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How do we create a culture that is welcoming and inclusive of people that are truly different than what we're used to? And more than that, how do we train and teach our children to befriend those who might have been born a little differently than them? On this very special episode of LifeChat Radio on World Down Syndrome Day, we talk with Michele Thomas, Director of the DeSoto Soaring Eagles Center, on how we can teach those around us to love differently, and love unconditionally.

It's one of our favorite festivals of the year. We're taking you Inside SXSW -- >> literally! If you've never been to the biggest music + film + interactive festival in the country, here's your shot at getting the scoop on the ins and outs of SXSW with a couple of festival vets, showcase presenter of Inside Gospel Live, Mr. Frankie Wilson(mrfrankiewilson.com) and hip hop and spoken word artist, ShySpeaks (shyspeaks.com). Music By: Shy Speaks Sho Baraka

So -- the last day to vote in the primaries is literally just a few days away. But how in the world are you supposed to know who should get your vote? Why is it even important? If it's not the president, should you care? Uh. Duh. Of course you should! And one of our favorite political gurus is gonna give you the ins and outs on how to figure out who you're voting for and WHY. LifeChatRadio.com

First of all, the music in today's show -->> #superdope. Thanks, producer. It’s February, which probably means you’re already slippin’ on that grand resolution you made at the first of the year. Although Esther goes off a time or two in this episode, we promise it won't hurt too bad. So, no worries - we’ll get you back on track in no time flat.

Before you take the big giant trendy leap of "faith," called entrepreneurship, the ladies of LifeChat Radio have a bit of advice that might save you from a bit of sorrow and frustration. We're back! And we've got a great year lined up with some amazing guests, deep topics, and more than a few truth bombs that are sure to make you go, "hmmmm..." Hey, 2018. We're ready.

CULTURE >> it's a word that has become incredibly polarizing by the moment. Either folks are quick to jump into or impact it, or their running away from it, and hiding their children, and their wives, AND their husbands from it just as quickly as they can find the closest rock. So - what is the best response to 'culture' in 2017 for the person who wants to make an impact? We chat it up this week on LifeChat Radio with the one of the dopest emcees we know, ShySpeaks [shyspeaks.com], as well as our in-house Apologetics expert [we just gave him that title, by the way], Pastor Mike Mitchell [churchonthehillag.org] about what to do with the big "C" word.

#39: Pro-Everything w. Cessilye R. Smith by Feleceia Benton + Esther Calloway

"We’ve figured out how to put people on the moon, but we haven’t learned how to stop killing each other." No Badges. No Guns. Just Humans. Dr. Larry Terry of the UNT Dallas Urban SERCH Institute discusses their approach to solving a problem that seems to be be plaguing our country and paralyzing our communities from real reconciliation and forward motion. The Community Leadership Academy is the nation's first peer-led leadership program that pairs police officers and community members together, and believes that "communities change when the institutions that bind them are strategically transformed from within." www.untdallas.edu/serch

How do you make your tiny idea a big deal? You hang out with Faith Anderson from Tenth Child Inc., that's how. This brilliant woman has executed about a million and a half amazing ideas, and caused them to come into fruition, including creating + hosting her own event at MegaFest AND the Stellar Awards. If you don't know what those are, do some Google searching, then be impressed. #ManifestationOnFleek [do they still say that?!] Ah well - who cares. She's doing it.

Everybody's just trying to eat -- we get that. And that hunger makes it super easy to go super cray on social media, especially if you're pushing a product, or music, or a service, or your kid's future career as a model. There's gotta be some balance and some strategy behind how this social media phenomenon works, right?

We've loved Chantae Cann for a LONG time at LifeChat Radio. On this very SPECIAL episode of the show, we get to chat one-on-one with one of our absolute favorite artists and get to know a little bit about her very own journey.

What better way to celebrate two years of LifeChat Radio [AND Women's History Month!] than with an awesome show! Well, we hope it's awesome at least. It's been a CRAZY ride, but we are loving life as much as we are loving this journey with all of you.

OK, ok...so, we recorded this after the first 10 days, and, well, some pretty intense stuff had already happened under America's newly guided hand at that point. So, we did what LifeChatters do -- we chatted about it, because you'd probably do the same -- and you're probably STILL doing the same. We deep dive into some political chatter with super smart [very balanced ;-)] political guru [and straight-up truth teller] Hendrick Maison on this week's show. Love it? Like it. Share it.

What happens when a handful of dedicated churches gather together in unity to create steps toward reconciliation in a single community? LIfeChat Radio recaps the Come.Unity gathering of believers from the Colin County area on MLK weekend. These people give us hope that reconciliation is not only possible, but happening, even if it's only happening in pockets.

Forty-nine years from his death and fifty-four years from the infamous "I Have a Dream" speech, and the country that Martin Luther King loved and fought for so deeply yet seems to lie in deep distress, and perhaps even deeper discourse. Disagreement is our badge of honor. Efforts surrounding ideas of unity seem foreign to a country who touts individualism so much that the very notion of laying aside those ideas for just a moment for the sake of togetherness are concepts unknown. But doesn't unity call for just that? Doesn't unity call for us to lay aside our personal plights for the sake of the good of the whole? Isn't this the very idea for which Martin Luther King fought? We discuss this (and much, much, MUCH more) on this week's LifeChat Radio.

Doing something new is hardly ever easy -- at least that's the way it felt when we launched into the land of podcasting at the start of 2016. But thanks to a "a little help from our friends," we were able to more than get by -- we created something awesome that we think can help make a small dent of impact in this somewhat noisy world that doesn't always feed us the most positive food for thought. So, here's a little recap of what we think was a pretty successful year. And if you hear something you like, go back and listen to the shows you might have missed. We bet it'll make your spirit high.

We hear you. You're angry. Frustrated. You wanna do something, but you have no clue where to begin. What the heck are you supposed to do now? ​Well, if you're like us, you ask the people who are doing it, and doing it, and doing it well. This series is kinda blowing our brains, too. We're learning about not only the passion and fire required for someone to create change, but also the grave intentionality required to make shift happen in whatever space. Wanna create change? Here's your to-do list. ​Welcome to the revolution.

I think we can all agree that the abortion debate is one about which we all likely have an opinion. With extremists on both sides, it's sometimes hard to consider what the in-between might actually look like. Perhaps ur conversation with New Wave Feminist Founder Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa seems to have navigated us to a place of new-found understanding. Perhaps organizations like her's, pro-life-pro-woman-pro-baby loving ones, will continue to reveal themselves and continue to provide resources to women who find themselves feeling the do the unthinkable because they feel it's unavoidable.

Everybody wants to be a revolutionary -- especially right now. Seems like every day, we see a new hashtag, protest or so-called 'movement' pop-up on social media. But how does one actually begin to shift change in a culture or concerning an issue? By definition, the tride and true plight of a revolution is "a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system." Perhaps we've seen more overthrowing than proposed new systems. Something to consider when you're one of the ones cheering for change. In this 4-part series, we're exploring what it takes to create a real revolution in a given area, step by step, inch by inch. #LifeChatRevolutionaries

We're in the homestretch of our Gearing up for Great series featuring one of our favorites, Laura Terhune with the DeSoto Chamber of Commerce. Listen, Laura spits some serious knowledge in this week's show, so don't miss a moment. And take notes, while you're at it.