Paulina and Jess discuss mental health and the Romani community with Dr. William Lacey, Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry at Boston Children’s Hospital, the number one children’s hospital in the country for the last 8 years. We cover Will's career, mental health stigma and access for Romani diaspora folks, generational trauma, why Romani suicide rates are higher in Europe than non-Roma, and the basics of seeking mental health support and offering support. We also take this opportunity to speak to Will about his take on the COVID vaccine and COVID precautions as a Romani doctor. We dispel some myths and share our vaccination experiences.

If you or a loved one are feeling suicidal, we encourage you to reach out to The National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.  The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.

Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.

You can find us on Instagram @romanistanpodcast, and on Facebook under the same name, and on Twitter @romanistanpod

We started a Ko-fi fundraiser to help us expand. Our goal is to release 2 episodes a month, create video content, like an advice column and other treats, and we would also like to register as a nonprofit so we can produce content by other Romani & Sinti creators. We are hoping to cover production costs, like paying for our hosting site, website, editing and producing, and all the rest. We would love it if you could contribute and spread the word. The link, Ko-fi.com/romanistan, is in our bio on Instagram, and will be in the show notes

Please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. 

If you would like to advertise with us, email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com. We offer sliding-scale for Romani, Sinti & related businesses, so reach out!

You can find Jess on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele, and you can find Jess’ vintage and curiosities shop Evil Eye Edit on Instagram @evileyeedit & Etsy.

You can find Paulina Verminski on Instagram @_paulina_v_ and at https://romaniholistic.com/. Follow Paulina’s store, Romani Holistic, in Corona Del Mar, CA, on Instagram @romaniholistic 

Romanistan is hosted by Jessica Reidy and Paulina Verminski

Conceived of by Paulina Verminski

Edited by Cherub

With Music by Viktor Pachas

And Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Our interview with British Afro-Romani romance writer Talia Hibbert is a delight. Hibbert is a best-selling author  known for her sexy, diverse, body-positive, sex-positive, intersectional feminist romance novels. She takes Romanistan co-hosts Paulina and Jess through why she loves to write romance novels, relationship advice, building characters, spirituality, advice for budding writers, and her novel, Take a Hint, Dani Brown. Enjoy this charming interview with a brilliant and creative mind. 

Talia's romance recommendations for new and seasoned romance readers are Nalini Singh (especially the Psy/Changeling Series), Danielle Allen, Therese Beharrie, Kennedy Ryan, and Beverly Jenkins.

Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.

You can find us on Instagram @romanistanpodcast, and on Facebook under the same name, and on Twitter @romanistanpod

We started a Ko-fi fundraiser to help us expand. Our goal is to release 2 episodes a month, create video content, like an advice column and other treats, and we would also like to register as a nonprofit so we can produce content by other Romani & Sinti creators. We are hoping to cover production costs, like paying for our hosting site, website, editing and producing, and all the rest. We would love it if you could contribute and spread the word. The link, Ko-fi.com/romanistan, is in our bio on Instagram, and will be in the show notes

Please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. 

If you would like to advertise with us, email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com. We offer sliding-scale for Romani, Sinti & related businesses, so reach out!

You can find Jess, on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele, and you can find Jess’ vintage and curiosities shop Evil Eye Edit on Instagram @evileyeedit & Etsy.

You can find Paulina Verminski on Instagram @_paulina_v_ and at https://romaniholistic.com/. Follow Paulina’s store, Romani Holistic, in Corona Del Mar, CA, on Instagram @romaniholistic 

Romanistan is hosted by Jessica Reidy and Paulina Verminski

Conceived of by Paulina Verminski

Edited by Cherub

With Music by Viktor Pachas

And Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Hello, citizens! To get excited for spooooky Halloween, Paulina and Jess tell some family ghost stories and folk tales, and one story called “The Dead Encampment” from the book Russian Gypsy Tales translated by James Riordan. We tell these  
 stories with a casual, lighthearted tone and lots of laughter, so we aim for the sweet spot of scary and fun.  

Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast!

You can find us on Instagram @romanistanpodcast, and on Facebook under the same name, and on Twitter @romanistanpod

We started a Ko-fi fundraiser to help us expand. Our goal is to release 2 episodes a month, create video content, like an advice column and other treats, and we would also like to register as a nonprofit so we can produce content by other Romani & Sinti creators. We are hoping to cover production costs, like paying for our hosting site, website, editing and producing, and all the rest. We would love it if you could contribute and spread the word. The link, Ko-fi.com/romanistan, is in our bio on Instagram, and will be in the show notes

Please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. 

If you would like to advertise with us, email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com. We offer sliding-scale for Romani, Sinti & related businesses, so reach out!

You can find Jess, on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele, and you can find Jess’ vintage and curiosities shop Evil Eye Edit on Instagram @evileyeedit & Etsy.

You can find Paulina Verminski on Instagram @_paulina_v_ and at https://romaniholistic.com/. Follow Paulina’s store, Romani Holistic,  in Corona Del Mar, CA on Instagram @romaniholistic 

Romanistan is hosted by Jessica Reidy and Paulina Verminski

Conceived of by Paulina Verminski

Edited by Cherub

With Music by Viktor Pachas

And Artwork by Elijah Vardo