Shows
The Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 143: Eclipse Vibes, Podcast Updates, and Reflections on Self-LoveSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this more intimate episode, April shares reflections from her living room and unveils exciting updates about the evolution of the Joyous Justice Podcast. From the recent and upcoming introduction of guest speakers to new series focused on social justice leaderships and diverse healing modalities, among other topics, April offers a glimpse into the expansive vision guiding the podcast forward.She also shares some key insights regarding the power of self-love and self-acceptance, inviting you to consider this specific and important element of...2025-03-2722 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 142: Black Women & Vashti Vindicated, Part 2, with jesi "rocki" taylorSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this episode, Kohenet April N. Baskin and poet, archivist, and visionary jesi "rocki" taylor dive into a rich and layered conversation about disposability and extraction of black and global majority leaders, power, and the complexities of identity, as inspired by the limited, but potent lore surrounding Vashti. Together they explore the ways harm is named and weaponized, the nature of joy as a liberatory force, and the systemic patterns of extractive labor in justice work. This is a conversation th...2025-03-151h 13The Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 141: Black Women & Vashti Vindicated, Part 1: Acknowledging Pet to Threat & Countering DisposabilitySend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅What happens when those who were once celebrated as respected and promising leaders become seen as threats? What happens when institutions benefit from the labor of Black women and and other leaders with marginalized identities, only to discard them once they begin to achieve what they were hired to do? In this revelatory episode, April N. Baskin explores Vashti’s erasure—not just as a biblical anecdote, but as a recurring pattern in movements, organizations, and professional spaces today, especially for Black women.2025-03-1316 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 140: Embodying Peace in the Face of Trump's F*ckerySend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In a powerful comeback episode, April N. Baskin unpacks the roots of her deep, intentional peace amid the chaos of Trump’s 2nd presidential term. Balancing raw emotion with spiritual insight, she shares how various factors and strategies have properly resourced her to fundamentally withstand oppressive forces without sacrificing her inner calm. With a mix of fierce honesty and gentle invitation, April lays out why embracing this peace is an intentional, revolutionary act—and she lets you know how you can join the conversation throug...2025-02-2732 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEP 139: A New Dawn, Not a Farewell: April's Solo-Hosting Journey & Tracie’s Evolving RoleSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this captivating episode 139 of the Joyous Justice Podcast, a pivotal moment unfolds as April Baskin and Tracie Guy Decker delve into a heartfelt and transformative discussion: They unveil significant changes that will shape the future of the podcast, marking a new era in their journey of advocacy and growth. This episode is not just an update; it's a reflection of resilience, the power of collaboration, and the beauty of evolving paths. As April takes a bold step in a new direction, an...2024-01-1831 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 138 - Accessing Onramps, Playing w Pilots, and Allowing ShiftSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅SummaryIn this episode, Kohenet April Nichole Baskin discusses the concept of on-ramps and piloting in relation to personal growth and transitions. She explores the idea of using the new year as an opportunity for reflection and experimentation, emphasizing the importance of spacious on-ramps and the value of piloting different practices as needed. April shares her personal experiences with navigating difficult circumstances and the lessons she has learned from floating and pivoting. She encourages you to embrace or...2023-12-1935 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 137: Intentional, Visionary Leadership IS Pragmatic and Practical!Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅Join recently-ordained Kohenet April Nichole Baskin in a captivating examination and reconsideration of what often gets classified as "pragmatic" or "practical." April delves into the transformative power of mindfulness about language and advocates for a reframe, or at the least, thoughtful consideration of what we label as "pragmatic" and "practical." She asserts that visionary, strategic thinking and action that challenges conventional mindsets can, in fact, be some of the most pragmatic and practical thinking and actions we can employ. This episode is a...2023-12-0726 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 136: Trauma-informed vs Trauma-agileSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this episode (recorded as an Instagram Live before April's Kohenet ordination), April unpacks and examines the buzzword term "trauma-informed." Thinking and talking about trauma has become more and more common. While this is, generally speaking, a good thing, it's important--especially with something fraught, fragile, and potentially triggering--for us to be clear about what we mean, what is possible, and what is safe. April offers a new term, "trauma-agile," to help make things clear. Discussion and reflection questions:What in this...2023-09-2149 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 135: Making Room for Our Whole SelvesSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅The limits our circumstances can place on us often creep in incrementally until we wake up one day and realize we aren’t allowing our full selves to shine. Originally an Instagram Live, this episode finds April reminding herself she can and has created space for what she wants and who she is. There is room for our whole selves in this big wide world–if we’re courageous enough to claim the space. Discussion and reflection questions:What in this epis...2023-05-2532 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 135: Making Room for Our Whole SelvesThe limits our circumstances can place on us often creep in incrementally until we wake up one day and realize we aren’t allowing our full selves to shine. Originally an Instagram Live, this episode finds April reminding herself she can and has created space for what she wants who she is. There is room for our whole selves in this big wide world–if we’re courageous enough to claim the space. Discussion and reflection questions:What in this episode is new for you? What have you learned and how does it land?What is...2023-05-2532 min
What’s Next?Buffalo, What's Next? | A Discussion with Erie County Legislature Chairwoman April BaskinJay Moran is joined by Erie County Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin. We speak to Chairwoman Baskin about recent County initiatives.2023-05-2455 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 134: Belonging To Myself FirstSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this contemplative episode, April reflects on key insights she gained while on vacation. Rest and fun opened up the truth that despite leaning into heart- and spirit-led living, there is still more room–and even an obligation–to be fully and truly oneself. Movement toward that truth can feel scary, since humans sometimes (often?) compromise who we are in service to belonging. But belonging based on censoring our true selves is not true belonging. Discussion and reflection questions:What in this ep...2023-04-1344 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 132: Reflections on Becoming, Healing, & Taking the PlungeSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this vulnerable episode, April shares recent experiences uncovering and working to heal old wounds including feelings of rage, betrayal, and fear. She shares details of fear she’s been navigating and ways it’s been holding her back and that she’s ready to let go of. For April, transparency around her process of feeling and transmuting suffering toward healing is a strategic move to help counter the perception that to have joy we must deny or ignore suffering. Discussion and reflectio...2023-03-3039 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 131: What does resilience serve?Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅Resilience has gotten a bad rap recently. The ability to “bounce back” has been conflated with the requirement to bounce back into oppressive dynamics. But it’s those oppressive dynamics, not the bouncing back, that’s ultimately the problem. In this episode, April explores the difference between the gift of resilience and the ways in which it has been weaponized by capitalist and neo-colonialist contexts, and previews the work she’ll be leading in the Redefining Resilience workshop next week.Secure your s...2023-03-1620 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 130: Healing your relationship with thriving for long-term sustainability and successSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this episode of The Joyous Justice Podcast, host April Baskin talks about our relationship with thriving, why so many of us have a bad relationship, and how we can start healing it.Our relationship with the concept of thriving begins when we are very young and money is one of the core areas where we have the most negative programming. As adults, we must evaluate our beliefs associated with thriving, question them, and do the inner work. Healing your relationship with th...2023-03-0946 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 129: Making Space for UnfurlingSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In today’s conversation, we’re thinking about the difference between making something happen, and making space to see what happens. We explore the transition journeys we are both on, the messaging that April is receiving from her body and the Divine while she navigates being sick, the need to slow down when in the midst of massive transformation. Discussion and reflection questions:What in this episode is new for you? What have you learned and how does it land?Wh...2023-03-0245 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 128: A Season of Joyous Justice TransitionsSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this special conversation, we share some important announcements about transitions that all three members of the Joyous Justice team are embarking upon. In this season of emergence and introspection, all of our transitions are both unique, and sacredly timed and interwoven. April also describes how she’s releasing shame around how her mind works. And, we share our appreciation for Joyous Justice, this podcast, and the potent transformation that we’ve experienced and is to come.Discussion and reflection questi...2023-02-2330 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 120: Key Insights for Overcoming Systemic Oppression - The Candle EffectSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅🌟 In Episode 120 of the Joyous Justice Podcast, during this season of short days where light becomes a precious commodity, hosts April Baskin and Tracie Guy Decker delve into the transformative power of light as a metaphor for change. This isn't just a conversation; it's a journey through the dynamics of personal and systemic transformation. Discover how uncovering and uniting our individual lights can overpower the darkness of systemic oppression and societal challenges. This episode tackles the profound idea that the energy...2022-12-2941 min
Drinking and Drashing: Torah with a TwistEp. 306 - Toldot with April Baskin and Tracie Guy-DeckerWhat happens when our origin stories don’t really present us in the best light—or even shows us as characters that we don’t identify with? When stories are often shared by “the winners” or the people who wield power, there’s a lot of missed or erased history—all of which influence our greater Genesis understandings. Luckily for us, we were able to learn from April Baskin and Tracie Guy-Decker of Joyous Justice acclaim—how to step back, look around, and listen in order to lift up diverse voices. It’s okay to struggle with our stories—but the Joyous Justi...2022-11-2147 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 107: Forgiveness without Apology?Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅“You are not obligated to forgive someone who has offered neither apology nor repair.” This opinion is one both April and Tracie have received at different points in their lives, and which is surfacing now as we approach the high holy days. And though we both needed to hear that message when it was delivered, we’re also realizing that it is not the end of the story. The longing for healing and wholeness after hurt has us looking for a third way–a path towar...2022-09-2246 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 106: “Oh, the world (and Joyous Justice) is changing!”Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅As April sings at the beginning of the episode, “Oh, the world (and Joyous Justice) is changing, and I am changing too.” This week, we’re getting a glimpse into April’s mind and spirit around the multi-year journey she’s been on to shape Joyous Justice as a bold, leading-edge organization in and for the Jewish community. Follow along as April describes how she’s now more fully equipped to step into a larger, broader vision for the scope and impact of her voice and the...2022-09-1525 min