Kid Fury & Crissle

For 10 years, Kid Fury and Crissle have been hosting The Read — one of the most entertaining and important podcasts of this or any year. Though listeners of all races and sexual orientations find The Read and fall in love with its hosts, Fury and Crissle are always unabashedly Black and queer, making this a very powerful and influential podcast that reaches people who might’ve previously ignored the perspectives, opinions, and concerns of their communities.

“I’m terrible at describing the work I do without self-deprecating humor,” Fury explains. “But I use comedy as medicine through podcasts, television, and my dog’s Instagram page.” Crissle says, “We host a semi-structured pop culture podcast, so we frequently just let our conversation flow wherever it wants. I try to approach the topics we discuss from an empathically critical point of view that strives to be fair.”

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The Read is fun, funny, thought-provoking, raw, and sometimes emotional. This year, Fury disclosed on the podcast that he had just survived a suicide attempt. “I suppose God did most of the heavy lifting on the survival part, but I’m proud of the outlook and initiative it gave me.”

Since then, he’s been overcoming self-doubt and depression through sheer defiance. “I try to force myself into uncomfortable places and feed my confidence, all while telling myself, ‘Life sucks. Just do your best, girl.’ Therapy doesn’t hurt either.”

Besides podcasting, Crissle is in the middle of a grad school journey, pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. “The self-discovery and growth I’ve done over the past six years in therapy has been incredibly challenging, but I’ve also never been at such peace with myself.”

Looking forward, Fury is writing, working on new productions for TV and streaming, and considering a YouTube comeback. Crissle is excited to finish grad school, do more tours, and develop independent projects. They’re also still daydreaming of getting Renaissance visuals, but they trust that Beyoncé and Blue Ivy know what they’re doing. @kidfury @crissle