America Uncomplicated is my attempt to "uncomplicate" current news, events and policies in a way everyone can understand. I pick one "hot topic" per week and distribute it to the masses as best I can.
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A slow learner, one who just got by in high school and university, it took a long time to discover the most important rule……”The Numbers Never Lie”. After 5 years of advertising, I crossed over to Marketing, where accountability and experience resulted in amassing significant successes (including the introduction of a $100 million business in North America). It was the thrill of the chase and being hands-on, I enjoyed doing the doing and encouraging the people I worked with to tell me what t ...
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Two besties navigate race and the Black Experience in the world of Jazz Dance and other Afro-centric social dancing. Join Associate Professor, instructor, and swing and Zambian heritage dancer CHISOMO SELEMANI and world champion swing dancer, instructor, and historian BOBBY WHITE as they discuss Afro-centric social dancing with a range of guests, make bad puns, and occasionally sing. The goal is comfortable conversations about uncomfortable things. You can support us at: Patreon: www.patreon ...
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47: The Adult Circle (w/ MARIE N'DIAYE & FELIX BERGHALL)
1:44:17
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LIVE AT HERRANG 2024! International Lindy Hop badasses Marie N'diaye (Phd) and Felix Berghall sit down with Chisomo & Bobby to discuss Blackness in the dance's history, culture, and classroom. You know, the small stuff. Notes: 1. Audio only, no video this time. 2. We recorded in an echo-ey room and our fancy software did a great job of cutting out …
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Chisomo & Bobby dive into a discussion on body types and the swing scene. Huge thanks to our Patreon patrons! Cassandra Filios Kaydee Tower Sasha K Justnigel Ann Sofie van Enis Katja Alexandria July Belber Rebecca BurWei Dee Mathews Brooks Prumo Jessie Brooks Aryn Kelly Audrey Bui Ian Dawson Karen ComposMcCormack Amy Sorenson Nika Jin Emily Benze A…
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45: Dance as Healing (w/ ANTHONY CHEN & LAUREL RYAN)
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LIVE! at Beantown Lindy Hop Camp 2022, outside of Boston. Join ANTHONY CHEN & LAUREL RYAN as we discuss dance and healing, including a Q&A from audience members. Please note: This was recorded just as the world seemed to be emerging from the Pandemic.
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Chisomo & Bobby react to episode 42's "The Gig," and discuss the act of Lindy Hop gigging and what it means to the art form. (Don't worry, we give a synopsis at the beginning.) Huge thanks to our Patreon patrons! Huge thanks to our Patrons! Cassandra Filios Kaydee Tower Sasha K Justnigel Ann Sofie van Enis Katja Alexandria July Belber Rebecca BurWe…
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Chisomo Selemani is a US Citizen now! (One of us... one of us... one of us...) So, for funsies, Bobby takes the citizenship test.
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42: The Gig (w/ GABY COOK, AJ HOWARD, & LAURA GLAESS)
1:27:03
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International swing dance instructors and New York resident giggers GABY COOK, A.J. HOWARD, LAURA GLAESS, and Bobby White tell Chisomo the story of a recent gig they did. Enjoy. (In our next episode, Chisomo will reflect on the craziness.) Huge thanks to our Patrons! Cassandra Filios Kaydee Tower Sasha K Justnigel Ann Sofie van Enis Katja Alexandri…
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Chisomo talks through some of the feelings of being hired as a Black woman instructor in the modern swing scene. Bobby talks about a time he recently switched the names of two of his close Black friends, in person, in a group of dancers. Huge thanks to our Patrons! Sasha K Justnigel Ann Sofie van Enis Katja Alexandria July Belber Rebecca BurWei Dee…
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40: Say "Yes" To What We Have (w/ URSULA HICKS)
1:27:47
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In this episode, we talk to dance instructor and ILHC MC URSULA HICKS about Lindy Hop clothing, honky-tonking, contact improvisation, and what she would add to the world of Lindy Hop teaching. Thanks to our Patreon Patrons! Patrons-- Sasha K Justnigel Ann Sofie van Enis Katja Alexandria July Belber Rebecca BurWei Dee Mathews Brooks Prumo Jessie Bro…
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38: Walking Past the Norma Table (w TARYN NEWBORNE)
57:25
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TARYN NEWBORNE , who started off in ballroom dance before finding swing and Lindy Hop, has combined her passions to become an amazing swing singer and band leader. She joined us to talk about her story, what a swing scene family is, and hopes for how we can emerge from the pandemic. Making a great record takes a lot of time, and, sadly, money. You …
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37: Put On Your Big Person Pants (w/ STEFFANIE AK SCHILLING)
1:03:42
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We're back, with STEFFANIE AK SCHILLING! Fun times discussing Juneteenth, European racism, colorism, the Balboa scene, and more! If you are able, please consider donating to our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/integratedrhythm (or one time donations to paypal.me/bobbywhite3) And huge thanks to our Patreon patrons: Jessica Brooks, Aryn Kelly, Audre…
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Chisomo & Bobby discuss the "You're Wrong About" podcast's fantastic "Ebonics Controversy" episode. We discuss what makes a language a language, code switching, and authenticity. If you are able, please consider donating to our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/integratedrhythm (or one time donations to paypal.me/bobbywhite3) And huge thanks to our …
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35: On the Edge of Your Seat (Norma Miller Stand-up Block Party! PART 2!)
1:01:46
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In PART 2 of our Season 2 debut, Michelle Stokes, Laurel Ryan, Andrea Gordon, and Julia Loving join Chisomo & Bobby to listen to Norma Miller's 1970s stand up album and discuss it and what makes humor of its time. Btw, ALL THE CONTENT WARNINGS. If you are able, please consider donating to our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/integratedrhythm And hu…
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34: Healthy, Sexless & Single (Norma Miller's Stand Up Block Party)
54:45
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In our Season 2 debut, Michelle Stokes, Laurel Ryan, Andrea Gordon, and Julia Loving join Chisomo & Bobby to listen to Norma Miller's 1970s stand up album and discuss it and what makes humor of its time. Btw, ALL THE CONTENT WARNINGS. If you are able, please consider donating to our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/integratedrhythm And huge thanks …
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As many of you know our beloved Michelle Stokes unexpectedly passed away in early February. This is just a brief episode about that regarding our Integrated Rhythm family, our season 2 start date, and how we all might honor Michelle in the IR spirit. It includes a clip of Michelle from a conversation following a recent episode recording. Also, if y…
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We're back in January with a new season of Integrated Rhythm! We explain how that'll go, and what kept us away for the last few months. UPDATE: Due to some new software we're still getting the hang of, trying to make a living wage, and the passing of a close friend to IR, we are currently on hold with releasing season 2. We have already recorded se…
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Free Course #5.3 by O1 CrispBy O1 Crisp
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While we handle some life situations and prepare the next few episodes, check out Questlove's new documentary, "SUMMER OF SOUL"! And thank you all for your support!
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Holding on. That seems to be a theme as we discuss Black American English, Southerners traveling North, and, of course, jazz dance. 0:00 Black American English: It's a language! 11:30 Bobby experiences a TINY bit of language discrimination, compared to how much Black Americans experience. 16:30 Discrimination of language is discrimination of people…
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Hope-timistic. It's how we're feeling after the recent "Move Together: Build Back Better" event recently conducted (we said "build back together" in the podcast, our bad!), which even had some truth charcuterie from Chisomo (say that three times fast). 0:00 Some love 7:00 The everyday lens 13:00 Looking towards the future 15:00 Leaks in the fuel ta…
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31: Turning to History (w/ NICHOLAS CENTINO)
59:12
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Turning to History This is how NICHOLAS "NIKO" CENTINO, Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, answered the complex questions brought up in an American background steeped in different cultures. In this conversation we discuss his own experiences as a Person of Color, as well as zoot suits, the Neo Swing era, and hi…
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Thanks for bearing with us as some life situations take place! We believe we can do a few more episodes before we have to take another short break. Enjoy this Char-Char & Bobby episode where we discuss a White swing dancer getting interviewed for a New York Times story about a Black swing dancer. 0:00 Btw, Bobby was a journalist 6:15 Bobby is calle…
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**Please note: an important life situation has come up that will most likely keep us from being able to do an episode or two in the near future. Please bare with us and enjoy a previous episode for your weekly fix of IR!** This week, a reading of the article, "A Gaze into a Day at the Races" that dives into the background and context of the famous …
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28: In Focus Finally (w/ CYNTHIA MILLMAN)
1:31:43
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"In Focus Finally." When author and librarian Cynthia Millman first saw Lindy Hop legend Frankie Manning dance in the 1980s, a lot of things about the dance finally came into focus. Little did she know she would end up going on the epic journey of co-writing Frankie’s memoir with him. To celebrate World Lindy Hop Day and Frankie Manning's birthday,…
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Bobby tells the story of four incredible dancers who were Frankie Manning's partners, and Chisomo and IR fam LAUREL RYAN join in and listen along. 0:00 Frieda Washington & Creative Adventurousness 19:00 Lucille Middleton & Tall Coolness 28:30 Willa Mae Ricker & Fashionable Groundedness 49:30 Ann(e)? Johnson & Powerful Smallness SOURCES: "Frankie Ma…
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Another Chisomo & Bobby episode! This week, the parable of the Three Little Black Girls. What would you do? Let us know at Intrhythm@gmail.com 0:00 Three Little Black Girls come up to us in the park… 6:00 "Too woke, Chisomo" 9:30 No one will see our dance if it's not out in the world… 20:00 Crucibles of talent 29:00 Independence vs interdependence…
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It's a Chisomo & Bobby episode, where they have a friend's talk that asks some questions about how Black culture relates to the dance and teaching, tells one of Bobby's most memorable Frankie Manning stories, and reveals which one of us is "the woman in the doorframe." 0:00 Mentorship & teaching 5:00 LaTasha Barnes: Balboa dancer? 7:30 The Nuances …
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A Communal Circle. In this episode, (part 2 of 2) JULIA LOVING discusses her intimate history with Black New York art forms, the dances she runs in Harlem, and a controversial opinion that will make some people in Queens wanna fight. Also, Chisomo, Bobby tackle an important question from Julia. 0:00 Julia's Question 4:00 Laws, acts, amendments, min…
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23: Black Joy, a Form of Resistance (w/JULIA LOVING)
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In this episode (Part 1 of 2), we're with dancer, historian, educator, promoter, instigator, designer, and business owner JULIA LOVING. We share Norma Miller stories, the historical Civil Rights legacy of Julia's family, and how both have shaped the design of Julia's incredible swing dance events. 0:00 Miss Norma enters the room… 6:00 Norma's memor…
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22: A Room with a Door (w/ LAUREL RYAN)
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A room with a door... Not just a great thing to have in a instructor contract, it's also a great thing to have in the swing dance scene as a whole. In part 2 of 2, instructor, MC, and Lindy Focus meeting co-host LAUREL RYAN shares with us how the standards of Black Excellence give a warped door for Black instructors to enter the Instructor room, ho…
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21: A Sprinkle of White Supremacy (w/ LAUREL RYAN)
54:12
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A Sprinkle of White Supremacy... In part 1 of 2, instructor, MC, and Lindy Focus meeting co-host LAUREL RYAN shares with us the fascinating tales of learning Lindy Hop, confronting its harmful teaching practices, and how Black people are constantly battling between being undervalued and tokenized. **Music in this episode by Barron Ryan! Go to barro…
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20: Pretend I'm Not Bouncing (w/ BRANDON BARKER)
1:03:10
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Pretend I'm Not Bouncing. Dancer BRANDON BARKER has his dance passion in three worlds --- the academy of a university where he is currently finishing up a BFA in concert dance, the legendary company of Black American dance Alvin Ailey where he has worked and trained, and the swing scene where he is a Lindy Hopper and Jazz dancer, performer, and tea…
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It's a Chisomo & Bobby episode, where we discuss a few topics. 0:00 A possible guest politely declined to be on our show, and we talk about it. It's all good, but we wanted to explore some things that brings up. 12:30 The art of not talking over Follower teachers, and what that tells us about inclusion. 28:30 We discuss Odysseus Bailer's great "How…
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18: Buzz Words (BLOCK PARTY #2, 2 of 2)
1:02:43
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This is part 2 of 2 of our second Block Party. We are honored to have with us, MC and instructor MICHELLE STOKES, MC and instructor LAUREL RYAN --- both of which do the amazing music for our podcast, by the way --- we also have incredible swing dance researcher and history lover LEWIS ORCHARD, and 1972 Harvest Moon Ball champion and Mama Lou Parks …
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17: Chocolate & Peanut Butter (BLOCK PARTY #2, Part 1)
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Chocolate & Peanut Butter --- how do you feel about the combination? The discussion at Integrated Rhythm gets serious. In this BLOCK PARTY episode (Part 1 of 2), we discuss Duke Ellington, peanut butter & chocolate, tea & coffee, and high fantasy. Guests include MICHELLE STOKES, LAUREL RYAN, LEWIS ORCHARD, and CRYSTAL JOHNSON. 2:00 -- Crystal meets…
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16: My Exodus for Me to Begin (w/ CRYSTAL JOHNSON)
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My Exodus for Me to Begin. In Part II of a two-part conversation with Harvest Moon Ball champion and Mama Lou Parks dancer CRYSTAL JOHNSON, we cover her father, Whitey's Lindy Hopper Thomas "Tops" Lee, her coming back into the swing dance world, and her thoughts on how racism has changed since she was younger. 1:30 Thomas Lee, Mr. Showbiz 6:00 Maya…
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15: Don't Be Stingy With It. (w/CRYSTAL JOHNSON)
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Don't be stingy with it. We're talking about gifts, and the gift of dance that was given to our guest this week, the legendary CRYSTAL JOHNSON --- Harvest Moon Ball champion, Mama Lou Parks dancer, and the daughter of Whitey's Lindy Hopper Thomas "Tops" Lee, Jr. In part 1 of this 2-part conversation, we discuss her early dancing life, her Harvest M…
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14: Luxury Char-cute-erie (w/ MICHELLE STOKES)
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In part 2 of our interview with emcee, jazz dance instructor, and Lindy Focus Meeting co-host, MICHELLE STOKES, we discuss nicknames, Michelle's philosophy of emceeing and teaching, the problems of Black-based imposture syndrome, and Michelle's ideal scene. 1:00 "Stoked to be here," White people and puns, nicknames in general 7:50 Michelle accident…
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13: To Be Black and Snatched (w/ MICHELLE STOKES)
1:02:57
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To Be Black and Snatched. Hair --- it's not only a cultural part of Black living, it's also a practical one. You might be surprised all the ways it plays a role in a Black person existing in a mostly Non-Black America, and specifically in a Non-Black swing dancing space. It's only one of the topics we discuss in today's action-packed episode. In pa…
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In the late 1930s, a truly Black American dance experience took over America. This episode is a reading of this week's Swungover article on the rise of the "The Big Apple" dance craze, the problematic news articles affiliated with it, and how Whitey's Lindy Hoppers adopted the dance in Harlem. You can read the article and see the Whitey's Big Apple…
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Indeegnance. A word that beautifully captures all that we talk about in today's episode, including genetic-based racism vs assimilationist racism, language and perception, code switching, Beyonce's "Black is King," the burden of representation, and action verses emotion. 1:00 Bobby's sloppy set up: Genetic-based Racism vs Assimilationist Racism 4:3…
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10: "Mmmm, That Ain't It, Baby." (w/ KENNETH SHIPP)
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In this episode, Blues Dances instructor, DJ, and proud nerd KENNETH SHIPP discusses getting thrown into the middle of learning Line Dances, the dance lessons gotten from church, working first hand with Blues dancing pioneers, and how each has shaped the way he teaches dance and helps people chill the f&$% out. (1:00) Kenneth on learning growing up…
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09: A Little Stalker-y (w/ LEWIS ORCHARD & SHANI BROWN)
1:01:49
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In this episode, Bobby & Chisomo talk with swing historians and history lovers LEWIS ORCHARD (a White British man) and SHANI BROWN (a Black American woman) about not being Black and researching Black people in history. Specifically, they will tell the story of researching the great Whitey's Lindy Hopper John Wesley "Tiny" Bunch, and discuss the pro…
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SHORTY: Short bonus episodes. This "Shorty" is a reading of the Swungover Article "The Life of "Tiny" Bunch," about famous Whitey's Lindy Hopper John "Tiny" Bunch. This is a companion piece to podcast Episode 09: "A little Stalker-y" where we discuss the act of researching People of Color.
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08: Genes Are Weird, Am I Right? (w/ SHANI BROWN)
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This week we talk with international instructor of Balboa and Lindy, Shani Brown , about learning from the original SoCal swing dancers, the reality of their culture and lives, and the invisibility and visibility of herself as a Black woman in the scene. We also briefly reflect on and respond to the events that happened at the Capital on Nov 6, 202…
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CHECK IT OUT: Buzz Interview w/ Adolfo 'Shabba Doo' Quiñone (YouTube Vid)
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CHECK IT OUT! Short tidbits where we point listeners to awesome things. In this episode, we briefly tell you why you should watch The Buzz's interview with Soul Train dancer & Breakin' star Adolfo 'Shabba Doo' Quiñone, who recently passed away ahead of his time. Here's the link to the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFjQSmveA8&…
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In this episode, Chisomo & Bobby discuss White people complimenting Black people, and many of the layers involved. (0:00) The setup. (4:00) compliments & microaggressions. (8:30) talking with the other person? It gets tricky. (10:30) looking at the context. (19:00) Black women's hair. (22:00) The exaggeration of Black people as a tool of oppression…
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06: Knocked Down? ...I DO Get Up Again. (Holiday Party, Part 2 of 2)
1:18:11
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(Part 2 of 2!) This is a special holiday episode with the Integrated Rhythm family and all of our guests so far --- LATASHA BARNES, JOEY OTENG, LAUREL RYAN, MICHELLE STOKES, and STEFFANIE AK SCHILLING! CONTENTS: (0:00) Question #3: What's a time when you've seen two cultures overlap unexpectedly? (1:07) Product of an interracial AND international c…
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05: You RESPECT The Muppets (Holiday Party, Part 1 of 2)
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Special 2020 Holiday Party Episode! Perfect for being cooped up in your house in a Holiday quarantine! (Part 1 of 2) with LATASHA BARNES, JOEY OTENG, LAUREL RYAN, MICHELLE STOKES, and STEFFANIE AK SCHILLING! (Also check out the visual of the party on YouTube!) And if you're a cheesy holiday movie fan, Joey's Hallmark lovefest is a must-listen (at 3…
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This week we talk with Social Justice Educator JOEY OTENG about 2020, academia, immigrant parents, and advice for the scene and the world in general. We also predict 93% of our listeners would happily go on a long walk on the beach with Joey by the end of the episode. (2:00) Joey's infographics, (7:00) The moving sidewalk of Anti-racism, (10:00) Ab…
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CHECK IT OUT: "Unbothered" by Namwali Serpell (Article)
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CHECK IT OUT! Short tidbits where we point listeners to awesome things. In this episode, we briefly tell you why you should read "Unbothered," an article by Namwali Serpell for The Yale Review, and some questions to ask yourself after you're done.
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