Top Rank Podcast

Over the past decade, abuse of prescription opioids such as Oxycontin and Percocet has come to affect over two million Americans, precipitating a quadrupling in overdose fatalities. The spike in opioid related deaths within White communities in particular has visibly shocked and alarmed the media, the public, and policy makers. The so-called “new epidemic” has been widely and consistently framed as affecting "blameless victims” and "good people"—ostensibly those individuals who, within American public consciousness, are not associated with drug abuse.

Drug epidemics in this country have historically been addressed by using harshly putative legal measures, most notably exemplified by the War on Drugs in low income communities of color. The wake of the opioid spike leads us again to the question: Whose lives matter? And, how are the media narratives and concurrent policy efforts about this issue informed by intersecting race and class biases?

For Episode 8, co-hosts Marcel Rosa-Salas and Isabel Flower invited Dr. Helena Hansen, professor of medical anthropology and psychiatry at New York University, to speak about her research on the cultural and clinical intersections of addiction and its treatment, pertaining specifically to illicit and pharmaceutical grade opiates. A social scientist, clinical practitioner, and documentary filmmaker, Professor Hansen has published widely about the politics of opioid addiction treatment.

A special thank you to Red Bull Arts New York and to Helena Hansen. This episode was produced by Sienna Fekete.

For Episode 7, co-hosts Marcel Rosa-Salas and Isabel Flower spoke with three guests—Khalila Douze (Social Media Editor at The Outline), Kimberly Drew (Social Media Manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) and Rawiya Kameir (Culture Editor at The Outline)—about the intersections of social media and identity politics in their professional and personal lives.

Within the last 30 or so years, the phrase identity politics has become a critical mechanism for self-realization and expression, as well as for political and cultural alliance building. The internet, and social media in particular, has provided a public but also highly personal platform for anyone with access to a computer and a network to distill and perform their identity, and to have an audience. We have come to see that the implications of said access and exposure hold the potential of unravelling and restructuring the way information is disseminated, the way money is made, and the way power itself is manifested. Here, we reflect on how our generation has adapted to, struggled with, and harnessed these seismic shifts.

A special thank you to Red Bull Studios New York, and to each of our brilliant participants. This episode was produced by Sienna Fekete.

For Episode 7, co-hosts Marcel Rosa-Salas and Isabel Flower spoke with three guests—Khalila Douze (Social Media Editor at The Outline), Kimberly Drew (Social Media Manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) and Rawiya Kameir (Culture Editor at The Outline)—about the intersections of social media and identity politics in their professional and personal lives.

Within the last 30 or so years, the phrase identity politics has become a critical mechanism for self-realization and expression, as well as for political and cultural alliance building. The internet, and social media in particular, has provided a public but also highly personal platform for anyone with access to a computer and a network to distill and perform their identity, and to have an audience. We have come to see that the implications of said access and exposure hold the potential of unravelling and restructuring the way information is disseminated, the way money is made, and the way power itself is manifested. Here, we reflect on how our generation has adapted to, struggled with, and harnessed these seismic shifts.

A special thank you to Red Bull Studios New York, and to each of our brilliant participants. This episode was produced by Sienna Fekete.

On episode 6 co-hosts Isabel Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas speak with New York-based activists Elaine Paredes and Lori Adelman about Planned Parenthood’s essential work, the current state of women’s health-related legislation (domestic and overseas), and how we might prepare for what’s to come. Paredes and Adelman lay out the implications of defunding Planned Parenthood and the repercussions of and relationship between such legislation as the Mexico City policy and the Helms Amendment. They discuss the significance—as well as the critical fault lines—of the Women’s Marches, and, perhaps most importantly, express why it is essential that our strategies for the days and years to come be intersectional at their core.

On episode 6 co-hosts Isabel Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas speak with New York-based activists Elaine Paredes and Lori Adelman about Planned Parenthood’s essential work, the current state of women’s health-related legislation (domestic and overseas), and how we might prepare for what’s to come. Paredes and Adelman lay out the implications of defunding Planned Parenthood and the repercussions of and relationship between such legislation as the Mexico City policy and the Helms Amendment. They discuss the significance—as well as the critical fault lines—of the Women’s Marches, and, perhaps most importantly, express why it is essential that our strategies for the days and years to come be intersectional at their core.

On Episode 5, co-hosts Isabel Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas speak with members of BRUJAS, a New York City-based feminist organization who use skateboarding and community activism to foster radical social change.

Brujas members ARIANNA GIL, ANTONIA PÉREZ, and REBECCA STURCKEN discuss the group’s representation in mainstream media, the labor involved in producing and sustaining their program, and the challenges of using social media to incite political resistance while considering the threat of surveillance. Sharing their influences and aspirations, the Brujas members talk though the possibilities of youth-led activism in the digital age.

You can find Top Rank online @toprankmagazine. You can learn more about Brujas on their website https://brujas.nyc/ and @BRUJAS

A special thank you to Red Bull Studios New York, and to each of our wonderfully generous participants. This episode was produced by Sienna Fekete.

Isabel and Marcel welcome input for future content. You can reach us at [email protected] and [email protected].

On Episode 5, co-hosts Isabel Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas speak with members of BRUJAS, a New York City-based feminist organization who use skateboarding and community activism to foster radical social change.

Brujas members ARIANNA GIL, ANTONIA PÉREZ, and REBECCA STURCKEN discuss the group’s representation in mainstream media, the labor involved in producing and sustaining their program, and the challenges of using social media to incite political resistance while considering the threat of surveillance. Sharing their influences and aspirations, the Brujas members talk though the possibilities of youth-led activism in the digital age.

You can find Top Rank online @toprankmagazine. You can learn more about Brujas on their website https://brujas.nyc/ and @BRUJAS

A special thank you to Red Bull Studios New York, and to each of our wonderfully generous participants. This episode was produced by Sienna Fekete.

Isabel and Marcel welcome input for future content. You can reach us at [email protected] and [email protected].

On the occasion of Knockdown Center's MAMI exhibition and market, Top Rank Podcast co-hosts Marcel Rosa-Salas and Isabel Flower talk intersectional identity with journalists Jenna Wortham (NYT Magazine) and Doreen St. Félix (MTV News), Brujas skate crew leader Arianna Gil, and Bklyn Boihood founder Ryann Holmes. Available here as the Top Rank Podcast’s 4th episode, their conversation addresses the promises and pitfalls of digital media as a tool for social change, the importance of fostering self-affirming environments that prioritize self-care, and, more generally, how Mami Wata’s hybrid identity serves as a framework within which we can question conventional binaries and locate strength in paradox, contradiction, and multiplicity.

You can find us online at toprankmagazine.com and on Instagram @toprankmagazine. A special thank you to Red Bull Studios New York, and to each of our wonderfully generous participants. Isabel and Marcel welcome input for future content. You can reach us at [email protected] and [email protected].

On the occasion of Knockdown Center's MAMI exhibition and market, Top Rank Podcast co-hosts Marcel Rosa-Salas and Isabel Flower talk intersectional identity with journalists Jenna Wortham (NYT Magazine) and Doreen St. Félix (MTV News), Brujas skate crew leader Arianna Gil, and Bklyn Boihood founder Ryann Holmes. Available here as the Top Rank Podcast’s 4th episode, their conversation addresses the promises and pitfalls of digital media as a tool for social change, the importance of fostering self-affirming environments that prioritize self-care, and, more generally, how Mami Wata’s hybrid identity serves as a framework within which we can question conventional binaries and locate strength in paradox, contradiction, and multiplicity.

You can find us online at toprankmagazine.com and on Instagram @toprankmagazine. A special thank you to Red Bull Studios New York, and to each of our wonderfully generous participants. Isabel and Marcel welcome input for future content. You can reach us at [email protected] and [email protected].

In Episode 3, co-hosts Marcel Rosa-Salas and Isabel Flower reflect on their enduring affection for Selena Quintanilla Perez, the beloved Tejana singer, and assess what it means to memorialize and perform her identity.