Podcasts about justice collective

Michael Hayes was serving his fifth term in prison when an epiphany struck. He had never acknowledged the trauma he grew up with, let alone worked through it. The process of doing so changed his life, and he focused on helping others do the same.Hayes founded Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice Collective, a Black-run nonprofit in Asheville devoted to disrupting generational trauma for people in and out of prison, along with school-age youth. In this conversation, he details his "healing journey," talks about the critical factors of community and peer-to-peer support, how Umoja differs from traditional 12-step programs and how he and others in their 50s work to break through to teenagers.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Welcome to a brand new episode of the ¿Quién Tú Eres? podcast, where we explore the conflict we often face between "professionalism" & being our authentic selves. This week, we have the pleasure of speaking with Joshua Encarnacion. Joshua is a 1.5 generation Dominican-American, and a proud Afro-Latino…with his heart set on growing and helping people grow into their full potential. He's helped build 3 tech-industry startups and worked in training & recruiting roles for big tech companies Uber & Google. Born in Manhattan, NY, and raised in Lawrence & Springfield, MA, Joshua has nothing but love for his folks and the people he's met along his journey as a lifelong learner consisting of a lot of sports, math, reading, perreo, bachata, y cafe bustelo. Throughout his career, he's serviced the following organizations: Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, UBER, Airbnb, Netflix, Pandora, Slack, Twitter, Pinterest, Earnest, Gusto, Affirm, Abstract, Simply Business, Thumbtack, Yelp, Asana, Lyft, Atlassian, Tinder, First Round Capital, Kapor Center, General Assembly, Hackbright, Latinas in Tech, NextPlay, CODE2040, Hack The Hood, CODE Tenderloin, The Justice Collective, Change Catalyst, Techqueria, Big Nerd Ranch, and MANY more unlisted. He's coached people through various challenges by helping them grow the emotional intelligence and high-performance habits necessary to create their own professional success, which is a passion of his. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/quientueres/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/quientueres/support

This episode is the second of a two-part focus on the subject of abolition: which denotes both a theoretical approach and a series of political and social movements that advocate for the overcoming of violent state institutions such as prisons and the police. In this episode, we talk to Mitali Nagrecha and Anthony Obst of the project Justice Collective, a Berlin-based European project that aims to end society's reliance on policing and punishment by engaging in advocacy, research, public education, and organizing to reveal and resist punishment as a tool of racism and economic injustice. Our conversation centers on how abolition can look in practice and explores the questions that Justice Collective deals with, particularly in relation to their current focus on Ersatzfreiheitsstrafe (substitute imprisonment) in Germany. We recorded the conversation in mid-December, and just a week later, the German government agreed to pass the draft bill that Mitali and Anthony criticize into legislation. Although this news is a disappointment to Justice Collective, they are nevertheless continuing their work and building new strategies to respond to this development. For links, a list of references, and more information about our guest please visit https://minor.hypotheses.org/podcast Our amazing intro track is by Shane Cooper, called "Bass in the Bathroom", from the album "Small Songs for Big Times", March 2020. For more, please visit https://shanecooper.bandcamp.com/releases

Michael Hayes is the founder and director of Umoja Health, Wellness, and Justice Collective. He is a visionary agent of change who has found powerful ways to infuse the art of storytelling and the science of resilience into opportunities for healing and recovery. He is the author of the HOPE module (Healing Our Past/Personal Experiences,) a Certified Peer Support Specialist, a Wellness Recovery Action Plan facilitator and a Reconnect for Resilience Skills Educator. Michael is also the founder of the Urban Arts Institute and continues to provide opportunities for healing and growth in the arts. In this episode Michael and I discuss resiliency and the role of the arts in healing from past traumas as well as our collaborative work with the Institution of Regenerative Design and Innovation's Seed Project.Submissions to the Bright Wings Poetry Contest are now open until November 25th. Winner receives a cash prize plus publication in Ekstasis magazine and opportunity to read the winning poem on an episode of Makers and Mystics. To learn more about and follow the progress of the NC Solutions Tour's SEED projects please visit IRDI's Patreon here: Please consider supporting the campaign here: Join our Creative Collective

In this final episode of 2021 and our first season we chat to poet and academic Samantha Walton about democratising nature and landscape writing; green deprivation and the policing of green spaces and the dangers of individualised neoliberal 'nature cures', as discussed in her recent book Everybody Needs Beauty: In Search of the Nature Cure (Bloomsbury: 2021). We speak about the need to carve out space for grief amongst the climate crisis, how to emasculate mountain literature via Nan Shepherd and the space that poetry allows for articulating ambiguity and discomfort, as found in Samantha's hallucinatory poetic sequence Bad Moon (SPAM Press: 2020). As a Tender Buttons listener you can get 10% discount on Samantha's book at Storysmith Books, listen in for more details and then head to our page on the Storysmith website: storysmithbooks.com/tenderbuttons References: Everybody Needs Beauty: In Search of the Nature Cure (Bloomsbury:2021) Bad Moon (SPAM Press: 2020) Self-Heal (Boiler-House Press: 2018) The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd (Canongate) Samantha is also co-editor of Bristol-based small press SAD Press, whose work you can check out here.

This is a special one-off episode where I've invited revolutionary singing teachers Lisa Paglin and Marianna Brilla back on the show (listen to Episode 58 first), to give advice to singers with vocal problems. Thank you to these talented artists who volunteered to have their vocal issues discussed on the show that more singers, suffering with the same problems, can listen and learn: Tiz McNamara https://tizmcnamaramusic.com/ is an Irish singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Canada. McNamara's independent releases have racked up more than 15 million streams on Spotify. His songs have featured on UK TV shows Hollyoaks and Emmerdale and have gained support from some of the industry's heavyweights, including BBC Radio 2, CBC and Amazing Radio. He's toured with BRITS Critics Choice winner James Bay, and was asked to sing alongside one of his musical heroes, Sir. Paul McCartney, as well as Robbie Williams and Shane McGowan under the The Justice Collective name. Tiz's latest offering ‘Miami Night Sky EP' was signed to New York-based label, AntiFragile Music and has been receiving rave reviews. Stephen Scaccia is an award-winning 29 year old vocalist from Burnaby, British Columbia. He has performed for several fundraisers, Pride events and charities around the Lower Mainland, and was voted "Favourite Local Musician" alongside Michael Buble in the 2017 "Best of Burnaby" awards. Stephen has two pop EP releases under his belt, along with over 140,000 subscribers on YouTube. Stephen has gone on to perform with Michael Buble, and has received reactions and shout outs from Mariah Carey on YouTube. https://www.stephenscaccia.com/ Nikita Afonso has made it her mission to create songs that provoke human emotion. She has taken her love of country music and made it her own, incorporating modern components and inspirations from her favourite artists, Lennon Stella and Sasha Sloan, to name a few. Like the world, Nikitas's artistry is continuously evolving, and yet, she maintains the quintessential elements of classic songwriting, moving listeners and putting music to emotions we have all felt and know. https://nikitaafonso.com Elisabeth Kontomanou https://www.facebook.com/waitinforspring/ was born in Sète (France) in 1961. She moved to New York in the 1990s and then on to Stockholm where she was based when she recorded Back to My Groove. This album includes covers of songs which she sings in English. Kontomanou has worked with Michel Legrand, Mike Stern, John Scofield, Alain Jean-Marie, Jean-Michel Pilc, Daryl Hall, Franck Amsallem, Toots Thielemans, Richard Bona, Stéphane Belmondo, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Leon Parker, and Geri Allen. Plus Courtney Hunt https://www.facebook.com/CourtneyHuntMusic who has been a professional singer since 2018 as frontwoman of Canadian event band Appaloosa and on the roster of other international corporate bands. She began a solo career in 2020. Contact Lisa Paglin and Marianna Brilla via their website https://www.newvoicestudio-brilla-paglin.com/ or email assistant.newvoicestudio@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/podsongs/message

Guest Adam Jordan and I discuss some of the exciting events planned for this summer and fall sponsored by the All Y'all Social Justice Collective. After that he and I discuss some of the problems of equity facing the teaching profession.  This part one of two episodes of conversations where we discuss equity issues.  This episode will conclude our spring 2021 series, we will return with the fall series in September and Adam and I will continue our conversation.

Adam Jordan and Rebekah Cordova are among the founding members of the All Y'all Social Justice Collective. In this episode they discuss how All Y'all supports the work of teachers through providing meaningful, action-oriented professional development experiences.

Aujourd’hui l’Économie, le portrait est consacré en ce mois d’octobre, à différentes personnalités du monde économique aux États-Unis. À quatre jours des élections présidentielles, coup de projecteur sur Danielle DeRuiter-Williams, cofondatrice de la société californienne The Justice Collective, qui défend l’égalité des chances pour les Afro-Américains. Danielle DeRuiter-Williams le confirme, les inégalités raciales aux États-Unis sont criantes et se sont même creusées avec la crise du coronavirus. Elles ont coûté 16 000 milliards de dollars à l’économie américaine ces vingt dernières années et sont un manque à gagner de 5 000 milliards de dollars sur les cinq prochaines années, selon une récente étude de Citygroup. Changer la donne a été très tôt une priorité pour cette femme avenante de 35 ans : « J’ai grandi à Kalamazoo dans le Michigan et je suis métisse. Je m’identifie comme femme noire, mais ma mère est blanche et mon père noir et donc la question raciale a toujours été très personnelle. Poursuivre des études supérieures, accéder aux fonctions décisionnaires qui souvent échappent aux personnes comme moi, tout cela m’a motivé à faire en sorte que les entreprises deviennent une force qui instaure la justice et le changement. » Après un double Master en études afro-américaines et en urbanisme, et plusieurs expériences dans le monde associatif, Danielle DeRuiter-Williams a co-fondé, il y a cinq ans, The Justice Collective, un cabinet de conseil qui promeut l’emploi des Afro-Américains à des postes clé aux États-Unis : « Notre travail à Justice Collective consiste à améliorer les conditions de travail des entreprises, celles de tout le monde. Pas juste celles de quelques-uns. Donc, on se concentre sur la culture d’entreprise, son système de décision, ses préjugés, sa politique d’embauche et d’égalité de salaires... Nous établissons un bilan, nous formons les employés et les aidons à développer une stratégie d’équité sur le long terme. » Les choses avancent puisque l’entreprise vient de dépasser la barre du million de dollars de revenus. Ce n’est toutefois pas sans difficulté, quand on sait que les Afro-Américains, qui représentent 12% des actifs, ne sont que 17% à occuper de hautes fonctions : « C’est un défi, mais nous choisissons les gens avec qui nous travaillons. Nous avons eu des clients qui nous disent : "nous avons besoin seulement deux heures de coaching", mais nous répondons que nous n’offrons pas cela, nous offrons un partenariat de fond. Pour que l'équité soit possible, il faut pouvoir redistribuer le pouvoir et les ressources. Nos clients y sont favorables, mais quand il s’agit de passer à l’acte, de prendre des décisions transparentes, d’inclure les Noirs autour de la table des décisions, là, certains disent : houlà, je ne savais pas que ça impliquerait cela. À nous alors de les amener à nous faire confiance, car sans cette remise en question, ils ne pourront pas transformer leur entreprise. » La mort du noir américain George Floyd, tué par un policier blanc en mai à Minneapolis, et plus récemment celle de Jacob Blake, ont suscité aux États-Unis et ailleurs une vague de colère contre le racisme. Ces tragédies ont aussi réveillé les consciences du monde professionnel. Danielle DeRuiter-Wiliams : « Nos activités ont augmenté de 700%. Nous sommes passés de cinq demandes de clients par semaine à cinq par jour, ces quatre derniers mois. La différence, c’est que les chefs d’entreprises souhaitent des changements sur le plus long terme. Et puis aussi, ils s’expriment plus ouvertement sur le racisme, la suprématie blanche, la responsabilité collective face à ces injustices. Ils appellent un chat un chat et cela facilite notre travail. Mais nous sommes au cœur d’une crise politique de plus en plus terrifiante avec les élections qui approchent. Récemment Trump a même annoncé un décret contre les programmes de sensibilisation au racisme. C’est un recul inquiétant. » La politique économique de Donald Trump est aussi, pour la chef d’entreprise, un sujet qui fâche : « Les aides aux ménages de 1 200 euros et le chômage partiel sont des offres en trompe l’œil. Il ne faut pas oublier que nous n’avons pas de filet de sécurité, pas de sécurité sociale alors, je ne pense pas qu’il ait fait un bon boulot, non. » Danielle DeRuiter-Williams votera pour le démocrate Joe Biden, en attendant, dit-elle, un candidat plus « progressiste » peut-être dans quatre ans, lors de nouvelles prochaines élections présidentielles. ► Site internet The Justice Collective

In Episode #36 Derek is joined by Peter Hooton vocalist in Liverpool based band The Farm. Peter talks about Liverpool FC's recent success, his early experiences of visiting Anfield, Hillsborough and his most recent LFC related book The Boot Room Boys which details the clubs glory years. Derek and Peter talk in great detail about The Farm's rise to prominence, topping the charts, touring with Mick Jones, The Stone Roses, the success and legacy of the single All Together Now and being in the studio with Madness frontman Suggs. They talk about the culture around that time, the clothes, the influences, the dance scene and more. The pair touch on The Justice Collective which was a collective of musicians spearheaded by Peter, originally established in 2012 as a fund-raising record raising money for the various charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster.

In this episode, entrepreneur Danielle Deruiter-Williams of The Justice Collective shares her riveting story about how COVID19 has effected businesses across the country, and what we can do to prevent this from happening again. Tune in! #YouAreYoungMoney

In this installment of the Justice Collective podcast we sit down with a friend of ours who has a unique platform and place of influence within the government sphere.  Her role directly intersects with the faith element of culture while directly serving the government of her locale.  We are not using this leader’s name simply to not create any undo backlash for her and the work she’s doing.  This was a very inspiring interview to conduct.  I was so encouraged to hear the things Jesus is doing amidst government leaders in the international landscape.

Episode 130 - Elle Dowd. Dan Sterenchuk and Tommy Estlund are honored to have as our guest, Elle Dowd. Elle Dowd (she/her/hers) is a bi-furious seminarian at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a candidate for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Elle has pieces of her heart in Sierra Leone, where her two children were born, and in St. Louis where she learned from the radical, queer, Black leadership during the Ferguson Uprising. She was formerly a founding co-conspirator with the movement to #decolonizeLutheranism and currently works as a community organizer with SOUL and the Faith and Justice Collective, writes regularly for the Disrupt Worship Project, and facilitates workshops on gender and sexuality and the Church in both secular conferences and Christian spaces. Elle has interests in queer and feminist Biblical interpretation and liberation and body theology. Elle loves spending time with the people she loves and on weekends, Elle tours the city of Chicago in search of the best brunch. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElleDowdMinistry/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HowNowBrownDowd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowbrowndowd Medium: https://medium.com/@elledowd Elle also does paid consultation work for churches, non profits, and businesses on issues of gender/sexuality, purity culture, and LGTBQIA+ issues. She also does consultation work and workshops on progressive parenting as well as on community organizing. Inquiries should be sent to danielle.dowd@gmail.com. Elle gives a reduced rate for churches/non profits. Note: Guests create their own bio description for each episode. The Curiosity Hour Podcast is hosted and produced by Dan Sterenchuk and Tommy Estlund. Please visit our website for more information: thecuriosityhourpodcast.com The Curiosity Hour Podcast is listener supported! To donate, click here: thecuriosityhourpodcast.com/donate/ Please visit this page for information where you can listen to our podcast: thecuriosityhourpodcast.com/listen/ Disclaimers: The Curiosity Hour Podcast may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion advised. The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are solely those of the guest(s). These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of The Curiosity Hour Podcast. This podcast may contain explicit language.

Theo Delaney is joined by Peter Hooton who is Liverpool personified. Front man of Scouse indie pop legends The Farm, he co-founded the hugely influential Merseyside fanzine The End and as a Liverpool fan has been a central figure in the Spirit Of Shankly group and The Justice Collective which raised money for Hillsborough related charities and achieved a Christmas Number 1 in the process. He makes films and writes articles and books on the Reds including the recent, highly acclaimed 'The Boot Room Boys'. Peter describes the eight defining goals of his life at The Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool.Theo Delaney will be doing a live Life Goals show at the Podcast Social Club festival in Thirsk on November 23rd 2019. You can find him on twitter as @theodelaney. He is also co-host of the Spurs Show podcast and the Jonny Boy Radio Show. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Justice Collective team had a great conversation rehearsing our recent Brazil missions trip. You won't want to miss this unique episode!

In this episode we cover Melanie C (AKA Sporty Spice) first foray into Musical Theatre (Blood Brothers and Jesus Christ Superstar), motherhood (with baby Scarlet), a nasty break up with her long term partner and 4…… yes FOUR….. more albums. So, we pick up in 2007 – Spice Girls have announced the reunion tour and Mel C, as Mel C loves to do… is releasing a solo album. Forever 2.0 isn’t it. In her defence, I believe she probably wasn’t planning on doing the reunion and was convinced last minute. As recent as 2 months before she’d said in interview she wouldn’t and was focussed on the album. This seems like a smart move for her. She releases two songs simultaneously. In Europe she releases the very Mel C ballad – For this moment; the UK we get her cover version of “I want candy”. Featured on the soundtrack of film of same name.                 I remember at the time this feeling like a very odd move. Bizarre. She’d always been the credible one and this seemed like a bit of a PR exercise. Which was surprising because she is on her own now – running her own label, Red Girl Records. I guess, they’re figuring things out. Trying to be commercial…… And the Spice Girls were known for cheesy covers. Their live shows were always filled with 80s disco hits like “We are family” and “Ain’t no stopping us”.                 It charted at 24, spent 2 weeks on the chart. This would be one of the last times we would see Mel C in the top 40. The charting days of the Spice Girls are behind us by 2008. Cute Fact – The video, a little raunchier than usual for Melanie. A leather catsuit – Hello, Victoria – and she’s surrounded by half naked oil men in a pink room – Hello, Geri - The song did debut at the top of the YouTube video chart. With 200,000 views in its first day…. Now, this is just a reflection of how much YouTube has grown. 200,000 views.  Most watched. In 2018, Thank U Next was released as the first YouTube premier – encouraging live streams – in its first 24hours was viewed 55.4million times.                 The album followed the next month – This Time – to a mixed critical reception. They felt it was a bit meh. She’d teamed up with some of the old favbourites: Guy Chambers, Cathy Dennis, Steve Mac – it was praised for the vocal maturity. It reached 57 in the charts. And went on to sell 300,000 worldwide. Her previous effort had sold a million.                   I think this is the last we see of angry, not fitting it, fighting the industry “Sporty Spice”. The mellow Melanie that we see now really starts to ascend from the ashes of the 2007 reunion. Particularly, after the birth of her daughter.             At this point Melanie becomes the last Spice Girls to get pregnant. With her only child, Scarlett, born in February 2009. By this point she had been with her long term partner, Thomas Starr, for 7 years. This is where we see a change in direction from Melanie, and she signs on to play Mrs Johnstone in a new production of Willy Russels, Blood Brothers, in her West End debut. (Oct 2009). This seems like such a natural fit for her; it’s a Liverpool rooted play. Contemporary. Big singing vocals. At the time she said how she had been invited to do musicals and movies in the past, but it had never felt like the right time – but, with having a baby, she wanted to stay close to home and have more routine. She’d genuinely contemplated never working again. That surprised me. So. God bless little Scarlett. Because it was very successful for her. Reviews were very quickly glowing. London evening standard called her the “Galvanising factor” saying they’d never seen a set of reviewers rise so quick to standing ovation. The Independent said she rightly followed in the footsteps of previous actresses Carole King and Barbara Dickson with her singing abilities and luminous stage presence in a role she was born for. She was nominated for an Oliver Award for best actress. Only the third actress to be nominated in the role in its 25 year run. Pretty impressive as she is nominated just months into her first professional acting role – well, Spiceworld aside. I don’t think this is shouted about enough. Nominated and respected by a panel of industry peers as exceptional in the field. Victoria lent her two gowns for the awards! One for perfoming, one for the ceremony. She plays the role for a little over a year. Because she had already started on new music! She releases “Rock Me” in Germany only, as the official single for FIFA world cup. Hi, remember me, Sporty Spice. But single proper was September 2011s, Think About It. This saw her make a return to Dance-pop – a more common territory for a Spice Girl, with a greater focus on radio-friendly beats than her previous singer-songwriter work. She worked with the Cutfather team, to provide a fresh edge to her newly stage developed vocals. It’s a popping track. Banger. Under radar, under rated. I’d be surprised if many casual fans knew it existed. It didn’t get a lot of press attention. It did manage to chart in the UK. Just. At 95. Had somewhat better success in Europe. Reached 30 in Switzerland. She was an Indie artist at this point. On her own label. So the album isn’t dragged away from us. Which is really nice. When Mel C says she has a new album coming out – You get an album. This isn’t Geri taunting us for years. Sporty can deliver. Its not a cause of trialling a single, she if the public engages. She creates something then puts it out. Bit like this podcast!! So the album is released. The Sea. It has a bit more variety about it than her previous efforts. There are radio-friendly bops, stirring ballads, beat led tracks, a range of emotions. It still has a pop element but she worked with a lot of new people to create a diverse collection. My favourite thing about it; it lasts the length of a full gym session. 35 minute – what am I meant to do on the ab track. Whistle?!  Regarding the concept of The Sea, Chisholm said in a video interview on YouTube that, the album is cohesively experimental mixing many different genres/styles of music into one unified pop album with electronic undertones, therefore naming it The Sea, which ecomphases the many species who inhabit beneath the oceans surface. It was also conveniently the title of the first track on the album.                 It got fairly good reviews, Ok Magazine said it was her most ambitious album yet. If only sales had been so good: The album made it number 45 on the UK chart. Better on the digital and independent charts – 29 and 6, respectively.  She did follow it with a 17 date European tour. I think Mel has really nailed that 10,000 fans theory. My last two albums didn't perform that well in the UK. Would I be devastated if this one didn't do well? No, I'd live. But I'd keep plugging away. All it takes is one song. And this one has a touch of my debut solo album, Northern Star, about it. – Interview with the Guardian in 2011 Remember, that album was a slow climber. It obviously debuted higher but its most successful tracks came late in the campaign and its huge sales were due to it remaining in the charts for the best part of a year. So, she tries to replicate this with her second official single – Weak. A big contrast to the dance-pop of Think about it. Which is a rousing ballad. I love it. I think it has the musical feelings to it – as its telling a very clear story, and evoking an emotion. It got a bigger kick promo wise. Made it onto Radio 2 A list. Which helped it reach the top 60 most played songs on UK radio….. but it didn’t sell enough to make the top 200 of the singles chart.  She has described it as a disappointment – as she felt the quality was better than the reality of the sales it enjoyed. She told the Evening Standard in 2016, it was the most catastrophic thing she experienced.   She has openly talked in interviews how this period saw a return of her depression - which is important to acknowledge. would binge eat, stay up all night crying and sit alone in her house for days. She says "Sometimes you can do all the right things but they dont work enough". Its refreshing to hear some accomplished recognise that these things do recurr.  She also talked about the fear of post-natal depression as well, during her pregnancy. And i think, actually, these days - parenting explains a lot of the reasons she refuses reunions. She doesn't want to be too far from her daughter and needs more control of her work schedule. When she goes back into the Spice machine it is just carnage.  So there were a few rumours at the times. Hints of infidelity, but nothing with any weight. There was the rumblings that she had been working too hard and neglecting her womanly duties. Apparently, she wasn't going out and much and not even talking to protect her vocal cords.  For her part, she displayed the classic Mel C media training in speaking about it: deflecting to concentrating on parenting and not being drawn on any elements of blame.  She is very busy at this time. So after the album and its tour wrapped she signed on for Andrew Lloyd Webbers, Jesus Christ Superstar, in the role of Mary Magdalene. Alongside, Chris Moyles and Tim Minchin.... but before she does; their is a TV talent contest to find the next Jesus. Melanie was a judge on the panel, alongside Dawn French, Jason Donovan and of course Andrew Lloyd Webber himself.  So following the show, they enter a national arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. Which is unusual as it was obviously in theatres previously. ALW had said as a rock concert, this is exactly how he had envisioned it. In proscneium stages it feels shoe-horned in. Reviews were devisive.  The Guardian did not love it. They gave it a 1 star review. Particularly the arena format. They suggested perhaps ALW should have been crucified as opposed to the titular character. Mel C is a strangely laid-back Mary Magdalene, relaxed to the point of blankness. the large cast crowd scenes appear to have been directed on the premise that if Jesus is coming, it's best to look busy But the Telegraph loved it - Melanie Chisholm, a lovely relaxed Mary Magdalene, proves again that she was too good for the Spice Girls. TOO good. TOO GOOD. There is no such thing! She did win a whatsonstage award for best musical actress.  And its this that would go on to inspire her sixth studio album. The aptly titled "Stages", a collection of emotional musical and film covers. Its all happening at the same time. So this is 2012 - a big year for Melanie - July - Superstar airs/along with the first single "I dont know how to love him). August - Olympic performance - September the album is released, which is the same month the tour began for Jesus Christ Superstar - December the Viva Forever musical launches. Anyway, this album. Melanie said they are show tunes that have been important to her at different stages in her life. First single - I don't know how to love him.  - Which everyone knows is from the musical (I googled it). She sang it on the live final accompanied by ALW on the piano. I mean, as much as promoting the album - this is really about promoting the ALW tour. Adelaide Entertainment Centrestated: "Melanie C absolutely blitzes her big number 'I Don't Know How To Love Him' bringing a more raw rock edge to the bridge before hitting the final big notes right out of the arena. The second release from the album is a little more special...... Its a duet, from the musical Chess: I know him so well. With someone she knows very well. A certain Ms Emma Bunton.  It did not chart so favourably.... reaching 153 in the UK. We did get a lovely video of the two, meeting at a piano and goofing around. They also did a lot of live promo together, interviews on the TV circuit and singing live together. They switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford and sung 2 Become 1....... The album sort of dithered in terms of chart. It topped the Itunes chart for a minute..... you see that a lot with strong fanbases. Went to No. 50 for 1 week on official charts. But as I said, this won't have been about chart performances - it will have been about additional merch to have while on tour. Business Spice. Record Label Spice.  So that sort of wraps up a pretty intense 2012! We do get here featuring in the Justice Collective - charity single "He aint heavy hes my brother" - a collaboration of musicians including Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, Beverley Knight and many others. It was raising money for various charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster - which obviously, still resonates... especially for people with Liverpudlian heritage, which she very much has.  That was a very successful venture actually, went to number one in Christmas 2012. Beating X Factor contestant James Arthur. Another number one for Mel.  She did come into some hot water later on, actually, regarding the Hillsborough Disaster. So the city of Liverpool have managed to maintain an extremely powerful campaign refusing to buy, stock or sell the Sun Newspaper after strongly disparaging remarks were made about the Liverpool supporters just days after 96 were unlawfully killed in the tragic incident.  Whilst promoting an album - I believe Version of Me, she did some work with The Sun, and I think she was pictured touring on a big red Sun bus.... and this was at a similar time to the court trial exposing the Police cover up and lies around the incident; which sought to blame they players. Some negative press there. BUT, that is later on. 2012 - gooooooood.  2013 she starts still on tour with Jesus Christ Superstar in early 2013 - visiting Australia. Racking up the stamps on little Scarlets passport. Leading to a deservedly quieter 2013. We get a couple of musical moments. In the summer, she releases a sexy duet with X Factor alumni, Matt Cardle, called "Loving You". They had met at the Isle of Wight festival.... said he was looking for a great voice (VB, obviously unavailable). The video gets quite steamy.... so its a similar premise: both of them seen in seperate rooms of a house, missing each other. Then in the final shots.... we get a steamy kiss!  There were a lot of rumours flying around that they might be dating. Especially when they went on a promotional trip for the record, in Germany and Poland. I think that's a snatch. Well done Mel. She was single and fun. Be single and make a single.  It managed to chart at number 14 - her highest chart position in 8 years, and impressive for 2 artists on independent labels. Only released on digital downloads as well so.  Then at the end of the year, we get two of my fave Melanie C performances. So in the December she releases her first live album - Live from Shepherds Bush (done DVDs before but not a live tour album). I think she had been doing some work with Jools Holland around this time, guesting on a number of his live tour dates.  Its just a short little 7 tracker, with mostly singles and a couple of more recent album tracks but it was nice if you didn't care for stages. There is a great mix of Turn to you, and it actually made me like "Next best superstar".  But I fell in love with it after watching "Sporty turns 40". So, Melanie turns 40 in the January and to celebrate she throws a big concert party at the Shepheds Bush Empire singing all her hits, with a few exciting guests. So, its in full on YouTube. (Thank you Mel C fans brazil). She looks incredible. She has her hair in a pony. She is wearing a black leather vest jacket. She is glowing and buzzing and really having fun. Obviously she sounds great. Its a star studded crowd of 90s popstars. She duets with Nicole Appleton, Emma comes on. One of the guys from Starsailor..... its great to have on in the background. We'll listen over dinner or something; I can't believe I haven't showed you actually.  This is a nice little bit of business, do you know which Little Mix video she makes an appearance in?  Word Up - of course. The Children In Need charity single. Passing on the torch from their own CiN single. She was very complimentary about the girls at the time, who isn't. Would later get quoted saying she had banned her daughter from watching the girls in case she saw inappropriate content: 'They are getting more provocative. To me, they were kind of the closest thing to the Spice Girls we've seen. 'They are all gorgeous and great singers. But they weren't sexy and it's got more and more that way. I love them – but I just say, "Stay you". 'All young women want to look sexy and hot so I understand it's hard. But I think it's such a shame. We live in a narcissistic age – it's 100 per cent worse than when I was in the Spice Girls. It was a more innocent time.' She would later go on to clarify her comments saying: Why do young girls want to be portrayed in that way? 'In my experience, I wore tracksuits. I never felt that us girls as Spice Girls were never put under any pressure to be sexy. - I mean, it is arguable the Spice Girls were extremely sexualised. Victoria wore a catsuit or a bikini and skirt. Geris skirts never went much past her navel. Emma was made to look younger...... it didn't feel smutty though. Maybe because of the range, and personality.  - Little Mix are often portrayed as wearing less than they are. A leotard is not an inappropirate stage outfit, no matter how high cut. Its actually very smart. Noone can get in and nothing can get out. Twat guard.  - I think its the dance moves that are maybe more contentious. But these are young women. That are good dancers and singers and make good music. Why shouldn't they dance? And yes, sometimes writhing around on the floor isn't necessary in a heartbreak song.... but sometimes it feels good. In 2015, we get a somewhat surprising move from Melanie – if you were a big fan of her “Beautiful Intentions” album. She is confirmed as a judge on TV talent show – Asias got talent. It was the first time the show was launching in that territory – maybe she thought we wouldn’t notice. Trying to break it down from the inside, perhaps. It was done in multiple languages, so there was always translators on hand. First of its kind within the “Got Talent” brand. Melanie gave her golden buzzer to an acrobatic act, Gao Lin and Lui Xin. She only did one season, but it’s a nice little paid holiday. Experience a bit of culture properly. I think we have seen that in recent years from her – Global Spice – spending a bit of time. Because when they were Spice Girls they would have visited all of these places but not be there for more than a day or two. Can’t experience it. Get the passport stamped but no memories. After this, we get back to music. Proper music. She features as vocalist – rather unexpected – collaboration with Sons of Sonix a British production duo who pride themselves on creating timeless, unboxed music. (I took that from their official website, could you tell). It’s a stark departure from her earlier work. They’ve worked with Ty Dollar Sign, Wretch 32, Stormzy. So, something a little more urban. The track was called “Numb”. Digitalspy described it as a “massive tropical banger”. Its much more electronic…. Which is a big departure away from the guitars and string instruments Sporty likes. Which made for a good interlude for her first single proper from the new album, Anymore. Also produced by SOS, as was much of the album. I remember being stunned when this came out. If you thought numb was a massive banger. This is “Turn to you” 2point0. Its uptempo electro. It premiered on BBC Radio 2 with Chris Evans. I remember watching the video in the office and I turned to my friend Jo like, pause everything – Mel C has hit the dancefloor! It got to number 1…… on the radio airplay chart. And it got to number 1…… on the UK physical singles chart! But a number 1 is a number 1! The album, Version of me, followed in October. It took her two years to create. Started in 2014 but with all the other projects since then meant she couldn’t focus on the album solely…. Which she credits. Said it stopped the album getting stale and meant she could use real life scenaries to inspire the work. She describes this as her first fully electronic album. She’d dabbled in the past but this was the first time she became an electro-synth artist. And it suits her. We get the same Melanie C themes…. It break ups and heartaches. The bloggers loved it. We’re past the point when many main streams review but the Express said: When the producers calm down and her huskily powerful but always slightly vulnerable voice is allowed to soar, as on the closing quartet of tracks, the results are superb The Independent called it her most accomplished solo outing to date. Gave it 3 stars. Same as it Gave Lady Gagas Joanne. The Sydney Herald described it as -  Melanie C's version of Beyonce's Lemonade, taking on her very own "Becky with the good hair" and alluding to her relationship breakdown with partner of 10 years and the father of Scarlett, Thomas Starr, whom she split from in 2012.             A brave move into Electro led dance-pop – which finally paid off. It was easily her most successful album in over a decade. It CHARTED. Yes, at number 25. Much higher if you only look at physical sales.             Melanie C was out doing the promo for this. She did GAY appearances, talk shows, she did a prioper tour and into Europe. I got to see her at Hoopla; as you will remember from the last episode.             We’d get another 3 singles from this era – none of which chart, but do get a fair bit or radio – “Dear life” which is more of a ballad. A bit more akin to her earlier work but still with this new found dance edge. “Hold on” A collaboration with Alex Francis. And “Room for love” which gets a video made up of fan clips. Which is a lovely nod. We should discuss one track. The title track Version of Me…… This is not your playground, I'm not here for you to shoot me down Praying on my weakness, even when you're not around Nothing lasts forever but you're wrapped around my DNA And I'm hiding in the corner, the wounded kid I was Like it was yesterday, like nothing's changed All that you've done, you see Ever so quietly comes creeping back up on me Haunting me, goading me, why can't you let go of me? I don't have the patience anymore Version of me: "Unfortunately, being bullied can really damage people and even when you are stronger and over it, it can still be in the background – undermining you. I hope people will Identify with that track," she told Attitude. She continued: "It's been addressed, they were aware of what they'd done. They apologised." This is a good era for her. Making music that she likes; it soundsa fresh and exciting again. Couldn’t be more pleased. I had time for it. Still do. Good for at the gym; or cycling a commute. Then the final thing Melanie adds before the reunion – is she becomes DJ Spice. Doing sets at retro nights. There probably won't come a time when I'm not asked about the Spice Girls. Do I mind? It depends what mood I'm in. People want to know about our relationships now. When we first split, I went two years without speaking to some of the girls, but we're closer now than we've ever been. – Interview with the Guardian, 2011. Maybe Melanie is Live Spice…. Her mic is rarely switched off.  She’s released 3 live concert albums. She’s toured every album. She’s also done more musical than anyone else. She is a singer much more than she is a celebrity – which goes beyond what any of the other girls have done.

In Episode 8, The Move Podcast interviews Danielle DeRuiter-Williams, formerly at the San Francisco Planning Department and founder of The Justice Collective. Co-hosts Ceasar and Ayushi laugh about the art of writing angry emails, why biking to work isn't for everyone, and tackling the homogeneity of corporate structures.

In episode #126 of Talking Radical Radio (July 29, 2015), I speak with Bonnie Heilman and Peter Garden. They are members of the Treaty 6 Justice Collective, a group that is attempting to address the urgent need in our communities for infrastructure to support organizing and activism. They began from a decade-old independent bookstore in Saksatoon, Saskatchewan, called Turning the Tide, and from that beginning they have launched an exciting new experiment called The Stand Community Organizing Centre. For a more detailed description of this episode, go here: http://talkingradical.ca/2015/07/29/radio-from-bookstore-to-community-organizing-space-activist-infrastructure/

Estadio Nacionale joins Harry Brady to discuss the challenges of supporting Celtic from afar along with the challenges of Doha traffic and getting a decent roll and bacon.  Harry then rambles on about the last 16 draw against Juve and then The Human Torpedo presents another tale from the Celtic Wiki - A Rapid Exit. The music this week are two charity tracks to be downloaded from iTunes - Rod Stewart and the Justice Collective and with our inevitable run to Wembley, Estadio chose Nothing Can Stop Us Now to close.