Crissle’s Couch — Session 5 ft. Deante Kyle

Date: December 9, 2025
Host: Crissle (CAKE MEDIA)
Guest: Deante Kyle

Episode Overview

This episode features a candid, insightful, and frequently humorous conversation between Crissle and Deante Kyle — creator and host of the Grits and Eggs podcast, well-known for his bracing social commentary and honest takes on culture, work, and life. They discuss Deante’s journey into education, social commentary, and fatherhood, the realities of working-class Black America, community and class solidarity, therapy and emotional growth, the complexities of internet fame, and the evolution and challenges of podcasting itself. Woven throughout are dispatches of lived Black experience, critiques of capitalism, and the importance of nuance and duality.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Deante’s New York Experience & Identity

Timestamp: 00:39–02:41

• Crissle and Deante laugh about his NYC visits, Dallas BBQ’s famous sticky wings, and local “rites of passage.”
• Deante talks about his working-class roots (truck driving, hustling) and growing into fatherhood and community engagement.
• “I just, like, have very strong opinions. I'm working class, so I come out of driving trucks…a father…been in Black American studies and global African studies for the better part of 10 years…raised in a very, like, solution-oriented environment…” (Deante, 02:42)

2. Catalyst for Becoming Socially Engaged

Timestamp: 03:51–07:57

• “Zeitgeist” film broke Deante away from Christian practice post-prison, spurred deeper study of Black sociopolitical history.
• Importance of Malcolm X’s autobiography, James Baldwin, John Henrik Clarke, Angela Davis, and the documentary “Hidden Colors.”
• “When motherfuckers is good with words, man, it's powerful. It really just like, it'll open your mind up.” (Deante, 06:46)

3. On Fatherhood and Raising Black Children

Timestamp: 08:01–09:28

• Deante has three kids (14, 11, 7), emphasizes preparing them for adulthood, using "life lectures" to teach accountability.
• “I'm not talking to you as you are. I'm talking to you as you will be…I put it back on myself, like…when I wasn't taking care of my responsibilities…we got evicted.” (Deante, 08:50)

4. Origins of His Commentary & Truck-Driver Philosophizing

Timestamp: 09:28–13:05

• Began sharing thoughts via social while truck driving during the pandemic — catalyzed by frustrations about work, compensation, and housing realities.
• Connects to the “quiet quitting” movement, critiques side-hustle culture and the commodification of every facet of working-class life.
• “I don’t wake up every day thinking about no money, bro…Why I can't just have my job, enjoy my time with my family, go on a vacation every now and then…” (Deante, 11:01)

5. Class, Capitalism, Quiet Quitting, and Power

Timestamp: 12:12–20:49

• Discussion of work as transactional, power dynamics in management, and how class solidarity is undermined by aspiration and competition.
• Critiques "temporarily embarrassed millionaires," Law of Attraction, and the myth of universal “coming up.”
• “You won't be paid for your labor, but you will be paid in power…There’s always gonna be people that wanna feel in control of something.” (Deante, 12:12)
• Wealth and status symbols among the super-rich are lampooned; Jeff Bezos and Prime Day discussed hilariously.

6. The Psychology of Urban Life & Social Aspiration

Timestamp: 19:34–21:36

• Urban experience: High stakes and psychological tolls of living near both extreme poverty and extreme wealth.
• “That is like the ethos of capitalism. Like, you have to be individualistic…If you think about it communally, you won't want to exploit nobody.” (Deante, 20:50)

7. Wealth, Redistribution, and Socialism

Timestamp: 21:36–23:33

• Questions why the ultra-rich do not use money for societal benefit, critiques their role in perpetuating class divides.
• “Amongst themselves, they [the wealthy] are socialists…double dose of this capitalism, nigga.” (Deante, 18:57)

8. Neurodivergence, Small Talk, and Social Dynamics

Timestamp: 23:15–27:02

• Playful conversation about neurodivergence, ADHD, the rise of “therapy speak,” and honesty/trauma dumping.
• "Stop trauma dumping!" (Deante, 25:29)
• Crissle jokes about being "too famous" or distractible for public transit and the hazards for internet personalities.

9. Public Transit, Subsidies, and Politics

Timestamp: 27:02–28:05

• The MTA, fares, and urban policy: “The train should be free. It’s public transportation, should be free.” (Deante, 27:18)

10. Romanticizing Crime & Ethic of Success

Timestamp: 28:14–32:04

• Saturation of media with glorified criminality. “You normalize criminal activity so long as it's not a black person.” (Deante, 28:33)
• Batman as a billionaire vigilante critiqued for not using wealth for community uplift.

11. On Reactivity, Social Media & Content Creation

Timestamp: 33:14–36:50

• Deante’s approach: “I mostly just don't react to shit.” Pauses, reflects before responding, gauges perspectives.
• Segues into methods for choosing podcast vs. TikTok content — depth determines platform; seeks thread/through-line for longer shows.

12. The State & Skill of Podcasting

Timestamp: 36:56–42:31

• Crissle and Deante discuss the podcast boom and the skills needed for compelling audio.
• “You and the homie are not having an intelligent or enlightening or entertaining conversation…” (Deante, 40:08)
• Chemistry, character, and perspective as differentiators; reflections on the Reed and classic podcasting duos.

13. Childhood, School, and the Roots of Communicating

Timestamp: 42:31–47:21

• Both reflect on being “excessive talkers” in childhood, media literacy, and challenging school mythologies.
• “My teacher would say certain shit, and it's like, I don't know if that—Christopher Columbus did discover America, cuz I know what words mean…” (Deante, 44:36)
• Lively takes on church, prayer culture, and mental health taboos in Black spaces.

14. Faith, Religion, and Cultural Critique

Timestamp: 47:35–50:12

• Critique of faith as a tool of social control; “Jesus was autistic too…I don't know that. I'm just saying because it's gonna piss somebody off the idea that Jesus was autistic. But why not?” (Crissle, 47:58)
• Lampoons Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and the pitfalls of blind faith.

15. Therapy: Entering & Experiencing Growth

Timestamp: 50:12–56:03

• Deante discusses starting therapy, challenges of finding the right fit, and being “clocked” by both therapists and friends.
• Value of honesty in therapy, family, and professional feedback loops.
• “It was like, the first time that somebody said shit to me that had me, like, speechless. Like...Damn...just sit with that.” (Deante, 52:37)

16. Therapists' Therapy & Empathy

Timestamp: 56:03–58:03

• Crissle explains (as a trained counselor) how therapists deal with their own issues, supervision, and the importance of empathy even for “the worst people in the world.”

17. Nuance, Complexity & Social Commentary

Timestamp: 58:03–65:53

• Importance of “shamelessness” and empathy, seeing root causes for deeply problematic behaviors.
• “Life happens in the gray area…When people are too black and white. I can't fuck with it.” (Crissle, 64:41 & Deante, 64:44)
• Dangers of “flattening” complexity on social media; pushback against forced rigidity and cancel culture.
• “Let people be people and let people redeem themselves…without this rigid perfectionism, actually, nobody's gonna be successful.” (Deante, 68:26)

18. Cancel Culture, Social Media, and Growth

Timestamp: 68:05–69:39

• “If y’all knew me 10 years ago, it wouldn’t be none of this.” (Deante, 69:02)
• Discusses the pitfalls of “digging up old tweets,” the impossibility of perfection online, the importance of review/edit in video vs. tweet.

19. Final Reflections

Timestamp: 69:39–Close

• Guest and host plug their socials and shows.
• Warm mutual appreciation and an invitation for listeners to write in.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On “quiet quitting” and class:
  “People do their job and they'll do it well if they feel like they being compensated adequately. Right. Like when it's when people feel like they’re getting fucked over that they just start fucking off.” — Deante, [10:06]

• On commodification:
  “Why I gotta goddamn go door to door…for all these corporations that just want you to be on TikTok, like selling products or Amazon selling products. Like, it's people that have made entire, like YouTube pages just like hucking products for Amazon. And it's like, for what?” — Deante, [11:01]

• On social mobility myth:
  “It's like this concept of being like a temporarily embarrassed millionaire, right? Just People think the money on the way … So I'mma treat you niggas accordingly in the meantime. And it's like, nah, bro, your ass go to work just like me. You poor, bro.” — Deante, [14:16]

• On empathy as a therapist:
  “The worst people in the world, I can see how they got there, you know?” — Crissle, [57:49]

• On allowing people complexity:
  “If you think that nigga was walking around every day lacking humor, lacking nuance, lacking relaxation…Even if they said and did profound things…they also had other sides to them. This is their forward facing position because this is their shit.” — Deante, [66:29]

• On cancel culture and growth:
  “Let people be people and let people redeem themselves. That whole thing of going back on nigga tweets 10 years ago, it's like, bro, people, do you know how…If y’ all knew me 10 years ago, it wouldn't be none of this.” — Deante, [68:56]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Start | End | Notes | |----------------------------------|----------|----------|-----------------------------------------| | NYC Stories & BBQs | 00:39 | 02:41 | Humor, local culture | | Deante’s Background & Studies | 02:42 | 07:57 | Personal evolution, community | | Fatherhood & Accountability | 08:01 | 09:28 | Life lessons for kids | | Truck Driving & Commentary Start | 09:28 | 13:05 | Social critique, pandemic | | Class Dynamics & Solidarity | 12:12 | 20:49 | Power, aspiration, capitalism | | Urban Aspiration Psychology | 19:34 | 21:36 | High stakes, self-perception | | Socialism vs. Capitalism | 21:36 | 23:33 | Ultra-rich, “double dose capitalism” | | Neurodivergence & Small Talk | 23:15 | 27:02 | Therapy, trauma, fame | | Public Transit Subsidies | 27:02 | 28:05 | MTA, public systems | | Glamorized Crime, Success Ethics | 28:14 | 32:04 | Media, Batman critique | | Content Strategy | 33:14 | 36:50 | Reactivity, show structure | | Podcasting Skills & Bubble | 36:56 | 42:31 | Media, chemistry, character | | School, Reading, & Childhood | 42:31 | 47:21 | Early curiosity, argumentation | | Church & Faith Culture | 47:35 | 50:12 | Taboo on mental health | | Therapy Journey & Growth | 50:12 | 56:03 | Honesty, feedback, vulnerability | | Therapist’s Empathy & Support | 56:03 | 58:03 | Supervision, being “worst people” | | Nuance & Complexity | 58:03 | 65:53 | Duality, social media, cancel culture | | Conclusion & Plugs | 69:39 | End | Signoff, contacts |

Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is unfiltered, honest, rooted in Black Southern and urban experience, and oscillates between comedy and clarity. Deante and Crissle model a friendship where vulnerability, critique, and cultural interrogation go hand in hand. The episode consistently pushes for more nuance, less rigidity, and a deeper empathy — for self, community, and even so-called adversaries.

For anyone seeking a mix of wisdom, laughter, validation, and challenge — “Crissle’s Couch” proves it’s the next best thing to therapy, without pretending to be therapy at all.

Socials:

• Deante Kyle: All platforms @deantekyle
• Grits and Eggs Podcast: YouTube & Patreon
• Crissle’s Couch: All platforms; listener questions at advice@crisslescouch.com