This week, we're talking about proxy wars. And I don't mean the kind where countries fight each other through intermediaries — though we'll get to that. I'm talking about how almost every cultural fight you're seeing right now is a proxy war for something deeper. Something people can't or won't say out loud.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show? That's not really about the performance. J. Cole's new album? That's not really about the music. These are battlefields for fights about identity, power, and who belongs in America.

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Today, we're talking about something that doesn't get enough attention: the high price of poverty. How it costs more to be poor in America. How the system doesn't just ignore poverty—it profits from it.

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This week on Color Commentary, Dr. Charles Cole is joined by digital storyteller and journalist Torraine Walker to break down the viral beef between The Joe Budden Podcast and The Native Land Pod—and what it really says about class, authenticity, and Black discourse. From the performance of intellectualism to the question of what credentials actually mean, Dr. Cole and Torraine keep it real about being stuck between worlds and why Joe's platform resonates with millions while others just perform.

Torraine Walker is a digital storyteller, journalist, and brand strategist specializing in authentic messaging and content creation. His work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Huffington Post, Splinter News, and more. He's partnered with organizations like Community Movement Builders and Energy Convertors to help find and amplify authentic voices in Black media. Learn more at torrainewalker.com.

We'd love to hear from you! Email Charles at colorcommentarypod@gmail.com

Ryan Coogler made a $368 million vampire thriller with a nearly all-Black cast. Michael B. Jordan delivered a career-defining dual performance. Warner Bros. had the biggest original Black film of the year. And the Golden Globes gave it two awards - one of which wasn't even televised.

Meanwhile, a table tennis movie made $79 million and won Best Actor. A 2 hour 41 minute PTA film about anarchists made $200 million and won Best Screenplay.

Is Sinners bound to get snubbed at the Oscars?

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We love celebrating Black excellence. And we should. The first Black CEO, the only Black partner, historic appointments - these matter. These are victories.

But somewhere along the way, something shifted. Black excellence stopped being about actual excellence and started being about performing a version of Blackness that makes the ruling class comfortable.

There's a version of Black excellence that's become popular in corporate America, in academia, in predominantly white institutions. And it's not real excellence. It's performance.

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Thank you for listening to Color Commentary. We'd love to hear from you, so drop us an email at colorcommentarypod@gmail.com

This week, we're talking about Eddie Murphy. Netflix just dropped a documentary called "Being Eddie," and while I knew most of what was in there—what can I say about myself knowing that?—it got me thinking about something bigger. Eddie Murphy isn't just arguably the greatest comedian of all time. He's the kind of architect I respect—the quiet kind. The one who changes the landscape without needing a title or a speech. Let me explain.

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We’d love to hear from you! Email Charles at colorcommentarypod@gmail.com

This week on Color Commentary, Dr. Charles Cole breaks down the massive FBI investigation that led to the arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former player Damon Jones.

But this isn't just a sports scandal—it's a Mafia story. Dr. Cole explains why he's been warning about this for years, how players get pulled into these schemes, and why the toothpaste is never going back in the tube. This is about corruption, class, and a system that invited organized crime into the game.

We'd love to hear from you! Email Charles at colorcommentarypod@gmail.com

Young Thug just walked out of jail after 2½ years. His plea deal ends Georgia's longest criminal trial in history. But the real question isn't about his freedom - it's about the culture that put him there in the first place, and why it's time for Black communities to have an honest conversation about moving beyond street codes that are destroying us from the inside.

We’d love to hear from you! Email Charles at colorcommentarypod@gmail.com