Podcasts about Latifa

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Best podcasts about Latifa

Latest podcast episodes about Latifa

Ancestral Science
Re-Release: Decolonizing Mother Earth, One Native Plant at a Time

Ancestral Science

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2025 88:50


Within this "active" Spring season of re-birth and re-growth, the Ancestral Science Podcast is taking a brief break to refresh and heal ourselves...so in deciding what episode to re-launch we were guided by the recent first thunder (amidst a thunderSNOW storm) that prompted the pop of the cottonwood buds, emerging crocus, and increased desires to reconnect with Native plants and our gardens, we thought...let's promote a previous guest Latifa of ALCLA Native Plants.The episode was recorded in Fall 2023, on the Lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Tsuut'ina Nation, Îethka Nakoda First Nation, and more recently the Otipemisiwak Métis. The Ancestral Science Podcast was grateful to speak with LATIFA PELLETIER-AHMED, French Canadian with Bangladeshi roots, who is a botanist, herbalist, educator, artist, and co-owner of ALCLA Native Plant Nursery on Treaty 7 (just North of Calgary, Treaty 7). Latifa taught us about significance of critical thinking in science, plants as teachers and guides, the incredible adaptability and resilience of Native Plants, personalities of seeds, harm of mono-agriculture, honeybees aren't native, how to decolonize your lawn, and the importance of recognizing and learning about invasive species. Grab some herbal tea alongside a robin or crocus friend, and let's learn together about the importance of Native plants from Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed For all you educators and curious folks who want to learn more, check out the shownotes here!Remember, you can support the pod and rock some unique Indigenous Science merch at www.relationalsciencecircle.com/shop, all proceeds go towards Knowledge Keeper honoraria, following protocols, and keeping the pod going. Please like, share, follow, and rate the pod, it goes a long way to share this knowledge. Hand to heart to Indigenous Screen Office and Bespoke Productions Hub. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BULAQ
Looking In the Mirror: Arab Women's Memoirs with Khaled Mansour

BULAQ

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 58:53


Author, commentator and human rights advocate Khaled Mansour joins us to talk about how reading Arab women's memoirs can help one gain a new understanding of the region's collective history. After he worked with Egyptian psychoanalyst and feminist Afaf Mahfouz to write her autobiography, Mansour began a journey through Arab women's memoirs set to culminate in his forthcoming podcast, المرآة (The Mirror). One of the many books he discusses with us is Palestinian revolutionary Leila Khaled's account of her life and militancy, published in 1973, My People Shall Live.Show notes:You can find Leila Khaled's My People Shall Live available free through the Internet Archive.Afaf Mahfouz's من الخوف إلى الحرية is available from Kotob Khan.Links to Khaled Mansour's work can be found on his website. Memoirs by Nawal El Saadawi, Arwa Saleh, Huda Shaarawi, Latifa al-Zayyat, Radwa Ashour are available in English translation. A list of these and more is available at arablit.org. You can subscribe to BULAQ wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter @bulaqbooks and Instagram @bulaq.books for news and updates. If you'd like to rate or review us, we'd appreciate that. If you'd like to support us as a listener by making a donation you can do so at https://donorbox.org/support-bulaq. BULAQ is co-produced with the podcast platform Sowt. Go to sowt.com to check out their many other excellent shows in Arabic, on music, literature, media and more. For all things related to Arabic literature in translation you should visit ArabLit.org, where you can also subscribe to the Arab Lit Quarterly. If you are interested in advertising on BULAQ or sponsoring episodes, please contact us at bulaq@sowt.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaking and Communicating Podcast
Global Cultural Intelligence: How To Work With Different Cultures w/ Latifa Aarab

Speaking and Communicating Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2025 33:24


How do you succeed in this global culturally-diverse business environment?Meet Latifa Aarab!Latifa is a Leadership Coach & Intercultural Expert who helps senior executives in global companies manage multicultural teams and lead across cultures. She is also an Award-winning Speaker.As the founder of Compatible, I offer a truly international perspective. Born in France to Moroccan parents, I am fluent in French, English, Spanish, and Arabic.With over 17 years as a financial professional, she has worked for the European markets, North America, the Middle East, and Asia.Latifa leverages advanced coaching techniques and customized solutions, making her a trusted advisor for businesses striving to excel in the global marketplace.In today's world where global connectivity is the norm, cultural intelligence isn't just an advantage—it's a necessity. Multicultural expertise matters now more than ever and Latifa has experienced this first-hand. Without proper training and knowledge in cultural intelligence, organisations risk:- Reduced efficiencies- missed business opportunities- lack of team cohesion- damaged relationships. Latifa believes that Cultural Intelligence (#CQ) is the key to overcoming these obstacles and achieving success. Her mission is to help organisations and leaders build effective multicultural teams and create successful intercultural business relationships through: Key Points:- Cross-cultural communication in the workplace- Enhancing understanding and collaboration- Leading and building effective multicultural teams- Building trust when working with different cultures- Leadership in culturally diverse environments- Cultivating skills for leading in a global context- Succeeding in cross-cultural business- Communication skills for working with different cultures ...and so much more!Listen to the Podcast, subscribe, leave a rating and a review:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/global-cultural-intelligence-how-to-work-with/id1614151066?i=1000698930553Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DyWgy3X8jKI7xcB3bbsE8?si=cBRSvuWPRvyafJ97x9qXXghttps://open.spotify.com/episode/2DyWgy3X8jKI7xcB3bbsE8YouTube: https://youtu.be/enr3XVqENnk

Infamous
Encore: Dubai's Missing Princesses I Part 2

Infamous

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2025 25:08


Sheikha Latifa, one of Sheikh Mohammed's daughters and Shamsa's sister, escapes on a yacht with the help of her capoeira instructor and an alleged former French spy. When their boat is suddenly ambushed by Indian Special Forces, Latifa's bid for freedom seems dashed. But she's recorded a video that could change everything. Click ‘Subscribe' at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices A Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production. To connect with Infamous's creative team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at Campsidemedia.com/join Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reportage Afrique
Tunisie: le mausolée de la sainte Saïda Manoubia, un lieu d'accueil pour tous

Reportage Afrique

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2025 2:32


En Tunisie, le mausolée de Saïda Manoubia, une sainte ayant vécu à Tunis au XIIᵉ siècle, attire de nombreux Tunisiens. Sa proximité avec l'hôpital Razi, un hôpital psychiatrique, en fait un lieu d'accueil et un refuge pour tous. Même si peu de Tunisiens connaissent l'histoire de cette sainte, révolutionnaire pour son époque, son aura et les rituels qui l'entourent la démarquent dans le monde du soufisme, à grande majorité masculine. De notre correspondante à Tunis,Chaque dimanche, le mausolée de Saïda Manoubia à la Manouba, en banlieue ouest de Tunis, prend vie. Les rituels et les chants autour de la sainte font partie du culte. Ses fidèles, de tous âges et issus de toutes les classes sociales, en majorité des femmes, viennent assister au spectacle. « Je viens chaque mois, pour me recueillir, mais aussi pour me défouler, confie Ahlem, 30 ans. Les chants et la danse m'apaisent beaucoup. »D'autres viennent pour demander à la sainte sa bénédiction et se recueillir sur sa tombe, comme Latifa, 65 ans : « On vient depuis qu'on est enfant ici, c'est une tradition ancienne. Il n'y a pas que des gens de la capitale, il y a aussi des gens qui viennent d'autres régions. Là, on met du henné sur nos mains, cela va avec le rituel, décrit-elle. C'est pour célébrer la sainte et aussi souhaiter la réussite aux jeunes femmes qui vont se marier. Les fidèles de Saïda Manoubia, les plus aisés, font ainsi don de nourriture et d'argent pour les plus pauvres qui viennent s'y recueillir. »À écouter dans Religions du mondeLe patrimoine spirituel féminin de l'islam« Saïda Manoubia représente l'exception au féminin »En Tunisie, la religion majoritaire est l'islam et le soufisme, un courant mystique, fait partie de la culture depuis des siècles. Plus d'un millier de mausolées existe dans le pays, mais rares sont ceux dédiés à des saintes. Saïda Manoubia est l'une des plus connues, car son hagiographie a été écrite par un imam avant d'être traduite par l'historienne Nelly Amri. « Saïda Manoubia représente l'exception au féminin, parce que c'est une fille qui s'est rebellée contre son environnement, on parle du Moyen Âge, qui n'a pas voulu se marier », indique Rym Lajmi, enseignante à l'université de la Manouba, qui a écrit plusieurs articles sur la sainteD'après son histoire, Saïda Manoubia aurait ainsi suivi des cours de jurisprudence islamique chez des disciples masculins et aurait même prié à la mosquée Zitouna, un acte révolutionnaire dans le monde musulman du 12ᵉ siècle. Son parcours, inédit pour une femme à l'époque, alimente beaucoup de légendes. « C'est une sainte qui tenait toujours une canne avec laquelle elle frappait le sol, pour représenter le pouvoir, poursuit Rym Lajmi, et qui commandait les hommes sur la terre et les esprits également. »Le mausolée a été incendié, comme une trentaine d'autres, après la révolution de 2011, par des extrémistes religieux. Aujourd'hui restauré, il reste un refuge pour tous et surtout les plus marginalisés sur le plan social.À lire aussiTunisie: archives des prisonniers nord-africains de la Première Guerre mondiale

Partizan Histerical Podcast
OVAKO LOŠI NISMO BILI OD LATIFA ČIČIĆA - PARTIZAN HISTERICAL S06 E14 - 25.12.2024.

Partizan Histerical Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 26, 2024 147:12


Prvo Histi okupljanje, 15 dana posle V rođendana. Tu je nova oprema (ah da) i novi-stari Vili. Konačno smo dočekali jedno normalno i smisleno javno obraćanje Peđe Mijatovića, epohalna pljačka našeg kluba je isterana na čistinu. MilFka se slikala ispred fanzina PUP (i to broja sa sugestivnom naslovnom na kojoj piše -TITANIK). Završili smo polusezonu na drugoj poziciji, sa +8 bodova u odnosu na PROTOČNI BOJLER. (Ovako loše nismo igrali od Latifa Čičića) U košarci smo posle Albe vezali 4 poraza, u velikim smo problemima zbog nagomilanih povreda spoljnih igrača, ali nismo u drami... i uživamo. Milenku je sve preče i kome je do ozbiljne analitike nega gleda Tegeltiju i pazari nedeljnik „Vreme“. „Hodajući autoritet“ Uroš Nikolić nas je na tzv. „Derbiju“ opet ojadio, što je i zvanično verifikovano. Stalne rubrike, Fener u petak, nagradna igra za slušaoce. Trajanje: 147 minuta ---------------------------------- Pokrenuli smo PATREON, pa ko želi sada može da časti za neko pivo, dodatne sadržaje i/ili tehničke popravke na podcastu: www.patreon.com/pfchisterical A ima i opcija za direktne donacije: paypal.me/partizanhisterical ---------------------------------- HISTI RADIO MIX br. 87 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnIk0TLCZtk&list=PLwhKCZrlUHqjLHtwXHKYEBQ2rdf8BKxb6 Twitter: www.twitter.com/pfchisterical Instagram: www.instagram.com/pfchisterical/ Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/PartizanHistericalPodcast podcast.rs/show/histerical/ NAPRED PARTIZAN! NAPOMENA: Ovo je "uradi sam" podkast u kome navijači Partizana razgovaraju o zbivanjima u svom voljenom klubu. Izneta mišljenja i stavovi su lični, kafanski, i ne predstavljaju stavove bilo koje navijačke grupe, frakcije, dela uprave, radne ili druge organizacije. Nismo insajderi, eksperti, sportski radnici. Apsolutna vernost, ne apsolutna istina. Trudimo se da jezik koji koristimo bude fin književni - možete ga čuti na svakom stadionu i u svakoj sportskoj hali. Cover foto: FK Partizan (Lažni stric?) Majstor zvuka: crk Realizacija: Slavko Tatić, gajtan, štap, kanap, Suede & Histi

DerNarrLiest
Latifa und die schwarze Magie von Kishon

DerNarrLiest

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024 8:06


Gebt mir euer FeedbackHofnarrGiaccomo liest den satirischen Klassiker:"Latifa und die schwarze Magie" von KishonSupport the showMöchtet ihr mit mir Deutsch üben?Ihr könnt einfach im YouTube Kanal mitlesen!Read along in my YouTube Channel.вивчайте мову зі мною! Jedes Feedback ist willkommen...Every feedback ist appreciated. Und danke für den Support! Thanx for the support!Support my work (with a small subscription) Besucht mich unterhttps://allmylinks.com/wortschatzund mein Hörbuch unter https://www.allmylinks.com/keinenbock

The Authors Show
Finding Zachariah, by Nancy Hicks Marshall

The Authors Show

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2024 15:49


FINDING ZACHARIAH hits a lot of tender spots: a homeless vet seeking solace in alcohol; two kids and their mom hurt and broken by an absent dad; a feral cat who knows everyone; and a wide array of community members who make this little book so touching and delightful. You'll meet Big Joe, a man with a past and a big heart; Darlene the dirt lady; Backhoe the mulch mover; Ike the irrigation expert; Latifa the beekeeper; Wiley the muralist, and more. When Zorro and CeCe, twin brother and sister, and their mom Otoña, come to the garden to work their own little plot, they find out a lot about themselves, their mom, and the mysterious man keeping away from others in the healing garden. As Zachariah talks out his sadness with the feral cat, Sebastian, and as he begins to work in the garden with Big Joe and other volunteers, we learn that people can make the best of second chances and find healing and reconciliation.

Légendes urbaines
Dj Mehdi, une série documentaire légendaire

Légendes urbaines

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2024 19:30


Rdv avec le réalisateur Thibaut de Longeville, Myriam Essadi et Pedro Winter pour découvrir les « dessous » de la série documentaire Dj Mehdi Made in France toujours disponible sur les plateformes d'Arte tv et YouTube. Retour sur l'incroyable succès du documentaire qui dépasse à se jour les dix millions de vues. Dans cet épisode, le rappeur américain Kid Cudi et la Latifa (maman de Mehdi) offrent les vidéos surprises. Retrouvez la version longue de l'émission sur la chaîne YouTube de Légendes Urbaines avec en bonus la vidéo surprise de Gaspard de Justice ainsi que le billet d'humeur d'Aimeric alias Krow.

Légendes urbaines
Dj Mehdi, une série documentaire légendaire

Légendes urbaines

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2024 17:08


Rendez-vous avec le réalisateur Thibaut de Longeville, Myriam Essadi et Pedro Winter pour découvrir les dessous de la série documentaire "Dj Mehdi : Made in France", disponible sur Arte.tv et YouTube. Retour sur l'incroyable succès du documentaire qui dépasse à ce jour les dix millions de vues. Dans cet épisode, le rappeur américain Kid Cudi et la Latifa (maman de Mehdi) offrent les vidéos surprises.

Machi Rojola
MRS4E1 | Histoire des luttes Féministes au Maroc avec Latifa El Bouhsini - ماشي رجولة | تاريخ النضال النسوي فالمغرب

Machi Rojola

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2024 74:23


حنا فرحانين نقدمو ليكم الحلقة الأولى بعنوان "تاريخ النضال النسوي فالمغرب" من الموسم الرابع "النسوية نْفَسْرُوهَا للرجال"، مع المؤرخة والنسوية لطيفة البوحسيني. فهاد الحلقة غادي نستكشفو تاريخ النضال النسوي فالمغرب، موضوع مهم باش نفسرو للرجال التطورات والتحديات اللي كتواجههم النساء المغربيات اليوم. Nous sommes ravis de vous présenter le premier épisode intitulé "Histoire des luttes Féministes au Maroc" de la 4ème saison "Le Féminisme expliqué aux hommes", avec la participation de l'historienne et la Féministe Latifa El Bouhsini. Dans cet épisode, nous explorons l'histoire et les combats du Féminisme au Maroc, un sujet essentiel pour mieux expliquer aux hommes les avancées et les défis auxquels les femmes marocaines font face aujourd'hui . --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/machirojola/support

Europe 1 - Hondelatte Raconte
[BONUS] - Latifa : la femme qui écoute les pédophiles

Europe 1 - Hondelatte Raconte

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2024 24:33


Victime d'un pédophile dans son enfance, Latifa Bennari a décidé, non seulement, de briser le silence mais, et c'est plus surprenant, elle crée aussi l'association l'Ange bleu pour écouter ces prédateurs sexuels.

L'info en intégrale - Europe 1
[BONUS] - Latifa : la femme qui écoute les pédophiles

L'info en intégrale - Europe 1

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2024 24:33


Victime d'un pédophile dans son enfance, Latifa Bennari a décidé, non seulement, de briser le silence mais, et c'est plus surprenant, elle crée aussi l'association l'Ange bleu pour écouter ces prédateurs sexuels.

Mufti Tariq Masood
Friday Bayan 26-07-2024|Mufti Tariq Masood Speeches

Mufti Tariq Masood

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2024 80:08


SaaS Connection
#130 Latifa Ouizgouret, directrice marketing chez Orange Cyberdefense. Comprendre et contrer les menaces cyber dans le SaaS.

SaaS Connection

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2024 56:47


Pour l'épisode de cette semaine, je reçois Latifa Ouizgouret, directice marketing et partenariats chez Orange Cyberdefense [partenariat]. Orange Cyberdefense est une entité du groupe Orange dédiée à la cybersécurité, proposant des solutions pour protéger les entreprises contre les cybermenaces. Au cours de cet épisode, nous avons exploré deux aspects principaux : les risques cyber auxquels sont confrontées les PME et les éditeurs de SaaS, ainsi que la transition d'Orange Cyberdefense vers une offre SaaS. Latifa nous a expliqué les types de menaces que les entreprises peuvent rencontrer, de la menace ciblée aux attaques globales, et a partagé des anecdotes révélatrices sur les méthodes d'attaque surprenantes, comme l'utilisation de câbles USB piégés ou de fausses extensions Chrome. Nous avons également discuté des bonnes pratiques pour sécuriser ses infrastructures et ses utilisateurs, notamment l'importance de la double authentification, la surveillance proactive et la gestion des sauvegardes. Latifa a mis en lumière l'offre de surveillance d'Orange Cyberdefense, développée pour être accessible aux PME, et les raisons qui ont poussé l'entreprise à développer une solution SaaS. Vous pouvez suivre Latifa sur LinkedIn. Bonne écoute ! _____ Mentionnés pendant l'épisode : Orange Cyberdefense _____ Pour soutenir SaaS Connection en 1 minute⏱ (et 2 secondes) : Abonnez-vous à SaaS Connection sur votre plateforme préférée pour ne rater aucun épisode

Lost Ladies of Lit
Enayat al-Zayyat — Love and Silence with Iman Mersal

Lost Ladies of Lit

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2024 35:54 Transcription Available


Dying by suicide shortly after her novel, Love and Silence, was rejected for publication in 1963, Egyptian writer Enayat al-Zayyat gained brief recognition when the book was finally published four years after her death. Discovering the novel in a Cairo market some 30 years later launched acclaimed Egyptian writer Iman Mersal on a decades-long, life-altering quest to solve the many mysteries about al-Zayyat's life, death and legacy. Mersal joins us in this episode to discuss the recent English translation of her award-winng 2019 book, Traces of Enayat, and the nexus between al-Zayyat's story and her own. Mentioned in this episode:Traces of Enayat by Iman MersalHow to Mend: Motherhood and Its Ghosts by Iman Mersal The Threshold by Iman MersalLove and Silence by Enayat al-ZayyatThe Open Door by Latifa al-ZayyatThe Open Door filmEgyptian Actress Nadia LutfiCity of the Dead cemetery in CairoLudwig KeimerGerman Institute of AntiquitiesSupport the showFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comDiscuss episodes on our Facebook Forum. Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on twitter @kaskew. Sign up for our newsletter: LostLadiesofLit.com Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast

S'élever en même temps que son Enfant
Coaching parental de groupe : Je réponds à TES questions de parents !

S'élever en même temps que son Enfant

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2024 66:53


La formation S'élever en même temps que son enfant réouvre ses portes du 8 au 16 Avril 2024.Découvre la formation sur MERECREDI.COM/FORMATIONDans cet épisode spécial, je te propose une expérience de coaching de groupe, un peu à la manière de ce que je peux proposer dans la formation.Je réponds aux questions que j'ai reçu, et auxquelles j'ai répondu lors d'un LIVE sur Instagram :Anne, 1 enfant de 4 ans : Maman solo, je suis tantôt laxiste, tantôt trop ferme : Comment faire pour accepter de ne pas être la mère parfaite pour mon enfant ?Anissa, 1 enfant de 8 ans : Mon enfant négocie sans cesse ! Est ce que cela passe avec l'âge ? Comment faire ?Cécile, 2 enfants de 7 ans et 18 mois, famille recomposée : Ma fille de 7 ans est en garde alternée a peur qu'on l'aime moins, peut se sentir jalouse de mon enfant de 18 mois. Comment la rassurer ?Latifa, 2 enfants de 5 et 2 ans : Ma fille de 2 ans râle sans arrêt, parle mal. Comment lui faire comprendre de s'exprimer autrement ?Livres mentionnés dans l'épisode de Debi Gliori : Je t'aimerai toujours quoi qu'il arrive : https://amzn.to/3U7V3r4Maman est là, quoi qu'il arrive : https://amzn.to/3PSYDmES'élever en même temps que son enfant est LE podcast qui allie développement personnel et parentalité bienveillante !Des conseils concrets et efficaces pour les parents qui souhaitent développer une belle relation parent enfant, en prenant en compte les émotions, les besoins de chacun.Retrouve mes formations : www.merecredi.com/formations⭐ Si tu as aimé cet épisode, s'il t'a été utile, je t'invite à le partager, à en parler autour de toi. Ou si le cœur t'en dit de me laisser une note de 5 étoiles sur ApplePodcast ou Spotify (ou m'envoyer un message privé mail ou sur instagram si ta plateforme d'écoute ne te le permet pas) !Cela me permet de faire connaitre le podcast, et m'encourage à progresser.Un grand merci à celles et ceux qui prendront le temps de le faire.

Radiovagabond med Palle Bo fra rejse hele verden rundt
DUBAI: Møde kulturen i en overdreven by (flashback)

Radiovagabond med Palle Bo fra rejse hele verden rundt

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2024 18:31


I denne episode taler jeg med Tracy. En engelsk kvinde, der nu har boet i Dubai i 24 år. Hun kalder sig i dag Latifa fordi hendes lokale svigermor ikke kan sige Tracy. Så i starten kaldte hin hende for Crazy. Tag også med på det lokale marked og lyt med når jeg reflekterer over, hvad det er for et land, jeg er landet i. Se billeder og læs blogindlægget her: https://www.radiovagabond.dk/podcast-028-er-tracy-crazy/

In the Dark
The Runaway Princesses, Episode 4: Hostage

In the Dark

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2024 45:33


 Secret recordings reveal what happened to Latifa after armed men stormed the yacht she was hoping would bring her to freedom."The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker.  To read Heidi Blake's reporting on the princesses of Dubai, visit newyorker.com/princesses.

In the Dark
The Runaway Princesses, Episode 3: A Nice Lunch

In the Dark

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2024 32:12


Latifa has made it to international waters, but she's not out of danger. Her father has powerful forces at his command."The Runaway Princesses" is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker. Subscribers to The New Yorker have early, ad-free access to all episodes. Visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe.

Whale Hunting
Dark Dubai: Sheiks, Escapes and Runaway Princesses

Whale Hunting

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2024 36:34


When the Sheik of Dubai's daughters tried to escape their father, world powers turned a blind eye. But investigative reporter Heidi Blake was determined to document their plight. Writing for the New Yorker last year, Heidi unraveled the disturbing story of Emirati princesses Latifa and Shamsa, and how Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum crushed their bid for freedom. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley Hope speaks with Heidi about reporting this story — now available as a new podcast, The Runaway Princesses — and how it reveals cracks in both British justice and in Dubai's system of absolute monarchy.  To listen to Heidi's new podcast, search for The Runaway Princesses in your favorite podcast app. For more from Whale Hunting, make sure to follow the podcast – and you can subscribe to our newsletter at whalehunting.projectbrazen.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crime Writers On...True Crime Review
The Runaway Princesses

Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2024 46:36


In 2000, the daughter of Dubai's leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ran off to England. Though her father was seen as a progressive champion of women's rights in the Arab world, Shamsa claimed her father subjected his children to harsh punishment for disobedience. The princess was then forcibly taken from British soil by Sheikh Mohammed's men, sparking a diplomatic crisis.After spending nearly four years in prison for her own escape attempt, Shamsa's sister Latifa also fled the country in 2018 to get away from her father. Her swashbuckling, high-profile breakout made international news, but claiming she'd been kidnapped, Indian security forces captured her at sea and brought her home. From the team at The New Yorker and “In the Dark” comes “The Runaway Princesses.” Madeleine Baran and Heidi Blake report on Latifa's and Shamsa's attempts to leave Dubai, the consequences for doing so, and what's happening with the princesses today. Is Latifa now living a happy life in Dubai as she claims, or is she making those statements under duress?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE RUNAWAY PRINCESSES" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: no tipping. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

Infamous: Dubai's Missing Princesses
Dubai's Missing Princesses | Part 2

Infamous: Dubai's Missing Princesses

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2024 25:08


Sheikha Latifa, one of Sheikh Mohammed's daughters and Shamsa's sister, escapes on a yacht with the help of her capoeira instructor and an alleged former French spy. When their boat is suddenly ambushed by Indian Special Forces, Latifa's bid for freedom seems dashed. But she's recorded a video that could change everything. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Infamous: The Missing Princesses ad-free right now. Click ‘try free' at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dans les yeux d'Olivier Delacroix
Latifa a hérité d'un domaine viticole : « on m'a toujours dit : "tout ça un jour, sera à toi" »

Dans les yeux d'Olivier Delacroix

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2023 17:17


Si vous aimez "Dans les yeux d'Olivier", le podcast qui donne la parole à ceux qui ne l'ont jamais, laissez des étoiles et des commentaires sur votre plateforme d'écoute préférée !Olivier Delacroix part à la rencontre de Latifa, propriétaire d'un domaine viticole. Cette jeune femme a réussi à réaliser son rêve grâce à son ange gardien : un viticulteur voisin qui l'a prise sous son aile. Elle raconte cette belle histoire dans cet épisode du podcast "Dans les yeux d'Olivier" produit par Europe 1 Studio. Les parents de Latifa sont marocains. Lorsqu'ils arrivent en France, ils s'installent dans une région du vignoble de Bordeaux, le Médoc. Le couple est ensuite recruté comme ouvriers agricoles par le viticulteur du château voisin, celui de Jean-Pierre Dupuy. Pour Latifa, le coup de foudre avec les vignes est immédiat. C'est Jean-Pierre Dupuy qui lui apprend à vendanger et très vite, le viticulteur voit en elle une relève. Grâce à son aide, Latifa apprend vite et reprend son exploitation. Aujourd'hui, elle vendange toujours à la main comme son mentor le lui a appris et son vin est un succès. Dans son domaine règne ainsi un parfait équilibre entre traditions marocaines et médocaines. Mais Latifa a dû faire face à certaines critiques dans cette région très attachée à ses traditions… Dans cet épisode du podcast "Dans les yeux d'Olivier" produit par Europe 1 Studio, Latifa raconte son parcours, sa passion et les obstacles qu'elle a pu rencontrer. Dans les yeux d'Olivier est un podcast Europe 1 StudioPrésentateur : Olivier Delacroix - Réalisateur : Kevin Housty - Productrice : Fannie Rascle et Clémence Olivier - Rédaction et diffusion : Lisa Soster - Graphisme : Cosa Vostra

Ancestral Science
Decolonizing Mother Earth, One Native Plant at a Time with LATIFA PELLETIER-AHMED

Ancestral Science

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2023 88:47


LATIFA PELLETIER-AHMED, botanist, herbalist, educator, artist, co-owner of ALCLA Native Plants & Nursery in Treaty 7, taught us about critical thinking in science, plants as teachers and guides, the incredible adaptability and resilience of Native Plants, personalities of seeds, harm of mono-agriculture, honeybees aren't native, how to decolonize your lawn, and the importance of recognizing and learning about invasive species. Remember, any support from the “Ancestral Podcast MERCH” www.relationalsciencecircle.com/shop supports Knowledge Keepers, editing, and keeping the podcast going. -What is Science? Observation in many ways, about the world around us. Think critically about who created/write/passed on that scientific knowledge. who is profiting from that knowledge? -“Deadly” Water Hemlock. Think critically about the Global Science definition of a “poisonous” plant, open your mind to its gifts, & how it can help you (like how it helped Latifa) https://www.wildernesscollege.com/water-hemlock.html https://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucgajpd/medicina%20antiqua/sa_hemlock.html -ALCLA Native Plants : https ://alclanativeplants.com - Alberta Native Plant Council: https://anpc.ab.ca - Plant Watch: Engaging Citizens in Science: https://www.naturewatch.ca/plantwatch/alberta/ - Alberta Invasive Species Council: https://abinvasives.ca/invasive-plants/ -The Plants and the Blackfoot, Alex Johnston (book) - Kainai Ecosystem Protection Association (KEPA) @KainaiEPA https://www.naapisgardenkepa.com -Naapi's garden:  https://www.buffalotreaty.com/flux/naapis-garden-a-guide-to-culturally-important-blackfoot-plants  -Decolonialize your lawn -Kentucky Bluegrass is invasive. It goes dormant in the summer, turning brown, thereby seemingly needing excess water to keep it “pristine and green.” Roots of K.Bluegrass only grow a few feet, which is far less than 10+ long roots of Native grasses. Deeper roots prevent nutrient erosion during flooding https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1550742422000252 -Plant Blue Gramma Grass, Bunch grass (Junegrass, Fescues) are mow tolerant and happy in Southern Alberta. There are Native grasses that thrive in the summer, if you want a natural summer green lawn -remove non-native species, plant Native species http://www.skinnernativeseeds.ca/index.html https://wrightnursery.ca -Plant Medicines: Indigenous people have had relationships with plants and their medicines for thousands of years. This knowledge is well respected but comes with protocols. Be careful if passing on this knowledge, do it “in a good way,” with reciprocity, without ego, and for the community and Land. -remember that plant ancestor and oral teachings have different time scales -misuse of plant knowledge is real, and has consequences that may not be immediate. -respect the medicines, don't overharvest. Why you are harvesting? Are you taking away from people who need these medicines for ceremony and cultural practices?  Other Resources: -http://www.buffalorocktipicamp.com, fish rescue program, seasonal flooding, weed pulling. - iNaturalist (app) -The Cree Healer and his Medicine Bundle (book) - North American Ethnobotanical Database: http://naeb.brit.org -Nitsitapiisinni: Story of the Blackfoot People (book) - Stories & Spaces https://galileo.org/kainai/ -Reader Rock Garden https://www.calgary.ca/parks/reader-rock-garden.html -https://www.saokioheritage.com/ -Ahwahsiin (The Land/Where We Get Our Food) https://nnigovernance.arizona.edu/ahwahsiin-landwhere-we-get-our-food. Abaki Beck -The Ecological Buffalo, Wes Olson (book) -Instagram @Homegrownnationalpark -Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard, Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants (Doug Tallamy) -A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain FuturePrairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design (Banjamin Vogt) Gratitude to JUAN CARLOS CHAVEZ & editing from EMIL STARLIGHT, Limelight Multimedia

SLOW FLOWERS with Debra Prinzing
Episode 636: Slow Flowers Summit heads to Canada in 2024. Meet Becky Feasby, Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed, and Lourdes Still

SLOW FLOWERS with Debra Prinzing

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2023 64:25


A conversation about the native plants and sustainable land care practices of the Canadian prairies and grasslands Last Friday, November 10th, we held a virtual members meet-up to introduce the just-announced Slow Flowers Summit in 2024. We shared the dates — June 23-25, 2024 — the venue, beautiful Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity in […] The post Episode 636: Slow Flowers Summit heads to Canada in 2024. Meet Becky Feasby, Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed, and Lourdes Still appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

eLuvated
The Return

eLuvated

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2023 17:48


Peace and Gratitude Beautiful Beings

eLuvated
Welcome Back ☯️

eLuvated

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2023 14:43


On this very first episode of The eLuvated Podcast Season 6, Latifa reflects on her year so far since being away and living abroad. She talks about what's been present for her and shares a reminder of simply just being yourself during this Balance season. ft. Deep breaths of Gratitude ☯️ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eluvated3/support

deep balance latifa gratitude support
Any Questions? and Any Answers?
AQ: Kate Andrews, Hilary Benn MP, Maria Caulfield MP, Dr Latifa Patel

Any Questions? and Any Answers?

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2023 46:53


Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow.

de volksjury
Aflevering 114 - Latifa Hachmi

de volksjury

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2023 68:45


Op 5 augustus 2004 komt er na de middag een oproep binnen bij de politie van Schaarbeek: 'Vrouw thuis onwel geworden.' Wanneer de politie ter plaatse komt, merken ze een hoop vreemde zaken op in het appartement van het slachtoffer, Latifa Hachmi. Die avond overlijdt Latifa in het ziekenhuis en het parket van Brussel opent een onderzoek. Aflevering 114!Zit je met iets? Praat bij Tele-Onthaal over wat jou bezighoudt. Bel anoniem en gratis naar 106 (24u/7d) of chat via www.tele-onthaal.beBespaar tot wel €85,- op je eerste 4 boxen met de code HELLOJURY! Voor oude en nieuwe HelloFresh'ers (als je meer dan 1 jaar geleden je lidmaatschap hebt opgezegd).Tot en met eind juli ontvang je 10% korting op air-up.com met de code DEVOLKSJURY10Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Le goût du monde
Exil et refuge: des P'tits Dejs Solidaires, miracles de tous les matins

Le goût du monde

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2023 48:30


Sur la table, des tartines de pain, des pâtes, de la soupe, et ce qu'apporte le jour : du pain, du thé, du café comme un premier goût, un préliminaire à la chaleur, à l'aide, aux échanges, à la vie, à la danse, au partage. Un îlot d'humanité qui éclôt tous les matins, quelles que soient la météo, les vacances, « une merveille au quotidien » grâce à la solidarité, au cœur, à l'implication de bénévoles, des voisins du quartier, des hommes, des femmes ayant à cœur d'offrir à ceux qui cherchent refuge, du pain pour les ventres creux, de la douceur pour adoucir la rudesse et la violence de la précarité, un accueil pour que les gens sachent que la France a un autre visage que celui qui repousse. « Dans notre langue, l'arabe, on dit : Si tu aimes quelqu'un tu te mets en face, jamais derrière. » Ces P'tits dejs Solidaires sont servis place du Maroc à côté du Jardin Eole et de la rue d'Aubervilliers, tous les matins de 8h30 à 10h. Pour devenir bénévole, vous pouvez vous rapprocher du collectif, ou les contacter via Facebook.Avec les bénévoles extraordinaires rencontrés ces matins de tournage : Benoit, Latifa, Ridha, Patrick, Laetitia, Karima, Benoite, Sidime, Yacine, monsieur Ba, Christine, Brigitte, Noémie, Sylvie, Cathy, Mark, Brahim, Djamal, Moussa, Cécile, Thomas, et tous ceux du collectif des P'tits Dejs Solidaires.Pour aller plus loin :La Permanence Chorégraphique. Laetitia AngotBAM Bureau d'aide au migrantsInfo migrants sur RFIAssociation Mie de pain.Watizat, l'association Watizat édite des guides rassemblant les informations utiles et vérifiées dont peuvent avoir besoin les personnes exilées en France dans leur parcours. Ces guides sont édités sur papier et à cette adresse web.Les livres de Lila Djeddi, pour des recettes savoureuses, joyeuses, durables et économiques et une culture culinaire. « Cuisine du quotidien » notamment paru en 2022.En images 

The New Yorker: Politics and More
The Fugitive Princess Forced to Return to Dubai

The New Yorker: Politics and More

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2023 39:48


In 2018, Sheikha Latifa of Dubai made a daring attempt to escape her home country. Her plan was to hide in the trunk of a car, launch a dinghy, reach a yacht, sail to India or Sri Lanka, and then fly to the United States to claim asylum. But, in the middle of the Arabian Sea, a team of armed men stormed the boat and forced Latifa back to Dubai. The commandos had been sent at the request of her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai.  The Sheikh has been praised by world leaders as a modernizer and a champion for women's advancement in the Middle East, all while subjecting Latifa and other women in his family to confinement and abuse (charges that he has denied). Heidi Blake, a staff writer at The New Yorker, spent many months reporting on what led the princess to flee, and on the consequences that she faced. She joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the Dubai royal family's patriarchal system of control and the women who tried to break free. 

Infamous
Dubai's Missing Princesses | Part 2

Infamous

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2023 25:08


Sheikha Latifa, one of Sheikh Mohammed's daughters and Shamsa's sister, escapes on a yacht with the help of her capoeira instructor and an alleged former French spy. When their boat is suddenly ambushed by Indian Special Forces, Latifa's bid for freedom seems dashed. But she's recorded a video that could change everything. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Infamous: The Missing Princesses ad-free right now. Click ‘try free' at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reportage International
Cisjordanie: l'armée israélienne teste une arme qui utilise l'intelligence artificielle

Reportage International

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2023 2:30


À Hébron, ville occupée en Cisjordanie, l'armée israélienne vient d'installer à un checkpoint une arme anti-émeute télécommandée ce qui suscite Inquiétude et amertume chez les Palestiniens. Tourniquet, puis détecteur de métaux : comme tous les matins, pour passer d'un quartier à l'autre, Mohamed traverse le checkpoint de l'armée israélienne à Hébron. C'est ici, dans l'un des nombreux points de contrôle de la ville, que les forces d'occupation ont mis en place le Smart Shooter : « On ignore comment fonctionne exactement cette nouvelle arme qu'ils ont installée. On sait seulement qu'elle peut tirer toute seule. Rien n'a vraiment changé, depuis son installation. Mais Dieu sait ce qu'ils testeront encore sur nous, à l'avenir. » Selon l'armée israélienne, le Smart Shooter tire uniquement des balles en caoutchouc, et des grenades de gaz lacrymogène. Monzer 41 ans, passe également tous les jours, avec sa famille, par ce checkpoint : « Les Israéliens n'ont pas besoin d'une arme intelligente, pour se débarrasser de nous. Ici c'est simple, les Palestiniens n'ont aucun droit. C'est votre pièce d'identité, qui dit si vous avez le droit de vivre, ou de mourir. Lorsqu'un Palestinien passe un checkpoint, il doit faire attention à ses gestes. S'il a les mains dans ses poches, il peut se faire tirer dessus. Le soldat pourra toujours justifier son acte. Il dira qu'il vous a soupçonné de vouloir mener une attaque au couteau. Et si finalement, il ne trouve aucun couteau, il en posera un à côté de vous, et ce sera une preuve suffisante. » À ses côtés, sa femme Latifa n'est pas rassurée : « Moi, j'ai vraiment peur quand je passe par ici. Je retiens mon souffle. Lorsque je m'éloigne du checkpoint, c'est un soulagement. Je sais bien qu'on mourra tous un jour, mais je préfère une mort naturelle. » La « déshumanisation des Palestiniens, par Israël » Dans le quartier, Romel, un commerçant, est indigné : « Tous les gouvernements israéliens qui se succèdent depuis 1948 sont des gouvernements extrémistes. Ils sont le visage de l'occupation. Qu'ils soient de gauche, du centre, de droite ou de l'extrême droite, ils sont tous pareils. Le Likoud, les Travaillistes, ce sont tous les mêmes. Même les partis de la gauche israélienne comme le Meretz ou le Parti communiste, ils appliquent tous la même politique. Ce sont des racistes, qui représentent une force d'occupation. » Selon lui, cette arme incarne la « déshumanisation des Palestiniens, par Israël ». L'armée israélienne, de son côté, indique que le Smart Shooter a fait l'objet d'un examen complet sur le plan technique et juridique. Mais à ce stade, il n'est pas utilisé de manière opérationnelle. ► À lire aussi : Cisjordanie: près d'Hébron, vivre dans une grotte pour échapper à l'expulsion

GES Center Lectures, NC State University
#8 – Latifa Jackson - Reflections on charting your scientific path

GES Center Lectures, NC State University

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2023 59:22


Genes & Society: Decolonizing Human Genetic Research Workshop Series The Genomic Fire Next Time: Reflections on charting your scientific path Dr. Latifa Jackson, Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Howard University Website | Twitter @latifajackson Multi-omic data has been used to create narratives about who we are as humans—are they correct or do they tell a very one-sided story? Hosted in collaboration with BAA (Being an Ally in Academics). Related reading: First Person: Latifa Jackson, _American Scientist _ As an assistant professor of pediatrics at Howard University, Latifa Jackson is concerned with public health, but also with evolutionary biology and the genetic signatures of selection that can affect disease outcomes. Jackson is part of an initiative at Howard's William Montague Cobb Research Laboratory called the 1,000 African-American Genomes Project, which aims to compare samples from different populations of current and ancestral Africans to determine differing allele frequencies. Genes & Society Workshop Series While the events over the last several years in the United States have placed an important focus on issues of race, diversity, and systemic inequalities; these issues are long-standing and embedded within institutions, academic disciplines, and the broader scientific community. In response to the most recent examples of these inequalities, NC State has stated that “Diversity is critical to NC State's mission” and that “New perspectives deepen our understanding, strengthen our community and propel our innovation.” Building upon NC State's mission statement and past successful race and science events, NC State's Being an Ally in Academics (BAA) group has collaborated with Genetics and Genomics Academy, the Genetics and Engineering in Society Center (GES), and TriCEM to organize a new two-day workshop series titled, “Genes and Society: Decolonizing Human Genetic Research”. The goal of this series is to explore the current and historical intersections of racism, systemic inequalities, and human genetic research with an emphasis on inviting diverse and historically underrepresented groups as seminar speakers. Genetic Engineering and Society Center GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology. Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

The Desi Crime Podcast
77. Latifa: The Missing Princess (Pt.2) - UAE/India

The Desi Crime Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2023 41:32


Latifa was onboard a 100 ft yacht Nostromo. The ship had set sail from Muscat in Oman on February 24, 2018. The objective was to transport princess Latifa and her friend Tina to the shores of Goa, a coastal town in India. But although the seafaring voyage was meant to last a few weeks, Latifa's journey had started long before; in fact decades before. This was merely the final leg of a lifelong plot to escape her fathers fangs. What was this ‘very very bad' situation that Latifa had found herself in, and did Latifa manage to escape or did her father's clasp finally catch up with her. Find out, in part 2 of Latifa: The Missing Princess of Dubai. Exclusive YouTube episode, Chamari Liyanage: https://youtu.be/hk0-FuqgRNI Latifa Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN7OEFyNUkQ Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBrgzG_SGU0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVkCtJGVnpM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kb6Ne21Xa8 https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/dubai-rulers-daughter-sheikha-latifa-used-car-dinghy-rode-jet-ski-in-failed-escape-2191012 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56085734 https://freelatifa.com/latifas-escape/ https://freelatifa.com/proof/ https://freelatifa.com/about-latiifa/ https://freelatifa.com/evidence/ https://freelatifa.com/about-shamsa/ https://freelatifa.com/gallery/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/world/middleeast/dubai-princess-alive.html https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3168182/what-happened-dubais-runaway-princess-sheikha-latifa-uae https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/07/08/princess-latifa-what-we-know-fbis-role-her-capture/7889659002/ https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/princess-latifa-dubai-jail-villa-uae-ruler-7193428/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56085369 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-princess-latifa-lawsuit-dubai-emir-interpol-head https://www.thedailybeast.com/dubai-tricked-the-fbi-into-finding-runaway-princess-latifa-report-says https://ia600105.us.archive.org/16/items/FreeLatifa/latifa_1_31375892_2084819728470139_9001930614064021504_n.jpg https://player.fm/series/series-1789846/the-plight-of-princess-latifa-427 https://web.archive.org/web/20180410073805/https://www.mid-day.com/articles/former-spy-wants-fbi-to-investigate-raid-to-snatch-dubai-princess/19302176 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/world/middleeast/human-rights-robinson-dubai-princess.html https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dubais-latifa-is-free-travel-statement-issued-through-lawyers-says-2021-06-23/ https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mystery-drama-on-the-high-seas-a-princess--a-spy-and-an-escape-plan-gone-wrong-19236158

The Desi Crime Podcast
75. Latifa: The Missing Princess - UAE/India

The Desi Crime Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2023 38:24


This is the story of Dubai's missing royal; this is the story of Princess Latifa. The best way to break a spell of awkward silence with your friends, is to ask this simple question: what would you give up for a billion dollars? That's billion with a ‘b'. And this question takes many forms: would you give up your arms, or your legs, or vision or your relationship, and the toughest of them all, would you give up your dog for a billion dollars? This is a simple rhetorical tool to instill thoughtful humorous banter with your buddies, but what happens when a rhetorical tool is no longer a game? What happens when this question becomes a very real dilemma in somebody's life? A princess in Dubai faced this dilemma. Not posed by her friends, but by her very life's circumstances. The question was: would you give up your freedom for a billion dollars? Exclusive YouTube episode, Chamari Liyanage: https://youtu.be/hk0-FuqgRNI Latifa Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN7OEFyNUkQ Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBrgzG_SGU0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVkCtJGVnpM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kb6Ne21Xa8 https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/dubai-rulers-daughter-sheikha-latifa-used-car-dinghy-rode-jet-ski-in-failed-escape-2191012 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56085734 https://freelatifa.com/latifas-escape/ https://freelatifa.com/proof/ https://freelatifa.com/about-latiifa/ https://freelatifa.com/evidence/ https://freelatifa.com/about-shamsa/ https://freelatifa.com/gallery/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/world/middleeast/dubai-princess-alive.html https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3168182/what-happened-dubais-runaway-princess-sheikha-latifa-uae https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/07/08/princess-latifa-what-we-know-fbis-role-her-capture/7889659002/ https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/princess-latifa-dubai-jail-villa-uae-ruler-7193428/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56085369 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-princess-latifa-lawsuit-dubai-emir-interpol-head https://www.thedailybeast.com/dubai-tricked-the-fbi-into-finding-runaway-princess-latifa-report-says https://ia600105.us.archive.org/16/items/FreeLatifa/latifa_1_31375892_2084819728470139_9001930614064021504_n.jpg https://player.fm/series/series-1789846/the-plight-of-princess-latifa-427 https://web.archive.org/web/20180410073805/https://www.mid-day.com/articles/former-spy-wants-fbi-to-investigate-raid-to-snatch-dubai-princess/19302176 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/world/middleeast/human-rights-robinson-dubai-princess.html https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dubais-latifa-is-free-travel-statement-issued-through-lawyers-says-2021-06-23/

Death & Grief Talk with The Grave Woman®
Creating Space for Black Vendors in Death Care Through Personalized Memorial Keepsakes

Death & Grief Talk with The Grave Woman®

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2023 11:09


When someone passes away having personalized memorial keepsakes such as keychains, cups, t-shirts, jewelry, programs, fans, headstones, grave markers, and other items that reflect the personality, image, and encompass the essence of those that we have lost brings a level of comfort and peace that can not be explained. Having tangible things to hold, see and lean into can never replace our dearly departed loved ones but they do offer endless benefits that soothe and help us process our grief. Traditionally in the death care industry companies and corporations that manufacture, distribute, and sell memorial keepsakes as well as other items and merchandise available for purchase to consumers by funeral homes and in online storefronts are historically white owned and operated. This leads me to ponder how much more meaningful, and impactful memorials keepsakes and other merchandise could be if they were not only created with intention but also distributed through vendors who share cultural values with and understand the communities that they serve. This shift could be tremendous for not only consumers but death care professionals, funeral homes, and cemeteries alike. This could also replace the historically appropriative and sales driven tactics used to products and items that target BIPOC consumers specifically. In this episode of The Death & Grief Talk Podcast; I have the honor of speaking with Latifa Franks; a young black female death care merchandise and memorial keepsake vendor. Latifa is fonder of C. Jackson Memorial Company which is fondly after her mother. C. Jackson Memorial Company was birthed out of Latifa's desire to not only serve her community of Baltimore, Maryland but black communities worldwide with affordable, professional, high quality memorial keepsakes while honoring the legacy of her mother Cassandra Jackson who passed away when Latifa was only 10 years old. On her website, Latifa sells several keepsakes including personalized memorial apparel, jewelry, portrait LED lights, urns and much more which can be personalized to reflect the image or likeness of loved ones and pets alike. Not only is Latifa using her company to serve, but she also uses her social media platforms to educate and give behind the scenes access into her daily life as a mortuary student and crematory operator. Connect with C. Jackson Memorial Company online Website: https://www.cjmemorialcompany.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/c.jacksonmemorialcompany/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/C.Jacksonmemorialcompany/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/deathandgrieftalk/message

The STEMcast
Your One Word For the New Year

The STEMcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2023 4:37


Ready to make changes in 2023? Then, start with this solo episode where Latifa identifies how to choose a word for the year 2023 and shares ideas to help you pick the word that feels right for you! Use your Word of the Year to help guide your decisions and continue towards the best version of yourself. Here's to your BEST year yet!

The STEMcast
Lessons & Breakthroughs

The STEMcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2023 9:15


In this solo episode, Latifa looks inward and identifies the biggest lessons learned in 2022 and some breakthrough moments. She encourages listeners to take some time and space to look back and be introspective before moving forward with the rest of the year. Press play, and let's look back to leap forward!

The STEMcast
Why You Should Chase Failure

The STEMcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2022 6:12


In this solo episode of the podcast, Latifa invites listeners to reframe their mind and refocus on chasing failure instead of chasing success. She shares practical takeaways so that they can start implementing it in their lives right away.

The STEMcast
Breaking Glass Ceiling All the Way to Space

The STEMcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2022 28:10


Listen in as our host Latifa sits down with Sahda Haroon, an 18-year-old aspiring astronaut from a small town in the island nation of Sri Lanka. Her sights go far, looking to be among the first to set foot on Mars.

Halal love
#21 – Latifa, l'amour avec un grand A

Halal love

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2022 67:33


Vous êtes-vous déjà demandé : que serait ma vie sans l'Islam ? Est-ce que j'aurai été plus heureuse ? Y'a-t-il d'autres alternatives religieuses ? Ces questions, Latifa ne se les pose pas puisqu'elle est déjà passée par-là. En quête d'amour, elle a arpenté de nombreux chemin jusqu'à trouver le sien, celui qui mène au Divin. En retraçant son passé à coup de métaphores très bien pensées, elle nous donne beaucoup à méditer.» Sur ce que nous apporte l'Islam dans notre vie et le danger que l'on s'attire lorsqu'Allah n'en fait pas partie.» Sur ces nouvelles croyances très tendance qui sont aussi douces d'apparence que dangereuses en conséquence.» Sur la beauté de l'amour en Allah, le plus beau qui soit.Cet épisode évoque les doutes qu'il nous arrive de traverser. Les tempêtes qui menacent de tout faire vaciller, et la lumière qui, elle, n'avait jamais cessé de nous éclairer. Cet épisode, c'est plus qu'un échange, c'est une ode à l'amour avec un grand A. A pour Allah.Je remercie chaleureusement Latifa de s'être livrée, elle et son petit bébé qui, vous l'entendrez, avait très envie de s'exprimer. Je vous souhaite In Cha Allah, une excellente écoute ! ***********************Pour recevoir des courriers qui réchauffent votre petit cœur, abonnez-vous à ma newsletter : https://m-guisse.systeme.io/aebee274Pour me contacter : madina@halallove.fr (j'ai quitté les réseaux, mais j'aime vous lire et j'apprécie tout autant vous répondre !)**********Générique : Unknown Artist: Unknown Music Promoted By No Copyright Nasheed: https://youtu.be/TnvDIyIbIVw Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

P3 ID
Prinsessan Latifa – flykten från Dubai

P3 ID

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2022 63:04


Hon är prinsessan som tröttnade på att vara en lyxfågel i en guldbur, och som bestämde sig för att ta sig ur sin pappa, emirens, järngrepp. Det här är den osannolika berättelsen om hennes flyktförsök. I mars 2018 nås världen av ett rop på hjälp i form av ett videomeddelande på Youtube.I videon syns en 32-årig kvinna presentera sig som Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, prinsessa av Dubai. Hon är dotter till shejk Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, och säger att hon hålls inlåst mot sin vilja.Meddelandet publiceras en vecka efter att Latifa och hennes finländska vän Tiina Jauhiainen förts bort av kommandosoldater, efter en vågad flykt på land och till sjöss.Plötsligt frågar sig nyhetsredaktioner världen över: Vem är egentligen Latifa, och kan hennes berättelse verkligen stämma?Hennes pappa är emir av Dubai, och en av Förenade Arabemiratens mäktigaste män. Han är en hängiven ridsportsfantast och har goda relationer till Väst, inte minst till det brittiska hovet.Men ett år efter Latifas försvinnande skakas Dubais kungafamilj av ännu en skandal, när emirens hustru, prinsessan Haya, rymmer med deras två barn.P3 ID om prinsessan Latifa är en historia om franska ex-spioner, undervattensfarkoster, capoeira och fallskärmshoppning och mycket mer.Medverkar i avsnittet gör Tiina Jauhiainen, vän till Latifa och med under flyktförsöket, och Amal Aziz, Mellanösternkännare.Avsnittet gjordes av Studio Olga hösten 2022.Programledare: Vendela LundbergAvsnittsförfattare och reporter: Patrick StaneliusProducent: Vendela LundbergLjudmix: Fredrik NilssonLjudklippen i avsnittet är hämtade från: Sveriges Radio, BBC, Nine Network, RTE, ITV, Dubai Women Establishment, Instagram, Youtube.Boken "My story" av shejk Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum har också varit till hjälp under arbetet med det här avsnittet.

Dubious
Missing Royal Princesses: Where Are They?

Dubious

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2022 38:54


Middle Eastern princesses and the abusive fathers and husbands they try to flee from.Sheikha Latifa of Dubai was drugged and kidnapped at gunpoint at her father's orders – twice! Her sister Shamsa was also kidnapped in London 22 years ago and nobody has seen her since. The stories in this episode are insane and include Indian special ops teams, yachts, a French American spy, the FBI, helicopters, private jets and hostage videos. If you enjoy our content, please become a patron, you'll get all of our exclusive premium episodes as well as our public episodes ad-free! Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the vice president, prime minister, and minister of defense of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as the ruler of Dubai. Mohammed has about 30 children with several wives, and amazingly, some of these wives managed to run away and divorce him He kidnapped and imprisoned two of his daughters and tried to pressure and intimidate Princess Haya, one of his wives who managed to escape to London, as the sheikh wanted to marry their 12 year old daughter to MBS, the Saudi Crown Prince who is 37. Princess Haya won the custody battle and is happily divorced, but not entirely safe. Princess Latifa's second escape is almost like a James Bond movie and it involves French-American spy Herve Jaubert, capoeira instructor and best friend Tiina Jauhiainen, jet skis, a yacht, the FBI and the MARCOS - Indian special forces. Latifa planned this escape for 7 years but it unfortunately failed. 1, 2, 3 In this episode we also discuss the case of Princess Basmah Bint Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 57, a businesswoman, rights activist and member of the Saudi royal family, went missing in March 2019 along with her adult daughter Souhoud Al Sharif in Saudi Arabia. It turn out they had been thrown in prison. Quatar does the same thing: Aisha Al Qahtani escaped on a family holiday in Kuwait, where she snuck away to the airport on her own to catch a 3am flight to London. She was not able to flee directly from Doha because she was not 25 years old yet, she was just 22. Qatar remains the only GCC Gulf Cooperation Council country with male guardianship laws for female travel: single women under 25 require a male guardian's consent to travel outside the country. 4 Princess Kasia Gallanio was not as “lucky”, she was found dead in her home in Marbella, Spain, after an ugly divorce and custody battle with the uncle of the Emir of Qatar, Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al-Thani. 1. FreeLatifa. Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum - Escape from Dubai. Youtube. March 2018. ⇤2. OBC News. Princess Latifa's Bathroom Video Reveals ‘Hostage' Ordeal. Youtube. February 2021. ⇤3. Ashis Ray. French Captain to File Suit Over 2018 Capture of Dubai Princess, Case to 'Also be Against India'. The Wire. October 2021. ⇤4. Ismaeel Naar. Women's Activist Aisha al-Qahtani Recalls Escape from Qatar, Vows to Fight for Rights. Alarabiya News. May 2020. ⇤

Catching the Next Wave
S11.E3. Latifa Al-Khalifa. A Framework of Being a Learner.

Catching the Next Wave

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2022 49:32


Every opportunity is a learning opportunity, says our guest Latifa Al-Khalifa – a Social Entrepreneur, STEAM education advocate, and a founding member of Clever Play, a purpose-driven startup with a mission to inspire, educate and empower 1 million children in MENA STEAM skills by 2030. In this insightful conversation we dive into the  shape of the XXI century education (or rather learning). We discuss how it is no longer important what you know but what you do with what you know. And we talk that in order to do things you dream about you need to redefine yourself first.LINKSLatifa's start-up Clever PlayThe STEM podcast“Endurance” by  Alfred Lansing  

Sex, Drugs, and Jesus
Episode #49: Spotlight On BIPOC & QTPOC Creatives, Overcoming Religious Confusion & The Necessity Of Mental Health Care With Anna DeShawn, Creator Of The Cube App

Sex, Drugs, and Jesus

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2022 69:27


INTRODUCTION: Anna, pronouns anything respectful, is a Chicago-born social entrepreneur who builds streaming platforms which center & celebrate BIPOC & QTPOC creatives. Media has always been her passion and in 2009 she turned that passion into a reality when she founded E3 Radio, an online radio station playing Queer music & reporting on Queer news with an intersectional lens. Most recently, she founded The Qube, a curated app of music & podcasts by BIPOC & QTPOC creatives. Anna is determined to ride media into its next era by utilizing digital media streams to tell the stories and play the music that deserves to be heard.  Learn more about her work here. In no particular order I'm also a daughter, wife, sister, and friend who loves cooking and running. Favorite Quote: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” –Gandhi Did you know? Anna has been in love with Robin Roberts all her life. Interviewing her would be the ultimate experience. Media Coverage ABC 7 Pride Coveragehttps://abc7.ws/3BGSAZz  Choose Your Struggle https://open.spotify.com/episode/5VaUCZRfUCxUNzdfmAibuV?si=Wqu7M0knQmWZYyJ_Ahmleg&nd=1 191: Learn How To Do Queer Radio Right with Anna DeShawn, Founder of E3 Radiohttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/191-learn-how-to-do-queer-radio-right-anna-deshawn/id1189319336?i=1000521261587  Trindi Media Podcasthttps://podcasts.bcast.fm/e/mn4wvyq8 Park Careers Podcasthttps://anchor.fm/icparkcareerspodcast/episodes/Episode-9--Anna-DeShawn-IC07-e10l4bp/a-a5haqne   INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to): ·      Exposure To The Qube App·      Celebration Of BIPOC & QTPOC Creatives·      Why It's Good To Be Complete BEFORE You Enter A Relationship·      Why Mental Health Therapy Is SOOO Damn Good For You·      The Variety Of Mental Health Options Available To You·       A Warning Against Being Addicted To Church·      A Warning About Biblical Interpretation·      Politics & Religion = YUCK!·      Why Being Non – Straight Is Not A Damn Choice! CONNECT WITH ANNA: Website & Radio: https://www.AnnaDeShawn.comTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@annadeshawn Facebook: https://facebook.com/annadeshawnInstagram: https://instagram.com/annadeshawn  Twitter: https://twitter.com/annadeshawn  E3 Radio: https://e3radio.fmThe Qube: https://theqube.app   ANNA'S RECOMMENDATIONS: ·      EyeWear: https://thekayakollection.com·      VDOM: https://thevdom.com/the-vdom/ CONNECT WITH DE'VANNON: Website: https://www.SexDrugsAndJesus.comYouTube: https://bit.ly/3daTqCMFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SexDrugsAndJesus/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexdrugsandjesuspodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TabooTopixLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannonEmail: DeVannon@SexDrugsAndJesus.com  DE'VANNON'S RECOMMENDATIONS: ·      Pray Away Documentary (NETFLIX)o  https://www.netflix.com/title/81040370o  TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_CqGVfxEs ·      Upwork: https://www.upwork.com·      FreeUp: https://freeup.net·      Disabled American Veterans (DAV): https://www.dav.org·      American Legion: https://www.legion.org  INTERESTED IN PODCASTING OR BEING A GUEST?: ·      PodMatch is awesome! This application streamlines the process of finding guests for your show and also helps you find shows to be a guest on. The PodMatch Community is a part of this and that is where you can ask questions and get help from an entire network of people so that you save both money and time on your podcasting journey.https://podmatch.com/signup/devannon  TRANSCRIPT: [00:00:00]You're listening to the sex drugs and Jesus podcast, where we discuss whatever the fuck we want to! And yes, we can put sex and drugs and Jesus all in the same bed and still be all right at the end of the day. My name is De'Vannon and I'll be interviewing guests from every corner of this world as we dig into topics that are too risqué for the morning show, as we strive to help you understand what's really going on in your life.There is nothing off the table and we've got a lot to talk about. So let's dive right into this episode.De'Vannon: What's up. What's up. What's up everyone. I'm so happy to have you with me again. One more week. I hope everyone is fucking fantastic. Happy Cinco de Mayo. Today we have a spotlight on black indigenous people of color and queer trans people of color as well. Anna de Shawn has created the cube app, which is a safe space for creative people of color of various ideas.We dish on religion, sex [00:01:00] self-acceptance mental health and so much more. And I throw some shade at Lakewood church over in Houston, Texas, because of the way they dehumanize people behind the scenes. Take a listen to my people.Anna. Good girl, girl. How the fuck is you doing the day? That's what I need to know. Anna: I'm amazing that I'm here with you period. De'Vannon: Looking at you, trying to gain me up, see energy. Like that is the reason why sometimes contemplate letting a lesbian fuck me in the ass because y'all have got that. Yeah. The game was on point.The words on point y'all is I am a survivor. I'm like, oh, almost y'all I'm just like Emile come in there. And I'm like a good low to come in my ass. Okay. Anna: We don't get that. We don't got that. We got a lot of other things, but we got a lot of other. De'Vannon: Although they [00:02:00] have those buildings. Now you can put something like different juices or whatever in them, and then it'll squirt it into whatever hole you want.So Anna: mommy, my homemade is actually creating this really amazing strap. It's her, her business is called V Dom. Y'all should check it out. V D O M she was on television recently for a pitch competition. Like it's like mechanical, so it's not hard all the time. So you hit a button, it gets hard on the, on the whim.It's like from an app. So you don't gotta go. And like, yo it's legit stuff. It's good De'Vannon: stuff. So it's a Dick, a plastic Dick that get, that can give, go from levels of softness to hard, Anna: but the press of a button. De'Vannon: I ain't seen that before. Hmm. Next level I found real. It, it okay. Also Anna de Shawn is a bad bitch.She. It's the [00:03:00] greater of an app called the cube. She hosts the radio station and everything like that. And she considered herself to also be a social entrepreneur as an initial. We're going to be talking about what the cube is, how this benefits the LGBTQ plus community, the alphabet mafia, as I like to call us, because we will fuck a bitch up if we have to, we don't want to, but sometimes y'all just make us pull the will Smith on a bitch and just Anna: necessary.Okay. Sometimes it's necessary.De'Vannon: I don't think he should have done it, but I'm not here to judge him. I feel suck his Dick right now and buy tickets to his movie. But I, we, we, we will not be slapping everybody on Smith. Anna: I don't know what he was thinking. I think actually, I think he thought it was recorded. I think he forgot. It was like. I mean, there's so De'Vannon: many of them things, it's just like he's sitting at his [00:04:00] kitchen table.Anna: I think he forgot it was left. I think he thought they were going to be able to enter that up. De'Vannon: So we'll be talking about what the cube is. It's a new thing specific for our community and people of color and things like that to help help us with podcasts and getting our creative arts and media out there.And then we're going to talk about Anna's history. She has a lot of history with the church and church Bo shit, and there's so much bullshit and the church is unreal. And so what do you got to say about your own history? Tell us about you got the run Anna: down to the quick rundown, quick rundown south side of Chicago, born and raised.I consider myself a social entrepreneur who. Platforms digital platforms that celebrate and center black, brown and queer folks of color. I, I love my [00:05:00] people and I love the power that media has to actually create some change, some meaningful change to humanize people's stories and experiences. And I think that we have the power to shift that, you know, if we tap into it and since 2009, I've been interviewing black queer folks to raise awareness around our stories out of Chicago.And I've always been into media. Let's be clear, Robin Roberts is everything to me. Okay. I want it to grow up and be just like her on ESPN or doing some play by play announcing. But it became very clear that people don't look like me on television. They're not masculine the center. Prokes a report in the 10 o'clock news.Okay. But radio allowed for me to speak to folks without folks having to see me. And that is a very powerful thing. And I realized I really loved it. So I got into radio. Which of course leads you into podcasting. And then I just saw the same things that were happening in traditional media. What's happening in podcasts.I'm like, where are my black people at? Where am I brown people at? Where am I queer [00:06:00]folks of color at? Like, why is it that when I go to apple and Spotify and all these places, like I can't find my people and I wanted to change that. De'Vannon: Well, it is a noteworthy thing you're doing. And I can tell you have sense enough to understand that this is something that's takes time.You know, this is, this is a long-term dedicated process. Does it? Don't take, you know, a long, long time to, to see, come to fruition. Hopefully you see it in your generation, but you know, you know, these things take time. So I appreciate that. You're laying this foundation here, you know, for generations to come, you know, I can see it in a, in a hundred years, you know, you know, when you did that and gone somebody is going to have a very successful.Show you know, public broadcast and everything like that. You gonna be like, we want to thank him to Sean for the work that we did back in 2009 to make this day [00:07:00] possible for me in 3050 or whatever the Anna: case. That's unbelievable. Let me tell you. But I do say this, that I do see the radio station and what we're building with the cube as being far bigger than myself, I feel like, and I think we connect can connect on this on a spiritual level.Like we're here because we're called to do something. And when I think when you tap into your call, it is bigger than you because you're just a vessel for the work and you've been given some gifts and you, and you've been called to use them. And so I feel like I'm called to use these gifts in this way.Everything about me says I'm about systematic changes about changes that can affect masses amount of people. That's what I'm called to do. Some folks is called to be in the streets activating, you know, some folks has called to do one-on-one work and change people's lives one by one by one. And I feel like I've been called to change folks' lives through media and a massive amount of [00:08:00] ways.And so I'm excited about what the cube is going to be to the world of podcasting. I'm excited what it's going to be for discoverability. Today 43% of people listening to podcasts actually identify as people of color and there's no place that is serving those folks. And the discoverability of those folks.There's so many people like you creating amazing content, raw content, authentic content, quality content, and more people need to know, you know what I'm saying about sex drugs and Jesus. Come on. De'Vannon: Okay. We don't want to go down that rabbit hole is a tight, deep hole and trust me may have gotten stuck in it.Anna: I love you. De'Vannon: So I love you too, baby. So one of my favorite things about you. So we're going to talk about Anna for a little bit and get into her personal story, which tells us a lot about why she's doing what she's doing. And then we're going to get very granular and talk very specifically about what the cube [00:09:00] is, where you can find it.Who's who was this for a podcast. As people want to go on shows what sort of content you can find there and all of that. So when I was reading through your bio and everything like that, and researching you as I do, I found that your pronouns, you don't have like, he, she, they. You know, whatever you said, anything respectful.And I admire the open-mindedness of that and the flexibility of that, it reminds me a lot of myself because when people ask me who I am, sometimes I like to refer them to the Torah, you know, to the, to the oh, Hebrew scripture when when Moses was first called by God. And he had his slippers off on the side of the mountain and God was in the burning Bush.And Moses was like, God, who is you? Who are you? He was trying to put God in a box and figure out how shall I, what can, what can, how can I associate you with what I already know? Okay. And God told him, bitch, I am that I am. [00:10:00] And that's all there is to it. Anna: Yes. Is that a quote description? That is, I am what I am and that's really it.Right. Because the point of even. The initiatives around using someone's proper pronouns is about respect. It is about honoring someone's identity, right? And for me, depending on what space I'm in child, ain't no telling what the pronouns is going to be. If I, with my boys, it's just, it is whatever. Right.And then I'm in society and people see me a certain way. And then that's that all I'm saying is with respect to who I am. So anything respectful is what resonates most with me, De'Vannon: right? Because it's in the tone of voice in the spirit behind the words. So you can be like, what a bitch and mean it would love.And you can be like, oh, Hey girl, Amina, what all the painting is and violent as that you could contrive. And when you hate that bitch, and you're like, Hey girl, you [00:11:00] know, that was not really in the word, but isn't the heart behind it. More than anything.Anna: Absolutely cause the shade is real. You can notice the shade.Okay. De'Vannon: At all. Oops. Plaque.Anna: You don't have it, but I see it. Okay. Y'all got it. But I see it. De'Vannon: I keep one in my glove compartment, just in my car, just in case I needed somewhere. And I got several in the house. Anna: So does my wife, Lord, all the De'Vannon: things, speaking of that. Yeah. And your bio, it says you are a daughter, a wife, a sister, and a friend who loves cooking and running.What I wanted to know from you about the wife. How did it feel? I want to know how did it feel to be married? Did you have any struggles and things like that? I don't meet a whole lot of married women. I don't. So talk to me about that whole process. Anna: Yeah, we just celebrated our five-year wedding [00:12:00] anniversary.We've been together for nine years. Just like when I met her, my momma loved there. Okay. And I don't like the ideas of, or the statements around, like someone completes me. I was done and completed, but she just adds so much to my life. She's just such a sweet and kind person. And she just fit right in with my family.It was like she had always been there. Everybody embraced her and, and I love her. So she's my best friend. She is the ultimate diva. Okay. She is the most high film woman I have ever dated in my life. But she balances me out and I just love her to pieces. De'Vannon: Yeah. Opposites attract like that. I learned that when I was in my hitting the therapy class, I was training to be a licensed hypnotist, which I am, you know, there's all kinds of signs [00:13:00]behind why quiet, conservative people attract more outgoing people, you know, and vice versa.If you too much alike, you tend to repel each other, you know, to put it simply my boyfriend's the same way. He's quiet. Fucking there. Okay in there, I'm the ones linking from the poles and the chandelier's and hitting the splits. And even now with all of that, you know, showing up, you know, shutting the shit down and everything, and he couldn't even talk.He would, he's not necessarily the most comfortable talking to people in public. You know, when I walk in the bitch, I own the room. Oh, his y'all's belongs to me until I leave this bitch. Anna: Okay. And let me tell you, so I turn it on when a microphone is in front of me, but other than that, I don't have to say a word to anybody.Okay. Yes, my wife is the same way. She walked into a room, she's a stylist. She just takes up space. Okay. Take some space. You came misled. And she also sells, I wear all right. [00:14:00] So the Kia collection.com. So she sells customer. I wear. And so every time she walked into a room, somebody taken something off her face off her risk, won't something.And she is, she's the life of a party.Oh, yeah. The K a collection.com. K a K a Y a K O L L E C T I O N. So the K a collection.com. De'Vannon: Okay. So then I'm like, Hey, yo, collection.com. All right. I'll drop that shit in the show notes, but show ya. I also heard what you said about how you were complete before you met her. This is something I concur with.None of this. This person completes me. I'm lost without you. I can't. Oh that you better know who you are before you get into a relationship with somebody. And a lot of that has to do with just theory, spirituality and shit like that. I think so many relationships in between. People lose [00:15:00] sight of their own individual identity in the whole process.And if you're not in tune with who you are, you're not going to be able to truly cater to that other person. You know, you gotta be whole firstAnna: a hundred percent and let's also be clear. We all been broken, right? So I ain't coming up here. Like I walked, I woke up like this therapy saved my life. Right.Therapy saved my life. We've all had tough and challenging relationships that have taken you all types of places that you never thought you would go. Then at some point you have to like, do some self reflection. Like, is it me? Maybe it's me. And you got to own that. You have to own that. Otherwise you'll continue to date the same person over and over again in a different body with a different sign and all types of stuff.And that was my reality. I had realized that I was dating the same person over and over again. I'm like, what is wrong? And so quickly checked myself into therapy and it saved my life. And so when my wife came into my [00:16:00] life, I didn't need completing. At that point, I was very clear about who I was and who I am.And she was just like the perfect fit into, into my life. So now we have our life with our puppy and grateful. De'Vannon: So when you say you checked yourself into therapy, are you being general in that saying you started seeing a therapist, did you check into a residential. Anna: I'll say it in general. Like I went to start, I started seeing a therapist and I've seen a few over my life and actually it's just about to start seeing a new one.And I think there'll be, is one of these things where you can choose to be in it for a really long time with the same person, but sometimes you even grow out of your therapist. And so sometimes you have to shift and sometimes you don't need it anymore and sometimes you gotta restart it because life would be doing a lot of living.And we just went through what, two years of an airborne panic. And if you listen into this, that means you survived it too. And [00:17:00] so none of us are the same as we were in 2019. There's no way you're the same person. So I think that there's there's seasons. And so I'm in a season where I got a lot going on.So I'm about to go see another therapist and it's just, if you've never done it, it's just a refreshing opportunity to talk to someone who is not fully engaged in your life, but can offer an outside an outside viewpoint that is often not, it's not critical, it's not judging. Right. You find somebody that works with you that you can vibe with, and you'll find yourself lighter after leaving.They're clearer, maybe about something you're struggling with. And for me, it was, it saved my life. De'Vannon: What kind of therapist? A licensed clinical social worker, a Anna: licensed clinical social worker and a black woman. De'Vannon: I find the LCSW to be [00:18:00] more like down to earth, then send like a psychologist, cause an LCSW is not prescribing medication.So they're actually the only way they can help you is through the words and the talking and the exercises and the practices. They, they, they give you to take home. I see an LCSW. I see a licensed marriage and family therapist together with my boyfriend together for, I don't know, 2, 3, 4 years, some shit I don't keep up with the damn time.You have to ask him I'm bad with birthdays and just general time, because I, I view things more eternal. You know, I don't believe in time constraints. It always has existed and always will in a way. And so And then I see my hypnotherapists individually and I love hypnotherapy because of how focused it is and how it gets into the subconscious and how you rip out what you don't want.You speak back to your open, vulnerable mind, which you do want. And so I particularly use that to help me stay off of [00:19:00] drugs. And so all. So that is our plug for mental health, because we know that it's something that's lacking in both the color community and in the gay community. It is not a straight a strike to your pride.If you want to go talk to somebody about getting help, there's many different types of therapists. That's why I asked her that if you go to one therapist and they're a fucking piece of shit, then fuck that hell you go to somebody else. Maybe you need a different type of therapy. There's all sorts of new age, metaphysical shit out there, getting the therapy Stella constellations all kinds of mind, body, soul meditation, shit.If you don't want to do traditional therapist, you can therapy. You can do the shit off his own. Now there's all kinds of shit. So whatever it is you think mental health is if you have a bad taste in your mouth about it I asked you to revisit it and take a second look at it. Because again, I said, we all had been fucked.You know, and so you need help to get unfucked up and to get an objective perspective. So you [00:20:00] don't keep getting fucked up relationships and sabotaging yourself. So just humble yourself down and go get some help, baby. And look, no one has to know, these therapists are bound by confidentiality, so it's not like they can go put it on social media that you were in treatment, or they would get their license taken and probably go to jail.So it's a secret, nobody. Nobody nobody has to Anna: know that's right. And may is mental health awareness month. So there is so much information out here right now in promoting and making awareness, you know, mental health awareness, I think this month. So you just one Google search. De'Vannon: Just one Google search away.So a quote that you had it says is your favorite pro. You said at first they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you, then you win. And that was by Gandhi. Tell me what this quote means to you.[00:21:00]Anna: And that you can't be waiting for people to validate who you are or validate your idea or validate what you call to do. It is not about that. You know, people gonna go along for the ride, you have to be clear about what you want to do. And I think that along the way, you're going to encounter different people.You know, I'm building a business. I don't come from a whole lot. I come from a whole lot of love. And so, but we got a lot of things and a lot of people, I talked to a lot of asks and the requests, I take a lot of leaps of faith. I have to keep practicing my faith muscle and building up my face muscle and what it means to take risks.And along the way, I'm going to run into people that don't agree with me, who don't believe what I'm in, what I'm doing, who don't see a market for it, who don't see a need for it. And honestly, like when we make it, that's when everybody want to be down. So for me, that quote by Gandhi just resonates a lot with what it means to be on the journey.And not, and for me, it's [00:22:00] not caring so much about the destination because to your point, like, I feel like things just will continue to be, but it's about enjoying the journey. And that quote reminds me that it's a journey that is not just going to be one thing or another thing. It's all of things, De'Vannon: all of them each and every last one of them.I love the friction that comes along. When w when people would try to repel us, though, I believe it helps to meet tourists. And it helps to refine us like when a moth or a butterfly. It's trying to crawl a lot of that Chrysalis after they'd been a caterpillar, you know, that struggle helps to release the, you know, the blood flow in whatever juices are in their little furry bodies to expand their wings.You know, that that struggle is needed. They can not become what they are to be without the problems. And, you know, and so I'm thankful for all the Karens for all the church, people who told us we had to get out, you know, and, and everything like that. For [00:23:00] the people who told us since we were black, we can't, we can't stay there.And stuff like that. When I read that, I thought about how I got kicked out of Lakewood church in Houston, Texas for not being straight, you know, but eventually I'm going to get the victory over them. Cause you know, I've been there when they kicked me out. This was like 2008, 2009. And I just finished my book and I went into great detail about how I felt about all of that.It took me over 10 years, but I finally clapped. I finally clapped the back. And so I will win. Yes, Anna: you are winning. You are winning. You've already won. The victory is yours. You're already, De'Vannon: they may in an amen. Okay. So then I'm just curious about, what do you think some of the top issues are facing just the lesbian community today?Hmm. [00:24:00] And why are you thinking about that? I noticed some of your top lives being moments when I was researching you. I would agree with queen Latifa from set it off. Anna: Yes, honey. That is number one of all time. You know what? I would argue anybody down and say that ain't the number one black lesbian moment in film, because.She was studied out in and go, okay, let dances. It was everything. Okay. It's a freaking classic acquaint. Lindsey foot is number one and she ain't even have to be out she out now, but she ain't going to have to be out. She is out to us anyway. So that was actually a really fun video to do. And I'll probably do another one because so many people rode in some of their favorite black lesbian moments that I had not even thought about again, or that people didn't tell me about because I asked my friends.So for example Lena commented, Lena [00:25:00] wave comments. And then she was like, what about when Tasha was on, came out on the L word? And I was like, dang, that was a pivotal moment because L where had been so white up until that point and it Tasha show up and just wreck the crew. And I was just like, Hey you.Right. So I'll probably do another video. But I think, I think for lesbians, some of the major challenges is still representation. And I think there is a lot of invisibility happening with lesbians. So there's a, there's a podcast called cruising, which on this podcast and but there's a podcast called cruising and they have like three lesbians going across the country and they are going to all of the last lesbian bars.And so there's 60,000 bars across the country and there's only 25 lesbian bars, 25 lesbian owned bars across the whole country. And so they did a whole podcast traveling around the country and visiting these bars. [00:26:00] So I think that there is a great need for visibility of lesbians. Not only in media, but just in life in general, you know?And I think lesbians often can kind of get lost in the south. So similar to how people feel like there's some invincibility with, by bisexuals in the community right now, I think, you know, a lot of trans folks get a lot of press because there is a political onslaught happening from right wing conservatives politically.And it doesn't mention, you know, gay folks or lesbian folks or bisexual folks it's specifically mentioned trans folks, you know, and I think that there's some, there's a definitely a sector of lesbians who feel like they have been left behind often also because we use the word queer these days and no one really uses the word lesbian.So I know that there's some lesbians out there that just feel like they've been left [00:27:00]somewhere in the eighties and. I think it's a, I think it's a challenge for them in that respect with all that being said, if one of our alphabet mafia is as you put it, okay, it's being attacked. Then we all being attacked.If we all don't have freedom, then none of us have freedom. So I think that some of what I hear as lesbian concerns, you know, aren't really concerns at all. I think it is fear. And I think that when our trans fam is experiencing right now, what they are experiencing right now affects every single last one of us.De'Vannon: So when you say someone says there's a lesbian concern and it's not really a concern, it sounds like you're speaking about hate and ignorance. Anna: Well, it might be a problem for them. It's not a problem for me. I think [00:28:00] that. I think it's just people being who they are.And I think that there, I think that people evolve and I think that terms evolve. And so I think there are people who are lesbians, who identify with a very strict definition of what it means to be a lesbian. I think there's people who identify with the very strict definition of what it means to be, get men who love men and women who love women.Like these are various particular definitions like that is it. And that is all right. That we're coming upon a time. I felt like we were living in a time where there is sexual fluidity and so forth, and I can speak for myself and I statements are so helpful in these moments. It's like I came out as a lesbian, but at the end of the day today, I identify as queer because child, I love a lot of things.Okay. And it's not just, it's not just women or assists women. Okay. It's just not. And so I needed an expansive word. I needed an expansive definition outside of [00:29:00] lesbian to identify with. So I think that I think oftentimes people get. And what they always known or anything like or stuff like that.But at the end of the day, things evolve, people evolve terms, evolve, communities evolve. And I also think that if there is one major issue affecting lesbians today, it is just continues to be a lack of representation and visibility, especially for masculine scent and lesbians. I mean, fam lesbians, they, their level of Ms.Visibility is a whole nother story, right? I've I've had films. Tell me, like, I intentionally date, you know, masculine of center women. So people know that I am a lesbian. I don't want you to think I'm straight, you know? And for masculine of center women, there is a, there is an appearance that out you, when you walk out the house.So you know, [00:30:00] visibility on a grander scale is still not there, even though there's a different level of acceptance. I believe four lesbians than there are even for gay men. I think gay men have a whole other struggle that around masculinity, especially in this country, that it's just really different than the lesbian experience.I've talked about. A friend I grew up with a gay guy who was very flamboyant, right? We was cool. He had to come to school with a knife right in his shoe. He never left home without a knife. And underneath the sole of his shoe, that was not my story. I never felt unsafe. He always felt unsafe. And I think at the core of it, I mean, there's so much to be said around the differences between a male identified experience and a woman identified experience within the LGBTQ community.De'Vannon: Let's talk about these experiences in the church. So in researching you, there is some Lutheran Baptist. History [00:31:00] here. Talk to us about how you grew up in cherish. Anna: Ah, man, my mama and my daddy met at church. So my dad has been a teacher for 40 years and he was teaching at teaching at a private Lutheran school where my mom had enrolled my sister.So my sister is 17 years older than me. And so my mom rolled my sister there and then they started a love affair in which they had to keep on, on the low, because the teachers weren't supposed to be thanking the parents, the parents were supposed to be dating the teacher's child, but in a way,and let me tell you, 40 years later, they still at the same church. Okay. So. They landed at a black Lutheran church on the south side of Chicago. And so that's where I grew up, but my dad's side of the family started a missionary Baptist church also on the south side of Chicago. So I would often have two Easter speeches.Okay. I, we would often end up going to two different churches on Sundays. Cause my family was at that church, [00:32:00] my uncles, my aunts, my grandma. I mean, everybody was that Christian Love missionary Baptist church. Right. And so we would, you know, time's always different to, with black church. So Lutherans start at a bright and early 10:00 AM.Okay. And we was done in 60 minutes, strong, maybe 75 on communion. Sunday Baptist church was just getting started about 11 and praise and worship. 30 minutes. And so by the time we get that, we still at the beginning of the service, so it would a lot more shouting to go. So it was definitely two very different religious experiences growing up too, which I think just kinda tells a lot about my life in general.The dichotomies. I'll be one place at one moment and be in total different place in the moment. Another moment, you know, I could be at some highfalutin place one moment, and then I could be in the projects the next moment. All of it [00:33:00] made sense to me for where I was in my life. But church church was a good time.De'Vannon: So you're a preacher's kid. You, you, you say that would explain why you are freaking, you call yourself queer into all things. You have them PKS. I'm pretty freaky deaky. Anna: We get into some things, we get into some things and they'll see it. My dad. So he's a deacon, but at the end of the day, he could preach anywhere and he does preach all the time.And. He just for Lutherans, you got a lot of rules, regulations. And so he never went back to get that final piece, but he has his master's in divinity and all this stuff. So, yeah. Child, Sundays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and church. De'Vannon: Yeah, that's awesome. That's how I was growing up. Pentecostal Wednesday, you know, Bible ban this night, delivering service this night and the other service [00:34:00] that night when I was at Lakewood, I was there four nights a week, choir practice, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, kids worship leading and teaching Saturday night kids, life choir, Sunday choir.I think, I think we get like addicted to church before we realized we are Anna: Church is a big part, right? If you grew up in the church, it's a big part of your identity. It's your community, it's your family and my home church where my parents still go is home. They have always loved me, always embracing me.I've never been anything that I'm not there, but I have my own thoughts around religion and religious organization. So joining the Missouri Senate is not an option for me because they don't see me as a whole person. So for me, it goes beyond the church. It's about the religious organization, right. [00:35:00] But it defined so much.And that's why when queer folks get rejected from church, It is incredibly impactful and can really damage and cause harm because the first couple of places you learn how to love is at home and at church. And that's often times the two places you spend the most time. And so when one, or both turn their back on you as a human being, you are not the same person you were before.It can, it, it leads you down a path that it, it destroys you period. Point blank. It destroys you, you know, and a lot of my work over the years has been around dismantling that and telling the truth about it. That Jesus never said one thing about gay people, not one, Jesus never said it. Now. I just, these clapper scriptures and everything else, I mean, The Bible is meant to be interpreted.It's meant to be [00:36:00] understood. It's meant to be put into context and the way folks have picked and chosen what they want to and who they want to damn to Hale is, is the most unlocked ungodlike thing they can absolutely ever do. And back in the day, I did this project with this organization called church, was in a church where we did a video 30 day release them to do video every 30 days called my God is not a bully to just emphasize that point that God is not bullying anybody.It's the people in the pulpit that are, and their lack of interpretation of scripture and in context of strip scripture. So The church means a lot to me actually is part of the Q we are releasing our own content as part of the queue and to, and one of our podcasts first podcast is called second Sunday.And I cannot wait for y'all to hear this podcast [00:37:00] because it's talking about the intersections of being black queer and in the church. And we had the opportunity to interview a lot of black queer theologians, lay people musicians for this podcast and the things that they share a child, it's just, it humanizes an experience that gets polarized a lot.And I hope I hope folks can get seen through this work. De'Vannon: Yeah. I was at a graduate at the Houston graduate school of theology and he of course, Euston, Texas, but I was going to get a master's of divinity as well. When you said that it, it popped out my ears, but I, I left that bitch. I broke up, I broke up and that bitch, when the, when the law professor said that, that they like to control people in church.And so that was like, well, I didn't come here to dominate motherfuckers, so I'll be going now. And so let me get more, I want to get more granular [00:38:00] with your per perspective. Cause I watched that video. One of the, one of the God is not a bully and I agree with what you're saying and it's at the epicenter of my message to people.I preach spiritual independence and people getting close to God on their own without a church or with one. But if you're going to have a church, remember that it's second to God. And so You bring up. Okay. So you're talking about like how the people are using the scripture to throw shade at people who are unlike them.It, how. Scriptural interpretation is very subjective and it is, everybody can read the Bible and come out of it with what they want. It's clearly not an easy to understand book because if it was simple to interpret, then you wouldn't need a thousand different translations of it. And so, I mean, And so since people are indoctrinated in such a young age, you know, at churches, you, you understand you go there to learn, but critical thinking about what the preacher is saying is not what's taught to you.And [00:39:00] so you're accepting whatever is being said. And by the time you're old enough to know any difference, you've got all of these issues to sort out, and then you feel conflicted about it because you've been told never to disagree with a preacher or a church, but now you like the shit don't make sense though.And so, so we add an out here to tell you that you will not burn up and go to hell for not being straight and to all the straight people. And I mean that loosely, because you never know what the hell people not doing behind closed doors. I didn't fuck so many straight married men and my day is unreal.And so you know, just, just know that while they're trying to use these scriptures over here to condemn you to hell since they want to be so strict about that. The, the Bible and everything. You know, the Bible speaks against getting divorced for any reason, other than infidelity. It speaks against interracial couples and stuff like that, stuff that we're all totally cool with.Now, them people in church got 50,000 divorces. [00:40:00] It all kinds of reasons and all kinds of mixed, mixed racial shit's going on. And I'm cool with all of it. But my whole point is this. If you're going to be such a hard ass about one part, you need to be a hard ass about the whole fucking thing. I don't want to see you eating nothing that divided the hoof.I don't want you getting down with the pig or nothing like that. If you going to be that much of a, of a bitch about it, then follow the whole fucking thing from end to end and not just a P a few slices of. Anna: And that's what they do, right? Those Christians like them, so-called Christians cause they not Christian some so called Christians.You know, they use, they use it for whatever they feel like they want to use it for. And they cause a lot of freaking harm and they're causing harm right now. And now it's entered the political round, you know? And we need more folks like you, we need more projects. I tell queer folks and LGBTQ young people that you'll still love that God still loves you.That your relationship with God is far more important [00:41:00] than whatever this preacher is saying from a pulpit. I also think critical thought is so incredibly important when you understand that there are books missing from the Bible, right? When you understand that, that what you're reading is not the entire Canon, like what are we doing here?People, what are we doing here? And also think it's easy to make God this very angry damning person and being. That was not what God taught at all. That's not what God taught at all. De'Vannon: He's not, he's a God of mercy and grace forgiveness, long suffering, slow to anger, quick, the mercy, quick, the compassion.That's what the scripture say. He's not like man, you know, quick to judge and clobber you and what you speak of about getting kicked out from churches and how it changes you. It's it's, it's what I call being dehumanized. It makes you feel like you're less than a person. And when a church tells you, you have to go.Not because of [00:42:00] something you've done with church has never supposed to tell anyone to go, no matter what, you know, Jesus accepted murderers and everybody. So for a terrace would be like, you can't go because of who you love, which is what Lakewood church did to me. You know, you can't. There, you know, you, that, that, that, that sent me on a downward spiral that ultimately led me into drugs and to drug dealing and to getting hepatitis B and HIV, my choice to do what I do, do what I did, but they certainly would've sparked the set that shit in motion and fuck them.Fuck you wake with church in on repeat, if we can dub stuff, that shit, then the video you also said. You, you made a comparison about how, okay. Say like procreation, one of the arguments people use against the non straight community is that God hates what you're doing because when you have sex, you can't, and there's no kid that's gonna come of it.[00:43:00]And then you were like, okay, well they're straight couples that God has prevented them from having children's. It was that because he hates them too. You know, it's not a, you can't apply that sort of a rubric evenly. You can't do it. And then you were also saying, you said something very interesting to me.You said that you wouldn't choose another burden and you were like, I'm already blessed. That's hard enough as it is. Do I really want. Add queer to it and all the problems that come along in this life, in that statement, you're rebutting the stupid shit. Like I heard Joyce Meyer and whoever the fuck else say that, where they think it's a choice, you know, like, like we just, oh, well we'll think we'll be gay today, you know, or some or some stupid shit like that as that is the most overly simplistic, dumb ass shit.These supposedly educated people Anna: say 100%. And I think that that's at the core of it. And I was talking to somebody recently whose child just came out to [00:44:00] them a year or so ago. And I was just like, you know, We have to start the conversation at choice with choice, because if you believe what I'm doing is a choice, then we're not going to get very far because at the heart of homophobia, is this idea that you can change.Hence why conversion therapy, right. Has been such a popular way for Christians to change people because you don't think it's a choice because you think it's a choice. But in fact, it's not. In fact, I grew up when my mama put me in bowls and matching ruffle socks. Okay. And doing everything in her power to make, to, to raise a feminine girl.And in fact, I was who I was from the moment I had any say over it. It's just not who I was. And I was very clear about that from a very young age. I was very clear that I was [00:45:00] athletic. Does that make me gay? No, but I was also very clear. I liked wearing my dad's shirts and my dad and I had the same initials and he gets his shirts embroidered with his initials on them.And I wanted to wear his shirts. I was not going to wear my mother's dresses. I didn't want nothing to do with heels. I didn't want to do a pantyhose. It's just, it just wasn't who I was and it's not who I am. And so I think all of these conversations around homophobia and transphobia and hate come around, the idea that who we are is a choice and who we are is not a choice in the same ways who they are, you know innately is not a choice.De'Vannon: That do be facts though, because if there was, they're going to apply that logic, the us, and it has to go in reverse. And I like you when I was two, three years old, I was already playing with Kendall. I was trying to see what was up under his shorts and shit like that. So, but if, but if there's a choice, then when did they kick to be straight?And [00:46:00] then if that's the case, are they confessing that they had homosexual desire at some point, you know, the way they tell it, they'd been straight from the beginning. So if that's the case, you know, it's uneven, but it's like anything else from your favorite food to your favorite color? Life is a thing of discovery.We do not get to put ourselves together like a doll or a made out of Play-Doh. You don't get to go. My favorite color is going to be green. My favorite dish is going to be lobster. My favorite state, I think I'll go with Kentucky. My favorite shoes, I think van sounds nice. You know, you, you get exposed to shit and then you pay attention to what keeps standing out to you.And what keeps drawing you in and then you go, oh, it seems like I'm into the color green or, oh, I think I really, really liked these fucking vans. They represent me. Well, you discover who you are, the beginnings of who you are, is shaped. And when you're in your mother's womb everywhere, she goes, the things she says, the people she talks to, the thing she thinks read, exposes [00:47:00] that child to everything, you cannot separate the two.So you're predisposed to so much before you're even born. So for them fuckers to be like, well, you chose to be gay. I goes again, signs and all logic. And they're just stupid as hell. Anna: Pretty much, pretty much. And what's really unfortunate is, is that I, I see that there can be a differentiation. So let me give you an example.Like you can believe that being queer is wrong, right? You can believe. But that should not equate to me not having the rights as a citizen, within a country that I pay taxes in, if that makes sense. So for me, politics shapes society. So you can think being gay is wrong, but that doesn't mean you have the right to limit my rights, [00:48:00] to control who I love control.If I can get married control, if I can get medical care control with books, I read you not have that type of control in my life. Just because you don't agree with who I am. I don't agree with you being a white, racist, homophobic transphobic person. Right. Right. But I ain't trying to write legislation to kill off your human existence.Right. Because that is exactly the fact of the matter is that what's happening across the country right now is killing. Trans youth, the numbers the suicide hotlines, like the Trevor project, they are outrageous right now, right? People are trying to leave states where they have had homes and families and a legacy because their children can't get the medical care they need.Because now politicians are saying that parents don't know what's best for their own children. How dare you? Just because you don't believe in who I am. [00:49:00] And I think it's just so incredibly contradictory because they don't want anyone telling them who they are or what they should be doing. You know,De'Vannon: if it's any consolation, these people are the hypocrites of our day. You had them in Jesus's time. I agree with what you said earlier, how the Bible is not complete. Some people will say everything you need to know about life it's in the Bible. That's bullshit. It's a general. It's a general guide to help get you close enough to God.So you can talk to him for yourself and then he can fix you and instruct you the rest of the way. But everything is not in there, but these, these Republicans and evangelicals and everything, these are today's hypocrites. Every generation has to have them. There's not going to come a time in this earth until probably the millennial kingdom when Jesus Christ reigns here again, but even, well, I'm not going to say that because even then there's going to be people who don't believe in him in the earth.And so there's always going to be those people who are contradictory, these people [00:50:00] are like how solid the apostle is before you became Paul. The thing is if God doesn't open somebody's eyes to their hypocrisy, then they won't see if you don't up in their ears to hear truth. They won't hear, they won't believe and be converted.Every generation has to have the people who are going to be citizens of hell bound to go to hell. Because if they have humility and love in their heart, they would go to heaven and they would be rugged. You people not going to accidentally end up in hell, you have to be like Pharaoh or somebody and just hardheaded ignoring the signs, not hearing what the people under you are trying to say, not hearing the voice of the people.That's how far was he just would not hear logic and reason because he was so set in his ways and what he wanted to want other people to do. Now, Paul Saul took his ass to the Sanhedrin saying Hedron was a religious council of the day. I think it's like 70 something. My fathers who control shit. It's no [00:51:00] different than legislation.The day, a whole group of motherfuckers who control. You say, I look this Jesus person and come here with his bullshit and these people trying to act like him and we can't be having none of this. So give me some power, some letters and shit. So then go arrest. They asses and beat them and fuck with them and shit beat this Jesus out of the acids.Cause this ain't right. It's on rip up our moral fabric. And this is going to tear our society down because of how they believe. And the Sanhedrin was like, go on, play a gong. Now his way to Damascus Jesus intercepted his bitch ass. And it was like, ah, ah, ah, ah, what you doing? You need to stop this shit because I did not send you scripturally speaking.He said, Saul saw, why, why are you persecuting me? It's hard for you to kick against the pricks. And so what do we have here? Somebody who said those people over there, I don't like what they doing. So let me in and enact laws to change them. And the Lord said, I don't want [00:52:00] you to do that. That, that is the what the whole beginning of that, that part of the book of acts is about Jesus Christ.Being against using the law to co Eris people to behave differently. It was right there yet. When those people, the people of our day, the hypocrites, the Republicans, evangelicals, if they even read they dusty ass Bibles, I don't see how they can. And when they read the Bible, they, they read it to find not what's wrong with other people.They are right there. But when they killed Steve and I'm going to say this and shut the hell up, but this is a hot button for both of us when they killed even the one who said to me, the first martyr, he read the religious people for Phil, and he told them, you motherfuckers are the same people who kill the prophets and everything like that.While you sitting up here trying to judge me that he, it was a whole long chapter in acts. And then they stoned him to death and everything like that. So these things must be so, Anna: and I think so, [00:53:00] Chad, you just said so much, there's so much to say. I think, I think at the heart of it also is that the theology, like your own spiritual connection to God is, can be so expansive.So the, to your point, right, the Bible is one thing. But then, right. Christians will tell you that all these, you shouldn't even explore these other religions. They can't give you nothing. Like, no, you can't get nothing out of nothing out of these, none of these other spaces. And I think to myself, like I thought God created everything.I thought God created everything. And if God created everything and God is in everything. And and I find myself having a very expansive worldview about God and my beliefs, like, so. Growing up. You're taught that if someone commits suicide, they go into hell. [00:54:00] And then now I was thinking, and then as I grew up, I was like, why would God send anybody to hell for committing suicide?And where does it say that in the Bible? And it doesn't right. We're just fed these. We fed these things out of fear to control you to not commit suicide, but who in the world told you that? When I think about the, the, the, the preachers and spiritual teachings that like folks around the world, anyone who doesn't call Jesus by name as their Lord and savior is going to go to hell, how is that possible?When there's people in the other countries, in the world who don't even know who Jesus is. So you're telling me that this God of love is going to send somebody who had an opportunity to get to know who, who Jesus was. That doesn't make any sense to me. And I think that. When for me, because of my sexual identity, it caused me to have to question a whole hell of a lot of stuff.Definitions of [00:55:00] what heaven heaven is, definitions of what hail is, definitions of who's going, and who's not, you begin to question all of it. And for me, when it boils down, I love it. When my mom says this to people about me. When she would tell me this all the time, she'd be like, have you read your 10 commandments recently?I don't see nothing in there about God, about gay people, you know? But I see a whole lot of other stuff that applies to you. Hello. So my mom, you know, she got to the point where she was empowered enough to, you know, stand up and say something and speak out about that. And I think that we need more people to do just that.Cause they ain't gonna say it to me. They gonna say it to their friend who they think agreed with them, you know? So. I just think we have a long way to go to the, understand what it means to, to embody and to embody a godlike existence, because it has so much [00:56:00] more to do with love and choice than anything else.De'Vannon: I was like you a very well said girl. I was like you very confused and conflicted about myself because of what the church said. They only gave me peace with learning, how to read the scripture for myself. I went back to the original Greek Hebrew and Aramaic the original, the Bible and discovered it for myself, what I want people to do, because any translation you read king James, a message or whatever, the living Bible, those are all other people's translations.That's not the actual original language. Instead, if you want the true truth, then you got to go back to the source. You got to go back to the original languages of the net and you get. Somebody else's version Anna: that end. You have to I think you gotta find your own practice. So you have to find what that practice looks like for you.Especially when you feel disconnected from church, because church was a practice Sunday, Saturday, Wednesday, however many times a [00:57:00] week, that was a practice. So as if you feel yourself pulling away from that, that you have to figure out what your practice look like. And so today, like my practice looks like me being in my prayer corner in the mornings, but my affirmation books with my journals, with my candle, with my music, with pictures of my family, like for me growing up, like it is being grounded in quiet and close to God in those moments.And that's my, that's my practice today. And I feel closer to God than I ever have. I see signs all the time. I think numerology is real. Like if something profound happens, I'm like, what time is it? I think, I think there's so many ways to connect with God. And when you choose to close yourself off to all the possibilities and all the possibilities of who God is, you will miss her.You going to miss, you're going to miss her. You gonna miss her. That's it.[00:58:00]De'Vannon: Let me see here. So we wanted to talk about the cube. As we begin to wrap it up, I'm going to read your favorite quote by Shirley Chisholm believes you better than she was the first black woman to put in a bid to be a presidential nominated back in the seventies and her eyeglass, a tiny her frame game was on point yes and date match for the gods date.And she said, if they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair. You go on to say in your it says in your, in your, in your website, you know, we bought our folding chairs and there hasn't been any equity to be found at those tables. It's time for us to build our own tables and our own chairs to this space and model the change we want to see in the world of podcasting.Anna: Yes. All of that. So I love Shirley chill. I love [00:59:00] everything. She's still fought. She she's made a lot of things possible and she had to bring her folding chair. Okay. She had to, they weren't inviting her to no tables. She had to bring a folding chair, but because of the work that she did and in fact that we can stand on the shoulders of so many other incredible, incredible people of history from Ella baker to Angela Davis, to Coretta Scott King, Utah, I mean, Elaine brown, I can go on and on.We can build our own tables. We don't have to wait on anyone to do anything for us. Should apple be more inclusive? Yes. Should Spotify be more inclusive? Yes, they should. But it is not about what they should do because capitalism rules this country. So if it's not, if it doesn't make money, it doesn't make sense in so many ways in that world, but we have an opportunity to do something different.[01:00:00]And I think we have an opportunity to shape, especially the podcasting space, because I feel like it's still very much so a new medium, I believe it's coming into its own after 20 years. And that's why I like new it's like, so it's such a funny thing to say because it's been 20 years, but for so many people, they are just really getting into what it could mean to listen to a podcast.And we can shape what we want this world to see. And I wanted to see more diverse. I want to see more people like me and I wasn't finding them. And so the cube will be that there'll be the one and only curated destination of music and podcasts by BiPAP and QT POC folks. And the music is powered by our radio station.Ethan. Which plays queer music and reports on queer news and high rotation specifically at the intersections of race and sexuality. So there's so many queer artists out here doing their thing, and you don't hear about them. [01:01:00] There's so many of them making good music. I got one of my favorite inspirational artists is a black queer woman who was on Sunday.Best Maya be you know, her, you know, like they deserve a space to be. And then there's like, dope podcasts is like, you whole deserve to be seen who to serve more visibility, more amplification of your work. And I think we can do it. And matter of fact, I know we can do it. We are doing it. And I think we can do it really, really well.So it's going to be an app or in development. My goal. My hope is that we are dropping beta in July and totally out to the public. By September of this year, we've accepted 94 podcasts into the app. We've got a team of folks listening to every single piece of podcast content, because we want the best pod-casters inside of our app.I want the best because there's a lot of poor Lee produced podcasts in the market. People who [01:02:00] sound like they got the iPhone on top of the roof on a fourth bottle of wine. Okay. And you know, that's okay. That's okay. You can do that. You got something to say and you better go say it. Okay. But they don't have to be what's in my ears.It doesn't have to be what's inside this app. I want it to have to be where the best reside and that's what resonates with me. And that's what we're building. De'Vannon: Yeah. I was listening to somebody, his podcasts earlier, who's trying to come on my show and be a guest. And I was like, God, I can't hear what you're saying.You sound muffled. Yes. Out there. So I thank you for your compliments. Just all the sex, drugs and jingles podcast has been accepted into the cube. So our clients, our quality is on point enough for these standards. And so. I'm going to read it a little bit further. So it says the cube is majority owned by a black queer woman and co-founded by three black LGBTQ persons.The cube will be a centralized [01:03:00] destination for discovery of BiPAP and QT pop music and podcasts. Tell us what the BiPAP and QT pox Anna: fans. Absolutely BiPAP is black indigenous people of color. And I choose to say BiPAP because I leave with my blackness. And so I choose to say black indigenous people of color.And then I choose to identify queer trans people of color specifically, even though we inside the BiPAP, we in there. But I think it's important for queer folks to know that I'm talking about that, that this platform is also for them, that I want to be able to center and amplify their work as well. And so that's why I, I include QT POC into the narrative now is my marketing team happy about that?No. Okay. It's a lot of words. It's a lot of acronyms people don't know what the heck I'm talking about, but the people, the people who know know. Right. And so, you know, at the end of the day I'm in this accelerator right now with Google, which is [01:04:00] really dope. It's the Google for startups like founders academy.And one of the mentors was like, I need five words, five words to describe your business. You should be able to describe your business in five words. And I was like, God, dang it. And so I came up with discover, discover the best bi-pod podcast. Right. If I had to describe it in five words, discover the best BiPAP podcast is what I came up with.And so that's what it all means. At the end of the day. It's about discovery. You will, will be able to listen to these podcasts inside of the app. And I hope people would choose to do that as well. There's an opportunity for Uproxx to tip their creators from within the app and that money would go straight to those creators.And I'm excited about that. The moment we get enough users, we'll be able to roll out an ad revenue sharing program, right? So we could put more money into creatives pockets who do want to make money from advertising. And, you know, I think we just continue to build this platform in this [01:05:00] space for folks to discover some of the amazing ways that black, brown, and queer folks of color show up in the world.And I think podcasting is a space that people are choosing to share their experiences with the world the same way you share yours. You know? I think there's a, there's a, I know there's a lot of people doing that and you just can't find them. De'Vannon: Up until now, because now Anna: you got the keyDe'Vannon: cue, baby. Yeah.All right. So just any last words you have for the world, any community, whatever you want to say, you can say, what the fuck you feel? Anna: I love it. I love, I can say whatever the fuck I feel.I feel like we're in. I feel like we're in a moment right now. So I, I feel like we've survived a pandemic and it feels like the world is restarting in some ways. [01:06:00] And I feel like we've got an opportunity here to change the way. We do media and podcasting has a way, has an opportunity to show folks how to do media collaboration.Right? I think we can show what it means to be a community inside of a media industry. I think podcasting has an opportunity to do it differently than what and how things have been done in the past. And so I hope that I, I hope that I can be part of that change. There are so many amazing people in this space doing amazing work, our partners.And my hope is that I can amplify them as well. So when we talk about the black podcast association, when I think about the women of color association, when I think about the

Sex, Drugs, and Jesus
Episode #47: Surviving Rape, Witchcraft, Incarceration, Drug Abuse & The Pain Of Giving Children Up For Adoption, With Amanda Acker, Host Of The Let Good Things In Show

Sex, Drugs, and Jesus

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2022 77:51


INTRODUCTION: Coming from a past of drug abuse, homelessness, and being a formerly incarcerated person, Amanda has broken through and was able to let the good things into her life. Amanda is now on a mission to inspire and motivate people just like you. People who have had a difficult past and haven't yet realized that they are stronger than they think and can have the life they want and deserve. Amanda wants to help you rise above the labels of society and burst through the ceilings that you have put on top of yourself. Amanda's core message is that we are stronger than we think and can have the life we imagine regardless of our past. She is now the host of The Let Good Things In Show, an international speaker, and author. Inspiring lives across the globe, by openly sharing her story and the lessons she learned along the way.  INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to): ·      Candid Stories of Drug Use·      Teen Pregnancy/Adoption ·      Abusive Relationships/Rape·      A Botched Robbery·      Life After Being Incarcerated ·      Suicide·      Divorce·      Prostitution/Promiscuity ·      Spiritual Smelling·      Witchcraft CONNECT WITH AMANDA: Website: https://amandaacker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.acker2017LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandaackerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theletgoodthingsinshow  CONNECT WITH DE'VANNON: Website: https://www.SexDrugsAndJesus.comYouTube: https://bit.ly/3daTqCMFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SexDrugsAndJesus/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexdrugsandjesuspodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TabooTopixLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannonEmail: DeVannon@SexDrugsAndJesus.com DE'VANNON'S RECOMMENDATIONS: ·      Pray Away Documentary (NETFLIX)o  https://www.netflix.com/title/81040370o  TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_CqGVfxEs ·      Upwork: https://www.upwork.com ·      FreeUp: https://freeup.net ·      Disabled American Veterans (DAV): https://www.dav.org ·      American Legion: https://www.legion.org INTERESTED IN PODCASTING OR BEING A GUEST?: ·      PodMatch is awesome! This application streamlines the process of finding guests for your show and also helps you find shows to be a guest on. The PodMatch Community is a part of this and that is where you can ask questions and get help from an entire network of people so that you save both money and time on your podcasting journey.https://podmatch.com/signup/devannon TRANSCRIPT: [00:00:00]You're listening to the sex drugs and Jesus podcast, where we discuss whatever the fuck we want to! And yes, we can put sex and drugs and Jesus all in the same bed and still be all right at the end of the day. My name is De'Vannon and I'll be interviewing guests from every corner of this world as we dig into topics that are too risqué for the morning show, as we strive to help you understand what's really going on in your life.There is nothing off the table and we've got a lot to talk about. So let's dive right into this episode.De'Vannon: Hello. Hello. All my beautiful souls and spirits out there. I'm so thankful to have you with me again, another week. Welcome to the sex drugs and Jesus podcast, baby. Now, today, I'm talking with a woman by the name of Amanda Aker.She's the formerly incarcerated person turned hope dealer. She's also the host of a podcast called the let good things in show and an international speaker as well. Now in this show, we're going to get deep into Amanda's [00:01:00] story of her teen pregnancy and the emotion she had to go through giving up her kids for adoption.We were talking about rape, abusive relationships, the struggles of life after you've been incarcerated. And let me tell you as a total bitch, and we get spiritual, we talk about witchcraft and our spiritual gifts and dreams and things like that. I want you to take a close, listen to this episode, and I want you to take something from it that you can use today. Amanda. Oh my gosh. I've been waiting for this interview. I feel like for so fucking long, because you are the first person who has such such a history. that's so closely mirrors my own, you know, in terms of being homeless and being incarcerated and things like that. And you, you coin yourself as a formerly incarcerated person turned the hope dealer.[00:02:00]Amanda: Yes,De'Vannon: Tell us, tell us about yourself. Amanda: Yeah. So first I just want to thank you so much for having me on the show and you know, my story is. Like where do I even begin? You know I grew up in a normal middle class, suburban life. I was very close with my mom. But at age 15, my parents divorced and my whole world turned upside down. You know, my mom left and craziness and sued, but you know, my life after that was me chasing love and acceptance from someone on the outside, you know, somebody who could make me feel accepted to the point where I was able to have friends and have a social life and do all the things that my shy self prior to that would never have even imagined doing. So it led me to try to find the cool kids so to speak and, you know, I wanted, and it's weird because at my young age and knowing that smoking [00:03:00] weed, smoking cigarettes, drinking, like all of that, probably wasn't a great choice. I was always. I wanted to know, like, what does that feel like? Like, why are people doing it?You know, the curiosity right. Of it all. And I thought, well, I'm sad. So this is going to help me feel better. And I'm around people. And if I drink and I smoke, then I will be cool and accepted. And just all these, like now looking back, it was really stupid. Like I was being really fucking stupid. I was not, you know, seeking help.I was seeking an escape from what I was experiencing. So that led me to just that, you know, smoking cigarettes was first. I remember I was 17 when I first smoked a cigarette. I'll never forget that moment. You know, at my job that I had at the time this guy that I was dating, he was totally against me smoking.He told me I was too innocent. And that I shouldn't, but I did anyways. And you know, that catapulted me into more things. So drinking, smoking weed Which then of course the people I was [00:04:00]surrounded with I thought were awesome and great, but they are very toxic for me. No, I don't feel that they're innately bad people, but they were not the people that I should have been spending my time with. And going to college, I was introduced to pills, which became a quick favorite benzodiazepines to be exact Klonopin was everything to me for awhile. It is the first thing I took that made me forget everything completely. So it was the first time that I felt okay. I was no longer crying. I wasn't, you know, cutting myself when I was high on Klonopin.I was doing whatever the fuck I wanted to with no cares in the world. But the first time I did it, I did so much of it in this story. It's just, I can't believe this happened to me when I tell this story, but I did so much of it. And then we went and hung out with other friends and started doing bike in and all of these different types of pills and [00:05:00] mixing them.And I had no business doing any of that because I had never touched pills prior. So the next morning I wake up, smoked a joint with someone and I overdosed. It was like instantaneous. It was like my body. I don't know. It must've been the reaction of the weed plus whatever. I had swimming in my system from the pills and I just collapsed.And if it wasn't for the guy who I was with, I can't guarantee that I would have survived. And you know, in that moment, I thought when I woke up in the hospital, not knowing where I was and you know, I thought, oh, well, my dad, like he'll see this and he'll care. And he'll, you know, he'll want me and he'll want to help me, but he did.So it was this constant, you know, rejection from my parents that was driving me towards all this. So unfortunately that was not the wake up call that I should have had in those moments. But I just kept using, I failed out of college. [00:06:00] You know, I became pregnant at age 19 experienced sexual abuse around the same time.And if my daughter up for adoption. So now I'm this college dropout essentially who just gave a daughter up for adoption and I'm only barely 20 years old. So the darkness got worse from there and I got into another abusive relationship, a physical abuse of, and mental abusive relationship. And after leaving him finally getting the courage to do that.I was in a domestic violence shelter. So essentially I was homeless. I left with nothing. I did have a son at the time. He was a baby. I was like six months old. He doesn't remember any of this. Thank God. But you know, we go to the shelter and I, instead of embracing it and getting the help, I needed to have a positive, healthy life.I just wanted out, [00:07:00] you know, I was like, I don't want to be here. I felt very like I couldn't just go out and do what I wanted without like telling people where I was like, it was just, I didn't like it. You know, it was still very young and I wanted to be free. So I went back to an ex of mine and eventually realized that I didn't love him anymore.So I made the choice to leave him and got my own place, but I was so lonely that need for acceptance and being around people just wouldn't go away. And so I ended up moving in with my best friend and that's when the cocaine use started and what led me to my incarceration. So I met a man at a strip club and a much older man.And he told me he had a job for me. And I was like, cool. Like I need money. You know, I need to pay my rent and get my cocaine at the time. Those were my priorities. And, but that's not what it was. He ended up sexually assaulting me and my friend and I [00:08:00] stupidly after that went back. But we went together and this guy was ultimately paying me for sex, but I would not have sex with him.So he wasn't giving us the money that he told us he would. So long story short. My friend and I, and a few other people decided that we were gonna Rob him and get all of his money and whatever. So. I remember that day, because I remember feeling like I didn't want to do this. I knew it was wrong, even though he'd hurt me, even though, like, he was a shit person, honestly, a shit person.I still knew deep down that it was wrong, but I didn't want to lose my friend. I could not handle the thought of not having her in my life because she was all I had. She was with me since my parents divorced, you know, she was the one who brought me through a lot of that. Maybe not in the way that I should have been getting through it, but at the same time, [00:09:00] she was my solid. So we go out there and I remember looking at her and saying, we're going to jail tonight. I don't want to do this. And she was like, fuck it. I'll just drive. And here we go, Amanda pulls off the highway. I get out of my car, but I don't run. I don't say, you know, does whatever and not get involved in it. I get back in the car and we continue to drive. And long story short, I, I couldn't go through with it. I remember sitting in this guy's apartment, just sweating bullets. I mean, it was so obvious that something was up. I couldn't hide it. And the guy asked me, he goes, what's wrong with you, Amanda? He goes, something's wrong with you? And I was like, nothing, I'm fine.And this was in the early two thousands. So we only had two cell phones between all of us. So my friend was sitting there texting with the guys and I snatched her phone and I was like, I'm going to go call and check on my son. So I run out and go to my car. I'm laying in the backseat of my car, still sweating, crying, all the things.[00:10:00] And everyone comes out and like, they're ambushing me. Like, what the fuck are you doing in the backseat of the car? Like we need to drive, but we didn't make it out of that parking lot. Like real, like the cops were there, like it was within like 30 seconds of them being in my car to where we are now getting pulled over.I was arrested at gunpoint. Which was horrifying, horrifying on one of the busiest streets for people on the other side, we're like looking down like that. There was like a restaurant across the street. So they're looking down watching this all happen and I'm arrested face down on the pavement. It was horrific.It was the number one, most, probably most, one of the number one most traumatic events I've ever experienced in my life. It's, like I said, prior to that, Amanda didn't get in trouble. Even though I was doing things I probably should have been in trouble for, you know, I never got caught up until that point.And you know, I made this other mistake where, you know, [00:11:00] my friends telling me don't tell the cops anything, which looking back. Oh, maybe I shouldn't have, but they kept telling me that I was going to get released and that I wouldn't see jail if I told them what happened. So I tell them, I told them everything and I even wrote it down on paper thinking, well, I'm going to get out so I can just like leave and go hide somewhere.You know, that was my thought process. And I didn't get released. I had a $10,000 straight bond. I was charged with robbery, criminal, conspiracy, and prostitution. And now I'm in jail with my friend who now knows that I narked, I told the whole truth. Didn't hold anything back. And I watched everyone else get bailed out, but me.So I'm now in holding by myself, filling up to main population in county jail. And I'm scared half to death. Like I didn't know what to expect. It wasn't as bad as I thought not to say it was great, but it wasn't as scary as I thought [00:12:00] it was going to be. I was in there for a week before I got bailed out and I had this whole year of my life where if you've experienced incarceration, like you don't know what the hell is going to happen to you.It's like a whole year where you literally have, I had no clue. Like when am I going to jail? Am I going to prison? Am I like no idea. So that just, I just stayed in that cycle using drinking. I started stripping. I was, you know, dating men from the strip club. I was getting in very bad scenarios with men, women, everything.And then I got sentenced to eight months of incarceration in county jail with option for work release. I only got convicted of the conspiracy, but I did watch my best friend. Which me and her weren't really friends anymore at this point. But she, in my heart, she was still my best friend. I watched her in all the guys that were involved, get carted off to state prison for five years. That was really hard. I felt horrible. Like it was all my fault. [00:13:00] And then when I had to go back to turn myself in to go to jail, I was the for work release. You have to pee and you have to be clean in order to go into the work release program. I was pregnant by the way. And I couldn't be, but not be like what pregnant woman on this planet can't pee on demand.Right. And I just couldn't. And so I had to go to main population for at least 30 days. I did eventually get into the work release program, which was better than being in county, but still incarceration. Still had, you know, I wasn't allowed to just freely go and do what I wanted. And then after that it just kept spiraling.I get out of jail and I don't clean up my act. I keep doing the same things. I keep ending up in toxic abusive relationships. And three years ago is when I had my breaking point and I was going to kill myself because I had lost a job that I thought was great. I was betrayed by someone who I thought was my best friend and I couldn't do it [00:14:00] anymore.I just gave up. But in that moment I had, you know, maybe it's a spiritual awakening, I don't know. But in that same moment of crying and wanting to end my life, I decided that I couldn't, I had to keep living. I had a husband, I have kids, you know, even the kids who I gave up for adoption, like they're still my children and I need to live for them.I need to show them that it's possible. And so I didn't, I didn't in my life. I. Reached out for help from my husband and slowly but surely here I am today, just telling my story and, you know, learning to love and accept myself every single day. And realizing that I take ownership for the things that have happened to me over my life.And I made those choices that made those situations occur and learning to forgive myself. Oh, that's a lot, but that's pretty much it.De'Vannon: Yeah, that is a lot. And we're going to go and work our way back [00:15:00] through it.Now, a part of you helping people is that you're the host of the, let the let good things in show. Amanda: Yes.De'Vannon: You're an international speaker and you, and you've done some writing as an author as well. And so, so let me, let me go back through some of this.I want to capture more detail in like your like live emotions when some of these things were happening. So when your parents got divorced, like my parents almost got divorced when my dad had, I think his second affair or whatever the case may be. I wish they would have gotten divorced, but But tell me what, what did you feel, you know, how did it feel when your opinion has gotten divorced?Because you talk about it as though it was super traumatic. Bring me into what was going on in your head and in your. Amanda: I mean, I was angry was I didn't [00:16:00] understand, like I knew prior that they may be getting divorced, but I always thought in my mind that my mother would stay with me. So I was angry. I was sad. I was confused. I felt like. My heart was broken into a million pieces. Like everything I knew had just shattered within a blink of an eye.You know, you wake up in the morning to go to high school as a freshman, thinking your life's normal, and then you come home. And the, it, it's just not, I remember like my dad sitting on the couch and he looked like he'd been crying and my dad's not an emotional person. So I knew that this was major. This was not something that we were just going to brush under the rug and move on from.But also my anger, I just remember being angry. Like, I didn't understand, like, where's my mom and nobody could tell me, you [00:17:00] know, nobody. Until I discovered where my mom was, I mean, she did go to my grandmother's house, but she was in another relationship and, you know, it was. Extremely hard. Like I D I can't even like put it all into words.It's just, it hurt like hell in all directions.De'Vannon: Fair enough. I can understand where you're coming from, what the unexpected things happening when you're a kid. When we, when we when we, we had a house that my parents had got when I was in grade school, like middle, middle high school. They lost it because they were bad with money and stuff like that.And so the way I found out about the house one day, they just show up to this plot of land with a frame on it, on it. And they're like, well, this is the house that we're building, you know, for us, they had bought it, you know, the right way to do it is to take the kids through the whole home buying process.So they know from beginning to end, you know, and just drive them to, to the house [00:18:00] being a built already. So while, while it's a good thing, it's still a shocking thing. Then when they lost the house, I came home from school one day and all the shit was packed up and they were like, well, we lost the house.You just hop in the car and just go on to the next one. So Amanda: my goodness. De'Vannon: it was a huge downgrade. So we went from the hood to the we were like the Jefferson's we moved on up to the east side. Then we had to go back to the hood, you know, in an instant. So I understand where you're coming from with the shock value.There. And I heard you say that you were chasing love and acceptance. When you got caught up with this crowd. It reminded me of how, when I was in the military, I was a Tinder and young at the age of 17 when I went to the air force and then this one, I became a sled. I was a total calm whore. And so I and I was having sex with all these different men and just totally just running gay.com until the ground.You know, there was no grind. Amanda: Wow.[00:19:00]De'Vannon: No, you had to be, you had to be determined to be a whore in my day. You know, you have to wait for the dial up to come up on the computer, you know, AOL or whoever you were going through Amanda: Yeah,De'Vannon: Then you had to negotiate the transaction and print out the directions for MapQuest.So there were no phones. So you had to have a print area that all of these things, you were going to be a slave Amanda: so true.De'Vannon: and every time. And the whole, while I was going through all of this, I was having sex with two, three different guys at night at times. And I knew that what I wanted was that masculine attention from them that I never got from my dad, but I, I really, really loved being embraced by like a big strong man.Well, you know, he wasn't going to do this shit for free, you know, he had to get something in return and that was the piece of this sweet ass. I get chasing, [00:20:00] loving and acceptance, and we all do it. Amanda: Yeah.De'Vannon: have a certain sense of tribalism that's ingrained into us. Or as one writer said, you know, no, man's an island. We're going to find community because that's how God designed us. Now, this doesn't mean losing your identity within the crowd, but we need to relate with people.The Corona virus comes to town. People can't relate with people and people lose their shit. People who have ever been in jail like you and I have, we understand what it means to not be able to come and go as you please. We know we know what it's like to have privileges taken away. So a pandemic and being able to be in our houses and steal kind of go to work and do some shit is like great.These people lost their damn minds because they couldn't go out to eat at restaurants, couldn't travel and take their vacations because of the cause of the need. We have. To, to, to socialize with people. And sometimes we negotiate, even though they're not the best [00:21:00] people. Sometimes we think that's the best we can find.And rather than being fucking alone, we'll take the problem. People are the people who we probably have a bad feeling about because to us, that's the worst. That's better than being by ourselves. Amanda: Exactly.De'Vannon: You see? And so, you know, so the prayer is that when people are going through this start a phase that the Lord will give them better friends, you know, and that's what I needed because it took me a long time to get to a point where I wasn't trying to hang out with people who are, who were also, who had been homeless or who were into drugs and stuff like that.You know, I had to get used to hanging out with people who were not problematic by, by by advice, you know, about the things they like to get into. You said you were abused sexually. Give me detail. What happened? Like were you raped? Like. Amanda: Well, there's, you know, what the guy that I was living with I wouldn't call it rape necessarily cause we were boyfriend and [00:22:00] girlfriend, but he would do a lot of forcefully. Like he would like hold me down and like have like sex with me, like it was painful. And I would ask him to stop and he wouldn't just very forceful sexually. So maybe that is rape, but it's not like, you know, we were already in a relationship, so I don't know if I could call it that, but De'Vannon: Yeah, that's right. Amanda: yeah. So yeah, I mean, it was, it was bad. And then. You know, it, it made me think that because when I moved in with this guy, so to give it some context, like I that's right after I failed out of college and my father was selling the house that I grew up in, he was living with his then girlfriend.And so I'm li I'm still living in the house and I'm waking up to strangers, like showing my house. I had no idea that they were going to be there. So I had to get out of there and I had no money. I don't even think I was, yeah. I probably was working as a cashier [00:23:00] somewhere. But I had nowhere to go, you know, so I moved in with him because I figured, well, at least this is better than being on the street.You know, I can move in with him. And I, I thought I loved him, you know, at that young age that I was. But as soon as I moved in with him, like things got weird. The force, the forceful sex started, I started noticing like, This weird, like witchcraft type stuff is things that like gave me the heebie-jeebies out for lack of a better explanation. And I did later find out that he, his father had molested his sister and his sister had their four molested him. So I think there was a lot of sexual confusion for him that he probably had never dealt with. Not that it makes it okay, what he did to me or what he's done to other women. But I think it stems from, from that. And which is part of the reason why I gave our daughter up for [00:24:00] adoption. But beyond that, you know, I was raped by the gentleman who we robbed not sex, sex, but oral. He told me that if I did not. Do what he demanded that he was going to fucking kill me. So I kinda just did what he said which was awful.I remember like leaving that scenario and brushing my teeth. Like I had never brushed my teeth before. I just felt so violated and disgusting for doing that. And then having money get handed to me. Right. Like it felt very dirty. All in all I, you know, throughout my life, yes. I've been raped on multiple occasions, but I think the ones that I can actually remember are those two. Because those were, I mean, I was sober when my ex was, you know, forcefully having sex with me. I was sober when I was assaulted by that older [00:25:00] man much older and I don't know it, the feeling afterwards. it's like, it's hard for me to remember fully, like with my ex, but I can say with the older man is that just, why did that happen?Like, was I raped? Like I always questioned it. Like I just did, you know, like I always like, well, was that rape? You know, it's like, I was there, you know, I, you know, I was where I was with this person, you know, so it's not rape. And I would just like shove it away. Like I wouldn't describe it that way to anybody until after the fact of realizing what had actually happened.Oh,De'Vannon: What may be my favorite line from the movie, set it off, which had queen Latifa, Vivica, Fox, Jada Pinkett Smith. And that girl who was like in some of the Tyler Perry movies and shit. The, the when that hardheaded white cop was trying to get the book, his boss, the black cop to do some, some [00:26:00] stupid shit.The black cop looks at him and goes. What part of no. Do you not understand? So the N or the O as a favorite line from that movie and so no, honey, right? Like that's so rapey. We don't like to get rapey when, when somebody says no th th th th this is flat out it, and unless it's an explicit. Yes. Even silence is no.So if a man's trying to fuck, and you say anything short of a yes, it's absolutely. Okay. Then he is not too advanced, plain and damn simple playing and down. Amanda: Yeah, that's true.De'Vannon: tell me about this witchcraft. You mentioned the w word, and I liked it. I liked it. I liked to talk about witchcraft, cause I was, I've been a victim of witchcraft before.Tell me what you saw. Amanda: Oh, wow. There were so like, I don't know if they were taro cards or what they were, but like just like weird shit like that. Just like laying around. He had like, [00:27:00] All these like weird figurines. I never actually saw him like, do anything with it. I think he hid that side of him for me pretty well until I started unearthing some of the things. But with witch craft, another weird story that I experienced still very young. I was probably 20. At this point, I was working at a grocery store and the bakery and my boss, like the lead baker or whatever the fuck he was called asked me if I was into witchcraft. And I was like, at the time I was like, I don't know, like you tell me what's that, you know, and luckily I did not go with him, but he was going to take me to this like house with all these women who like practice witchcraft. And my friend and I were going to go, but I don't remember what transpired that we didn't end up going, which I'm grateful for. Because that kind of stuff. It scares me to the point where I like, I won't go there. [00:28:00] Like if I see it, I'm I'm out. Like, I, I don't, I, it, it really scares me because what if it's real?That's always been like my fear. Like, what if this is real? Like, what if, like they put a spell on me or what if I get murdered or all that? Because you hear these stories is horrifying stories of, you know, these witchcraft type scenarios. So no, there wasn't anything crazy explicit to disclose other than like, just strange things that was finding, laying around the apartment.De'Vannon: I think that's the way witchcraft goes. It can be little stuff like that that causes us to raise an eyebrow. You know, when people don't do things for no reason, you know, he's got the terrible looking cars and the strange figurines. And I think I know what you're talking about. He didn't go and get all that shit just to sit around and collect desks.You know, you know, there, there is a practice happening and you see, God has had his hands on you and he's been guiding you away from these things. I can see that clearly, you know.you [00:29:00] you've been kissed with mercy woman. And so, and so and so you were very, very special to him. And so And so you say witchcraft could be real.Yes, it is real. So the way it happened to me, I was the object of this guy's desire. I was about 15. He was about like 22, the alter Boyd, my church, he was the worship leader. And so what he was doing with me, he decided he wanted to have me all to himself. So he became, it became my kind of an obsession for him.Now he already had me cause I hadn't had any experience with a man before. So I'm all in for all with him. And so any of them would have told me to do, I would have done it. He didn't have to resort to Witchery, but you know, boys will be boys, you know, sometimes, and they are aggressive ways. And so. He was also very, just kind of evil at heart.It was years later that I found out that he also was at eight, he had full blown aids, that he was running around, trying to [00:30:00] intentionally infect as many people as he could in order to kill them. Amanda: Oh, my gosh.De'Vannon: I, and I barely missed that getting infected by him by, by a hair. And so so it started with he, he got a hold of a windbreaker that he asked to borrow from me and he would never give it back.And I later learned, learned that he was using my personal possession to feel close to me in knowing what I know now, probably using it to strengthen his spells. I had gone over to his house only once with someone else because that person wants to drop something off to him. And when he opened his door, I could see like an altar type thing with candles and stuff going and stuff like that.And so. I started having, we started having a conversation that we were like, kind of like dating as best as I could. And me being in high school and him being like a grown ass, a grown ass man.And so I started [00:31:00] having dreams about him every night, Amanda: Hmm.De'Vannon: his son, he, he wore very distinct cologne and it may have been partially that. And then in the disease that I was smelling in him, there are those of us who can I don't know if everybody can, but I can like smell certain things in the spirit. Like I can smell when a foul spirit is around me.It's a very rank odor. There's a way you can smell sickness. My pastor, she could smell like new life in the room and can tell if a woman was pregnant and stuff like that. Amanda: Oh,De'Vannon: there was a way to smell in the spirit. So I would smell his sin. I could be anywhere at school at church, just his. And, you know, when people die, when people have died, some people will, will testify that they'll smell, like say that fragrance, their grandmother used to wear, come around them.So fragrance is something that is unseen. Spirits are unseen and there is some inmeshment there. So he would send his spirit around me [00:32:00] and during the day, and then a while when I was asleep every night, I would dream about him every night period, all the time. This is not like a random thing. This is something that's being done intentionally.And so I later learned through my pastor who was a prophetess who looked through the spirit that told me what was going on when, when he and I had like a big rift when I wouldn't sleep with him, when he wanted me to sleep with him She was telling me he was burning candles, you know, and I think he was using, what's called an in tranquil candle.And if you read the back of that candle, this candle, when the practitioner uses it searches for a wandering spirit, that's able to cross in between our world in their world. And then they, they evoke the employment of this spirit to go and torture the person who is the object of their affection and to Amanda: Holy shit.De'Vannon: right and to take peace from that person until that person comes and B's with them.It's a very twisted thing to do [00:33:00] for someone you claim to care for. But the only time that I would ever be happy is when I was around him. Other than that, I was fucking miserable. And my dreams about him. Weren't good. I would feel shit coming into my room and like shake the bed. They were like dark black.Mysterious fucking nightmares. It took six months from the time that my past and I started working on breaking this spill off of me for it to be broken. And then once it, then one Sunday y'all she looks like she ain't never heard no shit like in it took six months and then one Sunday morning I was sitting at the kitchen table doing like math or some shit with my parents were like, we're rarely going to church during these days.And I felt it lift up off of me so much so that I put my pencil down a kind of like a gas and I had to just like, go take a walk. I just, I had, I had, I had just like all this, all these pounds, I just got lifted off, lifted off of me. [00:34:00] And I just went and walked in. I met my grandmother who was waiting down at the end of the driveway.And from that day forth, I never smell his scent again. And I never had a fucking dream about him again. Amanda: Wow.De'Vannon: I think, I think after he died, I think he might've been dead. I think, I think he may have tried to come back around me again, but I swatted him away and I wouldn't let it happen because I had learned better than because he, he died like about two years later of those aids that he was running around, trying to give every body went from looking like he had no body fat, six pack chills down, gorgeous model looking man shriveled up on a cane.I heard he had some kind of cancer with just these pissy all over his fucking body. The fiance that he didn't tell me that he had, when I was dating him, who had moved to California, who had moved to California to be with him here was the one helping him. So we [00:35:00] buried his ass when he was around 24 years old, but maybe witchcraft is real.And I speak about it because like that guy who wants to take you to I'm, I'm, I'm thinking that that was a coven, that he was like a coven of witches, like a group of witches that he wanted to take you to either to sacrifice your ass or to get you to join. One of the other and you know, people practice it and it's, it's not like you might think, okay.So people like down here and near in new Orleans, like where I live, you know, and shit like nearby where I live, you know, you can go into these voting shops in these spiritual shops and get all of these things, candles, black powder things to break up people's relationships, things that kill people, things to close people's businesses down.You also can get things to shield yourself and protect yourself things to help enhance their luck and success. Magic is used to either draw something to you to dispel something from you to build up or to tear down. [00:36:00] And just as sure as you're looking shock this shit at me Right.now, honey, this is the truth and people practice.All kinds of Witchery and magic everywhere because these stores can ship this shit worldwide. So you don't need to be looking for somebody running around in a black cloak than a witch's hat. They could just eat some bitch wearing a shirt from Walmart and skinny jeans. This is what the girl had on the day when I was in one of these spiritual shops, getting some shit to protect myself because now that I've been through witchcraft, I keep myself guarded 24, 24 8. And I and if anybody needs protection against witchcraft, until you learn deeper things, you can just keep you a white candle burning and you can bathe yourself with whites. And just, or maybe like olive oil soap and just keep it simple to start with. And then you could reach out to me if you need any further help than that.And I'll see what I can do, but I was just having a casual conversation with this girl asking her what she does like for work. And I don't ask people what they do for work [00:37:00] anymore, because it's really a bullshit question. We usually don't give a fuck, but she would. But she was thinking, I was talking about her spiritual work, because that's what it's called.Like I said, if you're trying to kill somebody or you want to break up their relationship where you want to run them out of business or make them leave the job and make them move out of their house, you'll say, Yeah.I'm working on that person. You know? And so, but I, that's not what I meant when I asked her that.But you know, I'm not, I'm not thinking of the place that I'm standing in. And she answered me, she answered me. She was like, oh, you know, just general breakup, spells, like the break up couples and that sort of thing. How are you? You know? So she said Amanda: Oh my goodness.De'Vannon: she said it as casually as the sky is blue. But in the Bible, but in the Bible, it tells us the Hebrew Bible. I always like to give credit to the land where the Bible actually comes from. The Hebrew Bible tells us that there are people who cannot find rest and peace every day until they have found somebody to, to [00:38:00] destroy.You know, there are people who make it their business to cause problems in people's lives. So sometimes when you're in a relationship and suddenly confusion starts coming out of nowhere, or you start seeing this weird shit, like how you did. Let's pay closer attention. It's not because we're crazy. You know, sometimes there might be dark forces at play, so you better get close to God.You better get the holy ghost. You better learn about spiritual protection and stuff like that. And in, in get, get some, get some head knowledge, baby, because all of these things affect us in this life. And so burying our head in the sand and try to act like it's not there. It's not going to help you own it.Learn it. Amanda: Yeah. Yeah. That's a crazy story. But I believe that, you know, I, I am I can't smell things, but I have like this innate sense. So like, it's like, I can tell when something's bad [00:39:00] or I can, I can literally, like, I was just telling my husband this the other day, cause I I'm I'm prescribed medical marijuana.So I had been using it for my anxiety and PTSD for a while now. But I decided just to about a month ago, I was like, you know what, like I'm using it too much. It's just becoming a problem. So I only take a pill so I can sleep at night. I don't smoke throughout the day anymore. And but ever since I gave that up, it's like, it's more intense.It's like, I'm, I'm sensing things more. Like I was thinking the other day, I I had like a zoom call with someone. I was like, oh, I'm really not feeling it. Like maybe they'll cancel. They canceled. There's another instance where like I was thinking about something and I was thinking about my mother-in-law's like, oh, that'd be cool if I saw her.And there, she was like, she didn't see me. She was driving past and someone else's car, but there she was I'm like, what is that? Like, why? Cause I've always had like, [00:40:00] the people will tell me that, that I have some sort of like intuitive abilities or whatever, but I don't, I don't know. It just seems kind of weird to me, but when things like that started happening, you know, and I look back over my life, like I've always ignored myself.So it was like, I always ignored that side of me because I always thought I had to just do what everyone else was doing. I had to keep everyone else happy. So I kind of like forgotten about that part of me. So when it started happening again recently, it's, it's cool, but it's also scary. It's like, I don't want to, I don't want this ability, like, somebody else can have this.Like I it's freaks me out. Like I don't think I should be able to just make things happen like that. I don't know. It's weird. So.De'Vannon: Well, the gifts that we have are not ours to decide, you know? So instead of denying any part of yourself, I encourage you to embrace it. And now, cause you might be getting it conflated and confused in your head, the way [00:41:00] psychics and stuff like that are done in media, you know, and on television and movies and stuff like that.Because other than that, there's no reason. For you to feel, and this could be a subconscious thing. There's no reason. Like if you know nothing about clairvoyance, why would you hate it? Or why would you want to push it off? You must have some sort of negative association to it somewhere, but, but you're not making those things happen.You're just becoming aware of what's about to happen before it happens. Now, then thing about clairvoyance and you do have that in you. I can see that clearly. The thing about it is God is in control of everything. So.when I meet somebody and they're claiming to be an impact or clairvoyant and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, first thing I want to know from them.Okay. Where are you drawing this power from? Are you getting it from the devil? Are you claiming your dead ancestors are telling you, are you claiming as God? Or who, who are you talking to? Where are you getting these messages from? That's what I want to know. So for me, [00:42:00] it's Jesus. It's God that'll do dead.People will come back and tell us shit. Hell yes. They just do, and so. God already knows as a city is the first and the last, the beginning of the ending. So we already knows what's going to happen. So I get that to, you know, down here in the south, they'll say, you know, you can talk somebody up, you know, if you start talking about that cousin, then hear the bitch come, you know, and stuff like that, you know, so that you make it happen.Or perhaps that you receive a message on the inside and you knew they were coming and it manifested as though you were speaking their voice. You see what I'm saying? So, or did you speak it, you know, in that, in that particular case, I believe that that is what happens, what you have experience I've had that happened to you know, in many different ways, but it could be that you're growing in your gift as you get older.Sometimes it happens like a gradual thing. Some people get hit with, you know, the bulk of their gift all at once. But some of us it's a more gradual thing. And I noticed that you said that once you laid the weed down, you started to [00:43:00] become more aware of this. Okay. Isn't that going to stop? So I would encourage you to just get educated about that, which you fear, because fear is never going to serve us and own that power bitch.If you have the fore knowledge of things before they come, you can help people more, you know, you can help people a lot more. And this is a part of who you are. We're still learning and evolving. This is appealing appearing to you. Don't run. Don't do like Joan in the Bible and run, you know, you know, turn around and embrace and start slow just, and be like, God, what is this?Help me to understand this better. And then see what he says, leave it alone. You know? I don't do drugs. I, and I don't allow myself medical weed or anything like that either. And a part of it is for the very reason that you just said, because of the way my gifts work with me, my clairvoyance and stuff like that.I dream a lot. Although I also have things that work with me during the day, [00:44:00] like what we're talking about right now, it's come to a point that the messages and the things like that, that I get can be so, so, so finite and so like sharp that I can't have anything in my system. That's throwing off my balance or my equilibrium at all.And so I don't, if there's anything wrong with drugs, I have a saying for me now I still have my wine. I don't get drunk anymore or anything like that. But wine has never affected me like that. You know, my pastor, the high prophetess, she was a gifted in all things in a highly clairvoyant woman and she didn't need no drugs or drink.She was like, And she would always say, I can't, I got you. I got a two too. Y'all had too many problems. So she would always be counseling and, you know, prophesizing and telling us what's going to happen next. And what, what, what herbs? We need to heal ourselves and stuff like That She was like, I don't know.I can't be drunk. Shit. She didn't cuss. At least not, not around me. I, he was like, I can't, you know, she had to keep a head [00:45:00] cleaner. So it could be that this whole desire to put the weed down came upon you because your gift is trying to come out. So.Amanda: That could be true. Cause I, you know, speaking of dreams dreams. So man, I, I literally, when I, especially when I put it down, like, My nightmares. I have nightmares. I don't have like these beautiful dreams. But like intense, like so vivid it's like, I can't handle it. Like I'll wake up sweating, crying, screaming, or like, I can't let it go.Like, I'll think about all day, like, what did that mean? What did that mean? Like, why did I dream that you know, about spiders and being chased and, you know, people trying to murder me and my family just crazy. And you know, when I researched all that, like I try to figure out what the symbols mean, but at the same time, I don't know.I think every, every symbol I've ever looked at means the same thing. So I'm like, I don't know if this is accurate. So but yeah, I mean, [00:46:00] I dream like crazy. Now if I smoke, I won't dream. It won't happen. So I think that to be true. But I also can't sleep if I'm having nightmares all night, all night long.So it's also a problem, but,De'Vannon: What is the recurring assemble? Amanda: I have two, so it's either spiders or I'm being chased. I have been being chased in my dream since I was a child. So it's just, those are the common two themes.De'Vannon: Okay. Okay. So when I was but I got done being homeless and being a drug dealer and being on and off the street and in and out of jail, what happened with my dreams during that whole time that I was between the time I got kicked out of the church to the time after I was out of jail for the last time, I didn't really dream at all.My dream stopped, which is now, [00:47:00] which is not a good position for me to be in since I'm a dreamer. And that's how God speaks to me. They started again after I got, you know, was starting to transition from the homelessness and the prison. I mean the jail stuff and stuff like that. They didn't necessarily returned to being prosthetic just that quickly though, I started having a bunch of dreams of being chased to for a really, really, really long time in my, my, my pastor was telling me that I was reliving everything that I hadn't gone.You see, when the trauma goes into us, it has to come back out. It has to be dealt with in some type of way. And so if you're still having chasing dreams after all this time, then the only reasonable thing that I could come up with is that it's still tied to some sort of issue that is yet unresolved. You see? And so, because, you know, you know, what are we running from? You know, what are we running from? And it was [00:48:00] just exhausting. Like you said, I would wake up perpendicular my bed sideways, you know, it was like going through it all all over again. It was just that real, the inspire leaders, you know, in the dream world usually have to do with enemies and entanglement and you know, and things like that.Unless we're talking about a beautifully done spider's web, then that has to do with hard work paying off. So then of course, we also have to pay attention to the mood of the dream. So I'm a big fan of hitting therapy. Cause I went to school for that. And then I got certified in that I'm still, I'm seeing him a therapist now to be sure that I don't go back to drugs because some associations get caught up in our subconscious and things like that.So she's, I'm usually hitting the therapy so that we can reframe and replace the positive associations I had with the criminal underworld. And that's not saying they were bad or wrong just saying that you used to be good and serve me and no longer serves me now. So what can we upgrade to? [00:49:00]Amanda: Yeah,De'Vannon: You know? And so I recommend at him, the therapy has been the most effective form of therapy in which I have tried.I've been in front of so many fucking therapists, Amanda: same.De'Vannon: for the last few years, hitting the therapy works the best for me, you know? So everybody's got to find what works for them, but it gets to the point, because so many times when we sit down in front of regular therapists, we're dealing on the conscious level because you, a therapist, a regular therapist can only help you with what you tell them in any of them will tell you that if you lie to them, then they're going to play off of those lies.You know? And they're going to tell you, you hurting yourself and the therapy, if you don't tell the truth, but when you sat down with the hypnotherapists, you can't lie. Like that sort of question is that they add, you know, that we ask, you know, and things like that are not typical. You know, if we really get to the why behind the why behind the why, because when you're put into hypnosis, we're going to tell you what you want us to tell your subconscious, we're going to access your subconscious [00:50:00] and tell it to you.And you're not going to want to tell yourself some bullshit. And then we can tell that we're being lied to. And so like, for instance, In my last hypnotherapy session, I was telling, tell them how about when I was a drug dealer. I love the power I had over people, and that was a high in and of itself. And, but I was telling her how we were doing the hypnotherapy, just for the drugs.I have a tendency to be very critical of myself and to have anxiety and to be very judgmental of myself. And I said, somehow, when we did a session about the drugs, I stopped being hard on myself. And then through the questioning, we were like, well, you know, your dad was abusive. The military was abusive.You didn't have control in those situations as a drug dealer, you had control, you know, and that makes you feel great. I had never tied those two together before and all the therapists that I sat in front of for the last 10 fucking years that never made the connection until I talked to a hypnotherapist, but we fixed [00:51:00] it without even trying to fix it.'cause we cause we got into the subconscious and started dealing with things and so much of our problems. So much of our problems, a lie in our subconscious and our subconscious of at least 80% of our brain. You know, the conscious is very little. So it isn't a throw that out there to you and to everybody who may have maybe wrestling with something and you've been wrestling with it a long time, consider hitting the therapy, consult your doctors and everything like that and do your own research.I went to the hypnosis motivation Institute. They're the first accredited hypnotherapy school in the country. And so that really, really means a lot. Think about it, pray about it and do what God tells you to do ultimately, but the shit has worked for me and bitch whom the son sets free is free. Indeed.And I'm feeling fabulous. Amanda: That's great. I've thought about the hypnotherapy. But it's also one of those things where it's like, Hmm, that, that also scares me. As you can tell, fear is something that has stopped me my whole [00:52:00] life. I think a lot of the things that happen to me over my life or based in fear, you know, that fear of abandonment, the fear of being by myself, like that fear kept me.You know, so now it's about embracing my fears and I've embraced a lot of my fears over the past three years and have done tremendous improvement in my life. And I was talking to someone earlier about getting a part in for my felony record. And that's also something I've toyed with, but fear keeps me stuck.Right. I guess I call what if they say no and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I just have to fucking do it, you know? And if I feel that hypnotherapy, if I'm curious about it, fucking knew it, like, what's it going to hurt, you know, to try so.De'Vannon: Right. Yeah.that fear, that fear will never do. That's why I left the anonymous movement because when anonymous movement, everybody, I mean like crystal meth, anonymous, narcotics anonymous, alcoholics anonymous. But once I realized that the anonymous program is [00:53:00] fear-based basically it is cause they go, Hey, you're going to do all your fucked up shit again and lose everything.If you get high that's fear, that's using fear as a motivator, but, but, but the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. So that is out of agreement with my spiritual beliefs. And so I don't fuck with the anonymous movement anymore. And what you can do though, like I, at the school I went to, like, you can just.Pay to take like a single course and get like online and just to get like a taste for it. I did the whole program for like $3,000, but that's not necessary. You can just take like a course or two and then you can get, and you can watch them hypnotize, hypnotize people. You can see how it medically, how was it done?Because then the therapist often work in tandem with psychotherapists. Amanda: Yeah.De'Vannon: So you can see the process. You can see how it goes. So when you have fear, the thing for you to do girl is to get knowledge, to overrule that fear. And that's how you can get the [00:54:00]victory. So you're afraid of it. Just learn about it.Cause knowledge, you know, knowledge will clear up the fear because fear is just a bunch of unknown. What if. Amanda: Yeah, exactly. Fears. A fear runs us of our lives. You know, what we deserve, you know, because I think, you know, from my experiences and having a felony record, like I was so afraid of people finding out, like I hit it, you know, I would have jobs like good jobs, but they didn't know. Right. Cause they never asked.So now I'm going to work every single day, going home. This will be the day they find out this'll be the day I'm going to get fired. I'm gonna lose everything. And that fear will eat you alive. You know, and I couldn't move forward with my life, no matter how good the fucking job was, I would sabotage it because of my fears.And once I released that fear of people finding out and just telling people, I have a good job, I get to work remotely. I, you know, I have a boss [00:55:00] who knows my story and still gave me a job, you know, because at the end of the day, we're all human and we all have a story, right. We all deserve to be heard.And I think a lot of times that fear keeps us from being heard and getting what we deserve.De'Vannon: What were some of the roadblocks you had to, that you came across as being formerly incarcerated? Cause you're saying you had fear about it. You were able to get work, but where you've labeled. Oh, what were some of the problems that you had trying to stabilize your life? Amanda: Yeah a lot. I convinced myself that I was a lowlife piece of shit with a felony record. So I lived my life accordingly. I, but then there was the fear of, okay, well, if I go to apply for this job and an ass, like, okay, so you're online and you're filling an application. It's like, have you ever been convicted?And it'll be a job. Like, I really want it. And would pay exceptionally well, but I would [00:56:00] just be like, oh, exit application. Like, I can't have it now. I'd keep telling myself I can't have it. I can't do this. I can't, you know I can't go back to school and get my bachelor's degree. I can't, you know, I mean, well, for fuck's sake, I still can't get carry a gun.So I can't protect my self. So if I can't protect myself, my life is meaningless. I why try, you know? And it kind of like solidified in my head that I was less than human and I'm not really free. Everyone else is free, but I'm not. And it could make me cry right now because it's still upsets me because it's still true.You know? I don't feel like I'm a free human. Like if I, if someone walks in right now and has a gun to my head, I can't legally do I can't touch a gun. I can't, I can't affect. It's like, my life is worth less than that person that just busted into my house to ride. So there are a lot of barriers. Like I can't volunteer at my [00:57:00] kids' school because I have a felony.I can't no matter, even though it's been 13 years since it happened, like it's still holds me back. So more recently I have worked through a lot of those fears and have still gone after things to spite it, but I still tend to box myself in sometimes.De'Vannon: Well, you're damn sure on the right path, you know, you're doing what you can and, you know, we all heal in different times. So as long as you don't quit it, you're going to be all right. But that's why you're still having the dreams that you have, like from hearing the things that you just said, you know, that's why you're still being, chasing your dreams when you sleep every night, but it's not gonna last forever.I don't care. How long has it been there? Everything is subject to change. And so, but I heard you use the word, the humanized, or you, you referred to being feeling like you're less than a human. Yeah.It's a [00:58:00] bitch. When you have felonies. I couldn't volunteer at the museum and shit like that because I had felonies.I'm like, what in the fuck? Or like say you and I going to do to go, you know, we're trying to work for free, you know? And you know, you don't want us to come work for free. Cause some shit we did 5, 10, 15 years ago. Okay. That's just like, mean at its core, you know, you know, it, it pisses you off and it makes you not want to do shit.You know, w when, when that happens that way, but we can't do that. We gotta get strong. We gotta, you know, keep trying, but it was very de-motivating. I ended up starting out as a janitor after I got done being in jail, because that's pretty much all I could find. And then that was at the veterans affairs hospital through a special program for people with mental health issues.Not like I applied, it's not like I was hired regularly. And then from there I started delivering food and I made my way into the service industry. And then I had to go to school. Then I went back to school. I chose to go back to [00:59:00] school to be a massage therapist. And I was winning the business for myself because I got tired of pleading with people to please give me a chance because of some shit I did ages ago.And I'm all like, You know, so I encourage entrepreneurship, you know, a lot of most people fuck trying to prove yourself to the man, fuck him. Amanda: no.De'Vannon: While he's probably done worse shit than you have that didn't get caught for it. Amanda: Yeah. Yeah. Very true. Yeah. And like, it, it is de-motivating like, you know, when you think about it, you see like, for me, at least like, you know, you see people making all kinds of money and, you know, drive a nice cars. And like, my brain just automatically goes, I'll never have that because I made a mistake when I was in my early twenties.So I just, I guess I'm not deserving. And those are the narratives that I would continuously tell myself until more recently. You know, now I, yeah, I have those thoughts. I mean, I'm probably always will, but it's knowing [01:00:00] how to, so wait, stop. That's not true. You know, where, where are the facts? You know, and ever since I started doing my podcast and meeting other formerly incarcerated people and seeing what's possible.Holy shit. Like, what was I doing for that whole, like 12 years of my life? Like, where was I? Like under a rock thinking? I was the only person in the world who has a felony conviction. Like I literally thought that, you know, like I knew, obviously there's other felons, but like in my world, you know, like that, I'm the only one, like, I'm a piece of shit.Like I just gotta do these drugs and like basically kill myself because I'm not worthy of anything because I went to jail. Like that's bullshit. And it's just not true because we can do great things. Look, you're doing amazing things. You know, a bunch of people I've interviewed are doing amazing things and we've all spent time locked up all of us.And it's a shitty thing to go through. I don't wish that on anybody to have to [01:01:00] experience losing your freedom in that way, but I'm grateful. I had that experience in a way because it made me appreciate what I have now. Even more like it could always be worse. I could still be in jail. I could have went back.You know, that didn't happen though, is that wasn't my path. And I do believe that my higher power, God may me go through these experiences to be who I am now to be able to shine light on to other people who are feeling what I was feeling for all those years life I had to experience that I had to get knocked on my ass repeatedly to be able to help other people see that there's a better way to live life.De'Vannon: And you'll see that as you continue to do your podcast, you know, it's healing, it's something, it's something that's very singularly thinking about, just focusing on a problem that helps you to come up with solutions. And so the more you tell your story and I experienced, [01:02:00] this was a surprise of my podcast.I did not expect it to be a healing thing, but it has been, the writing is as well. We were talking about you possibly writing your own book before we got on the call today, I encourage you to really, really pray about that. An an a memoir is nothing more than a really bad-ass journal entry, Amanda: Yeah,De'Vannon: you know, and it'll take you a long time to write a memoir or the lengthy process to write since you're doing actual facts and it has to balance out as opposed to making shit up as you go along, nothing wrong with making shit up as you go along.I love me fiction read too. But the memoirs are different. If you ever want to go down that route, let me know. I know how to tell you to get started. Amanda: no, thanks.De'Vannon: Now the thoughts that you have, I heard you say that you'll probably always have them. No, you won't you'll know you don't, you do not have to always have them. You just keep going. You know, but perspective is everything, you know, you perceive that you were alone, even though you weren't alone. When I [01:03:00] got HIV, I perceived I was alone and I was the only one with it. And I was just going to die of aids and eight months, that that was the truth that I choose.That was a lie that I chose to accept as true. It wasn't, I needed more information. It's perspective is everything. People have killed themselves because of having a perspective that made them feel isolated, even though they weren't. And so that's why I love doing shows like this so that we can be super transparent so that someone can hear it and not kill themselves today. Amanda: Yeah, because it's, it's, it's life is worth it. I know that shit sucks. And you're going to go through shit, but you, I believe wholeheartedly and that we are never given more than we can handle. So if you're given something that feels heavy and you feel like, fuck, like I can't handle this, you can, or else it wouldn't be happening.And that's my experience with throughout life, because I look back at all the shit I've been through and like how was off. Did I not [01:04:00] die, but there's a reason.De'Vannon: God, wasn't ready for you to die. I mean, it's as simple as that, and you're not going to be part of this plane of existence and he's ready for you to, and you can close the book on that one. Cause that's just the way that goes. And so, but if, but if someone doesn't believe that, then you can see it right here.She's telling her story. Now she could have gotten delivered from all that she has been delivered from and led a quiet, successful life. Making a choice to do a podcast is not a decision that's made lightly. Some people get into this. Actually many

#ABpodcasts
#ABtalks with Latifa - مع لطيفة | Chapter 104

#ABpodcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2022 69:20


أسطورة الموسيقى التونسية لطيفة. مغنية وممثلة يحبها الكثيرون. بعد أن بدأت حياتها المهنية في الثمانينات، مرت لطيفة برحلة طويلة محترمة للغاية داخل وخارج المسرح. كضيفتنا التالية، لطيفة تتحدث عن حبها لوطنها وموسيقاها وشهرتها.

Inside Expo
Latifa, Rashid, and the Guardians

Inside Expo

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2022 19:16


Mascots, stemming from the French word mascotte meaning good luck charms, have long been present at past Expos. The first Expo mascot a cartoon pelican dressed in a tuxedo jacket and top hat at the 1984 Louisiana Specialised Expo. In this episode, we're introducing you to the wonderful family of mascots for Expo 2020 Dubai which includes two siblings, three robot guardians, and a Ghaf tree.   This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.