This week Alex and Meg are joined by Ajamou Butler and Jessica Butler from Heal The Hood to talk about their upcoming event on May 28th in Milwaukee. The group discusses the origination of Heal The Hood and talk about ways to join in the movement around healing our inner city spaces. 

Meg and Alex are back in the studio sharing their most controversial take to date. The two discuss the idea that it's harder to grow up in 53206 than it is where they are from. While that might be a bit of a stretch to think of that as controversial today, that hasn't always been the case and how recognizing and acknowledging the challenges young people face in 53206 is a step in the right for long term social change. 

The thing about the inner city is that most people don't want it to stay how it is. People living in the suburbs don't love the negative outcomes they see on the news and those living here would prefer a decrease in acts of violence or crime in general. Luckily the solution is the same for both groups - be the change they want to see in the world. On this episode of the 53206 Cast, Meg and Alex dive into what it would look like to be the change and encourage listeners to take action within their own spheres of influence. 

A curious part of living in the inner city is how close together hope and despair can be. A beautifully maintained house can be situated between two run-down abandoned buildings. Something exciting can be quickly interrupted by an act of violence and positive change can be overshadowed in an instant. On this weeks episode of the 53206 Cast Meg and Alex dive into that phenomenon and give some thoughts on how we can push for hope rather than despair. 

The future of the inner city is many times siloed into going down two potential paths, continued denigration or gentrification. While a third option might not be readily available, Meg and Alex try to give shape to what that might look like as they think about the future of 53206.

When a person has little to no frame of reference around how someone else might experience life, it can be difficult to empathize. That difficulty shouldn't be a reason to not engage in that work. Meg and Alex tackle this topic and more on the latest episode of the 53206 Cast. 

The 53206 Cast welcomes back Ashley Frahm to the podcast. Ashley talks about a recent shooting that took place outside of Rufus King High School within eyesight of her house. She shares how she approached processing the event with her children and gives some insight on some of the trickle down effects of gun violence. 

On this special episode of the 53206 Cast, Meg and Alex welcome their 11 year old daughter Mae to the show. An avid consumer of podcasts herself, Mae shares insights on what it's like growing up in the inner city. 

Meg and Alex are back to talk about the curious tendency we have to diminish the severity of tragedy based on our pre-conceptions of the inner city. The two discuss a recent mass shooting and give some practical advice on how we can re-think horrific events that take place across our inner cities. 

On this week's episode of the 531206 Cast, we cover pre-teen slumber parties, flat tires, and our unfortunate tendency to judge what we don't understand.