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What Now? With Trevor NoahWhat’s In An Accent with Lupita Nyong’o | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast
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CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:25
Linkin Park and a Strict Church Upbringing
Lupita mentions she once loved Linkin Park, and Trevor responds with how electric guitars were considered the devil's music in his mother's house. He recalls the different churches he attended and the stories about Satan tempting Jesus.
- •Lupita was once obsessed with Linkin Park
- •Trevor says anything with an electric guitar was the devil in his mother's house
- •He contrasts the simple African church of hymns and choirs with the more organized white church
- •Trevor jokes that Lupita had a free life
- 1:25 – 3:39
Who Are the Best Africans? South Africans, Nigerians, Kenyans
Trevor opens the African podcast conversation by asking which nationality is best. The group jokes about South African bragging, Kenyan modesty and Nigerian pride.
- •Trevor calls South Africans the Americans of Africa
- •Lupita says Kenyans don't have much braggadocio
- •A speaker describes Nigerian pride as baked in
- •Everyone agrees Nigerians are the opposite of modest
- 3:39 – 6:54
Building the Mind Your Own Story Podcast
Lupita explains how the show came together, inspired by radio and This American Life, with story scouts around the world finding stories. Trevor jokes that the process boils down to gossip and asks why the first episode is about losing an accent.
- •Lupita loved storytelling and radio growing up
- •This American Life shaped her understanding of America
- •A studio hired story scouts who emailed people and sent her blurbs
- •She chose stories she felt represented the show
- •The show aims to expand what it means to be African today
- 6:54 – 8:49
Losing and Reclaiming Her Accent
Lupita describes accepting that her voice is malleable, including a niece telling her she sounded like a white somebody. She recounts the grief of drama school accent training and being asked to return to her own accent. Her mother told her her sound is a product of her life experience.
- •Her niece told her she sounded like a white somebody
- •She decided to be method with her American accent at drama school
- •She cried many nights over the process
- •Returning to her original accent was hard, since she couldn't find it in her mouth
- •Her mother said her sound reflects her life experience
- 8:49 – 16:18
Mimicry vs. Accents and the Mexican Connection
Trevor explains that he mimics people rather than doing accents, and Lupita says she envies that. Then Lupita explains she was born in Mexico and learned Spanish by going Spanish-only for seven months at 16.
- •Trevor mimics specific people rather than doing accents
- •Lupita studies the IPA for accents
- •She was born in Mexico while her father was in self-exile
- •She was sent to Mexico at 16 to learn Spanish
- •Survival mode helped her learn the language
- 16:18 – 18:28
Different Personalities in Different Languages
Trevor asks how personality shifts across languages. Lupita describes a spicier, provocative Kenyan self, a more polite and whinier Mexican self, and a different American self.
- •Trevor feels like a different Trevor in English and Zulu
- •Kenyan Lupita is spicier and uses lots of sounds
- •Her family compliments by teasing
- •Mexican Lupita is more polite and has a lilt
- 18:28 – 21:42
Breaking Barriers and Coaching Her Xhosa for Black Panther
A speaker says Lupita opened a door for African actresses. Lupita still encourages learning other accents, since Yale training let her play a Ugandan and try Xhosa. Trevor recalls assembling Xhosa speakers to help her get her lines right.
- •A speaker says Lupita broke barriers for African actresses
- •Lupita says training let her play more Africans
- •Trevor gathered Xhosa speakers to coach her lines by voice note
- •Lupita thanks him for last-minute help on set
- 21:42 – 28:03
Privacy, Vulnerability and Telling Hard Stories
A speaker praises the podcast's heartbreaking stories, and Lupita says she was pushed to share her own stories. She discusses the African habit of keeping things private and how she balances that against being real, wanting what she shares to be additive.
- •Evelyn's story about being shipped from Canada to Ghana is humanized
- •Buyers wanted Lupita's own stories as a gateway
- •She is normally curated and buttoned up
- •Trevor describes the African ethos of not airing your business
- •She shares only what may be useful to others, like her heartbreak
- 28:03 – 30:30
Challenging What Is Considered African and Black
Lupita says she wants to challenge the African mentality of keeping things closed, so Africans can understand each other. Trevor says America struggles to define identity, and they discuss how Black gets wrongly equated with unsophisticated.
- •Hearing unfamiliar stories builds empathy
- •Lupita questions the claim that something is un-African
- •Trevor asks what American or British identity is
- •He notes people say something is not Black when they mean it isn't sophisticated
- •Lupita says we reclaim ourselves daily
- 30:30 – 33:24
The Breastfeeding Episode and Africans on the Global Stage
A speaker discusses the breastfeeding episode and how images of African women breastfeeding are missing from media. Lupita says she shared the story because it's outrageous, and she was stubborn about making the podcast so Africans can see themselves with delight.
- •Breastfeeding imagery is associated with white, affluent women
- •The speaker saw African women in her family breastfeeding
- •Lupita didn't think about the erasure of that imagery
- •Africans share these things in private, but they are becoming more public
- •Lupita stayed stubborn when people said no to the podcast
- 33:24 – 36:38
Coffee Connection Break
In a Starbucks-sponsored segment, Trevor and the others talk about coffee, grandmothers, and how it invites stories and gossip.
- •Trevor says we connect forward but old people connect backward
- •His grandmothers loved coffee, tea and bread
- •A speaker's husband's abuela always offers coffee
- •Coffee feels low-stakes compared to wine
- 36:38 – 44:53
The Data Lie and Where Her Determination Comes From
Trevor says data looks backward and that everyone in Hollywood is dashing to be second, which can make African stories seem unmarketable. He asks where Lupita's drive comes from, and she credits her parents and her curiosity about Mexico, and describes her determination at auditions.
- •Trevor says data is a liar because it looks backward
- •Norm said everyone in Hollywood is in a mad dash to be second
- •Lupita credits parents who did not limit her by gender or nationality
- •Her default is to seek welcome, not to feel unwelcome
- •She had no time for self-doubt at her drama school auditions
- 44:53 – 50:09
Growing Up in Kenya, Colorism and Racial Awareness
A speaker asks whether growing up in Kenya insulated Lupita from messages about race. Lupita says she experienced colorism but came from a majority-Black society with other anchoring identities, and she arrived in America at 20 and learned racial history intellectually first.
- •She experienced colorism and self-esteem issues
- •Everybody around her was dark, so there were counters to the teasing
- •Her identity had other markers like being a woman, a Luo and upper middle class
- •She came to America at 20 and developed racial understanding through her brain first
- •12 Years a Slave helped her empathize with modern America
- 50:09 – 57:27
Belonging, Citizenship and Being Enough
Lupita recalls turning down a stereotypical Nigerian maid role while on a student visa because her mother reminded her she belonged in Kenya. Trevor contrasts this with America, where belonging can be taken away, and Lupita shares her father's view that borders are made up.
- •Her mother told her she was accepted in Kenya and needn't struggle in America
- •She turned down the maid role and things worked out
- •Trevor says no one can take away your Kenyan or South African card
- •America creates narratives about who belongs
- •Her father said the world is hers and borders are made up
- 57:27 – 1:00:58
Popularizing African Perspectives and Closing
Trevor asks where Lupita wants to take her work. She says she wants to popularize African perspective so it feels familiar, hopefully leading to movies someday. Trevor praises her determination, and they wrap up with a mention of Wild Robot.
- •Trevor notes people kept asking her to do more of what she'd done well
- •He compares stories to food with the same ingredients but different spices
- •Lupita wants to popularize African perspectives
- •She hopes some stories become movies
- •Trevor mentions Wild Robot is out
