Ep. 38: Racial Equity in AP, IB, and Honors Courses Matters

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EQ: Why is educational access and access to rigorous, transformative educational experiences important?

Guest: Kim Thomas, Partnership Director for Equal Opportunity Schools and total badass. “Kimberly is deeply committed to educational access, equity and transformation and to the challenging, but critical work of ensuring that marginalized students have access to rigorous, transformative educational experiences.”

This episode takes a deep dive into equity issues in schools with the incisive, brilliant, and hilarious Kim Thomas. Topics include:

Guilty Favesies (accidental food theme):

  • Kim: all manner of delightfully junky food

  • Annie: Giant American tortillas

  • Hope: late night Taco Bell quesadillas with green sauce

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Kim: Scene on Radio “Seeing White” series

  • Annie: for educators - examine academic gatekeeping in your building

  • Hope: look at your own workplace and practice with the goal of being more equitable

Ep. 37: Let’s All Be Really Healthy...Let’s Also Eat the Sheet Cake

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Our EQ: What is diet culture, why is it so insidious, and how is it related to white privilege and the patriarchy?

Sponsor: Talking About Your Body Weight

Guest: Stephanie Skaggs, high school Humanities educator from Tacoma and woman of thiccness. She’s a third generation Tacoman and has a BA and Master’s in Teaching from Western Washington University.

This episode is inspired by the yearly conversation about “wellness” (aka diet and weight loss) that creeps up around the holidays. Topics include:

  • Our history of dieting, including the heritability of diet culture (we’re looking at you, moms and grandmas). Cabbage soup, French Women Don’t Get Fat, Atkins. The WORKS.

  • Diet trends - see this handy graph.

  • The relationship between wellness and wealth (and thinness as a status symbol).

  • The coded and secret language women use to talk about their bodies.

  • The changing conversation around obesity, including shifting definitions of health.

  • Stephanie’s extremely compelling primary source document - 1972 edition of The Joy of Sex and particularly the section entitled “Problems,” that is both fat-shaming and racist.

  • Double standards about male and female bodies and how they’re treated (Stephanie brings some insight about growing up with brothers, including how wonderful and supportive her family was. Hope talks about growing up with sisters). We figure out that even in supportive homes, there is intense pressure from society.

  • Sara Upson, doctor and registered dietitian. She has a blog called My Signature Nutrition and a post called Diet Culture 101 that is incredibly informative. She says:

    • “Diet culture is a society that focuses on and values weight, shape, and size over health and well-being. Variations of diet culture also include rigid eating patterns that on the surface are in the name of health, but in reality are about weight shape or size. Diet culture is really tricky because as we have learned that diets don’t work, they (diet culture) have transformed their message to say that they are all about health. Their definition of health though, is one that is synonymous with weight- that when you lose weight (by any means necessary) then you will be healthier. By restricting your eating and eliminating food groups you will feel better and be happier. This isn’t reality. The reality is- people do crazy, unhealthy, even dangerous diet behaviors in the name of health to lose weight. That isn’t health.”

  • How people equate thinness with happiness and use food to protect from trauma (read Roxanne Gay’s Hunger).

  • The crossover between diet culture and multi-level marketing and diet culture in schools.

  • Working with youth and modeling self-care for them in the classroom (including avoiding negative self-talk and body talk).

  • Taking apart the toxic crap:

    • The Anti-Diet Movement - comes in different forms on the internet, but the basic idea is to stop dieting and accept your body.

    • Focusing on goals that aren’t related to weight loss, but are for your health - like daily walks with the intention of clearing your head, not racking up steps or torching calories.

    • Studying diet culture and learn how to avoid its pitfalls. Check yourself when you’re talking about it.

    • Being intentional about body positivity and avoiding negative language. Give more genuine compliments.

  • Queer culture - outside the patriarchal male gaze?


Guilty Favesies:

  • Annie: Riverdale - delicious trash. Body positive actors on the show!

  • Hope: reheated leftover coffee with sugar free hot cocoa mix.

  • Stephanie: following body-positive Instagram accounts (gabifresh! Nabela Noor!)


Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Annie: Read an article on the Frisky called “Girl Talk: I’m Sick of Women Talking About Weight” by Wendy Stokes. The author talks about those social situations in which women reinforce negative talk about weight with each other. The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams.

  • Hope: a super awesome book about body types - Body Drama by Nancy Amanda

  • Stephanie: Roxanne Gay - articles and books. She’s great.


2019: Read, Listen, and Subscribe

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This is the time of year to make some resolutions, and hope for a stronger, brighter new year. It’s also prime time to renew your commitment to anti-racism and fighting injustices in the world.

We’ve compiled a list of our top books and podcast recommendations. This is not a comprehensive list but a great place to start 2019.

  1. Obvs, go read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. Go get a copy from King’s Books RIGHT NOW.  We know it’s the IWL book club text but it is required reading for anyone who claims to be a progressive white person. We’d love for you to share you insights, comments, or conundrums by tweeting with the hashtag #readlessbasic

  2. Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister. I drank the PSL latte when I listened to her interview on the Ezra Klein show “Women’s Rage is Transforming America”. You’ll find yourself “amening” immediately.

  3. Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine. You might think you’re a woke white person, but this book (technically a book of poetry) will  remind you about why the intersections of oppression matter. If you’re white, take your time through each page. Give yourself space to consider what it’s like to be on the receiving end of racial microaggressions. Then, understand that your existence occurs 99.9?% of the time on the side of the aggressor. Cry a few tears and then resolve to stop perpetuating racism, sexism, and so on.

  4. Channel 253. Um, yo did you know there’s a network of fantastic podcasts RIGHT HERE IN TACOMA!!??? Let’s not pretend that Hope isn’t biased towards the @NerdFarmPod host. But, ALL the shows are worth your time. Also, become a subscribing member to the network. Just $4 a month!

From our listeners:

  • Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Hochschild. “In the realm of emotions, the Right felt like they were being treated as criminals and the liberals had the guns.”

  • How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. “This puts in words something that has been gnawing at the back of my brain. Periods of political polarization correspond with periods of racial progress. Also, it puts Trumpism in context with right wing movements around the world that I really appreciate.”

  • Our Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor. “The cover is AHMAZING. The book focuses on radical acceptance of bodies--our own, others, all colors and abilities. It helps us think about what that acceptance looks like in action (and how self love is impossible without it).”

  • Why is This Happening with Chris Hayes. “Makes me realize how little I know about many topics I thought I had a decent grasp on.”

  • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. “This book ignites the imagination and ties in with reality.”

Ep. 36: To All Those Who Deserve Hand-painted Christmas Cookies

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Our EQ: Who made 2018 a little brighter and did their part to keep BS at bay?

We’re back with Katy Evans, the Holiday Hero, to distribute hand painted Christmas cookies to a few of the wonderful men, women, and non-binary folxs making the world a better place by fighting stereotypes, white supremacy, social norms, and #beinglessbasic

In the first half of the episode we reminisce about delicious holiday foods and childhood memories. Cookie Trays? Hundred dollar mac and cheese? Hold on to your hats, because this episode is filled with Caucasity. What the hell is rice-mello? Have you ever tried Divinity? Did you know you can smoke your cocktails with an overpriced William & Sonoma Cocktail Smoking Box.

If you’re feeling crafty, make some Reindeer Footprints or gag gifts of reindeer, elf, or snowman poop.  Explore the art of popcorn balls. You can also try your hand at the many many craft projects Hope attempted with medium success like DIY ornaments or Novel Clocks.

Christmas Cookie Distribution

Guilty Favesies:

  • Hope: Eshakti & online stores that suck you in via Facebook or Instagram ads

  • Annie: Instagram - celebrities, makeup tutorials, and Hiking Bangers

  • Katy: Choir Stuff, especially choral music

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: none from me!

  • Annie: ride that positive high from the holiday season and commit to a cause that will make the world a better place in 2019. I’m going to try and do more to support LGBTQ+ youth organizations in and around Tacoma.

  • Katy: Speak your gratitude.

Ep. 35: Brickettes, Bags, and Dump Trucks of Coal

EQ: Who in White America deserves lumps of coal this year?

We are lucky to be joined by Katy Evans, Assistant Executive Director @ Grand Cinema and most importantly, the Holiday Hero. Katy was a recent guest on NerdFarm Ep 49: It’s Cuffing Season

In this episode, three interchangeable brown-haired, white women discuss the joys of the Christmas season. We make recommendations for seasonal music, foods, and most importantly, we dissect weird Holiday traditions such as Krampus and Black Pete (it’s as racist as it sounds!). Lastly, we help Santa out by distributing varying amounts of coal to crappy, hateful and all-around awful people.

To begin, check out these links guaranteed to bring more joy to your life this season:

Then, follow up on these Christmas traditions:

Finally, we dole out coal one brickette at a time. Santa really should hire us.

  1. Lena Dunham

  2. The Caucasity of White Names

  3. Yanny or Laurel argument

  4. People who voted No on 1631

  5. Bland Potato Salad

  6. Using mayonaise instead of Miracle Whip (apparently, there’s a division even in the studio. Oh, hwhite people)

  7. Whoever runs the City Club Twitter account

  8. News Tribune Editorial Board (they’re out of touch critique of Tacoma Against Nazis which we won’t even bother to link to here)

  9. How many piles of coal does Quentin Tarantino deserve for being a perv?

  10. White women voting for candidates who don’t have their best interests at heart.

  11. ALL the white people who called on Black people living their lives this year. There should be cost to white people for calling on Black folks

  12. The ladies from Idaho School who dressed like a border wall and Mexicans for Halloween.

  13. Border Patrol condoning the use of tear gas against children and babies.

There are faaaaaaaaaar more people who deserve to be buried under truckloads of coal, but we ran out of time!

Guilty Favesies:

  • Hope: Horrifically corny holiday movies--but not about animals!

  • Annie: Vegan egg nog w/ bananas

  • Katy: Nora Ephron and favorite films like Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping. Add to your must-watch list The Holiday Calendar, Bad Moms Christmas

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 34: Housing Is a Human Right

**Since this recording Tacoma City Council UNANIMOUSLY voted to increase protections for renters!!

Read about it here!

Today’s EQ: What is a tenants’ union and why do cities need them?

Guest: Molly Nichols, recent transplant to Tacoma from Pittsburgh, where she organized transit riders. Now she works as  the Tacoma outreach coordinator with Futurewise and a member of the Tacoma Tenants Organizing Committee. Also have experience as a high school and college teacher.

Molly talks about her journey, including working in leadership development, taking on graduate school (with a focus on environmental issues in the Caribbean, including a community fighting an aluminum smelter), and her need for urgency in her work life, which led her to grassroots organizing. Molly discusses decentering herself as a white woman and recentering those most affected by environmental and social problems to create sustainable change. She shares her experiences in Tacoma, including working at Futurewise, a statewide non-profit that fights for equitable and sustainable urban growth and land use policies, where she helped organize tenants who have been displaced by recent growth in Tacoma.

Be Less Basic and Read Up on some of these topics:

About the Tiki Apartments & Tenants Union

Examples of What We Could be Doing

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  1. Follow us at @IWL_Podcast or on Facebook!

  2. Get a copy of White Fragility and tweet your comments, thoughts, and questions using #readlessbasic

  3. Become a Channel 253 Member! It’s just $4 a month or $40 a year. https://www.channel253.com/membership/


Ep. 33: Shut Up & Listen To Youth Voices

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EQ: How are youth defining and deconstructing gender in 2018 and how can adults be allies to them?


Guest: Stella Keating, 8th grader in TPS, the WA state representative for the Gender Cool Project, Instagram-lover and a youth activist. Lisa Keating, My Purple Umbrella--Episode 14

Stella tells us about how she became involved in politics and activism through My Purple Umbrella’s work on in 2016  with the Anti-Trans Bill (1552 Bathroom Bill; initiative 1515). She even testified to the school board in 4th grade! She describes her involvement in the Gender Cool Project, a program that “seeks to reach every corner of the country with positive and powerful stories about who transgender kids and their peer allies are rather than what they are. We leave the labels at the door and build understanding through storytelling about the accomplishments of these remarkable young leaders.”

She shares what it means to be a “Gender Cool Champion”, what National Coming Out Day really means (raises awareness for people who don’t have to),  the challenges of being a young activist, how she experiences sexism in the world, and how she really feels about Kavanaugh. And you MUST go read this article in Teen Vogue “Why Transgender Visibility Matters.”

Guilty Favesies

  • Annie: seeing exotic animals up close

  • Hope: Eyeglass frames

  • Stella: Instagram

  • Lisa: Facebook

Do your fudging homework

  • Annie: Educators and parents - see what support is available in your school for LGBQ+ youth and see what you can do to promote it.

  • Hope: Go back and listen to Episode 14; read book from Queerest Book Club Ever on FB

  • Stella: Queerest Book Club Ever (next book - Two Boys Kissing), read Handsome Girl and Her Beautiful Boy, read Symptoms of Being Human, shut up and listen to youth voices and educate the youth

  • Lisa: Queerest Book Club Ever. Families and allies welcome. Second Monday of the month - 7-8:30 PM. Skype with authors.  

Ep. 32: #DangerousMom’s Perspective on Childbirth, Motherhood, and Advocacy

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EQ:  Why is being a stay-at-home-parent a fulltime, bad-ass job that we need in 2018?

Guest: Tobi Tommaney, Tacoma-raised, birth doula, wife, and mother.

In this episode we discuss:

  • Why Tacoma is the best place to raise a family

  • How you can be a block mom, a #dangerousmom, and a general bad-ass

  • How women’s bodies are strong and powerful---we just have to listen to ourselves.

  • The difference between pain and suffering

  • Midwifery, being a doulah, and why you should use the lotus method for your placenta

  • An insider’s perspective on the Tacoma Teacher Strike

  • Most importantly, why you are enough and just showing up to speak your truth is ENOUGH! We need to make sure our legislators and school board know they are there to serve the community!

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Show up at a school board meeting, email your legislator and speak up!

Ep. 31: Not Data Without Stories, Not Stories Without Data

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EQ: Why is the work of the ACLU in the Washington important and relevant in 2018?

Guest: Vanessa Torres Hernandez, Youth Policy Director at American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. Nerd Farmer Guest Ep 27

The formidable and fabulous Vanessa Torres Hernandez joins us to talk about the intersection of education and the law. Vanessa shares the story of her early life in Guam, the culture shock of American college life, and her years as a teacher.

Highlights include:

  • We need to pay more attention to school safety  issues in Washington School Safety. Many instinctive responses to school shootings are wrong and not research based.  We need more preventative resources.

  • There is an absurd amount of racial bias in school suspensions and other forms of discipline

  • We need to question and re-imagine the role of law enforcement in schools

  • The importance of stories with data and data with stories in improving school safety - it can’t just be about numbers or feelings, we have to examine both

  • Equal Justice Works

  • Learn more about the Every Student Counts Alliance (ESCA), a new collaboration between organizations and individuals in Spokane working to end the overuse of suspension and expulsion in Spokane Public Schools and to eliminate disparities in rates of suspension and expulsion of students of color and students with disabilities.

  • Read more about WA state laws on suspension, including HB 1541 and Adopted Student Discipline Rules

Guilty Favesies

  • Hope: candles, especially if they’re on sale at Target

  • Annie: single-serving lunch snacks

  • Vanessa: celebrity gossip magazines


Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: What do you think about … Can the ACLU Become the NRA for the Left?

  • Vanessa: Attend Adult Civics HH; Flights and Rights (ACLU) in Seattle; issue oriented civic engagement--most important

  • Annie: clued in to what’s happening in legislature! Sign up for legislators emails

Ep. 30: Decolonize Your Bookshelf

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EQ:  Why is important to decolonize your bookshelf and how do you do it?

Guest: Kristen Sierra, Tacoma born & raised, Lincoln teacher-librarian, TPS mom

Kristen helps us understand what it means to decolonize your bookshelf, including challenging us to read more authors from diverse backgrounds! We also learn more about Project Lit, a Nashville based program that addresses the problem of “book deserts” in urban areas. This program focuses on providing high-quality, culturally relevant books that empower students as readers and leaders.

Support her work to transform the Lincoln Library by:

Learn more information about Project Lit as a Nation wide Movement:

Other useful links:

  • Contact for Tacoma Public Schools Library Director for information on supporting our Milgard Fundraiser & support in general: Ms. Suzanna Panter: spanter@tacoma.K12.wa.us

  • Link to Tacoma Public School Library websites for supportive citizens to contact their local school librarian (scroll down and click on the name of the school) https://www.tacomaschools.org/libraries/Pages/default.aspx

  • Contact for our Superintendent & our Assistant Superintendent to voice your support of school libraries:

  • Superintendent Santorno: csantor@tacoma.K12.wa.us; Superintendent Pace: tpace@tacoma.K12.wa.us

  • Link to requesting materials and sharing suggestions with our Tacoma Public Library (must sign in first to access this feature)  

  • Attendance at events matters and created more opportunities for events! Link to event pages

Come out to Kwame Alexander Author Event on 10/15 at Urban Grace in Tacoma: tickets here

Guilty Favsies:

  • Hope: good ranch dressing (fancy spices)

  • Annie: niiiiice office supplies.

  • Kristen---People, Gossip

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Special Announcement:

We are going to read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo! #IWLreads #readlessbasic

Ep. 29: Striking While Female

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EQ: Is sexism even relevant to the teacher strikes or are women just being over-sensitive once again?

Guest: Megan Holyoke, 1st year teacher

Annie, Megan and Hope break down myths and sexism in the narrative about the Tacoma teacher strike.

Related links:

SPECIAL NOTE: We did a little fact finding and want to be clear about some numbers regarding leadership gender dynamics.

Ep. 28: IWL One Year Podiversary Podebration!

EQ: Has it really been a year since we started this podcast and where do we go from here?

Today’s podiversary episode is brought to you by the arbitrarily measured passage of time. In this episode we podlight significant episodes, wonderful listeners, and preview upcoming episode topics. We also announce the winner of the "Be Less Basic Bracket" and the 2017-2018 Most Valuable Interchangeable White Lady.

Do your homework: Follow our show on social media and follow one of our amazing guests!


 

Ep 27: Finding Joy and Giving Love: An Interview with Musician Stephanie Johnson

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EQ: What’s awesome/challenging about being a women of color in the music industries?

Guest: Stephanie Anne Johnson of Tacoma (season 5 of The Voice). Born and raised in Tacoma. From a military family, Stephanie is a musician, performer and educator!

Ignore the star-struck awkwardness of the hosts during this interview with the amazing Stephanie Johnson. The way Stephanie talks about music, love, and relationships will have you reaching for your tissue box. Telling her “Tacoma Story”, Stephanie reminds listeners that each of us has a story that is uniquely our own and it is up to us to define and create these stories.

Related Links:

Guilty Favsies:

  • Hope--Expensive Vinegars
  • Annie--Swedish fish
  • Stephanie--the Kardashians

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Stephanie - Buy music directly from the artist; pick up a book and READ
  • Annie - Go to the Hilltop Street Fair
  • Hope - Check out Stephanie’s music on CD Baby

Ep. 26: Mommy, Look How Woke I Am: On Performative Wokeness

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EQ: What does it mean to be “woke,” and how can wokeness be performative?

Guest: Amy Young, PhD, Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of the Communication and Theatre Department at Pacific Lutheran University and author of Prophets, Gurus, and Pundits: Rhetorical Styles and Public Engagement.  Guest on Nerd Farm Podcast, episode 5 “On Ignoring Calls for Civility.” Find her online: Facebook & Twitter (@Amy_Prof)

Amy brings the noise about political rhetoric and shares her insights on a variety of topics:

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  • Why she was drawn to rhetoric as a field and why it matters
  • The phenomenon of master’s theses and conference titles always including a colon
  • The fact that, when people want to talk about rhetoric (words, media, and timing), they don’t ask rhetoricians.  They ask political scientists or historians instead.
  • Donald Trump appealing only to his base using narrowly targeted rhetoric (and how some things are both authentic and unpalatable)
  • Political correctness getting a bad rap and how it actually serves to foster empathy or connection to audience.  Sometimes thinking about other people is a good idea.
  • Creepy Stephen Miller’s shark eyes and his distinctive lack of exchangeability in politics (could he work in any other administration? No).

Performing wokeness…

  • Appropriation--who gets to lay claim and perform that claim publicly--where’s the line? What’s the difference between being a fan (appreciating) and wearing a woke costume?  Using Black vernacular to construct a public identity when the target identity is marginalized or oppressed. Appropriators are afforded social capital in a way that those who constructed the culture it aren’t .
  • The tension between being clued-in and clueless.  Rachel Dolezal's calendar - 12 months of pictures of her. 

 

Greatest (and by “greatest” we mean the worst) examples…

Guilty Favesies:

  • Hope: Mangoes--manila, dried etc.  Delicious - they’re fruit, so they must be good for you.
  • Annie: cheap makeup. Crap for my skin, probably terrible for the environment. But I want a $2 e.l.f. eyeliner pencil and I won’t back down.
  • Amy: Mister, Mister

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Woke-check yourself.  Be reflective and authentic.
  • Annie: Go check out a list on Goodreads called “Popular Stay Woke Books.” Read all the books on the list, repeat as needed.  Notable titles include The New Jim Crow and Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire.
  • Amy: Amy’s making room in her intro classes to challenge her students by presenting rhetoric around diverse political views. Do the same in your profession (whatever it is).

Ep. 25: No Finish Line for Ending White Supremacy

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EQ: What are white people doing wrong this time and how do we make it right?

Guest: Danielle Stubblefield - Seattle-based  online and anti-racist frontline protester.

Danielle brings her expertise and insights to a number of topics, including:

  • White privilege,  white entitlement, and white terrorism, including the idea of “polite” white supremacy (no matter what, white people make sure the conversation stays civil and comfortable).
  • No finish line for white supremacy--keeping it 💯, we have so much work to do
  • We're all like dirty sponges--we can clean up a mess but we're tainted
  • White supremacy is the house you need to tear down---demolition phase (take a hammer and tear sh!* up)
  • Think about IMPACT, not just intent. Own our whiteness from the beginning, stumble through life and stop trying to be well-intended but causing damage.
  • How to not be a “teacher” (aka think you know everything and are source of all knowledge). Instead we need to think of teaching and learning as hand-in-hand
  • How to leverage white privilege for good and associated risk factors (Nordstrom comes up)
  • How what is safe for white people is not safe for others.

  • The impacts of racism on quality of life and health outcomes. Watch “How Racism Leads to Health Issues”

  • How to not worry about losing face with a stranger...fight dispassionately so it becomes your routine.

  • The fact that anti-blackness is real, and thoughts about why it exists.  Jealousy? Why are white people so mad? Maybe it's because they see something they don't have! There’s a twisted sense of community that racism fills. Read Debbie Irving Waking up White to get a better understanding of racism as boxes & ladders.

  • It takes guts to challenge Oprah...especially when you're on a cruise with her!

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 24: Countering Slow-cooked Misogyny: A Coaching Chat w/Cat Peterson

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EQ: How can we understand the slow cooked misogyny of male-dominated professions?

Guest: Catherine Peterson, Physics Teacher & Soccer Coach, one of the hosts of Flounders B-Team Podcast and Teachers United “Cat Peterson Award for Courage”

The beloved and fabulous Cat Peterson joins us to talk about working in male-dominated spaces: science education and soccer coaching.  Cat shares her story about...

  • Growing up in a small town and the importance of female role models
  • Falling in love with soccer and science in high school, college, and beyond
  • The intense demands of coaching and teaching at the same time
  • The BS she puts up with as a female coach
  • Equity issues in soccer and other high school sports - who has access and who doesn’t?
  • The overwhelming whiteness in high school coaching

Guilty Favesies:

  • Annie: white bread - especially English muffins
  • Hope: Ketchup
  • Cat: Candy all the time!

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 23: Summer 2-for-One: Beat the Heat AND Nazis

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EQ: What’s the best way to beat the summer heat while also handily dismantling racist, sexist, misogynistic hetero-patriarchal white supremacy?

We start this episode channel in our inner basic NW white lady with suggestions for how to stay literally cool thi summer. From cold brew to boozy slurpees, find ways to have a little fun and do a little self-care. Go enjoy a glacier while we still have them - i.e. go to a higher altitude and meditate on global warming.

We note that it seems that summer time not only emboldens bad outfit choices, it strengthens white supremacists. What’s up with Washington attracting white supremacists? Read more here:

Hot Tips for beating the Nazis:

  • Educate yourself about white supremacist and white nationalist language and symbology so you can identify it when you see it. Educate others.
  • Address issues in your neighborhood directly (or indirectly, if you’re concerned for your safety or the safety of others).
  • Take action online - share information on social media so that others can access it.  Look for dismissive language and know how to respond. For example, if someone says “Nazi is a misnomer.  They were a political party and they no longer exist” on Twitter, prepare a snappy comeback, like “the ideology still exists regardless of labels,” or “Delete your account.”
  • Disconnect White Power Tacoma or join Tacoma Against Nazis on Facebook
  • What’s Going on With America’s White People

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Annie: Go read “So You Want to Fight White Supremacy” by Ijeoma Oluo from the Establishment. Preferably while you drink a boozy slurpee on some covered patio while misting yourself with one of those spray bottle fans.
  • Hope: Educate yourself on the rise of white supremacists in the NW and take action---if you need ideas, send us a DM

Ep. 22: That's Pinteresting!

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EQ: To what extent has Pinterest influenced the creativity of the modern women/men and specifically educators? When is Pinterest too much or just enough?

Guest: Cat Melaunie (Melani), middle school teacher, education activist, and general badass. She’s a Texas native and Washington transplant with a degree in English LA & Writing and minors in psychology and education from McMurry University.  She currently works in education in Washington and is a freelance writer, including writing for the Nerdfarmer Podcast. She hosts local trivia, emcees events, and volunteers all the time! Also, she has a guinea pig named Obiwan Guinobi who loves to dress up.

Cat’s Story:

  • Her move from Texas to Washington, inspired by her best friend relocating and being RIF’d/laid off from her teaching job (Texas is a “right to work” state) because of her sexual orientation.  SHAME BELL.
  • Everything she loves about her college, small hometown, and Tacoma.
  • Full-time subbing in Tacoma and the differences between teaching in Texas and teaching in Washington: being 100% “on” all the time vs. being herself and “blending her worlds.”
  • Accidentally coming out to students. Spoiler: it’s funny and not awful.
  • Saying “no” for a long time and learning how to say “yes” to beautiful new experiences.
  • Being Hispanic and finding out she was a person of color, including her different experiences in Texas and Washington.
  • Watching Starbelly Sneetches with her students to teach them about how to be kind.

Segway: Pinterest...your favorite thing or your most favorite thing?

For the uninitiated, Pinterest is basically an online corkboard where you collect pictures of things you like from the internet - the pictures are usually connected to a link.  Cat describes it as the ancient art of finding great ideas that other great people found before you. It’s possible to scroll through Pinterest for 1,000 hours and not know what happened.

  • Pinterest board numbers: Hope stopped counting at 30, Cat has 30, and Annie has...102. Hope has cleverly named boards about teaching, working out, and books worth reading.  Cat has a mermaid board, treats board, hair board, and two for Harry Potter - memes and HP stuff. Plus - Star Wars wedding. Annie has so many that it’s hard to pick a fave.
  • Pinterest is renowned for its massive collection of recipes. Hope is doing the keto thing, Annie is vegan, so we decided to try and find something that everyone could eat. Annie made these.  They’re not a total fail!  Hope participated in the adventure, too - coconut milk chocolate mousse. It wouldn’t blend but it was delicious.

Bad advice from Pinterest!

  • Flowery background with “bloom where you’re planted” - worse than “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
  • Rustic junk like beach trash with inspirational quotes.
  • The whole fitspo situation. You used to see a lot of “thinspo” or “thinspiration,” now its “fitspo” or “fitness inspiration,” which basically glorifies abs and squat challenges.  Plus the before and after weight loss pictures.
  • Not exactly bad advice, but you can’t go on Pinterest without seeing white women all over the place using Starbucks cups as accessories.  The Starbucks cup is the new tiny dog in a purse.
  • CAT WROTE US SOME POEMS ABOUT PINTEREST, including a limerick and a poem on the spot.  It was impressive.
  • Men also enjoy Pinterest, especially posting pictures of their beards and beards they think are awesome.
  • While it’s a social media platform, Pinterest is also a consumer trap.

Guilty-Favesies:

  • These are things that you make feel “guilty” about but are secretly or not so secretly favesies.
  • Annie: looking for government jobs so she can be like Leslie Knope.
  • Cat: comic books - but not so guilty. Eating fried chicken and drinking cheap beer in a bubble bath. Netflix (laptop on the toilet - not over the tub. Don’t electrocute yourself).
  • Hope: Diet Pepsi with a Twix bar.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Annie: Google “Pinterest Fails” and remind yourself that no one has a perfectly curated Pinterest life and that FAIL stands for “first attempt in learning.”
  • Cat: say “yes’ to new experiences.  It will change your life.
  • Hope: follow Cat’s guinea pig on Pinterest and make it out to the Black Kettle on Thursdays at 7:30 for trivia.

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member.

Ep. 21: Share the Stage, Hand over the Mic: An Interview with the National Teacher of the Year

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EQ: Who is the NTOY and what’s her deal?

Guest: Mandy Manning, 2018 WA STOY and National Teacher of the Year

Mandy Manning teaches English and math to refugee and immigrant students in the Newcomer Center at Ferris High School in Spokane, Washington, where she is her students' first teacher once they arrive in the U.S. This bio is lit

Mandy answers weird questions such as “what’s your favorite degree?” to “how does being NSTOY provide you a platform for your advocacy work or to speak about social justice, equity, or more serious things?” and “how do you see yourself as a white lady doing this work with mostly black and brown students--how to keep the ‘White Savior’ complex in check?”

Mandy elaborates on why it's important to think at a systems level and why our schools need to meet the needs of the specific community they serve.

Interesting links to keep your basicness at bay:

Guilty Favsies:

  • Hope--Flair pens or fancy gel pens from Japan, Korea, or Hong Kong (Ketchup, Silver Swan Soy Sauce; mangoes)
  • Annie: Protein Powder
  • Mandy: Sneaking out for coffee during planning period

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Mandy: leave your house; go meet your neighbor--self awareness to become more culturally competent; what impacting your view; get knowledge
  • Hope: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member.
 

Ep. 20: We Just Want to Build A Wall and Make Seattle Pay for It

EQ: How do we better understand the relationship between race, class, and real estate, and why does that matter?

Guest: Marguerite Martin, curator of the Move to Tacoma movement and host of the Move to Tacoma Podcast, the Pod Auntie and a founding pod host on Channel 253 (the spry, young matriarch of the network).

Marguerite shares her story:

  • Her love for Tacoma and her early days downtown (what used to be the cheapest neighborhood!).
  • Her start in real estate in the last boom market, circa 2005, and occupational survival in the downturn.
  • The launch of the Move to Tacoma movement (website and, later, the podcast) as a resource for people relocating to the area.
  • Feelings about her career - the thrill and terror of entrepreneurship.  You can be creative and be yourself, workaholic!
  • Why lots of people get their real estate license - it’s not too hard to meet the requirements, but it IS hard to build a career (the test has nothing to do with the actual work of selling real estate).  You may not get the support you need as a newbie.
  • Making her way - from the dream of being the Queen of Spanaway Real Estate to carving out a niche, first as a condo specialist, then as a downtown realtor, and later as a buyer’s agent.  PLUS! The first prototype of Move to Tacoma - Get Real Tacoma.
  • The changes in the local market, especially skyrocketing prices and the lack of affordable housing options.
  • The market now: buyers have to give up more.  Buyers are currently at a tremendous disadvantage, especially low-income folks.  Those with a lack of intergenerational and historical wealth, especially people of color in Tacoma, don’t have access to the resources they need.  
  • Issues with the lack of diversity in the profession--the median age of realtors is 60 and 87% of agents are white.  The field is treated by many real estate professionals as a meritocracy. Spoiler alert: it’s not. (Dis)trust and implicit bias fuel ageism, sexism, and racism in the business. Being “woke” in real estate is - maybe - impossible because systems of capitalism are inherently exploitative.
  • Marguerite’s favorite Move to Tacoma Podcast Episode “The Tacoma Dating Scene”

Guilty Favsies:

  • Annie & Hope: Target, Target, and more Target!!
  • Marguerite: John Mayer and Younger

Do Your Fudging Homework: