Keisha TK Dutes
Keisha TK Dutes is a veteran audio professional, educator, new-ish visual artist, and extreme hobby collector. Her latest is The Secret Life of TK Dutes.
I should know this but what does TK stand for?
TK comes from my OG radio days. As a child of Hip Hop, it was normal to have another name- something that felt snazzy, memorable, and rolled off the tongue. So after going through a variety of Keish versions from college radio, it was closer to my time on broadcast radio and hosting live events in NYC that TastyKeish was born.
Since people make their own inferences about a name and what it means, when it was time to “go Pro” and break into the infrastructure of audio were a part of now- I shortened it to TK.
So like Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, I'm Keisha “TK” Dutes.
Sum up The Secret Life of TK Dutes in 10 words or less.
Woman reclaims life after burnout, finding care by any means necessary.
Now you have more words. Why is this show important?
The Secret Life of TK Dutes is important because it tells the truth about becoming in a world that rewards performance over humanity. It documents burnout as a predictable outcome of systems that extract labor (especially from Black women) while denying rest, care, and autonomy.
It looks for the answers in community through sit downs with friends and producers while offering a language for people who feel “in between.” Not healed. Not broken. Not successful in the way they were promised. It validates nonlinear growth, unfinished healing, and the courage it takes to stop chasing lives that no longer fit.
You have been making things for other people for a long time. When was the aha moment you realized this was what you wanted to do for yourself?
I think about it in the reverse kind of. I always made things for myself or for community. From founding an online radio station (Bondfire Radio) and having my own 3 times a week streaming morning show, to producing several historical fiction audio drama pieces celebrating Black culture- I made things so no one could say I didn't have experience or that I “couldn't”. Then I used those skills to become hireable, and then I used those jobs for other people to build my resumé and be a means to an end.
Once I realized, making media to uplift myself and my people wasn't gonna sell in corporate spaces- working on other people's projects and at their companies gave me the opportunity to learn how to manage projects of my own.
What makes The Secret Life of TK Dutes different from other shows?
The Secret Life of TK Dutes is a complete experiment. There are 7 producers, one per episode shaping the story in their own styles and based on their lives too.
And, sure there are anthology podcasts and TV shows but is there an anthology biography that unfolds in real time?
The show literally changes from day to day as I grow with the production.Episodes we planned a year ago maybe don't fit anymore- sometimes it's logistics, sometimes I've changed, sometimes the producer on that particular episode has a new vision for the direction.
Even the RSS feed and how we promote the show shifts to allow for new ideas and experimentation.
The flexibility makes the production feel alive in a way that making a show as a job, where the bottom line is time and money doesn't.
What have you learned making it?
I learned that everythinggggg I ever did, or tried to do, every morsel of information tucked away in the folds of my brain will surface. There are ideas in this show that are direct circle backs to things I did 10-15 years ago. Every experience prepared me to take on something that I would never have thought I had the capacity for.
When you realize no one is coming to save you- you save yourself.
Has it made you more or less optimistic about life?
I used to (and sometime still) be consumed with how everything around me made me feel, and it was killing me.
In the current world we live in, there is a level of unbotheredness one has to develop. The show and making it made me more optimistic about how we can reclaim our lives from burnout, stress, and negativity while being present and gentle with ourselves.
I am optimistic about making my best life in a less than ideal world.
Has it made you more or less optimistic about the audio industry?
Big media is going to do what it has to do to compete for clicks and engagement. Within that are people that still want to tell stories, that want to touch hearts, that want to explore audio in a way that isn't exploitative. I’m doing my best to stay in it because there are people that see the light that was once so bright in our industry and I think we can spark it again.
In all the things you’ve done, what are you most proud of?
Looking back, I'm proud of everything I've done.
My biggest regret was not knowing it or sitting with those wins at the time. A lot of my experiences were so clouded by pain and hurtful- I didn't see them as wins. I couldn't enjoy them like a person from the outside looking in thought I should.
Today, I'm proud that I can say I always gave the veryyyyy best of myself to every project and it shows.
What’s been the highlight of making it?
The highlight of making The Secret Life of TK Dutes has been the deepening relationships with each member of the team. We have moments that are just for us and then there are the things that are for the show. We're genuinely excited to hop on zoom calls even when the task at hand is hard and we just stay on til we figure it out. I love being on a team.
What has been the worst thing about making it?
There hasn't been a worst thing, but there have been hard things.
Since this basis of this podcast entails me sharing hard things and tough truths- having possibly triggering conversations over and over has been hard. I sometimes wonder if the price of sharing is my vulnerability- because in the wrong hands that can turn into humiliation. I'm digging up a lot of stuff within myself, with each producer, and then when an episode comes out- with listeners process and share their tough truths. So just when I think phewww, it's out there- now I have to hold space for processing with people hearing it for the first time. But I want to honor that for each listener because there's an eat, pray, love moment in every single episode that makes it worth it.
Who is this podcast for?
This podcast is for anyone that has ever felt life has more to offer and they couldn't find it. I'm here to help you look.
This feels like more than a podcast. It’s an example of a model we should all strive to work for. Can you talk a bit about the show’s ethos / beliefs?
In this production process because of the types of people we are and our experiences we have some core values that we follow in life and in this production.
I'll share my top 3:
Collaboration with Care: We center trust and mutual respect in all creative relationships. Everyone's contribution matters, and everyone is supported to do their best work.
Healing Through Story: We believe storytelling can be a form of healing - for the maker and the listener. We create with intention, honesty, and emotional integrity.
Joy in the Process: Making the show should feel alive, curious, and joyful- even when it's challenging. We celebrate the act of creation itself.
Thanks, TK!