Podcasts about Diversity

Hey lady! By now it is clear that we are living through an extreme backlash to the gains made by Black Americans, non-Black minorities, and women. The most glaring manifestation of this is the rollback of Affirmative Action and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across the country. Not only were programs built to uplift non-Whites completely eliminated but they were removed with a velocity that made many American’s head recoil from whiplash. Seemingly overnight companies united to align with the current regime’s warped ideal of what the American workplace should operate as. The thing is we, as Americans, have long moved past civil rights era workplace politics and practices. Black Americans have consistently demonstrated our aptitude and ability to be top contributors to the corporate workforce and that doesn’t have to stop despite this regime’s best efforts, according to Dr. Marissiko Wheaton-Greer, Assistant Vice President for People, Purpose and Policy at an affordable housing nonprofit and researcher on social identity, critical consciousness building, and leadership. Dr. Wheaton-Greer offers a balanced perspective about why this moment feels different and how you can navigate hostile, tenuous workplace situations. Tune in lady and have your Cultivating H.E.R. Space journal with you so you can write down a few of the scripts Dr. Wheaton-Greer offers. Her guidance will have you managing challenging scenarios with grace, dignity and the class you’ve already cultivated. Quote of the Day: "We cannot talk about DEI in broad categories. In order to dive deeply and give people the competence they need to be good colleagues and stewards of this work, we need to be specific and engage in the unique experiences of various communities and identities." – Dr. Marissiko Wheaton-Greer This episode is sponsored by VB Health, a woman-owned, physician-led supplement company creating doctor-formulated supplements that work. We’re featuring Soaking Wet (probiotics + vitamins for vaginal health and natural wetness). Visit this link and use code HerSpace for 10% off: https://bit.ly/VBhealthherspace Goal Mapping Starter Guide Cultivating H.E.R. Space Sanctuary Where to find Dr. Marissiko Wheaton-Greer: Website: Greer Consulting IG: @marissiko IG: @greerconsulting LinkedIn: Dr. Marissiko Wheaton-Greer Resources: Dr. Dom’s Therapy Practice Get That Pitch Workshop: Turn your story and expertise into speaking gigs, media features, and collaborations, without a publicist. Visit GetThatPitch.com and Use code HERSPACE for a special listener discount. Branding with Terri Melanin and Mental Health Therapy for Black Girls Psychology Today Therapy for QPOC Therapy Fund Foundation Where to find us: Twitter: @HERspacepodcast Instagram: @herspacepodcast Facebook: @herspacepodcast Website: cultivatingherspace.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The news on illegals doesn't stop and Howie is discussing the latest illegals to make the news, and a man dressed as a women has some crazy sideburns. Then, Howie looks back at some of Bidens best gaffes.  Visit the Howie Carr Radio Network website to access columns, podcasts, and other exclusive content.

What happens when intimacy starts to feel like pressure… obligation… or even a negotiation?In this episode of The Lo Life, Lo dives into the conversations most couples are having behind closed doors—but rarely saying out loud. From mismatched libidos and feelings of rejection to the impact of porn and the subtle ways sex can become transactional, this episode explores the real reasons desire shifts in long-term relationships.Bringing listener questions to the forefront, Lo sits down with Dr. Nicole McNichols, an internationally renowned human sexuality professor, licensed therapist, and author whose course The Diversity of Human Sexuality is the most popular in University of Washington history. With years of experience helping individuals and couples navigate intimacy and connection, Dr. Nicole offers insight that is both practical and deeply validating.Together, they unpack the emotional and psychological layers behind desire, disconnection, and what it actually takes to rebuild intimacy. Whether listeners are navigating these challenges themselves or supporting someone who is, this conversation offers a fresh, eye-opening perspective on modern relationships.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just because these people lost in November doesn’t mean they have changed their ways. Diversity is the death of everything. Is the SAVE act DOA? Maybe not. Follow The Jesse Kelly Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJesseKellyShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Linda Hill, Jason Wild, and Emily C. Tedards join the show to discuss what it actually takes to build organizations that innovate consistently—not just once, but over and over again. Linda Hill is a Harvard Business School professor and one of the world's leading experts on leadership and innovation, ranked among the top management thinkers globally. Jason Wild brings the practitioner perspective, having led innovation initiatives at companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, and IBM. Emily C. Tedards is a graduate researcher in organizational behavior at Harvard Business School and a doctoral fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Together, they co-authored Genius at Scale, a book exploring how modern leaders create environments where innovation can thrive across teams, generations, and organizations. On this episode we talk about: Why many great ideas never get launched—and how leaders can change that The difference between leading change and leading innovation Why successful innovation requires co-creation instead of top-down leadership The power of “creative abrasion” and diverse perspectives in problem-solving How organizations can better integrate younger generations into leadership and innovation Top 3 Takeaways The best leaders don't simply drive innovation—they build environments where people collaborate to create innovation together. Innovation leadership is about co-creation, not followership. Teams are more engaged when they feel they're helping shape the future rather than executing someone else's vision. Diversity of thought—including generational diversity—is a powerful advantage when solving complex problems and navigating uncertainty. Notable Quotes "Great leaders drive innovation—but they don't drive alone." "If you want to innovate repeatedly at scale, you must create an environment where people can co-create the future together." "Innovation doesn't happen because one person has the answer—it happens when many people bring their perspectives to the problem." Connect with the Guests: Linda Hill LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-hill-hbs/ Jason Wild LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonwild Emily C. Tedards LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-tedards/ Book: Genius at Scale https://www.geniusatscale.com  Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency.  Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform.  Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of our Defensible Decisions podcast, Scott Kelly (shareholder, Birmingham) and Nonnie Shivers (office managing shareholder, Phoenix) discuss the EEOC's January 2025 vote to rescind the Biden-era anti-harassment guidance, which had addressed gender identity issues including pronouns, bathroom access, and misgendering. Scott, who is chair of the firm's Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group, and Nonnie, who is co-chair of the firm's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance Practice Group, explain that while the rescission removes enforcement clarity, it does not change existing law—Bostock remains binding precedent—and employers should continue robust harassment training and remain attentive to evolving federal, state, and local requirements. The speakers also preview anticipated EEOC developments, including potential new guidance on religious accommodations and national origin discrimination.

[Rerun] Dr. Kirk, Humberto and Collin talk about diversity in movies.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/KIRK to get 10% off your first month.Support us by... Become a member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOUZWV1DRtHtpP2H48S7iiw/joinBecome a patron: https://www.patreon.com/PsychologyInSeattleContact us/more info... Email: https://www.psychologyinseattle.com/contactAbout Dr. Kirk: https://www.psychologyinseattle.com/about-dr-kirk-hondaWebsite: https://www.psychologyinseattle.comGet stuff... Merch: https://psychologyinseattle-shop.fourthwall.com/KIRKgram (like Cameo): https://www.psychologyinseattle.com/kirkgramThe Psychology In Seattle Podcast ®Trigger Warning: This episode may include topics such as assault, trauma, and discrimination. If necessary, listeners are encouraged to refrain from listening and care for their safety and well-being. Disclaimer: The content provided is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. Nothing here constitutes personal or professional consultation, therapy, diagnosis, or creates a counselor-client relationship. Topics discussed may generate differing points of view. If you participate (by being a guest, submitting a question, or commenting) you must do so with the knowledge that we cannot control reactions or responses from others, which may not agree with you or feel unfair. Your participation on this site is at your own risk, accepting full responsibility for any liability or harm that may result. Anything you write here may be used for discussion or endorsement of the podcast. Opinions and views expressed by the host and guest hosts are personal views. Although we take precautions and fact check, they should not be considered facts and the opinions may change. Opinions posted by participants (such as comments) are not those of the hosts. Readers should not rely on any information found here and should perform due diligence before taking any action. For a more extensive description of factors for you to consider, please see www.psychologyinseattle.com

In this classic episode, Kymberli Cook, Glenn Kreider, and Craig Blaising discuss the history, core beliefs, and diversity within dispensationalism, including its view of salvation and the relationship between Israel and the Church. Timecodes 02:39 What is Dispensationalism? 09:27 What Makes Dispensationalists Unique? 20:06 The Historical Context for Dispensationalism's Growth 28:39 Controversy Surrounding Dispensationalism 41:12 Rooting Dispensationalism in Scripture 43:36 Progressive Dispensationalism 51:00 Diversity within Dispensationalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mathematics quietly shapes some of the most important decisions in public life, from redistricting and congressional apportionment to federal research funding and AI policy. In this episode, Autumn and Noah speak with Dr. Karen Saxe, Senior Vice President of Government Relations at the American Mathematical Society, about how mathematical ideas influence representation, fairness, education, and the future of research. From gerrymandering and geometric compactness to life inside the U.S. Senate and the growing policy debates around AI, Karen reveals how deeply math is woven into the systems that govern everyday life.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the Conversation01:15 The Hot Tea in DC01:24 Gerrymandering and Mathematics03:42 Understanding Gerrymandering and Redistricting08:07 The Role of Mathematicians in Politics12:19 Experiences in the Senate with Al Franken19:32 Government Relations and the Role of Mathematics23:01 The Impact of AI on Mathematics and Policy28:41 Community Readiness for AI Transformations29:22 Diversity in Education and Its Challenges29:40 Bridging Mathematics and Politics29:58 Career Pathways: Academia to PolicyFollow Karen Saxe onLinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-saxe-5015038a/)Website (https://www.ams.org/government)Follow Breaking Math on Substack (https://breakingmath.substack.com/)Twitter (https://x.com/breakingmathpod)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/breakingmathmedia/)Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/breakingmath.bsky.social)Website (https://www.breakingmath.io/)YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingMathPod)Follow Noah onInstagram (https://www.instagram.com/profnoahgian/)Twitter (https://x.com/ProfNoahGian)Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/profnoahgian.bsky.social)Follow Autumn onTwitter (https://x.com/1autumn_leaf)Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/1autumnleaf.bsky.social)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/1autumnleaf/)Substack (https://substack.com/@1autumnleaf)email: breakingmathpodcast@gmail.com

On this episode, host Sima Vasa talks to Jason Cohen, Founder and CEO of Simulacra Synthetic Data Studio, about the limits of traditional research, the evolution of synthetic data, and why causal modeling matters more than larger sample sizes. Drawing on his experience building and exiting Gastrograph AI, Jason explains how real-world data gaps undermine decision-making and how synthetic data can support scenario-based predictions when applied responsibly. Key Takeaways: 00:00 Introduction.05:24 Most brands can't know in advance if research data is “correct.”​09:44 Generic LLM personas rarely represent any real population.​13:08 Cross‑coverage lets AI infer missing audience segments.​16:04 Synthetic data is real when it's actually used.​19:36 Diversity in base samples drives credible synthetic expansion.​23:28 Sample boosting alone doesn't fix bad research outcomes.​25:08 Synthetic data scales insights for hard‑to‑reach cohorts.​26:08 Misused synthetic personas can drive completely wrong decisions.​ Resources Mentioned: Simulacra Synthetic Data Studio | Website Thanks for listening to the Data Gurus podcast, brought to you by Infinity Squared. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review to help get the word out about the show, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation. #Analytics #MA #Data #Strategy #Innovation #Acquisitions #MRX #Restech

Utilizing critical legal methodologies, Alex Powell's Queering UK Refugee Law: Sexual Diversity and Asylum Administration (Bristol UP, 2026) gives a vital and needed analysis of migration and queer life. With deep consideration to the role of systemic disbelief, experiences of dispersal away from urban areas, contemporary shifts in liberal human rights regimes, and even the impact on legal practitioners in the system, Queering UK Refugee Law offers insight into both refugee policy and practice.  Through interviews, analyses of case law, and a rigorous application of queer theory, Powell gives readers an understanding of not just UK asylum law, but the bureaucracies, policies, and assumptions that shape it. From narratives to state understandings of 'credibility,' Powell demonstrates not just barriers to asylum claims on the basis of sexuality, but broader concerns around normative state conceptions of identity. Queering UK Refugee Law is a timely and critical work on sexuality, migration, and its intersections. Alex Powell is an Associate Professor in Law at Warwick Law School. His research focuses on law, gender, sexuality and migration, particularly in the UK. Rine Vieth is an FRQ Postdoctoral Fellow at Université Laval. They are currently studying how anti-gender mobilization shapes migration policy, particularly in regards to asylum determinations in the UK and Canada. 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

In this episode, hosts Lee-Sean Huang and Giulia Donatello welcome distinguished professor, author, and creativity expert Robin Landa. Recently honored with the 2025 Stephen Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary, Landa discusses her prolific career as the author of 27 books and her evolving philosophy on design's role in society. The conversation spans Landa's origin story: from designing Barbie clothes as a child to honing her craft as a writer. We also explore her latest work, which frames branding not merely as a commercial tool, but as a significant cultural force with ethical responsibilities.Major ThemesBranding as a Cultural Actor: Landa argues that modern brands have moved beyond simple differentiation and positioning. They are now cultural participants that influence public discourse, equity, and inclusion, carrying a responsibility to contribute positively to the communities that sustain them.The Evolution of Design Writing: Landa reflects on how writing began as a practical necessity for academic promotion but became a core part of her identity. She emphasizes the importance of design commentary as a form of cultural commentary that should live beyond the "silo" of the design community.Redesigning the Learning Environment: As an educator, Landa advocates for a shift from the "talking head" factory model of education to active, flexible, and social spaces. She suggests that classrooms should be designed for engagement and participation rather than compliance.AI and the Human Element: Discussing the rise of AI in the creative workflow, Landa notes that while students need technical fluency, the true value of a designer now lies in judgment, ethics, and lived experience—qualities AI lacks.Diversity as a Creative Catalyst: Innovation happens at the "edge" where different disciplines and backgrounds meet. Landa highlights the need for structural diversity in creative leadership to move beyond symbolicReferencesBranding as a Cultural Force: https://amzn.to/3PH80IC Leadership by Design: https://amzn.to/47QOm37 MasterCard's Where to Settle: https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2023/mastercard-s-where-to-settle-platform-to-offer-new-features-job-listings-and-apartment-rentals/ Sheba Reef Builders: https://www.shebahopegrows.com/en-en?&=681856277402&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20799781648&gbraid=0AAAAAC66XqpqSC0WC1oRrgVID3xKi880H Man Ray - When Objects Dream: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/man-ray-when-objects-dream

What makes a character so compelling that readers will forgive almost anything about the plot? How do you move beyond vague flaws and generic descriptions to create people who feel pulled from real life? In this solo episode, I share 15 actionable tips for writing deep characters, curated from past interviews on the podcast. In the intro, thoughts from London Book Fair [Instagram reel @jfpennauthor; Publishing Perspectives; Audible; Spotify]; Insights from a 7-figure author business [BookBub]. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community and get articles, discounts, and extra audio and video tutorials on writing craft, author business, and AI tools, at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn This episode has been created from previous episodes of The Creative Penn Podcast, curated by Joanna Penn, as well as chapters from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book. Links to the individual episodes are included in the transcript below. In this episode: Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' trifecta, how to hook readers on the very first page Define the Dramatic Question: Who is your character when the chips are down? Absolute specificity. Why “she's controlling” isn't good enough Understand the Heroine's Journey, strength through connection, not solo action Use ‘Metaphor Families' to anchor dialogue and give every character a distinctive voice Find the Diagnostic Detail, the moments that prove a character is real Writing pain onto the page without writing memoir Write diverse characters as real people, not stereotypes or plot devices Give your protagonist a morally neutral ‘hero' status. Compelling beats likeable. Build vibrant side characters for series longevity and spin-off potential Use voice as a rhythmic tool Link character and plot until they're inseparable Why discovery writers can write out of order and still build deep character Find the sensory details that make characters live and breathe More help with how to write fiction here, or in my book, How to Write a Novel. Writing Characters: 15 Tips for Writing Deep Character in Your Fiction In today's episode, I'm sharing fifteen tips for writing deep characters, synthesised from some of the most insightful interviews on The Creative Penn Podcast over the past few years, combined with what I've learned across more than forty books of my own. I'll be referencing episodes with Matt Bird, Will Storr, Gail Carriger, Barbara Nickless, and Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer. I'll also draw on my own book, How to Write a Novel, which covers these fundamentals in detail. Whether you're writing your first novel or your fiftieth, whether you're a plotter or a discovery writer like me, these tips will help you create characters that readers believe in, care about, and invest in—and keep coming back for more. Let's get into it. 1. Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' Trifecta When I spoke with Matt Bird on episode 624, he laid out the three things you need to achieve on the very first page of your book or in the first ten minutes of a film. He calls it “Believe, Care, and Invest.” First, the reader must believe the character is a real person, somehow proving they are not a cardboard imitation of a human being, not just a generic type walking through a generic plot. Second, the reader must care about the character's circumstances. And third, the reader must invest in the character's ability to solve the story's central problem. Matt used The Hunger Games as his primary example, and it's brilliant. On the very first page, we believe Katniss's voice. Suzanne Collins writes in first person with a staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short declarative sentences—that immediately grounds us in a survivalist mentality. We care because Katniss is starving. She's protecting her little sister. And we invest because she is out there bow hunting, which Matt pointed out is one of the most badass things a character can do. She even kills a lynx two pages in and sells the pelt. We invest in her resourcefulness and grit before the plot has even begun. Matt was very clear that this has nothing to do with the character being “likable.” He said his subtitle, Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love, doesn't mean the character has to be a good person. He described “hero” as both gender-neutral and morally neutral. A hero can be totally evil or totally good. What matters is that we believe, care, and invest. He demonstrated this beautifully by breaking down the first ten minutes of WeCrashed, where the characters of Adam and Rebekah Neumann are absolutely not likable, but we are completely hooked. Adam steals his neighbour's Chinese food through a carefully orchestrated con involving an imaginary beer. It's not admirable behaviour, but the tradecraft involved, as Matt put it—using a term from spy movies—makes us invest in him. We see a character trying to solve the big problem of his life, which is that he's poor and wants to be rich, and we want to see if he can pull it off. Actionable step: Go to the first page of your current work in progress. Does it achieve all three? Does the reader believe this is a real person with a distinctive voice? Do they care about the character's circumstances? And do they invest in the character's ability to handle what's coming? If even one of those three is missing, that's your revision priority. 2. Define the Dramatic Question: Who Are They Really? Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling, came on episode 490 and gave one of the most powerful frameworks I've ever heard for character-driven fiction. He explained that the human brain evolved language primarily to swap social information—in other words, to gossip. We are wired to monitor other people, to ask the question: who is this person when the chips are down? That's what Will calls the Dramatic Question, and it's what he believes lies at the heart of all compelling storytelling. It's not a question about plot. It's a question about the character's soul. And every scene in your novel should force the character to answer it. His example of Lawrence of Arabia is unforgettable. The Dramatic Question for the entire film is: who are you, Lawrence? Are you ordinary or are you extraordinary? At the beginning, Lawrence is a cocky, rebellious young soldier who believes his rebelliousness makes him superior. Every iconic scene in that three-hour film tests that belief. Sometimes Lawrence acts as though he truly is extraordinary—leading the Arabs into battle, being hailed as a god—and sometimes the world strips him bare and he sees himself as ordinary. Because it's a tragedy, he never overcomes his flaw. He doubles down on his belief that he's extraordinary until he becomes monstrous, culminating in that iconic scene where he lifts a bloody dagger and sees his own reflection with horror. Will also used Jaws to demonstrate how this works in a pure action thriller. Brody's dramatic question is simple: are you going to be old Brody who is terrified of the water, or new Brody who can overcome that fear? Every scene where the shark appears is really asking that question. And the last moment of the film isn't the shark blowing up. It's Brody swimming back through the water, saying he used to be scared of the water and he can't imagine why. Actionable step: Write down the Dramatic Question for your protagonist in a single sentence. Is it “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you brave enough to love again?” or “Will you sacrifice your principles for survival?” If you can't answer this with specificity, your character might still be a sketch rather than a person. 3. Get rid of Vague Flaws, and use Absolute Specificity This was one of Will Storr's most important points. He said that vague thinking about characters is really the enemy. When he teaches workshops and asks writers to describe their character's flaw, most of them say something like “they're very controlling.” And Will's response is: that's not good enough. Everyone is controlling. How are they controlling? What's the specific mechanism? He gave the example of a profile he read of Theresa May during the UK's Brexit chaos. Someone who knew her said that Theresa May's problem was that she always thinks she's the only adult in every room she goes into. Will said that stopped him in his tracks because it's so precise. If you define a character with that level of specificity, you can take them and put them in any genre, any situation—a spaceship, a Victorian drawing room, a school playground—and you will know exactly how they're going to behave. The same applies to Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, as Will described it: a man who believes absolutely in capitalistic success and the idea that when you die, you're going to be weighed on a scale, just as God weighs you for sin, but now you're weighed for success. That's not a vague flaw. That's a worldview you can drop into any story and watch it combust. Will made another counterintuitive point that I found really valuable: writers often think that piling on multiple traits will create a complex character, but the opposite is true. Starting with one highly specific flaw and running it through the demands of a relentless plot is what generates complexity. You end up with a far more nuanced, original character than if you'd started with a laundry list of vague attributes. Actionable step: Take your protagonist's flaw and pressure-test it. Is it specific enough that you could place this character in any situation and predict their behaviour? If you're stuck at “she's stubborn” or “he's insecure,” keep pushing. What kind of stubborn? What kind of insecure? Find the diagnostic sentence—the Theresa May level of precision. 4. Understand the Heroine's Journey: Strength Through Connection Gail Carriger came on episode 550 to discuss her nonfiction book, The Heroine's Journey, and it completely reframed how I think about some of my own fiction. Gail explained that the core difference between the Hero's Journey and the Heroine's Journey comes down to how strength and victory are defined. The Hero's Journey is about strength through solo action. The hero must be continually isolated to get stronger. He goes out of civilisation, faces strife alone, and achieves victory through physical prowess and self-actualisation. The Heroine's Journey is the opposite. The heroine achieves her goals by activating a network. She's a delegator, a general. She identifies where she can't do something alone, finds the people who can help, and portions out the work for mutual gain. Gail put it simply: the heroine is very good at asking for help, which our culture tends to devalue but which is actually a powerful form of strength. Crucially, Gail stressed that gender is irrelevant to which journey you're writing. Her go-to examples are striking: the recent Wonder Woman film is practically a beat-for-beat hero's journey—Gilgamesh on screen, as Gail described it. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, both the first book and the series as a whole, is a classic heroine's journey. Harry's power comes from his network—Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, his friendships with Ron and Hermione. He doesn't defeat Voldemort alone. He defeats Voldemort because of love and connection. This distinction has real practical consequences for writers. If you're writing a hero's journey and you hit writer's block, Gail said, the solution is usually to isolate your hero further and pile on more strife. But if you're writing a heroine's journey, the solution is probably to throw a new character into the scene—someone who has advice to offer or a skill the heroine lacks. The actual solutions to writer's block are different depending on which narrative you're writing. As I reflected on my own work, I realised that my ARKANE thriller protagonist, Morgan Sierra, follows a hero's journey—she's a solo operative, a lone wolf like Jack Reacher or James Bond. But my Mapwalker fantasy series follows a heroine's journey, with Sienna and her group of friends working together. I hadn't consciously chosen those paths; the stories led me there. But understanding the framework helps me write more intentionally now. Actionable step: Identify which journey your protagonist is on. Does your character gain strength by being alone (hero) or by building connections (heroine)? This will inform every plot decision you make, from how they face obstacles to how your story ends. 5. Use ‘Metaphor Families' to Anchor Dialogue and Voice One of the most practical techniques Matt Bird shared on episode 624 is the idea of assigning each character a “metaphor family”—a specific well of language that they draw from. This gives each character a distinctive voice that goes beyond accent or dialect. Matt explained how in The Wire, one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, every character has a different metaphor family. What struck him was that Omar, this iconic character, never utters a single curse word in the entire series. His metaphor family is pirate. He talks about parlays, uses language that feels like it belongs in Pirates of the Caribbean, and it creates this incredible ironic counterpoint against his urban setting. It tells us immediately that this is a character who sees himself in a tradition of people that doesn't match his immediate surroundings. Matt also referenced the UK version of The Office, where Gareth works at a paper company but aspires to the military. So all of his language is drawn from a military metaphor family. He doesn't talk about filing and photocopying; he talks about tactics and discipline and being on the front line. This tells us that the character has a life and dreams beyond the immediate scene—and it's the gap between aspiration and reality that makes him both funny and believable. He pointed out that a metaphor family sometimes comes from a character's background, but it's often more interesting when it comes from their aspirations. What does your character want to be? What world do they fantasise about inhabiting? That's where their language should come from. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a spiritual hermit, but his metaphor family is military. He uses the language of generals and commanders, and that ironic counterpoint is part of what makes him feel so rich. Actionable step: Assign each of your main characters a metaphor family. It could be based on their job, their background, or—more interestingly—their secret aspirations. Then go through your dialogue and make sure each character is consistently drawing from that well of language. If two characters sound the same when you strip away the dialogue tags, this is the fix. 6. Find the Diagnostic Detail: The Diagonal Toast Avoid clichéd character tags—the random scar, the eye patch, the mysterious limp—unless they serve a deep narrative purpose. Matt Bird on episode 624 was very funny about this: he pointed out that Nick Fury, Odin, and eventually Thor all have eye patches in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eye patches are done, he said. You cannot do eye patches anymore. Instead, look for what I'm calling the “diagonal toast” detail, after a scene Matt described from Captain Marvel. In the film, Captain Marvel is trying to determine whether Nick Fury is who he says he is. She asks him to prove he isn't a shapeshifting alien. Fury shares biographical details—his history, his mother—but then she pushes further and says, name one more thing you couldn't possibly have made up about yourself. And Fury says: if toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it. Matt said that detail is gold for a writer because it feels pulled from a real life. You can pull it from your own life and gift it to your characters, and the reader can tell it's not manufactured. He gave another example from The Sopranos: Tony Soprano's mother won't answer the phone after dark. The show's creator, David Chase, confirmed on the DVD commentary that this came from his own mother, who genuinely would not answer the phone after dark and couldn't explain why. Matt's practical advice was to keep a journal. Write down the strange, specific things that people do or say. Mine your own life for those hyper-specific details. You just need one per book. In my own writing, I've used this approach. In my ARKANE thrillers, my character Morgan Sierra has always been Angelina Jolie in my mind—specifically Jolie in Lara Croft or Mr and Mrs Smith. And Blake Daniel in my crime thriller series was based on Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy. I paste pictures of actors into my Scrivener projects. It helps with visuals, but also with the sense of the character, their energy and physicality. But visual details only take you so far. It's the behavioural quirks—the diagonal toast moments—that make a character feel genuinely alive. That said, physical character tags can work brilliantly when they serve the story. As I discuss in How to Write a Novel, Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike is an amputee, and his pain and the physical challenges of his prosthesis are a key part of every story—it's not a cosmetic detail, it's woven into the action and the character's psychology. My character Blake Daniel always wears gloves to cover the scars on his hands, which provides an angle into his wounded past as well as a visual cue for the reader. And of course, Harry Potter's lightning-shaped scar isn't just a mark—it's a direct connection to his nemesis and the mythology of the entire series. The rule of thumb is: if the tag tells us something about the character's interior life or connects to the plot, it's earning its place. If it's just there to make the character visually distinctive, it's probably a crutch. Game of Thrones takes character tags further with the family houses, each with their own mottos and sigils. The Starks say “Winter is coming” and their sigil is a dire wolf. Those aren't just labels—they're worldview made visible. Actionable step: Start a “diagonal toast” notebook. Every time you notice something strange and specific about someone's behaviour—something that feels too real to be made up—write it down. Then gift it to a character who needs more texture. 7. Displace Your Own Trauma into the Work Barbara Nickless shared something deeply personal on episode 732 that fundamentally changed how I think about putting pain onto the page. While starting At First Light, the first book in her Dr. Evan Wilding series, she lost her son to epilepsy—something called SUDEP, Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone. Barbara said that writing helped her cope with the trauma, that doing a deep dive into Old English literature and the Viking Age for the book's research became a lifeline. But here's what's important: she didn't give Dr. Evan Wilding her exact trauma. Evan Wilding is four feet five inches, and Barbara described how he has to walk through a world that won't adjust to him. That's its own form of learning to cope when circumstances are beyond your control. She displaced her genuine grief into the character's different but parallel struggle. When I asked her about the difference between writing for therapy and writing for an audience, she drew on her experience teaching creative writing to veterans through a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts. She said she's found that she can pour her heartache into her characters and process it through them, even when writing professionally, and that the genuine emotion is what touches readers. We've all been through our own losses and griefs, so seeing how a character copes can be deeply meaningful. I've always found that putting my own pain onto the page is the most direct way to connect with a reader's soul. My character Morgan Sierra's musings on religion and the supernatural are often my own. Her restlessness, her fascination with the darker edges of faith—those come from me. But her Krav Maga fighting skills and her ability to kill the bad guys are definitely her own. That gap between what's mine and what's hers is where the fiction lives. Barbara also said something on that episode that I wrote down and stuck on my wall. She said the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul. I've been thinking about that ever since. On my own wall, I have “Measure your life by what you create.” Different words, same truth. Actionable step: If you're carrying something heavy—grief, anger, fear, regret—consider how you might displace it into a character's different but emotionally parallel struggle. Don't copy your exact situation; transform it. The emotion will be genuine, and the reader will feel it. 8. Write Diverse Characters as Real People When I spoke with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673—Sarah is Choctaw and a historical fiction author honoured by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian—she offered a perspective that every fiction writer needs to hear. The key message was to move away from stereotypes. Don't write your American Indian character as the “Wise Guide” who exists solely to dispense mystic wisdom to the white protagonist. Don't limit diverse characters to historical settings, as though they only exist in the past. Place them in normal, contemporary roles. Your spaceship captain, your forensic scientist, your small-town baker—any of them can be American Indian, or Nigerian, or Japanese, and their heritage should be a lived-in part of their identity, not the sole reason they exist in the story. I write international thrillers and dark fantasy, and my fiction is populated with characters from all over the world. I have a multi-cultural family and I've lived in many places and travelled widely, so I've met, worked with, and had relationships with people from different cultures. I find story ideas through travel, and if I set my books in a certain place, then the story is naturally populated with the people who live there. As I discuss in my book, How to Write a Novel, the world is a diverse place, so your fiction needs to be populated with all kinds of people. If I only populated my fiction with characters like me, they would be boring novels. There are many dimensions of difference—race, nationality, sex, age, body type, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, class, culture, education level—and even then, don't assume that similar types of people think the same way. Some authors worry they will make mistakes. We live in a time of outrage, and some authors have been criticised for writing outside their own experience. So is it too dangerous to try? Of course not. The media amplifies outliers, and most authors include diverse characters in every book without causing offence because they work hard to get it right. It's about awareness, research, and intent. Actionable step: Audit the cast of your current work in progress. Have you written a mono-cultural perspective for all of them? If so, consider who could bring a different background, perspective, or set of cultural specifics to the story. Not as a token addition, but as a real person with a real life. 9. Respect Tribal and Cultural Specificity Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673 was emphatic about one thing: never treat diverse groups as monolithic. If you're writing a Native American character, you must research the specific nation. Choctaw is not Navajo, just as British is not French. Sarah described the distinct cultural markers of the Choctaw people—the diamond pattern you'll see on traditional shirts and dresses, which represents the diamondback rattlesnake. They have distinct dances and songs. She said that if she saw someone in traditional dress at a distance, she would know whether they were Choctaw based on what they were wearing. She encouraged writers who want to write specifically about a nation to get to know those people. Go to events, go to a powwow, learn about the individual culture. She noted that a big misconception is that American Indians exist only in the past—she stressed that they are still here, still living their cultures, and fiction should reflect that present reality. I took a similar approach when writing Destroyer of Worlds, which is set mostly in India. I read books about Hindu myth, watched documentaries about the sadhus, and had one of my Indian readers from Mumbai check my cultural references. For Risen Gods, set in New Zealand with a young Maori protagonist, I studied books about Maori mythology and fiction by Maori authors, and had a male Maori reader check for cultural issues. Research is simply an act of empathy. The practical takeaway is this: if you're going to include a character from a specific cultural background, do the work. Use specific cultural details rather than generic signifiers. Sarah talked about how even she fell into stereotypes when she was first writing, until her mother pointed them out. If someone from within a culture can fall into those traps, the rest of us certainly can. Do the research, try your best, ask for help, and apologise if you need to. Actionable step: If you're writing a character from a specific culture, identify three to five sensory or behavioural details that are particular to that culture—not the generic version, but the real, researched, lived-in version. Consider hiring a sensitivity reader from that community to check your work. 10. Give Your Protagonist a Morally Neutral ‘Hero' Status Matt Bird was clear about this on episode 624: the word “hero” simply means the protagonist, the person we follow through the story. It's a functional role, not a moral label. We don't have to like them. We don't even have to root for their goals in a moral sense. We just have to find them compelling enough to invest our attention in their problem-solving. Think of Succession, where every member of the Roy family is varying degrees of awful, and yet the show was utterly compelling. Or WeCrashed, where Adam Neumann is a narcissistic con artist, but we can't look away because he's trying to solve the enormous problem of building an empire from nothing, and the tradecraft he employs is fascinating. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, readers must want to spend time with your characters. They don't have to be lovable or even likable—that will depend on your genre and story choices—but they have to be captivating enough that we want to spend time with them. A character who is trying to solve a massive problem will naturally draw investment from the audience, even if we wouldn't want to have tea with them. Will Storr extended this idea by pointing out that the audience will actually root for a character to solve their problem even if the audience doesn't actually want the character's goal to be achieved in the real world. We don't really want more billionaires, but we invested in Adam Neumann's rise because that was the problem the story posed, and our brains are wired to invest in problem-solving. This connects to something deeper: what does your character want, and why? As I explore in How to Write a Novel, desire operates on multiple levels. Take a character like Phil, who joins the military during wartime. On the surface, she wants to serve her country. But she also wants to escape her dead-end town and learn new skills. Deeper still, her father and grandfather served, and by joining up, she hopes to finally earn their respect. And perhaps deepest of all, her father died on a mission under mysterious circumstances, and she wants to find out what happened from the inside. That layering of motivation is what turns a flat character into a three-dimensional one. The audience doesn't need to be told all of this explicitly. It can emerge through action, dialogue, and the choices the character makes under pressure. But you, the writer, need to know it. You need to know what your character really wants deep down, because that desire—more than any external plot device—is what drives the story forward. And your antagonist needs the same depth. They also want something, often diametrically opposed to your protagonist, and they need a reason that makes sense to them. In my ARKANE thriller Tree of Life, my antagonist is the heiress of a Brazilian mining empire who wants to restore the Earth to its original state to atone for the destruction caused by her father's company. She's part of a radical ecological group who believe the only way to restore Nature is to end all human life. It's extreme, but in an era of climate change, it's a motivation readers can understand—even if they disagree with the solution. Actionable step: If you're struggling to make a morally grey character work, make sure their problem is big enough and their methods are specific and interesting enough that we invest in the how, even if we're ambivalent about the what. 11. Build Vibrant Side Characters Gail Carriger made a point on episode 550 that was equal parts craft advice and business strategy. In a Heroine's Journey model, side characters aren't just fodder to be killed off to motivate the hero. They form a network. And because you don't have to kill them—unlike in a hero's journey, where allies are often betrayed or removed so the hero can be further isolated—you can pick up those side characters and give them their own books. Gail said this creates a really voracious reader base. You write one series with vivid side characters, and then readers fall in love with those side characters and want their stories. So you write spin-offs. The romance genre does this brilliantly—think of the Bridgerton books, where each sibling gets their own novel. The side character in one book becomes the protagonist in the next. Barbara Nickless experienced this firsthand with her Dr. Evan Wilding series. She has River Wilding, Evan's adventurous brother, and Diana, the axe-throwing research assistant, and her editor has already expressed interest in a spin-off series with those characters. Barbara described creating characters she wants to spend time with, or characters who give her nightmares but also intrigue her. That's the dual test: are they interesting enough for you to write, and interesting enough for readers to demand more? As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, characters that span series can deepen the reader's relationship with them as you expand their backstory into new plots. Readers will remember the character more than the plot or the book title, and look forward to the next instalment because they want more time with those people. British crime author Angela Marsons described it as readers feeling like returning to her characters is like putting on a pair of old slippers. Actionable step: Look at your supporting cast. Is there a side character who is vivid enough to carry their own story? If not, what could you add—a specific hobby, a distinct voice, a compelling backstory—that would make readers want more of them? 12. Use Voice as a Rhythmic Tool Voice is one of the most important elements of novel writing, and Matt Bird helped me think about it in a technical, mechanical way that I found really useful. He pointed out that the ratio of periods to commas defines a character's internal reality. A staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short sentences—suggests a character who is certain, grounded, or perhaps survivalist and traumatised. Katniss in The Hunger Games has a period-heavy voice. She's in survival mode. She doesn't have time for complexity or qualification. A flowing, comma-heavy style suggests someone more academic, more nuanced, or possibly more scattered and manipulative. The character who qualifies everything, who adds sub-clauses and digressions, is a different kind of person from the character who speaks in declarations. This is something you can actually measure. Pull up a passage of your character's dialogue or internal monologue and count the periods versus the commas. If the rhythm doesn't match who the character is supposed to be, you've found a mismatch you can fix. Sentence length is the heartbeat of your character's persona. And voice extends beyond rhythm to the words themselves. As I discussed in the metaphor families tip, each character should draw from a distinctive well of language. But voice also encompasses their relationship to silence. Some characters talk around the thing they mean; others say it straight. Some are self-deprecating; others are blunt to the point of rudeness. All of these choices are character choices, not just style choices. I find it useful to read my dialogue aloud—and not just to check for naturalness, but to hear whether each character sounds distinct. If you could swap dialogue lines between two characters and nobody would notice, you have a voice problem. One practical test: cover the dialogue tags and see if you can tell who's speaking from the words alone. Actionable step: Choose a key passage from your protagonist's point of view and read it aloud. Does the rhythm match the character? A soldier under fire should not sound like a philosophy professor at a wine tasting. Adjust the ratio of periods to commas until the voice feels right. 13. Link Character and Plot Until They're Inseparable Will Storr made the case on episode 490 that the number one problem he sees in the writing he encounters—in workshops, in submissions, even in published books—is that the characters and the plots are unconnected. There's a story happening, and there are people in it, but the story isn't a product of who those people are. He said a story should be like life. In our lives, the plots are intimately connected to who we are as characters. The goals we pursue, the obstacles we face, the same problems that keep recurring—these are products of our personalities, our flaws, our specific ways of being in the world. His framework is that your plot should be designed specifically to plot against your character. You've got a character with a particular flaw; the plot exists to test that flaw over and over until the character either transforms or doubles down and explodes. Jaws is the perfect example. Brody is afraid of water. A shark shows up in the coastal town he's responsible for protecting. The entire plot is engineered to force him to confront the one thing he cannot face. Will pointed out that the whole plot of Jaws is structured around Brody's flaw. It begins with the shark arriving, the midpoint is when Brody finally gets the courage to go into the water, and the very final scene isn't the shark blowing up—it's Brody swimming back through the water. Even a film that's ninety-eight percent action is, at its core, structured around a character with a character flaw. This is the standard I aspire to in my own work, even in my action-heavy thrillers. The external plot should be a mirror of the internal struggle. When those two are aligned, the story becomes irresistible. Will also made an important point about series fiction, which is where most commercial authors live. I asked him how this works when your character can't be transformed at the end of every book because there has to be a next book. His answer was elegant: you don't cure them. Episodic TV characters like Fleabag or David Brent or Basil Fawlty never truly change—and the fact that they don't change is actually the source of the comedy. But every episode throws a new story event at them that tests and exposes their flaw. You just keep throwing story events at them again and again. That's a soap opera, a sitcom, and a book series. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, character flaws are aspects of personality that affect the person so much that facing and overcoming them becomes central to the plot. In Jaws, the protagonist Brody is afraid of the water, but he has to overcome that flaw to destroy the killer shark and save the town. But remember, your characters should feel like real people, so never define them purely by their flaws. The character addicted to painkillers might also be a brilliant and successful female lawyer who gets up at four in the morning to work out at the gym, likes eighties music, and volunteers at the local dog shelter at weekends. Character wounds are different from flaws. They're formed from life experience and are part of your character's backstory—traumatic events that happened before the events of your novel but shape the character's reactions in the present. In my ARKANE thrillers, Morgan Sierra's husband Elian died in her arms during a military operation. This happened before the series begins, but her memories of it recur when she faces a firefight, and she struggles to find happiness again for fear of losing someone she loves once more. And then there's the perennial advice: show, don't tell. Most writers have heard this so many times that it's easy to nod and then promptly write scenes that tell rather than show. Basically, you need to reveal your character through action and dialogue, rather than explanation. In my thriller Day of the Vikings, Morgan Sierra fights a Neo-Viking in the halls of the British Museum and brings him down with Krav Maga. That fight scene isn't just about showing action. It opens up questions about her backstory, demonstrates character, and moves the plot forward. Telling would be something like: “Morgan was an expert in Krav Maga.” Showing is the reader discovering it through the scene itself. Actionable step: Look at the main plot events of your novel. For each major turning point, ask: does this scene specifically test my protagonist's flaw? If not, can you redesign the scene so that it does? The tighter the connection between character and plot, the more powerful the story. 14. The ‘Maestra' Approach: Write Out of Order If you're a discovery writer like me, you may feel like the deep character work I've been describing sounds more suited to plotters. But Barbara Nickless gave me a beautiful metaphor on episode 732 that reframes it entirely. Barbara described her evolving writing process as being like a maestra standing in front of an orchestra. Sometimes you bring in the horns—a certain theme—and sometimes you bring in the strings—a certain character—and sometimes you turn to the soloist. It's a more organic and jumping-around process than linear writing, and Barbara said she's only recently given herself permission to work this way. When I told her that I use Scrivener to write in scenes out of order and then drag and drop them into a structure later, she was genuinely intrigued. And this is how I've always worked. I'll see the story in my mind like a movie trailer—flashes of the big emotional scenes, the pivotal confrontations, the moments of revelation—and I write those first. I don't know how they hang together until quite late in the process. Then I'll move scenes around, print the whole thing out, and figure out the connective tissue. The point is that discovery writers can absolutely build deep characters. Sometimes writing the big emotional scenes first is how you discover who the character is before you fill in the rest. You don't need a twenty-page character worksheet or a 200-page outline like Jeffery Deaver. You need to be willing to follow the character into the unknown and trust that the structure will emerge. As Barbara said, she writes to know what she's thinking. That's the discovery writer's credo. And I would add: I write to know who my characters are. Actionable step: If you're stuck on your current chapter, skip it. Write the scene that's burning in your imagination, even if it's from the middle or the end. That scene might be the key to unlocking who your character really is. 15. Use Research to Help with Empathy Research shouldn't just be about factual accuracy—it's a tool for finding the sensory details that create empathy. Barbara Nickless described research as almost an excuse to explore things that fascinate her, and I feel exactly the same way. I would go so far as to say that writing is an excuse for me to explore the things that interest me. Barbara and I both travel for our stories. For her Dr. Evan Wilding books, she did deep research into Old English literature and the Viking Age. For my thriller End of Days, I transcribed hours of video from Appalachian snake-handling churches on YouTube to understand the worldview of the worshippers, because my antagonist was brought up in that tradition. I couldn't just make that up. I had to hear their language, feel their conviction, understand why they would hold venomous serpents as an act of faith. Barbara also mentioned getting to Israel and the West Bank for research, and I've been to both places too. Finding that one specific sensory detail—the smell of a particular location, the specific way an expert handles a tool, the sound of a particular kind of music—makes the character's life feel lived-in. It's the difference between a character who is described as living in a place and a character who inhabits it. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, don't write what you know. Write what you want to learn about. I love research. It's part of why I'm an author in the first place. I take any excuse to dive into a world different from my own. Research using books, films, podcasts, and travel, and focus particularly on sources produced by people from the worldview you want to understand. Actionable step: For your next piece of character research, go beyond reading. Watch a documentary, visit a location, talk to someone who lives the experience. Find one sensory detail—a smell, a sound, a texture—that you couldn't have invented. That detail will make your character feel real. Bonus: Measure Your Life by What You Create In an age of AI and a tsunami of content, your ultimate brand protection is the quality of your human creation. Barbara Nickless said that the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul, and I believe that with every fibre of my being. Don't be afraid to take that step back, like I did with my deadlifting. Take the time to master these deeper craft skills. It might feel like you're slowing down or going backwards by not chasing the latest marketing trend, but it's the only way to step forward into a sustainable, high-quality career. Your characters are your signature. No AI can replicate the specificity of your lived experience, the emotional truth of your displaced trauma, or the sensory details you've gathered from a life of curiosity and travel. Those are yours. Pour them into your characters, and they will resonate for years to come. Actionable Takeaway: Identify the Dramatic Question for your current protagonist. Can you state it in a single sentence with the kind of specificity Will Storr described? Is it as clear as “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you the only adult in the room?” If you can't answer it with that kind of precision, your character might still be a sketch. Give them a diagonal toast moment today. Find the one hyper-specific detail that proves they are not an imitation of life. And then ask yourself: does your plot test your character's flaw in every major scene? If you can align those two things—a precisely defined character and a plot that exists to test them—you will have a story that readers cannot put down. References and Deep Dives The episodes I've referenced today are all available with full transcripts at TheCreativePenn.com: Episode 732 — Facing Fears, and Writing Unique Characters with Barbara Nickless Episode 673 — Writing Choctaw Characters and Diversity in Fiction with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer Episode 624 — Writing Characters with Matt Bird Episode 550 — The Heroine's Journey with Gail Carriger Episode 490 — How Character Flaws Shape Story with Will Storr Books mentioned: The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn You can find all my books for authors at CreativePennBooks.com and my fiction and memoir at JFPennBooks.com Happy writing! How was this episode created? This episode was initiated created by NotebookLM based on YouTube videos of the episodes linked above from YouTube/TheCreativePenn, plus my text chapters on character from How to Write a Novel. NotebookLM created a blog post from the material and then I expanded it and fact checked it with Claude.ai 4.6 Opus, and then I used my voice clone at ElevenLabs to narrate it. The post Writing Characters: 15 Actionable Tips For Writing Deep Character first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Fourth Sunday in Lent; Sermon based on 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and John 9:1-41. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Aud....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

What should schools really be teaching the next generation?  In this episode, Spencer sits down with Tomas Duckling, Headmaster of one of the most prestigious schools in the UAE, to explore the pressures shaping modern education, the role of parents in an increasingly competitive system, the impact of technology and AI on learning and why the future of education must focus on building good humans, not just high achievers.  Tomas' path into education was unexpected. After travelling the world in his early twenties, he began working at a North London school supporting refugees and immigrant communities. What started as a temporary role quickly became a calling, launching an international career that took him from Brunei to Aiglon College in Switzerland, one of the world's most expensive schools.  Now leading Dubai College, Tomas believes schools should focus on far more than exam results. His mission is to develop character, empathy, kindness, and leadership, preparing students not just for academic success but to become good humans who can make a meaningful impact on the world.    Timestamps: 00:00 – Introducing Tomas Duckling and Dubai College 02:05 – The history of Dubai College and why it's so oversubscribed 04:15 – Removing the debenture system and creating merit-based admissions 07:12 – Tomas' unconventional journey into teaching 10:03 – From London classrooms to international schools in Brunei 13:48 – Teaching at Aiglon College in Switzerland 17:10 – How global experiences shaped his philosophy on education 21:02 – Why academic results alone are not enough 24:30 – The importance of character, kindness, and empathy in schools 27:18 – The pressures parents place on modern education 31:05 – Comparing the UK, European, and UAE education systems 34:12 – The future of learning in a world shaped by AI 38:20 – Why human skills will matter more than ever 42:45 – The Edge Curriculum: teaching empathy, design, and entrepreneurship 47:30 – Encouraging students to solve real-world problems 50:15 – Bullying, kindness, and creating positive school culture 54:40 – The role of sport, extracurriculars, and resilience 58:10 – The debate around homeschooling and social development 01:02:20 – Diversity and multicultural education in Dubai 01:05:15 – The real purpose of education in the 21st century    Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media:  https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076  https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en  https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge  https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/  https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV  https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/   Follow Tomas Duckling on Social Media:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomas-duckling/  https://www.instagram.com/dubaicollege/  

Liebe Leute, heute geht es um ein Thema Sprache und Identität. Zu Gast ist Anna Cardinal. Sie ist Sinologin, Aktivistin und Diversity-Trainerin und gibt unter anderem Seminare, Trainings und Vorträge zu Themen wie Anti-Diskriminierung und Diversity, Mehrsprachigkeit sowie Bildung und Erziehung. In dieser Folge sprechen wir darüber, wie Sprache und Identität zusammenhängen, wie gut gemeinte Aussagen oder Fragen ausgrenzend wirken können und was wir in Alltagsgesprächen besser machen können.In der Sprachanalyse (28:58) warten wieder interessante Wörter wie „die Dominanzgesellschaft“, „radebrechen“ oder auch Redewendungen wie „in dieselbe Kerbe schlagen“ auf euch. Viel Freude beim Zuhören!Euer Robin Zu Anna:https://initial-c.de/Hier geht es zum Handout:https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9mzc6x1vefky03b71jb4e/Episode_162_Sprache-und-Identit-t-mit-Anna-Cardinal_Handout.pdf?rlkey=9qecfbq1ssr6au6wpxsoeu5co&dl=0Das Transkript und viele weitere Extras gibt es auf Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/aufdeutschgesagtZum Newsletter:https://aufdeutschgesagt.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=530247c810b1c462df23c5ff9&id=b3c548b8d1Wer meine Arbeit finanziell unterstützen will, der kann das hier tun:https://paypal.me/aufdeutschgesagt?locale.x=de_DEE-Mail:info@aufdeutschgesagt.deHomepage:www.aufdeutschgesagt.deFolge dem Podcast auch auf diesen Kanälen:Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Podcast/Auf-Deutsch-gesagt-Podcast-2244379965835103/Instagram:www.instagram.com/aufdeutschgesagtYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/aufdeutschgesagtHier geht es zum Podcast auf anderen Seiten:https://plinkhq.com/i/1455018378?to=page Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Time for Every Season - 15 Mar 2026 - Speaker: Rev. Dr. Leslie X Sanders - Sermon Series: - Watch Online: https://thenewcom.com/sermons/2026-03-15/a-time-for-every-season/

Minnesota lawmakers were divided over a bill seeking to ban local governments from allowing ICE to use their jails for detention. The bill stalled in a House committee Wednesday on a tie vote. Some Republican legislators who voted no on the bill said many Minnesotans protesting ICE were not cooperative with law enforcement and defied federal law.Minnesota's leaders of the national Target boycott say the economic blackout of the retail giant continues. Local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong says the main demand — for Target to reinstate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, has not been met and so the boycott can not end.

In this episode of Audiobook Lovin' Podcast, we chat with Author Deanne Dietz, whose emotional depth and fearless storytelling have earned her a devoted following. We dive into her creative process, how she balances humor and heart in her books, and what inspires the unforgettable characters readers and listeners fall in love with. Plus, don't miss the hilarious moment that sent us both into uncontrollable laughter. Trust us… it's a good one. Listen now and fall in love with Deanne's voice, words, and warmth. Available now on all podcast platforms! Authors, do you want to get your titles in audio, but are concerned about cost and/or not having a say on who gets cast or authentic casting? Adler Audios is exactly what you've been looking for and need. Adler Audios is a woman-led, BIPOC-owned, veteran-run small business. We are committed to the values of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with respect to authentic casting and pay equity. They work with authors to find the perfect voice to bring your character(s) to life. To learn more visit www.adleraudios.com Guests: Author Deanne Dietz Visit Viviana, Enchantress of Books: https://www.vivianaenchantressofbooks.com/2026/03/audiobook-lovin-podcast-s7-ep-9-author.html Support the podcast by becoming a patreon at https://www.patreon.com/AudiobookLovin or Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/enchantresspr We hope you have enjoyed this production of The Audiobook Lovin' Podcast. Host: Viviana Izzo Podcast Intro & Outro: Emma Wilder Podcast Patreon: Benjamin Charles Editor: Viviana Izzo This has been an Audiobook Lovin' production Copyright 2017 by Viviana Izzo, Enchantress of Books. Production Copyright 2017 by Audiobook Lovin'. Audiobook Lovin' Series, The Audiobook Lovin Podcast is a division of Viviana, Enchantress of Books. Please visit Viviana, Enchantress of Books to learn more about the Audiobook Lovin' Series. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, modified, copied, distributed, repackaged, shared, displayed, revealed, extracted, emailed, transmitted, sold or otherwise transferred, conveyed or used, in a manner inconsistent with the Agreement, or rights of the copyright owner. You shall not redistribute, repackage, transmit, assign, sell, broadcast, rent, share, lend, modify, extract, reveal, adapt, edit, sub-license or otherwise transfer the Content. You are not granted any synchronization, public performance, promotional use, commercial sale, resale, reproduction or distribution rights for the Content. For permission requests, please visit Viviana, Enchantress of Books for more information.

For people living with kidney disease, clinical trials can offer hope—but not without questions or concerns. Today, we talk with Dr. Nadine Barrett, Glenda Roberts, and Luz Baqueiro about lived experience, community trust, and the power of being asked. In this episode we heard from:  Dr. Nadine J. Barrett is a Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy in the Division of Public Health Sciences and the inaugural Senior Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Equity in Research at Wake Forest School of Medicine, she is Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Clinical Translational Science Institute and the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity. Prior to joining Wake Forest, Dr. Barrett served 13 years in senior leadership roles at Duke University, as the Founding Director of both the Duke Center for Equity in Research and the nationally awarded, Duke Cancer Institute's Office of Health Equity. She is also President of the national Association of Cancer Care Centers, in Washington DC. A medical sociologist by training, Dr. Barrett is a health disparities researcher, expert equity strategist, and a nationally recognized leader in facilitating authentic community, healthcare, and academic partnerships to advance health equity. She develops multi-level interventions to address implicit bias, structural and systemic racism, and inequities that limit access to quality research and trustworthy health care among underserved and marginalized populations. Dr. Barrett brings an equity lens to her work and collaborations to enhance healthcare systems, close the disparities gap in health outcomes, and increase diverse and broad representation in research participation and the research workforce. Glenda Roberts: Prior to joining the Mount Sinai Center for Kidney Disease Innovation as the Director of Communications and Patient Engagement, Glenda V. Roberts was an Information Technology executive with over 35 years of experience with top-caliber corporations, including General Electric, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson. She was also the Executive Director of the Seattle Transplant House, and the Director of External Relations & Patient Engagement at the University of Washington Center for Dialysis Innovation (CDI) and the Kidney Research Institute (KRI). Before going on dialysis, Glenda managed the progression of her disease for over 40 years using diet and exercise. Since her transplant in 2010, she's completed nine half marathons. Based upon her personal experience with kidney disease, Glenda is a passionate activist for kidney research and patients living with kidney disease. She's involved in myriad patient-centered national and international health care transformation initiatives.  All are focused on addressing patient preferences and improving patient-reported outcomes.   Glenda brings the patient voice to several NIH/NIDDK government and industry research efforts (Kidney Precision Medicine Project, APOLLO), as well as the American Society of Nephrology's Current & Emerging Threats (C-ET) Steering Committee. She's the inaugural co-chair of the Critical Path Institute's Biomarker Data Repository Governance Committee, and a member of the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) Board of Directors. Additionally, she contributes to the Advisory Boards of LifeCenter Northwest and Home Dialyzors United, and over 15 other industry and academic research advisory committees/boards focused on transplantation, kidney, cardiovascular, and metabolic health. As an ambassador for the National Kidney Foundation, the American Kidney Fund, and the American Association of Kidney Patients, Glenda's advocacy tirelessly advances the voices, needs, and aspirations of the kidney community worldwide. Luz Baqueiro serves as a patient advocate with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), providing feedback and helping develop new initiatives to better support the Latin American community affected by chronic kidney disease. She also raises awareness of the barriers faced by patients living with renal failure while educating and supporting her community in Georgia. In 2019, Luz was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). With limited resources  in Georgia, she relied on emergency in-hospital dialysis for a year. In August 2021, through self-determination, self-education, and the support of her family and community, she received a kidney transplant.   Additional Resources Clinical Trial Information Hub What is a Clinical Trial? Are Clinical Trials Safe?   Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Join in the conversation!Welcome back to another episode of the Hella Chisme Podcast.In this episode of Hella Chisme, Dana sits down with artist Hail, also known as icametosin, for a conversation about queer art, body positivity, vampire aesthetics, creative process, and what it means to build a visual world rooted in representation.Kicking off during Women's History Month and International Women's Day, this episode opens with a reflection on women shaping culture, community, and sustainable change before moving into a rich artist spotlight conversation centered on creativity, identity, and artistic evolution.Hail shares how his journey as an artist began, from early creative influences and band merch design to building his signature style through digital illustration, dark aesthetics, queer representation, and bara-inspired artwork. Together, Dana and Hell talk about vampires, Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire, queer desire in horror, body positivity, and the importance of showing Black and brown bodies, bigger bodies, and different forms of beauty in art.The conversation also dives into artistic process, commissions, entrepreneurship, social media burnout, algorithm struggles, and the reality of being an independent creative trying to grow a brand while still making meaningful work. Hell also shares more about preparing for his first Artist Alley at C2E2 and why getting his work in front of new audiences matters.This episode is for anyone who loves queer art, dark fantasy, vampires, artist interviews, creative entrepreneurship, and conversations about representation, identity, and building a creative life on your own terms.Follow Hail: https://www.instagram.com/icametosin/https://www.instagram.com/hailsvoid/Support Hail:https://gofund.me/4f91591a1Topics include: queer art, body positivity, vampires, dark art, bara art, digital illustration, Black and brown representation, artist process, creative entrepreneurship, social media for artists, C2E2, and independent queer creatives.LINK: https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcastSupport the showFollow Hella Chisme for more culture, conversation, and creative storytelling. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, and keep up with us on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok at @hellachismepod. Join the chisme, share the episode, and leave a review or comment to support the show.

Send a textWhat happens when a Los Angeles theater commits to inclusion not just onstage, but in leadership, vision, and long-term impact?In this episode of The Cultural Curriculum Chat™, host Jebeh Edmunds sits down with Ben Zingos to discuss why a Los Angeles theatre is making history in 2026—and what it means for the future of theater, cultural leadership, and representation in the arts.This conversation explores how theater functions as a space for cultural storytelling, community engagement, and equity-driven leadership. Ben shares insight on moving beyond performative DEI in arts organizations, building trust with communities, and leading cultural institutions with intention during times of social change.This episode is ideal for educators, artists, nonprofit leaders, and anyone interested in inclusive leadership, arts equity, cultural institutions, and representation in theater.Topics include:Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the artsLeadership and governance in cultural institutionsRepresentation and storytelling in theaterWhy 2026 marks a pivotal moment for arts organizations

In this timely and important episode, Craig sits down with Lily Zheng, one of today's leading voices on workplace transformation, to tackle the challenges and evolution of DEI. Lily brings both research-backed frameworks and real-world pragmatism, reflecting on how shifting from DEI to FAIR offers a practical way through current backlash and confusion.Lily's refreshing candor provides a thought-provoking and valuable frame to the conversation. They don't shy from complexity, but treat hesitancy, fear, and failure as necessary parts of meaningful progress.The episode is filled with practical advice, including tying every initiative to a real business problem, focusing on behaviors not buzzwords, and the need for every leader to own the responsibility for inclusion. Technology's double-edged role is candidly discussed, warning leaders that AI will multiply both strengths and flaws.At its core, this episode asks: how do we actually do better? Lily urges leaders to focus on “atomic units” of behavioral change, reminding us that real progress is messy, ongoing, and built one intentional action at a time.What You'll Learn- The power and pitfalls of language in DEI work.- Navigating the politicization of inclusion.- Let data—not dogma—drive your priorities- Move beyond ‘admiring the problem': Replacing performative acts with real progress.- Redefining representation: Beyond the numbers.- Technology & AI: A double-edged sword.- The power of atomic units of change.Podcast Timestamps(00:00) - Introduction to Lily Zheng and the Origin of the Book(08:00) - Reframing DEI: Why Focus on Fairness?(14:41) – Lessons in Leadership: DEI Backlash(20:34) - From Performative to Problem-Solving DEI(25:15) - Systemic Change & Diversity Leadership(35:55) - Representation vs. Quotas and Building Trust(43:04) - Technology, AI & Fairness Risks(48:38) - FOFO: Fear of Finding Out and Organizational Reality(56:14) - The Atomic Unit: Driving Change Through BehaviorsKEYWORDSPositive Leadership, Fairness, DEI, Inclusion, Equity, Representation, Organizational Change, Systemic Change, Workplace Culture, Diversity, Performative DEI, Accountability, Unconscious Bias Training, Artificial Intelligence, Politics, Cultural Transformation, CEO Success

Minnesota lawmakers were divided over a bill seeking to ban local governments from allowing ICE to use their jails for detention. The bill stalled in a House committee Wednesday on a tie vote. Some Republican legislators who voted no on the bill said many Minnesotans protesting ICE were not cooperative with law enforcement and defied federal law.Minnesota's leaders of the national Target boycott say the economic blackout of the retail giant continues. Local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong says the main demand — for Target to reinstate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, has not been met and so the boycott can not end.

UCLA's latest Hollywood diversity report is out. The LA Music Center is hoping to cash in on Timothée Chalamet's controversial remarks on ballet and opera. Why critics say the Disney+ series 'Wonder Man' is relatable for Angelenos working in the entertainment industry. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.comSupport the show: https://laist.com

SummaryThis episode explores the rich history and behind-the-scenes stories of the TopCats cheerleading squad, featuring pioneers Leslie Matz and Kimberly Millar. Discover how the iconic uniforms, recruitment strategies, and team dynamics were crafted to build a legacy of excellence and diversity. Join Leslie Matz and Kimberly Pixton Millar as they share their experiences leading the TopCats, the standards they set, and the legacy they built. Discover insights on teamwork, discipline, and the evolution of cheerleading in the NFL.Chapters00:00 Celebrating 30 Years of TopCats05:25 Creating the TopCats Identity11:32 Building a Cheerleading Program from Scratch17:17 Traditions and Changes in Cheerleading22:16 Nostalgia and Tribute to the 90s24:09 Journey into Cheerleading and Dance27:54 The Importance of Diversity in Teams30:08 Encouraging Growth and Opportunity31:57 Recruitment and Finding Talent34:23 The Audition Process: First Impressions40:58 The Emotional Side of Selection42:08 Diverse Perspectives in the Cheerleading Community44:58 The Inaugural Top Cats Squad Experience45:25 Establishing Standards and Expectations48:59 Leadership Styles and Team Dynamics51:54 Time Management and Accountability58:54 Evolution of Dance Styles and Techniques01:01:18 The Impact of Social Media on Cheerleading01:03:55 Rapid Fire Reflections01:04:35 Pregame Rituals and Team Dynamics01:05:15 Personal Growth Through Top Cats01:06:38 90s Hair and Makeup Trends01:07:16 Regrets and Lessons Learned01:08:32 Living in the Moment01:10:55 Challenges and Triumphs on the Field01:11:04 Teamwork and Leadership Lessons01:16:22 Inspiring Team Members01:20:20 Advice for Aspiring Top Cats01:21:44 The Value of Sisterhood and LegacyLeslie Matz1994-2005, TopCats Director (created the program)Kimberly Pixon MillarTopCats Coach and Choreographer, 1995-2001www.pixtondesigngroup.comFollow @theprofessionalcheerleader on Instgram and @thepro.cheerleader on TikTok for more pro dance and cheer advice.

In a day and age where we're too often looking in the mirror and focused on our own problems and successes, Tiara Minor is all about empowering others. As the Director of CDI for University of Miami Health system Tiara makes things happen for her team, because she's all about sharing her expertise and education, growing her staff, and now the CDI profession itself. She's giving back on the broader stage as an ACDIS advisory board member, conference speaker, and now biggest achievement—guest on Off the Record. (I wrote that last one with a straight face, barely). One of the things that impressed me about Tiara was her observation that most training seems to be geared for CDI leaders. Her focus is on her staff, making sure that they have not just mastered the fundamentals of chart review, but also clinical nuances across service lines. We get into education, mentorship, and more on today's episode. Listen in as we cover: Tiara's broad responsibilities and a typical day in the life System focus, CDI metrics, and dashboard Her nontraditional journey into CDI--ER nurse to pediatrics, a foray into consulting, and return to the hospital setting. And winning over some skeptical coders along the way... Mentorship: Growing her staff and how she differentiates mentorship that from management. Her role as educator and an example of an interesting clinical query/quality opportunity she presented to the team An ACDIS splash—getting elected to the advisory board, winning both an individual award (recognition of professional achievement) and an organizational award (Diversity in CDI), and the speaking circuit.

Northeast Mississippi Community College President Dr. Ricky G. Ford and Marketing and Public Relations Specialist Liz Calvery look at some of the big projects that are happening around campus. Dr. Ford shares news about the long-awaited renovations to Seth Pounds Auditorium, which officially began during Spring Break as crews fenced off and marked the area for construction. One of the college's first buildings, Seth Pounds is being transformed into one of the top auditoriums in the region, with an expanded stage designed to accommodate an orchestra and will host cultural events for both the college and the community. Ford also discusses new developments at the Northeast at Corinth campus, including facility expansions that will support the Alcorn County School District with concurrent enrollment opportunities and the creation of an Aerospace Technician lab in partnership with Northrop Grumman. Additional Booneville campus improvements include updated entrance signage to better guide students and visitors while reinforcing the college's community presence. Recreational enhancements are also underway, as the college adds pickleball and volleyball lines to the tennis courts beside the Haney Union, giving students more options for on-campus activities. One of the most impactful projects, according to Ford, is the buildout of the Career Technical Building in the former Corinthian building off Highway 4 -- a development that will significantly expand health science programs, boost enrollment, and provide more space for career-technical training to help prepare local workers for tomorrow's jobs. Plus, get the latest updates on athletics, academics, workforce development, and all the incredible things happening at one of the nation's premier community colleges.

Explore the transformative power of embracing diverse spiritual practices in 'Unity in Diversity – The Calm of Tolerance.' This episode delves into the rich tapestry of global spiritual traditions, from the melodic calls to prayer in Dubai and Indonesia to the harmonious choirs of Catholic Mass and the resonant echoes of meditation singing bowls. Join us on a journey to discover how tolerance and understanding can bridge differences, fostering a deeper sense of calm and unity. Tune in to uncover the beauty of varied paths to peace and how they contribute to the symphony of human connection. #Mindfulness #SpiritualDiversity #Tolerance #InnerPeace #PodcastSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/find-your-daily-calm/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Rodney Woods joins Target Talk to share the path that took him from Nashville to chasing a professional basketball career, including earning a tryout with the Dallas Mavericks. He reflects on what the game taught him about discipline, the moment injury forced him to rethink everything, and how his time in law enforcement reshaped the way he approaches pressure, responsibility, and leadership.That journey eventually led him into business, where he founded Diversity in Promotions and later helped launch Playbook Investors Network. Rodney talks about the gaps he kept seeing in supplier diversity, why access to capital remains one of the biggest barriers for founders, and how PIN was built to connect athletes, investors, and entrepreneurs. He also shares what he has learned working alongside Tracy McGrady and what he is focused on building next.Learn more:Playbook Investors Network: https://www.playbookinvestorsnetwork.comDiversity in Promotions: https://diversityinpromotions.com

BIO: A Nigerian-American psychotherapist, Agatha Peters is the founder of Beautiful Sunshine Therapy and the author of Trapped in Their Script: Reclaim Your Life from Narcissistic Parents & Cultural Expectations. She is dedicated to helping adult children of narcissistic parents, especially those from collectivist cultures, where family loyalty often overshadows individual well-being. Having experienced the healing power of therapy herself, she is passionate about helping others discover the same transformation and offers guidance on embracing one's identity while respecting cultural ties. SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Website: https://beautifulsunshinetherapy.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agatha-peters-6209659a Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19AW9BHBNM/?mibextid=wwXIfr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautifulsunshinetherapy?igsh=amR0dGhkbXVtbWQ1&utm_source=qr   Credits: Host: Taryell Simmons Guest: Agatha Peters Music: Will Maker Production: RISE Urban Nation Unite. Empower. Ignite.Thank you for tuning into the RISE Urban Nation Podcast, where we go beyond conversation to fuel a movement of unity, empowerment, and transformation across the Black and Pan-African community. Each episode dives deep into the stories of entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers shaping culture, business, and legacy.Hosted by Taryell Simmons, a leader in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, the show blends storytelling with strategy to help you amplify your voice, grow your brand, and lead with purpose.Why Subscribe to RISE Urban Nation?✨ Inspiring Stories: Learn from influential Black and Pan-African leaders making an impact.

What if the very programs designed to make workplaces fairer are actually making the problem worse? In this episode, we begin with the famous "Cobra Effect"—a colonial-era policy that unintentionally increased the problem it was meant to solve—and explore how the same dynamic shows up in modern diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Our guest, Lily Zhang, argues that many corporate DEI initiatives fail not because the goals are wrong, but because the strategies are. Drawing on decades of research, Lily breaks down why performative programs, surface-level solutions, and "band-aid" workplace initiatives rarely create real change—and what leaders, employees, and communities can do instead to build truly fair organizations for human beings who deserve better. What to listen for:  The fabulous cobra story, helping set the stage for unintended consequences that can enable or even worsen the original problem  The best condensed explanation of the history of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that we've heard The contrasting stats about how many people want DEI, but say they don't see any perceived benefits – and why that is problematic.  So how do we build more humane workplaces? Enter the FAIR framework of outcomes we want to see in the workplace - fairness, access, inclusion, representation - and what it takes to transform the diversity backlash into real change: outcomes, systems, coalitions, and win-win. How Lily guards against burnout, personally About Lily:    LILY ZHENG (they/them) is a no-nonsense strategist, consultant, and author who helps leaders and practitioners build workplaces that work for everyone. They are the creator of the FAIR Framework, an evidence-based approach giving guidance to those driving the next evolution of workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. Lily's work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and NPR, and their bestselling books, DEI Deconstructed, Reconstructing DEI, and Fixing Fairness, lay out the practical skills and knowledge anyone can use to create the healthy workplaces we all deserve. They live with their wife in the San Francisco Bay Area and can frequently be found indoor rock climbing and putting together yet another all-black outfit. Buy Fixing Fairness here.

In this podcast, Jon Teater (Whitetail Landscapes) discusses various aspects of hunting property management with professional forester Tim Russell (Green Fire Forestry & Wildlife Services). They delve into the importance of understanding forest management plans, evaluating timber, and the significance of maintaining diversity in forest stands. The conversation also touches on the terminology surrounding selective cutting and the ecological role of leaf litter in forest ecosystems. Listeners gain insights into practical tools for landowners and the complexities of managing their properties effectively. This conversation delves into the complexities of forest management, focusing on leaf litter's role in soil chemistry, the challenges of oak regeneration, innovative management techniques, and the implications of clear cutting. The speakers discuss practical strategies for enhancing wildlife habitats and ensuring sustainable timber harvests, emphasizing the importance of planning, and understanding ecological dynamics.   Takeaways Understanding the neighborhood is crucial before purchasing land. Timber management should align with landowner objectives. Regular updates to forest management plans are necessary for tax benefits. Landowners can evaluate timber using basic metrics like diameter and species. Diversity in tree species is important for forest health and resilience. Selective cutting can mean different things; clarity is essential. Leaf litter is vital for nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. Tree selection should consider both habitat and economic factors. Maintaining a balance of species prevents dominance and promotes health. Understanding the role of leaf litter can enhance forest management strategies. Leaf litter plays a significant role in soil chemistry. Different tree species affect soil pH differently. Light is often more limiting than nutrients for tree growth. Oak regeneration is a critical concern for forest management. High deer populations complicate oak seedling survival. Managing shade tolerance is essential for oak regeneration. Slash walls can be effective in protecting seedlings from deer. Clear cutting can create beneficial habitat features. Proper planning is crucial for successful timber harvests. Treating forests well leads to better wildlife outcomes. Social Links https://whitetaillandscapes.com/ https://www.facebook.com/whitetaillandscapes/ https://www.instagram.com/whitetail_landscapes/?hl=en Green Fire Forestry & Wildlife Services, LLC Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Send a textIn this episode of Deconstructing Comp, Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez talk with Liva Rivera, Chief Communications Officer at Hamilton, Miller, and Birthisel Law Firm, for a lively conversation about the power of social media in building relationships, expanding professional networks, and supporting mentorship within the workers' compensation community.Liva shares how platforms like LinkedIn have evolved from simple professional profiles into powerful tools for connection. Rather than approaching social media with a rigid strategy, she explains how authenticity, curiosity, and consistency have helped her build meaningful relationships across the industry. What began as casual online engagement eventually led to real-world collaborations, friendships, and opportunities, demonstrating that the workers' compensation community is often much smaller and more connected than people realize.The conversation also explores the human side of social media. Liva discusses how showing up online can sometimes invite criticism or skepticism, but she encourages professionals not to let that stop them from participating. Social media, when used thoughtfully, can amplify voices, foster mentorship, and help newer professionals find their place in the industry. For those who feel unsure about posting or engaging, Liva offers a refreshing perspective: you don't need a perfectly curated plan, just start joining the conversation.Yvonne, Rafael, and Liva also dive into the importance of mentorship and community, highlighting how social platforms can bridge generational gaps and help emerging leaders connect with experienced professionals. Whether it's sharing insights, celebrating successes, or simply supporting each other's work, these digital spaces can strengthen the professional fabric of our industry.If you've ever wondered how to use social media in a way that feels genuine, productive, and relationship-driven, this episode offers practical insights and plenty of inspiration. We talked about Rise Professionals on the episode. Be sure to check out their website and their 2026 Annual Leadership Summit under events. ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp

What international students experience in a program abroad 

Scott Overpeck is joined by Pastor Nathan Walton and Marti Williams to share about Richmond, Virginia. They reflect on how churches and nonprofits are collaborating, the importance of telling the truth, and how God is moving in Metro Richmond.Nathan Walton (PhD, University of Virginia) is a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church and serves at East End Fellowship in Richmond, Virginia. He also hosts the East End Fellowship Podcast and is the author of the forthcoming book, "Embodying God's Multiethnic Kingdom: Live Out the Diversity of Heaven Every Day." As a graduate of Duke Divinity School and former board chair of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Nathan offers consulting, coaching, and trainings for faith-based organizations. He and his wife, Diamond, have two daughters and live in Richmond, Virginia.Marti Williams has lived in the Metro Richmond, VA area her entire life and moved to Southern Barton Heights in Richmond's Northside in 2005. Louis joined her as the other half of her pair (See Luke 10:1) after they married in December 2008. Since then, they have lived and served their beloved community in the Northside of Richmond, VA, for 20 years before moving to Midlothian, VA in December 2024. Marti has 20+ years of experience in retail and human resources management in Fortune 50, 100, and 500 companies. She's the cofounder and president of Into The Neighborhood, a local 501c3 nonprofit, and is certified in Christian Community Development with CCDA, Certified BALM Family Recovery Life Coach and Facilitator, and has her certification with NonProfit Learning Point.Learn more about the CCDA Conference and CCDA members can register today to secure the lowest rate.Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

Dante's Comeback SpecialNovember 2025 – March 2026Jerry Wayne Longmire is a veteran standup comic, creator of original viral content, and well-known internet personality. With nearly two million followers across social platforms, Jerry is beloved for his viral series' including the witty, sometimes frighteningly insightful “Truck Astrology,” the hilarious and masterfully crafted “Faulkner-esque” rants, his relatable and refreshingly vulnerable podcast “The Reckon Yard,” or from his most recent comedy special of the same name. His playful, relatable brand of storytelling and signature twang reminiscent of an East Texas junkyard upbringing effortlessly draws audiences into his side-splitting comedy show, his social media presence, and his dynamic podcast alike.www.instagram.com/jerrywaynelivewww.jwlcomedy.wixsite.com/jerry-wayne-longmireNafkote Tamirat (she/her) is a novelist, short story writer, teacher, and translator. An Ethiopian American who was raised in Boston and now lives in Paris, her goal as a writer and teacher is to help amplify the unique storytelling voices and styles of writers from multiple linguistic, cultural, and creative backgrounds and traditions.Her first novel, The Parking Lot Attendant, was shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her second book, Teret Teret, will be published in 2027.www.instagram.com/nafkotetamirat/?hl=enPatricia Michaels was born in 1966 in New Mexico to Eddie Michaels (Polish-American) and Juanita Turley (Taos Pueblo). Her stepfather, Frank Turley, was a blacksmith. She grew up on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where her parents owned an art gallery. She often visited Taos Pueblo and, as a teenager, moved there to live with her maternal grandparents, Ben and Manuelita Marcus.In 1985, she apprenticed in costume design at the Santa Fe Opera. She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, where she joined the fashion collective "Native Uprising", led by instructor Wendy Ponca (Osage).  After IAIA, she went on to study at New's alma mater, the Chicago Art Institute.In 2001, Michaels traveled to Milan, Italy, where she apprenticed with a tailor. She then moved to New York with her two young children.www.patriciamichaelsdesign.comD.L. Yancey II is a creative writer and nuclear engineer who uses artistic expression to advocate Diversity and Inclusion. After a short stint in professional football in 2008 he began a career in engineering and music. Over the course of his engineering career, he has been involved in research of galactic nuclear storms (NASA), decommissioning technologies (ORAU), and design of the first new nuclear reactor authorized to operate this century.  Musically he has recorded with Grammy award-winning record producer Lex Lucazi, shared stages with award-winning artists such as Waterloo Revival and Wess Morgan, and he's also a winner of T.I.'s Exposure Open Mic showcase.www.facebook.com/dlyanceyhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRDfIufjbDsp8b4zPSHzNbQhttps://store.cdbaby.com/cd/dlyanceyiiMusic by:Jutin Johnson: https://shorturl.at/yGoM5Six One Five Collective: www.sixonefivecollective.com/Dario Plevnik: www.tiktok.com/@dario.plevnikDL Yancey II: https://shorturl.at/LQooRMuch Love to Our Advertisers:The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.comLucid House Publishing: www.lucidhousepublishing.comLinden Row Inn: www.lindenrowinn.comRed Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.comWe Deeply Appreciate:UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.eduMercer University Press: www.mupress.orgAlain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.comThe host, Clifford Brooks', The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order

Dr. Alex Marson, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. We discuss the biology of the immune system and cancer, and everyday choices that can increase or decrease your cancer risk, several of which are surprising but all of which are actionable. We also discuss immunotherapy, including how engineered T-cells can be used to defeat childhood and adult cancers. Dr. Marson explains CRISPR and gene editing to cure diseases, and we address the ethical questions surrounding gene editing in embryos, children and adults. This discussion is for anyone interested in avoiding cancer and/or seeking to understand the science and practical applications of immune- or gene-therapy. Read the show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Alex Marson (00:02:21) Diseases & Current Biological Landscape; AI & Computational Tools (00:05:56) Immune System, Innate vs Adaptive Immune System (00:10:55) Thymus, T Cell Selection; B Cells & Antibodies (00:13:23) Sponsors: BetterHelp & Helix Sleep (00:16:11) Immune System Health, Sleep, Diet; Genes (00:20:56) Childhood Exposure & Allergy Prevention; Autoimmune Reactions (00:25:27) Whole Body Immune Response, Cytokines & Fever; Antibiotics (00:30:51) Cancer; Mutations & Cell Regulation; Smoking, BRCA Mutations, Sunlight (00:38:27) BRAC Mutations, Mutagens, Pesticides (00:42:33) Sponsor: AG1 (00:43:57) X-Rays & Airport Scanners, Carcinogen vs Mutagen, Charred Meat, Food Dye (00:49:34) Immune-Based Cancer Treatment, Checkpoint Inhibitors, CAR T-Cell Therapy (00:59:04) CRISPR, Immunotherapies (01:02:52) Age & Cancer Risk; CAR T-Cells, Targets & Side Effects; Ketogenic Diet (01:08:27) CRISPR Discovery & Mechanism (01:17:06) CRISPR Precision, Risk & Benefit; CRISPR Technology Evolution (01:20:57) Sponsor: LMNT (01:22:17) CRISPR Cell Delivery, Clinical Trials; Treating Early Cancers & Prevention (01:33:47) Liposomes, Engineered Viruses, Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs), Vaccines (01:39:57) COVID Pandemic & Trust in Science, mRNA Vaccine (01:47:51) Sponsor: Function (01:49:39) Drug Delivery to Cancer, Immunotoxins, T-Cell Engagers; AI Protein Targets (01:55:45) CRISPR Embryo Modification, Ethics; Heritable Gene Editing, Diversity (02:05:42) Deep Sequencing Embryos, Diversity; Overcoming Adversity & Resilience (02:10:44) Upcoming Therapeutics, Autoimmunity & CAR T-Cells, CRISPR & Gene Function (02:17:55) Banking T Cells or iPSCs?, Future of Cell Programming (02:24:41) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ACOFAE Podcast Presents: Lady Tan's Circle of Women, with friend of show Aris! ACOFAE welcomes back to the podcast friend of show, Aris, to discuss Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See. Celebrating International Women's Day (and month), Aris got to choose the book for this episode and what a choice she made! Laura Marie, Jessica Marie, and Aris are discussing all things plot related, with a focus on the friendships between the main character and the people in her orbit. Tan Yunxian is a female doctor in 15th century China and her story is one that is inspiring and educational. Set during a time when women bound their feet, gender inequality reigned, and Blood and blood are two different things, Lady Tan and her story are ripe for discussion and compassion. Celebrating women everyday, but especially now, ACOFAE and Aris are shining a light on women's fiction, women's stories, and women's lives. TW / CW: none to our awareness For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/ Spoilers: Lady Tan's Circle of Women, Bridgerton Mentions: Onyx Storm, Memoirs of a Geisha, Rise of the Phoenixes, Iron Widow, Heavenly Tyrant, Project Hail Mary, Outlander, Wuthering Heights *Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks! TikTok: ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie ( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura) ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie (https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica) Instagram: @ACOFAEpodcast https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/ @ACOFAELaura https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

Send a textWe appreciate everyone tuning in to our show, and we hope you will enjoy listening to one of our past episodes. If you would like to send your well wishes and good vibes, you can find all of our links below!In this week's episode we discussed how Ivy League colleges are bringing back the SAT and ACT as an entrance requirement. Many of these colleges suspended these standardized tests during the pandemic and adopted a more holistic approach to admission. What are your thoughts about college and standardized tests?Our Links:Retrospect

In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John speaks with Eitan Diamond, a legal expert at the Humanitarian Law Center in Israel, about his journey and professional focus on human rights and international law. Their conversation spans Diamond's personal background as a South African Jew who moved to Israel during the apartheid era, reflecting on the complexity of that transition and his later career. They explore the critical intersection of human dignity, equality, and international humanitarian law, particularly in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the impact of settlements. Throughout the discussion, they critically examine the use of political and legal terminology, such as "apartheid" and "genocide," assessing their relevance and limitations in describing the realities on the ground, while emphasizing the importance of securing rights for vulnerable populations and the ongoing challenge of achieving a just, two-state political framework. https://en-law.tau.ac.il/profile/eitandiamond_65

Third Sunday in Lent; Sermon based on John 4:5-42. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast Index, o....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Happy International Women's Day! Welcome to this very special bonus episode in partnership with our friends at amika. Today we're coming at you LIVE from the brand's Brooklyn HQ to chat with the two of the women behind one of the most successful growth stories in modern beauty: amika CEO Chelsea Riggs and Director of Diversity, Equity and Impact, Gianne L. Doherty. In an industry that often feels cut-throat and transactional, amika has spent 15 years proving that being a “friend to all” is actually the ultimate business strategy. Tune in as we discuss: Why amika's philosophy of “rising tides raise all ships” is the blueprint for the next generation of female founders via amika's Rooted in Growth initiative. Nice guys don't finish last? How staying true to core values – like B-Corp certification and net-zero goals gives amika a competitive edge.Gianne shares how amika moves beyond buzzwords to embed equity into their R&D and product testing for every hair texture and identity.Scoop alert! We get a sneak peek of their by-popular demand bodycare collection drop that's in partnership with Forested, a women-led organization that supports both people and the planet through climate-positive, community-centered farming practices. Chelsea explains the internal culture of “radical candor” that helps make amika a “Great Place to Work” for three years runningPssst! In honour of Women's Day and for a limited time only, get 20% off all amika products using code BreakingBeauty20 on loveamika.com from March 8th to March 15th 2026. And for any products or links mentioned in this episode, check out our website: https://breakingbeautypodcast.com/episode-recaps/ Related episodes like this: The Backstory Behind The #1 Ranked Hair Care Brand at Sephora with Amika CEO Chelsea RiggsSaie Founder Laney Crowell on the Brand's Cool Girl SecretsLive Podcast! Dupe Culture, Wellness Musts, Skincare That Makes a Difference and *The* Colour of The Year With Jenny Bird & Laney Crowell Get social with us and let us know what you think of the episode! Find us on Instagram, Tiktok,X, Threads. Join our private Facebook group. Or give us a call and leave us a voicemail at 1-844-227-0302. Sign up for our Substack here. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch our episodes! *Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, all products reviewed are gratis media samples submitted for editorial consideration.* Hosts: Carlene Higgins and Jill Dunn Theme song, used with permission: Cherry Bomb by Saya
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Assessing Academic Library Collections for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Bloomsbury, 2025) provides a practical, step-by-step approach to designing and implementing evaluation projects targeting a variety of DEI goals in academic library collections. Offering both flexibility and detailed guidance, this book begins with a discussion of aspects of diversity that librarians could target in their assessment projects and notes project planning considerations such as defining a scope and timeline. It particularly notes how larger academic libraries can narrow the scope of a project to make it feasible. Subsequent chapters explain different methods for assessing a collection, with many examples throughout. Methods include: - List-checking involves comparing the collection to a list of recommended books. - Metadata searching produces a count of library holdings that contain certain subject headings or use specific call numbers. - Diversity coding allows staff to create their own categories and assign them to books in a sample. All three of these methods can be used to analyze the collection by subject matter. It is possible to use diversity coding to examine author identities as well, a sensitive endeavor for which this book provides both cautions and guidance. A fourth approach focuses on organizational efforts or inputs. This method involves tracking and reflecting on the library's progress towards goals the staff have set, which could involve a variety of collections-related activities, including staff development, changes to workflows, revising policies, or increasing outreach. The book describes advantages and limitations of the four methods, allowing librarians to make an informed choice of which to use. It also offers resources for implementing each of these strategies as well as guidance on creating one's own evaluation tools. Three chapters by guest authors provide examples of DEI assessment projects from academic libraries. A concluding chapter discusses sharing findings and suggests a range of changes libraries can make to their collecting practices. Guest: Karen Kohn is the Collections Analysis Librarian at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she serves on the DEI in Collections Committee and the Open Education Group. Host: Dr. Michael LaMagna is the Information Literacy Program & Library Services Coordinator and Professor of Library Services at Delaware County Community College. 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

During Ramadan, Sohaira Siddiqui, executive director at the Al-Mujadilah Center and the host of the podcast "More Muslim", talks about the diversity of the Muslim community in New York and around the world. Photo: Mayor Mamdani attends Taraweeh prayers in Staten Island. Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

Jennifer Townsend—adjunct instructor, death-and-dying scholar, and Heterodox Academy campus co-chair at Western Michigan University—challenges the ideological monoculture dominating higher education. Awarded for promoting open inquiry and viewpoint diversity, she shares how she openly defends free speech on a left-leaning campus without hiding her views. The conversation dives into Jonathan Haidt's moral foundations theory, the limits of identity-based diversity, the value of listening to understand (not just to win), and why free inquiry remains essential—even when bad ideas persist. Townsend also critiques credential inflation, encourages trades over debt-laden degrees, and describes classroom strategies that shift students toward nuanced, less knee-jerk thinking.Books and resources mentioned:Heterodox Academy website: heterodoxacademy.orgJennifer's Substack on death and dying: The EndJennifer's Instagram accounts (death education, death book club)The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan HaidtMan's Search for Meaning by Viktor FranklDon't Label Me: How to Do Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Without Sacrificing the Truth or Your Own Soul by Irshad ManjiHow to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide by Peter Boghossian and James LindsayThe Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across the Political Divides by Arnold KlingOn Liberty by John Stuart Mill Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com ★ Support this podcast ★

A jam-packed Breitbart News Daily podcast today! It begins with our passionate host, Mike Slater, speaking with Dr. Paul Rahe, Professor of History at Hillsdale College on the background of Iran in the Middle East and how it ended up where it is today with radical Islam! Don't miss this crucial lesson! Following that, Slater does an EPIC monologue about how diversity is NOT our strength. You have to hear it to believe it! MAGA! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Show Notes: As cybersecurity matures, one area still lags: diversity. In this thought-provoking episode of CISO Perspectives, host Kim Jones takes the mic solo to address a topic that remains both critical and controversial. Kim explores the current state of diversity in the cybersecurity field, why progress has been slow, and how inclusive teams drive greater innovation and resilience. Tune in for an honest conversation that challenges the status quo and pushes the industry forward. Want more CISO Perspectives?: Check out a companion ⁠⁠blog post⁠⁠ by our very own Ethan Cook, where he breaks down key insights, shares behind-the-scenes context, and highlights research that complements this episode. It's the perfect follow-up if you're curious about the cyber talent crunch and how we can reshape the ecosystem for future professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A brilliant pre-med student. 521 MCAT — 98th percentile. 4.0 GPA. Published research. Primary author. Rejected by ten medical schools. If that résumé isn't good enough, what is?On The Real Story, I examine how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies are reshaping medical school admissions. Across the country, schools describe “holistic review,” equity mandates, and diversity goals as central to their mission. Academic metrics are no longer the primary standard and that merit is being subordinated to ideology.We break down AAMC data, LCME accreditation shifts, pass/fail grading trends, and looming physician shortages. Medicine is not a sociology lab. When you're on an operating table, credentials matter. Excellence is not negotiable. Thank you to our sponsor: Preserve Gold - text "ASK PHIL" to 50505 and go to https://DrPhilGold.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.