Well, That Went Sideways!

In this episode, we talk with Ama Agyapong about how to build authentic relationships in the workplace and in other parts of life. She is a consultant, trainer and facilitator with over 15 years experience in human resources, including work with very large corporations as well as small- and medium-sized organizations. Ama Agyapong is the founder of Inclusion Enterprises.

This is an unedited long-form version of our episode released on April 15th. Please note that the unedited version includes pauses, some up to a minute long, as our team made space to process, listen, and feel during our conversation. 

In this episode, we talk with Cynda Collins Arsenault about resolving and avoiding conflicts in outer space. And we'll talk with her about the roll of women in driving social change. She is an activist and philanthropist involved a wide range of issues including peace, security and disability. Cinda Collins Arsenault is co-founder and president of Secure World Foundation which promotes cooperative solutions for the secure and sustainable use of outer space for the benefit of humanity. 

We have something different for you on this episode. Instead of an interview with a guest, we have a conversation with the whole Sideways team. If you're a regular listener to this podcast, you know that we often ask our guests to talk about a sideways moment in their life. A time they got into conflict, what happened, how they responded, what they learned. Well, we had one of those moments within our team and we decided to record ourselves talking about it. The conflict arose during final production of our episode with Antonio Williams about the N-word. What happened will be explained here in a moment. All six members of the Sideways team participated in the conversation and we invite you to join us as we work through our own Sideways moment.  

In this episode, we talk with Robin DiAngelo about seeing whiteness. She is an educator, author, and consultant with over 20 years experience working on issues of racial and social justice. She teaches in the education department at the University of Washington. Her 2018 book, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, was a New York Times bestseller, and it's been translated into 13 languages. We spoke with Robin DiAngelo at the 2024 White Privilege Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In this episode, we talk with Edwin Cleophas about life for people of color in South Africa today, and about the work of his nonprofit organization, the Social Justice Agency. He's a longtime youth development specialist based in the Western Cape region of South Africa.

The White Privilege Conference (WPC) is a powerful and unique learning opportunity that invites participants to learn about and practice anti-racism.  This episode features short conversations with conference participants as well as some highlights from past interviews with WPC founder Dr. Eddie Moore Jr. Sideways Pod is a proud sponsor of the conference and we encourage the Sideways Pod community to check it out!  Click here to learn more about the conference and to register. Hope to see you there! 

In this episode, we talk with Sarah Leer about belonging and broadening diversity in traditional faith communities. Dr. Sarah Leer is a practical theologian who works with young people in the Presbyterian Church and in other faith-based institutions. Her work focuses on affirmation and deepening of belonging, especially in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ people. We spoke with Sarah Leer at the 2024 White Privilege Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In this episode, we talk with Ryan Virden about history and about the wound of whiteness. He's an educator, author, and the founder of LIR Cultural Coaching. We spoke with Ryan Virden at the 2024 White Privilege Conference.

In this episode, we talk with Christian Ortiz about using artificial intelligence to help improve communication and understanding around bias. He's an entrepreneur, founder of Mod Atlas Media, and the developer of Justice A.I.