On this week's episode, join Erin Gruwell for a candid conversation about healing after tragedy with the impactful LGBTQIA+ advocate and activist, Judy Shepard. Judy is the mother of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay student who was savagely tortured, tied to a fence and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming in October of 1998. In the wake of his loss, Judy and her husband embarked on a campaign for change - one that took her from her humble hometown in Wyoming, to the highest office in the land, the White House. She has been instrumental in enacting meaningful hate crime legislation on behalf of her son and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Learn more about the Matthew Shepard Foundation: https://www.matthewshepard.org/

In this week’s podcast, Erin Gruwell speaks with writer and producer, Chris Levinson. In celebration of Father’s Day, they discuss Chris’ relationship with her father, acclaimed television writer, Richard Levinson.

Richard created many popular TV shows such as “Columbo” and “Murder, She Wrote.” He wanted to share with Chris small snapshots of her life, their father/daughter relationship, and the changing world around them. He did this the only way he knew how - by writing.

In this week's episode, Erin Gruwell speaks with Scarlett Lewis, an ardent activist whose son, Jesse, was tragically killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. Scarlett talks about turning her pain into purpose, and how Jesse’s message of “nurturing, healing, love” can change the world. Scarlett’s experiences on that dreadful day are heart-wrenching, but her mission to teach others the importance of choosing love is truly inspiring.

Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement: https://chooselovemovement.org

In this week's episode, Erin Gruwell is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and acclaimed author, Anna Quindlen. They discuss Anna’s literary journey, her advice for aspiring authors, and her reflections on the craft.

On today's episode, Erin interviews original Freedom Writer, Kanya Hak Sims, and actress, Jackie Ngan. They discuss Jackie and Kanya’s devastating experiences with discrimination, how the coronavirus pandemic has underscored the effects of harmful Asian stereotypes, and what we all can do to stop Asian American Pacific Islander hate.

In this week's episode, Erin Gruwell is joined by Esther Wojcicki, a celebrated author and educator whose new project, Tract.app, is helping change the way students learn online. They discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic changed classrooms around the world and the ways in which educators can empower their students to thrive during due pressure or during a crisis.

On this week’s episode, Erin Gruwell interviews Congresswomen Nanette Diaz Barragán who currently represents California’s 44th congressional district. They discuss Congresswoman Barragán’s empowering journey to the United States House of Representative as a first generation American and Congresswoman Barragán’s trips to the US-Mexico border. As the Chair of the House’s subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation and Operations, Congresswoman Barragán is working to enact meaningful change in the US’s immigration policies, and remains an ardent supporter of immigrants’ rights. We hope that this episode will leave you feeling enlightened and empowered to make a difference.

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, hotelier Paul Rusesabagina harbored over 1,200 refugees at the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali, the capitol of Rwanda. After the genocide, Paul Rusesabagina wrote about this experience in his book, An Ordinary Man. His story was later adapted into the 2004 film, Hotel Rwanda, starring Academy Award nominated actor Don Cheadle. Following a failed assassination attempt in 1996, Paul Rusesabagina left Rwanda, but has remained a vocal critic of Rwandan president Paul Kagame. In August of 2020, Paul Rusesabagina was kidnapped by the Kagame’s government and taken back to Rwanda. He remains illegally detained there - unable to communicate freely with his family. In our first episode of 2021, Erin Gruwell speaks with Paul Rusesabagina's family about his heroic story, the international community's response to the kidnapping and how you can join the fight to #FreeRusesabagina.

In the midst of widespread protests and civil unrest following the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the hands of four now-charged police officers, Freedom Writers felt compelled to rally together for a "town hall" style live broadcast we're calling "Healing from Hurting." Having come together once before in the aftermath of the LA Riots sparked by the Rodney King verdict in 1992, Freedom Writers again join together to share their unique perspective, hopes, and fears as history seems to be repeating itself.

To watch the original broadcast please visit: https://bit.ly/2NC80GJ

In the wake of widespread protests and civil unrest following the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis Minnesota at the hands of four now-charged police officers, Freedom Writers felt compelled to rally together for a "town hall" style live broadcast we're calling "Healing from Hurting." Having come together in the aftermath of the LA Riots that precipitated from the Rodney King verdict in 1992, Freedom Writers join together to share their unique perspective, hopes, and fears as history seems to be repeating itself.