Shows
Healing HorizonsSelf-Care, Joy & Collective Liberation: Why Healing is Essential for Justice with KOHENET APRIL N. BASKINIn the fight for justice, why do so many activists and changemakers sacrifice their own well-being? In this episode of Healing Horizons, host Saima welcomes KOHENET APRIL N. BASKIN , a transformational leader in racial and social justice, faith-based activism, and holistic healing. April’s work spans over 300 organizations, pioneering trauma-informed healing strategies to create sustainable change.
She shares a radical perspective: self-care isn’t selfish—it’s a revolutionary act. Through her Grounded & Growing coaching program, April helps leaders embrace holistic healing to stay resilient while fighting for justice. This conversation explores the deep connection between personal healing an...2025-03-2622 min
The 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. 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 min
The Light Lab PodcastEpisode 41: Joyous Justice (with April N. Baskin)This week, we are honored to bring you our interview with organizer, coach, and leader April N. Baskin. April is the founder and CEO of Joyous Justice, a “multiracial community-powered social justice and spiritual transformation organization that seeds and leads systemic change and healing.” We explore the intersection of justice work and spirituality, her path to becoming a Kohenet, and the work of “coming home.”
How do you access spiritual sustenance?
Check out this week’s show notes on our website.
Follow us on facebook and instagram @thelight.lab. Join our facebook group to connect ar...2023-03-231h 12The Joyous Justice PodcastEp 108: A Full Accounting of the SoulSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅A few days into the new Jewish year, we connect to reflect on what we learned in our Elul offerings, and to offer some lessons about the practice of cheshbon hanefesh, or accounting of the soul. Taking cues from the English word accounting, we play with what it means to have an accurate assessment of our liabilities and our strengths. How can we counter the social conditioning that discourages celebrating progress (and why is it important?)? Share your insights or ask us...2022-09-2944 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 104: Elul, the Shofar, and Awakeness (Reprise)Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this week’s episode, we’re bringing back some wisdom from last year’s Elul episode and reflecting on the meaning of this month in the Jewish calendar that leads up to Rosh HaShanah and the high holidays. This time of anticipation calls us to prepare ourselves spiritually for the new year. We talk about the symbolic meanings of the holiday and how the ritual of hearing the shofar can be a powerful call to being “awake.” And, we’re excited to he...2022-09-0129 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 103: We're renaming the podcast!Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅This week, we’re having this big and exciting conversation in the same room (a first for the podcast!). We’re entering the next iteration for Joyous Justice and the podcast and opening up about our thinking. Reflecting our growth, Jews Talk Racial Justice will soon have a new name: the Joyous Justice Podcast. We also get into how they developed the SHEMA process (from our Grounded & Growing program), April’s broader vision of Joyous Justice, integrating decolonized spiritual practices and living wholeheartedly while bringing...2022-08-2550 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp. 99: Meditation and Courage: Wholeness For the WinSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In today’s conversation, Tracie recounts how the meditation practice that is part of her karate class–and the transcendence that has eventually come with it–is a growing edge for her. It validated something April has known and been teaching for a while – that spiritual work is not divorced from justice work. In fact, spirituality, healing, and well-being are integral to justice work. Interested in joining our Grounded & Growing, Shift Your Life in 60 Days cohort, or any of our other programs? Fill out th...2022-07-2824 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 90: The Shmita Year, the Year of Release (MVP)Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅We're rounding off this month's MVPs (most valuable podcasts) with a conversation about the Shmita year (if you haven't been commemorating it, don't worry! There's still time!). As we’re In our current pandemic-, racism-, and climate-change-ravaged times, April and Tracie talk about the Shmita Year, or Sabbatical Year, which we just began at Rosh Hashanah. How does one live out the values of the Shmita year when most of us are no longer working as farmers in the fields? They discuss how we can...2022-05-2535 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 57: The Shmita Year, the Year of ReleaseSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In our current pandemic-, racism-, and climate-change-ravaged times, April and Tracie talk about the Shmita Year, or Sabbatical Year, which we just began at Rosh Hashanah. How does one live out the values of the Shmita year when most of us are no longer working as farmers in the fields? They discuss how we can use this particular moment to lean into its themes, reconnect with the Earth, and find greater balance in what we endeavor to control and what we allow to happen or...2021-10-0734 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 49: Elul, the Shofar, and AwakenessSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In this week’s episode, we reflect on the meaning of Elul, the month in the Jewish calendar that leads up to Rosh HaShanah and the high holidays. This time of anticipation calls us to prepare ourselves spiritually for the new year. We talk about the symbolic meanings of the holiday and how the ritual of hearing the shofar can be a powerful call to being “awake.” Check out our discussion/reflection questions for this episode: www.joyousjustice.com/blog/jews-talk...2021-08-1229 minThe Joyous Justice PodcastEp 21: Tu B'Shevat and the Wisdom of TreesSend us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅In honor of the New Year of Trees, April and Tracie take some time to think about what we have to learn from trees. From rootedness to developmental stages in a life cycle to the capacity to be kind, trees model some key lessons for humans.Find April and Tracie's full bios and submit topic suggestions for the show at www.JewsTalkRacialJustice.comLearn more about Joyous Justice where April is the founding and fabulous (!) director and Tracie is a se...2021-01-2817 min