Media personality Chude Jideonwo has opened up about the inspiration behind his widely recognized podcast, “Interview Series With Chude.”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with renowned filmmaker Mo Abudu ahead of his 40th birthday, Chude Jideonwo reflected on the deeply personal experiences that led him to create the show.
According to him, the idea for his podcast, “Interview Series With Chude,” was born out of his journey of self-discovery and healing after battling clinical depression.
Jideonwo recounted how he was relentlessly trolled and dragged online after his involvement in the 2015 election campaign, an experience that took a significant emotional toll on him.
During the interview, he explained that his search for inner peace and understanding led him to an eye-opening episode of ‘Super Soul Sunday’ featuring media mogul Oprah Winfrey and renowned researcher Brené Brown. The discussion centered around handling criticism while maintaining one’s vulnerability, a topic that deeply resonated with him at that critical moment in his life.
“WithChude comes from a very unique and personal place,” he said. “I was going through clinical depression in 2016, and by 2017, after overcoming it, I suddenly found myself trending on Twitter.”
“For three days straight, I was at the center of conversations, with people revisiting and criticizing my role in the 2015 campaign.”
“One morning, I woke up, checked my phone, saw the ongoing trend, and immediately broke down in tears. Overwhelmed with emotions, I reached out to a colleague, asking him why Nigerians seemed to hate me so much. He gave me an intellectual and strategic response, but it wasn’t what I needed at that moment because I was deeply hurt.”
“Feeling lost, I turned to YouTube and searched ‘what to do when people hate you.’ That’s when I stumbled upon an interview between Oprah Winfrey and Brené Brown.”
“In the discussion, Brown talked about the backlash she faced after her viral TED talk on shame and vulnerability. She shared how people cruelly attacked her for being overweight and how she learned to navigate public criticism without losing her ability to feel.”
“That conversation healed me in a way I never expected. It sparked something within me and motivated me to create a show that would also bring healing to others. A show where people could find comfort, insight, and inspiration through storytelling.”
“I realized that Oprah had recorded that conversation in Chicago, and yet, here I was in Lagos, being profoundly impacted by it. That moment of healing made me decide that I wanted to create something similar—something that would reach and uplift Africans.”