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Dr. Alfiee, psychologist, host of the Couched in Color podcast and founder of the AAKOMA Project, dives into attachment styles, how depression can impact a partnership, and the ways our traumas and triggers can become unearthed in new relationships. Then this week's Dear Damona question is: I married too young and stayed too long. Can you please help me get back into the dating game? Ready to break free of your dating loops? Get Damona's signature online program, The Dating Accelerator by visiting: DamonaHoffman.com/program Submit your questions for Dear Damona on any of the socials @DamonaHoffman or by visiting DamonaHoffman.com Timestamps Introduction to the Episode (00:00:00)   Attachment Styles Overview (00:00:59)   Expectations in Relationships (00:03:30)   The Desire to Change Partners (00:05:04)   The Fantasy of Relationships (00:06:13)   Effort vs. Work in Relationships (00:08:01)   Unpacking Emotional Baggage (00:08:35)   Understanding Attachment Styles (00:09:55)   Cultural Context of Attachment (00:12:04)   Personal Experiences with Attachment (00:14:23)   Embracing Attachment Nuances (00:15:17)   Understanding Family Dynamics and Attachment Styles (00:16:50)   Personal Reflection on Attachment Styles (00:17:42)   The Impact of Community on Relationships (00:18:26)   Navigating Triggers in Relationships (00:19:55)   Mental Health and Medication Statistics (00:20:37)   Stigma Around Mental Health in Communities (00:22:13)   Dating with Mental Health Challenges (00:23:05)   Recognizing Deal Breakers in Relationships (00:23:43)   Changing Attitudes Towards Therapy (00:25:51)   Generational Differences in Mental Health Views (00:27:06)   Healing from Trauma and Relationships (00:28:08)   The Process of Healing and Trauma Management (00:30:25)   Distinguishing Good and Bad Butterflies (00:32:22)   The Importance of Self-Reflection Before Dating (00:33:14)   Understanding Triggers in Relationships (00:33:50) Disclosing Trauma in Relationships (00:35:17) Trust and Safety in Sharing Trauma (00:36:12) Empowerment in Relationships (00:38:17) Unpopular Opinions on Relationships (00:39:46) Finding a New Relationship After Marriage (00:41:23) Going Where the People Are (00:43:24) Strategic Socializing for Dating (00:45:38). Creating Momentum in Dating (00:49:04) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Title: Terms of Surrender Text: Acts 17:1-9 FCF: We often struggle preaching good news that no one wants to hear. Prop: Because God predestined this Redemption to turn back hearts of His enemies it will be opposed, so we must preach Christ crucified for sinners, risen, and coming again. Scripture Intro: NET [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts 17. In a moment we'll begin reading from the New English Translation beginning in verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Last week we took a brief pause from our study of the book of Acts as Justin exposited the words of Ephesians 6 to us, where Paul explains how he was able to endure such great trials for the sake of the kingdom with the armor the Lord provides. Today, we will build on that knowledge as the narrative of the 2nd missionary journey of Paul continues with the next episode in the city of Thessalonica. In many ways the episode in Thessalonica serves as the opposite of Philippi. What if Philippi had a large Jewish presence and the leaders of the city were competent at governing? That is essentially the story of Thessalonica. Unfortunately, the outcome is eerily similar. It serves as an ongoing reminder to us that no earthly situation will ever produce a utopian world for the people of God. Only when Christ returns will such a kingdom exist. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Please stand with me to focus on and give honor to the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Father, we your children are gathered here today because you have written us into the grand story of your redemption. You have written our names in the book of life. Your Son sought us from heaven and purchased us with His blood. You have done this before time began and only recently have you brought about the execution of this plan. We now are humble inheritors of a destiny we could never earn and would never believe could be ours. But the great grace that you have given us and the peace you have established with us stands in stark contrast with the hatred the world has for us… your people. We are often caricatured in so many terrible ways. Father use your word today to teach us to love them in spite of their hatred. Help us to promote peace by bearing your terms of surrender… your gospel to them. Even as they take everything from us – help the gospel to be on our lips. Grow our faith for this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Transition: Once again, the sermon runs on the lengthy side. So let us jump right to the text this morning. I.) God's plan has always been to crush His Son to save sinners, so we must preach Christ crucified for sinners, risen, and coming again. (1-4) a. [Slide 2] 1 - After they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. i. [Slide 3] Having left Philippi peacefully and mostly quietly, leaving Luke behind, Paul, Silas, and Timothy travel 33 miles to a city named Amphipolis. ii. We know that the city held great significance as a military post. But we are not told by Luke what exactly the missionaries did there – if anything more than spending the night. iii. Then they travel another 27 miles, to a city named Apollonia. iv. Again, we are not told much about their time here. It is reasonable to conclude that they could have spent some time in each of these cities proclaiming the gospel – but since Luke does not record anything, we can't be entirely sure how long they stayed. v. [Slide 4] In any case – they travel another 35 miles and arrive in a city named Thessalonica. vi. Luke points out that there is a Jewish synagogue in Thessalonica, which could shed light on why they did not stop in Amphipolis or Apollonia. Perhaps there was no synagogue there? vii. Now they find themselves in this highly coveted and strategic city. Indeed, Thessalonica was the capital of Macedonia and no doubt a city the missionaries had always intended to go to after receiving the dream about coming to Macedonia. viii. There are a few details about Thessalonica that will be quite important to the story going forward, but I'll hold on to those until they we need to know them. ix. So, what do Paul and Silas do as they find themselves in Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue? b. [Slide 5] 2 - Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” i. Of course. Paul and Silas go to the Jews first. ii. Indeed, for three Sabbaths (which probably means 3 weeks straight), Paul and Silas go to the synagogue and from the scriptures prove to them that the promised Messiah that the Jews were anticipating needed to suffer and die and then be raised from the dead. iii. Now why is this a point that they must be taught? Why is this so important? 1. First, this is at the very heart of the gospel. Paul summarizes what he preaches by saying – “I Preached Christ crucified for sinners.” The fact that the Messiah had to die and be raised again is at the very core of the gospel Paul preached. 2. But more directly, as to why a Jew must receive this particular teaching, Paul goes on to say that the gospel is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Why? a. Well, the work of Christ is boiled down into three basic ideas. He was crucified for sinners, he was raised back to life, and He is coming again to rule. b. The last two, that he was raised and coming back to rule, would have been foolishness to the Gentiles. Why? No one can come back from the dead. And to even suggest that another King could topple the mighty Roman Empire is laughable and to prophesy it is illegal. c. The first part, that He was crucified, would have been a stumbling block to the Jews. Why? Because God's Messiah was supposed to be victorious over His enemies and free them from their slavery. He was supposed to usher in an eternal Kingdom that would never end. It is very hard to do that… if He died. In fact, the fact that Jesus died would have been great evidence to a Jew that He was not actually the Messiah. 3. Paul knows his audience very well. He knows what the hang ups are with Jews receiving Jesus as the Christ. 4. He and Silas go throughout the Old Testament (probably spending a good deal of time in the book of Isaiah) showing that it was necessary – meaning it was part of the eternal plan of God, that The Messiah must suffer and die and be raised to life. 5. [Slide 6] Paul thus forms a logical syllogism. He does not appeal to their emotions. He does not play 7 stanzas of Just As I Am. Paul appeals to them… LOGICALLY. a. Major Premise: - The Scriptures (which they all agreed is the Word of God) teach that The Messiah of God must suffer and die and be raised from the dead. b. Minor Premise - (Which Paul doesn't need to teach since they already know it.) Jesus suffered and died and was raised back to life and seen by many witnesses, while also claiming to be the Messiah. c. Therefore: It logically follows as a valid argument that if the Major Premise can be shown to be true and the minor premise can be shown to be true, the conclusion MUST be true. Jesus is the Messiah of God prophesied in the Old Testament. iv. After three weeks of teaching this in the synagogue, what is the result? c. [Slide 7] 4 - Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. i. The results are… somewhat surprising. ii. Paul, despite who he was, despite his unique position among them, was not very effective with the Jews. iii. Some of them were persuaded. Paul's words in Romans 11, expressing great anguish over his own people rejecting Christ, are rooted in his experience with them. iv. As we go forward in Paul's missionary efforts – the Jews will, for the most part, reject the gospel. v. But the silver lining is… that the Lord had carved out a large group of God-Fearers… Gentiles who had accepted Yahweh as the only God, now are believing on Jesus as Lord. vi. It is unclear if we should lump these prominent women in with the God-Fearing Gentiles or if they are a separate group. vii. If they are separate, it implies that they were pagans who converted to Christ. viii. This is no doubt the meaning since in I Thessalonians Paul mentions that they turned from idols. Therefore, a large group would have to be those who were formerly pagans. ix. These women were leading or prominent women in the city. x. Meaning of course that the political climate was changing due to the softness of these women's hearts to hear the truth of the gospel. xi. Soon this Jesus teaching will be widely acceptable in the city. xii. And that… if you are an unconvinced Jew… simply will not do. d. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: A consistent theme in the preaching of the apostles throughout the book of Acts, particularly when they are speaking to the Jews, is that God foreknew and foreordained that the Messiah would suffer and die for the sins of His people. God predestined that His Son would be crushed and killed as a criminal. That, though He was innocent as a Lamb, He would be butchered and made low. But the scriptures also prophesy that He would arise and would become the eternal King of Kings. Such a teaching is absolutely core to the gospel. Any attempt to remove the violent and bloody death of Jesus from the plan of God or the requirement to believe on it to be saved from our sins is contrary to the very message Paul insisted must be accepted. Therefore, as Paul and Silas, you and I must preach Christ crucified for sinners, risen on the third day, ascended to the Father where He sits in honor at His right hand, and coming again to rule in a New Kingdom… forever. We must preach this. For saying less than this… is not the gospel. [Slide 9(blank)] Transition: So, we see that the gospel had great affect, especially among God-Fearers and pagans. But we know Paul's track record. Is there any chance he is getting out of Thessalonica unscathed? Let's see what happens. II.) The gospel will always be caricatured in the most terrible ways, so we must preach Christ crucified for sinners, risen, and coming again. (5-9) a. [Slide 10] 5 - But the Jews became jealous, i. Before the events of verse 5, we could see a significant amount of time. Perhaps even several months. ii. This helps to make sense of the pagans coming to Christ in the previous verses, since the pagans would probably not be at the synagogue to hear Paul and Silas teach. iii. We know from Paul's letter to the Philippians that they actually continued to send financial support to them while they were in Thessalonica. iv. That being the case, we anticipate the missionaries staying in the city longer than 3 weeks. v. But the longer they stayed the more inevitable it became that the Jews would oppose them. vi. The meaning of the word jealous can be either envious or zealous. If we would choose zealous, we could see that the Jews were religiously agitated and saw their opposition to the missionaries as righteous indignation against the Jesus heresy. vii. However, there are good reasons not to assume pure religious fury of the Jews here. viii. First, Luke only mentions their response after he shows a clear dichotomy in the response to the gospel. 1. As it was in Antioch of Pisidia, the Jewish people no doubt sought influence among the Thessalonians. 2. And though the Jewish response to the gospel was lackluster, the God-fearing gentiles and prominent women in the city were coming to Christ in great numbers. 3. This heavily indicates an envious motive rather than a religiously zealous motive. ix. Second, as we move along here, we will find that their actions have very little to do with fighting a war on doctrine. Instead, they seem to desire to do anything they can, including lying, to destroy the missionaries. x. But neither of these reasons require us to choose between religious zeal or jealousy. xi. Therefore, I conclude that although I am certain religious purity was A reason to rise up against the missionaries… in reality, it had more to do with the inability for the Jews to win the city to Judaism to the same level of success that The Holy Spirit through the missionaries was winning it to Christ. xii. So, what do they do? b. [Slide 11] and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. i. Well first they go to the marketplace and gather a crowd. Who do they gather? ii. Many translations call them wicked men. And perhaps they are in the sense that they are willing to start a riot for almost any reason. 1. My mind goes to the ease of which entire cities can be stirred into rioting and looting. In the last decade we can see that seemingly overnight, for almost any cause, cities can go up in flames. 2. Why? Because it somehow makes sense to them that the only way to right a wrong or a perceived wrong is to commit a thousand more wrongs. 3. Only wicked men could make sense of that. iii. However, there is an alternate way to translate this term wicked and it is with the word worthless. 1. This would speak certainly to the morals of these individuals but also to their value to society. 2. These are riff raff. Lowlifes. Ne'er-do-wells. They are the street rats and common thugs that would inhabit the marketplace seeking an easy con or the perfect mark. They were thieves and murderers for hire. 3. They are the kind of people that even the world deems… deplorable. iv. So, they gather these degenerates and form a mob and stir up the entire city. c. [Slide 12] They attacked Jason's house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly. i. Luke, in so many words, indicates to us that Paul and Silas were using this man's house as the staging ground for the church in Thessalonica. ii. Jason, like Lydia in Philippi, was probably a convert to Christ who no doubt had substantial wealth and a home large enough to accommodate the large numbers of believers in the city. More than likely Jason was a man of great prominence which will help to explain his fate in a few minutes. iii. They start a riot with deplorables, they attack Jason's house. iv. What will they think of next? d. [Slide 13] 6 - When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, i. Not finding Paul and Silas (the Holy Spirit had no doubt prevented them providentially from being present for this) they instead take Jason and some other believers out of his house and drag them out to the public square where they can present them before the city officials. ii. So, they start a riot. They attack Jason's house. They drag these folks out to the city officials. iii. Why? iv. Well now the city officials have to pay attention. They can't let this go. Even though many prominent women (perhaps even some of the city officials' wives) had become Christians, they cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in their city. They must restore order. v. And so, the city officials are forced to hear the charges against the missionaries and against those the crowd had brought to them. e. [Slide 14] screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the world have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them as guests! They are all acting against Caesar's decrees, saying there is another king named Jesus!” i. Here are their charges against Paul, Silas, and by extension, Jason and these men. 1. They have stirred up trouble throughout the world. And now they are here. a. Some translations have something to the effect “they have turned the world upside down.” Which is a very cool translation. We could really get some slogans out of that couldn't we? b. But in reality, the NET translation is probably closer to the intended meaning. c. Their charge is not an unintended complement. But instead, would have clearly been an accusation of insurrection. d. In this, we see the great irony. i. Though the Jews accused the missionaries of stirring up trouble – it seems that the constant troublemakers throughout Paul's first and second missionary trips seems to always be the jealous Jews who want nothing to do with their own Messiah. ii. They are truly the ones who stirred up this trouble. iii. THEY formed the mob. iv. THEY attacked people and dragged them out of their homes. e. The crowd concludes that the missionaries are now here in Thessalonica to do the same thing. f. This would be a grave charge against them if found to be true. It would require the immediate attention of the city officials. 2. The second charge is against Jason specifically and is related to the first. a. Jason has welcomed known insurrectionists as guests in his home. b. He is therefore complicit in their activity. c. Therefore, he ought to be punished. 3. The third charge is the most serious of all. a. They accuse the missionaries, Jason, and the others of acting against Caesar's degrees by saying that Jesus is King. They accuse them of Sedition. b. To understand this, we must understand a bit about the city of Thessalonica. i. The city achieved a highly favored status in the empire. ii. It was the capital of Macedonia, the first city, and enjoyed relative favor and economic and political advantage over and above other cities in the empire. iii. One of the reasons for this was the role it played in the civil war that led to the empire being formed and also the well documented worship of Caesar in the city itself. iv. Coins have been found from Thessalonica before and around this time that had the image of Zeus replaced with an image of Caesar on them and the word… THEOS… god. v. Statues of Augustus and archeological evidence of temples to Caesar have been found in and around Salonica (Sa-lone-ike-uh) (present day Thessalonica). vi. In short, the worship of Caesar as a god had endured for some time in the city of Thessalonica. vii. To suggest that these missionaries said there was another King named Jesus… would be to suggest that the pagan motto “No King but Caesar” was false. c. This charge… is the only charge with any truth to it. Paul and Silas certainly would have taught that Jesus was the Messiah and thus was the eternal King of Israel. ii. Because of the seriousness of the charges against the accused, it produced an effect among the city officials. But maybe not the effect we are expecting. f. [Slide 15] 8 - They caused confusion among the crowd and the city officials who heard these things. i. This is certainly a tame reaction of the crowd and the city officials if we consider the charges that were made. ii. The fact that this merely alarmed them rather than outright enraged them is an interesting albeit muted point that Luke raises. iii. For the crimes of insurrection and sedition… these men ought to be punished severely. And for harboring such men Jason and his friends ought to be punished too. iv. But instead, this only produces a disturbed crowd and disturbed city officials. v. They are upset, and they are worried. But they are not enraged. g. [Slide 16] 9 - After the city officials had received bail from Jason and the others, they released them. i. Reading between the lines we see that the city officials imprisoned Jason and the others. ii. But once their bail or bond money was paid, they released them. iii. This is not the same as bail money in our court system. It isn't like they would have to go back to the courts to determine their fate. iv. In fact, this is actually a pledge or a security. It is a money promise or a deposit. v. Essentially Jason, being a prominent person in the city of Thessalonica, is afforded the opportunity to make a monetary promise that Paul and Silas would leave the city and that none of them would cause any further trouble. If they did, this money would be taken from Jason. vi. Having obtained this pledge – Jason and the others were released. vii. So why are the city officials upset but not enraged? Why do they let Jason off with a promise that he won't do it again? viii. There are two reasons. 1. First, these city officials are better leaders than those of Philippi. a. They are alarmed at the charges, but observe that there is no evidence and the accused are not present. b. Therefore, they are not enraged because nothing is proven as of yet. 2. Second, these city officials recognize that without evidence there was every possibility that the charges against the accused were false. They needed to act to avoid the appearance of the city running amuck, but they did not need to overreact. ix. They obtained the promise from Jason – who appears to be a trusted person to them, and that is enough. They have stemmed the tide of the riot and gotten the promise that it won't go on. Their job is done. x. They would continue to look for Paul and Silas though… that is why we will start next week with Paul and Silas leaving quietly from the city. h. [Slide 17] Summary of the Point: In this second point we see that the gospel will always be caricatured in the worst ways by those who oppose it. While we assume that the Jews had trumped up these charges against the missionaries, and while we know that ultimately, the missionaries would not knowingly violate the law of Rome if it did not disagree with God's law, we also see that these accusations are rooted in some truth. Paul and Silas were stirring up the empire. They'd been thrown out of several cities. And they certainly were preaching against the imperial cult – if not directly – in so many words. Because men oppose God, they will easily and predictably caricature the gospel in terrible ways, often considering it dangerous, harmful, and even contributing to unrest, controversy and illegal activity. Jesus Himself said I did not come to bring peace but a sword. The gospel divides. Not because the gospel is a message of revolution – but because it separates light from darkness. It separates God's children from Satan's. As followers of Christ, we must not fear what the opponents of the gospel may say – we must remain faithful, no matter the cost, and preach Christ crucified for sinners, risen, and coming again. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today and how then shall we live? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 18] The themes raised in the Thessalonian episode are familiar in the book of Acts. The message of the gospel is foolishness to Gentiles and a stumbling block to the Jews. That God had always planned to come and die for His people would be quite difficult to swallow to the Jew. And the fact that Christ was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven and is coming again to rule the world – would be quite foolish to the Gentile. Nevertheless, this is the gospel. The earliest creeds of Christendom contain each of these points. To be a Christian you must confess these things as true, or you cannot be a true Christian and if you are not a true Christian then you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. But this truth is so divisive that it is often twisted and manipulated by our opponents to be, not good news, but a message of insurrection, sedition, hate, harm and intolerance. Despite this opposition to the gospel and the guarantee that we will suffer for doing so… we must preach Christ crucified for sinners, risen, and coming again. As you might imagine this one truth divides into many others. Let me attempt to bring this application to us more practically. 1.) [Slide 19] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that Christ's death was part of God's Redemptive plan. a. As basic as this may seem to some of us, there is a growing movement among evangelical churches to deemphasize and disconnect the death of Christ from the redemptive plan of God. b. Couched as a theory of the atonement, many advocate today for a non-violent theory of the atonement. c. The violence at the cross was merely human violence and God simply did not stop it. d. But my friends – There is too much in the Old Testament to ignore to say such silly things. e. Christ had to be cursed for us. He had to be the scapegoat. He had to be the sacrifice. f. It pleased the Father to Crush the Son g. By His wounds we are healed. h. The list goes on and on. From Old to New Testament… we must understand that God had planned from the foundations of the earth to crucify Christ. i. He did not look on as humans killed the Son and decide to use such violence to potentially wake up humans to how sinful they are. j. The Apostles did use it to wake up the Jews to the fact that they had killed their own Messiah… but in the same sermon the apostles comfort the Jews to let them know that it was God's divine plan for it to be so. k. Yes, both can be true. Yes, God can predestine something to happen that is sinful, yet hold the person who sins accountable for their sin. How? God doesn't tempt them… He merely refuses to prevent them from being their sinful selves. l. This teaching is core to the gospel. m. God prophesied that all who sin will die eternal death. Christ being fully God and man was able to die and take all the eternal wrath of all His people… at the cross. n. That violent, painful, shameful, and brutal death was God's plan A. Because my friends – God has no plan B. o. This is the gospel. And that means… 2.) [Slide 20] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop minimizing the violent and bloody death of Christ and the coming Kingdom of God. a. The fact that our Savior hung from a tree, that he bled, that He died of asphyxiation after yelling out… IT IS FINISHED! b. These truths ought to be the core of our gospel presentations. Because everything Christ endured on that cross… was due to us. c. He took our place. He bore our wrath. He suffered our death. d. No matter how many want to minimize this, we cannot take out the penal substitutionary work of Christ. For it is one of the fullest expressions of the atonement that we have in the scriptures. e. Furthermore, we cannot afford to allow our gospel to stop at the resurrection. f. Many evangelical churches today are making a good deal about the resurrection. Rightly they should. The resurrection is validation that Christ is who He said He was and did what He said He did. g. But one false teacher recently stated that we don't need to believe the bible to be Christians. We simply need to believe that God is the uncaused cause and that Jesus rose from the dead. Then we can be Christians. h. This is not what Paul taught the Jews and Gentiles in Thessalonica. He taught them that Christ died for sinners, the he rose again the third day, and that He was coming again to set up His eternal Kingdom. i. We too must press all people to believe not only that Jesus saves individuals, but that one day He will return and take back His creation. j. We ought to be busy speaking about the coming Kingdom. We ought to be warning people as John the Baptist warned, as Noah warned, as the prophets warned… there is a King that is coming. He is the King of Kings. He is coming in power and in glory. And He will put down all who oppose Him. k. Serve Him now before it is too late. He has died to save all sinners who believe. l. This must be our message to them and it must be our lifestyle as well. To preach that Christ is coming and live like this world will last forever is to disrupt our own message. m. We must live as though the King could return at any moment. For in truth… He could. n. The apostles believed it would be in their lifetime. Does this not logically mean that we are only closer to His return 2000 years later? o. Preach that there is no King but Jesus. Live like there is no King but Jesus. Preach that the King is coming. Live like the King is coming. 3.) [Slide 21] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that though we are peaceful people we will always promote peace. a. Along with the overemphasis on the love of God and His mercy and grace has come the same overemphasis on the peace of the church. b. Some evangelical churches teach that the church is always to be nice. Indeed, as some preachers have said, niceness has become the 11th commandment in these churches. c. But we are not to be nice people. d. Don't mishear me. We should love our enemies. We should pray for those who spitefully use us. We should love one another. We should pursue peace, so long as it depends on us. e. But peace is achieved by two parties who have decided to cease hostility against one another. f. If our message is that Christ died for sinners…. g. If our message is that Christ rose again… h. If our message is that Christ alone is King and will return to establish His eternal Kingdom soon and put down His enemies… i. Then the gospel does not read like a peace envoy. It doesn't read like a treaty. It doesn't read like a mutual agreement to cease hostility. j. The gospel is an envoy discussing the terms of surrender. k. The gospel demands as the terms that each enemy lay down their arms, reject their masters, flee to Christ's Kingdom and never look back. l. While the messengers of the gospel are patient, loving, and kind… the message of the gospel demands surrender or death. m. Therefore, my friends, though we are peaceful people, we should not be surprised that when we preach the true gospel, it doesn't lead to peace. n. Indeed, the gospel, is one of the most hateful, intolerant, not nice, judgmental, and arrogant things we can preach. At least to the world it may seem this way. o. And we will be called all kinds of nasty things and eventually… even here in the US of A… we will be treated to all kinds of nasty rewards for our message of hope… for our… good… news. p. So what must we do? 4.) [Slide 22] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must proclaim the gospel no matter the cost. a. The most loving thing we can do for the enemies of our Lord is to proclaim to them that His judgment is coming and to plead for them to repent and believe the gospel. b. We can preach this message to them and remind them that Christ has even died for the sins they are committing against us as they persecute and kill us. c. We can plead with them not to mock the Savior as they are mocking us. d. We can declare to them as they take away all our earthly treasures that they can have treasures in heaven. e. We can weep as they take every precious thing from us but remind them that they can never take the Lord of Glory from us… and that they, even now can submit to Him. f. You see my friends – it may cost us everything, but as believers we have nothing to lose. Not really. g. We must boldly proclaim the gospel of Christ. That He was crucified for sinners, was raised, and is coming as Lord and Judge of an eternal Kingdom. h. But if it costs us every earthly thing… we most certainly will be sad. i. How do we know that we can endure this trial until the end? 5.) [Slide 23] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The same God who can plan for Christ to die can keep you until He desires to bring you home. a. God predestined, foreknew, foreordained and brought it to be that His Son would be crucified for sinners. b. He did this before Adam fell. c. He did this before He created the world. d. What does that mean? e. It means that all His true children will be preserved by Him until they are called home. f. Jesus tells the apostles, do not worry about what you will say when you stand on trial for my name. For the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say. g. My friends, that same Spirit that seals us until the day of redemption is in each of those who are His true children. h. Each and every true believer will be preserved until the day when the Lord calls them home. And then they will be preserved from all evil… forever. i. Take comfort in this thought. j. The same God who wove the tapestry of events to bring about the redemption of His people… can and will see you safely to His Kingdom. Even if you must first pass through great storms. [Slide 24(end)] Let me close with a prayer by Georg Blaurock, a Swiss born former Catholic priest who became an Anabaptist pastor during the reformation. He recorded this prayer three weeks before being arrested, tortured, and burned alive. Lord God, I will praise you now and until my end. You have given me faith, by which I have learned to know you. You send me your divine word, which I am able to find and understand that it is from pure grace. From you, O God, I firmly hope that it will not return to you empty (Isaiah 55:11). O Lord, strengthen my heart; it rejoices because I know your will. When I have felt the heavy load of sin in me, which severely troubled me, I would have perished and suffered everlasting pain if you had not come to me with the word of your divine grace. For this I will now magnify and praise your glorious name forever. You always prove yourself to be a merciful, dear Father. Do not cast me off, but receive me as your child. I cry unto you for help, O Father, that I may be your child and heir. Strengthen my faith. Otherwise, if your help did not lift me up, my building would soon fall. Do not forget me, O Lord, but be with me always. May your Holy Spirit protect and teach me, that in all my sufferings I would always receive your comfort. And so valiantly fighting in this conflict, I may gain the victory. The enemy fights against me and would drive me from the battlefield if he could. But you, O Lord, give me the victory. He came against me with sharp weapons, with false doctrine and restrictions. But you had compassion on me, and helped your child with your grace and powerful hand. You helped me overcome. You heard me, and quickly came to help. You turned back my enemies. So I will sing praises to your name in my heart, and forever spread abroad the grace which has come to me. Now I pray to you, Father, for all your children. Preserve us forever from all the enemies of our souls. I must not trust in the flesh, which perishes-but I will firmly trust in your word. This is my hope and strength, on which I rely. Lead us into your everlasting kingdom, as I firmly trust that you will, and finish your holy work in us. Grant us strength to the end. In Jesus name I pray… Amen. Benediction: Now may our Savior, Who cheers each winding path we tread, Gives grace for every trial and feeds us with His living Bread, Grant you strength when you are weary, And increase your power when you are weak. Until we meet again… go in peace.

Tonda tells a story of grief and hardship that has stayed with her for over 25 years—the loss of her baby boy, Evan. Couched in the familiar tale of The Velveteen Rabbit, she shares the tattered and worn stitches of herself to inspire others to embrace their stories and their true selves. Her message of love and light through the trials of human experience leaves us feeling more Real ourselves.

An episode from 5/20/24: Tonight, after a long hiatus, we return to Norse myth with the story of Sigurd's killing of the dragon, Fafnir. Couched in a much longer narrative that contains shape-shifting, war, revenge, brief appearances by Odin and Loki, and finally Sigurd's ability to hear the language of birds and animals, it is a brilliant and vivid example of storytelling in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. I read from the two great sources of the story, the Volsung Saga (in the Jesse Byock translation) and Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda (in the Anthony Faulkes translation). I also discuss the history of the story, and its reworking in the Nibelungenlied, and Wagnerian opera. Listen to the other Great Myths here. You can support Human Voices Wake Us here, or by ordering any of my books: Notes from the Grid, To the House of the Sun, The Lonely Young & the Lonely Old, and Bone Antler Stone. I've also edited a handful of books in the S4N Pocket Poems series. Email me at humanvoiceswakeus1@gmail.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/humanvoiceswakeus/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/humanvoiceswakeus/support

The complete audiobook is available for purchase at Audible.com: voicesoftoday.net/vib Thought Vibration The Law of Attraction in the Thought World By William Walker Atkinson Narrated by Denis Daly In Rhonda Byrne's self-help book, The Secret, published in 2006, the theory of the Law of Attraction is presented as a re-discovery of an ancient metaphysical principle, buried in ages of historical neglect. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Exactly a century earlier, prolific New Thought author William Walker Atkinson published Thought Vibration, a succinct but thorough examination of the power of thought and its function in the creation and control of personal circumstances. Walker's summation covers many of the principles espoused by many of his contemporaries in the New Thought movement, such as James Allen, Christian Larson, and Ernest Holmes. Couched in a deliberate vernacular, it has remained a foundational classic of self-help literature.

IntroductionT-Kea and Jordan are joined by Victor Armstrong, Vice President for Health Equity and Engagement with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), to discuss a new initiative called L.E.T.S. Save Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention for Black and African American Communities. SpotlightJoin us as we celebrate Renewed Resilience Day (considered one's second birthday), created by Jordan and T-Kea. This is a special day designated for reflection and celebration of individuals who have survived suicide attempts. The primary goal is to encourage survivors to reshape their narrative and perceive this day as a meaningful opportunity to honor themselves. It serves as a powerful acknowledgment of resilience, fostering a sense of empowerment among those in recovery, and collectively appreciates the strength demonstrated in one's journey.Feb. 11th is T-Kea's Renewed Resilience Day.Fun fact: Feb. 13th is Jordan's birthday.ResourceThe American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is a voluntary health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death. To learn more about AFSP and the L.E.T.S. Save Lives initiative, visit https://afsp.org/letssavelives/. Follow AFSP on Instagram at @afspnational.Community ChangemakerDr. Alfiee Breland-Noble (known professionally as Dr. Alfiee) is a psychologist and founder of the mental health non-profit The AAKOMA Project. She also hosts the “Couched in Color with Dr. Alfiee” podcast.Follow Dr. Alfiee on IG: @dralfieeCheck out the Aakoma Project: https://aakomaproject.org/Check out the “Couched in Color” Podcast: https://dralfiee.com/couched-in-color/Moment of InspirationWe want to encourage survivors of suicide to think about your Renewed Resilience Day, your second chance at life. Whether your Renewed Resilience Day/Second Birthday is this month or not, we want you to take time to honor yourself and do something that will celebrate your recovery. Connect with Us Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/blackpeoplediebysuicidetoo/ Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blackpeoplediebysuicide2?_t=8cjqDTiqHbq&_r=1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BPDBSTPodcast Follow T-Kea!IG: https://www.instagram.com/t_keablackman/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@t_keablackman?_t=8bmrLfPUQV4&_r=1 Follow Jordan!IG:https://www.instagram.com/thelatebluumer/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D DonateYour support helps us to fulfil our mission of preventing suicide in Black community. Support the cause! https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=FQZGPR7S9CJUN ShopGet your merch and support the show: https://bpdbst-podcast.printify.me/products EventsBlack & Suicidal: Peer Support GroupDate: Saturday, February 24, 2024Time: 11 AM to 1 PMhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/797342572097?aff=oddtdtcreator 10th Annual Peer Leadership Conference (virtual)Date: February 21, 2024Time: 9:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m.https://www.edgereg.net/er/Registration/StepRegInfo.jsp?ActivityID=42465&StepNumber=1&v=ODA3NzBhZTgtZGEyOC00NGYzLTg3YTktZmRmODM0ZWFmN2Q4

Guests: Katherine Benfante, AuthorOn Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-benfante-1baa5a62/On Twitter | https://twitter.com/KDBenfanteOn Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/KatherineBenfanteAuthor/Website | https://katherinebenfante.com/_____________________________Host: Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast & Audio Signals PodcastOn ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli_____________________________This Episode's SponsorsAre you interested in sponsoring an ITSPmagazine Channel?

Guests: Katherine Benfante, AuthorOn Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-benfante-1baa5a62/On Twitter | https://twitter.com/KDBenfanteOn Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/KatherineBenfanteAuthor/Website | https://katherinebenfante.com/_____________________________Host: Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast & Audio Signals PodcastOn ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli_____________________________This Episode's SponsorsAre you interested in sponsoring an ITSPmagazine Channel?

We're joined by Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch to cover the week that was at MSU. We chat about the games, NIL, and BTN+, then take your Twitter questions. Join in next week @ Spartan_Pod on Twitter and Instagram.

saw two fair creatures couched side by side - #3690 (846 left) by chair house 240121.mp3saw two fair creatures couched side by side★以前に曲を創るにあたってのいろいろな想いを文章にまとめて「創作ノート」としてツイッターで発表していたことがありました。数えてみたら218ある。読んでみるとなかなか良い。というか深くて美しい。音楽創作のその瞬間を文章で..

spotify playlist 18 hours 449 songs, makes you fully relaxed. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0RCxA8SaySzoFzpQmTCLfo?si=92c44191513340ff #3690 (846 left): Jan. 21, 2024: Saw two fair creatures couched side by side (Japanese version)" again from Dec. 2, 2023) Today's pure primal piano music here. Happy if this music makes you feel peaceful.. : ) Looking for absolute natural beauty every day for Piano Ten Thousand Leaves. Target number is 4536 and 3690(81,3%) (Only 846 pieces remain) achieved today. Find my project.. : ) This piece may might have good 1/f fluctuation characteristic although I stopped investigating it each piece. My new message: "Does it make sense to preserve it for 1000 years?" Today's cover ART is created by #Midjourney (Art Generating #AI), according to my wish. Happy if you like it. spotify playlist 18 hours 449 songs, makes you fullly relaxed. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0RCxA8SaySzoFzpQmTCLfo?si=92c44191513340ff I'm now making Archive site of Piano Ten Thousand Leaves project by utilizing #wordpress. Basically nice direction I've already gotten.. : ) Currently 1100 pieces already achieved. But this week I need to do something else, so I'm going to stop this task for a bit. ######## NEW 24th SELECTION ALBUM JUST RELEASED ######## "Deep Forest Girl" - the 24th selection album of piano ten thousand leaves Youtube: Full(20 songs, 50 minutes) and HD video by Midjourney - AI https://youtu.be/-pvjcnFysTk spotify https://open.spotify.com/intl-ja/album/6zftjWuL7JMF0vNYgLTSaQ apple music https://music.apple.com/jp/album/deep-forest-girl-piano-ten-thousand-leaves-volume-24/1692518303 amazon music https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=chair+house+%E6%B7%B1%E3%81%84%E6%A3%AE%E3%81%AE%E5%B0%91%E5%A5%B3+-+%E3%83%94%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8E%E4%B8%87%E8%91%89%E9%9B%86+-+%E7%AC%AC24%E5%B7%BB&i=digital-music&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 line music https://music.line.me/webapp/album/mb0000000002e6f6be AWA: https://s.awa.fm/album/bd73bf6d8ea694823e31 Other Every music streaming services in the world https://linkco.re/yDNpmUYN?lang=en

You can become a patron of this work here.This episode and all my other stories can be found here.You can sign up to receive all of Threads of The War, Volume 1 for free here.All of my books are available for purchase here.If you'd like to support Threads of The War consider using Wise for your banking needs: www.tinyurl.com/threadswise

This week, Karen and Georgia cover serial killer Pedro Rodrigues Filho, aka the "Brazilian Dexter," and the death of Russia's literary hero, Alexander Pushkin. For our sources and show notes, visit www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week I am honored to welcome Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble to the show for an inspiring and eye-opening discussion about mental health and her mission to make mental health services more accessible and more relatable within diverse communities. Dr. Alfiee knows how it feels to be an outsider and in this episode, she shares her journey from Virginia Beach Surfer and hip-hop lover to renowned psychologist and internet personality. Dr. Alfiee is a pioneering psychologist, scientist, media contributor, author, speaker, and founder of the innovative BIPOC mental health nonprofit, The AAKOMA Project. Dr. Alfiee is a fierce advocate of #optimalmentalhealth for all and has spent 25+ years illuminating and reducing mental health disparities for diverse communities. In this conversation, we cover a wide range of topics including the importance of showing up in your purpose and the beauty of holding space for others who may be in need. Dr. Alfiee shares her incredible experience working alongside Lady Gaga on The Power of Kindness Digital Special where she was featured as a mental health expert and panelist. In addition to discussing the power of that experience, Dr. Alfiee also shares her passion for continuing to create spaces where diverse voices can be heard through her work with The AAKOMA Project and her podcast, Couched in Color. This episode is a must-listen or must-watch for parents, teachers, mentors, or anyone working with young people in this modern world. Dr. Alfiee shares inspiring advice regarding everything from social media use to suicide prevention while reminding listeners how to live in their truth while loving others. Topics Include: Dr. Alfiee's Origin Story The Importance of Sticking With Your Dreams The Power of Kindness with Lady Gaga The Toxic Nature of Pre-Judging People Signs and Tips For Suicide Prevention Understanding Young People's Unique Mental Health Needs The Double-Edged Sword of Social Media The Goals of The AAKOMA Project The Mission of The Couched in Color Podcast Ways to Support Dr. Alfiee and Her Projects   Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website: https://dralfiee.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dralfiee TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dralfiee LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee   The AAKOMA Project: https://aakomaproject.org/   The Power of Kindness with Lady Gaga: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3393924860732409   Dr. Alfiee's Podcast: Couched in Color: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/couchedincolorpod/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CouchedinColorwithDrAlfiee Podcast Apps: https://couchedincolorpodcast.libsyn.com/   Connect with Mike: https://linktr.ee/mikedicioccio   Produced by Social Chameleon: https://www.socialchameleon.us   Interview Recorded via Riverside.fm   Mike'D Up! Merch: https://mikedupmerch.com

“I think that multi-hyphenates, and I'm flattered to be included in that bracket, they're just creatives. It's like you have a drivers license but some days you drive a truck, and some days you drive a car, and some days you drive a forklift, or whatever – the vehicle changes but I think they artist's heart is always the same. We love to create things, we love to express who we are, we love to maybe entertain, we love to connect with people in that way. So I don't really think it's a matter of what your skill set is, it's just if you have that artist perspective and way of thinking and moving through the world, it translates to different things.”  What's in this episode?  Queer eye and the original intent behind the show Carson's love for drag His philosophy on saying ‘yes' How Carson joined RuPaul's Drag Race How opportunities are based on relationships The fulfilling yet terrifying experience of being in a musical Supernatural experiences involving Princess Grace! Michael's Titanic past life story. Carson's Joan Rivers' connection. Emmy Award winning TV personality, style expert, fashion designer, interior designer and New York Times best-selling author are some of the credits of the multi-talented and unforgettable Carson Kressley.  Carson started his career as an independent stylist and became invaluable to major designers such as Ralph Lauren. He took a leap into television & became a breakout star on Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which won a primetime Emmy and gained a worldwide following for Carson. In collaborations with Oprah Winfrey, Carson revolutionized America's personal fashion sense of style. He's hosted multiple TV shows including Lifetime's How to Look Good Naked, & ABC's True Beauty, appeared as a fashion critic & commentator on shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show & Good Morning America. Carson has competed on several reality shows including NBC's hit show Celebrity Apprentice, Food Network's Celebrity Cupcake Wars, ABC's Celebrity Family Feud, and the 13th season of Dancing with the Stars where he was a fan favorite, raising awareness & donations for several charities. Carson is a key judge on TV series RuPaul's Drag Race, which continues to win multiple Emmy's. New fan favorites included his interior design show, Get A Room with Carson & Thom, Freeform's Wrap Battle, and his home entertainment talk show, Couched, where he interviewed A-list celebrities & elite interior designers. Amongst being a strong supporter of many philanthropic causes, when Kressley is not starring on stage or screen, he can be found astride one of his American Saddle-bred show horses, with which he has achieved World Champion status. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks for listening! You're a special angel! Follow us on: twitter.com/gurlstop_pod instagram.com/gurlstop.pod facebook.com/gurlstop.pod Email us at gurlstop.pod@gmail.com Ciao babies

In this week's episode Dr. Kerry Sulkowicz talks about his journey from pre-eminent psychiatrist to successful business leader and business coach. He describes how he made that change, why he made that change, and shares his lessons for anyone considering a change of direction. Kerry J. Sulkowicz, MD serves as a trusted advisor on people and culture to some of the world's most well-known and respected CEOs and corporate boards. He is the founder and Managing Principal of the Boswell Group LLC, a management consultancy based in New York since 1998. Dr. Sulkowicz is President of the American Psychoanalytic Association.   Kerry Sulkowicz - Special Guest https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-j-sulkowicz-md-06b9b12 Websites https://boswellgroup.com/ Paul Fairweather - Co-host https://www.paulfairweather.com Chris Meredith - Co-host https://www.chrismeredith.com.au= Two Common Creatives https://www.twocommoncreatives.com/podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last episode was about Theresa's experience in a mindful outdoor leadership training at Kripalu.  In a few weeks, Anecdotal Anatomy in Action is hosting a retreat (3 days in November).  Couched in the middle is the question of Retreat; what value is there in withdrawing from the daily doings to move into the bareness of being? Priorities get revealed and often self-care barely makes the list if it does at all.  When we choose to prioritize wellbeing, going on retreat punctuates the daily rhythms & may lead to refuge.  Benefits include fresh thinking, renewed energy, and deeper connection.   When on formal retreat there are guides who have prepared for your presence.  Meals are made, teachings, readings & practices are offered, contemplation is encouraged and if it's silent, the guides & teachers are your voice. Preparation in anticipation of the changing seasons – getting out the warm clothes if you're human, maybe gather a winter's load of nuts if you're a squirrel – is a small way to mindfully move into a new space.  Preparation is also an essential aspect to retreat (formal or if you plan your own), anticipating and preparing for your needs in advance, to minimize any unnecessary effort. When we recognize our need for sanctuary, we prepare our minds & hearts (along with weather-appropriate clothing) so we can move into a new space.  Sometimes that new space is uncomfortable at first, asking us to stay in our seat anyway.  What can we learn from sitting through the discomfort?  Perhaps the foremost thing is that everything is impermanent. There are ways to include small practices – moments of retreat – in everyday living.  Slowing down is one way. Taking a breath before responding to any question or situation.  Feeling the earth as you walk, stand or sit.  Incorporating mindfulness in mundane moments and notice.  Having a cup of hot beverage in your favorite sit spot (inside or outside). Sources from episode: Science Shows Meditation in Retreats is More Helpful than Daily Meditation at Homes Tara Brach – Blog:  https://www.tarabrach.com/taking-refuge-in-the-buddha/ (Taking Refuge in the Buddha) https://mywonderstudio.com/documents/644/TheHareandtheTortoise_en.pdf (The Hare and the Tortoise) – My Wonder Studio Anecdotal Anatomy's Amazing Team: http://www.tobereel.com/ (Judith George) - Editor (video & audio) https://www.keithkenny.com/ (Keith Kenny) - Music http://cindyfatsis.com/ (Cindy Fatsis) - Photography

On this week's episode of Consumer Choice Radio David is joined by guest host Elizabeth Hicks. They interview the Canadian Tax Payers Federation's Franco Terrazzanno talking all things tax cuts. Liz and David then break down: the inflation crunch student loan forgiveness madness American vs Canadian reactions to the Queen's death And what junk TV they are currently enjoying  Broadcast on Consumer Choice Radio on September 24, 2022. Syndicated on Sauga 960AM and Big Talker Network. Website: https://consumerchoiceradio.com ***PODCAST***  Podcast Index: https://bit.ly/3EJSIs3 Apple: http://apple.co/2G7avA8  Spotify: http://spoti.fi/3iXIKIS RSS: https://omny.fm/shows/consumerchoiceradio/playlists/podcast.rss Our podcast is now Podcasting 2.0 compliant! Listen to the show using a Bitcoin lightning wallet-enabled podcasting app (Podverse, Breeze, Fountain, etc.) to directly donate to the show using the Bitcoin lightning network (stream those sats!).  More information on that here: https://podcastindex.org/apps  Produced by the Consumer Choice Center. Support us: https://consumerchoicecenter.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Carson Daly, co-host of “The Today Show” and creator of its “Mind Matters” digital series, and producer/host of Emmy-award winning “The Voice”, openly shares his mental health struggles.  He discusses the trauma of losing his father unexpectedly at age 5 and the subsequent night terrors he experienced. Later diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, Carson believes environment alone is not the cause of his mental health challenges. Rather, he sees them as a combination of both “nature and nurture.”  Using his story to help others, Carson is passionate that all segments of the population be represented in getting the right help. He especially likes sharing stories, what he calls “mini movies,” in his Mind Matters series showcasing people from all walks of life–from a veteran with PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome) who is now making bracelets, to a homeless couple.   Dr. Alfiee also was moved by his story of a superstar Peloton bike instructor who was steps away from taking her life before her mother intuitively felt something was off.  She checked her daughter's phone, which ended up stopping her from jumping when the light kept popping up. Topics covered in this interview: –The role of faith in dealing with mental health challenges, and Carson's belief “God made me this way.” –The “niche business” of mental health over the spectrum so each segment is represented  according to their needs. Carson cites that Latino teens, for example, are at the highest risk for suicide in their age group. –Carson's ongoing struggles with generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks, including the time he wanted to run off the stage of “The Voice” when struck by one of these moments of suddenly feeling terror: https://www.today.com/health/mind-body/carson-daly-panic-anxiety-voice-rcna32140 –His involvement as a board member of Project Healthy Minds (check out #CouchedInColor S3E7 for Dr. Alfiee's interview with Phillip Schermer, founder and CEO of Project Healthy Minds) which focuses on: Breaking the stigma of mental health. Helping corporations take a “deep dive” and offer mental health services to their employees. Creating a tool to find tailor-made help as everyone's mental health needs are different. –The message Carson has for young people struggling with mental health issues is for them to know that they are not alone, that they are OK.  Carson sees himself as an example of humbling himself to share his struggles. –His passion for connecting with “real people,” which he calls his “Red Carpet,” not the more glamorized celebrity version.  He loves “meeting everyday human beings who struggle, or don't, and have a shared experience of the truth.”  About Carson Daly: Carson Daly is a popular and well-loved American television host, radio personality, producer, and television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (video jockey) on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL), and a DJ for the Southern California-based radio station 106.7 KROQ-FM.  He has won multiple Emmys, PGA and OFTA awards for the music show, “The Voice,” where he has served as producer and host. He is also co-Host of “The Today Show” and creator of its “Mind Matters” digital series, sharing powerful mental health stories of everyday people and how they cope:https://www.today.com/carson-daly https://www.today.com/mind-matters On the personal front, Carson is a champion of mental health and cancer awareness. He lost his father to cancer when he was five-years-old and his mother was a breast cancer survivor. He is vocal and actively works towards causes in which he believes.He serves on the Board of Directors for Project Healthy Minds:https://app.projecthealthyminds.com/ https://www.projecthealthyminds.com/ A doting dad and loving husband, Carson is constantly seen surrounded by his loving family. He has big plans for the future and does not shy away from putting in the hard work, seeing himself as serving God's will. Follow Carson: https://www.instagram.com/carsondaly Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Website: https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us More Couched in Color: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

In this episode, Carson Daly, co-host of “The Today Show” and creator of its “Mind Matters” digital series, and producer/host of Emmy-award winning “The Voice”, openly shares his mental health struggles.  He discusses the trauma of losing his father unexpectedly at age 5 and the subsequent night terrors he experienced. Later diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, Carson believes environment alone is not the cause of his mental health challenges. Rather, he sees them as a combination of both “nature and nurture.”  Using his story to help others, Carson is passionate that all segments of the population be represented in getting the right help. He especially likes sharing stories, what he calls “mini movies,” in his Mind Matters series showcasing people from all walks of life–from a veteran with PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome) who is now making bracelets, to a homeless couple.   Dr. Alfiee also was moved by his story of a superstar Peloton bike instructor who was steps away from taking her life before her mother intuitively felt something was off.  She checked her daughter's phone, which ended up stopping her from jumping when the light kept popping up. Topics covered in this interview: –The role of faith in dealing with mental health challenges, and Carson's belief “God made me this way.” –The “niche business” of mental health over the spectrum so each segment is represented  according to their needs. Carson cites that Latino teens, for example, are at the highest risk for suicide in their age group. –Carson's ongoing struggles with generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks, including the time he wanted to run off the stage of “The Voice” when struck by one of these moments of suddenly feeling terror: https://www.today.com/health/mind-body/carson-daly-panic-anxiety-voice-rcna32140 –His involvement as a board member of Project Healthy Minds (check out #CouchedInColor S3E7 for Dr. Alfiee's interview with Phillip Schermer, founder and CEO of Project Healthy Minds) which focuses on: Breaking the stigma of mental health. Helping corporations take a “deep dive” and offer mental health services to their employees. Creating a tool to find tailor-made help as everyone's mental health needs are different. –The message Carson has for young people struggling with mental health issues is for them to know that they are not alone, that they are OK.  Carson sees himself as an example of humbling himself to share his struggles. –His passion for connecting with “real people,” which he calls his “Red Carpet,” not the more glamorized celebrity version.  He loves “meeting everyday human beings who struggle, or don't, and have a shared experience of the truth.”  About Carson Daly: Carson Daly is a popular and well-loved American television host, radio personality, producer, and television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (video jockey) on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL), and a DJ for the Southern California-based radio station 106.7 KROQ-FM.  He has won multiple Emmys, PGA and OFTA awards for the music show, “The Voice,” where he has served as producer and host. He is also co-Host of “The Today Show” and creator of its “Mind Matters” digital series, sharing powerful mental health stories of everyday people and how they cope:https://www.today.com/carson-daly https://www.today.com/mind-matters On the personal front, Carson is a champion of mental health and cancer awareness. He lost his father to cancer when he was five-years-old and his mother was a breast cancer survivor. He is vocal and actively works towards causes in which he believes.He serves on the Board of Directors for Project Healthy Minds:https://app.projecthealthyminds.com/ https://www.projecthealthyminds.com/ A doting dad and loving husband, Carson is constantly seen surrounded by his loving family. He has big plans for the future and does not shy away from putting in the hard work, seeing himself as serving God's will. Follow Carson: https://www.instagram.com/carsondaly Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Website: https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us More Couched in Color: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

Seemay Chou talks about the process of building a new research organization, ticks, hiring and managing entrepreneurial scientists, non-model organisms, institutional experiments and a lot more! Seemay is the co-founder and CEO of Arcadia Science —  a research and development company focusing on underesearched areas in biology and specifically new organisms that haven't been traditionally studied in the lab.  She's also the co-founder of Trove Biolabs — a startup focused on harnessing molecules in tick saliva for skin therapies and was previously an assistant professor at UCSF.  She has thought deeply not just about scientific problems themselves, but the meta questions of how we can build better processes and institutions for discovery and invention. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Seemay Chou   Links Seemay on Twitter (@seemaychou) Arcadia's Research Trove Biolabs Seemay's essay about building Arcadia  Transcript [00:02:02] Ben: So since a lot of our conversation is going to be about it how do you describe Arcadia to a smart well-read person who has never actually heard of it before? [00:02:12] Seemay: Okay. I, I actually don't have a singular answer to this smart and educated in what realm. [00:02:19] Ben: oh, good question. Let's assume they have taken some undergraduate science classes, but perhaps are not deeply enmeshed in, in academia. So, so like, [00:02:31] Seemay: enmeshed in the meta science community.[00:02:35]  [00:02:35] Ben: No, no, no, no, but they've, they, they, they, they they're aware that it's a thing, but [00:02:40] Seemay: Yeah. Okay. So for that person, I would say we're a research and development company that is interested in thinking about how we explore under researched areas in biology, new organisms that haven't been traditionally studied in the lab. And we're thinking from first principal polls about all the different ways we can structure the organization around this to also yield outcomes around innovation and commercialization. [00:03:07] Ben: Nice. And how would you describe it to someone who is enmeshed in the, the meta science community? [00:03:13] Seemay: In the meta science community, I would, I would say Arcadias are meta science experiment on how we enable more science in the realm of discovery, exploration and innovation. And it's, you know, that that's where I would start. And then there's so much more that we could click into on that. Right. [00:03:31] Ben: And we will, we will absolutely do that. But before we get there I'm actually really [00:03:35] interested in, in Arcadia's backstory. Cuz cuz when we met, I feel like you were already , well down the, the path of spinning it up. So what's, there's, there's always a good story there. What made you wanna go do this crazy thing? [00:03:47] Seemay: So, so the backstory of Arcadia is actually trove. Soro was my first startup that I spun out together with my co-founder of Kira post. started from a point of frustration around a set of scientific questions that I found challenging to answer in my own lab in academia. So we were very interested in my lab in thinking about all the different molecules and tick saliva that manipulate the skin barrier when a tick is feeding, but basically the, the ideal form of a team around this was, you know, like a very collaborative, highly skilled team that was, you know, strike team for like biochemical, fractionation, math spec, developing itch assays to get this done. It was [00:04:35] not a PhD style project of like one person sort of open-endedly exploring a question. So I was struggling to figure out how to get funding for this, but that wasn't even the right question because even with the right money, like it's still very challenging to set up the right team for this in academia. And so it was during this frustration that I started exploring with Kira about like, what is even the right way to solve this problem, because it's not gonna be through writing more grants. There's a much bigger problem here. Right? And so we started actually talking to people outside of academia. Like here's what we're trying to achieve. And actually the outcome we're really excited about is whether it could yield information that could be acted on for an actually commercializable product, right. There's like skin diseases galore that this could potentially be helpful for. So I think that transition was really important because it went from sort of like a passive idea to, oh, wait, how do we act as agents to figure out how to set this up correctly? [00:05:35] We started talking to angel investors, VCs people in industry. And that's how we learned that, you know, like itch is a huge area. That's an unmet need. And we had tools at our disposal to potentially explore that. So that's how tr started. And that I think was. The beginning of the end or the, the start of the beginning. However you wanna think about it. Because what it did, was it the process of starting trove? It was so fun and it was not at all in conflict with the way I was thinking about my science, the science that was happening on the team was extremely rigorous. And I experienced like a different structure. And that was like the light bulb in my head that not all science should be structured the same way. It really depends on what you're trying to achieve. And then I went down this rabbit hole of trying to study the history of what you might call meta science. Like what are the different structures and iterations of this that have happened over, over the history of even the United States. And it's, hasn't always been the same. Right? And then I think [00:06:35] like, as a scientist, like once you grapple with that, that the way things are now is not how they always have been. Suddenly you have an experiment in front of you. And so that is how Arcadia became born, because I realize. Couched within this trove experiment is so many things that I've been frustrated about that I, I, I don't feel like I've been maximized as the type of scientist that I am. And I really want to think in my career now about not how I fit into the current infrastructure, but like what other infrastructures are available to us. Right? [00:07:08] Ben: Nice. [00:07:09] Seemay: Yeah. So that, that was the beginning. [00:07:11] Ben: and, and so you, you then, I, I, I'm just gonna extrapolate one more, more step. And so you sort of like looked at the, the real, the type of work that you really wanted to do and determined that, that the, the structure of Arcadia that you've built is, is like perhaps the right way to go about enabling that. [00:07:30] Seemay: Okay. So a couple things I, I don't even know yet if Arcadia is the right way to do it. So I [00:07:35] feel like it's important for me to start this conversation there that I actually don't know. But also, yeah, it's a hypothesis and I would also say that, like, that is a beautiful summary, but it's still, it was still a little clunkier than the way you described it and the way I described it. So there's this gap there then of like, okay, what is the optimal place for me to do my science? How do we experiment with this? And I was still acting in a pretty passive way. You know, I was around people in the bay area thinking about like new orgs. And I had heard about this from like ju and Patrick Collison and others, like people very interested in funding and experimenting with new structures. So I thought, oh, if I could find someone else to create an organization. That I could maybe like help advise them on and be a part of, and, and so I started writing up this proposal that I was trying to actually pitch to other people like, oh, would you be interested in leading something like this? [00:08:35] Like, and the more that went on and I, I had like lots and lots and lots of conversations with other scientists in academia, trying to find who would lead this, that it took probably about six months for me to realize like, oh, in the process of doing this, I'm actually leading this. I think and like trying to find someone to hand the keys over to when actually, like, I seem to be the most invested so far. And so I wrote up this whole proposal trying to find someone to lead it and. It came down to that like, oh, I've already done this legwork. Like maybe I should consider myself leading it. And I've, I've definitely asked myself a bunch of times, like, was that like some weird internalized sexism on my part? Cause I was like looking for like someone, some other dude or something to like actually be in charge here. So that's actually how it started. And, and I think a couple people started suggesting to this to me, like if you feel so strongly about this, why aren't you doing this? And I know [00:09:35] it's always an important question for a founder to ask themselves. [00:09:38] Ben: Yeah, yeah, no, that's, that's really clutch. I appreciate you sort of going into the, the, the, the, the, the, like, not straight paths of it. Because, because I guess when we, we put these things into stories, we always like to, to make it like nice and, and linear and like, okay, then this happened and this happened, and here we are. But in reality, it was it's, it's always that ambiguity. Can, can I actually ask two, two questions based on, on that story? One is you, you mentioned that. In academia, even if you had the money, you wouldn't be able to put together that strike team that you thought was necessary. Like why can, can you, can you unpack that a little bit? [00:10:22] Seemay: Yeah. I mean, I think there's a lot of reasons why one of the important reasons, which is absolutely not a criticism of academia, in fact, it's maybe like my support of the [00:10:35] mission in academia is around training and education. That like part of our job as PIs and the research projects we set up is to provide an opportunity for a scientist to learn how to ask questions. How to answer those, how to go through the whole scientific process. And that requires a level of sort of like openness and willingness to allow the person to take the reigns on that. That I think is very difficult if you're trying to hit like very concrete, aggressive milestones with a team of people, right. Another challenge of that is, you know, the way we set up incentive structures around, you know, publishing, like we also don't set up the way we, you know, publish articles in journals to be like very collaborative or as collaborative as you would want in this scenario. Right. At the end of the day, there's a first author, there's the last author. And that is just a reality. We all struggle with despite everyone's best intentions. And so that inherently now sets up yeah. [00:11:35] Another situation where you're trying to figure out how you, we, this collaborative effort with this reality and. Even in the best case scenario, it doesn't always feel great. Right? Like it just like makes it harder to do the thing. And then finally, like it just, you know, for the way we fund projects in, in academia, you know, this wasn't a very hypothesis driven project. Like it's very hard to lay out specific aims for it. Beyond just the things we're gonna be trying to like, what, what, what is our process that we can lay [00:12:08] Ben: Yeah, it's a  [00:12:09] Seemay: I can't tell you yeah. What the outcomes are gonna be. So I did write grants on that and that was repeatedly the feedback. And then finally, there's, you know, this other thing, which is that, like, we didn't want to accidentally land on an opportunity for invi innovation. We explicitly wanted to find molecules that could be, you know, engineered for products. Like that was [00:12:35] our hypothesis. If there is any that like. By borrowing the innovation from ticks who have evolved to feed for days to sometimes over a week that we are skipping steps to figure out the right natural product for manipulating processes in the skin that have been so challenging to, you know, solve. So we didn't want it to be an accident. We wanted to be explicitly translational quote unquote. So that again, poses another challenge within an academic lab where you, you have a different responsibility, right? [00:13:05] Ben: Yeah. And, and you it's there there's like that tension there between setting out to do that and then setting out to do something that is publishable, right? [00:13:14] Seemay: Mm-hmm mm-hmm . Yeah. Yeah. And I think one of the, the hard things that I'm always trying to think about is like, what are things that have out of the things that I just listed? What are things that are appropriately different about academia and what are the things that maybe are worth a second? [00:13:31] Ben: mm. [00:13:32] Seemay: they might actually be holding us back even [00:13:35] within academia. So the first thing I would say is non-negotiable that there's a training responsibility. So that is has to be true, but that's not necessarily mutually exclusive with also having the opportunity for this other kind of team. For example, we don't really have great ways in academia to properly, you know, support staff scientists at a, at a high level. Like there's a very limited opportunity for that. And I, you know, I'm not arguing with people about like the millions of reasons why that might be. That's just a fact, you know, so that's not my problem to solve. I just, I just see that as like a challenge also like of course publishing, right? Like I think [00:14:13] Ben: yeah, [00:14:14] Seemay: in a best case scenario publishing should be science should be in the driver's seat and publishing should be supporting those activities. I think we do see, you know, and I know there's a spectrum of opinions on this, but there are definitely more and more cases now where publishing seems to be in the [00:14:35] driver's seat, [00:14:36] Ben: yeah, [00:14:36] Seemay: dictating how the science goes on many levels. And, you know, I can only speak for myself that I, I felt that to be increasingly true as I advanced my career. [00:14:47] Ben: yeah. And just, just to, to make it, make it really explicit that it's like the, the publishing is driving because that's how you like, make your tenure case. That's how you make any sort of credibility. Everybody's gonna be judging you based on what you're publishing as opposed to any other. [00:15:08] Seemay: right. And more, I think the reason it felt increasingly heavy as I advanced my career was not even for those reasons, to be honest, it was because of my trainees,  [00:15:19] Ben: Hmm.  [00:15:20] Seemay: if I wanna be out. Doing my crazy thing. I have a huge responsibility now to my students, and that is something I'm not willing to like take a risk on. And so now my hands are tied in this like other way, and their [00:15:35] careers are important to me. And if they wanna go into academia, I have to safeguard that. [00:15:40] Ben: Yeah. I mean, it suggests. Sort of a, a distinction between sort of, regardless of academia or not academia between like training labs and maybe focused labs. And, and you could say like, yes, you, you want trainees in focus. Like you want trainees to be exposed to focused research. But like at least sort of like thinking about those differences seems really important. [00:16:11] Seemay: Yes. Yeah. And in fact, like, you know, because I don't like to, I don't like to spend too much time, like. Criticizing people in academia, like we even grapple with this internally at Arcadia,  [00:16:25] Ben: Yeah.  [00:16:25] Seemay: like there is a fundamentally different phase of a project that we're talking about sort of like new, creating new ideas, [00:16:35] exploring de-risking and then some transition that happens where it is a sort of strike team effort of like, how do you expand on this? How do you make sure it's executed well? And there's probably many more buckets than the, just the two I said, but it it's worthy of like a little more thought around the way we set up like approvals and budgets and management, because they're too fundamentally different things, you know? [00:17:01] Ben: Yeah, that's actually something I, I wanted to ask about more explicitly. And this is a great segue is, is sort of like where, where do ideas come from at Arcadia? Like how, you know, it's like, there's, there's some spectrum where everybody's from, like everybody's working on, you know, their own thing to like you dictating everything. Everything in between. So like, yeah. Can you, can you go more into like, sort of how that, that flow works almost? [00:17:29] Seemay: So I might even reframe the question a little bit to [00:17:35] not where do ideas come from, but how do ideas evolve? Because it's  [00:17:39] Ben: please. Yeah. That's a much better reframing. [00:17:41] Seemay: because it's rarely the case, regardless of who the idea is coming from at Arcadia, that it ends where it starts. and I think that that like fluidity is I the magic sauce. Right. And so by and large, the ideas tend to come from the scientists themselves. Occasionally of course, like I will have a thought or Che will have a thought, but I see our roles as much more being there to like shepherd ideas in the most strategic and productive direction. And so we like, you know, I spent a lot of time thinking about like, well, what kind of resources would this take? And, you know, Che definitely thinks about that piece as well as, you know, like what it, what would actually be the impact of this if it worked in terms of like both our innovation, as well as the knowledge base outside of Arcadia Practically speaking, something we've started doing, that's been really helpful because we've gone. We've already gone through different iterations of this too. Like we [00:18:35] started out of like, oh, let's put out a Google survey. People can fill out where they pitch a project to us. And that like fell really flat because there's no conversation to be had there. And now they're basically writing a proposal. Yeah. More streamlined, but it's not that qualitatively different of a process. So then we started doing these things called sandboxes, which I'm actually really enjoying right now. These are every Friday we have like an hour long session. The entire company goes and someone's up at the dry erase board. We call it, throwing them in the sandbox and they present some idea or set of ideas or even something they're really struggling. For everybody to like, basically converse with them about it. And this has actually been a much more productive way for us to source ideas. And also for me to think collaboratively with them about like the right level of like resources, the right sort of inflection points for like, when we decide go or no, go on things. And so that's how we're currently doing it. I mean, we're [00:19:35] like just shy of about 30 people. I, this process will probably break again. once we hit like 50 people or something, cuz it's actually just like logistically a lot of people to cram into a room and there is a level of sort of like, yeah, and then there's a level of formality that starts to happen when there's like that many people in the room. So we'll see how it goes, but that's how it's currently working today. [00:20:00] Ben: that's that's really cool. And, and, and so then, then like, let's, let's keep following the, the evolutionary path, right. So an idea gets sandboxed and you collectively come to some conclusion that it's like, okay, like this idea is, is like, well worth pursuing then what happens. [00:20:16] Seemay: So then and actually we're like very much still under construction right now around this. We're trying to figure out like, how do, how do we think about budget and stuff for this type of step? But then presumably, okay, the person starts working on it. I can tell you where we're trying to go. I, I'm not sure where there yet, where we're trying to go is turning our [00:20:35] publications into a way to like actually integrate into this process. Like, ideally I would love it as CEO, if I can be updated on what people in the order are doing through our pub site. [00:20:49] Ben: Oh [00:20:50] Seemay: And that, like, I'm not saying they publish every single thing they do every day. Of course, that's crazy, crazy talk, but like that it's somewhat in line with what's happening in real time. That that is an appropriate place for me to catch up on what they're doing and think about like high level decisions and get feedback and see the feedback from the community as well, because that matters, right? Like if, if our goal is to either generate products in the form of actual products in the world that we commercialize versus knowledge products that are useful to others and can stimulate either more thought or be used by others directly. Like I need to actually see that data in the form of like the outside world interacting with their releases. Right. [00:21:35] So that's what we're trying to move towards, but there's a lot of challenges associated with that. Like if a, if a scientist is like needing to publish very frequently, How do we make sure we have the right resources in place to help them with that? There may be some aspects of that, that like anyone can help with like formatting or website issues or, you know, even like schematic illustrations to try and just like reduce the amount of friction around this process as much as possible. [00:22:00] Ben: And I guess almost just like my, my concern with the like publishing everything openly very early. And this is, this is almost where, where I disagree with with some people is that there's what, what I believe Sahi Baca called like the, the like Wardy baby problem, where ideas, when you're first sort of like poking at them are just like really ugly and you like, can't even, you can't even, like, you can barely justify it to [00:22:35] anybody on your team who like, trust you let alone people who like don't have any insight into the process. And so. Do do you, do you worry at all about like, almost just being like completely demoralized, right? Like it's just, it's so much easier to point out why something won't work early on than why it will. [00:22:56] Seemay: Yeah, totally. Yeah. [00:22:59] Ben: how do you [00:22:59] Seemay: Well, I mean, yeah, no, I think that's a hard, hard challenge. I mean, and, and people, and I would say at a metal level, I get, I get a lot of that too. Like people pointing out all the ways Arcadia [00:23:09] Ben: Yeah, I'm [00:23:10] Seemay: or potentially going to fail. So a couple things, I mean, I think one is that just, of course I'm not asking our scientists to. They have a random thought in the shower, like put that out into the world. right. Like there's of course some balance, like, you know, go through some amount of like thinking and like, you know, feedback with, with their most local peers on it. More, more in terms more than anything, like [00:23:35] just to like make sure by the time it goes out into the world that you're capturing precious bandwidth strategically. Right. [00:23:41] Ben: Yeah, [00:23:41] Seemay: On the other hand though, like, you know, while we don't want like that totally raw thing, we are so far on the, under the spectrum right now in terms of like forgiveness of some wards. And, and it also ignores the fact that like, it's the process, right? Like ugly baby. Great. That's that's like, like the uglier the better, like put it out there because like you want that feedback. You're not trying to be. trying to get to some ground truth here. And rigor happens through lots of like feedback throughout the entire process, especially at the beginning. And it's not even like that, that rigor doesn't happen in our current system. It's just that it doesn't make it out into the public space. People do share their thoughts with others. They do it at the dry erase board. They share proposals with each other. There's a lot of this happening. It's just not visible. So I mean, the other thing just like culturally, what I've been trying to like emphasize at [00:24:35] Arcadia is like process, not outcomes that like, you know, talking about it directly, as well as we have like an exercise in the beginning of thinking about like, what is the correct level of like failure rate quote unquote, and like what's productive failure. And just like, if we are actually doing like high risk, interesting science that's worth doing fundamentally, there's gotta be some inherent level of failure built in that we expect. Otherwise, we are answering questions. We already know the answer to, and then what's the fucking point. Right? [00:25:05] Ben: Yeah, [00:25:06] Seemay: So it almost doesn't matter what the answer to that question is. Like people said like 20%, some people said 80%, there's a very wide range in people's heads. Cuz there's this, isn't not a precise question. Right. So there's not gonna be precise answers, but the point is like the acceptance of that fact. Right? [00:25:24] Ben: Yeah. And also, I, I think I'm not sure if you would agree with this, but like, I, I feel like even like failure is a very fuzzy concept. In this, in this context, [00:25:35] right? [00:25:35] Seemay: totally. I actually really hate that word. We, we are trying to rebrand it internally to pivots. [00:25:42] Ben: Yeah. Yeah. I like that. I also, I also hate in this context, the idea of like risk, right? Like risk makes sense when it's like, you're getting like cash on cash returns, but [00:25:54] Seemay: right. [00:25:54] Ben: when [00:25:55] Seemay: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you can redefine that word in this case to say like, it's extremely risky for you to go down this safe path because you will be very likely, you know, uncovering boring things. That's a risk, right? [00:26:13] Ben: Yeah. And then just in terms of process, I wanna go one, one step further into the, sort of like the, the like strike teams around an idea. Is it like something like where, where people just volunteer do do they get, like how, how, how do you actually like form those teams? [00:26:30] Seemay: Yeah. So far there has not been like sort of top down forcing of people into things. I [00:26:35] mean, we are a small org at this point, but like, I think like personally, my philosophy is that like, people do their best work when they're, they feel agency and like sort of their own deep, inner inspiration to do it. And so I try to make things more ground up because of that. Not, not just because of like some fuzzy feeling, but actually I think you'll get the best work from people, if you'd set it up that way. Having said that, you know, there are starting to be situations where we see an opportunity for a strike team project where we can, like, we need to hire someone to come. [00:27:11] Ben: Mm-hmm [00:27:12] Seemay: because no one existing has that skill set. So that that's a level of like flexibility that like not everybody has in other organizations, right. That you have an idea now you can hire more people onto it. So I mean, that's like obviously a huge privilege. We have to be able to do that where now we can just like transparently be like, here's the thing who wants to do it? You know? [00:27:32] Ben: yeah, yeah. [00:27:35] That's, that's very cool.  [00:27:36] Seemay: One more thing else. Can I just say one more thing about that [00:27:39] Ben: of course you can see as many things as you [00:27:40] Seemay: yeah. Actually the fact that that's possible, I feel like really liberates people at Arcadia to think more creatively because something very different happens when I ask people in the room. What other directions do you think you could go in versus what other directions do you think this project should go, could go in that we could hire someone from the outside to come do. Because now they like, oh, it doesn't have to be me. Or maybe they're maybe it's because they don't have the skillset or maybe they're attached to something else that they're working on. So making sure that in their mind, it's not framed as like an either or, but in if, and, and that they can stay in their lane with what they most wanna do. If we decide to move forward on that, you know? Cause I, I think that's often something that like in academia, we don't get to think about things that way. [00:28:30] Ben: Yeah, absolutely. And then the, the people that you would hire onto a [00:28:35] project, would they, like, so say, say, say the, the project then ends it, it reaches some endpoint. Do they like then sort of go back into the, the pool of people who are, are sandboxing? How do, how does that [00:28:49] Seemay: So we, So we haven't had that challenge on a large scale yet. I would say from a human perspective, I would really like to avoid a situation where like standard biotech companies, you know, if an area gets closed out, there's a bunch of layoffs. Like it would be nice to figure out how we can like, sort of reshuffle everybody. One of the ways this has happened, but it's not a problem yet is like we have these positions called arcade scientists, which is kind of meant for this to allow people to kind of like move around. So there's actually a couple of scientists that Arcadia that are quote unquote arcade it's meant to be like a playful term for someone who's a, a generalist in some area like biochemistry, [00:29:35] generalist computational generalist, something like that, where their job is literally to just work on like the first few months of any project. [00:29:44] Ben: oh, [00:29:45] Seemay: And help kind of like, de-risk like, they're really tolerant of that process. They like it. They like trying to get something brand new off the ground. And then once it becomes like more mature with like clear milestones, then we can hire someone else and then they move on to like the next thing, I think this is a skill in itself that doesn't really get highlighted in other places. And I think it's a skillset that actually resonates with me very much personally, because if I were applying to Arcadia, that is the position that I would want. [00:30:14] Ben: I, I think I'm in the same boat. Yeah, that, and that's, that's critical is like, there aren't a lot of organizations where you sort of like get to like come in for a stage of a project. In research, like there, it it's generally like you're, you're on this project.  [00:30:29] Seemay: And how often do you hear people complain about that in science of like, oh, so and so they're, they're [00:30:35] really great at starting things, but not finishing things. It's like, well, like how do we capitalize on that then? [00:30:39] Ben: yeah. Make it a feature and not a bug. Yeah, no, it's like, it it's sort of like having, I I'm imagining like sort of just different positions on a, a sports team, for example. And, and I feel like I, I was thinking the other day that that analogies between like research organizations and sports teams are, are sort of underrated right. Like you don't expect like the goal to be going and like, like scoring. Right. And you don't, you don't say like, oh, you're underperforming goalie. You didn't score any goals.  [00:31:08] Seemay: Right. That's so funny. I like literally just had a call with Sam Aman before this, where, where we were talking about this a little bit, we were talking about in a slightly different context about a role that I feel like is important in our organization of someone to help connect the dots across the different projects. What we were sort of like conceptualizing in my call with him as like the cross pollinators, like the bees in the organization that like, know what get in the [00:31:35] mix, know what everyone's doing and help everybody connect the dots. And like, I feel like this is some sort of a supportive role. That's better understood on sports teams. Like there's always someone that's like the glue, right? Maybe they're not the MVP, but they're the, the other guy that's like, or, you know, girl, whatever, UN gendered, but very important. Everybody understands that. And like, it's like celebrated, you know, [00:31:58] Ben: Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, and, and the trick is, is really seeing it more like a team. Right. So that's like the, the overarching thing. [00:32:07] Seemay: And then I'll just like, I don't know, just to highlight again though, how like these realities that you and I are talking about that I think is actually very well accepted across scientists. We all understand these different roles. Those don't come out in the very hierarchical authorship, byline of publications, which is the main currency of the system. And so, yeah, that's been fascinating to like, sort of like relearn because when we started this publishing experiment, [00:32:35] I was primarily thinking about the main benefit being our ability to do different formats and in a very open way. But now I see that this there's this whole other thing that's probably had the most immediate impact on Arcadia science, which is the removal of the authorship byline. [00:32:52] Ben: Mm. So, so you don't, you don't say who wrote the thing at all. [00:32:57] Seemay: We do it's at the bottom of the article, first of all. And then it's listed in a more descriptive way of who did what, it's not this like line that's like hierarchical, whether implicitly or explicitly and for my conversations with the scientists at Arcadia, like that has been really like a, a wonderful release for them in terms of like, thinking about how do they contribute to projects and interact with each other, because it's like, it doesn't matter anymore that that currency is like off the table. [00:33:27] Ben: Yeah. That that's very cool. And can, can I, can I change tracks a little bit and ask you about model organisms? [00:33:34] Seemay: sure  [00:33:34] Ben: [00:33:35] so like, and this is, this is coming really from my, my naivete, but like, like what, what are model organisms? And like, why is having more of them important? [00:33:47] Seemay: So there's, this is super, super important for me to clarify there's model organisms and there's non-model organisms, but there's actually two different ways of thinking about non-model organisms. Okay. So let me start with model organisms. A model organism is some organism that provides an extremely useful proxy for studying typically like either human biology or some conserved element of biology. So, you know, the fact that like we have. Very similar genetic makeup to mice or flies. Like there's some shortcuts you can take in these systems that allow you to like quickly ask experimental questions that would not be easy to do in a human being. Right. Like we obviously can't do those kinds of experiments there.[00:34:35]  And so, and so, so the same is true for like ASIS, which can be a model for plants or for like biology more generally. And so these are really, really useful tools, especially if you think about historically how challenging it's been to set up new organisms, like, think about in the fifties before we could like sequence genomes as quickly or something, you know, like you really have to band together to like build some tools in a few systems that give you useful shortcuts in general, as proxies for biology now.  [00:35:11] Ben: can I, can I, can I just double click right there? What does it mean to like set it up? Like, like what, what does it mean? Like to like, yeah. [00:35:18] Seemay: Yeah. I mean, there's basic anything from like Turing, right? Like you have to learn how to like cultivate the organism, grow it, proliferate it. Yeah. You gotta learn how to do like basic processing of it. Like whether it's like dissections or [00:35:35] isolating cell types or something, usually some form of genetics is very useful. So you can perturb the system in some controlled way and then ask precise questions. So those are kinda like the range of things that are typically challenging to set up and different organisms. Like, I, you can think of them as like video game characters, they have like different strengths, right? Like different bars. Some are [00:35:56] Ben: Yeah. [00:35:59] Seemay: fantastic for some other reason. You know, whether it's cultivation or maybe something related to their biology. And so that's that's model organisms and. I am very much pro model organisms. Like our interest in non-model organisms is in no way in conflict with my desire to see model organisms flourish, right. That fulfills an important purpose. And we need more, I would say, non-model organisms. Now. This is where it gets a little murky with the semantics. There's two ways you could think about it. At least one is that these are organisms that haven't quite risen to the level of this, the [00:36:35] canonical model organisms in terms of like tooling and sort of community effort around it. And so they're on their way to becoming model, but they're just kinda like hipster, you know, model or model organisms. Maybe you could think about it like that. There's a totally different way to think about it, which is actually how Arcadia's thinking about it, is to not use them as proxy for shared biology at all. But focus on the biology that is unique about that organism that signals some unique biological innovation that happened for that organism or plate of organisms or something. So for example, ticks releasing a bunch of like crap in their saliva, into your skin. That's not a proxy for us, like feeding on other, you know, vertebrates that is an innovation that happened because ticks have this like enormous job they've had to evolve to learn, to do well, which is to manipulate everything about your [00:37:35] circulation, your skin barrier, to make sure it's one blood meal at each of its life stages happen successfully and can happen for days to over a week. It's extremely prolonged. It can't be detected. So that is a very cool facet about tech biology that we could now leverage to learn something different. That could be useful for human biology, but that's, it's not a proxy, right? [00:37:58] Ben: Yeah. And so, so I was gonna ask you why ticks are cool, but I think that that's sort of self explanatory. [00:38:05] Seemay: Oh, they're wild. Like they, like, they have this like one job to do, which is to drink your blood and not get found out. [00:38:15] Ben: and, and I guess like, is there, so, so like with ticks, I I'm trying to, to frame this, like, is there something useful in like comparing like ticks and mosquitoes? Do they like work by the same mechanisms? Are they like completely different [00:38:30] Seemay: yeah. There's no, there's definitely something interesting here to explore because blood [00:38:35] feeding as a behavior in some ways is a very risky behavior. Right. Any sort of parasitism like that. And actually blood [00:38:42] Ben: That's trying to drink my blood. [00:38:44] Seemay: Yes. That's the appropriate response. Blood feeding actually emerged multiple times over the course of evolution in different lineages and mosquitoes, leeches ticks are in very different clouds of organisms and they have like different strategies for solving the same problem that they've evolved independently. So there's some convergence there, but there's a lot of divergence there as well. So for example, mosquitoes, and if you think about mosquitoes, leaches, and tick, this is a great spectrum because what's critically different about them is the duration of the blood  [00:39:18] Ben: Mm,  [00:39:19] Seemay: feed for a few seconds. If they're lucky, maybe in the range of minutes, leaches are like minutes to hours. Ticks are dazed to over a week. Okay. So like temporally, like they have to deal with very different. For, for mosquitoes, they tend to focus on [00:39:35] like immediately numbing of the local area to getting it out. Right. Undetected, Lees. They they're there for a little bit longer, so they have very cool molecules around blood flow like that there's a dilation, like speeding up the amount of blood that they can intake during that period. And then ticks have to deal with not just the like immediate response, but also longer term response, inflammation, wound healing, all these other sensations that happen. If, imagine if you stuck a needle in yourself for a week, like a lot more is going on, right? [00:40:08] Ben: Yeah. Okay. That, that makes a lot of sense. And so, so they really are sort of unique in that temporal sense, which is actually important. [00:40:17] Seemay: Yeah. And whether it's positive or not, it does seem to track that duration of that blood meal at least correlates with sort of the molecular complexity in terms of Sliva composition from each of these different sets of organisms. I just list. So there's way more proteins in other molecules that [00:40:35] have been detected int saliva as opposed to mosquito saliva. [00:40:39] Ben: And, and so what you're sort of like one of your, your high level things is, is like figuring out which of those are important, what mixture of them are important and like how to replicate that for youthful purposes? [00:40:51] Seemay: Yeah. Right, exactly. Yeah. [00:40:54] Ben: and, and, and are there other, like, I mean, I, I guess we can imagine like farther into Arcadia's future and, and think about like, what do you have, like, almost like a, like a wishlist or roadmap of like, what other really weird organisms you want to start poking at? [00:41:13] Seemay: So actually, so that, that is originally how we were thinking about this problem for non-model organisms like which organisms, which opportunities and that itself has evolved in the last year. Well, we realized in part, because of our, just like total paralysis around this decision, because [00:41:35] what we didn't wanna do is say, okay, now Arcadia's basically decided to double down on these other five organisms. We've increased the Canon by five now. Great. Okay. But actually that's not what we're trying to do. Right. We're trying to highlight the like totally different way. You could think about capitalizing on interesting biology and our impact will be felt more strongly if it happens, not just in Arcadia, but beyond Arcadia for this to be a more common way. And, and I think like Symbio is really pushing for this as a field in general. So we've gone from sort of like which organisms to thinking about. Maybe one of our most important contributions is to ask the question, how do you decide which organism, like, what is even the right set of experiments to help you understand that? What is the right set of data? That you might wanna collect, that would help you decide, let's say for example, cuz this is an actual example. We're very interested in produce diatoms, algae, other things, which, [00:42:35] which species should you settle on? I don't know. Like there's so many, right? Like, so then we started collecting like as many we could get our hands on through publicly available databases or culture collections. And now we are asking the meta question of like, okay, we have these, what experiments should we be doing in a high throughput way across all of these to help us decide. And that itself, that process, that engine is something that I think could be really useful for us to share with the worlds that is like hard for an individual academic lab to think about. That is not aligned with realities of like grants and journal publications and stuff. And so, yeah. Is it like RNA seek data sets? What kind of like pheno assays might you want, you want to collect? And we now call this broadly organismal onboarding process. Like what do you need in the profile of the different organisms and like, is it, phenomics now there's structural [00:43:35] prediction pipelines that we could be running across these different genomes depending on your question, it also may be a different set of things, but wouldn't it be nice to sort of just slightly turn the ES serendipity around, like, you know, what was around you versus like, can we go in and actually systematically ask this question and get a little closer to something that is useful? You know, [00:43:59] Ben: Yeah. [00:43:59] Seemay: and I think the amazing thing about this is. You know, I, and I don't wanna ignore the fact that there's been like tons of work on this front from like the field of like integrative biology and evolutionary biologists. Like there's so much cool stuff that they have found. What I wanna do is like couple their thinking in their efforts with like the latest and greatest technologies to amplify it and just like broaden the reach of the way they ask those questions. And the thing that's awesome about biology is even if you didn't do any of this and you grabbed like a random butterfly, you would still find extremely cool stuff. So that's the [00:44:34] Ben: [00:44:35] Right. Yeah. [00:44:36] Seemay: like, where can we go from here now that we have all these different technologies at our disposal? [00:44:41] Ben: Yeah. No, that's, that's extremely cool. And I wanted to ask a few questions about Arcadia's business model. And so sort of like it's, it's a public fact, unlike a lot of research organizations, Arcadia is, is a for-profit organization now, of course, that's that's a, you and I know that that's a legal designation. And there's like, I, I almost think of there as being like some multidimensional space where it's like, on the one hand you have like, like the Chan Zuckerberg initiative, which is like, is nominally a for-profit right. In the sense of [00:45:12] Seemay: Yeah. [00:45:13] Ben: not a, it's not a non-profit organization. And then on the other hand, under the spectrum, you have maybe like something like a hedge fund where it's like, what is like the only purpose of this organization in the world is to turn money into more money. Right. And so like, I, I guess I'd love to know like how you, how you think about sort of like where in that domain you [00:45:34] Seemay: [00:45:35] Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. This [00:45:38] Ben: and like how you sort of came to that, that [00:45:41] Seemay: Yeah. This was not a straightforward decision because actually I originally conceived of the Arcadia as a, a non-profit entity. And I think there were a lot of assumptions and also some ignorance on my part going into that. So, okay. Lemme try and think about the succinct way to tell all this. So I [00:45:58] Ben: take, take, take your time. [00:46:00] Seemay: okay. I started talking to a lot of other people at organizations. Like new science type of organizations. And I'll sort of like refrain from naming names here out of respect for people. But like they ran into a lot of issues around being a nonprofit, you know, for one, it, it impacted sort of like just sort of like operational aspects, maintaining a nonprofit, which if, if you haven't done it before, and I learned like, by reading about all this and learning about all this, like it maintaining that status is in and [00:46:35] of itself and effort, it requires legal counsel. It requires boards, it requires oversight. It requires reporting. There's like a whole level of operations [00:46:45] Ben: Yeah. And you always sort of have the government looking over your shoulder, being [00:46:49] Seemay: Yep. And you have to go into it prepared for that. So it also introduces some friction around like how quickly you can iterate as an organization on different things. The other thing is that like Let's say we started as a nonprofit and we realized, oh, there's a bunch of like for-profit type activities. We wanna be doing the transition of converting a nonprofit to a for-profit is actually much harder than the other way around. [00:47:16] Ben: Mm. [00:47:17] Seemay: And so that sort of like reversibility was also important to me given that, like, I didn't know exactly what Arcadia would ultimately look like, and I still dunno [00:47:27] Ben: Yeah. So it's just more optionality. [00:47:29] Seemay: Yeah. And another point is that like I do have explicit for profit interests for [00:47:35] Arcadia. This is not like, oh, I like maybe no. Like we like really want to commercialize some of our products one day. And it's, it's not because we're trying to optimize revenue it's because it's very central to our financial experiment that we're trying to think about, like new structures. Basic scientists and basic science can be, can capture its own value in society a little bit more efficiently. And so if we believe the hypothesis that discovering new biology across a wide range of organisms could yield actionable lessons that could then be translated into real products. Then we have to make a play for figuring out how this, how to make all this work. And I like also see an opportunity to figure out how I can make it work, such that if we do have revenue, I make sure our basic scientists get to participate in that. You know, because that is like a huge frustration for me as a basic scientist that like we haven't solved this problem. [00:48:35] Like basic science. It's a bedrock for all downstream science. Yet we some have to have, yeah, we have to be like siloed away from it. Like we don't get to play a part in it. And also the scientists at our Katy, I would say are not like traditional academic scientists. Like I would, I, my estimate would be like, at least a third of them have an intentional explicit interest in being part of a company one day that they helped found or spin out. And so that's great. We have a lot of like very entrepreneurial scientists at Arcadia. And so I I'm, I'm not shying away from the fact that like, we are interested in a, for profit mission. Having said all of that, I think it's important to remember that like mission and values don't stem from tax structure, right? Like you, there are nonprofit organizations that have like rotten values. And there are also for-profit organizations that have rotten values, like that is not the [00:49:35] dividing line for this. And so I think it puts the onus on us at Arcadia though, to continuously be rigorous with ourselves accountable to ourselves, to like define our values and mission. But I don't think that they are like necessarily reliant on the tax structure, especially in a for-profit organization where there's only two people at the cap table and their original motivating reason to do doing this was to conduct a meta science experiment. So we have like a unique alignment with our funders on this that I think also makes us different from other for-profit orgs. We're not a C Corp, we're an LC. And actually we're going through the process right now of exploring like B Corp status, which means that you have a, a fundamental, like mix of mission and for profit. [00:50:21] Ben: Yeah. That was actually something that I was going to ask about just in, in terms of, I think, what sort of like implicitly. One of the reasons that people wonder about [00:50:35] the, the mixture of like research and for profit status is that like the, the, the time scales of research is just, are just long, right? Like, like re, re research research takes a long time and is expensive. And if, if you're like, sort of answering to investors who are like really like, primarily looking for a return on their investment I feel like that, I, I mean, at least just in, in my experience and like my, my thinking about this like that, that, that's, that's my worry about it is, is that like so, so what, like having like, really like a small number of really aligned investors seems like pretty critical to being able to like, stick to your values. [00:51:18] Seemay: Yeah, no, it's true. I mean, there were actually other people interested in funding, our Arcadian every once in a while I get reached out to still, but like me Jud and Sam and Che, like we went through the ringer together. Like we went on this journey together to get here, to [00:51:35] decide on this. And I think there is, I think built in an understanding that like, there's a chance this will fail financially and otherwise. Um, but, but I think the important case to consider is like that we discussed is like, what would happen if we are a scientific success, but a financial failure. What are each of you interested in doing. and that that's such an important answer. A question, right? So for both of them, the answer was we would consider the option of endowing this into a nonprofit, but only if the science is interesting. Okay. If that is, and I'm not saying that we're gonna target that end goal, like I'm gonna fight with all my might to figure out another way, but that is a super informative answer, right? Because [00:52:27] Ben: yeah, [00:52:27] Seemay: delineating what the priorities are. The priority is the science, the revenue is [00:52:35] subservient to that. And if it doesn't work fine, we will still iterate on that like top priority. [00:52:42] Ben: Yeah, it would also be, I mean, like that would be cool. It would also be cool if, if you, I mean, it's just like, everybody thinks about like growing forever, but I think it would be incredibly cool if you all just managed to make enough revenue that you can just like, keep the cycle going right.  [00:52:58] Seemay: Yeah. It also opens us up to a whole new pocket of investments that is difficult in like more standard sort of like LP funded situations. So, you know, given that our goal is sustainability now, like things that are like two to five X ROI are totally on the table. [00:53:22] Ben: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. [00:53:24] Seemay: actually that opens up a huge competitive edge for us in an area of like tools or products that like are not really that interesting to [00:53:35] LPs that are looking to achieve something else. [00:53:38] Ben: yeah, with like a normal startup. And I think that I, I, that that's, I think really important. Like I, I think that is a big deal because there's, there's so many things that I see And, and it's like the two to five X on the amount of money that you could capture. Right. But like the, the, the amount of value that you create could be much, much larger than that. Right. Like, and this is the whole problem. Like, I, I, I mean, it's just like the, the thing that I always run into is you look at just like the ability of people to capture the value of research. And it just is very hard to, to like capture the whole thing. And often when people try to do that, it ends up sort of like constraining it. And so you're, you're just like, okay, with getting a reasonable return then it just lets you do so many other cool things. [00:54:27] Seemay: yeah. I'm yeah. I think that's the vibe. [00:54:32] Ben: that is an excellent vibe. And, and speaking [00:54:35] with the vibe and, and you mentioned this I'm, I. Interested in both, like how you like find, and then convince people to, to join Arcadia. Right. Because it's, it's like, you are, you are to some extent asking people to like play a completely different game. Right? Like you're asking people who have been in this, this like you know, like citations and, and paper game to say like, okay, you're gonna like, stop playing that and play this other thing. And so like, yeah. [00:55:04] Seemay: yeah. It's funny. Like I get asked this all the time, like, how do you protect the careers or whatever of people that come to Arcadia? And the solution is actually pretty simple, even though people don't think of it, which is you Don. You don't try and convince people to come. Like we are not trying to grow into an infinitely large organization. I don't even know if we'll ever reach that number 150. Like I was just talking to Sam about like, we may break before that point. Like, that's just sort of like my cap. We may find that [00:55:35] 50 people is like the perfect number 75 is. And you know, we're actually just trying to figure out like, what is, what are the right ingredients for the thing we're trying to do? And so therefore we don't need everybody to join. We need the right people to join and we can't absorb the risk of people who ultimately see a career path that is not well supported by Arcadia. If we absorb that, it will pull us back to the means. because we don't want anyone at Arcadia to be miserable. We want scientists to succeed. So actually the easiest way to do that is to not try and convince people to do something they're not comfortable with and find the people for whom it feels like a natural fit. So actually think, I think I saw on Twitter, someone ask this question in your thread about what's like the, oh, an important question you asked during your interviews. And like one of the most important questions I ask someone is where else have you applied for jobs? [00:56:35] And if they literally haven't applied anywhere outside of academia, like that's an opportunity for me to push [00:56:43] Ben: Mm. [00:56:44] Seemay: I'm very worried about that. Like, I, I don't want them to be quote unquote, making a sacrifice that doesn't resonate with where they're trying to go in their career. Cuz I can't help them AF like once they come. Arcadia has to evolve like its own organism. And like, sometimes that means things that are not great for people who wanna be in academia, including like the publishing and journal bit. And so yeah, what I tell them is like, look, you have two jobs at Arcadia and both have to be equally exciting to you. And you have to fully understand that there both your responsibility, your job is to be a scientist and a meta scientist. And that those two things have to be. You understand what that second thing is that your job is to evolve with me, provide me with feedback on like, what is working and not working [00:57:35] for you and actively participate in all the meta science experiments that we're doing around publishing translation, technology, all these things, right? Like it can't be passive. It has to be active. If that sounds exciting to you, this is a great place for you. If you're trying to figure out how you're going to do that, have your cake and eat it too, and still have a CV that's competitive for academia in case like in a year, you know, like you go back, I, this is not the place for you. And I, I can't as a human being, like, that's, I, I can't absorb that because like, I like, I can't help, but have some empathy for you once you're here as an individual, like, I don't want you to suffer. Right. And so we need to have those hard conversations early before they join. And there's been a few times where like, yeah, I think like I sufficiently scared someone away. So I think it was better for them. Right? Like it's better for [00:58:25] Ben: Yeah, totally. [00:58:25] Seemay: if that happens. Yeah, it's harder once they're here. [00:58:29] Ben: and, and so, so the like, The, they tend to be people who are sort of like already [00:58:35] thinking, like already have like one foot out the door of, of academia in the sense of like, they're, they're already sort of like exploring that possibility. So they've so you don't have to like get them to that point. [00:58:48] Seemay: Right. Yes. Because like, like that's a whole journey they need to go on in, on their own, because there's so many reasons why someone might be excited to leave academia and go to another organization like this. I mean, there's push and pull. Right. So I think that's a challenge, like separating out, like, like what is just like push, because they're like upset with how things are going there versus like, do they actually understand what joining us will entail? And are they, do they have the like optimism and the agency to like, help me do this experiment. It does require optimism. Right. [00:59:25] Ben: absolutely. [00:59:25] Seemay: So like sometimes like, you know, I push people, like what, where else have you applied for jobs? And they, if they can't seem to answer that very well I say, okay, let me change [00:59:35] this question. You come to Arcadia and I die. Arcadia dissolves. It's, it's an easier way of like, it's like, I can own it. Okay. Like I died and like me and Che and Jed die. Okay. Like now what are you gonna do with your career? And like, I is a silly question, but it's kind of a serious question. Like, you know, just like, what is, how does this fit into your context of how you think about your career and is it actually going to move you towards where you're trying to go? Because, I mean, I think like that's yeah. Another problem we're trying to solve is like scientists need to feel more agency and they won't feel agency by just jumping to another thing that they think is going to solve problems for them. [01:00:15] Ben: Yeah, that's a really good point. And so, so this is almost a selfish question, but like where do you find these people? Right? Like you seem to, you seem to be very good at it. [01:00:26] Seemay: Yeah. I actually don't I don't, I, I don't know the answer to that question fully because we [01:00:35] only just recently said, oh my God, we need to start collecting some data through like voluntary surveys from applicants of like, how do they know about us? You know? It seems to be a lot of like word of mouth, social media, maybe they read something that I wrote or that Che wrote or something. And while that's been fine so far, we also like wanna think about how we like broaden that reach further. It's definitely not through their, for the most part, not through their institutes or PIs that I know. [01:01:03] Ben: Yeah, I, but, but it is, it is like, it sounds like it does tend to be inbounds, right? Like it tends to be people like reaching out to you as opposed to the other way around. [01:01:16] Seemay: Yeah. You know, and that's not for lack of effort. I mean, there have been definitely times where. We have like proactively gone out and tried to scout people, but it does run into that problem that I just described before of like, [01:01:29] Ben: Yeah. [01:01:30] Seemay: if you find them yourself, are you trying to pull them in and have they gone through their own [01:01:35] journey yet? And so in some of those cases, while it seemed like, like we entertain like conversations for a while with a couple of candidates, we tried to scout, but ultimately that's where it ended was like, oh, they like, they need to go on their own. And like, sort of like fully explore for a bit, you know, this would be a bit risky. But it hasn't, you know, it hasn't been all, you know a failure like that, but it, it happens a lot. [01:01:58] Ben: Yeah, no, I mean that, that, frankly, that, that squares with my, my experience sort of like roughly, roughly trying to find people who, who fit a similar mold. So that that's, I mean, and that, that suggests a strategy, right. Is like, be like, be good at setting up some kind of lighthouse, which you, you seem to have done. [01:02:17] Seemay: The only challenge with this, I would say, and, and we are still grappling with this is that sort of approach does make it hard to reach candidates that are sort of like historically underrepresented, because they may not see themselves as like strong candidates for such and such. And [01:02:35] so now we're, now we have this other challenge to solve of like, how do we make sure people have gone through their own process on their own, but also make sure that the opportunity is getting communicated to the right people and that they like all, everybody understands that they're a candidate, you know, [01:02:53] Ben: Yeah. And I guess so , as long as we're recording this podcast, like what, what is that like, like if you were talking to someone who was like, what does that process even look like? Like what would I start doing? Like what would you, what would you tell someone? [01:03:08] Seemay: Oh, to like explore a role at Arcadia. [01:03:11] Ben: yeah. Or just like to like, go through that, like, like to, to start going through that [01:03:16] Seemay: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I guess like, there's probably a couple of different things. Like, I mean, one is just some deep introspection on like, what are your priorities in your life, right? Like what are you trying to achieve in your career? Beyond just like the sort of ladder thing, like what's the, what are the most important, like north stars for you? And I think [01:03:35] like for a place like Arcadia or any of the other sort of like meta science experiments, That has to be part of it somehow. Right. Like being really interested and passionate about being part of finding a solution and being one of the risk takers for them. I think the other thing is like very pragmatic, just like literally go out there and like explore other jobs, please. Like, I feel like, you know, like, like what is your market value? You know? Like what  [01:04:05] Ben: don't don't  [01:04:05] Seemay: Yeah. Like, and like go get that information for yourself. And then you will also feel a sense of like security, because like, even if I die and Arcadia dissolves, you will realize through that process that you have a lot of other opportunities and your skillset is highly valuable. And so there is like solid ground underneath you, regardless of what happens here, that they need to absorb that. Right. And then also just. Like, trust me, your negotiations with me will go way better. If you come in [01:04:35] armed with information, like one of my goals with like compensation for example, is to be really accurate about making sure we're hitting the right market val

In episode 5 of Couched in Color, Dr. Alfiee celebrates the comeback/reinvention of Shanti Das and her “Silence the Shame” mission. Shanti, well known in the entertainment industry for her work with some of music's top talent –like OutKast, Usher, Prince, TLC, Toni Braxton, and Erykah Badu, to name a few–shares a different type of success in this intimate interview. Shanti tells the story of the night she contemplated suicide, with pills nearby, and ended up reaching out for help. That night changed her life forever, as she was redirected to self-care and to teach others the same, especially encouraging others to open up about their mental health challenges.  “That I am here is a blessing from God and I don't take that for granted,” Shanti shares. Hence, starting with a hashtag of the name, she founded Silence the Shame, a non-profit foundation dedicated to eliminating mental health stigma, reducing health disparities, and improving rates of suicide among vulnerable populations.  Through community conversations, compelling content, and culturally responsive programs, the foundation aims to normalize the conversation, peel back the layers of shame, and promote mental wellness for vulnerable and disparate population groups, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ+), individuals in high-stress jobs, older adults and those living in rural communities.  Silence the Shame has received a prestigious award, national recognition and global awareness as a mental health movement. The beginnings: Looking back at her young life, Shanti says she was “introduced to mental health as a baby.”  Her father died by suicide when she was seven months old, leaving her mom alone to raise her and two older siblings. Now, as an adult, who has faced her darkest moments and continues to heal, she shares her “toolkit” of resources that helped her move forward.  Combining her faith journey with therapy is key, as is having a life coach, being outdoors, and traveling. Topics covered in this interview:–Walking away from a half-million-dollar per year job, with a corner office, and life on “the red carpet” supporting music celebrities. –Balancing the faith journey, that is often so important to people of color, sometimes exclusively, with the benefits of therapy. – Expanding Silence the Shame to include more major events such as the second annual,  My Life is a Gift: Suicide Awareness Summit, on Sept. 14, 2022 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., livestream online and limited in-person seating at The Gathering Spot in Atlanta, GA: https://silencetheshame.com/mlg-suicide-awareness-summit/my-life-is-a-gift-suicide-awareness-summit.html –The event is geared to youth and young adults, with a performance by a young rapper.  It also  will feature “an authentic hybrid opportunity of youth and young adult lived experience,” behavioral health and suicide prevention professionals, and family support. –A pilot “campus ambassadors program” at colleges. –May 1st being declared “Black Children's Mental Health Day” in the state of Georgia, and wanting to spread that concept to other states. –The launch of her new mind- body related company. Dr. Alfiee: “I'm so grateful that you're still here. And that night when you almost weren't going to be here anymore, that God put the right people in your place and in your space, and that  you had that hotline to call.”    Quoting one of her mentors, Dr. Alfiee commends Shanti for “turning learned helplessness to learned helpfulfuness.”  Background on Shanti Das | Founder of Silence the Shame non-profit; accomplished entertainment industry veteran Shanti is an accomplished entertainment industry veteran (for more than 25 years), speaker, author, and philanthropist.  Her music industry career (from intern to executive vice president) included positions at Capitol Records, LaFace Records, Columbia Records, Sony Urban Music and Universal Motown where she worked directly with some of music's top talent like OutKast, Usher, Prince, TLC, Toni Braxton, Erykah Badu, and more.  As a result of Shanti's extensive community work in the 2000 decade, she established  her own nonprofit, The Hip Hop Professional Foundation, Inc. The foundation was later rebranded under the name Silence the Shame, Inc., which received global awareness and has become a commonly used hashtag to normalize the conversation in America.  Shanti's foundation curates community conversations, offers wellness training, creates content and broadens awareness and education around mental health and wellness. In 2019, Silence the Shame was awarded one of five awards by the American Psychiatric Association Foundation for advancing minority mental health. Shanti has suffered from depression/anxiety over the years and has also experienced loved ones affected with mental health disorders. In addition to running her nonprofit, Shanti is a public speaker. She has presented live at companies/universities sharing her inspiring story and is now also facilitating virtual webinars around mental wellness with licensed mental health clinicians. Companies include: Warner Chappell Publishing, National Geographic, SB Projects, Translation agency, NBA, Sony ATV, EA Sports, LVMH, Sony Music UK, Warner Media, Warner Music Group, Def Jam records, Freddie Mac, Dillard University, Syracuse University, Alabama A&M and more. Awards and Honors: 2019- Shanti was named a Top Changemaker in the World (#7 out of 100) by a UK publication called The Big Issue! 2019- The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) has named Shanti Das as the recipient of the 2019 Media Award for Silence the Shame. 2020- NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) awarded Shanti Das their 2020 Multicultural Award. 2020- Named an ESSENCE Magazine Essential Hero in Mental Health. 2021- Culture Creators Health and Wellness Award. EVENT: My Life is a Gift: Suicide Awareness Summit Sept. 14, 2022 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Livestreaming & limited in-person seating at The Gathering Spot in Atlanta, GA Follow Shanti Das: Website: https://www.shantidas.biz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shantidas404/ Silence the Shame: Website: https://silencetheshame.com Instagram :https://www.instagram.com/silencetheshame/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SilenceThShame Podcast: https://silencetheshame.com/podcast.html Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Website: https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us More Couched in Color: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

In episode 5 of Couched in Color, Dr. Alfiee celebrates the comeback/reinvention of Shanti Das and her “Silence the Shame” mission. Shanti, well known in the entertainment industry for her work with some of music's top talent –like OutKast, Usher, Prince, TLC, Toni Braxton, and Erykah Badu, to name a few–shares a different type of success in this intimate interview. Shanti tells the story of the night she contemplated suicide, with pills nearby, and ended up reaching out for help. That night changed her life forever, as she was redirected to self-care and to teach others the same, especially encouraging others to open up about their mental health challenges.  “That I am here is a blessing from God and I don't take that for granted,” Shanti shares. Hence, starting with a hashtag of the name, she founded Silence the Shame, a non-profit foundation dedicated to eliminating mental health stigma, reducing health disparities, and improving rates of suicide among vulnerable populations.  Through community conversations, compelling content, and culturally responsive programs, the foundation aims to normalize the conversation, peel back the layers of shame, and promote mental wellness for vulnerable and disparate population groups, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ+), individuals in high-stress jobs, older adults and those living in rural communities.  Silence the Shame has received a prestigious award, national recognition and global awareness as a mental health movement. The beginnings: Looking back at her young life, Shanti says she was “introduced to mental health as a baby.”  Her father died by suicide when she was seven months old, leaving her mom alone to raise her and two older siblings. Now, as an adult, who has faced her darkest moments and continues to heal, she shares her “toolkit” of resources that helped her move forward.  Combining her faith journey with therapy is key, as is having a life coach, being outdoors, and traveling. Topics covered in this interview:–Walking away from a half-million-dollar per year job, with a corner office, and life on “the red carpet” supporting music celebrities. –Balancing the faith journey, that is often so important to people of color, sometimes exclusively, with the benefits of therapy. – Expanding Silence the Shame to include more major events such as the second annual,  My Life is a Gift: Suicide Awareness Summit, on Sept. 14, 2022 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., livestream online and limited in-person seating at The Gathering Spot in Atlanta, GA: https://silencetheshame.com/mlg-suicide-awareness-summit/my-life-is-a-gift-suicide-awareness-summit.html –The event is geared to youth and young adults, with a performance by a young rapper.  It also  will feature “an authentic hybrid opportunity of youth and young adult lived experience,” behavioral health and suicide prevention professionals, and family support. –A pilot “campus ambassadors program” at colleges. –May 1st being declared “Black Children's Mental Health Day” in the state of Georgia, and wanting to spread that concept to other states. –The launch of her new mind- body related company. Dr. Alfiee: “I'm so grateful that you're still here. And that night when you almost weren't going to be here anymore, that God put the right people in your place and in your space, and that  you had that hotline to call.”    Quoting one of her mentors, Dr. Alfiee commends Shanti for “turning learned helplessness to learned helpfulfuness.”  Background on Shanti Das | Founder of Silence the Shame non-profit; accomplished entertainment industry veteran Shanti is an accomplished entertainment industry veteran (for more than 25 years), speaker, author, and philanthropist.  Her music industry career (from intern to executive vice president) included positions at Capitol Records, LaFace Records, Columbia Records, Sony Urban Music and Universal Motown where she worked directly with some of music's top talent like OutKast, Usher, Prince, TLC, Toni Braxton, Erykah Badu, and more.  As a result of Shanti's extensive community work in the 2000 decade, she established  her own nonprofit, The Hip Hop Professional Foundation, Inc. The foundation was later rebranded under the name Silence the Shame, Inc., which received global awareness and has become a commonly used hashtag to normalize the conversation in America.  Shanti's foundation curates community conversations, offers wellness training, creates content and broadens awareness and education around mental health and wellness. In 2019, Silence the Shame was awarded one of five awards by the American Psychiatric Association Foundation for advancing minority mental health. Shanti has suffered from depression/anxiety over the years and has also experienced loved ones affected with mental health disorders. In addition to running her nonprofit, Shanti is a public speaker. She has presented live at companies/universities sharing her inspiring story and is now also facilitating virtual webinars around mental wellness with licensed mental health clinicians. Companies include: Warner Chappell Publishing, National Geographic, SB Projects, Translation agency, NBA, Sony ATV, EA Sports, LVMH, Sony Music UK, Warner Media, Warner Music Group, Def Jam records, Freddie Mac, Dillard University, Syracuse University, Alabama A&M and more. Awards and Honors: 2019- Shanti was named a Top Changemaker in the World (#7 out of 100) by a UK publication called The Big Issue! 2019- The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) has named Shanti Das as the recipient of the 2019 Media Award for Silence the Shame. 2020- NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) awarded Shanti Das their 2020 Multicultural Award. 2020- Named an ESSENCE Magazine Essential Hero in Mental Health. 2021- Culture Creators Health and Wellness Award. EVENT: My Life is a Gift: Suicide Awareness Summit Sept. 14, 2022 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Livestreaming & limited in-person seating at The Gathering Spot in Atlanta, GA Follow Shanti Das: Website: https://www.shantidas.biz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shantidas404/ Silence the Shame: Website: https://silencetheshame.com Instagram :https://www.instagram.com/silencetheshame/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SilenceThShame Podcast: https://silencetheshame.com/podcast.html Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Website: https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us More Couched in Color: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

In this third episode of Couched in Color, Dr. Alfiee goes deep with guest Adrienne Banfield Norrris, better known as “Gammy” or “Gam” from Red Table Talk, a popular talk show with candid conversations among three generations of Black women. Gam is the mother of Jada Pinkett Smith, mother-in-law of Will Smith, and grandmother to Willow who is also on the show. She courageously talks about living through addiction, continuously battling low self-esteem, not feeling good enough, and dealing with fame.  Even now, as she appears visibly confident on so many platforms–from her own podcast to TV–she admits she still has great nervousness and anxiety when on stage.  She shares how “I shrink, lose my voice,” noting her anxiousness when at a recent live event about her appearance on Black Love TV Series, now in its final season on OWN network:  “How that feels, the physical way it manifests, that nervousness, anxiety, I  get sick on my stomach, I kind of go blank,  overthink things and feel nauseous…all of that is real feelings and, if you're Black in America, you're dealing with mental health challenges.” Dr. Alfiee: “What I love about what you do is you are so honest and open about your own experiences…I think it's really hard for people to talk about ever having had a struggle with addiction and low self-esteem…especially for those of us who are Black women.  We are just  beat up in so many ways. I don't care what your background is…you're out there looking glamorous and beautiful and sitting at the Red Table, you, Jada and Willow, being so beautiful.”  –“I tell people a lot, I have to manage my own anxiety.”  GIVING OTHERS SPACE TO “BE” ENOUGH Gam shares that even though she always felt loved and heard as a child, she felt pressure to meet her parents' high expectations, which she believes could be part of her low self-esteem.  She met those expectations, graduating magna cum laude ”full-on addiction.” Dr. Alfiee: “Your daughter and son-in-law really give their kids space to fully express themselves…to let them know ‘You are a fully realized human being…so just go out there and be great,' and I don't know how many of us get that.” Gam: “It was your parents' way or the highway, all these rules to follow.” Dr. Alfiee:   “My mom always said, baby, there is nothing you can't do…I always felt someone pushing behind me.” “Even when kids are successful, you were a successful high achieving kid, if you feel like there  is a bar, you reach that bar, and there's another bar to follow, and you are never able to rest in the knowledge that who you are and what you do is enough. And I feel like a lot of us struggle with that…that we're not enough.” Gam: “When you're in a Black community and you have everyday struggles, it's like listen girl, put on your big girl panties.'' “You have to be careful with how you handle people, and allow people their journey and their space.” Dr. Alfiee:  “If a person is spiritual, it's not us, so if we interfere with that person's journey, what lessons are we preventing them from learning by trying to rush in and fix everything.” She quoted an interview she recently heard about how “Things don't happen to you, they happen for you,” which she says profoundly changed her thinking. Dr. Alfiee: “I don't ever want to be late.  When you're Black and a woman, in the workplace, you don't want to mess up, because your mess ups feel like they are the worst mess ups in the world.  Other people can mess up but I can't mess up.” CHALLENGES OF FAME:Gam:  “I'm always being observed so I can't always be my authentic self…I'm a representative of our family.” “You wonder about people who want to know you, is it really for you or is it for the fame?” (acknowledging even those without fame can struggle with that same question about why people want to get to know you). “Somebody always wants something from you, but it's all good. Where I would be if people didn't enjoy what I was sharing. It's a privilege, which keeps me humble and grateful.” Dr. Alfiee:  “One thing I struggle with is people feeling entitled to proximity…like you should call me back, be present to me because I support you, you should give me your time.  I try to manage my anxiety telling me I should respond, to go do this, just because someone asks.  It helps me to practice mindfulness, and come back to the present.  Just be here now and then I can make clear decisions.” Follow Adrienne "Gam" Norris: Positively Gam (Podcast): https://linktr.ee/gammynorris Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gammynorris Red Table Talk:https://redtabletalk.com Positively GAM Podcast: https://linktr.ee/gammynorris Black Love TV Series (final season) Saturdays at 10 p.m. on OWN: https://www.oprah.com/app/black-love.html Follow Dr. Alfiee:                            Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us More Couched in Color: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

In this third episode of Couched in Color, Dr. Alfiee goes deep with guest Adrienne Banfield Norrris, better known as “Gammy” or “Gam” from Red Table Talk, a popular talk show with candid conversations among three generations of Black women. Gam is the mother of Jada Pinkett Smith, mother-in-law of Will Smith, and grandmother to Willow who is also on the show. She courageously talks about living through addiction, continuously battling low self-esteem, not feeling good enough, and dealing with fame.  Even now, as she appears visibly confident on so many platforms–from her own podcast to TV–she admits she still has great nervousness and anxiety when on stage.  She shares how “I shrink, lose my voice,” noting her anxiousness when at a recent live event about her appearance on Black Love TV Series, now in its final season on OWN network:  “How that feels, the physical way it manifests, that nervousness, anxiety, I  get sick on my stomach, I kind of go blank,  overthink things and feel nauseous…all of that is real feelings and, if you're Black in America, you're dealing with mental health challenges.” Dr. Alfiee: “What I love about what you do is you are so honest and open about your own experiences…I think it's really hard for people to talk about ever having had a struggle with addiction and low self-esteem…especially for those of us who are Black women.  We are just  beat up in so many ways. I don't care what your background is…you're out there looking glamorous and beautiful and sitting at the Red Table, you, Jada and Willow, being so beautiful.”  –“I tell people a lot, I have to manage my own anxiety.”  GIVING OTHERS SPACE TO “BE” ENOUGH Gam shares that even though she always felt loved and heard as a child, she felt pressure to meet her parents' high expectations, which she believes could be part of her low self-esteem.  She met those expectations, graduating magna cum laude ”full-on addiction.” Dr. Alfiee: “Your daughter and son-in-law really give their kids space to fully express themselves…to let them know ‘You are a fully realized human being…so just go out there and be great,' and I don't know how many of us get that.” Gam: “It was your parents' way or the highway, all these rules to follow.” Dr. Alfiee:   “My mom always said, baby, there is nothing you can't do…I always felt someone pushing behind me.” “Even when kids are successful, you were a successful high achieving kid, if you feel like there  is a bar, you reach that bar, and there's another bar to follow, and you are never able to rest in the knowledge that who you are and what you do is enough. And I feel like a lot of us struggle with that…that we're not enough.” Gam: “When you're in a Black community and you have everyday struggles, it's like listen girl, put on your big girl panties.'' “You have to be careful with how you handle people, and allow people their journey and their space.” Dr. Alfiee:  “If a person is spiritual, it's not us, so if we interfere with that person's journey, what lessons are we preventing them from learning by trying to rush in and fix everything.” She quoted an interview she recently heard about how “Things don't happen to you, they happen for you,” which she says profoundly changed her thinking. Dr. Alfiee: “I don't ever want to be late.  When you're Black and a woman, in the workplace, you don't want to mess up, because your mess ups feel like they are the worst mess ups in the world.  Other people can mess up but I can't mess up.” CHALLENGES OF FAME:Gam:  “I'm always being observed so I can't always be my authentic self…I'm a representative of our family.” “You wonder about people who want to know you, is it really for you or is it for the fame?” (acknowledging even those without fame can struggle with that same question about why people want to get to know you). “Somebody always wants something from you, but it's all good. Where I would be if people didn't enjoy what I was sharing. It's a privilege, which keeps me humble and grateful.” Dr. Alfiee:  “One thing I struggle with is people feeling entitled to proximity…like you should call me back, be present to me because I support you, you should give me your time.  I try to manage my anxiety telling me I should respond, to go do this, just because someone asks.  It helps me to practice mindfulness, and come back to the present.  Just be here now and then I can make clear decisions.” Follow Adrienne "Gam" Norris: Positively Gam (Podcast): https://linktr.ee/gammynorris Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gammynorris Red Table Talk:https://redtabletalk.com Positively GAM Podcast: https://linktr.ee/gammynorris Black Love TV Series (final season) Saturdays at 10 p.m. on OWN: https://www.oprah.com/app/black-love.html Follow Dr. Alfiee:                            Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us More Couched in Color: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

In this second episode of Season 3 of Couched in Color, Host Dr. Alfiee interviews two members of Lady Gaga's team from her Born This Way Foundation (based on her “freedom song” of the same name). Born This Way was created in 2012 to support the wellness of young people and empower them to build a kinder, braver world. The Executive Director, Maya Smith, and Communications and Creative Manager, Shadille Estepan, join us today to share powerful insights on mental health awareness for youth, and offerings that reduce the stigma and help them voice their concerns and stay connected for greater well-being. Topics Include: -COURAGE TO BE OPEN ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH -SAFE SPACES -WHAT DO THE WORDS “BORN THIS WAY” MEAN TO YOU -EMPOWERMENT -INITIATIVES OF BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION -CHALLENGES THAT GEN Z & MILLENNIALS FACE   ABOUT MAYA ENISTA SMITH: Executive Director/Born This Way Foundation Maya is the first Executive Director of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, which leverages evidence-based programming and authentic partnerships in order to work with young people to build kinder communities and improve mental health resources. In this position, Maya engages a diverse array of partners across sectors to conduct innovative research, builds authentic youth-focused programming, and leads effective campaigns that foster kindness and advance the conversation around mental health. With nearly twenty years of experience in the youth empowerment, civic engagement, and community development fields, Maya previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Mobilize.org and began her career as East Coast Coordinator for Rock The Vote. In addition to her work with the Foundation, Maya is a proud member of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Class of 2022 and serves on the Bullying Prevention Advisory Committee (BPAC) for the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC). Maya grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Rutgers University. She currently resides outside of San Francisco with her husband, David, their two children, and their dog Kai. Here is Maya's impactful interview with Lady Gaga's mother, Cynthia Germanotta, President/Co-Founder of the Born This Way Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kiCX... Follow Maya: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/menista INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mayabtwf LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-enis...   ABOUT SHADILLE ESTEPAN: Communications and Creative Manager/Born This Way Foundation Shadille Estepan is Communications and Creative Manager for Born This Way Foundation. In this capacity, Shadille supports the Foundation's external communications efforts – including video production – as well as the organization's programming. Shadille has been part of Born This Way Foundation since 2012 when she served as part of the inaugural Youth Advisory Board. Shadille, originally from Miami, is a graduate of the University of Florida. Follow Shadille: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/shadille INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/shadille LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shadille/   LADY GAGA's “BORN THIS WAY” Foundation: https://bornthisway.foundation   Be There Certificate: https://betherecertificate.org   Channel Kindness: https://www.channelkindness.org Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us Couched in Color Website: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

In this second episode of Season 3 of Couched in Color, Host Dr. Alfiee interviews two members of Lady Gaga's team from her Born This Way Foundation (based on her “freedom song” of the same name). Born This Way was created in 2012 to support the wellness of young people and empower them to build a kinder, braver world. The Executive Director, Maya Smith, and Communications and Creative Manager, Shadille Estepan, join us today to share powerful insights on mental health awareness for youth, and offerings that reduce the stigma and help them voice their concerns and stay connected for greater well-being. Topics Include: -COURAGE TO BE OPEN ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH -SAFE SPACES -WHAT DO THE WORDS “BORN THIS WAY” MEAN TO YOU -EMPOWERMENT -INITIATIVES OF BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION -CHALLENGES THAT GEN Z & MILLENNIALS FACE   ABOUT MAYA ENISTA SMITH: Executive Director/Born This Way Foundation Maya is the first Executive Director of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, which leverages evidence-based programming and authentic partnerships in order to work with young people to build kinder communities and improve mental health resources. In this position, Maya engages a diverse array of partners across sectors to conduct innovative research, builds authentic youth-focused programming, and leads effective campaigns that foster kindness and advance the conversation around mental health. With nearly twenty years of experience in the youth empowerment, civic engagement, and community development fields, Maya previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Mobilize.org and began her career as East Coast Coordinator for Rock The Vote. In addition to her work with the Foundation, Maya is a proud member of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Class of 2022 and serves on the Bullying Prevention Advisory Committee (BPAC) for the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC). Maya grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Rutgers University. She currently resides outside of San Francisco with her husband, David, their two children, and their dog Kai. Here is Maya's impactful interview with Lady Gaga's mother, Cynthia Germanotta, President/Co-Founder of the Born This Way Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kiCX... Follow Maya: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/menista INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mayabtwf LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-enis...   ABOUT SHADILLE ESTEPAN: Communications and Creative Manager/Born This Way Foundation Shadille Estepan is Communications and Creative Manager for Born This Way Foundation. In this capacity, Shadille supports the Foundation's external communications efforts – including video production – as well as the organization's programming. Shadille has been part of Born This Way Foundation since 2012 when she served as part of the inaugural Youth Advisory Board. Shadille, originally from Miami, is a graduate of the University of Florida. Follow Shadille: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/shadille INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/shadille LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shadille/   LADY GAGA's “BORN THIS WAY” Foundation: https://bornthisway.foundation   Be There Certificate: https://betherecertificate.org   Channel Kindness: https://www.channelkindness.org Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us Couched in Color Website: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

In this opening episode of Season 3 of the “Couched in Color” podcast, Host Dr. Alfiee is joined by guest, Dr. Jenny T. Wang, who has been acknowledged for her “groundbreaking and invaluable”  knowledge, presence, and activism for mental health in the Asian American/Immigrant community.  Dr. Wang released a new book in May, 2022, Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans that honors the journey so many felt in isolation, as she guides readers to become empowered by finding their home within.  Dr. Alfiee is passionate about using her podcast to elevate conversations about mental health in diverse communities, bringing in experts like Dr. Wang, thought-leaders, people with lived-experience, celebrities, influencers, and everybody in between! SHARED PASSION FOR MENTAL HEALTH OF PEOPLE OF COLOR:  Dr. Alfiee: “I just want to say how meaningful it is to me to have us as two women of color sitting here having this conversation about something we're both passionate about as mental health professionals, psychologists, as people in this space, and that is, the mental health of those of us who identify as people of color–and all the intersectionality that goes with that.” Dr. Wang: “Thanks for holding space and inviting me to be part of this. I find it so inspiring and empowering to be in conversation with you…and you are my dear friend, too, even though we haven't known each other super long.  I just feel a kindredness.” “My hope is that people will see that mental health is in everything. It's not just what you see on TV, or severe diagnosable conditions. It is in the everyday moments and how we live our lives.” –She shares a fast-growing community of Asian American diaspora (dispora entails the dispersion of any people from their original homeland) and immigrant children through her social media account started on Instagram and her directory of Asian American therapists (links to all are at the end of show notes). “I think the most powerful part is people would leave comments and say, ‘I thought I was the only one. I thought it was just me.' And people started realizing there were these shared experiences within our community….Even though there are 45-plus ethnic groups that fall under the Aisan American umbrella, there were these kind of heartstrings that people could kind of feel…The posts  put language to the experiences that people had known and felt their entire lives but could not yet put words to.” Dr. Alfiee: “That's beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time…that there were so many people out there thinking it was just them.”  She calls Dr. Wang's directory “a unifying force” bringing together clinicians, researchers, people who want care, clients/patients, and a place where everybody can come together. Dr. Wang:  “The directory (Asians for Mental Health) affirmed for a lot of us that we are here, we exist and who is going to help us but ourselves.” Dr. Alfiee: “Wow, I get chills…In community members coming to do this because there is so much harm that happens in these established systems that people force us to go through to get to do what we love. So as a mental health professional, both of us are doctorate-level psychologists…even though you as Asian American and me as Afro American…there's this shared experience of being traumatized by these systems.” More on Dr. Jenny Tzu-Mei Wang, Ph.D.: A Houston, Texas- based Clinical Psychologist, Speaker, and Author of Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans Her Mission:   To destigmatize mental health for Asian diaspora (the dispersion of any people from their original homeland) and children of immigrants. She is a Taiwanese American clinical psychologist and national speaker on Asian American mental health and racial trauma in Asian American, BIPOC, and immigrant communities. Her work focuses on the intersection of Asian American identity, mental health, and social justice. She is the founder of the @asiansformentalhealth Instagram community, in which she discusses the unique experiences of Asian diaspora and immigrant communities. She spearheaded the Asian, Pacific Islander, and South Asian American Therapist Directory and its companion Canadian directory to help Asians seek culturally-relevant mental health providers. Follow Dr. Wang: Website: https://www.jennywangphd.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.comasiansformentalhealth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asiansformentalhealth Asians for Mental Health Directory:https://asiansformentalhealth.com Other Resources:https://linktr.ee/asiansformentalhealth Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us Continue following the Couched in Color Podcast: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

In this opening episode of Season 3 of the “Couched in Color” podcast, Host Dr. Alfiee is joined by guest, Dr. Jenny T. Wang, who has been acknowledged for her “groundbreaking and invaluable”  knowledge, presence, and activism for mental health in the Asian American/Immigrant community.  Dr. Wang released a new book in May, 2022, Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans that honors the journey so many felt in isolation, as she guides readers to become empowered by finding their home within.  Dr. Alfiee is passionate about using her podcast to elevate conversations about mental health in diverse communities, bringing in experts like Dr. Wang, thought-leaders, people with lived-experience, celebrities, influencers, and everybody in between! SHARED PASSION FOR MENTAL HEALTH OF PEOPLE OF COLOR:  Dr. Alfiee: “I just want to say how meaningful it is to me to have us as two women of color sitting here having this conversation about something we're both passionate about as mental health professionals, psychologists, as people in this space, and that is, the mental health of those of us who identify as people of color–and all the intersectionality that goes with that.” Dr. Wang: “Thanks for holding space and inviting me to be part of this. I find it so inspiring and empowering to be in conversation with you…and you are my dear friend, too, even though we haven't known each other super long.  I just feel a kindredness.” “My hope is that people will see that mental health is in everything. It's not just what you see on TV, or severe diagnosable conditions. It is in the everyday moments and how we live our lives.” –She shares a fast-growing community of Asian American diaspora (dispora entails the dispersion of any people from their original homeland) and immigrant children through her social media account started on Instagram and her directory of Asian American therapists (links to all are at the end of show notes). “I think the most powerful part is people would leave comments and say, ‘I thought I was the only one. I thought it was just me.' And people started realizing there were these shared experiences within our community….Even though there are 45-plus ethnic groups that fall under the Aisan American umbrella, there were these kind of heartstrings that people could kind of feel…The posts  put language to the experiences that people had known and felt their entire lives but could not yet put words to.” Dr. Alfiee: “That's beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time…that there were so many people out there thinking it was just them.”  She calls Dr. Wang's directory “a unifying force” bringing together clinicians, researchers, people who want care, clients/patients, and a place where everybody can come together. Dr. Wang:  “The directory (Asians for Mental Health) affirmed for a lot of us that we are here, we exist and who is going to help us but ourselves.” Dr. Alfiee: “Wow, I get chills…In community members coming to do this because there is so much harm that happens in these established systems that people force us to go through to get to do what we love. So as a mental health professional, both of us are doctorate-level psychologists…even though you as Asian American and me as Afro American…there's this shared experience of being traumatized by these systems.” More on Dr. Jenny Tzu-Mei Wang, Ph.D.: A Houston, Texas- based Clinical Psychologist, Speaker, and Author of Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans Her Mission:   To destigmatize mental health for Asian diaspora (the dispersion of any people from their original homeland) and children of immigrants. She is a Taiwanese American clinical psychologist and national speaker on Asian American mental health and racial trauma in Asian American, BIPOC, and immigrant communities. Her work focuses on the intersection of Asian American identity, mental health, and social justice. She is the founder of the @asiansformentalhealth Instagram community, in which she discusses the unique experiences of Asian diaspora and immigrant communities. She spearheaded the Asian, Pacific Islander, and South Asian American Therapist Directory and its companion Canadian directory to help Asians seek culturally-relevant mental health providers. Follow Dr. Wang: Website: https://www.jennywangphd.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.comasiansformentalhealth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asiansformentalhealth Asians for Mental Health Directory:https://asiansformentalhealth.com Other Resources:https://linktr.ee/asiansformentalhealth Follow Dr. Alfiee: Website:  https://dralfiee.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us Continue following the Couched in Color Podcast: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)

This podcast is designed to elevate conversations about mental health in diverse communities. You'll hear from mental health experts, thought-leaders, people with lived-experience, celebrities, influencers, and everybody in between! Remember to like, subscribe, and turn on your notifications so you're updated of each episode. New episodes will be released Thursday mornings! Couched in Color Podcast: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé) Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us

This podcast is designed to elevate conversations about mental health in diverse communities. You'll hear from mental health experts, thought-leaders, people with lived-experience, celebrities, influencers, and everybody in between! Remember to like, subscribe, and turn on your notifications so you're updated of each episode. New episodes will be released Thursday mornings! Couched in Color Podcast: https://dralfiee.com/podcast Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé) Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us

A Pre-inspection Envoy for The Bannerflex Corporation has boarded. The CFO Thurston Solomon Banner the 5th (younger brother to our esteemed CEO Solomon Thurston Banner the 14th) conducts a general review and assessment of the new Bannerflex systems, B-Flexx Squared processes, and work culture. Fun Video Episodes will be transcribed with Open Captions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing on Youtube. Visit us on https://www.GoodMorningAntioch.com for all updates and fun Antioch Merch. Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GoodMorningAntioch. Or get updates from MeLia0743 on Twitter @BMSSAntioch Become a patron at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/GoodMorningAntioch to gain access to exclusive video content like table reads and puppet outtakes! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/goodmorningantioch/support

A fascinating journey into three extremely simple embroidery techniques that have grown to encompass and embrace modern technology and advances, yet are basically worked exactly as our ancient forebears would have worked them.

If you’ve been listening to Banished, you’ll recall that in just a few short months we’ve talked about attempts to abolish artwork, to repudiate literature and even to eliminate entire curricula throughout the United States. But you may wonder, as I sometimes still do, why me? Why am I, Amna Khalid, pulled toward these topics, compelled by what we casually call “cancel culture”?And so, dear listeners, it feels like the right time to step back — to give you a sense of who I am and why I am deeply disturbed by the censorship and intolerance now thriving in the West. For this week’s episode, I will read aloud from a letter that I wrote earlier this year, to a loved one with whom I grew up in Pakistan. I hope that I leave you with a better understanding of why this show, why Banished and why me.Mani,My darling, darling Mani. What a ways the two of us have come. From the long, lazy days of Ammi’s home-cooked meals and family chatter, with all of us huddled together on her bed in Islamabad, to where we are now: you in the endless grey that runs through your years in Britain, now visible in the hairs on your face; and I enduring my tenth Minnesota winter.We’ve taken to our new homes — quite seamlessly and effortlessly for the most part. You’ve internalized the sorry-reflex of the Brits and I, as you point out every chance you get, have inadvertently started mimicking the rhotic accent of the Midwest that grates on you so much. And though we never dare to speak of the oceans of losses that we have buried deep within us, you and I both know there is much that we have left behind. The dewy mornings of fall, the warmth of the winter sun, the oppressive dry heat of the summer months and the intensity of the monsoon rains punctuated by days of stifling humidity that would only let up with the next downpour — and the cycle would begin once again.But that was not the suffocation that you and I ran away from. Our escape, if you will, was from a different kind of claustrophobia. You being gay and unable to live freely in your fullness and write in ways that challenged reigning orthodoxies; and me — then a young woman with too many ideas, hungry for intellectual stimulation, challenging all norms and limitations. Flamboyant and outspoken, we flirted with the idea of crossing the line of what was acceptable, but only in our small social circles of other misfits like you and me.For me, the closing in of the walls came into focus for the first time that fateful evening in February 1989. I remember we could hear the mob outside the American Cultural Center which was miles away from our house. You turned on the tv and we watched it happen — the riots protesting Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. The streets were teaming with thousands of zealots after Ayatollah Khomeini declared a fatwa against Rushdie — the atmosphere was chilling. I was only 10 then but the gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on me. In the following months we sat night after night watching riots ripple across the globe, for Rushdie had committed blasphemy — (certain) Muslims were offended and their offense was translating into terror and violence.It was only in the wake of the Rushdie affair that I fully came to appreciate the expansiveness of the notion of blasphemy and the legal infrastructure within Pakistan that gave it teeth. I started reading the newspaper and, of course, it was all too apparent for anyone to see, even to a ten year old, how these blasphemy laws — perverted in their very criminalization of speech to begin with — became a tool for repressing and dispossessing non-muslims. How these developments gave license to the outright targeting of minority groups hit home for me a year later when my friend Asha’s neighbor, an Ahmadi, was shot in his own driveway by a group of vigilantes. As I cast my mind back I can see my dumbstruck eleven-year-old self, holding Asha’s hand in school the next day -- both of us terror-stricken as she recounted how she and her father heard the shots, ran out and then helped load her neighbor’s bleeding body in their car only to have him declared dead when they got to the hospital.It was around then that I consciously started paying attention to the politics of the times: the misogyny entrenched in the Zina Ordinance that resulted in rape victims becoming criminally liable for offenses against them; the systematic purging of progressive teachers and professors; the ideological tyranny that shaped the curriculum in public schools and universities; media censorship and the erosion of democratic institutions across the board.Remember when all women newscasters were told they had to cover their heads? And when dance performances were categorized as “obscenity”? Oh and that time when we were walking to Jinnah Market for ice-cream and this man came up to me and told me that I should wear a dupatta? We were both so stunned and frightened that we said “yes” and walked on, neither one of us daring to even comment to each other on the absurdity of what had happened. And how can I forget! The time when some low-ranking mullah declared a fatwa against you for walking into your classroom with a cup of tea in the middle of Ramadan when you were teaching English to 7th graders. You always were absent-minded. That was close — a lucky escape for you that no major media outlet picked it up.It’s not that I hadn’t felt the suffocation before that. The fateful marriage of religious dogma and political ideology under Zia’s dictatorship birthed the ‘blasphemous mindset’ that permeated all aspects of our lives. I remember in school each time I voiced my inquisitiveness, disapproval awaited me. There was the Pakistan Studies class when I asked about the role of Muslims in the killings of Hindus and Sikhs during the Partition of India; I was shut down and told, “It was they who started the killing, not us.” Once, I dared to wonder out loud if we would have been better off in a joint India and Miss Nosheen gave me a look that sends shivers down my spine even today as I recall it in my mind’s eye. At the next parent teacher meeting my “report card” said: “Amna is intelligent but she asks disruptive questions in class.” And then there was the Islamiat class. Now that’s a boundary that even I knew not to cross — I learned early on, head down and no questions. Genuine, probing questions about Islamic history were actively discouraged. Banish the thought of even a mild challenge to the indoctrination the curriculum engendered.It wasn’t much better in college for me either. You left in 1993 for the greener pastures of Britain to pursue your MA, but I was still in the thick of finding my way out. I was hoping, naively, that going to a private college would give me the freedom I so desperately craved. In some ways it did, but only because I got savvier at navigating the obstacles. It didn’t take me long to see the shallowness of the seemingly liberal atmosphere of the school. Yes of course, I had inspirational teachers like Khurram, Hasan and Ali, who opened a whole new world for me intellectually — but there was a darker side to it all. While a handful of us were looking to these professors to widen our horizons, a number of other professors were recruiting students into the Tablighi Jamaat. Remember Zain, who was dating my friend Maryam? One day, out of the blue some students invited him for Tablighi sessions at Raiwind. And then one fine morning, Maryam came crying to my dorm room: “He broke up with me — he says dating is anti-Islamic.” And sure enough, two days later he’d changed his entire persona. Just like that, Zain went from being the cool guy who sported stonewash jeans and U2 t-shirts, to growing a beard, wearing shalwar kameez and refusing to make eye contact with women, let alone shaking their hands. And you know what Mani, he wasn’t the only one. It happened to many — much like dominoes falling. From one day to the next another one fell.I don’t think I ever told you what happened to Asim. Yes, the same Asim whose painting you bought a few years ago. Once in a gender studies class he said something about the unfairness of Islamic law and he was hauled before the college’s disciplinary committee to “educate” him. They almost suspended him for a term but he somehow managed to stay on. And Tahseen, the Pakistani-American professor teaching the course — she was the idealistic sort who returned from the US in the hopes of “giving back” — well, she ended up being forced out by the administration. Teaching Judith Butler in Pakistan — that was her “crime.” At the end of that semester when she told us she’d decided to move back to the US, I offered to help her pack her office. She and I, we both sat on her office floor taping boxes heavy with books, much like our hearts with sadness.But Mani, as always, I digress. Where was I? Ah yes, the Rushdie affair and what that meant to us. Back then the way the West came to Rushdie’s rescue and scoffed at offense as a rationale for limiting expression was an unexpected comfort. Britain provided police protection for Rushdie and even broke off diplomatic relations with Iran. Imagine that! To live in a place where no one stops you from dressing the way you wanted; no vigilantes telling you what you can or cannot say; where asking questions in class is rewarded not punished; a place where there is no thought police; where the state protects your right to express yourself even if it sours foreign relations — heaven! Just imagining it was delicious and yes, oh so blasphemous!Now that I cast my mind back it was around then that you and I started dreaming of possibilities elsewhere. We looked to the West and we were tempted — tempted by the promise of freedom. It wasn’t really the freedom to dress how we wanted or to drink openly. It was the freedom to think and speak freely, the freedom to explore ideas and know that we could dare to go wherever they led us. You took off for England and made a new home there; and I true to being the youngest who pushed the limits just a little bit more, followed a few years later but was still restless. Sure enough, after 8 years at Oxford I needed to move on. My adventure of teaching in South Africa lasted two years and I got itchy feet again. And here I am today, in the belly of the beast so to speak — the country that prides itself on free speech as a constitutional right. You couldn’t go wrong — teaching at a small liberal arts college in the US. A place where at last I could be fully free. And what better place than the academy to revel in the freedom to think! I was in heaven; the heaven that I had dreamed of.But as of late I find myself wondering, am I really? With more than half the states introducing bills that ban  what they construe  as critical race theory in schools, the specter of state censorship is beginning to make an appearance here too. The threat to academic freedom from right wing political forces has proliferated At two universities governing boards interfered with the selection of university presidents in order to install political allies; there was donor meddling in UNC’s denial of tenure to Nicole Hannah Jones, of the 1619 project fame; and just last week the University of Florida, a public school mind you, banned three professors from serving as expert witnesses in a lawsuit challenging a state law that limits how residents can vote. Who would’ve thought this could happen in America. When did I first see cracks in my romance with the freedom of the academy in the West? I'd say probably five years into my time in the US. Our college was considering instituting a “bias response team” and out of sheer curiosity I decided to go to the town hall. What are these teams you ask — they are committees of administrators, students and possibly faculty to assess “bias” complaints, which could be filed if anyone or any group of people on campus were offended by anything said or done by others. The case is investigated and the offending party potentially sanctioned. As I sat there listening to this proposal which seemed to me a softer version of speech control, I could feel the hairs on the back on my neck standing. I had a creeping sense that unwritten rules for regulating thinking and speech were rearing their heads in the US too. Couched in terms of being sensitive to others, they reeked of the kind of ideological authoritarianism and the “blasphemy mindset” that you and I thought we’d left behind. Did we move halfway across the world only to find ourselves trapped in another cage?Surely, no educational institution in the West would entertain a move that would chill speech on campus and was deeply anti-intellectual! But lo and behold — as I started looking into it Mani, these teams were mushrooming on campuses across the country. And sure enough, these teams are stifling speech.It’s not just college campuses Mani; the authority of “offense” now reigns supreme. It’s everywhere — even art is not protected. In the spring of 2019 I read a news report about how activists clamoring to have the most stunning murals by Arnatoff erased because of his depiction of colonial occupation, the death of Native Americans and slavery. Some even vowed that they will not rest until these murals were permanently destroyed — all because they supposedly offend and “traumatize” indigenous and African American peoples. It chills me to the bone to think of the dogma that is taking root here. I know you’re going to say, it’s just one incident. But — last summer I heard that students at the University of Kentucky are protesting the Rice O’Hanlon murals on their campus. And students at the Vermont Law School are clamoring to cover The Underground Railroad, Vermont and the Fugitive Slave -- murals made expressly to recognize Black Americans and Vermont abolitionists involved in helping enslaved people who escaped from the South. Why? Because they believe that such painful reminders of slavery should not be in a public setting. No matter the artist was intending to subvert the dominant tropes of manifest destiny by placing Native Americans, African Americans and even working class revolutionaries at the center of these paintings. The contagion of intolerance spreads fast I suppose. What have things come to? As if there is a predetermined way of interpreting art! As if Native Americans or African Americans have a singular sensibility! Reminds me of how people here like to box Muslims — as if all 2 billion of “us” are the same! Oh how I tire here of the likes of Sam Harris who portray every Muslim woman who comes to the West as an Ayan Hirsi Ali, an ex-Muslim who has successfully escaped the shackles of Islamic regimes. How people simplify things, seduced by the narrative of the West saving Muslim women from the “cruelties” of Islam. The other day someone said to me, “How fortunate you must feel that you are no longer in Pakistan! I take it you don’t see yourself as Muslim?” My response: “I’m only an ex-Muslim in Pakistan; in the US I am always a Muslim — and by choice.” I left him standing there, baffled. Fortunate. Yes, that’s what we thought we were when we first came to our new homes. Few can see the warp and woof of loss and grief that’s woven into the very fabric of our fortunes. Even I did not fully realize the granularity and texture of the heartbreak that our freedom entailed. The sadness of leaving family behind, though always present, only struck me in its fullness when I decided to make my own. I remember telling daddy on the phone that I was pregnant — his boundless joy traversed the thousands of miles between us and spilled out on this end of the telephone. As I clumsily navigated both the flutters of excitement and backbreaking pains of my growing belly, I ached for the mother-daughter intimacy that so many of our cousins back home took for granted when they had their first borns. I wished Ammi could be there to hold my hand and guide me into motherhood. But it was daddy’s unexpected death just a couple of months after Ravi’s birth — the rush of unbridled grief of losing a parent colliding with the limitless and exhilarating joy of becoming one — that’s what drove home to me the immeasurability of the cost of leaving home. How much we have surrendered just to speak and think freely!Here I go digressing again. Back to the tyranny of “social justice” as they call it — what a perversion of the term. Of course I know all about  the horrors of racism and sexism — how could I not. As a postcolonial subject growing up with the vile legacy of colonialism that infects so much in Pakistan, and later  a woman navigating a society suffused with violent patriarchy I do understand! But the “social justice” of the West strikes me now as anti-social and no longer just. This will truly pain you, Mani, but there’s even a movement to read literature through a “social justice” lens. Turns out the literary canon is “for white people, by white people and about white people.” Shakespeare’s stature in the canon is reduced to “white supremacy and colonization.” Why then did I find myself both despising and feeling for Shylock when he asks for a pound of flesh and loses his case? Why then did Hamlet’s soliloquy speak to me in moments of existential crises back in Pakistan? What’s more, universities are closing Classics departments; professors from within the field themselves are asking for its demolition because white supremacy is believed to “reside in the very marrow of the classics.” I tell you Mani, even words have lost their meaning — “white supremacy,” “racism” —they no longer mean what they used to.I worry for Ravi and Sahil too. I know, I know they are only 9 and 6. But Mani, there are primers for teachers out there — mind you they are well regarded by many — on how to “dismantle racism” in math instruction. They preach that a focus on the right answer and asking students to “show their work” are manifestations of “white supremacy culture.” Just a couple of months ago Dr. Seuss’s estate announced that six of his books will no longer be published because of their “hurtful and wrong” racial representations. And sure enough a whole slew of local libraries are now busy pulling them off their shelves. But David Pilkey is the epitome — yes, Pilkey of Captain Underpants fame, he canceled one of his own books in anticipation of possible offense-- a preemptive strike of sorts (Americans seem to be good at those). In his note of retraction, he regrets the “passive stereotypes and racism” that were “harmful to everyone.” It’s surreal — happenings from a dystopian novel.Ah what a long way you and I have come from a country where writers were canceled by diktat of blasphemy. And yet, have we really? Here I am in a country that I call home where authors no longer have to be sanctioned by others; they cancel themselves. And you are in a country where school teachers are fired for offending Muslim sensibilities for showing cartoons of Mohammad in a class on religion and free expression. Oh the irony that this should be happening in Britain, the very country that provided refuge to Rushdie in the wake of the Satanic Verses affair. The West, once that shining beacon of freedom for us, seems a lot less lustrous from where we sit now. Censorship predicated on offense, once seen as the hallmark of “backward” cultures of the third world, appears to be a virtue of progressive thinking today.Sometimes I wonder Mani, maybe we were the real blasphemous ones for daring to hope and imagine that heaven could in fact be a place on earth. And now, perhaps this is our atonement — for what can be heavier than the weight of disillusionment?Your sad and despondent Amna This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit banished.substack.com/subscribe

Join Dr. Alfiee as she wraps up Season 2 of the Couched in Color podcast! After 22 episodes, Dr. Alfiee sits down with you and shares the driving forces behind the creation of this platform and her vision behind it all. From proud advocates to authentic allies, Couched in Color has hosted a wide range of guests from all backgrounds and cultures to tell their powerful stories. Tune in as Dr. Alfiee reflects on those guest experiences and the valuable lessons she has learned from hosting Season 2 of Couched in Color. Thank you so much for tuning in, and see you in Season 3!    KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The mission and vision of Couched in Color.  Why do we need to keep talking about mental health?  Biggest takeaways from the guests of Couched in Color.  Lessons learned hosting the Couched in Color podcast.  QUOTABLES: “The thread that ties all of this together is that we all have mental health needs. All of us. It doesn't matter who you are.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Subscribe to Couched in Color on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CouchedinColorwithDrAlfiee Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love!  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com) 

Join Dr. Alfiee as she wraps up Season 2 of the Couched in Color podcast! After 22 episodes, Dr. Alfiee sits down with you and shares the driving forces behind the creation of this platform and her vision behind it all. From proud advocates to authentic allies, Couched in Color has hosted a wide range of guests from all backgrounds and cultures to tell their powerful stories. Tune in as Dr. Alfiee reflects on those guest experiences and the valuable lessons she has learned from hosting Season 2 of Couched in Color. Thank you so much for tuning in, and see you in Season 3!    KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The mission and vision of Couched in Color.  Why do we need to keep talking about mental health?  Biggest takeaways from the guests of Couched in Color.  Lessons learned hosting the Couched in Color podcast.  QUOTABLES: “The thread that ties all of this together is that we all have mental health needs. All of us. It doesn't matter who you are.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Subscribe to Couched in Color on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CouchedinColorwithDrAlfiee Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love!  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com) 

As a huge advocate for inclusivity and being of service, Justin Graves embodies that very purpose in everything he does, especially through his organization, He's On Wheels. Tune in as Justin shares his experience of thriving with a disability, what inclusion means to him, and how he promotes that in all of his work. Dr. Alfiee and Justin also chat about the struggles of feeling invisible, how to be of service to others, and why we need to get comfortable asking hard questions (and how to ask them!). Join the discussion and uncover how even the little things you do can create inclusion in your community and allow everyone you encounter to feel valued and loved. KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The motivation and mission of He's On Wheels. What does inclusion mean to you? How can we create a sense of inclusion? The impacts of invisibility and how to tackle it. Thoughts on privilege, code-switching, and picking your battles. How to maintain a positive mindset and protect your mental health. Turning Cancel Culture into Counsel Culture. QUOTABLES: “If you are living your life with a service mindset and you're interacting with people in a thoughtful, caring way, then everyone's health, mental, physical, emotional is going to be better.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Visit the He's On Wheels website at http://hesonwheels.com/ Follow Justin on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hesonwheels/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hesonwheels/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hesonwheels Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

As a huge advocate for inclusivity and being of service, Justin Graves embodies that very purpose in everything he does, especially through his organization, He's On Wheels. Tune in as Justin shares his experience of thriving with a disability, what inclusion means to him, and how he promotes that in all of his work. Dr. Alfiee and Justin also chat about the struggles of feeling invisible, how to be of service to others, and why we need to get comfortable asking hard questions (and how to ask them!). Join the discussion and uncover how even the little things you do can create inclusion in your community and allow everyone you encounter to feel valued and loved. KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The motivation and mission of He's On Wheels. What does inclusion mean to you? How can we create a sense of inclusion? The impacts of invisibility and how to tackle it. Thoughts on privilege, code-switching, and picking your battles. How to maintain a positive mindset and protect your mental health. Turning Cancel Culture into Counsel Culture. QUOTABLES: “If you are living your life with a service mindset and you're interacting with people in a thoughtful, caring way, then everyone's health, mental, physical, emotional is going to be better.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Visit the He's On Wheels website at http://hesonwheels.com/ Follow Justin on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hesonwheels/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hesonwheels/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hesonwheels Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

Join us as we uncover the power of mindfulness and journaling with special guest and founder of the Boom Journal app, Matt West! In this episode, Matt opens up about the pivotal moments in his life, from grieving his career-ending injury to creating his Boom Journal app. Matt has since been making waves in the mental health space by being a strong advocate for mindful journaling. Dr. Alfiee and Matt also chat about toxic positivity, self-growth, and how to be of support to others especially during trying times such as COVID. Find out what makes Matt such a strong believer in journaling, as well as the inspiration and mission behind Boom Journal.    KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The pivotal moments in Matt's life.   How Matt discovered journaling and mindfulness.  The key to managing and overcoming challenges.  Tools to achieve self growth and actualization.  What is the Boom Journal for?    QUOTABLES: “We're all going to be faced with challenges. But it's more important to not avoid or escape, but being able to position yourself to respond, so you can know that you are going to get through this.” “When someone truly feels heard and understood, they will come up with a solution on their own, at their own pace and at their own time.”   PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold   Follow Matt West on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammattwest/?hl=en Visit Matt West's website at https://www.iammattwest.com/ Try the Boom Journal app: https://boomjournal.com/ Follow Boom Journal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boomjournalapp/?hl=en   Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love!  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee   Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com) 

Join us as we uncover the power of mindfulness and journaling with special guest and founder of the Boom Journal app, Matt West! In this episode, Matt opens up about the pivotal moments in his life, from grieving his career-ending injury to creating his Boom Journal app. Matt has since been making waves in the mental health space by being a strong advocate for mindful journaling. Dr. Alfiee and Matt also chat about toxic positivity, self-growth, and how to be of support to others especially during trying times such as COVID. Find out what makes Matt such a strong believer in journaling, as well as the inspiration and mission behind Boom Journal.    KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The pivotal moments in Matt's life.   How Matt discovered journaling and mindfulness.  The key to managing and overcoming challenges.  Tools to achieve self growth and actualization.  What is the Boom Journal for?    QUOTABLES: “We're all going to be faced with challenges. But it's more important to not avoid or escape, but being able to position yourself to respond, so you can know that you are going to get through this.” “When someone truly feels heard and understood, they will come up with a solution on their own, at their own pace and at their own time.”   PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold   Follow Matt West on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammattwest/?hl=en Visit Matt West's website at https://www.iammattwest.com/ Try the Boom Journal app: https://boomjournal.com/ Follow Boom Journal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boomjournalapp/?hl=en   Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love!  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee   Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com) 

From the young age of thirteen, Juan Acosta started his mental health advocacy for kids at the intersection of the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. Now a fully-fledged mental health advocate and contributor to the new book from Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, CHANNEL KINDNESS, Juan continues his fight for equality, awareness, and rights for marginalized youth. Join Dr. Alfiee and Juan as they discuss the stigma of mental illness in Latinx communities, what inspired him to begin his mental health advocacy, and the biggest challenges he has had to overcome in his journey! KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: Thriving at the intersection of the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. The driving force behind Juan's mental health advocacy. What can children and parents do when dealing with bullying? How to have intentional conversations about mental health. About the Channel Kindness project and book. The struggles and pressures of mental health advocacy. How to practice self-care and ground yourself. The power of owning your truth. What to do when you're dealing with mental health concerns.   QUOTABLES: “There's so much more to one person's identity than just one thing. We all have different layers to ourselves that we need to address and I feel like that's something that needs to be addressed within the mental health system.” “I am more than one moment. And for me, that means I am more than one moment of success and I am more than one moment of me feeling unwell or feeling like I failed at something. So I am more than the success and I am more than any failure that I could ever undergo because there's so much more to it.” “I'm going to go after what I set myself out to do regardless of those who will oppose it, regardless of those who like it or not, because this is my truth. And when you own your truth, that's what will propel you to those heights.”   PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Follow Juan Acosta on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juanacosta__/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JUANACOSTA__ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acostajuann/about/ Visit Juan Acosta's website at https://www.juanacostaofficial.com/ Visit the Channel Kindness website at https://www.channelkindness.org/ Get your copy of the CHANNEL KINDNESS book here: https://www.channelkindness.org/book/   Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/         Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

From the young age of thirteen, Juan Acosta started his mental health advocacy for kids at the intersection of the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. Now a fully-fledged mental health advocate and contributor to the new book from Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, CHANNEL KINDNESS, Juan continues his fight for equality, awareness, and rights for marginalized youth. Join Dr. Alfiee and Juan as they discuss the stigma of mental illness in Latinx communities, what inspired him to begin his mental health advocacy, and the biggest challenges he has had to overcome in his journey! KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: Thriving at the intersection of the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. The driving force behind Juan's mental health advocacy. What can children and parents do when dealing with bullying? How to have intentional conversations about mental health. About the Channel Kindness project and book. The struggles and pressures of mental health advocacy. How to practice self-care and ground yourself. The power of owning your truth. What to do when you're dealing with mental health concerns.   QUOTABLES: “There's so much more to one person's identity than just one thing. We all have different layers to ourselves that we need to address and I feel like that's something that needs to be addressed within the mental health system.” “I am more than one moment. And for me, that means I am more than one moment of success and I am more than one moment of me feeling unwell or feeling like I failed at something. So I am more than the success and I am more than any failure that I could ever undergo because there's so much more to it.” “I'm going to go after what I set myself out to do regardless of those who will oppose it, regardless of those who like it or not, because this is my truth. And when you own your truth, that's what will propel you to those heights.”   PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Follow Juan Acosta on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juanacosta__/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JUANACOSTA__ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acostajuann/about/ Visit Juan Acosta's website at https://www.juanacostaofficial.com/ Visit the Channel Kindness website at https://www.channelkindness.org/ Get your copy of the CHANNEL KINDNESS book here: https://www.channelkindness.org/book/   Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/         Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

In this three-part episode, Dr. Alfiee chats with the authors of the book African American Families: Research, Theory, and Practice Faye Z. Belgrave, Ph.D., Trenette Clark Goings, Ph.D., and Heather A. Jones, Ph.D. We invited the authors to the show to share a traditional academic perspective on best practices in supporting the emotional development of Black youth.  As Dr. Alfiee discusses this new book with each of the authors,  she uncovers the motivation behind their work and how their unique areas of expertise were  woven into the publication. Listen and learn more about the term racial socialization is, why it matters for Black youth and how crucial it is in the upbringing of Black children.  You'll also gain new insights into important conversations to have with children of diverse backgrounds. Tune in now so you can learn more about how you can best support and nurture your child in the fight toward dismantling racism, improving equity and inclusion, and promoting social racialization.  This episode is one of our more academic leaning features but the authors make their material highly accessible and relevant for teens, parents and families.   KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: Faye Z. Belgrave, Ph.D. Dr. Belgrave's work in the mental health field. About the book African American Families: Research, Theory, and Practice What is racial socialization and why is it so important? How does racial socialization support mental health for African American youth?   Trenette Clark Goings, Ph.D. Dr. Going's work in identifying and preventing health disparities. How to reach out and get involved with the community and research on health disparities. Studying the coping among essential workers amidst COVID. How to help Black youth cope with the effects of the pandemic.   Heather A. Jones, Ph.D. Dr. Jones' work in improving the well-being of BIPOC communities. The story behind African American Families: Research, Theory, and Practice What racial socialization looks like in Black families. How a colorblind society can be harmful. What BIPOC parents can do to take care of their mental health.   QUOTABLES: “When somebody says a racial slur, I don't internalize it. It keeps my self-esteem intact. So I'm not internalizing the negativity. I am proud of who I am in spite of the negativity.”   PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee   Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

In this three-part episode, Dr. Alfiee chats with the authors of the book African American Families: Research, Theory, and Practice Faye Z. Belgrave, Ph.D., Trenette Clark Goings, Ph.D., and Heather A. Jones, Ph.D. We invited the authors to the show to share a traditional academic perspective on best practices in supporting the emotional development of Black youth.  As Dr. Alfiee discusses this new book with each of the authors,  she uncovers the motivation behind their work and how their unique areas of expertise were  woven into the publication. Listen and learn more about the term racial socialization is, why it matters for Black youth and how crucial it is in the upbringing of Black children.  You'll also gain new insights into important conversations to have with children of diverse backgrounds. Tune in now so you can learn more about how you can best support and nurture your child in the fight toward dismantling racism, improving equity and inclusion, and promoting social racialization.  This episode is one of our more academic leaning features but the authors make their material highly accessible and relevant for teens, parents and families.   KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: Faye Z. Belgrave, Ph.D. Dr. Belgrave's work in the mental health field. About the book African American Families: Research, Theory, and Practice What is racial socialization and why is it so important? How does racial socialization support mental health for African American youth?   Trenette Clark Goings, Ph.D. Dr. Going's work in identifying and preventing health disparities. How to reach out and get involved with the community and research on health disparities. Studying the coping among essential workers amidst COVID. How to help Black youth cope with the effects of the pandemic.   Heather A. Jones, Ph.D. Dr. Jones' work in improving the well-being of BIPOC communities. The story behind African American Families: Research, Theory, and Practice What racial socialization looks like in Black families. How a colorblind society can be harmful. What BIPOC parents can do to take care of their mental health.   QUOTABLES: “When somebody says a racial slur, I don't internalize it. It keeps my self-esteem intact. So I'm not internalizing the negativity. I am proud of who I am in spite of the negativity.”   PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee   Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

We've all experienced growing pains in our lives. The struggles of fitting in, overcoming fears, even navigating insecurities can oftentimes be too much to bear, especially for young people. But therapist, life coach, and mentor Jason Phillips is a living example to BIPOC youth of how to wear confidence loud and proud! In this episode, Jason shares what sparked his passion for mental health in Black boys and men and teaches us about the importance of helping Black boys find their self-confidence. Dr. Alfiee and Jason also chat about their college experiences and the key sponsors and mentors in their lives growing up. Tune in now to join the conversation! KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: Jason Phillip's mental health and mentoring journey. The difference between mentorship and sponsorship. The sponsors and pillars of Jason's life. What is a life coach, what to look out for in a life coach, and can kids benefit from them? How to fit in by standing out. The importance of positive racial socialization for youths. About the Peace and Prosperity Podcast. QUOTABLES: “Teens that I work with, they don't want to always fit in, from a mental health standpoint, they want to be understood. And that's the part where I think we kind of fall short because we want them to be like us and think like us.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Visit Jason Phillip's website at https://www.pnpcoach.com/ For more information on his upcoming webinars, visit https://www.wearconfidenceseries.com/ Follow Jason Phillip on Instagram @jphillipsmsw - https://www.instagram.com/jphillipsmsw/ Visit and like his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jphillipsmsw Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

We've all experienced growing pains in our lives. The struggles of fitting in, overcoming fears, even navigating insecurities can oftentimes be too much to bear, especially for young people. But therapist, life coach, and mentor Jason Phillips is a living example to BIPOC youth of how to wear confidence loud and proud! In this episode, Jason shares what sparked his passion for mental health in Black boys and men and teaches us about the importance of helping Black boys find their self-confidence. Dr. Alfiee and Jason also chat about their college experiences and the key sponsors and mentors in their lives growing up. Tune in now to join the conversation! KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: Jason Phillip's mental health and mentoring journey. The difference between mentorship and sponsorship. The sponsors and pillars of Jason's life. What is a life coach, what to look out for in a life coach, and can kids benefit from them? How to fit in by standing out. The importance of positive racial socialization for youths. About the Peace and Prosperity Podcast. QUOTABLES: “Teens that I work with, they don't want to always fit in, from a mental health standpoint, they want to be understood. And that's the part where I think we kind of fall short because we want them to be like us and think like us.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Visit Jason Phillip's website at https://www.pnpcoach.com/ For more information on his upcoming webinars, visit https://www.wearconfidenceseries.com/ Follow Jason Phillip on Instagram @jphillipsmsw - https://www.instagram.com/jphillipsmsw/ Visit and like his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jphillipsmsw Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

In this episode, published author Brittney Morris joins us to chat about her latest novel The Cost of Knowing with your host, Dr. Alfiee. The Cost of Knowing is a celebration of Black men and shines a spotlight on the uniqueness of Black manhood and masculinity. This is an especially poignant conversation and celebration of Black boyhood, given the racial trauma all around us in this time of the loss of young #DaunteWright. Find out what motivated Brittney to write about young male relationships in the Black community, and why there is a strong need for more variation in how Black male interpersonal relationships are portrayed in storytelling. Brittney also shares what sparked her passion for writing, and how her experience as a writer has influenced her personal life and vice versa. KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The inspiration and motivation behind The Cost of Knowing. Exploring other types of male relationships. What is Demisexuality? Navigating the pressures on youths and children. What sparked Brittney's passion for writing. Writing as therapy. QUOTABLES: “We need actual conversations about mental health that are accessible and meet Black men where they are because the struggles of Black men are unique to Black men.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Books by Brittney Morris: The Cost of Knowing Slay Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Wings of Fury Together, Apart The Jump Order them on her website at https://www.authorbrittneymorris.com/books1 Follow Brittney Morris on Instagram @brittneymmorris - https://www.instagram.com/brittneymmorris/ Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

In this episode, published author Brittney Morris joins us to chat about her latest novel The Cost of Knowing with your host, Dr. Alfiee. The Cost of Knowing is a celebration of Black men and shines a spotlight on the uniqueness of Black manhood and masculinity. This is an especially poignant conversation and celebration of Black boyhood, given the racial trauma all around us in this time of the loss of young #DaunteWright. Find out what motivated Brittney to write about young male relationships in the Black community, and why there is a strong need for more variation in how Black male interpersonal relationships are portrayed in storytelling. Brittney also shares what sparked her passion for writing, and how her experience as a writer has influenced her personal life and vice versa. KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The inspiration and motivation behind The Cost of Knowing. Exploring other types of male relationships. What is Demisexuality? Navigating the pressures on youths and children. What sparked Brittney's passion for writing. Writing as therapy. QUOTABLES: “We need actual conversations about mental health that are accessible and meet Black men where they are because the struggles of Black men are unique to Black men.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Books by Brittney Morris: The Cost of Knowing Slay Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Wings of Fury Together, Apart The Jump Order them on her website at https://www.authorbrittneymorris.com/books1 Follow Brittney Morris on Instagram @brittneymmorris - https://www.instagram.com/brittneymmorris/ Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)

Founders and creators Ali Gates and Evans Anyanwu of the U; Good? app have been making waves in the mental health space with their platform. Find out how they are breaking intergenerational chains as Black men by not only being open with their feelings, but by creating a platform that encourages others to do the same without judgment.  Their incredible platform is straightforward and deeply engaging all at the same time allowing users to check in on their loved ones with ease. Tune in to see what exactly this app is all about and uncover the process behind turning this simple idea into an ingenious platform creating equity in the mental health space. Ali, Evans, and Dr. Alfiee also chat about boundaries, mental health in the Black community, among our young people and future hopes for the U; Good? app. KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS: The inspiration behind U Good? Placing emphasis on mental health for the Black community amidst the pandemic. Design Sprints: The process of turning the idea into an app. The story behind the red, yellow, and green colors. Biggest needs and opportunities at U; Good? The importance of setting boundaries and knowing yourself. QUOTABLES: “Relationships are these emotional banks, and we have to keep putting in deposits. Oftentimes we know there's strife because people come to this emotional bank and they want to make a withdrawal, but they never put in any deposit.” PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: Download the U; Good? app here: https://ugood.app/ Want to join the U; Good? team? Email evans@ugood.app or support@ugood.app for more information. Like what you're hearing? Follow Dr. Alfiee on social media and show some love! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/ Visit Dr. Alfiee's website at https://dralfiee.com/ Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here: https://aakomaproject.org/ Couched in Color is edited by Instapodcasts (visit at www.instapodcasts.com)