My name is Ben and I'm a transgender medical student offering up some information about science as it relates to gender and sex. My channel covers the subjects of embryology, endocrinology, genetics, and pharmacology to provide a foundation of knowledge with which to approach discussion related to the transgender community.

Randolf has a YouTube channel and is the founding President of the Canadian atheists, which aims to normalize atheism in Canadian society (and hopefully the world), and to present atheism in the best possible ways. He occasionally post videos, primarily where atheism is the subject matter, although he also cover other topics from time-to-time. If you'd like to discuss atheism or religion, or some other topic of interest, please feel free to contact him as I'd be happy to engage with you in a conversation or interview, or participate in a live debate.

Talking about how "people are more important than ideas" is an attitude he's been presenting from time-to-time in promoting atheism, and it's partly in response to the attitudes of some religious people who believe that all life should revolve around religious doctrine (which is a collection of ideas).

Randolf also touches on leadership, and encourage people to "be their own leaders" because in many scenarios leaders, despite even the best intentions, don't/can't have everyone's best interests at heart. While leaders do serve important functions, I feel that each person is ultimately in a potentially-better position to know what their own best interests actually are.

Ornella Matta-Figueroa is certified coach, working on a Ph.D in Mind-Body Medicine. Ornella was called to the healing path 5 years ago. Intuitive body and energy worker she has a calling to create spaces for healing, expression, connection, counsel, and integration. She is a collaborative and servant leader. Certified in Dancing Mindfulness and co-creator of Sacred Raves, Ornella has been supporting individuals as they address trauma in their bodies through movement and return to inner guidance. She finds most joy in creating containers for healing, using a mixture of spirit and research. She also sings and enjoys creating, sharing, and participating in music Ornella has dedicated her life to working with young people. Whether it be her own children or professionally the last 15 years has been focused on youth work in a variety of capacities. She has worked as a youth facilitator, director of programs, summer program coordinator, and as assistant director in higher education. Ornella feels excited to join the SafeArt team. She looks forward to a deepening connection with the team and participants so that she may support in the healing of trauma in our communities.

Connect with Ornella | @deciviling on Instagram, FB, & Twitter
Safeart | www.safeart.org
TuskegeeTrauma | https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm
Brene Brown | https://brenebrown.com/
Secular Humanism | https://secularhumanism.org/what-is-secular-humanism/

Lorena Garcia ran a powerful people centered campaign for US Senate in Colorado. Garcia has been working on the frontlines leading non-profit social justice policy advocacy organizations for the last fifteen years, fighting for equity, dignity, and justice for everyone, especially those who have been pushed to the margins. Being on the ground working directly with communities is her calling. As a veteran organizer, women’s rights activist and nonprofit administrator, she has worked in the interest of the public good throughout her career. As a 7th generation Coloradan on her father’s side and first generation on her mother’s side, Garcia’s family background mirrors many families in Colorado and across the country. Her commitment to the well-being of families can be tied back to her own as the youngest of six siblings and aunt of 16 nieces and nephews. She and her wife, Jaimi, have been married for seven years. Garcia has a Bachelor’s in film studies from CU Boulder and a MBA from the George Washington University.

Links:
NPR Article on Filibuster and Jim Crow connection | https://www.npr.org/2021/03/30/982411563/in-push-to-end-filibuster-democrats-point-to-its-civil-rights-era-history
Latino/Latina views on access to abortion | https://www.latinainstitute.org/en/latinopoll
Supreme Court will hear arguments in Mississippi abortion case challenging Roe v. Wade on Dec. 1 | https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/20/supreme-court-will-hear-mississippi-abortion-case-challenging-roe-v-wade-on-dec-1.html
Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition | https://coparentcoalition.org/
Xena Reference- Ep 2.17 The Execution | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751542/
Equal Rights Amendment | https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/
Ranked Choice Voting | https://www.rcvresources.org/
Media Literacy | https://adfontesmedia.com/summa-news-literacy-curriculum/
Weta | https://www.wetafx.co.nz
Interpretting Constitution | https://www.theodysseyonline.com/interpretations-constitution-originalism-textualism-pragmatism-stare-decisis

Miguel is a Commissioner at Colorado State Fair, Board Member at Coalition Against Global Genocide and On-Air Personality / Producer at Latin Life Denver. He has served on Dolores Huerta Foundation and Mi Casa Resource Center. He is an active participant in elections and has been in law enforcement and worked as a journalist.

Miguel's Facebook Page | https://www.facebook.com/MiguelBacaBarragan/about
Latinlife Denver | https://www.latinlifedenver.com/
Become an Elecation Judge | https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Office-of-the-Clerk-and-Recorder/Elections-Division/become-an-election-judge
COAGG | https://www.coagg.o

Desiree, co-founder of Grinding Stone Collective and producer of the First Foods Podcast, is a Miwok multimedia journalist, and a live-media event producer. You can see lots of her documentary photography now in the New Mexico Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, NM at the Beyond Standing Rock exhibit.

Some of her recent notable work is speaking at Princeton University in April 2019 and again in November 2020. With the Firestarter Films crew as an Associate Producer, Camera Operator and Investigative Journalist on the feature-length documentary film Akicita: The Battle of Standing Rock, our project premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. She was part of the organizing body the did Boulder Valley Indigenous People’s Day 2019, which was heavily focused on #MMIWG2S, the epidemic that takes so many lives of Native women, girls, and two spirits.
(Read her full bio here- https://bit.ly/3i57nVA)

Roger Wolsey (@RogerWolsey) is a Spiritual Director, United Methodist pastor, Speaker, Writer, and fellow Human. He leads with his heart to bring us into community with one another. A passionate advocate for social justice, Roger has the unique capacity to sit with the discomfort of difference. This allows him to move past the common reactions to find connections others might not be able to achieve. He writes for several online publications and published his first book, Kissing Fish, in 2011 and currently serves on the board of ProgressiveChristianity.org.

Erik and I invited them on the show because they are both inspiring humans who have developed the skills to engage folks effectively in the face of disinformation. Given everything we have been facing and expect to face, we thought other folks would appreciate the opportunity to learn from their experience and expertise.

Questions can be submitted before the event here: https://app.sli.do/event/jod8sbka #604434

Referenced items:

The illusion of explanatory depth (IoED), Do you understand how a zipper works?

First Foods- https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=230281248632461&ref=watch_permalink

Grindingstone- https://www.Grindingstone.org

What To Know About Disinformation History, Tactics, and Real-Life Examples- https://e-rosalie.medium.com/what-to-know-about-disinformation-history-tactics-and-real-life-examples-95ab13f0254

Books recommended on the show:
When Everything Matters by Dr Cindy Blackstock
The Way of Love by Bishop Michael Curry
Cult of Trump by Steven Hassan- https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Cult-of-Trump/Steven-Hassan/9781982127343

Vanessa Otero is the creator of the Media Bias Chart, and the Founder and CEO of Ad Fontes Media

A licensed patent attorney in the Denver, Colorado area, Vanessa holds a B.A. in English from UCLA and a J.D. from the University of Denver. Vanessa’s formal education and professional career has centered on analytical reading, writing and reasoning, creating an ideal background for her to create a content analysis methodology for evaluating text.

Alarmed by the unhealthy state of the media ecosystem, Vanessa used her expertise in content analysis to create the original Media Bias Chart in 2016. Then in 2018, she founded Ad Fontes Media to fulfill the need revealed by the popularity of the chart–namely, to meet the demand for a map to help people navigate the complex media landscape, and for comprehensive content analysis of media sources themselves. Today, Ad Fontes Media uses a systematic approach to content analysis in which a team of politically-balanced professional analysts examine and categorize news content creating data that is useful to news consumers, educators, marketers, and even publishers themselves. Ad Fontes also offers training in its content analysis methodology through products and services for educational institutions and for individuals.

Vanessa is on the Board of Directors of Community Radio for Northern Colorado and is on the Advisory Council of Media Literacy Now. Vanessa has also been published or featured in articles and blogs on news literacy, news bias and free speech, social media, and conspiracy theories. These sources have included the Poynter Institute, BigThink, MarketWatch, Lifehacker, City A.M. and more. She is a much sought-after speaker at national news literacy workshops and webinars, and presented a workshop at the Northeast Media Literacy Conference this past fall.

Vanessa is committed to making the world a better place with her passion and belief in decreasing the polarization in our news and our society, as well as educating students, teachers, and the public on the true value of media literacy and the importance of a healthy news ecosystem.

Follow and connect with Vanessa: @vlotero, @adfontesmedia, https://www.facebook.com/adfontesmedia, https://www.linkedin.com/company/adfontesmedia/
Promo: Sarah Wells http://www.liveworkdenver.com/

Selys Rivera considers herself to be a God-loving and social justice-obsessed chica originally from Puerto Rico. She has an undergraduate degree in English Writing and a graduate degree in Social Work. Her main goal is to write to inspire others, give a voice to issues she's passionate about, and help others along the way.

She's currently the author of An Unconscious Mestiza: A Collection of Memoir Stories, Rise in Love: A Poetry Chapbook, and Social Justice Advocacy 101: How to Become a Social Justice Advocate from A to Z. She's also a recipient of an Honorable Mention Award in the 2012 Boston Globe Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for her essay, "I Love You Infinity".

In her free time, you can find her reading any book she can get her hands on, staying up way too late coloring in her adult coloring book, and playing with her red Dachshund named Ketchup.

Website | https://www.worthareadtoo.com
Social Media Handle (FB, IG, Twitter, Goodereads) | @SelysRivera

Promo: Drinking and Dancing at the End of the World: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/drinking-and-dance-at-the-end-of-the-world/id1514691356
@rob_celtic Instagram