The Social Exchange

Dr. Erec Smith is a professor of rhetoric and composition at York College and former Chair of the York YWCA Racial and Social Justice Committee.

Today, he and I talk about racism in America, and what he believes are the best ways to make this country a fair, diverse, and thriving one. Smith appreciates much of the sentiment behind Critical Race Theory (CRT) and anti-racism curriculum, but believes these movements (and their rhetoric)-- as they have been mainstreamed-- are headed in the wrong direction.

He offers a new idea about how we might make progress, which he calls the Empowerment Model. In addition to his position at York College, Smith is Associate Director of the Institute for Civic Arts and Humanities, co-founder and co-editor of "FreeBlackThought", a writing fellow for Heterodox Academy, and author of the book, "A Critique of Anti-racism in Rhetoric and Composition: The Semblance of Empowerment."

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SUPPORT THE SOCIAL EXCHANGE

Donate to PayPal: https://paypal.me/zrhoads

Contribute to Patreon: https://patreon.com/thesocialexchange

Use our Audible Link for a free audio book: http://audibletrial.com/socialexchange

*****RATE / REVIEW The Social Exchange

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-exchange/id1333527133

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THANK YOU to all of our Patrons!

- Pat Casey

-Dora

-Jeffrey Singer

- Steven Rabinowitz

- Jessie Dunleavy 

- Andrew Tatarsky

- Dean LeMire

- Christy McPherson 

- Nunzio De Martino (Courtesy of "Don Nunzio Limos" https://donnunziolimos.com/) 

- Susan Lennon

- James Stacks

- Chris L

- W Leon Naufahu 

- Sherry Chandler

- Dee-Dee Stout

- Christopher Hanlon 

- André Pampel

- CARTER Vermont https://www.cartervermont.org/

- Rick Barnett 

- Anne M. Earle

- Inigo

- Jon Holt

- Laila Ferguson

- Mary Kay Villaverde

- Michelle

- NANCY

- Sean Holt

- Regina Ferguson

- Timmy Tucker

- Christian

- Thomas Rhoads

- Kathleen Cochran

- Marjorie Israel

- Diane T

- Trevor 

- Sue Mathieu

- Linda Rhoads

Todd is a documentary film maker and his most recent film, "The Last Stop" is today's conversation topic.

The Last Stop is a film about the Élan School, which was a controversial school / treatment facility for so-called juvenile delinquents which existed in the deep woods of Maine.

That’s ExisTED, past-tense, because the Élan school was closed down in 2011 due to allegations of abuse which dated back to its opening in 1970.

(This is a rebroadcast from an episode I recorded in 2019)

Welcome to episode 75!

Today's guest is Desh Amila.

Desh is the founder of "This Is 42"-- a platform for highly regarded educators and content creators such as Coleman Hughes, Michael Shermer, Sam Harris, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and more. He is also the producer of the films "Islam and the Future of Tolerance" (Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz), and more recently, "Better Left Unsaid" which you can find here: https://betterleftunsaidfilm.com/

Today we talk about Desh's life journey: Living through civil war in Sri Lanka, moving to Australia (not knowing more than a few key phrases in English); eventually graduating from Melbourne's Deakin University; and becoming an entrepreneur, film-maker, and educator on a global scale.

We then discuss his newest film (with Curt Jaimungal), "Better Left Unsaid", which illuminates key issues regarding radical politics-- both on the left and the right-- in the U.S. and around the world.

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SUPPORT THE SOCIAL EXCHANGE

Donate to PayPal: https://paypal.me/zrhoads

Contribute to Patreon: https://patreon.com/thesocialexchange

Use our Audible Link for a free audio book: http://audibletrial.com/socialexchange

*****RATE / REVIEW The Social Exchange

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-exchange/id1333527133

- - - - - - - - - - 

THANK YOU to all of our Patrons!

- Pat Casey

-Dora

-Jeffrey Singer

- Steven Rabinowitz

- Jessie Dunleavy 

- Andrew Tatarsky

- Dean LeMire

- Christy McPherson 

- Nunzio De Martino (Courtesy of "Don Nunzio Limos" https://donnunziolimos.com/) 

- Susan Lennon

- James Stacks

- Chris L

- W Leon Naufahu 

- Sherry Chandler

- Dee-Dee Stout

- Christopher Hanlon 

- André Pampel

- CARTER Vermont https://www.cartervermont.org/

- Rick Barnett 

- Anne M. Earle

- Inigo

- Jon Holt

- Laila Ferguson

- Mary Kay Villaverde

- Michelle

- NANCY

- Sean Holt

- Regina Ferguson

- Timmy Tucker

- Christian

- Thomas Rhoads

- Kathleen Cochran

- Marjorie Israel

- Diane T

- Trevor 

- Sue Mathieu

- Linda Rhoads

This episode originally aired as an episode of the "LPP PODCAST" which you can find here: https://open.spotify.com/show/66wpvu8aMI8NWYgZvBr5uz

Today's guest is Maia Szalavitz, who co-wrote (With Bruce Perry) "The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog" and the NYT best-seller, "Unbroken Brain"

Her forthcoming book is, "Undoing Drugs"

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Check out previous episodes of the LPP Podcast at the Life Process Program web site https://LifeProcessProgram.com 

Curt Jaimngal is the co-creator (with Desh Amila) of the documentary film, "Better Left Unsaid".

The film shines a light salient cultural issues that are difficult to discuss in a balanced way (at least publicly): namely, the radical arms of both left and right wing politics. "Better Left Unsaid" explores leftist social justice theory and how it turned into censorship and orthodoxly, as well as right-wing nationalism racism and violence.

In the film, Jaimungal explores history and discusses what has happened, previously, when these cultural frameworks have been left unchecked and were allowed to influence policy. He also offers a window into his own mind-- how he thinks about and makes sense of these issues, and what any given person can do about them.

Today Curt and I discuss these topics in detail, as we explore ways to be a thinking and constructive citizen. You'll see that his thoughts and beliefs are well-researched but they're also fluid; changeable. He struggles with his own ontological sense-making and takes no shortcuts when discussing difficult issues. He argues (at least tacitly) that struggling with an internal dialectic is a crucial process for an individual who wants to be a critically-thinking and relevant sense-maker. I enjoyed the discussion and I hope you will too.

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SUPPORT THE SOCIAL EXCHANGE

Donate to PayPal: https://paypal.me/zrhoads

Contribute to Patreon: https://patreon.com/thesocialexchange

Use our Audible Link for a free audio book: http://audibletrial.com/socialexchange

*****RATE / REVIEW The Social Exchange

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-exchange/id1333527133

- - - - - - - - - - 

THANK YOU to all of our Patrons!

- Pat Casey

-Dora

-Jeffrey Singer

- Steven Rabinowitz

- Jessie Dunleavy 

- Andrew Tatarsky

- Dean LeMire

- Christy McPherson 

- Nunzio De Martino (Courtesy of "Don Nunzio Limos" https://donnunziolimos.com/) 

- Susan Lennon

- James Stacks

- Chris L

- W Leon Naufahu 

- Sherry Chandler

- Dee-Dee Stout

- Christopher Hanlon 

- André Pampel

- CARTER Vermont https://www.cartervermont.org/

- Rick Barnett 

- Anne M. Earle

- Inigo

- Jon Holt

- Laila Ferguson

- Mary Kay Villaverde

- Michelle

- NANCY

- Sean Holt

- Regina Ferguson

- Timmy Tucker

- Christian

- Thomas Rhoads

- Kathleen Cochran

- Marjorie Israel

- Diane T

- Trevor 

- Sue Mathieu

- Linda Rhoads

Today’s guest is Shaun Shelly (see bio below). Shaun is a drug policy educator (to say the least) from South Africa. We discussed a range of topics, including (but not limited to):

Drug use The war on drugs

Mental health

Societal deficits and potential solutions

Logical fallacies and cognitive biases

First-principles thinking/problem-solving in psychology

Therapy and motivational interviewing

Education Humanism And many more topics.

FOLLOW SHAUN

Arcicles / Blogs / Other Podcasts https://www.psymposia.com/magazine/ne... https://www.memoirsofanaddictedbrain.... http://addictioncapetown.blogspot.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOOKl...

MORE ABOUT SHAUN SHELLY

Shaun is dedicated to the understanding of drug use, the rights of people who use drugs, and effective drug policy. He is the Policy, Advocacy and Human Rights Manager for TB/HIV Care in South Africa. Shaun has developed the annual SA Drug Policy Week, he sits on the Department of Health and Central Drug Authority advisory groups, and he holds affiliations at the Universities of Cape Town and Pretoria. Learn more here:

Aaron Burroughs grew up singing gospel music for a black church in Ann Arbor Michigan. 

He moved to Verrmont as an adult and started a band (an entire style of music) inspired by his gospel roots as well as his love and admiration for musicians like Prince, Whitney Houston, Parliament and more. Or, you might say he started an entirely new genre of music. 

You see, Burroughs took the familiar-to-some preacher-esque energy and aesthetic, and turned it into dance-worthy funk, soul and party music. 

He was a major influence in Vermont, where he started his group, "Funkwagon", and Vermonters are lucky that he decided to take on this life-changing project in our neck of the woods. 

Of course, my bias leans heavily on Burroughs, since I was fortunate enough to be one of his band-members and song-writers. 

One example of his MO: He and I (and others in the group) took a traditional gospel song called, "Been So Good To Me"-- whose chorus was, "Jesus, you've been so good to me", we arranged it as quick-pace, four-on-the-floor tune, and we changed the words to "Baby, you' been so good to me". You can hear our version of the song in the outro music of this episode)

I give him the full TERRY GROSS on this episode as I discuss his upbringing; his move to VT; what it was like to be a gay black man in a state that is 97% white; his family dynamics; his current projects, and much more. 

SUPPORT AARON BURROUGHS:

Please support Aaron by checking out his Funkwagon Facebook page (where he often preforms live) here https://www.facebook.com/FunkwagonVT.FunkwagonDT

DONATE TO AARON'S VENMO @Aaronburroughs-4

And check out these songs (in which I'm featured):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAhBvPVjbwM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCgGscxR54M

Brian Cuban tells Zach about his history with addiction, which included drugs and alcohol as well as a dysfunctional relationship with diet, exercise, and body image.

Cuban explains that while most people who suffer body dysmorphic disorder are female, most people don't realize just how many men feel shame about their body image---- to the extent that they overcorrect with extreme and unhealthy diets and workouts, as he did.

He also discusses his relationship with family members, including his brothers--- one of whom is Mark Cuban, the billionaire "Shark Tank" star and Dallas Mavericks owner. All of this and more on Ep. 72 of TSE!

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SUPPORT THE SOCIAL EXCHANGE

Donate to PayPal: https://paypal.me/zrhoads

Contribute to Patreon: https://patreon.com/thesocialexchange

Use our Audible Link for a free audio book: http://audibletrial.com/socialexchange

RATE / REVIEW The Social Exchange

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-exchange/id1333527133

- - - - - - - - - - 

THANK YOU to all of our Patrons!

- Pat Casey

-Dora

-Jeffrey Singer

- Steven Rabinowitz

- Jessie Dunleavy 

- Andrew Tatarsky

- Dean LeMire

- Christy McPherson 

- Nunzio De Martino (Courtesy of "Don Nunzio Limos" https://donnunziolimos.com/) 

- Susan Lennon

- James Stacks

- Chris L

- W Leon Naufahu 

- Sherry Chandler

- Dee-Dee Stout

- Christopher Hanlon 

- André Pampel

- CARTER Vermont https://www.cartervermont.org/

- Rick Barnett 

- Anne M. Earle

- Inigo

- Jon Holt

- Laila Ferguson

- Mary Kay Villaverde

- Michelle

- NANCY

- Sean Holt

- Regina Ferguson

- Timmy Tucker

- Christian

- Thomas Rhoads

- Kathleen Cochran

- Marjorie Israel

- Diane T

- Trevor 

- Sue Mathieu

- Linda Rhoads

I interviewed Dr. Carl Hart about his book, "Drug Use For Grown-Ups", when it first hit shelves (Jan. 2021). 

This originally appeared on the weekly Life Process Program podcast (LPP is an harm reduction oriented addiction program I work for), but it's worth sharing with you now. 

Many of you won't have listened to the original podcast and I think it will bring you value!  At the same time, I want as many people to hear Dr. Hart's message as possible. 

Let us know what you think! 

Eric White is the creator and host of theEWpodcast. He doesn't podcast just to be a "sage on the stage" but to have valuable conversations with people who interest him and can bring value to a greater audience.

He and I have that in common.

Eric and I talk about his backstory-- including a bout of depression and recovery from it-- then discuss what it means to find purpose and meaning in life. Finally, we have a meta conversation about podcasting: why we do it, why it brings us value, and how having interesting (even difficult) discussions a.) makes us better people; b.) empowers people in our circles of influence.

Enjoy this conversation with my friend and yours, Mr. Eric White

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Check out Eric's podcast and other content at his web site http://ericwhte.com/​

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SUPPORT THE SOCIAL EXCHANGE

Donate to PayPal: https://paypal.me/zrhoads

Contribute to Patreon: https://patreon.com/thesocialexchange

Use our Audible Link for a free audio book: http://audibletrial.com/socialexchange

RATE / REVIEW The Social Exchange

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-exchange/id1333527133

- - - - - - - - - - 

THANK YOU to all of our Patrons!

- Steven Rabinowitz

- Jessie Dunleavy 

- Andrew Tatarsky

- Dean LeMire

- Christy McPherson 

- Nunzio De Martino (Courtesy of "Don Nunzio Limos" https://donnunziolimos.com/) 

- Susan Lennon

- James Stacks

- Chris L

- W Leon Naufahu 

- Sherry Chandler

- Dee-Dee Stout

- Christopher Hanlon 

- André Pampel

- CARTER Vermont https://www.cartervermont.org/

- Rick Barnett 

- Anne M. Earle

- Inigo

- Jon Holt

- Laila Ferguson

- Mary Kay Villaverde

- Michelle

- NANCY

- Sean Holt

- Regina Ferguson

- Timmy Tucker

- Christian

- Thomas Rhoads

- Kathleen Cochran

- Marjorie Israel

- Diane T

- Trevor 

- Sue Mathieu

- Linda Rhoads