Voices on the Side

Mo is a Palestinian artist, author, digital creator, and father. He has been tireless in educating all of us on what is and has been happening in Palestine for 76+ years. 

Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Cha is our offering to the collective and we hope our conversations inspire you to start having meaningful dialogues and reflections with your own communities. So make sure to brew a pot of cha and join our conversations about art, spirituality, culture, and liberation. 

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can continue creating this work together. For a one-time donation, you can Venmo Laura. For monthly support, you can join our Patreon. Thank you!

Mo Hamzeh's Instagram accounts keep getting banned :/

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차 logo designed by grimeninja

Solonje is lovingly known as the Weed Auntie, leading the fight for cannabis equity by putting community first. Solonje is a Brooklyn-based humanist, pleasure activist, and entrepreneur committed to carving out intentional space for marginalized voices in the world of weed. 

Raised by Caribbean immigrants in the suburbs of Newton, Massachusetts, Solonje learned from an early age how to turn the things that made her stand out into a super power. After spending her early career in event production and DEI consulting, she brought her unique skill set to the emerging cannabis industry to transform its glaring equity obstacles into inclusive opportunities.

One of Solonje's latest creations is her hemp jumpsuit, which you can find here.

Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Cha is our offering to the collective and we hope our conversations inspire you to start having meaningful dialogues and reflections with your own communities. So make sure to brew a pot of cha and join our conversations about art, spirituality, culture, and liberation. 

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can continue creating this work together. For a one-time donation, you can Venmo Laura. For monthly support, you can join our Patreon. Thank you!

Solonje Instagram

Laura Instagram

Laura Website

Laura YouTube

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Leah Substack

Leah YouTube

Cha Patreon

차 logo designed by grimeninja

Sammy Kim (they/them) is a multifaceted individual: a queer artist, writer, healer, sex worker, community organizer, caregiver, and friend. From a young age, Sammy took on a caregiving role when their mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, moving in with relatives as her condition progressed. Seeing their mother struggle with her health, Sammy naturally came into a role of caregiving, grounding themselves in gratitude while extending empathy towards their family.

By their pre-teen years, Sammy knew they were queer but felt compelled to hide it due to their Christian upbringing, even trying to "ungay" themselves to avoid eternal damnation. Operating out of fear, Sammy didn't come out to their parents until their mother approached them about it, by which time they had been living openly for three years. Although their mother struggled to accept this part of Sammy, she affirmed her love, signaling a need for more time to understand.

Through sex work, what began as a caregiving role to provide for men seeking to feel wanted eventually evolved into a way for Sammy to heal from their early childhood trauma of sexual abuse. Their work became a way for them to deeply question their relationship to the sexualization tied to their identities. As Sammy continues to unravel the many intersections of their experiences, they choose with intention to feel alive in the present, living in the joy that stems from simply being themselves without distraction.

Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Cha is our offering to the collective and we hope our conversations inspire you to start having meaningful dialogues and reflections with your own communities. So make sure to brew a pot of cha and join our conversations about art, spirituality, culture, and liberation. 

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can continue creating this work together. For a one-time donation, you can Venmo Laura. For monthly support, you can join our Patreon. Thank you!

Sammy Kim Instagram

Laura Instagram

Laura Website

Laura YouTube

Leah Instagram

Leah Substack

Leah YouTube

Cha Patreon

차 logo designed by grimeninja

Samar is the artistic/founding director of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (YSDT) and is based in Palestine and NYC. Samar graduated from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program under the tutelage of Kazuko Hirabayashi and her work has been performed in 19 countries on four continents. YSDT's mission is to create invigorating performance and education programs that expand access to and promote understanding through the arts. They celebrated 20 years this June.

Our conversation is rooted in curiosity about each other's cultures, appreciation of the multiple functions of art, and enduring hope for liberation. 

YSDT Website

Leah's IG

Bianca is an award-winning sociologist, speaker, and author of Unassimilable. She is completing her PhD at Rice University, where she researches the intersections of race, religion, and politics. She is published in top academic journals and has been featured in major media outlets.

Over the last decade, Bianca has served Asian American community organizations and taught Asian American Studies. Through her work in academia and the community, Bianca is committed to the praxis of solidarity and collective liberation.

Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Cha is our offering to the collective and we hope our conversations inspire you to start having meaningful dialogues and reflections with your own communities. So make sure to brew a pot of cha and join our conversations about art, spirituality, culture, and liberation.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can continue creating this work together. For a one-time donation, you can Venmo Laura. For monthly support, you can join our Patreon. Thank you!

⁠Bianca Website⁠⁠

Bianca Instagram⁠

Laura Instagram

Laura Website

Laura YouTube

Leah Instagram

Leah Substack

Leah YouTube

Cha Patreon

차 logo designed by grimeninja

Kalaya'an Mendoza is a Queer, Hard of Hearing, Filipino American human rights defender, street medic, and community safety and mutual protection trainer. He is an award-winning facilitator of holistic safety and security, as well as a recognized expert in disaster preparedness. They currently reside on occupied Lenape land.

Kalaya'an serves as the Director of US Programs at Nonviolent Peaceforce, and is the co-founder of Across Frontlines, an organization that works with frontline human rights defenders.

They have inspired, trained, and mobilized thousands of activists in the US and abroad to advance human rights using nonviolent direct action.

Kalaya’an has worked his entire decades long career to help people use the resources they have to build the power they need to make the change they want to see in the world.

Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Cha is our offering to the collective and we hope our conversations inspire you to start having meaningful dialogues and reflections with your own communities. So make sure to brew a pot of cha and join our conversations about art, spirituality, culture, and liberation. 

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can continue creating this work together. For a one-time donation, you can Venmo Laura. For monthly support, you can join our Patreon. Thank you!

Kalaya'an Instagram

Laura Instagram

Laura Website

Laura YouTube

Leah Instagram

Leah Substack

Leah YouTube

Cha Patreon

차 logo designed by ⁠grimeninja⁠

Fred is a Yonkers, NY raised three-time New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. His books include a poetry collection, We Alive, Beloved and his most recent title, a YA novel, This Thing of Ours.

Fred's writing and philanthropic work go hand-in-hand and he has been recognized by many organizations including Forbes 30 Under 30, Comic-Con, and The Root100 and has worked with fortune 500 companies and presidential candidates on their DEI efforts. 

Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Cha is our offering to the collective and we hope our conversations inspire you to start having meaningful dialogues and reflections with your own communities. So make sure to brew a pot of cha and join our conversations about art, spirituality, culture, and liberation.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can continue creating this work together. For a one-time donation, you can Venmo Laura. For monthly support, you can join our Patreon. Thank you!

Fred Instagram

Fred Website

Fred Substack

Laura Instagram

Laura Website

Laura YouTube

Leah Instagram

Leah Substack

Leah YouTube

Cha Patreon

차 logo designed by grimeninja

Rand, aka officialjakegyllenhalal, is a beloved voice in our movement for collective liberation. From LGBTQ+ rights to Free Palestine to resisting from within the belly of the beast, Rand has been committed to using her platform to educate and to inspire. She also reports for the Adalah Justice Project.

In this episode, we talk about what community means and the importance of being curious about others. Rand also shares a couple stories from her visit to Palestine last summer.

Rand's IG

Rand's links

Leah's IG

Janea Brown is a liberation marketing strategist currently founding Earthlings Undone, a collective connecting frontline movements with content creators through proven systems. After building a successful influencer career (193K Instagram, 195K YouTube) working with brands like IKEA, Nike, Target, Janae walked away from her $400K annual income to investigate alternatives to oppressive systems.

Having navigated 22+ jobs across seven industries, Janea now focuses on making anti-capitalist and decolonial solutions more discoverable through coordinates campaigns and resource sharing. Currently in its foundational phase, Earthlings Undone is conducting research and fundraising to amplify grassroots movements by providing educators with ready-made campaigns while connecting systems-weary audiences to existing alternatives.

As a fellow earthling exploring the art of breaking free from harmful systems, Janea shares capacity-aware pathways to transformation through her platforms. Her work aims to bridge digital organizing with becoming useless to systems of harm, supporting the collective journey toward becoming better ancestors for all beings and the planet.

Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Cha is our offering to the collective and we hope our conversations inspire you to start having meaningful dialogues and reflections with your own communities. So make sure to brew a pot of cha and join our conversations about art, spirituality, culture, and liberation.

Janae Instagram

Earthlings Undone Instagram

Laura Instagram

Laura Website

Laura YouTube

Leah Instagram

Leah Substack

Leah YouTube

Cassandra is our Restie Bestie! She is a neurodivergent Vietnamese-Chinese daughter of refugees. As a somatic healing facilitator and liberatory rest educator, Cassandra guides tired and trauma-impacted organizations, communities, and individuals to rest.

Cassandra's mission is to uplift rest as a necessary modality for collective healing and social change. Her holistic approach examines the cultural erasure of rest, integrates the spiritual as well as scientific pillars of rest, and helps people discover what their bodies need to feel safe enough to slow down. Cassandra is committed to building a world where love and liberation are the dominant culture

Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Cha is our offering to the collective and we hope our conversations inspire you to start having meaningful dialogues and reflections with your own communities. So make sure to brew a pot of cha and join our conversations about art, spirituality, culture, and liberation.

Cassandra Instagram

Cassandra Website

Laura Instagram

Laura Website

Laura YouTube

Leah Instagram

Leah Substack

Leah YouTube

차 logo designed by grimeninja