HeyJaredThe Idea of...
Bassey Ikpi and Dr. Michael Andrews have a lot to work through.As children of immigrant parents, xennial creatives, and parents raising sons in competitive soccer, they bring the full complexity of their lives to every conversation.The Idea Of… is where Black culture, family,…
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 5
- Latest publication
- Sep 9, 2026
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- Jul 8, 2026
Latest episodes
The Idea Of... The End of the Beginning (opens the original)
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After two seasons, The Idea Of… is coming to an end. Well... sort of. In the final episode of The Idea Of… as we know it, Mike and Bassey reflect on where they've been, where they are, and what happens when you realize it's time to become more intentional about where you're going. The conversation begins with the complicated reality of raising Black sons in American soccer and expands into something much bigger: what it means to be Black Xennials approaching 50 without much of a blueprint for th
The Idea Of... The Fall Out (opens the original)
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After a few weeks away, Mike and Bassey hit record with no real plan other than to catch up. What follows is less a return episode than an honest reckoning with what happens when the life you knew—and the version of yourself you knew how to be—starts to fall away. Bassey opens up about going quiet, isolation, aging, creativity, and a realization that what she thought was being stuck in the past was actually something different: an inability to imagine the future. That revelation leads Mike and B
The Idea Of... Three Mirrors: A Hovchella Weekend (An Extra Innings Episode) (opens the original)
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Three concerts. Three cities. Three completely different versions of the same question: Where do I belong now? Mike takes listeners on a deeply personal journey through one unforgettable weekend—seeing J. Cole in Charlotte, Chris Brown and Usher in Washington, D.C., and Jay-Z's historic Extra Innings concert at Yankee Stadium. But this isn't a review of the shows. It's a reflection on what happens when music becomes a mirror. As he moves from city to city, Mike wrestles with something many of us
The Idea Of... The Death of Expertise (opens the original)
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What happens when everyone has a platform, but nobody agrees on who to trust? Bassey and Mike begin with an honest conversation about mental health, unpacking the subtle signs of depression, anxiety, and the challenge ecognizing when something feels "off" before it becomes a crisis. What starts as a conversation about emotional health quickly expands into something much larger: the state of intellectual health in the age of social media. From self-diagnosing TikTok trends to conspiracy theories,
The Idea Of... Compassion Before Commentary (opens the original)
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This week starts with soccer... ...and somehow ends with parenting, grief, race, and what happens when tragedy collides with the internet. Mike and Bassey unpack everything from World Cup coaching decisions and why infrastructure matters more than raw talent, to the emotional culture of international soccer and why some countries seem to know how to win before the game even begins. Then the conversation shifts. Following the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, they wrestle with something bigger th
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