First Online With Fran

"My eye is drawn to subjects that are radically liminal. I understand the camera as a technology and a method to bring into attention what would otherwise remain overlooked, even by those who are interacting with the phenomena." ~Steven Seidenberg Steven Seidenberg is a poet, artist, and philosopher, whose literary work––most recently, Coda––probes the interstices between poetic, philosophical, and narrative discursive timbres. 

Are you a leader? Yes or No? Do you have stuff, your creative Superpowers -- the thing that made you successful in your creative life, whatever that does, whatever that is that we need in our public life? And I say, "Hell, Yes!" ~Tom Tresser Tom Tresser is a Chicago based civic educator, creativity champion, and public defender with over 50 years grassroots democracy experience. 

"Many people have the misunderstanding that the boat lift was initiated by the U.S. Coast Guard—that boats only started the evacuation after the Coast Guard called for all available boats. Instead, that call went out nearly two hours after mariners had independently made the choice to help. Rather than coming in to take charge of the evacuation that was already operating successfully, the highest-ranking USCG officer, then-Lt. Michael Day, made the tremendous decision to FACILITATE and support the boat lift that had begun spontaneously. He worked with the Sandy Hook pilots to share knowledge about the harbor, offer information about available resources, and grant mariners permission to keep doing what they were doing. After interviewing both Mike Day and his higher ups, I came to understand why he felt empowered to take that approach. It stemmed from the trust his leaders placed in him to make decisions on the fly. That day, Coast Guard officers showed REAL leadership—the kind of TRUE leadership that is so lacking right now, in this dire moment.” ~Jessica DuLongJessica DuLong is a Brooklyn-based author, independent historian, journalist, editor, and NYT-bestselling book collaborator/writing coach. She lectures internationally on the craft of narrative and has appeared on/in HBO, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER, the TODAY show, and CBS Sunday Morning. DuLong recently joined the board of the 9/11 Legacy Foundation. For more information about the boat lift, visit: https://jessicadulong.com/boatlift/  

What I hope to do with this show is to talk about my life...about always trying to belong, but then the ultimate challenge of belonging which is becoming a wheelchair user because you're going to stand out in any kind of way. I hope with audiences what comes out is a partnership which is the theme. Let me tell you what I'm talking about, what you won't know unless you're a wheelchair user. I want people not to feel like I'm preaching at them. I'm coming to tell you what it's like and that's my goal --to have humor in it, to have advocacy in it, but to have people in the end feel like they're a team with me or like their allies...not to feel ashamed or embarrassed. This is not a victim story by any means. ~ Diana RomeroDiana Romero is an award-winning writer, producer, and storyteller whose work focuses on overlooked lives and the complexity of being seen.

The choices we have here in America are different from the choices people have in Russia. We can vote. That is the most important right that has not been taken away. In Putin’s Russia, elections have not been free for decades. Opposition candidates are barred from running, and even then the results are manipulated to deliver Putin a staggering victory. So this is what I can tell my American listeners: vote. – Svetlana SatchkovaSvetlana Satchkova is a Russian-born journalist and novelist who immigrated to the United States in 2016. She covers culture and politics, with bylines in the Rumpus, Newsweek, LARB, the Independent, and others. Currently a research fellow at the Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia at NYU, she holds an MFA from Brooklyn College and lives in Brooklyn. Svetlana has published three novels in Russian; The Undead: A Novel of Modern Russia, is her English-language debut.

When you're running for office be your authentic self and tell the truth. You have to tell everybody what you have done for them and what you want to do. You have to listen to them. You shouldn't be scripted. Shoot from the hip; talk from the heart. And you can tell them how you can't get things done without having the House and Senate, but this is what I would like to do. What makes sense for all Americans. But you have to point out the opponent -- things are hurting them. Ask them not to be a one issue voter; you're not voting for perfect but for Good. ~Pat CeasarPat Ceasar, Pat Is a Comic/Actor/Writer/ Director/DP and an Artist & Storyteller. After attending the Art Institute of Boston at Leslie College she started her career working on Political advertising in Boston as an Art Director. Then Pat moved to NYC and switched her career to consumer advertising.  

There's always hope. You can't say the word hope without smiling. Hope is that ability to get up and go again. The Finnish have word for it--SISU. What it means is white-knuckle courage in the face of overwhelming odds. When everything is lost, the spirit of SISU manifests itself. And for me SISU means relentless resilience. I'm incredibly stubborn and the idea of ever giving up never crossed my mind. I had to prove that they were wrong. That they could never break me. Dr. John A. King is an Australian-born, Indigenous (Warumungu) author, speaker, and survivor-advocate based in Texas.

As I've traveled around the world to teach, speak, and lecture about audience development, in particular, Africa, is that what I've learned is that at the end of the day, people want to feel welcome, they want to have a good time, even if it's something that made them want to laugh, but to feel like, 'Wow, this was thought-provoking, this was interesting, and to feel that I made a good choice coming. And maybe I met someone that I didn't know.' I learned how class, particularly in America, is such a barrier for people to feel they belong. ~Donna Walker-KuhneDonna Walker-Kuhne is an award-winning author, strategist and expert in building diverse audiences and engaging communities for arts experiences. She believes that thriving communities embrace the arts and are invited to participate in the arts in a consistent and predictable manner.                                                                                                                                                    ~

I want to educate the public about what’s happening in the immigration crisis itself and inside the courts, about the refugees and how they are treated here, but also to make the performances beautiful in a way that will impart something profound to the audience. How do I put these stories into the most beautiful artistic form to go to the core of the human being? What I need from these performances is a call to action—for people to actually DO something. We need to educate them and impact them emotionally, so that people know what to do. This crisis is on us! We need to be haunted by their stories. We need to hear these stories over and over again so we cannot turn away. ~ Irina KruzhilinaIrina Kruzhilina is an award-winning theater maker whose roles include director, scenographer, experience designer, playwright, professor, and artistic director, creating work at the intersection of visual art, live performance, and civic engagement.

Why is freedom to read so important? I think we take for granted the idea that a multiplicity of voices are accessible to us, and our libraries are places that represent the voices of everyone in the community. There's a court case called Little v Llano just came out of the 5th district of the 5th circuit court of appeals, the district covers Texas and Louisiana. This court case is threatening one of the most essential freedoms that we have which is a couple of First Amendment precedents that were established in the 60s-70s that say that very thing -- that books cannot be removed from the shelves based on just disagreeing with the partisan ideas or the ideas wherein...the threats to these freedoms are very real, and what I try to do is get out the urgent message that we could see the Supreme Court weaken the first amendment as it comes to free expression, as it comes to the freedom to read, as it comes to the ability to read what you want, think what you want about it, write what you want, and I don't know what could be more fundamental than that. That's the message I'm really trying to get across. ~ Rosie StewartRosalie (Rosie) Stewart is Senior Manager of Public Policy at Penguin Random House. A skilled grassroots organizer with a passion for youth, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and championing the freedom to read, Rosie has extensive experience working at the federal, state, and local levels on issues including appropriations, intellectual freedom, and voting access. Rosie is a graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government