This week we’re recharging and planning ahead. So we’ve curated some of the most interesting conversations Farai Chideya has had with our guests in the last few months. Senator Tammy Duckworth talks about how her service in the military inspires her political leadership, including her advocacy for veterans and people with disabilities. Investor Nathalie Molina Niño explains why it makes business sense to see entrepreneurship by women of color as an investment opportunity. Professor Steven Thrasher explains the ableism that seeps into talk of Covid-19’s disproportionate impact on communities of color, and the creation of what he calls a “viral underclass.” Journalist Leezel Tanglao talks about the platform Tayo Help which disseminates useful information to Filipinos, a population heavily impacted by Covid-19 due to the large number of Filpino healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic. MacArthur Fellow Tressie McMillan Cottom shares her personal story of pregnancy and loss to “reanimate” the worrisome statistics about Black maternal mortality. And futurists Sharon Chang and Kamal Sinclair discuss better ways our country could plan for retirement and work-life balance.

EPISODE RUNDOWN

3:40 Senator Tammy Duckworth says even though she was injured in combat, serving in the military was the “greatest privilege” of her life.

5:37 Senator Duckworth explains why it’s important to tailor policy so veterans can transfer their skills to the civilian workforce.

10:02 Senator Duckworth says she would like to see more people with disabilities in government positions in order to inform policy.

15:06 Nathalie Molina Niño describes the moment she realized that access to money was the root issue getting in the way of success for women and people of color entrepreneurs.

23:02 Dr. Steven Thrasher explains why he says ableism is a “plague” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

28:16 Leezel Tanglao talks about her online platform Tayo Help and how it works to stop the spread of misinformation about Covid-19 within the Filipino community.

37:44 Tressie McMillan Cottom talks about her hesitancy to write about the death of her newborn daughter, but says she did so to illuminate how a statistic could be someone’s lived experience.

44:20 Sharon Chang and Kamal Sinclair of the Guild of Future Architects discuss what a true work-life balance could look like if society redefined the value of work.