Shows
Stories That StaySeason One Finale: Reflections, Hope, and the Stories That Shape UsIn this season finale of Stories That Stay, hosts Dwight Dunston and Shamm Petros pause to reflect on the stories, insights, and moments of healing that shaped Season One. Rather than introducing a new guest, Dwight and Shamm turn toward one another—processing what they’ve learned, what surprised them, and what continues to give them hope.Throughout the conversation, they revisit key themes that emerged across the season: racial stress, identity, memory, resilience, and the power of storytelling as a tool for healing. They reflect on how stories can cause us to expand or contract—and how pa...
2026-01-0919 minStories That StayClaiming Worth: Dr. Darryl J. Ford on Race, Resilience, and a Generational Legacy of EducationIn this episode, co-hosts Shamm H. Petros and Dwight Dunston sit down with longtime educator and Quaker school leader Dr. Darryl J. Ford for an intimate reflection on early memories of race, difference, family legacy, and the practices that helped him navigate childhood and leadership.Dr. Ford traces the deep educational roots in his family—from a grandmother sent to a private girls’ school in the early 1900s, to elders like “Mama Irma” who shaped his understanding of service, to his own formative experiences in progressive and Quaker schools. He describes what it...
2025-12-1932 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeLove as a Transgressive Power: A Conversation with Zae Illo and Lisa GrausteinHow do we move beyond the "gatekeeping" of our institutions to practice a love that is truly transformative?In this soul-stirring conversation, host Dwight Dunston is joined by Zae Illo and Lisa Graustein to explore the intersection of spiritual practice and radical justice. Together, they challenge us to look beyond "market logic" and historical comfort to find a faith that meets people exactly where they are—on the streets, in the struggle, and in the heart.The episode grounds itself in the words of early Quakers Isaac Pennington, John Wo...
2025-12-1937 minStories That StayBrian Caselli Jordan: Holding Love and Accountability in Our First Stories of RaceIn this powerful episode, educator, musician, and longtime Lion’s Story trainer Brian Caselli Jordan takes us deep into one of his earliest memories of racial difference. What begins as a tender portrait of his Italian American grandfather expands into a layered exploration of inheritance, identity, silence, and the emotional weight of witnessing racism from someone you adore.Together with co-hosts Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston, Brian traces how this childhood moment shaped his understanding of race, family loyalty, grief, anger, and repair. He reflects on the contradictions in his lineage—his grandfather’s generosity and cr...
2025-12-0533 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeAlchemy of Love: Truth, Tenderness, and Transformation with Inaara Neal-Shiraz and ,OHow do we speak truth in love—and stay grounded in care, courage, and connection while doing so?In this powerful, heart-centered conversation, host Dwight Dunston is joined by two guests whose lives embody the practice of love as a healing force for justice: Inaara Neal-Shiraz and ,O. Together they explore what it means to balance bold truth-telling with tenderness, to hold anger and compassion in the same breath, and to become “alchemists” of our own emotions.The episode begins with a passage from the Pendle Hill pamphlet Nonviolence on Tri...
2025-11-2135 minStories That StayGrowing Up Biracial: Mona Norfleet on Healing and BelongingIn this episode of Stories That Stay, hosts Shamm H. Petros and Dwight Dunston talk with Mona Norfleet—equity advocate, writer, and community builder—about growing up biracial and finding belonging across cultures. Mona reflects on her biracial upbringing as the daughter of Mary Norfleet, an Italian American from the Bronx, and Tom Norfleet, a Black man from rural Alabama. Through tender reflection, Mona revisits her earliest memories of racial difference: her father’s warm brown hands and a painful moment of exclusion that reshaped her sense of self. With openness and courage, she exp...
2025-11-2137 minStories That StayThe Weight of Difference: Inua Ellams on Identity, Abandonment, and Creative SurvivalIn this episode of Stories That Stay, hosts Shamm H. Petros and Dwight Dunston sit down with Inua Ellams—poet, playwright, performer, and creative force—to explore the first edges of difference and the lifelong echoes of separation.At age four, Inua and his twin sister were placed in different classrooms. What began as a child’s tantrum became an early lesson in loss, identity, and independence. Through mindful reflection and somatic awareness, Inua revisits that moment and traces how it shaped his art, his sense of belonging, and his navigation of a world...
2025-11-0743 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeLisa Graustein & Dwight Dunston on Love, Power, and ArtIn this special mini-episode of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope, host Dwight Dunston reconnects with guest Lisa Graustein to explore how art, love, and power intertwine in daily life. Together, they reflect on the creative process as an act of resistance, connection, and renewal.Dwight shares his newest creative project—an emerging genre he calls “Anthropocene Hip-Hop,” a musical form that bridges the natural world, social justice, and lyrical artistry. “I’ve been a hip-hop artist for years,” Dwight says, “but this moment calls for music that recognizes our interconnectedness—with each other...
2025-11-0712 minStories That StayWonder and a Will to Live: Merrill Garbus on Whiteness, Grief, and PracticeIn this episode of Stories That Stay, hosts Shamm H. Petros and Dwight Dunston talk with musician and producer Merrill Garbus, the creative force behind Tune-Yards. Together they explore how early memories of difference—body, race, and class—shape our sense of belonging and the lifelong practice of racial literacy.Through honest reflection, Merrill names feelings of fear, avoidance, gratitude, grief, and curiosity, and locates where they live in her body. With Shamm and Dwight’s guidance, she practices staying with discomfort, noticing dissociation, and finding compassion in the act of awaren...
2025-10-2435 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeSarah Ruden on Truth, Power, and ResponsibilityWhat happens when sacred stories are used to justify oppression—and when telling the truth feels like rebellion?In this episode of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope, host Dwight Dunston speaks with Sarah Ruden, an award-winning translator, essayist, and Quaker writer whose work exposes how language, power, and faith intersect. Known for her acclaimed translations of The Aeneid, The Gospels, The Confessions of Augustine, and Perpetua: The Woman, the Martyr, Ruden brings deep historical insight and moral clarity to this conversation about love, responsibility, and truth.Drawing on the biblical st...
2025-10-2437 minStories That StayFrench Toast at Daycare: Osahon Tongo on Love, Care, and MemoryIn this episode of Stories That Say, hosts Shamm H Petros and Dwight Dunston engage with Emmy-winning filmmaker Osahan Tongo, exploring the intersection of identity, storytelling, and emotional healing. The conversation delves into Tongo's early memories of difference, the role of family in shaping identity, and the impact of food and care in relationships. Osahon Tongo traces an early memory—“French toast at daycare”—into a present-day meditation on love, parenting, food as care, and what it means to see “tears in the cape” of a parent. Osahon also reflects on family, migration, and stepping into responsibility as elders age...
2025-10-1038 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeThe Heart of Integrity: Niyonu Spann’s Vision for a Just FutureThis mini episode of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope revisits our most downloaded conversation across six seasons, featuring visionary leader Niyonu Spann. Through excerpts from her full episode, Niyonu shares what it means to live with integrity—wholeness, surrender, and alignment with purpose. She reflects on the origins of her transformative workshop, Beyond Diversity 101, and offers listeners practical invitations to embody integrity in their daily lives.About Niyonu Spann Niyonu Spann is a facilitator, musician, and community leader with decades of experience in and beyond Quaker institutions. As Dean at Pendle Hill in th...
2025-10-1013 minStories That StayLove, Protection, and the Weight of Racial Stress with Lisa Nelson-HaynesIn this powerful premiere of Stories That Stay, co-hosts Shamm Petros and Dwight Dunston converse with Lisa Nelson-Haynes—Executive Director of Lion’s Story and former Chief Programs Officer at StoryCorps—about a childhood memory that shaped her identity and her career. Lisa revisits a vivid moment when her father confronted racial disrespect, exploring how that act of love, protection, and trauma informed her journey. Their conversation weaves storytelling, emotion, and mindful reflection, illustrating how early experiences continue to inform our work toward healing and justice.Guest Bio: Lisa Nelson-HaynesLisa Nelson-Haynes leads Lion’s...
2025-09-2657 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeRecommit Every Day: Lisa Graustein on Love, Power, and BelongingIn this first full episode of Season Six of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope, host Dwight Dunston speaks with Lisa Graustein, a lifelong Quaker, educator, DEI facilitator, artist, and solo mom.Lisa reflects on the intersections of love, power, justice, and belonging. She shares stories of winding life paths, creating safer spaces, and the importance of daily recommitment to what matters most. Drawing on an Alice Walker quote about love activism, she reminds us that even in disorienting times, joy, truth, forgiveness, and care for the earth can ground us.Together, Dwight and Lisa...
2025-09-2634 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeCultivating Justice in a Broken World with Francisco BurgosSeason Six of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope begins with Francisco Burgos, Executive Director of Pendle Hill. Host Dwight Dunston and Francisco reflect on this season’s theme—love and power—inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?Dr. King wrote: “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”In this wide-ranging conversation...
2025-09-1244 minStories That StayStories That Stay: Promo One — Healing Through Identity and MemoryStories That Stay is a podcast where healing happens at the intersection of art, science, and storytelling. Hosted by therapist and strategist Shamm Petros and educator and artist Dwight Dunston, the show blends personal storytelling with mindfulness practices and over 35 years of racial literacy research from Lion’s Story.Each episode begins with the question: What is your earliest memory of race or difference? Guests—artists, educators, leaders, and everyday people—share moments that shaped their lives. Together, we explore how these stories of identity reveal paths toward resilience, growth...
2025-08-2501 min
Philadelphia Community PodcastWhat's Going On: APM Job Fair, The Wilma Theater’s "The Half-God of Rainfall," Spirit: A New Docuseries on Comcast’s Black ExperienceAPM Job Fair I speak with Nilda Ruiz, CEO of Asociación Puertorriqueños En Marcha (APM), about their upcoming job fair on February 27th, seeking passionate individuals to join APM’s Pradera adoption and foster care team. 📅 February 27, 2025⏰ 10 AM – 3 PM📍 2637 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19133📞 Call: 267-234-7427Info 🔗 More The Wilma Theater’s The Half-God of RainfallWe also explore The Wilma Theater’s regional premiere of The Half-God of Rainfall (Fe...
2025-02-2129 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeRadical Rest and Liberated Imagination with Alexx Temeña and Zenaida PetersonDwight Dunston speaks with Alexx Temeña, a somatic minister, ceremonial artist, and experiential educator, about the transformative power of rest and embodied practices in world-building. Alexx shares insights from her work with the School of Embodied Praxis and her interactive public sculpture, House of Kapwa, which honors Rest, ecological grief, and Filipino indigenous wisdom. Alexx explores how creating rituals and new frameworks can disrupt grind culture and cultivate a sense of safety, connection, and liberation.Later, Quaker poet and activist Zenaida Peterson offers three evocative poems that imagine liberated futures. Zenaida reflects o...
2025-01-1045 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeTrickery, Culture, and Power: Keil Troisi and Favianna Rodriguez on Creative ActivismDwight Dunston speaks with filmmaker and activist Keil Troisi about the transformative power of art and culture in world-building and social change. Keil shares his experiences with The Yes Men, an art-activism group that creatively disrupts corporate power to inspire long-term hope. They explore how humor, trickery, and creativity can drive real-world impact, especially in environmental and social justice movements.Favianna Rodriguez, an artist and cultural strategist, reads from her essay Harnessing Cultural Power to Heal the Planet and Ourselves, which appears in the anthology All We Can Save: Truth, Courage...
2024-12-1353 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeGuided Transmutations with eppchez yo-sí yesIn this episode, Dwight Dunston and eppchez yo-sí yes delve into the transformative potential of art. Drawing from experiences in reparations work and Quaker business settings, eppchez’s art seeks to disentangle integrity from perfection, instead calling for transmutation processes. This excerpt comes from The Seed Season Two Episode Three, “Integrity & Transmutation: Moving Beyond Cultures of Domination with eppchez yo-sí yes” With “Guided Transmutations,” an interactive audio experiment, eppchez invites us to address this transformation inwardly: What would it look like to move beyond cultures and cycles of domination? How can we use noticing practices in our communities b...
2024-11-2909 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeIrish Roots and Radical Hope with Manchán Magan and Shirley Anne McMillanDwight Dunston brings listeners into a reflective discussion with two Irish writers, Manchán Magan and Shirley Anne McMillan, as they explore Ireland's divided history, cultural resilience, and visions for a more harmonious future.As Manchán and Shirley explore their different experiences growing up in Ireland, they find common ground in their hopes for a peaceful future that honors Ireland's cultural roots and builds a more connected, ecologically balanced society. Their conversations with Dwight reflect visions of Ireland where historical wounds are acknowledged, and diverse identities and histories are woven into a shared, harmonious future....
2024-11-1551 min
Quakers TodayPalestine, Food, and Memory with Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu LabanIn this special episode of Quakers Today, we share a conversation from The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope. Host Dwight Dunston speaks with Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu Laban, an educator, writer, and former principal at Ramallah Friends School. From her home in Ramallah, Dr. Kafri Abu Laban reveals how Palestinian cuisine is deeply tied to identity, history, and resilience. Despite the challenges of forced displacement and cultural appropriation, Palestinian food remains a bridge to the past and a testament to memory, resistance, and celebration. The Seed podcast is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker study, retreat, and conference...
2024-11-1217 minQuakers TodayPalestine, Food, and Memory with Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu LabanIn this special episode of Quakers Today, we share a conversation from The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope. Host Dwight Dunston speaks with Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu Laban, an educator, writer, and former principal at Ramallah Friends School. From her home in Ramallah, Dr. Kafri Abu Laban reveals how Palestinian cuisine is deeply tied to identity, history, and resilience. Despite the challenges of forced displacement and cultural appropriation, Palestinian food remains a bridge to the past and a testament to memory, resistance, and celebration. The Seed podcast is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker study, retreat, and conference...
2024-11-1217 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeWorld Building with Francisco BurgosEpisode Summary:In this opening episode of Season 5 of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope, host Dwight Dunston speaks with Francisco Burgos, Executive Director of Pendle Hill, about the theme of world-building. They explore what it means to co-create new systems rooted in cooperation, reciprocity, and love. Francisco reflects on his experiences at Pendle Hill, his childhood in the Dominican Republic, and the prophetic witness that inspires his work.In addition, Dwight introduces the exciting changes in Season 5. These changes include a second guest in each episode who will bring a reflection, s...
2024-09-2032 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeAnnouncing Season 5 World-Building and Imagination🌱 Welcome to Season 5 of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope! 🌱In this special promo, host Dwight Dunston invites you into a season focused on world-building and imagination, exploring the deep questions about the future we envision and how we can start living it today. This season is packed with inspiring conversations, reflections, and new features designed to expand your sense of justice, love, and peace.🎙️ Episode Highlights:Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu Laban shares a powerful and personal perspective from Ramallah, Palestine, reflecting on the stru...
2024-09-1805 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeWelcome to Season 4: Gratitude, Grief, and Navigating Uncertainty with Francisco BurgosIn this opening episode of Season 4, Dwight and Francisco discuss grief, gratitude, staying grounded amidst uncertainty and polarization, and the guiding queries and themes of the season. Dwight Dunston is a West Philly-based facilitator, hip-hop artist, educator, and activist who has brought his creativity, care, and compassion to schools, community centers, retirement homes, festivals, and stadiums all over the country and internationally. Francisco Burgos is the executive director at Pendle Hill and has facilitated spiritual retreats and lectio divina sessions for many audiences. Francisco was a De La Salle Christian Brother...
2024-03-1917 min
Breathing WindSpaces of Witness and Belonging“I think runners, by nature, have this environment of excitement and energy and support just built into a race. It doesn't matter how fast you're running. You're just all together and you're all part of this big happy bubble of energy. It's always a feeling of belonging.” — Sarah Davis In this week’s episode, we reflect on our conversation with hip-hop artist, educator, facilitator and activist Dwight Dunston. His faithfulness in honoring his grief moved us both, as well as his openness to feeling joy, gratitude and reverence for life alongside, and in the midst of, prof...
2023-11-0744 min
Breathing WindTenderness and Reverence in Grief and Joy“I have never been more practiced in honoring my grief, and I truly have never had more gratitude and joy and reverence for life…When you really feel into grief, my experience is you’re able to love and feel a part of the life force that moves through all living things.” ~ Dwight Dunston In our season 5 opener, artist, educator and activist Dwight Dunston reflects on his first big love and loss, the death of his grandmother Mamie Donald, when he was 10. He shares how that grief continues to shape how he shows up in the world...
2023-10-2539 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeWelcome to Season 3: Nurturing Our Spirits, Cultivating Hope with Francisco BurgosSeason 3 is here! As we begin to explore the practices that enrich our connections to ourselves and to each other, Dwight and Francisco share what's been spiritually nurturing them, their relationships to community, and their understandings of radical hope.Read the transcript of this episode. –Dwight Dunston, host of The Seed, is a West Philly-based facilitator, hip-hop artist, educator, and activist who has brought his creativity, care, and compassion to schools, community centers, retirement homes, festivals, and stadiums all over the country and internationally. His love of pe...
2023-07-2517 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeWelcome to the Integrity Season with Francisco Burgos and Host Dwight DunstonWhy a podcast season on the Quaker testimony of integrity? What makes it relevant now? Host Dwight Dunston and Pendle Hill executive director Francisco Burgos give an introduction of the Quaker testimony of integrity and offer their definitions and groundings. Francisco interviews Dwight about the testimony’s relevance to community and authenticity, Dwight’s experience recording The Seed’s second season, and what listeners can expect from upcoming episodes.Read the transcript of this episode.Dwight Dunston is a West Philly-based facilitator, hip-hop artist, educator, and activist who has bro...
2023-02-2014 minQuakers TodayQuakers and FictionIn this episode of Quakers Today we ask, “What is a fictional story that has inspired you or challenged your world view?”
Writer Anne E.G. Nydam reads an excerpt from her short story, “The Conduits.” You can read the entire story in the November 2022 Fiction edition of Friends Journal. Click here to hear Anne reading the whole story. Visit nydamprints.com to learn about Anne E.G. Nydam’s block prints and books.
Cai Quirk, a trans and genderqueer photographer, focuses on the intersections of gender diversity and spirituality throughout history. Through the QuakerSpeak video, The S...
2022-11-1522 minQuakers TodayQuakers and FictionIn this episode of Quakers Today we ask, “What is a fictional story that has inspired you or challenged your world view?”
Writer Anne E.G. Nydam reads an excerpt from her short story, “The Conduits.” You can read the entire story in the November 2022 Fiction edition of Friends Journal. Click here to hear Anne reading the whole story. Visit nydamprints.com to learn about Anne E.G. Nydam’s block prints and books.
Cai Quirk, a trans and genderqueer photographer, focuses on the intersections of gender diversity and spirituality throughout history. Through the QuakerSpeak video, The S...
2022-11-1522 min
The Seed: Conversations for Radical HopeWelcome to The Seed: Dreams and Visions with Francisco Burgos and Host Dwight DunstonCan a podcast be a seed for social and individual healing? How can we expand Pendle Hill conversations?—Welcome to The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope! In our opening episode, host Dwight Dunston and Pendle Hill executive director Francisco Burgos share their dreams for The Seed. Can a podcast be a seed for social healing? How can we expand Pendle Hill's conversations and spaces of transformation to continue building Beloved Community with a new medium? Dwight and Francisco discuss their own relationships to spirituality, activism, and Pendle Hill and attempt to answer the qu...
2022-10-0225 min
She ExploresVoices from PGM ONEWhat changes about the environmental movement when people of color are both the leaders and the audience? We teamed up with REI to send writer Amanda Machado to the third annual PGM ONE Summit in Philadelphia to answer that question first hand.
Recorder in hand, Amanda talked to outdoor educators, social entrepreneurs, nonprofit workers, artists, healers, and activists. She shares what was healing for the attendees, why this conference (and others like it) is a necessity for the environmental movement, what they want those who didn't attend to know, and how we can all learn from the...
2019-06-1049 min
Couch Rider ReportOn the Couch w/Gregory DunstonDamian is joined by the new mainstay Gregory Dunston to discuss everything NBA with the draft a day away. Topics range from:
1. NBA Draft
-Under the radar prospects
-Boom or Bust prospects
-Projected winners of the draft
-Lonzo vs Fox rivalry?
2. NBA Off-season
-Dwight Howard trade
-Lakers trades & rumors
2017-06-221h 15
Kid GogglesKid Goggles #3: Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers w/ Dwight Dunston (Hardwork Movement)Ep03: Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers w/ Dwight Dunston (Hardwork Movement)
Dwight Dunston of the hip-hop ensemble, Hardwork Movement, talks about his love the original 1994 Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers movie. Who’s the best ranger? What does Olivia Benson have to do with the Power Rangers? Is Ivan Ooze a formidable opponent? And what the f*** is that kid’s name!?
Source: Kid Goggles
2017-04-211h 43
Kid GogglesKid Goggles #3: Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers w/ Dwight Dunston (Hardwork Movement)Ep03: Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers w/ Dwight Dunston (Hardwork Movement) Dwight Dunston of the hip-hop ensemble, Hardwork Movement, talks about his love the original 1994 Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers movie. Who’s the best ranger? What does Olivia Benson have to do with the Power Rangers? Is Ivan Ooze a formidable Read more…
2017-04-2100 min