This week on Experience This, we talk to Reza Mahdavi and Aran Goldstein about food access, healthcare, and how those are intrinsically connected. Reza and Aran are the minds behind MyPlates, a platform that connects local chefs with people looking for a good meal. Giuliano also gives us the down low on grilling and chilling in this summer heat and how to step up your game with a next level cocktail. Finally, this is our last episode of Experience This! While we’re sad to go, please know we’ll be shifting to a new show called “Public Hearing” which will focus on broken systems and the people trying to redesign them. Thank you to everyone who has followed us on this journey and we hope you’ll tune in when Public Hearing premieres in September of 2020.

Happy Pride! This week on Experience This Podcast, Josh speaks with Perry Cohen, founder of the Venture Out Project - a nonprofit organization in Western Massachusetts that leads backpacking and wilderness trips for the queer and transgender community. They also conduct transgender inclusion workshops for educators, adventure professionals, summer camps and more! We also nerd out with our Creative Producer Myka about Mount Monadnock!

You can find the Venture Out Project here!

The Trevor Project is a an impactful LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization that found that one supporting adult in the life of an LGBTQ+ young person decreases their risk of suicide by 40%.

And please check out the Black Visions Collective here!

This week we return with Samson Williams and our conversation on “Equity Crowdfunding”- a fundraising option that makes investing in businesses available to more people. How can this tech, aided by blockchain, help Startups AND Mom and Pop Shops?

What the heck is blockchain? How does it work? This week, we rock on all things block with help from Samson Williams, a specialist in “Equity Crowdfunding”- a way of raising money for businesses may just save Main Street. Then, we nerd out about a war in California… over eggs?

What are the benefits of a B-Corporation? How are these businesses countering the Nonprofit Industrial Complex? This week, we continue our conversation about conducting ethical business with Dani Babineau from Redemption Rock Brewing Co. We also nerd out with co-owner of Redemption Rock, Greg Carlson, about the complex process of brewing beer!

What makes a corporation ethical? This week we’re flipping the script to speak with Dani Babineau, Co-Founder and CEO of Redemption Rock Brewing Co. to discuss the ins and outs of “Benefit Corporations”, a form of for profit enterprise that emphasizes community outreach, as an alternative to the Non-Profit Model. We’re trying out a new conversational format for the show and would love to know your thoughts!

How might we use virtual reality to address racism in our society? In this episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Courtney Coburn at the Columbia University School of Social Work. How does a team go about building a virtual reality experience that confronts racism? How might we shift perceptions of dealing with race issues in America from an individual vantage point to actually tackle systemic issues in our communities? And, in Nerding Out With Josh this week, we talk to Mags Munroe - the artist of our Season 2 artwork - about her inspiration, process, and more!

How might we use virtual reality to address racism in our society? Did you know that a symptom of rabies is a fear of water? This week, we dive into discussing cultural racism with Dr. Courtney Cogburn at Columbia University and how they are using virtual reality in their research. We also nerd out with Lucy Hale at the EcoTarium Museum about zoonotic viruses like rabies and it’s 100% mortality rate .

In this week’s episode, we’re going to back to an episode from Season 1. We speak with Nikki Bell, CEO of LIFT (Living in Freedom Together), an organization that works to help women who are victims of sex trafficking and exploitation. LIFT advocates for policy changes, offers curated recovery centers and educates law enforcement and medical professionals on how to work with victims of exploitation. Our second guest is Corey Camperchioli; actor, writer, and creator of “FEMME,” a short film based on his experiences as an effeminate gay man and the challenges he has faced with that label in his professional and personal life. We explore the impact societal stigma has on individuals; from access to opportunities to the way people are treated by others.

COVID-19, the disease caused by a novel Coronavirus, is sweeping national and global news headlines. On this special episode of Experience This Podcast, I’m going to dive into the intersectional issues impacting our local communities by speaking with business owners, artists, activists, charities, healthcare professionals, and others on how pandemics like these affect those who are and those who are not infected.

Our guests on this episode are Dr. Alex Rock; Dr. Mattie Castiel, City of Worcester Commissioner of Health & Human Services; Tim Garvin, President of the United Way of Central Massachusetts; Laura Marotta, Executive Director of Creative Hub Worcester; Danielle Babineau, Owner of Redemption Rock Brewing Co.; Giuliano D’Orazio, Local Musician & Music Educator; Cara Berg Powers, Educator & Organizer; and Sarai Rivera, District 4 City Councilor, City of Worcester.