Podcasts about Equality

Advocating for justice and equality and welcoming non-Catholics to Mass are the questions on this episode of Beyond Damascus!

After weeks of speculation, Taoiseach Micheál Martin finally revealed yesterday that he wants former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin to represent Fianna Fáil in the presidential election. Minister for Children, Disability, and Equality, and Fianna Fáil TD, Norma Foley speaks to This Week.

In CI News this week: A top lawyer warns that Liam McArthur's assisted suicide Bill discriminates against people with disabilities and breaches their human rights, the Equality watchdog instructs multiple organisations to comply with single-sex space regulations, and a British toddler with Down's syndrome will feature in a US billboard campaign to tackle prejudice. You can download the video via this link. Featured stories Top lawyer: Liam McArthur's assisted suicide Bill discriminates against those with disabilities EHRC acts over non-compliance with single-sex space law Marriage breakdown leads to poor GCSE results, warns think tank Chelmsford toddler to be on Times Square billboard for Down Syndrome campaign

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Important Links: Hmong Innovating Politics: Website | Instagram Asian Refugees United: Website | Instagram Bhutanese American Refugee Rights website Transcript Swati Rayasam: You are tuned in to Apex Express on KPFA. My name is Swati Rayasam.  Since the onset of the Trump administration, immigrant and refugee communities have been under increased attack, being kidnapped in broad daylight, detained in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and deported to countries many of them barely know. All without due process or communication to their loved ones and communities. On tonight's episode, we're focusing on a particular segment of our immigrant and refugee community, Hmong and Bhutanese refugees. Both of these targeted communities are stateless with no land to call their own, and their deportation carries the very real danger of disappearance and death. Robin Gurung from Asian Refugees United and Kao Ye Thao from Hmong innovating Politics, discuss their community and personal refugee stories, and talk about the intersection of the US' deeply broken immigration and criminal legal systems, otherwise known as crimmigration. We also get to hear from the wives of two detained refugees, one Bhutanese and one Hmong, who are currently fighting to keep their families together and to protect their loved ones from the dangers of deportation as stateless people. I also want to note because this is a rapidly developing situation, that this episode was recorded on August 13th, 2025, and is being released on August 28th, 2025. For the most recent updates, please go to bhutaneserefugeerights.org or check out the Pardon Refugees campaign. Now, here's Miko. Miko: Welcome to Apex Express. Thank you so much for being here today. I'm so glad to bring you all together in this time. I'm wondering if I could ask you each to introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the community your organization serves and what you do, and let's start with Kao Ye.  Kao Ye: Hello everyone, and thank you for making space- my name is Kao Ye Tao. I use she her pronouns, and I work as the director of policy and partnerships with an organization called Hmong Innovating Politics. We are an organization that serves Hmong youth and families in Sacramento and Fresno, which holds two of our largest Hmong American communities in California. And our work with Hmong youth and families is really about developing their leadership to organize towards social justice and to get the resources that their communities deserve. Miko: Thank you, Kao Ye and Robin, could you please introduce yourself? Robin: Sure. My name is Robin Gurung. I use he, him, his, I'm from the Nepali speaking Bhutanese community. I live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. my role at Asian Refugees United is the co-founder and the co-executive director. We have our program in California and Pennsylvania. California programs are, are serving Asian diaspora and then, Pennsylvania programs are focused serving the Nepal speaking Bhutanese community. We work in the intersection of arts and healing, storytelling, civic engagement, leadership development. Thank you. Miko: Thanks Robin and I am your host Miko Lee, lead producer at Apex Express. And all of us are part of a network called AACRE Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality, which is a network of progressive Asian American groups. So you all work with refugee populations. I'm wondering if you could tell a little bit more about the backstory of your community, and also if you feel comfortable about how you personally came to be a refugee in the United States. And, Robin, I'd love to start with you on that one. Robin: Sure. My community is Nepali speaking, Bhutanese refugee community. And we are ethnically Nepali, which means culture wise and language wise we speak Nepali and follow the Nepali culture tradition. Our ancestors like maybe in 18 hundreds, 19 hundreds migrated from Nepal to Bhutan and became the citizen of that country. And most people don't know about Bhutan, it's a very tiny country between China and India. And, if people know about Bhutan, then people know it through the cross national happiness concept, Bhutan is considered the happiest country in the world. So our ancestors were in mostly in the southern area of Bhutan for generations, they became the citizen. They had their own home, their own land. And then later, 1980s, early nineties, there was a policy by the government of Bhutan, which is the monarchy government system- king rules the country. They brought a policy called One Nation, One People Policy. Which means all different groups of people would have to follow the same culture, same religion, kind of follow the same dress code and because of that policy all people were forced to stay away from following our own culture or our own religion, which, most of our folks were Hindu. Our people protested against it and because of that, the government expelled over a hundred thousand of our community members. And, they expelled to India and then from like India wouldn't allow us to stay and we had to resettle in Nepal in seven different refugee camps under different international agencies like U-N-H-C-R and other agencies. Miko: And then Robin, can you tell a little bit about your personal story and how you came here? Robin: Yeah. Yeah. So 1992 is when my family had to leave Bhutan. And at that time I was three years old. I remember growing up in a refugee camp in Nepal, from three years until I was 23 years. So 20 years of my life I was in a refugee camp in Nepal. And in 2012, I came to US through the refugee resettlement program introduced to our camps in 2008, and through it US agreed to resettle 60,000 of our committee members. By 2017, I think US has resettled about 70 to 80,000 of our Bhutanese community members.   Miko: Thank you so much for sharing. Kao Ye I wonder if you could talk about your community and the refugee resettlement program that your community was a part of. Kao Ye: The Hmong American community, or just the Hmong community overall, is a group that's indigenous to East and Southeast Asia. And through our ancient history, we've always been a stateless, people fighting for our autonomy to live to practice our customs and our culture. And particularly where we come into this history of refugee is during the Vietnam War where many Hmong people, alongside other ethnic groups in Laos, were caught in the crossfire of the United States conflict in Southeast Asia. And so with the Vietnam War. The Hmong as well as many other ethnic communities that lived, in the hills and the mountains were recruited in covert operations by the CIA to fight back against the Vietnamese, the Northern Vietnamese communist forces, as well as the Putet Lao. And so once the US withdrew from Southeast Asia, it created a vacuum of conflict and violence that our people had to escape from in order to survive. And so after the Vietnam War in 1975, we saw the mass displacement of many Southeast Asian ethnic communities, including Hmong families. And that is where my history starts because my parents were born in Laos and because of this war, they fled to Thailand refugee camps and lived there for a few years until they were able to come to the United States in 1992. And I'm actually I'm a child of refugees and so what I know about this part of my history comes from the stories of my grandparents who raised me as well as what little I could learn in the textbooks of public education. And so it wasn't actually until going to college and. Being able to access more of this literature, this history that I really learned about what the United States had done in Southeast Asia and the ramifications of that for myself and my family and so many others, refugees that. Have to have had to resettle in the United States. And so it's definitely a history that runs very close, because we have relatives that live through that refugee experience. And so it is very well and alive. And so as we now approach this conversation around ICE and deportations, it really is a reminder of the trauma that our people face, but are still facing as a people that have been seen as disposable to the United States government. Miko: Thanks, Kao Ye. Let's talk a little bit more about that. But first I wanna say, did either of you ever hear about refugees in your textbooks? I never did. So I'm wondering if, you said you learned a little bit about that from textbooks. Was that something you learned in public education. Kao Ye: I did not learn about refugees or refugees experience. I learned about the war and as a Hmong kid it brought me so much delight to try to scroll through the history books just to see if Hmong people were mentioned. And even then the refugee experience was not ever something that we talked about. I felt like definitely not in, in high school. I think it was college really, that then started to articulate those terms and that Southeast Asian identity, that is really where I think I also became politicized in that. Miko: Yeah, because I think in textbooks there might be a little section on the Vietnam War, but it does not talk about the, all the Southeast Asian ethnic peoples that actually fought in the war. We have to dig that information out on our own, but I wanna move us to what is happening right now. So the Trump administration has created. Culture of fear among immigrants and refugees, these ICE raids and disappearances. It is so intense and using immigrants as a fear tool to prop up white supremacy is so blatant right now. I'm wondering if you can each talk about, how this administration's policies are impacting your communities. And, Robin, let's start with you. What is happening right now? I know since the end of March, can you share a little bit about what's been happening with Bhutanese Americans? Robin: Sure. Sure. So our people were settled to this country with the hope that this is going to be our home. But starting March of this year, with the new policies of this current administration, we started seeing abrupt, ICE arrest in our communities. People were picked up from home, their workplaces, and from their ICE, check-ins. And, since March, within I would say two to three months, more than 72 of our community members were picked up, mostly from Pennsylvania and then Ohio, and also from other states like New York, Georgia, North Dakota. So until now, we have, the records of at least 50 people who have been deported to Bhutan and at least 72 who are detained. So more than 30 people are [at risk] of getting detained. The nature of the ICE arrests that we have seen is we don't know whether the due processes were followed. They made it so hard for the families to look for attorneys, and also to track their family members. Within days family members would find their loved ones disappeared, and then they wouldn't be able to talk to them they wouldn't be able to track them and provide the support that they needed. So for us as a community organization we did not anticipate this and we were not prepared for this. And, and we didn't have the infrastructure to really address this, right? So it became such challenging work for us. Like within days we had to mobilize our people. We had to mobilize our teams to help family members with legal support, emotional support, mobilize our community members to update what's happening with this situation. The rapid response work, know your rights clinics that we had to set up. So on one hand it's the detention and deportation in the US and on the other hand, when our people were deported to Bhutan, what we're seeing is within 24 hours, they are being expelled from Bhutan to India, and then from India because India wouldn't accept them as well, they had to enter Nepal because for most of these Deportee, they're very young, they were born in refugee camps, and for most of them, the only known land is Nepal. Right. And they had to enter Nepal without documentation. And then some of them were found in refugee camps. And most of them are unknown. Like they're, they have disappeared. Miko: So that is so much over the last few months that ARU has had to step in and take a leading, role in this situation that has impacted the Bhutanese community from focusing on wellness and youth development to suddenly translating materials into Nepali, translating, know Your Rights materials into Nepali, hosting all these different events, the work that you have been doing is really powerful. I wonder if you could share with us the story of Mohan Karki, who is a community member that's currently detained in Michigan. Robin: Sure. So, Mohan Karki is now in detention in Michigan and he's a community member member who lived in Ohio. So he was detained by ICE during his regular ICE check-in , I believe in April, they detained him and then he was taken for deportation. And last minute, the families and the community had to come together and then appeal the deportation. Right now he's in Michgan detention center and his wife, who was pregnant and had due date, when Mohan was being deported on June 10, is now fighting day and night to stop the deportation and also to bring Mohan home. Right now, Asian Refugees United and other community partners, like AWPAL, Asian Law Caucus are working together to support Mohan's family, to bring Mohan home and also running a, GoFund me fundraiser, to help the family pay the legal fees. Miko: Thanks Robin. And we're gonna listen to Tikas story right now. Tika Basnet: Hi, my name is Tika Basnet I'm from Ohio and I'm fighting my husband deportation case.  So on April seven, a lot of people told us not to go to the ICE office, but my husband wanna follow the rules, he wanna go there. We went to the Westerville office inside And we sit down, we talk to each other. Nothing will go wrong. And suddenly ICE told us to come inside and they told us that my husband got travel documents from Bhutan. I told them like it is not safe for my husband to get deport in Bhutan, all the Bhutanese people run away in 1990s due to the ethnic cleansing and if my husband get deported in Bhutan, he will either gonna get killed, tortured, disappeared, imprisoned, I don't know what will happen, but they did not listen to me. So they detained my husband and I came at the parking lot and his mom saw me coming alone. So they start crying and I told them like, Mohan is gone and this is the last time I think I'm gonna see my husband. the time that my husband was taken away from Butler County on June 10 I was 41 weeks pregnant. I was supposed to deliver on, June 10. But no, I told the doctor I change my delivery time. I am not gonna go now like I need to fight for my husband. Like, When Bhutanese people started coming here in 2007. Third party promise us that in here in United States, we will get our identity. That identity will never taken away. They promise us that the way Bhutan take our identity, they will not gonna do that. we thought that this is our home. We thought that having a green card, having a citizenship, it is permanently, but no, we are, we all are wrong. And that identity is taken away within a second. And we became stateless again. So, my husband, Mohan Karki he just arrived in the United States he been here less than two years when the incident happened. He did not understand the law. He did not understand the culture. He did not know anything.  My husband he was only 17 years old, high school student coming from school to home. On the way to reach their apartment, there is one private house. They are just trying to go to the shortcut from the backyard. So some neighbor call 9 1 1. And that only one mistake lead to deportation.  The place that we come from, there is no boundaries. In Nepal, we are allowed to go anybody property We are allowed to walk somebody else house and because of the cultural difference, he's paying price right now.  At that time, nobody can speak English. They cannot understand what police were saying and Nepali interpreter told my husband that if you say I'm guilty, you'll out of prison soon. But if you did not say I'm guilty, you'll end up in prison for 20 to 25 years. High school student he's scared he just say, I'm guilty, and he did not know what is deportation mean. He did not know what he was signing. Nobody informed him what he was signing. That signing was deportation. What happened in 2013 is impacting us in 2025 and still he wish he did not cross somebody else backyard at that time. He wish he knew that he wasn't allowed to cross somebody else's backyard. I don't know what will our future is gonna be, but I hope that he gets second chance. His community love him. He love people. He was working as a truck driver. He paid taxes. He was supporting his parent. He was supporting me. My daughter deserve to have a father. You know, she's just one month. But now the dream that I was hoping one day I'm gonna build with my husband that is taken away and I'm left alone with this child. I already went through a lot without him, i'm the only one that fighting for my husband case. The deportation is not only breaking one family, but it is breaking everybody, the community and the family. And I hope that people can support me so I can fight for my husband case. Like I really need so many attorney. I need criminal attorney to open up his 2013 case. And I have wonderful, wonderful attorney, my husband get stay off removal, but that is not guarantee my husband can get deport anytime. The attorney fee are really expensive and he still needs support. The US made bhutanese people a promise of home. We belong here. Stop the detention and deportation. Stop deporting Bhutanese people. We are stateless. We don't have country, don't have a home. This is our home. US is our home. We belong here. Miko: Of the 72 people, Mohan is the first Bhutanese refugee that we actually have a stay of release on, as Robin was saying earlier, most of the folks were moved from state to state, so you can't really get a lawyer in that time. And as we all know, nonprofit immigration lawyers are under a lot of stress because of the attack of this administration. So it makes it incredibly complicated, let alone the legal fees that it costs to help support people going through this. And right now, Mohan has a stay on his, deportation and the lawyer that they do have is drafting up a letter to be able to release him into the community and also overturn his original case that happened as a minor in Georgia, which was a ridiculous case where he was leaving school, early high school, first year in the country, leaving high school early, and walked with his friends across a backyard. And the neighbor that they walked through their yard called the police, and they arrested him along with his friends for trespassing, they gave him paperwork that he didn't even understand. He signed it along with a interpreter they gave him false information to say he'd be locked up for 25 years, or if he signed this papers, that would be fine. He could go and what the papers said was it changed his charge into a felony and had him sign a letter of deportation. So this is part of the failure of our American legal system that we're not providing adequate information. It is a lack of due process. Thankfully, the work that Asian Law Caucus and United States of Stateless and other community activists are doing to call this out and help work with us is really critical. I wanna turn now to Kao Ye how this administrations is impacting Hmong refugees, and how is it similar or different to the experiences that Robin is describing for the Nepali speaking Bhutanese community? Kao Ye: I echoed many of the sentiments and the challenges that Robin shared around what we as nonprofit, grassroots organizations are having to build and grapple with just the limited infrastructure that we have to deal with the current ICE disappearances and deportation and all the support that's needed for the families. And so thank you Robin, for sharing that. I wanted to start broad a little bit because I think that this Trump administration is happening in the backdrop of the 50th year commemoration of the end of the wars in Southeast Asia and the refugee resettlement. We had over 1.1 million Southeast Asians resettle to the United States, the largest immigration resettlement, in American history. And so this year brings so many complexities, I think as a Southeast Asian community where there is a level of looking back at policies that have impacted us and have failed, but also looking forward what is the community that we are building together to move and progress together. And so there are those complexities, I think as the fact that it's the 50th year and like, this is what we're dealing with. This is the trauma that we are grappling with. And so I wanted to put that out front and center because even I think within our communities , there is no necessarily enlightenment in terms of how we talk about what is happening to our people and how they're getting deported unjustly. So that is why it is so important to have this dialogue within our communities as well as the solidarity that we also share with the Bhutanese community and other immigrant groups too. I think that in many of our Southeast Asian communities, their reasons for deportations is very tied to past convictions, and so this is the intersection between criminal law and immigration law. And it makes it complex because our people are now having to consult not just an immigration lawyer, but like criminal attorney so that they could really assess like what kind of relief they can get in order to mitigate, impending deportations. And then also miko you had shared about the lack of adequate legal service or representation because many of these folks, right, that have had these convictions that have now served their time and are simply members of our community that make our community rich. They are now having to revisit removal orders that they signed, thinking that, oh, nothing necessarily was gonna happen because they don't have a repatriation agreement. So, in our community, there was never a thought that we were going to be deported back to our home country because of that policy. And so that is a big contributing factor as to why the Hmong community, we don't have that infrastructure to really support our members who have gone through the criminal justice system and now have those removal orders. And so HIP, as well as many other grassroots. Sadly we did have to scramble to put this know your rights information together because again, I don't think that there was visibility in the need for us in this conversation around immigration Southeast Asians are a segment of our API community and so it just, I think, multiplied the invisibility that we already faced as a group of Southeast Asians. And so the support was definitely not there. And, to Robin's point, we did our best to try to put this information together to our community, starting with the Know Your Rights. And then we also realized like it was more complex than that, and that the legal supports were so necessary because everyone's case was different. I think what we're still dealing with now is that there's always been a lack of trust between our community members and government entities and nonprofit organizations. And so, if someone is dealing with the situation, they wanna go to, a partner that they trust to help them, even if they're not necessarily equipped to do that work, is that they're going to only the people that they trust because there is such a big mistrust. And so I think that, there is still the level of trust building that is needed to be done within our community so that folks feel comfortable to come to us or come to other people for support. And I think what makes me feel emotional is just when I hear about community members feeling hopeless and just feeling like there's nothing that they can do and that level of disempowerment to me, I think is something that is real. And I can't say that we can't combat it, but I think that it is about being able to find different outlets of support for them. Miko: Thank you for lifting that up. And just , in terms of the numbers, over three months, March, April and May, there were about 72 Bhutanese Americans that have been detained. And this is just kind of starting up with the Hmong community. So we had 15 that were detained from Minnesota and another 10 right now are being held in Michigan. And we also see this happening with Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodians, and Myan folks. All of these folks as Kao Ye you're pointing out, have had common threads, which is connections with the system, with the criminal legal/ justice system and crimmigration is something that in the AACRE network we've been talking about and working on, which is really about the education to prison, to deportation pipeline. And one of the things that this administration had talked about is, let's get rid of all the murderers and the rapists. You know, this like scare language about people that are convicted criminals, let's get rid of them all. But the fact of the matter. The vast majority of all of these people are people like Mohan Karki, a cultural misunderstanding that happened when he was a child. Like Lou Yang, who is Hmong refugee detained in Michigan right now. Somebody who was involved in something as a kid, but has since then become a leader in the community. So let's take a moment and listen to the spouse of Lou Yang, a Hmong refugee detained in Michigan in July. Anne Vu: My name is Anne Vu and I come before you today with a heart full of hope. Sorrow and a plea for justice. I am a proud American, a mother of six, the daughter of Hmong refugees who would gain their citizenship, and the wife of a man called Lou Yang, who is now detained and faced with potential deportation from the only country that he's ever known. Lou has lived in Michigan since October, 1979. He was born stateless in a refugee camp in Nongkai Thailand and his family fled Laos due to persecution. His father and like many others, served with the United States force during the Vietnam War as part of the Secret War, recruited by CIA in Laos, a conflict that most Americans do not know has happened. The Hmong were recruited by the CIA as part of the Secret War to help America during the Vietnam War. But when the war ended and the US withdrew, we were as the Hmongs declared enemy of the state. What followed was genocide, polarization and persecution by the state, and it was because of our alliance, the promise made by the US government that the Hmong refugees were legally settled here under certain migration of refugee laws and acts. And Lou arrived here as a young, toddler in infancy. In 1997, he was arrested on an alleged accomplice in an attempt home invasion, second degree. He was in the vehicle at the time. He never entered the home. He literally was still a juvenile at that time. He had a court appointed attorney and was advised to take a plea without being told it would affect his immigration status for the rest of his life. This is the reality of our immigration system – long, complex, confusing and devastating, unforgiving. It is not built for people like us, people like Lou, people who have served their time, rebuilt their lives and have nowhere else to go. We've walked this legal path, we've stayed together in the lines, and yet we are here punished today. Lou has no other charges, no current legal issues, no history of violence. He is not a flight risk. He is not a danger to our public safety. He is a father, my husband, a son, a son-in-law, a grandson and a brother to many, and our leader and a provider to our community, and to my family. He renews his work authorization and follows every rule asked of him no matter how uncertain the future felt. Together, we've raised six beautiful children. They're all proud Americans. Lou has contributed to Michigan's economy for decades working in our automotive industry and now he is gone and all that he is built is unraveling and the community is heartbroken. We didn't come from wealth. We didn't have every opportunity handed to us because we didn't come seeking a land of opportunity. We came here because of survival. We had to build from the ground up. But the most important thing was Lou and I, we had each other. We had our families, our friends, and our neighbors. We had a shared commitment to build a better life, grounded in love, respect, and purpose. And somehow that's still not enough. For years, we were told like other Hmong families that Laos in Thailand would never take us back. And that has changed. In June, 2025 the US imposed a partial travel ban on Laos, citing visa overstays, and lack of deportation cooperation. And in response, Laos began issuing these documents under pressure. Today over 4,800, including Hmong, Myan, and the other ethnic minorities are facing removal to Laos and to many other countries, many have never stepped foot in a country that they are now being sent to. Lou is Stateless like many others that is detained with him. None of these countries recognize him. He was born in the Thailand refugee camp, it does not recognize him nor qualify him for any sort of Thai citizenship and I'll tell you guys right now if forced to return, he will face danger because of his family's deep ties to the CIA and United States military. Deporting him turns him, a civil servant and respected community leader, into a political casualty, it would be a grave and irreversible injustice. To deport him now is to punish him to death. Once again, 50 years later, as we celebrate resilience this year across the nation, we are now celebrating a fight within our own grounds, right here in United States, right here in Michigan. We're now fighting the same fight within our own country. Thousands of Southeast Asian Americans, many that entered legally admitted as refugees are being deported for decade old offenses they've longed paid for. America is our country. All we ask is the right to stay in the home that we've helped to build and work hard to protect. We are not seeking special treatment. We are asking for justice, compassion, and a second chance in this country to claim what we believe in. To Governor Whitmer and members of Congress and all elected officials, please help bring Lou and the many others home. Urge ICE and DHS to release him on humanitarian grounds. Help his case. Help us preserve the integrity of our laws and the dignity of our families. And to the public allies and the media. Please call our elected officials. Please call these offices.  Please share Lou's story. We need voices. Voices louder than ours alone. It is hard times you guys. It is real. And I speak to you from the bottom of my heart. Please help me and our families in the many that are suffering. This is our home. These are our children. This is my husband and this is our fight. Let him come home. Let our families be whole again, and let America keep its promise. Thank you guys for hearing me. Miko: Lou Young is a community leader. Michigan, who actually runs a nonprofit in support of Hmong folks in that community, and is targeted and also has a stay of removal. So we're doing a targeted campaign for both of these folks, Lou Yang and Mohan Karki, to be able to get them released to overturn their original convictions and they also have spouses that are telling their stories and telling the impact these detentions have had. Because while this current administration talks about getting rid of criminals, what they are actually doing is breaking apart families and community. Swati Rayasam: You are tuned in to Apex Express on 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF in Fresno and online@kpfa.org. Coming up is Deporting the Pilgrim from the Anakbayan Long Beach Mayday Mix tape.   Swati Rayasam: That was please be strong, featuring Hushed, loudmouth and Joe handsome. And before that was deporting the pilgrim from the Unec Bayan Long Beach Mayday Mixtape. Now back to the show. Miko:  I wanna shift us a little bit to talking about Asian american representation in the larger fabric of immigration justice in the United States. Mostly many of our Asian communities have been like isolated, not really involved in the broader immigration movement. And I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about the difficulty and nuance of bringing your community struggle to the forefront because many of us heard about the Venezuelans and the Mexicans that have been deported and what was going on, but we don't hear as much about these stories of our Asian sisters and brothers. I wonder if one of you could give voice to that. Robin: Before going there can I add something to  Miko: of course.  Robin: crimmigration conversation? So when you all are sharing about that, I was thinking about, the justice system in this country and what we are seeing right now is a broken justice system. Like you said, Miko, where families are separated where families are broken, and what I don't understand is, when, let's say your loved one gets into trouble, makes a mistake, and gets into a trouble, then, as a human being, like, don't you want your loved ones to rebuild their lives? Like Yes, of course there is a system that you have to follow, the laws that you have to follow, but at the end, I think we all want our loved ones to come back, rebuild their lives, right? And what we're seeing in this country is they're constantly breaking the families. And I don't see how we are going to build a better future when we are constantly, hurting the families. And in the cases of detention and deportation, what we're seeing is the double punishment. Like the mistakes that they had made, but then throughout their life, they have to go through that, a continuous cycle of being punished. And not just the individuals, but their family members have also go through the challenges, the suffering, right? And in the case of Bhutanese from double punishment to double expulsion to this, the state of being statelessness. Right? So what kind of future we are imagining when an individual has to go through that continuous cycle of being punished and not having the opportunity to rebuild their lives. So that's a big question mark that I think, we all need to think about. To your later question around my community and the larger Asian American context or the national context. My community is relatively new to this country. We lived, almost two decades in a refugee camp, which was a enclosed camp. And our lives were dependent on foreign aids like UNHCR or ILWF. Pretty much I would say we had our own world over there. And for us to work outside the refugee camp was illegal. There was no laws that gave us the permission to work outside. So we were not pretty much exposed to the outer world. So for us to come to US was a big step. Which means pretty much from basic every day stuffs like, you know, using a bathroom, using a kitchen, taking a bus. All of those were foreign for us. So for our community to really tap into the education system, the political landscape of this country. And also like the experience of being expelled for voicing our, our opinions, for fighting for our rights. Right? So for us, for our community to kind of step in into the politics, it's like re-traumatizing ourselves. I would say there are a lot of barriers, multi-layered barriers for our community members to really tap into the larger political, like socio political landscape, from language barriers to culture barriers to education, to pretty much everything. So right now, the way our committee has been being attacked. It's a surprise to the community. And also it is like kind of traumatizing the community and taking us back to the same place of feeling, insecure, feeling like we don't have a home. And we did hope that this is legally, this is going to be a home. Because after coming to the US most of us became the legal citizens of this country and we started rebuilding our lives. Now it's kind of like going back to the same circle of statelessness. Miko: Thank you for sharing about that. Kao Ye, would you like to add to that? Kao Ye: When I think of the Hmong American community and even the Southeast Asian community and why the narratives of what is happening still feels very invisible. I think of how our community, we were assimilating for survival. And I speak on that as a child of my refugee parents and siblings where growing up we were taught to, listen, not speak out, not cause trouble. Go through the system, listen to authority, listen to law enforcement. And because of that, I feel it's shaped a culture of fear. Fear to dissent and fear to speak out because we care so much about the stability of our families. And we wanted to protect ourselves, because of everything we've gone through with the war. And we are finding that it's been challenging for our community members to come forward with their stories. Honestly, we're still sitting on that and we're still kind of sitting through like, why is there that tension? You know, I feel like folks are going through a lot and even folks have, our impacted loved ones, but they're afraid to tell their story because of fear of of retaliation. And so I think that there is a level of, I think that lack of even psychological safety, but real, physical, real financial safety that people have. And I think that being a factor to the assimilation, but also this facade of like the American dream and like if we don't just disrupt, if we don't speak out, we will be protected. And, white supremacy, right? Like we will be okay. And it's a facade because we know that because our communities are the ones getting kidnapped and getting deported. Right. And so I think there is that fear, but there's also recognition of this now, this facade that the silence doesn't protect us and that there is a real need for us to really, be strong in speaking out, not just for our SEA siblings that are impacted, but for all of our immigrant groups, even the Bhutanese community, right. That's been impacted during this time. And so I, yeah, I think it is that multi-layered experience of being a Southeast Asian refugee community on top of, being part of this AAPI umbrella. AAPI we are not homogenous. We all have very unique histories as to how we have dealt with the systems in this country and how we came into this country. And so I think it's been challenging to make space for those nuances. And at the end of the day, I still see the interconnections that we all have together too. And so, I think it's the willingness to make space for those different stories. And I am finding that more of our ethnic media, our smaller news outlets are more willing to cover those stories as opposed to, these larger mainstream outlets. Like they're not covering those stories, but we are. Miko: Thank you. Oh, both of you have brought up so much today about our failed criminal justice system, about us punishing people as opposed to rehabilitating people and punishing them more than once. We brought up questions around statelessness and the impact that it has, and I just recently learned that the United States does not have any policy on Statelessness. So one of the things that this coalition of folks is trying to do is to get a congressional hearing to help the United States develop policy around statelessness, because it is actually our responsibility and our duty to do that. The other thing I hear you both talking about is this good immigrant, bad immigrant trope, which we've heard of a lot, but I think that's also very much connected to why so many members of our communities don't wanna speak out because this connection with, you know, quote unquote criminal history might be something that's shameful. And I'm wondering if you both see that as a divide mostly between elders in the community and younger folks. Robin, do you wanna talk about that? Robin: Yeah. I mean, initially when we were mobilizing our community members to fight against the the unjust and unfair detention and deportation, this issue around the perception around good immigrants and bad immigrants became one of the main topic of discussion. We had to deal with people, and mostly elders, but I would say some young folks as well, who would pull themselves back on speaking against this issue because for them people who are being deported or detained are criminals and they deserve this kind of mindset. And not being able to see the larger picture of how the administration is targeting the immigrant and the refugee population of this country and really trying to dismantle community power, right? So, yes, it is a challenge that we are, we're going through and I think it's going to be quite a bit of work, to really build solidarity within our own communities. Kao Ye: I feel that the divide in the Hmong community is stemming from class and education. I feel as though when folks are articulating, regurgitating these justifications of the bad immigrant as to why folks should be deported it's folks that maybe kind of made it in their lives and now they're comparing themselves to folks that were not in that situation. And there is this growing within our community as well, where some folks are getting that education, getting, good jobs. But so much of our community, we still suffer from poverty, right? And so, I think that has been really interesting to witness the level of division because of class, because of income and also the education piece. Because oftentimes when folks are feeling this, it comes from a place of ignorance as well. And so that's why I think the education piece is so important. I actually feel though our elders are more understanding because these are their children that are being separated from them. And Robin's point is that when we have loved ones that go through the system, we just want them to rebuild their lives and be self-sufficient. And I feel like those are the values that I grew up in my community where our parents were always about keeping the family together to a fault, you know? And so they don't want separation. They just want us to be well and to do well, and to turn our lives around. And so, I feel strongly that our elders, they do understand that the importance of giving this opportunity for us to, to stay together and turn our lives around. Miko: Thank you so much, both of you for joining me here today to talk about this important conversation. I'm wondering if you could provide our audience with how they could find out more about what is going on and what are next steps for our audience members. Robin, let's start with you. Robin: Yeah. I just wanted to add what, Kao Ye talked about. I do agree the patterns around the divide is based on class. And I do see that in the community, and not just the class, but in our community class and caste, I would say. And in terms of the class, there were some instances where we had to deal with even the highly educated like PhD holders kind of, questioning us like, you know, what we are advocating for, and, I couldn't understand like, I couldn't relate the education, the title, the degree that he holds and the perception around this issue. Right. So, I just wanted to echo that. So, in terms of our work and Asian Refugees United, our website is www.asianrefugees.org And you can find us in our Instagram, Facebook, Asian Refugees United. Miko: And you can also get latest news about what's happening at bhutaneserefugeerights.com. Yeah. And Kao Ye how can folks find out more about your work? Kao Ye: Right now HIP is part of a statewide network in California called the Pardon Refugees Campaign, where we are really pushing Governor Newsom to pardon all refugees, not just Southeast Asians because of everything that we talked about, about how our families, they deserve to stay together. And so, I don't think we have a website up yet, but you can follow this campaign with us. We will be having a rally and press conference, coming up soon, in the next few weeks. And so, I would say that please follow us in that work where we are really moving in coalition with all of our uh, grassroots partners to advocate for our loved ones that are currently being impacted. Miko: Thank you so much, Robin Gurung, Asian Refugees United and Kao Ye Thao from Hmong Innovating Politics. Thank you so much for being with us here today, and I hope you listeners out there take action to keep our families together, to keep our people in the communities as loved ones where they belong. Thank you all. Have a great night. Swati Rayasam: I'm so grateful that Miko was able to talk to Robin and Kao Ye. And for those who missed it, visit bhutanese refugee rights.org for the most recent updates on the Bhutanese refugees. The press conference in rally Kao Ye mentioned took place last week on August 21st, 2025, but check out the Pardon Refugees Campaign for updates from the coalition supporting Hmong, Cambodian Laotian, Myan, and other refugees facing deportation. Thanks so much for tuning in to Apex Express. Please check out our website at kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about the show tonight and to find out how you can take direct action. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by  Miko Lee, along with Jalena Keene-Lee, Ayame Keene-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar,  Anuj Vaida, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Ravi Grover, and me Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the team at KPFA for their support and have a good night.   The post APEX Express – August 28, 2025 – “And we became stateless again” appeared first on KPFA.

Afriforum has welcomed a Cape Town Equality Court ruling that found EFF leader Julius Malema guilty of hate speech. The decision relates to a 2022 speech tied to a 2020 incident at Brackenfell High School. Judge Mark Sher ruled Malema's remarks, calling for violence against white men were meant to incite hatred. The EFF was also held co-responsible for endorsing Malema's statements. Elvis Presslin spoke to Ernst van Zyl, Head of Public Relations at AfriForum

Welcome to Walking the Way. My name is Ray, and I really want to say thank you to everyone for listening in as we share in a regular rhythm of worship and devotion together. CreditsOpening Prayerhttps://www.faithandworship.com/prayers_Love.htm#gsc.tab=0Bible versePsalm 138:6 Thought for the dayRay BorrettBible PassagePsalm 138Good News Translation® (Today's English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.Prayer HandbookClick here to download itSupporting Walking the WayIf you want to support Walking the Way, please go to: https://ko-fi.com/S6S4WXLBBor you can subscribe to the channel: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/walkingtheway/subscribeTo contact Ray: Please leave a comment or a review. I want to find out what people think and how we make it better.www.rayborrett.co.ukwalkingthewaypodcast@outlook.comwww.instagram.com/walkingtheway1@raybrrtt

Wir feiern weiter – 10 Jahre Viva Equality! Zehn Jahre voller Begegnungen, mutiger Schritte und der Vision, Gleichberechtigung Wirklichkeit werden zu lassen. In Teil 2 unseres Goodcast Specials tauchen wir in ein Herzensthema unserer Arbeit ein: die BUT-Beratung. Wie sie entstanden ist, warum sie so wichtig ist – und welchen Unterschied sie für viele Familien macht. Sahra und Julius erzählen, welche Erfahrungen sie auf diesem Weg gesammelt haben, welche Herausforderungen zu meistern waren und was die Beratung heute bedeutet. Besonders freuen wir uns auf die Stimmen von Anna und Marc, die Viva Equality seit vielen Jahren begleiten und ihre ganz persönliche Perspektive einbringen. Freut euch auf eine inspirierende Folge voller Einblicke, Erinnerungen und Ausblicke – und auf Geschichten, die zeigen, warum der Einsatz für Vielfalt und Gleichberechtigung nie an Aktualität verliert. Eine Produktion von MAKIKO* für die Viva Equality gemeinnützige UG Gastgeber: Tilman Perez Mitarbeit: Tilman Perez Produktion: MAKIKO*

This rebroadcast episode is in honor of the recent passing of Dr. Larry Ward. May his wisdom live on.***Scott talks with Dr. Larry Ward, a student of Thich Nhat Hanh, and author of America's Racial Karma. His book is about how we heal from the trauma of racism, not just as a society, but in our own minds and bodies. In our conversation, Dr. Ward shares a profound truth: racism is a fiction, but one with very real consequences, and it lives not only in the structures of our society, but in our thoughts, our speech, and our nervous systems.Episode 190: Healing America's Racial Karma with Larry WardFrom August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We'll explore antidotes to anxiety, fear, and loneliness—and cultivate the deeper causes of a happy mind; connected, loving relationships; and a better world. It all happens in the beautiful redwood forests of California, while enjoying delicious vegetarian meals and meeting thoughtful new friends.SIGN UP NOWSupport the show

For today's essential Heretics 101 feature, we talk to David Heinemeier Hansson (aka DHH), creator of Ruby on Rails and co-owner & CTO of 37signals. He critiques DEI implementation and workplace wokeness, advocates political neutrality at work, and outlines his organizational philosophy emphasizing minimal management, creative constraints, and HR as leadership firewall.*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: hrheretics@turpentine.coFor coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.Support HR Heretics Sponsors:Planful empowers teams just like yours to unlock the secrets of successful workforce planning. Use data-driven insights to develop accurate forecasts, close hiring gaps, and adjust talent acquisition plans collaboratively based on costs today and into the future. ✍️ Go to https://planful.com/heretics to see how you can transform your HR strategy.Metaview is the AI platform built for recruiting. Our suite of AI agents work across your hiring process to save time, boost decision quality, and elevate the candidate experience.Learn why team builders at 3,000+ cutting-edge companies like Brex, Deel, and Quora can't live without Metaview.It only takes minutes to get up and running. Check it out!KEEP UP WITH DHH, NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDINDHH: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-heinemeier-hansson-374b18221/Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/—LINKS:Ruby on Rails: https://rubyonrails.org/37signals: https://37signals.com/—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro(02:34) "I Want My Code to Sing": Why Programming Is Poetry(04:35) How We Built a Company That Runs Itself(07:34) Sponsors: Planful | Metaview(08:34) The 40-Hour Work Week That Silicon Valley Hates(11:05) The Remote Work Wars: Why Both Sides Are Wrong(15:14) "No Politics at Work": The Two Weeks That Changed Everything(17:00) How Wokeness Held Corporate America Hostage(22:16) The Hardest Two Weeks of My Professional Life(25:28) The DEI Deception: Why Equity Isn't Equality(27:40) Why HR People Don't Suck (And Founders Need Them)(31:00) Final Thoughts: People Go Crazy When Work Is Everything(33:35) Wrap This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com

The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back!This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words intersect with our complex socio-political moment.Think of it as intellectual snacking with substance – light enough for your summer playlist, deep enough to make you think twice about the world around us. New episodes out every Wednesday, so make this your midweek ritual for curious minds.This week: Pushback & MoneySupport the show

With round one deadlines a little more than a week ago, we provide advice on what you need to know right now.

In this episode of Real Good Denver, Ryan Estes sits down with Melissa Jenner, founder and CEO of Actvo.ai, a New Zealand company now thriving in Denver's startup scene. Melissa shares how Denver's global outreach brought her across the world, why she believes work should be a place people love, and how her AI-driven platform helps companies retain top talent by mapping out employee career pathways before burnout takes hold. The conversation dives into the unique culture of Denver's business ecosystem, the power of serendipity in founder connections, the craft beer influence on collaboration, and why collective intelligence makes this city special. Key Takeaways Denver's Global Magnetism: Economic development teams are actively recruiting international startups, making Denver a true global landing pad. Culture of Serendipity: Denver's tight-knit founder ecosystem creates constant collisions of opportunity through dinners, meetups, and a give-first mindset. Beer as a Business Model: Collaboration in Denver mirrors its craft beer scene—newcomers and legacy players help each other scale. The Future of Work: Actvo.ai helps employees see 12 possible work pathways, close skill gaps, and create proactive career conversations before they leave a company. Equity over Equality: Melissa argues for tailored support to unlock overlooked talent, ensuring people find meaningful work. Collective Intelligence: Denver's culture of shared ideas and generosity accelerates innovation beyond the traditional Silicon Valley model. Frameworks Mentioned The 12 Pathways of Work – Actvo.ai's model to help employees explore new roles. Exit Lounge Effect – why companies lose 40% of employees after 2–5 years and how to prevent it. Equity vs Equality – supporting employees differently to reach the same starting point. Flywheel Effect of Collective Intelligence – how networks of generous founders compound innovation. Resources & Links Actvo.ai: https://www.actvo.ai Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO): https://www.denvergov.org/economicdevelopment Denver Startup Week: https://www.denverstartupweek.org Ratio Beerworks: https://www.ratiobeerworks.com Reverence Brewing: https://www.reverencebrewingco.com Golden, CO breweries: https://visitgolden.com Kitcaster: https://www.kitcaster.com

We hope this message encourages and inspires you!Want more like this from CoastLife Church?YouTube: CoastLife Church - YouTubeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/mycoastlifechurchInstagram: https://instagram.com/coastlifechurch...GIVE: https://www.mycoastlifechurch.com/giveLooking to get connected? We'd love to meet you! We offer several different ways to connect and be in community: Join a Together Group, Register for CoastLife+, or become a part of our Serve Team today by visiting: CoastLife Connect Card - CoastLife Church (churchcenter.com)Give: To support and be a part of or growth and global impact click here: https://www.mycoastlifechurch.com/give

I Want More Than Rainbow Sidewalks | Equal Rights, Not Empty Gestures

Jeannette meets Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds OBE, a remarkable individual with an inspiring story. Born with phocomelia caused by the drug thalidomide, Rosaleen defied the odds and became a successful businesswoman, equality campaigner, volunteer, author, artist, and inspirational speaker. Rosie joins the show this week to share her journey from overcoming societal barriers and discrimination to finding her passion in disability equality training and becoming a renowned mouth painting artist. KEY TAKEAWAYS Rosie's parents played a crucial role in her upbringing, providing support and encouragement for her to be as independent as possible Rosie faced numerous challenges and rejections in her career, but her determination and drive helped her overcome them and achieve success. Rosie has been actively involved in disability equality training and advocacy, working to raise awareness and improve accessibility for disabled individuals. Rosie's journey as a mother has been a significant part of her life, defying societal expectations and proving that disabled individuals can have fulfilling family lives. BEST MOMENTS "If I can succeed in it, then the doors should be open for other disabled people as well." "I need to do something that I'm passionate about." This is the perfect time to get focused on what YOU want to really achieve in your business, career, and life. It's never too late to be BRAVE and BOLD and unlock your inner BRILLIANCE. If you'd like to jump on a free mentoring session just DM Jeannette at info@jeannettelinfootassociates.com or sign up via Jeannette's linktree https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot VALUABLE RESOURCES Brave, Bold, Brilliant podcast series - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/brave-bold-brilliant-podcast/id1524278970      ABOUT THE GUEST Rosaleen (Rosie) Moriarty-Simmonds OBE: A member of many disability and other organisations, Rosie is also a Vice President of the Cardiff Business Club, and protagonist for the Thalidomide Memorial - dedicated in June 2016, which marks the lives and achievements of Thalidomide Impaired people globally.  She is also, Patron of Flamingo Chicks, [national inclusive dance schools where all youngsters can spread their wings.  It gives disabled children the opportunity to explore movement and have fun alongside their non-disabled friends]. Patron of Flat Spaces, [a project providing fully accessible holiday bungalows with state-of-the-art facilities, all around the UK]. and Chairperson of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board for Cardiff University. Happily married to Stephen with one son [James], Rosie's hobbies are theatre and concert going, and photography. In December 2018, Rosie received an Honorary Doctorate and Honorary Fellowship from Swansea University, again for her equality work. Rosie was the High Sheriff of South Glamorgan from April 2022-2023. ABOUT THE HOST Jeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 25 years of global professional business experience across the travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Having bought, ran, and sold businesses all over the world, Jeannette now has a portfolio of her own businesses and also advises and mentors other business leaders to drive forward their strategies as well as their own personal development. Jeannette is a down-to-earth leader, a passionate champion for diversity & inclusion, and a huge advocate of nurturing talent so every person can unleash their full potential and live their dreams. CONTACT THE HOST Jeannette's linktree - https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot https://www.jeannettelinfootassociates.com/ YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtsU57ZGoPhm55_X0qF16_Q LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeannettelinfoot Facebook - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeannettelinfoot Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jeannette.linfoot/ Email - info@jeannettelinfootassociates.com

On Aug. 26, in 2023 and 2024, Amy co-led Women's Equality forums that were well attended and enjoyed, (and filmed by affiliates of 1623 Studios). On Amy's 1st podcast she shares what she's been up to and suggests ways to celebrate Women's Equality Day in 2025, in light of recent roll-backs in women's rights. 

Exaltation & Equality James 1:9-11 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. James 2:1-13 2 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. I. Boasting In Christ II. Treating All With Equality III. Loving Your Neighbor

Jesus Claims Equality with God by Lighthouse Baptist Church | Williamsport, MD

Conservative Religious MAGA Republicans Are Still Creating More Problems For LGBT People

When it comes to money, how much is too much? In this podcast, SA Unitarians President Jennie Dyster addresses the growing inequality of wealth in our world today. Could the new concept of "Limitarianism" guide us towards creating a more equitable and democratic economic system? Listen on...

In this episode of TigerTalk, Marketing and Public Relations Specialist Liz Calvery sits down with Northeast president Dr. Ricky G. Ford for an inside look at the decision-making process that shapes the future of the college. Dr. Ford discusses the wide range of factors that must be weighed when making key choices—from balancing the needs of students, employees, and the institution to ensuring that every decision supports both today's learners and generations to come. He also shares how he leans on a trusted support system to gather information, perspectives, and insights that guide him toward sound, lasting outcomes. Plus, get the latest updates on athletics, academics, workforce development, and everything happening at one of the nation's premier community colleges.

Data alone does not persuade. For data-driven leaders, learning totranslate numbers into a compelling narrative is a critical skill. In thisepisode of Unspoken Security, host AJ Nash speaks with Salvatore Manzi, aleadership communications coach, about the strategies technical leaderscan use to create influence. Salvatore explains why leaders must learn tomake meaning over metrics to connect with teams, stakeholders, andcustomers.Salvatore shares practical frameworks to improve communication. Heintroduces the "You then me" principle, which prioritizes acknowledging the other person's view to build rapport. He also shows how using simplemetaphors and a little appreciation can make complex dataunderstandable. These techniques disarm a room before you need tocorrect someone or present a counter-argument, ensuring your message lands effectively.The conversation also covers imposter syndrome and the uniquecommunication hurdles women face in the tech industry. AJ and Salvatorediscuss the power of authenticity and the need for allies who activelyamplify other voices. They explore how simple shifts in body language andmindset can build the confidence needed to overcome these challenges and ensure your voice is heard.Send us a textSupport the show

Building a successful business often means solving problems nobody else sees coming. In this episode of Building Texas Business, I sit down with Merrilee Kick, founder of BuzzBallz, to talk about how she transformed a poolside idea into a ready-to-drink cocktail empire she sold to Sazerac in 2024. Merrilee shares her journey from high school teacher to manufacturing pioneer who bootstrapped through engineering challenges and suppliers who refused to sell her essential components. Her approach demonstrates that when traditional paths close, entrepreneurs must forge their own. We explore how Merrilee built a family-like culture with minimal turnover through practical benefits like daily cooked meals and extended holiday breaks. She discusses why fairness matters more than equality in building loyal teams. During COVID, she created an on-site school for employees' children and manufactured hand sanitizer for hospitals, showing how adaptability serves both business continuity and community needs. Merrilee reflects on mistakes that shaped her success, from coconut cream that solidified at room temperature to trusting the wrong people. She emphasizes that entrepreneurs must trust their gut instincts and move quickly when something isn't working. Her discussion about selling to Sazerac reveals the cultural shifts that come with acquisition and why selecting the right buyer matters as much as the price. The conversation reveals how a teacher's frustration with glass by the pool became a multi-million dollar business through relentless problem-solving and genuine employee care. Listen to discover why sometimes the best business education comes from cleaning your own warehouse bathrooms. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS "S#@t doesn't smell any better with age" - why firing fast is critical to maintaining culture and performance When suppliers demand hundreds of thousands for R&D, sometimes you have to source from Canada and figure it out yourself A $10 daily lunch investment eliminated production delays and built the family culture that kept turnover near zero Creating an on-site school during COVID kept the production lines running when competitors shut down People quit managers, not companies - know your employees' kids' names and eat lunch with them Trust your gut over resumes - the West Point MIT grad who couldn't deliver taught her that credentials don't guarantee performance LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller About BuzzBallz GUESTS Merrilee KickAbout Merrilee TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Chris: In this episode, you'll meet Merrilee Kick, founder of BuzzBallz. Merrilee shares her story of going from a high school teacher grading papers to a multimillion dollar manufacturer of ready to drink cocktails by trusting her instincts, being honest and fair, and keeping sales concepts funny. Merrilee, I want to welcome you to Building Texas Business. Thank you for taking the time to come on in the podcast. Merrilee: Thanks Chris. Chris: So let's start. You founded a very interesting company called BuzzBallz. Love the name. Tell the listeners what is BuzzBallz, what is the company and what's it known for? Merrilee: So BuzzBallz is a ready to drink cocktail company. It's a manufacturing company based in Texas, and I started it back in 2009. Our first sale was in 2010 and I sold it. I ran it for 15 years and then I sold it last year, may of 2024 to Sazerac, a big company, one of the world's largest manufacturers of bourbon and alcoholic spirits. And they were very interested in us because it was the convenience store channel and it was ready to drink. And so it was a little bit different twist for them. Chris: Very good. So what was the inspiration for you in 2009 to start a alcoholic beverage company? Merrilee: I was going through some hard times with my marriage and I was a high school teacher at the time and I wanted to be more financially independent. And my high school that I was working at said that they would give me a teacher's enrichment program to where I could go get my master's in administration and be a principal. And I was like, oh my God, no, I don't want to be a principal. No, I want to go into my own field, which was business because I taught entrepreneurship, business law, international business marketing, computer science, all those kinds of wonderful subjects to high school kids, and I wanted to get my degree and get my MBA in that. So I convinced them to let me do it. Got my MBA and BuzzBallz was my master's degree thesis project. I was grading papers by the pool thinking of what should my project be for my capstone, my final project for my MBA and I had a little vo of candle with me and drinking a cocktail like a good teacher would, and I should probably not have a glass glass out here by the pool where I'm grading papers. I need to have something plastic. So I came up with the idea and the concept of a little party ball, a little ready to drink cocktail in a ball shape. Then my family and I, we sat down at dinner and we came up with the name Buzzballz. I love it. So catchy. And so that's where it came from and it stuck, you know, and it's one of those names you don't forget. So, that's the genesis of it all. Chris: What a great story. So high school teacher grading papers by the pool comes up with a cocktail and turns it into a wildly successful business. That is a coolest story I think I've ever heard. Merrilee: Yeah, we started out with six different flavors and they were pretty edgy. I'm a pretty edgy person, I guess. So, we came out with names like OJ Screamer because it was right when OJ Simpson was on trial and we had an orange juice and vodka screwdriver and we thought, okay, this will be funny, and funny sells, and it makes people laugh again. It makes it fun. So, We came up with some funny, funny names, strawberry Rum job, you know, like kind of edgy, dirty names, but funny and people loved it. Since then, it's kind of calmed the waves a little bit. We've mellowed it down a little bit, toned it down for the general grocery store shoppers, and more more family focused. But we've been through many renditions, many different flavors and sizes and things over the years. Yeah, Chris: It is really cool. Let's go back to kind of that 2009 or maybe time period. So I guess you had your MBA and you had this idea, but what did you do to get this off the ground and what kind of hurdles were you facing in order to do that? There Merrilee: Was so many hurdles. I didn't know anything manufacturing. I didn't know anything business. I was told by bankers all around Texas that I've applied for loans with that you're just a teacher, you don't have any experience, you don't have any collateral, you don't have any knowledge of manufacturing, how are you going to pull this off? And I just googled everything. Google was a really good friend, but I was looking at how many pounds per square inch does a Coke have on the inner walls of its container and will my container hold that and will this plastic have BPA in it and will it leach into my product? And what is the oxygen scavenging ratio of will oxygen permeate this plastic and degrade the product and what kind of petaloid base do I need on this? So there's a lot of engineering involved to create the container because it is a custom container. And then I was almost to the finish line and then a company, I wanted to put these metal lids on the container and a company came to me and they said, we want you to pay us hundreds of thousands of dollars so that we can r and d and see if your product really can be a good product for the market. And I couldn't afford it, so I just did it myself and I had to launch it myself and they said they wouldn't sell me any lids because of it. So I had to buy 'em from Canada. I had to buy 'em from overseas and then do it myself. So one of the things I learned is you just have to do everything yourself. You have to clean the bathrooms, you have to clean the warehouse, you have to set up the equipment, you have to do all the QuickBooks, you have to do the shipping, you have to do the billing, you have to understand all the details of this business inside now before you can pass it on to anybody. Chris: That's a very common theme amongst entrepreneurs, especially in the startup. You have an inspiration or a passion or something or idea that you believe so much in and are so passionate about that despite all the hurdles you run into, you just figure out ways over the hurdles. Merrilee: That's because if you don't, your failure to do anything and try to get it right means bankruptcy. And most entrepreneurs are going on their last thread, maxed out their credit cards. They can't afford a complete and utter failure. They can afford mistakes, but they quickly pivot and fix it and keep going. They keep swimming Chris: To that point. So you said you have to be able to do everything to get it going. Those are early days. How do you then transition once you've got some legs underneath it to start letting go of some things and bringing people in because it's your baby and you have to learn to trust some people to take care of it, Merrilee: And you make a lot of mistakes trusting people too. So you'll have a lot of duds people that you hire, some family and friends I would steer away from as much as possible unless that family is under your control, like cousins, aunts, uncles, those are more difficult to work with than your own sons because your sons will do whatever you tell 'em to do. Chris: And I know you have your sons in the business, Merrilee: But it was difficult when I hired friends because they were entitled. They thought they would be able to have more. So it's very different when you're having to hire people that are friends, Chris: That's having a strong team around you is so critical to the success of any business. What did you learn along the way? And aside from maybe don't hire friends to really hone in on your process to improve your hit rate on making sure you were hiring people that you could trust and they could do the job Merrilee: Well, sometimes you hire somebody based on their resume or their referrals or whatever, and that's a good first step, but you're going to still make mistakes. I remember I had a guy that had all the accolades in the world. He was a West Point grad, he was MIT, he had all these accolades, but he couldn't seem to get anything done and talk about delegation. I had to have my son because I was out of town. I was like, Hey, you get to fire this guy and here's this guy that's 30 years his senior and my son has never fired anyone before. And he had to have that experience. It was difficult. But one thing I've learned is crap doesn't smell any better with age. So you've got to get rid of people that are toxic or that even if you have a relationship, a friendly relationship with them, sometimes it just isn't going to work for whatever reason. Either something legal that they did or something that was immoral that they did or just basic laziness or in capability to get the job done. So sometimes if you don't feel it, it's almost like a gut feel. If it's not working right, then there's something wrong and you got to make moves. A Chris: Couple of things there, right? First I think the adage of hire slow fire fast is very true. Easier said than done. I Merrilee: Don't hire slow. I don't like that. I don't like that saying because I think sometimes you hire fast and it's okay. I think the important thing is fire fast if you have grounds to do so and try to get somebody to replace them as quickly as possible. You got to do everything fast when you're an entrepreneur. Chris: So on the fire fast side, right? I mean I think it's whether it's performance or cultural fit, if it's not working, the sooner you move, the better your organization's going to be. Merrilee: But on the cultural fit too, that's a big one because they may have the capability to do it, but maybe at their own pace or maybe not at your pace or maybe they just have a different idea of work altogether. Chris: And one of the things we say here, it doesn't necessarily make 'em a bad person. This isn't the right organization for them and they need to go find that organization that will fit them better. But speaking of culture, how would you describe the culture that you built at BuzzBallz? Merrilee: Okay, so my culture at BuzzBallz, we hardly had any turnover because I treated it like family. I think that people quit managers, and I've heard that before, but people do quit, managers and they quit companies that don't believe in them. And I think that is a big cultural learning. You've got to do things together, you got to take them to lunch, you got to talk to them, you got to get involved with their family life, know their kids' names. You need to know something about the people that report to you. Now when you have a thousand people reporting to you can't possibly do all that, but you can have parties and you can have celebrations and you can recognize people at every level of the totem pole. And I think some of the things to do to build culture, we would have a cook on staff that cooked for everybody every day because that $10 a day savings meant more to, and it meant a lot to me because they could start the lines on time. I didn't have to wait for somebody to go get a burrito down the street and come back. They could just go ahead and keep together. And it built culture that way too. They started to trust each other, they started to rely on each other. And the other thing that we did was we all rolled up our sleeves. It didn't matter whether you were the lead accountant or if you were the CEO, if something needed to get done, you go do it. Chris: I think Merrilee: That's great. So it's not that it's above you or it's somebody else's job. Chris: Yeah. Kind of lead by example, right? No task is above anyone. It's all about getting the job done. Merrilee: Correct. Chris: And I think to your point of knowing your people as best you can, when you start to scale the business as you did, I think it breaks into tier. So within your direct reports or a level or two, you have the ability to get to really know them. And then I think it's important to teach them that they take it another level down and really have good connections within their direct reports and then you can layer that through the organization so that people feel connected. And so Merrilee: One thing I learned too, Chris, is I learned that people are better managers than me. I'm more of an inventor. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm not really a good manager of people. I'm a good people person and I'm a good salesperson, but I don't like doing the management of the day to day of my car broke down or I'm sick or I need PTO approved or I need blah, blah, blah, blah. I don't like doing any of that. All the administrative stuff that comes with management I'm terrible at. It's not that I'm terrible, it's just that I don't want to do it. I would rather have somebody that's better at it do it. I think that it's really important that people see your genuine self and that you're honest and fair to them more than equal. Equality is different than fairness. And I think fairness trumps equality, fairness. Somebody who comes to work every day works their butt off every day, takes care of you, always says they're going to get it done. That person is a person I want to hire versus somebody who's complaining and moaning about equality. If you gave them a day off, I want a day off, I need a PTO day just because I just need a de-stress day, it's buzz off. I don't need you to complain about your daily work. Chris: Everybody has stuff. So despite that, we still have to get a job done and that gets lost sometimes. And that just goes back to the hiring process and making sure, and I agree with you, no hiring process is perfect. It's more of an art than a science, but if you really focus on some of the right things, you're going to have better hits. But again, like we said earlier, once you realize you've made a mistake, you got to make a move. Merrilee: And also about the speed of hiring. When you said hire slow, I've been with companies that hire too slow and they drag prospective employees on for so long doing too many rounds and they lose them Chris: For sure. I guess it slows relative, but yes, if you drag it out immersively long, if you have a good process, you know what you're looking for. And within a couple rounds of an interview, you should know whether that person's going to hit fit or not. We talked a little bit about culture and I guess one thing would be interesting is how do you believe that you've been through a transition in the last 12 months? Has that culture been impacted by that Merrilee: Tremendously? Yeah. Culture is completely different with a big company versus a small entrepreneurial company. Entrepreneur companies are more freewheeling, more giving in terms of the things they allow people to do. They help people more. Bigger companies are more rigid. They have more rules because they have to, they're just bound by more legal problems if I could say. So just they've got more issues to have to Chris: Worry, maybe legal hurdles and regulations and such, Merrilee: And they have just a bigger spotlight on them. So people are always looking at them trying to find fault and trying to sue them for anything possible. There's rules and regulations that they have to abide by that I didn't. So culture has changed also with they had to let go a lot of people and that was really hard because these are people that I loved and people that I cared very dearly about that helped me build the business, but they had their own internal structure and people already filling some of those roles so it didn't make financial sense or business sense to string them along and have two people doing the same thing. So there were some business decisions that were made that affected culture. Yes, Chris: It's almost inevitable when that type of combination happens, right? Because there's going to be some overlap and a business has to run efficiently and can't have two people doing the same thing Merrilee: And they just run it differently. It's not that one's better or one's worse. They just are different. And I tried to pick a company to buy us that would be as close as possible to our culture and I tried to pick one that was privately owned and family owned and manufacturing instead of some other kind of company. I didn't want private equity or anything like that. I wanted somebody that held some of the same beliefs I did and I think I did a good job with this company. I really like them and I think they have a lot of great ideas, but it's different than how I would've done it. Chris: Hello friends. This is Chris Hanzlik, your building Texas business host. Did you know that Boyer Miller, the producer of this podcast is a business law firm that works with entrepreneurs, corporations and business leaders. Our team of attorneys serve as strategic partners to businesses by providing legal guidance to organizations of all sizes. Get to know the firm@boermiller.com and thanks for listening to the show. So let's talk a little bit about innovation because what you did there was nothing like it on the market. Obviously the initial concept seems unique and novel As you grew the company over those 15 years, how did you incorporate or encouraged innovation within the company to keep it going? Merrilee: We would have so much fun together. We always had happy hours after work and we would sit and brainstorm with a cocktail in our hand and just anything goes. We would talk about anything and everything and we would do fun marketing things too. Things that were a little edgy maybe too far. Like we had Buzz Ball condoms for spring break and we had crazy stuff for marketing and now the marketing is a little more toned down because it's going to the general populace instead of just craziness. So I think that that's changed for sure. Tell me again what you were asking about Chris: Kind of incorporating innovation into Merrilee: Innovation. Yeah, so it's just Chris: Propelling success. Merrilee: We would try different flavors and this tastes gross or this tastes like medicine or no, I don't like it or I don't like the color of it or whatever. So we had an r and d team and they were fun people and that was really important to me. I wanted the ability to have the science aspect of it, but I also wanted the ability, we had a good formulation going so that we could do that. Now, one thing we decided when it was around, I don't know, four or five years in, we were thinking, oh, sales are starting to slump a little bit, wonder what's going on. We should start our own vodka and our own rum and our own gin and our own bourbon and start making those. We could do that. And so we started doing that. The thing we didn't do well was marketing of those products. So those products felt flat over two or three years. We had distribution, but we didn't know how to sell it because we had been selling in a different channel in a different way. So we went back and focused on our core learning from that mistake, just innovation is something else. Do you want to make things in a different shaped container? So we came out with the biggie, the giant biggie, and I had always wanted to make a big bowling ball sized buzz ball and everywhere I went, they were like, no, the Chris: Party size, we Merrilee: Can't do it party size, we can't do it. That's what they kept saying, you can't do it, you can't make it. It won't work. We found a way to make it work and it's one of the coolest looking things on the market and we've got witches potion coming out pretty soon. We've got biggie, BuzzBallz everywhere. Chris: I think one of the things you mentioned there, just it's okay to try new things and expand, but you've got to stay on top of 'em and I guess you said with the vodka and the bourbon and whatnot, eventually we're not as good at this. So you have to know just higher or firing fast, you have to know when to cut that off and go back to your core to really just focus on what you're good at and be the best at that. Merrilee: And so what we did with all that excess booze that we made is we just drank it in our bar. We had it at our bar at work. We had a nice big bar at work, so we would Chris: Some cost savings. We had to go buy support Merrilee: Our habits. Chris: So I'd be interested to know, you said you were in the Dallas area when you started this company. Do you feel that being in Texas as a entrepreneur and startup business had its advantages that allowed you to achieve the success that you have? Merrilee: I knew that Texas is a little bit cheaper than some of the other big cities out there, la, New York, and it's centrally located, so that helps a lot in terms of shipping, but I don't think that Texas particularly helped me other than this is where I grew my family and it was home Chris: Cheaper real estate. I think typically a legislature at the state level that's business friendly. Merrilee: Yeah, yeah, it is. I think that the other thing I wanted to make a point of is we have a big labor pool, not necessarily good though, it's a big labor pool, but sometimes you have to go through a bunch of people to find the right kind of people. What's that work ethic thing? Chris: Of course. So let's talk a little bit then about leadership and how you would describe your leadership style and how you think that evolved over time. Merrilee: I'm a hugger. I walk down the hall, I smile at everybody, I talk to everybody. I give them a hug, I eat lunch with 'em. It's an open door. So I think that is one thing that's different about me. I care about my employees so much. When COVID hit, one of the things we did that I'm especially proud of was we started our own little school. So I knew I needed employees to show up for a manufacturing plant, but how could they do that if they had to stay home to take care of their kids? Their kids' school was closed, so I was like, I'll start a school. And so I started a school onsite, a buzz ball school, hired a Texas education, the agency teacher and an aide, so a TE, a certified teacher and an aide, and we converted a conference room, big conference room into a kids learning center and we got headphones and we had them get their PCs from all their different schools. We had kids' books, we had play mats, we had tents, we had all kinds of stuff. We cooked breakfast for 'em, we cooked lunch for 'em, we gave them a snack, we helped them with their homework and then their parents could bring 'em to work at 6:00 AM before school starts, but 6:00 AM We had somebody there to greet those kids when their shift started, the people working and we'd help the kids, give them a snack, give them their homework, make sure they got everything done, and then their parents could eat lunch with them if they wanted to during that day and then pick 'em up at two or three o'clock in the afternoon when their shift was over. But that's one of the things I'm really proud of. That's like a different thing that we had to do for COVID. So we did a lot of things like the lunches, the free lunches. We also gave everybody time off between Christmas and New Year's, right around December 22nd to January 2nd, I just said everybody gets that time off because of when I was a teacher. That was really important to have that family time and when you're working your job for your first year when you're out of college, or even if you never went to college, you get two weeks vacation. That's not enough for the whole year. So two weeks vacation plus a week of PTO for sick time, and then you get this extra 10 days off paid and you don't have to come to work. You can make that plan and go to New York for your family. And then we also give them a bonus at Christmas so that they could buy some Christmas presents. Some of them were paycheck to paycheck and so it meant lot. Yeah, just little celebrations, chili cook-offs and dinosaur races and silly stuff, but it was good. It was a good relationship, good culture. Chris: What you just mentioned about the school during COVID is fascinating to me and brilliant by the way, so kudos to you that would fit within my definition of innovation. Thinking outside the box and going, one, you have to keep your business going and so how can I do this given what my workforce is dealing with? And you found that is an amazing solution. Merrilee: We also decided that we would be an essential business, so we made BuzzBallz, hand sanitizer, we took some of our spirit based vodka and rum and gin and put these little toppers on them instead of the 50 ml size that's on the airplane that had a screw cap, put these tops on 'em and then made hand sanitizer, gave it out to all the lab corps, all the hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, all of the grocery stores, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, spirit Airlines, we gave it out to so many people and all the hospitals and everything. So that was one way that we could stay in business made us essential. Chris: It's funny, I had some clients do some similar things with hand sanitizers during that time. Of course, looking back, if you remember the spike in alcohol cells during COVID, it seems like it would've been a natural essential business anyway, right? Merrilee: Straight answer from any kind of government saying essential business or not. I was like, we're going to make ourselves essential, and people wanted to buy our hand sanitizer and I'm like, no, we're giving it for free. We're not doing it for money. We're doing it for the betterment of mankind. Chris: At that point, it was so uncertain, right? Merrilee: Yeah, we thought we were going to die, we're going to all Chris: Die. Thank goodness that didn't happen. We've suffered that. I think there's been a slow progression back to normalcy in the business world as a result of COVID. You see it more and more the work remote versus now just this year a lot more about five days a week back in the office, which four or five years ago, you never thought that would happen. Merrilee: That really made me mad too, that everybody was expecting to work from home forever, and I was just like, that's not real life people. You need to collaborate with other people. You need to get things done. And you can't do it in a bubble unless you're like a computer programmer and that's all you do all day is sit in front of your pc. It doesn't make any sense if you're in a people oriented business. Chris: I couldn't agree with you more. And that's what our firm is, people oriented, customer service, customer facing professional services, and we say we're better together and the collaboration is key. It's where learning and training and development come from, and we think where our best client service comes from. So we got to be together. We actually got back in the office in May of 2020 in a smart and safe way, but it was that critical. Merrilee: It's changed time and leveraging technology. I've just noticed such a flowing in customer service and an accountability and when you call somebody to set up an appointment for something, you get some robot on the phone and you push one and you push two and then you push one and then you push three and then you get somebody that's a voicemail or whatever. It's so frustrating. There is such a decline in accountability. It's like somebody's always passing the buck to somebody else or that's not my department. I don't do that. And companies have gotten so big, and I'm talking about the big at ts, the big companies that don't ever answer their phone, they don't have a human that answers their phone. You can't get support. And I think that when it's just so refreshing when you have a company that actually answers their phone, that actually responds to your email that you sent, even if it's a complaint, somebody listened. Somebody responded, oh crap, I'll buy their stuff forever because of that. I was mad, but now I'm happy. Chris: So true. So you mentioned something, it was a while back, but you talked about making mistakes along the way. Can you give us an example of maybe one or two where you're like failure or mistake, but that you learned through persevered through made you better because you had that experience? Merrilee: Yeah, so I had so many mistakes. I think that it's so important to make mistakes because you don't get better unless you make mistakes. Mistakes don't mean failure. Overall. Mistakes mean it's an opportunity to change it for the better, to make your product better, to make it more solid. One of the things early on that I did was I was making a pina colada and I was using real coconut cream. A lot of these entrepreneurs come to me, I'm going to do everything with real stuff. It's healthy, it's this, it's that. It's whatever. I'm not going to use anything artificial. That's great. Okay, go for it. Is it shelf stable? Was it going to rot on the shelf? All those kinds of questions I have that come up when you do a commercial product. But anyway, I was making this pina colada coconut cream. What I didn't know, what I didn't Google was that coconut cream freezes and turns solid at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. So I'm sitting here making this coconut cream. Oh my gosh, taste is so good. The pina coladas were so awesome. And then after that sat there on the shelf for about two or three months, it started to clump up and it looked like cottage cheese in the container. So when people would open it up, they're like, so that was one mistake that I learned from and had to fix, and we did and it's awesome. Another mistake I made was I was using real orange juice in my, instead of triple suck, I was using some orange juice in my tequila, Rita, it was a margarita, and I wanted just a little tad of orange juice in there. That orange juice pulp turned brown over time and you don't notice it when you make it. You don't notice it when you test it, but it looked like fish food floating around in the bottom of my container. You could see through my container Chris: Once it goes on the shelf and sits for a while right then, Merrilee: And people are going, I'm shaking it and there's brown specks going around in here. What is that? So these were all early lessons learned, just things you learned just by running the machinery or by cleaning products or by making the containers. I can't even tell you how many mistakes I've made, but I think most of my mistakes were later on more with people than with product And also just learning who to trust. Trusting your gut instinct I think is one of the most important things entrepreneurs have to do. When you feel something's wrong, it is wrong. Even if you meet somebody that seems to be nice or really important, they might just be weird or they might have a problem. So got to keep your distance. Chris: That's good. On that point, any advice you received along the way from someone that really stuck with you and helped you through the journey? Merrilee: There was lots of times I had advice, but it wasn't really framed in terms of advice. I remember when it was pretty early on, my dad came to see me and it was before we knew any level of success and he sat there and he looked at the buzz ball and he goes, I think you might have something here. And that just felt so good to me to hear that from someone else. And it wasn't because he was my dad, it was just like he was just a normal person looking at a normal product and he was judging it and I thought, wow, okay. He said that. Another one that comes to mind is Blair Casey. He was an original distributor for me, and he was the first guy to bring in my buzz ball product into Texas. He worked for Glazer's at the time, and then I hired him in 2017. He came on board and became my head of sales. Anyway, this guy was always positive. I relate him to Ted Lasso, but he's just so positive. But he always was, glass is always half full with that guy, and I always remember his way of being more than him saying the glass is half full, but the glass was always half full with Blair. And even when you focus on how it's half empty, you got to remember that it's also half full. Chris: Look for the positives in the learning though. That's great. Great stuff. Merrilee really appreciate your insights and sharing your story. A couple of things just to maybe wrap things up more Texas specific. Is there anything, having been in Texas for a long time, any traditions or things that you and your family like to do in the state or in the dallas Fort Worth area? Merrilee: I like to go to Stars games and things like that. My husband loves to play golf. My kids, I've got five grandkids now, so home is special to me. My home is the most important place to me and there isn't really, I can't say I like State Fair of Texas or the PBR Rodeo or anything like that is sticking out in my mind. I like to go occasionally, but I like to stay home a lot and I like to spend time at work a lot and I love Christmas holiday lights. Just the holiday season, seeing all the lights, it just warm my heart. It just makes me feel good. Chris: That's great. Okay. Here's a question for you. Do you prefer TexMex or barbecue? Merrilee: TexMex with lots of cheese. Chris: Lots of cheese. I can relate to that. Merrilee. This has been great. I really appreciate your time. Congratulations on just what a cool story coming from a teacher to a very successful alcoholic beverage manufacturer. Merrilee: Oh, thank you. Thank you. I'm on my new things now and I'm actually making some barbecue sauce and doing some other things with gourmet land that's a completely different new products, new company, and that's where I'm spending a lot of my time now. And RAC is carrying the torch for BuzzBallz and they're doing a great job. Chris: Well, it sounds like you meet the definition of some of my favorite people, which is serial entrepreneur onto the next thing. Merrilee: Can't stop. Chris: I love it. I love it. This has been a pleasure. Thanks again and wishy continued success. Merrilee: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Chris: And there we have it. Another great episode. Don't forget to check out the show notes at boyer miller.com/podcast and you can find out more about all the ways our firm can help you@boyermiller.com. That's it for this episode. Have a great week and we'll talk to you next time. Special Guest: Merrilee Kick.

Wir feiern 10 Jahre Viva Equality – zehn Jahre voller Begegnungen, bewegender Gespräche und gemeinsamer Schritte hin zu mehr Gleichberechtigung. Unsere Reise begann als LibriLeo, mit der Vision, Kindern den Zugang zu Bildung und Büchern zu schenken. Heute sind wir Viva Equality – ein Zuhause für Vielfalt und ein Ort, an dem Gleichberechtigung in all ihren Farben lebendig wird. In dieser besonderen Jubiläumsfolge unseres Goodcast Special nehmen euch Sahra Seeliger und Julius Bertram mit auf ihren gemeinsamen Weg und erzählen, wie alles begann – und wie sie sich überhaupt kennengelernt haben. Dazu hört ihr auch Stimmen von besonderen Gästen: Renate Künast mit einem inspirierenden Beitrag und Alex Raths von der Auridis Stiftung, die unsere Arbeit seit vielen Jahren begleitet. Kommt mit uns auf eine Reise durch die letzten zehn Jahre – voller Erinnerungen, Geschichten und Ausblicke in die Zukunft von Viva Equality. Eine Produktion von MAKIKO* für die Viva Equality gemeinnützige UG Gastgeber: Tilman Perez Mitarbeit: Tilman Perez Produktion: MAKIKO*

Over the past few years, no technological development has been more discussed than the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. AI is changing how we work, how we make art, and even how we access healthcare. Jennifer Oliva joins Taonga Leslie to explore the ways AI and algorithms are being used to restrict access to healthcare nationwide and how lawyers and patients can advocate for greater fairness and transparency.   Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy and Program for Racial JusticeGuest: Jennifer Oliva, Professor of Law and Val Nolan Faculty Fellow, Indiana University Maurer School of Law Link:  Jennifer Oliva, How Artificial Intelligence Controls Your Health Insurance Coverage, The Conversation, (June 20, 2025).Link: T. Christian Miller, et al., Not Medically Necessary”: Inside the Company Helping America's Biggest Health Insurers Deny Coverage for Care, ProPublica (Oct. 23, 2024).  Link: Benefits Tech Advocacy Hub Link: TechTonic Justice Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube -----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn't.----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

How do we close the health gap in Black communities? In this episode, Simma Lieberman (“The Inclusionist”) talks with bEHR Health founder Kwame Terra about the urgent need for health equity, the power of community, and the real stories behind the statistics. From breaking world records to building a movement, this conversation will challenge, inspire, and empower you. Timestamps & Key Segments:00:00 – Introduction: Why Black Health Matters 02:15 – Meet Kwame Terra: From Runner to Health Equity Leader 07:30 – The Shocking Truth About Health Disparities 15:00 – bEHR Health: Using Data and Community to Drive Change 22:45 – Real Stories: Walking Clubs, World Records, and Transformation 31:10 – Food, Motivation, and Changing Habits 38:00 – The Power of Community Support 45:20 – How You Can Get Involved and Make a Difference 50:00 – Closing Thoughts: Hope, Action, and the Future of Black Health Why Listen? ●     Learn what's really behind the life expectancy gap—and what you can do about it. ●     Hear how bEHR Health is helping people walk off medication and reclaim their lives. ●     Get practical tips for building healthy habits and finding support. ●     Be part of a movement that's changing the narrative on Black health. Guest Bio:Kwame Terra is the founder and CEO of bEHR Health, a platform dedicated to closing the health gap in Black communities through technology, education, and collective action. A former collegiate runner and passionate advocate for health equity, Kwame is on a mission to help everyone live longer, healthier lives.   Click here to DONATE and support our podcast All donations are tax deductible through Fractured Atlas. Simma Lieberman, The Inclusionist, helps leaders create inclusive cultures. She is a consultant, speaker, and facilitator. Simma is the creator and host of the podcast, Everyday Conversations on Race. Contact Simma@SimmaLieberman.com to get more information, book her as a speaker for your next event, help you become a more inclusive leader, or facilitate dialogues across differences. Go to www.simmalieberman.com and www.raceconvo.com for more information Simma is a member of and inspired by the global organization IAC (Inclusion Allies Coalition)    Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn Tiktok Website    Previous Episodes Global DEI: Apartheid to Equity Navigating Race, Mental Health and Well-being in Corporate America How Racist Competency Checks Prevent Merit-Based Hiring Loved this episode?  Leave us a review and rating

In this episode, Sahar Aziz is in dicussion with Dr. Audrey Truschke and Dr. Dheepa Sundaram about the new groundbreaking report published by CSRR entitled Hindutva in America: A Threat to Equality and Religious Pluralism, which is available for download at csrr.rutgers.eduAudrey Truschke is a Professor of History and Director of Asian Studies at Rutgers University-Newark.  She is the author of numerous books about India published by Columbia University Press, Stanford University Press and Princeton University Press.  She just released her fourth book with entitled India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent.Dheepa Sundaram who is an assistant professor at Denver University where she teaches courses in Hindu studies, critical theory, and digital religion.  Professor Sundaram is a cultural theorist whose research examines the formation of South Asian digital religious publics.  Her current book project is entitled “Globalizing Darsan: Virtual Steriology and the Making of a Hindu ‘Brand'” and has written articles critically examining Hindutva's influence on both India and the United States' stated commitments to equality and pluralism.The two experts explain the difference between the global religion of Hinduism and the right wing ethnonationalist ideology of Hindutva. In India, Hindu nationalists advocate a strict form of ethnonationalism that reimagines the secular Indian republic as an exclusively Hindu nation and seeks to relegate religious minorities–especially Muslims–to an inferior status. Hindu nationalism is distinct from Hinduism, notwithstanding Hindutva proponents' erroneous claims of representing all Hindus.  In the United States, Hindutva proponents seek to silence the voices of Indian Americans and others who disagree with their ideology, promote harmful policies favorable to India's Hindu nationalist political parties, and control knowledge about South Asia's diverse, multireligious history. Listen to the conversation about this transnational political movement that is threatening the civil rights of Muslim, Sikh, Christian communities of South Asian origin in the United States.#Hindutva #Islamophobia #Populism #India #Equality #Support the showSupport the Center for Security, Race and Rights by following us and making a donation: Donate: https://give.rutgersfoundation.org/csrr-support/20046.html Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEbUfYcWGZapBNYvCObiCpp3qtxgH_jFy Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rucsrr Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rutgerscsrr Follow us on Threads: https://threads.com/rutgerscsrr Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/rucsrr Follow us on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/rucsrr Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://csrr.rutgers.edu/newsroom/sign-up-for-newsletter/

A change in the validity period for GMATs and GREs will impact some applicants this year

Robert VerBruggen joins the Law & Liberty Podcast to discuss civil rights after DEI.

We're #1 - for the worst state in the nation for women's equality! That’s according to WalletHub's latest ranking. That's 10 years in a row now. Live analysis on these results from the Utah Women & Leadership Project, after the break.

Imagine one day waking up and being told to forget everything you had learned in school. Discovering that key industries in the economy had been eliminated. Learning that culture and history had been reset to year zero. And, worst of all learning that you and your friends and family were to be killed or sent to concentration camps. This is the horrific reality Dr. Sara Pol-Lim was faced with as a young girl in 1970s Cambodia. The regime of the time -- a Marxist inspired junta named the Khmer Rouge created what they viewed as a utopia but the civilized world recognized as a dystopia. What followed was the Cambodian genocide which cost the lives of millions. But what happens to those who survive such horrors? How do they move forward? How can they carry on and rebuild their loves in the shadow of unimaginable horror?  In her powerful new book "Coming to Terms with Historical Trauma: A Memoir," Sara bravely shares her story. It is a book that is both tragic and inspiring. In this episode, I speak with Sara about her story, her trauma, and what lessons we as a society can learn from such terrible events. Sara Pol-Lim's book is available from all major retailers including: Barnes & Noble Amazon Dr. Pol-Lim honors include: • “Woman of Distinction” Award from Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell in 2015.  • Trail Blazer for Outstanding Leadership by 6th District Councilmember Dee Andrew 2014.  • Outstanding Leadership Award by the United States House of Representatives Congressman Alan Lowenthal 2014.  • 4th District Woman of the Year 2013 by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe.  • Woman of Distinction 2012 by the Honorable Roderick Wright of the 25th Senatorial District.  • Hands Across the District Medal from the Assembly Member Warren Furutani 2012  • Outstanding Cambodian Leader given by Cambodian Town 2012.  • Selected as “Grand Marshall of the Cambodian New Year Parade 2011.  • The Gene Lentzner's “Human Relations” Award 2010 given by the California Conference for Equality and Justice, Long Beach.  • Selected as “Grand Marshall” of the Long Beach Martin Luther King Parade 2010.  • Woman Who Makes a Difference by the Long Beach NAACP 2009.  • Community Leader Award by Mentoring A Touch from Above in 2009.  • Extraordinary Woman Award by Voter Education & Research Action and presenting by Assemblyman Mervyn M. Dymally in 2008.  

Bridgette Kyalimpa, director of the African Feminist Research Initiative for Advocacy and Development shares the impactful work AFRAD is doing to drive gender equality and social justice across the continent, with a focus on online activism and digital security. She discusses the challenges faced, including shrinking #civic spaces and limited funding, and calls for stronger digital protections and inclusive policies. Bridget also highlights the importance of #education, #technological adoption, and engaging marginalized communities in achieving Uganda's goal of a middle-class economy by 2040.Timestamps00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest01:29 Founding and Mission of AFRAD02:47 Challenges in Online Activism03:56 Addressing Digital Threats and Gender-Based Violence08:15 Support and Collaboration for Feminist Advocacy11:19 Policy Recommendations and Future Vision15:30 Call to Action and Personal Stories18:55 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsFollow up with her in her names on LinkedIn.Share your feedback on what you think it will take for Uganda to achieve a middle class economy, and inquiries at onuganda@gmail.com or WhatsApp +25678537996. PODCAST DISCLAIMER. The views and opinions expressed in the episode are those of the individuals. They do not represent or reflect the official position of the ON Uganda Podcast, so we do not take responsibility for any ideas expressed by guests during the Podcast episode. You are smart enough to take out what works for you. As of 5.03.25

This Social Soup Morsel is a little sample of our chat with John Graham, an author, activist, adventurer, storyteller, and TikToker! John's life and career has spanned decades of world events. He shares what they taught him about resilience, leadership, and finding your voice in challenging times. Grab a bowl of lessons on courage, connection, and making a difference where you are.Subscribe and share if you like our flavors!Follow John on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@badassgranddad Check out John's website: Johngraham.org  Connect with John Graham on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnagraham1Read John Graham's memoir, Quest—Risk, Adventure, and the Search for Meaning: johngraham.org/books/quest-risk-adventure-and-the-search-for-meaning Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/michelledattilio⁠ Learn more about sōsh: visit our website and reach out! ⁠getsosh.com ⁠  

The Magnificent 7 MBA programs in the U.S. by the revealing numbers 

A Clare charity which provides free therapy to children with special needs has been described as an example of "best practice" at a national level. Government funding of €300,000 for the Clare Crusaders Clinic in Barefield has been announced during a ministerial visit to the facility today. Set up in 2007 by former Independent Councillor Ann Norton along with a group of parents, Clare Crusaders is a self-financing charity that gives more than 450 children with special needs in the county access to free therapy and specialist treatment. The organisation's management has long lamented the fact that it receives no State funding and instead has to raise upwards of €250,000 each year through a busy calendar of fundraising events. Today represents a significant milestone in the clinic's journey, however, as for the first time, a Government funding allocation amounting to €300,000 has been announced. It's understood the money will go towards information and communications technology as well as related equipment. Fine Gael Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, Hildegarde Naughton, who made the announcement, insists similar facilities across the country could learn from Clare Crusaders. During her visit to the Barefield facility, the Minister spoke with staff as well as parents of service users in relation to the challenges they face on a daily basis. Among those in attendance was Ann Enright from Quin, whose daughter Adah has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair, is visually impaired, has limited speech, has seizures and needs 24/7 care. She says the support of Clare Crusaders has changed both of their lives for the better. In a show of gratitude for the funding award, bouquets of flowers were presented to Minister Naughton as well as HSE Midwest Regional Executive Officer Sandra Broderick on behalf of Clare Crusaders. Its Co-founder and Managing Director, Ann Norton claims it's the first time she's been listened to by those in power.

Courage Brands Win. This week, we hit pause on the usual interview format for a fast, fun “Courage Brands Spotlight” discussion featuring Ryan and his partners Nicole Miller and Billy Collins. Nicole kicks things off with The Female Quotient—an unapologetic, action-oriented force that meets leaders where they already gather (CES, Cannes) with Equality Lounges and hard conversations everyone's invited to join. Billy spotlights the Savannah Bananas, who are on a mission to rewire baseball for sheer fun; two-hour games, innings ending when someone scores, and fans recording an out by catching a foul ball. Ryan closes with BeatBox Beverages—the party-ready, wine-based cocktail that started on Shark Tank and is now riding a wave of success with Shaq.

In this episode of TigerTalk, Marketing and Public Relations Specialist Liz Calvery sits down with Northeast President Dr. Ricky G. Ford to share valuable advice for students just beginning their college journey. Drawing on decades of experience as an educator and leader, Ford highlights the importance of building friendships that last a lifetime, getting involved in clubs and organizations, joining intramural activities, and making the most of resources like the Eula Dees Memorial Library. Whether it's stepping out of your comfort zone to meet new people or finding ways to fully embrace campus life, Ford encourages students to enjoy every moment of their time at Northeast. Plus, get the latest updates on athletics, academics, workforce development, and everything happening at one of the nation's premier community colleges.

Batter up, sports fans! It's time to step into the batter's box with Brent Radlinsky as he swings for the fences on the latest episode of The Fourteen Twenty Sports Bar Podcast. We're diving headfirst into the historic debut of MLB's first female umpire, Jen Pawol, and boy, did she knock it out of the park with a 94% ball-strike rating. But hold onto your beer, 'cause Brent's not pulling any punches when it comes to the naysayers. He's serving up some hot takes on why women belong behind the plate, in the field, and anywhere else in sports. Also, we'll touch base on Shadeur Sanders' latest antics and toss a birthday shoutout to the Kung Fu Panda himself, Pablo Sandoval. So grab your favorite brew, settle into your favorite armchair, and let's call this game like we see it. It's time to get into 'er and celebrate the changing face of baseball!

Fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean has been difficult, but the winds of progress are blowing strong in Saint Lucia. ECADE, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality, just won its fourth court victory since 2022 over long prison sentences for same-sex intimacy. Executive Director Kenita Placide talks about the legal tempest sweeping across the islands (interviewed by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: the early retirement benefits transgender U.S. Air Force personnel with 15 to 18 years of service were promised for voluntarily agreeing to leave the military have been withdrawn, a majority of people in China support LGBTQ rights according to a new study released by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, pediatric gender affirming healthcare will be illegal in New Hampshire under a law signed by Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte, Massachusetts' existing protections for transgender and reproductive healthcare are enhanced under legislation signed by lesbian Democratic Governor Maura Healey, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supports the denial of a preliminary injunction to prevent Oklahoma's ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare from being enforced while its constitutionality is litigated, Bishop of Monmouth Cherry Vann is voted the Church in Wales' first female and first out Archbishop, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Nathalie Munoz and Allan Tijamo (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the August 11, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Why finance is surging and tech is fading

Neo-patriarchy — the revival of traditional gender roles in a modern context — is shaping conversations about love, power, and identity. But does it really serve us today?

A growing number of Israelis, even among right-wing orthodox, are supporting freedom of marriage from the Orthodox monopoly in the state. According to a poll carried out by Hiddush, an organization for Religious Freedom and Equality, some 60 percent of the Jewish population now support recognizing all types of marriages, including civil, Conservative and Reform ceremonies. Reporter Arieh O’Sullivan spoke with Dr. Yifat Solel, the deputy director and legal adviser of Hiddush, about their poll.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three visionaries discuss their lives of service, the legacy of the civil rights movement, and their ongoing commitment to global human rights. A conversation about what it means to make history—and to shape the future.

What do we mean by equality? F.A. Hayek believed that equality under law and the socialist belief of material equality were opposed to each other. Furthermore, he held liberty to be necessary for civilization itself to flourish.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/equality-under-hayekian-rule-law

What do we mean by equality? F.A. Hayek believed that equality under law and the socialist belief of material equality were opposed to each other. Furthermore, he held liberty to be necessary for civilization itself to flourish.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/equality-under-hayekian-rule-law

This week - we're talking about the internet, Coco's proclivities toward the disembodied voice of Pedro Pascal and Nish's struggles to find any time to work on himself. Strap in - it's a juicy one.  Nish and Coco are joined by technology journalist Chris Stokel-Walker to make sense of the UK's new online safety laws - which restrict access to harmful and inappropriate content for young people - while simultaneously clamping down on free speech and digital privacy. The conversation is becoming a culture war topic - but are the political class actually having a sensible discussion about this seismic, world's-first legislation?  And - guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission could see trans people excluded from public life. And now it might become law - with no debate, no scrutiny and no vote. We'll be speaking to journalist Freddy McConnell about the risk to all of our rights and how we can fight back. And later - we're getting Jezzy with it - we dive into the mailbag to hear your thoughts on the party definitely not called “your party”.  CHECK OUT THIS DEAL FROM OUR SPONSOR https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk  USEFUL LINKS  See us Live in London!  https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/comedy/pod-save-the-uk/ Write to your MP  https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/contact-your-mp/ Trans Solidarity Alliance https://www.transsolidarityalliance.com/ehrc-code Freddy's latest article https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/31/transgender-rights-ehrc-guidance-single-sex-spaces  Guardian article about Lord Dannet https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/05/lord-dannatt-urged-ministers-to-crack-down-on-palestine-action-at-request-of-us-firm  GUESTS Chris Stokel-Walker  Freddy McConnell AUDIO CREDITS  Sky News Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media. Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com Insta: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Life's biggest wins come from quiet consistency. For Olympic gold medalist Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, that meant showing up every day and finding joy in the daily grind.  In this episode, she reflects on her journey as an elite athlete, mother of four children, and advocate for equality in women's hockey. We discuss why finding enjoyment in the monotony on the road to excellence matters, how to parent athletes in a way that pushes them without pressure, and ways men can help fight for equality and representation in the game. Tune in to hear what's helped Jocelyne make an impact on and off the ice! Topics discussed: Jocelyne's unique relationship with her twin, Monique The importance of finding joy in the daily grind Jocelyne's role in the 2017 fight for equal pay What it really means to be a winner Balancing honest feedback and encouragement for kids How increased marketing has changed women's hockey How men can be allies in women's hockey Mentorship, coaching, and growth Listen to episode 238, Empowering the Next Generation with Kellan Brown, here: https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/insights/blog/empowering-the-next-generation-with-kellan-brown/ Resources: Mitlin Financial: https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/ The JOY and Productivity Journal by Lawrence Sprung: https://www.amazon.com/JOY-Productivity-Journal-brought-mindset/dp/B0CYQFYW54/ Download Your Free Copy of the Couple's JOYful Money Guide: https://mitlin.us/CouplesJOY Connect with Larry Sprung:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencesprung/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larry_sprung/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceDSprung/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/Lawrence_Sprung Connect with Rachel Solomon Fascitelli: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jocelyneusa17/ Twitter: https://x.com/lamoureuxtwins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LamoureuxTwins/ Website: www.lamoureuxtwins.com About our Guest: Born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota as the youngest of six children, Jocelyne and her twin sister Monique excelled as young athletes and became North Dakota's first Olympic Gold Medalists. Despite growing up with no opportunity to play on girls hockey teams, they did not let that stop them from developing into some of the best players in the state.  They attended Shattuck St. Mary's School where they elevated the women's hockey program to national prominence and won three national titles during their high school careers.   The Lamoureux twins rewrote the record books at the University of North Dakota, setting nearly every individual record in program history while becoming some of the best players in NCAA history and multiple-time All-Americans during their collegiate careers. During their 15 years on the USA Women's National Team, Monique and Jocelyne rose to become two of the all-time greats in women's hockey, winning one Olympic gold medal, two Olympic silver medals, six world championships and one world championship runner-up, along with multiple individual awards and accolades. They are USA Hockey Hall of Fame inductees and 2nd and 3rd youngest North Dakota natives to be given the Teddy Roosevelt Award in the State of North Dakota.  Their most important victories have come off the ice in their fight for gender equity for women in hockey and sports. They were key leaders in negotiating Team USA's first-ever contract that provided more opportunities, compensation and benefits for women and girls who play hockey in America. They continue to give back to the state of North Dakota through the Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux Foundation, which helps serve underprivileged youth. They have inspired a generation to dream big, but most importantly their legacy will be about making a difference in people's lives as they strive toward those dreams.  Disclosure: Guests on the Mitlin Money Mindset are not affiliated with CWM, LLC, and opinions expressed herein may not be representative of CWM, LLC. CWM, LLC is not responsible for the guest's content linked on this site.

Sixty years ago, Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law one of the most transformative bills in United States history - the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Michael Li joins Lindsay Langholz to take stock of the VRA's impact on American democracy, the real wins pro-democracy advocates are still able to achieve in spite of an increasingly hostile Supreme Court, and what the future holds for this critical law.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACSGuest: Michael Li, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for JusticeLink: Growing Racial Disparities in Voter Turnout, 2008–2022, Brennan Center for JusticeGuest: A New Cycle of Texas Gerrymandering: Your Questions Answered, Bolts MagazineGuest: The Supreme Court Just Signaled Something Deeply Disturbing About the Next Term, by Rick HasenGuest: The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Fact Sheet, The Brennan Center for JusticeVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube -----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn't.----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

Is Access to Private Investments About to Change Forever? A new bill, the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act of 2025, is making waves in Congress. Its promise? To open the doors of private investments, such as real estate, private equity, and venture capital, to a broader range of Americans by eliminating traditional accreditation standards. But does equal access truly mean equal risk? In this episode, Jeannette Friedrich breaks down what this bill really means for everyday investors, the potential benefits, and the serious risks that are not being discussed enough. Key Takeaways: What the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act proposesUnderstand how the bill aims to replace income and net worth requirements with a knowledge-based test to expand access to private investments. Three reasons why this bill is being celebratedFrom democratising access to higher-yield investments, encouraging portfolio diversification beyond stocks, to fostering financial education. Why “equal access” might not mean equal impactThe financial risks for a high-net-worth investor are not the same as for a first-time or lower-net-worth investor. Jeannette explains the nuances. The rise of bad actors and fraud risksMore retail participation may attract scammers and opportunists. Learn why investor caution and due diligence will become even more critical. False sense of equality: The overlooked flaw in the billJeannette shares why both new and existing accredited investors should be held to the same financial literacy standards and why the bill currently misses this point. A call for broader regulatory scrutinyWhy regulation should not stop at LPs (passive investors) but should also address standards for General Partners (GPs) to ensure industry-wide investor protection. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the New Investment Bill 00:59 Understanding Accredited Investors 02:06 Benefits of the Proposed Bill 03:58 Potential Risks and Concerns 05:54 Ensuring Financial Literacy and Protection 06:54 Conclusion and Call to Action Are you REady2Scale Your Multifamily Investments? Learn more about growing your wealth, strengthening your portfolio, and scaling to the next level at www.bluelake-capital.com. Credits Producer: Blue Lake Capital Strategist: Syed Mahmood Editor: Emma Walker Opening music: Pomplamoose *