Exclusive Screening of Episode One Featuring Angie Nwandu, CEO of The Shade Room, Set for May 19 at The Miracle Theater

In Partnership With For The Culture By The Culture Media and All The Smoke Productions, Tastemakers, Athletes, and Influencers Share Financial Literacy and Stories of Grit With Young, Diverse Audiences

Watch Trailer HERE

LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — American Public Media’s Marketplace and the BBC World Service today announced the launch of Must Be the Money, a new podcast premiering Monday, May 18. Produced in partnership with For The Culture By The Culture Media and All The Smoke Productions, the series blends personal financial strategy with cultural storytelling to demystify wealth-building for audiences historically excluded from traditional financial media.

Episode One featuring Angie Nwandu, founder and CEO of The Shade Room, will be screened at a private event on May 19 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. PT. at The Miracle Theater, 226 S. Market St., Inglewood, California. In the segment, Nwandu explains how the social media powerhouse with 28 million followers became the “TMZ of Instagram.” Following the screening, a live Q&A with Lee Hawkins and the executive producers will address audience questions about the series and discuss topics covered, including building credit and investing early, funding big ideas, and understanding your value in business and in life.

New episodes will drop weekly on Mondays. Watch the series trailer.

Hosted by Pulitzer Prize finalist and former Wall Street Journal editor and reporter Lee Hawkins, Must Be the Money is an on-camera podcast featuring candid conversations with tastemakers, athletes, and entrepreneurs who have built wealth, lost it, and rebuilt it. The series is designed for ambitious young adults starting careers, building businesses, or seeking to make smarter financial decisions.

Among the season’s featured guests:

• Angelica Nwandu, founder of The Shade Room, discusses monetizing one of the most influential entertainment news platforms and the importance of philanthropy.
• Matt Barnes, NBA champion and co-founder of All The Smoke Productions, joins his 16-year-old twin sons to discuss name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals and the lessons he learned managing his NBA earnings.
• Jabari Magnus, managing director at BlackRock, reflects on how financial principles passed down from his grandfather shaped his approach to saving, investing, and building long-term wealth.
• Angela Yee, host of All The Way Up with Angela Yee, shares hard-won lessons on making tough decisions, building a personal brand within a collective, and protecting long-term success.
• Crystal McCrary, entertainment lawyer and sports agent, discusses her pivot from representing creators to helping families navigate the complex youth sports ecosystem.
• Austin Clements, co-founder and managing partner of Slauson & Co., breaks down how venture capital really works and offers a playbook for funding high-growth businesses through economic inclusion.
• Detavio Samuels, CEO of Revolt, explains how redefining the company beyond Sean Combs became a pivotal step in building a sustainable, independent media brand.
• Victor Lugo, founder of Gameplay Group International, pulls back the curtain on the gaming industry and explains how to seize opportunities in its explosive growth.
• Van Lathan, host and producer, reflects on rebuilding his career after being fired from a major entertainment network and shares a roadmap for turning setbacks into entrepreneurial success without losing your voice.

General Manager and Vice President of Marketplace Neal Scarbrough said the podcast reflects Marketplace’s commitment to financial literacy and inclusive storytelling.

“Money management skills and diverse sources are core tentpoles of Marketplace’s mission to educate the nation about the economy,” Scarbrough said. “We are always looking for meaningful ways to reach younger and underrepresented audiences. Must Be the Money demonstrates that building wealth or a business is not about luck — it’s about strategy, discipline, and learning from real-world journeys. In partnership with the BBC, For The Culture By The Culture and All The Smoke Productions, we’ve developed a voice that expands who financial media is for.”

Emmy and NAACP Image Award-winning producer P. Frank Williams (Unsung, American Gangster, director of Hulu‘s Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told) said the series was created to fill a critical gap in financial storytelling.

“Too often, our communities receive financial advice from voices that don’t reflect their lived experiences,” said Williams, founder of For The Culture By The Culture Media and executive producer of the podcast. “Must Be the Money is about providing accessible, culturally relevant guidance for young people of color who are serious about building and growing wealth. We’re proud to bring what we believe will be a generation-defining series to audiences around the world.”

Must Be the Money will be available in both video and audio formats on major podcast platforms and on the official Must Be the Money YouTube channel.

Executive producers are Williams, Barnes, and Marketplace News Director Kelly Silvera.

To join the conversation and stay updated on weekly guest announcements, follow @mbtmpod on YouTube and use the hashtag #MustBeTheMoneyMondays.

Episode Schedule

• May 18 – Angelica Nwandu, Founder, The Shade Room
• May 18 – Matt Barnes and Sons, NBA Champion; Co-Founder, All The Smoke Productions
• May 18 – Jabari Magnus, Managing Director, BlackRock
• May 25 – Crystal McCrary, Attorney, Filmmaker, Producer, Author
• June 1 – Detavio Samuels, CEO, Revolt
• June 8 – Angela Yee, Host, All The Way Up with Angela Yee (Part I)
• June 15 – Angela Yee (Part II)
• June 22 – Austin Clements, Venture Capitalist, Slauson & Co.
• June 29 – Victor Lugo, Founder, Gameplay Group International
• July 6 – Van Lathan, Host/Producer

ABOUT MARKETPLACE
Marketplace ® is on a mission to raise the economic intelligence of the country. Its core programs — Marketplace® and Marketplace Morning Report® — are currently broadcast nationwide on more than 800 public radio stations and heard by 8 million weekly listeners. Marketplace podcasts, including Make Me Smart, This Is Uncomfortable and Million Bazillion, can be found at marketplace.org or on your favorite podcast app. The Marketplace portfolio of programs are produced and distributed by American Public Media ® (APM), one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world. For more information on Marketplace, visit marketplace.org , or like us on Facebook.

ABOUT BBC World Service
The BBC World Service delivers a wide range of programmes and services on radio, TV, and digitally, globally. Through the BBC World Service, BBC News reaches a global weekly audience of around 418 million people. The BBC World Service is one of the UK’s most important cultural exports – informing and inspiring the lives of people across the globe, helping them make sense of the world we live in. The BBC World Service currently operates in 43 languages, including English, and has the global insight and expertise to give audiences a truly international news service, with BBC News journalists and supporting staff in 64 cities across 54 countries.

ABOUT FOR THE CULTURE BY THE CULTURE MEDIA
For The Culture By The Culture By The Culture Media is a boutique multi-media production company based in Los Angeles, producing podcasts, branded content, films, award-winning unscripted shows, scripted series, online content and live events. Founded by Emmy-winning producer P. Frank Williams, the company works with clients like Hulu, We TV and the BBC to ensure that content about people of color is produced by a diverse group of creatives.

ABOUT ALL THE SMOKE PRODUCTIONS
All The Smoke Productions is a full-service production and creative agency co-founded in 2024 by NBA Champions Matt Barnes, Stephen Jackson, Jelani McCoy, and sports programming and marketing executive Brian Dailey. With nearly a dozen original titles currently in production, ATSP develops, creates, and distributes premium content in collaboration with the athletes and entertainers who produce it.

The ATS Productions network boasts more than 20 million followers across social platforms, built organically on the authenticity of its personalities and programs. ATSP is uniquely positioned to develop, produce, and distribute content hand-in-hand with the athletes and entertainers who bring it to life.

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SOURCE American Public Media