Podcasts about as ms

Book your appointment with Allure Medical: https://www.alluremedical.com/schedule-an-appointment/ In this episode, Dr. Charles Mok explores multiple sclerosis (MS) and the innovative protocols being used to improve patient outcomes, with a particular focus on stem cell therapy.As MS is classified as an idiopathic disease, Dr. Mok examines its potential links to conditions such as leaky gut and a compromised blood-brain barrier. He also discusses the role of antibiotics like minocycline, which not only have antimicrobial properties but also exhibit significant anti-inflammatory effects. He highlights the connection between hormonal balance and an individual's susceptibility to MS.He also talks about prebiotics, proper nutrition, and integrative approaches in managing MS and enhancing overall well-being.Tune in to Inside The Cure Podcast — Stem Cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis.————————————————————————————————Subscribe to Inside the Cure on Apple Podcasts and leave a 5-star review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-cure-with-dr-charles-mok/id1495870043?uo=4Read the latest research and advice from the doctors at Allure Medical: https://www.alluremedical.com/books/ Dr. Charles Mok received his medical degree from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, Chicago, Illinois in 1989. He completed his medical residency at Mount Clemens General Hospital, Mt. Clemens, Michigan. He has worked with laser manufacturing companies to improve their technologies; he has performed clinical research studies and has taught physicians from numerous other states. His professionalism and personal attention to detail have contributed to the success of one of the first medical spas in Michigan.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-mok-4a0432114/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alluremedicals/ Website: https://www.alluremedical.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AllureMedical TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alluremedical  Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dr.-Charles-Mok/author/B0791M9FZQ?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true #MultipleSclerosis #MSAwareness #ChronicIllness #FunctionalMedicine #StemCellTherapy #AutoimmuneDisease #MSResearch #LeakyGut #Minocycline #AntiInflammatory #Health #Wellness #HealthPodcast

Library Research.Based on a post by smalltitslovr, in 4 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.I walked back to the elevator, pressed the button, and got on. This time, nobody joined me, so I was by myself. The elevator door closed, and my hand immediately went between my legs. I figured I could probably cum before the elevator reached the bottom floor.What I didn't count on was people waiting on the other floors. About two floors down, the door opened, with a ding. It nearly gave me a heart attack, seeing the librarian and a couple students standing there, looking at me with my hand on my cunt."Oh. Sorry." said the librarian. "We'll catch the next one."The door closed, and I continued. I was just starting to orgasm when the elevator opened at the bottom floor. I gasped and writhed with the fantastic sensations coursing through my body, while the security student and everyone else in the lobby watched.After a moment, I had recovered. By then, the door had closed. I pressed the open door button, and walked out. I smiled at the security guy as I walked past, through the detectors, and out the door.I was exhausted from my recent release, so I didn't feel like running. I walked back to class. By now there were quite a few more people out and about, and all of them looked at me, but I didn't really care.As I got closer to my class, I saw a few of my naked classmates arriving at about the same time.We walked back through the halls, and into the classroom, to be greeted by a smiling Ms. Sharon."Well, how'd it go?" she asked.None of us really had anything to say about it all."Well, your lack of words is alright for today. I expected it. Don't forget your homework. I'll see you all next time."Once again, I quickly got dressed, and left.Day three: human anatomy.Day three.I was a bit more nervous, so I arrived earlier than usual. I got there about 10 minutes before class started. Because I was so early, I was the first one to arrive.I walked to my usual spot in the second row, and put my bag next to my chair. Before being seated, I took a big breath and readied myself for what I was about to do.The reason I was so nervous today was Ms. Sharon's instruction from the previous class: "be naked before class starts". In the previous classes, we were each named off, and stripped one-by-one at the command of Ms. Sharon. When Ms. Sharon told me to strip, I didn't have much choice. I either stripped, just like everyone else, or I would lost points for participation. Besides, I knew it was necessary for the class, and I wouldn't learn as much if I didn't.But this time was it was a bit different. This time I would strip at my own leisure. I knew I could choose not to, and wait until class started, but Ms. Sharon said to be naked before class started, and I knew there had to be a reason for that.So, I took another big breath, and whispered to myself, "here goes nothing."I grabbed the bottom of my purple t-shirt, and slipped it up over my head, lifting my arms high into the air. Just like the previous class, I opted for no underwear, since they'd be coming off anyhow. So, once my shirt was removed, I was standing there, alone in a classroom, topless. I felt a draft glide over my naked torso, and shivered. I dropped my shirt onto my bag before continuing.For my bottom half today, I decided to wear a purple and black skirt made of a light material; maybe polyester. I knew it would be easier to remove a skirt than pants, and I wanted to make this as easy as possible for myself. So, I untied the side of the skirt, and slipped it down my legs, bending over.Before I stood back up, I heard a whistle from behind, which made me jump. I snapped my hands to my chest and my crotch, and spun around to face my guest.As I turned, I saw it was Filipe, who was zealously inspecting my entire naked body. I wondered how much he saw before announcing his presence. I couldn't be sure, but I'd bet he saw my cunt from between my legs while I was bent over."Sorry Samantha," he said, as he walked toward his usual spot on the left side of the classroom. "I couldn't help it. You are just so sexy!""Uh; well; " I stammered, trying to think of a valid response, given the situation. "Thank you, I guess.""You're welcome." he replied with a smile, as he placed his bag on the floor. "I see you've followed Ms. Sharon's instructions. I suppose since you've set the example, I should join you."He then pulled one arm into his shirt, and pulled it off his body, then his other arm, revealing his dark, toned abs. Then he unbuttoned his jeans, unzipped his fly, and pulled both his jeans and his boxers off, freeing his large, limp cock. It was around 4 inches already."Much better," he said, smiling at me. "Now that we're both in our birthday suits, how about you lower your arms?"I considered it for a moment. He was just as naked as me, so I might as well. I shrugged, then lowered my arms, showing him my the rest of my naked body.He didn't try and hide his gaze as he looked at my tits and my bare cunt. I saw his dick grow in size a little. I smiled at that.We both took our seats, and a few seconds later, the next student arrived: Latoya. She walked to her seat, one row behind me. Seeing that we were both sitting there naked, she quickly removed her clothes as well. As she did, Filipe and I both watched intently.Latoya was wearing a white tank top, and very short jean shorts. Around the edges, I could also see the straps of a black bra and the hem of black underwear She started by grabbing the bottom of her shirt with both hands and pulling her tank top off. Then she unbuttoned and unzipped her shorts, revealing her long, dark, smooth legs. Then she reached behind her back, and undid her black bra, dropping it to the floor, which revealed her A-cup breasts, and dime-sized nipples. Finally, she grabbed the sides of her black panties, and pulled them down, showing us her bush, which was neatly trimmed into a thin vertical line. Now finished, she sat down behind me, crossing her arms and legs."So, what do you guys think of the class so far?" I asked, glancing around at each of them."Well, I'm enjoying the class so far" replied Filipe. "It's definitely been interesting so far, and I'm sure it will only get more interesting going forward. How about you?""Well, I certainly think it's an interesting class. When I signed up, I was not expecting something so; risqué. But, I think it's a very exciting class, and I'm determined to learn a lot. I've had a few sexual experiences, but it seems like every time I get into the bedroom with a guy, I don't have a clue what to do."Latoya laughed. "Yea, I feel the same way most times. I think this class will certainly help with that."As we talked, more people arrived. Each of them followed our example and stripped down completely naked. Most people were a bit hesitant, but if their logic was like mine, they figured that everyone else had seen it all before, and were eventually going to see it again. Also, it sounded like we would all become much more familiar with each other's bodies in later classes.Just at the start of class time, Ms. Sharon arrived. She also took her own instructions to heart, as she had stripped before arriving. The only thing she wore was a bag over her shoulder and a smile on her face.However, the more interesting part of her arrival was that she was followed by a familiar face: Nicole from the library!Nicole was dressed in a tight, dark grey t-shirt, with a sports brand logo across her mid-sized breasts. On bottom, she wore a pair of black, spandex yoga pants that clung to her body very tightly. With the two tight items, the curves of her slim body were very much apparent. So apparent, in fact, I saw a camel toe between her legs.Even with her very tight clothing that didn't hide the shape of her body whatsoever, she was still a lot more clothed than the rest of us. She seemed quite out of place."Hello class." said Ms. Sharon, as she placed her belongings on the desk. "I'd like to introduce a new student: Nicole Jackson. Yesterday, she witnessed a sample of your assignment, in the form of a nude Samantha in the library. After their parting, she took an interest in the class and reached out to me about joining the class. I happily added her to the roster."Now, since Nicole is joining us a bit late, she will not get the convenience of an easy first day. She will be required to strip completely, just like everyone else. She will also be required to do some catching up, and thus, she must perform yesterday's activity before next class period. I have already given her a random action and location."Now, Nicole, I will ask that you strip, then tell us a bit about yourself, including your virginity status.""Wow. Okay." replied Nicole, a bit shocked at the abruptness of the situation. She looked like she had just performed a cannonball into a lake on a January morning. "Well, I'm-" she started."Strip first, please.", interrupted Ms. Sharon."Alright." Nicole replied, and took a breath. "Here goes nothing."She placed her bag next to a nearby desk. She then grabbed the waist of her yoga pants, and slowly wiggled them down her legs, swaying her hips back and forth. Due to the tightness of the yoga pants, her panties came down as well. As she pushed them down, she bent over at the waist, allowing Ms. Sharon, who was behind her, to get an excellent view of Nicole's womanly parts.Once those were removed, Nicole kicked them over to her bag and started on her top half. She pulled one arm, then the other, out of the arm holes. Then she lifted the shirt over her head, and threw it over to her bag as well. Now that her shirt was gone, we could all see that she had one final tight piece of clothing remaining: a black and green sports bra. She quickly grabbed the bottom of the tight bra and pulled it over her ample breasts. She peeled it up over her head, and tossed it on top of her pile of clothes.I was wrong earlier, when I said she had mid-sized breasts. They only appeared mid-sized, due to the restrictiveness of the sports bra. Once that was removed, it was clear that she was easily in the top 3 in the class for breast size. I'm not sure if it was because of her large breasts or not, but her nipples appeared quite small in comparison."Well, now that I match everyone else, I'll introduce myself. As Ms. Sharon said, I'm Nicole. This is my third year as a student here. I'm from Florida. I was interested in this class, as it directly pertains to my major: Human Psychology. Finally, to answer Ms. Sharon's specific question: No, I am not a virgin."She then took her seat, crossing her legs, but leaving her large breasts for everyone to see.Ms. Sharon stepped back to the front. "Thank you very much Nicole. I'm glad you decided to join the class, and I'm sure you will gain a lot of useful information pertaining to your focus of study."Now, class, on to today's material. First, I wanted to review yesterday's activity, and get your feedback. So, what did you all think of it?"After a moment's silence, Nicole raised her hand and Ms. Sharon indicated she should talk. "Well, having not actually done the activity yet, I can't speak to that aspect of it yet, but I think I can give a unique perspective, as I was able to view the activity from the outside. I think it was a great activity that I'm sure got everyone out of their comfort zones. It speaks to the courage of everyone here that you were able to do that. Also, to be honest, it was very sexy. I can honestly say that seeing Samantha naked in such a public place as the library turned me on quite a bit. I can't wait to do the activity myself.""Thank you Nicole," said Ms. Sharon, when Nicole was finished. " That was indeed some useful insight. Anyone else?"After another moment with nobody responding, Ken spoke. "Well, I can definitely say it was embarrassing. I don't think I've ever been that embarrassed in my life. However, I can also say that I've never done something so exhilarating in my life. It felt amazing to walk around campus with everything on display. I felt like all the secrets of modern society were ripped from me, and I felt so free. Anyhow. That's my thoughts.""Excellent. Thank you Ken. Since nobody else seems willing to share their thoughts, I'll continue. And that's fine. I know it was a very personal thing that you all experienced, and it's perfectly acceptable that you don't want to share that with the rest of the class. However, I hope you were all honest with your write-ups. The only two people who will read those are yourselves and me. Speaking of the write-ups, everyone please take those out. I'll come around and collect them."After a minute or two, Ms. Sharon had all the papers collected into a pile, which she placed in her bag."Thank you everyone. Now that I've collected all of your first-hand accounts of your exhibitionist experiences, we will be moving on to our next topic. However, we are not done with exhibitionism in the context of this class. It will play a role in many topics we cover in the future, and it will be one of the options to be included in your final project."Now, as I've said, the goal of this class is to study human sexuality. Our first topic will build a foundation that we can build on for the rest of the semester. That topic is male and female human anatomies."In order to cover a real amount of detail for this topic, we will use live demonstrations. I would use myself as the female demonstration, but I wouldn't be able to properly point out each body part. So, I will need two volunteers; one male and one female."Nobody raised their hands. I, for one, didn't want to be singled out in front of the class for this demonstration. Ms. Sharon was being somewhat vague, but I guessed that whoever was being used for the demo would have their entire body closely examined by everyone in the class. I might have gained a certain level of comfort in my nudity around my fellow students, but this demo would take things to another level that I wasn't sure I could handle. My guess is that everyone else was having similar thoughts and feelings."Well, if nobody will volunteer, I'll have to pick two people at random. I figured this was going to be the case, so I've prepared two bags, male and female, containing each of your names. Each time we run into the case of no volunteers, I'll pull a names out of the bag. I will leave the names out until everyone from that gender has done a demo, then I will replace them. That will ensure that everyone gets a chance to participate, and that nobody gets singled out too much. Unfortunately, since there are less girls, that does mean you will each participate more often than the boys. Sorry, but there's not much I can do about that."So, I'll give everyone one more chance to volunteer on this activity. I will tell you that this is one of the more easy activities we will do this semester, so if you want to get your demo out of the way, feel free to volunteer."She waited another moment for anyone to raise their hand. Nobody did. "Alright. Then we'll leave it to chance. I'll pick one name from each bag today." She reached into the boy's bag first, and pulled out a small piece of paper, and read it aloud. "Filipe." She then reached into the girl's bag, and pulled out a second piece of paper, "Nicole."Wow, I thought, that sucks for Nicole. Not only is she stripping on her first day in the class, but she's also doing a demo."Okay, both of you come stand up here, please." They stood and walked to the front of the class, then turned and faced us, standing about two feet apart from each other. They both looked very nervous about what Ms. Sharon was about to ask them to do."Thank you. So, first we'll cover all of the non-sexual parts, although in some sense, you could argue that all body parts can be considered sexual, in one sense or another. Most of the body parts that we traditionally think of as non-sexual are the same between the male and female body. Actually, two thirds of the sexual parts are quite similar as well."So, we'll start at the head and move down the body from there. First, we have the hair. As you all know, on average, men tend to have shorter hair than women. Of course there are exceptions. Some men like to grow their hair out, and some women prefer to cut theirs short. But the social norm is that a girl's hair is long enough to come past her ears, and men's tend to max out at around the top of the ear."Next we have the face. Men tend to have sharper features, whereas women's faces tend to be more rounded. Another defining feature of the male face is facial hair. While women technically can grow facial hair, society has shunned it, so in most cases, it is considered a male feature. Women, on the other hand, tend to define their face via more artificial means, through make up, jewelry, and the like."Another important facial feature that we will touch on quite a bit in this class is the mouth. The reason that is important for this class is the fact that it's one of only three orifices that are generally used for penetration. In the case of penetration of the mouth, it is known as oral sex. We will cover oral sex in detail, a few classes from now."Moving on down, we have the torso." And so she went on, describing the similarities and differences between the male and female body, skipping over the "private" parts. As she described each part, she would point out where those parts were located on Filipe and Nicole's bodies.When she was finished describing the feet, and how they were a specific fetish for some people, she said, "That concludes the non-sexual parts. Now we'll move on to the more intimate parts of the body. Now, Filipe and Nicole, I understand that this part of the demonstration will probably make you uncomfortable, and that's understandable. However, this lesson crucial in order to eliminate any confusion that may otherwise occur in future classes."So, first, we have the chest. Both males and females have nipples." She pointed to each of Filipe's nipples, then to Nicole's. "The very center, raised area is the actual nipple. The surrounding dark area is called the areola. The area surrounding that on females also has a name: the breast."She pointed to the surrounding area of Nicole's breasts. Nicole blushed. "It also colloquially has a few other names, including: tits, boobs, and knockers."In most societies, the breasts are considered a 'private' area, and thus, they are kept covered." she said, as she air quoted the word private. "A woman's chest is also different from a man's, in that they produce milk. However, that only happens when the woman is pregnant, which Nicole here is not. So we obviously can't demo that."Moving on, we have the rear. Both of you, please turn around." They hesitated, but slowly did so, without question. She pointed to each of their asses. "The rear has many names, including butt, ass, bottom, glutes, and several others. It is very similar between males and females. They both have two cheeks on either side," she pointed to each of Filipe's cheeks, then each of Nicole's, "and a crack down the middle." She ran her finger down each of their cracks, causing them to shiver. "Now, the last part of the rear is the anus. However, with a simple glance at Nicole and Filipe's bottoms, you will not see the anus. Both of you, please spread your legs, and bend over the table in front of you. You can lean on it for support.""Ms. Sharon, do we really have to do this?" objected Nicole."Yes, Nicole, you do." replied Ms. Sharon, in a stern voice. "We must cover all the parts of the human anatomy, especially the sexual ones, and the anus is a very important part that we will be covering many times throughout the semester. If you can't handle this simple request, you will have difficulty with a lot more requests this semester. However, if you really feel uncomfortable, you can pass on this demo, but it will affect your participation grade."Nicole sighed. "No, that's alright. I'll bend over."Her and Filipe both spread their legs to shoulder width, and bent over at the waist, with their asses facing us. From this angle, I could see a good part of each of their asses, as well as Nicole's wet cunt, and Filipe's hardening cock hanging down, between their legs."Thank you. Now, we still can't really see the anus, so I'm going to have to spread your cheeks apart." She stepped next to Filipe, and spread his ass cheeks, revealing his tight ass hole. "There's the male." She released them, and moved over to Nicole. She grabbed each of her ass cheeks and spread them wide. "And here's the female. Nicole, can you pl

Facing the first symptoms and a new multiple sclerosis diagnosis can be terrifying, leaving you with a flood of questions about your future. How do you navigate your career, relationships, and whether to start a family? The uncertainty can be overwhelming, but you don't have to go it alone. Support from loved ones and connections with others living with MS can help light the way. As MS progresses, the mental challenges often intensify. The battle to accept mobility aids—devices that many resist—can feel like a loss, but in reality, they can expand your world. In this episode, we dive deep into the mental strategies to better cope with MS. Two inspiring advocates living with MS describe embracing change, turning their struggles into stories of strength, adaptability and hope. Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews: Ardra Shephard, writer, podcaster and television host based in Toronto, Canada Tyler Campbell, professional inspirational speaker and former college football player from Austin, Texas

Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today's painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Today we look into the murder of Sonya Massey. In my telling of the events, I will be quoting directly, and so will be using profanity. In her final words she used an ancient spiritual invocation against evil. Why?  To start with, this is what happened. Sonya Massey was a 36 year old black woman, a resident of Springfield, Illinois. She was murdered in her own kitchen by Illinois State Police Officer Sean Grayson.  Officer Grayson was earlier admonished by superior officers for abuse of his authority, for harassment, and falsifying reports. He served six different police departments in four years, moving from place to place when his exploitation of power was discovered.  Ms. Massey called the police to investigate a prowler. When Grayson and his partner arrived, Ms. Massey was herself investigated. She was almost immediately requested to show her Identification. Officer Grayson directed Ms. Massey to remove a pot of water that was boiling on her stove. As she was removing the pot she said, presumably to Officer Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Officer Grayson responded by immediately drawing his gun, shouting, “You better fing not. I'll fing shoot you in the f***ing face!” As Ms.  Massey apologized and ducked for cover with her empty hands over her head, and Office Grayson made good on his promise and shot her in the face. Three times.  Lemuel: Ms. Massey's final words included the invocation, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” This is a version of Jesus' rebuke of Saint Peter, who attempted to dissuade Jesus from accomplishing his mission. Jesus tells him, “Get thee behind me Satan,” or, in less formal language, step aside. The invocation is repeated in medieval manuscripts: “Vade Retro Satan…” Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com https://www.christiancentury.org/news/sonya-massey-said-i-rebuke-you-name-jesus-what-s-significance https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/06/us/sean-grayson-field-report-massey-shooting/index.html https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/08/rebuke-evil-in-name-of-jesus-sonya-massey/#:~:text=1:3;%20Ps.,presence%20of%20a%20holy%20God

As Ms. Marvel is getting comfortable with her new powers and new super-hero status, she quickly finds herself on a new adventure!  

Job Performance Medical TestingBy PtmcPilot – listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories. "Come in," she called. I entered the medical exam room to find her standing in a white uniform with white two inch heels, her hair now down, and most strikingly, the top three buttons on her uniform undone. I couldn't tell if she was wearing a bra, but the cleavage she was sporting could almost put Christina Hendricks to shame. She held out a hand and I passed her the clipboard. "Please sit here," she said, motioning to a chair that was also equipped with an apparatus for me to sit my arm on while a blood sample was taken. She reviewed my medical history, making notes and asking me questions every now and then. Then she donned a pair of latex gloves and prepped some sample vials. "Are you allergic to rubbing alcohol or latex?" She asked."No," I said, and moved the armrest into position.She frowned at me, removed my arm from the rest and moved it out of the way. Then she moved the armrest into position and positioned my arm upon it. I didn't get it, but I let her do as she wanted. "Please keep your arm here while I sterilize."She raised an eyebrow and said, "Hmm. I think this will go better if you acknowledge my orders more precisely." I nodded. She smiled, "Do you understand?"As Ms. Olson had said, she was precise, and I was beginning to understand something about this woman. "I understand, Nurse Jenkins. I will keep my arm here while you sterilize."For my words I was rewarded with that brilliant smile. She broke the seal on an alcohol wipe, then held my wrist as she thoroughly scrubbed the inside of my elbow. Next she picked up a tourniquet strap and tied it around my upper arm. "Please make a fist and squeeze three times, holding on the last," she said."Make a fist and squeeze three times, holding on the last, aye," I repeated back as if in the Navy again.Her cheeks flushed and her nostrils flared (I swear they did), as she produced the sample syringe, selected a vein, and stuck me for the sample. She was well practiced and it was a good stick. After drawing two vials she pulled the syringe and applied a square of gauze, "Apply pressure," she said as she disposed of the syringe and then started to invert the sealed vials a few times."Apply pressure, aye," I said, and she smiled again.She took the vials to a nearby machine, where she inserted the tubes and pressed a few buttons. Then she returned, bringing an elastic, self stick bandage with her. She took the gauze from me and applied a new piece, "Apply pressure," she said.I repeated back the order, and was rewarded with another bright smile as she applied the bandage. She then stood and motioned for me to follow her. "Employment does require verification that you are drug free, so next up is the urine sample." She crooked an eyebrow at me, "Are you sufficiently hydrated to provide a sample at this time?"I checked, yep. "Yes, Nurse Jenkins.""Do you typically suffer from stage fright? As they say?" She asked."Um, no Nurse Jenkins," I said, though in truth I was certain I had never tried whatever it was she appeared to have in mind.Then she laughed and handed me a specimen jar. "I'm just messing with you," and she pushed me into the small restroom and shut the door. She came back a couple minutes later and took the now filled, sealed and cleaned specimen bottle from me. "Now, Tom, please remove your clothes and put on the gown over there. Be sure the gown opening is to the front."I'll go easy on you here and just say I continued to repeat back all of her instructions verbatim.Her expression was not so much professional detachment as it was desire when I finished the repeat back. Apparently such over the top verbal obedience was high on her list of triggers. She left the room, closing the door behind her, and I took off my clothes, folding them and setting them on a shelf. Now nude, I picked up the gown and pulled on the sleeves with the opening in the front. Now, normally such gowns tie in the back and the opening starts somewhere just over your ass. In this configuration the opening started at my belly button, putting everything on display. However, I wasn't really surprised.I knocked on the door and her voice replied, "Come in."Entering the room she gestured to the exam table. I noticed it was now pleasantly warm in the room. "Please sit and we will review your medical history and start the skin survey."I sat down, with my now semi-hard cock pointing up from my groin. And it was in this configuration, with me mostly naked and her sitting fully clothed only a few feet away and right in front of me, that we discussed my medical history for the next twenty minutes. Seemingly satisfied with the evaluation, she set the clipboard aside and washed her hands again. "Now, Tom, I find it best to conduct the exam of your epidermis with my bare hands. If you have any objections I will switch to gloves of course."Of course, I thought. Then she asked, "Do you have any objections to my use of bare hands?"Shaking my head, I said, "No objections Nurse Jenkins."She beamed at me, then said, "Very well. Please remove the gown and lay down on your chest and I will examine your back first."I gave the repeat back and added, "Yes nurse". Then I pulled the knot loose, dropped the gown to the floor and turned and lay down on my chest. It was at this point I realized the only purpose of the gown was to reinforce the fact she was fully clothed and I was definitely not.No sooner was I lying on my chest when I felt her hands on my feet. Her fingers alternately stroked, pressed, probed and felt my skin. She took her time, asking about various moles, small scars, and other things of interest. As she went over my thighs and ass, I started to get aroused again even though she wasn't really doing anything to directly elicit such a response. She seemed to sense my discomfort as she worked on my lower back. "Please roll to your left side," she said. Rather than repeat this, I simply rolled as directed. She took hold of my stiffening cock and adjusted its position before rolling me back onto my belly. She then finished her examination of my backside, informing me I would have follow ups with a dermatologist for two odd looking moles, just to be sure."Now roll over to your back please," she said, and I did. Once again she started at my feet and worked her way up to my scalp, skipping my groin. All the attention had me once again hard and ready for whatever was next. I didn't have to wait long."Mr. Jeffries, at this time I would like to get you comfortable for the final portions of the exam." I nodded to indicate she should continue. "I will be manually examining your testicles, very carefully, to look for any lumps. You do know your age bracket is most at risk for testicular cancer?"I was lying on my back, nude, as the nurse ran her hands over my balls, cupping them snugly. I didn't try to hold back a groan. "Yes, nurse.""When complete I will perform a digital exam of your prostate, followed shortly by collection of a sperm sample." I groaned and acknowledged her, ready for whatever she had in mind to make that last part happen. "Mr. Jeffries, while most commonly a prostate exam is conducted with the patient bent forward over the table, I suggest we avail ourselves of the equipment present to make you most comfortable.""I, um, don't understand."She leaned forward and put her face right in front of mine, "Scoot your ass down the table and put your feet in the stirrups."Now that gave me pause. While I understood women getting into that position, I wasn't sure about my doing it. The pause was just long enough to draw a reprimand. Her face was still right in front of mine as her hand holding my balls changed from fondle to control, but well short of anything painful. "Mr. Jeffries, is there a concern you would like to voice?" Her grip shifted from control to fondle, and back.With her still holding onto me I adjusted my position on the table as instructed, "No, Nurse Jenkins," I groaned as she manipulated me. Then she let go of me and helped my feet into the stirrups, my calves resting on the pads. Then, in another surprise, she attached a Velcro strap to each. She then moved her chair and sat very close to me, taking my balls in her hand and very carefully palpating them. My cock, completely hard as a result of her manipulation, dripped onto my belly.I don't know how long she took for the exam, but there was quite the puddle when she was done. I figured she was done when she made a tight ring with her thumb and forefinger at the base of my cock even as she continued to hold my balls. "Mr Jeffries?" She said, and I looked down at her as she extended her tongue and started to lick my balls.My eyes rolled up and I groaned. She then ran her tongue up the length of my cock, twirled her tongue around my head, then licked up the puddle of precum. As my cock reached a state of full hardness she said, "Now we shall move on to the prostate exam and the sperm sample." Letting go of my cock, she stood and handed me a bulb shaped bit of silicone. "At some point during the process I will bring you to orgasm. At any time you feel you may ejaculate you are to inform me and pop that receptacle onto the head of your penis. Do you understand?"I nodded and said, "Yes nurse." Then she made an unnecessary show of putting on one latex glove and thoroughly lubricating her hands. Then she held the base of my cock and rubbed my balls as her gloved hand rubbed my perineum and anus. I tensed.I felt her breath on my cock as both her hands continued to stroke me. "You are clear on the outcome?""Yes nurse," I said with some strain."Good," she said and took me fully in her mouth. To my surprise, I delighted in the feeling of her finger pushing into me even as she slid her mouth down my length. I thrust my hips up as she pushed into me, and she coughed at the sudden movement and pulled back. The finger inside me was motionless for a bit, and then she starting moving it, though in a way I couldn't place. A deep pressure started to build.As she continued to 'examine' what had to be my prostate, she said, "Really Mr. Jeffries, thrusting is not appropriate." As she said this she stroked my cock using her saliva as a very nice lubricant. I could now tell she was rubbing every part of my prostate, being quite thorough. The pressure increased. "Will you be able to control yourself?""Yes Nurse, I believe so."She nodded and gave me a most unprofessional leer. "I doubt it," she said, "but try anyway." And then she took me fully in her mouth again, her tongue doing wonderful things up and down the length of my cock. The finger in my ass was now moving more in and out than back and forth, and when she added a second finger I gripped the sides of the table and forced my hips to remain in place.She hummed around my cock and stroked me with her fingers. It was like nothing else I'd ever experienced. Her tongue worked my frenulum and head while her fingers stroked my shaft, and the effect of her fingers on my prostate was to make my cock feel a few inches longer. She regularly looked up at me, and the vision of her intense eyes with me in her mouth added another sexual dimension. As she bobbed and stroked me slowly it became clear that she was in no hurry. Monitoring my reactions, she paused her efforts every now and then back away from the edge.It felt strange and delicious, and after what seemed like ages but was probably only ten minutes, I had the feeling I was, well, dribbling into her mouth. She noticed as well and she took her mouth off me. "I've got you flowing nicely now, and I want a nice full sample from you." I looked down and noticed precum oozing out continuously. As she kept fingering me she massaged my balls with the rest of her hand.Then she resumed sucking and tonguing my head and crown as she stroked me, but this time felt different. As I started to tense up she didn't stop. "Nurse, I'm getting close!" I said with some urgency. She hummed an acknowledgment, looked me in the eye again. I had the silicone bulb thingy and I was damn close to needing it. Then, with an aggressive tongue lashing of my frenulum, I was there. "I'm going to come!"She continued to stroke my shaft as she backed away and I popped the cup over the head of my cock. It was a snug fit and I didn't have to hold it, which was good because just a moment later my body seized up and I found myself at the edge for an intense period. At no time did she stop stroking my cock and my ass, and then Boom! I exploded. The prostate massage and her continued stroking sent me into another world. My hips took off on their own as I pumped shot after shot into the bulb. When I finally started breathing again she pulled off the cup and took me in her mouth and gently licked and sucked me as I softened. When she stopped I realized her finger was no longer inside me. I heard the snap of her removing her glove, and then she undid the Velcro."You may clean up and get dressed Mr. Jeffries, I should have your results soon," she said. I noticed she was quite flushed, possibly more than myself."Yes Nurse," I said absently as I got off the bench in a post orgasmic daze. In the restroom I cleaned up, got dressed and knocked on the door some minutes later."Enter," came her voice. I did so and she motioned for me to sit on the bench again."Well, Mr.Jeffries, as might be expected for a young man of twenty-four years, you are in very good health. Blood work and vitals normal, all disease checks negative, your testes and prostate are normal, and you have a reasonably high sperm count." She paused then, kissed me and said, "Next time I'll get to swallow all the little swimmers." She showed me her 'sex badge', and I noted the two at the top were CIM (come in mouth) and FOX (essentially blow job).I returned her grin and said, "I look forward to it."She led me to the door and I headed back to my office. As I passed Allie at reception she smiled prettily. "How is your first day going?" She asked."Somehow even better than I expected," I said. My stomach growled loud enough for her to hear. The clock said it was already 1230."Would you like some lunch?" She asked."That would be great," I said.She picked up the phone, punched a number and spoke briefly. A minute later Susan from security arrived and took Allie's place. "Be back in fifteen," Allie said.Susan smirked, "Take all the time you want.""Just lunch, Susan, not my turn," Allie replied.Allie led me to the cafeteria, where about ten people were still eating. I ordered a turkey club and joined Ashley at an empty table. As we ate we made small talk, mostly about how we had come to work at Foxx Inc. Allie was finishing an internship, looking to start law school in the Fall. She was quite interested in my Navy experience, and while I tried to answer her, I found it was always difficult to convey what life on a submarine was like."So what about my predecessor?" I asked."What about him?" she said."Do you know why he left?" I asked.She shrugged, "I think the job wore him out. He was here for a few years I think, left Monday last week.""Wore him out, as in—" I said, the question hanging there.She swallowed a bite of food and then said, "I'm sure that at some point having all the sex you can handle must become too much." She shrugged, "Or maybe he wanted a girlfriend. It would take someone really open minded to let their boyfriend loose in here every day."Too tired? I thought about that. I'd had two great orgasms today, and I felt energized. Would I feel that way by Friday? One thing was for sure—I was looking forward to finding out. I finished my sandwich and noticed a woman a couple of tables away was watching me. Allie noticed my glance and looked over her shoulder. The other woman waved at us, then stood and left the room."Who was that?" I asked."That's Cindy from IT, your last appointment for the day. She'll be by around five after for your two pm meeting.""Oh?" I said. "Why five minutes late?""Velma's never on time.""Velma? I thought you said Cindy?" I said, confused."It'll be clear enough. She's not one to waste time, so I recommend having a password ready for your smart card. It's kind of like the CAC you used to have. Eight characters, upper and lower case, numerals and special character.""Sure," I said, confused, and wondering why she referenced a CAC at all.Back in my office I took a very quick shower before going over more maintenance history and familiarizing myself with the existing contracts. After going through about half the documents my impression was that things were running well in the building, but I'd follow up with Ms Olson later to get her thoughts. I also googled Velma, though I didn't remember the other name. It didn't take long to figure out what might be going on, so I was ready when shortly after 1400 my door opened and a woman walked in. She had short cropped dark brown hair, dark rimmed glasses, an orange sweater, a red skirt and orange stockings. A pair of large breasts wobbled underneath her sweater making it clear she was without a bra. "Hi," she said with a smile, "I'm Velma from IT to set up your account." At first I didn't recognize her, but something about her face was familiar. It suddenly dawned on me that this was the same woman from lunch. Her name tag read Cindy something, but whatever Velma wanted, I was ready to give it to her.I shook my head in an exaggerated manner and barked out, "Zoinks!"She laughed and smiled broadly. "You're so goofy, Shaggy." She gestured to my computer, "May I?" she said.I backed away from the desk and offered her the seat. "Of course."She smiled at me and said, "Thanks, Shaggy." Her hands flew over the keyboard, screens changing rapidly as she did so. After a moment she took my badge, removed it from the protective sleeve, and slotted into the side of the computer. She backed away and gestured toward the computer. "Once you enter a password it will take about fifteen minutes to generate keys," she said. I typed in a password and was asked to verify it twice. Once done she stood, went to the door, and locked it from within. Then she turned to face me and pulled her sweater over her head. She was a thicc young woman, with a truly large pair of nicely shaped tits. Silver dollar areola and tight pink nipples atop easily DDD milky white breasts. I closed the distance and took those mammaries in my hands, squeezing, fondling and sucking like a starving man. She murmured her approval and enjoyed my ministrations for a short while. Then she put her hands on my shoulders and gently pressed me to sit down on the floor.She sat down astride my thighs, her hands undoing my belt and pulling down my pants and underwear. She readily got me hard in her mouth before moving down and dangling her tits on either side of my cock. Not needin

On Friday, March 28th, 2003, the last bell rang at Reagan High School in Austin, Texas, and students flooded into the hallways, rejoicing that the weekend was finally here. But soon, those excited shouts and plans for the weekend turned into screams of terror, and one of the students ran into Vanessa Conner's classroom, telling her she had to come out into the hall to see what had happened. As Ms. Conner peered over the railing to the bottom of the stairs, she was horrified to find one of her students covered in stab wounds and slashes and lying in a pool of blood. February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in the United States, and in this episode we highlight a nightmarish case of deadly teen dating violence, before diving into a discussion of abusers and their motivations, the different kinds of abuse and some potential interventions to help reduce instances of Teen Dating Violence.  If you are currently dealing with teen dating violence or any other kind of intimate partner violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text SMART to 88788. Sources:'I was loaned an angel.' The lives shaped by Ortralla Mosley's murder, 20 years later from Austin American-StatesmanBright and talented young woman': Ortralla Mosley honored at Texas Capitol Thursday from KXAN Ortralla Mosley's mother sought help for her daughter's killer. She's done trying. from Austin American-StatesmanA Shining Star Goes Dark from The Austin Chronicle'Stand up and speak' from Austin American-StatesmanMcTear Admits Murder, Gets Maximum Sentence from The Austin ChronicleThe 4 Stages of the Cycle of Abuse: From Tension to Calm and Back from PsychCentralAbout Dating Matters from CDCUp to 19% of teens experience dating violence. Psychologists want to break the cycle from the American Psychological AssociationThe Danger of Manipulative Love-Bombing in a Relationship from Psychology TodayWhy People Abuse from National Domestic HotlineSee ya next Wednesday! Intro/Outro Music: A Creepy Music from Music UnlimitedInstagram: @wickedwithinpodcastWebsite: wickedwithinpodcast.com

Hello, I'm your host Wayne Brown and welcome to the ET PROJECT. We're delighted to be delivering this podcast for executive talent all over the world whom we're affectionately referring to as TEAM ET.  Today we are heading over to Zurich, Switzerland, and connecting with our guest Ms. Hanna Herbst.  As Ms. Herbst says her superpower is making things happen with lots of compassion, energy, and a smile :) and as you listen to our conversation today, and get to know and understand Hanna, you'll most likely form a similar opinion. She wears different hats in her professional life: certified leadership & career coach, management consultant, and podcast host of the show called “Reaching your Goals”, and not forgetting Hanna is also a mother to a delightful 15-month-old. With more than 16 years of experience, Hanna's background is in business (management consulting, corporate finance, entrepreneurship, and coaching. She worked in Switzerland and the US for companies such as Procter & Gamble, Siemens, and Horvath before starting her own business. Having received her MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, Hanna started a company called "Delygate" and you'll hear us dig a little deeper into that naming during the conversation. Through the business, Hanna offers management consulting and life coaching for companies and individuals. Hanna also lecturers on Why corporate values matter more than you may think She's convinced that a return to values and human capital not only has an impact on interpersonal relationships but is also financially rewarding and forms the foundation for long-term corporate success. Additionally, Hanna asks the question Women in management – where are you? As she says, everybody talks about diversity and more and more studies confirm that diversity in companies is financially beneficial: “brings more innovation,” “more sales,” and “higher profitability,” so if it is so beneficial then, why are there still so few female leaders, especially in the middle management and upwards? Visit our website page to access the show notes, guest links, and full transcript - Coaching 4 Companies

Follow The Trophy Room Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pstrophyroom Discord: https://discord.gg/wPNp3kC Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSTrophyRoom ---------------------------------------------------------- Timecodes State of Play Rumors - 12:10 Ballistic Moon Acquisition Rumors - 25:08 Xbox Game Pass hurts Sales - 31:52 PS VR2 Review - 53:05 Flash News / February PS Extra Games  - 01:35:00 Jane Perry Interview: 01:48:27 The Drop / Questions - 02:27:00 _______________________________ This week on The Trophy Room - A PlayStation Podcast hosts Joseph and Kyle talk about the rumors of PlayStation acquisition of Ballistic Moon Studios in London. State of Play inbound in February or March. The guys are joined by Sean Vegvari of Console Ceatures to talk about his hands on review of the playstation vr 2 and if PSVR2 is worth it for newcomers or if only hardcore users will take advantage of PS VR2 features like the new sense controllers. The crew interviews Jane Perry the voice of Rogue in Cyberpunk, Diana Burnwood in Hitman, and Selene in Housemarque's Returnal. As we talk about her experience in the industry as well as making Sony's AAA exclusive thats now on PC, Steam, and Epic Games. The crew talks about the revelations coming out of Microsoft and Xbox admission that Xbox Game Pass Cannibalizes video game sales. As MS fights the CMA, EU, FTC, and other regulatory bodies over the Activision Blizzard Deal. The NEW PlayStation Extra and Premium like Legend of Dragoon on PS1, Wild Arms 2 on psone, Horizon Forbidden West, The Quarry, Outriders, and so much more!

Pale Reflections is at war with Hard Pass 22.a, and 22.6. We get a glimpse into Helen's past that even the spirits aren't privy to, and it makes her seem... about as horrifying as you'd expect really. As Ms. Kim goes to war, we hop into Verona's head, as she defends her dad, Kennet Found, and seemingly makes a deal with Lis before heading into the lioness' den. Remember – we record our episodes live! If you want to catch them, join the discord. Answer the discussion question, or leave your thoughts here! You can read Pale here. Leave your predictions here! Check out an index of Pale's chapters and our episodes here! Send us feedback on the show!

The U.S. Open crowned its winners this weekend. But for a lot of fans, this year's competition was less about who won, and more about a player who wasn't even involved in the final matches.Serena Williams, who announced last month that she'd be retiring from tennis after this year's tournament, has made an indelible impact on her sport and left a legacy away from the court that has very little precedent.Guest: Wesley Morris, a critic at large for The New York Times and co-host of Times podcast “Still Processing.”Background reading: At the U.S. Open, Serena Williams laughed, rocked sparkly shoes, rang the bell at the stock exchange, beat two opponents, teared up and said goodbye. Here's an exploration of her magical last week in tennis.As Ms. Williams played her final matches, women have seen their own lives reflected in the triumphs and trials of the tennis superstar.For more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

 We are a proud collaborator for Tameka's global film viewing and discussion of My Girl Story happening on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, in commemoration of the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent. Please see below Tameka's bio and how you can join our international event on August 31st!Register to watch the film hereRegistration link for the event, including the panel discussion is hereLinks to watch on Facebook and Youtube: HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MYGIRLSTORYDOCUMENTARYHTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=UGGTTTKUKGKTameka Citchen-Spruce has a strong passion for disability advocacy and media. It started at 21 years old, as Ms. Wheelchair MI 2006. As Ms. Wheelchair MI, she spoke out about supporting women with disabilities who are being abused. Two years later she formed Women Empower Inc, its mission was to empower women with disabilities to live their best lives. Later she studied Broadcast Television and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Oakland University.  Tameka has been advocating for over 15 years for access to affordable and accessible housing, fighting against voting oppression towards people with disabilities, racial and gender injustices, and health equity.  Because of the combination of her journalism knowledge, and activism she learned the importance of telling a person's story. Her short film, Justifiable Homicide, has been nominated and won an award and her My Girl Story documentary has been selected for film festivals.   Besides film, she's a community organizer for Warriors on Wheels of Metro Detroit and a facilitator for the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition. She is also a Program Assistant and Chairperson of the Inclusive Health Committee for Beaumont Health, Healthy Dearborn.  She has been selected for numerous fellowships including AmeriCorps, Public Allies of Metro Detroit, Michigan Disability Rights Coalition's LEAD program and Detroit Equity Action Lab at Judge Damon Keith's Wayne State University Law Center. She is a proud member of the National Black Disability Coalition.  Another important role of Tameka's life is being a wife and mother of two young children. 

 We are a proud collaborator for Tameka's global film viewing and discussion of My Girl Story happening on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, in commemoration of the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent. Please see below Tameka's bio and how you can join our international event on August 31st!Register to watch the film hereRegistration link for the event, including the panel discussion is hereLinks to watch on Facebook and Youtube: HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MYGIRLSTORYDOCUMENTARYHTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=UGGTTTKUKGKTameka Citchen-Spruce has a strong passion for disability advocacy and media. It started at 21 years old, as Ms. Wheelchair MI 2006. As Ms. Wheelchair MI, she spoke out about supporting women with disabilities who are being abused. Two years later she formed Women Empower Inc, its mission was to empower women with disabilities to live their best lives. Later she studied Broadcast Television and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Oakland University.  Tameka has been advocating for over 15 years for access to affordable and accessible housing, fighting against voting oppression towards people with disabilities, racial and gender injustices, and health equity.  Because of the combination of her journalism knowledge, and activism she learned the importance of telling a person's story. Her short film, Justifiable Homicide, has been nominated and won an award and her My Girl Story documentary has been selected for film festivals.   Besides film, she's a community organizer for Warriors on Wheels of Metro Detroit and a facilitator for the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition. She is also a Program Assistant and Chairperson of the Inclusive Health Committee for Beaumont Health, Healthy Dearborn.  She has been selected for numerous fellowships including AmeriCorps, Public Allies of Metro Detroit, Michigan Disability Rights Coalition's LEAD program and Detroit Equity Action Lab at Judge Damon Keith's Wayne State University Law Center. She is a proud member of the National Black Disability Coalition.  Another important role of Tameka's life is being a wife and mother of two young children. 

ASCO: You're listening to a podcast from Cancer.Net. This cancer information website is produced by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, known as ASCO, the voice of the world's oncology professionals. The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guests' statements on this podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. Cancer research discussed in this podcast is ongoing, so data described here may change as research progresses. Brielle Gregory Collins: Hi, everyone. I'm Brielle Gregory Collins, a member of the Cancer.Net content team, and I'll be your host for today's Cancer.Net podcast. Cancer.Net is the patient information website of ASCO, the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Today we're going to be talking about coping with the mental and emotional challenges of cancer through exercise. Our guests today are Dr. Sheila Lahijani and Sami Mansfield. Dr. Lahijani is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the medical director of the Stanford Cancer Center Psychosocial Oncology Program. Dr. Lahijani is also an advisory panelist on the Cancer.Net Editorial Board. Thanks for joining us today, Dr. Lahijani. Dr. Sheila Lahijani: It's truly my pleasure to be here today, Brielle, with all of you. Brielle Gregory Collins: Thank you. Ms. Mansfield is the founder of Cancer Wellness for Life and the director of Oncology Wellness for the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at HCA Midwest Health. Thanks for joining us today, Ms. Mansfield. Sami Mansfield: Thanks, everybody, for having me. Excited to be here as well. Brielle Gregory Collins: Before we begin, we should mention that Dr. Lahijani and Ms. Mansfield do not have any relationships to disclose related to this podcast, but you can find their full disclosure statements on Cancer.Net. Now to start, Dr. Lahijani, how can a cancer diagnosis impact a person's mental and emotional well-being? Dr. Sheila Lahijani: Thanks for asking this question, Brielle. Usually, when people want to know the answer to this, what I preface it by saying is that there is a spectrum of responses. Many people find themselves to be quite distressed because cancer continues to have quite a lot of stigma, both in this country and as well as internationally. People oftentimes associate it with feelings of despair, anxiety, and helplessness. Having said that, many of these responses and reactions are normal. Some people can progress to have many more significant emotional responses and reactions that can become more disruptive to their lives and to the roles that they play a part in. We really try to meet patients where they're at to better understand how they've previously coped with past life challenges and/or traumas and to identify what strengths they have, what coping mechanisms they have to help them manage the distress associated with cancer. There are patients who also have a history of past psychiatric diagnoses and problems, in which case getting diagnosed with cancer and undergoing cancer treatment can cause a lot more difficulty. So each person is different. There are a lot of, quote-unquote, "normal" reactions, responses and reactions, that we as providers do validate and reflect back to the patients. And then there are those that can cause many more problems, and those are the ones we really need to address. Brielle Gregory Collins: Okay. And getting into some of those problems, what are some of the most common mental and emotional challenges that people face during cancer? Dr. Sheila Lahijani: The majority of people feel very anxious. And I've shared this with others and share this with my patients: being anxious means something. It means that you care about something. You care about yourself. You care about your life. You care about people in your life. And so it's a sign. It's something that needs to be tended to. People suffer from mood symptoms such as depression as well, difficulty coping, feelings of loss and despair. Those are the most common reactions. Some people can develop other difficulties related to side effects of cancer treatments as well. And also, there are people, as I mentioned, who previously have suffered from psychiatric symptoms, where things can become much more difficult and challenging, affecting their way of thinking: problems with cognition, memory, recall, things like that. So to summarize, largely mood disturbances and mood symptoms in the forms of anxiety and depression. Panic is also a part of that, as well as post-traumatic stress. And there are others who have previous symptoms that can become more problematic. So we really try to evaluate both mood and thinking in our patient population. Brielle Gregory Collins: Thank you so much for walking through those. And I want to talk a little bit now about exercise and how that can play a role in coping with some of these challenges. Ms. Mansfield, what is considered exercise, and what are some of the benefits of exercising during cancer? Sami Mansfield: Great question because there are so many different terminologies around exercise and physical activity and fitness. So I think we should start there. The terminology of physical activity is probably the most broad thing that we talk about. Physical activity is anything that we do to move the body, anything from rolling over in bed, getting up, brushing your teeth, etc. Exercise is a physical activity that is more defined or maybe has a purpose. And so it might be a goal to get stronger or a goal of rehab or prehab in this particular patient population. Or some people just want to be able to walk a 5k or run a 5k. So exercise is more intentional. And that's really how we try to define it in the literature. From a cancer patient perspective, probably the most broadly impactful side effect management tool for exercise is actually fatigue because that is where we have a depth of evidence both in physical activity and inactivity differences. And related to fatigue from the mental health side, we see a strong benefit of both exercise and physical activity in anxiety, depression, stress management, sleep quality. So I think it's important for our audience to know that anything that you do for movement is good. Having a planned and structured movement program known as exercise is going to be ideal because the bottom line is we want you to reach your goal the quickest and without kind of feeling like you're not getting a lot of benefit to movement. And so that's why exercise really does have a significant role and why I think a lot of people really strive for, "What should I do? What does that specific exercise plan look like?" Brielle Gregory Collins: Got it. And I want to circle back to some of the challenges, Dr. Lahijani, that you outlined earlier. So how does exercise help address some of these challenges of cancer specifically? Dr. Sheila Lahijani: Well, I love this question. And I'm very informed by what my colleague, Ms. Mansfield, just described. Exercise and physical activity, in my opinion, are so beneficial to patients who are already diagnosed with cancer, as well as those patients who may be at risk for developing cancer-- any of us, really, to reduce our risk for certain kinds of cancer. There have been many studies that have been done that have demonstrated that intentional physical activity, as my colleague termed it, in the form of exercise can ramp up certain biological processes that contribute to improvements in cognition as well as memory function. There's a factor called a “brain-derived neurotrophic factor” which can get increased with physical activity and exercise. At the very molecular level, muscle cells can play a part in reducing the progression of disease and even potentially metastases. So there's a lot to be said biologically. As well as psychologically, it really can offer quite a lot of benefit to help people manage their distress through focusing on momentary breathing, momentary muscle relaxation. And there is also a social component to it. Even if someone is participating in an activity like this by himself, herself, or themself, there is something to be said about the communal experience of being up on your feet, moving yourself, and not being so isolated and alone, which is very much a problem for patients who undergo cancer care. Brielle Gregory Collins: That's a really good point. And Ms. Mansfield, I want to get a little bit into the specific things that people can do. So what kinds of exercise can help people with cancer cope with these challenges? Sami Mansfield: Now, it's a great question because that's what everybody wants. What should I do, right? And I tell everybody let's just start, number 1, with avoiding as much true sedentary behavior as possible. And I say true sedentary behavior because when you are just sitting and doing perhaps mindless activities, watching TV, there's a lot of exercises that can be done when you're seated, which is great for patients that have high amounts of fatigue or balance challenges. And I tell everyone, "Lift an arm. Lift a leg. Flex your toes and feet a couple of times, roll your shoulders, and you've just moved." It doesn't have to be vigorous or difficult. It just needs to be movement. So I think just thinking about these 1-minute, we call it “exercise snacks,” make a much more significant impact throughout the day than feeling like, "Oh, I've got to go to the gym and exercise for 30 minutes," or you might even have physical therapy. And the volume might be too high for people. So I want people to think first in small 1-minute movements. But the next piece of this is, we've studied the different modalities of exercise between aerobic exercise, thinking about things like walking, or chair-based, like marching in the chair, swimming, biking, whatever that may be. And resistance training exercises that use muscles. You could do something with weights, soup cans. You could do bodyweight exercises that build muscle. We've studied them separately and together. And what we've learned is that for the emotional side effects, specifically anxiety, depression, having a combination of these movements is going to give you the most significant benefit. So my advice is do a minute of marching, whether that's in your chair or standing, then maybe do a chair sit-to-stand 10 times and a couple of countertop pushups, and you've now hit a full-body routine exercise regimen in under 5 minutes. I do think that people need to remember although there are recommendations of how much you should strive for, there's no reason you have to do the whole recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate activity per week to see benefit. Start with just 1 minute at a time, 1 movement at a time, and try to mix it up. Make it fun. Add music. Make it a challenge. Make it something that you feel that you can attain because you will feel better and also accomplished. And that does improve your well-being, to feel like, "I did that. I did my 1 thing a day." And that's really phenomenal and goes a long way to how people feel mentally. Brielle Gregory Collins: Absolutely. And I love that term you use of “exercise snacks.” I think that's a really helpful way of looking at it. So for someone who's maybe just getting started with exercise, what is your advice for them as they manage their cancer diagnosis and are trying to look toward exercise as something that they want to incorporate into their lives? Sami Mansfield: That's definitely the question I love to answer. Because if somebody's motivated, we want to get them there quickly or get them to find a resource that helps them feel successful. I kind of go back to the whole “exercise snack” piece. I think it's more important that people realize it's better to do a little something every day than to think, "Oh my gosh, I need to hit 30 minutes today, and then for the next 3 to 5 days, I don't do anything." I really advise start small, start manageable, and look for something that you can do without having to add extra barriers to your life. As an example, if getting somewhere logistically on time doesn't work for you, start with 5 minutes of things that you can do from your home. I do think there is a really important resource within most of our cancer spaces. We have oncology rehab programs. We have trained exercise professionals that can guide you. But I think people don't realize that just moving around their house, maybe 1 flight of stairs if you can do that, is a really great way to get started. There's a lot of great YouTube videos you can try. There is definitely—talk to your physicians. They might have some great ideas. But starting daily, consistency really is going to make the biggest difference than just going, "Hey, Saturday is my day to exercise." I think we can all do a little bit in that snack fashion. And I don't know. I think we can all agree snacks are good. We all like a few snacks now and again. Definitely. And I also kind of have this thought about-- people say, "Well, if they have cancer, should they do yoga?"   And my answer is, "Well, do you like yoga?" I mean because yoga has a lot of really great resources for mental health and breath to movement and mindfulness and that grounding effect. But for someone who doesn't like yoga, which I will admit yoga is a little bit of my challenge so I push myself to do it, someone telling me to do yoga every day versus maybe exercises that I enjoy, I would be a little bit more down in the dumps about it, that you're taking away maybe what I love. So I think 1 thing, really thinking about what's the type of exercise you like to do, is it reasonable for you to continue that? If you used to run and maybe you have a lot of neuropathy in your feet, it might not be the most reasonable now. But what is the exercise that you enjoy? And that should also be part of that first thing that you do every day, not your, "Well, someone told me I should do yoga because they enjoy doing yoga," piece. And I think that's something that we need to think about in exercise. It still should be enjoyable and have good music. I think music is key as well.   Dr. Sheila Lahijani: I think it's really important to highlight as well that cancer causes so many life disruptions: disruptions to different roles, activities, functions, whatever it may be. And in speaking about intentional physical activity and exercise, it's an opportunity to create a routine and to try to lessen the impact that's caused by the disruptions. Sami Mansfield: The pandemic certainly accelerated that for those of us who don't even have cancer. I don't know if anybody here also experienced this.  But I remember I was working out in a gym setting-- and we actually had our own-- we ran a gym space at the time in Kansas City for cancer survivors. So we took that virtual. But I struggled with my routine. I was like, "Wait a minute." And I could go to my own gym that was private, right? But I really struggled with the mentality of like, "It wasn't my routine." And when your routine slips, you just feel very out of control. I think 1 recommendation we should make for all of our listeners, physicians, or those of us that are working in the field is I recommend starting every day with a minute of movement. I don't care if you're doing a few arm circles where you're waiting for your coffee or whatever, but there is something about getting your blood flow moving quickly that makes a really big difference. So whether that's, "Before I brush my teeth, I'm going to just do a couple of leg swings or a couple of countertop pushups or something simple every single day." Or if you're in bed, you do something in bed, even if it's just your foot flexion or drawing the alphabet where you're doing something to stimulate movement." You bring up a really good point, that we need to make that ritualization or routine, but make it also very accessible for people. Brielle Gregory Collins: Absolutely. Thank you, Ms. Mansfield. That's really helpful. And Dr. Lahijani, in addition to exercise, what else can people with cancer do to cope with some of the mental and emotional impacts of their diagnosis? Dr. Sheila Lahijani: Thanks for asking this question. And I want to also preface this by saying so much of what we're talking about is essentially what is now a field of exercise oncology, right? And so there's more and more literature available and resources that emphasize the benefits of exercise in this patient population and how the effects of other treatment modalities, such as antidepressants and psychotherapy, can be further enhanced when someone is also being physically active or having an exercise snack. So to answer your question, what I'm saying is there are many ways we can support our patients and many ways we can encourage them to have better management and control over their distress-- why there is anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances. It's really meeting people where they're at-- which Ms. Mansfield also mentioned, starting somewhere. So when we see patients in our clinic-- and I've been known to do this, and I've done this back in the day where we would really write a lot more paper prescriptions. But even as part of my discussion points and patient instructions, I always make a point of writing, "Do some physical activity, even minimum opportunity to get yourself moving." Because what we're trying to really do is help with the circulation-- help with the circulation in the body, in the brain, really ramp up those neurotransmitters that help people feel better, remove the unhealthy oxygen, introduce the healthier oxygen. And that, in conjunction with medications, in conjunction with different psychotherapy modalities, in conjunction with progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness, grounding techniques, can really help people feel less helpless, less stuck, less tired-- again, as I mentioned earlier, less alone, and find opportunities where they have more of a sense of control because that's part of what we're talking about here. There's a strong feeling of helplessness and lack of control when someone is diagnosed with cancer and undergoes cancer care. And this is an opportunity to help them find ways to manage their health physically, mentally, cognitively, spiritually, and feel less a sense of helplessness. It's really encouraging me to say that there are many patients who are physically really suffering, whether it's from neuropathic pain, cancer-related fatigue, any kinds of deconditioning related to surgical interventions, other effects of chemotherapies, from depression. And it is much, much harder. And people sometimes cannot physically move. And it requires a lot more activation energy to take those steps. So part of what we do in my clinic and how we partner with our colleagues in palliative medicine as well is how can we manage people's symptoms? How can we manage their depressive symptoms, their physical symptoms? How can we help them be more cognitively stable and intact to be able to safely take those steps or to have more of that motivation or that energy or that pain relief to be able to participate in the things that we're talking about? I'm cognizant of the fact that when we have our patients and family members and caregivers listen to this, there may be some folks who are like, "But I just can't." And I have patients who tell me, "I get it, Dr. Lahijani. I understand. And I appreciate this guidance that you've offered me and the recommendations to use this medication or to consider this, but I just can't." So that problem with motivation and lack of optimal symptom management really has to be addressed in parallel, in my opinion, to really help support patients in actually participating in what we're suggesting here. Sami Mansfield: I think that's not only an excellent point, I think you really reiterate the partnership that needs to happen with the clinicians and the exercise oncology field or oncology rehab field because the only way to really do this effectively again, and especially a more complex patient, is in conjunction with one another. And I think that we need to be mindful and remind the patients, and like you said, the family members listening, that the conversation should be had, but the clinicians really can help manage the clinical symptoms so that the exercise or rehab professionals can really get in with that, the more implementation piece, when reasonable. But I think we need to take the guilt off our patients that it's not going to be every day, even though they want to. And that's the reality, and that is okay. And some days, it is a rest day or a rest week. And that is part of the healing process of the body and a really important way to recover. And that's okay, too. I think recommendations are nice as an example. But at the end of the day, if they're not reasonable for people, we need to also take that next layer of guilt away. And they just need to be able to feel comfortable and pain-free and symptoms-managed. And that's quality of life as well. Brielle Gregory Collins: Wow, what a great discussion. And I think the main takeaway here for anyone listening is your health care team is there to help you, and they'll work with you to figure out what's best for you, whatever that might be. So thank you so much. That was wonderful to hear both of your perspectives. And I want to talk a little bit about resources that people listening can turn to to learn a little bit more about this. So I'd like to direct this to both of you. Ms. Mansfield, we'll start with you, but where can people go to learn more about exercise and managing the mental and emotional effects of cancer? Sami Mansfield: Absolutely. That is the key question is, what next? Really, Cancer.Net is a wonderful and evolving resource and is continuing to progress its information. So no matter when you're listening to this podcast, check out Cancer.Net. I know that the information is online. There's a ton of resources right there. There are some other really great programs and resources. I would talk to your clinicians about things like cancer-specific rehab programs that you may have access to, which many have insurance coverage. And I tell people you don't have to feel broken to get cancer rehab. There are a lot of ways that cancer rehab can help you even just manage general fatigue or cognition. Referral to a speech-language pathologist can be helpful with some of those techniques about memory and chemobrain. So those are resources. In addition, there are qualified exercise professionals through the American College of Sports Medicine that have training and certifications and have experience. That can be another resource that can help you. I would also advise people to think, "You don't always have to have a cancer professional." There are great fitness professionals that may fit-- yoga professionals or other types of exercise modalities. So don't always feel like you have to find the “cancer person.” But depending on your symptoms or side effects, having a professional that understands what it means when you say neuropathy can be very helpful. So I would definitely start with those resources first and then branch out as you feel comfortable. Dr. Sheila Lahijani: She responded to that question beautifully. And to add to what she just shared, looking at what your own cancer center, your place of health care where you receive it, what's available. There are many websites through the different cancer centers and medical centers that have wonderful patient-facing and family-facing educational resources. The American Cancer Society also has a lot of helpful information. As Ms. Mansfield mentioned, Cancer.Net is a wonderful resource. And also to emphasize that there are programs that can be done virtually, especially in this era of this pandemic. While we encourage in-person interactions, however it's safe and feasible because there's so much benefit to feeling less alone and isolated and maybe having that direct 1-on-1 attention, we recognize that many patients because of their immune compromise or because of whatever challenges they may have with respect to support or transportation or finances, whatever it may be, it might be harder to access care or services where someone lives. And so there are programs and services that are available online. And that shouldn't be limiting. That should be something to really think about and consider. Actually, I was in a meeting recently where I learned about an organization called the Maple Tree Cancer Alliance, which has programs available through different cancer centers as well, among which is my center, Stanford. And so there are plenty of resources available. And with that, I will also say pick something. Choose something. You don't need to look at everything and try to do everything. Take a look at what's available to you, what's accessible to you, what makes sense, and just try it out, and see if it helps. And if it doesn't help or if it's not providing you any kind of immediate benefit, look to see what other options there are. We have so many patients tell us that they're trying to follow through on our recommendations, and people want to be, quote-unquote, "good patients." And that can get very overwhelming. People in large part want to feel better. They want to get better. That doesn't mean you have to take advantage of every single resource or recommendation that's being offered to you. Take a look at what's close to you, what you can access, and how you can make it work, and start somewhere. Brielle Gregory Collins: Absolutely. Sami Mansfield: And on that start somewhere, the other thing to really think about too - and Dr. Lahijani really said this - is you don't have to do-- everything at once can be so overwhelming. This is the long game. And so this exercise piece should be a lifestyle behavioral change piece that works for you in the long-term. It isn't about just, "Here I am. I want to get through just this 1 specific piece in my life." Look for something that you enjoy because you're going to be much more likely to continue. And then thinking about that support circle, it may be someone that has a similar diagnosis or understands what you're going through or have gone through. And it may be somebody that you have met or a family member that has never experienced this but is that person that you can vent to or is your accountability partner or your meet-for-a-walk or a virtual walk partner. I think we need to be really mindful, be creative about this. It should be enjoyable. It should be something that fits you. And at the end of the day, there's no right way to exercise. I think we'd all do something different here today if we all could choose. And that's okay too. Cancer is very individual, and so is this piece of that. So I think that's really empowering for all of our listeners to remember. Brielle Gregory Collins: Definitely. And that's so nice to hear, as far as there's no right way to exercise, I think that's a really helpful way of looking at it. Well, thank you both so much for your time today and for sharing your expertise, Dr. Lahijani and Ms. Mansfield. It was so great having you both. Sami Mansfield: Thank you so much for having us. ASCO: Cancer.Net Podcasts feature trusted, timely, and compassionate information for people with cancer, survivors, and their families and loved ones. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts for expert information and tips on coping with cancer, recaps of the latest research advances, and thoughtful discussions on cancer care. And check out other ASCO Podcasts to hear the latest interviews and insights from thought leaders, innovators, experts, and pioneers in oncology. Cancer.Net is supported by Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, which funds lifesaving research for every type of cancer, helping people with cancer everywhere. To help fund Cancer.Net and programs like it, donate at CONQUER.ORG/Donate.

On September 20th, 2014, dog walker Barbara Denham entered the walled graveyard of St. Margaret of Antioch church in Barking, London. She saw a young man sitting up against the cemetery wall amidst the ruins of the old abbey. As Ms. Denham approached, the young man never reacted or indicated that he heard her or the collie. Hesitantly, she walked over and found that twenty-one-year-old Daniel Whitworth was dead. Ms. Denham immediately phoned the police saying, “I was the same woman that found the other body a few weeks ago. I found another young boy.”Join Jen and Cam as they talk about how the murderous and lascivious behavior of Stephen Port would go unchecked by authorities. The investigation has been described as "One of the most widespread institutional failures in modern history" In fact, had it not been for the sisters of his last victim, Jack Taylor, he would have likely continued killing.Thanks to the OTCP teamListener Discretion by Edward @OctoberpodVHS. You can find him on all your podcast apps or at https://www.youtube.com/c/octoberpodhomevideoProducer and theme music by Nico Vettesewetalkofdreams.comResearched and written by Rett MacPhersonSources:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3282343/Moment-chef-accused-poisoning-killing-four-gay-men-met-online-appeared-television-alongside-Celebrity-Masterchef-contestants.html?fbclid=IwAR1gy9eEZJSr0MO-gPbH_MedUtt18Vjz8Xnh3WZoT-88jdNeRlNXvQMTZTohttps://thetalentzone.co.uk/musictv/16206/food-ingredients-at-west-ham-bus-garage-proved-a-test-for-the-contestants-on-celebrity-masterchef-2014/?fbclid=IwAR04xLHQ0ZN3h6wWu8H-p93byzavFjJevkznNj2eW0cj6PN5fhbBfMjYsXEhttps://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2014/06/west-ham-bus-garage.html?fbclid=IwAR0ekTEgZJlOsdlsmVfChe4rG7BmFxFaAqrvycmu2YuFGP7SaIfh-VjwysYhttps://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/gb/london/EGLC/date/2014-6-19https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3937820/Family-Stephen-Port-s-final-victim-slam-police-blunders.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMPAKrwHmSghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkohABWOrREhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Porthttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61909143https://news.sky.com/story/stephen-port-families-of-men-murdered-by-grindr-killer-demand-met-police-put-things-right-12639418https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/port-stephen.htmhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/23/stephen-port-watchdog-to-reinvestigate-met-police-inquiryhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/10/mets-failings-contributed-to-deaths-of-stephen-ports-victims-inquest-findshttps://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/01/03/stephen-port-grindr-killer-murder-four-lives/https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17208784/gabriel-kovari-murder-victim/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-60130456https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/stephen-ports-creepy-obsession-neighbours-25860793https://www.newspapers.com/image/851533817/?terms=Gabriel%20Kovari&match=1https://www.newspapers.com/image/712967867/?terms=Gabriel%20Kovari&match=2https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/ghb.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Hydroxybutyric_acid#:~:text=Gamma%2Dhydroxybutyric%20acid%20(or%20%CE%B3,glycine%20in%20certain%20brain%20areas.https://www.google.com/maps/place/London+Borough+of+Barking+and+Dagenham,+UK/@51.5286924,0.0463652,12z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x47d8a5b25e18c691:0x41185c626be67d0!8m2!3d51.5540666!4d0.134017https://inews.co.uk/news/gabriel-kovari-killed-stephen-port-met-police-failings-murder-1344628https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-59062956https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cooke+St.https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-59062956https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/01/04/stephen-port-victims-anthony-walgate-daniel-whitworth-gabriel-kovhttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61157271ari-jack-taylor/https://www.newspapers.com/image/711751310/?terms=Gabriel%20Kovari&match=1https://www.newspapers.com/image/716666463/?article=3204f382-f0ae-491e-ae6c-ad62dff0814ehttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/anthony-walgate-daniel-whitworth-port-gabriel-kovari-police-b1973667.htmlhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/03/stephen-port-victims-landlord-i-felt-i-hit-a-brick-wall-with-the-policehttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61157271

If you've been anywhere near…really, any music playing device lately, you've probably noticed that Kate Bush (Misty-Moored British Chanteuse and Big Boi's favorite artist) has a full-blown new-old hit in a way that we really haven't seen before? Her song “Running up that Hill (A Deal With God)” was featured heavily in the latest season of the hit Netflix show Stranger Things and it's sort of taken on a life of its own. As Ms. Bush busts through chart-record after chart-record, we take a step back and try to think through the phenomenon. Is this different than other songs in other movies? How does it reflect the unique dynamics of our streaming moment? And what might the track's popularity have to do with our continuing reconstruction of 80's aesthetics?     Life's been a bit crazy over at M4N HQ lately, so this is a BONUS episode, and it's a bit shorter than normal. We'll be back in a week or two with another full-lengthier (and hopefully, some extra post-degree free-time from both Saxon and Sam)   Subscribe to our newsletter! Follow us on Twitter!  

An emergency at the orphanage leads to tragic consequences. As Ms. Hannigan receives an unlikely offer, Annie returns to the scene of the crime… and gets advice from her father.For more great Gen-Z shows visit https://gzmshows.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tonight's special guest is Eileen Dong from Houston, Texas, a child abuse survivor and an advocate against domestic abuse, human trafficking, and sexual assault. Pageantry has become Eileen's platform for bringing awareness to the growing epidemic of gender-based violence, especially for filling in the gaps of culture stigma. As Ms. Texas, she's a community leader, keynote speaker, philanthropist, and survivor advocate, Eileen is the spokesperson of Hope Pyx Global, the host of The Ms. Texas Show, and the founder of Survivors Against Violence Everywhere (S.A.V.E.), Eileen uses her platform for awareness and prevention of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and sex trafficking, as well as to address cultural stigmas through her first-hand knowledge and experience with law enforcement and survivors. In the Asian culture, female abuse victims do not dare to speak up, neither is there an Asian voice who understands their culture. Gender discrimination has been a big problem in China which resulted in abortion, abandonment, and childhood abuse for girls. Eileen used to beaten up regularly and for no reason. Nothing was ever good enough. Later, she started working so hard her self worth. Eileen tirelessly volunteers over 2,000 hours a year. She has served over 11,000 people in the United States and all and the world. Featured on over 115 television stations, Eileen uses her platform for awareness and prevention of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and sex trafficking, as well as to address cultural stigmas through her first-hand knowledge and experience with law enforcement and survivors. Her work has been recognized by numerous government officials, including the United States Congress the Atlantic City Council and by Houston, where October 1st was proclaimed 'Eileen Dong's Day',

Ms. Jiggetts is the CEO and owner of Replay Counseling and Consulting. Her passion for helping individuals process and grow is manifested through her application of expressive therapy techniques along with the non-judgmental space that is so necessary for play to take form. Encouraging and curating the space for play kids (and adults) to play leads to confidence and self-efficacy among many other benefits. Play therapy is fun as well as challenging by nature. It meets clients where they're at and leads them towards where growth is needed. As Ms. Jiggetts teaches us, some of the lessons from Play Therapy reach far beyond the play room... We hope you enjoy learning along with us on today's show and as always, keep your health in mind. To learn more about Replay Counseling Center, check out https://replaycounselingcenter.com/about-us/ If you'd like to get in touch with us here at Health in Mind follow the link below or reach out to us at intern@healthandmine.net https://www.healthinmind.net/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/health-in-mind/message

Millennia defends itself against reports of poor conditions in its properties. As Ms. Peaches begins to suffer from breathing problems related to her unit, she goes head to head with apartment staff in a protest. Then, just when she believes Forest Cove's situation is about to improve, the renovation plan is put in doubt.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As MS month passes in the US, Byrne looks into the self-destructive world of autoimmune disorders. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So happy to introduce to you joyful and brave Clare Reilly sharing her motions of grief after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in April 2017.  Clare is an Outdoor Educator graduate, a Mum to 7 year old Elliot (who has appeared as a Guest on his Mum's Podcast this month) and wife to Jay. Clare amplifies how her life has changed from the diagnosis of MS, and basically from the get-go, refusing to let MS define her. In David Kessler's book ‘Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief' he mentions “Love and grief are inextricably intertwined.” and “…Healing doesn't mean the loss didn't happen. It means that it no longer controls us.”  The latter sums up how Clare is living her life now – with more meaning. Her effervescent nature and resilience allow her to do the normal, day to day simple things in life, incorporating her physical limitations. For Clare to better understand herself with MS and in teaching others how to love who they are, with or without a chronic illness, she launched the mindful Podcast ‘MS Understood' in October 2020. Here Clare highlights stories of those living with MS and more recently Practitioners to those with MS, allowing continuous education of this chronic disease to reach a wider demographic of Listeners.  As MS is a disease that is misunderstood by so many people, it's great that Clare can shed light on quality information via her Guests and weekly Podcast (now passed episode #73). Follow/support her by having a listen! As a special gift idea for a friend/neighbour who needs a booster of positivity whilst navigating a chronic illness, delight them with Clare's Affirm cards for 29AUD plus postage. Thank you for joining us as a special Guest of influence Clare.  Best wishes on your journey, and we'd love to have you back.  Share/Like/Comment if you loved this, and keep in touch with Clare via links: https://www.instagram.com/clare.reilly/ https://linktr.ee/clarereilly ***** Marie can be contacted via: https://www.instagram.com/mariebarclay_iamstillstanding/ https://linktr.ee/mariempbarclay

The Assistant Principal PodcastEpisode X: Tracking Teacher DevelopmentWhy does it always feel like improving teacher quality is an uphill battle? One big reason is that our schools are not structured to facilitate consistent teacher growth. Focusing on helping teachers to grow requires us to focus on the structures that can support growth first. In this episode we look at on important structure, the teacher tracking document. The teacher tracking document helps us to develop and document a coherent and consistent approach to helping individual and groups of teachers grow.Hello colleagues and welcome to the Assistant Principal Podcast. I'm your host Frederick Buskey. The goal of this podcast is to help improve the life and leadership of assistant principals. Today, I will walk us through how to use a teacher tracking document as part of a systems approach to teacher development.After listening to this podcast, you might want to head over to my website, frederickbuskey.com/appodcast, to watch the video. There are several key graphics that go along with today's show that should help you. I will also include images in the show notes. Back in episode one I talked about the six dimensions of organizations. If we think about a three-sided pyramid representing an organization, the pinnacle is the organizational purpose. The three points along the pyramid's base are people, structures, and resources. In the perfect organization, which doesn't exist, the people, structures, and resources are perfectly aligned with the organization's purpose.In the simplest terms, the work of leadership is improving alignment between the purpose, the people, the structures and the resources.Structures include buildings, the arrangement of space within those buildings, but also the rules, policies, expectations, and practices that shape our actions. A block schedule is a structure that is fundamentally different than an 8-period day. They exist for different purposes and if we try and teach during a block the way we did when we had 8 periods, it doesn't work. Our skills need to align with our structures, and both need to be aligned to our purpose. When we ask people to work towards a specific purpose, yet we have structures that aren't aligned with that purpose, it creates a situation in which people feel like they are constantly swimming up stream. Teachers experience this misalignment often: Teachers are expected to plan rich and powerful lessons, yet they have 30-minutes a day to plan. Teachers are expected to use formative assessments to inform their focus, yet we have pacing guides and benchmark tests. Teachers are expected to become masters of pedagogy, yet they work under pressure and expectations that make risk-taking difficult and reflection almost impossible. This misalignment makes it harder for teachers to excel at their core job and it increases pressure and frustration.As assistant principals, you are experiencing a congruent set of circumstances. The purpose of schools is to help young people develop agency over their lives and to become responsible democratic citizens. Or something like that.The roles of the principal and assistant principal are integral structures. School administrators have tow primary functions that are core to the purpose of the school:  Keep everyone safe Create better outcomes for kids However, we don't teach kids and the #1 Influence on student achievement is the classroom teacher. So, the formula is simple:Better teachers = better student learning.Logically then, once we make sure that everyone is safe, our next priority is to focus on teacher development. If better teachers = better student learning then, outside of safety, the most important things we do are the things that help our teacher to continually grow.The challenge is that there is all kinds of stuff that gets in the way.Why does this happen? Because our structures are not aligned to our purpose.What has happened in many schools, is that while the stated purpose of the assistant principal is to contribute to the quality of instruction in the building, the unstated purpose has become to deal with all the issues that come up in day-to-day operations. Our school structures have followed suit: We communicate via email, which demands our constant attention. We carry walkie talkies so we can always be reached. We accept that interrupting what we are working on is part of the job. We use a narrow set of observation practices that are more aligned to accountability than to teacher development. The cumulative impact of these mis-aligned structures and purpose has a profound impact on how we lead: We mistake urgency for purpose in our day-to-day behaviors, so the important purposeful work of teacher development gets displaced by urgent tasks. There are tasks that are both urgent and important- especially those dealing with safety. However, there are many urgent tasks that are less-important or not important. For example, the parent newsletter, school social media posts, or the report to the school board. I can hear you saying “wait, these things are important!” Yes and no. None of these things will improve student learning as much as helping a teacher to get better. The problem is that all these things are urgent, so they feel important, even though – compared to safety and teacher growth, they are not.   The tool that has helped me with this concept is the Eisenhower Matrix. The EM as I affectionately call it has four quadrants. The two upper quadrants are important, and the two lower quadrants are un-important, or less important. The two left quadrants are urgent, and the two right quadrants are not urgent. What tends to happen is that school leaders focus on the two left quadrants – the urgent work, instead of the two upper quadrants – the important work. Teacher development is quadrant 2 work. Quadrant 2 is important but not urgent. This focus on urgency happens for many reasons, and someday I will do a deep dive on the Eisenhower Matrix and break it down. But for now, it is enough to know that there are three large barriers to working in quadrant 2: Mindset. We need to move from prioritizing the urgent to prioritizing the important. Processes. There are many urgent but less-important things that can be systematized and streamlined so that they require less time. Structures. If we build structures into our work that support quadrant two activity, then we are more likely to engage in quadrant 2 activity. This podcast is about one of those structures.  If you are familiar with the flywheel concept, then you'll be familiar with this structural approach to teacher development. If you aren't familiar with the flywheel, I'll give an MVP (minimally viable product) description now. The flywheel is the one thing in your work that, if executed consistently, over time will create momentum in your school and will propel you to the school purpose (better out comes for kids). The flywheel in schools consists of: Providing professional development for teachers Evaluating implementation of the PD focus Using the evaluation results to drive the next step in PD When we do this repeatedly, always using implementation results to inform subsequent growth opportunities, we create positive forward momentum because teachers are consistently getting better. There are two significant challenges with trying to improve your school using the flywheel concept. First, flywheels are hard to get started. It is like pushing a big tire up hill. Until you get to a place where you can build some momentum, every step takes work. Secondly, using a flywheel requires specific structures to be in place. The flywheel structures that work for you may not be identical to the structures I'm sharing. That's fine. What is critical is that you do have a flywheel, that you build the structures to support the flywheel, and that your structures work. We can only have a working flywheel if we have structures in place to support it. There are multiple structures that we need to build, but today we are focusing on just one: the teacher tracking document.  We are starting with the tracking document because, honestly, that is the focus of our APEx work this month. It isn't the best place to start, but it is where we are right now.  As you listen to this podcast it may get a bit complicated, but I encourage you to stick with it and when you watch the video or even just look at the images, it will all make sense. The teacher tracking document is a fundamental component of instructional team meetings. The instructional team meeting is yet another topic I need to cover for you, but it is a set time every week where administrators and instructional support staff meet to analyze data from teacher observations and to use that data to inform the next round of teacher development. When I talk about teacher development, that can take multiple forms. We might be looking at the entire teaching staff, if for example we are emphasizing student engagement strategies. We may be talking about a specific group of teachers such as grade level, topic area, or new teachers. For example, phasing in a new 6th grade ELA curriculum or implementing classroom procedures with four beginning teachers. We might also be talking about the needs of a single teacher. The instruments we use and the data we gather will look different depending on who our focus is on. The data we collect for a school-wide implementation is very different from small-group and individual development. The teacher tracking document is designed to support small groups and individuals. In the weekly instructional leadership team meeting, leaders will discuss what they have seen in weekly observations. They will discuss the implications of that observation data for professional development and plan future PD according to what the data suggests. This PD can be for the whole staff, but using this document we are more likely to focus on groups or individuals. The first time we use the teacher tracking document we need to add some basic information. Before we proceed, I offer you a word of caution. If you do not currently have anything like this in place, please do not try and complete the whole document for your whole staff! You won't be able to do it, will burn multiple hours and, in the end it won't work for you. Start with just one teacher.  This version of the form is not the only or even the “right” way to do it. You might want to change the form by deleting or adding. You might want to use a spreadsheet or data base, or something altogether different. The format is not as important as the purpose – to consistently monitor implementation of professional development. Free to make changes as you see fit. Okay, let's look at the form.The teacher tracking form is a table with 14 columns and a row for each teacher.   The first six columns compose a baseline for the teacher. The information in these columns may change over time, but not week-to-week. Column 1 contains the teacher's name, column 2 their 9-box rating, and columns 3-6 capture their strengths and weaknesses in some key areas. Column 1, the teachers name, is simple enough. Column 2 is the teachers 9-box rating. That's another show, but 9-box is a really handy tool for getting your team onto the same page regarding a teacher's potential versus their performance. 9-box can help guide the type of professional development and the coaching styles that will work best for each teacher. If you don't do 9-box you could substitute your state teacher evaluation rating or some other metric. The importance of column 2 is that it provides guidance on overall performance level of a teacher, and the type of support that is likely to be most helpful for them. The next block of columns, 3-6, relate to key teaching areas. This is an optional section of the tracking chart, but many schools have specific points of emphasis, and these columns allow us to be mindful o how each teacher is doing in those areas.  In my example, column 3 has rows for classroom management, student relationships, curriculum, and pedagogy.  For each of these areas, there is a rating in column 4. You could use your state evaluation instrument here or something else.  Column 5 is the strengths for each area, and  column six is the weaknesses. I like having this block because it helps as a reference point when we are talking about multiple facets of teacher performance and it can help us think more strategically about the most important PD topics for each teacher. You can change the topics in the rows to suit your specific school needs. For example, maybe you are emphasizing literacy across all subject areas, so you want that to be one of your areas. If this seems daunting, then skip it for now. Again, don't feel tied ot the format I have. The critical thing is that you begin tracking teacher performance and documenting your work and commitment related to helping your teachers grow.  Columns 7-11 are for planning the specifics of professional development. Column 7 is for the focus area. For example, classroom procedures. We could be more specific – say, the entering class procedure. More specific is better, but it may take some time to get into the habit of thinking in terms of small incremental changes for the focus area. Column 8 is the goal. The goal should address the impact that the focus will have. For example, implementing an entering class routine should increase available instructional time and decrease student off-task behavior. Column 9 is the A-B step that the next professional development cycle needs to focus on. The concept of A-B is that incremental changes are more likely to lead to success than big changes. An A-B step should be able to be completed in one week or less. “Implement five classroom routines” is not an A-B step. Observing students entering Ms. Smith's and Mr. Garrot's classes once each is an A-B step. Column 10 is for who is responsible for the A-B step. It is common to have more than one person responsible. My teacher is responsible for doing the observations, but maybe I am responsible for letting Ms. Smith and Mr. Garrot know what's going on, or for covering the first 10 minutes of the teacher's class. Column 11 is the type of support being given. This relates to another framework called the cube of development, but for now you can just indicate whether this is an individual or small group form of support. If I am only working with one teacher on the entering class routine, then it is individual coaching. If I am working with three of our first- and second-year teachers, then it could be coaching or group PD. Columns 12-14 constitute the final part of the document, the observations section. This is an essential element because it is where we hold each other accountable for conducting meaningful classroom observations. This mutual accountability is one way that we focus ourselves on the work of quadrant 2. The data we gather from our observations is also what helps us to identify the next A-B step. Column 12 is who will be doing the observation. If more than one of us will be observing, and that is good practice, then we will include multiple names. Column 13 is when. Observations should be scheduled for a specific time and we should know when our colleagues are doing observations so that we can cover those things that will invariably “come up” when someone is scheduled to be in a classroom. Column 14 is where we summarize the data we gather from an observation. Now that we have reviewed the entire tracking sheet, let's talk about implementation.The first consideration is the context. If you are the principal or if your principal is on board, then schedule your instructional leadership team meeting, throw the teacher tracking document from my website into a google doc or other shared platform, and dive right in.If this isn't going to happen right now at the school level, then at least use it yourself. Create your own structures to support your instructional leadership. This will work if you are the assistant principal, instructional coach, or in another teacher support role. An advantage of starting on your own is that you can figure out what works and doesn't work for you and then make changes accordingly. You will still need to schedule an instructional leadership meeting with yourself and adhere to it. Maybe Fridays at 3:30?The first time we use this document we only want to do it for ONE teacher. Not ten, not two, ONE. This is an A-B approach. If something in the format doesn't work or isn't essential for you, you will find out before you invest a lot of time. One teacher.Let's use Ms. Franks as an example. Ms. Franks is a third-year teacher. Her growth as a teacher has been understandably disrupted by the pandemic. Ms. Franks did well pivoting to online instruction her first year and worked hard to build relationships with students. She went beyond expectations in being available to students and in encouraging them to contact her.Ms. Franks did well in her second year when students were on an A-B schedule and class sizes were small. She struggled this fall, along with many other teachers, with the return to full size classrooms and the period of adjustment that saw a large increase in discipline issues. During this time Ms. Franks had referral numbers similar to other teachers, but observations showed high numbers of students off task and Ms. Franks was asking students to be quiet multiple times during each instructional segment.It has become clear that Ms. Franks has not established classroom procedures. Though she has good relationships with students and they are rarely disrespectful, there are often multiple students talking at once, even when Ms. Franks is trying to speak. There are also students frequently moving around the room with no clear purpose and student discussion during group tasks has a high rate of off-task content.  In your conversations with Ms. Franks, she admits that the students are loud but says that is due to the pandemic and expects it will get better soon. She says that she has classroom routines, but that students don't always follow them. She insists that she taught the routines at the beginning of the year.Ms. Franks is committed to group work and wants high levels of student engagement. She is frustrated that students frequently aren't able to demonstrate meaningful outcomes from group work and she wants to improve that area.In her efforts to keep students engaged, Ms. Franks uses lots of activities, some of which she purchases on Teachers Pay Teachers. As designed, most of the activities in her room are engaging, but they often are misaligned to either that standard or the depth of knowledge.You have heard from another teacher that Ms. Franks is discouraged and questioning whether she is cut out for teaching.Now, in the ideal school, every teacher is in the tracking document and receives appropriate PD based on the data. But we know that most schools exist in a real, not ideal world. We also know that administrators, especially assistant principals, may be hard pressed to consistently support even one teacher or one group of teachers. So, if you haven't gone far on the journey of teacher support, then choose just one teacher to work with. If you are only coaching one teacher, then you better choose the right teacher! I did a whole episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast on how to select the right teacher to work with. Look for episode 8 if you haven't listened already. Assuming you aren't going to pause and dial up that episode, here are three reasons why I think Ms. Franks is a good person to coach: She is willing and wants to get better. There is big bang for the buck – she could be much better if we can take care of some little things, AND my life might be easier as referral rates should decrease. She needs help in some areas that I know well enough to be helpful with.   So let's look at how we're going to get Ms. Franks into our tracking document. I first add her name, her 9-box rating, and the ratings, strengths, and weaknesses in four areas: classroom management, where I scored her as 1/4, Student relationships (4/4), curriculum (2/4) and pedagogy (2/4).The ratings should be based on evidence. Those could be formal or informal observations, discussions with Ms. Franks or other instructional leaders, or anecdotal data such as hearing students say how much they like Ms. Franks. If you are working alone, you will drop this information in by yourself. However, a really powerful thing happens when we complete this as a team. It is likely that we will disagree in some places on the ratings we give teachers. Working on the form together enables us to come to consensus and provides for rich discussions on these different teaching areas. It is common for us to observe teachers through our own biases, and when we talk with others it can help us better understand these biases.You may also see through Ms. Frank's ratings – a 1 in classroom management, 2s in curriculum and pedagogy, and a 4 in student relationships, that there appears to be a clear area that we should emphasize, in this case classroom management. So, is classroom management what we will focus on. The clear answer is that it depends.In the situation where a teacher is either oblivious to their needs, or is completely drowning, it is appropriate for us to determine the area of focus. If someone is drowning, we don't ask them whether they would like a blue or brown rope. We look for the most expedient way to get them out of the water. It is the same for a teacher that is crashing and burning.In this case however, Ms. Franks is aware of at least some of her problems and she is not on fire yet – though we can smell smoke. In a situation like this, my preference is to allow teachers to choose the area of focus for these reasons: If the teacher chooses it, the teacher owns the results. If you choose it, you own the results. The teacher will probably be more motivated to work on their own problem than on your problem. The teacher might actually have a better understanding of their needs than we do – ouch! When the teacher chooses, it is crystal clear that we are serving the teacher's needs, not our own. A successful collaboration will build trust, which will lead to more successful collaborations. Finally, an improvement in any area is a win. In Ms. Frank's case, she might achieve better classroom management, or get better outcomes for group work, or align her activities better with her curricular objectives. All these are wins! My first conversation with Ms. Franks is going to be about her perceptions and her priorities. If I already have observation data, I can bring that into the conversation where appropriate. In this situation I am serving Ms. Franks so I want this conversation to be about her and her needs. If she asks for my input, I will give it and point to the data that I'm using as the basis for my thoughts.Let's play with a couple of options for her focus. In terms of needs, classroom management is a priority with needs being “clear structures and reinforcing routines.” Curriculum activities don't align to the standards – that is important, and for pedagogy Ms. Franks has stated that she wants to improve her prompts and procedures for group work. If there were five APs on this show trying to decide what the best area of focus was, we would get at least two different answers, so don't be surprised when Ms. Franks chooses a different area than you would and don't be overly confident that your idea is the best.What is obvious to me is not obvious to you and vice versa. Remember, no matter which one of these things she picks, if we are successful, the kids – and Ms. Franks – will benefit.So, let's imagine that Ms. Franks wants to use better prompts for group work. This isn't what I would have chosen, but it is more important for her to be invested than for me to be right. Remember that columns 7-11 are where we document our specific coaching plan and teacher support.In column 7, I am going to put the focus area. Narrower is better. For Ms. Franks we will put “Use prompts that lead to answers that align to the curricular focus.”Column 8 is our goal. It is helpful to think about impact here – what do we want to happen as a result of our work? Ms. Franks wants students to come up with meaningful answers as a result of group work.Column 9 is our A-B step. This is where it gets complicated. I have gotten tripped up many times. My inclination for Ms. Frank's goal would be to hand her some guidelines on writing good prompts and ask her to try them out, but that probably would not work. Part of the issue is that her group procedures are weak, so even with good prompts she may not get the results she wants. If I simply ask her to try some prompts and they fail, then what?If Ms. Franks doesn't really understand how to create good prompts, then – if group work fails – she won't know whether it is the prompt or something else. So maybe the A-B step is that she reads something on prompts, and that she takes five prompts she has previously used, and thinks about how to change them. In column 10, we record who is responsible for the A-B step. In this case Ms. Franks is responsible for reading, pulling five old prompts, and reflecting. I am responsible for following up with the IC to make sure there is a good reading available.In column 11, I put the type of support being given, in this case coaching. If I was working with three of our new teachers on the same thing, this might be small-group PD instead and that would change the nature of the conversations and tasks.In my example, the “observation” is actually a review of her updated prompts. I reviewed Ms. Franks on March 3rd and noted that the prompts were aligned to the standards and that the type of task was appropriate to the standard. In another week, when we start using new prompts, then I will want to observe what happens in groups with the new prompts and I will schedule times to observe. I have included that in the example, noting that I observed on March 10th and that answers were related to the standards, but that off-task discussion was still high and that a single student did most of the talking.As Ms. Franks and I work through the process, the teacher tracking sheet will get updated with new A-B steps.Okay, I hope this all makes sense. In wrapping up, let's reiterate some key points: Ideally, we use this document as part of an instructional leadership team meeting, but you can use it on your own. There is nothing magical about what I have included and excluded in the chart. Change it to fit your needs. If you are just beginning, use it on just ONE teacher. You can listen to episode 8 of the Assistant principal Podcast to help you decide which teacher. As a general rule of thumb, let the teacher choose the focus area. Break down the desired outcome into incremental, A-B steps. Plan and document your observations. Remember that there is a video on my website, frederickbuskey.com/appodcast, and that there are visuals in the show notes. I may also develop a handout but can't promise that right now.  At this point I have invested about six hours into developing this podcast and you have invested about 30 minutes in listening to it. If you are inspired to try a teacher tracking document, or to take better advantage of something you have in place, then the time that both of us have spent on this is well worth it.However, if this podcast episode didn't help you, then it was a lost opportunity – for both of us.The only way I know whether or not I am hitting the mark is by getting feedback from you. The hardest part of producing a podcast is not knowing how you are doing. Our download numbers are going up each episode, but every episode is different and I can't tell what's working and what's not just from the numbers.Please. Help me make this podcast better. Are these deep, sort of nerdy dives into a specific tool or choice helpful? Would you rather just have interviews of other people? What topics do you really need to hear right now?You can email me at frederick@frederickbuskey.com. I would love to hear from you.If you enjoyed today's show, please subscribe and rate this podcast. This is the only show in world (that I can find) that is devoted to assistant principals. Subscribing and rating will help your colleagues find this series.If you'd like more content tailored towards the needs of assistant principals, you can head over to my website at frederickbuskey.com. You might want to consider looking into APEx, the Assistant Principal Exceleration program. You'll get weekly emails, tools, and be able to participate in monthly group coaching and webinars. I'd love to get to know you through APEx, but no worries if now is not the right time.That wraps up today's show! I'm Frederick Buskey and I hope you'll join me next time for the Assistant Principal Podcast. Links:My email: frederick@frederickbuskey.com The Assistant Principal Podcast website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/appodcast.html 

Slam the Gavel welcomes Eileen Dong from The Ms Texas Show. She has become the voice of hope for survivors and advocates of traumatic events, such as family violence, sex trafficking, sexual assault, as well as wartime- related trauma. Eileen is also a Spokesperson for Hope Pyx Global. Hope Pyx Global is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the awareness and prevention of Family Violence, Sex Trafficking and Sexual Assault locally, nationwide and globally. Not only is Eileen Dong a Founder of Survivors Against Violence Everywhere, Survivors Against Violence Everywhere is a support group that serves as a safe platform for human trafficking, domestic abuse, and sexual assault victims, survivors, supporters, and advocates to voice their stories, support each other with hope, love, and unity. Eileen's short term mission is to educate our communities on awareness and prevention, promote accountability for abusers, and foster a community response to abuse, and empower the survivors to succeed. Her long term vision is to build a shelter that provides a safe haven for survivors along with education to equip to be back on their feet again. By trade, Eileen Dong is an international business consultant, a cross-cultural communications expert and a linguist. She holds degrees in Business Management, Petroleum Engineering while being a NASA Scholar. As Ms. Texas and as an artist, community leader, public speaker, philanthropist, influencer, and advocate, Eileen uses her platform for awareness and prevention of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and sex trafficking, as well as to address cultural stigmas. Having worked as an expert directly with ICE, USCIS, DOJ, US District & State Courts, US Attorney's Office, SEC, non-profit organizations, and survivors, Ms. Dong has first-hand knowledge and experience. She conducts virtual and in-person speeches and trainings to law enforcement, service providers, advocates, survivors and faith-based communities on topics including, but not limited to, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, Child Abuse, Inspirational, Culture Stigma, and Hope and Healing. She helps organizations in converting materials on these subjects into different languages. Ms. Dong's merits have been recognized by various government officials. Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston, who proclaimed January 19th as Eileen Dong Day. Eileen tirelessly volunteers over 2,000 hours a year. She sits on various boards, advisory boards, committees, and coalitions throughout Texas and nationally. She has helped over 11,000 people. She has been featured in over 100 domestic and international television, and radio shows and podcasts, performances, PSA's, documentaries, magazines, and newspapers in multiple languages. She has been heard by over 1.6 million listeners. To Reach Eileen Dong:mwww.linktr.ee/EileenDong www.HopePyxGlobal.org www.YouTube.com/c/TheMsTexasShow HopePyxGlobal@gmail.com (281) 671-7681 Support the show(https://www.buymeacoffee.com/maryannpetri) http://beentheregotout.com/ https://monicaszymonik.mykajabi.com/Masterclass USE CODE SLAM THE GAVEL PODCAST FOR 10% OFF THE COURSE http://www.dismantlingfamilycourtcorruption.com/ Music by: mictechmusic@yahoo.com

       Slam the Gavel welcomes Eileen Dong from The Ms Texas Show. She has become the voice of hope for survivors and advocates of traumatic events, such as family violence, sex trafficking, sexual assault, as well as wartime- related trauma. Eileen is also a Spokesperson for Hope Pyx Global. Hope Pyx Global is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the awareness and prevention of Family Violence, Sex Trafficking and Sexual Assault locally, nationwide and globally.    Not only is Eileen Dong a Founder of Survivors Against Violence Everywhere, Survivors Against Violence Everywhere is a support group that serves as a safe platform for human trafficking, domestic abuse, and sexual assault victims, survivors, supporters, and advocates to voice their stories, support each other with hope, love, and unity.     Eileen's short term mission is to educate our communities on awareness and prevention, promote accountability for abusers, and foster a community response to abuse, and empower the survivors to succeed. Her long term vision is to build a shelter that provides a safe haven for survivors along with education to equip to be back on their feet again.     By trade, Eileen Dong is an international business consultant, a cross-cultural communications expert and a linguist. She holds degrees in Business Management, Petroleum Engineering while being a NASA Scholar.     As Ms. Texas and as an artist, community leader, public speaker, philanthropist, influencer, and advocate, Eileen uses her platform for awareness and prevention of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and sex trafficking, as well as to address cultural stigmas.     Having worked as an expert directly with ICE, USCIS, DOJ, US District & State Courts, US Attorney's Office, SEC, non-profit organizations, and survivors, Ms. Dong has first-hand knowledge and experience.     She conducts virtual and in-person speeches and trainings to law enforcement, service providers, advocates, survivors and faith-based communities on topics including, but not limited to, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, Child Abuse, Inspirational, Culture Stigma, and Hope and Healing. She helps organizations in converting materials on these subjects into different languages.     Ms. Dong's merits have been recognized by various government officials.Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston, who proclaimed January 19th as Eileen Dong Day.     Eileen tirelessly volunteers over 2,000 hours a year. She sits on various boards, advisory boards, committees, and coalitions throughout Texas and nationally. She has helped over 11,000 people.     She has been featured in over 100 domestic and international television, and radio shows and podcasts, performances, PSA's, documentaries, magazines, and newspapers in multiple languages. She has been heard by over 1.6 million listeners.To Reach Eileen Dong: www.linktr.ee/EileenDong www.HopePyxGlobal.org www.YouTube.com/c/TheMsTexasShowHopePyxGlobal@gmail.comSupport the show(https://www.buymeacoffee.com/maryannpetri)http://beentheregotout.com/https://monicaszymonik.mykajabi.com/Masterclass  USE CODE SLAM THE GAVEL PODCAST FOR 10% OFF THE COURSEFor 2022 PA Retreat: For more information, contact co-organizers:Maryann Petri at maryannpetri3@gmail.com Ann O'Keeffe Rodgers at okeefferodgers@gmail.com http://www.dismantlingfamilycourtcorruption.com/Music by: mictechmusic@yahoo.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/maryannpetri)

Ajaita Shah is a social activist and the founder and CEO of Frontier Markets, which has sold over 1 million products to customers across India's last mile. As Ms. Shah describes it, “Frontier is going to be the Amazon of the last mile,” and in this episode, we explore what led to the founding of Frontier Markets, the initial fears, and how the model as evolved over time. Hope you enjoy my conversation with Ms. Ajaita Shah! In case interested - transcript link here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GzKwTQ38nHohp8PPlXtUj_YKS3EPCGlQ/view?usp=sharing Topics covered in this podcast: [1:48] What was the biggest fear or impediment for Ms. Shah prior to launching? [5:49] What were the motivations behind launching Frontier Markets? [11:58] How was the solar saheli model developed? [13:08] What are the five biggest changes that Frontier has implemented from 2015 to today? ________________________________________________________ Anjali Bailakrishna (chief of staff from June 2019 - September 2020) [13:40] The role of technology in Frontier's operations [14:21] How does the e-commerce model work in reality? [17:05] How are payments processed, are they credit or cash based? _________________________________________________________ [22:10] The Frontier financing model and Ms. Shah's perspective on the rural financing landscape moving forward [23:35] What does Frontier's distribution chain look like [24:38] What are the most rewarding aspects of engaging as a social entrepreneur? [27:04] As a leading mentor to young women entrepreneurs, what are some of the patterns that Ms. Shah sees across this group, and what common advice does Ms. Shah offer them?

After hearing how the dedicated teachers at North Charleston High School created a Makerspace for their students, BERNINA and Craig Conover from Bravo TV, Southern Charm, and the owner of Sewing Down South, decided to outfit the space so that NCHS scholars could dream, create and pursue their passion.This story of creativity and hope began when Ms. Connell, an art teacher at NCHS and founder of the school's Makerspace, noticed that there was a lot of interest in sewing and fashion. After receiving a donation of fabric, she had the students experiment with sewing pillows, and from there the idea of a Makerspace started to take shape.  Ms. Connell has teamed up with Ms. Murray, a team member and librarian at NCHS to further develop the program. Meanwhile, Ms. Clegg, who runs the Liberty Hill STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Initiative in the North District, has also jumped in to help. Thanks to the participation of several partners including Boeing and CCFC, the Makerspace has expanded to additional schools in the northern district and will now include grades K-12. As these dedicated professionals share their stories and the evolution of a Makerspace program for aspiring scholars, the excitement is palpable. According to Ms. Clegg, the machines donated by BERNINA, and the other partnerships they've formed will be the foundation for the Makerspace in the area, which will help these young scholars learn life skills and artistic ways to express themselves.BERNINA credits Craig Conover's sewing journey as the initial source of their inspiration to get involved with this amazing local effort—so when BERNINA donated 12 Bernette machines to NCHS, Craig Conover accompanied them. He provided words of support and encouragement, while also presenting them with a challenge to create. Craig shares that he was bullied a lot growing up, and that sewing was one of his outlets for dealing with it—although he mostly did it in the privacy of his home. He also talks about how, when he was growing up there were no Makerspaces, and goes on to say, “Having a space in the school where you can explore your creative side comfortably and encourage each other, it's just great.” Craig's ability to escape negative feelings through the act of sewing and his realization that there's beauty in imperfection informed his decision to start Sewing Down South. He talks about his journey of starting the business with his business partner Jerry Casselano, how sewing is therapeutic, and how the machines that were donated will enable young scholars to bring a lot of joy to people. He knows that while the pressure about gender norms isn't as great as it used to be, kids still aren't really introduced to sewing and cooking. He also knows that a lot of them don't have a sewing machine at home, so they don't have the chance to discover their talent.  He shares his excitement at the prospect that Programs like Makerspace can really help students discover a talent they didn't even know they had.  (5:26-9:23)We talked to so many wonderful individuals at this event; professionals who are committed to helping these students grow and evolve their passions. As Ms. Clegg so aptly states, “What's special about our scholars is a lot of people sell them short… We not only want to show our neighborhoods, our cities, our state, and the world that our scholars can fly, we want to prove to them that they can fly.” Craig and his partner Jerry are providing an opportunity for these young scholars to do just that. They shared their support of them and put forth a challenge that could result in some young scholars having the opportunity to sell their creations from the “creator's corner” in their store. His show, and his store, are about breaking down gender stereotypes and showing boys and girls that they can succeed at anything they want, from sports to sewing. “Let's get out of the shadow,” he encourages them, “let's have fun and connect,” (15:43 – 17:56)Talking with all of the wonderful people in this podcast proves that good still exists and that it's this good that will shape the futures of the young scholars at NCHS. If you want to be uplifted this holiday, listen to this special podcast and share the power of love, giving back, and helping our students understand that they can do more than just walk through this life…they can fly!If you know someone who has an outstanding story that should be shared on this podcast, drop Meg a note to info@soandsopodcast.com or complete the form on our website.

The three appellants, Ms. Dingwall, Mr.Russell, and Mr. Richet, were convicted of aggravated assault and various firearm offences in connection to a drive-by shooting occurring outside a residential house in British Columbia. At trial, the Crown's case was based on circumstantial evidence. The trial judge concluded that Mr. Russell and Mr. Richet were guilty as principals or aiders or abettors for all charges. Ms. Dingwall was found guilty as an aider or abettor for the charges relating to the drive-by shooting and as a principal or aider or abettor for the charges related to the burning of a truck. The three appellants appealed their respective convictions. The majority at the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals. It held that the verdicts were not unreasonable. There was agreement with the trial judge that no inference other than guilt was available given the evidence and absence of evidence, assessed logically, and in light of human experience and common sense. In dissent, Butler J.A. disagreed with the disposition of Ms. Dingwall's appeal relating to the drive-by shooting charges. He would have allowed her appeal with respect to counts 3 to 6 and directed acquittals for those offences. He would have dismissed Ms. Dingwall's appeal from her other convictions and dismissed the appeals of Mr. Russell and Mr. Richet. In his view, the trial judge erred in concluding that the only rational inference to be drawn from the evidence was that Ms. Dingwall aided or abetted in the offences described under those counts. To Butler J.A., the trial judge failed to properly consider the lack of any evidence about Ms. Dingwall's activities before and during the shooting offences, and failed to consider the absence of evidence given her potential liability as a party, rather than a principal, to those offences. As Ms. Dingwall's participation in the offences was not the only rational inference on the evidence, the Crown could not be taken to have met its burden of proof and the trial judge's verdict was therefore unreasonable. Keywords Criminal law - Appeals, Evidence - Criminal law - Appeals - Unreasonable verdict - Circumstantial evidence -Parties to offence - Whether the trial judge erred in law in his determination that the appellants' guilt on counts 3, 4, 5 and 6 was the only reasonable conclusion available on the totality of the evidence. . Notes (British Columbia) (Criminal) (As of Right) Disclaimers This podcast is created as a public service to promote public access and awareness of the workings of Canada's highest court. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Court. The original version of this hearing may be found on the Supreme Court of Canada's website. The above case summary was prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch).

The pandemic forced many parents, mostly women, to leave their jobs to tend to their families as work, school and life became too overwhelming, but when is the right time to start working again or start something completely new in your field? As Ms. Frizzle would say, “Take chances, make mistakes and get messy!” which is exactly the attitude of our special guest, Jeri Melo, who shares how she found the confidence to pivot her teaching career and create a new space for learning. Miss Jeri (The Classroom To Go)Moms You Meet on the Playground is a podcast by Sittercity.Our theme music is composed by Arne Parrot.Click here for more resocialization resources

It takes a spine to say, “Being white doesn't make you a white supremacist.” But that's Ayaan Hirsi Ali for you. She has experienced Islamist supremacy and lived to tell others the truth. Her life story is remarkable. Born in Somalia, she lived through indescribable hell, including forced genital mutilation when she was five years old. She later fled to Holland, eventually becoming a member of the Dutch parliament. Now, she serves as the exact cultural commentator we need. Her latest book, Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women's Rights, reveals the threat that Islam poses to women's rights and Western liberal democracy. The Left has led a concerted campaign against Ms. Hirsi Ali. But these days, that's a badge of honor. On this episode, Glenn and Ms. Hirsi Ali talk about Afghanistan, genital mutilation, and the transgender craze overtaking America's youth. Critical race theory. Woke ideology. And politics. Identity politics has completely destroyed the Left's high moral standing with themselves. Where is their outrage about homophobia and misogyny in Afghanistan? GLAAD is all too happy to focus its activism on bakeries and bathrooms. Meanwhile, LGBTQ people are dying in Afghanistan and it's crickets. As Ms. Hirsi Ali sums it up: “I don't think of politics as a pleasurable activity.”   This Week's Sponsors: AR500 Armor - Plan now for how to protect yourself and your family. Get yourself the body armor we trust from AR500 Armor. Go to AR500ARMOR.com/BECK to see this package, and use code “BECK” for 20% OFF anything else in their entire store.   Built Bar - Go to BUILT.com and use promo code “BECK15” to save 15% off your first order. Use promo code “BECK15” for 15% off at BUILT.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ask Ashley Koff, RD, what she recommends as a healthy diet. Her answer? It's always personal.    When it comes to pediatric pain management, nutrition is both challenging and essential for our patients. And the idea of nutrition can be overwhelming, and contradictory, for healthcare professionals as well. My guest, an award winning expert dietician, is also a master at taking big, complex and overwhelming concepts and turning them into simple, bite sized pieces that are easy to understand and put into practice.  Nutritional advice has become a fact sheet based afterthought of our medical practice. Most of us didn't receive the proper training that we need to provide useful guidance to patients, and we only realize this when we need to apply that advice to our own lives and family members.    What's worse, in this era of social media, there is so much emphasis on selling yourself as a physician that the baseline of our oath gets lost. As Ms. Koff puts it beautifully - We don't need to advertise what we can do. We have the tools and knowledge to help people, we need to dig deeper and share how it applies to each individual patients' lifestyles, instead of defaulting to a one size fits all answer. How many times have you said sugar is inflammatory without considering the diet of that season that the patient might be eating? Does the patient even have access to healthy options at home?    A natural marketer, Ms. Ashley Koff had an interest in selling from a young age and studied marketing at Duke prior to her dietetics and nutrition degree. During her own health journey, she herself tried fad and even self-described crazy diets and exercises, but never felt healthy, until a integrative gastroenterologist changed her life  simply asking her the questions and showing her a better way  to make better and appropriate choices. That started her on her current journey as one of the most respected and sought after Dieticians in the country.    In this episode, we discuss the mistakes we are all guilty of making when it comes to nutritional advice. She shares her best practices and free nutritional resources for you and your patients to use. And she specifically relates that to pain management, especially for children and how we can best support our patients and empower them to make better choices.    Takeaways What nutrition truly means Popsicle for breakfast anyone? How a breakfast popsicle might be what a pain patient needs! What personalization in nutrition means and how it can and should be tailored to our own and our patients' bodies?  What our medical training lacks when it comes to nutrition and how the focus of practice today is skewed towards selling ourselves and gaining followers. How to turn that around!  Pain and nutrition especially when it comes to children How nutritional considerations for pediatric pain patients differ from consideration for a healthier life style What Gamifying nutrition for kids looks like and the results it yields. What is the rainbow evaluation and how you can you do it and how often Debunking the myths of nutrients vs. nutrition, good and bad foods. Role of supplements vs. natural intake. Food sourced nutrients vs. supplements and isollette nutrients Role sweeteners and sugars play in our body and in pain (Hint: It's not as bad as the rap it gets) Her message to healthcare professionals (Hint: Show not tell!) Links Ashley Koff RD Free Resources: https://thebetternutritionprogram.com/free-resources-from-the-better-nutrition-program/ Episode 50: Stepping Up Pain Care Efforts for African American Patients Episode 26: Manage Memory, Manage Pain! Episode 10: Disparities in Pediatric Pain Care Proactive Pain Solutions Physicians Academy Proactive Pain Solutions Clinicians Pain Evaluation Toolkit   About the Guest Ashley Koff RD An award-winning nutrition expert, Ashley helps lead the national conversation on better nutrition as a speaker, author, media and industry expert. Selected among CNN's Top 100 health makers, recognized in the Top 10 Social Health Makers in Nutrition (Sharecare.com) and among the top “50 Natural Influencers” in health and nutrition to follow on Twitter (NewHope360 and Shape.com), Koff was also selected for the first list of Top 10 Registered Dietitians in the US by Today's Dietitian Magazine.    Beyond running a thriving integrative nutrition practice working with top entertainment and national leaders, Koff's a highly sought after strategic nutrition consultant for companies like Procter & Gamble, Califia Farms, Nature's Path, Westin, SmartyPants and was appointed the California state representative for the Let's Move campaign. She's currently an advisor for Victress Capital, the Partnership for a Healthier America and Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition's Entrepreneurship Program and a partner at BeyondBrands.  

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:09). Sections below are the following:Transcript of AudioAudio Notes and AcknowledgmentsImagesSourcesRelated Water Radio EpisodesFor Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-18-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 21, 2021.  This revised episode from December 2017 is part of a series this year of episodes related to watersheds and river basins. MUSIC – ~12 – instrumentalThat's part of “Highland,” by the group Wake Up Robin, with musicians from North Carolina, New York, California, and Washington State.  It opens an episode about waterways in the highest and most upstream part of watersheds, where water starts following a channel and flowing overland towards rivers.  Have a listen for about 10 seconds to two Virginia examples, and see if you can guess the name for these upper watershed features.  And here's a hint: get this right and you'll stream to the head of water class.SOUND - ~ 11 sec If you guessed headwater streams, you're right!  Headwater streams are the first flowing waters in the upper part of a river's watershed.  These relatively small streams have a big range of functions, including as habitat for certain organisms or life stages, and as a source of water, materials, and organisms for downstream waters. Understanding the location and length of headwater streams in the Appalachian Mountains, particularly in response to storms, was the research goal of Carrie Jensen, a graduate student from 2014 to 2018 in Virginia Tech's Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation.   In November 2017, Ms. Jensen described her research and its significance in just 90 seconds during the “Nutshell Games,” held by Virginia Tech's Center for Communicating Science.  Here's Ms. Jensen's presentation. GUEST VOICE - ~84 sec – “Hi, everyone.  My name is Carrie, and I study changes in stream length in Appalachian headwaters, which are the small streams where our rivers start on the landscape.  So I literally walk upstream with a GPS unit until I find where a stream begins in the mountains.  And these headwaters can expand and contract in length through time, getting longer when it's wet after it rains, and getting shorter during dry periods.  And I wanted to know if this expansion and contraction behavior is the same everywhere.  So I matched changes in stream length across the Appalachian Mountains and actually found some pretty big differences.  At some of my sites, stream length is really stable and hardly changes across a huge range of flows, but at other sites there's a lot of expansion and contraction: stream length varies from tens of feet to a couple of miles.  And this work is relevant for pretty much any application that requires knowing where streams are and when they have water.  So where to build stuff; how to build stuff; where you need riparian buffers of trees to protect water quality.  And normally we rely on maps for this information.  But the blue lines representing streams on maps don't tell us if the stream has water all the time, or 75 percent of the time, or maybe only once every couple of years.  So research describing and predicting these changes in stream length can help us better manage and protect our water resources.  Thank you.”As Ms. Jensen's work shows, there's much to know about headwaters, and such information can help us better understand quantity and quality patterns far downstream. Thanks to Carrie Jensen for permission to use the audio from her Nutshell Games talk.  Thanks also to Andrew VanNorstand for permission to use this week's music, and we close with about 15 more seconds of “Highland.”MUSIC - ~17 sec – instrumental SHIP'S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I'm Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 397, 12-4-17. The Nutshell Games are organized by the Virginia Tech Center for Communicating Science to give graduate students a forum for describing their research in a short presentation designed for non-scientists.  More information about the Center for Communicating Science is available online at https://communicatingscience.isce.vt.edu/.  Nutshell Games videos are available online at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC01cz4Mal3-AOZeODCauLHw.  Two news articles about the Nutshell Games are New center focuses on the art of communicating science effectively, Virginia Tech News, 2/28/17; and Understandable communication aim of first 'Nutshell Games', Roanoke Times, 3/3/17.“Highland,” from the 2018 album “Wake Up Robin,” on Great Bear Records, by the group of the same name, is used with permission of Andrew VanNorstrand.  More information about the album and band is available online at https://wakeuprobin.bandcamp.com.The sounds of headwater streams heard in this episode were recorded in Blacksburg, Va.'s Heritage Park on July 27, 2016, and in Blacksburg on Brush Mountain on January 31, 2010 (the latter stream is shown in the photos below). Click here if you'd like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. IMAGES Two views of a headwaters stream tributary to Toms Creek (New River basin) on Brush Mountain in Blacksburg, Va.: upper photo December 25, 2013; lower photo December 2, 2017. SOURCES Used for Audio Richard B. Alexander et al., “The Role of Headwater Streams in Downstream Water Quality,” Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 43, No. 1, February 2007, pages 41-59; available online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3307624/(subscription may be required). Carrie Jensen, “Project Report, 2016 VWRRC Student Grant: Sensors reveal the timing and pattern of stream flow in headwaters after storms,” July 10, 2017, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Blacksburg. Sacramento [Calif.] River Watershed Program, “Importance of the Headwaters,” by Todd Sloat, 9/21/14, online at https://sacriver.org/watershed-blog/importance-of-the-headwaters/. Craig Snyder, et al., “Significance of Headwater Streams and Perennial Springs in Ecological Monitoring in Shenandoah National Park,” 2013, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013–1178; available online (as a PDF) at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1178/pdf/ofr2013-1178.pdf. U.S. Geological Survey, “Water Resources of the United States/Water Basics Glossary/Headwaters,” online at https://water.usgs.gov/water-basics_glossary.html#H. U.S. Geological Survey, “Water Science School/Glossary/Headwater,” online at https://water.usgs.gov/edu/dictionary.html#H. Virginia Tech Center for Communicating Science, online at https://communicatingscience.isce.vt.edu/. West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, “The Importance of Headwater Streams,” online at https://dep.wv.gov/WWE/getinvolved/sos/Pages/Headwaters.aspx. For More Information about Watersheds and River Basins Natural Resources Conservation Service/Virginia, “2020 Virginia Water Resources Progress Report,” online at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/va/programs/planning/.  This report has descriptions of projects in many Virginia watersheds.  The 2017 report is online at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/va/programs/planning/wo/ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “How's My Waterway,” online at https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/hows-my-waterway. U.S. Geological Survey, “Water Science School/Watersheds and Drainage Basins,” online at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/watersheds-and-drainage-basins?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Hydrologic Unit Geography,” online at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/hu; and “Virginia's Major Watersheds,” online at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/stormwater_management/wsheds.shtml.  Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, “Commonwealth of Virginia State Water Resources Plan,” April 2015, available online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quantity/water-supply-planning/virginia-water-resources-plan; “Status of Virginia's Water Resources,” October 2020, online (as a PDF) at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/2119/637432838113030000; and “Water Quantity,” online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quantity.  Virginia Places, “The Continental (and Other) Divides,” online at http://www.virginiaplaces.org/watersheds/divides.html. Virginia Places, “Rivers and Watersheds of Virginia,” online at http://www.virginiaplaces.org/watersheds/index.html. Virginia Water Resources Research Center, “Divide and Confluence,” by Alan Raflo, pages 8-11 in Virginia Water Central Newsletter, February 2000, online at https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/49316. RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). Following are links to some other episodes on watersheds and Virginia river basins.  Please note that some of these episodes are being redone in summer 2021, so the episode number, date, and link may change. Big Otter River introduction (Roanoke River watershed) – Episode 419, 5-7-18. Big Sandy River watershed introduction – Episode 419, 5-7-18. Blue Ridge and three watersheds - Episode 209, 4-14-14. Bullpasture and Cowpasture rivers introduction (James River watershed) – Episode 469, 4-22-19. Hazel River introduction (Rappahannock River watershed) – Episode 339, 10-24-16. Jackson River introduction (James River watershed) – Episode 428, 7-9-19. Madison County flooding in 1995 (on Rapidan River, in Rappahannock County watershed) – Episode 272, 6-29-15 Musical tour of rivers and watersheds - Episode 251, 2-2-15. New River introduction – Episode 109, 5-7-12. Ohio River basin introduction – Episode 421, 5-21-18. Ohio River basin connections through watersheds and history – Episode 422, 5-28-18; Passage Creek and Fort Valley introduction (Shenandoah River watershed) – Episode 331 – 8/29/16. River bluffs – Episode 173, 8-5-13. Rappahannock River introduction – Episode 89, 11-21-11. Shenandoah River introduction – Episode 130 – 10/1/12. Smith River and Philpott Reservoir introduction (Roanoke River watershed) – Episode 360, 3-20-17. South Fork Holston River introduction (Clinch-Powell/Upper Tennessee River watershed) – Episode 425, 6-18-18. Staunton River introduction (part of the Roanoke River) – Episode 374, 6-26-17. Virginia rivers quiz – Episode 334, 9-19-16. Virginia surface water numbers – Episode 539, 8-24-20. Virginia's Tennessee River tributaries – Episode 420, 5-14-18. Watershed and water cycle terms related to stormwater – EP365 – 4/24/17. Watersheds introduction – Episode 581, 6-14-21. Water quantity information sources – Episode 546, 10-12-20. Werowocomoco native people's civilization history, centered in the York River watershed – Episode 364, 12-12-16.Following are links to other episodes with information from presentations at the Nutshell Games, produced by the Virginia Tech Center for Communicating Sciences.Episode

Ms. Amy Purnell is a Brooklyn, New York native. Raised in a single-parent household, her mom moved the family to Florida during her teenage years to provide Ms. Purnell and her two younger siblings with a better life.  There, she continued her education and graduated from high school in Orlando. Ms. Purnell holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Jackson State University and M.B.A. from Strayer University. Ms. Amy Purnell started her professional career in the insurance industry. She was recruited by State Farm Insurance during her senior year of college. During her 12 years with the company, she worked in various offices and held multiple positions. In 2013, Ms. Purnell changed career paths and became a federal employee. She currently supports the Department of Defense, excelling in her career as a Financial Analyst. In addition to working for the federal government, she also serves on the Fairfax County Tenant-Landlord Board of Commission, is a treasurer for the National Black MBA Association, Greater Maryland Chapter, and an Alexandria City Public Schools substitute teacher.  Leadership is a journey, not a destination. As Ms. Purnell continues her journey, she focuses on building relationships with other great leaders and leveraging their influence as pipelines of opportunities for underrepresented groups (single parents, recent college graduates, etc.). Cultivating a culture of change for equitable opportunities both professionally and personally will always remain on the forefront for Ms. Purnell as an advocate, new parent, and transformation leader!

We meet retired nurse Glyndorah Hubbard of St. Louis, MO who was born in 1916. At 15 years old, Ms. Hubbard graduated from famed Sumner High School in St. Louis. Upon graduating college, she began her life as a nurse while working at the only hospital where Black residents of the city could get medical care at the time, Homer G. Phillips. As Ms. Hubbard shares fascinating and heartbreaking family stories--including the grandmother she knew who was enslaved and the other who was not--hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh remember stories from their own backgrounds that put it all in perspective.Oral histories from this area of the United States are also the mission of the Missouri History Museum located in St. Louis, MO.

For the final episode of season one, Jamie joins the podcast to talk about her experiences living life with a disability. Jamie has Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida, and has been paraplegic since birth. As a kid, she felt deeply self conscious, bitter, and angry that she was different than her peers. She talks about body image and her daily struggles to find confidence. Jamie also tells us how people constantly stare and point, avoid eye contact, and generally assume that she isn't capable. Despite having some physical limitations, Jamie is a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie and talks excitedly about skydiving, waterskiing, and the many other sports she enjoys. We also discuss dating, mental health, and the word “inspiring”. Later in life, Jamie became passionate about advocacy work. As Ms. Wheelchair Michigan 2016, she used her platform to spread awareness about physical and mental disabilities. Jamie gives practical advice for how able-bodied folks can be more respectful of those with disabilities, and envisions a more inclusive world where we're all just treated like humans. To end, Jamie talks honestly about where she is now with accepting her body and helping others accept theirs. Find Jamie on Facebook at 'Ms. Wheelchair Michigan 2016-Jamie Spore' or email her at j_spore@hotmail.com. Follow the podcast on Instagram @everybodyspodcast, and be sure to like, rate, and share!

Marlene "Marley" Holmes is a former Division 1 volleyball player who is now a Social Worker and Entrepreneur. She  has mastered the art of utilizing her athletic training to adapt and contribute to social work and athletics  successfully. While attending Bethune-Cookman University, she earned her Bachelor's degree in  Sociology with a Social Work minor and completed her Master's degree at the University of Central  Florida. Ms. Holmes currently attends Barry University as a third-year doctoral student in Social Work,  focusing on black female collegiate athletes' lived experience. Throughout her postgraduate studies, she  has presented at national conferences for social work professionals, professional athletes, scholars, and  student-athletes. Additionally, she has organized numerous public speaking events for local high school  athletes; she is also the recently honored recipient of the Doctoral Fellowship Award at Barry University. As Ms. Holmes' professional career within corporate America advanced, she quickly recognized the  challenges that directly impact student-athletes, particularly student-athletes of color, once the sport  concludes. She identified the lack of professional preparation and inadequate exposure to resources for  athletes of color based on her journey. By creatively combining her passion for sports and social work  background, she founded "The BFCA Experience." The BFCA Experience focuses on the athlete's success  beneath the jersey by providing tools that prepare, support, and motivate players, parents, and coaches  beyond the game.Get in touch with Marley:Instagram: @the_bfca_experience                         @yupshesaiditLinkedIn: The BFCA Experience Podcast: Yup, She Said It PodcastAvailable on over 10 platforms including: Spotify, IHeart Radio, Apple PodcastsWebsite: www.marleneholmes.comYouTube: The BFCA ExperienceDon't miss this episode..."This Is The Year For Your New Book"

I was elated to speak with this living legend. My dearly departed mother, Donna Theresa, was a HUGE Jennifer Holliday fan! Her name was spoken in our household many times in my youth. I recall mama exclaiming NOBODY CAN HOLD A CANDLE TO JENNIFER HOLLIDAY! So very true. In this episode, we discuss her childhood aspirations and when she realized her voice would change the trajectory of her life. As she approached 60 years of life, while in a pandemic, she wasn't sure how to mark this monumental event. Find out what led to the forthcoming virtual concert. Thank you Jennifer Holliday for being who you are and allowing it to radiate throughout the world! You are our Forever DreamGirl! Reserve Tickets: www.stellartickets.com Follow: @jenniferhollidaydreamgirl About Jennifer Holliday: Tony- and two-time Grammy Award-winning Jennifer Holliday is CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF LIFE ---- on Monday, October 19th with a VIRTUAL CONCERT in which she will be joined by a six-piece band - sharing her string of '80s and '90s hits; some '60s classics by Aretha Franklin; and - of course - the culture-defining songs from the smash Broadway musical hit Dreamgirls - including the iconic "And I am Telling You I'm Not Going". The celebration presented by AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition (BLACC), will benefit the Healthy Housing Foundation, providing affordable housing to those in need and moving families from homelessness to housing! The concert will stream Monday, October 19, 2020 - at 8pm: www.stellartickets.com. As Ms. Holliday is a muse inside the pages of my book "That's What Friends Are For: On The Women Who Inspired Me", was a pleasure to curate and produce the more than 60 touching and joyful greetings from ICONIC celebs & peers; inter-generational admirers & journalists; and global fans and friends --- from as far as Thailand and Austria to backstage at#VerzuzTV. From that batch, the event will feature special moments with Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Mariah Carey, Billy Porter, Kristin Chenoweth, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, Debbie Allen, and Jenifer Lewis. Others in the Super-Sized 60th Bday Greeting Video include: George Faison, Leslie Odom Jr., La Chanze, Jody Watley; Hollywood royalty Tichina Arnold, Angela Robinson-Whitehurst, Jenifer Lewis, Flex Alexander, and Kron Moore; top singers Kenny Lattimore, Regina Belle, Syleena Johnson, Shanice, KeKe Wyatt, Will Downing,Trey Lorenz, Damien Sneed, Beverly Crawford, and Crystal Wilson; journalists April Ryan and Ed Gordon; Rev. Dr. Bernice King; Judge Mablean Ephriam; and many more! About the show: ► Website: http://www.ashsaidit.com ► Got Goli Gummies? https://go.goli.com/1loveash5 ► For $5 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link: https://www.lyft.com/ici/ASH584216 ► For discount Pangea Products: https://embracepangaea.grsm.io/ashsaiditmedia3226 ► Want the ‘coldest' water? https://thecoldestwater.com/?ref=ashleybrown12 ► Become A Podcast Legend: http://ashsaidit.podcastersmastery.zaxaa.com/s/6543767021305 ► Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ash-said-it/id1144197789 ► SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSaidItSuwanee ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1loveash ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashsaidit ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/1loveAsh ► Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AshSaidItMedia ► Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog ► Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/1LoveAsh/ ► Newsletter: manage1.com/subscribe?u=2a2ca3b799467f125b53863http://ashsaidit.us11.list-c8&id=a6f43cd472 #atlanta #ashsaidit #ashsaidthat #ashblogsit #ashsaidit® Ash Brown is a gifted American producer, blogger, speaker, media personality and event emcee. The blog on AshSaidit.com showcases exclusive event invites, product reviews and so much more. Her motivational podcast "Ash Said It Daily" is available on major media platforms such as iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio & Google Podcasts. This program has over half a million streams worldwide. She uses these mediums to motivate & encourage her audience in the most powerful way. She keeps it real!

I was elated to speak with this living legend. My dearly departed mother, Donna Theresa, was a HUGE Jennifer Holliday fan! Her name was spoken in our household many times in my youth. I recall mama exclaiming NOBODY CAN HOLD A CANDLE TO JENNIFER HOLLIDAY! So very true. In this episode, we discuss her childhood aspirations and when she realized her voice would change the trajectory of her life. As she approached 60 years of life, while in a pandemic, she wasn't sure how to mark this monumental event. Find out what led to the forthcoming virtual concert. Thank you Jennifer Holliday for being who you are and allowing it to radiate throughout the world! You are our Forever DreamGirl! Reserve Tickets: www.stellartickets.com Follow: @jenniferhollidaydreamgirl About Jennifer Holliday: Tony- and two-time Grammy Award-winning Jennifer Holliday is CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF LIFE ---- on Monday, October 19th with a VIRTUAL CONCERT in which she will be joined by a six-piece band - sharing her string of '80s and '90s hits; some '60s classics by Aretha Franklin; and - of course - the culture-defining songs from the smash Broadway musical hit Dreamgirls - including the iconic "And I am Telling You I'm Not Going". The celebration presented by AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition (BLACC), will benefit the Healthy Housing Foundation, providing affordable housing to those in need and moving families from homelessness to housing! The concert will stream Monday, October 19, 2020 - at 8pm: www.stellartickets.com. As Ms. Holliday is a muse inside the pages of my book "That's What Friends Are For: On The Women Who Inspired Me", was a pleasure to curate and produce the more than 60 touching and joyful greetings from ICONIC celebs & peers; inter-generational admirers & journalists; and global fans and friends --- from as far as Thailand and Austria to backstage at#VerzuzTV. From that batch, the event will feature special moments with Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Mariah Carey, Billy Porter, Kristin Chenoweth, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, Debbie Allen, and Jenifer Lewis. Others in the Super-Sized 60th Bday Greeting Video include: George Faison, Leslie Odom Jr., La Chanze, Jody Watley; Hollywood royalty Tichina Arnold, Angela Robinson-Whitehurst, Jenifer Lewis, Flex Alexander, and Kron Moore; top singers Kenny Lattimore, Regina Belle, Syleena Johnson, Shanice, KeKe Wyatt, Will Downing,Trey Lorenz, Damien Sneed, Beverly Crawford, and Crystal Wilson; journalists April Ryan and Ed Gordon; Rev. Dr. Bernice King; Judge Mablean Ephriam; and many more! About the show: ► Website: http://www.ashsaidit.com ► Got Goli Gummies? https://go.goli.com/1loveash5 ► For $5 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link: https://www.lyft.com/ici/ASH584216 ► For discount Pangea Products: https://embracepangaea.grsm.io/ashsaiditmedia3226 ► Want the ‘coldest' water? https://thecoldestwater.com/?ref=ashleybrown12 ► Become A Podcast Legend: http://ashsaidit.podcastersmastery.zaxaa.com/s/6543767021305 ► Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ash-said-it/id1144197789 ► SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSaidItSuwanee ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1loveash ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashsaidit ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/1loveAsh ► Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AshSaidItMedia ► Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog ► Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/1LoveAsh/ ► Newsletter: manage1.com/subscribe?u=2a2ca3b799467f125b53863http://ashsaidit.us11.list-c8&id=a6f43cd472 #atlanta #ashsaidit #ashsaidthat #ashblogsit #ashsaidit® Ash Brown is a gifted American producer, blogger, speaker, media personality and event emcee. The blog on AshSaidit.com showcases exclusive event invites, product reviews and so much more. Her motivational podcast "Ash Said It Daily" is available on major media platforms such as iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio & Google Podcasts. This program has over half a million streams worldwide. She uses these mediums to motivate & encourage her audience in the most powerful way. She keeps it real!

In this episode, we unpack the way our judicial system doesn't always support the woman and child. As Ms. Jada Jordan reveals, there isn't always a happy ending when you're coming out of a domestic violence relationship. Nevertheless, as we create awareness and a safe space for these women, we will also work to change the system so every woman has a voice and isn't expected to be put out of their home with a child or multiple children. Let's join forces to make sure anyone who is such a coward to put his hands on a woman is not rewarded, but instead placed behind bars, no matter what his status or how much money he has. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/breakingbarrierspast/message

***I apologize for the scratchy sound in the first interview. I promise it is a good listen if you get through that.*** Episode 4 had on two outstanding teachers and leaders who do everything possible to mold students into leaders. As Ms. Boston said, "Without a voice, there is no change." I hope you enjoy this episode and please give us a four or five-star rating and click the subscribe button. Also, let me know what you think by leaving a comment on the comment box.

I have a new challenge for you. I want you to get out of your comfort zone; do something different. It will energize you. It will make you a better caregiver. It may even inspire others who you have never met. My guest on this podcast of Toula's Tips for Caregivers is a great role model for you. Lynette Hipsher is Ms. Senior DIVA 2019. Although she had never even thought about being in a pageant before, she challenged herself. Now she has found that she is encouraging and influencing others, and gaining more confidence in herself. Lynette is also a caregiver, specializing in Alzheimer's and dementia patients. That has been her platform as Ms. Senior DIVA for the past year. As Ms. Senior DIVA, Lynette has been an advocate for the State of Florida for Alzheimer's and dementia causes. Lynette is a Certified Nursing Assistant. She started by caring for her grandparents. For 15 years, Lynette owned and operated her own private in-home daycare business. Now she is a private professional caregiver, specializing with Alzheimer's and dementia patients. As her one-year term ends, Lynette asks YOU to compete to be the next Ms. Senior DIVA in Jacksonville. She believes in you. And, she wants you to experience the joys of growing bolder, learning more and continuing to flourish. The Ms. Senior DIVA Pageant is open to all women ages 50 to 59. For women 60 or better, you can compete for the Ms. Senior Jacksonville title. Visit www.aseasonedaffair.com/senior-pageants.html to learn more and to submit your application. If you have any questions or concerns, email the Founder and Director, Kenyonn Demps at aseasonedaffairpageants@gmail.com or call (904) 323-2063. One way to be a better caregiver, to take better care of yourself, and to inspire more people, is to have more experiences. I hope you will accept my challenge. I promise that, if you do, I will have you on my podcast next year. Blessings Toula

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by, Bob Schlehuber and Sean Blackmon, co-costs of By Any Means Necessary on Sputnik News.The US House of Representatives will vote today on a measure broadly condemning hate, Democratic leaders have said, as the party tries to move past a controversy over allegedly anti-Semitic comments from freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). I see this as much ado about nothing. America elected a president who ran on anti-Muslim, anti-Latinx immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, white supremacy is flourishing amid fears of immigration and the nation's shifting demographics. In fact, last year saw a new high in the number of hate groups counted. Among all this chatter about language, where's their ire towards action?Chelsea Manning, the former US Army intelligence analyst convicted in 2013 of leaking archives of secret military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks, revealed in an interview that she had been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury targeting WikiLeaks founder and former publisher Julian Assange — and vowed to fight it. As Ms. Manning engages in that fight, Whitney Webb in MintPress News is reporting that Ecuador has, by all indications, agreed to rescind Assange's asylum so that he may be extradited to the United States. As a consequence, the US is moving forward with its case against Assange and WikiLeaks — which began nearly a decade ago in 2010 — now that it has received assurances that Assange's extradition is a matter of when, not if. What does this mean going forward?NBC 7 Investigates has uncovered documents that show the US government created a secret database of activists, journalists and social media influencers tied to the migrant caravan and in some cases placed alerts on their passports. The documents detail an intelligence-gathering effort by United States and Mexican authorities targeting more than 50 people, including journalists, an attorney and immigration advocates. According to the investigation, "At the end of 2018, roughly 5,000 immigrants from Central America made their way north through Mexico to the United States southern border. ... As the migrant caravan reached the San Ysidro Port of Entry in south San Diego County, so did journalists, attorneys and advocates who were there to work and witness the events unfolding. But in the months that followed, journalists who covered the caravan, as well as those who offered assistance to caravan members, said they felt they had become targets of intense inspections and scrutiny by border officials." What's going on here?GUESTS:Bob Schlehuber and Sean Blackmon — Co-hosts of By Any Means Necessary on Sputnik News.Ray McGovern — Former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Peace.Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."

This Monday TLC is bring you “Rising Stars” with our returning guest & family of TLC, Star Jewelry Designer & Gemologist Rosiland Burch (RbJewelz) the Creative mind & CEO of Step Outside The Jewelry Box & Jewelry Designer for yours truly as well as the T & T tour! 19 year old Designer DaJon Johnson who is the “Chosen” stylist for the ladies of T & T. This young man hosted his first fashion show in 2013, showcasing his "Matador Chic" Collection. Not content with being just a “local” designer, he has nationwide aspirations. Last but certainly not least Lyz Nayta Denizard she won the State tittle of Maryland Queen in 2013 & that was it! As Ms. Maryland, model, singer & actress. Lyz is Beauty & Brains wrapped up in one package of charming. Monday 08/18/14 from 8:00 to 10:00 PM EST, Tune in & Turn up with TLC and “Rising Stars” Call In @ (347) 884-8924 or listen from you're computer & chat with other listeners at http://tobtr.com/s/6806001  

Tonight's special guest is Maralee McLean from Denver, Colorado, the author of "Prosecuted but Not Silenced: Courtroom Reform for Sexually Abused Children." As Ms. McLean writes, “A mother's first instinct is to protect her child, and when the means and the power to do this are stripped unjustly from a mother, there are no words to describe the constant heartache that is felt as each day passes by.” McLean tells us “my heart was ripped out every time my precious little girl told me and others what most people would describe as unimaginable.” "Prosecuted But Not Silenced" calls our hearts and minds to sharp attention. We simply cannot look away from this reality, from this clear cut example of what can take place in and within all too common poorly informed, flawed, biased, and at times even dishonest judicial and legal processes. Far too frequently these processes and their professional participants actually enable the perpetration, and virtual protection of the perpetration, of child sexual abuse, often fallaciously applying “parental alienation syndrome” and "evidence" and "experts" which would be rejected outright in any other courtroom following the dictates of constitutional law. In her book, Maralee McLean takes on the abuse and litigation of abuse journey of the author and her daughter, a bloody path, a path fraught with double binds, trick twists, traps, and impossible choices. How does an abused woman who is a mother choose between the risk of losing custody on the one hand, and the risk of further sexual abuse of her child if she stays with the abusive parent? This is the story of how this woman made her way through the tangled web of sloppy, inadequate, nonsensical, uninformed, poorly administered, and cruelly denied justice.

Emily Raboteau, author of Searching for Zion: The Quest for Home in the African Diaspora (Atlantic Monthly Press), joins the Virtual Memories Show to show to talk about the many notions of “home" for black people. Along the way, we talk about the many notions of what constitutes a black person. As Ms. Raboteau discovered in the travels chronicled in her book — encompassing Israel, Jamaica, Ethiopia, Ghana and America's deep south — there are a lot of ideas about who's black and what blackness means. "We reach for stories to be able to take risks." We also talk about churchgoing in New York City, what it's like to travel to Antarctica, why the story of Exodus is so pivotal in the black American experience, why Jewish book reviewers thought she was pulling a bait-and-switch, why she chose to explore her black roots instead of her white ones for this book, what motherhood means, and what it was like to give a talk about faith on behalf of Bobby McFerrin. Go listen!