Ep 334 - Shawnee Dez Returns

This week's episode features a convo with poet and writer Reginald Dwayne Betts, recorded live at the Logan Center in Chicago. For more than twenty-years, he has used his poetry and essays to explore the world of prison and the effects of violence and incarceration on American society. The author of a memoir and three collections of poetry, he has transformed his latest collection of poetry, the American Book Award winning Felon, into a solo theater show that explores the post incarceration experience and lingering consequences of a criminal record through poetry, stories, and engaging with the timeless and transcendental art of paper-making. Dame and Kiss joined Betts on stage right after his performance of Felon to talk about liberation through recitation, how humor arms and disarms, and some excellent socks. This conversation was a part of Inside&Out, a convening about the humanities and mass incarceration hosted by Illinois Humanities. Thanks to them for inviting AirGo to participate! SHOW NOTES Read Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts - https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393652147 Learn more about IL Humanities - https://ilhumanities.org/insideandout Bring One Million Experiments to your space by hitting us up at [email protected]! - https://www.respairmedia.com/one-million-experiments Subscribe to AirGo - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091 CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

We've got a lil quick One Million Experiments-related PSA for y'all! We're going to be screening the film in NYC on 4/24–the event is at Starr Bar in Brooklyn at 8pm, and is free with RSVP! Sign up here - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/one-million-experiments-screening-conversation-starr-bar-tickets-873424996677 Hit us up to build a screening near you - [email protected] Find all upcoming events - https://www.respairmedia.com/events Check out the trailer - https://www.respairmedia.com/one-million-experiments See you in the lab again soon!

This week's guest, Rabbi Brant Rosen, is the founding rabbi of Tzedek Chicago, a "Jewish congregation based on core values of justice, equity and solidarity." In the almost-decade of the reconstructionist congregation's existence, Tzedek has worked to build a Judaism beyond nationalism that centers solidarity, nonviolence, and spiritual freedom. Brant is also co-founder of Jewish Voice for Peace's Rabbinical Council, and a long-time spiritual and political leader in the struggle against the structural violence made possible by flattening Jewish life in service of white supremacy at home and in Israel/Palestine. He talks about his path to his politic, the heartbreak and resolve he's held since October, and the vision of Judaism that guides Tzedek forward. SHOW NOTES Learn more about Tzedek - https://www.tzedekchicago.org/ Check out Brant's writings - https://rabbibrant.com/ Bring One Million Experiments to your space by hitting us up at [email protected]! - https://www.respairmedia.com/one-million-experiments Subscribe to AirGo - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091 CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

The guys welcome back movement mentor and brilliant scholar-organizer Robin DG Kelley back to the show. Robin is a Professor of American History at UCLA and the author of seminal texts Hammer & Hoe, Freedom Dreams, and other offerings to the radical canon. He joins the show to talk about his personal path to his politic, the ebbs and flows of movement, and the reality of Palestinian solidarity in the belly of empire. SHOW NOTES Bring One Million Experiments to your space by hitting us up at [email protected]! - https://www.respairmedia.com/one-million-experiments Subscribe to AirGo - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091 CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

The AirGo stu is blessed by the presence of community luminary and vibrant musical artist Shawnee Dez. Shawnee, who recently released her full-length project Moody Umbra, talks about finding the trust to show all of her creative impulses, the joy of playing for her people, the unexpected power of her project the Black JoyRide, and much more! SHOW NOTES Listen to Moody Umbra now - https://unitedmasters.com/m/63d1c88150866754bd51dcf6 Link with the Black JoyRide - https://www.instagram.com/blackjoyride/ Follow Shawnee - https://www.instagram.com/shawnee_dez/ Bring One Million Experiments to your space by hitting us up at [email protected]! - www.respairmedia.com/one-million-experiments Subscribe to AirGo - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091 CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

We're fangirling pretty damn hard over here because we have the one and only Prentis Hemphill on this week's episode! Prentis is a therapist, somatics teacher and facilitator, political organizer, writer and the founder of The Embodiment Institute who has been a centering and leading voice in the work to create new pathways to healing conflict and harm. Their work is to disrupt the complacency and comfort of mainstream healing and therapeutic models and infuse what we know of justice, repair, and accountability into our deepest work of transformation. So, you know, kinda the type of thing we stay talking about on AirGo! They talk about the language we've gained around collective healing, the challenges it contains, the rituals we've lost and must reclaim, and so much more. SHOW NOTES Make sure to preorder Prentis' new book What It Takes to Heal now! - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726173/what-it-takes-to-heal-by-prentis-hemphill/ Link with the Embodiment Institute - https://www.theembodimentinstitute.org/ Subscribe to Finding Our Way - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-our-way/id1519965068 Bring One Million Experiments to your space by hitting us up at [email protected]! - https://www.respairmedia.com/one-million-experiments Subscribe to AirGo - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091 CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

The Don Dada is on the air! We're thrilled to be rocking with Kennedy Bartley, who has been a steadfast leader through Chicago's progressive political victories as the Executive Director of United Working Families. Kennedy breaks down her Waukegan backstory, how she imagines electoral work as part of the fight for a public good, and a whole lot more. SHOW NOTES Find your Chicago election voting site - https://chicagoelections.gov/voting/your-voter-information Kennedy on Through the Portal - https://soundcloud.com/airgoradio/through-the-portal-episode-4-grassroots-organizing-with-kennedy-bartley United Working Families - https://www.unitedworkingfamilies.org/ Bring One Million Experiments to your space by hitting us up at [email protected]! - https://www.respairmedia.com/one-million-experiments Subscribe to AirGo - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091 CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

AirGo's so excited to be back in full effect and regular flow of conversations reshaping culture for the more liberatory and creative! With the Chicago municipal election coming up on 3/19 (early voting is open now!), we're starting off with a call to Bring Chicago Home, a referendum aiming to restructure the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), a one-time tax on properties when they are sold to create a substantial and legally dedicated revenue stream to provide permanent affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness. Campaign organizers Brian Rodgers and Tynetta Hill-Muhammad break down how their personal experiences brought them to the campaign, how housing justice is at the nexus of all issues, and how to combat the misinformation around BCH created by the real estate lobby. SHOW NOTES Find your voting site - https://chicagoelections.gov/voting/your-voter-information Support Bring Chicago Home - https://www.bringchicagohome.org/ Check out Respair Production & Media, our new movement media organization - https://www.respairmedia.com/ Subscribe to AirGo - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091

This is it! We've reached the end of Season 2, and the last episode of 1ME (for now). And who better to close us out than our OG partner in decriminalization and 1ME creator Mariame Kaba. Mariame returns to the show to discuss what she's learned across twenty episodes of the show, the importance of movement-led archival work, how she understands the shifts in our political landscape since 2020, and the importance of the choir. Let's go out in style! SHOW NOTES Book a screening of the 1ME film! Hit us up at [email protected]. Peep 1ME - http://millionexperiments.com

On the penultimate episode of One Million Experiments, our hosts turn to collaborator and movement mentor Andrea J. RItchie. Andrea, who is the cofounder of Interrupting Criminalization, talks about how the emergent power of movement can sustain us as people and communities in the face of state violence. She also explores what she learned in the creation of her new book Practicing New Worlds: Abolition and Emergent Strategies. SHOW NOTES Practicing New Worlds by Andrea J. Ritchie - https://www.akpress.org/practicing-new-worlds.html Octavia Butler - https://www.octaviabutler.com/