CTZN

In this episode, we're talking to the writer, runner and recovering addict, Charlie Engle, who I met many years ago over our shared love for running, but whose story blew me away. Known to many as "The Running Man,” Charlie managed to go from rock bottom to resilience many times over. And he continues to push the limits of what is possible for the human body and for human kind.

More about Charlie

Follow his adventure through the 5.8

Buy his book

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"Realizing nobody else was coming to save me was a blessing in that I no longer had to wait for that person." @charlieengle with @kkellyyoga on #CTZN Podcast @ctznwell ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast

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I refer to Charlie Engle as the “Anthony Bourdain of running” because he is relentless in his curiosity to learn, in exploring the edges of human potential and in experiencing the fullness of life on the planet. Throughout his journey, he has been pushing himself beyond addiction, beyond physical and mental limitations, beyond a criminal record and beyond hopelessness.

In this episode, we talk about his rocky road to recovery and the role that running and spirituality has continuously played in helping him overcome enormous obstacles and achieve super-human feats, like running 4300 miles across the Sahara desert.

And his next adventure is nothing short of amazing: to be the first athlete to trek from the lowest point on earth to the highest summit on every continent. He calls it the 5.8 mile project - the vertical sliver of space in which all humans on the planet live. A space that has nothing to do with nations or borders, rather, it’s about depth and shared humanity.

Charlie is running for something greater than personal highs and lows or our differences and disagreements. He’s running for all of us. This episode is all about resilience and what’s possible when we push beyond our limitations and discover our greatest potential. Check it out.

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Dr. Maytha Alhassen is a Syrian-American journalist, poet and scholar, working to bridge the worlds of social justice, academic research, popular culture and healing arts. And on this episode of CTZN Podcast, she schools us on the history of immigration and white domination in America.

Learn more about May

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If this episode resonates for you, we’d love for you to take a screenshot add tag us on Instagram stories @ctznwell and @maythaalhassen, and click below to tweet:

To be an ally is to testify and bear witness. Dr. @maythaalhassen schools us on the history of #immigration and white domination in America on this ep of #CTZN Podcast. Check it out: ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast @kkellyyoga @ctznwell

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When talking about Muslim bans or immigration issues, Dr. Maytha Alhassen - Syrian journalist, poet, scholar and healer - says that it’s not about whether immigrants are welcome or not. It's about white supremacy.

Trump’s travel ban was not the beginning but a continuation of a legacy of immigration restrictions and bans in America. And it began with the Naturalization Act of 1790 which said only free white people could be citizens of this country.

What we are witnessing right now - with travel bans and family separation and caged children and overflowing, unsafe, unsanitary concentrations camps - was built on that legacy. And witnessing is exactly what we need to do. Not the kind of empathy that centers our feelings of others pain and just sits there. But the kind that takes action because of what has been witnessed.

The word in Arabic is Shahada - which translates directly to “act of witness and testimony.” May calls it a kind of engaged “with-ness,” one that is interdependent, active and engaged. One that understands that we all have a stake in transforming systems of oppression because we are all connected.

And she leaves us with the critical question and contemplation: Who is witnessing what is going on all around us? And what will we do about it? This conversation is real-time and essential. Take a listen.

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Michelle Cassandra Johnson is shaking things up in the yoga world and speaking all the truths about toxic culture and white supremacy so that real healing is possible. She is a social worker, yoga teacher, long time race equity trainer and author of the book Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World. And she is showing us what radical self care really looks like.

Buy her book.

Follow her.

Take a course/training.

If this episode resonates for you, we’d love for you to take a screenshot and tag us on Instagram stories @ctznwell and @skillinaction, and click below to tweet:

"We are bigger than white supremacy." Michelle C. Johnson with @kkellyyoga on #CTZN Podcast. Check it out: ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast @ctznwell

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Michelle discovered that it is impossible to heal when you’re navigating a system that wasn’t designed to heal you. So, she wrote a book called Skill in Action to help us redefine and reclaim what yoga and wellness really looks like in a toxic culture. Yoga and contemplative practice is a pathway to healing, but only when we are willing to do the difficult and uncomfortable work of acknowledging the truth of a culture that is dominated by ideologies of whiteness and individualism. The pain of that culture of separation demands to be felt and that is the only way towards healing.

She challenges us to hold the reality that we are both one human interdependent family AND (and this is a big “and”) that we are living very different experiences based on how institutions and culture are set up for our particular identity and social location. There is shared experience in how we get free AND there are unique roles and responsibilities that we each play given our location and that is a part of the “skill in action” that we need to cultivate.

The truth is, we are not really doing yoga, we are not really being mindful and we are not really well unless we center a level of consciousness that acknowledges the truth of who we are and how we got here. Otherwise, we are just replicating the toxic systems that we are trying to transform.

But Michelle reminds us that we are bigger than white supremacy and we can be better, We can construct something better. And we have to...for the sake of all us.

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Ana Maria Archila is a resistance icon. She’s known by many as the “lady in the elevator” after her confrontation with Senator Jeff Flake went viral during the confirmation hearings for Justice Kavanaugh. But that wasn’t her first rodeo. Ana Maria has been disrupting, bird-dogging and advocating for human rights and dignity since she emigrated here at the age of 17.

She teaches us that disruption is essential to slowing things down and getting people in power to listen. Everyday people speaking truth to power is what this country is all about.

The resister.

The video.

The action.

If this episode resonates for you, we’d love for you to take a screenshot and tag us on Instagram stories @ctznwell @anamariaarchila1 and @popdemoc, and click below to tweet:

"We are allowing each other to see one another more clearly, we are allowing the country to see itself more clearly." @AnaMariaArchil2 of @popdemoc on #CTZN Podcast with @kkellyyoga. Check it out: ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast @ctznwell

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In this episode, Ana Maria shows us how everyday people can speak truth to power and how courage is contagious. We saw it in the wake of #metoo, in the wave of stories that flooded the Hart Building during the Kavanaugh hearings and, most recently, in the avalanche of abortion stories that emerged in response to the war on reproductive freedom. Our stories, each and every one of them, has been necessary for creating a moment of reckoning and making our democracy come alive.

This is how the healing happens, she says. ”We are allowing each other to see one another more clearly, we are allowing the country to see itself more clearly,” and we are weaving a fabric of community care and courage that is challenging the status quo and changing the game.

That is what real citizenship is all about. Not the kind that requires documents or cares where you were born. But the kind that shows up, speaks out and fights for justice for all. Check it out.

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Today, we are talking with Chief Empowerment Officer, Heidi Sieck. She is the founder of #VOTEPROCHOICE, a long-time advocate for reproductive rights, and a bad-ass feminist. And when she is not getting pro-choice candidates elected or lobbying Congress, she is throwing down alongside me on the street, in the Capitol, at the Supreme Court or wherever we are needed. She’s here with us today to help us make sense of the recent abortion bans that are sweeping our nation and take back our rights.

READ: The Criminalization of Women’s Bodies is All About Conservative Male Power

DO: Top 10 Things To Do To Save Reproductive Rights in America

JOIN: VOTEPROCHOICE

If this episode resonates for you, we’d love for you to take a screenshot and tag us on Instagram stories @ctznwell, @heidispeaks, and @voteprochoice, and click below to tweet:

"We're seeing the wounds of our communities & history manifest. The question we have to ask is, what are we capable of holding space for & what are we going to do about it?" @heidispeaks w/ @kkellyyoga on #CTZN Podcast on #abortionbans & @voteprochoice ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast

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In this episode, Heidi reminds us that the recent abortion bans sweeping our nation are nothing new. States have been rolling back reproductive rights and controlling women’s bodies for over three decades.

But we are, in fact, a pro-choice nation with 70% of Americans in favor of abortion rights. We just need to get organized and get engaged. And like Elizabeth Warren, Heidi’s got a plan.

In a recent article, Laurie Penny wrote “This is not a moment to mince words. This is a moment for moral clarity. Women’s personhood is not conditional. Women’s sexuality is not shameful. The only shameful thing, the only thing that no citizen who believes even fractionally in freedom should tolerate, is a world in which women are treated like things.”

Our rage is righteous and our fight is strategic. And we will not go back. We will tell our stories, take the streets, vote them out and do whatever it takes to protect our bodies and preserve our humanity. Because the choice to show up for one another, is perhaps the most sacred choice of all. Check it out.

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Today we’re talking to Nadia Bolz-Weber, who is one of the most provocative and unexpected voices in Christianity today. She is a former stand up-comic, NY Times best selling author and founding pastor of the House for All Sinners & Saints, a Lutheran church in Denver, Colorado.

But beyond her accolades and achievements, she is brutally honest, hilarious, vulnerable and profoundly wise. The Washington Post calls her a “tatted up, foul-mouthed champion to people sick of being belittled as not Christian enough for the Right or too Jesus-y for the Left." And she is committed to making a spiritual home for Junkies, Drag Queens, Outsiders and everyone in between (which is my kind of church).

Her books

Her website

Her handle

If this episode resonates for you, we’d love for you to take a screenshot and tag us on Instagram stories @ctznwell and @sarcasticlutheran, and click below to tweet:

"It's a form of leadership I call, 'screw it, I'll go first.'" @sarcasticluther on #CTZN Podcast with @kkellyyoga. Check it out: ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast @ctznwell

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Nadia is no ordinary pastor. She is both the friend you want to spill your guts to and the teacher who helps us make sense of everything. Her gospel is that of sinners and saints, shame free sexuality and finding God in all the wrong people. And she’s not afraid to talk about anything, whether it be sex in the church, white supremacy or the dentist. She leads from radical truth, a form of leadership she calls, “Screw it, I’ll go first.”

In our conversation, you’ll hear us explore the dangers of dualism and the power of grace, anti-excellence and pro-participation, whiteness and worthiness and coming to terms with the fact that we are fucked and we need help. It’s a humbling and human exploration of what it means to be alive today and how to find God and grace in the mess of it. It’s also the most foul-mouthed podcast we’ve had to date...and it’s perfect.

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This conversation with Rachel Cargle is fierce and it is important. And while white folks need to #dothework, as Rachel says, it’s not really about us. It’s about protecting Black lives. And so she invites us to consider how we are really showing up and for what purpose. It’s not enough to attend an event or post something on social media. Real “allyship” looks like going to get our people, paying our privilege forward and listening - really listening - to Black women and following their lead.

Follow Rachel on instagram.

And check out her website for events, lectures and social syllabi on allyship and inclusive feminism.

If this episode resonates for you, we’d love for you to take a screenshot and tag us on Instagram stories @ctznwell and @rachel.cargle, and click below to tweet:

"Whenever you're feeling bad about yourself, ask: Who's profiting off of this?" @rachelcargle with @kkellyyoga on #CTZN Podcast: ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast @ctznwell

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If you don’t know who Rachel is, you must be hiding under a rock because she has become one of the most prominent and provocative voices in intersectional and inclusive feminism. She is a writer, speaker, academic and activist who uses her platform to speak truth and wake white women up. And with over 200,000 instagram followers, people are listening.

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Why is it so hard for white people to talk about race? In this episode, we talk with Robin DiAngelo about white fragility and the defensive moves that white people make when confronting or challenged with racism.

Get the book!

White Fragility Discussion Guide

Find an event with Robin DiAngelo

If this episode resonates for you, we’d love for you to take a screenshot and tag us on Instagram stories @ctznwell and @diangelorobin, and click below to tweet:

Dear white folx: "The game is up. You are a racist." #WhiteFragility author #RobinDiAngelo gets into why it's so hard for white people to talk about race, in convo with @kkellyyoga on #CTZN Podcast: ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast @ctznwell

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In this episode, we're talking about white fragility, with the woman who coined the phrase, Robin DiAngelo. White fragility can look like anger or fear or guilt or tears or just about anything that allows us to escape our discomfort. It's not just causing harm to the people of color we engaged with, it is holding us back from any kind of meaningful dialogue and work across lines of difference.

Now, for all of you white folks thinking, “this is not me, I'm a good white person”. This IS you and it's also me, because racism isn't just about bad people. It's about a system and culture that is designed to uphold white dominance. As I discovered in reading her book, the behaviors attributed to fragility are more subtle than you think because that's how white supremacy and cultural racism works.

It's insidious and often invisible, especially to those who benefit and in this episode, you'll hear Robin say, "The game is up. You are a racist." When we can get there, when we can acknowledge how and when and where we are being racist, then we can get to work.

I am one of those people and this conversation unlocked a whole other level of my own racism and really challenged me to reckon with where am I still actively participating in white supremacy, how am I attached to the unearned benefits it affords me and what am I willing to risk so that we can all get free?

What I've learned is that we can survive our discomfort and fragility but we may not survive the violence of white supremacy. This episode is both a reckoning and a call to action for all of us who are ready to do what is necessary to transform ourselves from the inside out.

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adrienne maree brown is never satisfied with the obvious, the visible, the surface - but rather endeavors to dig deeper, to go underneath and to venture beyond what we think we know about ourselves and one another. Her book, Emergent Strategy, has been a disruptive force in the movement in all the best ways - challenging us not just to do better, but to BE better. Join us for a provocative episode of CTZN Podcast that explores accountability and redemption, reclaiming pleasure and making like slugs.

RECOMMENDED READING: Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism

MAGIC/POTIONS: Pleasure Activist Potion

PLAYLIST: Muted (Beyond R Kelly)

If this episode resonates for you, we’d love for you to take a screenshot and tag us on Instagram stories @ctznwell and @adriennemareebrown, and click below to tweet:

"All the big things we're longing or are made up of a lot of small, personal, radical, brave choices." @kkellyyoga interviews #PleasureActivism author @adriennemaree on this ep of #CTZN Podcast: ctznwell.org/ctznpodcast @ctznwell

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As you will see in this episode, being with best-selling author and pleasure activist, adrienne maree brown is like being on a journey. She takes you to places you have never been and paints a picture of humanity that you never thought possible. And she draws out of you, your best self in spite of yourself. In this episode, you will hear me tell my own story of humiliation and harm and how I was held to account by my community. But adrienne says that “accountability IS community”. It’s how we hold one another in love and justice.

And if we can understand that - that we are both whole and broken at the same time - we can learn to love ourselves into liberation. adrienne encourages us to surrender to a mushroom-like existence that is fungal and primal and beautiful and sensual and pleasurable. And, if we can tie together at that level, we will be unstoppable.

I am all in for that journey with her and I encourage to come along. Enjoy the show.

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