Part 2 of my conversation with Amanda J. Sibanda.

Although this episode was recorded first, it follows her recent appearance on the podcast, so think of this as the origin story.

In this conversation, we explore Amanda’s creative evolution and her deep fascination with the intersection of storytelling and visuals. She reflects on how music videos, particularly the bold cinematic style of Hype Williams, shaped her early creative instincts and influenced the way she thinks about narrative and image.

We trace her beginnings, where she studied journalism and worked at Rhodes University as a music librarian, producer and show host, developing an ear for rhythm and story long before stepping onto film sets. From there, we discuss her move to the UK, her time at London Film School, and the realities of building a career in film across borders.

We also talk about the high of working on The Batman and what it really means to operate “on the day” in a film environment.

Amanda also shares insight into the three short films she wrote and directed last year. You will want to follow her to stay updated on their release.

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Stay in touch with Amanda: https://www.instagram.com/amandajsibanda/?hl=en

The Scriptwriter tracker: https://amandajsibanda.gumroad.com/l/thescriptwritingtracker?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnXyzjirCMewq43SNGQfQzrMB7EG1fpObgTqVu8Lniv3dntxO7Qf7AJsv5L7c_aem_P9-Upmn8AP_StcR4MbY1BQ

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Chat With Nat is a podcast that amplifies diasporic voices, memory, migration, and identity - with laughter and reflection. Hosted by Natasha, a Zimbabwean living in London, the show explores the dual, nuanced experiences of migrants navigating life between worlds.

Whether it’s light-hearted chats or deeper conversations, Chat With Nat is your space to feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. Expect a blend of guest interviews and hot topics with some regular guests. Press play!

Stay in touch:

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/chatwithnat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatwithnatshow/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/malaikadiva

Email: chatwithnatshow@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chatwithnat

In this episode, Nat is joined by Brian for a dilemma-style episode. We go through some dilemmas, including a personal one! Let us know what you think and what you do....

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Chat With Nat is a podcast that amplifies diasporic voices, memory, migration, and identity - with laughter and reflection. Hosted by Natasha, a Zimbabwean living in London, the show explores the dual, nuanced experiences of migrants navigating life between worlds. Whether it’s light-hearted chats or deeper conversations, Chat With Nat is your space to feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. Expect a blend of guest interviews and hot topics with some regular guests. Press play! Stay in touch:Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/chatwithnat Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatwithnatshow/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/malaikadivaEmail: chatwithnatshow@gmail.comSupport the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chatwithnat

What actually happens when social services get involved? And what do social workers really do?In this episode, Nat is joined by Nessa (Vanessa Sibanda), an Advanced Practitioner Social Worker with over nine years’ experience in Children’s Social Care and safeguarding.Together, they unpack what social work actually is, when and why social services may become involved in a family’s life, and how people can access support before situations escalate. They also explore the cultural nuances that are often lost in translation, particularly within African households, including child chastisement & more. They also touch on existing informal fostering, kinship care, and community-based child raising practices that may be misunderstood by the system.This is an honest, eye-opening conversation about representation in social work, breaking down misconceptions, and helping listeners understand the role social workers play in protecting children, supporting families, and navigating complex situations with care and compassion.Whether you’ve ever wondered what triggers social services involvement, considered becoming a social worker, or simply want to better understand how the system works, this episode gently demystifies it all.

(6:28) - comments from previous episodes

(12:28) What led Nessa to a career in social work

(19:00) What triggers social services intervention(25:58) Cultural clashes

(31:10) Children being seen and heard (and not just seen)

(39:52) Self-referring to social services

(41:20) Are Zimbabwean-born Social Workers in the UK more inclined to exhaust all options before removing the child from their family

(45:40) Existing informal adoption & fostering practices in African households

(56:00) Importance of representation in social work

(58:40) How to become a social worker & more! ----------------------Connect with Nessa: https://www.instagram.com/nessaness_x?igsh=MXA0bGRva3BjOXBmMw%3D%3D

Brunch & Bantu Knots Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/brunchandbantu?igsh=MWduMDJtMDVmY2Vv

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Chat With Nat is a podcast that amplifies diasporic voices, memory, migration, and identity - with laughter and reflection. Hosted by Natasha, a Zimbabwean living in London, the show explores the dual, nuanced experiences of migrants navigating life between worlds. Whether it’s light-hearted chats or deeper conversations, Chat With Nat is your space to feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. Expect a blend of guest interviews and hot topics with some regular guests. Press play!

Stay in touch:Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/chatwithnat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatwithnatshow/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/malaikadiva

Email: chatwithnatshow@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chatwithnat

Have you ever just… stopped talking to a friend? The messages thin out. The calls fade. And somehow, it’s been years.

In this episode, Nat is joined by Judith Ugwumadu for a very real, very unfiltered conversation about old friends, quiet distance, deep love, and what it looks like to find your way back to each other.

This is a front-row seat to reconnection in real time. Tender, honest, a little messy, and deeply familiar.

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(00:22) - Why did we stop talking?

(10:12) - Showing up for grieving friends

(14:00) - Women's friendships after one gets married or has kids

(17:00) - Uni days

(27:00) - Career journey

(37:12) - What does reconnecting as friends look like & More!

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Judith is the founder of Awakened and Anchored. Connect with Judith:

https://www.instagram.com/awakenedandanchored/

Chat With Nat is a podcast that amplifies diasporic voices, memory, migration, and identity - with laughter and reflection. Hosted by Natasha, a Zimbabwean living in London, the show explores the dual, nuanced experiences of migrants navigating life between worlds.

Whether it’s light-hearted chats or deeper conversations, Chat With Nat is your space to feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. Expect a blend of guest interviews and hot topics with some regular guests. Press play!

Stay in touch:

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/chatwithnat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatwithnatshow/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/malaikadiva

Email: chatwithnatshow@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chatwithnat

In this episode, Nat is joined by Amanda J Sibanda to talk vision boarding, some recent headlines, and film! Amanda is a British-Zimbabwean storyteller, filmmaker, and director.

(06:35) What's on your vision board, and how do you create a realistic one?

(19:20) Oprah's episode on going no contact with family. We're seeing more of this with the likes of Brooklyn Beckham, Prince Harry etc

(30:30) Will Prince Harry be back in the UK and in good books with his family soon

(33:00) Conversation about A House of Dynamite, Kathryn Bigelow (we don't spoil the plot)

(38:07) Southern African content on Netflix - are the visuals and aesthetics overly glamorous?

(40:55) Warner Bros being acquired by Netflix - what does this mean in practice? & more!

Stay in touch with Amanda: https://www.instagram.com/amandajsibanda/?hl=en

Get Amanda's realistic vision board: http://bit.ly/4sPAnne

Chat With Nat is a podcast that amplifies diasporic voices, memory, migration, and identity - with laughter and reflection. Hosted by Natasha, a Zimbabwean living in London, the show explores the dual, nuanced experiences of migrants navigating life between worlds.

Whether it’s light-hearted chats or deeper conversations, Chat With Nat is your space to feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. Expect a blend of guest interviews and hot topics with some regular guests. Press play!

Stay in touch:

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/chatwithnat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatwithnatshow/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/malaikadiva

Email: chatwithnatshow@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chatwithnat

After a long break, welcome to season 3 of Chat With Nat! In this episode, we dive back into the swing of things. Brian Lunga joins Nat to talk:

• (05:50) The streamer Speed in Africa,
• (26:00) Is Cape Town a Bachelor party destination
• (31:00) The business of the NFL and celebrity relationships like Cardi B & Steffon Digg
• (40:40) Venezuela and the fallout from the capture of its president & first lady
• (52:00) Africa's response and South Africa's standing with the United States & more!

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Chat With Nat is a podcast that amplifies diasporic voices, memory, migration, and identity - with laughter and reflection. Hosted by Natasha, a Zimbabwean living in London, the show explores the dual, nuanced experiences of migrants navigating life between worlds.

Whether it’s light-hearted chats or deeper conversations, Chat With Nat is your space to feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. Expect a blend of guest interviews and hot topics with some regular guests. Press play!

Stay in touch:

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/chatwithnat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatwithnatshow/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/malaikadiva

Email: chatwithnatshow@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chatwithnat

Would you send your kid back home?

In this episode, I’m joined by Brian Lunga as we dive deeper into a hot topic: sending kids back home: what it means, why people do it, and what it says about identity and migration.

Plus, we celebrate Zimbabwe’s Rugby team qualifying for the World Cup 🏉🇿🇼

And of course… that viral Coldplay concert clip 👀

Chat With Nat is taking a little summer break ☀️ I’ll be back in October with fresh episodes, bold conversations, and exciting new guests!

Until then, catch up, share your thoughts, and rest up too. ❤️

🎧 Listen now & let me know what you think.

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Chat With Nat is a podcast that amplifies diasporic voices, memory, migration, and identity - with laughter, reflection, and news from the African continent. Hosted by Natasha, a Zimbabwean living in London, the show explores the dual, nuanced experiences of migrants navigating life between worlds.

Whether it’s light-hearted chats or deeper conversations, Chat With Nat is your space to feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. Expect a blend of guest interviews, solo episodes and hot topics with some regular guests. Press play!

Stay in touch:

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/chatwithnat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatwithnatshow/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/malaikadiva

Email: chatwithnatshow@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chatwithnat

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Did you hear the story about the boy who took his parents to court after they’d taken him back to their native Ghana (he was born in the United Kingdom)? What do you think? This & more… press play!

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Chat With Nat is a podcast that amplifies diasporic voices, memory, migration, and identity - with laughter, reflection, and news from the African continent. Hosted by Natasha, a Zimbabwean living in London, the show explores the dual, nuanced experiences of migrants navigating life between worlds.

Whether it’s light-hearted chats or deeper conversations, Chat With Nat is your space to feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. Expect a blend of guest interviews, solo episodes and hot topics with some regular guests. Press play!

Stay in touch:

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/chatwithnat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatwithnatshow/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/malaikadiva

Email: chatwithnatshow@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chatwithnat