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In the last days of 2020, we got up early, brewed some coffee, and sat down (er, Zoomed) with Maya Azucena, singer-songwriter and cultural ambassador, who has been riding out the pandemic in Turkey. Maya’s inspiring, infectious -- and highly danceable -- music has taken her on a worldwide outreach journey, and we hope you enjoy coming along for the ride as much as we did. We talk about the power of personal storytelling to connect across differences, how to have a global artistic career, and what it really means to be fearless. Afterwards, you can hear Emily and Sarah discuss their respective hair journeys and then switch to the much lighter topic of the riot at the Capital. If you feel the analysis of last Wednesday’s events has lacked certain insights, as well as fashion critique and a (hopefully mostly accurate) summary of what happened at Jonestown as it relates to the ongoing Q phenomenon (and cults in general), have we got the commentary for you. FOLLOW MAYA http://mayaazucena.com/ Featured music is “Fearless,” “You Matter” and “Prettiest” by Maya Azucena, courtesy of the artist. GUEST BIO Maya Azucena, a magnetically inspirational woman, is known for making music that uplifts the soul. Among several awards for her music and humanitarian outreach, Azucena garnered a Grammy Certificate for contributing her 4-octave range and soul-stylings to a feature performance with Stephen Marley on Best Reggae Album of the Year, “Mind Control.” Critically acclaimed, Brooklyn-native Maya is an avid independent touring artist and songwriter performing globally. Recent concerts include a 17-country tour of Europe in February 2019; Java Jazz Fest (Indonesia), CapeTown Jazz Fest (South Africa), Port Au Prince International Jazz Fest (Haiti), Rio Das Ostras Blues & Jazz Fest (Brazil), Moscow International House of Music (Russia), Pula Arena (Croatia), Delhi International Arts Festival (India), Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles), Blue Note Hawaii, Blue Note New York, and Essence Fest in New Orleans alongside the likes of Beyonce, Jill Scott and Maxwell. For the last 3 summers, Azucena has done concert residencies at Bodrum Marina Yacht Club in Turkey, as well as luxury resorts including Lujo Hotel, Regnum Carya Golf Club, and Six Sense Kaplankaya. Maya performed an exclusive concert with her Turkish orchestra, singing her original songs arranged for Çukurova State Symphony of Adana. She was also included in Istanbul’s 2017 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, performing her song “Fearless” for the finale of Çigdem Akin’s runway show. Maya collaborates extensively on stage and recordings with both national and international stars. Her collaborations have included Marcus Miller, Brass Against, Jason Miles, DJ Spinna, DJ Logic, Fitz and the Tantrums, Vernon Reid, and Bob Sinclair. Maya is well known for her humanitarian outlook and projects around The Globe which include special focus on Women’s & Youth Empowerment and Domestic/Sexual Violence. Based on a personal commitment to help the world through her talent, most of Maya’s songs are anthems that lend a voice to self-worth, empowerment, overcoming obstacles, and stepping into our “fearless” selves

We deep dive with Dr. Serena Chopra, a multitalented and multifaceted teacher and artist. Join us for a fascinating and thought-provoking conversation about the different approaches to time, what we mean when we describe something as “queer,” turning our personal trauma into collective defense, and the role of mysticism in creating what comes next. It’s not just about examining the structures we live in, we also have to turn those structures on their heads to approach them differently. We hope you leave this conversation with the same sky-eyed perspective we did. Afterwards, Sarah is all jazzed up on Aquarius vibes and Emily talks about energy, because we’re both kind of hippies. Featured poem is “Seduction After the Great Plains” by Dr. Serena Chopra. Featured music is “Love Yourself” and “The Only Point” by our own Emily Yates - a preview of her about-to-drop new album, Notes to Self and Others. All tracks appear courtesy of the artists. GUEST BIO Dr. Serena Chopra https://www.serenachopra.com/ Dr. Serena Chopra is a teacher, writer, dancer, filmmaker, soundscape designer and a visual and performance artist. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Denver, an MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and was a Kundiman Fellow, a 2011-2013 Redline artist in Residence, a 2016-2017 Fulbright Scholar (Bangalore, India), and received a month-long artist residency at Understudy Denver for September 2020. She has two books, This Human (Coconut Books 2013) and Ic (Horse Less Press 2017), as well as two films, Dogana/Chapti (2018, winner of ArtHyve’s Archives as Muse Film grant, Official Selection at Frameline43, Oregon Documentary Film Festival, Seattle Queer Film Festival, Nahia Film Festival and Cinema Diverse) and Mother Ghosting (2018). She is an 8-year company member with Evolving Doors Dance and was recently a featured artist in Harper’s Bazaar (India) as well as in the Denver Westword’s “100 Colorado Creatives.” She has recent publications in Foglifter, Sink and Matters of Feminist Practice (Belladonna). Serena is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Seattle University. EMILY DICKINSON POEM READ IN EPISODE “The Brain is Wider Than the Sky” https://www.bartleby.com/113/1126.html BOOKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity by José Esteban Muñoz https://bookshop.org/books/cruising-utopia-the-then-and-there-of-queer-futurity/9781479874569 The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study by Stefano Harney & Fred Moten https://bookshop.org/books/the-undercommons-fugitive-planning-black-study/9781570272677 A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia by Gilles Deleuze https://bookshop.org/books/a-thousand-plateaus-capitalism-and-schizophrenia/9780816614028 Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others by Sarah Ahmed https://bookshop.org/books/queer-phenomenology-orientations-objects-others-9780822339144/9780822339144 Les Guerilleres by Monique Wittig https://bookshop.org/books/les-guerilleres/9780252074820 The Portable Kristeva by Julia Kristeva https://bookshop.org/books/the-portable-kristeva/9780231126298 Occasional Work and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture by Lisa Robertson https://bookshop.org/books/occasional-work-and-seven-walks-from-the-office-for-soft-architecture-third-edition-revised/9781552452325 Your Healing Is Killing Me by Virginia Grise https://bookshop.org/books/your-healing-is-killing-me/9780991418398 Ideal Suggestions: Essays in Divinatory Poetics by Selah Saterstrom https://bookshop.org/books/ideal-suggestions-essays-in-divinatory-poetics/9780996922913

Happy episode 15 of What the Folk! In this episode we are joined by historian, writer and educator, Dr. Matthew Heidtmann. We talk about the importance of teaching history, making academia accessible to a wider audience, and all those great myths of imperialism and exceptionalism that we swim in as Americans. History may not repeat, but it definitely rhymes. Then afterwards, Emily and Sarah talk about pandemic politics and gendered culture...but also about Finding Nemo and small town Colorado restaurant drama. Featured music is “Foreign Policy Folk Song” by our own Emily Yates. Matthew Heidtmann is an historian, educator, writer, and union organizer. He got his PhD in History from Stony Brook University, and he is currently an Adjunct Professor of History at Suffolk County Community College, in Long Island, NY. His research focuses on American progressivism, conservatism, and capitalism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He occasionally writes about topics relating to history, politics, and political culture, and his writing has appeared in ROAR Magazine, Truthout, and even in The Washington Post. You can follow Dr. Heidtmann at https://matthewheidtmann.com/ Twitter: @ East_Coast_Matt

The lovely and hilarious Baruch Porras-Hernadez is in the house with big sparkly Aquarius energy. We talk about his journey from actor to performance poet and comedian, healing familial toxic masculinity, and how to joyfully make a living as an artist. We also get some pointers on Zoom theater as we hear about how he staged his solo show, “Love in the Time of Piñatas,” in his bedroom. And there’s a special sneak peak at the team of Queer Latinx superheroes that will be coming soon to save the world! And if that’s not enough excitement and intrigue for you, stick around for Sarah and Emily’s thoughts on pandemic braining and how, er, hopeful (?) they are now that good ole Uncle Joe is for realsies the prez. KEEP UP with BARUCH https://baruchporrashernandez.wordpress.com/ Twitter: @ baruchisonfire Instagram: baruchporrashernandez Featured poems are “The Trees, They Hate the Birds the Most” and “Oh the Places You Will Go, Fearing for Your Life, While People Do Drugs” by Baruch Porras-Hernadez, courtesy of the artist. GUEST BIO Baruch Porras-Hernandez is a writer, performer, organizer, professional MC/Host, curator, stand up comedian, and the author of the chapbooks “I Miss You, Delicate” and “Lovers of the Deep Fried Circle” both with Sibling Rivalry Press. He had the honor of touring with the legendary Sister Spit Queer poetry tour in 2019, is a is a two-time winner of Literary Death Match, a regular host of literary shows for KQED, and was named a Writer to Watch in 2016 by 7×7 Magazine. His poetry can be found with Write Bloody Publishing, The Tusk, Foglifter, Assaracus and many more. He has been an artist in residence at The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, a Lambda Literary Fellow in Poetry, and Playwriting. He’s been featured in shows with The Rumpus, Writers with Drinks, has performed several times with Radar Productions, LitQuake, and Quiet Lightning. His solo show “Love in the Time of Piñatas” got a clapping man from the SF Chronicle and was performed to sold-out houses at Epic Party Theatre in December of 2019. He is the head organizer of ¿Donde Esta Mi Gente? a Latinx literary performance series, he is an immigrant originally from Mexico, and is currently the lead artist in a multidisciplinary project that will create new Queer Latino Superheroes with MACLA, which stands for Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana in San Jose. He lives in San Francisco.

On this episode we are joined by Dr. Tracy Ferrell from CU Boulder. We discuss the challenges and opportunities around labor organizing in academia, the campus experience under Covid, and her research around immigration and medical marijuana patients. We also talk about the power of stories to inspire empathy and break down borders. After the interview, Emily envisions a self-sustaining system and Sarah attempts to quote Ram Dass and Jason Molina with questionable accuracy. Oh yeah, and I guess there was an election or something? Soooo we hope you enjoy profanity. UNITED CAMPUS WORKERS COLORADO https://www.ucwcolorado.org/ DR. FERRELL’S BOOK https://toplightbooks.com/product/migrating-for-medical-marijuana/ Featured songs are “Bastille” and “Riverboat” by The Red Tack, and "The System Isn't Broken" by our own Emily Yates, courtesy of the artists. CHECK OUT THE RED TACK https://www.facebook.com/TedTheRedTack/ GUEST BIO: Tracy Ferrell, Ph.D., is on the faculty of the program for writing and rhetoric at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research and teaching interests include Latin American literature and culture, Mexico and U.S. border issues, immigration, and drug policy/the drug war. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Happy (?) day after election day! We recorded this episode in October, so we made some bad predictions with our guest, musician Melody Walker, mostly involving aliens. We also talk about Front Country’s fantastic new album, Impossible World, which is out now for your ears’ enjoyment. But that’s just for starters in this lively and insightful discussion, which includes performative class and inclusion in country music, the potential futures of the music industry in a post-Covid world, self-accountability, and a pitch for a Christopher Guest-style comedy about paranoid militias. Good vibes all around! Featured songs are “Amerikan Dream” and “Broken Record” by Front Country, courtesy of the artist. CHECK OUT MELODY AND FRONT COUNTRY’S MUSIC! https://www.melodywalker.com/ https://www.frontcountryband.com/ GUEST BIO: “‘Lead singer and songwriter for progressive bluegrass band Front Country, Melody Walker is an outspoken force in bluegrass. She routinely calls out the sexism, racism and injustice she sees in the world, a difficult thing to do in an industry still run by many conservative elements.’ - Paste Magazine Melody is originally from Northern California and now lives in Nashville.

***AUDIO NOTE: There was an issue with Sarah’s track, sorry for the fuzz!*** CONTENT WARNING: DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT We’re joined by Alex Scott, a 7th generation Oklahoman, a former public school teacher, an active community organizer, and candidate for Oklahoma State Senate. In 2018, she became the youngest member to ever serve on the Norman, OK City Council, ousting a well-funded incumbent on a shoestring budget and grassroots power. We discuss the importance of getting involved locally, the terrifying pushback she has received for her actions, and how she got ripped off a flagpole at a certain Tulsa rally for someone who shall remain unnamed (see episode 1A for more on that). Follow Alex on Twitter: @ RealAlexScott Then afterwards Emily and Sarah discuss their husky, wildfire smoke soaked voices, riff more on the idea of local action, and Sarah uses the word “magic” a whole bunch. Featured music is "When the Zombies Come” by our own Emily Yates. GET INVOLVED: Donate to Alex and follow her campaign: https://www.scott4okstatesenate.com/ GUEST BIO Alex is a 7th generation Oklahoman, a former public school teacher, and an active community organizer. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Classical Studies and a Master's of Public Administration. She began her career teaching Latin at Moore Public Schools, where she realized how our state severely under funds not only our education system, but also our public services as a whole. Her frustration inspired her to get involved with the Oklahoma Education Association. Scott was trained at the NEA's annual leadership summit to be an advocate and activist for educational policy changes, and applied her training through canvassing, conducting listening tours, and lobbying legislators. While she was financially unable to continue teaching, Alex continued serving her community as the CD4 Chair for the Oklahoma Democratic Party. In 2018, she became the youngest Norman City Council member to ever serve, ousting a well-funded incumbent on a shoestring budget and grassroots power. Serving on the council equipped her with sound budgeting practices and a passion for helping her community. Scott witnessed firsthand our state's tendency to preempt municipal legislation and strip them of their authority, and believes this practice must be stopped. She is ready to Change the Oklahoma Standard by restoring balance back to our budget and back to our people.

Happy Episode 10 of What the Folk! We’re joined by the fabulous and multi-talented Lola Darling for a conversation about how art can heal and how to live your life as an act of resistance. We also get a preview of her new musical oracle project! From Lola’s struggle to claim her own identity to Covid on the reservations, from Kerrville Folk Festival to Mardi Gras, this episode is an emotionally honest and eye-opening journey. Featured music is "Breath," "Nothing," and "Daughter" by Lola Darling, courtesy of the artist. Episode Image credit: Amy Jo Wisehart https://www.amyjowisehart.com/ SUPPORT LOLA’S NEWLY LAUNCHED PATREON: www.patreon.com/LolaArts LOLA’S MUSIC: https://www.bandlab.com/lolaohoyochitto https://greatbiglilloladarling.bandcamp.com/releases GUEST BIO Lola Darling is an indigenous woman (Chahta-Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians) from the Pearl River Reservation. She currently lives in Bulbancha (New Orleans, LA) creating art in different mediums.

On this episode, we are taking a trip with Clayton Ickes, president of Psychedelic Club. We talk about our tendency to see psychedelics as a “savior,” what a legit psychedelic renaissance would look like, and wrestle with thorny issues of colonization and privilege vis-à-vis movements around drug liberation. Oh, and there’s some light discussion of Japanese death cults. Afterwards, Emily and Sarah break down our weird tendency to make people into saviors, specifically in regards to RGB (fare thee well), and discuss how easy it is to make a reasonable, nuanced point that is well received on social media. https://www.psychedeliclub.com/ Featured music is “Travels” by Summer Alicia, courtesy of the artist. Check her out on all the streaming platforms and on Instagram @ susummasummz GUEST BIO Clayton Ickes is a grateful and passionate voice of lived experience. Harm reductionist, MDMA study night attendant, and former SSDP chapter leader, his goal is to become an above ground provider of psychedelic medicine. He is also a wilderness therapy guide, writer, and van-living traveler. You can check out his adventures and creations at https://www.avandoned.com/

On this special bonus episode we are discussing the extradition hearing of Julian Assange with our friends Lee Camp and returning What the Folk champion Eleanor Goldfield. This episode is entirely focused on the case, so should be a good primer for anyone who is wondering, “Why, with all the things going on in the world, should I also give a shit about this?” Make sure to check out Lee and Eleanor's pod, Common Censored! GET INVOLVED Assange Defense https://assangedefense.org/ Article Sarah references: https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/04/20/debunking-all-the-assange-smears/ MUSIC "Free Assange" (spoken word by Eleanor Goldfield), "Land of the Free" (Emily Yates), courtesy of the artists. GUEST BIOS Lee Camp is the head writer and host of the national TV show Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp on RT America. He’s a former contributor to The Onion, former staff humor writer for the Huffington Post, and his web series “Moment of Clarity” has been viewed by millions. He’s toured the country and the world with his fierce brand of standup comedy, and George Carlin’s daughter Kelly said he’s one of the few comics keeping her father’s torch lit. Bill Hicks’s brother Steve said Lee is one of only a handful with Bill’s “message and passion.” Keep up with Lee here: https://leecamp.com/about/ Eleanor Goldfield is the founder and host of the show and podcast Act Out! and the co-host of the podcast Common Censored along with Lee Camp. Her current work focuses on more long-form and in-depth pieces, the first iteration of these being a film on West Virginia’s coal and fracking country. As a journalist, her articles and photographs cover people and topics which are censored or misrepresented. Artistically, Eleanor works in a variety of mediums and her performances blend music, spoken word and visual projections. Keep up with Eleanor’s projects here: https://www.artkillingapathy.com/

Join us for an enlightening discussion with Brittany DeBarros, Organizing Director of About Face: Veterans Against the War. We talk about her journey from soldier to activist, how to address oppressive patterns in movement building, what happens when we win, and how to hold multiple truths at once. We also touch on the joys of task forces and the musical “Hamilton.” Stick around if you want to hear Emily and Sarah reflect further on the idea of imperial privilege -- unless you’re a fan of Colin Powell, but, in that case, I’m not sure why you’re even listening to this podcast. https://aboutfaceveterans.org/ Featured music is "J.R.O.T.C." by Brittney Chantele, courtesy of the artist. https://www.brittneychantele.com/ Brittany came to About Face: Veterans Against the War with a diverse mix of business, military and non-profit leadership experiences that cemented her deep passion and commitment to intersectional movement building work. She deployed to Afghanistan for a year in 2012 and has worked on economic and racial liberation issues in various capacities since she returned. She is particularly passionate about leveraging her experience as a Psychological Operations Officer to center narrative and behavior change in campaign strategy. She is based in NYC. Book Recommendation: The Militarization of Indian Country https://bookshop.org/books/the-militarization-of-indian-country/9781938065002

Settle in for this deep dive with songwriter, musician, yoga teacher, activist, writer and all-around conscious renaissance woman Lauren Flynn. This interview covers a lot of territory -- how to live your activism, how to deal with narcissists, and how to turn trauma into passive aggressive country songs, to name just a few highlights. It’s all about working on the internal to affect the external. After the interview, stay tuned if you want to hear a classic Emily Army story and hear Sarah reference Robert Anton Wilson because she’s heady like that. LAUREN’S NEW EP! (streaming everywhere, but please support her on Bandcamp if you can) https://laurenflynn.bandcamp.com/album/outside-one-girl FOLLOW LAUREN: http://www.LaurenMakesMusics.com/ Instagram @ sorceressofnow Yoga Instagram @ yoga.with.lauren Featured music is “Supply and Demand" and “Wire” by Lauren Flynn, courtesy of the artist. GUEST BIO Lauren is a musician, activist, three-time natural disaster survivor and former pro-wrestler who has spent the last 15 years healing from corporate America. In her third year of sobriety, she currently lives in the PNW where she is recording her first full-length album, teaching yoga and writing about her journey.

We are joined by journalist, performance artist, activist and general doer of amazing shit Eleanor Goldfield! Settle in for this great conversation about mutual aid, her new (and excellent) documentary Hard Road of Hope, and how we keep up our creativity and hope in these troubling times. After the interview, stay tuned for Emily and Sarah’s thoughts on imagining a better world, especially if you enjoy subtle metaphors that describe national politics as a hit-and-run car accident and counter-hegemonic resistance as “poking at holes” (Seriously, are we not doing phrasing anymore?) HARD ROAD OF HOPE https://hardroadofhope.com/ MUTUAL AID DISASTER RELIEF https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/ MUTUAL AID HUB https://www.mutualaidhub.org/ Featured music is “Sick, Tired & Wasted" by Rooftop Revolutionaries, courtesy of the artist. GUEST BIO Eleanor Goldfield is the founder and host of the show and podcast Act Out! and the co-host of the podcast Common Censored along with Lee Camp. Her current work focuses on more long-form and in-depth pieces, the first iteration of these being a film on West Virginia’s coal and fracking country. As a journalist, her articles and photographs cover people and topics which are censored or misrepresented. Artistically, Eleanor works in a variety of mediums and her performances blend music, spoken word and visual projections. Keep up with Eleanor’s projects here: https://www.artkillingapathy.com/ Follow Eleanor on Twitter and Instagram [@]activisteleanor

Episode Four: Dancing on the Ruins with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson We sit down with the awesome Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, Co-Executive Director of the legendary Highlander Center, for an inspiring and motivating talk about movement building, solidarity economics, liberation practices and real deal education. This interview had us practicing our dance moves to shimmy on the ruins of the old world, so you don’t want to miss it if you’re needing some fuel for your fire. Then Emily gives a post-PDX protest report, and she and Sarah discuss ways to “get in where you fit in” to support M4BL. P.S. We’d suggest a What the Folk drinking game where you take a shot every time Sarah says the word “consciousness” -- but that would likely render you unconscious. THE HIGHLANDER CENTER https://www.highlandercenter.org/ MOVEMENT FOR BLACK LIVES https://m4bl.org/ GUEST BIO Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson is a 33 year old, Affrilachian (Black Appalachian), working class woman, born and raised in Southeast Tennessee. She is the Co-Executive Director of the Highlander Research & Education Center in New Market, TN. She has served as president of the Black Affairs Association at East Tennessee State University and the Rho Upsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is a long-time activist working around issues of mountaintop removal mining, and environmental racism in central and southern Appalachia, and has served on the National Council of the Student Environmental Action Coalition. She is an active participant in the Movement for Black Lives and is on the governance council of the Southern Movement Assembly. You can follow Ash on Twitter @hendersonaw0604 MUSIC Featured music: 2019 performances of “If You Want a Revolution" and “Don't Know Much About Star Wars” by our own Emily Yates. You can check out the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkHVqdjgqN4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ny6AWs7_kU&feature=youtu.be DONATE TO GROUPS IN PORTLAND PDX Protest Bail Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/pdx-protest-bail-fund Black Portland Youth Movement https://www.gofundme.com/f/21o0at70w0?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link-tip Rosehip Medics http://www.rosehipmedics.org/donate/

Emily sits down with Krystal Twobulls (Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne), veteran and executive director of Voices of the Sacred, in Lame Deer, Montana. Voices of the Sacred’s mission is to develop the next generation of healthy organizers from Native Youth and Native Veterans. We talk about what healthy organizing means, global solidarity across liberation movements, and Krystal’s journey from serving in the army to serving her community. Then Emily and Sarah wrestle with technical difficulties and America’s general ahistorical consciousness. Featured music is "Creation" by Nataanii Means, courtesy of the artist. https://soundcloud.com/nataanii-means Get Involved: https://www.voicesofthesacred.org/ https://aboutfaceveterans.org/ Krystal was just arrested at the direct action at Mount Rushmore, this interview was recorded before those protests. She’s out and doing well, but you can support the Black Hills Legal Defense Fund here: https://bhlegalfund.org/

We are joined by Dr. Carol Conzelman for a mind-expanding conversation about the history of the drug war in the United States, her work studying coca and democracy in Bolivia, how to encourage critical thinking about drugs, and our human need to explore inner space. Then Emily and Sarah have a chat that starts with studying the habits of the common American wook and ends with a discussion of the apocalypse, per usual. Featured music is “Drugs R Bad” by What the Folk’s very own Emily Yates http://emilyyatesmusic.com/ ______________________________________________________________ Guest Bio: Dr. Caroline Conzelman is a cultural anthropologist and Senior Instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder with the Global Studies Residential Academic Program and the International Affairs Program. She directs a Study Abroad program in Bolivia and teaches courses on democracy, drug policy, globalization, sustainability, Latin America, and community engagement. She is Faculty Adviser for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the Psychedelic Club, and Slow Food Youth. Since 2014, she has organized—together with students and colleagues—an all-day symposium to promote public education on ancient uses of cannabis and psychedelic plants and their modern political, economic, and therapeutic relevance. Since 1995, Conzelman has been a Volunteer Team Leader with the international grassroots development organization Global Volunteers, coordinating service learning programs in Jamaica, Ecuador, Italy, Tanzania, Ireland, and Cuba; she also served on their Board of Directors (seven years). Currently she is president of the international Board of Directors for the Andean Information Network out of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Carol can be reached at conzelma@colorado.edu _____________________________________________________________ Carol’s book recommendations: War and Drugs by The Role of Military Conflict in the Development of Substance Abuse By Dessa Bergen-Cico https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10260413-war-and-drugs From Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know About Mind-Altering Drugs By Andrew Weil https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110490.From_Chocolate_to_Morphine?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=1vJUQcV46m&rank=1 Organizations to follow and support: Drug Policy Alliance https://www.drugpolicy.org/ Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies https://maps.org/ Erowid https://www.erowid.org/ Transnational Institute https://www.tni.org/en International Drug Policy Consortium https://idpc.net/ Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA) https://www.wola.org/ Institute for Policy Studies https://ips-dc.org/

Ep. 2 will be out soon! In the meantime, as a follow up to Ep. 1, Emily sits down with her fellow Vets for Peace/About Face Vets after their direct action at the Trump rally in Tulsa on June 20th to reflect on what service now means to them during the current (and hopefully-finally-jfc-it-better-be victorious) iteration of the long fight for racial justice. Included in this conversation are Stephen Funk, Ollie, Emily Yates, Krystal Twobulls, and Jade Daniels. Episode title is in reference to an apropos JJ Cale song that would have been cool to include except copyright, with special nods to the late great Jeff Austin, who did a smoking cover of it. Photo credit: Frank Deck http://frankdeck.com/ https://www.veteransforpeace.org/ https://aboutfaceveterans.org/ https://grassrootsglobaljusticealliance.org https://voicesofthesacred.org https://unifytulsa.org

Our first episode! We are joined by Garett Reppenhagen, executive director of Veterans for Peace. You can learn more and get involved here: https://www.veteransforpeace.org/ We recorded this interview a couple days after the murder of George Floyd. Stay tuned after the interview to hear Emily and Sarah talk about shadow work, jumping timelines, and how no one is behind the wheel of the America bus. **Sound note: Sorry about the buzzing sound in spots, we're new at this!** Featured music is by two veterans, “Support the Troops” by the dearly-missed Jacob George http://www.jacobdavidgeorge.org/ and “The Golden Opportunity Outro” by Brittney Chantele https://www.brittneychantele.com/ Guest Bio: Garett Reppenhagen is the son of a Vietnam Veteran and grandson of two World War II Veterans. He served in the U.S. Army as a Cavalry/Scout Sniper in the 1st Infantry Division. Garett completed a deployment in Kosovo on a 9-month peace-keeping mission and a combat tour in Baquaba, Iraq. Garett gained an Honorable Discharge in May of 2005 and began working as a veterans advocate and a dedicated activist. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Iraq Veterans Against the War, worked in Washington, DC, as a lobbyist and as Vice President of Public Relations for the Nobel Prize winning Veterans For America, as a Program Director for Veterans Green Jobs and was the Rocky Mountain Director for Vet Voice Foundation. Garett lives in Colorado where he serves as the Executive Director for Veterans For Peace. Follow Garett on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SirGarett

The pod is almost ready for launch! We’ll be live June 15th! In the meantime, here’s a tiny taste.