Turning pain into purpose can often be the cornerstone of activism. Dr. Lucy Kalanithi exemplifies that in her work as a physician. In this episode, Lucy walks us through her unconventional journey into activism. She explains what it means to find joy in the midst of suffering, the importance of discovering your purpose, and why she’s fighting to make the healthcare system more human and more humane. 

Check out Lucy’s podcast Gravity

Follow Isha Sesay on Twitter and Instagram. 

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With a problem as big as the climate crisis, it can be hard to truly visualize its impact. We're excited to share the first episode of As She Rises, a new Wonder Media Network podcast that brings together poetry and stories of action to contextualize the elusive magnitude of climate change. 

This episode of As She Rises visits the land currently known as Louisiana. Poet Jerika Marchan reads from her collection “SWOLE,” recounts living through Hurricane Katrina, and tells us why she'll stay in Louisiana as long as it will let her. Colette Pichon Battle, founder and executive director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, advocates for structural shifts towards ecological equity and climate justice in communities of color on the frontline of climate change.

Subscribe to As She Rises on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Lucy Kalanithi and Mary Annaïse Heglar explore what becomes possible when we look at the climate crisis differently.

 Mary Annaïse Heglar’s essays include “2020: The Year of Converging Crises” (Rolling Stone), “Home is Always Worth It” (Medium), “Climate Change Isn’t The First Existential Threat” (Zora), and “I work in the Environmental Movement. I Don’t Care If You Recycle” (Vox). Listen to Hot Take (co-hosted by Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt) wherever you get your podcasts, and subscribe to their newsletter.

 Curious about the poem you heard in this episode? It was “How Dark the Beginning” by Maggie Smith, read by her. Find more of Maggie’s poetry in her latest collection, Goldenrod. You’ll also love Keep Moving and Good Bones.

 Dr. Kate Marvel’s essay is “We Need Courage, Not Hope, To Face Climate Change” (On Being). Rebecca Solnit’s quote – “hope is not like a lottery ticket… hope is an ax you break down doors with” – is from Hope In The Dark. For more on climate grief, look to Dr. Renee Lertzman. Dr. Glenn Albrecht’s neologism is solastalgia.

 For Drs. Kimberly Nicholas and Seth Wynes’ work on behavior change to shift culture, read “A Hard Look in the Climate Mirror” (Scientific American): “for me, turning my scientific knowledge into action was a little like falling in love. It was a switch that got flipped.” Dr. Nicholas’ book is Under the Sky We Make.

 Climate action and activism: The All We Can Save Project, Sunrise Movement, End Climate Silence, 350.org, Project Drawdown, Currently, Extinction Rebellion.

 Gravity is produced by Wonder Media Network. Original music by Rachel Wardell. Rekha Murthy is our editor. Jenny Kaplan is our executive producer.

 For more on why we’re doing what we're doing, check us out on Instagram and on Twitter. Find Lucy on Twitter at @rocketgirlmd.

Lucy Kalanithi and Marlee Liss explore what becomes possible when justice centers the person harmed.

(CW: sexual assault, suicidal ideation, justice system)

You can learn more about Marlee Liss’s work, including coaching programs and the Sensual Wholeness Academy, here. Marlee’s book is Re-Humanize.

If you’re seeking immediate support around sexual violence, call 800-656-HOPE or chat here to reach the National Sexual Assault Hotline to connect with the help you deserve. More resources for survivors and communities can be found through RAINN and NSVRC.

To learn more about restorative justice, visit Insight Prison Project.

Gravity is produced by Wonder Media Network. Original music by Rachel Wardell. Rekha Murthy is our editor. Jenny Kaplan is our executive producer.

For more on why we’re doing what we're doing, check us out on Instagram and on Twitter. Find Lucy on Twitter at @rocketgirlmd.

Drs. Lucy Kalanithi and Paul Kalanithi explore how to find meaning in the face of mortality.

 Paul Kalanithi’s memoir is When Breath Becomes Air. His essays include “How Long Have I Got Left?” (The New York Times), “My Last Day as a Surgeon” (The New Yorker) and “Before I Go” (Stanford Medicine Magazine). You might also like the 8-minute documentary short “A Strange Relativity: Altered Time for a Surgeon-Turned-Patient.”

 Dr. Viktor Frankl’s seminal book is Man’s Search for Meaning.

 Hear Lucy Kalanithi’s TEDMED talk, “What makes life worth living in the face of death.”

 Poetry in this episode: The Glories of Our Blood and State by James Shirley, Separation by W. S. Merwin.

  Many thanks to Emily Rapp Black for collaborating on this episode.

 Gravity is produced by Wonder Media Network. Original music by Rachel Wardell. Rekha Murthy is our editor. Jenny Kaplan is our executive producer.

For more on why we’re doing what we're doing, check us out on Instagram and on Twitter. Find Lucy on Twitter at @rocketgirlmd.

Drs. Lucy Kalanithi, Shekinah Elmore and Elena Semino explore what becomes possible when we stop seeing cancer as a battle.

Curious about the poem you heard in this week’s episode? Read “A Litany for Survival” by Audre Lorde.

Hear Dr. Shekinah Elmore’s TEDMED talk “The courage to live with radical uncertainty.”

Explore the Metaphor Menu for Cancer created by Professor Elena Semino’s team at Lancaster University.

Gravity is produced by Wonder Media Network. Original music by Rachel Wardell. Rekha Murthy is our editor. Our executive producer is Jenny Kaplan.

For more on why we’re doing what we're doing, check us out on Instagram and on Twitter. Find Lucy on Twitter at @rocketgirlmd.

Lucy Kalanithi and Andrew Solomon explore what becomes possible when we bust the myth of the ideal nuclear family.

Curious about the poem you heard in this week’s episode? It was Ada Limón’s “The Raincoat,” read by her.

Find Andrew Solomon’s audiobook New Family Values – redefining what it means to be an “ideal” American family – on Audible here.

His book, Far From the Tree – about parents, children and the search for identity – won the National Book Critics Circle Award and has since been made into a feature film documentary.

Learn more about Andrew’s family through his essay “Welcome to My Modern Family.”

Gravity is produced by Wonder Media Network. Original music by Rachel Wardell. Rekha Murthy is our editor. Our executive producer is Jenny Kaplan.

For more on why we’re doing what we're doing, check us out on Instagram and on Twitter. Find Lucy on Twitter at @rocketgirlmd.

Lucy Kalanithi, Ady Barkan and Rachael King explore resistance and acceptance in the face of struggle – and how to choose between them.

Curious about the poem you heard today? Read A Brave and Startling Truth by Maya Angelou.

Find Be A Hero, the organization fighting for progressive policy founded by Ady Barkan and Liz Jaff, at https://beaherofund.com/.

Ady’s memoir is Eyes to the Wind. You can also check out Not Going Quietly, an upcoming feature film about Ady, Rachael, Be A Hero and the people’s movement for universal healthcare.

Follow Ady Barkan and Rachael King on Twitter at @AdyBarkan and @rachael_scar.

Pema Chödrön’s “When Things Fall Apart” is here.

Gravity is produced by Wonder Media Network. Original music by Rachel Wardell. Rekha Murthy is our editor. Our executive producer is Jenny Kaplan.

For more on why we’re doing what we're doing, check us out on Instagram and on Twitter. Find Lucy on Twitter at @rocketgirlmd.

Lucy Kalanithi and her twin sister Joanna Goddard, founder of A Cup of Jo, explore personal narrative – the stories we tell about ourselves.

(CW: depression)

Find A Cup of Jo, the daily women's lifestyle site founded by Joanna Goddard, at https://cupofjo.com/

Curious about the poem you heard today? Check out Our Union by Hafiz. See the apartment makeover Joanna organized for Lucy (by the brilliant Jenny Komenda) here. To learn more about Joanna’s journey with depression, find her essay “The Hardest Two Months of My Life” here.   

To learn about mental and emotional health, find support resources or help a loved one who's struggling, visit jedfoundation.org/help

If you’re in crisis, call 911, text START to 741741 or call 800-273-TALK (8255) to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Gravity is produced by Wonder Media Network. Original music by Rachel Wardell. Rekha Murthy is our editor. Our executive producer is Jenny Kaplan. 

For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check us out on Instagram and on Twitter. Find Lucy on Twitter at @rocketgirlmd.

Lucy Kalanithi and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy explore what becomes possible when we look at loneliness differently.

Curious about the poem you heard today? Check out The Sound of One Fork by Minnie Bruce Pratt. 

Gravity is produced by Wonder Media Network. Original music by Rachel Wardell. Editing by Rekha Murthy. Our executive producer is Jenny Kaplan. 

For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check us out on Instagram  and on Twitter. 

Special thanks to the Commonwealth Club of California and the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco for hosting today's initial conversation.