Bad Brownies

In this week’s episode I welcome Rachael Reichenbach who is, among many things, an organizer and facilitator of change work projects. It was a joy to spend some time talking with her, and to understand her viewpoints and how she got to be where she is. During our discussion we talked about how she ended up currently living in a beautiful community called Wild Hydrangea, the importance of healing in systems change work, the difficulty in deep self reflection, and much more. You can find out more about what she is up to at her website www.resistreimagine.com and I will posts links to other resources that came up during our conversation in the social media posts for this episode. May you enjoy my conversation with Rachael.

Shoutouts:

- Rooted Resistance (https://www.rootedresistance.com/),

- Wild Ground (Wild Ground Alabama Instagram Account),

- Jen Willsea (https://www.jenwillsea.com/),

- Resource Generation (https://resourcegeneration.org/)

Resources:

- Grace Lee Boggs : The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century

- adrienne maree brown : emergent strategy

- Valarie Kaur (See her powerful speech here)

In this episode I welcome Nina and Yvan who are two Houston-based community organizers that I found through the social media account of one of their projects. That project is the HTX Community Fridge Project (https://houstonfridges.cargo.site/) which is an amazing community based effort to provide solutions for people in need of fresh food. It was an absolute pleasure to spend some time talking with these powerful women, to better understand their Community Fridge project, and to better understand what makes them tick. Their energy, drive, and dedication to caring for those around them is truly inspiring. During our discussion we talked about how the community fridge project works, other community based food insecurity solutions, the importance of grassroots direct action, the major influences in their lives and much more. I will be posting links to both their website as well as a few other’s that came up during our discussion in the blog post and the social media posts for this episode. This episode was a call to action for me (as I would like it to be for everyone who listens) and will document my commitment to volunteering in a blog post later this week. I continue to see these conversations as valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. Please enjoy my conversation with Nina and Yvan.

Links to projects discussed in this episode:

- HTX Community Fridge social media links (https://www.instagram.com/htxcommunityfridges/  - https://twitter.com/htxcommfridges/)

- Food Not Bombs (https://www.facebook.com/houstonfoodnotbombs)

- Houston’s Free Grocery Delivery Service (https://twitter.com/jamaiya_miller?s=09)

- The People’s Liberation Front (https://www.instagram.com/tplfofficial/)

In this week’s episode I welcome my dear friend and former high school English teacher, Mary. It was such a pleasure to get to spend some time talking with her after so many years of not being in touch. I am so grateful for the time she allowed to record the show, and even more so for the impact she had on my life as an educator. During our discussion we managed to find our way to many different topics, including, the state of education from her viewpoint, the difficulty of dealing with negative self-image issues, the importance of being kind and even a bit of how we see the sociopolitical landscape. In listening to this episode to edit it, it became clear to me how brave Mary is in her life, whether she sees it or not, and I quite proud to know her and to have had her for a teacher. I continue to see these conversations as valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mary.

In this week’s episode I welcome my dear friend, Hans, with whom I used to work with in Long Beach, California. I am grateful to him for his kindness and his openness in sharing during our conversation. We covered several different topics, including, the importance of seeking fulfillment in what we do, the value of having principles in life, the power of being able to re-frame problems on the fly, and much more. During our talk, I express many opinions which I believe come from my own particular place of privilege. For instance, my view on being selective in what I do to earn money, is only possible from a distinctly advantageous position compared to someone who does not have the same support system I do. I believe it is important to understand privilege in the effort to cultivate empathy for those who have less privilege. I continue to see these conversations as valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. Please enjoy my conversation with Hans.

In this week’s episode I welcome my dear friend, Nithin, whom I met while we were both living on the Galapagos Islands. We have been fortunate enough to travel with each other along the coast of Ecuador and continue a fascinating friendship that grows in depth and meaning. I am immensely grateful to him for his time and his openness in sharing during our conversation. We found our way to talking about many different topics, including, his current work at a start up with an interesting vision, some struggles he has faced in life, meditation, dealing with the expectations of society, and, cultivating a rewarding relationship with parents. I continue to believe that conversations like these are valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. Please enjoy my conversation with Nithin.

In this week’s episode I welcome my uncle-in-law, Germán Marcano. Germán is an accomplished cellist from Venezuela who continues a prestigious career playing both classical music and music inspired by his homeland. It was an absolute pleasure to get to spend some time talking with him about various topics, especially those that took us a bit outside of his musical career and into his personal story. During our discussion we talked about where motivation comes from, the influence of his parents on his life, the importance of being able to make use of difficult situations, the double-edged sword of high personal expectations, and, the transcendental nature of music. I want to thank him for his time, his openness and his contribution to what was an enjoyable and rewarding experience for me. I continue to believe that conversations like these are valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. Please stay tuned to the very end of the episode for a couple of songs from his recordings. I hope you enjoy my conversation with tío Germán.

In this week’s episode I welcome a dear friend of mine, Arthur.  This is yet another episode recorded remotely from the Bad Brownies studio in Houston, Texas. Arthur and I met each other way back during our high school days and it has been nearly 15 years since we have been able to catch up. Interestingly, to me, this gap in time seemed not to matter much as we were able to dive into some deep and interesting topics from the word “go”. During our discussion we talked about his experiences living in a monastery, the effects that a meditation practice can have on one’s life, the difficulty in confronting one’s own personal paradigms, the importance of finding time to self-reflect in an increasingly chaotic world, and, how to maintain a hopeful position in regards to what may come. Just as a fair warning to listeners, I let loose some of my perhaps wonkier theories in talking with Arthur and he graciously gave me some feedback on them. I want to thank him for his time, his kindness and his openness in what was an enjoyable and rewarding experience for me. I continue to believe that conversations like these are valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. I hope you enjoy my talk with Arthur

In this week’s episode I welcome my good friend, Maria Jose, or as all our friends lovingly call her, Miss Majo.  This is yet another episode recorded remotely from the Bad Brownies studio in Houston, Texas to her house in Quito, Ecuador. I would like to thank her for her time and her bravery both in life and in sharing with me in our conversation. During our discussion we got into a variety of topics, including, the effect of empathy on students in their learning environment, her path to becoming an educator, the importance of purposefully creating communities within classrooms, the role of schools in modern education, and, she shared some of her personal learning in living with grief and loss. I continue to believe that conversations like these are valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Majo.

In this week’s episode I welcome comedian, actor, podcast host and good friend, Gerard Cole (You can find him online at his website: http://gerardcolecomedy.com/ or Instagram: @iamgerardcole https://www.instagram.com/iamgerardcole/& @tcidpodcast https://www.instagram.com/tcidpodcast/). This is another episode recorded remotely as part of what is the new normal in the time of Covid-19. I want to take a moment to thank him for his time and his patience with me during our important conversation.

As I continue to grow with this project, I also want to thank all the listeners for their support and patience. I find it fascinating that as I have these conversations and especially as I edit them, I see so much of my privilege and my own bad brownies that are hiding in my head. My commitment is to keep learning more about myself and the world so that this project can reflect the future I dream to create. During our discussion we covered a wide range of topics, including, how he came to be a comedian in LA, the reasons behind him becoming a podcast host, the difficulties of relationships when disagreements arise within them, his experience regarding the current conversation around race relations, and some of our mutual hopes for the future. I continue to believe that conversations like these are valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. Now, without further ado, I present, Gerard.

Today I welcome a very special guest to the podcast, my fiancé, Viomar. At the risk of alienating all previous and future guests, I dare say she is my favorite guest. We recorded this episode remotely due to travel bans related to the ongoing global pandemic which we both know is affecting so many people around the world. I would like to thank her for all of the amazing qualities she brings into the world and into my life, not the least of which is a commitment to finding things to be grateful for, regardless of the situation. She was a bit nervous to record something for everyone to hear given that English is her second language, however, I feel that she did absolutely amazing and I applaud her bravery. During our discussion we covered a variety of topics, including, wisdom from our growth in our relationship over time, why we continue to fight for our love and our future, some of the strategies that have been successful in keeping us motivated during our struggles together, the biggest challenges we have faced as a couple, and why we think our story is important to share right now. I continue to believe that conversations like these are valuable to have and to share, with the hope that they inspire and encourage others. Now, without further ado, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Viomar.