278: Mami Wata and The Little Mermaid (with Natasha Bowen)

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’re joined by author Natasha Bowen, who spins us the tale of her love of mermaids, the darker fairy tales of her youth, and connecting to the West African mermaids of her family. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Content Warning:</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This episode contains conversations about or mentions of drowning, slavery, death, grief, and racism. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Guest</strong></p> <p><a href="https://natashabowen.com/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Natasha Bowen</span></a> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">is a New York Times bestselling author, a teacher, and a mother of three children. She is of Nigerian and Welsh descent and lives in Cambridge, England, where she grew up. Natasha studied English and creative writing at Bath Spa University before moving to East London, where she taught for nearly ten years. Skin of the Sea is her debut novel and the start of an epic series born out of her passion for mermaids and African history. Natasha is obsessed with Japanese and German stationery and spends stupid amounts on notebooks, which she then features on her secret Instagram. When she's not writing, she's reading, watched over carefully by Milk and Honey, her cat and dog. Follow her on Twitter at</span> <a href="https://twitter.com/skinofthesea"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">@skinofthesea</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">. You can order</span> <a href= "https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/609878/skin-of-the-sea-by-natasha-bowen/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Skin of the Sea</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and pre-order</span> <a href= "https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/609879/soul-of-the-deep-by-natasha-bowen/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Soul of the Deep</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Housekeeping</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">MERCH</span><span style="font-weig