Down the Rabbit Hole

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and today is Go Purple Day. We hope you're wearing your purple, and we are excited to announce that after a long break, Down the Rabbit Hole is back! Listen to this quick preview to learn about some of the changes coming this season. Whether you are a regular listener or you're brand new, we look forward to sharing this season's discussions about gender-based violence, social inequities, and prevention with you!

Thank you. As this season of Down the Rabbit Hole comes to an end, listen along as Sarah and William reflect on their podcasting journey and express gratitude for the massive amount of support they received. While it's not a blooper reel, his episode is being released (mostly) unedited to give you a small look behind the curtain to give some insight into the podcasting process and a raw glimpse of Sarah's and William's cohosting dynamics.

It's PRIDE month! This week Roy Rios--prevention manager at TCFV--joins the podcast to talk about the the intersection of masculinity and the LGBTQ community. Following the rabbit hole where it leads, the discussion morphs into a conversation about the need for queer representation in media and in prevention work.

To connect with us about this episode, email us at [email protected].

In honor of PRIDE month, here are some Texas-based LGBTQ-serving organizations you need to know:

Barbra Grimmer and Shellie Ryan--TCFV CPS Policy Team--join Sarah and William this week to talk about Barbra's and Shellie's partnership and the greater collaboration between the domestic violence advocacy and child welfare systems. They discuss their learning journeys, including successes and pitfalls. Together they all reflect on the issues which arise at the intersection of these two, oftentimes very different, systems.

Why is the transition from high school to college so important? This is a critical time in young people's lives which provides an amazing opportunity for growth, learning, and relationship building. How can prevention workers, advocates, and other adults maximize this time period to help young people smoothly begin their transitions into adulthood? Sarah and William welcome Hamza Iqbal and Tiffany Storm to discuss all of these things and more. Listen along as they follow this particular rabbit hole's path.

If you have any questions about the episode or want to offer additional thoughts, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Vanessa Baum joins Sarah and William this week to talk about the YA--young adult--genre. They discuss why and how this genre is valuable and why so many people get shamed for enjoying it. They consider how YA books, shows, and movies can be used by adults to better engage young people about challenging topics and to reflect on their own adolescent experiences.

To support the Quileute tribe's "Move to Higher Ground" campaign visit https://mthg.org/.

To further the conversation about YA media with us, contact us at [email protected].

Jen Lawson is an Assistant Principal at a high school outside of Texas. She joins Sarah and William this week to talk about the school to prison pipeline--a term that describes the increasing prevalence of schools becoming the settings of young people's first interaction with the law enforcement, criminal justice, and juvenile detention systems. Jen, Sarah, and William share their thoughts on what factors might contribute to this pipeline and hypothesize some possible solutions.

If you are interested in furthering this conversation, please reach out to [email protected].

You can learn more about the school to prison pipeline with these resources:

Tech-enabled or tech-facilitated abuse can be terrifying, overwhelming, and intimidating to confront. This week Sarah and William welcome Adam Dodge, founder and CEO of EndTAB, to talk about some ways tech-enabled abuse is wielded by perpetrators and ways advocates and prevention workers can approach this huge topic. By consistently applying a prevention lens, Adam helps to make this conversation more accessible for everyone.

Email [email protected] with any comments or feedback on this episode or to keep the conversation going.

Sarah and William welcome Kate to her second DTRH episode! Together, they talk about purity culture--what it is, how it manifests itself in harmful self-image and unhealthy relationships, and why it's such an effective tool for patriarchal beliefs and systems.

If you want more information on how to have conversation about sex and sexuality with children, check out Sex Positive Families at sexpositivefamilies.com.

This week is all about periods. Sarah and William welcome Lizzy MacRae Garvin--a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) professional--to Down the Rabbit Hole to discuss menstruation... what are the challenges, barriers, and stigmas that impact how people view and experience their periods. They talk in both the global and domestic contexts and explore some of intersecting challenges such as homelessness and incarceration.