Life is for the Living

Producer Marco and I sit down to have a chat about this season, what is coming next season, why we are big in Germany, and, of course, Marco finds a new way to torment me. 

As is our tradition here at Life is for the Living, we end our season by asking our guests their advice for living. Whether it is advice for getting the highest salary as a woman, or for finding your true self, our guests come through with the wisdom they have gathered over the years.

If you listen to only one episode this season, make it this one! We have stories of self-discovery, tragedy, action, and comedy. Additionally, jazz legend Jon Coltrane, actor Dennis Hopper, and Malcolm X himself all make appearances in guest Denise's star-studded life stories. Trigger warning: This episode includes a story of suicide and animal death. 

The worst parts of life and the best parts, births, deaths, sorrows and joys; our guests talk about them all in this episode. 

Calling all aspiring difference makers!! In this episode, our guests give us a masterclass on how to be an activist--how to set your expectations, how to get your self heard, and how not to burnout. 

Our guest have protested on the streets, run free breakfast programs, stood in front of bulldozers and much more. In this episode, they talk about what they found to be the most effective ways to make a difference, along with their biggest successes and worst failures. 

In this bonus episode, host Rebecca and producer Marco chat about the first six episodes and what they have learned so far from the guests as well as give some hints about what is to come on the rest of the season 

In our final single guest episode, we meet Susie Schaefer, social worker, multicultural community activist, reproductive rights advocate, environmentalist, peace activist,  disabilities advocate. Susie has seen the rough side of life both personally and professionally, and has never hesitated to dive in to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves.  

Author and leadership coach Belinda Clemmensen did always think of herself as an activist. But then she scrap her leadership coaching company and began again, founding the the Women's Leadership Intensive. Now she focuses on changing the world by changing not only who gets to lead, but how they lead. Websites: https://www.womensleadershipintensive.ca | https://leadercoachintensive.comIG: @womens.leadership.intensive | @leadercoachintensive Belinda's Book:  Women, Leadership & Saving the World, Why Everything Gets Better When Women LeadImage provided by Belinda Clemmensen

Jessica Xavier came out as a trans woman in the 1990's and has been fighting to make trans people safe and healthy since then. Her main tool: data. She has been instrumental in getting trans people counted in surveys, allowing them to gain access to key medical resources. She is also a musician and Wiccan High Priestess.You can check out other interviews with her in the LGBTQ Policy Journal and Outwards, as well as listen to her song Love Your Body on Spotify.

Former member of the Young Lords and Black Panthers, AIDs research and activist, professor of anthropology and women's studies, Denise Oliver-Velez has been in the wars and lived to tell the tale. We talk about her grounding in her family history, her use of art in activism, how she got drafted into the Young Lords, and how she ended up getting a PhD despite all of her efforts not to. You can follow Denise on Twitter and Spoutible as @Deoliver47 as well as read her blogs on the Daily Kos.Image: Denise Oliver Velez from the Revolutionary Peoples' Communications Network speaking in front of Reverend C.K. Steele's church - Tallahassee, Florida. Photographer: John Buckley Date: Photographed on November 26, 1971. Public Domain.

Jan's upbringing by activist parents and her membership in the Universal Unitarian church drives Jan as she tries to make the world a better, more equitable place. We discuss her childhood, her peace activism, and her work with immigrants, the prison system, and unions among other things. Image provided by Jan Thompson

Hello, and welcome to the third season of Life is for the Living! This episode starts us off in the activist focused season by introducing the 5 guests:  Jan Thompson,  peacenik, LGTBQ, immigration and prison reform activist and union organizer; Denise Oliver-Velez, Young Lord, Black Panther, AIDs activist and more; Jessica Xavier, Trans and LGTBQ rights activist; Belinda Clemmensen, author and founder of The Women's Leadership Intensive; and Susie Schaefer, community organizer, reproductive rights, disability rights, environmentalism, and more. In the upcoming season, we will dig into their lives, their causes, and their advice for all aspiring activists.  

Come join us for a behind the scenes look at how Season 2 came to be with Rebecca Richman (host) and Marco Burlo (producer). We chat about our most memorable moments, our biggest challenges and, as per tradition, we celebrate our host with a fun blooper reel. 

In the last episode of the season, I ask our guest for advice on how to live and how to survive hard times. A millions thanks to our guests: Claudia, Debbie, Crisaida, Ghada, Makram and Hannah for sharing their time and stories with us. And thanks to you for coming on the journey! 

In this episode we hear five stories: One from Crisaida about finding the will to continue when she was a rock bottom,  two from Makram--one on life under Saddam Hussein, and one about calling out prejudice, a story of a health scare from Debbie, and story of illicit lasagna from Claudia.  

Are you afraid of death? What do you think happens after death? What is a good death? These are the questions I pose to our guests in this episode. 

**CONTENT WARNING** This episode contains discussion of suicide. The things that make us happy and sad are explored in this episode, with our guests sharing happiest and saddest moments of their lives. 

What we teach our children and what they teach us are the focus of this episodes, and we learn of the struggle of parents trying to keep the values of the old country alive, while their children absorb the values of the new country. 

Ghada tells the story of her 17 year marriage to her ex-husband and details all the fault lines that led to their divorce. 

What makes us fall in love with someone? What do we still find attractive about each other after years of marriage? Our guests open up about what brought them together with their spouses and what keeps them together. 

As the only guests to immigrate as adults, Makram and Hannah had a life time of experiences  before their immigration, so in this episode they detail their lives prior to the Gulf War. 

Immigrants in America and Canada can face enormous hardships, so why to they stay? I ask our guest this question and find that despite their troubles, none of them regret coming here.  

Even when our guests made it too their new home country, they face the difficulty of fitting in. In this episode we explore the shock of immigration and the struggles of not being able to go back home. 

In this episode we look at three ways people come into America and Canada: by boat and Ellis Island, by foot over the Rio Grande, and by convincing the American Embassy to give you a visa. 

People rarely leave their homes and all they know behind them to start a new life in a new country without a very good reason. In this episode we learn what home was like for all of our guests and why they (or their parents) felt they had to go. 

In our first episode of the second season, we introduce a brand new group of guests, all of whom left their homelands for a better life. Throughout the next 13 episodes, we will learn why they immigrated, why they fell in love and out of love, what they think happens to us when we die, and so much more. 

Producer Marco Burlo and I sit down for a chat about the show: what we learned from this season and what is coming in the next season. Also, an outtake real where you'll find  how swearing goes into making a podcast and how bad I am at accents(really, really bad). Plus, bonus Calliope apparence. Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artist: http://audionautix.com/

In the last episode of this season I ask our guests for advice: advice for surviving hard times, the best advice they ever got, and the advice they wish they had gotten. Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artist: http://audionautix.com/

In this episode, our guests tell us stories from their lives. From a disastrous canoeing incident, an accidental marriage proposal, to a terrifying story about  hitchhiking, we learn about the memorable experiences that stick with you.   Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artist: http://audionautix.com/

What makes us sad? What makes us happy? These are the questions I pose to our guests in this episode. From losing at scrabble to losing your heart, from realizing your place in the world, to getting your first kiss, we cover the highs and lows of human experience. Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artist: http://audionautix.com/

As all of our five guests are members, ex-members, or attenders of Quaker Meeting, I ask them what drew them to Quakerism, why the ex-members left, and their thoughts on spirituality and God in general.Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artist: http://audionautix.com/

In this episode we dive into what attracted our guests to their spouses, what keeps them interested, and what they taught to, and were taught by, their children. Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist:  http://audionautix.com/ kI98VCLyy83WGSlR7ahK

From a sod house on a farm, to the streets of New York, we learn about the guests' childhood and their parents. This episode contain explicit language, descriptions of verbal abuse, and threats of suicide. Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist:  http://audionautix.com/ 

Meet our five guests: Tim, Vickie, Marcia, Al, and Dave and learn how they describe themselves, their passions in life, and how they feel about getting older.Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artist: http://audionautix.com/

An introduction to the Life is for the Living podcast and why we made it. Travel Light by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artist: http://audionautix.com/