Reprise: Making Empathy Go Viral with Heather McGhee

This episode is a Special Sunstorm Live Conversation with Academy Award Winning directory Alfonso Cuaron in celebration of our friends at Participant being honored by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Participant uses the language of cinema to inspire social change.Alfonso Cuaron is a writer, director, father, activist, and a friend of the NDWA. He is a true artist, deepening our understanding of humanity through his storytelling, reflecting a deep love for all of humanity, especially people who have been invisible in our culture. His Academy Award winning film Roma changed the way domestic work was seen and paved the way for cultural and policy change in Mexico and the US.To learn more about Participant at MoMA: Art and Activism.Head to sunstormpod.com to learn, read and find out how you can get involved!Sunstorm is a project of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Sunstorm provides a platform for a diversity of viewpoints on policies and current events that are important to the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and its members. Guests on Sunstorm do not represent or speak on behalf of NDWA.

When Heather McGhee isn’t fighting for justice, writing, teaching, and raising her son, she’s daydreaming about biscuits (butter only, please). She tells Alicia and Ai-jen how she got involved with economic policy advocacy, what she learned about the intersection of racism and inequality after the 2008 financial crisis, and how becoming a parent made her work even more urgent. Plus: What really happened after Heather’s viral TV moment with Gary in North Carolina.This is a re-release of an episode from January 2020. Sunstorm is a project of the NDWA, in collaboration with Participant Media.

From the power of moms to the importance of trusting ourselves, Ai-jen and Alicia reflect on the insights that expanded our minds—and our worlds—this season. Thanks to our brilliant guests, we’ve thought more about how engaging and fighting for our communities can be part of everyday life. We’ve gone deep on the idea that care isn’t transactional, but a radical tool for transformation. And as we move forward in this hopeful post-election, post-vax moment, we’re remembering that our job isn’t done. We still have to show up for ourselves and each other, because changemaking isn’t limited to an election cycle. It’s a long-term project, and we’re calling on everyone to find their path to participation.Head to sunstormpod.com to learn, read and find out how you can get involved!Sunstorm is a project of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Sunstorm provides a platform for a diversity of viewpoints on policies and current events that are important to the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and its members. Guests on Sunstorm do not represent or speak on behalf of NDWA.

Through The Disability Visibility Project and other channels, Alice Wong’s work has challenged beliefs about what disability is—and who disabled people are. She explains the far-reaching impact of the disability rights movement, how it has sharpened other avenues of activism, and how the broader progressive movement falls short when it comes to inclusion and accessibility. She’s even got a gentle call-in for Ai-jen and Alicia: Too often, conversations about care center workers and policymakers, leaving users of care on the sidelines. Plus: The problem with resilience, how Covid exposed our unwillingness to value disabled lives, why “back to normal” isn’t an option, and lots of excitement about Alice’s forthcoming memoir.Some ways to find Alice and her work:Twitter: @SFdirewolf Instagram @disability_visibility and disabilityvisibilityproject.com.Head to sunstormpod.com to learn, read and find out how you can get involved!Sunstorm is a project of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Sunstorm provides a platform for a diversity of viewpoints on policies and current events that are important to the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and its members. Guests on Sunstorm do not represent or speak on behalf of NDWA.

Between the pandemic and life, “How to Citizen” host Baratunde Thurston is tired. But he’s also optimistic and motivated about where the world can go—if we get ourselves right. He breaks down his concept of ‘citizen’ as a verb, and why he chooses to citizen by checking on his neighbors and digging into the minutiae of municipal budgets. He also shares stories about his late mom, whose life continues to reveal lessons in resilience, growth, and self-acceptance. Plus: Details about Baratunde’s upcoming PBS docuseries, America Outdoors, and the #1 skill he acquired during quarantine.Head to sunstormpod.com to learn, read and find out how you can get involved!Sunstorm is a project of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Sunstorm provides a platform for a diversity of viewpoints on policies and current events that are important to the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and its members. Guests on Sunstorm do not represent or speak on behalf of NDWA.

Comedian, actress, and all-around legend Margaret Cho explains why she’s focused on enlarging the story of American history by delving into anti-Asian violence in season two of her podcast, “The Margaret Cho.” She also gets real about pandemic life, the surprising upsides of virtual Pride celebrations, and how the LGBTQ+ community’s resilience during Covid echoes that of the ‘80s HIV/AIDS crisis. And we hear about her journey as an activist, including her outreach to AAPI groups—and Republicans—during the 2020 campaign. Plus: Important lessons from Joan Rivers, turning anxiety into action, and how laughter helps keep us alive.

Attorney and Giniw Collective co-founder Tara Houska is on the front lines of activism—literally. A veteran of the Standing Rock resistance, she has spent the past three years with other water protectors in a Northern Minnesota resistance camp, working to stop the massive Line 3 pipeline project. She explains why her philosophy of land defense goes beyond protecting natural resources and tribal lands: Ultimately, it’s about preserving our own humanity. Plus: Understanding different concepts of time, adapting to life off the grid, and the joy of seeing people from all walks of life coming together in solidarity.

Peloton instructor Tunde Oyeneyin can motivate anyone, including the thousands of people who follow her workouts. She explains how she learned to grapple with self-doubt and listen to her inner voice in order to manifest her dreams, and why it’s so important to trust the process, wherever it may lead. As she tells it, her late mother Veronica was the one who taught her to use her voice and find her shine—lessons she put into practice by bringing the Black Lives Matter conversation into her Peloton classes. Plus: The value of hard conversations and the importance of using your platform (whether it’s Instagram or the dinner table).Head to sunstormpod.com to learn, read and find out how you can get involved!Sunstorm is a project of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Sunstorm provides a platform for a diversity of viewpoints on policies and current events that are important to the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and its members. Guests on Sunstorm do not represent or speak on behalf of NDWA.

Journalist Errin Haines (The 19th*, MSNBC) has been busy covering the 2020 election, frontline workers’ stories, the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on caregivers, and police violence—it was her reporting that made Breonna Taylor’s murder national news. She explains why she’s unlearned the idea that we have to figure everything out on our own, how seeing the impact of care on the entire economy has brought stark disparities to light, and why Kamala Harris is not a unicorn. Errin also shares what it was like growing up in the Black church in Atlanta—where “you breathe in Martin Luther King, Jr.”—and how faith drives her work. Plus: Rage-watching Peppa Pig as a form of self-care.

There’s some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel (go get those shots if you can, fam) and 2020 elections are done. So, what now? What have we learned, and what do we still need to figure out? Ai-jen and Alicia reflect on the way we came together when everything fell apart, and how America has finally acknowledged that caregiving is essential infrastructure. As conversations and perspectives expand, we’re getting ready to make change that goes beyond the White House and reaches deep into our own communities. Plus: Why creativity always beats cynicism.Head to sunstormpod.com to learn, read and find out how you can get involved!Sunstorm is a project of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Sunstorm provides a platform for a diversity of viewpoints on policies and current events that are important to the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and its members. Guests on Sunstorm do not represent or speak on behalf of NDWA.