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Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We're talking with Sarah Hooley, Executive Pastor at City Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 2016 by Lead Pastor Chris Freeman, City Church is a young, rapidly growing, intentionally multi-ethnic, multi-economic, and multi-generational church. Since moving from a setup/teardown environment into their renovated 60,000-square-foot facility, the church has experienced explosive growth—reaching 2,500–2,600 weekly attendees, baptizing nearly 500 people this year, and engaging a high percentage of unchurched and new-to-faith individuals. Is your church reaching people far from Jesus but struggling to disciple them well? Are you navigating the complexities that come with rapid growth? Tune in as Sarah shares how City Church reaches, welcomes, disciples, and mobilizes people who often arrive with little to no church background. Reaching the unchurched at scale. // From the beginning, City Church planted itself intentionally in one of Fort Wayne's most racially diverse neighborhoods. Many guests arrive with no church vocabulary. Many don't know the difference between the Old and New Testament or famous biblical characters. Teaching, therefore, is designed with zero assumptions, helping newcomers feel included while still deeply challenging long-time believers. Worship reflects the church's diversity, blending musical styles in a way that unites cultures rather than centering one preference. Many first-time attendees hear about the church through friends who aren't yet believers themselves—evidence that transformation is visibly taking root. Welcoming culture built by transformed people. // One of the most powerful forces shaping City Church is its culture of warmth and belonging. Their Connections Director, Victoria, came to Christ through City Church herself—giving her deep empathy for the unchurched experience and a passion for noticing people. Her team is trained not just to greet but to see people, engage them meaningfully, and make church feel safe and familiar. Serve teams are intentionally open to nonbelievers as a front door for community and spiritual curiosity—allowing people to “belong before they believe.” This relational warmth is often the defining difference-maker for guests who have never experienced church before. Discipleship for people with no foundation. // Rapid growth and a high percentage of new believers revealed a critical discipleship gap. In response, Pastor Chris launched Act Like Men, a 15-week, high-accountability discipleship course for young men covering identity, integrity, purity, humility, servanthood, and spiritual discipline. Women quickly asked for something similar, prompting the launch of Be Bold Women, a complementary course that includes teaching, mentoring, small groups, a women's conference, and topics like emotional health, community, and living as a godly woman. A volunteer-driven church with a tiny staff. // One of the most stunning aspects of City Church is how much ministry happens through volunteers rather than staff. With only seven full-time staff and roughly 2,600 attendees, their ratio is radically outside national norms. Staff serve as equippers, not doers. High-level volunteer leaders oversee major portions of ministry: shadowing, training, leading teams, scheduling people, and pastoring others. Leadership development is an essential form of discipleship, not an operational necessity. Leading from abundance, not scarcity. // Sarah encourages leaders to adopt a “loaves and fishes” mindset – the question is not what the church lacks but what God can do with what it has. Simplicity, clarity, and focus keep the team aligned. Staff calibrate constantly, coaching one another to resist the pull toward doing everything themselves. Sarah also stresses the importance of relational support systems for leaders—cohorts, mentors, and peers who remind pastors that faithfulness, not outcomes, is the goal. To learn more about City Church, visit forthecity.com, or follow them on social media at @citychurchfw. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Risepointe Do you feel like your church’s or school's facility could be preventing growth? Are you frustrated or possibly overwhelmed at the thought of a complicated or costly building project? Are the limitations of your building becoming obstacles in the path of expanding your ministry? Have you ever felt that you could reach more people if only the facility was better suited to the community’s needs? Well, the team over at Risepointe can help! As former ministry staff and church leaders, they understand how to prioritize and help lead you to a place where the building is a ministry multiplier. Your mission should not be held back by your building. Their team of architects, interior designers and project managers have the professional experience to incorporate creative design solutions to help move YOUR mission forward. Check them out at risepointe.com/unseminary and while you’re there, schedule a FREE call to explore possibilities for your needs, vision and future…Risepointe believes that God still uses spaces…and they're here to help. Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. So glad that you’ve decided to tune in today. This is going to be a jam-packed episode. You’re going to want to buckle up. We’re talking about a lot of stuff today that applies to your church that I know will be super helpful. I’m excited to be talking to Sarah Hooley. She is the executive pastor at a church called City Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This is a church you should be tracking with. If you’re not, they were founded in 2016 by lead pastor Chris Freeman. It’s a diverse church in a city that is for the city with multi-ethnic, multi-economic, multi-generational community. It’s really, God’s doing some incredible things here, and you’re going to want to track along with that. And we’ve got Sarah on the show to help us. Sarah, welcome to the show. Sarah Hooley — Thank you so much for having me. It is a privilege to be joining you today. Rich Birch — Oh, this is going to be wonderful. I’m really looking forward to learning from you. Why don’t you tell us a little bit of the City Church story, kind of set up. Tell us a little bit about it. What’s going on Give us a sense of what’s happening at City Church. Sarah Hooley — Yeah, so we are a nine-year-old church plant. We were a set-up, teardown church for the last eight or so years ah seven and a half. We’ve move we bought a grocery store in 2020. Rich Birch — Good year. Sarah Hooley — Great time to buy a building, and and it was being used as a warehouse. And so we bought it and then the pandemic happened and we’re like, well, we still have a warehouse occupying the space. Maybe at some point it’ll become a church. We don’t know. And then it was just about a couple years ago that we then started a capital campaign and went to develop the the space. It’s 60,000 square feet. We developed about 40,000 square feet of it for our church. Rich Birch — Wow. Sarah Hooley — I’m thinking, man, that’s going to, we’ll be set for a good long time. And we are out of space already. Rich Birch — Yes. Sarah Hooley — And so and we moved from two services to three. And now we’re just, excuse me, trying to figure out what do we do? um God has just been moving in incredible ways. Like we have from the from the start been very intentional about wanting to be a multi-ethnic, multi-economic, multi-generational church. And where we planted has been very intentional. Sarah Hooley — So even where we were for set up and tear down, and we were right in the heart of the city where it was the most ethnically diverse within Fort Wayne. So Fort Wayne is roughly about 66% white in the city as a whole, but in our neighborhood specifically, it’s more 40% African-American, 20% white, 20-ish percent Hispanic. And so it is a much more racially diverse area. Rich Birch — So good. Sarah Hooley — And that is has been very intentional from the beginning. And so our location now, is it’s just been beautiful to see how God has really drawn people from every background. And, you know anyone who’s been a part of a multi-ethnic church knows that that that’s a messy process. It’s It is incredible to see, though, the the beauty and of what God can do when we are are not just attending a church together, but really in community with one another, and with people who come from radically different backgrounds um and and how that can really bring about a lot of healing in our stories and in our in our relationships. Rich Birch — So good. Sarah Hooley — And so um we have grown since moving into the building, we were about 800 people um when we were set-up/teardown. And then once we moved into the building, it has just been um exponential growth. So we we have grown very quickly and just tried to keep up with all of it. Sarah Hooley — One of the things that I’ve i’ve just loved about City Church is it’s very intentional about um reaching those who don’t know Jesus. And so the that really comes from our our lead pastor, from Pastor Chris Freeman, his heart for the lost. So a lot of our growth has not been transfer growth. It’s not just people moving from church to church, but really those who’ve never set foot in a church, those who are, or who ah are really far from Jesus. It’s been a long time. Sarah Hooley — And the greatest evidence of that, that we’ve seen is we are on track to have 500 baptisms this year. Rich Birch — Wow. Oh my goodness. Sarah Hooley — That has just blown our minds. Rich Birch — That’s incredible. Sarah Hooley — Like we, We had to move up ah the frequency of our baptisms to every six weeks because we just could not keep up with all of the people who wanted to get baptized. Rich Birch — We’re not baptizing enough. That’s amazing. Wow. That’s incredible. Sarah Hooley — But we we’re about 430 right now, and I have over 70 people registered for this next upcoming one in December. Sarah Hooley — So it has just it has been a wild ride… Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Sarah Hooley — …of um seeing God move in such phenomenal ways, and and just try to be faithful along the way. How do we steward these people well? Rich Birch — So good. Sarah Hooley — How do we continue to point them to Jesus? How do we encourage them to grow in their faith and to take those next steps of what it looks like to follow him? So it’s… Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. There’s a ton we could we could unpack there, and maybe we’ll have you on in the future to talk. I um, you know, we’ve said it in the past on the podcast, every zip code in the country is more diverse today than it was 10 years ago, and 10 years from now, it will be more diverse, and our churches need to continue to progress towards reflecting the kingdom of God and being, as you’re saying, multi-ethnic. Rich Birch — And so there’s a ton we could we could learn from you on that. Maybe we’ll have you back in the future to talk about that. Cause I, that is definitely a thing I think we all can, can learn from, but I’d love to kind of key in on what you were talking there about. Hey, your church has a heart for, which I think lots of churches do have a heart for reaching people, who don’t know Jesus, but it’s like actually happening at your church, ah which is incredible. Rich Birch — So what were some early signs, you know, that you realize, or what are some of the signs that you realize, oh, this is actually happening. Like we’re actually reaching people. Baptism is one of them. Can you think of any other signs that were like, oh, we we’re reaching people who, who this is a brand new thing for them? Sarah Hooley — Yeah. So I mean, baptism was definitely a big sign of like, wow, these are, these are people who are, are new to following Jesus and taking that, that first step. And in our conversations with people who are preparing to be baptized, um, that, that was a part. It’s so funny, just, just this last week, uh, somebody posted on their Facebook page, uh, City Church choir is better than the club for real. Rich Birch — I love it. Love it. That’s great. Sarah Hooley — And they didn’t, like we don’t have, we didn’t have a choir. It’s our worship team, but like they don’t even know the words for what that worship team is. Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Yeah. They don’t know the words yet. Sarah Hooley — And, and the comments after that, like it, it truly was showing that we, we are drawing and attracting people who, who like, they’ve they’ve never really considered going to church. And then in our conversations with people, as they’ve realized, like, man, I do want this. I want to follow this Jesus. Like, this makes sense. This is incredible. But you just can’t assume anything. Rich Birch — No. Sarah Hooley — Like, they there’s no foundational understanding of what that looks like. There’s no, and and I think even just, there’s no understanding of even like what some sins are. Like, there’s just not like, oh, I didn’t even, not even realizing that like, that’s not a good idea to continue. So we’ve had, we have people who are like, yes, I want to follow Jesus. And then they’re still sleeping with their girlfriend. They’re still, you know, like it’s and it’s like… Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah. 100%. Sarah Hooley — …oh, I didn’t, I didn’t even know… Rich Birch — The thing. Sarah Hooley — …that that was something that you shouldn’t do. Rich Birch — Yes. Sarah Hooley — And so really being able to, to come alongside and say, okay, man, we have to go back to the basics. We can’t assume anything. It’s gonna… Rich Birch — That’s good. Sarah Hooley — And it really has set the tone, even in just the way that Chris preaches and and all of our our pastors preach that we don’t make assumptions when we’re talking about scripture. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Sarah Hooley — So allowing um there not to be any barriers or or anything that would create a place where people would feel like, man, like everybody else knows what he’s talking about, but I don’t. And so like just the way that you set things up and explain things and introduce people. So you don’t don’t just assume that everybody knows who Joseph is from the Old Testament. Rich Birch — 100%. Right. Sarah Hooley — Like you have to be like, Hey, this is this guy. And so I think that that has led us to like, Chris does such a great job on Sunday mornings, but man, there’s, there’s so much more that we need to do as far as for people to truly learn what it means to follow Jesus when they don’t have much of a background. Like it’s going to take some more intentional discipleship that, um that we do. So that that has been really a process of of recognition that we even people who are coming on a Sunday… Rich Birch — Right. Sarah Hooley — …they’re excited about Jesus, there’s still some gaps there. Rich Birch — Sure. I’d love to talk. We’re going to get into the discipleship question, but I just want to pause just before we get there. And so um what do you think God’s using to help your church engaged? You know, in different circles of the Christian world, it’s called different things. Unchurched people, seekers, people who follow Jesus, people new to the faith, you know. So the teaching, I agree. That’s like a best practice around, um ah you know, taking time to explain. It takes three sentences to explain instead of just saying, well, you all know Joseph. Sarah Hooley — Yeah. Rich Birch — He’s an example, which is just lazy preaching. You should take a few sentences, explain it. But what else is God using you think to, ah you know, to help your church reach so many unchurched people? Sarah Hooley — Yeah, you know, so we we really have, the the teaching is significant. Rich Birch — Yep. Sarah Hooley — And that’s one of the things that I have just been blown away. So I grew up as a pastor’s kid, went to Bible college, went to seminary, like… Rich Birch — Yep. Sarah Hooley — …biblical, like good, solid biblical teaching is such a huge priority for me. Rich Birch — Yep. Sarah Hooley — And the thing that I think has been unique is that Chris has a way of communicating with those who have never been in church and and helping them to to see a clear picture of who Jesus is and challenging the deep disciples. Those who’ve been following Jesus their whole life. And yet, man… Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so good. Sarah Hooley — …the way that he brings light to scripture and, and even just like points out some, like, this is what it means to live this out. Rich Birch — That’s good. Sarah Hooley — That has made such a big difference. And then, so we really have had this, this drawing of, of those who have been followers… Rich Birch — So good. Sarah Hooley — …who then can invest in those who are new believers. But also we have, and it and it is beautiful, like a really dynamic worship time that is incredible. And one of the things that’s unique about it is it’s because we’re multi-ethnic, you can’t just go in one kind of genre of music, like it really is a blend. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. Sarah Hooley — And so there’s something about it that um it it’s not all of anyone’s preferences, but you’re like, oh man, like I love this part of it. And then, well, this part’s new and different, but okay, I can I can get on board with it. And so I think those that combination, um but there’s there’s another factor and that’s, that really is in the culture that’s been set in how we are a welcoming church. Sarah Hooley — And so our connections director is somebody who came to faith in our church. So she she started following Jesus, like she had no church background whatsoever, started following Jesus, um started really growing in her discipleship. Her name is Victoria. And it it has been such a beautiful thing to see how she has has such a heart for Jesus and heart for others. And so she’s continued to invest in her team… Rich Birch — It’s great. Sarah Hooley — …in like, how do we make people feel welcome from the beginning? How do we not just say hello and let them walk by, but like really see people? Sarah Hooley — And she has really invested in her connection team on like, how is that an opportunity for discipleship? And so one of the things is you can you can join our greet team. You can join our parking lot team. You can join our coffee team and not be a believer. But the heart behind it is like, is you’re still investigating who Jesus is. Like we hope that you’re rubbing shoulders with someone who is following after him. Rich Birch — Yeah, make some friends, right? Yeah, absolutely. Sarah Hooley — And you have those conversations and that relationship has grown um through that. And you’re you get a picture of of who Jesus is. Rich Birch — So good. Sarah Hooley — And so um like there there it’s just this multifaceted thing that has happened um that really is like when you come, you’re like man, I want to be a part of this. And so we have like, that’s the crazy thing. We have people who are not followers of Jesus inviting their friends, Rich Birch — Yeah, 100%. That’s great. Sarah Hooley — …like new church is better than the club for real. Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that’s great. Sarah Hooley — Like they’re inviting their friends to come and… Rich Birch — So good. Sarah Hooley — …and be a part of this because there’s just something happening here. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Okay, let’s talk about the discipleship issue. So ah you didn’t say this, I said it, but one of the problems with the church in general is a lot of our discipleship systems assume a fairly high level of actually understanding of scripture. And our church shares a similar heartbeat. We’ll normally see, one of the things a new year guest come through in our church. We don’t ask them a lot, but one of the questions we do ask is for them to describe their kind of faith background before they came. And we’re consistently above 50%. It’s usually 60, 75% of people would describe themselves as something that we would label as unchurched. Rich Birch — And so I understand the discipleship problem. In lots of churches it just you just assume people know stuff and they grow closer to Jesus, but that’s not the case. So how are you helping move people towards being fully discipled followers of Jesus? What does that look like for City Church? Sarah Hooley — Yeah, so we we do, we have loved using Alpha for for those who really still are in that questioning phase and like they’re not even sure. And like they may not, they might may not feel comfortable coming to City Church, but they would come to somebody’s house and walk through Alpha. So that’s been really great for those who are kind of trying to still discover who Jesus is. Sarah Hooley — But for specific discipleship, because we were realizing, man, there’s just some some gaps here, Chris decided to launch a 15-week discipleship course for young men specifically. Rich Birch — Love it. Sarah Hooley — And we really saw, like we are we are a pretty young church. I mean, always have been, but that there was some some pretty serious gaps in and not only like, what does it mean to follow Jesus, but even what does it mean like what does it mean to be a godly man? And so wanting to have, to bring alongside some intentional mentors and people who can invest in these young men. Sarah Hooley — So um he invited people, but it was a very high accountability, high expectation sort of class. They meet at 6 a.m. on Thursday mornings. Rich Birch — Yeah. Wow. Sarah Hooley — That is not something everybody wants to sign up for. It was… Rich Birch — Yeah, no, not every guy wants to do that. I can say that. Sarah Hooley — No, it is it is a huge sacrifice. Rich Birch — Yep. Sarah Hooley — And he said, this is going to require a lot of you. Rich Birch — Right. Sarah Hooley — And they actually have a crazy. Like if you are, if anyone is late, any single person is late, even five seconds, the whole group does pushups together… Rich Birch — Oh, no. Yeah. Okay, that’s cool. Sarah Hooley — …and not in a shaming way, but in a like, Hey, we’re inviting you to something great. Rich Birch — Right. Sarah Hooley — And part of, part of following Jesus is is it’s going to need incorporate discipline in your life. And so we have, we are called to have discipline. And so we’re going to really keep you accountable to this. Sarah Hooley — And so he does um he he talks through, like what does it mean to be a godly man? Talks about identity, talks about discipline, talks about integrity, purity, humility, servanthood. So he’ll do a ah teaching, and then they break off into groups with two leaders. So each group usually has about six six guys who are participants and two leaders who are older men in the church who have um that Chris has identified and recruited. And then they have a small group time. Sarah Hooley — So It has been so incredible to see how God is working, not only through his teaching, but really through that accountability… Rich Birch — That’s good. Sarah Hooley — …and like digging into what does this look like in our lives? And, and then those leaders are, are following up with them and encouraging them throughout the week. They, they do, they, they challenge, they come up with their own challenges. And as like, okay, we’re going to memorize this passage of scripture. And then they, then they like, all right, how did you, did you memorize this? Most of these guys have never memorized scripture in their lives. Rich Birch — Right. Right. Sarah Hooley — And so, even though some of those practices have been really incredible. And he he calls the class Act Like Men. And it really is so, and he makes it very clear, this is not about talking about what what is the difference between a man and a woman. This is talking about what’s the man and a boy. Sarah Hooley — Like we are calling you to be godly men and intentionally calling you up to to live out as godly men, not selfish boys. And so that, that has been beautiful. There was about, um, I think he had about 60 participants the first time he he ran it… Rich Birch — Wow. Sarah Hooley — …with 25 leaders. And then this next, um, this heat currently they’re they’re walking through it right now and there’s 100 guys and 30 leaders. Rich Birch — Wow. Sarah Hooley — It also requires, and they have to pay $100 and that goes right back into them. Like it’s for some resources that they are given. But again, it gives that like, hey, this is a high threshold. This isn’t just a casual thing. Rich Birch — Right. Sarah Hooley — They also cannot miss more than three sessions. If they do, they are asked to step away and if they can join again in a future time. Rich Birch — Take it again or whatever. Yeah. Sarah Hooley — So super high high high… Rich Birch — And is it the idea that it’s going to rotate like kind of a couple seasons a year or something like that? How what what’s the thinking on that? Sarah Hooley — Yeah. Rich Birch — Like how often are you going to run it or what’s that? What’s that look like? Sarah Hooley — Yeah. So, so what we’ve done so far is, um, the men’s course is in the fall. And then, um, after last, last fall, the first time that, that Chris did it, there was such an out, like lot of the wives and the girlfriends and the people who were just connected with these guys, they were like, man, this has been so incredible. Like, what do you have for women? Like, when are we going to have our, our course? Sarah Hooley — And so that really sparked. And I was like, I’m too busy to do this right now, but like, I can’t not do it. So, um my kids, pastor, and I developed Be Bold Women’s, which was a complimentary course for women. And so the men is in the fall and the women starts in January. And we go through the spring and do kind of a similar, we follow a lot of the same topics, although we did choose some different ones, a couple of specific one… Rich Birch — Sure. Sarah Hooley — …that we felt really convicted that, like we do one of our lessons is on emotions and like, what is a healthy, godly way to approach and process, and how are emotions a part of our life? We also talk about community. So there’s just a couple of different topics that we walk through with the women. Sarah Hooley — We also incorporated women’s conference as a part of it that we then opened up to the rest of the church. So everyone in the church could come to the conference. We had our own people speaking at it, our own worship team leading worship. And we had about 300 women at this conference. Rich Birch — Wow. That’s great. Sarah Hooley — And it was just, it was a great start, like jumpstart to our time together in the course, but then also with our larger community. Rich Birch — There’s a lot there I’d love to ask questions about. So my impression of City Church just looking in, don’t know your church well, but follow online. And, you know, I don’t get the vibe from you guys that there’s like, I don’t know, like an overly machismo kind of like, you know, ah like in a negative way. Like, you know, you know you know what I mean? There’s some churches out there. You’re like, okay, they’re like a little too much into the man/woman thing. Sarah Hooley — Uh-huh. Rich Birch — And, and I don’t know how to say that nicely and not like step on people’s toes. I don’t get that vibe from you guys, but this, but you’ve, you’ve obviously taken, taken a gendered approach. Can you unpack that a little bit? Help me understand how is that it’s obviously been super helpful. So, but just kind of talk through that issue. Help me understand that. What’s that look like for you guys? Sarah Hooley — Yeah, we really saw their there just was a need to have those intentional conversations um really of older men investing in younger men, and older women investing in younger women. Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good. Yeah, that’s good. Sarah Hooley — And so um there are things that, there are conversations that you can have when it’s just men, that you add one woman into that mix and it’s gonna change some of those conversations. Rich Birch — Sure. Sarah Hooley — And some of the things that, especially when it comes to kind of the harder accountability parts of of those conversations, it’s going it’s just gonna look differently. If if somebody’s trying to impress somebody else, like that’s going to be an issue. Sarah Hooley — But I think, I think really, even though we’re not a overly like machismo, there’s, that’s still a part of our culture. Rich Birch — Sure. Sarah Hooley — And so I think Chris really wanted to be sure that he, he tackled that kind of toxic masculinity approach. Rich Birch — Yep. Sarah Hooley — And, and like, that is not biblical masculinity. Rich Birch — No. Sarah Hooley — Like this, this idea of, you know, I’m the man. And we’re, but like, that’s not what, and and so really continuing to call them back to that, that being a true man is not the world’s version of, of power and money and having the beautiful wife or girlfriend. It really is about following Jesus’ example. He is the greatest example of what a godly man looks like. Rich Birch — Yeah. Sarah Hooley — So what does that look like? Rich Birch — Yeah. What’s that look like? Sarah Hooley — So that means humility and servanthood and sacrifice and laying down your life for others. And so how do we live that out? Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s good. Sarah Hooley — And then for our women, it it it has been so powerful to be able to have those those deep conversations and um and challenging them to live this out. Sarah Hooley — And you know when you have people who are coming from, like they they don’t have um maybe those older women or men in their lives who have been investing in them and showing them what it looks like to follow Jesus or to live this out. It’s still brand new. And so there’s still, there’s some some space to have those questions be brought. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s good. Sarah Hooley — And um like, why shouldn’t I return to this abusive boyfriend? Rich Birch — Right. Yep. Sarah Hooley — Why shouldn’t I like, so like being able to deal with some of those really hard conversations in a really healthy way that that comes back to scripture and comes back to like, this is what God wants for you. Rich Birch — Yeah. Sarah Hooley — And um and it’s and it’s hard, like following Jesus is hard. Like there is nothing easy about that… Rich Birch — Yes, yes. Yeah. Sarah Hooley — But it’s so worth it. Rich Birch — Yeah. Sarah Hooley — And I think that being able to put that in front of people. But you know, those are two courses that we have. We have lots of small groups and mid-sized groups and groups that are that are mixed gender. And like there’s some beautiful things from that, too. These two courses specifically are just a little bit unique in in their approach. Rich Birch — That’s good. So as you’ve kind of watched this roll through as an XP, you know, go people go through these experiences, what what kind of changes have you seen in the broader church culture? Like, has there, you know, what have you seen that like, oh, hey, there’s something happening here that that seems to be having a positive impact or negative, I’m assuming there’s positive, that’s been kind of impacting the church culture. Talk to me about that. Sarah Hooley — Yeah, I I you really start to see um just that that growth, the idea that this is, you know, that that view of discipleship that’s a long obedience in the same direction. That is what we are are experiencing. You know, with so many people who are new believers, there are some great breakthrough moments and that is worth celebrating, but it is a long process. And so um I think really being able to come alongside and and watch watch those who are like, they were, they’re excited about Jesus. They’re pumped. They’re going lift their hands and worship. They’re going to be like, join the team. But to go beyond that to, okay, what does this actually look like in my life? And to see them begin to make changes in how they actually live that out. um That they’re not just, okay, this is my Sunday thing. And then I go and I do my weekly thing, um but truly changing. And that like that’s profound. It’s profound to see God work in such powerful ways. Sarah Hooley — And again, it’s not it’s never overnight, like there’s overnight breakthroughs, but it’s always a process. And I think that that like watching the the development of these courses is like there’s gonna be things you’re confronting in week one. And then you might still be confronting in week 10. You might still be confronting in week 15. But there’s there’s growth. And there’s um it doesn’t mean that they’ve been able to overcome everything, but you you can see that that change in them. And that draws people. Sarah Hooley — And so I think that we we’ve been able so to so clearly see even just the growth in the number of guys who who joined the course the first time and then the growth in the second second time through that people are hearing about it and being like, I want to be a part of this. Sarah Hooley — Like I saw what it did in my friend’s life. And like, that’s like, I know it’s 6am, but it’s worth it. I’m going to make the sacrifice. I’m going to be a part of it. And so I think that that that kind of invitation to discipleship where you see what the effect it’s having. And then that brings others in. And they’re like, I want what he has. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Sarah Hooley — Like, I, I’ve, I know who Jesus is, but I, Idon’t want it just to be a yeah, I know who Jesus is. I want to actually know Jesus. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s fantastic. Friends that are listening in. I one of the one of the changes I for sure have seen in people who are arriving at our churches is, this is a problem when you’ve been at this long enough, like decades ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, people did kind of just stumble into church. Like that actually did happen, but that’s not happening today. Rich Birch — People, when they arrive, they’re they’re arriving with real questions and are looking for, they’re not looking for us, they’re not looking for our ideas, they want Jesus and they wanna know what that looks like. So I love this this idea of calling people to something That is a little more, you know, that’s, it’s not just the like, well, we’re going to to make it super easy. That’s not what it’s about. Sarah Hooley — Yeah. Right. Yeah. Rich Birch — I think makes a lot of sense. Well, I want to pivot to it just a totally different conversation. As we were getting ready for this, one of the things that caught my attention, and you’re a humble leader, Jesus has formed your life. So like you didn’t lead off with like your attendance numbers and all that. You talked about growth, but you didn’t really go there. What what are you averaging right now? Attendance wise, where are you at? Sarah Hooley — Yeah, we’re about 2,500 to 2,600 right now. Rich Birch — Okay. And how many full-time staff do you have as as a team? Sarah Hooley — Oh, we have seven full-time staff. Now, we do have some part-time roles that are high level… Rich Birch — Sure. Sarah Hooley — …but we are a skeleton staff. Rich Birch — Yes. Okay. So to put that in context, like, I, this is why want to hear more about this. How, how are you doing that? So to put make some context that people are listening in, um there’s a kind of a well kind of oiled benchmark out there that says churches should really shoot for 1 to 75 attendees and staff. And, you know, ah really great churches are maybe one to a hundred. Like that would be amazing if you could get that. I think the math on you guys is one to like 350 or something like that. Sarah Hooley — Yep. Rich Birch — Even if it’s like, okay, those those other equivalents, even if they end up being say you have another three full-time people in all those part-time. So you’re 10 full-time equivalents. That’s still like one to 250. So like, this is a significant lesson, friends. We need to learn from. Rich Birch — So it’s like, I really just want to say, talk. Like what systems and philosophies make that happen? Sarah Hooley — Yeah. Rich Birch — How do you, you know, how are you able to make that happen? Talk us through that. Sarah Hooley — Yeah. Well, we are trying to hire. So there are some roles that we definitely know that we need. Rich Birch — Yes. You got a long ways to go though. Even if you doubled your staff, you still would be like one to 125, which is still very high. You know, that’s great. Sarah Hooley — Yeah. And this has been one of the unique things about being a multi-ethnic church and a multi-ethnic church that’s reaching new believers. The the the financial support, it takes longer. Like financial discipleship, it’s a process. And and in a um you know within our community, there’s a significant like where we our church specifically is, there’s a significant number of people who are below the poverty line. And so that just means that where our budget is not going to be as large. Sarah Hooley — But so like we have always, and I think part of it is going from that church plant model to even having an established church. Like we’ve always had to be scrappy. Like you always have had to, like I started as a volunteer and I wanted to do a women’s conference. And then someone came and said, I heard that you’re leading the women’s ministry. And I was like, what? Like I didn’t, I just wanted to lead this women’s conference. Sarah Hooley — But just the the way that, um you know, we have continued to to philosophically want to equip the body to be the ministers. That it’s not just, oh, we can just hire somebody to do that. But for every staff person being so intentional about choosing staff members who can be equippers, who are not looking to just do ministry, but who are looking to equip others to do the ministry. And so those who can develop and be leaders of leaders. And that that really has been a part of our heart um in the beginning out of necessity. But also as we’ve continued to grow, um we’ve found there’s just been incredible fruit, because it calls the whole church body into being a part of what’s going on. Sarah Hooley — And so there is nothing more powerful and significant than saying like, yeah, I am I am a significant like participant, I am leading within this church in in a significant way that creates such buy-in. And so like that has really made a difference in in, I think, our church culture and and in just people so staying with us and saying like, man, there’s there’s there’s something happening here. I wanna be a part of it. And um being identified in like, given the opportunity to lead in those ways. And so um we are very, we are slow to hire because we’re kind of a unique, um we have a unique church culture and unique church body… Rich Birch — For sure. Sarah Hooley — …and we want our staff to reflect our church body and to to have buy-in. So I would, so the majority of our staff really are people who have come from the church body itself. So we we only have had very few outside hires um because we know that they understand who we are, they they understand kind of what we’ve been called to do. Sarah Hooley — And so that has been the most, like we have one full-time kids pastor… Rich Birch — Wow. Sarah Hooley — …for 400 children. And she has an associate who’s also very high level and she’s incredible too. Um, but they have done such an incredible job of identifying, okay, within our kids ministry, within our volunteers, who are those people who, who can lead others and who have a heart for developing others. Sarah Hooley — And so, um, so they’ve broken down the different areas and they have leads over each of those individual areas where they’re doing some of the scheduling. So like identifying those administrative skills, like people who have people skills as well as administrative skills. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Sarah Hooley — But so the role of our of our kids pastor is to you know set the vision and invest in our leaders. And then they are then the ones who are are working through some of those logistics of what it looks like when it comes to staffing or when it comes to volunteers um and being fully like, oh, it’s a whole lot of children. We have a lot of kids. Rich Birch — Yes, that’s amazing. I’d I’d love to double click on some of that there. So this idea of leaders of leaders does not surprise me that, um you know, I it’s like one of these when I heard this, I’m like, I don’t even know anything about this. But I know that you the only way you get to that kind of ratio is you’ve empowered volunteers to actually lead things. Rich Birch — There’s a humbling thing you could do. Church leaders that are listening in do it. Do a giant org chart. Spend two hours and do a giant org chart on a whiteboard. Like literally draw out who is who leads who all the way down to every role in the church and then circle the people that are staff. And oftentimes what you find is there are no leaders of leaders that are volunteers. And they’re just that that’s a that’s a key distinction. How do we get and and how do we keep our staff being Ephesians 4 leaders, people who equip the saints to do the work? Sarah Hooley — Yes. Rich Birch — So give me some of the telltale signs that you that you see in volunteers that, hey, this person is could lead at a high level. And what does the equipping look like? How are you helping them step into that? Sarah Hooley — Yeah, we really do view leadership as discipleship. And so, um, so even for our volunteers, we want to identify people, for them to step into a leadership role like that, that relationship with Jesus, that that’s strong connection to to him is is key. Sarah Hooley — So like that is first and for foremost across across all of our leadership teams. So even though I mentioned earlier that we have some of our serve teams that you can join the team and not be a believer, but for the people who are leading those people, we want them to be following Jesus. Sarah Hooley — And then just looking for those who also love people and have that heart for like, I want to have the conversations that, you know, something is is going on in someone’s life and they’re having a hard time, I’m going to follow up with them during the week. And so um so that love for Jesus, that love for people in some of these roles, it it is some administrative ability. Like, can you handle scheduling people? Like there’s there’s just like, are you able to complete some of those things, some of the doing aspects of ministry? Sarah Hooley — But even within our within our high level leader volunteer leaders, like they’re actually then finding other volunteers who are are doing some of those roles as well. So I think that that has been a process. So it’s looking at who who do we have in front of us? Like who are the people who are like bought in? They see the mission. They’re they’re passionate about what we’re doing. They care about what we’re doing. um And then inviting them into that next step of leadership. Sarah Hooley — A lot of times it’s we kind of give them a chance to kind of test it out first before just throwing them to the wolves so that they can kind of see like like shadowing somebody who already is currently doing something like that to get their feet wet, to kind of understand the the scope of the role. We don’t ever want to ask somebody to to step into a role that they aren’t, that they’re like, I don’t have the capacity for this. And so, but there’s there’s lots of development still along the way of like conversations of like, of of our actual staff members, checking in with them and helping them to like navigate problems and helping them to to think through like how to process, um you know, that they even are invited to bring feedback of like, hey, here are some things that we’re seeing, like what’s a way that we can then approach that together? So like really they they have a great voice into into how things are being run. Rich Birch — That’s good. One of the tensions that happens in a lot of churches is staff, our staff start to think like the kind of important people are people who have full-time staff that report to them. There’s like this insidious pull towards, I’m going to build my little kingdom. And like this is really common, like lots of churches struggle with that. It can be difficult. Rich Birch — How are you developing your, particularly the the culture with your staff team to ensure that they stay focused on leading volunteers rather than, you know, just hiring people? Like, let’s just hire somebody. How do we, how do how are you what are you doing there? Beyond the like, well, we can’t afford it. There’s got to be something else you’re doing to try to help them, you know, develop that. Sarah Hooley — Yeah, feeling missed out on the budget is really helpful. Rich Birch — Well, because, well, and yeah, but the but my pushback would be friendly pushback as as one leader to another is like that resource things are going to get sorted out. And it’s going to come to a time where you have resources to be able to do that. And it could be very tempting to say, let’s just go quadruple the size of our staff. So how are you ensuring that the culture isn’t going to do that? Sarah Hooley — Yeah. And so much of that is through through our coaching, through the way that we talk about this. This is something like we have these calibrating conversations all the time of of this is who we are and this is what we’re about. And this is what it looks like to lead here. That we um and and that And to be totally candid, like that has been a challenge where we had a staff person and as we grew, um could not make that transition of from doing to leading others and and delegating. Sarah Hooley — And so like that that is a challenge of, and and just thinking like, oh man, all we need to do is just add more staff and then I would be okay. And instead of really recognizing like, no, our our heart behind this is inviting the church to be the church. That that, Letting them know that that priesthood of all believers, like we are all called um to do ministry. Sarah Hooley — Ministry is not just for those who have a degree or those who have a title. Like we are called into ministry. And so keeping that before our our leaders and our staff so that they are keeping it before the the people that they’re calling into these volunteer leader roles. Sarah Hooley — And I will say like those who are the volunteers, like they, they’re excited. They’re excited about like, man, like you just invited me into this position. Like you’ve asked, you’ve seen, you saw something in me and asked me to, um to lead in this way and to serve in this way. And it’s, it’s a privilege to do that. But it is also like continuing to put that before us. Like we we are investing in our people. Sarah Hooley — Now, some of our future staff members might come from those who are volunteer leaders. And like and like that’s a beautiful thing because we’re like, man, I already know, I can see how you would operate in this role and how you would fit on our team and how you would keep how you you do get the culture and what what we’re trying to do. And I think that that’s that’s really a beautiful thing. Sarah Hooley — But it is it is a lot of conversation, a lot of coaching, and just a reminder of like, and I think part of it too is is realizing like, we can’t do everything. And so being very intentional to not be overly programmed. To be very clear about, we’re going do these things, like these very simple. Rich Birch — Right. Sarah Hooley — And so that’s where it’s like, it seems so simple. It seems so basic, but we’re going do these simple, basic things and do them faithfully. And um and then, yeah, see what God does. Rich Birch — Trust God for the results. Yeah, that’s fantastic. Yeah. And listen, you know it makes sense that you’ll end up hiring some people because it’s like that’s a little bit of a crazy ah you know ratio. And you know I think that’ll be that’ll be a challenge ahead to keep that focused as you add those people. And it’s not unreasonable to say to your team like, oh, yeah, like we probably should add a few people. Rich Birch — But to still champion at the end of the day, I think that’s like there’s a key piece there that you mentioned. It’s like this idea of championing the people who have been able to make that transition. And I’ve like, I got us like hey, ah it’s about developing leaders and I want to make that happen. And I know that might be messy and there’s other problems with that, but that’s you know that’s good. Rich Birch — It’s been a fantastic conversation. For people who are listening in today who might feel that kind of like, oh my goodness, we’re under-resourced, we’re you know are outnumbered, we don’t have enough people. Help us think through, kind of talk to us a little bit from an even mindset or how we lead point of view to kind of lead from abundance rather than from scarcity. Because a part of what I don’t hear you saying is like, oh, woe is me. Rich Birch — Like you’re like, no, this is just what God’s called us to in this season. We’re going to make it happen. And God’s doing a great thing. So try to encourage us, yeah help us think that through. Sarah Hooley — Yeah. Well, I would, I mean, I would first of all say you’re not alone. So if you feel, if you do feel overwhelmed and outnumbered and under-resourced, like you’re not alone. And so I think that that is is helpful to be like, man, I’m not. And I think that’s where like even having podcasts like this, where you’re able to hear from others, we’re like, oh, man, OK, we’re in this together. We are all doing the mission that God has called us to. And there are challenges that come with that. And and that can be really discouraging and hard. And yet, like, I think when we can have that kind of. loaves and fishes mindset of like the disciples, they could not feed those people. Like they could not fit fill all the needs that were before them. But Jesus could. Sarah Hooley — And so if we can be faithful to say, okay, God, what do we have? What do we have? Like, what do we have in front of us? And how do we use that for your glory? And what what does that look like? What what are the things that we need to like have that laser focus on um so that we can then continue to see what you are going to do with with what we bring. Sarah Hooley — And and I think that there is that reliance on God to um to say like, you’re the one who does the work. Like this is not, and I think that helps us to like, it takes away that that pride and also that just overwhelming feeling feeling of sometimes failure when it’s, it’s not, when we realize that it’s not all on me… Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s good. Sarah Hooley — …like this is not like my responsibility is to be faithful and continuing to be faithful, to follow what God has called me to do. And that means, I mean, that means working hard. That means best practices. That means learning from others, but I am not responsible for the the end result. So how do I just be intentional and faithful with what God has given me? Sarah Hooley — And, and, and I think too, I think it’s really important to, to find others who are also in the journey with you. Rich Birch — That’s good. Sarah Hooley — That you can, that not that you just get together and complain, but that you can really come alongside each other and encourage one another. And that, That has been one of the most significant things that I have found in in stepping into this role. I got connected with a women executive pastor cohort of women all over the country who are leading in this in similar roles. Sarah Hooley — And being able to just ask questions of other church leaders, being able to say, will you pray for me? Like, I’m going through something really difficult right now. Will pray for me? That has encouraged me personally to be able to keep pressing on when it does feel overwhelming or it does feel like, man, the the task is too great for me. To be reminded and to have other pastors in like my corner and in my ear saying, remember who God is and remember what he’s called you to. Rich Birch — That’s good. Sarah Hooley — And so I think that that is just, it’s, if we can keep that in view and that in, in that mindset in view, that that God is so much greater than the most difficult person at your church who is louder than all of the others. And, um and God is greater than the the greatest problems that you are facing and the, the difficulties that you’re walking through. And, and so like, I think just looking for those, those things. Rich Birch — So good. Sarah, this has been such a helpful conversation. I really appreciate you being here today and investing in us. And it’s fantastic, super encouraging and lots of good nuggets in there. I got pages of notes here. If people want to track with you or with the church, where do we want to send them online? Sarah Hooley — Yeah. We I mean we’re on um Instagram and Facebook. We’re forthecity.com is our church website. We are not on TikTok yet. We’re not that cool. I don’t know. Someday we’ll we’ll get there. Rich Birch — Nice. That’s fun. Sarah Hooley — But yeah, that’s that’s the primary way. Rich Birch — That’s great. Thanks so much. Thanks for being here today. Sarah Hooley — Thank you so much.
Voters across the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region cast their ballots in the Legislative Council election on Sunday to pick 90 lawmakers who will serve in office for the next four years.香港特别行政区选民周日参与立法会选举投票,选出90名议员,任期四年。A total of 161nominees are in the fray for all 90 seats—20 seats from 10 geographical constituencies, 30 from 28 functional constituencies and 40 from the Election Committee Constituency.共有161名候选人角逐全部90个席位——其中10个地方选区选举20席;28个功能界别选举30席;选举委员会界别选举40席。The election, which is a key part of the city'srevamped local governance structure, saw active participation of voters from across society. The authorities set up 612 polling stations, primarily located in schools, community facilities and government buildings.此次选举是本市改革后地方治理结构的重要组成部分,吸引了社会各界选民的积极参与。政府共设立612个投票站,主要设在学校、社区设施和政府大楼内。Voting began at 7:30 am and ended at 11:30 pm, two hours longer than in previous elections. As of 10:30 pm on Sunday, the cumulativevoter turnout in the geographical constituencies stood at 31.43 percent—higher than the 30.2 percent recorded at the same time in the previous election—with nearly 1.3 million voters having cast their ballots.选举投票于上午7时30分开始,晚上11时30分结束,较以往选举延长两小时。截至周日晚10时30分,地方选区的累计投票率达31.43%,高于上届选举同期30.2%的水平,近130万选民已完成投票。Several functional constituencies and the Election Committee segment also reported good voter participation. In the functional constituencies, the overall turnout reached 39.48 percent, while voting within the Election Committee Constituency progressed rapidly, with a high turnout of 99.32 percent.多个功能界别及选举委员会界别亦报告了良好的投票参与率。功能界别整体投票率达39.48%,而选举委员会界别的投票进程迅速推进,投票率高达99.32%。Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu arrived at the Raimondi College polling station in the Mid-Levels area shortly after 8:30 am and cast his ballot. He called on all eligible voters to cast their ballots for representatives who will "drive reform and safeguard disaster victims".香港行政长官李家超于上午8时30分抵达半山区的雷蒙迪书院投票站,完成投票后呼吁所有合资格选民投票支持能“推动改革、保障灾民权益”的代表。The election for the eighth-term Legislative Council is being held less than two weeks after a major fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate killed 159 people and displaced hundreds.距离宏福苑住宅区发生重大火灾仅两周,此次选举已然拉开帷幕。那场大火夺去了159条生命,导致数百人无家可归。Lee emphasized the role that voters can play in advancing efforts to help those affected by the fire, as he described the election as a step toward making systemic improvements to plug gaps in the construction sector's practices and ensuring full support for the victims.李家超强调选民在推动火灾救援工作中的作用,他将此次选举视为系统性改进的重要一步,旨在弥补建筑行业实践中的漏洞,并确保为受灾民众提供全面支持。"The first meeting of the new Legislative Council will discuss support for the disaster victims. We will consult with lawmakers as soon as possible. Through our discussions, we aim to find the truth swiftly and expedite recovery and reconstruction efforts," he said.他表示:“新立法会首次会议将讨论对灾民的援助事宜。我们将尽快与议员们进行磋商。通过讨论,我们旨在迅速查明真相,并加快灾后恢复与重建工作。”Senior officials of the SAR government arrived at various polling stations to cast their ballots, and they encouraged the public to vote early.香港特别行政区政府高级官员前往各投票站投票,并鼓励市民提早投票。Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki echoed Lee when he said that the new legislature will play an important role in the SAR's governance, especially in terms of assisting disaster victims.政务司司长陈国基呼应李家超的观点,表示新一届立法会将在特区治理中发挥重要作用,尤其是在协助灾民方面。Archbishop of Hong Kong Andrew Chan Au-ming encouraged residents to participate in the voting process and demonstrate their support for the community. He expressed hope that the newly elected lawmakers will thoroughly scrutinize policies to help foster a safer environment for all.香港圣公会大主教陈讴明鼓励市民参与投票程序,展现对社区的支持。他希望新当选的立法会议员能深入审议各项政策,共同营造更安全的社会环境。Ethnic minority voters spoke positively of the electoral arrangements, noting that sufficient information and assistance were provided in multiple languages.少数族裔选民对选举安排给予积极评价,指出选举过程中提供了多种语言的信息和协助。Ashfaqur Rahman Palash, president of the Bangladesh Association of Hong Kong, emphasized the importance of voting. "Hong Kong is also my home.…Electing the right people is crucial for my children's future and the economy," he said.香港孟加拉协会主席Ashfaqur Rahman Palash,强调投票的重要性。他表示:“香港也是我的家园……选对人对子女的未来和经济发展至关重要。”revampedv./ˌriːˈvæmp/改革nomineen./ˌnɑː.məˈniː/候选人;被提名者voter turnout投票率
Dr. Atiya Husain is Associate Professor of Africana Studies and a faculty affiliate in Anthropology/Sociology at Williams College. Her work has been published in scholarly journals such as Ethnic and Racial Studies, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, as well as popular outlets including Boston Review, Slate, and Adi Magazine. She is a founding co-editor of the University of Toronto Press series “Dimensions: Islam, Muslims, and Critical Thought,” a founding board member of Communication and Race, and has also served as Associate Editor of Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. She has a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a BA from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. In today's conversation, we discuss her latest monograph No God but Man: On Race, Knowledge, and Terrorism, where she traces the origins and logics of the FBI wanted poster and argues how this logic continues to structure wanted posters, as well as much contemporary social scientific thinking about race.
The mental health system didn't start out fair — and in many ways, it still isn't. In this powerful episode, Dr. Nicole Washington sits down with fellow psychiatrist Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox to unpack the long, painful history that continues to shape the experiences of Black Americans seeking mental health care. From the horrifying “diagnosis” of drapetomania in the 1800s to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, they trace how mistrust, stigma, and systemic bias became woven into the Black community's relationship with psychiatry.But they don't stop there. Dr. Nicole and Dr. Leesha explore the research showing that Black and Hispanic people are 3 to 4 times more likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia instead of bipolar disorder — a mistake that can derail treatment, worsen symptoms, and put lives at risk.Listener takeaways the historical roots of racial disparities in psychiatric diagnosis why Black Americans are more likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia how stigma and generational trauma shape attitudes toward treatment practical steps to find culturally humble, affirming providers Most importantly, they offer real, actionable advice: how to find culturally affirming care, how to navigate bias in the system, and how Black and other communities of color can break generational silence around mental health. This conversation is validating, eye-opening, and deeply empowering. Listen now! Our guest, Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, affectionately known as Dr. Leesha, is a double board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. She earned both her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed her general psychiatry residency training, child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, and community mental health/public psychiatry fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Since 2009, she has lived and worked in Alabama and is the medical director at Central Alabama Wellness, a community mental health center located in metro Birmingham. Our host, Dr. Nicole Washington, is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she attended Southern University and A&M College. After receiving her BS degree, she moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to enroll in the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed a residency in psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa. Since completing her residency training, Dr. Nicole has spent most of her career caring for and being an advocate for those who are not typically consumers of mental health services, namely underserved communities, those with severe mental health conditions, and high performing professionals. Through her private practice, podcast, speaking, and writing, she seeks to provide education to decrease the stigma associated with psychiatric conditions. Find out more at DrNicolePsych.com. Our host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning podcast host, author, and sought-after suicide prevention and mental health speaker, but he wouldn't be any of those things today if he hadn't been committed to a psychiatric hospital in 2003.Gabe also hosts Healthline's Inside Mental Health podcast has appeared in numerous publications, including Bipolar magazine, WebMD, Newsweek, and the Stanford Online Medical Journal. He has appeared on all four major TV networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX. Among his many awards, he is the recipient of Mental Health America's Norman Guitry Award, received two Webby Honoree acknowledgements, and received an official resolution from the Governor of Ohio naming him an “Everyday Hero.” Gabe wrote the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are available directly from the author with free swag included! To learn more about Gabe, or to book him for your next event, please visit his website, gabehoward.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode we will finish our look at the five basic beliefs of living a Reasonable life by looking at the fifth Reasonable Belief: Reasonable is gender, age, racial, ethnic and sexual orientation neutral.
Dina Gilio-Whitaker discusses her new book Who Gets to Be Indian? Ethnic Fraud and Other Difficult Conversations about Native American Identity.
Meet the Mancunian Podcast: social impact stories from Manchester
In the season finale of Season 11 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe engages in a heartfelt conversation with Wardeh Al Nasir, Director of Community Thriving Together and nominee for Volunteer of the Year at the Spirit of Manchester Awards. Wardeh shares her inspiring journey of using her own experiences of isolation and language barriers to build a supportive community for underrepresented individuals in Manchester. She discusses the significance of volunteering, the impact of her organisation's work, and how she overcame cultural and financial challenges to create positive change. Wardeh also highlights transformative stories of individuals affected by her work and offers advice for those looking to start volunteering. The episode encapsulates the spirit of community, passion, and inclusivity, making it a moving finale before the podcast takes a break until spring 2026.Did you know: · Ethnic minorities can often face challenges including significant disparities in employment, housing and health outcomes.· These may include higher unemployment, overcrowded and substandard housing and poorer health and access to healthcare. They may suffer from stress, anxiety and depression due to these factors.· They may also face intolerance, hate crime, and discrimination, which often worsens existing inequalities.Key resource:Community Thriving Together Time stamps of key moments in the podcast episode & transcript: (01:13) Meet Wardeh Al Nasir(02:43) Wardeh's Volunteering Journey(04:13) Founding Communities Thriving Together(05:33) Impact of Thriving Together(08:15) Challenges and Overcoming Them(16:20) Advice for Aspiring Volunteers(17:39) Signature Questions Listen to the episode and read the transcript on www.meetthemancunian.co.uk #SocialImpact #Women #Community #Inclusion #Manchester#SpiritOfMcr25 #GM #podcast #NonProfit
There are many instances of how God's power worked mightily in Peter, through the prayers of Jesus, to strengthen Christ's church. God instructed Peter that the Gospel was not just for Jews, but for despised Gentiles as well. When the Lord instructed Peter to go to Cornelius, Peter began to discern the true extent of Christ's revelation to him: that he must no longer separate himself from Gentiles as unclean persons, as the Jews did, because God would open the Gospel up to them also! The salvation of the Gentile Cornelius at God's command was bound to result in negative repercussions in the church at Jerusalem. Ethnic supremacy rises up whenever an exclusive privilege is opened up to others! The cry arises, "but they are not like us!" Cultural and ethnic clashes rose to the surface, and some Jewish believers objected to Peter's having consorted with uncircumcised Gentiles and even eaten with them! But this had been Peter's immediate objection when he told the Savior, "Not so, Lord!" The unthinkable things that had transpired, had been accepted by Peter, with the evidence of the Holy Ghost filling the new Gentile believers, so Peter was well suited to answer the demands for ethnic and religious separation that arose at the Jerusalem church. Peter related the entire sequence of events to the objectors, in particular Christ's command that Peter not call anything unclean which Christ has made clean. Peter had obeyed the Holy Ghost, doubting nothing. This itself was a rebuke to those who now insisted on second guessing Peter's actions and the Holy Ghost's commands to him. The Spirit's commandment trumped all their objections!
Episode #434: “I don't see how there could be a new social contract for a post-war, post-conflict Myanmar.” With this stark observation, Henning Glaser sets the tone for his analysis of the country's turmoil. Glaser is a German legal scholar based at Thammasat University in Bangkok, where he co-founded the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance. His work spans Asia, but Myanmar has become one of his deepest commitments. Since the early 2010s, he has organized dialogues and seminars on the country's political transition, and after the 2021 coup, his institute shifted to documenting and analyzing the descent into conflict. Glaser describes the future in bleak terms. The junta shows no sign of collapse, while the opposition remains fragmented. Ethnic armed groups pursue divergent roadmaps, preventing unity around a federal constitution. Glaser admires the energy of younger activists and local governance experiments, yet doubts these can form a coherent national framework. He cites Kurdistan in Iraq as a warning: local stability without broader resolution. Geopolitics, he stresses, makes matters worse. “It is inevitable that a primary focus on geopolitics is creating tension and border conflicts and wars. We see that everywhere,” he says. Myanmar, he argues, is reduced to a pawn in a larger contest between China, Russia, India, and an increasingly disengaged West. The result is proxy struggles that entrench the conflict. Organized crime further compounds the chaos. Scam centers, narcotics, arms smuggling, and trafficking create a criminal economy that fuels the war. “If you have this involvement of organized crime and an organized criminal economy, then you can sustain that for a very, very long time. And that is also why a long stalemate,” he warns. Glaser dismisses upcoming elections as hollow and recalls Myanmar's earlier transition as a “democratic façade with a military heart.” Despite his dark assessment, he ends by saluting the resilience of activists and diaspora communities, whose determination to master law and policy remains, in his view, remarkable. “I totally admire all the young people, middle-aged people, and older people in the diaspora who put incredible efforts to keep up and to gain legal knowledge, to draft laws, to understand how to translate policies into law, how to interpret laws. That is remarkable.”
In part three of a series on the four major views of Romans 9-11, Caleb is joined by Richard Lucas (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) Pastor of Teaching and Reaching at First Baptist Church Jacksonville, Florida to answer this question: How will "All Israel" be saved in Romans 11:26? ResourcesHow Will “All Israel” Be Saved in Romans 11:26? (Part 1 and 2) by Richard LucasRichard Lucas' Chapter on Romans 11 in Progressive Covenantalism: Charting a Course between Dispensational and Covenantal Theologies Was Paul Prooftexting? Paul's Use of the Old Testament as Illustrated through Three Debated Texts by Richard LucasRomans by Tom SchreinerFred Zaspel and Jim Hamilton's Chapter in: Three Views on Israel and the Church: Perspectives on Romans 9–11The Letter to the Romans by Doug Moo
Air Date: 11-10-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” Ch. 2 - “Politically correct” Ch. 3 - “Ethnic cleansing” Ch. 4 - “Meritocracy” Ch. 5 - Our current “wealth pump” crisis and how it has been solved throughout history BACKSTAGE! Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): The best words to articulate the current moment FOLLOW US ON: YouTube (This full episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please share!) Bluesky Instagram Facebook Mastadon REFERENCES Why The Phrase 'Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps' Is Nonsense - Huffington Post How Cancel Culture Became Politicized — Just Like Political Correctness - NPR Manifest Destiny and Zionism, a legacy of ethnic cleansing - Mondo Weiss What Happens to Language When Authoritarianism Takes Hold - Lucid (Substack) RSA Minimate: The Tyranny of Merit - Michael Sandel The Satirical Origins of the Meritocracy - Kottke Hundreds of societies have been in crises like ours. An expert explains how they got out. - Vox TAKE ACTION: Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY One Million Rising Trainings In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach Find your Indivisible group - or start one Join our Discord Server Reach us via Signal: Bestoftheleft.01 Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening!
The Patriotically Correct Radio Show with Stew Peters | #PCRadio
Ethnic jew and former J6 prisoner Jake Lang joins Stew using Laura Loomer-type talking points that Muslims are the biggest threat to Christian civilization. Clayton Thomas joins Stew to discuss Scott Adams' cancer diagnosis and exposes the medical cartel's death grip on the medical and pharmaceutical industries. The poison jab rots healthy mouths with gray gums, crumbling teeth, and rejected implants; Dr. Don Callellarin saw it explode post-shot and joins Stew to discuss. Western civilization has been infected by a parasitic invasion of foreign ideals and values that have been introduced into our culture by strange and morally degenerate people whose goal is world domination. We have been OCCUPIED. Watch the film NOW! https://stewpeters.com/occupied/
In part two of a series on the four major views of Romans 9-11, Caleb is joined by Sam Storms (PhD, University of Texas) President of Enjoying God Ministries and President and Executive Director of Convergence Church Network as well as former Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City, OK. Together they seek to answer this question: How will "All Israel" be saved in Romans 11:26? Resources:Romans by Sam StormsKingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative by Sam StormsThe Israel of God: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow O. Palmer RobertsonBen Merkle's Chapter in: Paul's Letter to the Romans: Theological EssaysBen Merkle's Chapter in: Three Views on Israel and the Church: Perspectives on Romans 9–11Ben Merkle Summary VideoThe Bible and the Future by Anthony HoekemaThe Deliver from Zion by Chris Bruno
At Redeemer, we take seriously Jesus' call to "Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Apprenticeship to Jesus is not a one time decision, but a lifelong journey of following Jesus as our master-teacher. Since the goal of the Christian life is maturity in Jesus, apprenticeship must be deep and holistic, transforming the spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and vocational parts of men and women. Apprenticeship to Jesus is learning to practice the way of Jesus in our homes, relationships, neighborhoods, and jobs. We believe Christlikeness is cultivated as we implement spiritual practices, live in community with other believers, and submit to the Word and the Spirit. We agree with Dallas Willard who said, "that the gospel is opposed to earning, not effort." As we move towards cultivating a life of loving God and people, we trust Christ will mature us into his likeness. https://redeemerwichita.church/
In this episode, Jamaal Williams with Sojourn Church in Louisville outlines the joys and challenges that come with pastoring a multi-ethnic congregation.
①China unveils first batch of firms listed on SSE's sci-tech growth tier ②Village galas ignite ethnic heritage revival in southwest China ③China reports 4.7 mln 5G base stations by end of September ④China strengthens position in musical instrument industry ⑤China's manned submersibles report success of joint underwater operations in Arctic ⑥China's Sichuan enacts first local regulation on ancient book protection
Does the location of your church drive mission? In this episode of CITN, Rob talks with Dan Godard about his transition to a new church and his first year in leadership. They also discuss multi-ethnic ministry, the clergy shortage, and what leadership development looks like in his movement. Dan is the Lead Pastor of Royal Oak Victory Church in Calgary. To learn more about his church, visit: https://www.rovc.ca/. In the pre-show, Rob, Geoff, and Chris talk about the significance of a Blue Jays win for Canada. Rob also tests Geoff and Chris' knowledge of Canadian trivia. Finally, they discuss Canada's national identity and the role, if any, the church plays in shaping it. For more information about the podcast, visit https://www.churchinthenorth.ca/. For questions or inquiries, please email us at podcast@churchinthenorth.ca. If you like what you hear, please share this podcast with others, give us a review, or leave a comment.
At Redeemer, we take seriously Jesus' call to "Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Apprenticeship to Jesus is not a one time decision, but a lifelong journey of following Jesus as our master-teacher. Since the goal of the Christian life is maturity in Jesus, apprenticeship must be deep and holistic, transforming the spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and vocational parts of men and women. Apprenticeship to Jesus is learning to practice the way of Jesus in our homes, relationships, neighborhoods, and jobs. We believe Christlikeness is cultivated as we implement spiritual practices, live in community with other believers, and submit to the Word and the Spirit. We agree with Dallas Willard who said, "that the gospel is opposed to earning, not effort." As we move towards cultivating a life of loving God and people, we trust Christ will mature us into his likeness. https://redeemerwichita.church/
In our time when rumors and lies spread across the internet with lightning speed, journalists play a vital role in debunking misinformation and disinformation.Media outlets run by and for non-white audiences, while working under great financial pressure, occupy a special role in the information ecosystem. With immigrants and people of color so often targeted, ethnic and indigenous media outlets are often paying closer attention to these rumors and lies about their own communities. So, they're well positioned to address disinformation before it reaches the general population. And they offer lessons for mainstream journalists and news consumers. A new report, Disarming Disinformation: United States takes an in-depth look at how disinformation shows up in ethnic and indigenous communities and in their news media, and also highlights ways these outlets are fighting disinformation. It was published in October 2025 by the International Center for Journalists in collaboration with journalism schools at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University.Our guests this episode are:Garry Pierre-Pierre, editor-in-chief of The Haitian Times, an English-language news outlet that covers Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. The Haitian Times was one of five case studies highlighted in the disinformation report. Sarah Oates, Associate Dean for Research/Professor and Senior Scholar at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Oates is a co-author of Disarming Disinformation: United States, and of the book Seeing Red: Russian Propaganda and American News. Special thanks to Nabeelah Shabbir. Music in this episode by Doctor Turtle. ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Our associate producer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.orgSupport our work Connect on social:Instagram @makingpeacevisibleLinkedIn @makingpeacevisibleBluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!
Show Notes:Black and Ethnic Minority representation in leadership positions in the UK PR Industry leaves much to be desired and is well below FTSE 100 @11% and FTSE 250 @9% (Parker Review 2025). However, I am an optimist and do believe that direction of travel has been set by advocates and agencies… Collective progress may be slow, but equity & inclusion is mainstream and there are more role models than ever before…Alicia Solanki, Senior VP EMEA @Team Lewis is one such role model challenging cultural expectations and stereotypes to make space for herself in the UK industry. In this fast-paced conversation on The Elephant in the Room podcast we spoke about the dynamics of leadership and representation in the industry from the perspective of a woman of colour.Alicia also spoke about the importance of mentorship in fostering resilience and empowerment amongst underrepresented communities.- Authenticity and cultural sensitivity- Work life balance decoded- Codeswitching – life saving hack or demotivating burden?- Evolving definitions of leadership and empathy in leadership- DEI alive or dead? Are clients continuing to prioritise DEI initiatives or are they backtracking on their previous commitments?Each and every time I hear somebody speak about their lived experiences, I am blown away by how unique our experiences are to each one of us. How important it is for us to understand that Black and Ethnic Minorities or the global majority are not homogenous. That understanding context and intersectionality are key to informed equitable interventions for inclusive workplaces and thriving communities. Her advice to young Black and Ethnic minority professionals entering the industry - ‘make your own magic'. Episode TranscriptSudha: Good morning, Alicia. Wonderful to have you on the Elephant in the Room podcast today.I'm delighted because I've been following you on LinkedIn for some time and it's a great pleasure to have you here today.Alicia: Thank you, Sudha. It's a pleasure to be here today.And yes, my friends and family always laugh about how obsessed I am with LinkedIn, so I'm glad you found me on there too.Sudha: Brilliant. So let's start with a quick introduction. Alicia: So I'm Alicia Solanki. I'm SVP EMEA at Team Lewis. Team Lewis is a global marketing agency here in London, but we're also global. We're around the world in 25 offices. I've done my whole career agency side. Before that I was in the Omnicom family. So, yeah, I guess I love the buzz of agency.I love the discipline of PR and how it's really expanded now. I have two children, Ella, who's 11, just started high school. So lots of change came going on in our house at the moment.And then I have a little boy called Ethan, who's eight. So, yeah, married, busy life, juggling loads of plates. But I kind of like it that way. So that's a bit about me.Sudha: Yeah. Oh, my God, it sounds really busy and with life changing stuff. I mean, moving
6. Volodymyr Zelenskyy: The Evolution of Ukrainian National Identity Volodymyr Zelenskyy, born in 1978, represents a modern, non-ethnic definition of Ukrainian identity. Zelenskyy is a Jewish, native Russian-speaking former comedian and successful media entrepreneur who spent a substantial part of his career in Moscow. His identity showcases that being Ukrainian is now primarily a national affiliation based on commitment to the state, transcending language or ethnic background. Zelenskyy entered politics as an outsider because the old guard had failed to bring prosperity or resolve the war in Donbas and the Crimea crisis. Russian propaganda attempts to label him as a neo-Nazi, but his background contradicts this. He initially believed that his native Russian language and past work in Moscow would enable him to successfully negotiate a peace treaty or resolution with Vladimir Putin.
The Africa Report | Darfur - Siege of Al-Farshad Ushers in Humanitarian Catastrophe and Risk of Ethnic Atrocities by Radio Islam
Why is it so difficult to account for the role of identity in literary studies? Why do both writers and scholars of Indian English literature express resistance to India and Indianness? What does this reveal about how non-Western literatures are read, taught, and understood? Drawing on years of experiences in classrooms and on U.S. university campuses, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan explores how writers, critics, teachers, and students of Indian English literatures negotiate and resist the categories through which the field is defined: ethnic, postcolonial, and Anglophone.Overdetermined: How Indian English Literature Becomes Ethnic, Postcolonial, and Anglophone (Columbia UP, 2025) considers major contemporary authors who disavow identity even as their works and public personas respond in varied ways to the imperatives of being “Indian.” Chapters examine Bharati Mukherjee's rejection of “ethnic” Americanness; Chetan Bhagat's “bad English”; Amit Chaudhuri's autofictional literary project; and Jhumpa Lahiri's decision to write in Italian, interspersed with meditations on the iconicity of the theorists Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Edward Said. Through an innovative method of accented reading and sharing stories and syllabi from her teaching, Srinivasan relates the burdens of representation faced by ethnic and postcolonial writers to the institutional and disciplinary pressures that affect the scholars who study their works. Engaging and self-reflexive, Overdetermined offers new insight into the dynamics that shape contemporary Indian English literature, the politics of identity in literary studies, and the complexities of teaching minoritized literatures in the West. Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is assistant professor of English at Rice University. Her books include the essays What is We? (2025) and the coedited Thinking with an Accent: Toward a New Object, Method, and Practice (2023), and her public writing has appeared in numerous venues. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Why is it so difficult to account for the role of identity in literary studies? Why do both writers and scholars of Indian English literature express resistance to India and Indianness? What does this reveal about how non-Western literatures are read, taught, and understood? Drawing on years of experiences in classrooms and on U.S. university campuses, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan explores how writers, critics, teachers, and students of Indian English literatures negotiate and resist the categories through which the field is defined: ethnic, postcolonial, and Anglophone.Overdetermined: How Indian English Literature Becomes Ethnic, Postcolonial, and Anglophone (Columbia UP, 2025) considers major contemporary authors who disavow identity even as their works and public personas respond in varied ways to the imperatives of being “Indian.” Chapters examine Bharati Mukherjee's rejection of “ethnic” Americanness; Chetan Bhagat's “bad English”; Amit Chaudhuri's autofictional literary project; and Jhumpa Lahiri's decision to write in Italian, interspersed with meditations on the iconicity of the theorists Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Edward Said. Through an innovative method of accented reading and sharing stories and syllabi from her teaching, Srinivasan relates the burdens of representation faced by ethnic and postcolonial writers to the institutional and disciplinary pressures that affect the scholars who study their works. Engaging and self-reflexive, Overdetermined offers new insight into the dynamics that shape contemporary Indian English literature, the politics of identity in literary studies, and the complexities of teaching minoritized literatures in the West. Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is assistant professor of English at Rice University. Her books include the essays What is We? (2025) and the coedited Thinking with an Accent: Toward a New Object, Method, and Practice (2023), and her public writing has appeared in numerous venues. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies
Why is it so difficult to account for the role of identity in literary studies? Why do both writers and scholars of Indian English literature express resistance to India and Indianness? What does this reveal about how non-Western literatures are read, taught, and understood? Drawing on years of experiences in classrooms and on U.S. university campuses, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan explores how writers, critics, teachers, and students of Indian English literatures negotiate and resist the categories through which the field is defined: ethnic, postcolonial, and Anglophone.Overdetermined: How Indian English Literature Becomes Ethnic, Postcolonial, and Anglophone (Columbia UP, 2025) considers major contemporary authors who disavow identity even as their works and public personas respond in varied ways to the imperatives of being “Indian.” Chapters examine Bharati Mukherjee's rejection of “ethnic” Americanness; Chetan Bhagat's “bad English”; Amit Chaudhuri's autofictional literary project; and Jhumpa Lahiri's decision to write in Italian, interspersed with meditations on the iconicity of the theorists Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Edward Said. Through an innovative method of accented reading and sharing stories and syllabi from her teaching, Srinivasan relates the burdens of representation faced by ethnic and postcolonial writers to the institutional and disciplinary pressures that affect the scholars who study their works. Engaging and self-reflexive, Overdetermined offers new insight into the dynamics that shape contemporary Indian English literature, the politics of identity in literary studies, and the complexities of teaching minoritized literatures in the West. Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is assistant professor of English at Rice University. Her books include the essays What is We? (2025) and the coedited Thinking with an Accent: Toward a New Object, Method, and Practice (2023), and her public writing has appeared in numerous venues. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory
Why is it so difficult to account for the role of identity in literary studies? Why do both writers and scholars of Indian English literature express resistance to India and Indianness? What does this reveal about how non-Western literatures are read, taught, and understood? Drawing on years of experiences in classrooms and on U.S. university campuses, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan explores how writers, critics, teachers, and students of Indian English literatures negotiate and resist the categories through which the field is defined: ethnic, postcolonial, and Anglophone.Overdetermined: How Indian English Literature Becomes Ethnic, Postcolonial, and Anglophone (Columbia UP, 2025) considers major contemporary authors who disavow identity even as their works and public personas respond in varied ways to the imperatives of being “Indian.” Chapters examine Bharati Mukherjee's rejection of “ethnic” Americanness; Chetan Bhagat's “bad English”; Amit Chaudhuri's autofictional literary project; and Jhumpa Lahiri's decision to write in Italian, interspersed with meditations on the iconicity of the theorists Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Edward Said. Through an innovative method of accented reading and sharing stories and syllabi from her teaching, Srinivasan relates the burdens of representation faced by ethnic and postcolonial writers to the institutional and disciplinary pressures that affect the scholars who study their works. Engaging and self-reflexive, Overdetermined offers new insight into the dynamics that shape contemporary Indian English literature, the politics of identity in literary studies, and the complexities of teaching minoritized literatures in the West. Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is assistant professor of English at Rice University. Her books include the essays What is We? (2025) and the coedited Thinking with an Accent: Toward a New Object, Method, and Practice (2023), and her public writing has appeared in numerous venues. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
Why is it so difficult to account for the role of identity in literary studies? Why do both writers and scholars of Indian English literature express resistance to India and Indianness? What does this reveal about how non-Western literatures are read, taught, and understood? Drawing on years of experiences in classrooms and on U.S. university campuses, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan explores how writers, critics, teachers, and students of Indian English literatures negotiate and resist the categories through which the field is defined: ethnic, postcolonial, and Anglophone.Overdetermined: How Indian English Literature Becomes Ethnic, Postcolonial, and Anglophone (Columbia UP, 2025) considers major contemporary authors who disavow identity even as their works and public personas respond in varied ways to the imperatives of being “Indian.” Chapters examine Bharati Mukherjee's rejection of “ethnic” Americanness; Chetan Bhagat's “bad English”; Amit Chaudhuri's autofictional literary project; and Jhumpa Lahiri's decision to write in Italian, interspersed with meditations on the iconicity of the theorists Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Edward Said. Through an innovative method of accented reading and sharing stories and syllabi from her teaching, Srinivasan relates the burdens of representation faced by ethnic and postcolonial writers to the institutional and disciplinary pressures that affect the scholars who study their works. Engaging and self-reflexive, Overdetermined offers new insight into the dynamics that shape contemporary Indian English literature, the politics of identity in literary studies, and the complexities of teaching minoritized literatures in the West. Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is assistant professor of English at Rice University. Her books include the essays What is We? (2025) and the coedited Thinking with an Accent: Toward a New Object, Method, and Practice (2023), and her public writing has appeared in numerous venues. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here
Why is it so difficult to account for the role of identity in literary studies? Why do both writers and scholars of Indian English literature express resistance to India and Indianness? What does this reveal about how non-Western literatures are read, taught, and understood? Drawing on years of experiences in classrooms and on U.S. university campuses, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan explores how writers, critics, teachers, and students of Indian English literatures negotiate and resist the categories through which the field is defined: ethnic, postcolonial, and Anglophone.Overdetermined: How Indian English Literature Becomes Ethnic, Postcolonial, and Anglophone (Columbia UP, 2025) considers major contemporary authors who disavow identity even as their works and public personas respond in varied ways to the imperatives of being “Indian.” Chapters examine Bharati Mukherjee's rejection of “ethnic” Americanness; Chetan Bhagat's “bad English”; Amit Chaudhuri's autofictional literary project; and Jhumpa Lahiri's decision to write in Italian, interspersed with meditations on the iconicity of the theorists Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Edward Said. Through an innovative method of accented reading and sharing stories and syllabi from her teaching, Srinivasan relates the burdens of representation faced by ethnic and postcolonial writers to the institutional and disciplinary pressures that affect the scholars who study their works. Engaging and self-reflexive, Overdetermined offers new insight into the dynamics that shape contemporary Indian English literature, the politics of identity in literary studies, and the complexities of teaching minoritized literatures in the West. Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan is assistant professor of English at Rice University. Her books include the essays What is We? (2025) and the coedited Thinking with an Accent: Toward a New Object, Method, and Practice (2023), and her public writing has appeared in numerous venues. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day
Has Robert Jenrick stoked racial tensions by calling out a community's ethnic make-up?Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the political commentator and ConservativeHome founder Tim Montgomerie, Tory MP Joe Robertson and the campaigner Albie Amankona.
Distinguishing Humane Nationalism from Pathological Ideologies Guest Name: Daniel Mahoney Summary:Nationalism must be distinguished from pathological forms like "blood and soil" ideology, which champions ethnic rooting and the subordination of others. Moderate, humane national loyalty is tied to self-government and common humanity, rejecting the path that leads to "zoological wars." Critics often unfairly conflate nationalism with isolationism or imperialism. 1916 SWITZERLAND
Distinguishing Humane Nationalism from Pathological Ideologies Guest Name: Daniel Mahoney Summary:Nationalism must be distinguished from pathological forms like "blood and soil" ideology, which champions ethnic rooting and the subordination of others. Moderate, humane national loyalty is tied to self-government and common humanity, rejecting the path that leads to "zoological wars." Critics often unfairly conflate nationalism with isolationism or imperialism. 1865 MONTENEGRO
In 2011, Coca-Cola introduced a white version of their Coca-Cola can. The drink inside was identical to original Coca-Cola, but customers drinking from this white can hated the taste. The white can made buyers think the Cola tasted worse. To explain why, I need to delve into the science of sensehacking. With Professor Adrian North, I'll explain why tennis players grunt loudly, why cars smell different when new, how a tablecloth alters our taste, and that music changes what you buy. --- Join the Nudge Vaults waiting list: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults Join the Nudge Unit waiting list: https://maven.com/nudge-unit/course-cohort Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ --- Today's sources Bschaden, A., Dörsam, A., Cvetko, K., & Stroebele-Benschop, N. (2020). The impact of lighting and table linen as ambient factors on meal intake and taste perception. Food Quality and Preference, 79, 103797. Cañal-Bruland, R., Müller, F., Lach, B., & Spence, C. (2018). Auditory contributions to visual anticipation in tennis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 36, 100–103. Garber, M. (2012, July 26). The future of advertising will be squirted into your nostrils as you sit on a bus. The Atlantic. Golan, M., & Fenko, A. (2015). Toward a sensory congruence model: Matching sounds with material properties. Food Quality and Preference, 46, 33–43. Guéguen, N., Jacob, C., Lourel, M., & Pascual, A. (2012). When drivers see red: Car color and driving behavior. Color Research & Application, 37(5), 452–455. Hanss, D., Steger, D., & Giesel, F. (2012). The influence of car color on driver behavior and perceptions of speed. Color Research & Application, 37(4), 304–309. Hirsch, A. (1991, February 4). Preliminary results of olfaction Nike study. Marketing News, 25, 1–2. Horswill, M. S., & Plooy, A. M. (2008). Auditory feedback influences perceived driving speed. Perception, 37(7), 1037–1043. Leenders, M. A. A. M., Smidts, A., & El Haji, A. (2019). Ambient scent as a mood inducer in supermarkets: The role of scent intensity and time-pressure of shoppers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 48, 270–280. Milliman, R. E. (1982). Using background music to affect the behavior of supermarket shoppers. Journal of Marketing, 46(3), 86–91. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J., & McKendrick, J. (1999). The influence of in-store music on wine selections. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2), 271–276. Spence, C. (2021). Sensehacking: How to use the power of your senses for happier, healthier living. Viking. Wall Street Journal. (2012, October 23). Why consumers doubt silent vacuum cleaners. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203406404578074671598804116 Zellner, D., Geller, T., Lyons, S., Pyper, A., & Riaz, K. (2017). Ethnic congruence of music and food affects food selection but not liking. Food Quality and Preference, 56, 126-129.
Leonardo Di Caprio has been name shamed and we need to chat about it. Plus, Jack and Sarah discuss what they would buy if they won the lotto because someone just has! (00:00) Leo has been told he has an Ethnic name (02:20) How would you spend a lotto win? (04:20) Cardi B pierced what?! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We're excited to introduce you to another podcast series out in the Jewish podcast ecosystem, entitled Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism, through featuring its first episode as a bonus episode here on our feed. Shoshana Brown, one of the podcast's two co-hosts, is the US director of pedagogy and training for Diaspora Alliance – and she will be teaching a course this fall in the UnYeshiva entitled Antisemitism Unbound: Understanding and Dismantling Antisemitism. We hope that after hearing her in this episode of Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism, you'll feel called to register for that course – which you can do via JudaismUnbound.com/classes. Financial aid is available via this link.You can find all six episodes of Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism on the PRA Presents feed wherever you get your podcasts or on politicalresearch.org.
VirtualDJ Radio Hypnotica - Channel 3 - Recorded Live Sets Podcast
Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio Hypnotica
Episode 384: Driving the prairie roads south of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, your eyes adjust to an endless sea of grass and sky, where grain elevators rise like sentinels and ragged lines of poplar windbreaks whisper in the steady wind. It's a landscape that makes you feel both small and free—until, in the middle of the wheat-coloured plains, you come upon a steel-hulled ship sitting high and dry on the grass. This is the Sontiainen, built by Finnish immigrant Tom Sukanen, who spent years constructing it here, hundreds of kilometres from salt water, in hopes of sailing it home to Finland. What sounds like the beginning of a folk tale is entirely true: the man, the ship, and his dream were real—and so was the heartbreak that followed. Sources: The Sad Story Behind the Prairie Ship of Tom SukanenThe Tragedy of Tom SukanenView of Little Steamship on the Prairie: Grass-Roots Preservation and Artistic Interpretation in the Construction of Ethnic, Local, and National Identities | Scandinavian-Canadian StudiesSukanen Ship Pioneer Village & Museum - A real location with a fictitious community.Dustship Glory - Athabasca University PressSukanen Ship Pioneer Village and MuseumDreams in the Dust: The Story of Tom SukanenThe tragic tale of Tom Sukanen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Michael Sobolik.Gordon Chang. China's Biowarfare Ambitions Threaten US Dominance and Global Health. China's Communist Party develops biowarfare, including ethnic-specific genetic attacks, to achieve strategic dominance over the US. China aims to divert US biotech innovation and control future vaccine distribution, leveraging lessons from COVID-19. US vaccine hesitancy and decreased investment in cutting-edge technology leave it dangerously exposed to future biothreats. 1906 PEKING DRUM TOWER
On slavery, racism, and the politics of freedom. Renowned sociologist Orlando Patterson talks to contributing editor Alex Gourevitch about themes brought up by his recent The Paradox of Freedom as well as his works as a whole. Why is the study of slavery too affected by the exceptional US American experience? In what way is violence a constitutive feature of slave relations that aren't true of others? Are we still mired in a politics of ethnic chauvinism? What does it mean for ethnic minorities to engage in self-criticism? Is there a politics of freedom that is hopeful today or has it been eclipsed?
Who Is a Jew? Zionism, Ethnicity, and the Gospel | The Patriarchy Podcast In this episode of The Patriarchy Podcast, Pastor Joseph Spurgeon is joined by Joseph Wiseman—a publisher and faithful Christian—to tackle one of the most heated and misunderstood questions of our day: Who is a Jew? Modern evangelicalism often idolizes the state of Israel, while internet voices swing to the opposite ditch, denying Jewish identity altogether or blaming the Jews for every problem under the sun. But what does Scripture actually teach? How do we understand Jewish ethnicity, Zionism, dispensationalism, and the promises of God in Christ? Wiseman brings a rare perspective as a man raised in Jewish culture who now boldly confesses Christ. Together, we cut through the lies from both sides and ground the conversation in the Word of God and the Westminster Confession. What You’ll Hear in This Episode: Why both blind support for modern Israel and conspiratorial hatred of Jews miss the mark The biblical and historical meaning of “Jew”—ethnic, religious, and spiritual dimensions How God’s promises to Israel are fulfilled in Christ, not in political Zionism The future of ethnic Jews in God’s plan of salvation The dangers of dispensationalism and racial theories A clear, Reformed perspective rooted in Scripture Guest Bio Joseph Wiseman is an ethnic Jew and faithful Christian. He runs Beareth Press and writes on theology, church life, and Christian cultural engagement. Raised in a Jewish family, he came to Christ and now speaks candidly about Jewish identity, history, and the gospel. Episode Chapters 00:00 – Cold Open: Zionist hype & conspiratorial nonsense mocked01:14 – Setting the stage: Who is a Jew? Why the confusion?03:26 – Introduction & Psalm-singing: Fear God, not man04:27 – Romans 11 read & explained05:00 – The modern idolization of Israel vs conspiratorial hatred06:53 – Guest introduction: Joseph Wiseman’s story08:35 – Does Jewish ethnicity = bias? Wiseman responds10:48 – Wiseman’s background: Jewish roots, conversion, and coming to Christ15:14 – From Messianic movement to true repentance19:29 – Defining “Jew”: religious, ethnic, national dimensions23:44 – Judaism vs Christianity: Who are God’s people?28:19 – God’s promises and future salvation of Jews32:53 – What is dispensationalism—and why reject it?37:20 – One people of God, one way of salvation39:34 – Should Christians support modern Israel politically?41:53 – Jesus’ parables, the rejection of ethnic privilege, and grafting in Gentiles44:01 – Are there ethnic Jews today? Historical and biblical evidence50:00 – Final thoughts, exhortations, and call to action Takeaway There is one people of God, saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Ethnic heritage cannot save, nor does loyalty to a modern nation. God’s promises find their Yes and Amen in Jesus Christ. Find Us on Social Media:
Two Christian women from different political perspectives and cultural backgrounds describe an unlikely but beautiful friendship that grew from having honest conversations about race. They'll offer inspiration and practical help for you to build bridges with others.
Zionism means exactly what we see before us today. Genocide. Ethnic cleansing. Apartheid. Nonstop violence and abuse. That's what Zionism means. And anti-Zionism means opposing these things. Reading by Tim Foley.
In hour 3, Mark is joined by Michele Tafoya. Michele is the Host of The Michele Tafoya Podcast and is a former Sports Reporter that covered the NBA, NFL, Olympics & more. She discusses the Minnesota Vikings and other teams in the NFL bringing in male cheerleaders to show gender equality, the latest transgender in sports issues, and more. Mark then discusses a recent story involving a man that disciplined his child by making him exercise and questions why it's drawing so much backlash. He is later joined by J. Peder Zane, and Editor at Real Clear Investigations and a Columnist for Real Clear Politics. He discusses his latest article titled, "What About the Speck in Your Eye?" They wrap up the show with the Audio Cut of the Day.
Even the most intimate relationships can experience strain around the topic of Israel-Palestine. Dan and Lex are joined by Amy Eilberg and Penina Eilberg-Schwartz, who share their experience discussing and processing their conversations about Israel-Palestine across generational divides.--------------------------Judaism Unbound's offerings for 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva are now open for registration! Check out class descriptions and more to sample a taste of everything from Comix/Comics-making to Anti-Fascist Mussar.Interested in thinking about how to reframe and reinvigorate your meditations on the cycles of grief and change? Sign up for Elul Unbound 2025 to receive biweekly wisdom and introspective prompts to guide you through the late summer days.Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!
Yes, there's a real place in Ohio called Hitler Pond — and no, it's not what you think. On today's episode, we dive deep into the strange but true story of the Ohio Hitlers — a German-American pioneer family with zero connection to the Nazis — and how World War I triggered one of the ugliest backlashes against immigrants in U.S. history. From lynchings in the name of “patriotism” to German language bans and Beethoven getting canceled, we explore the dark side of American nativism and what it reveals about identity, propaganda, and assimilation. We even trace how these events may have influenced Adolf Hitler's obsession with race, immigration, and “living space.” Links to our other stuff on the interwebs: https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory https://brohistory.substack.com/ #334 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player. Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life. If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want! Namaste, Beautiful,
As ICE raids sweep across the country as a part of President Trump's anti-immigrant policies, ethnic media outlets in California are playing an invaluable role keeping the communities they serve informed. We talk with media organizations that serve immigrant and diaspora audiences about how their communities are dealing with the impacts of the administration's enforcement actions, how their approaches to news coverage has had to change, and what they think is coming next. Guests: Madeleine Bair, journalist and founder, El Tímpano Memo Torres, writer and director of engagement, L.A. Taco, a Southern California source of news and information covering food, culture and community Tanay Gokhale, community reporter, India Currents Julian Do, co-director, American Community Media Dzung Do, editor, Nguoi Viet Daily News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Jock Bartley, founding member and guitarist of the legendary 1970s soft rock band Firefall, joins the show to discuss the band's storied career, including hits like "You Are the Woman" and "Just Remember I Love You." Bartley shares insights on Firefall's latest albums, Friends & Family and Friends & Family 2, which feature covers of classic songs by bands like Fleetwood Mac and The Byrds, reflecting their deep musical connections. Jock was a funny, laid back guy with tons of insight on the music industry to share. In one of the craziest episodes to date, we dive deep into Mike's voices, a pretzel story, a game about the Burlew household, and Mike needing his dad, Big Wild Hank's help, only to be gifted rotten chicken. Insane episode. Have a listen!
In this episode, Latasha Morrison hosts a conversation with author, speaker, and public health professional Prasanta Verma about her experiences as an immigrant and the themes of belonging, ethnic loneliness, and cultural identity. They explore the differences between race and ethnicity, the impact of assimilation on cultural identity, and the importance of community and connection in overcoming feelings of marginalization.Prasanta shares insights from her book, Beyond Ethnic Loneliness: The Pain of Marginalization and the Path to Belonging, and discusses the significance of understanding one's cultural background in a diverse society. The conversation also touches on the hope found in younger generations and the importance of faith and community support in addressing these issues.Join in the conversation on our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram and LinkedIn to let us know your thoughts on this episode!Executive Producer - Latasha MorrisonProducer - Sarah ConnatserLinks:Become a Donor of Be the BridgeConnect with Be the Bridge:Our WebsiteFacebookInstagramBTB YouTubeJoin the online community BTB ConnectConnect with Prasanta Verma:FacebookInstagramLinkedInWebsiteConnect with Latasha Morrison:FacebookInstagramNot all views expressed in this interview reflect the values and beliefs of Latasha Morrison or the Be the Bridge organization.