Grits and Eggs Podcast

Host: Deante’ Kyle (Big Cat)
Guest: Dr. Taylor Cummings
Episode: 119 – Dr. Taylor Cummings Part 2
Date: February 7, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode reunites Deante’ “Big Cat” Kyle with Dr. Taylor Cummings for a raw, intellectual, and free-flowing conversation spanning identity, Black liberation, the rhythm of history, creative discipline, education, patriarchy, and healing. Picking up where their last meeting left off, they explore the inner and outer work of being Black in America, with deep dives into Dr. Cummings’ dissertation, trauma, spiritual awakenings, cycles of productivity, and the cultural power of art and music. The tone remains candid, reflective, and sometimes humorous, infused with mutual respect and a drive for honest self-examination.

Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. Returning Home & the Power of Place

Timestamps: 02:38–05:00

• Dr. Cummings discusses her move back to Virginia, feeling an “immediate energetic” homecoming after time in places like Las Vegas and Pittsburgh.
• Both reflect on the impact of returning to formative spaces and the unexpected resonance of old neighborhoods.

“Just returning home, I think is very significant, maybe for ways that I’m not even yet aware of, but I feel incredible.” – Dr. Taylor Cummings (02:54)

2. Community Spaces & Audience Engagement

Timestamps: 05:39–08:25

• Big Cat highlights the importance of cultivating intelligent, proactive audiences both through his Patreon and live shows.
• They discuss the “practice of true education” as mutual exchange, not a one-way vessel.

“You don’t treat people like they’re empty vessels. You understand that they are entire human beings...” – Dr. Cummings (07:40)

3. Social Media, Content Creation & A Culture of Rush

Timestamps: 09:32–15:09

• The pair shares their experiences with fame, burnout, and navigating critique (“the Antichrist thing”).
• Big Cat laments the pressure to monetize every hobby, calling instead for slow, joyful engagement.
• Both experiment with literal examples of resisting rushed routines (Big Cat intentionally slowing down driving, Dr. Cummings arriving calmly to the studio).

“Active resistance to capitalism in general is just to slow down and take your time.” – Big Cat (13:23)
“It is an act of resistance. It is an act of rebellion. It is an act of revolution to say, I’m not going with your time.” – Dr. Cummings (14:10)

4. Time, Nature, and Seasons in Human Life

Timestamps: 15:51–20:52

• Critique of “professionalism” and mechanistic time—contrasted with natural rhythms.
• Big Cat ties this to structural oppression (judicial system, the illusion of “utopia,” cycles of housework always returning).
• Dr. Cummings brings it to the spiritual and metaphysical: knowing your season, knowing yourself, the duality of up/down, light/dark.

“I want people to understand, like, what season they’re in...the truth of the season is, like, it’s temporary.” – Big Cat (17:36)

5. Accepting Simple Truths & Radical Accountability

Timestamps: 20:52–25:54

• Why do we resist simple, inevitable truths (“what goes up must come down”)?
• Dr. Cummings advocates for framing suffering as integral, not antithetical, to growth.
• Big Cat reflects on accepting past suffering, letting go of control, and what it means to truly “do your best.”

“You have to have those moments of like, okay, everything around me is really kind of going to hell...What is my role here? How have I contributed to this?” – Dr. Cummings (22:32)

6. Destigmatizing Spiritual Awakening & Psychosis

Timestamps: 25:54–29:50

• The previous episode spurred listeners to share their stories about spiritual awakening and psychosis.
• Dr. Cummings responds by launching a spiritual awakening/psychosis support group for collective healing and normalization—a non-clinical, peer-driven space.

“It's not therapy...but it is a space to get comfortable sharing your story…to destigmatize it...” – Dr. Cummings (25:54)

7. Navigating Rabbit Holes, Academia, & Decolonizing Knowledge

Timestamps: 29:50–34:43

• Both describe the challenge of going too “deep” into research or ideology and the importance of coming out the other side.
• Dr. Cummings chooses “autoethnography” in her dissertation—a study of herself and her miseducation—using Black feminist and intuitive methods.
• She deconstructs the myth that science and spirituality must be at odds, advocating for “knowledge of self” and integrative, liberated research.

“I wanted to understand the process of miseducation. I wanted to understand the process of indoctrination, because that’s what I went through.” – Dr. Cummings (31:04)

8. Dr. Taylor Cummings’ Dissertation Unpacked

Timestamps: 34:43–40:49

• Title: The Miseducation of Taylor Cummings—analyzing “belonging” for Black students within oppressive US educational institutions.
• She critiques “belonging” as defined by psychological membership to institutions often hostile to Black autonomy.
• She uses a deeply personal, archival approach and hip-hop hermeneutics to interrogate external validation, loss, and reclaiming self-belonging.

“If we’re trying to get Black students to belong—belong to what? What are we educating them towards?” – Dr. Cummings (37:53) “I embargoed my dissertation...because I didn’t want the university to own my story like that.” – Dr. Cummings (39:52)

9. Creative Discipline & Motivation

Timestamps: 40:49–54:47

• They swap stories about abandoned creative projects, with Big Cat sharing how he struggles to write beyond emotional “winter.”
• Dr. Cummings unpacks the tensions between writing as liberation—versus oral Black traditions, and the oppressive expectation that only what’s written is valued.
• They brainstorm strategies for following through, doing “one thing well,” and supporting each other’s discipline.

“One point in my life, [writing] was my lifeline...But I also started to understand how oppressive it could be…our history also has a lot to do with the oral tradition...” – Dr. Cummings (43:44)

10. The Healing Power of Art, Music, and Nostalgia

Timestamps: 65:37–71:21

• Explores how music and art serve as catalysts for healing, emotional processing, and even survival.
• Big Cat shares a deeply personal anecdote about how ABBA's "Dancing Queen" saved him from suicidal thoughts.
• Dr. Cummings speaks to the metaphysical, psychological, and scientific resonance of music.

“That song is a catalyst for an entire series that I wrote...it connected to despair in a way where I started thinking about other things...I don't know why that song specifically did that for me.” – Big Cat (73:09) “I wanted to understand why certain things make us feel a certain way...psychologically, spiritually, emotionally, getting into energy and frequency and vibration...” – Dr. Cummings (69:36)

11. Addiction, Healing, and Radical Self-Honesty

Timestamps: 74:37–81:22

• Big Cat and Dr. Cummings reflect on cycles of addiction, body image, and the dangers of superficial escapism.
• Both recount phases of rejecting vanity as a form of rebellion, learning the importance of returning to balance and “coming back.”
• Dr. Cummings: “Radical honesty” and confronting the root cause as the core of real healing.

“You have to understand the root cause...when you’re substituting one thing for the other, you’re not really addressing why you need that thing.” – Dr. Cummings (74:37)

12. Patriarchy, Divinity, and Systems of Oppression

Timestamps: 87:17–97:43

• Discussion of how patriarchy co-opts/eclipses feminine divinity, using Eve and Pandora’s Box as allegory.
• Dr. Cummings links this to symbolism in ancient African spirituality (the ankh) and conceptual breakdowns in modern religion, science, and society.
• Both stress that oppressive systems ultimately waste the oppressor’s energy, too.

“The patriarchy does a great disservice to men themselves...by closing the womb and leaning into the patriarchy, this is now what we have.” – Dr. Cummings (88:46)

13. Negotiating Freedom and Fear in Oppression

Timestamps: 57:47–65:37, 105:47–106:26

• They dissect the internal debate many have around resisting oppression—whether liberatory violence is ever just, and how fear, community, and propaganda all intersect around this.
• Citing recent events and history, they highlight the tension between peace, justice, and self-preservation.

“We’re interested in negotiating our rights and negotiating our freedom. And that’s not what that looks like...” – Dr. Cummings (58:46) “Like I said, we need military science. We need to understand war because that’s what we’re involved in...It’s preservation of self. And so this is about survival.” – Dr. Cummings (105:47)

14. Global Blackness & Community Self-Governance

Timestamps: 102:21–105:06

• Big Cat discusses the importance of thinking beyond U.S. Blackness and building networks (and markets) that span the Black diaspora.
• Dr. Cummings: everyone’s community must cultivate its own sovereignty and resilience, not mimic the systems that oppress them.

“We also have to understand...global blackness is global colonization. And so yeah, we’re gonna have to navigate skin folk and kin folk in all aspects.” – Big Cat (103:43)

15. Continuous Learning, Collaboration, and Taking Up Space

Timestamps: 84:49–86:41; through the episode

• Both emphasize the importance of not comparing oneself to “experts,” sharing knowledge collaboratively, and honoring each person’s unique experience and expertise.

“Everyone’s brilliant at many different things. And the fact that you’ve arrived at this point means that you’ve learned something, you know something...” – Dr. Cummings (84:07)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On slowing down as resistance:
  “It is an act of rebellion. It is an act of revolution to say, I’m not going with your time.” – Dr. Taylor Cummings (14:10)

• On belonging:
  “If we’re trying to get Black students to belong—belong to what? What are we educating them towards?” – Dr. Taylor Cummings (37:53)

• On creativity and discipline:
  “All it takes is, like, to just stick with it…If I do everything at peak inspiration, then there’s going to be very few things that get done.” – Big Cat (48:44)

• On the healing power of music:
  “That song [‘Dancing Queen’] is a catalyst for an entire series that I wrote…it saved my life, so to speak.” – Big Cat (73:09)

• On systems of oppression:
  “The patriarchy does a great disservice to men themselves.” – Dr. Taylor Cummings (88:46)
  “Any system of oppression that you engage in also hurts the oppressor.” – Big Cat (91:24)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:38 – Dr. Cummings on returning home, significance of place
• 07:40 – The true practice of education as mutual exchange
• 09:32 – Navigating public opinion, burnout from the spotlight
• 14:10 – Slowing down as an act of resistance
• 17:36 – Rhythms and seasons in history and personal life
• 25:54 – Launching a support group for spiritual awakening/psychosis
• 31:04–37:53 – Dr. Cummings on her dissertation, self-belonging vs. institutional belonging
• 48:44 – Creative discipline, inspiration vs. motivation
• 65:37–71:21 – The metaphysical power of music in healing
• 74:37 – Addiction, radical honesty, and the return from escapism
• 88:46–94:04 – Patriarchy, Eve, Pandora, and coding divinity
• 102:21–105:47 – Global Blackness, self-governance, organizing for liberation

Closing & Calls to Action

Dr. Taylor Cummings’ Projects & Where to Find Her:

• The Lab: Weekly space for Black women creatives, entrepreneurs, and scholars
• Future Kings STEM Academy (Northern Virginia): Supporting young men in STEM
• Mosaic Training Institute: EMDR training for therapists
• IG: @theselflovedoc | Website: selflovedoc.com

Big Cat’s Reflection:
Expresses deep gratitude for these periodic conversations, emphasizing their unique intellectual “stream of consciousness” chemistry, and the importance of platforms that center Black thought, community, and self-exploration.

Overall Tone & Takeaways

Deeply reflective, philosophical, and rooted in Black intellectual and lived experience. The episode resists easy answers, instead prioritizing rhythm, honesty, and process over productivity or celebrity. It leaves listeners with an urge to slow down, honor seasonality, love oneself and one’s people fiercely, and keep questioning, creating, and collaborating for liberation—personal and collective.

For further resources or to connect with Dr. Taylor Cummings, visit selflovedoc.com.