The Conversations We Should Be Having Podcast

Hey there! Tanisha and Elliott finally got together after almost two years to chat about the Netflix Documentary "POWER." We dived into whether it accurately reflects the history of policing and its relevance today. Then we switched gears to talk about how we can reform law enforcement without repeating past mistakes. It was a thought-provoking conversation, and we can't wait for you to tune in and share your thoughts!

Season One’s rewind wraps up with this thoughtful discussion on unity vs. uniformity… and a mutual hatred of New England Winter. After this episode, we’re getting right into season two next week!

This was originally recorded in 2022.

Tanisha shares how a misunderstanding her son had over pejorative language made her realize that he had internalized that everything unpleasant may be tied to racism. This and another interaction gave her pause and time to re-evaluate how we talk to our communities about issues. That same weekend, Elliott, still unsure if he wanted to keep doing the show, had an interaction that made him think about his perspective. It leads our hosts to talk about the lack of unity in society and the tough conversations we need to have sometimes are not just close to home but in the home itself.

Tanisha and Elliott process what happened in the last episode and discuss the labels we receive or self-assign. Do the labels we’re given seal our fate? How do empathy and self-knowledge weigh in? And what are the limits of each? This was originally recorded in November 2022, but some of its lessons are as fresh as ever.

Empathy has its limits. Under duress, even the most skilled and kind person has a breaking point. In this episode, Elliott comes in with a point about who intervenes when the horrific happens. And when the police are enforcing laws they didn’t make, why do they catch that heat? Tanisha and Elliott both look at this conversation as a tough conversation between reckoning with reality and differing perspectives.

And how can we all realistically move forward to a better society. There were technical difficulties in the raw recording, but you need to hear this.

This was the conversation that began to define what the show was. IS BLM meaning anti-police? Is it only about Black Lives not being taken? Is there something that’s being missed in divisive rhetoric? This one was still early in Elliott and Tanisha’s work, and its theme is still relevant today.

We’ll continue releasing the unedited season one episode next week, and then SEASON TWO begins!

When Elliott and Tanisha first met, they were a police chief and a Black Lives Matter activist who were both enrolled in Project Empathy. The conversations they started there led to this podcast. What’s different here is that instead of a series of clips, we bring you their conversations as they intended: watching them get to know each other. In episode 1, they discussed what it is they hoped to accomplish. And their weekends.

Tanisha Johnson of Black Lives Matter New Hampshire and Police Chief Elliot Moya are returning to their celebrated podcast to have honest, often uncomfortable discussions about policing, race, community, and justice. Before starting Season Two, longer, updated versions of Season One's shows will be released to show the evolution of their working relationship and friendship. The Season One re-release will begin on June 4, with new episodes to follow this summer.

Subscribe today wherever you get podcasts.