You on The List?
I believe the best dining experiences are the ones in which we’re seated around a table sharing food and stories with others. Family Meal is a dining experience where the goal is to deepen human connections through food, while learning something new about the city. Once a month, I curate a progressive, fine dining experience for me and 12 guests at one of Chicago's many great restaurants. Invitations with event details are sent monthly via email only to those on The List.

Visit heymarkwest.com/familymeal to learn more.

The Holy Theatre is the place where the invisible is made visible; where we face and conquer our own inner demons. The Promethean Theatre Ensemble's production of Richard III plays May 12 - June 25, 2022 at The Factory Theatre, in which I play the role of Buckingham. I share what my character has taught me about myself then sit down with Director Steve Scott, Text Coach Paulette Hicks, and Cameron Faegin who plays Richard III. I hear their take on happiness, if theatre has fed into their overall happiness, and whether our Shakespeare show has any relevance to today's topics of conversation. Finally, I have ways you can get in on exclusive Chicago dinner parties and a special announcement about my new appointment! @ibmarkwest | www.heymarkwest.com

---

RICHARD III TICKETS: www.heymarkwest.com/nowshowing

---

Over a career that spans nearly fifty years, Steve Scott has directed more than 300 productions for local, national and international theaters, including the Goodman Theatre, where he served as producer from 1986 to 2017 and now sits on the Board of Trustees. In 2017, he won a special Jeff Award, Chicago’s top award for excellence in theatre, for his service to the Chicago theater industry, as well as the League of Chicago Theaters’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He now serves as the Artistic Director of the Dunes Summer Theatre in Michiana Shores, Indiana and on the faculty of the College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

---

Paulette Hicks has worked as a text coach with Redtwist Theatre, The Dunes Summer Theatre, and City Lit Theatre to name a few. Productions include King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth. As an actor she has worked with Redtwist Theatre, Oak Park Village Players, W. Shakespeare & Co., and The Human Race Theatre Company.

---

Cameron Faegin plays the title character, Richard III. She is a proud member of the Promethean Theatre Ensemble where her productions include Arcadia, The Winter’s Tale, and The Player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Other credits include Hamlet at Midsummer Flight, The Elephant Man at BoHo Theatre and Court-Martial at Fort Devens at Victory Gardens.