Podcasts about Latinx

Earlier this month, the Oregon Community Foundation and Oregon Humanities announced the names of four recipients of Fields Artist Fellowships. Each of the winners will be awarded $150,000 during the two-year fellowship to work on artistic projects inspired by the communities and cultural traditions they hail from.   Ernesto Javier Martínez is a 2026-2028 Fields Artist Fellow based in Eugene. He is also an associate professor and head of the indigenous, race and ethnic studies department at University of Oregon. Martinez is a filmmaker and children’s book author whose award-winning works provide a rare glimpse into the experiences of queer Latinx youth. He joins us to share his plans for the Fields Artist Fellowship, which include producing an animated TV pilot inspired by the real-life tragic story of a man and his child who drowned while attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.  

Episode 181 January 15,  2026 On the Needles ALL KNITTING LINKS GO TO RAVELRY UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.  Please visit our Instagram page @craftcookreadrepeat for non-Rav photos and info     Succulents 2025 Blanket CAL by Mallory Krall, Hue Loco DK in Hens & Chicks– DONE!! And started joining!    Tentacula Cowl by Jenny Noto, Jems Luxe Fibers Monstrous Minis in Scylla –DONE!   Gnandad's Grand Adventure by Sarah Schira, Little Squirrel Yarn Oak Sock in Gnandad's Adventure (skis!)-- DONE!!   Gnot Just Another Gnome by Sarah Schira, KnitPicks Stroll Fingering in Hollyberry, KnitCircus Opulence in Badger Tracks Stripes, Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga in Blue Emperor Dragonfly– DONE X2!   Avena by Jennifer Steingass, Yarnaceous Fibers Brontosaurus DK in Starbies and Cup of Cheer minis   Clapotis ‘24 by Kate Davies, Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in Ainsley (original 23.8K, sharon mcmahon 3IG)     On the Easel 12:16   Art travel kit–kit for the chaos. 100-Day composition studies Daily Joys Calendar mailing snafu?! On the Table 23:54 Simon Seared Sweet Potatoes With Chermoula Recipe   Luxurious Pomodoro in a flash from Simple Pasta by Odette Williams   Charred gai lan with black eyed peas and chile crisp vinaigrette from Linger   Baechu Doenjang Guk (Cabbage and Doenjang Soup) from WaPo/Korean Vegan   Key lime pie FIASCO (use the NYT recipe for frozen key lime pie, BUT bake for 15 minutes at 350F before refrigerating).   Hot Honey tofu for rice bowls, etc.   Chicken Meatballs from Smitten Kitchen–subbed out pancetta for MUSHROOM bouillon!! On the Nightstand 37:29 We are now a Bookshop.org affiliate!  You can visit our shop to find books we've talked about or click on the links below.  The books are supplied by local independent bookstores and a percentage goes to us at no cost to you!   Noel Nook: Christmas People by Iva-Marie Palmer The Nightmare Before Kissmass by Sarah Raasch  Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters   The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (audio) Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (audio) On the Calculation of Volume III by Solvej Balle trans by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell Flashlight by Susan Choi   When Elodie grinned like that, shenanigans were almost certainly to ensue…   The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman The Art Thief by Michael Finkel The Book of I by David Grieg On the Horizon 57:37 2025 Needles: 10,608 yards in 33 projects  ✔Succulents blanket CAL, ✔Colorwork cuff club    Table: Great British bake off bakes   Read: 181 books   Repeat Read the World and Tacoma Extreme! Australia: ✔ Everyone in my family has killed someone Belgium ✔ War & Turpentine China ✔ Half a Lifelong Romance Egypt ✔ If an Egyptian cannot speak English Iceland:  ✔? the Night Guest Kenya Malaysia Mexico  ✔You Dreamed of Empires The Netherlands ✔The Discomfort of Evening The Philippines 2026 Needles: charity hats? Use yarn/patterns already have.  Use stash patterns in general . year of dishcloths! Table: use stash cookbooks Nightstand: read stash books? Storygraph reads the world, genre, 52 books Afghanistan Albania Bulgaria Croatia France Iraq Morocco Senegal Sweden Thailand  A short story collection in translation  A nonfiction book about Indigenous history A queer historical romance novel   A translated classic  A young adult novel by a Latinx author  A biography about a Black historical figure A crime novel set outside of the US, UK, or Canada  A nonfiction book about philosophy A literary or contemporary debut published in 2026  The first book in a fantasy series    Cortney's 2026: SEEK JOY theme Easel, etc. Paint my curiosities + stickers + paper newsletter?? Sewing: “museum outfits Table: joyful recipes, healthy, colorful, textural. Nightstand: more JOYFUL reads, maybe one a month, and plan ahead?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/21/ice-arrests-five-year-old-boy-minnesotaUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a five-year-old Minnesota boy on Tuesday as he returned home from school and transported him and his father to a Texas detention center, according to school officials.Liam Ramos, a preschooler, and his father were taken into custody while in their driveway, the superintendent of the school district in Columbia Heights, a Minneapolis suburb, said at a press conference on Wednesday. Liam, who had recently turned five, is one of four children in the school district who have been detained by federal immigration agents during the Trump administration's enforcement surge in the region over the last two weeks, the district said. portrait of child wearing black poloLiam Ramos. Photograph: Courtesy of Columbia Heights Public SchoolsLiam and his father had just arrived home when they were detained, according to Zena Stenvik, the superintendent, who said she drove to the home when she learned of the detentions.When she arrived, Stenvik said the father's car was still running and the father and son had already been apprehended. An agent had taken Liam out of the car, led the boy to his front door and directed him to knock on the door asking to be let in, “in order to see if anyone else was home – essentially using a five-year-old as bait”, the superintendent said in a statement. Danielle (00:02):Well, Hey, Jenny, how you doing? I'm hanging in there. How you doing? Same hanging in there a part. I think of it as trying to get in or out of a space and hanging by my fingernails on an edge. That's how I think of it sometimes.(00:27):One time I told a friend, Hey man, I can do a pull up off a door jam. And they were like, really? And I was just like, yeah. And then they tried to do it repeatedly. Their hands were so sore. I was like, I didn't really mean it. I was just joking, but maybe it's like that doing a pull up off a door jam or something. Yeah,Jenny (00:46):I can't even do a normal pull up. I'm working on it. I'm working on my strength.Yeah. I'm trying.Danielle (00:53):Good for you. That's our power.Jenny (00:55):That's right.I am currently in Florida, and so I'm a little worried about this ice storm that's coming through. I think I'm a little bit south of it, so we should hopefully be in the clear, but it's still, you can feel Winter's, the Bruin here.I know. It's a little scary. We're going to just thankfully be parked somewhere where we don't have to drive for at least a few days just in case.Danielle (01:33):Okay, cool. Cool. Will you stay in Florida or what's your trajectory right now?Jenny (01:38):Yeah, we're going to be here probably a couple months, and then we'll probably head over to New Orleans. There's a New Orleans book festival. It's a giant book event, so we're excited for that. And then we'll start probably heading back up to the northeast when it starts to warm up again in late spring, early summer.Yeah. Yeah. So my manuscript is complete and I have sent it to my ideal publisher and they like it and they're going to pitch it by the end of February. So I'm just crossing all my fingers and toes that they all feel like it's a really good fit, and hopefully in about a month from now I'll have a definitive answer, but I have a really good feeling about it. I really value this publisher and yeah, it feels really in alignment with what I'm trying to do with my book.I am trying to help folks understand that their individual body, specifically white cis women in the United States that has been positioned and conditioned within Christian nationalism is just that it is conditioned and positioned by Christian nationalism. And the more that we become aware of that and conscious of that, the more mobility and freedom we can find in our bodies and hopefully in our country and in our world, so that we can move and breathe and have our being in more free sovereign ways.Danielle (03:26):That feels like a little bit of a dream right now, but hey, I'm a dreamer. I'm all over it. Yeah, I'm all over it. I'm all over it. Well, every time we hop on here, I'm always like, oh, what should we talk about? And there's always something really fucked up in the world to dive into, right? Yes.Jenny (03:44):Yeah. Yeah. I think what feels so loud is just in the last 24, 48 hours, I don't know exactly the date five-year-old boy was taken with his dad from Minnesota just immediately basically swept away to another state, and so the family and their lawyer, or even just trying to track down where they are, and I am thinking of four and five-year-olds I know in my life and just how young and how tender and how dependent a child is at that age, and I find myself feeling a lot of rage and a lot of grief and a lot of helplessness, a sense of I want to do something and how do we do something? How about,Danielle (04:40):Let me just read this to us or to us, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ice detained a five-year-old Minnesota boy. On Tuesdays, he returned home from school and transported him and later his father to a Texas detention center. According to school officials, Liam Ramos, a preschooler and his father were taken into custody while in their driveway, the superintendent of the school district in Columbia Heights, a Minneapolis suburb, said at a press conference on Wednesday, Liam who had recently turned five is one of four children in the school district who have been detained by federal immigration agents during the Trump administration's enforcement surge in the region over the last two weeks. The district said Liam and his father had just arrived home when they were detained. According to Zena Sten, the superintendent who said she drove to the home when she learned of the detentions. Wow.(05:31):When she arrived, SVI said the father's car was still running and the father and son had already been apprehended. An agent had taken Liam out of the car, led the boy to his front door and directed him to knock on the door, asking to be let in order to see if anyone else was home, essentially using a five-year-old as bait. The superintendent said in a statement, Stenbeck said Another adult living in the home was outside during the encounter and had pleaded to take care of Liam so the boy could avoid detention but was denied. Liam's older brother, a middle schooler came home 20 minutes later to find his father and brother missing. Stenbeck said two school principals from the district also arrived at the home to offer support. Mark Osh, an attorney representing the family, said the family had an active asylum case and shared paperwork showing the father and son had arrived at the US at a port of entry, meaning an official crossing point.(06:22):The family did everything they were supposed to in accordance with how the rules have been set out. He said they did not come here illegally. They're not criminals. He said there was no order of deportation against them, and he believes the father and son have remained together. In detention, school officials released two photos of the encounter, one showing Liam in a blue knit hat outside his front door with a masked agent at his side and another showing Liam standing by a car with a man holding onto his backpack. Why did tain a five-year-old, you could not tell me this child is going to be classified as violent criminal. Stevi said. Tricia McLaughlin, director Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary, said in a statement on Wednesday night that ICE was conducting a targeted operation to arrest Liam's father, who she called an illegal alien. Ice did not target a child, she said McLaughlin also alleged the father fled on foot, abandoning his child, saying, for the child's safety, one of our ice officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended.(07:21):His father. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person. The parent designates. She added the school district provided a statement from Liam's teacher who expressed shock over the boy's attention. Liam is a bright young student. He's so kind and loving, and his classmates miss him. He comes into class every day and just brightens the room. All I want for him is to be back here and safe. The detention of a young child will have ripple effects at Prakash. Once his classmates learned, the government took him away. I'm not qualified to talk about how much damage that is going to cause. It's not just the family. It's the entire community and all those kids who are now going to be facing secondary trauma. Also, on Tuesday, a 17-year-old Columbia Heights student was taken armed by armed and masked agents without parents present.(08:12):Stevi said that student was removed from their car. She said in another case, on the 14th of January, ICE agents pushed their way into an apartment and detained a 17-year-old high school girl. And her mother, Stevi said in a fourth case on January 6th, a 10-year-old fourth grade student was allegedly taken by ice on her way to elementary school with her mother. The superintendent said the 10-year-old called her father during the arrest and said the ICE agents would bring her to school. But when the father arrived at the school, he discovered his daughter and wife had been taken. By the end of that school day, the mother and daughter were in detention center in Texas.(08:48):Vic reported that as school officials are preparing for a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, an ice vehicle drove to the property of the district's school and we're told by administrators to leave ice agents have been roaming our neighborhoods, circling our schools, following our buses, coming onto our parking lots and taking our kids stem said the DHS did not respond to inquiries about other arrests and the Port of ICE's arrival on campus. In an interview after the press conference, the superintendent said The arrests and looming presence of vice had taken an enormous toll on students, parents, and school staff. Our children are traumatized. The sense of safety in our community and around our schools is shaken. Stenbeck said, I can speak on behalf of all school staff when I say our hearts are shattered, and our fourth student was taken yesterday. I just thought someone has to hear the story they're taking children. School officials said, some families are choosing to stay home out of fear of ice. Stevi said, school leaders we're working to aid families affected by ice. Our role is to educate children during the school day, but now we're trying to help people navigate this legal system. She added our main priority is to keep children safe. They're children. They're not violent criminals. They're little kids.(10:01):Hey, Rebecca. I was just reading the story of little Liam who was used as bait to get his father and other family members arrested, and I hadn't read the story before, but he had apparently they walked this boy up to the door and asked him to knock on the door so they could see if anybody else was home. So yeah, thoughts Jenny, Rebecca,I think the word ringing in my head is asylum and that this young boy and his family, so many others have already tried to seek out a safer place only to be met with such violence and harmI think I feel this kind of disbelief that we live in a country where this is what happens in broad daylight and that the conversation we're having as a country is all these ways to justify that any of this is legitimate or humane. And then I feel like I shouldn't be surprised, and I wonder if this is what my ancestors felt like in the 1950s or the 1920s or the 1860s. This kind of way that this is woven into the fabric of American life in a way that it never actually disappears. It just keeps reinventing it and reimagining itself and that every generation falls for that every time. And I don't know how to metabolize that. I can access it academically. I know enough history to know that. And if I try to think about what that felt like and why are we here again, why are we repeating this again? Why are we still doing this?Danielle (14:04):Yeah, I guess I used to think, and I think I've said this many times, I just keep repeating it, that some of this would disrupt the MAGA base. And we've even talked a bit together about Marjorie Taylor Green, but I saw a piece on the Atlantic, let me see if I can find the guy's name done by Yer Rosenberg, and it said, the biggest myth about Trump's base and why many believe it, the magma faithful, the MAGA faithful aren't deserting their leader. And it said in fact that it's like over 80% of the same Republican does support this immigration enforcement. They support what the action that happened in Venezuela, they support the hostile takeover, potential hostile takeover of Greenland.(15:07):And that some of the pushback we're hearing, but maybe you've heard it by Tucker Carlson or Marjorie Taylor Green is really politically motivated. So these folks can position themselves as successors to Trump because Trump has such a, they're saying Trump has a firm grip on the Republican party. And I think I want to push back and be like, well, we're all individuals making choices at the same time. And if you have 85% of an entire voting block saying, I'm okay with this, then why would it stop? Like you said, Rebecca, there's no reason this is going to stop. We can't wait. These people are not changing their minds now. They can see the violence. If you grew up in California and someone was in Alabama and there was a lynching in Alabama or vice versa, or the Chinese were attacked in California, et cetera, you might not know about it. That's not what's happening right now. There's freedom of information. There's social media. We can see the images and with the images, people are still saying, yeah, I'm okay with that. I think that's what strikes me.Rebecca (16:27):And again, I think if you look back historically, it's like we've been okay with this as a country for a very long time, since at the inception of the country, there is a category of people that are three fifths a human, and therefore not entitled to the rights listed under the constitution. We've been okay with this since there was such a thing as the United States of America. And that means that Donald Trump is not the problem. He is the symptom of a problem. He's the current forward face of a problem that has been with us since the very beginning, and that the church in America has sanctioned as biblically acceptable from the very beginning.Which is crazy, right? But the notion that somehow God or any version of him, it is on the side of this, it is absurd. It just is. Yeah. But again, that's the argument the church has put forth the inception since the colonies, since before there was a United States. The church has put forward the notion that God is on the side of this. And it was a lie then and it is a lie now, but it's one that this country is used to swallowing.Jenny (19:36):I am thinking about how almost a year ago now, Sean and I were doing sort of a civil rights circuit. We did Memphis and Birmingham and Montgomery and I, Selma, and then we just so happened as we kind of went through that circuit, we just so happened to be in the major cities that ice rates were happening in Nashville, in Houston, in San Antonio, and we were on the same street the day that children were being ziptied and taken from their court hearings in San Antonio. And we went from there to go visit family who grew me up in a Christian tradition to follow a man who proclaimed good news for the immigrant and for the poor. And I was crying talking about what we had witnessed, what we had physically experienced, not what we had just seen on social media, on news, what we had tangibly seen, the people we talked to and one of these family members.(21:07):The next thing they said was, I think I just saw a raindrop and they were so dissociated and disconnected from themselves, from me, from our relational field, from what was going on that I was just like, if we cannot have this conversation, what hope is there? Where do we put our hope in? How, again, I think a big part of why I am so passionate about this is because of the person that I grew up learning Jesus was and trying to emulate that. And then to see this fracture in those that call themselves Christians and Jesus followers unwilling to even engage what's going on right now. It is so distressing. And I honestly, yeah, like you're saying, I don't think it's new though. I think that somehow this marriage of Christianity and militarization and conquest has been a powerful force, I think really since Constantine and there's, I dunno what it will take to reckon with that.Danielle (22:37):I mean, clearly I think Jenny, you point, information is not enough for people to change even what we could call facts. We can't agree on those facts. So if you take the church scene, I watched it. I actually watched it live last weekend. I was interested in it and I saw him say, we don't know where we're going. His car, his jeep actually got caught in a lot of snow and they were pushing it out. They got in, they were very clear like, Hey, we're just here observing this protest. We're here watching. And they watched and they went, and he has it on Instagram and TikTok, I think Don goes up to the pastor that's there, not the pastor that's associated with ice. And the pastor puts his hand on Don and starts to push him and Don says, do not touch me. Don't touch me.(23:34):Don't push me. I'm not invading your space. But I think that's the visceral response. It's like, let me push away this reality. In my mind, that's the actual thing happening. It is not that Don is seen as a person in that moment. I don't believe that. I don't believe he saw him as a person. I think it was more as I thought about it and I got the chills thinking about it. It's like, let me just push away whatever reality you're walking in with, I want nothing to do with it. And I mean, what really struck me about that too was it was black clergymen in there protesting for Renee. Good. I'm like, oh, this is what it is. It's black independent media showing up and doing this reporting. Yeah, it was very interesting. Rebecca, did you watch any of that?Rebecca 24:34):I did. And I saw a clip of a prisoner walking out of the building saying, I just came here to worship God, and that got disrupted and I'm upset about It was the gist. I mean, that's my paraphrase. But again, I don't know what has to happen to a person, to a people theologically, psychologically, emotionally, physiologically for you to not see, not believe, not metabolize, not feel what you're actually witnessing. And the answer to that is rather scary to me. What you have to believe is true about the God that you claim to serve what you have to believe is true about the people that he created in order to turn a blind eye to what you're not only witnessing but actually participating in to the extent that omission or silence or inaction is actually participation. It is a little scary to me what that means about the American church in this moment. I don't know what to say about that.Jenny (27:52):I was going to say last Sunday we had the opportunity to go to Ebenezer Baptist, which was the church that MLK was a pastor of. Did we talk about that on here? Not really,(28:07):Yeah. And Warnock gave the sermon for the day and it ended with Renee good's face up on the screen where the worship music usually shows and him talking about what it means to account the cost in this moment and to stay the course in this battle that we're in. That's very real and very serious. And to be in that place in MLK's old church on the week that Renee Goode was murdered, it just was both kind of just a reality check, but also encouraging to just be as scary and loud and big and gaslighting as all of this is. We've been to 44 states in the last two years, and there are amazing people in every single one of them doing incredible things and looking at the community in Minneapolis with their whistles, with their defiance, with their sledding competitions, just to see the various ways in which defiance and resistance is taking place. I feel like that has been something that has been giving me a thread of hope in the midst of everything.Danielle (29:51):Yeah, I think I was thinking that yesterday. There's so much piled up trauma and so many people that are disrupted by it, as they should be, and so much, I was talking to someone the other day and they're like, I'm anxious. I'm like, I'm anxious too. How could you not be anxious even if you're kind of oblivious? I feel like the waves just travel. But I mean, not to be trite, but I think I listen to Jamar Tse a lot and he was talking about one way to combat despair is building your community has to hold hope. You can't do it by yourself. So taking action or reflection or being with other people or talking it out or showing emotion. I think those are real things. And I dunno, I guess coming back to therapy, just kind of that ingrained sense of you can't take an action to get out of your situation or change things, but I don't know where I learned that or picked that up, but I think that taking an action when you feel like shit actually does help. It's going on a walk or going for a run, and I don't know the chemistry to this, maybe you know it more than me, but something starts busting loose in the chemistry, and even if it doesn't last forever, it changes for a minute.Don't know. Do you know what changes or what the chemistry is for that?Jenny (31:30):Yeah. Well, I think that there are few things more distressing for our nervous system than immobility. So at least when we are protesting or we're running or we're lifting weights or we're doing something, it's letting our body feel that sympathetic fight flight energy that's like, well, at least I can do something and I might not be able to escape this situation. I might not be able to change it, but I can feel a little bit more movement in my own body to figure out how I can maneuver in and through it.(32:14):And so even that, as we do that, when we do move or exercise, we're releasing a lot of adrenaline and cortisol. We're working that through our system, and we're also producing a lot of natural opiates and feel good chemicals. So there is something very real and physiological to lately I've been just needing to go do the stairs machine at the gym, and I've just been like, I need to walk up a mountain and feel my body be able to do that. And yeah, it doesn't last forever, but maybe for a couple hours afterwards I'm like, okay, I feel good enough to stay in this and not check out. And I had a friend send me something today that was talking about how a lot of people think they're overwhelmed and we are going through something that's overwhelming. And a lot of that overwhelm is actually that we're taking in so much and we're not doing anything with it.(33:21):And so whether or not what you do changes or fixes it, you actually need some way to let your body process the adrenaline, the stress, the cortisol, and all of those things. And that, I think helps our body. If we look at cultures across the globe when they've been preparing for war, look at the haka and these dances that are like, they're not in it. They're not fighting the war, but they're doing something to let their bodies feel in connection with other bodies to feel their strength and to get prepared for whatever they need to be prepared for.Danielle (33:59):Right. Yeah. That's so cool. Every time I watch that dance, I'm like, oh, I wish I had that. But I feel like the Seahawks kind of provide that, just that yelling or screaming or whatever.Jenny (34:18):Totally. Or going on a roller coaster. There's not a lot of places we have permission to just scream. I do in the car a lot while I'm driving. I'll just be like, and it really helped a lot.Danielle (34:34):It's so interesting how we can go from that intense story though, hit the church stuff and then the conversation can come back to here. But I do think that's a reflection of how we kind of have to approach the moment too. There's no way to metabolize all the stuff in the article. It's deeply overwhelming. One aspect probably couldn't be metabolized in a day. I dunno. Does that make sense?Yeah. How are you looking at the next week then, Jenny, as you think of that, even that kind of structure we went through, how do you imagine even the next week? It's hard to imagine the next week. I feel like we never know what's going to happen.Jenny (35:15):I know I feel very grateful that we're in a place where we have really good friends and community and support. So this week looks like dinners with our friends, engaging what's going on. We're very close to this really local bookstore that gets letters from folks in prison about what kind of book they want. And then you go find the book and you pack it and you mail it to them. What(35:52):So we're going to volunteer in there and send some books to folks in prison and just do things. And it's not changing everything, but I believe that if everybody focused on doing the right thing that was right in front of them, we would have a much different world and a less associated apathetic world. I plan on going to the gym a lot and working out, getting buff, working out my running may or may not be disrupting some more standup open mic comedy nights. We'll see. PostSpeaker 1 (36:31):What about you? What's your week look like?Danielle (36:39):I tend to set, I tell myself I love the weekends because Saturdays and Sundays are my days full days off. So I tend to tell myself, oh, I can't wait for that. But then in the week I tell myself, these might seem silly, but I say, oh man, there's so much hard stuff. But then I tell myself, I don't want to rush a day because I really like to see my kids. So then each day I think, well, I have work that's cool. I have these other tasks. And then when I get outside of work, I look forward, I try to tell myself, oh, I'm going to eat something I really like. I'm going to give my kid a hug. I'm going to hear about their day.(37:16):I like to lay flat on my back after work, even before I eat, just to kind of reset. I look forward to that moment. Seems silly. I like that at noon every day. Usually reserve my time to work out. And even if I don't push myself hard, I go just to hug the people. And sometimes I get there early and I sit in a corner and they're like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm mentally warming up. So those are the kind of things, it sounds mundane, but I need really basic, dependable rhythms. I know I can execute.Yeah, yeah, yeah. Guess what? I really have to go to the bathroom.   Well, first I guess I would have to believe that there was or is an actual political dialogue taking place that I could potentially be a part of. And honestly, I'm not sure that I believe that.

In this special episode of Real Talk for Real Fundraisers, Jeff Schreifels is joined by Christopher Beck—Associate Director of Individual and Planned Giving at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and a 20-year fundraising veteran—as a new co-host for an ongoing 2026 series centered on equity, inclusion, and the real-world challenges facing fundraisers of color. This conversation centers around the practical, financial, and strategic realities of a sector that is already changing faster than many organizations are prepared for. Together, Jeff and Christopher dig into five foundational questions that will guide the series ahead, from who actually holds decision-making power inside non-profit organizations to the measurable revenue impact of building a more diverse donor base. With the great wealth transfer underway, next-generation donors on the rise, and communities of color holding more philanthropic power than ever before, this episode offers a clear-eyed look at what's at stake and what's possible for organizations willing to adapt.  It's an honest, forward-looking conversation about where fundraising is headed and how leaders can meet the moment without losing sight of relationships, mission, or results. Show Highlights: In this episode, you'll learn about… The single biggest equity barrier limiting revenue potential in most fundraising offices, and why homogeneity in decision-making is a financial risk The business case for donor diversification, including why engaging Latinx, Asian American, African American, LGBTQ+, and next-gen donors is essential for long-term growth How inclusive internal culture directly impacts donor retention, staff turnover, and relationship continuity A five-year forecast comparing equity-embracing organizations with those that resist change, and why the gap between them will continue to widen  Veritus Group is passionate about partnering with you and your organization throughout your fundraising journey. We believe that the key to transformative fundraising is a disciplined system and structure, trusted accountability, persistence, and a bit of fun. We specialize in mid-level fundraising, major gifts, and planned giving, helping our clients to develop compelling donor offers and to focus on strategic leadership and organizational development. You can learn more about how we can partner with you at www.VeritusGroup.com.   Additional Resources:   [Blog] Every Non-Profit Leader Needs to Join the Journey For Racial Justice  [White Paper]  Building a Culture of Philanthropy [Blog] White Men, Wake Up! 

Irene Sofia Lucio stops by to discuss the journey from being a shy kid in Puerto Rico who had to force herself to raise her hand to starring in some of the most provocative plays on Broadway. She opens up about the intersection of motherhood and art, explaining how becoming a parent shifted her relationship with her body and why creative teams led by mothers are simply more efficient. We also dig into the "white passing" label she carried for years and how she finally decided to fully reclaim her Latinx identity and name in an industry that loves to categorize. We get into the specifics of her current role in Liberation, including the decision to wear a custom golden armor bust of her own body for opening night and the unique power of performing a nude scene while her father is in the audience. Irene shares how the play explores the history of women's liberation and why physical vulnerability on stage creates a "force field" of safety with her castmates. It is a candid look at how the political climate impacts performance and why gathering in a theater is a form of community building we desperately need right now. Irene Sofia Lucio is an actor and creator whose Broadway credits include Liberation, Slave Play, and Wit. Her Off-Broadway work includes Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. On screen, she has appeared in In the Heights, Tell Me Lies, The Big Cigar, and co-created the web series Butts. She holds a BA from Princeton University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. This episode is powered by WelcomeToTimesSquare.com, the billboard where you can be a star for a day. Connect with Irene: Instagram: @irenesofialucio Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support the podcast on Patreon and watch video versions of the episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theatre_podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheTheatrePodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Alan's personal Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@alanseales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Ruben Gallego recently introduced a bill to limit algorithmic pricing. He'll tell us why Arizonans may not be paying fair prices for common items. Plus, a new list aims to shine a light on sites with significance to the Latinx community.

Send us a textArmando hears the same heartbreaking story over and over: talented Latinas been doing their white boss's job for years, training replacement after replacement, but they're never considered for the promotion because they "lack training." Meanwhile, mainstream fundraising conferences and training programs are designed for wealthy organizations, ignoring the small and medium-sized Latino nonprofits that desperately need support. The result? A sector where Latino leaders are systematically kept out of decision-making roles while being exploited for their labor, passion, and proximity to community.Armando Zumaya, a 40-year fundraising veteran, is the founder of Somos El Poder, the first Latinx fundraising institute in the United States. He doesn't hold back as he exposes the tokenization, invisibility, and structural barriers that Latinx fundraisers face daily. Armando isn't just here to call out the problem. He's building the solution. In this episode, nonprofit leaders will understanding why creating their own infrastructure, being bold, demanding board diversification, and investing in fundraising are acts of resistance and survival.Continue the discussion with Armando:Visit their website or send an email to armando@somoselpoder.orgSupport the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.

In this episode, I talk to Rafael A. Martínez, an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University (ASU) in Southwest Borderlands whose work focuses on immigrant rights, mixed-status families, and Latinx cultural and historical productions in the southwest borderlands. Dr. Martínez's book with the University of Arizona Press, Illegalized: Undocumented Youth Movements in the United States, analyzes the rise of Undocumented Youth Social Movements in the U.S. and immigrant youth's contributions to the broader Immigrant Rights Movements.

Neil Saavedra raves about an unforgettable charcuterie board from The Wine Station’s winter recipes, takes listener talkbacks, and reflects on Southern California’s “summer in January” weather. The conversation continues with thoughts on Latinx identity and Spanish name pronunciation in TV and radio, plus a lively cross with Tim Conway Jr.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 187 — Latinidad in Musical TheatreWelcome back to The Conner & Smith Show, where history, artistry, and storytelling collide.In this episode, we sit down with author Stefan Sittig to discuss his upcoming book Latinidad in Musical Theatre, a vital and illuminating exploration of Latinx contributions to the American musical theatre canon.We trace a vibrant lineage of artists and influences — from the exuberant stardom of Carmen Miranda, through the groundbreaking work of Chita Rivera and Graciela Daniele, all the way to the contemporary impact of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Along the way, we talk representation, legacy, visibility, and how Latinidad has shaped the sound, movement, and storytelling of musical theatre in ways that are often celebrated — and too often overlooked.It's part theatre history, part cultural conversation, and part passionate celebration of artists who changed the form from the inside out. Insightful, generous, and deeply affirming, this episode is a must-listen for anyone who loves musical theatre and wants to understand its fuller, richer story.

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Brent Taylor Dion Lack Keysha E. Jasmyn Carter This Week We Discuss Live W/o Any Entertainment vs No Social Interaction 20 Barefoot Suicides Across Legos vs 3 Bareknuckle Rounds W/ Mike Tyson Have Perfect Pitch vs Photographic Memory S/o To Our Sponsors Better Help Get 10% Off Your First Month! https://betterhelp.com/SQUADD Blue Chew Bluechew.com Get 10% Off Your First Month Of Blue Chew Gold! Promo Code: SQUADD

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 01! Happy New Year! Our guest today is Peter Jae, a multi-hyphenate performer in Hollywood. Peter Jae is an actor, stunt performer, producer, and multidisciplinary creative with over two decades of experience working across film, television, and independent projects. Born in Brooklyn and raised primarily in the Bronx—with time spent in Queens as well—Peter grew up navigating identity as a Korean American in predominantly Black and Latinx neighborhoods. Those early experiences deeply shaped his worldview and continue to inform the stories he chooses to tell and the characters he brings to life. Before entering Hollywood, Peter pursued a wide range of creative paths. He attended a performing arts high school, studied menswear design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and even launched his own urban greeting-card business. That early blend of art, entrepreneurship, and storytelling set the tone for a career defined by versatility rather than a single lane. Although his first opportunities in Hollywood were focused on stunt work and action, he has expanded into more substantial acting roles, appearing in projects such as Blackhat, Olympus Has Fallen, and numerous television productions. He is especially recognized for his work in Ktown Cowboys, an Asian American–led project that allowed him to portray a multidimensional Korean American character—something he has long advocated for in an industry that often limits Asian men to narrow stereotypes. Most recently, Peter stars in The Workout, an independent action-driven film that blends physical intensity with psychological tension. The story centers on discipline, survival, and the personal battles that unfold when routine, control, and identity collide—both inside and outside the gym. The film highlights Peter's ability to merge his background in stunts with grounded dramatic performance, reinforcing his reputation as an actor who brings authenticity and depth to physically demanding roles. You can follow Peter Jae and his latest work on Instagram at @peterjaenyla. If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

Yana Stainova is a sociocultural anthropologist and an Assistant Professor at McMaster University. She is interested in art, urban poverty, social inequality, migration, and the lived experience of violence in Latin America. Her research explores how people summon music practices to pursue visions of social justice in the face of political turmoil and barriers to immigration. Her first book project entitled Sonorous Worlds: Musical Enchantment in Venezuela studies how young people coming of age in the urban barrios of Caracas use music and stories to push back against the forces of everyday violence, social exclusion, and state repression. Her second book project, tentatively titled The Politics of Joy: Collective Art Practices across the US-Mexico Border focuses on Latinx migration and artistic practices in North America.A correction: El Sistema was founded in 1975. Hugo Chávez won the Venezuelan election held in 1998 but officially assumed power in 1999. DONATE TODAYA note from Lev:I am a high school teacher of history and economics at a public high school in NYC, and began the podcast to help demystify economics for teachers.  The podcast is now within the top 2% of podcasts worldwide in terms of listeners (per Listen Notes) and individual episodes are frequently listed by The Syllabus (the-syllabus.com) as among the 10 best political economy podcasts of a particular week.  The podcast is reaching thousands of listeners each month.  The podcast seeks to provide a substantive alternative to mainstream economics media; to communicate information and ideas that contribute to equitable and peaceful solutions to political and economic issues; and to improve the teaching of high school and university political economy. Best, Lev A Correction Podcast Episodes RSS

Make Morality Mainstream Again The adultification of teen fiction has intentionally Frankensteined books for teens into cesspools of ideological normalization. A while ago, I met a mother and her daughter, the latter of whom I hadn't seen in several years. On the cusp of turning twelve, she'd obviously grown in the time since, and, her mother proudly informed me, had become quite the reader. Indeed, the girl held quite a thick book in her hand. Which was it? The girl showed me the cover. I turned to the mother. “Do you know what your daughter is reading?” She'd figured telling her eleven-year-old she could read whatever was marked 14+ was a safe enough guardrail for appropriate content. As reading is an experience between book and reader, the mother wouldn't have seen what her daughter was taking in. She couldn't either know that her daughter's book was familiar not because it was something I'd read but because it was something I wouldn't. Worse, she thought she could trust the institution. THE READING DILEMMA Parents want kids to read, but as most can't keep up with their reading habits, they don't fully realize what's being allowed, even promoted, in books for young readers. As with other once vaunted institutions, the publishing world has morphed in ways many aren't fully aware of. Over a decade ago, I signed my first contract for Young Adult (YA) fiction. Before and since, I've watched the genre boom through the stages of audience demographic to viable business. Throughout, YA has expanded from books for teens to a genre unto itself, attracting talented writers, lucrative contracts, and the golden goose of Hollywood adaptations. YA is officially for readers 14-18 years (and up). However, as it's after Middle Grade (8-12 years), tweens are frequent readers, plus many eleven-year-olds reading up. There is “lower” and “upper” YA, but they're unofficial categories for libraries or writers specific about their target audience. Most retailers and publishers categorize all teen books under the general YA umbrella. NA, New Adult, mainly written for college-aged readers into their early twenties, is often sheltered under the YA umbrella too. Alongside the wider publishing industry, YA has changed significantly over the years, reflecting broader shifts in society. What follows isn't an analysis on talent or quality but content, as something about words in a book makes what's written more real, valid, romantic, admirable, aspirational. Thus, the intent is to shed light on some of the many topic and imagery that are included in books for young readers. At risk that this won't earn me any friends in publishing (at best), here's some of what I've seen: DEVOLUTION OF YA FICTION Growth of the YA audience/genre is an objective benefit, logical as it is to increase methods for targeting potential customers. As YA has increased in business and position, its morphing into genre unto itself has attracted many adults readers. As a YA author, I read mainly within my market and see the appeal for adult readers considering how well the genre's developed. The migration of older readers to YA is certainly one of the many reasons it's been so adultified. Other factors include the poisonous stranglehold ideological tentacles have on many aspects of culture, entertainment, and education. The shifts adults have finally caught onto in adult fiction and film have infected literature for younger audiences, picture books through YA. A quick example, originally, romantic comedies centered on a man and woman who clashed at the outset, then eventually found their way to each other at the end. The story would build to some romantic declaration, then a kiss. Anyone who's been watching knows that there's now a whole lot of touching that happens before any romantic declaration occurs. Longer, more frequent kisses are only second to scenes of the pair sleeping together before deciding how they really feel about each other. All this is becoming commonplace in YA. What was once cutesy stories about a high school girl chasing a crush has now become stories featuring a whole lot of other firsts, even seconds, and then some. The devolution of YA is a result of purposeful normalization and reshaping of societal norms through manipulatively emotional appeals by writers, agents, and editors. On average, books from larger publishing houses take roughly eighteen months to two years to evolve from contract to product on the shelf. To say, story trends are set in motion well before their rise in popularity. Whatever the view on agents as gatekeepers to the larger houses, publishers only publish so many books in a year, an amount significantly less than all the people who want to be published. Hence, agents act as preliminary filters for editors, whittling down potential authors to relatively more manageable numbers. An agent must really believe in a writer and project to nab one of those few spots. Like most creative fields, writing is highly subjective, so in addition to general quality, each agent and editor has preferences for stories they want to work with. They're also usually pretty clear about what they're looking for, so part of the progression of change can be traced back to what's being requested. CHARACTER INCLUSION CHECKLISTS When I first entered the “querying trenches,” wish lists from agents mainly specified genres and their various offshoots. Although ideologies make a home in all genres, most were subtler, more akin to a light sprinkling than the deluge of today. Within a few short years, wish lists changed. Unofficial “checklists” appeared in the now familiar cancerous categories of equity, representation, marginalization, and other socialist pseudonyms. Nonfiction for teens is dominated by activism, coming out, and adaptations of left-wing figures' biographies. Rather than prioritize quality, potential, uniqueness, the new gatekeeping is often focused on the inclusion of certain ideologies. For the first while, emphasis was on strong female characters, an odd request considering the YA market is dominated by female writers and readers. Previous character portrayal thus had little to do with some imagined patriarchal oppression. Now, female characters are “fierce”, projections of feminist fantasies celebrating girl bosses who are objectively pushy, uncooperative, obnoxious, self-righteous, and/or highly unrealistic. Somehow, they capture the most desirable love interest, a magical combination of masculinity and emotional vulnerability, who is inexplicably un-neutered by support of her domineering principles. Frequently, the girl makes the first move. Worse than overbearing feminism is unrealistic portrayals of a girl's physical abilities accompanied by most unsavory rage and wrath and anger. Supposedly, these traits aren't anathema to the gorgeous guys (when it is a guy) these girls miraculously attract. Unless there's a moth to flame metaphor here, it's a lie to pretend wrath is a healthy attraction. This well reflects the move away from what's become so-last-century stories featuring underdogs who searched deep for courage and heart to overcome challenges, raising up others alongside themselves. A time when character development focused on, well, character. More wholesome stories have been replaced with a self-proclaimed oppressed burning with self-righteous rage and violence. Such characters have seeped into fantasy for adults as well, most notably in armies featuring female combat soldiers and warriors without special powers, who somehow go toe-to-toe if not best male counterparts. Often this sort of matchup is shown as some cunning of smallness, agility, and destruction of arrogant male condescension. Never mind that such fighting is highly unrealistic, and any male is rightly confident if paired against a woman in physical combat. No amount of small body darting or ingenuity will save a girl from the full force of one landed male punch. The unquestioned portrayal of women able to best men in physical combat is worrying considering the real possibility of a reader confusing fact with fiction. Besides, a country which sends its women to war will no longer exist, as it's a country with males but not men. The current not-so-secret of major houses is that a book doesn't have a high chance of getting published if it doesn't check certain markers, especially for midlist and debut authors, though A-listers are not immune. A Caucasian is hardly allowed to write a story featuring a so-called BIPOC, but a straight author must somehow include the ever-expanding gay-bcs, and it must be in a positive light. Some authors were always writing these characters, which at least reflects acting of their own volition. For the rest, many didn't start until required. Because of the careful wording around these ideologies, many don't speak out against these practices so as not to appear hateful and bigoted. The mandated appearance of so-called marginalized and under-represented in stories lest the author risk erasing…someone, somehow also operates along these lines. Although, apparently, only very specific groups are at risk of disappearing. These standards are ridiculous in their least damaging iterations. How many so-anointed BIPOC were consulted over their standard portrayals? How can every individual of every minority be consulted for approval, and who chooses which faction decides? How many Latinos, speakers of gendered language, agreed to Latinx and Latine? Christian characters in mainstream publishing are rarely portrayed as steadfast believers or even rebels rediscovering faith. Jewish stories usually feature a character who's “lived experience” is assimilation, so the character is of a religion but doesn't represent it. A real portrayal of the true beliefs these characters come from would not align with the world mainstream publishing wants to shape. Even more ludicrous is that “disabled” and “neurodivergent” are considered identities, as if a physical or medical condition is cause for new labeling. The approach used to be that you are still you, worthy of respect and consideration, despite these conditions. In the glorified world of the self-hyphenate, the world of we-are-our-self-declared-identity, it's the foremost feature mentioned, with accompanying expectation of praise and exaltation, regardless of an individual's character or behavior. Don't confuse the argument against the labeling with the individuals, because they are separable. Worse than the tokenism is the reduction of individuals to secondary characteristics. Is this really the first thing you have to say about yourself, the most essential thing to know? When did it become norm to turn skin color or medical condition or physical ability into a character trait, the very notion of which says that anyone in this group must be viewed primarily through this lens, as if each is exactly the same? How myopic. How belittling. Following the cue set by movies, books for teens also morphed from cutesy rom-coms to ideological showcases. Unsurprisingly, there's been the introduction of the stereotypical gay best friend. Then storylines focusing on coming out or discovering someone close was gay, with accompanying template for writing them. The one coming out is always the strong one, the resilient one, though much language must be banned lest they be offended or erased, so their strength is dependent upon a carefully constructed bubble. Not only is inclusion necessary but happiness is the only possible, deliberately portrayed reaction. Never mind if some or all of it runs counter to a writer's religious beliefs. Moreover, “I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I'll still treat you with respect” was never an acceptable response. And it is an acceptable response in all manner of situations, unless you exorcise it in efforts to forcibly shape a particular worldview. Additionally, the attitude is that since you can't tell me who to love, and loving this person makes me happy, you must not only ally but champion me. Why is it offensive to present different acceptable, respectful reactions to teens? Who exactly is erased if this character isn't presented at all? As before, don't confuse the argument against mandate with the individuals. The contention isn't about love, but about religion protecting the sanctity of romantic relationships and marriage, a religious practice since the dawn of time, as seen across centuries and civilizations. Marriage is described as sanctified and holy, because it's Divine in nature, and thereby under the domain of the religious. If it's just a contract, then of course any government can regulate it. It’s disingenuous to deny that such enforcement clashes with the very nature of what writing is about. It shuts down discussion, then subverts it entirely by pretending there's nothing to debate. That shouldn't be a source of pride for publishing, but deepest shame. In their efforts to supposedly widen the window of story matter, they've narrowed the frames and tinted the panes to exclude suddenly unacceptable voices entirely. PORNOGRAPHY AND CONSENT Compounded upon all this, most books are no longer relatively clean romances building to a single kiss, as every stage of the relationship has become more explicit. Some scenes are akin to manuals, containing the sort of imagery once the sole province of steamy romances. When efforts are rightly made to remove these books from shelves, screeches of censorship! erasure! representation! resound. We wouldn't, and shouldn't, tolerate any adult approaching a kid on the street and telling stories with such description, nor should we allow it from close friends or family. Authors do not hold special status in this, no matter what the screechers screech. Taking such books off shelves isn't an indication of bigotry, intolerance, hatred, or erasure, but moral obligation. The counterargument from writers, agents, and editors is that explicit detail is necessary because of something to do with “lived experiences” and consent. First, if kids are doing it anyway, then adults definitely needn't assist. Second, consent is not quite the magical word society would have us believe. Third, “everyone has different experiences” is not a reason for writing graphic content, and the replacement of “intimacy” with “experience” is largely responsible for why relationships are in the gutter and leaving people unfulfilled. Intimacy is something private between two individuals; experience is a vague euphemism to pass off what should matter as transitory, despite irrevocable effects. It's difficult to imagine in an age when phones, cameras, and microphones track a person everywhere, but there was once an ideal called privacy, and the intimate was part of it. Pushback also leads to defenses of “sexuality,” another way of saying adults want to teach kids all kinds of ways to pursue these “experiences”. Changing the wording doesn't alter the nature but does allow immoral actors to force celebration of their fantasies and fetishes. The wrongness is incontestable, though not surprising from those who promote polyamory for teens and romantic relationships between humans and demons or other ungodly creatures. The feeble argument for writing scenes of teens sleeping together is they must see what consent looks like. Again, authors do not hold special status or exemption. There is no strong enough argument for writing scenes for teens in which one character undresses another and verbally asks permission every step of the way. Especially because the new trend seems to be the girl not only “consenting”, but also a burning I want this. If she wants, this wording implies, then she must have, abandoning all reason and morality. Consent has become an excuse for all sorts of undesirable, immoral, even illegal behavior, but mutual agreement is supposed to make it okay. This isn't the behavior we should be promoting for teens; we should be giving them better things, bigger ideas to think about. Worst of all, why is any adult writing about two sixteen-year-olds sleeping together? A teenager, no matter how mature, is still developing and while smart and clever not really old enough to fully understand what she's “consenting” to, and is probably being taken advantage of. We treat eighteen with the same magical power as consent, as if any age should be sleeping around, even if legalese only extends so far. Teen pregnancy, abortion overall, would hardly be an issue if everyone stopped sleeping with people they shouldn't. Any adherent to morality knows this, though morality is just another thing scuttled from teen fiction. G-dless ideology is the new morality; immoral, manmade gods have replaced G-d; lust is the new love; sexuality excuse for pornography; perceived racism and misogyny validation for violence and rage. Many are we who did not consent to this. These scenes are in teen films as well, though how many parents know this in an age of individual devices? Adults pretending to be teens take each other's clothes off before a camera for real tweens, teens, and/or adults to watch. Please explain in clear and simple language why this is not a form of pornography. What absolutely vital role does this scene have in advancing the story? Consent is not enough. Wanting is not enough. We're encouraging teens to turn their bodies into used cars, dented, scraped, scarred, and baggage laden, for what? Why is this hollowing out of self and morality good? This serves no benefit for teens and the overall state of relationships. Consent has become an excuse for all sorts of undesirable, immoral, even illegal behavior, but we're supposed to think that everyone agreeing makes whatever they agree to okay. It's incredibly obvious that feminism and the sexual revolution didn't free women, but chain them in a prison of animalistic, unsatisfying desire, dooming them to jadedness, frustration, and loneliness. But they're so responsible! So mature! By such logic, a responsible sixteen-year-old should be able to buy guns, alcohol, and drugs. But identity! No, identity doesn't mandate a book with graphic imagery, nor is it “sexuality” or “feeling seen” or any other term you hide behind. Witness the tattered remains of social morality that writers do not balk at writing this for teens. They should balk at writing this for anyone. Once we recognized that betterment came through battling temptations. It is not difficult to see how the enforced normalization of all this was also an effective ridding of undesirable shame. Not only have we banished feeling bad, we've enforced celebration of what shame once kept in line. But they'll never be prepared! How did any of us get here if none of this existed for millennia? But look at the sales! Many people also bought rock pets. Deviants and defenders will attempt to claim that (a) this sort of stuff always existed, which isn't really a reason for its continuance, and (b) previous generations were undoubtedly stifled in their inability to express their true selves. Perhaps. And yet, previous generations built civilization, with significantly less medical prescriptions too. Previous generations were better at family and community, meaning and purpose. We have “experiences.” But this is what married people do! Some writers introduce a faux or rushed marriage into the plot, perhaps because their weakening moral compass prevents writing an explicit scene between unmarried characters. Marrying the characters and making them eighteen doesn't magically okay writing this for teens. Everyone does it—indeed there are many common bodily functions which shouldn't be demonstrated in public—isn't either reason enough. Pressures to include these scenes is evidenced by authors long regarded as “clean” storytellers, authors who won't swear or indulge in graphic or gratuitous content, authors who clearly express Christian beliefs in their acknowledgements, writing them too. Would they give this book to their priest? To a young church member? Would they read the scene aloud for family or friends or the very teens they write for? If even the professed religious authors do not have the fortitude to oppose this, if even they can be convinced of the supposed validity, then gone is the bulwark protecting children from the psychological and moral damage resulting from these scenes. But inclusivity! We must reflect the world around them! Considering what's in these books, all should pray teens aren't seeing this around them. Either way, that doesn't excuse writing about it. Moreover, cries for inclusivity from those shutting down differing opinions are inherently without substance. True inclusivity is achieved when stories focus on universal truths and laudatory values shared by all. The fundamental argument is that “could” is not “should”, and the only reliable arbiter between the two is Divinely-based morality. Current permissiveness is only possible in a society which worked for decades to expunge religion from its vital foundational position and influence. The demonization piled atop its degradation was simple insurance that the moral truths of religion wouldn't interfere with the newly established secular order. We can still be good people, they claimed. Witness the tattered remains. Allowing, championing, this sort of writing has not made us better, and instead of listening to concerns, activists and proponents double down. Need you any proof of the separation between ethics and morality and elitism and academia, scroll through an article or two in defense of these scenes. The more “educated” the individual, the twisted the pretzel of rationalization. Rational lies, all of them. These lies are prominently center of the new crusade against so-called “book banning,” although the books are still available at retailers and publishers. Fueled by self-righteous hysteria, activists take great pride in influencing state legislatures to enact decrees against book bans in protection of “lived experiences,” representation, and the like. If a teen doesn't see two boys or girls or more sleeping together, so the thinking goes, then they face imminent, unspecified harm, never mind that their sacred voice has been quashed. They claim BIPOC and queer authors are specifically targeted, failing to mention it's the content not the author rejected. Somehow the bigots are the ones who don't want kids reduced to “sexuality”, while the tolerant are the ones who do. Need anyone ask if these protections extend to writers who don't align or even disagree with their worldview? I'd say these books are better suited for adults, but adults are despairing of the unreadability of books in their categories too. And that aside from the targeted “decolonization” of books and authors that adults, especially men, enjoyed reading. From the myriad of books extant, no plot was ever turned, no story ever dependent upon an explicit scene, in the bedroom or elsewhere. Neither does such render the work art or literature, but rather indecent and abhorrent. Parents struggle to encourage their kids to read when such are the books available. ELIMINATING THE WEST For some time, agents have specifically requested non-western narratives, histories, and legends. Atop the deteriorating state of the current education system, teens aren't being presented with a fictionalized character in history, which may thereby spark interest and curiosity in real history. No wonder they know so little of the past when they're not offered history at all. What does make it in represents very select time periods. Other permitted historical fiction is alternative histories where the past is magicked or reimagined, almost always in some gender swapped way. While alternative histories can be creative, the lack of regular historical fiction seems to indicate the only permitted history is a remade one. Otherwise, most of western history isn't on shelves because no one wants to represent it. Which means no one's fighting for it to be published. Which means young readers aren't given glimpses into the past that made this present and will highly influence the future. And this from those who claim large swaths of the population don't properly teach history. The same who pushed the fabricated and widely debunked lie that slavery was unique to the west, the only culture who actively sought to end it. The same who have yet to consider the absolute necessity of mandating schools to teach the true horrors of communism done right. The same who have a monochrome view of colonization and chameleon approach to the faux oppressed-oppressor narrative. A rather high volume of Asian-based stories, histories, and mythologies fill the market instead. The proliferation of Asian and other eastern fiction isn't objectively concerning, but it's deliberate increase alongside western stories' deliberate decrease is. It's less an expansion of viewpoints and more a supplanting of anything west. I grew up reading historical fiction, but there's a dearth on shelves for teen readers, who must see where we come from through the eyes of characters resembling our ancestors. Instead of walking through time in their shoes and understanding their struggles in the context of when they lived, we project modern ideologies upon the one protagonist somehow vastly ahead of her time. It's deliberately false and disconnects readers from the world that created the one we live in. Whatever your opinion of our world, it was formed in those histories, and we cannot appreciate the present without understanding the world that made it. MENTAL HEALTH Another major trend in teen fiction is the focus on the broad category of mental health, its emergence unsurprising considering the uptick in modern society. Whatever the viewpoint on diagnoses, the truth is that the ones calling for greater awareness have much to do with having caused the issues. Teens living in the most prosperous, free society that ever was should not have such measures of mental health struggles, yet they do. Skim the messaging of the last several decades and it's no wonder why. Teens are raised on a bombardment of lies and damaging viewpoints resulting in a precarious Jenga structure at their foundation. For decades they've been told they can sleep around without lasting consequence, negating the need to build deep, lasting, exclusive relationships. Families, a fundamental source of meaning and grounding, have been shoved aside for the faux glory of sleeping with whomever, whenever, and the new solution of “found family”. Just because a pill supposedly prevents biological consequences doesn't mean a different sort of toll hasn't been exacted. And that follows the perpetual degradation of dress, reducing the entirety of an individual to a form as valued or devalued as any other physical object. Added to the disrespect of the body is the incessant, unfounded claim that “climate change” is going to destroy the planet by…well, soon. Never mind that we're doing better than before, and all predictions have been proven wrong. Imagine what continual doom and gloom does to the mental state of a teenager already grappling with ping-ponging hormones, who should be presented with optimism for the future they're about old enough to create. Well, we have a pill for that too. Teens have been told the American dream is gone by those who set out to destroy it, that American greatness isn't worth dreaming about by those who recolored it a nightmare. Hobbies and collected skills, the work of their own hands, have been shunted for social media trends and unfettered internet access. Phones are given to younger and younger kids, so they don't grow up in the tangible, real world but an algorithmic, digital one. Inevitably, the worst of that world affects them. They're told that they're hated, feared for the way they were born. They're told they're not even who they've been since birth, basic facts purposely turned into issues and doubts to shake the foundation of self. Those most adamant about the contrived need for teens to discover identity are the most diligent at axing their very roots. The response to the mental health crisis, the jadedness, the internal turmoil they've helped facilitate by destroying the enduring, reliable fabric of society is to encourage more of the same empty, hollowing behaviors. Atop all this is never-ending rage, rage, rage. At the base is the deliberate removal of religion. No matter an individual's choice of observance, religion undeniably provides what liberal society and decadence cannot; meaning. Eternal, enduring meaning. The knowing that you're more than a clump of cells passing through this timespan, because you are an integral link in a chain reaching back millennia. Your ancestors didn't endure hardships or fight to build civilization so you could be the end of the line, but so you could gratefully take your place in it. You and your actions matter. Not because you're a political vote or celebrated community, but because you were made in the image of G-d Who woke you today as there's something only you can do in His world. What effect would the proliferation of this messaging in literature have on the mental state of the youth? And for those pontificating about diversity and inclusion, who in truth only want different skin colors espousing the same beliefs, there is no greater unifier than religion. Belief in a higher power unites individuals of different backgrounds, colors, and, most valuably, opinions, in ways no mandate or ideology ever can. While lengthy, the above in no way encompasses all the changes, reasons, and effects pertaining to the devolution of teen fiction. And, as the focus is not on talent but content, it can be shifted as easily as it was before. You may disagree with everything I've written. You may accuse me of jealousy, hatred, bigotry, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, erasure, et al. I only encourage you to look for yourself. Peruse bookstore aisles; click through new releases; check who's getting awards. What do your eyes see?

Join us as we discuss the mental health issues affecting Latinx adolescents today. Dr. Yovanska Duarte-Velez, a clinical psychologist specializing in this area, sheds light on unique stressors like discrimination and cultural expectations. Discover how understanding these challenges can help provide the support needed. Don't miss this enlightening conversation!  Learn more about Yovanska Duarte-Velez, PhD 

After a celebrated run off-Broadway and rave reviews, Irene Lucio has returned to the role of Isadora in the groundbreaking play. LIBERATION explores the universal themes of freedom, identity, and resilience, set against the backdrop of historical and contemporary struggles for justice. Isadora is an Italian immigrant filmmaker who entered a green-card marriage. New York Theatre Guide called her performance “sharp and witty… toggling back and forth between humor and heartbreak with natural ease.” Irene is perhaps best known for her role in Jeremy O. Harris' award-winning play SLAVE PLAY where she starred as Patricia and played the role in all four forms of the show. She also wrote a Spanish series titled ‘SúperEllas' for Canela TV. A show for children about Latina trailblazers, it won the Best Non-English Program – Family Programming at the 48th Annual Gracie Awards. As a Latinx woman born and raised in Puerto Rico, Irene seeks roles which showcase the importance of diverse representation in the arts. Fluent in Spanish and a graduate of Princeton and Yale's esteemed acting program, she currently lives in Manhattan with her husband and 2 year old son. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Preaching for Christmas, Cecilia González-Andrieu offers a reflection on what it means to have Christian faith: "God is with us. God is with us always, and God dwells with us most perfectly in the ones who need us. Where are our mangers? Let us search for them because that is where Creation joins our song. To go to them, protect them, accompany them is to give our Christian faith meaning and to make our God present."Cecilia González-Andrieu is professor of Theology and Theological Aesthetics at Loyola Marymount University. Her work explores systematic theology, theological aesthetics, and political theology from the particularity of the Latinx experience. A scholar-activist Dr. González-Andrieu speaks and marches with those who thirst for the liberative power of theological thought in a number of interlaced areas of inquiry. At LMU, Cecilia helps lead the university's work with undocumented students. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252025 to learn more about Cecilia to read her preaching text, to view her preaching in Spanish, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

WHAT'S UP FOOL? EP 556Felipe welcomes back Marcella Arguello to What's Up Fool?! Marcella is the explosive Latinx comedian, actor, and writer whose debut HBO Max special, Bitch, Grow Up., was hailed by Latin Media as "absolutely joyous." A veteran stand-up with two Billboard-charting albums and recent roles on Abbott Elementary and Poker Face, she brings her sharp takes on race, gender, and wild stories to the mic.Connect with us on InstagramFelipe - @ FelipeesparzacomedianRizo - @ComicMartinRizoMarcella -@Marcellacomedy Hear about Felipe's tour dates, new merch drops & more by signing up @ http://felipesworld.com Felipe Esparza is a comedian and actor, known for his stand-up specials, “They're Not Gonna Laugh at You”, “Translate This”, and his latest dual-release on Netflix, “Bad Decisions/Malas Decisiones” (2 different performances in two languages), his recurring appearances on Netflix's “Gentefied”, NBC's “Superstore” and Adultswim's “The Eric Andre Show”, as well as winning “Last Comic Standing” (2010), and his popular podcast called “What's Up Fool?”. Felipe continues to sell out live stand-up shows in comedy clubs and theaters around the country.

Welcome to the Arise podcast, conversations on faith, race, justice, gender, the church, and what are we seeing in reality right now? So Jenny and I dive in a little bit about therapy. The holidays, I would don't say the words collective liberation, but it feels like that's what we're really touching on and what does that mean in this day and age? What are we finding with one another? How are we seeking help? What does it look like and what about healing? What does that mean to us? This isn't like a tell all or the answer to all the problems. We don't have any secret knowledge. Jenny and I are just talking out some of the thoughts and feeling and talking through what does it mean for us as we engage one another, engage healing spaces, what do we want for ourselves? And I think we're still figuring that out. You're just going to hear us going back and forth talking and thank you for joining. Danielle (00:10):Welcome to the Arise podcast, conversations on faith, race, justice, gender, the church, and what are we seeing in reality right now? So Jenny and I dive in a little bit about therapy. The holidays, I would don't say the words collective liberation, but it feels like that's what we're really touching on and what does that mean in this day and age? What are we finding with one another? How are we seeking help? What does it look like and what about healing? What does that mean to us? This isn't like a tell all or the answer to all the problems. We don't have any secret knowledge. Jenny and I are just talking out some of the thoughts and feeling and talking through what does it mean for us as we engage one another, engage healing spaces, what do we want for ourselves? And I think we're still figuring that out. You're just going to hear us going back and forth talking and thank you for joining. Download, subscribe. So Jenny, we were just talking about therapy because we're therapists and all. And what were you saying about it?Jenny (01:17):I was saying that I'm actually pretty disillusioned with therapy and the therapy model as it stands currently and everything. I don't want to put it in the all bad bucket and say it's only bad because obviously I do it and I, I've done it myself. I am a therapist and I think there is a lot of benefit that can come from it, and I think it eventually meets this rub where it is so individualistic and it is one person usually talking to one person. And I don't think we are going to dismantle the collective systems that we need to dismantle if we are only doing individual therapy. I think we really need to reimagine what healing looks like in a collective space.Danielle (02:15):Yeah, I agree. And it's odd to talk about it both as therapists. You and I have done a lot of groups together. Has that been different? I know for me as I've reflected on groups. Yeah. I'll just say this before you answer that. As I've reflected on groups, when I first started and joined groups, it was really based on a model of there's an expert teacher, which I accepted willingly because I was used to a church or patriarchal format. There's expert teacher or teachers like plural. And then after that there's a group, and in your group there's an expert. And I viewed that person as a guru, a professional, of course, they were professional, they are professionals, but someone that might have insider knowledge about me or people in my group that would bring that to light and that knowledge alone would change me or being witnessed, which I think is important in a group setting would change me. But I think part of the linchpin was having that expert guide and now I don't know what I think about that.(03:36):I think I really appreciate the somatic experiencing model that would say my client's body is the wisest person in the room.(03:46):And so I have shifted over the years from a more directive model where I'm the wisest person in the room and I'm going to name these things and I'm going to call these things out in your story to how do I just hold a space for your body to do what your body knows how to do? And I really ascribe to the idea that trauma is not about an event. It's about not having a safe place to go in the midst of or after an event. And so I think we need safe enough places to let our bodies do what our bodies have really evolved to do. And I really trust that more and more that less is more, and actually the more that I get out of the way and my clients can metabolize what they need to, that actually I think centers their agency more. Because if I'm always needing to defer my story to someone else to see things, I'm never going to be able to come into my own and say, no, I actually maybe disagree with you, or I see that differently, or I'm okay not figuring that out or whatever it might be. I get to stay centered in my own agency. And I think a professional model disavow someone of their own agency and their own ability to live their story from the inside outDanielle (05:19):To live their story from the inside out. I think maybe I associate a lot of grief with that because as you talk about it, you talk about maybe seeking healing in this frame, going to school for this frame, and I'm not dismissing all of the good parts of that or the things that I discovered through those insights, but sometimes I think even years later I'm like, why didn't they stick? If I know that? Why didn't they stick? Or why do I still think about that and go through my own mental gymnastics to think what is actually healing? What does it have to look like if that thing didn't stick and I'm still thinking about it or feeling it, what does that say about me? What does that say about the therapy? I think for me, the lack of ongoing collective places to engage those kinds of feelings have allowed things to just bumble on or not really get lodged in me as an alternative truth. Does that make sense?Jenny (06:34):Yeah. But one of the things I wonder is healing a lie? I have yet to meet someone I know that I get to know really well and I go, yeah, this person is healed regardless of the amount of money they've spent in therapy, the types of body work they've done. What if we were all just more honest about the fact that we're all messy and imperfect and beautiful and everything in between and we stopped trying to chase this imagined reality of healing that I don't actually think exists?(07:30):Well, I think I've said it before on here. I used to think it was somewhere I was going to get to where I wouldn't feel X, y, Z. So maybe it meant I got to a space where on the holidays I often feel sad. I have my whole life and I feel sad this year. So does that mean somehow the work that I've put in to understand that sadness, that I'm not healed because I still feel sadness? And I think at the beginning I felt like if I'm still feeling sadness, if there are triggers that come around the holidays, then that means that I'm not healed or I haven't done enough work or there's something wrong with me for needing more support. So now I'm wondering if healing more, and I think we talked about this a little bit before too, is more the growing awareness. How does it increase connection versus create isolation for me when I feel sad? That's one example I think of. What about you?Jenny (08:31):I think about the last time I went to Uganda and there's so much complexity with my role in Uganda as a white woman that was stepping into a context to bring healing. And my final time in Uganda, I was co-facilitating a workshop for Ugandan psychotherapists and I had these big pieces of parchment paper around the room with different questions because I thought that they would be able to be more honest if it was anonymous. And so one of the pieces of paper said, what would you want westerners to know who were coming to Uganda to do healing work? And it was basically 100% learn what healing means to us.(09:26):Bring your own ideas of healing, stop, try, stop basically. And for whatever reason, that time was actually able to really hear that and go, I'd actually have no place trying to bring my form of healing and implement that. You all have your own form of healing. And one of the things that they also said on that trip was for you, healing is about the individual. For us, healing is about reintegrating that person into the community. And that might mean that they still have trauma and they still have these issues, but if they are accepted and welcomed in, then the community gets to support them through that. It's not about bringing this person out and fixing them over here and then plucking them back. It's how does the community care for bodies that have been injured? And I think about how I broke my foot in dance class when I was 14 and I had to have reconstructive surgery and my foot and my ankle and my knee and my hip and my whole body have never been the same. I will never go back to a pre broken foot body. So why would we emotionally, psychologically, spiritually be any different? And I think some of it comes from this Christian cosmology of Eden that we're just keep trying to find ourselves back in Eden. And this is something I feel like I've learned from our dear friend, Rebecca Wheeler Walston, which is like, no, we're not going back to Eden. How do we then live in this post perfect pre-injury world that is messy and unhealed, but also how can we find meaning and connection in that?(11:28):That was a lot of thoughts, but that's kind of what comes up for me.Danielle (11:31):Oh man, there's a couple of things you said and I was like, oh, wait a minute, wait a minute. I think you said healing is how do we as a community integrate people who have experienced trauma into our spaces? I think if you think back to Freud, it's plucking people out and then he reintroduced trauma and abuse them in the process. But somehow despite those things, he got to be an expert. I mean, so if you wonder how we got to Donald Trump, if you wonder how we get to all these leaders in our country getting to rape, abuse, sexually assault people, and then still maintain their leader position of power, even in our healing realm, we based a lot of our western ideologies on someone that was abusive and we're okay with that. Let's read them, let's learn from them. Okay, so that's one thing.(12:32):And Freud, he did not reintegrate these people back into the community. In fact, their process took them further away. So I often think about that too with therapy. I dunno, I think I told you this, Jenny, that sometimes I feel like people are trying their therapeutic learning out on me just in the community. Wax a boundary on you or I'll tell you no, and I'm just like, wait, what have you been learning? Or what have you been growing in and why aren't we having a conversation in the moment versus holding onto something and creating these spinoffs? But I do think that part of it is that healing hasn't been a way of how to reconnect with your community despite their own imperfections and maybe even places of harm. It's been like, how do you get away from that? And then they're like, give your family. Who's your chosen family? That's so hard. Does that actually work?Jenny (13:42):Yeah, it makes me think of this meme I saw that was so brutal that said, I treat my trauma. Trump treats tariffs, implementing boundaries arbitrarily that hurt everyone. And I've, we've talked a lot about this and I think it is a very white idea to be like, no, that's my boundary. You can't do that. No, that's my boundary. No, that's my boundary. No, that's my boundary. And it's like, are you actually healing or are you just isolating yourself from everything that makes you uncomfortable or triggered or frustrated and hear me? I do think there is a time and a place and a role for boundaries and everything in capitalism. I think it gets bastardized and turned into something that only reproduces whiteness and privilege and isolation and individuation individualism because capitalism needs those things. And so how do we hold the boundaries, have the time and a place and a purpose, and how do we work to grow relation with people that might not feel good all the time?(15:02):And I'm not talking about putting ourselves in positions of harm, but what about positions of discomfort and positions of being frustrated and triggered and parts of the human emotion? Because I agree with what you shared about, I thought healing was like, I'm not going to feel these things, but who decided that and who said those are unhealed emotions? What if those are just part of the human experience and healing is actually growing our capacity to feel all of it, to feel the sadness that you're feeling over the holidays, to feel my frustration when I'm around certain people and to know that that gets to be okay and there gets to be space for that.Danielle (15:49):I mean, it goes without saying, but in our capitalistic system, and in a way it's a benefit for us not to have a sad feeling is you can still go to work and be productive. It's a benefit for us not to have a depressed feeling. It's a benefit for us to be like, well, you hurt me. I can cut you off and I can keep on moving. The goal isn't healing. And my husband often says this about our medical care system. It's just how do we get you back out the door if anybody's ever been to the ER or you've ever been ill or you need something? I think of even recently, I think, I don't dunno if I told you this, but I got a letter in the mail, I've been taking thyroid medicine, which I need, and they're like, no, you can't take that thyroid medicine.(16:34):It's not covered anymore. Well, who decided that according it's Republicans in the big beautiful bill, it's beautiful for them to give permission to insurance companies, not to pay for my thyroid medicine when actually I think of you and I out here in community trying to work with folks and help folks actually participate in our world and live a life maybe they love, that's not perfect, but so how are you going to take away my thyroid medicine as I'm not special though, and you're not special to a system. So I think it is beneficial for healing to be like, how do you do this thing by yourself and get better by yourself, impact the least amount of people as possible with your bad feelings. Bad feelings. Yeah. That's kind of how I think of it when you talked about that.(17:50):So if our job is this and we know we're in this quote system and we imagine more collective community care, I know you're touring the country, you're seeing a lot of different things. What are you seeing when you meet with people? Are you connect with people? Are there any themes or what are you noticing?Jenny (18:09):Yeah, Sean and I joked, not joked before we moved into the van that this was our We Hate America tour and we were very jaded and we had a lot of stereotypes and we were talking at one point with our friend from the south and talking shit about the south and our friend was like, have you even ever been to the south? And we were like, no. And Rick Steves has this phrase that says it's hard to hate up close. And the last two years have really been a disruption in our stereotypes, in our fears, in our assumptions about entire groups of people or entire places that the theme has really felt like people are really trying their best to make the world a more beautiful place all over in a million different ways. And I think there are as many ways to bring life and beauty and resistance into the world as there are bodies on the planet.(19:21):And one of my mentors would say anti-racism about something you do. It's about a consciousness and how you are aware of the world. And that has been tricky for me as a recovering white savior who's like, no, okay, what do I do? How do I do the right thing? And I think I've been exposed to more and more people being aware whether that awareness is the whole globe or the nation or even just their neighbors and what does it mean to go drop off food for their neighbor or different ways in which people are showing up for each other. And sometimes I think that if we're only ever taught, which is often the case in therapy to focus on the trauma or the difficult parts, I think we're missing another part of reality, which is the beauty and the goodness and the somatic experiencing language would be the trauma vortex or your counter vortex.(20:28):And I think we can condition ourselves to look at one or focus on one. And so while I'm hesitant to say everything is love and light, I don't think that's true. And I don't think everything is doom and gloom either. And so I think I'm very grateful to be able to be in places where talking to people from Asheville who experienced the insane flooding last year talking about how they don't even know would just drop off a cooler of spring water every morning for them to flush their toilets and just this person is anonymous. They'll never get praise or gratitude. It was just like, this is my community. This is one thing I can do is bring coolers of water. And so I think it's just being able to hear and tell those stories of community gives us more of an imagination for how we can continue to be there for community.Danielle (21:38):Yeah, I like that. I like that. I like that you had this idea that you were willing to challenge it or this bias or this at the beginning just talking about it that you're willing to challenge.Jenny (21:59):Yeah, we said I think I know two things about every state, and they're probably both wrong. And that's been true. There's so much we don't know until we get out and experience it.Danielle (22:14):I think that's also symptom of, I think even here, I know people, but I don't know them. And often even just going someplace feeling like, oh, I don't have the time for that, or I can't do that, and the barriers, maybe my own exhaustion is true. I have that exhaustion or someone else has that exhaustion. But even the times I've avoided saying hi to someone or the times I've avoided small connections, I just think a lot, and maybe what is tiring is that the therapeutic model has reinforced isolation without having this other. You're talking about the counter vortex when we talk about healing is done in community, healing is done by witnessing, and somehow the assumption is that the therapist can be all of that witnessing and healing and community, and you're paying us and we're there and we're able to offer insight and we've studied and we have a professional job and we're not enough.(23:33):I often find myself in a state of madness and I can't do everything and I can speak to what I've chosen to do recently, but how do I function as a therapist in a system? I want people to feel less anxious. I want to be there, offer insights around depression or pay attention to their body with them. All of these really good, there aren't bad. They're good things. But yet when I walk out my door, if kids are hungry, that burden also affects my clients. So how do I not somehow become involved as an active member of my community as a therapist? And I think that's frustrated me the most about the therapy world. If we see the way the system is hurting people, how is our professional, it seems like almost an elite profession sometimes where we're not dug in the community. It's such a complicated mix. I don't know. What are you hearing me say? Yeah,Jenny (24:40):Yeah. I'm thinking about, I recently read this really beautiful book by Susan Rao called Liberated to the Bone, and Susan is a craniosacral therapist, so different than talk therapy, but in it, there was a chapter talking about just equity in even what we're charging. Very, very, very, very few people can afford 160 plus dollars a week(25:13):Extra just to go to therapy. And so who gets the privileges? Who gets the benefits from the therapy? And yet how do we look at how those privileges in themselves come at the expense of humanity and what is and what privileged bodies miss out on because of the social location of privilege? And yeah, I think it's a symptom that we even need therapy that we don't have communities where we can go to and say, Hey, this thing happened. It was really hard. Can we talk about it? And that is devastating. And so for me it's this both. And I do think we live in a world right now where therapy is necessary and I feel very privileged and grateful to be a therapist. I love my clients, I love the work I get to do. And I say this with many of my new clients.(26:22):My job is to work myself out of a job. And my hope is that eventually, eventually I want you to be able to recreate what we're growing here outside of here. And I do mean that individually. And I also mean that collectively, how do I work towards a world where maybe therapy isn't even necessary? And I don't know that that will ever actually happen, but if that gets to be my orientation, how does that shift how I challenge clients, how I invite them to bring what they're bringing to me to their community? And have you tried talking to that person about that? Have you tried? And so that it doesn't just become only ever this echo chamber, but maybe it's an incubator for a while, and then they get to grow their muscles of confrontation or vulnerability or the things that they've been practicing in therapy. Outside of therapy.Danielle (27:29):And I know I'm always amazed, but I do consistently meet people in different professions and different life circumstances. If you just sit down and listen, they offer a lot of wisdom filled words or just sometimes it feels like a balm to me. To hear how someone is navigating a tough situation may not even relate to mine at all, but just how they're thinking about suffering or how they're thinking about pain or how they're thinking about feeling sad. I don't always agree with it. It's not always something I would do. But also hearing a different way of doing things feels kind of reverberates in me, feels refreshing. So I think those conversations, it's not about finding a total agreement with someone or saying that you have to navigate things the same. I think it is about I finding ways where you can hear someone and hearing someone that's different isn't a threat to the way you want to think about the world.Jenny (28:42):As you say that, it makes me think about art. And something Sean often says is that artists are interpreters and their interpreting a human experience in a way that maybe is very, very specific, but in their specificity it gets to highlight something universal. And I think more and more I see the value in using art to talk about the reality of being unhealed. And that in itself maybe gets to move us closer towards whatever it is that we're moving closer towards or even it just allows us to be more fully present with what is. And maybe part of the issue is this idea that we're going to move towards something rather than how do we just keep practicing being with the current moment more honestly, more authentically?Danielle (29:51):I like my kids' art, honestly. I like to see what they interpret. I have a daughter who makes political art and I love it. I'll be like, what do you think about this? And she'll draw something. I'm like, oh, that's cool. Recently she drew a picture of the nativity, and I didn't really understand it at first, but then she told me it was like glass, broken glass and half of Mary's face was like a Palestinian, and the other half was Mexican, and Joseph was split too. And then the Roman soldiers looking for them were split between ice vests and Roman soldiers. And Herod had the face part of Trump, part of an ancient king. I was like, damn, that's amazing. It was cool. I should send it to you.(30:41):Yeah, I was, whoa. I was like, whoa. And then another picture, she drew had Donald Trump invading the nativity scene and holding a gun, and the man drew was empty and Joseph and Mary were running down the road. And I was like, oh, that's interesting. It is just interesting to me how she can tell the truth through art. Very, if you met this child of mine, she's very calm, very quiet, very kind, laid back, very sweet. But she has all these powerful emotions and interpretations, and I love hearing my kids play music. I love music. I love live music. Yeah. What about you? What kind of art do you enjoy?Jenny (31:28):I love dance. I love movement. I think there's so many things that when I don't have words for just letting my body move or watching other bodies move, it lets me settle something in me that I'm not trying to find words for. I can actually know that there's much more to being human than our little language center of our brain. I really love movies and cinema. I really love a lot of Polish films that are very artistic and speak to power in really beautiful ways. I just recently watched Hamnet in the theater and it was so beautiful. I just sobbed the entire time. Have you seen it?(32:27):I won't say anything about it other than I just find it to be, it was one of the most, what I would say is artistic films I've seen in a long time, and it was really, really moving and touching.Danielle (32:43):Well, what do you recommend for folks? Or what do you think about when you're thinking through the holiday season and all the complications of it?Jenny (32:57):I think my hope is that there gets to be more room for humanity. And at least what I've seen is a lot of times people making it through the holidays usually means I'm not going to get angry. I'm not going to get frustrated. I'm not going to get sad or I'm not going to show those things. And again, I'm like, well, who decided that we shouldn't be showing our emotions to people? And what if actually we get to create a little bit more space for what we're feeling? And that might be really disruptive to systems where we are not supposed to feel or think differently. And so I like this idea of 5%. What if you got to show up 5% more authentically? Maybe you say one sentence you wouldn't have said last year, or maybe you make one facial expression that wouldn't have been okay, or different things like that. How can you let yourself play in a little bit more mobility in your body and in your relational base? That would be my hope for folks. And yeah.Jenny (34:26):What would you want to tell people as they're entering into holiday season? Or maybe they feel like they're already just in the thick of the holidays?Danielle (34:35):I would say that more than likely, 90% of the people you see that you're rubbing shoulders with that aren't talking to you even are probably feeling some kind of way right now. And probably having some kind of emotional experience that's hard to make sense of. And so I know as we talk people, you might be like, I don't have that community. I don't have that. I don't have that. And I think that's true. I think a lot of us don't have it. So I think we talked about last week just taking one inch or one centimeter step towards connecting with someone else can feel really big. But I think it can also hold us back if we feel like, oh, we didn't do the whole thing at once. So I would say if people can tolerate even just one tiny inch towards connection or a tiny bit more honesty, when someone you notice is how you are and you're like, yeah, I feel kind of shitty. Or I had this amazing thing happen and I'm still sad. You don't have to go into details, but I wonder what it's like just to introduce a tiny a sentence, more of honesty into the conversation.Jenny (35:51):I like that. A sentence more of honesty.Danielle (35:54):Yeah. Thanks Jenny. I love being with you.Jenny (35:57):Thank you, friend. Same. Love you. Well, first I guess I would have to believe that there was or is an actual political dialogue taking place that I could potentially be a part of. And honestly, I'm not sure that I believe that.

How can habits of racialization be affected by art, in its reception and its creation? How can a carnal aesthetics help us understand Latinx life? What if we listen to photographs? How might they undo us? Can we be undone? In Carnalities: The Art of Living in Latinidad (Duke UP, 2025), Mariana Ortega focuses on photography using a hermeneutics of love and critical phenomenology to think about and with creative practices of primarily Latinx artists. Moving from the ocular to the mouthly, Ortega opens up possibilities for being affected by art. She also shows how artists use aesthetic practices to transform themselves, the possibilities for life, and as means to refuse to forget the dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latino-studies

How can habits of racialization be affected by art, in its reception and its creation? How can a carnal aesthetics help us understand Latinx life? What if we listen to photographs? How might they undo us? Can we be undone? In Carnalities: The Art of Living in Latinidad (Duke UP, 2025), Mariana Ortega focuses on photography using a hermeneutics of love and critical phenomenology to think about and with creative practices of primarily Latinx artists. Moving from the ocular to the mouthly, Ortega opens up possibilities for being affected by art. She also shows how artists use aesthetic practices to transform themselves, the possibilities for life, and as means to refuse to forget the dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

How can habits of racialization be affected by art, in its reception and its creation? How can a carnal aesthetics help us understand Latinx life? What if we listen to photographs? How might they undo us? Can we be undone? In Carnalities: The Art of Living in Latinidad (Duke UP, 2025), Mariana Ortega focuses on photography using a hermeneutics of love and critical phenomenology to think about and with creative practices of primarily Latinx artists. Moving from the ocular to the mouthly, Ortega opens up possibilities for being affected by art. She also shows how artists use aesthetic practices to transform themselves, the possibilities for life, and as means to refuse to forget the dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/philosophy

How can habits of racialization be affected by art, in its reception and its creation? How can a carnal aesthetics help us understand Latinx life? What if we listen to photographs? How might they undo us? Can we be undone? In Carnalities: The Art of Living in Latinidad (Duke UP, 2025), Mariana Ortega focuses on photography using a hermeneutics of love and critical phenomenology to think about and with creative practices of primarily Latinx artists. Moving from the ocular to the mouthly, Ortega opens up possibilities for being affected by art. She also shows how artists use aesthetic practices to transform themselves, the possibilities for life, and as means to refuse to forget the dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

How can habits of racialization be affected by art, in its reception and its creation? How can a carnal aesthetics help us understand Latinx life? What if we listen to photographs? How might they undo us? Can we be undone? In Carnalities: The Art of Living in Latinidad (Duke UP, 2025), Mariana Ortega focuses on photography using a hermeneutics of love and critical phenomenology to think about and with creative practices of primarily Latinx artists. Moving from the ocular to the mouthly, Ortega opens up possibilities for being affected by art. She also shows how artists use aesthetic practices to transform themselves, the possibilities for life, and as means to refuse to forget the dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/photography

In Producing Precarity (NYU Press, 2025) Curtis Marez examines the television industry's practice of “offshoring” production to impoverished sites within the US. Marez, focuses on state efforts to attract film and TV producers to poor places with tax incentives, discounted public lands, and subsidized infrastructures. He argues that these efforts result in the redistribution of wealth from poor people of color, Indigenous people, and other taxpayers to Los Angeles-based media makers, while also diverting money that could be used for education and health care to the wealthy. The popular series produced in these places, such as Breaking Bad, The Watchmen, Lovecraft County, The Walking Dead, and Vida, are praised by critics and awards organizations and highlighted by streaming services for challenging genre, casting, and narrative conventions. However, many of these shows rely on racialized and gendered low-wage labor for production, and diversity, equity, and inclusion representations can sometimes perpetuate repression, such as depicting police as diversity champions. Producing Precarity examines how contemporary streaming shows from these areas promote racial inequality in ideology and content, as well as materially through their local production methods, and perceptually through streaming distribution modes that discourage viewers from understanding how TV is made. Marez also provides examples of local resistance, including movements against a police training center and a film studio in Atlanta, as well as anti-gentrification movements in Latinx neighborhoods of LA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, December 17, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Jenny Mendez and Betsabeé Romero. JENNY MENDEZ, Cultural Arts Director Mattie Rhodes Arts Center and Gallery was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Growing up in a neighborhood filled with family and friends on Kansas City's West Side. As a young girl Jenny enjoyed hearing stories from her grandmother, these stories were such an inspiration to Jenny in her love of her culture and heritage. Jenny attended the Kansas City Art Institute majoring in painting, she also studied both printmaking and photography. She was involved in community mural projects as a high school student and into college. She has always given back to her community. She has been employed with the Mattie Rhodes Center for the past twenty- five years and is responsible for all arts programming for the agency as the Cultural Arts Director. Through her work she is able to educate the community on the Latino culture through art. Being able to inspire children through art is what she is most passionate about – giving children and young artists a place to learn, create, express themselves, imagine, and grow in the arts. She has served and participated on many boards and committees through the years advocating for the arts and community. Her most valued appointment was to the board of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC). Most recently in March of 2020 as part of Women's History Month she was awarded the Nuestra Latina Award for the Arts by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Her work in the community is valued and shows her commitment to being a voice for the Latinx artists, students and individuals. Showing her expertise in the creative process and authenticity to arts and culture through her work and partnerships with the Kansas City Museum and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. She is very committed to continue to be a voice for the Latinx and arts communities at large. Mattie Rhodes Art and Cultural Center is located at 1701 Jarboe, KCMO www.mattierhodes.org BETSABEÉ ROMERO- Knitting Ties, Project Description: The installation features the creation of two sculptural soccer goals with nets crafted from metal lattices. These lattices will showcase characters that represent both soccer and the pre-Hispanic ball game, creating a bridge between contemporary sports and ancient cultural traditions. The metallic lattices will be interwoven with threads of various fibers, with the characters cut along the length and width of each goal's net. All elements will be handcrafted by migrants and local artisans, emphasizing community collaboration and cultural exchange. Elements of the Sculptural Objective: Metallic Lattices-metal cutouts are interconnected in a lattice configuration, forming modular structures that provide a sculptural foundation for artistic interventions. Community Networks-Fabrics crafted by volunteers and artisans interweave with lattices, forming distinctive patterns that narrate the stories of their communities. Athletic Emblems-Symbolic figures associated with soccer are integrated into the sculptural design, linking artistic expression with the passion for football. Betsabeé Romero; Education: Bachelor's Degree in Communication with a specialization in Participatory Communication, Universidad Iberoamericana (1984) Master's Degree in Visual Arts, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (1986) Diploma from l'École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (1989) Art History Studies at l'École du Louvre (1988-1989) Doctoral studies in Art History, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, no degree completed (1990-1993) Exhibitions: Romero has held over 100 solo exhibitions across five continents, with notable shows at the British Museum (2015), Grand Palais (2019), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (2022), York Avenue in Washington (2018), Place Vieille Bourse in Lille, France (2019), Nevada Museum of Art (2014), Neuberger Museum (2011), Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (2012), Canberra University Museum (2002), La Recoleta, Buenos Aires (2019), Mexico Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020 (2021), and Place du Louvre (2021). In 2024, her exhibition "Huellas para Recordar" featured five monumental sculptures on Park Avenue (81st, 82nd, and 83rd Streets) by invitation of NYC Parks & Recreation. Also in 2024, "The Endless Spiral" was featured at the Venice Biennale Official Collateral Event at Galeria Belacqua LaMassa, St. Mark's Square, by invitation of MOLAA. In Mexico, highlights include the Mega Ofrenda at Mexico City's Zócalo (2016), Museo Frida Kahlo (2019, 2013), Museo Anahuacalli (2015), Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso (2014), Museo Amparo, Puebla (2008), MARCO, Monterrey (2009), and Museo Carrillo Gil (1999). Collections: Her work is part of major collections including the British Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Houston, Phoenix Art Museum, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Daros Collection (Switzerland), Nelson-Atkins Museum, Nevada Museum of Art, World Bank Collection, LACMA California, FEMSA, Irish Museum of Modern Art, El Museo del Barrio, Museo de Arte Moderno de México, MUAC, and Michigan State University. Biennials: Monterrey Biennial, Tamayo Biennial, inSite (Tijuana-San Diego), La Courneuve Biennial, Puerto Rico Graphics Triennial, Polygráfica Philadelphia, Ljubljana Graphics Biennial, Havana Biennial, Porto Alegre Biennial, Cairo Biennial, Sur Buenos Aires Biennial, Bogotá, and United Arab Emirates. Official selection for collateral projects at the 2024 Venice Biennale with the solo exhibition "Endless Spiral" with MOLAA Museum at the Bellaacqua La Massa Foundation in St. Mark's Square. Awards: Prix Oric'Art, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 1988 Grand Acquisition Prize in Installation, Second Monterrey Biennial, Museo de Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, 1994 First Prize, Cairo Biennial, 2006 Millésimé Prize in Visual Arts, 2018 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, France, 2020 First Prize in Pavilion Design

This is way more than just our first annual predictions episode. Victoria Bachan is the SVP, Creators at Wasserman. Wasserman operates at the epicenter of sports, music, entertainment and culture, serving talent, brands and properties on a global scale. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Wasserman's presence spans 28 countries and more than 70 cities, including New York, London, Nashville, Chicago, Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico City, Toronto, Paris and Sydney.Formerly the Global President of Sixteenth, Victoria oversaw a team of 43 managers and over 300 diverse Creators, while spearheading the company's global expansion efforts.  Victoria and her team collaborated with some of today's brightest Creators, including People's Choice Award winner Doug the Pug, visual artist and best-selling author Adam J. Kurtz, Crypto and Gen Z Finance expert Taylor Price, best-selling author and gamer Kelsey Dangerous and the Nami Matcha Founder and CEO, Ashley Alexander. Previously her team was instrumental in launching two groundbreaking TikTok Creator houses, “The Crib Around the Corner” for Black content creators, and “Familia Fuego” for Latinx talent. In 2023, she also helped Doug the Pug launch Nonipup, a human-grade all-natural pet care brand. Under her leadership, 61% of the Sixteenth roster proudly identified as BIPOC, reflecting her commitment to diversity and inclusion. When Victoria isn't paving the way for prominent creators, she mentors South Asian executives and talent as a member of The Salon and supports fundraising efforts for Play Inspired.

   “It's not enough to build a system and then exit stage left when you realize it's broken. The ‘I'm sorry' is not the work — it's only the acknowledgment that work needs to be done. After the apology, you must actually do the repair. And what I see from her is the language of accountability without the actions that would demonstrate it. That's insufficient for real change.” Danielle (01:03):Well, I mean, what's not going on? Just, I don't know. I think the government feels more and more extreme. So that's one thing I feel people are like, why is your practice so busy? I'm like, have you seen the government? It's traumatizing all my clients. Hey Jeremy. Hey Jenny.Jenny (01:33):I'm in Charlottesville, Virginia. So close to Rebecca. We're going to soon.Rebecca (01:48):Yeah, she is. Yeah, she is. And before you pull up in my driveway, I need you to doorbell dish everybody with the Trump flag and then you can come. I'm so readyThat's a good question. That's a good question. I think that, I don't know that I know anybody that's ready to just say out loud. I am not a Trump supporter anymore, but I do know there's a lot of dissonance with individual policies or practices that impact somebody specifically. There's a lot of conversation about either he doesn't know what he's doing or somebody in his cabinet is incompetent in their job and their incompetency is making other people's lives harder and more difficult. Yeah, I think there's a lot of that.(03:08):Would she had my attention for about two minutes in the space where she was saying, okay, I need to rethink some of this. But then as soon as she says she was quitting Congress, I have a problem with that because you are part of the reason why we have the infrastructure that we have. You help build it and it isn't enough to me for you to build it and then say there's something wrong with it and then exit the building. You're not equally responsible for dismantling what you helped to put in place. So after that I was like, yeah, I don't know that there's any authenticity to your current set of objections,I'm not a fan of particularly when you are a person that in your public platform built something that is problematic and then you figure out that it's problematic and then you just leave. That's not sufficient for me, for you to just put on Twitter or Facebook. Oh yeah, sorry. That was a mistake. And then exit stage leftJenny (04:25):And I watched just a portion of an interview she was on recently and she was essentially called in to accountability and you are part of creating this. And she immediately lashed out at the interviewer and was like, you do this too. You're accusing me. And just went straight into defensive white lady mode and I'm just like, oh, you haven't actually learned anything from this. You're just trying to optically still look pure. That's what it seems like to me that she's wanting to do without actually admitting she has been. And she is complicit in the system that she was a really powerful force in building.Rebecca (05:12):Yeah, it reminds me of, remember that story, excuse me, a few years ago about that black guy that was birdwatching in Central Park and this white woman called the cops on him. And I watched a political analyst do some analysis of that whole engagement. And one of the things that he said, and I hate, I don't know the person name, whoever you are, if you said this and you hear this, I'm giving you credit for having said it, but one of the things that he was talking about is nobody wants you to actually give away your privilege. You actually couldn't if you tried. What I want you to do is learn how to leverage the privilege that you have for something that is good. And I think that example of that bird watching thing was like you could see, if you see the clip, you can see this woman, think about the fact that she has power in this moment and think about what she's going to do with that power.(06:20):And so she picks up her phone and calls the cops, and she's standing in front of this black guy lying, saying like, I'm in fear for my life. And as if they're doing anything except standing several feet apart, he is not yelling at you. He hasn't taken a step towards you, he doesn't have a weapon, any of that. And so you can see her figure out what her privilege looks like and feels like and sounds like in that moment. And you can see her use it to her own advantage. And so I've never forgotten that analysis of we're not trying to take that from you. We couldn't if we tried, we're not asking you to surrender it because you, if you tried, if you are in a place of privilege in a system, you can't actually give it up because you're not the person that granted it to yourself. The system gave it to you. We just want you to learn how to leverage it. So I would love to see Marjorie Taylor Greene actually leverage the platform that she has to do something good with it. And just exiting stays left is not helpful.Danielle (07:33):And to that point, even at that though, I've been struck by even she seems to have more, there's on the continuum of moral awareness, she seems to have inch her way in one direction, but I'm always flabbergasted by people close to me that can't even get there. They can't even move a millimeter. To me, it's wild.Well, I think about it. If I become aware of a certain part of my ignorance and I realize that in my ignorance I've been harming someone or something, I believe we all function on some kind of continuum. It's not that I don't think we all wake up and know right and wrong all the time. I think there's a lot of nuance to the wrongs we do to people, honestly. And some things feel really obvious to me, and I've observed that they don't feel obvious to other people. And if you're in any kind of human relationship, sometimes what you feel is someone feels as obvious to them, you're stepping all over them.(08:59):And I'm not talking about just hurting someone's feelings. I'm talking about, yeah, maybe you hurt their feelings, but maybe you violated them in that ignorance or I am talking about violations. So it seems to me that when Marjorie Taylor Green got on CN and said, I've been a part of this system kind of like Rebecca you're talking about. And I realized that ignoring chomp hyping up this rhetoric, it gets people out there that I can't see highly activated. And there's a group of those people that want to go to concrete action and inflict physical pain based on what's being said on another human being. And we see that, right? So whatever you got Charlie Kirk's murderer, you got assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King all throughout history we've seen these, the rhetoric and the violence turns into these physical actions. And so it seems to me like she had some awareness of what her contributing to that, along with the good old orange guy was doing contributes to violence. It seems to me like she inched in that direction.Rebecca (10:27):Yeah, like I said, I think you're right in that inching, she had my attention. And so then I'm waiting for her to actually do something substantive more than just the acknowledgement that I have been in error. And and I think part of that is that I think we have a way of thinking that the acknowledgement or the, I'm sorry, is the work, and it is not the, I'm sorry, is the acknowledgement that work needs to be done. So after you say, I'm sorry, now let's go do the work.Danielle (11:10):I mean our own therapeutic thing that we all went through that we have in common didn't have a concept for repair. So people are coming to therapy looking for a way to understand. And what I like to say is there's a theory of something, but there's no practical application of it that makes your theory useless in some sense to me or your theology, even if your ology has a theology of X, Y, Z, but you can't actually apply that. What is the use of it?Jenny (11:43):And I think that's best case scenario, and I think I'm a more cynical person than you are Danielle, but I see what's happening with Taylor Green and I'm like, this actually feels like when a very toxic, dangerous man goes to therapy and learns the therapy language and then is like it's my boundaries that you can't wear that dress. And it's like, no, no, that's not what we're doing. It's just it's my boundary that when there isn't that actual sense of, okay, I'm going to be a part of the work, to me it actually somehow feels potentially more dangerous because it's like I'm using the language and the optics of what will keep me innocent right now without actually putting any skin in the game.(12:51):Yeah, I would say it's an enactment of white womanhood. I would say it's intentional, but probably not fully conscious that it is her body moving in the way that she's been racially and gendered(13:07):Tradition to move. That goes in some ways maybe I can see that I've enacted harm, but I'm actually going to replicate the same thing in stepping into now a new position of performing white womanhood and saying the right things and doing the right things. But then the second an interviewee calls me out into accountability, I'm going to go into potentially white psychosis moment because I don't actually know how to metabolize the ways in which I am still complicit in the system. And to me, I think that's the impossibility of how do we work through the ways that these systems live in our bodies that isn't clean. It isn't pure, but I think the simplicity of I was blind now I see. I am very skeptical of,Rebecca (14:03):Yeah, I think it's interesting the notion that, and I'm going to misquote you so then you fix it. But something of like, I don't actually know how to metabolize these things and work them through. I only know this kind of performative space where I say what I'm expected to say.Jenny (14:33):Yeah, I think I see it as a both, and I don't totally disagree with the fact of there's not something you can do to get rid of your privilege. And I do think that we have examples of, oh goodness, I wish I could remember her name. Viola Davis. No, she was a white woman who drove, I was just at the African-American History Museum yesterday and was reminded of her face, but it's like Viola ela, I want to say she's a white woman from Detroit who drove down to the south during the bus boycotts to carpool black folks, and she was shot in the head and killed in her car because she stepped out of the bounds of performing white womanhood. And I do think that white bodies know at a certain level we can maintain our privilege and there is a real threat and a real cost to actually doing what needs to be done to not that we totally can abdicate our privilege. I think it is there, and I do think there are ways of stepping out of the bondage of our racial and gendered positions that then come with a very real threat.Rebecca (16:03):Yes. But I think I would say that this person that you're referring to, and again, I feel some kind of way about the fact that we can't name her name accurately. And there's probably something to that, right? She's not the only one. She's not the first one. She's not the last one who stepped outside of the bounds of what was expected of her on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement, on behalf of justice. And those are stories that we don't know and faces and names we cannot, that don't roll off the tip of our tongue like a Rosa Parks or a Medgar Evers or a Merley Evers or whoever. So that being said, I would say that her driving down to the South, that she had a car that she could drive, that she had the resources to do that is a leveraging of some of her privilege in a very real way, a very substantive way. And so I do think that I hear what you're saying that she gave up something of her privilege to do that, and she did so with a threat that for her was realizing a very violent way. And I would also say she leveraged what privilege she had in a way that for her felt like I want to offer something of the privilege that I have and the power that I have on behalf of someone who doesn't have it.(17:44):It kind of reminds me this question of is the apology enough or is the acknowledgement enough? It reminds me of what we did in the eighties and nineties around the racial reconciliation movement and the Promise Keepers thing and all those big conferences where the notion that the work of reconciliation was to stand on the stage and say, I realize I'm white and you're black, and I'm sorry. And we really thought that that was the work and that was sufficient to clear everything that needed to be cleared, and that was enough to allow people to move forward in proximity and connection to each other. And I think some of what we're living through 40, 45 years later is because that was not enough.(18:53):It barely scratched the surface to the extent that you can say that Donald Trump is not the problem. He is a symptom of the problem. To the extent that you could say that his success is about him stoking the fires that lie just beneath the surface in the realization that what happened with reconciliation in the nineties was not actually repair, it was not actually reconciliation. It was, I think what you're saying, Jenny, the sort of performative space where I'm speaking the language of repair and reconciliation, but I haven't actually done the work or paid the cost that is there in order to be reconciled.Danielle (19:40):That's in my line though. That's the continuum of moral awareness. You arrive to a spot, you address it to a certain point. And in that realm of awareness, what we've been told we can manage to think about, which is also goes back to Jenny's point of what the system has said. It's almost like under our system we have to push the system. It's so slow. And as we push the system out and we gain more awareness, then I think we realize we're not okay. I mean, clearly Latinos are not okay. They're a freaking mess. I think Mother Fers, half of us voted for Trump. The men, the women are pissed. You have some people that are like, you have to stay quiet right now, go hide. Other people are like, you got to be in the streets. It's a clear mess. But I don't necessarily think that's bad because we need to have, as a large group of people, a push of our own moral awareness.(20:52):What did we do that hurt ourselves? What were we willing to put up with to recolonize ourselves to agree to it, to agree to the fact that you could recolonize yourself. So I mean, just as a people group, if you can lump us all in together, and then the fact that he's going after countries of origin, destabilizing Honduras telling Mexico to release water, there is no water to release into Texas and California. There isn't the water to do it, but he can rant and rave or flying drones over Venezuela or shooting down all these ships. How far have we allowed ourselves in the system you're describing Rebecca, to actually say our moral awareness was actually very low. I would say that for my people group, very, very low, at least my experience in the states,Rebecca (21:53):I think, and this is a working theory of mine, I think like what you're talking about, Danielle, specifically in Latino cultures, my question has been when I look at that, what I see as someone who's not part of Latino culture is that the invitation from whiteness to Latino cultures is to be complicit in their own erasure in order to have access to America. So you have to voluntarily drop your language, drop your accent, change your name, whatever that long list is. And I think when whiteness shows up in a culture in that way where the request or the demand is that you join in your own eraser, I think it leads to a certain kind of moral ignorance, if you will.(23:10):And I say that as somebody coming from a black American experience where I think the demand from whiteness was actually different. We weren't actually asked to participate in our own eraser. We were simply told that there's no version of your existence where you will have access to what whiteness offers to the extent that a drop is a drop is a drop. And by that I mean you could be one 16th black and be enslaved in the United States, whereas, so I think I have lots of questions and curiosities around that, about how whiteness shows up in a particular culture, what does it demand or require, and then what's the trajectory that it puts that culture on? And I'm not suggesting that we don't have ways of self-sabotage in black America. Of course we do. I just think our ways of self-sabotage are nuanced or different from what you're talking about because the way that whiteness has showed up in our culture has required something different of us. And so our sabotage shows up in a different way.(24:40):To me. I don't know. I still don't know what to do with the 20% of black men that voted for Trump. I haven't figured that one out yet. Perhaps I don't have enough moral awareness about that space. But when I look at what happened in Latino culture, at least my theory as someone from the outside looking in is like there's always been this demand or this temptation that you buy the narrative that if you assimilate, then you can have access to power. And so I get it. It's not that far of a leap from that to course I'll vote for you because if I vote for you, then you'll take care of us. You'll be good and kind and generous to me and mine. I get that that's not the deal that was made with black Americans. And so we do something different. Yeah, I don't know. So I'm open to thoughts, rebuttals, rebukes,Jenny (25:54):My mind is going to someone I quote often, Rosa Luxembourg, who was a democratic socialist revolutionary who was assassinated over a hundred years ago, and she wrote a book called Reform or Revolution arguing that the more capitalism is a system built on collapse because every time the system collapse, those who are at the top get to sweep the monopoly board and collect more houses, more land, more people. And so her argument was actually against things like unions and reforms to capitalism because it would only prolong the collapse, which would make the collapse that much more devastating. And her argument was, we actually have to have a revolution because that's the only way we're going to be able to redo this system. And I think that for the folks that I knew that voted for Trump, in my opinion, against their own wellness and what it would bring, it was the sense of, well, hopefully he'll help the economy.(27:09):And it was this idea that he was just running on and telling people he was going to fix the economy. And that's a very real thing for a lot of people that are really struggling. And I think it's easier for us to imagine this paternalistic force that's going to come in and make capitalism better. And yet I think capitalism will only continue to get worse on purpose. If we look at literally yesterday we were at the Department of Environmental Protections and we saw that there was black bags over it and the building was empty. And the things that are happening to our country that the richest of the ridge don't care that people's water and food and land is going to be poisoned in exponential rates because they will not be affected. And until we can get, I think the mass amount of people that are disproportionately impacted to recognize this system will never work for us, I don't know. I don't know what it will take. I know we've used this word coalition. What will it take for us to have a coalition strong enough to actually bring about the type of revolution that would be necessary? IRebecca (28:33):Think it's in part in something that you said, Jenny, the premise that if this doesn't affect me, then I don't have any skin in this game and I don't really care. I think that is what will have to change. I think we have to come to a sense of if it is not well with the person sitting next to me, then it isn't well with me because as long as we have this mindset that if it doesn't directly affect me that it doesn't matter, then I think we're always sort of crabs in a barrel. And so maybe that's idealistic. Maybe that sounds a little pollyannaish, but I do think we have to come to this sense of, and this maybe goes along with what Danielle was saying about the continuum of moral awareness. Can I do the work of becoming aware of people whose existence and life is different than mine? And can that awareness come from this place of compassion and care for things that are harmful and hurtful and difficult and painful for them, even if it's not that way? For me, I think if we can get there with this sense of we rise and fall together, then maybe we have a shot at doing something better.(30:14):I think I just heard on the news the other day that I think it used to be a policy that on MLK Day, certain federal parks and things were free admission, and I think the president signed an executive order that's no longer true, but you could go free if you go on Trump's birthday. The invitation and the demand that is there to care only about yourself and be utterly dismissive of anyone and everyone else is sickening.Jenny (30:51):And it's one of the things that just makes me go insane around Christian nationalism and the rhetoric that people are living biblically just because they don't want gay marriage. But then we'll say literally, I'm just voting for my bank account, or I'm voting so that my taxes don't go to feed people. And I had someone say that to me and they're like, do you really want to vote for your taxes to feed people? I said, absolutely. I would much rather my tax money go to feed people than to go to bombs for other countries. I would do that any day. And as a Christian, should you not vote for the least of these, should you not vote for the people that are going to be most affected? And that dissonance that's there is so crazy making to me because it's really the antithesis of, I think the message of Jesus that's like whatever you do to the least of these, you are doing to me. And instead it's somehow flipped where it's like, I just need to get mine. And that's biblical,Rebecca (31:58):Which I think I agree wholeheartedly as somebody who identifies as a Christian who seeks to live my life as someone that follows the tenets of scripture. I think part of that problem is the introduction of this idea that there are hierarchies to sin or hierarchies to sort of biblical priorities. And so this notion that somehow the question of abortion or gay rights, transgendered rights is somehow more offensive to scripture than not taking care of the least of these, the notion that there's such a thing as a hierarchy there that would give me permission to value one over the other in a way that is completely dismissive of everything except the one or two things that I have deemed the most important is deeply problematic to me.Danielle (33:12):I think just coming back to this concept of I do think there was a sense among the larger community, especially among Latino men, Hispanic men, that range of people that there's high percentage join the military, high percentage have tried to engage in law enforcement and a sense of, well, that made me belong or that gave my family an inn. Or for instance, my grandfather served in World War II and the Korean War and the other side of my family, the German side, were conscientious objectors. They didn't want to fight the Nazis, but then this side worked so hard to assimilate lost language, didn't teach my mom's generation the language. And then we're reintroducing all of that in our generation. And what I noticed is there was a lot of buy-in of we got it, we made it, we made it. And so I think when homeboy was like, Hey, I'm going to do this. They're like, not to me,To me, not to me. It's not going to happen to me. I want my taxes lowered. And the thing is, it is happening to us now. It was always going to, and I think those of us that spoke out or there was a loss of the memory of the old school guys that were advocating for justice. There was a loss there, but I think it's come back with fury and a lot of communities and they're like, oh, crap, this is true. We're not in, you see the videos, people are screaming, I'm an American citizen. They're like, we don't care. Let me just break your arm. Let me run over your legs. Let me take, you're a US service member with a naval id. That's not real. Just pure absurdity is insane. And I think he said he was going to do it, he's doing it. And then a lot of people in our community were speaking out and saying, this is going to happen. And people were like, no, no, no, no, no. Well, guess what?Rebecca (35:37):Right? Which goes back to Martin Luther King's words about injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The notion that if you're willing to take rights and opportunities and privileges from one, you are willing to take them from all. And so again, back to what Jenny said earlier, this notion that we rise our fall together, and as long as we have this mindset that I can get mine, and it doesn't matter if you don't get yours, there will always be a vulnerability there. And what you're saying is interesting to me, Danielle, talking about the military service in Latino communities or other whatever it is that we believed was the ticket in. And I don't think it's an accident or a coincidence that just around the time that black women are named the most educated and the fastest rising group for graduate and doctoral degrees, you see the dismantling of affirmative action by the Supreme Court.(36:49):You see now, the latest thing is that the Department of Education has come out and declassified a list of degrees as professional degrees. And overwhelmingly the degrees that are named on that list that are no longer considered professional are ones that are inhabited primarily by women and people of color. And I don't think that that is a coincidence, nor do I think it's a coincidence that in the mass firings of the federal government, 300,000 black women lost their jobs. And a lot of that is because in the nineties when we were graduated from college and getting our degrees, corporate America was not a welcome place for people of color, for black people, for black women. So we went into the government sector because that was the place where there was a bit more of a playing field that would allow you to succeed. And I don't think it is a coincidence that the dismantling intentionally of the on-ramps that we thought were there, that would give us a sense of belonging. Like you're in now, right? You have arrived, so to speak. And I am only naming the ones that I see from my vantage point. I hear you naming some things that you see from your vantage point, right? I'm sure, Jenny, you have thoughts about how those things have impacted white women.Jenny (38:20):Yeah, yeah. And I'm thinking about, we also went yesterday to the Native American Museum and I learned, I did not realize this, that there was something called, I want to say, the Pocahontas exception. And if a native person claimed up to one 14th of Pocahontas, DNA, they were then deemed white. What? And it just flabbergasted to me, and it was so evident just this, I was thinking about that when you were talking, Danielle, just like this moving target and this false promise of if you just do enough, if you just, you'll get two. But it's always a lie. It's always been a lie from literally the very first settlers in Jamestown. It has been a lie,Rebecca (39:27):Which is why it's sort of narcissistic and its sort of energy and movement, right? Because narcissism always moves the goalpost. It always changes the roles of the game to advantage the narcissist. And whiteness is good for that. This is where the goalpost is. You step up and meet it, and whiteness moves the goalpost.Danielle (40:00):I think it's funny that Texas redistricted based on how Latinos thought pre pre-migration crackdown, and they did it in Miami and Miami, Miami's democratic mayor won in a landslide just flipped. And I think they're like, oh, shit, what are we going to do? I think it's also interesting. I didn't realize that Steven Miller, who's the architect of this crap, did you know his wife is brownHell. That's creepy shit,Rebecca (40:41):Right? I mean headset. No, no. Vance is married to a brown woman. I'm sure in Trump's mind. Melania is from some Norwegian country, but she's an immigrant. She's not a US citizen. And the Supreme Court just granted cert on the birthright citizenship case, which means we're in trouble.(41:12):Well, I'm worried about everybody because once you start messing with that definition of citizenship, they can massage it any kind of way they want to. And so I don't think anybody's safe. I really don't. I think the low hanging fruit to speak, and I apologize for that language, is going to be people who are deemed undocumented, but they're not going to stop there. They're coming for everybody and anybody they can find any reason whatsoever to decide that you're not, if being born on US soil is not sufficient, then the sky's the limit. And just like they did at the turn of the century when they decided who was white and who wasn't and therefore who could vote and who could own property or who couldn't, we're going to watch the total and reimagining of who has access to power.Danielle (42:14):I just am worried because when you go back and you read stories about the Nazis or you read about genocide and other places in the world, you get inklings or World War I or even more ancient wars, you see these leads up in these telltale signs or you see a lead up to a complete ethnic cleansing, which is what it feels like we're gearing up for.I mean, and now with the requirement to come into the United States, even as a tourist, when you enter the border, you have to give access to five years of your social media history. I don't know. I think some people think, oh, you're futurizing too much. You're catastrophizing too much. But I'm like, wait a minute. That's why we studied history, so we didn't do this again. Right?Jenny (43:13):Yeah. I saw this really moving interview with this man who was 74 years old protesting outside of an nice facility, and they were talking to him and one of the things he said was like, Trump knows immigrants are not an issue. He's not concerned about that at all. He is using this most vulnerable population to desensitize us to masked men, stealing people off the streets.Rebecca (43:46):I agree. I agree. Yeah, a hundred percent. And I think it's desensitizing us. And I don't actually think that that is Trump. I don't know that he is cunning enough to get that whoever's masterminding, project 2025 and all that, you can ask the question in some ways, was Hitler actually antisemitic or did he just utilize the language of antisemitism to mask what he was really doing? And I don't mean that to sort of sound flippant or deny what happened in the Holocaust. I'm suggesting that same thing. In some ways it's like because America is vulnerable to racialized language and because racialized rhetoric moves masses of people, there's a sense in which, let me use that. So you won't be paying attention to the fact that I just stole billions of dollars out of the US economy so that you won't notice the massive redistribution of wealth and the shutting off of avenues to upward social mobility.(45:12):And the masses will follow you because they think it's about race, when in actuality it's not. Because if they're successful in undoing birthright citizenship, you can come after anybody you want because all of our citizenship is based on the fact that we were born on US soil. I don't care what color you are, I do not care what lineage you have. Every person in this country or every person that claims to be a US citizen, it's largely based on the fact that you were born on US soil. And it's easy to say, oh, we're only talking about the immigrants. But so far since he took office, we've worked our way through various Latin cultures, Somali people, he's gone after Asian people. I mean, so if you go after birthright citizenship and you tell everyone, we're only talking about people from brown countries, no, he's not, and it isn't going to matter. They will find some arbitrary line to decide you have power to vote to own property. And they will decide, and this is not new in US history. They took whole businesses, land property, they've seized property and wealth from so many different cultures in US history during Japanese internment during the Tulsa massacre. And those are only the couple that I could name. I'm sure Jenny and Danielle, you guys could name several, right? So it's coming and it's coming for everybody.Jenny (47:17):So what are you guys doing to, I know that you're both doing a lot to resist, and we talk a lot about that. What are you doing to care for yourself in the resistance knowing that things will get worse and this is going to be a long battle? What does helping take care of yourself look like in that for you?Danielle (47:55):I dunno, I thought about this a lot actually, because I got a notification from my health insurance that they're no longer covering thyroid medication that I take. So I have to go back to my doctor and find an alternative brand, hopefully one they would cover or provide more blood work to prove that that thyroid medication is necessary. And if you know anything about thyroids, it doesn't get better. You just take that medicine to balance yourself. So for me, my commitment and part of me would just want to let that go whenever it runs out at the end of December. But for me, one way I'm trying to take care of myself is one, stocking up on it, and two, I've made an appointment to go see my doctor. So I think just trying to do regular things because I could feel myself say, you know what?(48:53):Just screw it. I could live with this. I know I can't. I know I can technically maybe live, but it will cause a lot of trouble for me. So I think there's going to be probably not just for me, but for a lot of people, like invitations as care changes, like actual healthcare or whatever. And sometimes those decisions financially will dictate what we can do for ourselves, but I think as much as I can, I want to pursue staying healthy. And it's not just that just eating and exercising. So that's one way I'm thinking about it.Rebecca (49:37):I think I'm still in the phase of really curating my access to information and data. There's so much that happens every day and I cannot take it all in. And so I still largely don't watch the news. I may scan a headline once every couple days just to kind of get the general gist of what is happening because I can't, I just cannot take all of that in. Yeah, it will be way too overwhelming, I think. So that still has been a place of that feels like care. And I also think trying to move a little bit more, get a little bit of, and I actually wrote a blog post this month about chocolate because when I grew up in California seas, chocolate was a whole thing, and you cannot get it on the east coast. And so I actually ordered myself a box of seas chocolate, and I'm waiting for it to arrive at my house costs way too much money. But for me, that piece of chocolate represents something that makes me smile about my childhood. And plus, who doesn't think chocolate is care? And if you live a life where chocolate does not care, I humbly implore you to change your definition of care. But yeah, so I mean it is something small, but these days, small things that feel like there's something to smile about or actually big things.Jenny (51:30):I have been trying to allow myself to take dance classes. It's my therapy and it just helps me. A lot of the things that we're talking about, I don't have words for, I can only express through movement now. And so being able to be in a space where my body is held and I don't have to think about how to move my body and I can just have someone be like, put your hand here. That has been really supportive for me. And just feeling my body move with other bodies has been really supportive for me.Rebecca (52:17):Yeah. The other thing I would just add is that we started this conversation talking about Marjorie Taylor Green and the ways in which I feel like her response is insufficient, but there is a part of me that feels like it is a response, it however small it is, an acknowledgement that something isn't right. And I do think you're starting to see a little bit of that seep through. And I saw an interview recently where someone suggested it's going to take more than just Trump out of office to actually repair what has been broken over the last several years. I think that's true. So I want to say that putting a little bit of weight in the cracks in the surface feels a little bit like care to me, but it still feels risky. I don't know. I'm hopeful that something good will come of the cracks that are starting to surface the people that are starting to say, actually, this isn't what I meant when I voted. This isn't what I wanted when I voted. That cities like Miami are electing democratic mayors for the first time in 30 years, but I feel that it's a little bit risky. I am a little nervous about how far it will go and what will that mean. But I think that I can feel the beginnings of a seedling of hope that maybe this won't be as bad as maybe we'll stop it before we go off the edge of a cliff. We'll see.Kitsap County & Washington State Crisis and Mental Health ResourcesIf you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call 911.This resource list provides crisis and mental health contacts for Kitsap County and across Washington State.Kitsap County / Local ResourcesResourceContact InfoWhat They OfferSalish Regional Crisis Line / Kitsap Mental Health 24/7 Crisis Call LinePhone: 1‑888‑910‑0416Website: https://www.kitsapmentalhealth.org/crisis-24-7-services/24/7 emotional support for suicide or mental health crises; mobile crisis outreach; connection to services.KMHS Youth Mobile Crisis Outreach TeamEmergencies via Salish Crisis Line: 1‑888‑910‑0416Website: https://sync.salishbehavioralhealth.org/youth-mobile-crisis-outreach-team/Crisis outreach for minors and youth experiencing behavioral health emergencies.Kitsap Mental Health Services (KMHS)Main: 360‑373‑5031; Toll‑free: 888‑816‑0488; TDD: 360‑478‑2715Website: https://www.kitsapmentalhealth.org/crisis-24-7-services/Outpatient, inpatient, crisis triage, substance use treatment, stabilization, behavioral health services.Kitsap County Suicide Prevention / “Need Help Now”Call the Salish Regional Crisis Line at 1‑888‑910‑0416Website: https://www.kitsap.gov/hs/Pages/Suicide-Prevention-Website.aspx24/7/365 emotional support; connects people to resources; suicide prevention assistance.Crisis Clinic of the PeninsulasPhone: 360‑479‑3033 or 1‑800‑843‑4793Website: https://www.bainbridgewa.gov/607/Mental-Health-ResourcesLocal crisis intervention services, referrals, and emotional support.NAMI Kitsap CountyWebsite: https://namikitsap.org/Peer support groups, education, and resources for individuals and families affected by mental illness.Statewide & National Crisis ResourcesResourceContact InfoWhat They Offer988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (WA‑988)Call or text 988; Website: https://wa988.org/Free, 24/7 support for suicidal thoughts, emotional distress, relationship problems, and substance concerns.Washington Recovery Help Line1‑866‑789‑1511Website: https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/injury-and-violence-prevention/suicide-prevention/hotline-text-and-chat-resourcesHelp for mental health, substance use, and problem gambling; 24/7 statewide support.WA Warm Line877‑500‑9276Website: https://www.crisisconnections.org/wa-warm-line/Peer-support line for emotional or mental health distress; support outside of crisis moments.Native & Strong Crisis LifelineDial 988 then press 4Website: https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/injury-and-violence-prevention/suicide-prevention/hotline-text-and-chat-resourcesCulturally relevant crisis counseling by Indigenous counselors.Additional Helpful Tools & Tips• Behavioral Health Services Access: Request assessments and access to outpatient, residential, or inpatient care through the Salish Behavioral Health Organization. Website: https://www.kitsap.gov/hs/Pages/SBHO-Get-Behaviroal-Health-Services.aspx• Deaf / Hard of Hearing: Use your preferred relay service (for example dial 711 then the appropriate number) to access crisis services.• Warning Signs & Risk Factors: If someone is talking about harming themselves, giving away possessions, expressing hopelessness, or showing extreme behavior changes, contact crisis resources immediately.Well, first I guess I would have to believe that there was or is an actual political dialogue taking place that I could potentially be a part of. And honestly, I'm not sure that I believe that.Well, first I guess I would have to believe that there was or is an actual political dialogue taking place that I could potentially be a part of. And honestly, I'm not sure that I believe that.Rebecca A. Wheeler Walston, J.D., Master of Arts in CounselingEmail: asolidfoundationcoaching@gmail.comPhone:  +1.5104686137Website: Rebuildingmyfoundation.comI have been doing story work for nearly a decade. I earned a Master of Arts in Counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary and trained in story work at The Allender Center at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. I have served as a story facilitator and trainer at both The Allender Center and the Art of Living Counseling Center. I currently see clients for one-on-one story coaching and work as a speaker and facilitator with Hope & Anchor, an initiative of The Impact Movement, Inc., bringing the power of story work to college students.By all accounts, I should not be the person that I am today. I should not have survived the difficulties and the struggles that I have faced. At best, I should be beaten down by life‘s struggles, perhaps bitter. I should have given in and given up long ago. But I was invited to do the good work of (re)building a solid foundation. More than once in my life, I have witnessed God send someone my way at just the right moment to help me understand my own story, and to find the strength to step away from the seemingly inevitable ending of living life in defeat. More than once I have been invited and challenged to find the resilience that lies within me to overcome the difficult moment. To trust in the goodness and the power of a kind gesture. What follows is a snapshot of a pivotal invitation to trust the kindness of another in my own story. May it invite you to receive to the pivotal invitation of kindness in your own story. Listen with me…  Well, first I guess I would have to believe that there was or is an actual political dialogue taking place that I could potentially be a part of. And honestly, I'm not sure that I believe that.

In a world driven by fast-fashion, mass production, and shifts in retail shopping habits, the fashion industry has faced its fair share of challenges lately-particularly for entrepreneurs and small businesses.rnrnYet, Valerie May?n has remained committed to sustainability and the art of hand-crafted garments that fit everybody and every body. Valerie is the Latinx female powerhouse behind Yellowcake Shop Fashion, where her unapologetic approach to representation and empowerment through fashion has earned her multiple accolades, including Crain's Cleveland Woman of Note, Notable Latino Leaders, and the Cleveland Arts Prize, among others.rnrnValerie grew from humble beginnings as a student at the Cleveland Institute of Arts and an Etsy shop owner before gaining international recognition through Project Runway (Season 8 and All-Stars Season 5). She ultimately scaled Yellowcake from zero to six figures, without external support. Her entrepreneurial journey is filled with real-world lessons on creativity, integrity, and a lived experience on how Northeast Ohio can better support entrepreneurs.

This week on Better Buildings for Humans, host Joe Menchefski sits down with Yiselle Santos Rivera—architect, educator, and the incoming president of the AIA—to explore how buildings can become tools for healing, justice, and joy. Yiselle shares her journey from genetics labs in Puerto Rico to the forefront of neuroarchitecture and design leadership. She unpacks how architecture intersects with public health, economic mobility, and climate resilience, and why design excellence is inherently about people. From tropical modernism to the power of culturally responsive spaces, Yiselle reveals why the future of architecture must be collaborative, community-rooted, and deeply human. Whether you're an architect, planner, or policy-maker, this episode will reignite your passion for the built environment as a force for good.More About Yiselle Santos RiveraYiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, NOMA, NCARB, SHRM-SCP, is a healthcare architect, medical planner, educator, and organizational leadership strategist whose work sits at the intersection of architecture, neuroscience, culture, and human well-being. She serves as the 2026 President-Elect of the American Institute of Architects, where she is shaping a national agenda focused on community health, professional joy, and a future-ready architectural workforce.Yiselle is the Founder and CEO of YSR, LLC, a consultancy that blends healthcare design, neuroarchitecture, leadership psychology, and intercultural experience design. Her work centers on creating environments that elevate dignity, belonging, and wellness for diverse communities. She also teaches at Howard University, where she encourages emerging designers to lead with empathy, cultural awareness, and an understanding of how the built environment shapes human potential.Her leadership journey includes service on the AIA Strategic Council, the AIA Board of Directors, and multiple national task forces advancing public health, resilience, and equity. She is the creator of WIELD, a storytelling platform for women in design, and co-founder of LA.IDEA, the first Latinx-focused committee at AIA DC.Yiselle is a published author, national speaker, and advocate for redefining design excellence through the lens of people, purpose, and impact..Contact:https://www.linkedin.com/in/yisellesantosrivera/ https://www.yisellesantosrivera.com/ www.ysrconsultancy.com  Where To Find Us:https://bbfhpod.advancedglazings.com/www.advancedglazings.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/better-buildings-for-humans-podcastwww.linkedin.com/in/advanced-glazings-ltd-848b4625https://twitter.com/bbfhpodhttps://twitter.com/Solera_Daylighthttps://www.instagram.com/bbfhpod/https://www.instagram.com/advancedglazingsltdhttps://www.facebook.com/AdvancedGlazingsltd

Artist Manuel Vdah Bracamonte joins What's My Thesis? for a grounded conversation on graffiti, identity, and the lived conditions that shaped Los Angeles street culture in the 1980s and 90s. Born in El Salvador and raised in downtown LA, Bracamonte traces his earliest memories of tagging, the shift into “tag banging,” and how the social and political pressures of that era intersected with his development as an artist. A pivotal high-school teacher introduced him to portfolio building and ultimately to the CalArts CAP program—a transformational moment that opened a different pathway into art, community, and education. Throughout the episode, Bracamonte reflects on moving from name-based graffiti to narrative, community-oriented mural work; researching Mayan hieroglyphs; and developing a hybrid visual language that holds both ancestral history and futurist possibility. The discussion expands outward into questions of Latinx identity, diaspora, public art, youth mentorship, and the politics of presence—what it means to show up in spaces that often assume you don't belong. Bracamonte's reflections move between personal history and broader frameworks of street culture, muralism, pedagogy, and the ongoing transformation of LA's art landscape. This episode offers a direct, unfiltered look at how artistic practices emerge from lived experience, community ties, and the need to create meaning beyond institutional boundaries.

In this episode of the Latinx Business Podcast Show, host Randy Gomez welcomes Claudia Luquerna from VR Business Sales & Acquisitions. Claudia shares her journey from Colombia to the United States, where she built a successful career in business sales and mergers. The conversation delves into the strategies that propelled VR Business Sales to rapid growth, emphasizing the importance of structured deal-making, strategic target selection, and efficient team building. Claudia also discusses the emotional challenges business owners face when selling their companies, likening it to letting go of a cherished child. The episode highlights the significance of cultural understanding in international business dealings and offers valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly young Latinas, encouraging them to be confident, well-prepared, and resilient in their pursuits.#BusinessGrowth #LatinxEntrepreneurs #MergersAndAquisitions #GlobalBusiness #EntrepreneurshipJournet #BusinessSuccess #Business Strategy Claudia's Social Media:Facebook: VR Business Brokers Global Headquartershttps://vrbizworld.com/Randy's Social MediaInstagram: @randygmz.mbaFacebook: Randy Gomez Mba EALinkedIn: Randy Gòmez, MBA, EA

We are a movable species. In less than 50 thousand years, Homo sapiens has penetrated practically all corners of humanity. And the story started long before trains and airplanes. This is an episode about thoese epic migrations, with a focus on the two furthest edges of the human migratory map: the Americas in the West and the Polynesian islands in the east. In the end, we discuss emerging evidence that those branches met each other -- work coming directly out of the work of my guest, Andrés Moreno-Estrada.Enjoy!DECODING OUR STORYThis is episode 3 in the "⁠Decoding Our Story⁠" mini-series, recorded live at the Salk Institute's CARTA symposium on ancient DNA. The other episodes are:"The Neanderthal Mirror: Latest Findings About the Lines Between Us" ~ David Gokhman "Beyond Race: A New Outlook on the Shape of Humanity" ~ Diyendo MassilaniFACT CHECKINGNo errors have been found as of now. If you find an error in this or other episodes, get in touch via the form below.LINKSArticles and essays: ⁠⁠⁠OnHumans.Substack.com⁠⁠⁠Support: ⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠Contact Form: ⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/h5wcmefuwvD6asos8⁠⁠⁠⁠CARTA symposium⁠⁠The Moreno lab⁠⁠KEYWORDSHuman population history | Human origins | Anthropogeny | Anthropology | Ancient Migration | Out of Africa | Homo sapiens | Ancient DNA | Comparative genetics | Austronesian expansion | Taiwan | Admixture | Archaeogenetics | Archaeology | Polynesia | Easter Islands | Rapa Nui | Hawai'i | Aotearoa New Zealand | Tonga Fiji | Native American origins | Latino genetics | Latinx genetics | Hispanic genetics | Indegenous genetics |

Global superstar Karol G sits down with Emily Curl to discuss her album "Tropicoqueta,” discussing its intergenerational appeal and how it celebrates the diverse sounds of Latin music. She shares insights into her unique creative process for the album and her vision to bring a "Latina party" to life for the upcoming Tropicoqueta Tour. Karol G reflects on the cultural influences from countries like Mexico that have shaped her music and opens up about the importance of showing vulnerability in her Netflix documentary. Finally, she touches on what brings her joy, including exploring new cultures through travel and her recent experiences living in New York City y mucho mucho más. My Cultura Presents brings in laughs, gasps, and maybe some cries with an ultra-fun mix of interviews featuring legends, icons, and the future of música y cultura. Whether it's Karol G getting into her album, “Tropicoqueta,” America Ferrera reminiscing on her Ugly Betty days, or Luis Guzmán being everyone's favorite tío, every episode is a whole moment. Perfect for background vibes or full-on binge mode. Listen to the best episodes with our favorite Latinx stars! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Preaching for the Second Sunday of Advent, Carmen Ramos invites us to reclaim our common divine ancestry by nurturing new blossoms of justice, kinship, and courageous hope:"Even as we lament, we organize hope. This is our Divine Ancestry, given to us by Jesus, blooming anew. When we reclaim our divine lineage, people from longstanding opposing views gather together as the wolf and lamb; the leopard and the sheep; the calf and the lion…working together for justice, creating hope, creating kinship."Carmen Ramos is a first-generation Mexican-American raised in central California. She is an educator, spiritual director, retreat master, and formator. Currently, she serves Latinx parishes as Director of Renovación (Parish Renewal Initiative) at Marian University in Indianapolis. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12072025 to learn more about Carmen, for her preaching in Spanish, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

Lilly Cortes Wyatt is the visionary founder of SociosPR, an innovative integrated communications firm renowned for its cultural competence expertise. With a diverse team, SociosPR collaborates with private enterprises and public agencies, forging meaningful connections with varied communities. On this episode, Lilly shares why cultural competence is so important in 2025 and the dead giveaways that PR agencies are missing the mark. Also, a look at the competitive world of voice-over acting and Lilly's thought-leadership philosophy. Key Takeaways:- Keys to cultural competence- A look inside the world of voice-over acting- The inspiration for SociosPREpisode Timeline:1:45 Why voice acting is harder than most people think4:20 AI is taking voice acting jobs7:00 What's happening at SociosPR these days8:20 The inspiration for SociosPR10:50 The importance of cultural competence in 202513:10 What is cultural competence?14:20 Should PR people use the term Latinx?17:05 Dead giveaways that some PR isn't culturally competent19:45 Is ChatGPT good at translations?22:50 Understanding the diversity within the Hispanic community24:20 Lilly's thought leadership philosophyThis episode's guest:• Lilly Cortes Wyatt on LinkedIn• SociosPRAgency.Com• SociosPR on LinkedInSubscribe and leave a 5-star review: https://pod.link/1496390646Contact Us!•Join the conversation by leaving a comment!•Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn!Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the Americas (U Michigan Press, 2024) offers a new lens for examining diaspora and borderlands texts and performances that considers the inseparability of race, ethnicity, and gender in imagining and enacting social change. Theresa Delgadillo crosses interdisciplinary and canonical borders to investigate the interrelationships of African-descended Latinx and mestizx peoples through an analysis of Latin American, Latinx, and African American literature, film, and performance. Not only does Delgadillo offer a rare extended analysis of Black Latinidades in Chicanx literature and theory, but she also considers over a century's worth of literary, cinematic, and performative texts to support her argument about the significance of these cultural sites and overlaps. Chapters illuminate the significance of Toña La Negra in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, reconsider feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa's work in revising exclusionary Latin American ideologies of mestizaje, delve into the racial and gender frameworks Sandra Cisneros attempts to rewrite, unpack encounters between African Americans and Black Puerto Ricans in texts by James Baldwin and Marta Moreno Vega, explore the African diaspora in colonial and contemporary Peru through Daniel Alarcón's literature and the documentary Soy Andina, and revisit the centrality of Black power in ending colonialism in Cuban narratives. Geographies of Relation demonstrates the long histories of networks and exchanges across the Americas as well as the interrelationships among Indigenous, Black, African American, mestizx, Chicanx, and Latinx peoples. It offers a compelling argument that geographies of relation are as significant as national frameworks in structuring cultural formation and change in this hemisphere. Theresa Delgadillo is a Vilas Distinguished Professor of English and Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is also Director of the Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies Program. She is a founder and editor for the online publication Latinx Talk. Shodona Kettle is a PhD candidate at the Institute of the Americas, University College London. Website here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the Americas (U Michigan Press, 2024) offers a new lens for examining diaspora and borderlands texts and performances that considers the inseparability of race, ethnicity, and gender in imagining and enacting social change. Theresa Delgadillo crosses interdisciplinary and canonical borders to investigate the interrelationships of African-descended Latinx and mestizx peoples through an analysis of Latin American, Latinx, and African American literature, film, and performance. Not only does Delgadillo offer a rare extended analysis of Black Latinidades in Chicanx literature and theory, but she also considers over a century's worth of literary, cinematic, and performative texts to support her argument about the significance of these cultural sites and overlaps. Chapters illuminate the significance of Toña La Negra in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, reconsider feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa's work in revising exclusionary Latin American ideologies of mestizaje, delve into the racial and gender frameworks Sandra Cisneros attempts to rewrite, unpack encounters between African Americans and Black Puerto Ricans in texts by James Baldwin and Marta Moreno Vega, explore the African diaspora in colonial and contemporary Peru through Daniel Alarcón's literature and the documentary Soy Andina, and revisit the centrality of Black power in ending colonialism in Cuban narratives. Geographies of Relation demonstrates the long histories of networks and exchanges across the Americas as well as the interrelationships among Indigenous, Black, African American, mestizx, Chicanx, and Latinx peoples. It offers a compelling argument that geographies of relation are as significant as national frameworks in structuring cultural formation and change in this hemisphere. Theresa Delgadillo is a Vilas Distinguished Professor of English and Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is also Director of the Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies Program. She is a founder and editor for the online publication Latinx Talk. Shodona Kettle is a PhD candidate at the Institute of the Americas, University College London. Website here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latino-studies

Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the Americas (U Michigan Press, 2024) offers a new lens for examining diaspora and borderlands texts and performances that considers the inseparability of race, ethnicity, and gender in imagining and enacting social change. Theresa Delgadillo crosses interdisciplinary and canonical borders to investigate the interrelationships of African-descended Latinx and mestizx peoples through an analysis of Latin American, Latinx, and African American literature, film, and performance. Not only does Delgadillo offer a rare extended analysis of Black Latinidades in Chicanx literature and theory, but she also considers over a century's worth of literary, cinematic, and performative texts to support her argument about the significance of these cultural sites and overlaps. Chapters illuminate the significance of Toña La Negra in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, reconsider feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa's work in revising exclusionary Latin American ideologies of mestizaje, delve into the racial and gender frameworks Sandra Cisneros attempts to rewrite, unpack encounters between African Americans and Black Puerto Ricans in texts by James Baldwin and Marta Moreno Vega, explore the African diaspora in colonial and contemporary Peru through Daniel Alarcón's literature and the documentary Soy Andina, and revisit the centrality of Black power in ending colonialism in Cuban narratives. Geographies of Relation demonstrates the long histories of networks and exchanges across the Americas as well as the interrelationships among Indigenous, Black, African American, mestizx, Chicanx, and Latinx peoples. It offers a compelling argument that geographies of relation are as significant as national frameworks in structuring cultural formation and change in this hemisphere. Theresa Delgadillo is a Vilas Distinguished Professor of English and Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is also Director of the Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies Program. She is a founder and editor for the online publication Latinx Talk. Shodona Kettle is a PhD candidate at the Institute of the Americas, University College London. Website here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the Americas (U Michigan Press, 2024) offers a new lens for examining diaspora and borderlands texts and performances that considers the inseparability of race, ethnicity, and gender in imagining and enacting social change. Theresa Delgadillo crosses interdisciplinary and canonical borders to investigate the interrelationships of African-descended Latinx and mestizx peoples through an analysis of Latin American, Latinx, and African American literature, film, and performance. Not only does Delgadillo offer a rare extended analysis of Black Latinidades in Chicanx literature and theory, but she also considers over a century's worth of literary, cinematic, and performative texts to support her argument about the significance of these cultural sites and overlaps. Chapters illuminate the significance of Toña La Negra in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, reconsider feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa's work in revising exclusionary Latin American ideologies of mestizaje, delve into the racial and gender frameworks Sandra Cisneros attempts to rewrite, unpack encounters between African Americans and Black Puerto Ricans in texts by James Baldwin and Marta Moreno Vega, explore the African diaspora in colonial and contemporary Peru through Daniel Alarcón's literature and the documentary Soy Andina, and revisit the centrality of Black power in ending colonialism in Cuban narratives. Geographies of Relation demonstrates the long histories of networks and exchanges across the Americas as well as the interrelationships among Indigenous, Black, African American, mestizx, Chicanx, and Latinx peoples. It offers a compelling argument that geographies of relation are as significant as national frameworks in structuring cultural formation and change in this hemisphere. Theresa Delgadillo is a Vilas Distinguished Professor of English and Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is also Director of the Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies Program. She is a founder and editor for the online publication Latinx Talk. Shodona Kettle is a PhD candidate at the Institute of the Americas, University College London. Website here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latin-american-studies

Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the Americas (U Michigan Press, 2024) offers a new lens for examining diaspora and borderlands texts and performances that considers the inseparability of race, ethnicity, and gender in imagining and enacting social change. Theresa Delgadillo crosses interdisciplinary and canonical borders to investigate the interrelationships of African-descended Latinx and mestizx peoples through an analysis of Latin American, Latinx, and African American literature, film, and performance. Not only does Delgadillo offer a rare extended analysis of Black Latinidades in Chicanx literature and theory, but she also considers over a century's worth of literary, cinematic, and performative texts to support her argument about the significance of these cultural sites and overlaps. Chapters illuminate the significance of Toña La Negra in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, reconsider feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa's work in revising exclusionary Latin American ideologies of mestizaje, delve into the racial and gender frameworks Sandra Cisneros attempts to rewrite, unpack encounters between African Americans and Black Puerto Ricans in texts by James Baldwin and Marta Moreno Vega, explore the African diaspora in colonial and contemporary Peru through Daniel Alarcón's literature and the documentary Soy Andina, and revisit the centrality of Black power in ending colonialism in Cuban narratives. Geographies of Relation demonstrates the long histories of networks and exchanges across the Americas as well as the interrelationships among Indigenous, Black, African American, mestizx, Chicanx, and Latinx peoples. It offers a compelling argument that geographies of relation are as significant as national frameworks in structuring cultural formation and change in this hemisphere. Theresa Delgadillo is a Vilas Distinguished Professor of English and Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is also Director of the Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies Program. She is a founder and editor for the online publication Latinx Talk. Shodona Kettle is a PhD candidate at the Institute of the Americas, University College London. Website here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

For World Aids Day 2025, Yo Aunteas sit with Mario Harper, Director at Health Action Alliance and leader of the U.S. Business Action to End HIV, to discuss a topic too often shrouded in shame: HIV in the Black Community. Mario shares his deeply personal journey, from overcoming family stigma surrounding his uncle's death to leading national efforts to secure critical funding for grassroots HIV services. This episode is about courage, visibility, and reclaiming our narrative. We break down: How the HIV funding crisis directly impacts Black and Latinx lives. The power of confronting family and church stigma. Why queer people of color are embracing words like "sissy" to embody their whole truth. This is a powerful, educational, and necessary episode. Don't just listen—share this with your entire Communitea! Of course, we end with Curiositea! Subscribe now to the Minoritea Report for more unfiltered Black queer perspectives and get them cups ready! Tea Stamps: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Thanksgiving: Black Olympics 06:24 Mario Harper's Background 12:48 Sissy That Walk 16:14 World AIDS Day: The Role Of Visibility and Funding 22:56 The Future of HIV Services and Community Support 26:25 Economic Impact and Community Health 27:11 Barriers to Healthcare Access 29:07 Stigma and the Black Church 31:16 Corporate Responsibility in HIV Awareness 35:33 Engaging Younger Generations 40:01 Innovations in HIV Prevention 43:34 Media Representation and HIV Awareness 47:31 Get Tested! 49:59 Q Care Plus & Mistr: Avenues for PREP 52:06 Reflections on Wicked: For Good 01:03:03 The Boy Is Mine Tour: Brandy & Monica 01:07:15 Curiositea: Mario Harper 01:11:49 What Do You Know For Sure? 01:13:04 Beyoncé vs. Janet 01:14:51 Benediction

In this episode, Gaby Huezo shares how she left El Salvador, navigated cultural differences in LA, and built a creative career from scratch—all while taking up space and championing Latinx voices globally. Learn how to take risks, own your space, and make your impact. In this empowering episode, we sit down with Gaby Huezo, creative strategist, storyteller, and founder of Haus of Duke, to uncover how she took bold risks, built a creative career from scratch, and championed Latinx voices globally. Gaby shares the lessons she learned leaving El Salvador for Los Angeles, navigating cultural differences, and stepping into rooms where she wasn't expected—yet choosing to take up space with confidence and purpose. You will discover how to: Take risks and create opportunities instead of waiting for them Build a career from scratch in a new country while staying true to your identity Find your zone of genius and protect it in any environment Use creativity and storytelling to make an impact and elevate underrepresented voices From shaping influencer strategy for MAC in El Salvador to running her own business and building campaigns for global brands, Gaby's story is a masterclass in courage, cultural empathy, and purposeful career-building. Whether you're a creative professional, an immigrant, or anyone striving to show up boldly in your career, this episode will leave you inspired and ready to take risks, own your space, and amplify your voice. FIND GABY ON: Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/hausofduke OR www.hauseofduke.com  Resources + Links: Subscribe to Dreams In Drive wherever you get your podcasts Follow @rainshineluv on Instagram for behind-the-scenes updates Share this episode with a friend who's questioning what's next Sign up for our weekly newsletter www.dreamsindrive.com/join Episode Partner Cash App Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/u8hilect #CashAppPod Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See terms and conditions at https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit http://cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. Leave a Review Loving the show? Your reviews help Dreams In Drive reach more listeners. Leave one on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and tag Rana to share your thoughts!  Join the Conversation Has your dream evolved? Are you navigating a pivot in real time? DM Rana on IG @dreamsindrive

Dr. Roberto L. Abreu met with Dr. Desa Karye Daniel to discuss how his understanding of LGBTQ experiences within Latinx communities has evolved through his lived experiences. They reflected on how their research has influenced their perspectives on social justice issues, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based practices in advocating for marginalized groups. The conversation also highlighted the delicate balance between challenging systems of oppression and providing support to their communities and students. They shared strategies for maintaining this balance, such as engaging in open dialogue and fostering inclusive environments in educational settings. Ultimately, their discussion underscored the significance of solidarity and allyship within and beyond the Latinx and LGBTQ communities in the pursuit of social justice. For more on our guests, links from the conversation, and APA citation for this episode visit https://concept.paloaltou.edu/resources/the-thoughtful-counselor-podcast  The Thoughtful Counselor is created in partnership with Palo Alto University's Division of Continuing & Professional Studies. Learn more at concept.paloaltou.edu  

Welcome to another episode of Las Platicas, a show hosted by Comadres y Comics, where we meet with creators and friends to talk about upcoming projects, events and all-around awesome news in the Latinx comic community. Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Abby Rocha. Abby Rocha is a creator from the too-sunny lands of San Diego and has settled in the foggy coastal embrace of the East Bay. They write/illustrate from the intersection of their latinidad, the multifaceted subject of death and the world around them. They've self published and been nationally published, and their art has been shown in galleries and museums. They are currently working on their debut graphic novel, “Two Hearts in Mictlan.” You can often find them dressed in black and communing with cats in the neighborhood with their partner and child. Welcome Abby!@chica_artista_illustrationabbyrocha.com

Two new exhibitions at the Dubuque Museum of Art rethink representation through Indigenous, Latinx and community-centered storytelling. Then, two sisters organize an annual Thanksgiving day giveaway of pies, no questions asked.

For the last few weeks, we've been sharing conversations between transgender and nonbinary kids and the people in their lives who love and support them — a series called Love You for You. As we enter Transgender Awareness Month, we shift the lens toward intergenerational stories — young people in their twenties in conversation with transgender elders whose lives trace the long arc of LGBTQ+ activism in California. These bonus episodes carry heavier histories and more mature themes than the family conversations featured earlier in the series. They offer deeper context to the ongoing fight for safety, dignity, and self-expression. This week, we meet Donna Personna, a 79-year-old transgender Chicana artist, activist, and playwright who grew up in San José and now lives in San Francisco. A longtime drag performer and advocate, Donna has devoted decades to uplifting the LGBTQ+ community. In 2019, she was named Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal of the San Francisco Pride Parade. She also co-wrote Compton's Cafeteria Riot, an immersive play that brings to life a 1966 uprising in San Francisco's Tenderloin District — when trans women and drag queens stood up to police harassment, three years before Stonewall. In this episode, Donna speaks with Quetzali (who also goes by “Q”), a 23-year-old Latinx nonbinary organizer from Sacramento who uses they/them/elle pronouns and who is using only their first name to protect their identity. Together, they reflect on how Latinx gender-expansive identities have evolved across generations, from quiet survival in the shadows to living freely. Donna also shares how she continues to cultivate self-love and resilience in a world that still tests both — grounding today's struggles in a lifetime of resistance, care, and optimism. Read the transcript of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Commercial Break, Bryan and Krissy sink their fangs into the delightful chaos that is Harvey Guillén—actor, comedian, voice of Perrito in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and the world's most endearing vampire familiar, Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows. Harvey stops by to talk about how he went from recycling cans to fund acting classes to becoming the first queer Latinx actor nominated for a Critics Choice Award. Between Hollywood hustle stories, body-positivity truths, and a few questionable vampire jokes, Harvey proves that kindness, talent, and a little absurdity go a long way in showbiz. He might even convince Bryan that bloodsuckers deserve union benefits. FOLLOW US: Instagram:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thecommercialbreak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thecommercialbreak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@tcbpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.tcbpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CREDITS: Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bryan Green⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ &⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Krissy Hoadley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Executive Producer: Bryan Green Producer: Astrid B. Green Voice Over: Rachel McGrath TCBits & TCB Tunes: Written, Voiced and Produced by Bryan Green. Rights Reserved To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Commercial Break, Bryan and Krissy sink their fangs into the delightful chaos that is Harvey Guillén—actor, comedian, voice of Perrito in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and the world's most endearing vampire familiar, Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows. Harvey stops by to talk about how he went from recycling cans to fund acting classes to becoming the first queer Latinx actor nominated for a Critics Choice Award. Between Hollywood hustle stories, body-positivity truths, and a few questionable vampire jokes, Harvey proves that kindness, talent, and a little absurdity go a long way in showbiz. He might even convince Bryan that bloodsuckers deserve union benefits. FOLLOW US: Instagram:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thecommercialbreak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thecommercialbreak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@tcbpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.tcbpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CREDITS: Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bryan Green⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ &⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Krissy Hoadley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Executive Producer: Bryan Green Producer: Astrid B. Green Voice Over: Rachel McGrath TCBits & TCB Tunes: Written, Voiced and Produced by Bryan Green. Rights Reserved To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Roxxy Haze Dion Lack Brent Taylor  This Week We Discuss Skyscraper Window Cleaner vs Light House Worker  Be A Professional Stripper At Assisted Living Homes vs A Roaster At The Special Olympics  Monthly Eating Contest Of Your Most Hated Food vs Only Have Hotdog Water As A Drink Again S/o To Our Sponsors Cash App Download Cash App And Use The Code CASHAPP10 At Sign Up At Receive $10 When You Send A Friend $5. Terms Apply