During the episode, we talk about what brought each of us to activism so many years ago, some of our earliest activist experiences, how those early experiences shaped who we are now, and our thoughts on the future of the Progressive movement. We also discuss the importance of recognizing the shoulders upon which each of us stand, carrying the mantle and memory of those we met along the way, and the process of realizing and learning to accept our eventual status as “role models” to the next generations of activists.

We touch briefly on a few of the complexities surrounding the recent events involving Minnesota State Representative Ilhan Omar and talk about how moments like these can be leveraged by outside forces to create polarization and division between and within various marginalized communities.

This conversation with Susan about the concept, history, legacy and integration of healing justice into our social justice movements has been on my podcast bucket list for a long time. I am grateful to Susan for her work to expand the presence of healing justice in our movements and her willingness to sit down to have this conversation with me and all of you.

Ryan and I sat down to record this episode on September 11th, in the midst of the Jewish High Holidays. With this as our backdrop, we talk about the state of our democracy, our world, the challenges our communities are facing (from inside and out) and what we as individuals, who might be feeling lost in the middle of it all, can do about it.

In this episode, I am joined by my friend and colleague, Eleonore Wesserle, to discuss how to construct powerful values focused movement building narratives. Eleonore is a communications consultant and founder of the new narrative strategy consulting practice Dreams to Power.

In this episode, we talk about my reaction to, and analysis of, a number for current political dynamics including the assault on immigrants, asylum seekers and their children, Trump’s performance in North Korea, the trend of celebrities reinforcing polarization by responding to hate with hate, the ongoing assault on the ACA, progressive media’s obsession with the Mueller investigation at the expense of more comprehensive coverage, and more.