Un-Uninformed

Neopalpi donaldtrumpi is the actual name of a new species of moth. This is for the history books. Oh yeah, and so is the inauguration of Donald Trump. And the Women’s March on Washington.

We talk to Susi Lafaele who, although she isn’t a die-hard Trump supporter, was fascinated to be part of this historic event. She also gives us a perspective of what it was like to actually be in the crowd at the inauguration. Mixed into the typical applause were shouts of protest, boos, and even a few Amens.

Then we get an inside look into some participants in the Women’s March on Washington. Meredith Duncan and Sarah Muffly were marching to let their voices be heard as a result of feeling their voices were diminished from a Trump presidency. The march was a success. The big take away: Women get things done.

Another big moment happens in this episode: Sean admits that he may have gotten a little teary-eyed during the inauguration ceremony. Just a little.

We’re hosting Obama’s political funeral and the pallbearers consists of poets from a poetry society called C3PO. The transition from Obama to Trump evokes emotions of happiness, sadness, and especially anger. So it only makes sense that we use poetry to convey this transition.

I knocked doors for this President.

As an infant, Kim Boykin made headlines as she was the first baby to weigh less than pound and live. Now, decades later, she’s writing a book about how her life began as a tiny baby struggling for air. And that struggle for air has since been a theme for her life. The book is called A Black Mother’s Cry. Her book illustrates what it is like to be a mother. It’s not a flowery novel about the ideal mother. It’s not a self-help book full of solutions. Rather, it is an unfiltered look into the darkest moments in a mother’s life.

In our interview with Kim Boykin, we talk about how–like the so-called “chain of poverty”–there is also a “chain of bad parenting” which is difficult to break. For those who have been raised in less-than-ideal family situations, Kim Boykin offers a voice of resilience and persistence.

Hundreds of albinos have been killed in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last decade. Why? Because there’s a sizable bounty on their body parts. According to widespread belief, albinos possess magical powers that could make one rich or successful. As a result, people with albinism in these regions live in constant fear of being attacked.

In our interview with her, Sarah Hall brings to light these sad realities. But as part of the force to combat these problems, she’s launched campaigns in Tanzania to alleviate the stigma against albinos. But as we take a deeper look at these prejudices, we see that this issue is much closer to home than Sub-Saharan Africa. As it turns out, widespread misinformation is not unique to albinism, but is at the heart of issues like racism and homophobia.

Christmas is over, but opportunities to give are not. Here are 3 things you can do to not be a Scrooge/Grinch coming into the new year.