"The Read" Comes To TV

"I think when people hear us, it reminds them of conversations that they have with their friends and close family," Crissle West told WNYC's cultural critic Rebecca Carroll about The Read, the podcast she has co-hosted with close friend and former YouTube personality Kid Fury since 2013. "I think people can tell that we are genuine human beings."

For those who don't know, a read is a term that emerged out of black culture — specifically black gay culture — that means telling someone about themselves. On "The Read," the hosts Crissle West and Kid Fury talk about pop culture and current events, read and answer listener letters, and then at the end of every show they each do one or two reads they’ve chosen from the media headlines. As simple as it sounds, what makes it work is the cadence and chemistry between these two genuine friends — plus it’s hilarious.

And it's gained traction. Today it has almost 85 million listens worldwide. (So much for West's prediction at the outset: "I told [Fury] before we started that nobody's going to listen because black people don't listen to podcasts.")

Turns out, she was wrong. Given the current podcast industry boom, and the historical whiteness of public radio and the audio space, it's no small thing that "The Read," which is by the hosts' own account "very black," managed to successfully cultivate a devoted audience without the pressure of ad dollars or listener downloads.

"It has been strange to see people get into it to make money, because when we were doing it the thought that we would make money from it was not even there," West said. "We went into this to be two queer black people who have something to say. I understand everybody is not approaching it that way, but I really feel like your podcast doesn't have staying power if you're not passionate about what you're talking about." 

Both West and Fury feel confident that their audience will follow them to TV, but also agree that the shift has been an adjustment. "I have described it as if you bake cakes for a living and you've done it for so long, and everyone says your cakes are great, and then it's like 20 people come in and say, we're gonna bake cakes with you now," said Fury. West says it feels like the right time, though. "I think the fans have been waiting for this." 

The Read with Kid Fury and Crissle West premieres on Fuse TV, Friday October 11 at 11PM.