Keep Your Voice Down

Emme Zanotti, the Third Vice Chair of The LGBT and Allies Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion specialist, joined Alek and Doug in early March to discuss her column about the recent barrage of anti-gay and trans legislation adopted in the United States, and her personal journey as a trans woman. 

Due to mic issues Alek had to be cut out of this interview, and unsurprisingly Doug is ecstatic about it. So what you'll hear instead are a few cut-ins from Doug and Alek for context, and Emme's side of the interview, which is what we all want to hear anyway. 

You can read Emme's columns "Solidarity, community will counter anti-transgender efforts" and "Pairing Pride with a sense of humility" on Watershed Voice. And you can learn more about transgender issues and how to help right here in Michigan by visiting Stand with Trans.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Blurry” by Curtis Cole. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

Aspiring TikTok influencer and Newport News, Virginia native Micah Temple drops by Keep Your Voice Down this week for a chat with hosts Alek Haak-Frost and Doug Sears, Jr. The trio discuss Micah's burgeoning social media presence, the fleeting nature of Tumblr fame, discovering one's people, pop cultural blindspots, and their respective Mount Rushmores of favorite films.

You can find Micah on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, and can support his work by following him on all three. Find out more about Micah's Project Big Joy, and help him "spread joy to the world, one smile at a time" by clicking the corresponding link on our website.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Get on Down” by Anthony Vega. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

Poet and spoken word artist Madison “Mocha” Hunter drops by Keep Your Voice Down for a chat. Alek, Doug, and Madison discuss the poet’s current locale, Memphis, Tennessee, where she is pursuing a Master’s degree in creative writing and a certificate in African American literature, and how it compares to her previous stops in Alabama and her hometown Detroit. The trio touch on Afrofuturism, Black history and culture, fathers and their impact on us, the American South, subtle racism and the legacy of Fannie Lou Hammer. Madison also performs her piece “Fannie Lou Hamer: Appropriating Nikki Giovanni’s Rosa Parks,” which you can read on Watershed Voice.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Here We Go” by Lightmuzik. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

Alek and Doug address the Georgia Bulldog in the room: Former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is Super Bowl bound, and they're here for it. After fawning over Stafford and what he meant to Detroit, Doug and Alek discuss rooting for a player after they leave your favorite team, silver linings from the trade that sent Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams and the Lions' ensuing rebuild, and the man standing between Stafford and his first championship, Cincinnati Bengals' sophomore phenom Joe Burrow. 

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Mood” by WEARETHEGOOD. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

Author Matthew Roberson stops by Keep Your Voice Down to discuss his forthcoming novel “Interim,” set to be released in March, and all things writing. Doug, Alek, and Matt talk process, influence, young writers’ dependence on film, television, and video games in lieu of reading literature, and Central Michigan University, where Matt teaches creative writing.

Roberson is the author of four novels including “1998.6,” “Impotent,” “List,” and “Interim.” He also edited the collection “Musing the Mosaic: Approaches to Ronald Sukenick” from SUNY Press. His short fiction has appeared in Fourteen Hills, Fiction International, Clackamas Literary Review, Western Humanities Review, Notre Dame Review, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and others.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “DuDa” by Ian Post. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

Warning: This episode contains explicit language

Malachi Carter (The Unapologetics (UN) Podcast) drops by Keep Your Voice Down to discuss, well, everything. Doug, Alek, and Malachi talk Season 2 of UN, what to expect in Season 3, Malachi’s upcoming MLK Day online event “MLK, CRT, and The Gospel,” the respective greatness of Betty White and Spider-Man: No Way Home, and much more.

Malachi’s event will be simulcast live on Zoom and Facebook at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday, January 17. Solidarity in Diversity: Martin Luther King Celebration 2022 will take place on the same day in downtown Three Rivers at 5 p.m.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Pushing On" by Koliks. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

Doug and Alek wanted to discuss all things holidays, and felt it was necessary to bring in an expert, so we called Mrs. Christmas herself, Steph Hightree. These three wise people discuss Steph's lack of egg nog experience, ridiculous Hallmark Christmas movie plots, determining whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not (it certainly is), surviving Elf on the Shelf, and their favorite Christmas songs.

Steph will try egg nog for the first time on Saturday, and we'll be sure to share her reaction on Keep Your Voice Down's Facebook page by Monday. So look out for that exciting bit of holiday footage.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is "Silent Night" by Aves. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

James Hissong joins Doug and Alek to discuss his firm Grantsmanship Consulting LLC, the ins and outs of grant-making, trying to explain to his kids what exactly it is he does, Sturgis' forthcoming splash pad, and possibilities for the "old" Three Rivers Hospital.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is "For a Fistful of Spaghetti" by Sémø. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

Former Three Rivers Middle School teacher Russell Ball joins Keep Your Voice Down to talk about his recent resignation after Three Rivers Community Schools staff were asked to remove Pride flags from their classrooms due to an "external challenge." Ball details the events leading up to his exit, what the flag represents to members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and why the flags should remain in classrooms not only in Three Rivers but around the world.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is "Antionetta" by BoreÍs. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

At the top of this week’s episode Alek and Doug address Monday’s troubling news that teachers within the Three Rivers Community Schools system were asked to remove Pride flags in their classrooms in response to an “external challenge” by an unidentified party.   

The hosts of Keep Your Voice Down are also joined by Sarah Lee, Director of Marketing Communications at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. The trio discusses Sarah’s role at KZCF, her upbringing in Malaysia and how she became deeply rooted in Kalamazoo, the importance of being “equity-minded” when addressing matters of social and racial injustice, the foundation’s efforts to support local journalism, and the story behind the formation of the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative.

The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Friend Till the End” by Gabe Price. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

Any views or opinions expressed on “Keep Your Voice Down” are those of its hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the podcast’s sponsors, Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.