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A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight on APEX Express join host Miko Lee as she talks with Asian American theatre artists with works coming up soon. Miko talks with Sunhui Chang and Joan Osato about their world premiere at the Magic Theatre. She speaks with Ethnotech's Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo and finally we hear from playwright Jiehae Park on the world premiere of the Aves at Berkeley Rep. Though we may be immersed in a complicated, challenging and very disturbing world, as Grace Lee Boggs said, “A people exercising their creativity in the face of devastation is one of the greatest contributions to humankind.”     Our Guests discussed: April 2-20, 2025 Magic Theatre The Boiling, a tale of american nihilism tickets, wheelchair accessible Joan Osato SFFILM Cedar Road Iyagi Grant Applications:  sffilm.org/artist-development Ethnohtec May 22 Ethnohtec https://sfpl.org/events/2025/05/22/panel-strong-bamboo-3-part-1 Strong Like Bamboo SF Library Koret Auditorium Free https://sfpl.org/events/2025/05/25/performance-strong-bamboo-3-part-2   Coming Up Next Transcript   Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:00:34] Tonight on APEX Express join host Miko Lee as she talks with Asian American theatre artists with works coming up soon. Miko talks with Sunhui Chang and Joan Osato about their world premiere of the boiling at the Magic Theatre. She speaks with Eth-Noh-Tec's Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo and finally we hear from playwright Jiehae Park on the world premiere of the aves at Berkeley Rep. Though we may be immersed in a complicated, challenging and very disturbing world, as Grace Lee Boggs said, “A people exercising their creativity in the face of devastation is one of the greatest contributions to humankind.” So join us on APEX Express as we join some creative conversations.   Miko Lee: [00:01:17] Tonight on Apex Express, we have the collaborators behind Magic Theater and Campo Santo's, world Premier of the boiling: a tale of American nihilism. Welcome playwright Sunhui Chang and video artist Joan Osato.    Joan Osato: [00:01:30] Thank you for having us on, Miko.    Miko Lee: [00:01:33] Yes. First I'm gonna start for each of you with a personal question, which is an adaptation from the amazing Chinaka Hodges. And my question for each of you, and let's start with Joan first, is who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Joan Osato: [00:01:49] I consider myself a child of immigrants in this country. My lineage Japanese, Japanese American by way of Hawai'i a lot of my lineage is carried by that diaspora, but also by my history at Youth Speaks for a couple of decades. And so I consider that my family also and Camp Santo.    Miko Lee: [00:02:12] Yay. Love that. And then Joan, what legacy do you carry with you?   Joan Osato: [00:02:17] A legacy of resilience and I know how to farm. I like to think of myself as a gardener and a great farmer. so that's the legacy I carry with me.    Miko Lee: [00:02:29] Thank you so much, Joan. Sunhui, what about you? Who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Sunhui Chang: [00:02:36] Well, I'm part of the diaspora, the Korean American diaspora that happened in the seventies. My family immigrated to the island of Guam in 1976, as part of developing the island of Guam. As, you know, the Korean diaspora at that time in the seventies, we were kind of shipped around the world a little bit, for our labor. There's a huge Korean population of workers that also went to West Germany and other places, Guam is not as well known, but it was definitely part of that. So in 76, our family landed on the island of Guam.    Miko Lee: [00:03:11] Wow, that's so interesting. And then what about what legacy you carry with you?    Sunhui Chang: [00:03:16] I think my legacy I have to say is that definitely of the immigrant working class, you know, as with a Korean diaspora, there's some things of, like the East Coast Koreans, as you may know, have a different history of being much more educated whereas kind of the west coast and the Korean diaspora during the seventies towards islands like Guam, we were much more working class. So that is my legacy. I have working class roots that, I never seem to be able to get away from and I don't want to.   Joan Osato: [00:03:47] Shoot. That's the same for me too, my working class roots.   Miko Lee: [00:03:51] So it sounds like you two have some commonalities there and that seem to have flowed over into the creation of this play. Sunhui can you talk about an overview of this brand New World premier, the boiling.    Sunhui Chang: [00:04:05] Simply put, it's a story of a tracker and a tracer, a government team that was formed to track and trace down carriers of the virus called the Boiling. and it actually. starts out as a chase, but what we really dig into is more about, identity, home, what it means to be, what is home and what it means to be, at home, and also, about redemption, you know, through our lives, you know? So it's multi-layered, so it's hard to kind of explain in a log line. but it's a chase story that kind of delves into the characters.    Miko Lee: [00:04:40] And I understand this was inspired by a real news story. Can you tell us about that real news story?    Sunhui Chang: [00:04:46] Oh, yeah. the genesis of this we have to kind of go back to the beginning of the pandemic back to December, 2019. I had just finished a gallery installation in San Francisco and then at the end of that I flew back to Seattle. Now at that period of time, there was this talk that there's this virus that's in China. That might affect us, we're not quite certain, but it could be something that could lead to a global pandemic, but we didn't quite know at that time. But then when I landed in Seattle, March 17th, 2020 was the date that Governor j Insley shut down the state of Washington. So that is a big take 'cause, As you know, we all hunkered down at that point. And then in one of the hunkering down is of course, I was watching the news and one of the news story, happened to come across where they were talking about a Econo Lodge motel that the state of Washington had purchased to turn into a quarantine motel, a voluntary quarantine motel where people who, felt that they were infected could check themselves in, to be evaluated. So the story goes that two people had actually checked into this motel totally voluntarily, but one of them the morning after. And this is captured, with a surveillance video. We actually see this one person walking out of their room at the motel. We see them walk across the street to a gas station with a market. Now the surveillance actually then switches over to the gas station surveillance, which shows him walking to the gas mart, walking inside, making a purchase, and then actually walking out. And then we see another footage of the surveillance that's going from the outside surveillance of the store. We actually see him, walk towards the bus stop, get on a bus. And then just the bus leaves and that is it. And the news story ends with that. They had no idea where this person drifted off to. and for me it just, it had this weird, eerie fascination that just grabbed me. and remember at that time, Seattle was such a hotbed for Covid. It was where the nursing home happened, where so many of the elderly had passed on, and we didn't even wanna secondhand touch a surface, so there was a real heightened sense of alarm that was happening. So seeing this story of this potential infected person just drifting off. And then what made it eerie was that I wanted to see what followed up. So for days after I kept watching the news, what is the follow up? What happened? It was never brought on again. Never. Another mention I. and for me that actually made it even more eerie. So it really sat with me, to the point where I had to actually just write down the first words of my, the first line of my story, the boiling. And the first line was, “Carrier X stepped out of the tightness of his room and breathed deeply the soft drizzle of the Pacific Northwest to cool his body from the growing fever.” So those were the first words that I wrote. and then it was just kind of off to the races 'cause the way I write Miko is that I'm very much organic. I kind of set a story and then I become a vessel of the story. I don't come to the story with agendas or anything of that nature. After the first sentence, it just kind of took a life of its own. So that's it.    Miko Lee: [00:08:18] That is amazing. I did not hear that story. and the real news story. That is wild. That would've sat with me too. Joan, had you heard of that story before being brought onto this project?    Joan Osato: [00:08:29] Well, when we did a reading during the pandemic. I did hear parts of that story, but I think it's also a story that a lot of us can relate to, because like here in the Bay Area, of course, we also experienced severe lockdown. Whereas in other parts of the country, I think that the type of lockdown, although being, you know, trying to be really safe for people also induces this sense of isolation and paranoia. And so wanting to get information about who's getting affected and like, where's it happening? I think that was all like kind of a mini obsession of like. Everyone who experienced the pandemic, you know what I mean?    Miko Lee: [00:09:10] How do you think that pandemic has had an impact on theater and on audiences?    Joan Osato: [00:09:16] Well on the most basic levels, you know, like what theaters are grappling with, just in terms of coming out of and recovering from pandemic, I think everybody understands that, you know, theater in general is struggling because of the changes that happened in terms of, Perhaps what people place importance on the isolation that we went through, the kind of, paranoia about being in groups of people and in space and in community together. And so, that affects, you know, theaters and you can, you can see that since the pandemic some have closed. But I also think that, the effects are also that, groups like The Magic or Campo Santo during the Pandemic, we never stopped working and we just figured out innovative ways to, you know, support artists, do radio plays, do, amalgamations of like filming. And so a lot of us became like very, very adept at different types of media that are theatrically based, like Sunhui's play, but that we had to carry out, like online or, you know, through other types of media.    Sunhui Chang: [00:10:30] I just wanted to add on that is that, the pandemic, you know, there there was definitely things that really affected us as humans in such a negative way, but what I also found admiring was, with Joan and Camp Santo and the artists and trying to find creative ways of, still letting, having an outlet. it really was that the story of the boiling would not have taken place if artists such as Joan and Camp Santo. If they didn't, if they weren't able to pivot and make these kind of online transitions at the moment, such as doing readings and such, cause that's how the story was first brought about. So, in many ways it was hard. But also I do appreciate these artists who have been able to kind of keep going and didn't shut down and kept letting the creative creativity somehow flow. I so appreciated that.    Joan Osato: [00:11:20] Yeah, it was definitely a beautiful thing. And then, you know, Miko, throughout the pandemic, you know, we would have like online viewings of our archives or we would sit with audience members, who were joining us and basically hang out for like three, four hours online. So trying to create the space not only to kind of generate support for artists who are. Completely outta work, but also to, just connect us even though we were. You know, obviously under these conditions where we couldn't see each other in person and it wouldn't have been advisable for us to even try to gather, you know, because, I consider us, you know, in-inside of our community extremely vulnerable. So, you know, just grappling with that tension, was really hard.    Miko Lee: [00:12:09] Yeah. And I kind of hear both of you saying that in those really tough times, there was this push to get more creative, to find more ways of reaching people and, and to look at ways that we can, um, innovate given that, and I'm wondering, given our current political climate where things are changing every hour now. I mean, the first Trump administration, it was kind of every week and now it feels like every hour a new kind of devastating thing is happening. I'm wondering how you both think theater can be used as a tool for social change.    Sunhui Chang: [00:12:41] For me Theater and, and really the arts, what I do love about it, is this really, and I kind of touch upon it with the story and such, and it really hit me during, COVID, during the pandemic, is that it's really for me, what it does is listening.  I know as artists, we love telling our story. We love telling what we see, our interpretations and things like that. but I think what I have really come about with the arts is the fact that I like the other side of it is the listening part, for me with my collaborators, that I have to listen. You know, it's not about just me talking, but just listening. So for me, the theater aspect of it and the art aspect of it is that I hope that, as we go through these tough times, what it really has us doing is listening to each other more. One of the things that I really feel in that way and appreciative of listening is the fact that without listeners, there's no storytelling. Listening is really the foundation of our humanity. You know, I mean, just talking really gets us nowhere. What really makes us move forward collectively is listening.   Joan Osato: [00:13:50] Mm, Sunhui heard that. Yes, I heard that. [laughs] As far as theater and kind of responding to the moment. I think, you know, the type of theater that we embody is always speaking to politics is always speaking to, you know, the culture of the moment and especially it's speaking, because a lot of Campo and the Magic's work is like based inside of, theater companies that live, work, breathe, are about by and for the communities, like in the Bay Area right. So there's just no way of separating the kind of politics from what happens like inside of these plays. For the boiling in particular though, I think there's a lot of stuff that, that people can think about and here inside the play that will resonate with them. One, we're, we're talking about a hypothetical, but it's not really a hypothetical situation about a pandemic, a very, harmful, very urgent, current conditions. You know, when there's no CDC to have, get your information from when there's no public health that's functioning in this country, we can, we can see what happened during the last pandemic and just make that comparison and draw those comparisons, you know, what would happen in the next one. Right. also that, you know, to me and Sunhui, you can totally. speak to this, but to me, Carrier X, the person that represents is this kind of violence and nihilism that exists inside of the, you know, the current, you know, psyche or administration right at this moment. this real like. It's definitely violent to the point of not caring whether people live or die and so I, you know, I think that's very striking about the play and it happening right now as premiering it right now, because I think people can draw a lot of parallels between. Like this personality, this complete disorder that seems to be going on, like not only in American politic, but amongst the large population in America itself. You know what I mean? That kind of disregard.    Miko Lee: [00:16:18] Joan, that is so interesting. I wonder if you both can talk a little bit more about Patient X as this kind of figure of narcissism and selfishness that we're seeing that's happening in our broader politics right now.   Sunhui Chang: [00:16:31] Yeah, Carrier X, he does, you know, he does kind of represent this nihilism of American nihilism, which to me it's really historical and cultural. we could go all the way back to the nihilism of manifest destiny, feeling like we have something to do that it was even, maybe. God's order, you know, a higher order that was given to us. And we have to take on this task and finish the task at no matter what cost, right? By any means necessary in a way. and that nihilism for me, I. historical, but when I see it currently that happens now, is that I see nihilism in the fact that people want to cut off Medicaid, Medicare, these social programs that are not just help people actually are crucial and it's really, it's a survival. So for me, when I see that kind of disregard, yes, it's not this overt violent nihilism, but I do find it to be so nihilistic in the damage that it does to all of us, you know? And I do find That this nihilistic violence, there's two flip side to it. The people who are directly affected, and harmed by it, but also the people who carry it are out, who carry out these acts of nihilism they do get damaged as well. So for me, so yeah, the nihilism, it's taken on a different life, but. It's a part of America and it seems to continuously carry forward through our days.    Miko Lee: [00:18:00] And Sunhui with the intentional characters, the lead being Korean American adoptee, and, the detective being a black woman, and then carrier X being white. Share with me a little bit about the racial element and your intention behind making those characters of those, ethnic backgrounds.    Sunhui Chang: [00:18:20] You know, there was no intention, as I said, I just write very organically. So there was never this thought of, oh, here's the three characters. One's gonna be a Korean adoptee, one's gonna be a black homicide detective, and another's gonna be a white carrier. It was never that I. It's hard for me to explain the process, but those were the characters that just kind of naturally came out. for me, it just felt fitting to it. So, I don't have agendas as I write, as I said, so there was none of that. It was just for me, as a vessel of the story, as a story was coming out, it was just. Oh yeah, this character is this, this character is that, and this one is this. so no intention. But, once those things came alive, then the story kind of, evolves around what's, organically happening. So yeah, there wasn't intent, but at the end of it all, of course, I go, oh, I see what has come about and how the story is so, In hindsight now going, oh yeah, I did this. for me, it feels right in the, in the fact that for me, this is America Miko. To me, I, I don't write with an Asian American kind of pen, or, or a brown person pen for me, I actually first and foremost say I'm an American. There's no way around it. and it's simply put too, is that. I am an American. so for me, these characters are just. Natural. And when I know about me being American and knowing about American history, these characters just naturally fit in, you know?    Miko Lee: [00:19:50] Yep. Thank you so much. I've read that you talk about new Americana theater. Mm-hmm. And also Joan, you were talking about how during the pandemic, you know, everybody's learning new techniques, new ways of storytelling, just because everybody was forced to with the lockdown. Sunhui, can you talk more about what you believe New America Theater is all about?    Sunhui Chang: [00:20:12] For me, the reason why I kind of see it as new Americana theater, first off, 'cause it's, it's American, the stories that come out of me is very American. you know, and I recognize it. And for me, I, it is, this is part of the American fabric, so that's why it's called Americana. And for me, I say it's new. 'cause what's new is the perspective that it's coming out from. perspective, which brings on different characters, a different storyline, you know, different message. So yeah, that's, that's it for me when I refer to it as New America in the theater. It's just that, that it's, it's an American tale that now we've been able to incorporate new voices into.   Miko Lee: [00:20:54] I noticed there's a really large list of collaborators. Of course the two of you, but then there's a lot of other people as well. Can you talk about that creative process, how you all were able to work together, how you made decisions about, oh, this is the part we're gonna use film, this is the part we're gonna use, movement.   Sunhui Chang: [00:21:11] Like I said, it's very much organic. Our third major collaborator is Ellen Sebastian Chang. she is the director of the show, and when me, Joan and her, we first started delving into it, we did. It was just sitting down and talking a lot. Going through the scripts, the different skill sets that we bring in. And really it was through the dialogue miko and of us talking with each other, but also listening to each other. and that was a big part is that as we started listening to ourselves, we came out with this direction.    Miko Lee: [00:21:47] And what would you both like the audience to walk away with after seeing the boiling?   Joan Osato: [00:21:52] I think, you know, as Sunhui talked about this, ritual of deep listening and so, the play doesn't guide anyone towards some natural conclusion that they should have about, you know, it's, it's not saying you, you must believe this, it's really leaving it up to the viewer, the listener, to draw their own conclusions. And, I think that, that people who come to this will be incredibly moved. I think that they will see a lot of parallels with what we're going through now and what we've gone through. And examine there is a kind of shameful history that we all need to grapple with, whether we own it or not. You know, Sunhui had talked about manifest destiny and that being like one of the founding, you know, kind kinds of principles that this country is founded upon. And there are many, many others That I think the play touches on which give pause and, and give the people who are engaging with this, room to think and reexamine their own actions in the world and how they approach it.   Sunhui Chang: [00:23:02] I'll just mention as an aside, you know, some of the things that we're looking at is. Our disconnect from the natural world and how that has impacted the natural world. Right.  I think Joan is spot on in, in that about, yeah, first and foremost, I do find this so important once again to say about listening. I do. I, that is the big thing that I would love is that for us to, if we really wanna truly have dialogues, and especially with people who we disagree with, and there is a lot of disagreement in this world right now. and for me, yeah, to, Get us back to a place where we could really listen to each other and not be in such a place where all we wanted to do is kind of say what we have to say. It's almost this thing of, oh, you know, the other has to listen, the other has to listen. And I really would like it that it becomes kind of more inward that we all say, Hey, it is time for me to listen. And then of course just the fact that when, as we listen to each other, what I do find and what I hope that others find as well, is that we're much more connected and we have so many things that tie us together than separate.   Miko Lee: [00:24:19] Well, thank both of you so much for joining us on Apex Express. Is there anything else you wanna add?   Sunhui Chang: [00:24:24] Just one thing, Miko, one of the elements of this play, is this natural world with birding and I would love to just, one of the big inspiration is that it's just a quote from Emily Dickinson and the quote is, “hope is the thing with feathers.” For me, I would love for people to kind of sit with that and think about that and what that means for us as human beings in relationship to the natural world, you know, and the importance of that.   Miko Lee: [00:24:52] Oh, that's such a beautiful visual image. Thank you so much for sharing that. I appreciate both of you for sharing your time with me.    Joan Osato: [00:24:59] Thank you, Miko.    Sunhui Chang: [00:25:00] Thank you Miko    Miko Lee: [00:25:01] The Boiling is a brand new play, and it's a story of a Korean American adoptee Brian, who's a virologist from the Midwest, and a former homicide Detective v, a black woman who lives in the Pacific Northwest, and they're partnered to do this trace and track from north to south. They're following David, a white nihilistic carrier of a feverish virus called the Boiling. This world Premier Show opens to the magic theater and runs from April 2nd through April 20th. You can get more information about this show, including links to buy tickets at our show notes on kpfa.org/programs/apexexpress.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:25:42] Next we'll listen to an excerpt from The Camp, the first opera on the Japanese American Concentration camps during World War II. The camp premiered from February 22nd to March 2nd, 2025 at the JACCC Aratani Theater in Los Angeles. Composed by Daniel Kessner, who combines modern classical with Japanese instruments, A libretto by Lionelle Hamanaka, directed by Diana Wyenn, with Associate Director John Miyasaki, 11 singers and a 22 piece orchestra conducted by Steve Hofer. The incidents in The Camp Opera were drawn from different camps where over 126,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned to see the many Japanese American groups that supported this project, including JANM, DENSHO and Raf Shimpo see the camp opera.com and if you know a place where The Camp can be performed near you, please contact the campopera.com/support.    MUSIC   Miko Lee: [00:27:53] Welcome to Apex Express. I'm so glad to have Eth-Noh-Tec once again, we get Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo and Nancy Wang.   Nancy Wang: [00:28:03] Yay. Yes. Hi. Hello. So glad to be here with you Miko.   Miko Lee: [00:28:07] We have been friends and colleagues for, it feels like a hundred billion years. The times that we're in are so complicated right now. But I just wanna first start with the question I often ask people, which is for each of you to tell me who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   Nancy Wang: [00:28:27] Well, I am Chinese American, and I am fifth generation on my mother's side. And. So we go all the way back to 1850 when our family first came on a junk boat and started the fishing industry in the Monterey Bay area.    Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: [00:28:45] And I am, half Japanese, half Filipino, born in San Francisco, raised in Concord, California, and living in the Bay Area for all my life.   Miko Lee: [00:28:50] And what legacy do you carry with you?    Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: [00:28:58] Well, I guess the identity I have as an Asian American, Japanese, and Filipino, um, I embrace all of that. The legacy is, as an artist, a performer. I've dedicated my life to creating works that reflect an Asian American consciousness, social, political, cultural. Both traditional works as well as new modern stories and music as well.    Nancy Wang: [00:29:25] And I was also a psychotherapist, so my work in the arts, whether it's dance, which I started out being a dancer and then a playwright, and then storytelling. I always weave in the healing aspect of what we all need to do in our communities. And so I use my art to also bring solace and bring celebration and bring, Depth and and the breadth of who we are as Asian Americans, as human beings, as part of this world, this country, then this city, so that we can celebrate who we are together.   Miko Lee: [00:30:04] Thank you for that. I hear you talking about activism, Asian American history, who we are and healing. I'm wondering if you could give me an update about what you're working on right now.   Nancy Wang: [00:30:14] Well, we have several things in the pipeline. I, for one, just finished writing and has now published Red Altar, which is the story of my ancestors. Three generations are followed in this book, about how they established the fishing industry in the Monterey Bay area. All the ways they had to reinvent themselves as laws were passed against them. The people try to get rid of them. And it's really a story of courage and determination and persistence, ingenuity and obviously success. Because I'm here. So I'm gonna be doing some more readings and that can be found on our webpage. Right. And Robert,    Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: [00:30:55] I am focusing on archiving our work and after working with Nancy and creating Eth-Noh-Tec for the last 43 plus years, we have developed over 200 stories, and we put them on stage. We've written them, some of them are now being written as a compendium of stories. These are Neo-traditional folk tales and myths from Asia. And, people don't know much of this, but I am also an artist, so I'm creating illustrations that depict these stories. That's one project.   Nancy Wang: [00:31:23] Yeah, that's our next book. but what we're really excited about is our second Strong Like Bamboo, stories of resilience in the era of Asian American hate, but it's really broadened beyond Asian American because this year on May 22nd, will be a gathering of Latino and Asian artists and musicians, storytellers, and activists to just sit around and really share our stories, share our music, share our concerns, and to build bridges with each other because it, we will need to increase, our coalitions during this era. It's gotten worse, so we really need to come together.   Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: [00:32:08] and we titled it strong like bamboo because of the Asian anecdote about, you know, one bamboo can snap, but together binding many bamboo together we're much stronger. So it's a call out to the community to bring all of our constituents and broaden that so that we are strong, as people of color.    Nancy Wang: [00:32:25] And of course we're gonna have food, which always brings us all together. But also bamboo can bend. Without breaking, so that's on a Thursday, May 22nd. But on May 25th, I have curated four other storytellers to tell their stories of their racist experiences and how they came through it to a healing place.    Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: [00:32:48] There's a gathering of Asian American storytellers, both from the Chicago area and also from the west coast.    Nancy Wang: [00:32:53] And there'll be a panel so they can ask questions and we can have discussions. But after that, the people in the audience will have the opportunity to break up into small groups of three in which they get to share their own stories, their own concerns, and that's really the whole thing is about inspiring people to come through what they're going through and coming out, on the other side with some hope and healing. Because when we share our stories, we lift that particular burden of, say our story about our racist experience. We lifted off our own shoulders and we get to share it. With someone who's listening with compassion and we don't feel alone anymore. It's really a powerful, powerful way to find community connection, relation, and strength.   Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: [00:33:45] And we'll have also in both of those events, resources in earlier years, I was an Asian American songwriter and did a lot of songs of not just identity, but of unity. I'm also gonna be singing a theme song called Bamboo, which is part of the title and also, a work by Chris Jim, famous of the Chris and Joe Asian American Duet from years ago. the one song we're still here, though it was written 30, 40 years ago. It's still pertinent to what's going on now, especially declaring that America is a multiracial, multiethnic, texture of society.   Nancy Wang: [00:34:20] and, in 2026 we're gonna bring on, African-American and Euro-American, storytellers also, so that we really have a multicultural representation of all who we are and how we still will need to come together. I hope things will be better by 2026, but who knows?    Miko Lee: [00:34:39] Thank you so much for sharing about how storytelling can really be a tool for social change. Is there anything else you wanna share with our audience?   Nancy Wang: [00:34:47] Yeah. please come to our strong like Bamboo on May 22nd and 25th is gonna be at the San Francisco Public Library Main Library, both are free to the public May 22nd the Thursday at May 22nd, it's gonna be in Hispanic room,    Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: [00:35:05] and what time?   Nancy Wang: [00:35:06] Six to seven-thirty. And on Sunday it'll be in the presentations, the performances in the panel will be in the Koret auditorium, and then small groups will convene in the Hispanic room, which is right next door, and it's got elevators. So no problem, in getting there. Plus Bart and the bus is, it's easy to get there. And so that's what we wanted so that people could feel welcome.    Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: [00:35:35] And that second show on Sunday Strong like Bamboo will feature our guest artist storytellers, professional storytellers. One of them being a local Eleanor Clement Glass who's half African American and Filipino, talking about her experiences. And then also, two guest artists from Chicago, one of them being Lillian Ji, who is a Japanese American hapa. Then third is, Archie Jun, who is a Thai American gay comedian storyteller who is a total riot. we are really wanting to blend many of our communities together to hear this talent Yes. And to deal with the topics.    Nancy Wang: [00:36:10] So we would love for the LGBTQ plus community to come out as well and support him and feel proud because all of the stories will, will really showcase our strength and our ability to deal with these things and come out the other side. So we are hoping that in the process of telling our pain, but coming out, on the other side, that it will be an inspiration for everyone to keep going during this difficult, very difficult time.    Miko Lee: [00:36:41] Thank you so much for joining me today.    Nancy Wang: [00:36:44] You're welcome. Thank you   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:36:46] You are listening to 94.1 KPFA and 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF in Fresno, and online worldwide at kpfa.org.   Miko Lee: [00:37:05] Welcome Jiehae Park to Apex Express. I am so excited to talk to you about the world premier of the aves opening at Berkeley Repertory Theater, May 2nd through June 8th. Welcome to Apex Express.    Jiehae Park: [00:37:19] Hi, Miko. It's so nice to be here. Thanks for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:37:22] I wanna just first start with a personal question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   Jiehae Park: [00:37:31] Hmm. I love the phrasing of that question. I was born in Korea and I came to the states when I was three years old with my parents who came to go to graduate school. And my father's family fled the north during the war. And my mother's family had always been in the south. And I definitely think that who they are and where they came from is a big part of who I am and the questions that I think of. And in a lot of ways, not just, racially and culturally, but also in terms of their interests. They're both scientists. This play deals, I hope thoughtfully with questions of identity and consciousness, that I've always been interested in.    Miko Lee: [00:38:18] And what legacy do you feel like you carry with you from them?   Jiehae Park: [00:38:22] Hmm. I mean, I write a lot about immigrants. This play isn't specifically about that, but in a lot of my previous work, I, I have. have written a lot about immigrants and I feel like my parents, you know, they came to this country when they were in their twenties. They didn't speak the language. They came from a generation of folks and at that time in the country where they were really, they had to be a certain way to survive. And I think that, intensity of work ethic, and the things that you also have to give up in order to get to where you think you wanna be, that question is, is part of their legacy to me. It's a, it's a gift and also something that, like a lot of other immigrants, I think I'm always sort of turning over in my mind and, and trying to look at from other angles.    Miko Lee: [00:39:12] Thank you for sharing. I'm wondering if you can talk to us about, first this title of your, world Premier, the aves. Where did this title come from? What is it about?    Jiehae Park: [00:39:23] So the title is the Latin word for Birds. And, the play there's a mystery that sort of unspools early on. So without, without giving too much away we see this old couple on a bench, on a park bench, and they have clearly been together for a long time and they are having a conversation that seems like a very ordinary conversation. And over the course of the first scene, we soon learn that they are discussing, doing something that will have ramifications throughout the rest of the play. And the aves is a word that I loved because of the association with birds. There, there are birds that make an appearance in this play, in both pedestrian and unexpected ways, in mysterious ways, and hopefully humorous ways. and then the connotation also of Ave Maria and this, this feeling of the sacred, which also infuses the play, which has a lot of humor, but also when I was writing it, I was thinking a lot about nature and the passage of time and this feeling of awe that I get when engage with nature. And I think that word also has those connotations for me.    Miko Lee: [00:40:46] And that sounds like a mystery that people need to come to find out more about. Can you tell us what inspired this work?    Jiehae Park: [00:40:54] I used to live on the northside of Central Park in Harlem, and I had this tiny, tiny little window that looked out, onto the north side of the park. And every day I would sit down to write and through my tiny window, I would see the same man sitting on this bench every day. And as the seasons changed and the leaves changed and the light changed, but still every morning there was the consistency of seeing the same person. And I think I I was thinking a lot about the passage of time and of nature shifting And I think subconsciously I was thinking about getting older myself. This was a time before I had children, but I was starting to become aware of my parents aging and generationally My peers, also our parents were aging and, and starting to have, you know, the complications and the beautiful things that can come with that. So I think all of that was a big soup in my subconscious. and I sat down and I wrote the first scene very quickly and then. I didn't know exactly what the rest of the play was gonna be, but I knew structurally that the first scene would be this old couple and that the second scene would be, a slightly different configuration of, of bodies. But that was hard to be so mysterious, um, and that the nex scene would be a different specific configuration of body. So I was thinking about the age of the bodies that you're watching and the story evolved from that. And I guess I should say that the play is set in a moment sort of best after now. So it's not the present, but it's not the distant future. It's certainly not like hard sci-fi by any means, but I think it uses some tools of speculative fiction. To ask questions that hopefully are illuminating about ourselves now.    Miko Lee: [00:42:59] Interesting. Did you ever talk with the man in the park that inspired this piece?   Jiehae Park: [00:43:05] You know, it's so funny. After the first couple of weeks of watching him, I realized he lived in my building and I hadn't noticed him before.    Miko Lee: [00:43:18] Wow. That's amazing.    Jiehae Park: [00:43:20] And I think that that's also something that. I had been thinking a lot about at the time this question of presence and attention, especially in New York, which is a city that is so loud. I mean, I love, I love New York and there's so many things that I love about New York, but it is such a loud city and it is hard to hear yourself think and, and the quality of attention in any. I was gonna say in any city, but in like any moment in our extremely chaotic world, I mean, especially now, that sort of quiet present quality of attention that I think is so beautiful and so rare, and I associate with, I'm not religious, but, but when I was a kid, I was, and this, this quality of, of sacred space, I think I was, I was really curious about that. And at the time, I think I had also that year gone on a silent meditation retreat. so trying to bring that quality of attention to my ordinary life as a urban citizen, I think was also part of the experience of writing the play. But yeah, he lived in my building and I hadn't noticed him before. And so this question of what do we notice and what do we need to shift in ourselves to notice what's in front of us and has been in front of us.    Miko Lee: [00:44:44] I am hearing you talk about a sense of presence and, and time passing. I'm wondering if that is what you want the audience to walk away with or are there other things that you're interested in provoking with this piece?    Jiehae Park: [00:44:57] As an audience member, when I go to any play, I always hope to leave a little bit different than how I entered and. That shift can be really subtle. In fact, for me as an audience member, sometimes it feels more profound when it is subtle. So on, on like at like a really baseline level. We've been having a lot of conversations with the design team about how to create this. Quality of space that feels different from the mundane so that when we enter the space of the theater, so for our body chemistry changes and that we are being asked by the play to lean in and pay attention perhaps in a way that we're not asked to pay attention, in, in the world outside of that room. And to be able to request that of an audience and share that with an audience. Together, I think is such a beautiful thing. And, and one of my favorite things about any collective experience when, when it all feels like we're breathing together. And my hope is that that's something that we can create, at a, like a biochemical level in our bodies, on a sort of more. Intellectual, emotional, philosophical level. I think there are questions that the play is asking about, what makes us, us and memory and the ability of a person and a relationship to change over a long period of time. And over the course of events that. May require forgiveness. those were certainly things that I was thinking about while I was writing it. So there's also that, that more character relational level of questioning that, that I think, will resonate with people, in different ways depending on where they are in their lives. And then I think especially because, you know, there's a lot of conversation about sandwich generation now, like folks, I. Who have dealt with aging themselves or aging parents and, the complexities and possibilities that can create. I think that there's another layer of the play that stirs up some of those questions as well.   Miko Lee: [00:47:04] Speaking of complexities and possibilities, I understand that you studied music and that you're also an actor and then you also write for Marvel's Runaways. Can you share a little bit about how these different elements impact you as a writer, as a creator?    Jiehae Park: [00:47:20] Yeah, so I started as an actor, which I think a lot of people do, mostly because it's the most accessible thing. Like you can audition for a play. You can't sort of audition to write a play. you can just write a play. But that, I think, came later for me. I don't really perform a ton anymore, although I did love it. and then the shift to television happened eight or so years ago. There's a big movement of playwrights moving into television, during peak tv. And they're very different. there is some shared similarity in storytelling instincts and craft. but the mediums are just really different, so I feel like I get very different things from, from all of them. I feel like I learned being a performer for a long time. As an artist, it's just getting to bump up against people who you think are fascinating and learn from them what you like and what you don't like, and who you wanna be and who you don't wanna be. and from tv I think I learned, To not be so precious. It takes a really long time for me to write a play. and I used to think, oh, I have to go into the woods and like be silent for a month and then like a play will emerge. And like sometimes it happens and it, that feels like a blessing when it does. But in TV, because there's so much money at stake and so much time pressure that you know, when something's due, it's just due and you turn it in. And if it's not perfect, you just deal with it and you make it as good as you can. And I think that there's a certain amount of shedding of perfectionism, which has been really healthy for me. but I do. Love the theater for the ability to spend a long period of time contemplating something and, and making it with a group of people who feel inspiring and we're all moving towards the same thing. and I think there's a little bit more space or a lot more space in the theater for things that may feel. mysterious or more open. whereas in television especially these days with the sort of decline of peak TV, there's an expectation of propulsion. Like overt propulsion, if that makes sense. That is not a criticism like, you know, I also love TV. but it is, it's like the pace of it is different and the ask of it is different than the ask of a play and and the baseline thing of just, you're not in the same room with the people experiencing it that is so special in theatre.    Miko Lee: [00:49:45] How do you go about shifting that mindset for that kind of speed of TV that you're describing versus the kind of longer meditative state of creating theater?    Jiehae Park: [00:49:55] Yeah, I mean, I think there's hopefully a two-way exchange. Because I also think that bringing some of those qualities of thoughtfulness and deliberation to the world of TV within the container, within the boundaries of it, can be incredibly useful. And ultimately a lot of the things that delight people, delight people regardless of the format. So that, like, that feeling of inevitable but surprising, like that's something that is of tremendous value in all mediums, right? I think for me personally, when I write a play. I try to make a space in my life that is a little more still. and I have a toddler now, so that's challenging. But in a way, working in television has been really helpful for that because, you know, I don't have five hours in the middle of the day to, you know, be with myself and listen to the trees. I maybe have like 30 minutes, but to try to drop into that as. quickly and without angst, without like working myself up about it. 'cause that's a waste of time. That's been a useful lesson to learn. Whereas working in television can feel a lot less lonely also than playwriting because in a writer's room, most shows in the states are written in the writer's room, there are few exceptions, and you're with a group of people. And so there's a sort of energetic exchange happening there that in a play only happens much, much later when you're in rehearsal and ideally in production. there's a sort of joyful energy and exchange that can happen in a writer's room, both when you're breaking the story and then ultimately when you're in production. And there's like many, many more people involved. And there's the crew and the cast and you know, all of the technical departments and producers. I feel like you mentioned, Code switching earlier. And, humans are so adaptable and I think we automatically sort of shift our brain chemistry and our body chemistry in response to the environment around us. sometimes very consciously, sometimes unconsciously, sometimes both. so I think a certain amount of that is just, okay, these are the given circumstances. And then, you become who you need to be in that space.   Miko Lee: [00:51:54] Thank you for sharing. Okay. I have one last TV question, which is that given that everybody's in this writing room together and you're, there's kind of a speed that's attached to it, do you feel like things get thrown out more quickly and with less kind of emotion attached to it than in theater?    Jiehae Park: [00:52:10] It's possible. I think it depends on the person. So I just worked on season four of the morning show last year. And there is a real need on that show because it deals with the news to be absorbing what's happening in the world and shifting the story based on that. And so that there has to be a sort of lightness around that. So in that kind of environment, absolutely. but I've also been in other rooms where someone got really attached to an idea, and maybe it was clear that that idea wasn't gonna work out, but there was, there was still like something, in it that wanted to be held onto and, and it may be hung on for a long time. And that process. Also could have happened, like that exact parallel process could have happened in a play. And actually in neither of the situation, is that necessarily a bad thing? Like is there something about that idea that maybe is not the idea itself, like the emotional core underneath it or the deep, deep idea underneath it that is useful? That even if the manifestation of the thing doesn't continue, if the manifestation gets thrown out, but like the real thing that was underneath it was important gets folded in in some unexpected way. I don't think it's a bad thing either way. It just is the peculiarities of any particular process.   Miko Lee: [00:53:22] And it sounds like it's about the people too, right?    Jiehae Park: [00:53:25] Yes, definitely. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I've certainly been in that book where I'm like, oh, I really think it's like this. It's gotta be this, it's gotta be this. And then, you know, two years later, I look at the draft, I'm like, oh, no, no, no. It, it is definitely not that. Like let me take that entire thing out. and it just was in that particular moment, I wasn't ready for whatever reason to let go of that idea. And that's okay. I am now, and then it moves on.    Miko Lee: [00:53:48] We're circling back to the beginning of the conversation about the aves, which is about presence and being in that moment. And where you are in that moment might be, no, this isn't right. And then years later you say, oh yeah, that wasn't right. Or that was right.   Jiehae Park: [00:54:03] Yeah, exactly, exactly. To listen to yourself is a, you know, I, I am, I've been doing this for a long time now and, that is still something that I feel like I always have to learn, that I think just is a human.   Miko Lee: [00:54:15] Yes. The perennial lesson of Yes, intuition. I'm wondering if you could tell our audience why they should go see the aves.    Jiehae Park: [00:54:24] My hope is that if you are curious about a certain kind of experience and attention in the theater, that you'll accept our invitation to this play, which is an unusual play. I don't think that everyone should see this play, just like, I don't think everyone should see any particular work of art, but if the things that we've been discussing, if the sort of vibe that you're getting from this conversation resonates with you, then the experience of seeing this play with a group of people who are also curious about that kind of experience may be something. That is enjoyable for you and would probably therefore also be enjoyable for that audience to be together with you and for the play to be together with you in that space.    Miko Lee: [00:55:17] Thank you so much for spending time chatting with us. Folks can see the aves at Berkeley rep May 2nd through June 8th. Thank you so much, Jiehae.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:55:26] For you Asian American film makers out there: SFFILM announced a new annual filmmaking grant in partnership with Cedar Road. The SFFILM Cedar Road Iyagi Grant is dedicated to fostering bold, original feature film projects that amplify Asian and Asian American perspectives on screen. In Korean, iyagi means “story”—a word that embodies the heart of this grant's mission: to champion storytelling as a powerful bridge connecting people across cultures and perspectives. A link to the grant application will be available in our show notes.    Miko Lee: [00:55:58] Please check out our website, kpfa.org to find out more about our show tonight. We think all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important.    APEX Express is created by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Swati Rayasam, Aisa Villarosa, Estella Owoimaha-Church, Gabriel Tangloao, Cheryl Truong and Ayame Keane-Lee.  The post APEX Express – 4. 3.25 – Coming Up Next appeared first on KPFA.

Before cloud economics entered his life, Corey's first true love was a good book. On this episode of Screaming in the Cloud, he's joined by Laura Brief, the CEO of nonprofit 826 National. The organization is the largest youth writing network in the country, something that's near and dear to our hearts at The Duckbill Group. Corey and Laura talk about why having a deep appreciation for reading and writing is vital no matter what career path you take. From offering a creative escape for kids to moonlighting as a “pirate supply company,” 826 National helps children realize that there's an author inside all of us. So check out this great conversation, and be sure to buy one of our shirts while you're at it!Show Highlights(0:00) Introduction(1:02) Gitpod sponsor read(2:14) The Duckbill Group's history working with 826 National(3:01) What is 826 National?(4:43) Corey's love of reading, writing, and how it correlates with 826 National's mission(10:11) The rise of ChatGPT and its impact on reading and writing(13:49) Why GenAI fails to capture the feeling of writing(22:30) Why writing education is important(24:54) The benefits of reading and writing for kids(31:39) 826 Valencia: the Pirate Supply Company(35:24) Buy a shirt benefiting 826 National!(37:15) Where you can find more from Laura Brief and 826 NationalAbout Laura BriefLaura Brief is the CEO of 826 National. Prior to joining the nonprofit, Laura held leadership positions at high achieving youth organizations including Build, First Graduate, Juma Ventures, and The Posse Foundation, where she developed the organization's first national career, corporate engagement, and alumni programs. She holds a Master's in Education and a Master's in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University, and is the Chair of the Board of Directors at Youth Speaks.Links826 National: https://826national.org/Reach out to Laura: laura@826national.org Buy our charity shirt to help support 826 National: shitposting.fashionSponsorGitpod: gitpod.io 

July 17, 2024, Washington, D.C. Some 200 young people from across the nation aged 14-19 — aspiring poets, storytellers, MC's, activists — are gathered in the nation's capital for the 29th annual Brave New Voices Festival — four non-stop days of slam poetry competition, coaching, workshops, late-night freestyling and in 2024, voting information.In summer, as the election loomed larger and larger we decided to turn our microphone to young people across America to hear their thoughts and feelings about the nation, about voting, about the election. Everyone always says young people are the future. But the truth is they are the present. And it is all on their plate.The Kitchen Sisters and producer Bianca Giaever traveled to the Brave New Voices Festival to take in the poets and their poetry, to listen and take the pulse of the moment. The hope, the scope, the vote. On July 21, the day after the festival ended, President Biden dropped out of the race. Keep that in mind as you listen.  The Hope & The Scope was produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Nikki Silva & Davia Nelson) and Bianca Giaever and mixed by Jim McKee. In collaboration with Nathan Dalton and Brandi Howell.Funding for The Hope & the Scope comes from The Robert Sillins Family Foundation, Susan Sillins & The Buenas Obras Fund.Special thanks to all the poets, the teams, the coaches, to the fabulous Future Corps 2024 and to all the staff, volunteers and radiant community of Brave New Voices. And to all we interviewed at the festival.Very special thanks to Youth Speaks, trailblazers of local and national youth poetry slams, festivals, mentoring, youth education and development — creators of the Brave New Voices Festival. Deep bow to Executive Director Michelle Mush Lee, Communications Director Bijou McDaniel, Stephanie Cajina, Joan Osato, James Kass, to Paige Goedkoop, Jamie DeWolf and Pawn Shop Productions and especially to Bianca Giaever who joined us in Washington, D.C. and came with her mic blazing.The Kitchen Sisters Present... is part of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent, thought-provoking, deeply-produced, highly-entertaining podcasts that widen your world.Thanks for listening. Thanks for subscribing.

This week on Rightnowish we take a little dive into family history and explore the big concerns of the next generation with published poet, educator and youth advocate, Michelle "Mush" Lee.  Lee is the executive director of the well renowned poetry organization, Youth Speaks. The organization boasts a long list of alums who are playwrights and poets, actors and activists. Just two years after its founding in 1996, Youth Speaks launched the annual youth poetry slam, Brave New Voices. This year, the three-day conference that pulls young poets from all corners of the country will be in the nation's capital, Washington D.C., just months before the presidential election. As an organizer, Lee is looking ahead to this year's conference with a clear understanding of why young people's voices are so important right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Notes and Links to José Vadi's Work      For Episode 231, Pete welcomes José Vadi, in Pete's first in-store, live interview, as José launches his essay collection at Capital Books on K in Sacramento. It was a blast, due to José's reflective, thoughtful, and witty answers, and the event featured great questions from the audience.        José Vadi is an award-winning essayist, poet, playwright and film producer. He is the author of Inter State: Essays from California and Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lens.    His work has been featured by the Paris Review, The Atlantic, the PBS NewsHour, the San Francisco Chronicle, Free Skate Magazine, Quartersnacks, Alta Journal of California, and the Yale Review. Buy Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lense     Los Angeles Times Review for Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lens   Chipped Book Tour Details   Jose's Website At about 2:30, José talks about his book tour and initial days of publishing At about 4:15, José talks about his mindset as the book comes out and the initial feedback he's gotten, as well At about 7:00, José responds to Pete's questions about perspective and how he looks back at what he has written, particularly after having moved a few times At about 9:15, José shouts out great Sacramento skate spots At about 10:15, Jsoe talks about making his book about skateboarding “accessible” to non-skaters also At about 11:45, José, freshly-hydrated, reads the book's titular essay At about 16:45, José's reading leads to a discussion of the quote from the book “documentation is domination” from Ed Templeton, and José discusses the power of one's board as an “extensión of [a person]” At about 18:55, The two compare the destroyed boards with the raggedy basketball, and José alludes to Hanif Abdurraqib's writing At about 21:05, José talks about the adage from the book of “Time is a skater's worst enemy” and attendant ideas of aging and obsession and pride At about 23:20, José narrates and explores his essay about a big injury on the night on which Jake Phelps died, and José responds to Pete's questions about “respecting the game [skating]” and its relation to injuries At about 28:30, José and Pete discuss the frenzied and wonderful “Wild and Crazy” essay At about 31:15, José discusses the phenomenon of skate videos and the DIY documentation of the 90s and early 2000s At about 34:00, Pete asks José about what music he most identifies with his own skating history  At about 35:15, José discusses musical connections with his parents that came from the music scene in skating  At about 37:50, Pete asks José to discuss how he looked at the thrills and dangers of skateboarding and being “policed” by those in power as an adolescent At about 40:05, José replies to Pete's wondering about José's view of progressive and inclusive cultures within skateboarding, especially with regards to contrasting the “old days” and more recent times At about 42:20, Pete and José fanboy about Sun Ra-Pete regarding José's brilliant essay about Sun Ra's style and music and skateboarding, and José about Sun Ra's prodigious brilliance  At about 44:00, Pete wonders about the process for José in creating Sun Ra as an imagined skateboarder in the essay At about 45:10, Pete and José discuss José's time with Youth Speaks, and Pete uses one scene as a metaphor for José's stellar writing At about 47:35, Pete highlights a story involving “power” as indicative of José's successful writing style, and José tells an incredible story about losing the mic and then hugging Michael Franti At about 49:20, “Never meet your heroes” is discussed in relation to Ed Templeton and his support for José and skating as a whole, as well as Ed's major injury; José discusses how Ed's example gave José agency to write and create and skate  At about 53:10-Lazer Round! Kings, Warriors, Lakers? Shout outs to Iain Bordem, Kyle Beachy, Molly Schiot, Percival Everett, and more! At about 56:10, José talks about an exciting new project, an “East Coast version of Inter State” At about 56:45, Audience questions!       You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.     I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I'm looking forward to the partnership! Check out my recent interview with Gina Chung on the website.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show. Thanks to new Patreon member, Jessica Cuello, herself a talented poet and former podcast guest.     This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 232 with Jazmina Barrera Velasquez, who is a fellow at the Foundation for Mexican Letters. Her book of essays, Cuerpo extraño, was awarded the Latin American Voices prize from Literal Publishing in 2013, and she is the editor and co-founder of Ediciones Antílope, and author of, most recently, Cross-Stitch.  The episode will go live on April 16 or 17.     Please go to ceasefiretoday.org for 10+ ways to make your voice heard regarding a necessary ceasefire in Gaza.  

I've always thought that to be a writer you had to be able to go inwards. Cultivate solitude. I don't think Yalie Saweda Kamara would disagree. But as a working poet, which is to say, as someone who both writes her own work and leads workshops and teaches at a university, Yalie also cultivates community and collaboration. For example, in 2022, she became the Cincinnati and Mercantile Library Poet Laureate. As part of that, she invited people from across the city and Northern Kentucky to write about what they've “discovered” in Cincinnati. Then she assembled their words into a poem, and it was displayed at Blink, the city's biennial festival of light and art. She's working on another series of polyvocal poems for the next festival, this spring. That's just one example of Yalie's work in the community. She came up as a poet through 826 Valencia and Youth Speaks, two writing programs in San Francisco for young folks, and her first full-length collection has just come out. It's called Besaydoo. Besaydoo won the 2023 Jake Adam York Prize, and it's been featured on a lot of most anticipated books lists in the past few months, including Lit Hub, and a mention in the New York Times Book Review. If you're curious about the title, don't worry, we talk about that too.

Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, Emily chats with Andrew Wilson, a multimedia artist and UC Berkley alumnus.About Artist Andrew Wilson:Wilson received his BFA from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2013 with a concentration in Jewelry/Metals and his MFA from the University of California, Berkeley in 2017. Wilson's work has been in many galleries and institutions including: The Berkeley Art Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SOMArts, and the Museum of the African Diaspora. He has received such awards and honors as: the Jack K. and Gertrude Murphy Award, an Emergency Grant from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts, the Carr Center Independent ScholarsFellowship, the McColl Center and more.He has also worked with Carrie Mae Weems on The Spirit that Resides in Havana, Cuba alongside the Havana Biennial and The Future is Now Parade for the opening of The REACH in Washington D.C.His work has been collected by Michigan State University and the University of New Mexico.Visit Andrew's Website: AIWArt.comFollow Andrew on Instagram: @drewberzzzFor more on Andrew's exhibit, Torn Asunder at Jonathan Carver Moore, CLICK HERE. --About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women's Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWilFollow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast--CREDITS:Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson. Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 LicenseThe Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions. For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com

Episode 66 with José Vadi, skateboarder and writer from Sacramento, California. Together we discussed him growing up in Pomona, CA, picking up his first board in the mid-90's, aside from skating developing an interest for poetry and getting involved with the “Youth Speaks” program, moving to Oakland in the early 2000's to study History at Berkeley, his different work experiences in the Bay Area, writing his first book “Interstate”, a collection of essays which explore California through various lenses, published in 2021, relocating to Sacramento that same year, going to the first edition of "Slow Impact" in Tempe, Arizona in February 2023, his second book “Chipped” coming out in April 2024…    (00:13) – Intro   (01:13) – Getting started   (04:23) – First video and magazine  (06:03) – Developing an interest for poetry  (08:43) – Getting involved with Youth Speaks   (12:57) – Moving to the Bay Area  (16:09) – Working at Adobe for a bit  (21:23) – Working at UC Davis  (25:39) – "Interstate"  (33:37) – "Chipped"   (42:48) – Sun Ra essay  (49:04) – Comparison between Sun Ra and Sage Elsesser   (53:27) – Jazz music, ageing and skateboarding  (55:47) – Slow Impact 2023   (59:59) – Upcoming projects  (01:02:33) – Most valuable lesson learned from skateboarding (01:04:43) – Friends questions   (01:28:09) – Conclusion    For more information and resources: https://linktr.ee/beyondboards

Ever wondered what goes on in your teen's mind and what are some of the key struggles they might face when it comes to making life's big decisions?Join us in part two of our youth takeover series where youths come onboard to share their youth-nique perspectives. Our guest, Raymus Koh, shares candidly with our youth host, Jakin Tan, about how he made a major decision for his life and how parents can better support their teens in making such life-changing decisions.--For more parenting resources, visit our website at www.family.org.sg. Remember, parenting is a journey not meant for journeying alone.Should you be in need of help or support, our counsellors are available to lend a listening ear. Make an appointment with us at www.family.org.sg/Counselling.--If you have enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcast or Podchaser. It'll be very helpful for others to find our podcast. You can also help us by copying this link www.family.org.sg/parentedpodcast to share with your friends.You can also support us by giving monthly. We appreciate your generous giving as every dollar helps to sustain our efforts in strengthening families. Do note that if you are based in Singapore, one-time gifts above SGD$50 or monthly donations above SGD$10 are eligible for 250% tax-deductible benefits.

When is it the right time for my teen to date? How do I know if my teen is ready to date? When it comes to dating, what are some things that I can advise my teen or young adult?Join us in our youth takeover series where youths come onboard to share their youth-nique perspectives. Our youth host, Jasmine Lum, speaks with Nicole Soh, who offers her stories and her perspectives on ideal dating.--In modelling healthy relationships, we would like to invite dads to take your daughter on a Date with Dad and have the opportunity to affirm and celebrate her milestone and journey to becoming a confident young woman! Save the Date and find out more at www.family.org.sg/DateWithDad. Saturday, 11 November 2023 | 2-5 pm Hilton Singapore Orchard--If you have enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcast or Podchaser. It'll be very helpful for others to find our podcast. You can also help us by copying this link www.family.org.sg/parentedpodcast to share with your friends.You can also support us by giving monthly. We appreciate your generous giving as every dollar helps to sustain our efforts in strengthening families. Do note that if you are based in Singapore, one-time gifts above SGD$50 or monthly donations above SGD$10 are eligible for 250% tax-deductible benefits.

Eighteen-year-old Oona Johnstone Laurette of Sydney was invited to present a youth perspective during a panel discussion at the Unifor Atlantic Regional Council in Moncton

We take a deep dive into the mayor of Oakland's proposed budget, a day after the Oakland City Council had its first meeting about the current budget cycle. The city is facing a $300 million dollar deficit and every department has been cut – except for the police. We are joined by Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland's poet laureate and a multi-hyphenated artist, actress, producing director, playwright, poet, dramaturg, performance consultant, educator, and community advocate; we're also joined by James Burch, Deputy Director for the Anti Police-Terror Project, an organization that seeks to end police violence in Black and Brown communities; and lastly, we speak with Kijani Edwards, the Oakland Director of The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action, a grassroots, member-led, statewide community organization working with more than 15,000 members across California. All three are members of the People's Budget Coalition. Then we go to the US South to get updates from regional grassroots organizer Marquell Bridges on the latest in killings by police officers throughout the region. Our Resistance in Residence Artist this week is writer, poet, educator, and Executive Director of Youth Speaks, Michelle “Mush” Lee. Learn more about Youth Speaks: https://youthspeaks.org/ —- Subscribe to this podcast: https://plinkhq.com/i/1637968343?to=page Get in touch: lawanddisorder@kpfa.org Follow us on socials @LawAndDis: https://twitter.com/LawAndDis; https://www.instagram.com/lawanddis/ The post Oakland Mayor's Budget Maintains Police Funding Amid Major Deficit w/ Ayodele Nzinga, James Burch & Kijani Edwards appeared first on KPFA.

The mission of law & disorder is to expose, agitate and build a new world where all of us can thrive. But how do we get there? How do we build a world many of us have only seen in our dreams? That's where we believe the artists come in. So, each week we feature an artist, holding down a weekly residency with us, helping us to imagine a different, more liberated world. This week's Resistance in Residence Artist is writer, poet, educator, and Executive Director of Youth Speaks, Michelle “Mush” Lee. Learn more about Youth Speaks here: http://youthspeaks.org/ —- Subscribe to this podcast: https://plinkhq.com/i/1637968343?to=page Get in touch: lawanddisorder@kpfa.org Follow us on socials @LawAndDis: https://twitter.com/LawAndDis; https://www.instagram.com/lawanddis/ The post Resistance in Residence Artist: Michelle ‘Mush' Lee appeared first on KPFA.

"We wanna incentivize and give board love too. I think the board is often like the scary people or viewed as the scary people behind the curtains that are doing the work or maybe overseeing or assessing” - Michelle “Mush” Lee, Youth SpeaksOur first episode of the special series titled "Insights for Building Your Nonprofit Arts and Culture Board" features these three exceptional nonprofit arts and culture leaders, doing big ambitious things with their Boards:• Michelle "Mush" Lee, Executive Director, Youth Speaks• Julie Phelps, Executive Director, Counterpulse• Meredith Suttles, Managing Director/CEO,Marin Theatre CompanyIn addition, this episode also features Jay Mitchell, professor of law and the founding director of the Organizations and Transactions Clinic at Stanford Law School who shares his expert insights and advice on the best practices of nonprofit governance and my co-host Paula Arrigoni the Executive Director of BAVC MediaTo find out more information about our guests and their respective organization's programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit their websites for Youth Speaks go to youth speaks dot org for Counter Pulse go to counterpulse dot org for Marin Theater go to marin theatre dot org and for the Organizations and Transactions Clinic at Stanford Law School go to law dot stanford dot eduWe hope that you enjoyed episode one of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event that will be focused on audience development through exploring new and different business models that have come out of the pandemic. Our next community dialogue will be streamed as well as you can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends at BAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live showPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one.

“Human rights are held by all persons equally, universally and forever.Human rights are the basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity.These rights are inalienable. This means you cannot lose these rights just as you cannot cease to be a human.“                                                                                                                                          - The World As It Could Be In this episode, we learn from Sandy Sohcot and Ellen Sebastian Chang of The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program. We also learn about a collaboration between TWAICB and Talaterra that will help environmental professionals from diverse fields advance their work within a human rights framework.What circumstances led to the creation of The World As It Could Be?How do Sandy and Ellen introduce people to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?How have they strengthened the relationship between community members and law enforcement?How is The World As It Could Be and Talaterra collaborating to help environmental professionals view their environmental work through a human rights framework?These questions will be answered in this episode.We begin with Sandy explaining how The World As It Could Be, got its start.(A quick note to our regular listeners. This episode is a little longer than our usual episode.)LINKSThe World As It Could Be (TWAICB)TWAICB FacebookTWAICB Instagram (@TWAICB)TWAICB LinkedInJoin TWAICB Email ListAlameda County Deputy Sheriffs Activities League (DSAL)Rex FoundationRegister for Amplify Your Practice for People and the Planet (begins January 19, 2023). Join Sandy Sohcot and Ellen Sebastian Change of The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program to amplify the impact of your environmental education practice.In this workshop, you'll consider your educational objectives and the impact your programs have on people and the planet. You will engage in conversation about the fundamental purpose of environmental education and reflect on how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights connects with your practice and environmental education overall.Pre-enroll yourself (pre-enrollment ends January 1, 2023)Pre-enroll yourself and a colleague (pre-enrollment ends January 1, 2023)(Note: Regular Registration begins on January 2, 2023. Check back here for links on January 2.)___________________________________________ABOUT SANDY SOHCOTDirector and originator of The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program. Sandy holds a California Lifetime Teaching Credential. In July 2001, Sandy became Executive Director of the Rex Foundation and served as in that capacity through 2013, to help renew the Foundation in the absence of direct Grateful Dead concert funding. In 2006, as part of her work, Sandy developed The World As It Could Be initiative to raise awareness about the human rights framework. The initial work evolved to become a full program with curriculum that includes the creative arts as a vital part of teaching about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since January 2014, Sandy has been Director of TWAICB, now a program of the Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs' Activities League (DSAL). Sandy has been active in the small business and women's communities of San Francisco. She co-founded the Women's Leadership Alliance, and is past president of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. In July 1999, the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women honored Sandy with their Women Who Make a Difference Award. Sandy served as a Commissioner on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission 2004 – 2008.___________________________________________ABOUT ELLEN SEBASTIAN CHANG:Ellen Sebastian Chang (she/her), whose creative practice spans 45 years, is a storied figure in the performing arts, as a multi-disciplinary director (theater, opera, dance, and installation) arts educator, and lighting designer. "I create as a director, producer, writer, and teaching artist.  I began my theater practice as a lighting technician (Berkeley Stage Company) and designer. In 1981, I shifted to directing/writing/creating devised experimental performances with the premiere of Your Place is No Longer with Us which followed a ten-year-old biracial girl throughout a Victorian mansion in San Francisco.  In 1986, I was the co-founder/co-artistic director of LIFE ON THE WATER, a national and internationally known presenting and producing organization at San Francisco's Fort Mason Center. In the 21st century, with Deep Waters Dance Theater I have co-created 14 Episodes of "House/Full of Blackwomen," in 2020 episode 14 called New Chitlin Circuitry: a reparations vaudeville; “How to Fall in Love in A Brothel” interactive installation, performances and short film with Sunhui Chang and Maya Gurantz commissioned by Catherine Clark Gallery;  “A Hole In Space (Oakland Redux) created with Maya Gurantz connecting to Oakland neighborhoods via 24-hour video portal; Consulting Producer for “Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley” HBO and interviewee; “Fabulation”  by Lynne Nottage Lorraine Hansberry Theater with Margo Hall and Daveed Diggs. Lost and Found Sound with The Kitchen Sisters. Since 2006 as the ongoing Creative Director and Teaching Artist for The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program (TWAICB) I co-created curriculum and a series of successful initiatives employing the creative arts to deepen learning about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its principles. My perspective is an ongoing desire to engage creatively and collaboratively, to make works that connect us across disciplines, cultures, class, and break through our fears by challenging our learned beliefs. I have collaborated with and directed the works of KITKA, Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Eisa Davis, Youth Speaks, Holly Hughes, Word for Word, Center for Digital Story Telling, Fauxnique, Magic Theater, Lorraine Hansberry Theater, The Kitchen Sisters, Bill Talen, Anne Galjour, Felonious with One Ring Zero, Robert Karimi and George Coates Performance Works."Between 2013-2017, she was the co-owner and events planner for the award-winning West Oakland restaurant FuseBOX, with co-owner and Chef Sunhui Chang.She is currently serving as Resident Owner and Board Member for East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative/Advisor for Esther's Orbit Room Project/Artist Housing.She is a recipient of awards and grants from Creative Capital, MAP Fund, A Blade of Grass Fellowship in Social Engagement, Art Matters, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, NEA,  MAP Fund, Creative Work Fund, California Arts Council, Sam Mazza Foundation and Zellerbach Family Community Arts Fund.Diversity and Social/Human Justice Work through the Arts with Ellen Sebastian ChangFishing Lessons, a digital storytelling project in collaboration with StoryCenter MUSIC:So Far So Close by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License.

It's Friday, October 21st, A.D. 2022. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. By Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) Chinese Christian fined $20,850 for “Unauthorized religious training” On September 13, the Chinese Communist Party fined a Christian man named Ji Chun'gang $20,850 for “carrying out religious training without authorization,” reports International Christian Concern. An announcement of the fine was published by the WeChat group “Deep Insight Press.” Chun'gang lives in Panlong District in the city of Kunming, and he allegedly conducted the religious training on June 28. The evidence presented against him by the authorities included two photos of the event, a list of participants, and the material.  These restrictions on unauthorized religious training are part of a wider effort by the Chinese government to infiltrate religious teaching in China with Chinese nationalism and socialist thought. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” British Prime Minister resigns after 44 days British Prime Minister Liz Truss dramatically admitted defeat and quit yesterday as the Parliament is gearing up for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to do 'battle for the soul' of the party, reports The Daily Mail. After just 44 disastrous days at 10 Downing Street, Truss took to a lectern outside the famous black door to confirm her departure, sealing her fate as the shortest-serving premier in modern political history. Listen. TRUSS: “I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability. Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills. Putin's illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent. And our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth. “I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this. We delivered on energy bills on cutting national insurance. And we set out a vision for a low-tax, high-growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit. “I recognize though I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King [Charles III) to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party. That will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week. I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen.” Poll: Americans think pro-abortion Democrats more extreme than pro-life Republicans A new national poll shows Americans think that pro-abortion Democrats are more extreme on abortion than pro-life Republicans, reports LifeNews.com.   The polling firm, WPA Intelligence, conducted a poll of 1,000 Americans October 6–10 and shared the results with National Review. It asked Americans to share their views on two different abortion positions: 1. “Allowing abortions up until 9 months of pregnancy for any reason,” or 2. “restricting abortions to only in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger.” As National Review reports: When asked which of the two was “more extreme,” 57 percent of respondents chose “allowing abortions up until 9 months of pregnancy for any reason,” as opposed to just 29 percent who chose “restricting abortions to only in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger.” Fourteen percent said they were unsure which of the two positions was more extreme. The Worldview thinks the 14%, who are apparently clueless, forgot to eat their Wheaties that morning. Former transgender youth speaks out And finally, a group of de-transitioners spoke at a recent school board meeting in Ventura, California amid concerns about public schools exposing students to gender ideology. They warn that such content increases the likelihood that minors will rush to embrace “irreversible” decisions to their long-term detriment, reports The Christian Post. Three young adults, who formerly identified as trans, spoke out last week. One of them was Chloe Cole, an 18-year-old biological woman who has launched a support group for individuals who have come to regret undergoing gender transitions called Detrans United.  Listen to her testimony. COLE: “I hit puberty at nine years old and I hated my developing breasts. I would get comments on my body, both from peers and adults, some of which were sexual in nature. I hated growing into a woman. I decided that I wanted to become a boy. And I chose the new name for myself, Leo. I cut my hair shorter, and I began to buy boy's clothes. “My parents were supportive, but they weren't sure what to do with me. So, they sought the help of medical professionals who manipulated them into allowing me to do whatever I wanted to do to myself.” Chloe Cole shared the devastating consequences of going down the transgender path. COLE: “I went on puberty blockers at 13, and I started injecting testosterone shortly after. I was 15 years old when I went under the knife for my ‘top surgery,' which really means a bilateral mastectomy in which both of my breasts were removed. Very quickly, I was given what I wanted, but it was far from what I needed! “So, years later, I'm still suffering from major complications. I will not be able to breastfeed any children I have in the future, and my sexuality has permanently been impacted because I was allowed to make adult decisions, starting at 13 and then again at 15.” And Chloe Cole offered these sobering insights before the Ventura, California school board. COLE: “This is what happens when children are sexualized and exposed to developmentally inappropriate and confusing content and ideas from a young age. This is what happens when we treat children like adults and expect them to have the mental faculties for proper long-term decision making. You are placing children in direct harm. Children deserve better!” (applause) Cole indicated on her Twitter account that the distribution of a book entitled Call Me Max introducing 8-year-olds to the word “transgender” -- without parental consent -- was the primary reason she decided to call into the school board meeting. Chloe is right to call out the fools on the California school board for allowing the tragic transgender indoctrination of impressionable children to think it is morally acceptable and biologically sensible to ruin their God-given design. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, October 21st, in the year of our Lord 2022. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

A native of Oakland, California, Leila Mottley uses her writing as a tool to call for social justice reform and advocate for victims of sexual violence. Her acclaimed poetry has appeared in Oprah Daily and The New York Times, and her incandescent debut novel Nightcrawling was selected by Oprah Winfrey for her 2022 Book Club, making Mottley - who is 20 - the club's youngest author ever. Inspired by true stories of the exploitation of young women by police departments in the United States, including a 2015 case in Oakland and its subsequent cover-up, the book has earned widespread acclaim. “Leila Mottley's writing erupts and flows like lava,” writes Tommy Orange, “makes hot bright an Oakland that runs the city's uncontrollable brilliance… Nightcrawling bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole.” On October 6, 2022, Leila Mottley came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Michelle Lee. The program was a co-presentation with Youth Speaks.

Hey hey everybody, and welcome to another episode of "TRU CHAT"...A Community Podcast, a MejIMusyK Production. I am your host JoY of JoYful SoundZ, and this is episode 4 of season 7. In this episode you will hear the youth of AJ2M at Sherwood Park located in Englewood, Chicago. Be sure to tune in next week for part 3 of Youth Speaks with TRU CHAT and AJ2M's Limbolm Park program youth. Thank you to my monthly supporter. I truly appreciate you :)!! I am your host JoY of JoYful SoundZ signing off and out...Peeeaaaccce!! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mejimusyk/support

Today we are excited to share an except of the opening plenary titled, “Artist as Model for the New Socioeconomic Normal.” In this portion of session, Christy Bolingbroke, our Executive / Artistic Director is in conversation with Washington DC-based performer, poet, director, and arts administrator, Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Bamuthi is a 2017 TED Global Fellow, an inaugural recipient of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative, and an honoree of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship. While engaging in a deeply fulfilling and successful artistic career, Bamuthi also proudly serves as Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. He is in high demand for his creative approach to organizational design, brand development, and community mediation, and has been enlisted as a strategic partner or consultant for companies ranging from Coca Cola to Carnegie Hall. Bamuthi is the founding Program Director of the exemplary non-profit Youth Speaks, and is a co-founder of Life is Living, a national series of one-day festivals which activate under-resourced parks and affirm peaceful urban life.  

S2, Ep 18: A new series! In addition to The Youth Speaks, Three part discussions and Film reviews, I shall be doing book club episodes where I analyse and discuss in depth a novel. I will also analyse a film adaptation of it if I so desire to. In this episode (episode 18, season 2), I will be discussing both the book (the well-established censored version), loosely mentioning the uncensored version and the 2009 Doran Gray adaptation starring Ben Barnes. Lastly, (SPOILER) I wanted to say that the end of this book truly left me gasping (because I also foolishly believed it would end the curse, not kill him) and I would rate the novel an 8/10 despite its horrible pacing because it is worth it at the end and pacing after Chapter 11 is such a breath of fresh air because the plot thickens and the rest of book becomes more plot heavy and better paced in still a meaningful way. The novel scratched the hard-to-reach parts of my brain and blew my mind. The only other book that has come close was Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman, but that book merely touched my brain. The film gets a 6/10 though. Dorian was also a lot more heartless in the film without his internal dialogue, which didn't help. Also, I tried to speak more clearly this time while recording the episode so let me know if you hear an improvement. Recorded Wednesday, 3rd August 2022.

Brodie throws an unforgettable party to honor his lost friends with money from the survivors' fund; Brodie and Noah disagree; Ruthie lies to Shar again; Judy struggles to connect with Mingus. - IMDBAdditional topics covered in this episode:Youth Speaks https://youthspeaks.org/Buffy the Vampire Slayergay conversion therapyGhost Ship Tragedy in Oakland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Ship_warehouse_fireFruitvaleHouse of the Rising Sun

With support from 4Culture and Seattle Children's, C89.5 fm presents Coping 101: WRITING w/ Ezra Conklin - part of a student-hosted series capturing Artist Mental Health Stories. Listen and learn as Seattle-based writer and poet Ezra Conklin discusses writing as a Self Care practice, and how it can foster expression, affirm identity and galvanize community.   With experience as a member of Youth Speaks and coordinating Youth Arts programs for Gay City, Ezra shares insights on slam poetry, the healing power of journaling, herbalism, and using writing to build community health and wellness.    Coping 101's Artist Mental Health Stories amplify voices from King County's cultural sector to empower individual artists, uplift the creative community and destigmatize mental health from a teen's perspective. No matter our age or background we all face challenges, and along with the art of Writing there are many healthy ways to find balance. Get started with more episodes and vital resources hosted at c895.org/coping101 Ezra's "In This Vessel" self care zine: https://inthisvesselzine.tumblr.com/ more about 4Culture: 4culture.org

Mary and Wyatt are pleased as punch to welcome Hollis Wong-Wear to the pod. Hollis is a songwriter, musician, speaker, creative generator and community advocate who lives between Los Angeles and Seattle, WA. She is the lead vocalist of the electronic R&B trio The Flavr Blue, and was GRAMMY nominated in 2014 for her work with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.With her roots in spoken word and slam poetry through the nationally recognized Youth Speaks program, Hollis is passionate about how creativity and the arts fuel and shape civic discourse, and is dedicated to lending her voice and capacities towards vibrant social equity.Hollis has been a featured speaker at conferences, conventions and speaker series, sharing her spoken word poetry and her candid insights on her experience as an independent artist and engaged activist. She has performed and spoken for an array of organizations and schools, including KEXP, WrapWomen, Planned Parenthood, University of Washington, YWCA and the Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute, has been featured by TedX University of Washington, and has presented alongside such luminaries as Gloria Steinem, Kimberle Crenshaw and Eve Ensler. A native of the Bay Area, Hollis graduated from Seattle University with a major in History and a minor in Global African Studies, and was recently named the recipient of Seattle University's 2016 Outstanding Recent Alumna Award.  She is a Google Next Gen Policy Leader, an alumna of the Hedgebrook Residency, and is a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow. Hollis has been appointed to several boards and commissions, including the Board of Directors for 4Culture and the Seattle Center Advisory Commission, and is currently an ad-hoc commissioner on the Seattle Music Commission.Hollis, Mary, and Wyatt talk about friendship, community, and solidarity in a brief but lovely chat. They discuss the perils of social media, especially for artists in the early stages of their careers, and how Hollis and Mary inspired each other when they first met. Also on the agenda: Mary's stinky ballet flats, furniture made of silly putty, and poems by Jon Pineda and Aya Alzubaidy. 

From the archives, MLK Jr. Special Programming 2009 and 2021. Visit wandaspicks.com for 2022 Dr. King events.    1. We begin this morning in conversation with Charles Curtis Blackwell, poet, playwright, artivist, subject of film: "God Given Talent" and Rev. Clarence Johnson, a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, join us to talk about the legacy of Dr. MLK Jr. who would have been 92 in 2021.    2. We speak to Marcus Shelby, who is participated in the MLK Music Tribute in 2009. He premiered an excerpt of a new work honoring Martin King. Ms. Faye Carol, featured in Marcus' new work, joined the musician/composer in the studio and then stayed on when Melanie DeMore joined us. We had a fun conversation, so much so, I could barely get a word in to welcome Clifford Brown Jr., into the studio. The three then had a great time conversing until Ms. Carol had to sign off. Okay, I am trying to let out my breath...whew!    3. Miko Marks and Kev Choice came into the studio after this segment, to talk about their work, Miko as a country western singer, and Kev as a rap artist whose work seeks to uplift the community, his listeners. They both performed, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009, 8 PM, at the Oaktown Jazz Workshop fundraiser at Yoshi's in Jack London Square in Oakland.    4. We close with a conversation with Hodari B. Davis and Mike Turner. Mike is a student at Encinal High School, and Hodari is director of National Initiatives for Youth Speaks.   

COVID-19 continues to change everything - including the New Year's resolutions people place upon themselves. Young Filipinos share how the virus affects their goals for the coming year.

HighlightsIntroduction | Callie Chamberlain kicks off the episode with some background on health literacy – the ability of patients to access, understand and use medical information to make health care decisions.1:57 Interview: Lambert van der Walde | Lambert van der Walde, who lead the publication of the UnitedHealth Group health literacy research brief, discusses the difference between individual and organizational health literacy, and how organizations and providers can communicate more effectively. 17:40 Interview: Dr. Dean Schillinger | Dr. Dean Schillinger covers the idea of health literacy at a population, rather than individual or organizational, level. The discussion then moves to his advocacy work in programs like Youth Speaks and The Bigger Picture. 40:44 Conclusion| Callie summarizes key learnings and concludes the episode. ResourcesJust Plain Clear glossaryUnitedHealth Group health literacy research briefUCSF Center for Vulnerable PopulationsCDC health literacy website Guests: Lambert van der Walde, SVP & Executive Director, Center for Health Care Research at UnitedHealth GroupDr. Dean Schillinger, Director, UCSF Health Communications Research Program, Center for Vulnerable Populations, San Francisco General Hospital  The views, opinions, and content expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of Optum.Visit optum.com for more information about how Optum is helping to create a healthier world.  

September 5, 2021--Three college students from Mendocino County discuss the Three C's- Covid, Climate Change, and College. Insightful and entertaining.

In this episdoe of our Youth Speaks series, Anytown alumni, Mikayla and Isabel discuss Anytown, what they learned, and why they recommend it for other high school students in the Miami Valley.

In this episode, Natalee talks with Makayla about race, privilege, and gender. This is a youth led, created, and recorded episode. 

We had the pleasure of interviewing Hollis over Zoom video! Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/producer Hollis (full name Hollis Wong-Wear) announces ‘Subliminal,' her debut solo album out this fall. The forthcoming record was recorded during the pandemic shutdown, with artistic collaborations held over Zoom.The new single “Less Like,” produced by producer/recording artist Sweater Beats (Lizzo, Panic! At the Disco) is out today. The slick alt-pop track, reminiscent of a Clairio song, showcases Hollis' “hypnotic” (Billboard) vocals.  The video for “Less Like” sees Hollis sporting eccentric 70s style dresses and jumpsuits as she traverses through flamboyantly colorful shape-shifting scenes. Shot and directed by Hollis' close friend, frequent collaborator, and recording artist KO aka Koala, the visual was created by a team of queer and POC women, continuing Hollis' tradition of collaborating with underrepresented talent.Hollis, who added “recording engineer” to her resume with ‘Subliminal,' teamed up with Macklemore collaborator Ryan Lewis as co-writer on her upcoming single “Let Me Not” (Hollis earned a 2014 Grammy nomination for her work on Macklemore and Lewis' The Heist, including vocals and songwriting for their hit “White Walls” and video production for “Thrift Shop” and “Wings”). Single “Grace Lee” is a moving, introspective tribute to the late Chinese-American social activist Grace Lee Boggs and features writing credits from Hollis' frequent collaborator and live accompanist Chucky Kim. Community support, equality, and grassroots mobilization drive many of Hollis' initiatives. The tour concept for her February 2020 EP half-life, “Hollis Does Brunch,” was designed to unite artists, small business owners, and organizers in person; during the pandemic, she pivoted to live-streamed Sunday gatherings. The series raised close to $30,000 for COVID mutual aid, Black-led organizing, and community causes, leading the Seattle Times to call it “an unexpected grassroots fundraiser.”Hollis' early days as a teen slam poet and spoken word artist — along with inspiration from Seattle's grassroots hip hop scene and its intersection with social justice — laid the groundwork for her ongoing appearances as a speaker and moderator. Hollis speaks on topics such as empowered creativity and independent artistry. She is a host and writer for Breaking Down the Biz with Splice (“What is Music Copyright?”) and the lead producer of Take Creative Control: The Series, a program that features artists of color and their personal and professional stories as it relates to intellectual property law. She is also a co-curator of Bravespace, a compilation of Asian American recording artists and composers presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, due for release this fall (and including Hollis' track “Subliminal”). About Hollis Wong-Wear:Hollis is a modern-day Renaissance woman: recording artist, vocalist, songwriter, creative producer, and community advocate. With her roots in spoken word and slam poetry through the nationally recognized Youth Speaks program, Hollis is passionate about how creativity and the arts fuel and shape civic discourse and is dedicated to lending her voice and capacities towards vibrant social equity. Known best for her collaborations with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ("White Walls," for which she was Grammy-nominated), Shawn Wasabi ("Otter Pop") and her band The Flavr Blue, Hollis' solo music -- which she calls existential alt or "sad girl jams" -- showcases her singular voice and rich, daring lyricism. Her debut solo EP half-life was released in February 2020; her self-directed video for her single "All My Weight" premiered on Billboard, and she was named one of Pigeons & Planes' Best New Artists 2020 upon its release. Originally from the Bay Area, Hollis Wong-Wear emerged from the independent hip hop scene in Seattle and has become an in-demand songwriter in her current home of Los Angeles. Alongside her music, Hollis is an impassioned advocate for empowered creativity, a Google Next Gen Policy Leader, and is a frequent featured speaker on the intersection of art, activism, and creators' rights.We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com.www.BringinitBackwards.com#podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #Hollis #HollisWearWong #Mackelmore #zoom #aspn #americansongwriter #americansongwriterpodcastnetworkListen & Subscribe to BiBFollow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! 

Tia King (she/they) is a 20 year old musician, creative writer, and teaching artist hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. She is an Atlanta Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador an well as Youth Speaks' 2018 MC Olympian, as awarded to her by Brave New Voices International Festival and Poetry Slam. Her work has been published by VOX Teen Communications and in Oglethorpe University's “The Tower.” In her Hometown, Tia continues to amplify inner city youth voices as Atlanta Word Works' lead facilitator and collective coach. Guest: Tia King SORENLIT Podcast Host and Founding Editor- Melodie J. Rodgers www.sorenlit.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/melodie-rodgers/message

Threshold Questions and Delicious QuotesHow do you describe your work in the world? I often refer to myself as a midwife of creativity... I think of it in my dual roles as an educator and artist, as holding space for the birth of someone else's creative thinking and inquiry. And so I liked that idea that, if something goes wrong here I am to hold the space.What is happening when young people catch fire in a performance? ..students, who have been marginalized or failing their other subject matters-- suddenly if they're center stage ... performing with brilliance it's a way for even other teachers to have an asset-based understanding of them, to really see them for them, their true selves.What is the art of teaching? The art of teaching ... is really this transmission of wisdom, right? If we look at human history, we're talking about a very different frame than the last hundred years of what education is and how we pass on ethics and values and cultures and art forms through education. Those were the primary ...tools for survival and somehow all of that seems a bit out the window with our Industrialized education frame.What makes Studio Pathways unique? One of the reasons we left the county office of education was to focus on the concept of reconciliation or reckoning. So taking it from, south African truth and reconciliation --- the knowledge that we really haven't had a practice of reconciliation this country, that's why we're facing what we're facing right now....Educators need to be able to do power analysis in the classroom. They need to understand what's happening between teacher and students, between genders and races, and they need to understand what that means and how that plays out and then their own role in either disrupting or perpetuating that.So that's a real key....And the way that we do it is through the arts. Jessa Brie Moreno is Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director for Studio Pathways and has collaborated as a pedagogical advisor, instructional designer, and facilitator for leading-edge arts organizations and educational institutions nationwide. Studio Pathways' projects, partners, and clients include: Rise Up! An American Curriculum, The Kennedy Center, Turnaround Arts National, Othering and Belonging Curriculum for UC Berkeley's Othering and Belonging Institute, Racial Healing Curriculum/WKKF Foundation, Instructional Designers/Zaretta Hammond, Favianna Rodriguez' The Center for Cultural Power, the California Spoken Word Project, Turnaround Arts National CA, California Alliance for Arts Education, Hewlett Foundation, Los Angeles Education Partners, Youth Speaks, Youth In Arts, Museum of the African Diaspora, Oakland Museum of California, and County, District and School Sites.  In addition, Moreno has held posts as Adjunct Faculty with the California Institute for Integral Studies (BA, MFA programs) and San Jose State University (Theatre Dept.) is a founding member of White Educators for Racial Justice (WERJ) and has facilitated with RISE for Racial Justice. Moreno (alongside Rankine-Landers) formerly co-led the Integrated Learning Specialists' Program, professional development in and beyond Alameda County that supported transformative K-12 school change through the arts. Moreno served the California Alliance for Arts Education as a Local Advocacy Field Manager building community leadership networks for Arts Advocacy statewide. She was the founding director of both the Oakland Theatre Arts Initiative and of award-winning student theatre company OakTechRep. Jessa's directorial work has appeared in collaborations with CalShakes, Stanford, UC Davis, and in Edinburgh, Scotland. Professional Awards as a performing artist include an Emmy (Motion Capture Specialist), Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Dean Goodman, and Shellie Best Actress Awards. Moreno utilizes a stance of "creative midwifery" to assist in the ethical "birth" of transformative practices in education, arts, and culture. She... Support this podcast

Troy Osaki's project for the 2020 Jack Straw Writers Program is a chapbook manuscript of poems that he began writing after visiting the Philippines for the first time in 2017. In his conversation with curator Anastacia-Renée, they discuss poetry's ability to create social change, his history with Youth Speaks, and cultural and familial connections. “I […]

In season one of Youth Speaks, teenagers from Hampden County Massachusetts share their perspectives on modern social justice issues, how their lives have been directly and indirectly affected by them, and what members of their community could do to make positive change.

May 2, 2021--Jayma Shields Spence hosts this month's edition of Youth Speaks Out! Introduced and produced by Dan Roberts, Jayma talks with her colleagues in Laytonville's schools about their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. The interviews include a teacher, and school psychologist, a student and a school principal.

In honor of April being National Poetry Month, this episode of Beyond28 explores the influence of poetry and spoken word on Black culture in the Bay Area through four unique stories. Host Marc J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated is joined by members and directors of Youth Speaks, a local Bay Area poetry and arts organization (4:25); Ralph Walker, the head of security of the Golden State Warriors (09:51); and Imani Cezanne, the 2020 Women of the World Poetry Slam champion (14:26). At the end of the show, Marc takes the listeners back to April 12, 1945, to revisit Billie Holiday's performance of her timeless and impactful ballad “Strange Fruit” at the Geary Theater in San Francisco (24:22) where we speak with Bay Area jazz historian Marcus Shelby to dissect the impact of this historical period (27:26). Go to warriors.com/beyond28 to continue the conversation and learn more.

In light of the Filipino food month, let us unpack the opinions and experiences of some of our youth with regards to Pinoy food.

01:55 - Corey’s Superpower: Empathy * Finding Voice: You Are Not a Statistic * What does it mean to support Black lives? * Authentic Self * Having Conversations Around Allyship * Owning Vulnerability 09:06 - Having People Hear Your Stories * “How are you doing?” * “Me Too” Movement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement) – learned something about self and blind spots in the process and the feedback was helpful 13:01 - Allyship Best Practices * Growth Mindset * Trusted Sidekicks; Augmenting Journies * Invisible Knapsack: How to recognize your white privilege — and use it to fight inequality (https://www.ted.com/talks/peggy_mcintosh_how_to_recognize_your_white_privilege_and_use_it_to_fight_inequality/transcript?language=en) (Peggy McIntosh) 19:04 - Developing Empathy * Watch Hamilton! When it comes to leadership, Aaron Burr was right — “Talk less, smile more” (https://medium.com/@mkvolm/when-it-comes-to-leadership-aaron-burr-was-right-talk-less-smile-more-bf1e18dbac7a) (Being Able to Hear vs Being Able to Listen) * Deep Canvassing – How to talk someone out of bigotry: These scientists keep proving that reducing prejudice is possible. It’s just not easy. (https://www.vox.com/2020/1/29/21065620/broockman-kalla-deep-canvassing) * Google Assistant Research; Inclusive Design * Empathy Mapping (From UX Design) – Building For Everyone: Expand Your Market With Design Practices From Google's Product Inclusion Team (https://www.amazon.com/Building-Everyone-Practices-Googles-Inclusion/dp/1119646227) * Empathy Can Combat Mis/Disinformation * Fearing What We Don’t Understand: Nas - Hate Me Now ft. Puff Daddy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKSJN3WWR3E) (song) | Lyrics (https://www.google.com/search?q=nas+you+can+hate+me+now&oq=nas+you+can+hate+me+now&aqs=chrome..69i57j46j0l3j0i22i30.4277j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#wptab=s:H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLRT9c3LDYwLalINit6xOjJLfDyxz1hKYdJa05eY7Ti4grOyC93zSvJLKkU0uFig7KUuASkUDRqMEjxcaGI8Oxi0ktJTUsszSmJL0lMsspOttLPLS3OTNYvSk3OL0rJzEuPT84pLS5JLbLKqSzKTC5exCqUkViSqpCbqpCXX64AEQQAMkDXN6IAAAA) * Active Processing (psychology) (https://study.com/academy/answer/what-is-active-processing-in-cognitive-psychology.html) 36:03 - Using Tech + Policy For Good * Educating & Empowering People Online * Company and Community Values * Pipeline Investment and Early Exposure * Diversifying the Tech Policy Space / Manifestos? * Algorithmic Justice League (https://www.ajl.org/) * Virility * Clubhouse Is Worth $1 Billion Off the Backs of Black Folks. Now What? (https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/clubhouse-is-worth-1-billion-off-the-backs-of-black-fo-1846190868) Reflections: Arty: Centering around empowerment + asking, “How ARE you?” with the intention of listening. Chanté: We can’t outsource empathy. Corey: How the model of technology has shifted away from interest-based to follower-based and influencing. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode) To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Transcript: ARTY: Hi, everyone. Welcome to Episode 230 of Greater Than Code. I am Artemis Starr and I'm here with my fabulous co-host, Chanté Thurmond. CHANTÉ: Hey, everyone and I had the great pleasure of introducing our guest of honor today, Corey Ponder. Welcome, Corey. COREY: Thank you. Thank you. Glad to be here. CHANTÉ: We're so glad to have you. If you don't mind, I'd love to read your bio so everyone knows who you are. COREY: Sounds great. CHANTÉ: Corey has over 10 years of work experience, he has had several roles across two industries and has also served in community organizations and nonprofits. At the core of each of these experiences is a passionate commitment to building community and developing people and programs. Corey most recently worked at Google serving as a senior policy advisor focused on privacy, advising product teams on best practices and approaches to inspire user trust. He also owns and manages his own business, em|PACT Strategies, a consulting firm that helps organizations build inclusive communities by prioritizing empathy as a skillset. Corey serves on boards of InnovatorsBox, a firm focused on creativity, and Youth Speaks, a nonprofit focused on youth arts and education. Great background. Corey, did we forget anything else? COREY: Well, I have to just because I am a lifetime SEC, Southeastern Conference, person, that I have to shout out Vanderbilt University, where I went for undergrad and then also, because I'm in California, I have to shout out University of California, Berkeley, where I went for my Master's in public policy. So those two things I would add. CHANTÉ: Those are great institutions for education. So good. Let's start off with the first question that we give everyone and that is: what is your superpower and how did you acquire it? COREY: Yes. I love this question. It gives me a chance to really nerd out. So I would say the first thing that comes up for me is empathy. When I think about empathy, I think about how superheroes, oftentimes exhibit qualities around being empathetic that we might look at as healing abilities, or the ability to regenerate themselves, or regenerate others, the stamina, or the fortitude, last, or survive in a space where there's a lot of things attacking them mentally and emotionally and able to persevere in spite of all of that. So I would say empathy is definitely the superpower that I have. I think when I step into spaces, I'm always thinking about what can I do to make other people feel more welcome, or feel more authentically themselves, which I feel like is the healing part. I feel like the regeneration piece is often me putting myself into positions where I don't like conflict, or seek it out, but I definitely feel like I put myself into spaces where I'm like, I want to support you and it might come at some risk to me, but I think I can bounce back from this. And then the stamina piece. I mean, none of this work, showing up for others even is not just a one-time thing and so, the consistency piece, I think, is something that I've really over time become more comfortable with just knowing that things might be protracted. People might need you for long periods of time and I'm here for it. CHANTÉ: So you said a few things here that really, I think, demonstrate the skillset for somebody who is in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space and I will bet that you probably didn't see that 10 years ago, or whenever you started down this journey. So if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to know how you got to this space now and I'll also add in, before you answer that question, that a lot of folks, BIPOC folks like us, we know what it's like to be othered. We know what it's like to be excluded. So I know for myself, I'm in the DEI space, but I'm just really curious. I did peek at your background, but just for folks who haven't or who don't have those quick fingers right now, they just want to hear your background, walk us through how you got here. COREY: Yeah, absolutely. So there are two inflection points. The first is I am a Black man so there are moments that I think about as a part of my growth as a Black boy and feeling like I had to grow up very fast to be taken seriously in whatever space that I was interested in to see the world from a perspective of hey, you really have to make sure that you're showing up and representing the person that you want to be because people will quickly ascribe something to you. This was a conversation that was permeating all around me so that when I got to college, there was an inflection point. The first one where I remember I was like, “I want to be a biologist and I might also go to medical school.” When I took lab for the first time, it was a moment where I realized like, oh man, despite all of the things that I have done, all of the things that are within my control, I studied hard. I was getting great grades. I was just woefully unprepared for that space of even just being in a lab and doing a titration. I was like, “What the heck is a titration? What is an Erlenmeyer flask?” I realized that in a lot of ways it was because I didn't have access to the resources, or the conversations, or nobody had even told me that I could do those things. I wasn't seen as somebody that could do those things and so it's like, I didn't know what I didn't know and I think that I really started doubting in many ways from that moment who I could be, what I felt like I needed to thrive in the spaces, what I felt like I was capable of in these spaces. It took me throughout college—great relationships and friendships, but also investment and resources around me to really find that voice that said, “Hey, actually, here's your story,” You're not this other narrative, this person that can't do it and you're not a statistic in a sense of a Black man that is x as opposed to a successful Black man. That was the first inflection point for me. Then I think the second was just having been at this point, maybe like 6, or 7 years working. I was at a moment at Facebook actually, where there was an increased conversation around what does it mean to support Black lives? Why are people talking about Black Lives Matter? In particular, during 2015, 2016, I forget specifically when, but Philando Castile and Alton Sterling were two Black men who were killed by police officers in different instances, in different cities, in different places, but within the same week. It was one of the first times that from a technology perspective, we were discussing this in an international way because it had been captured on Facebook Live. So there was this conversation around who are we as a part of this broader conversation? It was the second inflection point because it reminded me that was man, I am a Black man so even as I've done all of these things, I've been in careers, I've had these jobs and these opportunities where I've done things that I can be proud of, I'm still walking into this space the next day, after hearing about these instances and really feeling like I'm carrying something that I don't know how to speak to. I don't know how – I've never really talked to anybody about how it impacts the way that I am showing up in this space. So from there, I just made the commitment where I said, “I'm going to start trying to be more authentically myself. I'm going to start talking about all the parts of me that make me who I am.” I didn't have a plan for it; I just knew that I wanted to have those conversations. The interesting thing was I started having those conversations and people naturally, after I would talk to people, would say, “Well, what's next? What can I do to support you?” It really just made me think about the broader conversation around allyship. There's a broader conversation around what does it actually mean to show up for somebody and then I realized retroactively that there have been many examples, not only in my life, that people who have shown up for me that now I can pinpoint and look at as case studies, as data points, but also that I have naturally gravitated to doing that because of what I said earlier about the superpower of empathy. It has been something that I had always valued, even if I didn't know what it was, or what I was doing, or what it meant, but it was really important for me to see other people's stories because I knew how important it was for people to see mine. So those two inflection points really shaped how I viewed diversity, equity, and inclusion in my role, in the broader conversation. One, my own vulnerability with myself, but also two, how valuable it is to have people hear your story and validate who you are and your experience and how it's a part of a whole and how they see you. CHANTÉ: Yeah. ARTY: With stories like you mentioned being able to have this experience where you really understood what it meant to show up for someone. COREY: Yeah, absolutely. I'll give two stories. One was actually when someone showed up for me and I remember it was my boss actually shortly after the conversations, or at least what I mentioned earlier about Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. I just was having a really rough, it was a rough day. I mean, I was trying to show up business as usual was very much like, well, I have a job, I have meetings I have to go, and my boss asked me, “How are you doing?” That's a question you hear maybe a hundred times a day and it's also a question that feels like a rhetorical. I mean, you're supposed to say, “Good,” and keep it moving. I said that, but she really stopped me, told me like, “Hey, I'm asking because I really want to know and I have time. How are you doing?” I think just in that simple moment of making the space, creating an avenue for me to actually express a real truth, it just made me feel like wow, you didn't have to listen to my story. You didn't have to consider that I was something more than this a meeting I had to go to, or that I was more than this deliverable, or this project that I was working on. And you did. That meeting was, I, even years later, still to think about it because it was just like, wow, that meeting didn't have to happen that way. But I felt like this wasn't just my burden to bear after that question, or that conversation. The question that she asked and the conversation that followed. I think for me, showing up for others actually has been in this work—working through impact strategies and thinking through how do you actually show up as an ally. I've had a number of experiences. But in particular, there was one right around the decree, I would say the resurfacing of the Me Too movement and that conversation around sexual harassment in the workplace. There was an event, or a town hall, or an opportunity where I had a chance to really show up. I initially—and this is also a part of the failures piece—showed up to that very equally with the best of intentions and said, “Hey, what can I do to move this conversation forward?” Along the way, I remember realizing that oh man, in all of my eagerness to show up to this, I actually have silenced, or not included the voices that were probably most important to actually have this conversation. Women in particular, but also just thinking about in general, people who are survivors, or have been a victim of assault. So it was one of those moments where I took on feedback from people, some of my coworkers, colleagues, friends, I figured out a way to revamp the event, postponed the event so that I could do it the right way. And then I remember in the aftermath of that, seeing I learned something through that process about myself and also, the feedback that I received about the event afterwards was like, all right, this was a conversation where it really prompted people to think about a story that they haven’t thought about before—people who showed up to the event. Because I was helping organize it, showed up, and got something else out of it because I wasn't the only voice in the room. It was another moment where it was like, wow, this isn't necessarily my story, but I leaned in a little bit, or leaned in a lot in the beginning, learned a lot in the process about myself and even where my blind spots were within that entire process of learning in some ways helped tell a story that other people realized like, oh, wow, thanks for helping me see this narrative. CHANTÉ: That is so helpful. I feel like the times where I've had to show up as an ally and lean in to something that I didn't necessarily understand, really helped me to better articulate the needs I had as a Black identified woman, or as a Latino woman to say, “Hey, friend or colleague, you want to show up and help me. This is how you can help me,” Because I've learned from my own ouch moments like, oops, I shouldn't have done that and thankfully, somebody was gracious enough to share feedback in that moment, but many times, they're not. Do you have any best practices in terms of folks who want to show up, especially right now in this year, as an ally, they're very well-intentioned, well-meaning people, but they don't necessarily have somebody like an insider to give them the lay of the land, or to tell them where the real pain points are? COREY: Yeah, absolutely. Two things. The first thing is that to your point about the feedback, I think feedback is so critical and also, we have to recognize that for many communities, like you said, we're in the intersect. We are at the intersection of a lot of identities. I recognize that even though I am underrepresented as a Black person in many spaces, I also am in a privileged position because I'm a man. So I'm having to constantly examine those different nuances and intersections of my identity. Yet that also helps me understand that there's a lot of emotional labor in just showing up to be Black every day so, then sometimes, I might not have the energy, or might not have the capacity to give that feedback to somebody who was looking to be on their journey as an ally. The first thing that I would say is showing up for others is really, there's got to be a hunger, or a desire to actually grow and change. This idea of a growth mindset and it has to be separate from passively taking on the information, or the stories of others. I think once you have that, really having said, “I want to do this and I am motivated to do it.” Then I think the second thing is to go back to the superpower question from earlier, is I like to think about showing up for others as a trusted sidekick. So this model of thinking about you're not showing up to save the day, because that's also a lot of labor. Expecting to be the person to in the movie on a high note and be the person that walks down the aisle to get an award, or reward is not really the goal. But what it really is about is really understanding the stories of the people that you're playing in the same universe with and then figuring out what ways you can augment their journey. I think about three things that are a part of that, which is really those everyday moments. When I've had conversations through my work, oftentimes people are like, “Black lives matter. We need to March,” or “Gender equity. We need to dismantle capitalism.” It’s like, that is probably true and there are scholars out there that are speaking more deeply than I can ever speak to on that, but what about those moments that are outside of that? So you might say that Black lives matter,” and you might have the t-shirt, or you might step up in a forum and say, “Hey, I'm declaring that I believe in this cause,” but are you then actually including your coworker who was Black in the team lunches that happen every day that y'all just get together organically, but somehow that person is never on the organic chain? Or if you're thinking about gender equity and pay discrimination, that is a big thing, but also, are you actually making space and not taking up the room when you're in a meeting everyday being the person that has to get the last word, or are you making sure that everybody's opinions are on the table, including your women colleagues, or female colleagues are heard in the room? I think these are the everyday moments where we can show up as an ally. I think the second piece is thinking about these things that we have to confront about ourselves. It might be ugly or scary, but are necessary. We all have biases. We all are a product of certain privileges because we have identities that confer some amount of power to us and some type of favoritism to us. So if we're thinking about that, we have to really examine that how those show up and affect us. Peggy McIntosh wrote Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, where she did a lot of research in this space, where the idea is that we carry this around and even if we don't acknowledge it, it's still there. This idea of it might be invisible to us, but you can imagine walking into a room with a big knapsack on not realizing that every time you turn left or right, you're hitting somebody with your privilege. So I think it's important to acknowledge that we have that backpack on whether we realize it, or not and it's affecting people whether we accept it, or not. And then the third thing is taking that next step of we have the positionality. So if you're talking about supporting from your identity, or from your perspective, you have some ability to influence change. Again, even if it's at a micro level. Because I'm a man, I have some privilege in the communities and spaces that I hold. Because of I’m a man, people are going to see me a certain way so then what I talk about what I represent, what I say, what I'm willing to advocate for is going to hold a different weight, whether that's right or wrong, it's going to hold a different weight than if a woman were to ask, or advocate for the same thing. So then what can I do to use that privilege in support of what that community might actually be asking for, or want? That might take a little discomfort on my part, but I guarantee it is way less uncomfortable than underrepresented groups having to advocate for their right to be seen, or heard, or validated in spaces. So those would be three things, I think you could do in that journey. CHANTÉ: Those are awesome things. The one that really resonates for me, too is just the empathy part because I feel like that is a core skill that we're going to need for the future of work. Oftentimes, when I say that people ask me, “Well, how do I develop empathy?” I have my own answer there, but I'd love to hear yours. How do you think people can get better at working on that empathy muscle and if you have anything that's worked for you personally, or that you recommend more professionally that you've seen in the workplace? That'd be helpful. COREY: Yeah, absolutely. Two things. The first thing that came up for me is Hamilton. I feel like everybody has seen it now. If you haven't seen it, spoiler alert, there's a theme that goes throughout Hamilton where Ehrenberg says, “Talk less, listen more.” There's this idea that I feel like with empathy, we often think of it as just like, ”I have to be in touch with my feelings,” but actually what I think it is, is actually a skill, a tangible skill of can I actually listen to someone and I think there's a difference between being able to hear and being able to listen. So I think the first thing that I have done is like, how can I actually actively listen more effectively to the people around me? There's actually this research, I think 2014, 2015, it was focused on can we use empathy? Like, actually measure the effect of empathy on reducing, in this case, anti-trans gender opinions? I think the research was called “Durably reducing transphobia,” but essentially, what they did was it was an exercise around active listening. They used the political tool called deep canvassing to essentially equip these researchers to go into a home where people expressed, or had been exposed to anti-transgender views and they literally just listened to them. They processed actively with this person about why they believe what they believe and then through that process, they didn't actually rebut with facts, or say, “But actually, that's not true,” or “Did you know that that's actually not true?” What actually happened was people realized through their own act of processing that you know what, this is not actually about transgender. It's actually about safety. I can relate now. I can empathize because now that I've come full circle and have been able to tell my story about why I'm processed out loud, I realized that I do have something in common with the transgender community. They want to feel safe. This law makes them feel unsafe. I want to feel safe in bathrooms, but those two things don't have to compete with each other. We're all people that want to be safe. That that research for me really sticks out whenever I think of active listening. I think the second thing is I've talked a couple of times about storytelling; there's a part of this for me, that really is seeing people as these amazing figures in a story you just haven't read yet. I think when I practice empathy, it often is just me really taking an interest more deeply in the why somebody does what they do as opposed to what they are doing. This hearkens back to Simon Sinek, who was a leadership consultant, or coach, but he had that phrase in a TED Talk where he said, “People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” I think for me, that boils down to the core, how I think about if you want to cultivate empathy as a muscle, or a skill, it's really asking that question, “Why did they do that?” An actual tool that I often use in my work is something called empathy mapping, which is often used in UX design actually, in tech, to really think about human centered approaches to product design. But it lays out all of these ways about how do you think they would feel? How do you think they would see this? How do you think they would hear, or receive this message? And then it really gets you to ask this question about why would they react this way to what you're about to present, or why would they react to these set of circumstances in a certain way? CHANTÉ: One of the things that you're talking about here is the empathy mapping. I actually do this course, or this workshop with some collaborators around designing for inclusion and that is something that we really focus on. Have you seen that in practice well somewhere that you could illustrate, or show? I guess, we could provide an example, or a case study so folks know what you're talking about. COREY: Yeah. One of the things that this makes me think of is Google Assistant space, which is also a space that I spent some time in. But within the Google's Trust and Safety team, there was a focus on thinking about digital assistants and whether they had an inclusive voice when it came to gender, because there is a lot of research now that exists about voices and people perceive assistants to be female, but because of the voices. Companies are really doing a lot of that work now to think through what the implications are around that. But at the time, I remember in this work very early on, what I thought was interesting about this was just the steps that the Trust and Safety team went through to actually figure out if there was an issue here because you design a product, the product is meant to respond to queries. But soon, what they started finding was that maybe some of the queries that the digital assistant was getting were actually maybe more vulgar, or maybe more derogatory. So how does that break down? Does that break down like, is it just objectively that's how people talk to digital assistants? Well, no, and actually doing work and trying to reduce those offensive, or shocking, or risky experiences, what they found was that maybe this is actually offensive, or derogatory on the Google Assistant voices that present, or sound feminine. So now that we have done this research, how can we actually address that in the broader product? I think the Google Assistant then did things to try to make the voices more gender neutral, to provide more options so that there were a range of voices and then also, not necessarily default to the feminine voice, or not even call them feminine. I think they started calling them like Voice 1, Voice 2. So I think that that's one example of that I know, that I am aware of where when you're thinking about inclusion as it could be an objective truth that you're here to provide an answer to a problem. But often, that problem that you're solving might actually have many other subproblems within it. But the idea of inclusive design is important. It's an important lens for everybody to have honestly, on the product, because there are a range of things that might be happening that we're just not aware of. But certainly, the power of doing extensive UX research, or a deep dive on some of those things, I think is what helps augment and move us away from those types of snafus happening in our technologies. CHANTÉ: That was a beautiful example. Thank you. That sounds like a really cool project that you got to be a part of. Was there anything else that you learned from being on that project team that you can share? COREY: Yeah. Well, I should say, first off, this happened before I came into the team, but I think it was one of the things that I found very powerful about the team itself, doing the work and also, where they were centering people. I think that was one of the reasons why I've also been very interested in policy within tech, because it very much it's about centering and advocating for best practices for people and defining what users actually are. But I think for me, the lesson that I took from that just was again, that we all really have to be our advocates for this type of work and this type of change in the products and also, that a lot of this is sometimes not as complicated as we make it out to be. I think that it's really about priorities and what we value. What I appreciated about this team was just this idea of wow, you actually value not just the objective user, but the user in a sense of what context would they use this and how would this impact this community that we're trying to build this ecosystem? ARTY: So there's something you said earlier that really struck me when you were talking about this example with empathizing for these people that had been exposed to anti-transgender ideas and sitting down and listening. One thing that strikes me about that is just that as opposed to these people being a certain way, you framed things as these people were exposed to a certain kind of content that then they had this fear that came up in resonant to something that they were exposed to. I see those sorts of dynamics in other contexts. Would you mind elaborating a little more on that thought? COREY: Yeah. I definitely think that we are in – not that 2020, or certainly, the last 4 years since 2016 with President Trump, I don't think that that is unique. I think that it feels exacerbated because on top of that technology has been a lens through which we've seen almost an exponential growth in access to information. It may have outpaced the way in which we also keep up with the ways in which you are skeptically dissecting this information and analyzing it for truth and veracity. So I think that there's been a confluence of forces that have made it so that things like misinformation and disinformation are permeating and now, it is easily accessible. One of the things that I think about a lot in this space, as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion and why I think empathy is so important is that I feel like it can become very easy to go down this path because we're always looking for ways to validate our own experiences. So if there's one thing that we – an easy way to do it that is harmful, or damaging to others, is to validate by saying that, “Well, it can't be that over there.” I'm invalidating that to bolster the way that I see the world, or my experiences. What I really focus on from my work and why I think the empathy piece has been so powerful is that it's a reminder as we move through that cycle of how can you be more empathetic, that at the core of our human experience is this idea that we all do not like the feeling of being othered, or unseen. Even if for someone who feels like they are, whether you agree or disagree with this idea, I'm disaffected. I think this election cycle is a great example. A lot of people felt disaffected on both sides like, you're white middle-class, or you're Black and in poverty, or you're white and in poverty. You have all these sects of people that are like, “Ah, nobody's listening to me,” and that's reinforced because you're like, “Nobody has the experience that I have and nobody knows what it's like to feel othered like this.” But actually, the reality is, regardless of whether you understand what it means to be grow up white and poor, or Black and affluent, or Black and poor, or white and affluent, you all have this common experience where you have been othered at some point. Empathy says at the core of that human experience is something we all should be able to understand. So we're not necessarily focusing on what you went through so much as why did you have to go through it? I think that this disinformation, this misinformation feeds the – If we had more empathy, I think that would be the thing that would combat this because it would allow us to ask the right questions around maybe this is true, maybe this is not true. If I don't have the tools to actually assess whether it's true or real, what I can say is that I need to really think about the community that is centered in this story and understand how this would make them feel if this were true, how does it make them feel if this were not true. I think that that's where empathy and developing that as a skill could do a lot more work in this space where we're probably only going to see more honestly, content, or information where we have to vet where it comes from, whether it's real, who’s saying it and why they're saying it. ARTY: Yeah. I was thinking about how powerful it is just that even in listening to this context, as opposed to trying to correct it, what you did find was this commonality of, “Oh, we both have a desire to feel safe, it is part of the human experience,” and then with this disinformation, you've got this dynamic that really plays on fear. A lot of this information that's associated with fear reminds me of this TED Talk by Daryl Davis that I think Chanté, you're the one who actually had me listen to that. But specifically, that ignorance breeds fear breeds hate and then if we can go about empathizing and listening and building those connections and tackling the ignorance, that it can have a chain reaction effect on all of these other things. COREY: Yeah. This has made me randomly think of a song lyric by Nas, street prophet that he is, but his song with Puff Daddy, or P. Diddy, or whoever he was calling himself at the time called Hate Me Now. He said that line: people “fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer. I guess, that's just a theory of man.” I was like, ah, this is making me think about that because I think so often, we are pushed into those lanes where the idea is to think that you have to conquer something. So it's like your safety, your capacity to do what you want to do in this world is won by subjugating, or by conquering something else, someone else and that's the only way that it can happen. And then also that fear piece; if I don't understand it, then it's not safe. So if I can't wrap my head around it, then I need to assume the worst and fear it. I think why empathy has been so powerful for me is one, because we don't often talk about it as something that we can actually cultivate. We often talk about it in a you either have it, or you don't, or it's a natural gift, or it isn't. I think it actually is something that can be cultivated and brought to bear, like in that research, where it’s like this was a community. I think the first time I did it, it was in South Florida, or maybe somewhere outside of Miami. I'm not actually sure of the specific locale, but this community had been subjected to all sorts of messaging around the transgender community, because it was meant to drive a particular position, or opinion on a bill around bathrooms and whether bathrooms could be used by people of the multiple genders, or you had to have separate men and women bathrooms. They were able to do through this research, they were able to find that not only were they able to shift people's perception around those issues—actually shift them positively in the direction of saying like, “Oh, actually I do support transgender rights in this conversation.” But that it was a statistically significant shift and it lasted for three months after that conversation when they did a check-in. So I think that it just really speaks to we don't have to fear what we don't understand. If you really just take the time to let people really work out their own narrative for themselves, they will often figure out that their own narratives are incongruent with how they actually are showing up in the space and it's not about telling them, “Your narrative is off,” like, “You're wrong.” I think that there's value in that, but if you're going to make the real change over time, in psychology, they call it act of processing. There's value in actually getting people to their own whatever it is, whatever reason they have for fearing what they don't understand to process that out loud in a way where they can actually be like, “I was heard and are realized that hearing myself is incongruent with how I actually like what I actually value.” So maybe coming to my own conclusions, I don't have to fear this, even though I don't understand all the parts of that experience CHANTÉ: That was really helpful, Corey and one of the thought bubbles—well, one of the many that popped up as you were responding to Arty's question was how do we then, because it sounds like there's a lot of value in anticipating, or using tech and policy for good in those moments. I'm just wondering, I know that you consult around this. So maybe take us down that avenue, because I think we're at this place where we've seen coming off of this last election, the power of the misinformation strategies and how we've partnered that with let's say, the Cambridge Analytica situation where they used data to underpin those fears and then really influenced a community, or a country to the space that they wanted them to be. How do we get ahead of that? What are some things we can do? Or what are some things maybe you're working on that are worth mentioning here today? COREY: Yeah. So those are very, very good questions, or good thoughts. I think that one thing that just thinking about even as you were saying with Cambridge Analytica, my first thought was just that we have existed in the technological space, in this information age where empowering people online, I feel like it has been separate from the using the data, or giving the data up in a way that, or using the data or giving the data up. By that I mean, essentially, we're using these products and tools, wouldn't have never really thought about it as a platform for change, or a platform to see the world we want to sees except for these little blips, or these moments where there are revolutions around like Arab Spring. That was driven, I believe on Facebook and then conversations again, around Black Lives Matter because of live video that we now have, we're able to capture the experiences in real time. So I think that the first thing that I would say is how can we actually educate people around being empowered online? You have a voice, but it's not just the voice to repeat what you have heard, but really to lend your own voice, your own vulnerability, your own story to what's happening in these forms. I think the second thing really is it comes down to the companies. I think that a lot of my conversations, when it comes to disinformation and misinformation, really comes back to values. Many companies, particularly ones that are community-focused and saying that our users are a part of an ecosystem, have to really ask themselves about what ecosystem are you actually trying to build? Because at a certain point, particularly if you are a private company, there are good ecosystems and there are destructive ecosystems. So it can't be a libertarian view of the technology is just a tool and it will all sort itself out. It actually has to be maybe more curated than that and that might not have been the initial approach of technology. Certainly, wasn't the approach to the world wide web either when it first started out. It was just like, anybody could create a geo site, anybody could do anything on the internet, but in some ways, I think that view of technology maybe has to change. It helps lends itself very well to innovation, but the challenge is that it creates a lot of loopholes for abuse. So then I think companies, as they start curating their experiences more, it has to be centered on very clear community values. What is your ideal world and your ideal state that you want to be contributing to as a part of this broader conversation around information and sharing data for the benefit of others? Most of these companies have that in their mission somewhere. They believe that they're doing a public good, even if they're also profiting in the process. Well, if that's true, then what values get you there and keep you there? So I think that that's how the disinformation and misinformation is allowed to persist, because there's just questions that you have to ask around are some things allowable within this ecosystem? Are we willing to take a hard line on some things for the benefit of the greater good? Then it’s also acknowledging that it is hard being in technology and now it's like, even if you're 99% effective at something, if you have a billion users, that's still millions of people, or millions of cases. You have to then also acknowledge that you're always working and it never will be good enough, but you can try to close that gap and be consistent on what you actually value and believe and that at least shows a bit of sincerity over time around what you're trying to do. CHANTÉ: I appreciate your take on that. One thing I might imagine to be true, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think from what I've seen is that the tech policy space is not Black enough. It is not; I don't see enough BIPOC folks. I don't see people really, outside of cis able-bodied white guys in that space. Is there anything that you recommend in terms of trying to change that so that in the future where we're going to have, for sure, undoubtedly more mixed-race people, just given the trends that we're on, how do we address that, or how do we curate for that? COREY: Yeah. I mean, so much of – it reminds me of the story I was telling about biology and going into lab is that I think so much of it is about really understanding the possibilities of what is actually out there and having someone tell you, or exposing you to what those possibilities are. Some of that is pipeline development. So I think we're many of these companies and also, just not even tech companies, but policy in general. This base is about how do you invest back in these communities, knowing that it might pay dividends in 10, or 15 years down the road to have this more diverse ecosystem of policy people, or practitioners, or technologists. Even if you're not developing them particularly for a job today, but down the road. I mean, I think some of that is pipeline investment and actually just telling people at a young age, “I see you, here's the three things you need to get started,” and then the sky's the limit. I know there are some programs around coding that have taken off where people go into the community and do that. It will be interesting to see how, if we were to look over time, whether that's really changing the overall dynamics of actual Black engineers, or BIPOC engineers, or a diverse representation of engineers. But I think that that would be the same for policy and the other thing that I would say is it would seem that many companies, in the tech space in particular, did not actually have – whether they should have, or shouldn’t have, they didn't necessarily have to focus on these types of questions for their growth and success in the early stages. So I think that that also meant that there just wasn't an investment in the broader, we need a policy team. Maybe there were people there to focus on policy and ask these questions. But I think as we continue to see the growth and the impact of companies on just everything like our economic systems, the way we behave, and the way we think about different issues. Now, it is really important to think not just about whether building this product is going to net an additional 100,000 users, at the expense of so many other things, will it affect the political conversation happening in this country? Will it affect the access to resources in this place? Now we're seeing the investment in those communities and spaces, for companies that are growing, or building now, I think it's about really investing in there early and make sure you have the right team and the right representation of the team to address the issues that you could foresee being a challenge, or being a space that your product will exist in. But I think policy is certainly one of many professional spaces where you do see underrepresentation really because of access, or knowledge about the opportunity. I'll just say, because this is a long, long way of saying, but I want to end with a personal story where it's just even for myself going into the technology space, I was always interested in policy, but really from the lens of how you can go directly into government as a civil servant and I try to push the machine, or move through the bureaucracy to actually make effective rules, or regulations that mattered, or meant something to different communities and I think government can still be that thing. There's a lot of challenges there, but it still can be that force. What I didn't realize was that this existed in the tech world, that these were conversations that were happening, that companies were having an influence on the way we legislate, or the way we behave, or the way we think about all sorts of issues that would “fit squarely” in the policy world. It was only through my kind of exploration, but also, connecting with people who had gone over to these companies, in these spaces and the privilege that I had of being able to go to different institutions, where I had access to people who could have these conversations with me, where I realized hey, I could be in this space. But it was something that I didn't even realize was a thing and would never have explored, otherwise. So I think that that also for me, recognizing that I had access to resources and tools that helped me even see it as a possibility and so, I think that has to be the thing that we're in the companies that anybody who has the privilege, or capacity to do so should be investing in. CHANTÉ: Yeah. ARTY: I feel like there's some things that we could do in terms of new precedent setting, that we could do as a broader tech community, that could help drive change of adopting cultural practices within the context of organizations and everything that flows from there. So one of the key threads you brought up was that it comes down to values and we ought to start with having a clear set of things that we want to value as a community and build as organizations and build around that. I started thinking back to you mentioned early days of the internet when anybody could do anything and spin stuff up on the internet and I think about some of the early tech interfaces and stuff we had and I feel like there was a lot more community and curation type things, too. We had message boards and I think about AOL days where you have little chatrooms that you join and stuff that were topic-focused. It seems like, as opposed to being these topic-focused finding each other kind of things by having similar shared interests, we've shifted to this follower type model where it's just about networking and connecting with the people and not necessarily being connected for any other purpose other than getting the most followers. So the purpose becomes the network and then the identity stuff is associated with how many followers you have and how many retweets you get. The dynamics of how we've framed identity dynamics and communication dynamics in tech has shifted quite dramatically. Tech has shifted the internet and then the people seem to have kind of shifted a mirror of the technology that we built. So I'm thinking if we take a step back and start with what you're saying in terms of community values and what a reflection of that would look like technology wise, but what if we started with a manifesto and some vision, even if it's rough vision, of what that might look like? Do you have any thoughts on, if you were to write some of those things down, what you would say? COREY: Yeah. This is making me – and I don't know them off the top of my head, but it's making me think of some of the AI ethics work, artificial intelligence work that several people are working on right now. I think of Dr. Ruha Benjamin, it was Dr. Tim McGraw, I think of a few other contemporaries of them, but there's actually, I think an Algorithmic Justice League where they are actually thinking of that. There's a manifesto of sorts, or a thing that we should be believing and that underpins the ethics that we should have as it relates to that technology. If I were to think of just a couple of things, the first would really be around the empowerment piece and I think I mentioned that before that we're promoting people to feel not just that they can speak, or be on a platform, or they can have access, but that they are empowered with the information, which in my mind, when I say empowered means that they can actually, it's a call to action. They believe that they can do more of the thing that they want to do. I think that is important because then it helps you actually center, it makes you actually have to question all of the communities that are on the platform and what you want them to actually be able to be called to do. Right now, not saying empowerment means that I feel like you're removed from the actual impact of what you are allowing to be shared, or allowing to be set on the platform. I think the second is while there are a lot of companies that would say they do this; it is important to call out safety and authenticity as maybe two and three. The idea is to really root in vulnerability, the idea is really to root in this idea of safety, psychological safety, but also physical, depending on whatever the product is. Because again, I think that those two things require you to then center the user and actually really think about well, what does it mean to actually build a safe community where most of all people feel safe psychologically and while also being their truest selves. Those were the three values, or the three areas where I feel like you would shape some type of principles around, but I also just want to say, I love your point because I do think that in some ways, the way in which we consume technology, or consume information now has really centered on this viral nature. I think in some ways, virality motivates the way that information is even propagated. Whereas before, when you're talking about these interests, it may have really been just genuinely about the interest and then it coalesced around that chatroom. But now virality, because that is the name of the game in so many ways, it almost requires people who have figured out the model of how to make things viral as opposed to people who have figured out something to say that is substantive, or something to say that is empowering to our broader community. Those two things are not always overlapping and so, you have people who will influence and then systems that might reinforce that influence when the influence is not necessarily earned on the merits of actually being empowering, or safe, or authentic dialogue. So I think you're absolutely spot on that like, the way that we consume has shifted to maybe wanting things to be viral and virality being almost the barometer of truth and value when that's not always the case. CHANTÉ: It makes me think that perhaps we've been focusing so much on the tech and the product space, that nobody is—I shouldn't say nobody—but we probably haven't focused enough on the actual consumer and making sure that we stand up resources, or a hub to inform them and make them smarter consumers. Because as we know, every click leads to a dollar, or every like leads to something. So I think we reinforce the system unknowingly. COREY: Yeah. CHANTÉ: I often feel this sort of pull, I don't know about you, but I've been watching versus on Instagram. Are you familiar with versus? COREY: Yes, yes. There have been some good ones. There also have been some duds, but yes. CHANTÉ: Duds, I know. Don't get me started, but #BlackTwitter, right? I'm like, “Oh wow.” So where I was getting excited and I was online early for the pandemic, but there was this part of me that just couldn't. I didn't want to get too attached, or too into it because I was like, “Man, look, we're on somebody else's platform making them money.” I know that there's some stuff being done to shift that and I see this a lot with the Black culture specifically, I feel like sometimes we're online and we're making this tech space, or this product really dope and nobody's there to protect us as consumers. I get really upset about that and I just want so badly to make sure that the consumers are educated, that they are informed and understanding how they should, or shouldn't be using their social capital. How they should, or shouldn't be supporting something that probably doesn't always have their best interests at heart. I don't know, it's not like there's one or two of us who have to be responsible, there's a whole – it's everyone's job. Do you of any collectives, or projects, or are you a part of anything that is aiming to do that? COREY: Yeah. Again, a really, really good point. That really resonates because, I'll just say before I answer the question, I've had that conversation around memes because I feel like memes are such a way that we communicate now as a part of popular culture, but I don't have the tools necessary to trace the lineage of the first meme, but I would bet again, going back to the virality of means that there was something that was also infused with Black youth culture in America that made memes popular and then made them more ubiquitous. So this idea of making technology cool is because there is a culture that is infused in again, making it cool. It's a tool that then you have a community, it feels empowered to do something a certain way, but then that empowerment is not protected. I would say that just in my experience in tech, I have seen companies that have made investments in this conversation on equity and well-being where really, the goal is to how do you work more closely with and partner with creators? How do you work more closely with users of the platform, either through research, or actually through direct partnerships to understand how the tool is actually being used and what are ways that actually supplement the way in which they are using it today? I know in the very, very beginning stages of Twitter, that was one reason why Twitter took off was because Twitter was just – I think it might've started, was it a 100 characters? I don't even know now is way more, maybe it started with the 140 characters, but other than just being that platform tweet 140 characters, everything else was community generated RTs, the idea of having a retweet button, these different features very early on were all things that had organically risen out from the community and they just listened. So I think in many ways, it was cool to see our product at that early stage just say we've created a tool where they were just going to see how people use it and then build on top of that. I think that that work's still happening. Companies should continue to invest in it, of course, but really listening to your creators and rather than saying, “Here's what we need you to fit, we are going to start doing that,” doing more of learning how you're using it is either about talking to you directly, or analyzing or examining it and really understanding what will matter to you and now we're augmenting that with this feature that we have listened to you and heard that you need. And then on the reverse side, proactively thinking about these are the issues that people are citing that they have, then make them feel unsafe, make them feel like they can actually have a voice on this platform and we are listening to that and we are actively going address that even if it's not going to necessarily net us an additional dollar spent, or an additional user earn. This is important because this is preventing you from using a platform to the fullest. So I've seen some things since I have been in the space, I think much of it is going to have to be a continued investment. I can't think of any one product, or any one area where I feel like it's like really landed. But I also think that that speaks to the broader point, which is that it's a journey and then as you continue to grow as companies, you're going to have more challenges. But also, I see opportunities because you're bringing more communities and more people onto the platform and as you scale, that has to be a part of the conversation. It's not just going to be a monolith, or one trigger response to a collective user, but actually many different types of users on your platform. CHANTÉ: No doubt. I’m trying to remember when it was specifically, it was probably three, four weeks ago when there was all this big announcement about Clubhouse, for example, going and people specifically felt some kind of way because here you had a situation where there was a bunch of Black users who were early on joining and you even had a Black man who was the representative of the icon and people were like, “Wait a minute. We're not being involved in this whole opportunity for more funding and what does that mean for us?” I listened in that week to a bunch of conversations and folks were incensed; they felt left out, they felt overlooked, taken advantage of. I think we've seen some action spur out of that, but it just reminded me of that moment that we have a lot of power collectively as a community. But you have to have times and spaces where people can organize and communicate that are not dependent upon somebody else's online community that looks free, but maybe it's not and my feeling is that it has to be a multi-stakeholder groups that are holding these technology companies and even the investor community accountable, but also at the same time, there's got to be people who are thinking about just consumer education and consumer engagement period, because we're only going to see more of this, not less of it. COREY: Yes, on multiple points. Having worked in privacy for some time as well doing policy work, that is something that comes up continually is that even as you build out more mechanisms to keep people's data safe, or you're like, “Hey, we actually are committed to the cause and this is all the work that we're going to do to protect your data,” the number of choices become unwieldy if you don't also have an education around all the things that a company can do with your data. So then it almost feels insincere if all of these things are offered without the education, or the continual reinforcement in different ways throughout their product, or their company's values. And then your point about Clubhouse. Actually, I remember reading that and I agree. Again, it really speaks to what I was saying about the meme piece where it’s like there is something that becomes really, really cool and it helps the technology take off and then it suddenly comes ubiquitous in this different way and it's like, “Whoa, wow, did we really think about the core experience?” How the course readings was shaped by a smaller community, but a very important one. But then the other thing I think about with Clubhouse, but I think a lot of apps are guilty of this in the US is, also just from a tech equity perspective, leaning into the iPhone development space in and of itself often, I feel like creates its own barriers around elitism and privilege. Not because iPhone, or Apple is uniquely trying to say, “Here's our image and here's who the customers are that we have.” But actually, that just even being on Clubhouse in and of itself, or iPhone only products often leave out an entire demographic of people when you think even in the US, I think 50 something percent of people are still are Android users and then you think globally, Android actually has a ridiculous market share of way more than Apple globally. So I was just what you're also thinking about the equity perspective and inclusion, I often think about that as well. Even at the outset, you're already narrowing the lens a little bit, and I get some of that as developmental challenges, but given all the success—I remember reading this article about Clubhouse and what they're worth, I'm like, “Wow, it's all of that.” It would seem like for me, the next step would be now invest in the development of an Android app in order to really see us reach that community, a broader community of which some of the people who help shape the core experience are representative sample of, but we could probably get so much more from this broader community. CHANTÉ: Yes like, I wish I had a lot of snap effects going right now. I agree with that, obviously. So thank you. ARTY: We're getting to the end of the show where we finish up with reflections. So the thing that—I mean, there's so many things in the show—I've been thinking about this idea of what it means to center around core values and community and what type of communities we want to build and everything that follows from those core values and especially this idea of centering around empowerment. I feel like that makes a lot of sense: centering around empowerment. If our goal in building these spaces is to empower people, then what are all the systems and policies and things that follow with that goal of empowerment in mind, how do we raise and lift up people, and create supportive spaces that do that? I think back to one of the things you said at the beginning around authenticity and the ability to, or this conversation that you had, where I think it was your manager, Corey, that asked you, “How are you?” which is normally this plain old question that you just reply with, “Oh, good.” There's an expectation that it's almost rhetorical like, we're just moving on and touching base and not really saying anything of substance. But there's something fundamentally different there with, “No, how are you?” and it's not about the words you're saying, it's about the intention to actually listen. The intention of giving someone the space to let their guard down, to be their authentic self, to tell you what's real. With this goal of empowerment, I feel like that's another aspect that's really important is being able to create spaces where we can drop our guard and be real. We can say what's really going on. In order to learn, we’ve got to be able to be ourselves, too and I feel like there's a lesson in the small in that of something that we can all make an effort to do when we interact with people to really ask them, “How are you really doing? What's really going on?” As opposed to trying to fix it, to change anything, to just listen, to really listen to what's going on with them, to finding those commonalities of, “Oh, I guess we all just want to be safe.” Seeing those things that are the same, as opposed to trying to fix, or change someone else, just focusing on listening and hearing where they're coming from. I feel like if we move toward those combination of things with that intention, with that goal in mind, with that being our why, that how we design the technology, how we design the policies that follow from that will help move us in the right direction. CHANTÉ: For me, I'm thinking a lot about this empathy piece, because it makes me pause and say, “While I prioritize it, I value it,” I just don't know how many hiring managers out there are actually looking for and building empathy into one of their core values that they're prioritizing on their hiring rubric. But as we move to this next fourth industrial revolution where we're automating and people are losing their jobs, we can't outsource empathy. So it's something that we definitely need to make sure we are working on individually and if you have children, I hope that people are thinking about ways that they can cultivate that early in young and teachers and educators, and especially folks who want to be a founder, or they want to be an investor. I think this is something that takes a community effort and I want to hear more people talking about empathy.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph currently serves as the Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact at The Kennedy Center. He co-founded the Life is Living Festival for Youth Speaks, and created the installation “Black Joy in the Hour of Chaos” for Creative Time. His opera libretto, We Shall Not Be Moved, was named one of 2017’s “Best Classical Music Performances” by The New York Times, and his work /peh-LO-tah/ toured nationally. Future projects include commissions for the Perelman Center, Washington National Opera, and others, and a feature in HBO’s upcoming adaptation of “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehesi Coates. An inaugural recipient of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative, Bamuthi also previously worked as the Chief of Program and Pedagogy at YBCA in San Francisco.

March 21, 2021--This edition of Youth Speaks Out! Features two college freshmen women on Women’s History Month and liberation. Do high schools and colleges help evolve female equality? Which women have inspired these recent Laytonville High School graduates?

Larry Dorsey Jr is a storyteller born & raised in San Francisco. He is known in the city for his adventurous lifestyle and as a radio personality for the premiere Hip Hop station in the Bay Area (106 KMEL #iHeartMedia). Before being involved with activism, he crafted his talents in various forms of performance arts. Music/Poetry (shout out to Youth Speaks) has been a part of his life since childhood. He is also a life long joke teller, first learning the craft of Stand-up while working security at The Punch Line San Francisco / Cobb's Comedy Club , finally hitting the stage after taking a workshop at the famous San Jose Improv. His most recent accolade, is being promoted to “main stage company” at BATS , the top improv theatre in Northern California. He graduated from SF State University majoring in Creative Writing, Academy of Art University majoring in Motion Pictures & Television, and the Meisner Technique Studio acting program. He has also studied at different theaters around the Bay (i.e. the A.C.T.)- in classes ranging from clowning to public speaking.His free time is dedicated to creating content for social media- follow him to learn more or to check out some of his art: (url) @LarryDorseyJr #RealCityAmbassadors #RCA #Podcasts #LarryDorseyjr #106KMEL #iHeartMedia #PunchlineSF #CobbsComedyClub #YouthSpeaks

Hunting Big Foot, hot pink comfort food, and diving deep into the worst Super Bowl Sunday finger foods. After that, we have recipe developer and cookbook author Jake Cohen on the pod to talk about brunch, babkas, and his cookbook, Jew-ish. For DBWP, Matt wants to highlight Black poetry, specifically Amanda Gorman's inauguration poem, and the organizations Youth Speaks and First Exposures. Bari has been watching Riverdale, duh, and Matt is watching The West Wing. Follow the team on social media: @mattbellassai, @barifinkel, and @UnhappyHourPod (on Twitter only). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Hodgson - Nish T's Kathy McLeod Beaver - Indigenous Health Navigator Parr Etidloie - Visitor from Cape Dorset

“Times when I feel most accomplished are when I see former students accomplishing their goals.” Irene talks with Tish Jones about making decisions, getting inspired, standing inside integrity, and finding joy. Founder & Executive Director of TruArtSpeaks, Tish Jones is a poet, performer, educator and organizer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. She has performed at CBGB, Kaplan Theater, The Walker Art Center, Intermedia Arts, The Cedar Cultural Center and more. Her work can be found in the Minnesota Humanities Center’s anthology entitled, Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2015), the 2011 and 2013 Saint Paul Almanac, and the Loft Literary Center’s Nation of Immigrants audio CD.  One of Springboard for the Arts’ 20/20 Artist Fellows and graduate fellow of the inaugural Intercultural Leadership Institute, Jones has always had a passion for bridging arts & culture, civic engagement and youth development. Senior Field Building Strategist for Youth Speaks and Co-Director of Brave New Voices, her work explores the ways in which art can function as a tool for social transformation, liberation and education. For more on her personal praxis in this arena, see Jones’ TEDxMinneapolis Talk on Spoken Word as a Radical Practice of Freedom.

What do you think about Non-Violence? What was the Roadmap for Independence of India? All these and much much more only on "The Youth Speaks with Deb"

Sarah Nichols is an attorney who has more than 20 years of experience in HR employment law. She is the founder of Nichols Law P.C. where she represents individuals who experience discrimination and retaliation at work and helps them with wage and hour claims. She assists employees in negotiating their exits from their employers and she is a tough and conscientious advocate for her clients. Sarah believes that having experience on both sides makes her a better attorney. Sarah is passionate about different cultures in the workplace and in closing the pay gap. She is also involved in the community through her work with Youth Speaks, an educational non-profit empowering youth through the spoken word. A percentage of her firm’s profits is donated to Equal Rights Advocates every year as she believes the work that organization does is essential to closing the wage gap. Sarah is also the host of The Women’s Advocate podcast where she discusses how women can negotiate and support each other to close the wage gap. In this episode… When someone is looking to go into business or is considering taking up a new leadership position, most people tend to wait too long because they want to feel that they’re ready before taking the plunge. The thing is, there is never a “perfect time” to take that leap because all you really need is to have courage. In every situation or circumstance, there is always a decision to be made. And if that decision can be made quicker, it can help propel people forward to where they want and need to go. Staying focused on your story and your path are also crucial in making your success into a reality. It is also important to be focused and own your story and path. Sarah Nichols, Founder of Nichols Law P.C., is Andrea Heuston's guest in this week's episode of Lead Like a Woman, where she talks about the importance of women taking the leap in their careers and not waiting for the perfect time. Sarah shares details about her career history and why she decided to move to the US from Australia and start her own law firm, what drives her success, and she also shares her advice for women leaders and entrepreneurs. Stay tuned.

In this episode we feature the voices of Rose Oser, the Associate Artistic Director and Shafer Mazow the Managing Director of Z Space. Z Space has become one of the nation’s leading laboratories for developing new voices, new works, and new opportunities in American theater.Z Space’s performances span a variety of disciplines, including theater, dance, visual art, music and performance art. Through its Z Space New Works program, the organization develops unique works from initial concept to on-stage production. Z Space also provides technical residencies in which artists can make use of the entire facility, including the stage, lights and sound system to test and develop their concepts. 

Commonplace guests as they appear in this episode:Molly Peacock is a poet, biographer, essayist, and short fiction writer. Her most recent book is The Analyst: poems.Alicia Jo Rabins is a writer, musician, composer, performer and Torah teacher. She creates multi-genre works of experimental beauty which explore the intersection of ancient wisdom texts with everyday life. Her most recent book is Fruit Geode.D. A. Powell’s books include Cocktails and Chronic, as well as Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys. He recently published a chapbook with Rescue Press, called Atlas T; all proceeds from the sale of Atlas T will be donated to Youth Speaks in San Francisco.Rosa Alcalá is the author of three books of poetry: Undocumentaries, The Lust of Unsentimental Waters, and MyOTHER TONGUE. She is a Professor in the Bilingual MFA in Creative Writing Program at the University of Texas at El Paso.Bernadette Mayer is the author of numerous books of poetry and prose, including Midwinter Day and Poetry State Forest.Laynie Browne is the author of numerous collections of poetry and one novel. Her publications include A Forest on Many Stems: Essays on the Poet’s Novel (editor) and The Desires of Mothers to Please Others in Letters.John Biewen directs the audio program at the Center for Documentary Studies, where he teaches and produces/hosts the podcast Scene on Radio.Darcey Steinke has written five novels as well as a memoir, Flash Count Diary: Menopause and the Vindication of Natural Life.Stephanie Burt is a poet, literary critic, and professor. Her most recent book is Don’t Read Poetry: A Book About How to Read Poems.Rita Dove served as Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995 and as Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. Her most recent book is The Darker Face of the Earth.New Books Written by and/or authors/texts recommended/mentioned byMolly Peacock:The Analyst (W.W. Norton, 2017)James Joyce scholar Michael Groden (Molly Peacock’s husband)Cartoon Fundamentals with New Yorker cartoonist Maggie Larsen online at the 92nd St. YAlicia Jo Rabins:Fruit Geode (Augury, 2018)Alicia Jo’s Instagram (where you can find her bathtub poems)Alicia Jo’s weekly Kabbalat Shabat (through Kveller)D. A. Powell:Atlas T (Rescue Press, 2020)Angela Flournoy’s The Turner House (Houghton Mifflin, 2015)Hugh Martin’s In Country (BOA Editions, 2018)A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos By Tim Dlugos, David Trinidad (Editor) (Nightboat, 2011)Derrick Austin’s Trouble the Water (BOA Editions, 2016)Akira Kirosowa's DreamsTJ DiFrancesco (manuscript in progress)“Gratitude” by Cornelius Eady“Good Bones” by Maggie Smith“What the End is For” by Jorie GrahamEmily DickinsonJudy GrahnRobert DuncanRosa Alcalá:Darkness Spoken: The Collected Poems of Ingeborg Bachmann (Zephyr, 2006)Bernadette Mayer:Works and Days (New Directions, 2016)Memory (Siglio, 2020)Sonnets (Tender Buttons Press)Lee Ann BrownLaynie Browne:A Forest on Many Stems (Nightboat, 2020)Poetry and Art at the Rail ParkSylvia Townsend Warner’s Lolly Willowes (Penguin Modern Classics, 2020)Lisa Robertson’s The Baudelaire Fractal (Coach House Books, 2020)Collaborator Brent WahlPrageeta SharmaCD WrightHarmony HolidayDivya VictorJohn Biewen:The newest series of Scene on Radio is The Land that Never Has Been YetDarcey Steinke:Flash Count Diary: Menopause and the Vindication of Natural Life (Sarah Crichton Books, 2019)The Last Man by Mary Shelley (Oxford University Press)Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower (Grand Central, 2019)Severance by Ling Ma (Picador, 2019)Cormack McCarthy’s The Road (Vintage, 2007)A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel DefoeSamuel Pepys’ Diary of the PlagueAlison Hagy’s Scribe (Graywolf, 2018)Rachel CarsonFredrick Law OlmsteadWilliam Miller (7th Day Adventist)“Understanding the Book of Revelation” by L. Michael WhiteKristin Prevallet:Flying Rolls of the Golden DawnStephanie Burt:After Callimachus: Poems (Princeton University Press, 2020)Don’t Read Poetry (Basic Books, 2019)Andy Slavitt (Twitter)Jeremy Konyndyk (Twitter)Juliette Kayyem (Twitter)Commonplace Videos are HEREPlease support Commonplace & BECOME A PATRON!A list of bail funds, sorted by city, can be found here.

Let’s hear from our youth on what type of future they want.

Let’s hear from our youth on what type of future they want.

In this rich conversation, Eli talks about how spending time in the wilderness helps adolescent boys hone their inner voice, an essential tool when it comes to resisting and reprograming the toxic messages they receive from society around sex and masculinity. Eli shares vulnerably about his own experience as an adolescent boy (including his stint as Stifler's little brother in the film American Pie, which in my opinion makes him especially equipped to wax poetic on how culture programs young men to think about sexuality). A talented poet, Eli shares his original poetry at the end of the episode. Eli Marienthal is the co-director of Back to Earth and the founding faculty of W.I.L.D., a wilderness guiding, outdoor education organization that works with adolescence to develop practices of personal development and self-care through a culture of peacemaking and thanksgiving. He is trained through The Tracking Project in Corrales, New Mexico, a non-profit led by John Stokes devoted to peacemaking, nature awareness and cross cultural respect. Eli holds masters degrees from Brown University and the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied international development, agriculture, and the politics of humanitarianism. Eli is also a poet, dancer, songwriter and spoken-word performer. He was a first generation Youth Speaks poet, and was the youngest member of a winning Brave New Voices National Slam Team, as well as the youngest to win the Bay Area Slam. Check out Eli's work with adolescents in the wilderness here: www.backtoearth.org

Work. Shouldn't. Suck. LIVE: The Morning(ish) Show with special guests Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Lisa Yancey. [Live show recorded: May 8, 2020.] LISA YANCEY is a strategist, social impact entrepreneur, community builder, and visionary who believes that people build legacies in a lifetime. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Lisa Yancey is the president Yancey Consulting (YC) and co-founder of SorsaMED and The We’s Match. With 18 years of practice, YC has served over 100 nonprofit organizations, grantmakers, and individuals. Advising across arts and culture, public space, and justice-based sectors, YC specializes in strategic organizational development, economic modeling, evaluation and assessments, board development, leadership coaching, and executive transition support. SorsaMED is a biotechnology company engineering cannabinoids infused with nutrient-enriched microalgae for therapeutic pain management, with a specific concern for sickle cell anemia sufferers, especially youth. The We’s Match is dedicated to the wealth, scale, and wellness of Black women entrepreneurs. We match these entrepreneurs with resources and capital for business growth and success. Lisa’s dedication to supporting equitable outcomes for systemically disenfranchised people is the seamless thread that binds these companies. Three essential philosophies drive Lisa’s work. One, we must disrupt patterns that either sustain or are complicit to inequities that challenge any person’s or group’s ability to be their full selves. Two, we will never accomplish sustainable goals looking solely in the short-term. She touts, “It is imperative to assess and set generational impact goals (20-25 years from now) that connect to present-day efforts.” The third is best captured in Lilla Watson’s declaration, “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you are here because your liberation is bound with mine, then let us work together.” Lisa believes, “I am one of WE.” Lisa matriculated from Boston College Law School and Emory University. She is a former dancer and choreographer. She is also a member of the New York State Bar Association. Lisa currently lives in Mount Vernon, New York, and serves on the board of Fractured Atlas. MARC BAMUTHI JOSEPH is a 2017 TED Global Fellow, an inaugural recipient of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative, and an honoree of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship. He is also the winner of the 2011 Herb Alpert Award in Theatre, and an inaugural recipient of the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. In pursuit of affirmations of black life in the public realm, he co-founded the Life is Living Festival for Youth Speaks, and created the installation “Black Joy in the Hour of Chaos” for Creative Time. Joseph’s opera libretto, We Shall Not Be Moved, was named one of 2017’s “Best Classical Music Performances” by The New York Times. His evening length work, /peh-LO-tah/, successfully toured across North America for three years, including at BAM’s Harvey Theater as a part of the 2017 Next Wave Festival. His piece, “The Just and the Blind” investigates the crisis of over-sentencing in the prison industrial complex, and premiered at a sold out performance at Carnegie Hall in March 2019. Bamuthi is currently at work on commissions for the Perelman Center, Yale University, and the Washington National Opera as well as a new collaboration with NYC Ballet Artistic Director Wendy Whelan. Formerly the Chief of Program and Pedagogy at YBCA in San Francisco, Bamuthi currently serves as the Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact at The Kennedy Center.

Burien’s biggest musical export Travis Thompson has been building buzz since signing a record deal with major label Epic last year to release his latest album Reckless Endangerment. Filling the KEXP stage with a full band, the young rapper spits his flows gracefully and effortlessly like a seasoned pro. Thompson and Audioasis host Eva Walker chat about their common history of starting out in local arts program Youth Speaks, the joy of making music videos, and working with Macklemore. Recorded 01/07/2020. The Move Malice Mad Mad World Don't Run Read KEXP's interview with Travis Thompson Support the show.

Eli and his buddy, Jesse, run Back to Earth, an organization created to take groups of boys and young men into the wilderness for ten days and nights. What happens is powerful, magical, and utterly natural. Eli is trained through The Tracking Project in Corrales, New Mexico, a non-profit led by John Stokes devoted to peacemaking, nature awareness and cross cultural respect. He is a NOLS alumnus and a certified Wilderness First Responder. In addition to his work at Back to Earth, Eli is PhD candidate in Geography at UC Berkeley, working on a dissertation about public space and the politics of belonging in Oakland. He has previously conducted research in Haiti and India, and holds a double bachelor's degree and a master's degree in international development studies from Brown University. Eli is also a poet, dancer, songwriter and spoken-word performer. He was a first generation Youth Speaks poet, and was (maybe still is) the youngest member of a winning Brave New Voices National Slam Team, as well as the youngest to win the Bay Area Slam. He continues to perform original work in a wide variety of venues. This episode sponsored by Sanny Ceramics. Be sure to catch Eli on A Millennial's Guide to Saving the World. Find me on Instagram or Twitter. Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range; “Key West Run” by Bobby Weidman; “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.

Katie Anthonyson is an up-and-coming poet from Indianapolis. Her love of poetry has led her to found Youth Speaks, a non-profit organization that brings poetry and spoken word to schools in the Indianapolis area. In this conversation, we talk about her background and her discovery of her writing voice, her dreams for Youth Speaks, and the importance of relevancy in modern poetry. You can follow Katie on Instagram @katieanthonyson_poet, and at www.facebook.com/KatieAnthonysonPoet. You can find out more about Youth Speaks at www.facebook.com/pg/youthspeakspoetry You can follow Good Poetry on Instagram, at @goodpoetrypodcast. You can also find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/goodpoetrypodcast.

This is episode #11 of Artful Thought, recorded live at the University of San Francisco's KUSF studio, which aired on Saturday, July 27th, 2019. I'm beyond stoked to talk with Paul S. Flores. His roles as a prolific poet, playwright, performance artist, youth arts educator, and USF theater professor continue to inspire and illuminate. Due to copyright laws, I had to cut the music from the recording, but have embedded my Spotify playlist on KUSF to accompany the edited cut. The music includes legendary and current Latinx artists PALO!, Cimafunk, Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, La Lupe, Obsesión, and the Colorado-based Mocochetes accompanied with their tribute music video to the 1969 Walk-Out Movement, Que Viva la Revolución. ............................ Paul’s Future & Ongoing Projects: On top of teaching his popular Hip Hop Theater course here at USF, this fall he will also be teaching in SF State’s Theater Department, and two creative writing classes in the Prison Arts Project at Solano, Vacaville State Prison. His portfolio of outreach includes co-founding Youth Speaks, Brave New Voices: National Teen Poetry Slam (now on HBO), founder of Latino Men & Boys Program, former programming director at La Peña Cultural Center and currently the Paseo Artístico Coordinator at Acción Latina. As a performing artist, he has gone on tour with his creative works and collaborations all over the U.S. as well as internationally, including Cuba, Mexico, El Salvador— and most recently presented at 2019 Latinx Theatre Commons in Miami, Florida. His play, We Have Iré begins touring in December. Creative Works Along the Border Lies (2001 novel) “Brown Dreams” (spoken word appearing on HBO’s Def Poetry, contestant on seasons 3 and 4) “Gravity's Volume” (spoken word) plays include… PLACAS: The Most Dangerous Tattoo YOU'RE GONNA CRY (SF Weekly's Best Politically Active Hip-Hop Performance Artist) REPRESENTA! We Have Iré: True Stories about Afro-Cuban Immigrant Artists in the US — his most recent docu-theatre production which received a 2019 Creative Capital Award Future & Ongoing Acción Latina Events El Tecolote’s “Unsettled in the Mission” -- Adriana Camarena (editor/writer) Paseo Artístico’s “COUNT ME IN/CUENTA CONMIGO CENSUS 2020” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/darcy-allred/message

We hear from two high school seniors about Trump, climate change, abortion rights, gun violence and more. Plus an interview with Abe Baker-Butler, the 17-year-old co-founder of the Westchester Student Coalition Against Gun Violence.

“Everything that was meant to be a tomb for me, I transform it and make it a womb for me.” In this captivating poem, Jermaine describes his journey from a dark place in his life to a place of joy and hope. After having thrown in the towel, he finds himself empowered by his faith to get back on his feet and fulfill his purpose. Jermaine Hughes is a youth leader, facilitator, and spoken word artist from Oakland, California. Growing up in relative safety but surrounded by poverty and violence, he longed to find ways to help others in his community. He found his voice during high school at a Youth Speaks poetry slam. Later, his exploration in effecting change led him to try everything from organizing to proselytizing. After attending the School of Urban Missions Bible College, he dedicated himself to local and global missions working with kids and victims of sex trafficking in the US, Mexico, and Ethiopia. Recently, he founded a company focused on health and financial coaching for youth. He has performed spoken word poetry with Bay Area-based Lyrical Opposition (http://www.lyricalopposition.org/) for the past two years. His poetry explores the experience of a young, African-American male struggling to find God, justice, and himself. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Wattz up! is produced by Yollocalli Arts Reach youth and broadcast live through Lumpen Radio, WLPN 105.5FM Chicago. In this edition, Wattz Up! featured young poets from Little Village and special guest, Jose Olivares, author of Citizen Illegal.

Series of innovative and open dialogues, which is going to connect, involve, engage collaborate with youth to advance together towards better humanity.

Brave New Voices in Houston! & Mexican Origin Foods, Foodways & Social Movements. Great poetry and powerful research about our community. Guests: Tony Diaz, El LIbrotraficante interviews, In-studio- Cristy Johnston Limón, Tish Jones, and Brandon Santiago Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Festival taking place in Houston. http://bnv18.youthspeaks.org/ And Dr. Devon Peña discussing his book Mexican Origin Foods, Foodways & Social Movements: Decolonial perspectives Bios: CRISTY JOHNSTON LIMÓN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-Committed to the absolute power the arts as a catalyst for social change, Cristy joined Youth Speaks in January of 2018. A native of San Francisco, Cristy grew up in the city’s Mission district, a community enriched by Central American diaspora and generations of Latinx artists, organizers and activists. Her bilingual public school education, infused with dance, music, and theater, ignited her passion to create spaces where all young people discover their power through the arts. This vision paved the way for her career in public service. She is a first-generation college graduate, having earned her undergraduate degree in political science at UC Berkeley and an Executive MBA from the Haas School of Business. TISH JONES, BNV CO-FESTIVAL DIRECTOR-Founder & Executive Director of TruArtSpeaks, Tish Jones is a poet, performer, educator and organizer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. She has performed at CBGB, Kaplan Theater, The Walker Art Center, Intermedia Arts, The Cedar Cultural Center and more. Her work can be found in the Minnesota Humanities Center's anthology entitled, Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2015), the 2011 and 2013 Saint Paul Almanac, and the Loft Literary Center's Nation of Immigrants audio CD. A graduate fellow of the inaugural Intercultural Leadership Institute, Jones has always had a passion for bridging arts & culture, civic engagement and youth development. Senior Field Building Strategist for Youth Speaks, her work explores the ways in which art can function as a tool for social transformation, liberation and education. Devon G. Peña, Ph.D. Dr. Peña is Founder and President of The Acequia Institute (TAI), a private charitable foundation dedicated to supporting the environmental and food justice movements. Since 2006, TAI has drawn from endowment income, donations, grants, and other sources to provide more than $100,000 in direct-to-producer grants, scholarships, fellowships, and support for acequia and other traditional indigenous farmers. TAI is headquartered on a 181-acre acequia farm within the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant on traditional Caputo Ute hunting territories. Since 1999, Dr. Peña has served as Professor of American Ethnic Studies and Anthropology at the University of Washington where he directed the Ph.D. Program in Environmental Anthropology for six years. He is a prolific writer and has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and is the author of three edited volumes and two award-winning monographs. Dr. Peña served as Senior Editor for two separate Oxford Encyclopedia projects on Latina/os assembled by Suzanne Oboler and Deena Gonzalez as Editors-in-Chief (2005, 2010). Producers: Leti Lopez. Producer: Marlen Treviño. Board operators: Alex Sorto, and Joe Anthony Trevino. NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives. Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org 24/7 The Other Side TV www.TheOtherSideTele.com

On this edition of Making Contact, we'll examine how young people are using spoken word as a mechanism for social change.  The show also will explore how Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam has challenged mainstream culture and created spaces that welcome and encourage marginalized communities to speak up about their life experiences – all through poetry. Featuring:  Kayla Kitchen; Aleah Bradshaw; Victor Masony; Quinton Campbell-Rod; Aurelle Marie; Aisha June; Tish Jones the Founder & Executive Director of TruArtSpeaks and Brave New Voices leadership fellow; James Kass, the Founder & Executive Director of Youth Speaks. Credits: Host: Anita Johnson, Producers: Marie Choi, Monica Lopez, R.J. Lozada and Anita Johnson Executive Director: Lisa Rudman Audience Engagement Director: Sabine Blaizin Development Associate: Vera Tykulsker Special Thanks: James Kass, the Founder & Executive Director of Youth Speaks Tara Dorabji, the Director of Development & Communications at Youth Speaks And Youth Speaks For More Information: Youth Speaks Brave New Voices Aleah Bradshaw Slam Champions Black Exorcism Image Credit: Constellations | Very Quiet – Flickr Music Credit: All Our Clocks Are Dying – by Ergo Phizmiz Prelude No. 1 – Chris Zabriskie Profanity Beep Notification: At these times we beeped out all profanity. 1:00:347 6:10:276 22:07:00 22:11:667 22:16:766 24:29:261 The post We Got Next: Youth Poets Changing the World appeared first on KPFA.

Rey Timosa Novicio Jr. is a Pinoy musician, producer, community mentor, and mental health advocate. He goes by the stage name of Mister REY and has released both instrumental and solo albums. He also recently produced the whole Native Immigrant album of Ro3lay. Born and raised in Makati, Philippines, he immigrated to the US when he was 12 and moved into the Mission District of San Francisco. He participated in multiple youth programs such as Youth Speaks and has now transitioned into the role of facilitator. He has coordinated afterschool programs in the South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood—some specifically targeting at-risk 1st generation Filipino American you who were on probation. He has used music to support and youth and provide spaces for expression and growth. Currently, he’s the Program Coordinator for Filipino Mental Health Initiative, an organization based out of the Bayanihan Resource Center, which aims to provide community services and end the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

Azura Tyabji performs at the Youth Speaks Seattle open mic night on Feb. 5.

Carlynn Newhouse performs at the Youth Speaks Seattle open mic night on Feb. 5.

1.Poetic Response to the Elections with poets: Rafael Jesús González, Eugene Redmond, Marcus Lorenzo Penn, Sandra "Makeda" Hooper-Mayfield, Karla Brundage, Alan Laird, Ann Marie Davis, Raymond Nat Turner, Charles Curtis Blackwell, Karla Brundage, Zigi Lowenberg 2. 30th Annual Black Doll Artists Show and Sale, Nov. 12, 10-5 at the African American Museum and Library, Oakland 3. BACCHANAL DE AFRIQUE Nkeiruka Oruche, Artistic Director/Producer Nkeiruka Oruche is a Nigerian of Igbo descent who lives and plays with her family in Oakland. She is a dancer, musician, performer and educator specializing in street dance and music styles from Africa and her Diaspora. With over 15 years of experience and a passion for social justice and community-building, her goal is to work with people to use art as a way to lead healthy lives and create positive change in the world. Nkeiruka has worked with Amara Tabor-Smith, Loco Bloco, Dance Mission Theater, the Oakland Museum of California, Our Family Coalition, Youth Speaks and a host of change-making entities. Currently, Nkeiruka is leading Afro Urban Society, a group that works to foster and preserve the resiliency, interconnection and existence of people of African descent in global urban settings through art performance and social engagement. She is also a Co-Founder of BoomShake, a social justice oriented musical community. November 18: Til' Dance Do Us Part, Afro-Urban Musical, 8PM @ Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco November 19: Community Lab for the African Diaspora, 6PM @ EastSide Arts Alliance, Oakland November 19: Afrobeats vs. Azonto Master Dance Class, 2PM @ Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco November 20: Afrobeats & Soul Line & Turf & More Dance Workshops, 11AM - 7PM @ EastSide Arts Alliance, Oakland 

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay! 1. Hodari B. Davis, Dir., Youth Speaks; Duane Detterville, Oakland Maroon Arts Collective; Eric Murphy, Joyce Gordon Gallery 2. Patricia Montgomery & Michael Ross 3. Iconic Black Panther Art Exhibition 4. John Santos, Sacred Roots of Latin Jazz Concert Oct. 23 at the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland.

Spoken word, or oral poetry, can help students critically examine dominant narratives to make sense of their own experience through language and express themselves using their own vernacular. As part of a special series designed for the Letters to the Next President 2.0 project, this L2P 2.0 Make Cycle/Media Make hangout is a chance for students to create oral “letters” to the next president. This hangout is hosted by KQED and Youth Speaks with educators and partners from the National Writing Project and YOUmedia Learning Labs Network. http://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/l2p-2-0-media-make-spoken-word-letters/

"Young Writer Caroline Martin finds catharsis and inspiration in writing, and finds the art to be both entertaining and essential to the sometimes tumultuous adolescent years.  Please join Caroline as she and I discuss the art of writing, and its importance to adolescents as a tool to voice their emotion and unravel their easily-tangled developing minds!  Caroline's passion is an inspiration to writers and non-writers, alike!  Please call in and share with us!" - Amanda GriemePlease join Amanda Grieme, Author of “Dear Prudence,” Motherhood Made ME Get Over MYSELF: A Metamorphosis, and English/Creative Writing Educator. Amanda LIVES with Bipolar Disorder choosing writing as her catharsis and creative medium to help others. Her life experience with mental illness, self-medication will lend listeners invaluable, often quirky life advice. Tune in to share in life's struggles, folly, laughter, tears… idiosyncratic oddities, cradled by eclectic music selections.“Dear Prudence” Radio – Life Advice to Help YOU Cope will provide you with entertaining and informative fodder about life stuff, backed by research, justified by public opinion… and humbled by ill-experience. http://youtu.be/PBQ3TADwSyQhttp://amzn.to/1Seq1oY

High school student Shayanna develops her talents at Youth Speaks, a nonprofit that creates a safe space for young people to explore writing and performance skills in the service of bettering their communities.

Spoken word.  Its poetry…its hip-hop…and it's increasingly, the chosen means of expression for today's youth. On this edition, to celebrate National Poetry month, we bring you the poets and students of Youth Speaks, from their annual event in honor of another master orator, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Special thanks to Youth Speaks. Featuring: James Kass, Youth Speaks Founder & Executive Director; Talia Young, Dante Clark, Gretchen Carvahol, Prentice Powell, Justin Jodiatis, spoken word artists. For More Information: Youth Speaks Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation, Vona Read, Write, Think  Hot Water Cornbread  Red Room Poets Split this Rock Poetry National Association for Poetry Therapy Poetry Foundation Philly Youth Poets Articles: This Is the Time for Poetry': A Conversation With Alice Walker Adrienne Rich, LA Times obituary Music: Dear Mama by Tupac Hip-Hop by Dead Prez The post Making Contact – Bigger Than Hip-Hop: Youth Speakin' for Themselves (ENCORE) appeared first on KPFA.

Spoken word. Its poetry…its hip-hop…and it’s increasingly, the chosen means of expression for today’s youth. On this edition we bring you the poets and students of Youth Speaks, from their annual event in honor of another master orator, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Special thanks to Youth Speaks. Featuring:James Kass, Youth Speaks founder & executive director; Talia Young, Dante Clark, Gretchen Carvahol, Prentice Powell, Justin Jodiatis, spoken word artists.

Spoken word. Its poetry…its hip-hop…and it’s increasingly, the chosen means of expression for today’s youth. On this edition we bring you the poets and students of Youth Speaks, from their annual event in honor of another master orator, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Special thanks to Youth Speaks. Featuring:James Kass, Youth Speaks founder & executive director; Talia Young, Dante Clark, Gretchen Carvahol, Prentice Powell, Justin Jodiatis, spoken word artists.

Alixa and Naima are two poets who together make up Climbing PoeTree, an award winning performance duo.  Mixing poetry and politics they seek to use their words to educate and inspire.  On this edition, we hear performances by Climbing PoeTree and hear how their performances have evolved over the years.   Featuring: Alixa and Naima, Climbing PoeTree performance poets For More Information: Climbing PoeTree http://www.climbingpoetree.com/ Allied Media Conference http://alliedmedia.org/ Youth Speaks http://youthspeaks.org/ Invincible http://emergencemedia.org/invincible Hurricane Season http://www.hurricaneseasontour.com/** Las Krudas: To Be Lesbian, Feminist, and Hip-Hop in Cuba! by Yoshie Furuhashi http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2006/furuhashi080206.html Videos: Climbing Poetree perform “Being Human” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z6lYyP2vOk Las Krudas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExRUUKE2R3s The post Making Contact – Art is Our Weapon: A Conversation With Climbing Poetree appeared first on KPFA.

Spoken word.  It’s poetry…it’s hip-hop…and increasingly, it’s the chosen means of expression for today’s youth.  On this edition, to celebrate National Poetry month, we bring you performances by the poets and students of Youth Speaks, from their annual event in honor of another master orator, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Spoken word.  It’s poetry…it’s hip-hop…and increasingly, it’s the chosen means of expression for today’s youth.  On this edition, to celebrate National Poetry month, we bring you performances by the poets and students of Youth Speaks, from their annual event in honor of another master orator, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This ART OF HUSTLE episode features one of the best grants hustlers I've ever met. Joan Osato has played a pivotal role in local and national theater for well over a decade. She served as director of Asian American Theater Company from 1997 - 2000 and currently sits on its advisory board. She served as Youth Speaks' Managing Director from 2001-2007 and has been an Producer, Assistant Director, Stage Manager, Production Manager, and Lighting Designer with the Living Word Project. She has brought her multiplicity of production and design talents to Living Word Project Repertory works such as The Break/s, Word Becomes Flesh, Scourge, and Mirrors in Every Corner. She is the inaugural recipient of the San Francisco Arts Commission Artist and Communities Partnership Grant for a project she is conducting through Asian American Recovery Services of San Francisco. She is also a self-taught documentary photographer. Her photography has exhibited at SF Camerawork and Meridian Gallery, and has graced the album cover designs of iconic bands such as Faith No More. She has been considered for prestigious awards such as the Prix de la Photographie, and awarded an Exhibition in The Bay Area Currents 2009. Her work has been featured in publications: LA Weekly, Koream Magazine, and Artslant, Juried Exhibit Winner in Photography. Thank you for subscribing! Please rate the podcast and leave comments. I look forward to building with you. More information and tons of free tips on marketing and management at: ArtOfHustle.com.

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 Jihan Gearon is a Dine (Navajo) & African American organizer from the Navajo Nation. She works for the Indigenous Environmental Network and is currently traveling with the New Voices on Climate Change speaking tour. She spoke at the 3rd and final day of the Peoples Summit held on September 22nd, in Pittsburgh, Pa as part of a series of events that provided an alternative forum to the G20 Summit.

Simone Crew of Youth Speaks, a San Francisco literary arts organization, recites an excerpt from "Yasmeena," one of her "green inspired" poems.

DJ Matt Werner’s interview with hip hop artist Ise Lyfe originally aired on Fresh Air: The Alternative on March 3, 2009. Ise Lyfe wrote and performed in the best play I saw in 2008, a one-man play entitled "Who's Krazy." Having followed Ise's early work in Youth Speaks since he was a teenager, I was excited to interview this author, educator, hip hop artist, actor, and community organizer from East Oakland, California. In the hour-long radio broadcast, Ise Lyfe talks about the commodification of poverty related to the exploitation of black culture in the U.S., the BART police shooting of Oscar Grant, his latest album Prince Cometh, his forthcoming book Pistols and Prayers and forthcoming mixtape Take Them to School, the fears of Obama's assassination held by people in East Oakland during the 2008 presidential campaign, and how Obama's election is not the end of racial struggle in the U.S. The show also features a dispatch from Joe Sciarrillo on the New Year's shooting of Oscar Grant by a BART police officer in Oakland, California, and the subsequent protests. Amanda Mohammed speaks at the end of the show about her March 13, 2009 event in Berkeley, California raising awareness on the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. For more on Ise Lyfe, please visit his websites: http://iselyfenation.com and http://www.myspace.com/iselyfe

This morning was quite challenging in a good way. I started at 6 AM with David Hardiman, whose Big Band is in its 34th Anniversary Season being celebrated Monday, Jan. 19, in concert, two shows, 8 & 10 PM at Yoshi's San Francisco, 1330 Fillmore. I wanted to have Melanie Demore on also, but I had technical difficulties so I included her in my regular, 8-10 AM show with Clifford Brown Jr., emcee for the “7th Annual Musical Tribute to Dr. MLK Jr.,” Sunday, January 18, at the Scottish Rite Center, 1547 Lakeside Drive, in Oakland. Visit www.mlktribute.com I opened the program this morning with Marcus Shelby, who is also participating in the MLK Music Tribute Sunday. He will be premiering an excerpt of a new work honoring Martin King. Ms. Faye Carol, featured in Marcus' new work, joined the musician/composer in the studio and then stayed on when Melanie joined us. We had a fun conversation, so much so, I could barely get a word in to welcome Clifford Brown Jr., into the studio. The three then had a great time conversing until Ms. Carol had to sign off. Okay, I am trying to let out my breath...whew! Miko Marks calls in on time for her interview at 9 AM, and so do her fans who share with her their appreciation of her work. It was really cool having the live audience. Things were finally moving along well. Miko was joined by Kev Choice, and the two to them spoke about their work, Miko as a country western singer, and Kev as a rap artist whose work seeks to uplift the community, his listeners. They are both performing on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 8 PM, at the Oaktown Jazz Workshop fundraiser at Yoshi's in Jack London Square in Oakland. Visit yoshis.com Wanda's Picks closed this morning with a conversation with Hodari B. Davis and Mike Turner. Mike is a student at Encinal High School, and Hodari is director of National Initiatives for Youth Speaks. They were speaking about "Bringing the Noise for MLK Jr.." the annual tribute on MLK Jr. Day at the Herbst Theatre, 7 PM.

Today we had an exclusive interview with Troy Anthony Davis' sister Martina Correia, who has been standing for justice for her brother for 19 long years. Mr. Davis is scheduled once again, for execution Monday, October 27, by the State of Georgia if a stay is not granted. Davis turned 40 October 9, and though witnesses have recanted, and the absence of DNA prove his innocence, the 8th Amendment of the Georgia State Constitution, states it's okay to kill and innocent person as long as the courts feel he has received a fair trial. Mr. Davis is from an upper middle class black family, his dad retired military, and police officer. He graduated with honors from high school, a year after he was scheduled to graduate because he was caregiver for his sister who had MS and was paralyzed from the waist down. Since his incarceration, his dad has died--diabetic coma, the stress of a son on death row too much for him to take. Martina Correia diagnosed with cancer March 2001, has been on chemotherapy for all these years after her doctors dismissed her symptoms. It's a good thing she is a medical practitioner and knew what tests to run and where to get a second opinion once her suspicions were confirmed. Even now, Martina stated on the air this morning, it's crazy that she has to take poison to stay alive, while her brother is about to be given poison to kill him. The show opened with an interview with Chanaka Hodge, who wears multiple hats at Youth Speaks which sponsors the Living Word Festival, in its 7th year, closing weekend, October 23-25, at Theater Artaud, 450 Florida Street in San Francisco. Tickets are $5 for students and $20/25 for adults. At the box office if guests mention the password, "Race is Fiction," they get two for one passes. Call (415) 255-9035.

Tues, May 15th, 2007 8:00 PM live @ the Fremont Abbey Arts Center | recorded by Joshua Sherman, curated by Nathan Marion

Tues, May 15th, 2007 8:00 PM live @ the Fremont Abbey Arts Center | recorded by Joshua Sherman, curated by Nathan Marion

Tues, January 15th, 2007 8:00 PM live @ the Fremont Abbey Arts Center | recorded by Joshua Sherman, curated by Nathan Marion

Moving Beyond Exclusion: Asian Pacific Islander youths talk about their needs in the wake of the juvenile detention scandal. And, poetry by Youth Speaks, a feature on the Traveling South Asian Film Festival and a Women's History Month salute to Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's symbol of democracy now under arrest. Plus music, calendar and more. Contact Apex at apex@kpfa.org or 510-848-6767 x 464. The post APEX Express – March 18, 2004 appeared first on KPFA.