...But Make It Books
Episodes
"You Wanted a Worshipper, Not a Wife": Dominion with Addie E. Citchens
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes Addie E. Citchens, inaugural recipient of the Farrar, Straus and Giroux Writer's Fellowship and debut author, to the pod!...
Under the Neon Lights: Big Names, Belonging, and Black Girlhood with Arriel Vinson
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes Arriel Vinson, Reese's Book Club LitUp Fellow and debut author, to the pod! We talk about her novel-in-verse, "Under the ...
Where There's Smoke, There's Love...(w/ Aricka Alexander)
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes Aricka Alexander, Young Adult Romance & Queer Adult Romance writer, to the pod! We talk about her newest release, "W...
Villains, Heroes, and Last Women Standing... w/K.Powell
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes K.Powell, a thriller writer you need to know about! We talk about her newest release, Say I Do and explore the lines betw...
Second Chances & Redemption...(w/Tanvier Peart)
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes Tanvier Peart, social advocate by day and giving us the feels at night! We talk about her newest release, Tender Offer an...
Romance as Medicine...(w/ Black Romance Book Festival)
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes the masterminds behind one of the biggest Black book festivals, the Black Romance Book Festival. We talk about how this a...
Writing the Books We Needed...(w/ Author Kristina Forest)
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes USA Today bestselling author Kristina Forest, whose mission centers on writing the books she wished she had as a young Bl...
When Motherhoods Gets Messy... (w/Author Desiree Moodie)
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes indie thriller writer, Desiree Moodie to discuss her newest novel, "The Perfect Mother".*Some Spoilers*In this conversati...
The Journey to Self Through Books... (w/ Book Influencer LaKia Barr)
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes a fellow Black book influencer, Lakia Barr at Kia's Korner who mission is focused on how to get people excited about read...
Finding Home... (w/ Lex Reads)
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she welcomes a fellow Black book influencer, Alexis Milton at Lex Reads who is a passionate literary advocate dedicated to amplifying ...
Writing Joy: The Corner of Press Revolution
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Niccara as she welcomes the powerful bicoastal friend duo, Sujeiry Gonzalez and Krista Purnell, of Corner of Press as they continue to pione...
Reclaiming the Page (with author and publisher MultiMind)
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Niccara as she welcomes Baltimore native, author and publisher, MultiMind to "...But Make It Books."In this conversation, Niccara and MultiM...
Building Rooms of Our Own (w/Felicia Pride)
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Niccara as she welcomes acclaimed multi-hyphenate creative force Felicia Pride to "...But Make It Books."In this conversation, Pride discuss...
Trusting in Your Magic...
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Niccara as she delves in with LaDarrion Williams, author of "Blood at the Root" to discuss all things magic, Black people, Black life, and the tr...
Will and Power...
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are circling back to come our favorite theme: manhood, fatherhood, and entertainment surrounding Will Smith's autobiography "Will". As always, rate...
Rewriting the Narrative: Jada Pinkett Smith's 'Worthy' and the Journey to Radical Self-Acceptance...
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Happy New Year, Family! We are jumping back into the New Year with THE Jada Pinkett Smith's memoir, 'Worthy'. We are talking about the definition of w...
Pound for Pound: Brandon's Rec & The Youth Have Something to Say...
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we are doing something new here at BMIB called "Pound for Pound" where Niccara and Brandon give out their suggested recommendations t...
Pound for Pound: Niccara's Rec & The Need for More Young Black Love Stories...
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we are doing something new here at BMIB called "Pound for Pound" where Niccara and Brandon give out their suggested recommendations t...
Survivors' Remorse & Idealism...
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Following Brandon and Niccara as they discuss Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, the soon to be film coming to the silver screen. Delve in as we discuss...
The Practice of Minimalism with Christine Platt...
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this special live episode, co-host Brandon goes producer mode behind the camera with our audio engineer, Donte at The Trap Factory for a special in...
Let The Light In with Hilton Carter...
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Brandon and Niccara for special live episode with the plant guru Hilton Carter at the annual Baltimore Book Fest! We talk everything from plants,...
Authenticity and Cultural Appropriation...
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Authenticity and cultural appropriation... but make it books with Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. Tap in with Brandon and Niccara as they explore all the...
Back In the Groove...
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome backkkkk to a new season of …But Make It Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they get back into the groove discussing everything from what th...
Standing On Business...
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Loving the return of another episode of…But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they dig into their fondness of You Made a Fool of Death with...
Tapping Back In . . .
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We are officially back in full swing with your favorite bi-weekly bookish pod…But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss the necess...
Respect on Her Name (w/ Sadeqa Johnson)...
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After a much needed break, we are back! As a bonus, we have a LIVE episode…But Make it Books! Join Niccara, Brandon, and Sadeqa Johnson, author of t...
Ambition 3: Alongside Gratitude...
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 3rd episode of the Ambition Trilogy has arrived on…But Make it Books! Join Niccara, Brandon, and Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck, as th...
Ambition 2: The Mirror withMateo Askaripour...
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
And now, a sequel episode of...But Make it Books! Join Niccara, Brandon, and Mateo Askaripour, author Black Buck, as they discuss Scarcity vs Abundanc...
The Not-So Secret Live with Deesha Philyaw...
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We are all the way LIVE…But Make it Books! Join Niccara, Brandon, and Deesha Philyaw, author of a Finalist for the National Book Award for The Secre...
The Commune of Cooking...
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Smells like a fresh, hot episode of...But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss books, their best dishes, sugar as a nostalgic ingre...
Family Recipes...
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fresh out the oven, another episode of But Make It Books. Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss generational recipes, the family table, the science...
D-N-F
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to finish another episode of…But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss books they did not finish, potential varietal s...
Birth of a System . . .
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Time for another deep-rooted episode of …But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they examine the infrastructure of America, effects of a dev...
Lay It Down . . .
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we get to take a little nap with …But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss a manifesto of rest, generational forms of r...
Halfway There . . .
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re half way through the year with …But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss book goal updates, TBR hopefuls, favorite reads ...
And Then Comes Marriage...
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Walking down the aisle to another episode of …But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss one of their favorite novels, sustainable ...
Ambition . . .
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to another episode of ...But Make it books. Niccara and Brandon discuss ambitious behavior, effects of the workplace, their coffee orders and ...
Monster Hunters...
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to suit up for another episode of …But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss the spell of racism, their monster hunt...
It’s My Life...
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re back with another episode of …But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss what makes a memoir, who can write them, the valid...
Black Love Is Revolutionary...
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 5 of …But Make it Books is here! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss the revolutionary act of Black Love, the Romance genre, why we all...
America The Beautiful . . .
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Title: America the Beautiful... In this episode, Niccara and Brandon discuss the battles of living under the American system, the power of love and fa...
Banned Books...
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Niccara and Brandon discuss why books are banned, the power of control, the books that should be banned, and how children are the future, in everyon...
Do What You Gotta Do...
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 2 of …But Make it Books is here! Join Niccara and Brandon as they discuss survival, the difference between survival and healing, Richmond ge...
Who Dis . . .
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the inaugural episode of …But Make it Books! Join Niccara and Brandon as they share how they feel about starting a podcast, give insight ...