The Voice of All Things

What does it mean to live a life where your very identity is intertwined with a land that others perceive to be a place filled solely with antagonism and bloodshed? In this episode, I share my perspectives on the deeply personal and often misunderstood Palestinian experience. Through the power of storytelling, I share the emotional weight carried by Palestinians, from the persistent questions about family in Gaza to the societal misconceptions that paint them as both victims and threats. This episode offers a heartfelt look into the dual existence of visibility and disappearance, revealing the resilience and unwavering hope that define a community dedicated to justice and peace.

This episode was originally released after the events of October 7, 2023 triggered this unconscionable and ongoing massacre of my homeland and its people. I re-release it now, just after the 1-year anniversary, unable to fathom all that has happened since. I explore the complex journey of defining Palestinian identity amidst ongoing challenges and resistance. I examine the fierce determination to fight against injustice while nurturing compassion and hope, even when our narratives are dismissed or misunderstood. My words aim to shed light on the profound sense of belonging and purpose tied to Palestinian heritage, highlighting the shared commitment to a cause greater than oneself. Listen in as I provide a poignant glimpse into a life deeply connected to ancestry, culture, and an enduring spirit of community, demonstrating that being Palestinian is not just an identity, but a testament to resilience and love.

Please note: This episode contains sound effects that may be triggering to some individuals 

https://winningwriters.com/people/lisa-suhair-majaj

https://winningwriters.com/resources/it-wasnt-poetry

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170728-iconic-girl-from-gaza-beach-massacre-graduates/

On today's episode, I talk with Fanny Söderbäck, Associate Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University in Chicago, and co-founder & co-director of the Kristeva Circle. We discuss her book, Revolutionary Time: On Time and Difference in Kristeva and Irigaray (SUNY Press, 2019). 

https://las.depaul.edu/academics/philosophy/faculty/Pages/FannySoderback.aspx

Music: 
Amber Fasquelle, 
https://amberfasquelle.com/

Carol Shumate teaches courses on psychological type at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is editor of the journal Personality Type in Depth, and author of the book Projection and Personality Development via the Eight-Function Model—a model based on the work of psychiatrist and Jungian analyst John Beebe, and originating in Carl Jung’s work on psychological types. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Carol is currently working on a book on the trickster archetype in leadership, showing how leaders are pushed to acknowledge and grapple with this paradoxical aspect of the psyche.

In today’s episode of the voice of all things, I talk with Carol about the origins of the MBTI—the Myers Briggs Type Indicator; a personality assessment tool that is widely used for self-development and discovery, as well as in companies and organizations for inter-personal skills assessment and team building. We discuss the development of personality type preferences in individuals, as well as C.G. Jung’s hope that understanding psychological types might lead to more harmonious interactions in our individual and collective lives.

Katherine Naegele is a consulting arborist based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she runs Aesculus Arboricultural Consulting. She has been working with trees for nearly 15 years, first as an intern for the US Forest Service, then as a grad student at UC Berkeley, and finally as an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist. She is also a classically-trained contralto.

An important figure in contemporary music, Quebec-based composer Ana Sokolović has distinguished herself internationally through her imaginative, rhythm-driven music, with repertoire that ranges from critically acclaimed operas and orchestra works to powerful solo and chamber pieces.

https://www.anasokolovic.com/en/

Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes,
Written by Ana Sokolović
Performed by Alexander Shelley, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, Cantata Singers of Ottawa, Capital Chamber Choir, David DQ Lee, Ewashko Singers

https://open.spotify.com/track/2Vb78Td9u4I7aUsBYH50Wu?si=167d11c643af4d07

Related Article:
"The Vocal Music of Ana Sokolović: Love Songs for the
Twenty-First Century"
By Tamara Bernstein,  in Circuit, Musiques Contemporaines

Robin Shumays is an African-American fashion designer based in Queens NY. She has been featured at the Harlem Fashion Week, Africa Fashion Week, and Fashion Envie shows in New York City, and has been highlighted in the press for her unique flair for fusing color and unusual themes, with cultural textiles. Currently, she is refining her skills as a designer under the tutelage of Henry Smith, lead instructor at So Harlem. She has also worked professionally as a web developer, graphic designer, social media consultant, and model. She is currently employed as a full-time UX Designer for a major insurance firm. Robin is also co-director and dance performer with Zikrayat, an Arabic Music and Dance Ensemble that has performed at Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Museum, William and Mary College, and throughout the Northeast. In June of 2021, she presented a paper entitled “Punk, Paisleys and Polkadots” on Prince and his influence on fashion through the 1980s at the 78-88: PRINCE, THE FIRST DECADE: Interdisciplinary Conference. In March of 2022, she presented another paper on Prince entitled “Bedlah Bedlam: An Exploration of Orientalist Fantasy and Fashion via the lens of Prince Rogers Nelson” for the #SexyMF30 Virtual Symposium. Once upon a time, Robin held a short-lived dream job as an administrative assistant at Prince’s publishing label, Paisley Park Music, and in 2020 she produced and co-hosted a webinar podcast on Prince called The Purple Paradigm. Of all of this, she feels her greatest accomplishment to date is being a mom to her greatest inspiration, her daughter, Mehrunnisa.

Robin's IG: @hennaflowercouture

I talk with journalist Rana Husseini about her work in Jordan and the rest of the world, reporting on the lives of women who were murdered by family members for "committing crimes against the family's (so-called) honor."

Books by Rana:

Murder in the Name of Honour: The True Story of One Woman's Heroic Fight Against an Unbelievable Crime

Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan 

Safron Rossi is a member of the core faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her most recent book, The Kore Goddess, is an in-depth exploration of a mythic and psychic pattern that personifies an archetypal state of being in which a person becomes one-in-herself. By applying Jungian depth psychology to Ancient Greek imagery, Safron Rossi traces the reemergence of this archetype in contemporary individuation and soul-making. Safron's previous publications include Joseph Campbell's edited volume Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine, and co-edited (with Keiron Le Grice) Jung on Astrology. As well as lecturing on myth and Jungian & archetypal psychology, Safron is an archetypal psychological astrologer.

Visit her website at:

https://www.thearchetypaleye.com

Find her book, The Kore Goddess, published by Winter Press, at: 

https://www.winterpresspublishers.com/