"No Tea, No Shade is an essential read for anyone who has searched for a way to feel like themselves." - BooklistIntimate, hilarious, and inspiring essays by celebrated drag queens Kennedy Ann Scott, Lagoona Bloo, Alexis Michelle, Olivia Lux, Julie J., and Nina West.No Tea, No Shade is a collective anthem written by six drag queens who believe in equality, peace, and in a world that loves and respects all people. The defiant legacy of drag will endure fearmongering and hate because their hearts have endured the unthinkable, their courage has been relentlessly tested, and to be blunt, they have the balls to prevail. When these gorgeous queens wear a stunning gown with picture perfect makeup, haters label them as inappropriate and unlawful. They are entertainers not predators. Drag is an art of self-expression that, at its core, affirms and uplifts LGBTQIA+ people. No Tea, No Shade features thirty essays discussing:. Social activism, Drag Story Hour, and education.. Coming out, gender, and equality.. Relationships, setting goals, and rejection.. Celebrating womanhood, family, and image.. Kennedy Ann Scott was awarded Teacher of the Year in Nashville, Tennessee. Lagoona Bloo starred on the Off-Broadway hit Drag: the Musical, and Alex Michaels received a stellar review from the New York Times for their role in La Cage Aux Falles at Barrington Stage Company. Olivia Lux starred in Rent and Kinky Boots. Julie J raised more than $100,000 for trans and LGBTQIA+ organizations. Nina West received an honorary doctorate in May 2024 and is a well-known entertainer, having worked with everyone from Glenn Close to Kermit the Frog.Despite the pervasive danger of being authentic and real, these drag artists have chosen to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights. They remind us that a person's identity shouldn't be marginalized to genitals. Identity categories are not as important as we have been led to believe, and the shade casted on drag is just a scapegoat. It is a distraction political figures and trolls use to lure people away from caring about serious issues like equality, gun violence, poverty, and racism.No Tea, No Shade shines a light on a community of people who are paving the way for a better world and holding the light for others to step up.KENNEDY ANN SCOTT BIO Kennedy Ann Scott is the stage name of Benjamin Slinkard. Benjamin is a Blue Ribbon Teacher and has been awarded Teacher of the Year for his service as an educator for Metro Public Schools. He has been recognized by the Nashville community as a top performer and claims residency at the Lipstick Lounge. He has been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine and the New York Times. Benjamin resides in Nashville, TN and is an advocate for children and members of the LGBTQIA community.

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I’m always asking questions.  The fun begins when you start researching for answers. Such as…   Most of us are familiar with white noise.  As of late people have elevated themselves to something called green noise?  What’s the difference?   Plus…REM is a valuable asset when it comes to the department of sleeping.  What if it’s not happening?  Oh oh…           I’m Arroe…  I am a daily writer.  A silent wolf.  I stand on the sidelines and do nothing but watch, listen study then activate.  I call it The Daily Mess.  A chronological walk through an everyday world.  Yes, it’s my morning writing.  As a receiver of thoughts and ideas, we as people tend to throw it to the side and deal with it later.  When a subject arrives, I dig in.  It’s still keeping a journal!  By doing the research the picture becomes clearer.  This is the Daily Mess…  

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“Federico has made it alone, imagining much and working more, arriving from Ravenna, where he was born, to become part of King Charles III’s task force.… Those who want to break the mold have to take risks, swim against the tide, walk untrodden paths.”—Giorgio Armani, from the foreword to The Geek of Chic.  At the start of the 21st century, shopping online was still a futuristic fantasy. There was no Facebook, there were no iPhones. And yet, in the spring of 2000, Federico Marchetti invented one of the world’s first platforms for online sales—and started a company that would revolutionize the luxury fashion sector. In THE GEEK OF CHIC: An American Dream, Italian Style (Post Hill Press; September 9, 2025; ISBN: 9798895650608; $18.99; 288 pages; Original Trade Paperback), international fashion business and tech icon Federico Marchetti, (with a foreword by Giorgio Armani), shares his engaging, honest and passionate memoir that reveals how he morphed from a geeky kid in the sleepy seaside town of Ravenna, Italy to a pioneer in online retail, offering practical advice for entrepreneurs and inspiration for visionaries and big dreamers.  The Geek of Chic explains the present and future of Marchetti’s life, including working on His Majesty King Charles III’s service as Chair of The Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Fashion Task Force, which includes brands such as Chloé, Armani, Burberry, Cucinelli, Stella McCartney, and Prada. In a sector known for individualism, Marchetti is uniting global luxury groups around a common goal of shifting towards a circular industry that is climate-conscious and nature-positive. The King of England now considers Marchetti his consigliere on matters of regenerative fashion and digital innovation, collaborating on several initiatives and projects.   Unfolding against a backdrop of famed vistas—Milan, Lake Como, Venice, England’s Royal Palace, New York City, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Dubai—and featuring encounters with notables from Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos to Giorgio Armani and Anna Wintour, The Geek of Chic’s message is relevant to a new generation of entrepreneurs who wish to combine innovation, business acumen, and AI with humanism, creativity and empathy: how to achieve the American dream in an Italian way.  For more information about Marchetti, please visit www.federicomarchetti.com.

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How an Undercover FBI Agent Smuggled Cocaine, Laundered Cash, and Dismantled a Colombian Narco EmpireDey Street is proud to publish INSIDE THE CARTEL: How an Undercover FBI Agent Smuggled Cocaine, Laundered Cash, and Dismantled a Colombian Narco-Empire. This groundbreaking memoir offers an unprecedented, pulse-pounding glimpse into the covert world of Colombian drug cartels through the eyes of legendary FBI agent Martin Suarez. Widely regarded among FBI agents as the greatest undercover agent of all time, Suarez holds the record for the longest continuous undercover run - an astonishing 23 years. Now, the details behind his unparalleled achievements are being revealed for the first time. In 2019, after being diagnosed with ALS, Suarez made the decision to finally tell his story - from secret operations and daring air drops at sea to a harrowing showdown with a cartel assassin in his own backyard. With his future uncertain, he partnered with author and esteemed journalist Ian Frisch to craft this gripping, cinematic memoir.Suarez is known for achieving the unimaginable. As the only undercover FBI agent to have infiltrated a Colombian drug cartel, he courageously lived a double life as 'Manny' within the cartel's treacherous corridors, smuggled $1 billion worth of cocaine into the U.S., and laundered over $50 million for the North Coast Cartel. His fearless and strategic operations also led to the exposure of the infamous Black Market Peso Exchange, a financial web that implicates individuals at the highest echelons of power, and thrusted billionaire bankers and high-ranking businessmen into the spotlight. Beyond the high-stakes missions, Martin's story is also a deeply personal one, as he struggled to balance his covert life with being a devoted husband, father, and son-all while the cartel's threats crept dangerously close to home. This book is unlike any other about the criminal underworld and is an essential read for those drawn to true crime stories, the intricacies of undercover operations, and the ongoing battle against international drug trafficking. Told with the pulse-racing action of a Hollywood blockbuster, INSIDE THE CARTEL is a book that should not be missed this fall.

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Higher education is at a turning point. The current model of higher education was built for the industrial era and needs to be transformed, according to Arthur Levine, author of the previously published The Great Upheaval: Higher Education’s Past, Present, and Uncertain Future. He has a new book coming out in spring 2026.  He is not promoting either book at this time.  Nationally known educational thought leader and Brandeis University President Arthur Levine has been at the forefront of the changing role of higher education.  He argues that in the next 20 years, college will be reinvented.  Consumers of higher education will determine what higher education will be, and that every institution will have to change. All colleges—especially liberal arts colleges —need to be more closely tied to the needs of the workplace and must change traditional structures, curricula, programs, degree offerings, teaching methods, career education, and student support systems. The proposed changes address concerns of both parents and the needs of employers—finding workers whose skills match what they need.

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I’m always asking questions.  The fun begins when you start researching for answers. Such as…   What if we ignored the food particles and other objects caught between our teeth?  Plus…do computers have a mind of their own?            I’m Arroe…  I am a daily writer.  A silent wolf.  I stand on the sidelines and do nothing but watch, listen study then activate.  I call it The Daily Mess.  A chronological walk through an everyday world.  Yes, it’s my morning writing.  As a receiver of thoughts and ideas, we as people tend to throw it to the side and deal with it later.  When a subject arrives, I dig in.  It’s still keeping a journal!  By doing the research the picture becomes clearer.  This is the Daily Mess…  

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In WATER MIRROR ECHO: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America (Mariner Books; on sale 9/23/2025), award-winning author Jeff Chang delivers a groundbreaking cultural biography of Bruce Lee, timed to Lee's 85th birthday year in 2025. Drawing on thousands of personal documents (including letters, diaries, and rare photos) and exclusive, in-depth interviews with Lee's inner circle (including his first love, close friends, and early fighting mentors), Chang offers a stunning dual portrait: the complex human story of Lee and the extraordinary, untold story of the creation of Asian America. Through Lee's experiences, Chang charts the rise of Asian America as a powerful political and cultural force that endures to this day

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"John Fugelsang nails this in his book, Separation of Church and Hate: The Bible says in John 4:8 that 'God Is Love.' Period.end of story!" -Willie Nelson For more than two centuries, the United States Constitution has given the right to a society where church and state exist independently. But Christianity has been hijacked by far-right groups and politicians who seek to impose their narrow views on government to justify oppressive and unequal policies. The extremists who weaponize the Bible for earthly power aren't actually on the side of Jesus-and historically they never have been. How do we fight back against those acting-literally-in bad faith?    But Fugelsang's message is about more than just taking down hypocrites. It's about fighting for the love, mercy, and service that are supposed to make up the heart of Christianity. Told with Fugelsang's trademark blend of radical honesty, humor, and deep political and religious knowledge, Separation of Church and Hate is the book every American today needs. It's a rallying cry for compassion and clarity for anyone of any faith who's sick of the fundamentalists using religion as a cloaking device for hate. 

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Welcome to the pumpkin capital of the world, where the pumpkins are epic, the rivalries are fierce, and the competition is anything but garden variety. Dinah Little, a no-nonsense farmer with a tough-as-a-pumpkin exterior, reluctantly takes in her abandoned niece, Charlie. Dinah is not quick to affection, and Charlie is not one for sitting still. So Dinah throws her into farm life, sleeves rolled up and hands in the dirt. Then comes the town's biggest spectacle, the annual pumpkin-growing contest, a Halloween season tradition that brings out wild stunts, eccentric characters, and record-setting drama. But Charlie has something no one else does, a special knack for connecting with plants that quietly reflects her own longing to feel just as seen and loved. But as both pumpkin and plot thicken, and rival growers pull every trick in the book, will Charlie and Dinah's unlikely entry stand tall against the fiercest competition the town has ever seen? As her pumpkin grows bigger, so does her bond with her aunt Dinah. Together they discover that the real prize is not measured in pounds, but in joy, laughter, and community. What begins as a seed blossoms into an exuberant and hilarious story of crazed competition, found family, and love that grows as boundless as the pumpkins themselves.Here's the trailer: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbfl-n50f8U 

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I’m always asking questions.  The fun begins when you start researching for answers. Such as…   What does it mean to this generation when homelessness continues to evolve into several layers of survival that doesn’t always guarantee proper shelter?  Plus…making the choice to leave it all behind and take up the journey inside a worn out RV.           I’m Arroe…  I am a daily writer.  A silent wolf.  I stand on the sidelines and do nothing but watch, listen study then activate.  I call it The Daily Mess.  A chronological walk through an everyday world.  Yes, it’s my morning writing.  As a receiver of thoughts and ideas, we as people tend to throw it to the side and deal with it later.  When a subject arrives, I dig in.  It’s still keeping a journal!  By doing the research the picture becomes clearer.  This is the Daily Mess…

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.