 You gotta give me the skincare routine because you got some some pretty skin over there. I don't know if it's the light, but I'm like, you gotta. My wife, my wife has been working on me. My wife's been working on me. Tell her A plus. She's doing a great job. Tell you just received an Emmy nom. Congratulations, number one. Thank you. Our awarding is that for you, given your labor of love with the show. Oh my goodness. It's wild. Like I'm I was sitting on a plane actually because I went to a game in Toronto to watch the Hawks and as we're sitting on the tarmac, I my phone is like blowing up. It's my boss is one of my producers. I'm like, I did something really good or really bad and I need to figure out why everyone at work is calling me. So it was really nice. You know, they are calling to say I was nominated for this Emmy. It was a major like shock for me. I didn't know these things were coming out, nor that I was even like up for it. So it was just really, really, really cool to see, you know, the work be received and people enjoy it and I just, I felt very proud and very happy and super honored to be with this group of people that I respect and admire so much. So it's it was exciting. You know, Taylor, I feel like interviews is this is too formal. What you're having are conversations. And there's the real, there's a real art to it. When did you fall in love with that art? I mean, honestly, I've always loved it. Like I've always really enjoyed people and learning about them in a very like real way. I've just always always enjoyed that. I think a lot of that is my parents like they're very warm welcoming, you know, we're Southern so we want to talk to everybody and get to know everybody. And I've always loved it. And growing up, my dad would like really make me do things like on stages or like talk to crowds of people like, because he would always tell me I should not be scared of people. And I'm so happy that he did that because I really enjoy just like talking and asking questions. And you know, when I think about it, I just think about so much of how I grew up and how you know one day when I have kids like how I'd want them to grow up. And it's so important that you really help like incubate the talents that your children have. Like a lot of the times, you know, if the kid is talking a lot, it's easy to say like, you know, be quiet and kind of try and silence them a little bit. But you have to like, encourage that curiosity, and like that want to know more. And I'm really thankful that my parents like pushed me to ask questions and pushed me to talk. So I never felt like these were these were negative things like I felt like this is something about myself that I should, I should work on and continue to do. And so I'm just very appreciative of them for doing that. That's amazing. That's amazing. So many key things you said in there. But it all accumulates to you having this superpower now that you're that's your parents. Is that something you noticed along the way, given that I mean the number one fear for a lot of people is speaking in public. You know, you're talking in intimate situations as well. I mean you realize along the way that this is a superpower. Yeah, you know, I think there's something I would say I think people have like their talent, but then they have whatever their gift is, you know, and I think that, you know, maybe the talent is like journalism or interviewing but I think the gift is like making people accountable, you know, are like being warm and being welcoming I think I think people feel like they can trust me. And I just feel very lucky that I'm able to make the thing that I feel as my gift, also my job. I think it really is like a superpower I know we talk a lot about okay like knowledge is power which it is. But I think that really knowing how to deal with people is one of the biggest powers you can have like if you know how to navigate rooms and you know how to connect with others. You learn what makes people happy it makes them sound makes them light up like learning how to read a person. I think it's one of the the greatest things that you can have on your side as you go through life. What are some of your favorite interviews slash conversations that you've had on your career. So many I mean like, I know it's cliche but I love them all. All your babies. Yeah, they're literally it's like choosing a child no. I first of want to say I'm always so just like thankful. You know, like the fact that anybody decides that they will even sit with you I'm thankful about, you know, like the fact that somebody has all do this interview I'm thankful for. So I'm so thankful for anybody that just decided to do an interview with me, but I think my interview with DeMar DeRozan always sticks out. Now the interview I do with Candice Parker always sticks out I really enjoyed that. I also like interviewing people that don't do a lot of sit down types like job doesn't do a bunch and we've done like for this point he's always very open in them. So I like that too. This wasn't on my show but I got to like interview Barack Obama for eight minutes and I was like this is the greatest thing ever. Barack Obama. But yeah I think DeMar and Candice really really stick out especially because with DeMar I was interviewing him at a time that you probably didn't want to talk to many people because he was with the Spurs the Raptors were about to win the championship and the whole narrative is like they were able to get there with Kawhi they couldn't get there with DeMar like there was just so many things to talk about, and he was very open and I think same thing with Candice she was, she was really candid about that her relationship or lack of with you know Oriama and it was just really nice to really dig deep in those conversations. Yeah, she has some quotes. Yeah, yeah, it was getting hot. He was hot and Alan. You know, these things, you know, these these entertainers these athletes, you know, as you know and I'm sure you've been told a thousand times, they're being open it doesn't come by accident, you mentioned the word warm multiple times. And I don't know that there's something you can teach that something you have in you there's a aura about you. You know, that great interviewers like yourself, conversations like yourself has have comes from being a good person with good intentions. I talk about that with folks, you know, getting in the field and being a good person is just a basic thing that kind of gets lost. Totally. Yeah. On a human level is something that the people that you get to talk to, they connect with without even maybe vocalizing it. Yeah, I mean, thank you. I mean, I would hope so. I think the number one thing you can do in this business is just be good to people. And that's not even in the business that's just in life. I don't know why anybody would be the opposite of kind to a person. And I think that in media and maybe specifically with interviewing two people know whether to believe you or not. You know, I think especially players like they have gone their whole lives with people, maybe having ill intentions or wanting to like catch them up in something or wanting to use them in some way. So I think it's very clear to them when somebody is genuine, and just wants to get to know like who they are. I think with interviews like I genuinely never try to have like, gotcha moments or get them caught up or like get a headline. I think that the best stuff just comes from being inquisitive like it just comes from asking why, you know, we're having them expand on things. I think that's like what's actually meaningful within interviews. So I would hope that at this point I've created a space or people understand that I might have to talk about something like I don't necessarily want to. But I'll talk about it in a way that I am being heard, not in a way that I'm like being judged or being tricked. And I think interviews really are better when it is that way and a lot of that does just spur from like wanting the best for people wanting to be kind of others wanting them to have good experiences with you and with your show. So that is absolutely the goal so I'm, I'm very thankful that you you feel that way. I think the toughest part of this business, or the most trying part of your journey. It's really good question was trying part of toughest. I think I'm, I know I'm much better at this now, but you certainly deal with feeling like you're consistently having to prove that you deserve or like, or that you're good enough. I think you're really young and for me I always say I think my life moved like really quickly like right when I graduated school, I was working a bit to network so I'm like this 21 year old doing this live show five days a week and I was kind of thrown into the fire, both at work but then also like personally like what it means to be like a journalist and like this public facing person. I think sometimes when you're young you're hearing people like say things about you that maybe you like don't agree with, but you hear them so much that you're like, is this true. And you second guess who you are sometimes. And I very like quickly had to learn that like knowing who you are at your core is like the most important thing that you can know, because it can be very trying when so many people are trying to tell you who you are and you're like wondering whether that's right or not. So I just think. Yeah, I would say, I would say being able to cancel out what anybody has to say about you is like the number one thing you have to be able to do because that can be difficult having to hear about yourself all the time. I'm not going to explain that correctly. It's absolutely true and it happens on, you know, on different levels and as your star has grown I'm sure it's gotten louder and louder. And that's you have to put those earmuffs on and as you said, you are remember who you are. You have to navigate through, you know, in this industry. I, I heard you mentioned this in an interview once and somebody told you, you can do anything, but you can't do everything. Yeah, and that reminded me of story when I was in Indiana I was doing, I was key announced for the Pacers I was doing radio show doing TV. And I was doing everything. Yeah, I would say that I was feeling myself but I was feeling pretty good and I grew up and even have listened here I was, you know doing these different things and I remember before Pacers game and walking on the court and Quinn Buckner does TV for the Pacers and he called me over. And he says, no, it's pretty good, but you got to pick one. And I just kind of hit me like, wait a minute, I'm doing everything like this. Who does everything who does all these different things. But he was, he was giving me a lesson then that it took me a little bit for it to resonate to narrow that focus a little bit still do multiple things but narrowing. Yeah. But how did you can do anything but you can't do everything how did that resonate. Oh my gosh in so many ways and it's like, I mean you know I think we have this. We have this idea that like we have to be able to do it all like to be worthy almost like you want to say like, I want to be your place both of I can do this I can also do this and I can do this and I can do this. But there really is a power in learning the thing that you're best at, and like trying to hone in on that specifically, like being the best act that thing is really really important. Obviously you still want to be versatile at that moment comes or somebody does ask you radio you want to have the ability and capability to do that but if you say no you come to me to do this, and you perfect to that. And there's just like something important about knowing what you are great at honing in on that. And so yeah when someone said that to me I was like well what do I think is, what's my lane like what can I excel at. And I realized the thing that I thought I could excel at was also a thing that made me feel the most purposeful which was having these actual conversations and focusing on interviewing specifically. I didn't feel as fulfilled like doing sideline I didn't feel as fulfilled like hosting I think those are obviously like amazing things to do but I was like I don't know like am I, my like a host in a way of like being with others and facilitating or do I just like want to ask questions and talk for an hour. And for me it was asking questions thing. So I really tried my best lunch I realized the thing that made me feel fulfilled, like making sure every decision I made like was on that trajectory. You know the thing you're good at, you make decisions to be able to do just that. But if you can do everything. Or if you're doing everything that path is so scattered, because you can go in so many different directions and I just work better when I have like a very specific plan that I want to make decisions towards. You know, you're interviewing, you know, all these amazing people and these, you know, celebrities but you have become just as recognizable as the people that you're talking to. Do you remember when that moment was when you noticed you're being recognized people are complimenting your work. Yeah. Um, I always say like the thing I think about is it was all star and Charlotte, like, what was that maybe like four years ago. Yeah, I was all star and Charlotte, and like dream bill did an event. And I went to it was like a brunch or something. And I went to it. I remember J Cole had seen my interview and I remember thinking, Oh my goodness, J Coles interview like I'm such a big fan of music. And so that was like a while before me that I always like think about like this is insane that he has seen it. But it's always I love whenever like if I'm on the street and someone says you know I really enjoyed this interview or like what you do and I will sit and have conversations like what did you like what was in your life because I think talking to the viewer about it is important too because you know you want you want to ask questions that the viewer wants to know that's the whole point. I'm just I'm really appreciative of anyone that has watched an interview, even if it was for one minute. That just makes me happy that the work resonates with people. It's amazing I grew up and was watching inside stuff with a modern shot was an athlete himself and he brought the human element out of these NBA players he was interviewing also understanding that their life is 24 seven basketball. There are other things outside of the sport so being able to connect with them on a human level on other interests, and you know it just really inspired me watching with a modern shot was doing to talk about I talked about representation a lot on this show, knowing that I don't know how often you think about it, but you're having an impact that you know people are watching their young people watching and seeing what you're doing and saying, I want to do, I want to do that, you know what is representation I mean I, I think representation really is everything in so many different ways. I read this book once got heavy by KSA lamb that's one of my favorite books and he's like my favorite author but in it, he talks about how you know, growing up, he could turn on any show whether it was a soap opera or if it was like prices right or if he was watching sports and he saw like white men that were like prices he could turn on anything, and he could see white people but not only could you see white people he was able to see all different types of white people white people were very heavily represented to him. What I use in the book is that representation the way that it's important for people that look like you, it is almost as important for people that don't like we have to show that black people are not a monolith to people who maybe don't have black people right next to them in their everyday lives. The responsibility I have is to people that look like me specifically black women you know black men, but I think it's also important to show who we are to people who don't know, because we don't have unfortunately that wealth of options that we see in the media of black people in a specific picture of black people is painted a lot of the time. So I think it's it's just very important to show the wide array of blackness the wide array of black people whether it's their interests the way that they have grown up, you know what they're into what we'd like to watch what we do like that's very very important to me. But I would, I would also say to any like young black woman that wants to do this, that we are truly exactly alike, like I think everybody is the equal amount of special. I don't think that I am more special or more talented than somebody that isn't doing this. I think that I have had things on my side I have had advantages I have had advocates I have had a lot of luck. I think I think everybody's value is incredibly constant and everybody's value is the exact same. So, I think sometimes we were young and we're looking at people that look like us doing the thing we want to do. We think it's because they are more special than us and that then makes them feel like it makes them feel like what you're doing is unattainable. But that actually isn't true. I am an incredibly attainable person because I am exactly like everyone else, right. So I think that's, that's the main thing that I think about about representation is just like, everyone is the same like I want every black woman to feel like they can do everything that they see every other black woman do, because that really is the truth. And I just to piggyback on what you're saying. I also love seeing that I think it's, I think a lot of people enjoy seeing everybody cheer each other on. And this media is kind of dog eat dog and only so many people can be in this space. And if there's multiple you have to be competing and you have to be going head to head and there's to be discord and dislike or whatever it may be. And to see you pumping up someone else or enjoying time out and you know group pictures with people who are all in the same industry and showing kind of that love that that sisterhood that whatever it may be. I think that that's huge. I think that that's huge also. For sure. I mean, it honestly makes the job more fun like, I love being friends with people in the business like I don't believe in this idea of like it has to be cut throat. I can't talk to you because I want to get this interview I'm like that is so stupid like there really is room for everybody and I think sometimes the issue is the systems that are in place. But since we're all a part of that system, it tricks us into thinking that the person across from you is the issue. But really it's like no, there should be room for multiple women at this station, or multiple black people, like we, you end up fighting each other when you should be fighting whoever is making like these, these decisions if that makes sense. So I don't see any of my peers as somebody that I should not enjoy or be friends with or root for, because I just want to eventually there to be a time where everybody knows there is more than enough space for all of us to co exist. I know we talked about interview the conversations or would not and we started with your, you know, the nomination. What is the most rewarding part of your pockets. I don't even ask that's a good question. The most rewarding part of the podcast. I think it's two things. I think number one I take a lot of pride in being a trusted person for athletes who I'm sure feel like they can't trust people like I take a lot of pride and people sitting in that chair and thinking they can talk about things and maybe they don't want to. So I think the, the trust aspect is very rewarding for me. And then secondly, I like I love nothing more than when somebody is like, if never saw this before but and then they start saying something so it's rewarding for me to when like people get to like reveal things right there's like a moment that happens on it that nobody that always like really makes me happy because you know like that's a point of interviewing you want you want them to say something that they haven't said. So I just, I like that people feel like they can talk about things maybe they haven't on the show. And you know excited about watching throughout the NBA playoffs and every time those interviews dropping and looking forward to it. What is next what's the future hold for Taylor books. Oh my God I hope so many things you know I want, I wanted all I want to be able to interview whoever I want if you have something to say like you think about doing it with me. That's what I want I think that for for me the future is like, it's a feeling and a concept it's like, I know what I'm going to get when I watch her interviews like I want. That's like what I ultimately want to do. There are so many things I like need to get better at and want to get better at. There's so much room to grow. There's so many like things I don't know about sports that I want to learn more about I want to push myself to do more interviews. I really want to do a live interview to that's something I've been talking about. So there's a lot like I just think for everybody all the opportunities are endless so I want to I want to grab things as they as they come my way and just just keep getting better. It's been amazing watching your journey and in all that the future holds thank you so much appreciate you.