Page Dobbs, associate professor of public health in the College of Education and Health Professions, describes how self-identified small business owners on TikTok are circumventing local, state and federal laws that restrict the individual sale of tobacco products, specifically targeting minors with promises of discreet shipping to get around parental oversight.

In this episode, Lowell interviews Aria Florant, who is the co-founder and CEO of Liberation Ventures, a non-profit that accelerates the Black-led movement for racial repair. Learn more about The R Word podcast, The R Word events, and The Zacchaeus Foundation at https://www.thezacchaeusfoundation.org/.

In this episode, we shift the narrative of summer school from punishment to enrichment. Dr. Lakia Scott, Assistant Provost for Faculty Development & Diversity at Yale University, shares her experience as the Founding Executive Director of the Baylor Freedom Schools Program. This episode explores the program's enrichment impact on students, strategies for fostering successful collaborations with local school districts and other sponsors, and the logistical and cultural considerations in building the program and curricula. The program's unique focus on texts that explore citizenship, government, History, and culture as a pathway to expand African American students' access to educational enrichment, equity, and opportunity is particularly relevant in an education policy era that may be widening the opportunity gap.

Lia Uribe, music professor and associate dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, discusses community partnerships through music.

Historian, Angela Sutton, speaks to us about her groundbreaking new book, PIRATES OF THE SLAVE TRADE: THE BATTLE OF CAPE LOPEZ AND THE BIRTH OF AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION, in which she explores how a pivotal battle between the British navy and a notorious pirate crew, led by “Black Bart” Roberts, cleared the way for an explosion of the slave trade, the establishment of chattel slavery in the Americas, and the deadly racism that still permeates U.S. society. She also speaks to us about her current work at Fort Negley and what it means to do the work of breaking the barriers created by slavery, racism, and other inequities.

In this episode, Dustin and Lowell interview Robin Rue Simmons, who is the Founder and Executive Director of FirstRepair, a non-profit that informs local reparations, nationally, and who was an alderman in Evanston, IL, where she helped pass the first government-funded Black reparations legislation. Learn more about The R Word podcast, The R Word events, and The Zacchaeus Foundation at https://www.thezacchaeusfoundation.org/.

Welcome Back Dr. James Hawkins, LPC, Certified EFT Trainer/Supervisor! We talked with James about therapy and Black Men. James shared light on how to encourage and support Black Men to take care of themselves by prioritizing their own mental health. He gave us so many tips on how to just be a more empathetic and understanding/supportive present for the Black Men in our lives! Share this episode with a Black Man you know and love. Remind him he is worthy of love, care, and support. Listen to him. Give him enough space to be strong and fall apart. Tell us how this episode helped you support a Black Man. Tell us about your story in the comments!

In this episode, we chat with Victor Luckerson, journalist and author of Built From the Fire, recognized as a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, is a multigenerational saga of a family and a community in Tulsa’s Greenwood district, known as “Black Wall Street.” Listeners can look forward to exploring the differences between the mythology about the Tulsa Race Massacre and the evidential facts of what occurred before, during, and after the massacre. Join us as we explore the connections between the forms of racial violence of the past and modern forms of racial violence enacted through policies like urban renewal and gentrification. Enjoy the lessons that critical figures of Black Wall Street have to teach us about women, Black love, wealth, and success.

Tšhegofatšo Ndabane is a writer, podcast publicist for mental health practitioners, and Master of Arts in clinical psychology candidate at the University of Cape Town. Her words have been featured in various international publications including Refinery29, Well + Good, Life & Thyme, and APL Media, amongst others. Deneshia and Joi hopped on a zoom call to record this one! Tšhegofatšo shares her view of resiliency and belonging from a Black South African woman perspective. This conversation is ultimately led by the words of Dr. Maya Angelou who defines Belonging for herself. Dr. Angelou says in A Bill Moyers interview: You are truly free when you realize you belong nowhere, no place, but everywhere. Most importantly I belong to myself. I’m very concerned about Maya. This episode is an exploration of belonging to safe people, places and things. Tšhegofatšo, Deneshia and Joi share some research on belonging and personal loved experiences. What’s your definition of belonging? Where do you belong? How do you cultivate this? Share this episode with a friend! Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Chris Thompson develop the health app and social media platform Sober Sidekick out of desperation - facing his own recovery in isolation he needed to connect with other people struggling like him. Now that app and his