Quality Human

I talk with brain injury survivor and mental health advocate Stephanie Cahill about her multiple past concussions, how she copes today, and her vision for future advocacy.

A few small but exciting changes are coming to Quality Human. I take a quick break from the blazing Portland heat to talk about dialing it in and getting real. Happy Summer! * Visit Quality Human for more episodes. * You might also enjoy my visual art, music and poetry.  

Rik Lemoncello is Professor of Speech-Language Pathology at Pacific University and founder of Sarah Bellum's Bakery, a nonprofit bakery whose mission is to help brain injured people return to work and life. Rik has wed his love of baking with his passion for helping people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) reconnect with work and community. Sarah Bellum's is staffed mostly by volunteers living with TBI. Rik and Justin discuss the "Me 2.0" that TBI survivors face, as well as the power of work and peer support to combat isolation, the biggest obstacle to recovery. Rik also offers resources for loved ones who care for TBI survivors, a challenging role. Support Sarah Bellum's work by donating here! LINKS Sarah Bellum's Bakery Brain Injury Connections Northwest Brainline.org In the Shadows - book for care partners (may be out of print) The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Entrepreneur, author and business coach Kate Northrup speaks with Justin about her Do Less methodology. Kate has worked with thousands of business owners to help them harmonize their work with the natural cycles of the body and nature. Instead of living in an unsustainable culture of "perpetual harvest", Kate advocates listening to the natural flow of daily and monthly cycles. The results are powerful. Kate's membership, the Origin Collective, invites women business owners to apply this practical philosophy. Open enrollment starts in May 2021. Kate is funny, gracious and a deep thinker about how we can live lives we enjoy, rather than lives we get through. LINKS Kate's website Origin Collective Pareto's Principle (the 80/20 rule) Titilayo Tenubu Ali's website Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown Patriarchy Stress Disorder by Valerie Rein

Intuitive painter and teacher Flora Bowley joins Justin to discuss her new book, The Art of Aliveness. Flora’s approach, which she calls Brave Intuitive Painting, has helped thousands of students reconnect to their authentic creativity. Justin and Flora discuss how to give ourselves permission, the magic of letting go, and creating boundaries for ourselves when we feel vulnerable. LINKS The Art of Aliveness Flora’s website Flora’s Spotify playlists!

Barbara Chen spent seven years as a civilian in the New York Police Department, ultimately serving as Director of Media Relations. These days she’s a driving force behind nonprofits that seek police-community healing. Barbara and Justin discuss what the field of communications really is, her work with Irondale Ensemble Project bringing together cops and civilians to make theater, and the unique perspective her work has given her on racial unrest and policing. Note: A great partner to this episode is Episode 8 with Civil Rights Attorney Jon Feinberg, posted Dec. 15, 2020. Both conversations dig deep into hidden realities of race and the criminal justice system. (Editor’s Note: Barbara wishes to elaborate on the part of our talk in which she discusses federal funding: From 2017 through 2020, two law enforcement agencies and one nonprofit in NY received Department of Justice grants for "Community Policing Development." The most recent award supported patrols in Chemung County, NY. You can read more at http://cops.usdoj.gov LINKS Irondale Ensemble Project - WATCH THE VIDEO Red Door Project in Portland, OR What is Stop and Frisk?

Musical innovator and songwriter Mark Sherman is looking for the beautiful. With his Musical Midrash Project, Mark has written over 50 songs inspired by a line or lyric from the Torah, the Hebrew Bible. A project ten years in the making, Mark is now connecting with a wide community of listeners and musicians through regular Zoom concerts, sharing his songs and inspiring others. Mark and Justin talk about the different ways we can find meaning scriptural texts, and how responding to what we find beautiful in it may be the most powerful way. Mark also discusses the ebbs and flows of the creative process, what inspiration really feels like, and balancing family, work and creativity. LINKS Musical Midrash Project  www.musicalmidrash.com

Entrepreneur and small business owner Anne Johnson of Mamancy Tea discusses creating community and deep connection through tea. Originally from Kenya, Anne seeks to bring her home culture of tea and togetherness to the fast-paced production-minded American mind -- and she's succeeding. Anne also discusses her journey opening Mamancy as lockdown began, her experiences as an immigrant, and the support her minority- and female-owned business has received from the public this past year. LINKS Mamancy Tea & Chocolate mamancy.com  

Eisner Award-winning writer David F. Walker joins Justin to discuss his work bringing historic episodes of racial justice -- and injustice -- to life. His new graphic novel, The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History, created with artist Marcus Kwame Anderson, just came out Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2021. David discusses the power of comics to educate and (maybe?) change minds and hearts, the danger of casting ourselves as heroes in our own stories, and what "creative self-care" really means. David and Justin also talk about treading water until you can swim, and David’s comic-writing bucket list, including the Lone Ranger and Tonto (for realz).   David is the co-creator of the Eisner-winning comic series Bitter Root. He has written major titles for DC (Cyborg, Young Justice), Marvel (Power Man and Iron Fist) and Image. He is also a filmmaker and a recognized expert on 1970s Black film. David is an adjunct professor at Portland State University.   LINKS The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History https://amzn.to/3svJ1s3   Bitter Root Vol. 1   https://amzn.to/3bAhort Who was Fred Hampton?  https://bit.ly/2Lnl7OJ “The 1968 Kerner Commission Got It Right, But Nobody Listened”, Smithsonian Magazine, March 2018  https://bit.ly/3i9gK5A Classics Illustrated   https://bit.ly/3bPlpbZ “Bad Apples of Bad Barrels? Philip Zimbardo on the Lucifer Effect”  https://bit.ly/2KfBKLy   The Hero’s Journey, made popular by Joseph Campbell   https://bit.ly/39KkruX   Adventureman Vol. 1 by Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson   https://amzn.to/2LTWMjs   Slaughterhouse-Five: The Graphic Novel adapted by Ryan North and Albert Monteys https://amzn.to/2Nd1KIr

Civil rights attorney Jon Feinberg talks with Justin about his twenty years of work on exonerating innocent people incarcerated in our prison system. Jon and Justin also talk about his work with immigrant families gravely impacted by the Trump administration’s family separation policy. Parenting and keeping a healthy balance under intense work demands are also major topics. A rich, revealing conversation from which Justin learned so much. Immigration advocacy groups and books discussed: American Immigration Councilhttps://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/ National Immigration Justice Centerhttps://immigrantjustice.org/ National Immigration Litigation Alliancehttps://immigrationlitigation.org/ Girl Woman Other by Bernadine Evaristohttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41081373-girl-woman-other The Testaments by Margaret Atwoodhttps://bit.ly/3qZiLoY Author Gary Shteingarthttps://bit.ly/37ouXIi

Whose story are we telling? Is it the story we’re meant to live, or someone else’s? Is it forced on us by society or family or religion? How do we make sure it's ours?Anna Solomon’s provocative third novel, The Book of V., charts the paths of three women separated by generations, and their struggles to express their authentic selves. Woven into the Jewish story of Purim, the novel grapples with what is to have one’s own identity, especially as a women pressed by cultural ideas of who she should be. Anna and Justin discuss the challenges of writing in the age of COVID, releasing a book during lockdown, and the dance of parenting and working as a writer. They also discuss the surprising wonder of letting go of the process and letting the writing "wander." The Book of V. has been named an NPR Best Book of 2020, a Good Morning America Book Club book, and has been praised by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine and many more. Find it at the link below. LINKS The Book of V.  https://amzn.to/39PjbIoThe story of Purim https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/purim-101/ Anna’s website  www.AnnaSolomon.com Anna on Good Morning America  https://gma.abc/2VRvRGq Anna’s LA Times piece on life during quarantine https://lat.ms/3gpXTT8

Where you do begin with Rodney Hicks' career as a Broadway actor and playwright? At the age of 22 he was a member of the opening cast of RENT. He later returned to RENT’s closing Broadway cast in the role of Benjamin Coffin III. He's enjoyed continued success in his Broadway career over the years, as well as many guest roles on TV including in NYPD Blue, Grimm, Leverage and others. More recently Rodney originated the role of Bob in the Tony-award-winning musical Come From Away. At the height of the show’s success in 2015, Rodney was diagnosed with a neurological condition that took away his voice and his ability to sing. That physical and spiritual challenge, and the profound transformation it offered him, are central to our conversation. In recent years Rodney has turned his focus to playwriting, with two of his works being named Semi-Finalists for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Conference. Rodney has spoken elsewhere at length about surviving childhood trauma, and in this talk he describes turning that adversity into a surprising strength. Justin and Rodney also discuss his new movie Mighty Oak, their previous collaboration writing an original musical, and the necessity of forgiveness for a healthy life. This is a conversation about living one's best life with love and kindness, today. Recorded in September 2020. LINKS Rodney's website www.rodneyhicks.net Spiritual Liberation by Michael Beckwith https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Liberation-Fulfilling-Souls-Potential/dp/1582702055 Caste by Isabel Wilkerson https://amzn.to/391GKgL Pema Chodron https://pemachodronfoundation.org/ Thich Nhat Hanh https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/ EMDR therapy https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/ "Maybe" from Annie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrr3EmaF3gA

Vanessa Wright writes about the daily challenges of balancing of parenthood and personhood. In her friendly and distinctly honest way, Vanessa’s blog and social media posts tack between raising healthy kids and nurturing a healthy self. Her unexpected journey into homeschooling her three kids, now teenagers, has taught her practical, living lessons about how young people shape their own identities -- and how we can do the same in adulthood. In this real and funny conversation, Vanessa and Justin explore the critical need for parents (especially primary caregivers) to practice self-care and sustainable boundaries to be the best parent they can be. Other topics include Vanessa’s recent 365 days of yoga, as well as her evolving spiritual life as a Christian, drawing her toward the stories of women in the Christian tradition, including Mary Magdalene. LINKSBig Life Journal  biglifejournal.com/The Home School Mom   www.thehomeschoolmom.com/author/vanessa/Author and scholar Richard Rohr  cac.org/richard-rohr/richard-rohr-ofm/Author and scholar Peter Enns  peteenns.com/about/

Architecture journalist Sam Lubell is a self-described “expert in failure.” As the co-author of the literary phenomenon Never Built, Sam’s passion is uncovering structures that never came to be. Sam’s immersion in unrealized dreams -- from suspension bridges with skyscrapers for legs, to a geodesic dome for the Brooklyn Dodgers -- has given him unique insight on how spaces make us more -- or less -- human. On Oct. 28, Sam releases his new book Life Meets Art: Inside the Homes of the World's Most Creative People. Sam and Justin also discuss raw beauty as a cure for depression, architecture as a civil right, and how to balance work and relationships, especially as a freelancer.LINKSSam Lubell's website: www.samlubell.com/Life Meets Art www.amazon.com/Life-Meets-Art-Inside-Creative/dp/183866131XAMAZING photos of Never Built NY at the Queens Museumwww.theverge.com/2017/9/17/16304212/never-built-new-york-queens-museum-art-exhibit-previewGREAT VIDEO of Never Built NY at the Queens Museumhttps://vimeo.com/241024579CRAZY photos of Never Built L.A. www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2017/feb/09/unbuilt-los-angeles-city-might-have-been-in-picturesNever Built N.Y. the bookhttps://www.artbook.com/9781938922756.htmlNever Built L.A. the bookhttps://www.artbook.com/9781935202967.html  

What is the job of visual art? Should it comfort a viewer? Make them feel good? Or disturb them? Shake them up? Should it do all of these things? Justin talks with visual artist Ahuva Zaslavsky about the power of art to push us out of our comfort zones to new places. They also talk about Ahuva’s focus on “I vs. We” in her art, the balance of being a parent and an artist, and the healing magic of totally impulsive decisions. Ahuva Zaslavsky completed her undergraduate work in behavioral sciences before gravitating to visual art. She is currently pursuing her MFA at Pacific Northwest College of Art. She has held solo exhibitions of her prints and paintings at PNCA Gallery, the Multnomah Arts Center and the West Linn, OR public library. LINKSAhuva’s website: www.ahuvasz.comGalleries of Ahuva's art: www.ahuvasz.com/projects-1 Music by Justin Jude Carroll.Quality Human logo design by Justin Jude Carroll, Ariel Carroll and Matan Carroll.© 2020 Justin Jude Carroll Arts.

Play is the key that unlocks creativity, says musical adventurer Andrew Callard. What’s more, play unlocks a “spaciousness” that allows unexpected things to blossom and grow. In this far-ranging chat about creativity, collaboration and meditation, Andrew and Justin draw on their long friendship to discuss trusting your creative gut, using limitations as fuel, and the divine wonder of the iPhone Voice Memo app.Andrew Callard is a singer and songwriter who has collaborated with musical acts all over the world. He’s recorded with Senegal’s Djiby Seye (the nephew of Youssou N’Dour), Cuba’s acclaimed Havana C and even spent musical time with founding members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Andrew has released projects in multiple genres including a capella, pop and, under the name Andres Enrique, salsa. LINKS: Andrew's website: www.andrewcallardmusic.com"Honesty" by Andrew Callard feat. Djiby Seye: https://bit.ly/2Ewg8rj"Quedate Conmigo" by Andres Enrique: https://bit.ly/2RYJ7ayQuality Human music by Justin Jude Carroll. (c) 2020 Justin Jude Carroll Arts.

When is it time to change what we believe? To rework old ideas, to question longstanding assumptions, to empower unheard voices? Rabbi Eve Posen believes the time is always now.In this timely and wide-ranging conversation, Rabbi Eve and Justin discuss the ongoing project of reinterpretation — How we look back at our holy texts, traditions and assumptions, and by doing so, how we look forward. Rabbi Eve and Justin also talk about the resilience of children in troubled times (#pandemic); the hidden wisdom in any text we value; what Judaism can teach us about allyship in the era of Black Lives Matter; and of course her secret love of prog metal music (Tool!). Rabbi Eve Posen is the co-author, with Lois Shenker, of Pirkei Imahot: The Wisdom of Mothers, the Voices of Women. She is Associate Rabbi at Congregation Neveh Shalom in Portland, OR. She did her rabbinical training at American Jewish University where she also completed her Master’s in Experiential Education. She is a wife and mother to two young children. LINKS: Rabbi Eve’s website: www.rabbieve.com

Rabbi Eve’s High Holidays 2020 sermon on “He who must not be named” - to be posted 9/18!: www.rabbieve.comPirkei Imahot: https://amzn.to/2ZvO927Music by Justin Jude Carroll. 
(c) 2020 Justin Jude Carroll Arts.

How do we make our best work while remaining our best selves? Is it possible to live a life of integrity and peace in a challenging world? How do we attend to the professional and the personal without compromising one or the other? In other words: How do we find balance? Host Justin Jude Carroll sits down with writers, artists, musicians, clergy, teachers and innovators to explore these crucial questions. Season 1 guests include novelist Anna Solomon, Broadway actor and playwright Rodney Hicks, and journalist Sam Lubell. QH Website: www.quality-human.com Instagram: @qualityhumanpodcast Facebook: @qualityhumanpodcast