Ep. 140: On Making Space for Trauma & Grief in DEI Work

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EQ: What is the role of brain science and psychology in creating more inclusive organizations? 

Guest: Noor Awad, a “brain science and psychology” student, a corporate diversity and inclusion specialist, and the founder of Homegrown Palestine @homegrownpalestine

This conversation took surprising turns as we discussed grief, trauma, creating inclusive spaces and how listening to the stories of others is a chance for healing and community building. We hope you will find some encouragement and comfort in this episode.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Noor: to understand generational trauma check out Dr. Gabor Mate

  • Megan: Do the work—get therapy

Ep. 139: No, It's Not Too Late to Talk About Halloween

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EQ: To what extent is the world trying to steal our hallowed peace at this time of year?  

Today’s episode a mix of fun and shade. We bring back one of our favorite segments, Timeless or Terrible. Surprisingly, we’ve never discussed Halloween on the show so we decided to tackle this wacky, short season. We talk about how folks should be intentional about having a fun costume that isn’t race-ish or glorifying a serial killer. We also discuss some local news such as a recent transrights protest in Tacoma and the Paul Pelosi attack.

Related Links:

Do Your Fudging  Homework:

  • Hope: keep an eye out for bots & help orgs/people you love; promote good work on itunes, etc.

  • Megan: outshout the haters; post positives

Ep. 138: If We Want Equity, We Have to Put It in Contracts

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EQ: To what extent would re-writing seniority clauses in teacher union contracts promote retention of educators of color and better serve our students?

In this episode of IWL, we are joined by Chris Stewart, the Chief Executive Officer of brightbeam, to discuss the recent change in the Minneapolis Teacher Union contracts. Chris was part of the first campaign to protect Black teachers (and other teachers of color) back in the early 2000s when he was on the school board. We discuss what this current provision in the contract means, including implications for other school districts. More importantly, we learn key contextual information behind this provision and how Black educators are fighting for their right to stay and teach the diverse body of students in the Minneapolis school district. 

To learn about Chris’ work check out his website Citizen Stewart and follow him on Twitter @citizenstewart 

Related Links:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope/Megan: Follow @citizenstewart for some thought provoking tweets

  • Chris:

    • Support the local NAACP chapter fighting for Black educators

    • Write to the union president Greta Callahan and tell her you support the protection for educators of color

    • Find a group of friends to learn more about the situation facing Minneapolis educators of color. Read together, discuss and consider how it relates to your local context.

Ep. 137: Hiking the Wonderland Trail--Turning Your Bucket List into Real Goals

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EQ: Why do white women sign up for rigorous outdoor activities to eat/pray/love/wild it up? 

In this episode, Megan shares her recent accomplishment, hiking The Wonderland Trail, a 93 mile jaunt around Mount Rainier. She opens up about the factors that led to this adventure, how she prepared for this rigorous hike and the highlights from her journey. Additionally, Hope and Megan highlight the importance of turning teams into actually achievable goals. There will be no perfect time. Do something you want to do–something that will bring you joy. Do it now and don’t wait.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Shout out to all the GCC ASCD leaders 

  • Megan: Get outside. Stop putting off some dream. Just make it a goal and take the steps to do it.

Ep. 136: Nerd Farm Crossover: WTF Did I Just Watch

There’s no essential question here, folks. But you will love this episode. Nate Bowling, Hope Teague-Bowling, and Megan Holyoke join forces to talk about Running with the Devil: the Wild World of John McAffee, a new Netflix documentary film and Untold: the Girlfriend that Didn’t Exist, a series about the catfishing of Manti Te’o, then linebacker at Notre Dame.

Going Further

Ep. 135: Kent Educators on Strike

EQ: Why are Kent Educators on strike?

Guests: 

This episode was recorded on Sept 4, seven school days into the Kent School District Strike. Nathan and Byron lay out the reasons for the strike, including the union demands (which frankly are quite reasonable). Principal demands “KEA’s principal demands are: increased support for student mental health; reduced class sizes and caseloads for educators working with students receiving special education services; and a competitive salary with neighboring districts.” We discuss why Kent didn’t go on strike in 2018 when so many other districts resorted to withholding their labor. We compare the current strike to the 2009 resistance. Finally, learn how you can support KEA educators.

Related Sources:

What Can You Do To Support:

  • Please amplify the message of the educators! 

  • Email the school board and superintendent!

Ep. 134: Back to Life, Back to Reality

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EQ: What concerns, questions, ideas, or fears do you have for the upcoming school year?

In this episode of IWL, Hope and Megan recount the last few years in education. From ”we think the pandemic is over but wait, surprise it’s not” to ”we’re back to normal” to ”Pandemic is over now…maybe, we think.” They’ both excited and nervous about the return to school this year. There are a wide range of contextual factors shaping the upcoming school year. Their discussion centered on how teachers might “protect your peace” this school year. 

Previous Back to School Episodes:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 133: Tiktok Ya Don't Stop

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EQ: To what extent would we miss out on trivial nonsense if we didn’t have Tiktok Summers?

In this episode, Hope and Megan catch up with the O.G. white lady, Annie Jansen. After an update of her journey to being an electrician, they take on the ins and outs of Tiktok. We’re sure you’ll learn a little about who to follow, how to prevent echo chambers, and some of the weird nonsense on the tok.

Referenced in the show:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Expand your Tiktok bubble

Ep. 132: Spin the Bottle Elections

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EQ: Do the results coming in from the primary elections inform what is to come in November or are politics in the United States a cluster and nothing makes sense any more ever? And what, if anything, can we learn from what happened?

Aug 2  was the primary elections, gearing up for the Mid-Term elections in November. Some interesting, disheartening, and hopeful things took place. Today, Hope and Megan focus on what happened through the lens of why and how we can use that to propel us forward into November in order to see the results that we want.

Related Links:

Your Fudging Homework:

  • Find 1-2 people who aren’t registered or don’t usually vote—bring them along

Ep. 131: How to Cope with Living Through History

EQ: How do you best teach (learn)  about the past in order to serve the present while at the same time understanding the present in terms of the past?

Today’s special guest is the one and only Nate Bowling from Nerd Farm Podcast.

In today’s episode, Hope and Nate discuss their recent trip to Munich and the takeaways from their experience. First, despite being years away from WWII and the effort to convert specific Third Reich sites, it is still on a journey to reconcile its role as the center of Naziism AND its identity as a metropolitan/thriving city. The conversation shifts to parallels in United States history, what makes our story here unique, and why we often can’t acknowledge the  good/bad of our past at the same time.

Related Links

Ep. 130: A Book Challenge in our Backyard

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EQ: How has anti-LGBTQ sentiment seeped in local school boards?

Hope is joined by guest Gavin Downing, a teacher-library in the Kent School district who recently experience a very intense effort by some community members to ban a young adult book, Jack of Hearts and Other Parts by L.C. Rosen. In this episode, we dig into the timeline of events, discuss the recent rise in book bans and how we can all be more proactive in our support of students’ rights to read diverse perspectives and experiences.

Related Links:

Do Your Fudging HW:

  • We can’t do this alone–reach out to SD, let them know/policies for district; shore them up BEFORE the challenge comes in; school board; public library

  • How folks can support you/prevent the banning of books in KSD or in their local districts

Ep. 129: Wheel of Nonsense

EQ: How do we  manage life’s wheel of nonsense?  

After a bit of a hiatus we’re happy to welcome Megan back to the show for today’s episode. It is a hodgepodge of topics chosen by the “wheel of nonsense”. We felt there was so much going on yet with summer looming we should temper the serious with the nonsensical. Enjoy!

Related sources:

Ep. 128: An Interview w/ The Writing Hippo aka Author Jesse Q. Sutanto

This is our third podcast in our authors of color series. Today, we are continuing to answer our essential question.

EQ: How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by  authors of color changed the writing landscape?

Jesse Q Sutanto is the author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Oxford University. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties came out last year and was purchased by Netflix. Jesse lives in Indonesia with her husband, her two daughters, and her ridiculously large extended family, many of whom live just down the road.

Sutanto shares how her experiences growing up in urban places like Jakarta and Singapore shape your own experiences/your writing including several pivotal moments that shaped her identity as a writer. We dig into her passion to disrupt stereotypes about female protagonists and Asian representation in literature. We also discuss how her work spans a range of target audience and why she’s exploring different genres. 

For more Sutanto Conversations check out:

Check out her other writing:

Ep. 127: On the Alito Leak and the Threat to Roe

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Ep. 126: How and Why the Baddies Are Winning

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Essential Question: How is the right leveraging social and economic conditions to pass such $h!* legislation (aka how and why are the baddies winning)?

Across the country bills are being passed that is limiting/censoring educators more and more. We have seen this with the CRT debate, Book Banning, and today’s topic, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. In today’s episode we discussed the high profile cases everyone should be paying attention to but also why initiatives in smaller states matter too. This whole episode deserves one giant shame bell rung from start to finish.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Megan: Educate yourself about what’s happening & check out the links above. Donate money to organizations who are fighting these bills. Contact your members of Congress!

  • Hope: HCR ad “Let Us Play” will bring tears to your eyes; Facing History

Ep: 125: Cozy Mysteries Take On Colonialism

EQ: How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by  authors of color changed the writing landscape?

Guest: Raquel V. Reyes. Reyes’ short stories appear in various anthologies, including Mystery Most Theatrical, Midnight Hour, and Trouble No More. Find her on social media @LatinaSleuths.

Based on the recommendation of Mia Manansala in Ep 121, we invited Raquel Reyes to join us and share her own journey as a cozy mystery writer. We spend some time discussing her book, Mango, Mambo, and Murder, especially the integration of food and culture intertwined with a murder mystery. She shares some pivotal moments in her development as a writer, influential writers, opinions on Latinx representation in literature, and the changing landscape of the literary world. 

Related Resources:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Facebook Group “Cozy Mysteries Crew”

  • Megan: Read Raquel’s work!

  • Raquel: Request books at your libraries or your independent bookstores. Give anthologies a try!

Ep. 124: The Power of a Hush

Essential Question: How much hushing could a husher hush if a husher could hush fools?

Today we bring back some of our favorite segments for a few laughs. We’re joined by Hope Bixby, “the New Hope” who is currently a Social Studies teacher at Lincoln High School and an all around badass. Bixby pitches the idea of a weekly “hush” here we get to highlight  the people, topics, concepts, situations, etc who have received our “hush” of the week. 

Favorite segments: 

  • Yeah, No Yeah

  • Does it Venn?

  • Hush of the Week: Related links

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 123: The Scoop on Relationship & Sex Education at Home & Abroad

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EQ:  What is the importance of Sex Education in both the US and abroad, and how can you ensure equity for all students  in the curriculum delivered?


Guest: Emily Zien, a health and physical education teacher. Please check out her website for more information.

In our third episode centering international schools, we chat with Emily about her work as a relationships and sexual education educator.  We begin by learning about the present landscape, comparing what this work looks like in the United States and in the International School scene. We also discuss the role of DEIJ in shaping these conversations, how we can ensure equity in the curriculum and how child “safe guarding” is a growing field that opens the door for revamping school policies. 

Do you Fudging HW:

Ep. 122: The Scoop on International Schools, Part II

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Note: This episode was recorded mid-February, prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

EQ:  How are international schools uniquely situated to fight, perpetuate or contribute to educational inequities around the world

Guest: Yvette Santos Cuenco a school counselor at the Edmund Burke Independent School in DC.

Hope and Megan continue their conversation with the amazing Yvette about the inner workings and nuances of international schools. In this episode the three of them dive into what the DEIJ landscape looks like on the international level. They discuss how over the last several years there has been movement in being open about the work, but discuss how and why the work can feel so slow on the international level. Also, how International schools have unique responsibilities, barriers, and challenges to equitably serving all students in DEIJ work. The conversation focuses on what those might be as well as how International schools as well as educators in these spaces can continue to tackle the work within this. On the flip side of the challenges, they also discuss how International Schools are uniquely positioned to tackle this work in ways that schools in the US are not.

Related Sources:

Champagne & Real Pain 

🥂International School Services (ISS) pushing the DEIJ work in international schools

🥂 Raise a glass to all past students. Especially those celebrating Black History Month or Lunar New Year

🥂All those that are having honest and challenging conversations around DEIJ work.

👎🏻Book burning, cameras in schools, and overall the laws restricting teachers

👎🏻Any school district that is making it more difficult for their staff. Also those that are sending in bomb threats for HBCUs; HBCUs are undeterred

👎🏻Another no knock warrant murder of Amir Locke in Minneapolis

Do your fudging homework: 

  • Hope: Educators, look into your options! Don’t stay where you aren’t appreciated! 

  • Yvette: Find a place where you are valued as a teacher!

  • Megan: Find the right fit as a teacher, don’t leave the profession!

Ep. 121: Identity is Not a Plotline--On Cozy Mysteries & Representation

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EQ:  How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by  authors of color changed the writing landscape?

We’re so excited to announce our new author series! Joining us today is  Mia Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries series).

  • Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @MPMtheWriter  

  • Check out her website: www.miapmanansala.com 

In this episode we learn all about the cozy mystery, a subgenre of crime! As you might predict, it is often described as “hallmark movies with dead bodies in them.” Mia shares her writing journey shouting out key mentors such as Kellye Garrett and Lori Rader Day. We discuss how the publishing scene is a business rather than an art, thus is slow to change. However, the consistent effort by the “everyday” reader (and any allies who want to see more representation)  is helping put pressure on the industry to expand the stories and authors they support.  We really appreciate Mia’s openness with us about her triumphs and challenges as a newly published author transforming a genre! 

Other Writers to Check Out:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Check out Mia’s books–library or purchase!

  • Megan: Read the work and post about it!

  • Mia: Check out Crime Writers of Color