The Delicious Truth Podcast

Recidivism refers to a person's return to state or federal custody, after the person has already served time for a previous crime. A U.S. Sentencing Commission report on recidivism among federal prisoners, released on January 24, 2019, showed that nearly 64% of prisoners who had been convicted of violent offenses were arrested within eight years compared with about 40% of those convicted of nonviolent offenses.

Meanwhile, the process of remanding folks to custody is supposed to be a form of “rehabilitation.” But the numbers don’t lie. The US prison system was established roughly around 1891. The recidivism rate leads one to wonder why we keep doing the same thing if it doesn’t yield the intended result, or does it?

Some would say that criminals need to be kept off the street for the safety of our society. But what does that really mean? If remanding offenders into state and federal prisons worked, why would there be such a high rate of recidivism rate?

Just like the truth, this challenge is layered. It impacts the quality of life for all Americans, not just former offenders and their families. Our guest today Dav Lewis will help to unpack recidivism and why it’s not as simple as locking up chronic offenders.

Dav is the Founder and Executive Director of 2nd Chances.Life. Dav is a growing power house of talent and heart. His talent in acting, directing, and producing have made him uniquely well positioned to bring a voice to voiceless communities.

He has appeared in several films, television, and marketing ad campaigns through his career. You may recognize him from his latest work, 2nd Chances, an award winning documentary inspired by real-life experiences and events. As an avid activist and entrepreneur, Lewis is engaged in causes and programs that expand opportunities as well as empower underprivileged individuals across America. Additionally, Lewis’s businesses are strategically aligned with this mission of raising awareness to social issues affecting voiceless communities.

To learn more about 2nd Chances’ services, donate, or volunteer please visit our website http://www.2ndchances.life or contact us at (310) 893-9114.

Special Guest: Dav Lewis.

Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or organization. Leadership by itself doesn’t actually default to good or bad, it just is. Maybe that’s because good and bad leadership is subjective? I find that odd, but nonetheless, it's true.

Historically speaking there have been folks in leadership that have divided the communities and organizations they lead over whether they were good or bad leaders. So what are we to do about it? We think that by getting to the root of what leadership is intended to be and why that matters, we can all be and choose great leaders who make things better for "the whole."

Our guest Megan Davis Lightman is an accomplished CEO, Independent Board Director, and Advisor with over 25 years successfully partnering with business leaders and boards of directors in some of the most challenging industries, guiding them through critical strategic decisions that deliver transformative impact. That’s right, transformative. Megan is no yes woman. She only works with leaders who want to be great leaders.

On this episode Megan will take us beyond basic leadership and into great leadership.

Resources:

Special Guest: Megan Davis Lightman.

Money is complicated. Mix it with a pandemic and it can get beyond complicated to down right sticky. We’ve all heard that we should be seeking “Financial freedom,” what does it really mean?

Financial freedom is financial independence, because you have enough income to pay for one's reasonable living expenses for the rest of one's life without having to rely on formal employment. In some realities, people have lost their jobs and now there is no income coming in. Saving or putting away anything seems impossible.

With the state of the economy and the unemployment rate increasing each month, planning for good and bad times can be the difference between worrying and peace. Our guest has practically made it his lifes work to figure out how to get beyound the hustle and into financial freedom.

Ash Cash Exantus is one of the nation’s top financial educators. Dubbed as the Financial Motivator, he uses a culturally responsive approach in teaching financial literacy. He is also a speaker, bestselling author of many books and the Founder & CEO of MindRight Money Management® a financial education company that blends psychology & personal finance. Ash is best known for helping people maximize their full potential by giving them the inspiration, tools, & resources needed to live their best lives.

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Special Guest: Ash Cash Exantus.

At the delicious truth, we know that talking about and uncovering solutions that keep us seeped in the history of this country is an important step in the right direction. With all that is going on in the media, racism against black people in America has become highly visible and discussed. However, since 2016 the fact that anti-immigrant racism and a more recent example with COVID-19 being called the "Chinese Virus," highlights a long-standing issue with racism against Asian people. The xenophobia and racism have led to Asian men and women being attacked.

This has to stop. Our guest Barb Lee isn't new to kicking off uncomfortable conversations, as she has made it her profession to use her power as the Founder and President of Point Made Films and Point Made Learning, to use film as an opportunity to help us see, what is often unseen.

Lee has served as a consultant on numerous documentary films, including Overburden, about systemic oppression and poverty in the Appalachian Mountains; Without a Fight, about the role of youth soccer in the Kenyan slum of Kibera; and Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, which reports the heartbreaking aftermath of some five hundred infants who were secretly adopted during Argentina’s Dirty War. Point Made Films is also a producing partner for the independent feature film The Birth of a Nation written, produced, directed by, and starring, Nate Parker.

Prior to creating her own companies, Lee worked as a freelance video producer, a corporate event designer, a video production teacher at the North Carolina School of Science and Math (still her favorite job); she also worked in development at 20th Century Fox and Fox TV. Her first movie job was at Paramount Studios, where she was a writing intern for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

She has dual degrees in broadcast journalism and speech communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has volunteered in numerous leadership roles including Chair of the UNC Board of Visitors, Vice-Chair of the UNC Performing Arts Board of Advisors, Chair of ACRED (Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity), and as a member of UNC’s School of Media and Journalism’s Board of Visitors. Lee is the 2015 recipient of UNC’s Alumni Diversity Award, the university’s highest honor for work in racial justice, and was the 2016 commencement speaker for the UNC School of Media and Journalism. She is also a trustee of the foundation board of John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Special Guest: Barb Lee.

Resilience: The ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Well, if these aren't difficult times I don't know what is. Ok! However, humans are born with a resilient spirit. Despite that fact, there is a limit to everything. If you or someone you know has been pushed to your limit, more often than not, this is episode is for you.

Sneakpeak, YOU ARE NOT POWERLESS!

According to Psychology Today, many factors that determine resilience—such as genetics, early life experiences, and luck—can’t be modified. But specific resilience-building skills can be learned. These include breaking out of negative thought cycles, pushing back against catastrophizing, and looking for upsides when faced with setbacks.

That is why our guest Buck Davis, is the perfect person to share insights into building resilience. Buck has multiple master's degrees, has been in the speaking and consulting business for 21 years. He's worked with everyone from Starbucks, Facebook, General Mills, Ball Aerospace & The US EPA. He's also worked across all types of industries from manufacturing to retail to tech companies. You may have seen him on CNN talking about race in America or get this, this is so random, he's also pitched products on QVC. As if a dozen or so jobs aren't enough, he also creates inspirational videos.

He credits so much of his life to a resilient spirit and positive thinking and not only does he live his life in the practice of it, he shares it with all who wish to hear it. Settle down, tune in, and be empowered.

Follow our Guest for more resources

Special Guest: Buck Davis.

According to the United States Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. *SO WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? *

We all know that equal rights aren’t yet equal, however, we are still entitled to pursuit happiness, whatever that means to you. That is why our guest on this episode was invited to share his journey with us.

Derek Dow, is a Director, Writer, and Actor. His projects include:

After focusing on his passion to create and direct content and seeing success, Derek realized that he still wasn’t happy. His life wasn’t in color, so he took a step back to assess what was really going on with him and that is how he discovered the root of happiness. He hopes that by sharing his journey in the pursuit of happiness that he will inspire others to do the same. We should not wait, because tomorrow may never come.

Stay connect with Derek Dow

Special Guest: Derek Dow.

In this episode, we will dive into the importance of developing and preserving well being. COVID-19 has upended life as we know it. It has uncovered so many disparities for humanity to address. In order to do this, we must be aware of and address our mental health and wellbeing. James Nowlin is no stranger to life’s challenges and has taken back control over his mental health and wellbeing and he hopes to share how others can too.

James holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Duke University School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy and led the publication of its acclaimed Women in the Workplace issue. Background in Neuroscience and Mental Health, Specialist in Creating Healthy Workplaces, Medical and Legal Education Background, James completed the pre-medical curriculum at the University of Virginia with Intermediate Honors and a stint in medical school at the Howard University College of Medicine. He is a graduate of executive education programs at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and is admitted to the State Bar of Texas. James is author of the best-selling book that chronicles his journey to finding greater purpose in his life titled, The Purposeful Millionaire, 52 Rules for Creating a Life of Greater Wealth and Happiness Now. And he is an acclaimed Executive Coach and Trainer.

Resources:

Special Guest: James Nowlin.

On the first episode I am diving right in. I explain how future podcast episodes will lay out but I made sure this episode was released as episode one due to the climate our country is going thru. That includes talking about the killings of black people in America. It's time to speak up and talk about it and act about it. #BlackLivesMatter

The Delicious Truth with Gloria Cotton, is a podcast series that presents the whole truth about the issues that impact our daily lives.

We believe that what makes something 'Delicious' is a certain fullness. Delicious is rich, intimate and powerful. During this podcast, we’ll cover all three delicious layers of the truth.

The Absolute, Empirical Truth

The Personal, Experiential Truth

The Consequential, Impactful Truth

And finally, we get to NOW WHAT? During this podcast you will hear about resources,