Special guests YANIQUE REDWOOD & RONNIE GALVIN, co-authors of We Quit America: Our Exit from a Country Designed to Kill Black People, join Courtney for a grounded, unflinching conversation about what it really means to leave the U.S. — and why so many Black Americans are even asking the question right now.

Grab your copy of We Quit America here: https://www.wequitamerica.com/

Also in this episode:

• Why “quitting America” wasn’t a sudden decision, but a slow reckoning shaped by years of organizing, policy work, and watching the same patterns repeat

• The emotional and psychological cost of trying to change systems from the inside — and how to know when staying starts to demand too much

• How the pandemic didn’t create their exit, but stripped away illusions many people were already struggling to maintain

• What “quitting America” looked like long before leaving physically — including mental, financial, and lifestyle divestment

• Why arriving in a new country with intention and care can matter just as much as the decision to leave the U.S.

🎧 Join our global community and get every new episode delivered directly to your inbox: https://blackexpatstories.myflodesk.com/

🎶 Download the FREE Blaxit Soundtrack & Soul Work Journal: https://blackexpatstories.com/soundtrack

Rate, Review & Share!

If this conversation resonates, please rate the show, leave a review, and share it with your network.

Join the convo on social:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/blackexpatstories
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blackexpatstories
• Watch Every Episode & Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlackExpatStories

Support the work: We’re evolving from a podcast into a docuseries documenting America’s Next Great Migration: the Blaxit. And we need your help!

• Monthly support: https://www.patreon.com/c/blackexpatstories
• One-time gift: https://ko-fi.com/blackexpatstories

Special thanks to Bianca C. and our community of monthly supporters for making this episode possible.

If money has ever felt like the biggest barrier to your Blaxit, this episode will change your perspective.

In this powerful conversation, ExodUS Summit co-founders Stephanie Perry and Roshida Dowe return to Black Expat Stories to share the focus of the 2025 Summit — and why they’re on a mission to eliminate money obstacles that keep Black women from moving abroad.

Grab your ExodUS Summit 2025 tix right here: blackexpatstories.com/exodussummit

Also in this episode:

• The explosive growth of the ExodUS Summit community—and why Black-women-only spaces matter
• An overview of the various ways to generate income (beyond a remote job) so you can move abroad.
• Why ExodUS Summit 2025 is the virtual move abroad conference you just can’t miss if you want to make your Blaxit dreams a reality!

…and so much more!

🎧 Join our global community and get every new episode delivered directly to your inbox: https://blackexpatstories.myflodesk.com/

🎶 Download the FREE Blaxit Soundtrack & Soul Work Journal: https://blackexpatstories.com/soundtrack

Rate, Review & Share!

If this conversation resonates, please rate the show, leave a review, and share it with your network.

Join the convo on social:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/blackexpatstories
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blackexpatstories
• Watch Every Episode & Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlackExpatStories

Support the work: We’re evolving from a podcast into a docuseries documenting America’s Next Great Migration: the Blaxit. And we need your help!

• Monthly support: https://www.patreon.com/c/blackexpatstories
• One-time gift: https://ko-fi.com/blackexpatstories

Special thanks to Bianca C. and our community of monthly supporters for making this episode possible.

In this candid one-on-one, journalist and political analyst Zerlina Maxwell shares why she pressed pause on the chaos of U.S. headlines and chose a new life in Sicily. Just days after the 2025 Inauguration, with her Italian visa freshly approved, she relocated to Palermo to prioritize peace, healing, and a different way of working.

You may know Zerlina as host of Mornings with Zerlina on SiriusXM and author of The End of White Politics. In this rich discussion with Courtney, she opens up about therapy, loss, reinvention—and what distance from America is clarifying about media, power, and joy.

Also in this episode:

• Why Palermo—not Rome—and what daily life looks like (yes to seaside runs, no to $11 eggs)
• How she miraculously exited the U.S. just days after the 2025 Inauguration.
• The shrinking space for Black women in mainstream media—and how she’s reshaping her role
• Media diet vs. outrage machine: protecting your mind in a volatile news cycle
• “Peace protocols” for the Trump 2.0 era: the simple habits keeping her grounded
• The Inner Work Dispatch: her mental-health–focused Substack and community
• Her take on the Blaxit movement—and advice if you’re contemplating a move

Join our global community and get every new episode sent directly to your inbox: https://blackexpatstories.myflodesk.com/

Ready to start charting your own journey abroad? Download our FREE Blaxit Soundtrack & Soul Work Journal—a curated blend of music and guided prompts to help you reflect, dream, and move with intention: https://blackexpatstories.com/soundtrack

Rate, Review & Share!

If this conversation resonates, please rate the show, leave a review, and share it with your people.

Join the convo on social:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/blackexpatstories

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blackexpatstories

Watch & subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlackExpatStories

Resources mentioned:

• Zerlina’s Substack, The Inner Work Dispatch:https://zerlinamaxwell.substack.com/

Zerlina's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerlinamaxwell

• Courtney’s essays:

— Don’t Save Her. She Don’t Wanna Be Saved: A Love Letter to the 92%: https://courtneybowden.substack.com/p/dont-save-her-she-dont-wanna-be-saved?utm_source=publication-search

— Just Gimme a (Mexican) Minute: https://courtneybowden.substack.com/p/just-gimme-a-mexican-minute-moving

— The Mainstream Media Is Playing In the American Public’s Face: https://courtneybowden.substack.com/p/the-mainstream-media-is-playing-in

Support the work: We’re evolving from a podcast into a docuseries documenting America’s Next Great Migration: the Blaxit. And we need your help!

• Monthly support: https://www.patreon.com/c/blackexpatstories

• One-time gift: https://ko-fi.com/blackexpatstories

Special thanks to Bianca C., and our community of monthly supporters for making this episode possible.

Thank you for listening! Remember, you can also watch every episode on our YouTube channel.