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In this episode I sit down with Lalita Moskowitz who is a lawyer with the ACLU. Currently she is working to ensure the safety of people who are incarcerated during this pandemic. Trigger warning, mass incarceration, racial biasLink to Val's Patreon Page

In this episode I sit down with return guest, Joshua Springs, who describes being a man who is gay, African American, and HIV+ during a time when fear is the dominate emotion. Joshua also speaks on the importance of representation when it comes to therapy and the importance of conversation during lockdown.Link to Val's Patreon Page

In this episode I sit down with Houston, who describes what it is like to be an extrovert during the stay at home orderLink to Val's Patreon Page

In this episode I sit down with Sonia, who describes what it is like being someone with chronic illnesses during a time when we are all being told to stay home and the extra precautions she is taking to remain safe even after the state opens up.Sonia's Poem, which she mentions in the episode:Survival for me is fearing the grocery store and the post office. As an immunocompromised queer, brown, woman I can’t take any chances that a doctor or nurse could decide that my life is not worth saving since I’m almost fifty, have MS and am a survivor of a stroke. Survival for me is being hypervigilant about cleaning packages that arrive and mail that comes. It’s not leaving the house and having absolutely NO visitors. Not even being able to hug my long time, good friend goodbye, who recently moved to Dallas. Both smiling and crying wishing him well in his move to a new place, during this viral contagion, from the other side of my patio sliding glass door. Survival is checking in with friends and my students through FaceTime, phone calls, email and text. Blessed I’m still working while feeling shitty that 6.6 million people filled for unemployment just four days ago. Deeply hurting, along with all my brothers and sisters, all of us experiencing varying levels of fear and uncertainty.Survival is my IPAD telling me I have spent 4 more hours online this week than last. Time spent checking how many more cases have been found in California, Florida, Louisiana and New Mexico, especially Bernalillo county. Then seconds later scrolling Instagram feeds and TikTok videos, so I can laugh away the pain, fear and anxiety I feel for just a few short minutes.Survival is hoping my partner doesn’t face a layoff and praying my eighty-seven year old dad living in Mexico doesn’t die of this before I can see him again. It’s reaching out to my older black lesbian friends, some who are health practitioners, to make sure they are safe, sane, have money and food. Survival is sending and receiving funny memes, while silently repeating the words from a friend JUST a few weeks ago, “You need to be prepared. Many of our friends and loved ones will die. “Survival is counting the hours, but still losing track of days and weeks. It means, taking better care of my teeth than I have in a long time.It’s wishing I could get Thai take out but knowing it’s not worth the risk of infecting my partner, possibly causing suffering to myself, both of us or even death.Survival is saying a silent prayer for the woman who recently lost her healthy husband after he was sick for only 6 days and not being able to tell him she loved him or even goodbye.Survival is playing with my black kitties and being happy they can’t get it, watching dumb TV, mourning Navajo nations, people experiencing homelessness, prisoners, marginalized folks and people left mourning and alone all over the World. Survival is reading a Facebook post that systems should stop stating that this pandemic is causing death and call it what it is which is Murder.Survival is being thankful for workers picking our food, packing our groceries, delivering our letters cleaning our buildings and saving our sick.Survival is continually sending white light to friends and family around the globe who haven’t gotten it yet, but could, still get horribly sick or even die from this other big “C”.Link to Val's Patreon Page

In this episode I sit down with Jorge Rodriguez, a law student with an interest in “immigration reform” asks us all to complicate the terms that are being thrown around during this pandemic. Terms like, “essential workers,” “border check points,” “freedom,” and “surveillance,” as many are left behind when it comes to government aid during this pandemic. Trigger Warning, historical systemic oppression Link to Val's Patreon Page

In this episode I sit down with Emmy, a law school graduate who is back home trying to ride out this pandemic on her reservation. Emmy discusses privilege, access, and the importance of community when help doesn’t seem to be coming from anyone but one another. Trigger Warning, historical systemic oppression, genocide  Link to Val's Patron Page 

In this episode I sit down with Lakota Iǧoka Wiŋ  = Moves Camp Woman Heȟaka Číkala = Little Elk who discusses what it’s like being Native but white-presenting.  Lakota shares what it is to be a proud Indigenous person while also not wanting to be put into a box. Content Warning: Racial microaggressions Donate to Patreon

In this episode I sit down with Carli Romero who is white presenting but doesn’t identify as white. She rejects the label, “woman of color” for herself because she wants to use her privilege as a way to uplift womxn who are left off the invitation because of their melanin. Donate to Patreon   

In this episode I sit down with Felix (he/him/his), a transgender man of color who talks about growing up Southern Baptist, Mexican, Queer, and coming out as Trans. Content Warning(CW):Suicide, Suicidal ideation, Self-harm, Mental health, Victim-blaming, LGBTQIA+ focused microaggressions Donate to Patreon

In this episode I sit down with cishet white woman Kendra (she/her/her’s) who tells us what it was like discovering her role in racism and how it changed the way she shows up for womxn, especially womxn of color. Content Warning (CW): Whiteness can trigger white fragility which means you may need to ask yourself why you are suddenly feeling defensive during the course of the episode.

In this episode I sit down with Dr. Brandale Mills-Cox, whose area of expertise is black women and how we are represented in the media and what that does to us as little girls and as a society. Content Warning (CW): Racial microaggressions

 In this episode I sit down with friend, Josh (he/him/his) who identifies as a black gay man.  We discuss colorism, racism in the LGBTQ community and how empty the phrase, “It gets better,” is when you are both black and queer. Content Warning (CW): Mental health, Suicide

In this episode I sit down with Leyla Sapad who talks about what it was like to immigrate to the United States from Guatemala, by way of Canada, only to end up in Arizona where racism and microaggressions run rampant. Visit Leyla’s Photography website, leylasapad.com, where she is always searching for nonbinary and trans models of color. Content Warning: Racial microaggressions

Val introduces herself and describes their latest podcast. Content Warning: Racism, transphobia