Hello beautiful community, this is our last episode of The Werk Podcast. We want to thank you for supporting our passion project. We've learned so much from the guests we've interviewed and also from you. We are looking forward to integrating everything we've learned to co-create and re-imagine a better future for all. We believe that the dismantling and deconstructing work still needs to be done but we are both in a season of our lives when we want to take some rest, imagine, lean into pleasure, and play. Please keep in touch with us through our personal social media platforms. We wish you all the best that this life has to offer you. Much love, Laura and Brittany.    ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

• Brittany and Laura discuss their expectations and intentions for the year 2023.
• What they've learned from The Werk Podcast as a project.
• How they've invited in healing by transmuting their sacred anger.
• Laura and Britt share their favorite episodes and what they've learned.
• The reclamation that people of the global majority must do to heal ourselves. 
• The ways that U.S. citizens should consider our freedoms and privileges.

Full Show Notes: 

• Link to Gen Z Historian 
• Brittany Simone Anderson's Instagram
• Laura Chung Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

 

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

In this Episode:

• Kelley shares her origins story and what led her to do this work in the yoga space.
• How Kelley is building and co-creating a post-colonial paradigm.
• Kelley shares how we can acknowledge what is but also have hope and manifest and create a better future. 
• Kelley's reimagining workshop is more about questioning what you value outside of a reality tied to capitalism.
• Kelley speaks about wholeness and why that's the goal in manifestation.
• Kelley defines the term Whiteness.
• Kelley shares about her non-profit The Sanctuary In The City.
• The importance of prioritizing joy.

Full Show Notes:

• Kelley Palmer's Website
• Kelley Palmer's Instagram
• Brittany Simone Anderson's Instagram
• Laura Chung Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

Dr. Chandler Puritty is an intersectional climate scientist and mystic. She received her doctorate from UC San Diego in Biology. She now teaches classes on how climate science, environmental science, capitalism, white supremacy, and race issues intersect and all contribute to our climate crisis. Dr. Chandler creates content and teaches on Tik Tok.    In This Episode:

• Dr. Chandler shares her origins story on how she became a scientist and then eventually, a doctor in biology with a concentration in plant community ecology.
• Dr. Chandler shares how through colonization, the invasive plant species introduced by the settlers were the contributing factor to the ongoing climate crisis in Southern California. 
• How humans are a part of nature's ecosystems but are often taught not to interfere with it and that ideology further harms our planet. 
• Dr. Chandler talks about speciesism and hierarchies that distort our relationship with each other and the planet. 
• Dr. Chandler compares the climate crisis and its potential cure to the three-headed dog from Harry Potter.
• Dr. Chandler explains why capitalism is the root of all evil.
• The antidote to capitalism is a community and Dr. Chandler explains the necessity of community to combat the effects of capitalism.
• The narrative around the urgency of the climate crisis. 

Full Show Notes:

• Dr Chandler's Tik Tok
• Laura Chung Instagram
• Brittany Simone Anderson's Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

Anita Kopacz is the author of the Simon & Schuster fiction novel, Shallow Waters. It is the second title that Charlemagne tha God released on his imprint, Black Privilege Publishing. Anita is the former Editor-in-Chief of Heart & Soul Magazine and Managing Editor of BeautyCents Magazine. She is an award-winning writer, a Spiritual Psychologist, and a certified Tantra coach with a passion to see people thrive. Anita also created the nonprofit, Zero F's Given to raise awareness and help victimized and disenfranchised populations heal from sexual trauma, find their voice, and reclaim their power. She has helped thousands of victims through her work with Zero F’s Given and being on the board for the Center for Safety and Change. Through leading retreats around the world with The Goddess Wisdom Council, working with private clients and storytelling, Anita fulfills her intention to awaken the divine simplicity, pleasure and joy in her life and others.   In This Episode:

• Anita discusses how Shallow Waters came to be.
• The importance of inclusion of Black people in fantasy and myth and the effects therein.
• Anita on the possibility of Shallow Waters added to school curriculums as American history and the often excluded African cultural studies.
• On the importance of learning from different pantheons and mythologies beyond just Greco-Roman. 
• Anita talks about the history Black and Afro peoples have with water; and the ways novels like this can inspire healing.
• Anita's creative process and what she does to get ready to channel. 

Full Show Notes:

• Anita Kopacz Instagram
• Goddess Wisdom Council
• Shallow Waters Book
• Brittany Simone Anderson's Instagram
• Laura Chung Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

Dr. Nicole Truesdell is an anthropologist and abolitionist scholar and teacher. Dr. Truesdell’s previous experience includes being an administrator and faculty member at Brown University and Beloit College, working with students who are underserved and underrepresented in higher education. At Brown, she founded the Institute for Transformative Practice, which housed 7 student-focused identity centers, and worked to create collaborative, cooperative, and coalition based programming and research around collective liberation. 

At Beloit College, she created the Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusiveness which housed all programs that worked with underserved and underrepresented students in higher education. Dr. Truesdell obtained her Ph.D. in 2011 from Michigan State University in Anthropology, with a focus on race, racism, citizenship, and the nation-state.

Her work continues to push the boundaries around the concept of the human and humanity by using a Black decolonial lens to imagine what is and can be possible for a liberatory humanity. She connects with people without the systems of institutes through her Patreon, TikTok, podcasts, speaking engagements and salon-style dinners. Her goal is to empower and equip the next generation of abolitionists.  

In This Episode:

• How Dr. Nicole Truesdale began her journey towards abolitionist based work, and what continues to drive her forward.
• How her revelations during the pandemic led Dr. Nicole to start teaching to the public on Tik Tok.
• Why Dr. Nicole doesn't believe in allyship and instead advocates for abolitionsism.
• The relationship between white femininity and white patriarchy and how these feed the destructive contract that is the perception of whiteness.
• How to approach and understand decolonial work while remaining connected to/or rediscovering our humanity.
• Dr. Nicole suggests that group study in history is the key to abolitionism.
• The effects of religion and the ways it has pushed forward the violent colonial agenda. 
• If people connect back to their ancestral ways, It's going to help us do the abolitionism work.
• Why understanding different pantheons and cosmologies are so important in our understanding of spirituality.
• Dr. Truesdell’s connections to the Orishas and how these spiritual practices and cosmologies teach us how to live with reciprocity.

 

Full Show Notes:

• Dr Nicole's Tik Tok
• Dr Nicole's Patreon
• To support my work: Cashapp: $drnicoletruesdell
• Brittany Simone Anderson's Instagram
• Laura Chung Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

Buki Fadipe is a Nigerian and British certified Professional Psychedelic Medicine Facilitator, Trauma informed 200-hr YTT Hatha Yoga practitioner, Decolonized Educator, Seer & Spiritualist. She is passionate about reclaiming ancient earth/indigenous wisdom practices to act as a basis for Earth centred integrative healing. Using a decolonized lens in her practice, Buki fuses her knowledge of the science of the physiological & neurobiological effects of trauma with indigenous and traditional perspectives on healing with sacred medicines. Her specialisms include but are not limited to the healing of intergenerational & ancestral trauma, Traditional African spirituality, Rites of Passage Rituals and Spiritual Emergence. Buki facilitates healing ceremonies, retreats, workshops, classes and one-on-one coaching sessions for preparation, ceremony and integration. Find out more about her work via www.adventuresinom.com and on IG @adventures.in.om!   In This Episode:

• Buki’s origins story, how she started learning about plant medicines from a scientific method approach, and then to sacred medicine healing. us to reclaim our birthrights. 
• The challenges of growing up in a nation at the start of its emancipation from colonial powers.
• Buki shares how sacred medicines can help us to heal ancestral wounds
• Buki talks about the effects of returning to one's lineage and ancestral practices. 
• Bridging science and ancestral practices together for healing and empowerment.
• Buki shares about the BIPOC integration circles she leads.
• Buki shares her own personal experience on why sacred medicines are taboo in the church and in religious institutions.
• Buki speaks about how she’s been able to transmute rage when doing the decolonizing work.
• Buki shares about her personal experience with assimilation and erasure in being a Black woman in the UK.

Full Show Notes:

• Buki Fadape's Website
• Buki's Instagram (@Adventures in Om)
• Brittany Simone Anderson's Instagram
• Laura Chung Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

 

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

Leah Thomas, Founder of Intersectional Environmentalist & Author of The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet

 

Leah Thomas is a celebrated environmentalist based in Santa Barbara, CA. Coining the term ‘eco-communicator’ to describe her style of environmental activism, Leah uses her passion for writing and creativity to explore and advocate for the critical yet often overlooked relationship between social justice and environmentalism. With this intersection in mind, Leah founded and launched Intersectional Environmentalist in 2020, a resource hub and platform that aims to advocate for environmental justice, provide educational resources surrounding intersectional environmentalism, and promote inclusivity and accessibility within environmental education and movements. 

 

Leah, who is also the founder of eco-lifestyle blog @greengirlleah, uses her multiple years of eco-focused educational and work experience to inform her ever-expanding list of projects, as well as her audience of more than 400k followers across channels. A graduate of Chapman University with a B.S. in Environmental Science & Policy and a cluster in Comparative World Religions, Leah has interned twice with the National Park Service and has worked at leading green companies, including eco-friendly soap company Ecos and most recently, Patagonia. A fundamental optimist and opportunity-maker, Leah used her time after being furloughed during the pandemic to create Intersectional Environmentalist. 

 

Leah is the author of The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet, and her writing has also appeared in a variety of publications, including Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and Highsnobiety. She has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, W Magazine, Domino, GOOP, and numerous podcasts. 

  In This Episode:

• Leah shares her origins story.
• How Leah found intersectional environmentalism through her connection to the land, farming, and her ancestral roots. 
• She defines intersectional environmentalism and also speaks about lateral oppression.
• Leah shares how she's able to share about the intersections of environmentalism and meet people where they are.
• Leah shares her views on why Indigenous and POC are not included in environmental education and why Leah is excited about the future.
• The importance of local policy and climate reparations.
• The importance of finding joy when working in social justice.

Full Show Notes:

• Green Girl Leah Website
• Green Girl Leah's Instagram
• Twitter: @Leahtommi
• Leah's book The Intersectional Environmentalist
• Intersectional Environmentalist Website
• Laura Chung Instagram
• Brittany Simone Anderson's Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

 

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

Shante is a Black & Indigenous psilocybin advocate and educator. She has a background in Eastern Woodlands edible and medicinal plants as well as entheogenic plants and fungi. She combines the two studies to explore the synergistic relationships and effects of herbal medicine. Shante also serves as a DEI consultant who specializes in integrating considerations for BIPOC and working class into entheogenic medicine and psychedelic healing.   In This Episode:

• Shante shares her origins story from being a professional track and field athlete to being an educator and now a psilocybin advocate.
• Shante speaks about her Abenaki and Creole ancestry and how finding out about her indigenous roots helped her connect deeper to herself and the land. 
• How her curiosity for nature, plants, and the world around her has led to her becoming an herbalist.
• How her connection to plants and deep personal shadow work, led her to explore psilocybin and entheogenic mushrooms.
• Shante’s personal entheogenic practice and how she creates a safe container for her personal journey.
• How BIPOC and other marginalized groups exist within the entheogenic space, and how to make this form of healing accessible.  
• The stigma and stereotype within BIPOC communities have led the industry to use entheogens versus psychedelics. 
• How the conversations around entheogen that celebrities are having with the public influence mainstream opinion, inclusivity, and access. 
• Do mushrooms have an affiliation with a lineage? 
• How you can begin your healing journey by microdosing.

Full Show Notes:

• Shante Little Instagram
• Recommended Reading for Plant Medicine & Entheogens
• Psilocybin Gardens, free grow guide
• Intentional Microdosing: a processing + integration workbook
• Upcoming Event: Microdosing Summit September 2022
• Laura Chung Instagram
• Brittany Simone Anderson Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

 

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Join our book club where we can learn in the community!! Visit us at https://www.thewerkpodcast.com/bookclub for details.
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

Syntyché Francella is a medicine woman and yoga therapist. Through Dehya Yoga, she offers group yoga therapy classes for BIPOC bodies.   A trained diplomat and educator with over two decades in the field, she believes in the healing power of intuition, movement and community. Syntyché is trained in a range of modalities; from kundalini and yin yoga to trauma-informed therapies and practices which empower folks to embody freedom daily.   In This Episode:

• Syntyché shares the significance of the year 1999 and the intuitive hits that led her toward her self-discovery and healing journey. 
• How the pandemic helped her to slow down and listen to her inner guidance which eventually led her to create BIPOC only yoga spaces.
• The signs and synchronicities that led Syntyché to know that yoga and healing were a part of her purpose and path. 
• Understanding BIPOC only healing spaces. Why healing spaces where BIPOC can show up as themselves are necessary 
• Syntyché recommends books that helped her in healing intergenerational and racialized trauma. 
• Syntyché describes "freedom feelings."
• How the practice of sitting with discomfort can create greater ease in everyday life
• She shares her ongoing journey towards liberating herself and living in her own sovereignty. 
• Part of her journey towards herself was finding out about her ancestry in Africa. 

  Full Show Notes:

• Syntyché Instagram
• Syntyché Website
• Laura Chung Instagram
• Brittany Simone Anderson Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Join our book club where we can learn in the community!! Visit us at https://www.thewerkpodcast.com/bookclub for details.
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @thewerkpodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.

Ericka Jones is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion professional for over 12 years. In her current role, she collaborates with key stakeholders to develop comprehensive strategies that will increase diversity, build and sustain inclusive behaviors to generate equitable outcomes.    Founder of the Yoga Coalition, an alliance for combined action bringing inclusion, equity, and diversity to the yoga community. Ericka is a 200-hr yoga teacher and lululemon brand ambassador. Bringing diversity, mindfulness, and inclusion into spaces is her purpose and passion.     In This Episode:

• How co-host Brittany Simone and Ericka met and connected in a moment of discussion about the need for more inclusive athleisure.
• Ericka spoke up about swim caps at the Olympics during a Lululemon onboarding meeting as a way to call-in athletic and athleisure brands to be more inclusive to create a new norm.
• The ways that anti-blackness affect athletes with afro-textured hair.
• Self-inquiry and curiosity as a way to do the work.
• How the principles of yoga such as self-study and non-harming, can support anti-racism work.
• Calling people out versus calling people in and the necessity for both in anti-racism and social justice work.
• Ericka shares about The Yoga Coalition as a way to create more equitable spaces in the yoga industry. 
• Cultural appropriation in yoga and wellness spaces and her suggestions on how to not perpetuate appropriation, tokenism, and causing more harm. 
• Erika's hopes that we must understand that while anti-racism and decolonization may be challenging in the beginning, we must persevere and trust we will figure it out. 
• Ericka’s hopes and dreams for an equitable future.

Full Show Notes:

• Ericka Jones Instagram
• Yoga Coalition Instagram
• Yoga Coalition Website
• Michelle Johnson Episode
• Laura Chung Instagram
• Brittany Simone Anderson Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Instagram
• The Werk Podcast Website
• YouTube Channel

Connect with The Werk:

• If you enjoyed the podcast and you feel called, please share it, and tag us!
• Join our book club where we can learn in the community!! Visit us at https://www.thewerkpodcast.com/bookclub for details.
• Subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help more people discover it!
• Follow on Instagram @TheWerkPodcast
• Let us know your favorite guests, lessons, or any topic requests.