With the launch of the hit Netflix show, “Queer Eye,” Jonathan Van Ness became a personal grooming guru for unkempt Americans across the country. But JVN has engaged audiences in so much more than better hygiene practices – a year after the show launched, JVN wrote a memoir that helped to demystify living with HIV and what “undetectable equals untransmittable” (or U=U) actually means. 

 

JVN joins us this week to talk about living with HIV, overcoming addiction, and the steps that he hopes the Biden/Harris administration will take to overcome the stigma that he and so many other folks, particularly LGBTQ-identifying, face after coming out as HIV-positive. Tune in, henny.

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. 

 

Resources from the episode:

• Tune into JVN’s podcast, Getting Curious
• Read JVN’s memoir, “Over The Top”
• Search for your local Planned Parenthood 
• Locate additional HIV testing by zip code 
• Find a PrEP provider by zip code
• Read up on U=U

 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Although 2020 is behind us, the new year is already off to an unsettling start. On January 6, chaos erupted as a violent mob of Trump loyalists stormed our nation’s Capitol, leaving five people dead. 

 

One of this week’s guests, Massachusetts representative Ayanna Pressley, was at the Capitol that day. Fearing for her safety, she reached for the panic button installed in her congressional office only to find it had been torn out. The buttons were installed as a security measure in 2019 after members of the “Squad,” a progressive group of House Democrats, endured racist attacks from President Trump. 

 

With the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris less than a week away, Rep. Pressley and Mayor London Breed of San Francisco join us to talk about the long process of healing and reconstruction necessary for our country. The two influential leaders discuss how to reimagine our criminal legal system and housing affordability, and the importance of building a representative, inclusive economy after a year of reckoning with racial injustice.

 

Follow Mayor Breed and Rep. Pressley on twitter.

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. 

 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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From his humble beginnings as Mayor of Burlington, Vermont to his seat in the Senate, Demoractic Socialist Bernie Sanders has consistently backed the working class, universal health care and taxing the wealthiest Americans. The Vermont Senator joins us this week to talk about the future of Trumpism, priorities for the new administration, and what this upcoming shift in power could mean for transformative, inclusive change.

 

Our team is taking a break for the next few weeks, but not to worry – we’ll have new episodes ready for you come January. In the meantime, stay safe and happy holidays!

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. 

 

Resources from this episode:

• Follow Sen. Sanders’ updates on Twitter.
• Learn more about your local Democratic Socialists chapter here.

 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors

• You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
• The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. 

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Foster care youth experience disproportionate rates of homelessness, incarceration, food insecurity, and trauma. The pandemic has only made things more uncertain. With the odds so stacked against them, how can we ensure that foster youth will be able to build a sustainable future for themselves once they transition out of the system and are no longer eligible for the benefits they previously relied on? Franco Vega and Amber Baker of the RightWay Foundation join us on this week’s episode to address these questions and share the extreme hurdles they overcame as foster youth themselves.

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. 

 

Resources from this episode:

• Keep up with The RightWay Foundation here.
• Learn more about the foster care system with this handy collection of links courtesy of The Marshall Project.

 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors

• You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
• The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. 

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Martin Macias and his wife, Tomasita, crossed the border from Mexico into the United States back in the ‘80s with the dream of starting a family. They had their son Jose, and together they became community leaders in the fight for immigrant rights and workers’ benefits. But their journey is marked with unimaginable loss – of a job, their home, and the family’s matriarch. This week, we’re talking about the life and death consequences of what happens when workers are denied basic benefits like paid time off. The father-son activist duo talk about Tomasita’s lasting impact, and what it’s going to take to make economic progress for undocumented immigrant families in our country.

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. 

 

Resources from this episode:

• Follow Make The Road Nevada’s advocacy updates on their webpage and on Twitter.
• Keep up with the Fight For $15 here.
• Check out Informed Immigrants’ comprehensive list of immigrant rights resources and the National Employment Law Project’s fact sheet on immigrant workers’ rights and COVID-19.

 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors

• You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
• The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. 

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy Thanksgiving! This week, we’re airing a rerun of the very first episode of Our America featuring Rosie and Joaquin Castro.

 

In 2012, on the stage of the Democratic National Convention, Julián Castro described the American Dream as a relay. In the first episode of Our America, we dig into the Castro family’s backstory. We follow the baton passing from one generation to the next, starting with Julián’s grandmother immigrating to the US nearly 100 years ago. Julián and his twin brother, Congressman Joaquin Castro, talk about their journey from the segregated West Side of San Antonio to the national stage. We also meet their mom, Rosie, an activist in her own right, who highlights raising her sons with a strong sense of Mexican-American identity and how that helped shape their life’s trajectory.

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. 

 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors

• You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
• The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. 

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Below the iconic Las Vegas Strip, another reality exists in stark contrast to the gambling and entertainment excesses. This week, Louis Lacey of HELP of Southern Nevada paints the picture of homelessness in the city’s drainage tunnels, and how his personal experience with homelessness has influenced his community outreach work. We also talk with Emily Paulsen of the Nevada Homeless Alliance about solutions to homelessness and the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. 

 

Resources from this episode:

• Follow HELP of Southern Nevada and the Nevada Homeless Alliance’s community initiatives on Twitter. 

 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors

• You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
• The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. 

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the presidential election at the forefront of everyone’s minds, we’re unpacking the 2020 election results and Latino voter turnout with Joaquin Castro, who recently won his own reelection to Congress. We talk about what the Democratic win actually means for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and what still needs to happen to restore and sustain democracy in our country and around the world. 

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. Joaquin is on twitter and Instagram @JoaquinCastrotx.

 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors

• You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
• The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. 

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After nearly a decade in the military, Jason Kander had grown accustomed to the demands of deployment in Afghanistan -- but it was his return to civilian life that presented the biggest challenges for him and his family. Today, Kander talks about life during and after service, the career shift into politics that led him to seek treatment for his PTSD, and the dangers of thinking of trauma as “unearned.” 

 

Resources from this episode:

• If you or a veteran you know are struggling, dial 1-800-273-8255 and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line. You can also text 838255 or chat online at www.veteranscrisisline.net.
• Keep up with the Veterans Community Project to learn about progress within the homeless veteran population.
• Learn more about voter suppression and what you can do about it at Let America Vote.
• Listen to Jason’s weekly podcast, Majority 54, to learn about combating political misinformation and winning progressive campaigns in red states. 

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX

 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors

• You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
• The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. 

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stacey Abrams and Angela Lang are no strangers to voter suppression. In their respective states of Georgia and Wisconsin, they have seen communities of color disproportionately silenced time and again by restrictive voting measures. This week we sit down with each of them to talk about knocking on doors, getting out the vote, and what it means to have representation in positions of power, particularly in this moment in history. With less than a week left, we consider how our collective voting power will  determine the fate of the country for the next four years and beyond.

 

• Follow Fair Fight on Twitter
• Follow Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC) on Twitter

 

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX

 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors

• You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
• The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. 
• If you’re looking to switch up your workout routine, why not try boxing from the comfort of your own home? FightCamp’s 12-week starter program has 400 different workouts to teach you the fundamentals of boxing. Try it for 30 days with their money-back guarantee at www.joinfightcamp.com/castro.

 

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.