Meet Deshawn Plair & Miah Giavanni of the Auntie Cousin Podcast

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deshawn Plair and Miah Giavanni, co-hosts of the Auntie Cousin Podcast.

Hi Deshawn and Miah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn more about you and the Auntie Cousin Podcast. So, before we get into specifics, can you tell us how the podcast came together?
Deshawn: I knew I wanted to create a podcast centered around real conversations, the kind that can make you laugh one minute and really sit with yourself the next. I also knew early on that I didn’t want to do it alone. When I thought about who I wanted to build it with, Miah was my first and only choice.

We’re both storytellers, but we come to storytelling from different places. I’m 40, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, married, and I’ve built my career in film and television as a writer, producer and director. Miah is 31, from Atlanta, engaged, and has built her career as a casting director and creative producer. We’re in different seasons of our lives, and we each bring our own creative perspective and life experiences to the conversation. I think it’s those differences, along with the way we naturally connect with people and with each other, that make our conversations work.

Miah: And before there was ever a podcast called Auntie Cousin, I was already calling Deshawn my “Auntie Cousin.”
It’s one of those names that just fit her. She’s my friend, but our relationship has always had layers. There are moments when she’s giving me auntie wisdom, moments when we’re just cousins cutting up, and plenty of moments when those roles completely reverse.

Deshawn: So when I started thinking about what to call the show, Auntie Cousin came to mind. And I thought, that’s us.
The more we talked about it, the more we realized the name wasn’t just funny or catchy. It described the entire point of the show. We’re two Black women from the same generation but with different lived experiences and different perspectives. We can sit at the same table, hear the same story and walk away with two completely different takes.

And that’s where the conversation gets good.

Season 1 was centered around ownership and what it really means to take ownership of your life. Not just professionally, but your relationships, identity, mental health, choices, joy, mistakes and the person you’re becoming. Our guests may be known for acting, entertainment, entrepreneurship or something else entirely, but we’re interested in who they are beyond the résumé.

That’s really how we got here. What started as an idea for a podcast became a space that feels very much like us: funny, honest, culturally rooted and willing to go there.

And now we’re getting ready for Season 2.

We’re excited because we’re no longer only thinking about Auntie Cousin as a podcast. We’re building a platform around conversation, culture and community. We want to create more opportunities for people to pull up a chair, whether that’s through the podcast, live conversations, events, partnerships or wherever this community takes us next.

The table is getting bigger, but the conversation will always feel like home.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Miah: Smooth? No. (Laughs) But we also didn’t expect building something from scratch to be smooth.

Deshawn: One of the biggest challenges has been building Auntie Cousin while both of us already have full lives and careers. An independent podcast is a business. People see us sitting down, sipping tea and having a conversation, but there’s an entire production happening before and after that conversation.

There’s developing the season, booking guests, research, scheduling, production, editing, marketing, social media and figuring out how to get the show in front of the people who will connect with it.

And then there are the growing pains of building something with someone you genuinely care about.

Miah: Part of what makes the podcast work is that Deshawn and I can see the same situation completely differently. Learning how to let those differences strengthen the show instead of feeling like we always need to arrive at the same answer has been part of the journey.

Deshawn: We’ve also had to learn not to let the internet define what success should look like for us.
There’s a lot of pressure in podcasting to chase the viral moment, the biggest name or whatever everyone is talking about that week. We want people to share our clips, of course, but we don’t want to build something that only lives for thirty seconds on somebody’s timeline.

We want the clip people share, but we also want the sentence somebody remembers.

Some of our favorite moments from Season 1 happened when a guest said something that made the room shift. We laughed a lot, but we also talked about grief, self-worth, identity, relationships, family and what it takes to keep choosing yourself.

That’s what we’re protecting as we grow.

We’re learning that you can be intentional without having everything figured out. That’s actually part of being grown.

Sometimes you’re the auntie with the answer.

Sometimes you’re the cousin who needs one.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Auntie Cousin is a culture-forward podcast built around humor, perspective and honest conversation.

We like to say we sip tea while we spill tea, and hopefully leave better than we came.

But what we really specialize in is creating space.

Our guests might come to the table as actors, entrepreneurs, artists, executives or creatives, but we’re interested in the person underneath the title. We’re not trying to run through a list of questions. We’re listening for the story behind the answer.

What did it cost you to become who you are?

What are you still figuring out?

What did nobody tell you about success?

Who are you when the thing you’re known for isn’t in the room?

That’s where our different perspectives really work.

Deshawn: My background is in storytelling, so I’m naturally listening for the story underneath the story. I’m interested in the why, the turning point and sometimes the thing somebody almost said but didn’t.

Miah: I want people to feel comfortable enough to actually talk to us instead of feeling like they’re being interviewed. I’m also an Atlanta girl, so conversation, humor, culture and making people feel at home are just part of who I am.

Together, that creates a different kind of interview.

Deshawn: There are moments when one of us asks the thoughtful question and the other one asks what everybody in the group chat actually wants to know. (LOL) We tease each other. We tell stories. We get vulnerable ourselves. And because we’re willing to show up as people, our guests usually do too.

We’re also very intentional about showing up as Black women without feeling like we need to explain every cultural reference, soften our humor or translate ourselves for the room. Our culture isn’t a segment of Auntie Cousin. It’s naturally woven into how we communicate and how we see the world.

But the conversations are human.

Love. Money. Friendship. Career. Mental health. Grief. Family. Reinvention. Purpose. Getting older. Starting over. Becoming.

That’s why someone can come for the guest and end up recognizing themselves in the conversation.

What we’re most proud of is that after Season 1, the show already has an identity. It doesn’t feel like something we manufactured for the microphone. It feels like us.

For Season 2, we’re building on that foundation. We’re bringing new voices and new conversations to the table while expanding what Auntie Cousin can become outside of the podcast.

We don’t want to simply build an audience.

We want to build a community that feels like one big group chat, where everybody has a seat at the table.

And Season 2 is just the beginning.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Deshawn: I love Atlanta because of the southern hospitality and Black excellence unapologetically. I’ve traveled there for work and always enjoy myself. There’s so much history, love and some of my favorite people are from there. I’ll let my girl talk her talk since this is her hometown.

Miah: Alexa, play “Wassup” by Rich Kidz.

First and foremost, shoutout to the East Side. I’m an East Side girl through and through, but the city itself has a place in my heart I could never deny. It’s where my entire family still is, and no matter where I am in the world, I’m proud to be a product of them. We move the culture.

The South is a special place, period, but Atlanta is where the realest are made. We’re layered, we’re fye, and everything about the city brings me joy. My only ask is that we protect the foundation of what we know as old Atlanta, the people, the music, the food, the community. That’s the place that taught me the foundation of everything I know and everything I am. Honestly, I could write a book about it. Or at least three poems.

And that’s on a 10-piece hot with lemon pepper sprinkles (combo), and a large peach drank on the side. I luh my city

Pricing:

• We’re launching a Substack with a subscription option as well as a free option. We’ll also be releasing merch soon. The podcast is free to watch and listen to. Follow @AuntieCousinPod for episodes, clips, conversations and Season 2 announcements. Season 2 is coming soon. Pull up a chair. You’re in the group chat now.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @auntiecousinpod
• Facebook: @auntiecousinpod
• Youtube: @auntiecousinpod

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