The Venn Dialogues

Black History Month is celebrated in February because it started as just a week in February starting in 1926. It remains in February as a whole month because it includes and honors Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. So, no Dick Gregory, they didn’t just give black people the shortest month of the year!

What do YOU know about Black History Month? Are you still celebrating it as much as you did during your school career? What do you do to keep black history a part of everyday history? Join us as we discuss Black History Month and discuss so many amazing black innovators that you may have never heard of!

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Challenge: Get ready for the 100th year of celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans in History! Take a look at the last 98 themes and find some people that speak to you and the impact you want to leave in the world. Find a new muse/someone to inspire you.

Quote:  “Demand that your voice is heard, don’t ask.”  - Sophie Ming

Resources:

• Historical Significance  of Black History Month - https://www.jstor.org/stable/44214670 
• Learn about this years theme and all the previous BHM themes - https://asalh.org/black-history-themes/
• Subscribe to the Newsletter. Tell them Christine sent you! - https://www.28daysofblackhistory.com/
• President Proclamations Database (Obama’s Proclamations from 2009) - https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CFR-2010-title3-vol1/CFR-2010-title3-vol1-proc8345/context

Additional Resources:

• https://dosomething.org/article/11-young-black-activists-changing-the-world
• https://dosomething.org/article/young-black-americans-making-history-right-now 

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Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

Happy Valentine’s day, Single Awareness Day & Galentine's Day to everyone out there who celebrates! And if you're like me, well,  a Happy Friday will suffice! 

This episode we dive into dating and the history of how it developed to what we experience in our modern time. As usual it was a journey and a lot of good nuggets of information were shared and learned. Join the conversation online by using #CallingToSwiping

Follow us on all social media (see tags at the bottom of the show notes). Share an episode with a friend! See the list of resources below. 

Article Links:

• https://www.ucpress.edu/books/the-dating-divide/paper
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/25163698?mag=the-complex-history-of-american-dating&seq=4
• https://hankeringforhistory.com/the-history-of-dating-and-romance/
• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/timeline-online-dating-fr_b_9228040
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/ztrptrd
• https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/hidden-voices/enslaved-women-their-families/courtship-and-marriage 
• https://decidetocommit.com/a-review-of-the-dating-divide-race-and-desire-in-the-era-of-online-romance/ 

Other References:

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-single/202406/the-record-setting-rise-of-single-living-in-the-us 
• https://nypost.com/2016/05/15/the-fascinating-history-of-how-courtship-became-dating/ 

Challenge:  

Look up the dating history of your ethnic group and/or sexuality. How did they date throughout history, what were the customs - dig deep!

Quote:

Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes. - Douglas McGrath

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Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

Picture this: America, 1582. Yeah, I know, it’s not like the America we know now – no highways, no Wi-Fi, just a bunch of guys in tights and hats with feathers. Anyway, the Pope decides to change the calendar. One day, it’s October 4th, and the next, poof, it’s October 15th. Ten days just vanish! So my cousin, Rosalie *God rest her* she’s all excited about her birthday party on the 5th, right? Well, thanks to the Pope’s great idea, everyone thinks it’s cancelled since it’s the 15th so no one shows! Except Rosalie, who’s sitting there, cake in hand, looking like a fool. That’s when we learned: never trust anyone who thinks they can just skip days like it’s no big deal. If you get the Golden Girls reference, we’re best friends now.

This week we discuss how unreal time actually is. From the various number of calendar systems we use, to the 2012 doomsday fiasco, and how the hell did we lose 10 days in 1582?! Join us to learn more!

Follow us on social media (all tags at the bottom of the show notes) and share an episode with a friend or family member. Join the conversation on socials using #TheMathAintMathing

Challenge: Your week doesn’t have to start on Sunday or Monday and your month doesn’t have to start on the 1st of the month; create a schedule that works for you! 

Quote: “Keep your face always towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.” - Walt Whitman

Resources:

• https://climate.nasa.gov/news/815/beyond-2012-why-the-world-wont-end/
• https://maya.nmai.si.edu/calendar/maya-calendar-converter
• http://multifaiths.com/pdf/calendarshistory.pdf

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Follow us:
@Venn.Dialogues on Instagram 

Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

Translation: “I hope you get your bag this year” or more literally “May good fortune fall upon you.”

It’s Chinese New Year’s Eve! Celebrated during the first New Moon of the year, Chinese New Year is celebrated not only in China, but across the globe with fireworks, lantern festivals, and all the dumplings you can eat!

Join us while we explore the traditions, history, and zodiacs based on Chinese New Year.  

Follow us on social media (all tags at the bottom of show notes) and share an episode with a friend or family member. Join the conversation on socials using #ChineseZodiac

Challenge: Explore other non-American holidays occurring this year and find traditional practices that resonate with you that you may want to follow.

Quote: "The time is always right to do what is right." - Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Resources:

• https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-spring-festival.htm
• https://billingslibrary.org/DocumentCenter/View/7232/Chinese-Zodiac?bidId=
• https://www.bendigojosshouse.com/zodiac-calendar/
• https://literacyonline.tki.org.nz/content/download/42088/467737/file/RTR-Chinese+New+Year-Online.pdf
• https://lammuseum.wfu.edu/education/teachers/chinese-new-year/history-of-chinese-new-year/

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Follow us:
@Venn.Dialogues on Instagram 

Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

Follow us on social media (see bottom of notes for accounts) and share an episode with a friend or family member. Join the conversation on socials using #RecycleMe

Life in plastic is actually not fantastic. Today we talk about Recycling. The big, small and in-between about how we can all try more in our recycling efforts and WHY. 

In the “What's Facts Got to Do With It? Segment” we explore the history of recycling in the USA and what a journey we are still on. See resources below. Let us know what you think.

Challenge:

Learn about your nearest landfill - where is it? How big is it? Are recycling efforts utilized there?

Quote: Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. - Maya Angelou

Article Links:

• https://glescrap.com/blog/history-of-recycling-and-how-it-evolved/
• https://collectandrecycle.com/the-history-of-recycling/
• https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/02/does-recycling-actually-help-the-climate/
• https://ncse.ngo/climate-change-literacy-action
• https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/
• https://www.developmentaid.org/news-stream/post/158158/world-waste-statistics-by-country 
• https://www.todayyoushouldknow.com/articles/what-do-our-recyclables-become 

Other References:

• https://projects.bettergov.org/2018/recycling-chicago/
• https://chicagohealthonline.com/recycling-is-complicated-and-controversial/
• https://www.bustedcubicle.com/outside/top-american-cities-recycling
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/discovery-of-global-warming/
• https://www.rts.com/blog/10-cities-with-forward-thinking-recycling-programs/
• https://www.agood.com/blogs/stories/countries-that-recycle-the-most?srsltid=AfmBOooa8xDC1iecXaF_u6RojaBjuEn3-rGxPGSGHz6lYZVtX-lPWroB
• https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/recycling-rates-by-country 

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@Venn.Dialogues on Instagram 

Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

How do you comfort others in a time of need? Do you ever find it difficult to know what to do or say? It’s tough for everyone! However, there are some things that would be ok to say, and other things we should keep to ourselves. Join us while we discover different comfort languages and sort through the best and worst things to do for each.

Challenge: Take the quiz to find out your comfort language!

• Quiz - Thanks to Opinion Stage

Resources:

• How to comfort somebody with the five comfort languages - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mswQdZed51M (Video)
• The Idea of Comfort - https://www.jstor.org/stable/1511452
• How Does the Comforting Process Work? An Empirical Test of an Appraisal-Based Model of Comforting  - https://www.academia.edu/download/46681186/How_Does_the_Comforting_Process_Work_An_20160621-17953-qwhmvt.pdf
• ADEC Forum: The Art of Condolence - https://www.krsf.com/pdf/adec-forum-oct-13-the-art-of-condolence.pdf
• There is No Good Card for This: What to say and do when like is scary, awful, and unfair to people you love - Emily McDowell and Kelsey Crowe (Book)

Other Resources:

• The Art of Comforting - Val Walker (Book)
• Find out your Love Language (Quiz)
• Find out your Apology Language (Quiz)

Quote: Would you stop thinking about what everyone wants? Stop thinking about what I want, what he wants, what your parents want. What do you want? - NOAH from the Notebook (not Jack - got my romantic drama leads confused during the episode)

Join the Conversation

Follow us:
@Venn.Dialogues on Instagram 

Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

Follow us on socials (tags at the bottom of the show notes). Share an episode with someone. Join the conversation on all socials by using #MindOverMatter or send us a DM. 

Today we dive into crystals! We explore our outlook on crystals in the “Two in The Think” Segment. In the “What's Facts Got to Do With It? Segment”, we explore the history of crystals, their origins in our society, their modern day uses and the evidence behind their use. Some of the questions from today’s episode were as follows:

• What are your perceptions of crystals?
• Do you own any crystals? If so, what do you use yours for? Decoration, decor, self-care?
• If you could have a crystal for any purpose - what would you want it for?
• Do you know what your birthstone is?
• Where do you think the use of crystals originated?
• Do you know the meaning of any crystals by heart? Do you believe they have any use of significance?
• Do you believe in mind over matter?
• Have you ever heard of the placebo effect?

Challenge: Think about what you need lately and look up which crystal is recommended to help with that need. 

Quote: “If all you can do is crawl, start crawling” - Rumi

Article Links:

• https://sciencing.com/what-crystal-how-does-form-4925052.html
• https://www.allcrystal.com/articles/history-of-crystals/ 
• https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2018/08/understanding-peoples-obsession-crystals
• https://www.bluestreakcrystals.com/blogs/news/history-of-crystals
• https://www.miamibeachcwc.com/traditional-chinese-medicine-tcm-treatments#:~:text=Gemstone%20medicine%20uses%20the%20energy,been%20made%20from%20stone%20needles.
• https://time.com/4969680/do-crystals-work/
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/43766982?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
• https://time.com/4053881/antidepressant-placebo-effect/ 

Other References:

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/piezoelectric-property
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9000841/
• https://www.xtal.iqf.csic.es/Cristalografia/parte_01_1-en.html#:~:text=Probably%20the%20first%20historical%20references,to%20at%20least%205000%20years.
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvqsf33c 

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@Venn.Dialogues on Instagram 

Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

HAPPY NEW YEAR! This week we get into New Year resolutions and goals, how to stay on track, and things you can do to make sure you’re not having the same year you did in 2024.

Two in the Think:

• How do you prepare for the new year? (Resolutions? Vision Board? Letters to self?)
• Do you tend to fail or put your goals on pause? Why?

We also recap 2024 with a few reflection questions. Below are the questions if you’d like to do your own self-reflection before the ball/apple/peach/or whatever your city drops before the new year begins!

• What’s the biggest life lesson you learned in 2024?
• Something you accomplished you’re proud of?
• Something you didn’t accomplish you will do next year?
• Was 2024 a good year to you?
• Were you good to the year 2024?
• What do you want to start doing this coming year?
• 5 years since the pandemic, what has changed for you
• Word/mood for the year 2025

Additional Questions:

• Biggest lesson you learned about yourself in 2024?
• What did you do in 2024 that made it stronger than 2023
• What do you want to continue doing?
• Have your priorities changed? How?
• What did you learn about yourself?
• Best purchase of 2024?

Challenge: Determine how you want to document/reflect upon your next year (2025) as it progresses?

Quote: The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love–whether we call it friendship or family or romance–is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s light. - James Baldwin

References:

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/decisions-and-the-brain/202212/the-psychology-behind-new-years-resolutions-that-work
• http://www.mariotestani.com/download/The%20New%20Quitter.pdf

Join the Conversation

Follow us:
@Venn.Dialogues on Instagram 

Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

Part 2/2

Baby, the mic battles may have won a bit in this episode. We apologize for the insane audio in this episode, Christine saved Jacoby's audio as much as she could - so be kind to us. 

Remember to give us a show rating, go follow us on socials (tags are in the show notes) and share an episode or social post with someone. 

And if you have anything to add join the conversation on socials,  OR feel free to text us at the 'join the conversation' link at the bottom of the show notes. 

Today we take it back by chatting about some of the oldest stories of all time. That's right, today we are talking about creation stories.

In the “What's Facts Got to Do With It? Segment” we share some creation stories, and further discuss the narrative/purpose of these creation stories and their potential impact on our society.

Article Links:

• https://www.historyworld.net/history/Creationstories/367
• https://historycollection.com/16-incredible-ancient-creation-stories-from-around-the-world
• https://www.oldest.org/culture/oldest-creation-myths-in-the-world/
• chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://intapi.sciendo.com/pdf/10.1515/ebce-2017-0014 
• https://worldhistoryconnected.press.uillinois.edu/6.3/benjamin2.html 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_History 
• chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://mhcc.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/28/2021/02/ENG250_IroquoisCreationMyth.pdf 
• https://mythsandlegend.com/pan-gu-chinese-creation-story/
• https://cosmology.info/models/non-expanding-cosmologies/australian-aborigine-creation-myth/ 

Additional References:

• https://tworowtimes.com/arts-and-culture/skywoman-story-time/ 
• https://www.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths_12.html 
• https://neurolaunch.com/how-do-cults-affect-the-brain/
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/24709157
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/4451146 

Challenge: Go read a new creation story (go find one) or look up Big History.

Quote: Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts. - Nikki Giovanni

Join the Conversation

Follow us:
@Venn.Dialogues on Instagram 

Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares

Part 1/2 

Baby, the mic battles may have won a bit in this episode. We apologize for the insane audio in this episode, Christine saved Jacoby's audio as much as she could - so be kind to us. 

Remember to give us a show rating, go follow us on socials (tags are in the show notes) and share an episode or social post with someone. 

And if you have anything to add join the conversation on socials,  OR feel free to text us at the 'join the conversation' link at the bottom of the show notes. 

Today we take it back by chatting about some of the oldest stories of all time. That's right, today we are talking about creation stories.

In the “What's Facts Got to Do With It? Segment” we share some creation stories, and further discuss the narrative/purpose of these creation stories.

Article Links:

• https://www.historyworld.net/history/Creationstories/367
• https://historycollection.com/16-incredible-ancient-creation-stories-from-around-the-world
• https://www.oldest.org/culture/oldest-creation-myths-in-the-world/
• chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://intapi.sciendo.com/pdf/10.1515/ebce-2017-0014 
• https://worldhistoryconnected.press.uillinois.edu/6.3/benjamin2.html 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_History 
• chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://mhcc.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/28/2021/02/ENG250_IroquoisCreationMyth.pdf 
• https://mythsandlegend.com/pan-gu-chinese-creation-story/
• https://cosmology.info/models/non-expanding-cosmologies/australian-aborigine-creation-myth/ 

Additional References:

• https://tworowtimes.com/arts-and-culture/skywoman-story-time/ 
• https://www.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths_12.html 
• https://neurolaunch.com/how-do-cults-affect-the-brain/
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/24709157
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/4451146 

Challenge: Go read a new creation story (go find one) or look up Big History.

Quote: Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts. - Nikki Giovanni

Join the Conversation

Follow us:
@Venn.Dialogues on Instagram 

Music Thanks To:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Season 1 Track: Old Streets by Crystal Squad
Season 2 Track: Future Love by Squares