New Music featuring Adam Clipple, J.T. Lewis, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra

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s4e6
February 12th, 2026, May 7, 2026

Elizabeth Perlman, author of Word Magic: The Power of Writing to Reframe Your Story and Claim Your Intuition, joins Martha in the audio garden. They discuss the importance of empowering women to reclaim their voices. She emphasizes the need to challenge societal norms and internalized beliefs that have historically silenced women and highlights the transformative power of writing as a tool for self-reflection and empowerment.

Writing can be a powerful tool for self-discovery and empowerment, especially for women and girls who often struggle with self-doubt. By creating a safe and supportive space for writing, individuals can tap into their intuition and uncover hidden strengths and emotions. This process, often involving stream-of-consciousness writing, can lead to a profound sense of transformation and self-acceptance. Elizabeth encourages listeners to write freely for five minutes, then read their work aloud.

Hernán shares new music that you won’t hear anywhere else… Freedom, Equity, and Justice for the People Song, featuring Adam Clipple, J.T. Lewis, and himself on tenor saxophone. dedicated to the people and El Brujo, featuring Hernán on alto saxophone, baritone saxophone and flutes.

Also: Jocelyn Grover, Declaration of a Gen Z Stargazer , new stream poetry by Martha Cinader

CREDITS– HOSTS: Martha Cinader, Tony Robles, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. FEATURED GUEST: Eliazbeth Perlman AUTHOR QUOTES: Zakiyya Modeste, Eileen Tabios, Judy Talaugon, Jocelyn Grover. POETRY: Crystal Cauley, Elizabeth Perlman, Martha Cinader. MUSIC: Freedom, Equity, and Justice for the People Song by Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Adam Clipple, J.T. Lewis, Hernán Ramiro, El Brujo, by Hernan Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, also on alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, flutes. ORIGNAL SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

Laura Lengnick, a renowned soil scientist, has three decades of experience in sustainability in U.S. agriculture. She has received national recognition for her work, including a USDA Honor Award. As the founder of Cultivating Resilience, she collaborates on climate resilience projects and authored the influential book, Resilient Agriculture.

Del Gonzales is a Filipino Latino American actor and theatre maker based in New York City. His work is shaped by training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Hamilton College, along with clown training and four years of improv with Hamilton’s troupe Yodapez

Zakiyyah’s creative journey began as a child when, at the age of three, she won her school’s Valentine’s Day Poetry Contest. Early exposure to the arts through Mount Vernon’s Creative Arts Program allowed her to act in plays alongside talented peers, including saxophonist Michael Philips. Outside the program, she trained under Tina Satin—who also taught…

Elizabeth has a BA in Media Arts and a Masters in Transformative Arts, the study of creative expression for healing, connection, and growth. She is also a certified Group Leader in The Amherst Writing Method. Before launching TIWP in 2013, Elizabeth worked for over a decade as a graphic designer and art director in the advertising…

Judy Talaugon is a Chumash and Filipina Land Protector from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. She is the daughter of farmworkers and immigrant leaders. Growing up among Mexican and Filipina communities in California, she has been a long-time activist in numerous struggles, ranging from human rights to housing, land rights, and the fight…

Tony Robles, “The People’s Poet” was born in San Francisco and is the nephew of Filipino-American poet, historian and social justice activist Al Robles. He was a shortlist nominee for poet laureate of San Francisco in 2017 and the recipient of the San Francisco Art Commission individual literary artist grant in 2018. His two books…

Crystal Cauley (1980-2024) was the founder of the Black History Collective of Henderson County, and Black Business Network of WNC. She was a host of The Versers of Color open mic. She served on Hendersonville’s Historic Preservation Commission and on many other community boards and was a tireless advocate for her community.

Eileen R. Tabios has released collections of poetry, fiction, art, essays, and experimental writings from publishers around the world. Recent releases include her second novel The Balikbayan Artist; an autobiography, THE INVENTOR; a poetry collection Because I Love You, I Become War; an art monograph, Drawing the Six Directions; a flash fiction collection (in collaboration…

Early Christian authorities initially dismissed witchcraft as a delusion, though belief in demons and exorcism created a framework that later justified harsher responses. In the late fifteenth century, Heinrich Kramer authored Malleus Maleficarum after failing to secure convictions and facing criticism from church officials, using the text to legitimize aggressive witch-hunting and reinforce gendered suspicions…

Witches, Midwives, and Nurses examines how women-led healing was delegitimized to make way for patriarchy, capitalism, and the emerging medical industry. As we watch another agonizing attempt to shift the future of healthcare in the United States, we are reminded of the longevity of this crisis, and how firmly entrenched we are in a system…

Word Magic: The Power of Writing to Reframe Your Story & Reclaim Your Intuition by Elizabeth Perlman is a self-help book that uses writing as a tool for self-discovery, healing, and empowerment, drawing from her “Intuitive Writing Project” for women and girls. It offers practical guidance and over 150 writing prompts to help readers trust…

This book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making connections between brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward…

Real world stories from the frontlines of climate change, resilience, and the future of food. CLIMATE CHANGE PRESENTS an unprecedented challenge to food and farming in the U.S. and beyond. Damaging weather variability and extremes capture the headlines, but more subtle changes caused by hotter summer nights, warmer winters, and a longer growing season have…

Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.

Cipriano Belser, Shizue Seigel, Micah Franklin, Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour, Celia Cruz, Arturo O’Farrill, Fred Wesley

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s4e8
February 26th, 2026, April 30, 2026

Cipriano Belser joins Martha in the audio garden to talk about Black Lantern Books, in Englewood, California, which houses The Legacy Library, a collection of some 10,000 books curated by organizer, Kwazi Nkrumah. A co-founder of the bookstore, Cipriano shares the significance of the collection on Black Liberation, environmentalism and historical texts on fascism and civil rights and the ​backstory about this community hub for education, discussions, poetry readings and more. They have also begun re-printing some out-of-print texts.

Listen & Be Heard Intern, Micah Franklin offers his take on The Godfather, describing it as a family drama disguised as a crime epic in which loyalty is both noble and destructive.

From the L&BH Archives: Poets: Shizue Seigel & Joseph Jason Santiago LeCour

New Music: Hernán digs up live recordings with Celia Cruz, Arturo O’Farrill & Fred Wesley and the New JB’s, that you will only hear, here…

Martha gets down with her non-spending plans for her patio garden which include using what she has around her,. She confesses to her obsession with her paper shredder, planting pawpaw trees and her desire to grow food collectively.

CREDITS– CO-HOSTS & PRODUCERS: Martha Cinader, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Tony Robles. FEATURED GUEST: Cipriano Belser. ALSO FEATURED: Micah Franklin. POETRY: Shizue Seigel, Joseph Jason Santiago Lacour, Martha Cinader. MUSIC: Exclusive live recordings of Jay Rodriguez with Celia Cruz, Arturo O’Farrill and Fred Wesley & the JB’s. ORIGNAL SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

Cipriano Belser is a low wage worker, turned Organizer, turned co-operative owner. Born and raised in the Bay Area, he has resided in Los Angeles for the last 15 years. In his time in LA he went from working retail jobs to becoming a labor organizer, which led him to want to use his organizing…

Shizue Seigel is a third-generation Japanese American writer, visual artist and community activist who explores complex intersections of history, culture and spirituality through prose, poetry and visual art.

Micah Franklin Johnson, an artist, athlete, and podcast producer from Brooklyn, embraces evolution in his creative journey. Raised in Harlem, he engages with the Summer Youth Program and finds inspiration in his explorations of Chinatown and Brooklyn, aspiring to impact the creative landscape despite his youth.

Meredith Leigh, with over 20 years in sustainability and food systems, has owned farms, a restaurant, and engaged in diverse consulting. An award-winning author of “The Ethical Meat Handbook” and “Pure Charcuterie,” she is transitioning back to the nonprofit sector while pursuing fiction writing in Asheville, North Carolina.

Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour is a Spoken Word and Hip-Hop Artist from the Midwest now living in Santa Cruz. Since 2017, he has been a resident of The Tannery Artist Lofts with his partner and fellow artist, Rica Smith De La Luz. Together they form Sacred Poets, sharing their practice through books, prints, and apparel.

“Our Spirits Carry Our Voices is a remarkable work: a travelogue in poetry, charting a journey that is spiritual as well as geographic. The linked poems are intensely personal, yet filled with historical and political resonance.

Guy Debord’s 1967 critiques consumer capitalism and modern media, asserting that social life is dominated by representations, or “the spectacle.”

The Listen and Be Heard Hour features episode s4e8 on February 26th, 2026, discussing “Anarchism and the Black Revolution,” a pivotal 1979 work by Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin. This text connects Black radicalism to anarchist theory, examining issues of race, class, and liberation from an anti-authoritarian perspective.

The Legacy Library and Black Lantern Books is an effort to preserve the life long collections of texts that Kwazi Nkrumah started collecting in the 1950’s. Near the end of his life, Kwazi wanted to make his collection an accessible resource for future generations of  organizers seeking to expand their knowledge and  skills while working…

“Bless the Blood” is a young adult memoir combining poetry and essays that reflects the author’s journey with leukemia. It challenges misconceptions about cancer and the healthcare system, while addressing intergenerational trauma. The work explores themes of violence, resilience, and systemic failures, highlighting personal and societal impacts.

Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.

Joel Beverly, Judy Bady, Bato Aydelotte

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s4e15
April 23, 2026

Martha Cinader welcomes playwright Kim McMillon. “Black Heaven” explores blackness through a fictional lecture series in heaven, featuring a host of living and unliving characters sucha as W.E.B. Du Bois, August Wilson, Alice Walker and Bertold Brecht. McMillon discusses the play’s theme of blackness, sometimes even if you’re not black in this life, the importance of black representation in theater, and the enduring impact of our shared human history.

Tony Robles speaks with Joel Beverly about his memoir, “In the Absence of Belief,” at the Literature and Public Lands Celebration in Flatrock, NC. His memoir recounts his travels through North America, Europe, and Egypt. He reflects on the impact of poverty and societal beliefs on his life and the potential for freedom beyond those constraints. Beverly also compares the experiences of eastern Kentucky and western North Carolina, highlighting the differences in industry and their effects on the regions.

Our high school intern Javier Famania, shares his thoughts on a poetry collection by Pedro Pietri. Javier highlights Pietri’s exploration of Puerto Rican identity, New York City life, and activism, exemplified in the poem “Traffic Misdirector,” which he reads for us.

Hernán Ramiro shares another live recording that you won’t hear anywhere else. This time he plays Slipping into Darkness, with Widespread Panic, and a little snippet as well of Judy Bady at the Blue Note.

Hernán also talks with Bato Aydelotte about the Bowery Jazz Messengers, a jazz band performing for the homeless at the Bowery Mission. The band, which he formed in 2020, while attending Laguardia High School, adapted to the pandemic by performing outdoors during meal times. Bato has graduated but the program continues.

coming soon…

Dr. Kim McMillon, a producer and playwright, has multiple notable works including the anthology Some Other Blues and Black Fire—This Time. She created the one-woman show Confessions of a Thespian and directed Voyages, both showcased at various theaters. Additionally, her essay “Ancestor as Refugee” was published in the SAGE Encyclopedia of Refugee Studies.

Black Heaven is a visionary theatrical experiment set in a celestial salon where Black artists, thinkers, and ancestors gather across time.

In “In the Absence of Belief,” entrepreneur Joel Beverly and partner Fern journey from East Kentucky to various global locations, unraveling myths surrounding success and identity. This memoir-travelogue invites readers to embrace authenticity and presence, promoting a deeper understanding of belonging and personal freedom beyond conventional ideologies.

By turns angry, heartbreaking, and hopeful, his writings are imbued with a sense of pride and nationalism and were embraced by the generation of Latino poets that followed him. Pedro Pietri: Selected Poetry gathers the most enduring and treasured work among his published books, Puerto Rican Obituary, Traffic Violations, and Out of Order, along with a generous selection of his previously unpublished works.

CREDITS– CO-HOSTS & PRODUCERS: Martha Cinader, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Tony Robles, Javier Famania. FEATURED GUESTS: Dr. Kim McMillon, Joel Beverly, Bato Aydalotte. POETRY: Dr. Kim McMIllon MUSIC: Widespread Panic, Judy Bady. SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.

Fred Wesley and the New JB’s, New Music & Poetry

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s4e14
April 16, 2026

Yvette R. Murray, an award-winning poet and author, discusses her children’s book “We Celebrate Gullah Geechee.” The book of verse, illustrated by Tanya Engel, uses the voices of children to showcase the vibrant culture and its connection to the land and waterways. Murray emphasizes the importance of preserving Gullah Geechee culture and the need to educate children about its significance.

The Gullah Geechee people, descendants of formerly enslaved individuals, created a Creole language and built a foundation for future generations despite horrific conditions. The handprints of enslaved children in Charleston’s red bricks serve as a stark reminder of their forced labor and the importance of remembering their history. The skills and labor of enslaved people, such as rice cultivation and brickmaking, were crucial to the economy and cannot be ignored.

Hernán Ramiro shares a live recording from touring with Fred Wesley and the New JBs, featuring Reggie Ward, Dwayne Dolphin, Bruce Cox, Gary Winters, and Coleman Woodson III, and another live recording from the Blue Note with Damon Dwight, Howard Britz, and Preston Fullwood. You won’t hear these anywhere else!

We also share an excerpt from Beyond Bordres about Project Hope, which provides essential support, including medical aid, food, and assistance to families of murdered journalists, in conflict zones. The organization emphasizes mutual aid and solidarity, drawing parallels between the struggles in Palestine and those of indigenous people on Turtle Island. The conversation highlights the importance of supporting grassroots efforts for liberation and challenges the normalization of devastation.

coming soon…

Yvette R. Murray is an award-winning poet and writer. She has been published in Chestnut Review, Emrys Journal, Litmosphere, A Gathering Together, and others. She is the 2022 Susan Laughter Meyers Poetry Fellow, a 2021 Best New Poet selection, a Watering Hole Fellow, and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She is a board member of the South Carolina Writer’s Association and the Poetry Society of South Carolina, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. Find her on Twitter @MissYvettewrites.

Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra – Musician, Composer, Producer

Martha Cinader is a poet and author living in Harlem, NY. Her young adult novel, Marq and the Queen Fish, is forthcoming in 2026 from Atmosphere Press. Cinader is the founder and Director of the Listen & Be Heard Network, where she hosts and produces The Listen & Be Heard Hour, and Beyond Borders, both non-commercial podcasts and syndicated radio shows on the Pacifica Affiliate Network. 

Black Heaven is a visionary theatrical experiment set in a celestial salon where Black artists, thinkers, and ancestors gather across time.

With rhythm and repetition to engage children, five narrators take turns highlighting what they notice in their world, each focusing on one of the five senses. We are there with them:A girl sees a “haint blue door at Grandma’s house / Rocking chairs waiting on the porch.” On special days, we hear the marching band play—ba-da-dum-bum.

In “Hush, Puppy” a neighborhood, a city and memories are more than just a neighborhood, a city and memories. “Hush, Puppy” is a call and response praise song to the antimony of being Black and Gullah and Southern in Charleston, South Carolina and the world. This chapbook explores familial, societal and community relationships with spice and a dash of humor. “Hush, Puppy” braids love and wrath into one lyrical plait. Meet “Hush, Puppy” at the intersection of the past and the future, sip the bitter tea of its history to explore where we are today.

Living It! is Martha Cinader’s debut as the producer of her own album, and features an eclectic array of arrangements and musical styles. It was recorded in part in a studio in New York City, part in a studio in Hamburg, and part live at the Mojo Club in Hamburg, throw in some bonus tracks recorded live at WBAI Radio in New York, and a superb mastering session with Ralph “Pinguin” Kessler in Hamburg, and you get fourteen tracks! Cinader brings together the collective talents of Sabine Worthmann, who uses here sfx pedals generously with her accoustic bass and an…

A collection of biographical stories and poems about fascinating people in history whose real dreams made a real difference. Developed in performance, these stories bring old tales to life for contemporary readers in a way that is both entertaining and informative.

CREDITS– CO-HOSTS & PRODUCERS: Martha Cinader, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Tony Robles. FEATURED GUEST: Yvette R. Murray. POETRY: Yvette R. Murray, Martha Cinader. MUSIC: Fred Wesley and the New JB’s play Moanin’ by Bobby Timmons, Jay Rodriguez Quartet at Blue Note plays Soul Inflections, by Jay Rodriguez Sierra. SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.

Judy Talaugon, Iyas Sartawi, Seth Donnelly

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Season 2 Episode 7
April 11, 2026

Judy Talaugon welcomes Iyas Sartawi and Seth Donnelly to Auntie’s Table. Iyas Sartawi, a Palestinian activist and founder of Project Hope for Palestine, discusses the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the need for continued support and awareness despite decreased media coverage and donations after the ceasefire. The episode underscores the importance of community engagement and solidarity in addressing the ongoing dispossession and resistance faced by Palestinians. Seth Donnelly, a cofounder of Taxpayers Against Genocide points out the duty to address the genocide, as the U.S. government is complicit through funding and support.

Project Hope for Palestine focuses on mutual aid and solidarity, providing essential resources like water, tents, and medical support to sustain the people of Gaza amidst ongoing hardship and displacement.

Judy Talaugon elaborates on efforts by The Tribunal Project, a student initiative at Cal Berkeley that focuses on indigenous self-determination and human rights. It draws inspiration from historical tribunals and applies principles of international law to advocate for land rights and challenge injustices. The project emphasizes the importance of sustainable organizing, education, and solidarity in the struggle for liberation, particularly for the Palestinian people and First Nation communities.

The Tribunal Project aims to amplify the voices of writers and poets from marginalized communities, particularly focusing on the ongoing atrocities in Haiti and Mexico. The conversation highlights the alarming situation in the West Bank, where Israel’s actions, including the revocation of work permits, economic strangulation, land confiscation, and settler violence, are accelerating ethnic cleansing and undermining the possibility of a Palestinian state. The parallels between the experiences of Palestinians and Indigenous peoples in the United States and other colonized regions are emphasized, underscoring the shared history of oppression and the urgent need for solidarity and action.

The conversation highlights the parallels between the oppression of Indigenous peoples in the Americas and the Palestinian people. It emphasizes the importance of intergenerational solidarity and education to combat these systems of oppression. The speakers advocate for a program that brings together grassroots organizers and educators to share knowledge and strategies for resistance.

Donate to Project Hope for Palestine at Chuffed

Project Hope for Palestine on Facebook

Tax Payers Against Genocide

The Tribunal Project

CREDITS– HOSTS: Judy Talaugon. Featured Guests: Iyas Sartawi, Seth Donnelly. Sound Design: Hernan Ramiro. Theme Music: Mana Luca, arranged by Jay Rodriguez Sierra.

Iyas Sartawi is a displaced Palestinian from the West Bank, currently living in the Bay Area of California. He is helping people in Palestine and in the United States in the midst of the current chaos, and is the founder of Project Help for Palestine.

Seth Donnelly is a public high school teacher in the Bay Area of California, where he has taught social studies for nearly two decades. He is also an activist with the Puerto Rican independence and Black liberation movements, doing solidarity work with prisoners from those movements. Donnelly has been involved in the Haiti Action Committee…

Judy Talaugon is a Chumash and Filipina Land Protector from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. She is the daughter of farmworkers and immigrant leaders. Growing up among Mexican and Filipina communities in California, she has been a long-time activist in numerous struggles, ranging from human rights to housing, land rights, and the fight…

Populism and Performance in the Bolivarian Revolution of Venezuela explains how supporters of the emergent socialism of Hugo Chávez negotiated terms of national belonging and participatory democracy through performance. By foregrounding populism as an embodied act, Angela Marino draws attention to repertoires of populism that contributed to what is arguably the most significant social movement in…

This short book deconstructs the assumption that global poverty has fallen dramatically, and lays bare the spurious methods of poverty measurement and data on which the dominant prosperity narrative depends. Here is carefully researched documentation that global poverty—and the inequalities and misery that flourish within it—remains massive, afflicting the majority of the world’s population.

This short book deconstructs the assumption that global poverty has fallen dramatically, and lays bare the spurious methods of poverty measurement and data on which the dominant prosperity narrative depends. Here is carefully researched documentation that global poverty—and the inequalities and misery that flourish within it—remains massive, afflicting the majority of the world’s population.

Tribunal Rising commemorates the 1992 International Tribunal movement in the city of San Francisco to dismantle the legacy of Christopher Columbus and the Myth of Discovery. In 1990, “[a]t the culmination of the Special International Tribunal on the Human Rights Violations of Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War in the US, the American Indian Movement…

This remarkably timely, clear, concise, and pressing intervention is a must read for all organizers and activists fighting for and witnessing the birth of a new world. Shaka A. Shakur’s latest book reaffirms, amplifies, and extends the theory and practice of the New Afrikan Independence Movement while offering an accessible entry point for those unfamiliar…

Saumya Choudhuri, Tony Cranston, Barbara Tran, Eddie Harris, New Music, New Poetry

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s4e4 – Rewind – April 8, 2026
Original release date: January 29, 2026

Saumya Choudhury, poet and organizer, joins Martha in the audio garden from Delhi. We also feature archival poetry from Barbara Tran. Hernan shares a rare live recording from 1986 of Eddie Harris in Paris. As always some brand new music and poetry from the garden to you.

CREDITS– HOSTS: Martha Cinader, Tony Robles, Hernan Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. FEATURED GUEST: Saumya Choudhury. AUTHOR QUOTES: Lan Duong, Olga Kavran, Brett Cook, Seth Donnelly, Andrew Lam, Tony Cranston, Laura Lengnick. POETRY: Saumya Choudhury, Martha Cinader, Barbara Tran. MUSIC: Juanchin Candelin el Rey del Swing, by Hernan Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra who plays all woodwinds, Genji Siraisi on keys, Chris Theberge on drums and percussion Bill Ware on vibraphones, Ruben Rodriguez on bass, Pablo Vergara on piano and the voice of Faluguni Shah. Naima by John Coltrane, recorded live at The New Morning in Paris, France. Eddie Harris on saxophone and reed trumpet, Ralphe Armstrong on bass and Sherman Ferguson on drums. ORIGNAL SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernan Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

Tony Cranston is a renowned author, storyteller, and teacher with over 40 years of experience worldwide. Originally stationed in the UK, Cranston has traveled to over 50 cities, reading stories and collecting many as he goes.

Saumya Choudhury, an Indian poet and cultural organizer, founded Delhi Poetry Slam in 2013, promoting performance poetry in India. After transitioning to digital platforms, she created Poem Pajama and engaged with Santhali tribal communities. Recognized internationally, she hosts writing retreats and teaches poetry, supporting emerging writers and exploring themes of identity and loss.

Olga Kavran is a Fellow at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel completing a PhD on the topic of international criminal courts’ obligation to provide information to the public, and the Founding Director of IUSTICOM, established in 2021 as the first non-governmental organisation dedicated to communicating justice.

Brett Cook is an interdisciplinary artist and educator who uses storytelling to distill complex ideas and creative practices to transform outer and inner worlds of being. His elaborate installations feature painting, drawing, and photography to tell pluralistic stories with broad representation. His public projects typically involve community workshops featuring arts-integrated pedagogy and contemplative strategies—along with…

Andrew Lam fled Vietnam with his family during the fall of Saigon in April 1975 when he was eleven years old. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, studying biochemistry, but abandoned plans for medical school after graduation. He entered the creative writing program at San Francisco State University instead. While still in school, he…

Lan Duong is Associate Professor in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Treacherous Subjects: Gender, Culture, and Trans-Vietnamese Feminism and coeditor of Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora: Troubling Borders in Literature and Art. Her poetry has appeared in Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry and Prose, Bold Words: Asian American Writing…

Barbara Tran is an immigrant. And a settler. She writes in multiple genres. Her debut poetry book, Precedented Parroting, is a Finalist for the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award. She is currently at work in collaboration with Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn on the screenplay for Nguyễn’s debut feature film.

Across Latitude & Language brings together voices from across the globe—poets of different races, homelands, and histories, woven together by something quietly powerful: the shared weight of being human. In a world increasingly fractured by borders and conflict, this collection reminds us of the quiet universality of feeling. From the ache of personal loss and…

The past plays itself out in surprising ways in the lives of people who thought they had moved beyond the nightmares of war and exodus. It comes back on TV in the form of a confession from a cannibal; it enters the Vietnamese restaurant as a Vietnam Vet with a shameful secret; it articulates itself…

In his long-overdue first collection of essays, noted journalist and NPR commentator Andrew Lam explores his lifelong struggle for identity as a Viet Kieu, or a Vietnamese national living abroad. At age eleven, Lam, the son of a South Vietnamese general, came to California on the eve of the fall of Saigon to communist forces.…

At times humorous and ecstatic, other times poetic and elegiac, the fourteen pieces in Stories from the Edge of the Sea explore love and loss, lust and grief, longing and heartbreaks through the lives of Vietnamese immigrants and their children in California.

The title of this debut collection, Nothing Follows, is reappropriated from a government document establishing the beginning of a refugee family’s time in the United States. At every coordinate of their lives, the refugee family provides affidavits, letters, and reams of paperwork as they work to beseech those in power to grant them “family reunification” visas…

Opening with an exit, the poems in Precedented Parroting accept no assumptions. With the determination and curiosity of a problem-solving crow, this expansive debut plumbs personal archives and traverses the natural world, endeavouring to shake the tight cage of stereotypes, Asian and avian.

Real world stories from the frontlines of climate change, resilience, and the future of food. CLIMATE CHANGE PRESENTS an unprecedented challenge to food and farming in the U.S. and beyond. Damaging weather variability and extremes capture the headlines, but more subtle changes caused by hotter summer nights, warmer winters, and a longer growing season have…

Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.

Mel Slocum Quartet at National Jazz Museum in Harlem

[link to transcript]

s4e13
April 2, 2026

Tony Robles, talks about his new book: Soup for the Storm, and reads some poetry from the book and about his experiences in Waialua, Hawaii, during and after the recent storm. The conversation also touches on Robles’s move from San Francisco to Hendersonville, North Carolina, and how his poetry reflects the people and places he encounters, the impact of Hurricane Helene on the community, including the evacuation of his mother and the devastation in nearby areas like Chimney Rock.

ALSO:

coming soon…

Tony Robles, “The People’s Poet” was born in San Francisco and is the nephew of Filipino-American poet, historian and social justice activist Al Robles. He was a shortlist nominee for poet laureate of San Francisco in 2017 and the recipient of the San Francisco Art Commission individual literary artist grant in 2018. His two books of poetry and short stories, Cool Don’t Live Here No More – A letter to San Francisco and Fingerprints of a Hunger Strike (both published by Ithuriel’s Spear Press) take on the issues of eviction, gentrification and police violence in communities of color. He is…

Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra – Musician, Composer, Producer

Laura Lengnick, a renowned soil scientist, has three decades of experience in sustainability in U.S. agriculture. She has received national recognition for her work, including a USDA Honor Award. As the founder of Cultivating Resilience, she collaborates on climate resilience projects and authored the influential book, Resilient Agriculture.

Yvette R. Murray is an award-winning poet and writer. She has been published in Chestnut Review, Emrys Journal, Litmosphere, A Gathering Together, and others. She is the 2022 Susan Laughter Meyers Poetry Fellow, a 2021 Best New Poet selection, a Watering Hole Fellow, and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She is a board member of the South Carolina Writer’s Association and the Poetry Society of South Carolina, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. Find her on Twitter @MissYvettewrites.

Martha Cinader is a poet and author living in Harlem, NY. Her young adult novel, Marq and the Queen Fish, is forthcoming in 2026 from Atmosphere Press. Cinader is the founder and Director of the Listen & Be Heard Network, where she hosts and produces The Listen & Be Heard Hour, and Beyond Borders, both non-commercial podcasts and syndicated radio shows on the Pacifica Affiliate Network. 

“This collection is based on my experiences and observations as someone who witnessed Hurricane Helene and its impact on the community—particularly my mobile home community in Hendersonville,”

Philippine Genre Stories includes a plethora of Filippino authors in a wide range of genres, giving those who are interested a large pallet to explore.

Yu has a knack for subverting expectations, crafting twists that are as surprising as they are inevitable . . . His worlds and characters—whether human or otherwise—are vast yet intimate, alien yet achingly familiar. This is a collection that doesn’t just tell stories; it ensnares, unsettles, and ultimately, astonishes.

This anthology is a collection of unpredictable stories of various genres—fantasy, science fiction, crime, horror and the supernatural—that touch on courage and fear, loss and resolution, denial and honesty, despair and hope…from an author who writes about being human in a world where the unseen is suddenly exposed.

Living It! is Martha Cinader’s debut as the producer of her own album, and features an eclectic array of arrangements and musical styles. It was recorded in part in a studio in New York City, part in a studio in Hamburg, and part live at the Mojo Club in Hamburg, throw in some bonus tracks recorded live at WBAI Radio in New York, and a superb mastering session with Ralph “Pinguin” Kessler in Hamburg, and you get fourteen tracks! Cinader brings together the collective talents of Sabine Worthmann, who uses here sfx pedals generously with her accoustic bass and an…

This book is a vessel/holding liquid for thirsty desirers/in the empty spiral of the universe/where detail is opinion/one moment is all it takes to answer/when the body calls. This book is just one answer in a life of calling. The storyteller lives inside the breath of home. Whatever home is chosen, whatever breath is owned. The desirer takes the moment we’re in and stretches out its every wrinkle. In the folds are new horizons, exploding the every day, line by line-inwards, so the shards are sort of slo-mo in their entry into gravity…We’re brought into the world of the writer.…

A collection of biographical stories and poems about fascinating people in history whose real dreams made a real difference. Developed in performance, these stories bring old tales to life for contemporary readers in a way that is both entertaining and informative.

Real world stories from the frontlines of climate change, resilience, and the future of food. CLIMATE CHANGE PRESENTS an unprecedented challenge to food and farming in the U.S. and beyond. Damaging weather variability and extremes capture the headlines, but more subtle changes caused by hotter summer nights, warmer winters, and a longer growing season have far-reaching effects on the land, people, and communities that feed us. This expanded and updated edition of Resilient Agriculture takes you beyond the headlines and the hype to shine a light on agricultural climate solutions with the power to cultivate new American foodways that are…

CREDITS– CO-HOSTS & PRODUCERS: Martha Cinader, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Tony Robles. FEATURED GUEST: Tony Robles. ALSO FEATURED: Yvette Murray POETRY: Martha Cinader, Tony Robles. MUSIC: Mel Slocum Quartet plays Nemesis by Mel Slocum. SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.

Hernan Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Judy Talaugon, Martha Cinader

[link to transcript]

Season 2 Episode 6
March 28, 2026

Martha Cinader and Judy Talaugon welcome Hernan Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, formerly known as Jay Rodriguez, back to Auntie’s Table. They talk about why he is going back to his birth name, and he brings the question, what can men do right now? Which, how can we talk about that without talking about capitalism and patriarchy? Judy points to the strength and power of Comunas in Venezuela.

Comunas: Grupo de personas que viven juntas sin someterse a las normas sociales establecidas..

And… in the mix is some poetry by Martha Cinader, Colombian Poetas en Cuba, Mary Tallmountain and Vanessa Lee Miller. Original music by Hernan Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Summary and full transcript in link above.

CREDITS– HOSTS: Judy Talaugon, Martha Cinader. Featured Guest: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Sound Design: Jay Rodriguez Sierra. Theme Music: Mana Luca, arranged by Jay Rodriguez Sierra.

Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra – Musician, Composer, Producer

Judy Talaugon is a Chumash and Filipina Land Protector from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. She is the daughter of farmworkers and immigrant leaders. Growing up among Mexican and Filipina communities in California, she has been a long-time activist in numerous struggles, ranging from human rights to housing, land rights, and the fight…

Martha Cinader is a poet and author living in Harlem, NY. Her young adult novel, Marq and the Queen Fish, is forthcoming in 2026 from Atmosphere Press. Cinader is the founder and Director of the Listen & Be Heard Network, where she hosts and produces The Listen & Be Heard Hour, and Beyond Borders, both non-commercial podcasts and syndicated radio shows…

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West is a 1970 non-fiction book by American writer Dee Brown. It explores the history of American expansionism in the American West in the late nineteenth century and its devastating effects on the Indigenous peoples living there. Brown describes Native Americans’ displacement through…

Tribunal Rising commemorates the 1992 International Tribunal movement in the city of San Francisco to dismantle the legacy of Christopher Columbus and the Myth of Discovery. In 1990, “[a]t the culmination of the Special International Tribunal on the Human Rights Violations of Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War in the US, the American Indian Movement…

Poetry. American Indian Studies. Illustrated by Claire Fejes. THE LIGHT ON THE TENT WALL: A BRIDGING is a collection of poetry from the late American Indian poet Mary TallMountain

Listen to the night poems for the animal spirits of mother earth  Publisher Freedom Voices Publications

Living It! is Martha Cinader’s debut as the producer of her own album, and features an eclectic array of arrangements and musical styles. It was recorded in part in a studio in New York City, part in a studio in Hamburg, and part live at the Mojo Club in Hamburg, throw in some bonus tracks…

Coltrane, PUccini & The Blues

[link to transcript]

s4e12
March 26, 2026

Tony Robles welcomes Kenneth Yu to the audio garden. Yu is an award-winning author from the Philippines known for his short story fiction. Kenneth Yu’s work has been praised by notable figures in the literary world, including Ellen Datlow, Neil Gaiman, and LeVar Burton and has played a significant role in the rise of genre fiction by Filipino authors. He reads a bit from his story Exit Plan.

The unedited 45 minute conversation is in the video section below.

ALSO:

Kenneth Yu is an award-winning author from the Philippines whose short fiction has seen publication in his home country as well as overseas in the USA, Canada, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Dr. Kim McMillon, a producer and playwright, has contributed to various anthologies, including Some Other Blues and Black Fire—This Time. Her notable works include the one-woman show Confessions of a Thespian and the play Voyages. She also authored the essay “Ancestor as Refugee” for the SAGE Encyclopedia of Refugee Studies.

Laura Lengnick, a renowned soil scientist, has three decades of experience in sustainability in U.S. agriculture. She has received national recognition for her work, including a USDA Honor Award. As the founder of Cultivating Resilience, she collaborates on climate resilience projects and authored the influential book, Resilient Agriculture.

Sarah Sophie is an activist, producer, writer, filmmaker, cultural organizer, creative director, and aerialist. Founder and Creative Director of celebrated political cabaret group, The Citizens Band, she is the Editor-At-Large for Violet Book. Her writing can be found at Hello Giggles, Rookie Magazine, W Magazine, Vogue, Refinery29, The Cut, Cosmo.com, Violet Book, Stylist, Rizzoli’s publication The Inspired Home and her site, At Once, focusing on the intersection of feminism and parenthood.

Martha Cinader is a poet and author living in Harlem, NY. Her young adult novel, Marq and the Queen Fish, is forthcoming in 2026 from Atmosphere Press. Cinader is the founder and Director of the Listen & Be Heard Network, where she hosts and produces The Listen & Be Heard Hour, and Beyond Borders, both non-commercial podcasts and syndicated radio shows on the Pacifica Affiliate Network. 

Tony Robles, “The People’s Poet” was born in San Francisco and is the nephew of Filipino-American poet, historian and social justice activist Al Robles. He was a shortlist nominee for poet laureate of San Francisco in 2017 and the recipient of the San Francisco Art Commission individual literary artist grant in 2018. His two books of poetry and short stories, Cool Don’t Live Here No More – A letter to San Francisco and Fingerprints of a Hunger Strike (both published by Ithuriel’s Spear Press) take on the issues of eviction, gentrification and police violence in communities of color. He is…

“This collection is based on my experiences and observations as someone who witnessed Hurricane Helene and its impact on the community—particularly my mobile home community in Hendersonville,”

Philippine Genre Stories includes a plethora of Filippino authors in a wide range of genres, giving those who are interested a large pallet to explore.

Yu has a knack for subverting expectations, crafting twists that are as surprising as they are inevitable . . . His worlds and characters—whether human or otherwise—are vast yet intimate, alien yet achingly familiar. This is a collection that doesn’t just tell stories; it ensnares, unsettles, and ultimately, astonishes.

This anthology is a collection of unpredictable stories of various genres—fantasy, science fiction, crime, horror and the supernatural—that touch on courage and fear, loss and resolution, denial and honesty, despair and hope…from an author who writes about being human in a world where the unseen is suddenly exposed.

Living It! is Martha Cinader’s debut as the producer of her own album, and features an eclectic array of arrangements and musical styles. It was recorded in part in a studio in New York City, part in a studio in Hamburg, and part live at the Mojo Club in Hamburg, throw in some bonus tracks recorded live at WBAI Radio in New York, and a superb mastering session with Ralph “Pinguin” Kessler in Hamburg, and you get fourteen tracks! Cinader brings together the collective talents of Sabine Worthmann, who uses here sfx pedals generously with her accoustic bass and an…

This book is a vessel/holding liquid for thirsty desirers/in the empty spiral of the universe/where detail is opinion/one moment is all it takes to answer/when the body calls. This book is just one answer in a life of calling. The storyteller lives inside the breath of home. Whatever home is chosen, whatever breath is owned. The desirer takes the moment we’re in and stretches out its every wrinkle. In the folds are new horizons, exploding the every day, line by line-inwards, so the shards are sort of slo-mo in their entry into gravity…We’re brought into the world of the writer.…

A collection of biographical stories and poems about fascinating people in history whose real dreams made a real difference. Developed in performance, these stories bring old tales to life for contemporary readers in a way that is both entertaining and informative.

Real world stories from the frontlines of climate change, resilience, and the future of food. CLIMATE CHANGE PRESENTS an unprecedented challenge to food and farming in the U.S. and beyond. Damaging weather variability and extremes capture the headlines, but more subtle changes caused by hotter summer nights, warmer winters, and a longer growing season have far-reaching effects on the land, people, and communities that feed us. This expanded and updated edition of Resilient Agriculture takes you beyond the headlines and the hype to shine a light on agricultural climate solutions with the power to cultivate new American foodways that are…

CREDITS– CO-HOSTS & PRODUCERS: Martha Cinader, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Tony Robles. FEATURED GUEST: Kenneth Yu. ALSO FEATURED: Sarah Sophie Flicker, Yvette Murray (voice of banned book theme.) STORY: Exit Plan by Kenneth Yu, read by Kenneth Yu. POETRY: Martha Cinader, Tony Robles. MUSIC: Impression, by John Coltrane, featuring Jay Rodriguez, Puccini, Red Rooster by Willie Dixon, featuring Billy Lyles, vocals & guitar. SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.

Javier Famania, Micah Franklin, Jainardo Batista Sterling, Manuel Alejandro Carro, Sarah Sophie Flicker, Kenneth Yu, Laura Lengnick

[link to transcript]

s4e11
March 19, 2026

Mikey Cullen, a spoken word poet from Dublin, Ireland, discusses the vibrant performance poetry scene in Ireland, rooted in the country’s rich oral tradition. He shares his journey into poetry, which began as a personal coping mechanism during a challenging time in his life. Encouraged by a friend, he performed at a storytelling event, leading to a viral video and subsequent opportunities in the poetry and hip-hop scenes. He has been collaborating with various artists, exploring different musical genres and been involved in projects addressing social issues like homelessness, drug addiction, and the housing crisis in Dublin, drawing parallels between the Irish and Palestinian experiences.

A report from L&BH intern, Javier Famania, on why he admires Bad Bunny.

NEW MUSIC YOU WON’T HEAR ANYWHERE ELSE!
Hernan Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, formerly known as Jay Rodriguez, a live performance of his arrangement of John Coltrane’s “Dear Lord,” featuring Jainardo Batista Sterling and Manuel Alejandro Carro, in celebration of Coltrane’s upcoming 100th birthday.

Mikey Cullen, a dynamic Dublin-based poet and multidisciplinary artist, blends his talent as a teacher, actor, filmmaker, and lyricist to create compelling poetry that resonates personally and universally. Known for his emotionally charged performances, Mikey’s work has been featured in various anthologies and publications, and he has performed at major Irish festivals. He actively participates…

Kenneth Yu is an award-winning author from the Philippines whose short fiction has seen publication in his home country as well as overseas in the USA, Canada, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Micah Franklin Johnson, an artist, athlete, and podcast producer from Brooklyn, embraces evolution in his creative journey. Raised in Harlem, he engages with the Summer Youth Program and finds inspiration in his explorations of Chinatown and Brooklyn, aspiring to impact the creative landscape despite his youth.

Laura Lengnick, a renowned soil scientist, has three decades of experience in sustainability in U.S. agriculture. She has received national recognition for her work, including a USDA Honor Award. As the founder of Cultivating Resilience, she collaborates on climate resilience projects and authored the influential book, Resilient Agriculture.

Sarah Sophie is an activist, producer, writer, filmmaker, cultural organizer, creative director, and aerialist. Founder and Creative Director of celebrated political cabaret group, The Citizens Band, she is the Editor-At-Large for Violet Book. Her writing can be found at Hello Giggles, Rookie Magazine, W Magazine, Vogue, Refinery29, The Cut, Cosmo.com, Violet Book, Stylist, Rizzoli’s publication…

Martha Cinader is a poet and author living in Harlem, NY. Her young adult novel, Marq and the Queen Fish, is forthcoming in 2026 from Atmosphere Press. Cinader is the founder and Director of the Listen & Be Heard Network, where she hosts and produces The Listen & Be Heard Hour, and Beyond Borders, both non-commercial podcasts and syndicated radio shows…

The Shan Van (feat. Mikey Cullen) was released on February 7, 2025 by Vocht Records as a part of the album The Shan Van (feat. Mikey Cullen) – EP

This anthology is a collection of unpredictable stories of various genres—fantasy, science fiction, crime, horror and the supernatural—that touch on courage and fear, loss and resolution, denial and honesty, despair and hope…from an author who writes about being human in a world where the unseen is suddenly exposed.

CREDITS– CO-HOSTS & PRODUCERS: Martha Cinader, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Tony Robles. FEATURED GUEST: Mikey Cullen. ALSO FEATURED: Javier Semania, Micah Franklin, Kenneth Yu, Laura Lengnick, Yvette Murray (voice of banned book theme.) POETRY: Mikey Cullen, Martha Cinader. MUSIC: Dear Lord, by John Coltrane, featuring Jay Rodriguez, Ricky Rodriguez, Bill Ware, Jainardo Batista Sterling and Manuel Alejandro Carro, Mothaflower. SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.