Shows
The Deep End Friends PodcastSeason 4 Episode 7: Davia AntoniaThis episode was recorded in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica with relocation specialist Davia Antonia. You can find her at https://lifeaholiccostarica.com/ .
2022-10-021h 17
The Deep End Friends PodcastSeason 4 Episode 6: Leilani MañuluLeilani is a shaman and leadership visionary, interpreting messages from the unseen to bring more joy, balance, and hope to our world. She is the author of “Paradox of the Water Bearer” and the host of The Intuitive Catalyst podcast. Leilani is a leadership expert and executive coach, supporting and guiding intuitive leaders in reconnecting with their spiritual truth in service of guiding their organizations to be more intuitive, imaginative, and heart-centered.
2022-09-2558 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastSeason 4 Episode 5: Sonora JhaSonora Jha is the author of the memoir How to Raise a Feminist Son (2021) and the novel Foreign (2013). After a career as a journalist covering crime, politics, and culture in India and Singapore, she moved to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in media and public affairs. Sonora’s OpEds, essays, and public appearances have featured in the New York Times, on BBC, and elsewhere. She is a professor of journalism and lives in Seattle. Her new novel, The Laughter, is forthcoming from Harper Via in early 2023.
2022-09-1859 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastSeason 4 Episode 4: Howie Echo-HawkHowie Echo-Hawk has a lot of names and does a lot of things. They are one of the human beings, as (hopefully) are you. Music, words, jokes, laughter, joy, dancing, being hot are among her many activities. Howie produces events and art with Indigenize Productions, makes music and art under the name “there’s more,” and has so many instagrams that at this point it’s become a little unwieldy. After years and years of being a cynic, they now believe firmly that there’s more to life, there’s more to us, there’s just more. But mostly, they want to go b...
2022-09-1155 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastSeason 4 Episode 3: Mari ShibuyaMari Shibuya (they/she) (Duwamish / Coast Salish territory) is a Visual and Social Artist specializing in murals, community visioning through the arts, and scribing. Their work focuses on the intersection of public art activation, visual thinking and creative empowerment while inviting in the spirit of collaboration and connection.
2022-09-0455 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastSeason 4 Episode 2: Dr. Alexis Pauline GumbsShake a tambourine for Black Feminism! Sista Docta Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a Queer Black Troublemaker and Black Feminist Love Evangelist and an aspirational cousin to all sentient beings. Her work in this lifetime is to facilitate infinite, unstoppable ancestral love in practice. She leads retreats and has published several books. Find out more here: https://www.alexispauline.com/about
2022-08-2159 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastSeason 4 Episode 1: We're Back! Now what? What now?After a two year gap we are back. We've missed you. Check in on what Anastacia and Reagan have been up to during the pandemic and how we're framing our 4th and final season.
2022-08-1252 min
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series126. The Deep End Friends Podcast: Black HealingThe Deep End Friends podcast is an exploration of liberation, healing, hope, joy, and wholeness. What does it mean to be free? What are Black people doing to heal themselves and the world? Hear from incredible people from all walks of life about their journeys, what they are doing to thrive and how they are contributing to broader movements of empowerment and liberation. Co-hosts Reagan Jackson and Anastacia-Renee joined us via livestream to record a live episode of Deep End Friends featuring a wide range of unique perspectives about Black healing, including anthropology student Mary Hall-Williams; movement artist...
2020-09-252h 16
The Deep End Friends PodcastBlack Healing Live from Town Hall PT 2- Rocky Lester and Taqueet$On Sept 6, 2020 The Deep End hosted it's Season 3 Finale livestreaming through Seattle Town Hall. The theme was Black healing and we interviewed Mary Williams, Victoria Santos, Rocky Lester, and Taqueet$. Mary Williams is an anthropology student at the University of Washington who is studying coping strategies for viral Black death. She is the co-founder of Blackout Healing and co-organized the Blackout of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest on Juneteenth, re-center the protest on Black healing and Black lives from Black death. Victoria Santos is the Co-director of Young Women Empowered. She is a healer and t...
2020-09-2100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastBlack Healing live from Seattle Town Hall PT1On Sept 6, 2020 The Deep End hosted it's Season 3 Finale livestreaming through Seattle Town Hall. The theme was Black healing and we interviewed Mary Williams, Victoria Santos, Rocky Lester, and Taqueet$. Mary Williams is an anthropology student at the University of Washington who is studying coping strategies for viral Black death. She is the co-founder of Blackout Healing and co-organized the Blackout of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest on Juneteenth, re-center the protest on Black healing and Black lives from Black death. Victoria Santos is the Co-director of Young Women Empowered. She is a healer and t...
2020-09-2100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastB.J. StarBJ STAR (they/them) is an experience designer, facilitator, and consultant invested in transformational learning, building powerful teams, and transitioning to a life-affirming society. BJ began as a trainer with Generation Waking Up and The Work That Reconnects, and has grown several organizations that strengthen Black, POC, womxn, and youth leadership throughout the country. Today they are an independent facilitator at BJSTAR Consulting and a member of the Wildfire Project. BJ currently supports organizations such as Young Women’s Leadership, Healing Justice Podcast, Color of Change, 350.org, SustainUS, National Bail Out, OPAL Environmental Justice, and Amazon Employees fo...
2020-05-1000 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastPaulina LopezOriginally from Ecuador, Paulina has made Seattle her home over the past 15 years and has been with DRCC/TAG for eight years. Paulina has over 25 years of experience working with issues of civil rights, social justice, equity, education, and diversity. She has and continues to demonstrate commitment and engagement in the community through the advocacy of multiple important civic policies including access to a safe, clean environment for families in the area. Paulina created and co-led our Duwamish Valley Youth Corps Program and worked as a Community Engagement Director, advocating for community members to participate in the...
2020-04-2600 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastSusan BalbasSusan Balbas is the co-founder and executive director of Na’ah Illahee Fund (Mother Earth in the Chinook language), a Seattle-based nonprofit organization with a mission to support and promote the leadership of Indigenous womxn in the ongoing regeneration of Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Teaching. Her career has been within nonprofit and business management, and she has served on multiple boards and committees locally and nationally. Susan is active within climate, environmental and social justice movements as well as in philanthropy.
2020-04-1900 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastBrenetta Ward Brenetta Ward is a Seattle-based fiber artist and third generation quilter. Her work has been exhibited at the National Afro-American Museum; Textile Center: A National Center for Fiber Art; Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery; Tacoma Art Museum; Northwest African American Museum and Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Selected pieces have been published in Spirits of the Cloth and included in public and private collections. As a fiber artist, she believes quilts have the power to nurture our spiritual needs for creativity, beauty and comfort.
2020-04-1200 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastDre Say and Jacqueline WuDre Say is really beyond their ancestor’s wildest dreams. They are a member of the CID [Chinatown/International District] Coalition and also a member of Got Green. Dre’s primary interests are engaging people disconnected from politics and organizing, and fighting against displacement in South Seattle. Jacqueline Wu is a second-generation Chinese-Filipino American, who was born and raised in Los Angeles. She moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington for undergraduate where she majored in American Ethnic Studies and History (Honors). During undergraduate, Jacqueline interned with OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocate Greater Seattle Chapter (formerly know...
2020-04-0500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEpisode 12: Loretta RossLoretta J. Ross is a Visiting Professor of Practice in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University teaching "Reproductive Justice Theory and Practice" and "Race and Culture in the U.S." for the 2018-2019 academic year. Previously, she was a Visiting Professor at Hampshire College in Women's Studies for the 2017-2018 academic year teaching "White Supremacy in the Age of Trump." She was a co-founder and the National Coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective from 2005-2012, a network founded in 1997 of women of color and allied organizations that organize women of color in the r...
2020-03-2900 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastDr. Carl LivingstonCarl Livingston is the lead professor in the Political Science Department at Seattle Central College (SCC). A graduate of Notre Dame Law School, he has been an adjunct Business Law professor at Seattle Pacific University’s School of Business and at South Seattle College. He was chair of the panel appointed by the Seattle City Council that reported on the inadequate preparations of the 1999 WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle. Carl is the author of a scholarly article entitled “Affirmative Action on Trial: The Retraction of Affirmative Action and the Case for its Retention” published by the Howard Law Journal publis...
2020-03-2200 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastMaritess ZurbanoMaritess Zurbano is the only Filipino-American magician in history. She performs and lectures on magic around the world. Her prose has won awards and grants including a Hedgebrook Residency. Her performances, plays, and prose details how she became a Las Vegas magician in a male-dominated field. These works have been produced in NYC theater festivals and across the country. Her books are currently being shopped to publishers, and opinion pieces at Ms. Magazine and The Seattle Times. Her play, "Make Maritess Zurbano Disappear" runs March 8-10 in Seattle. She's also working on a YA novel and her second memoir
2020-03-1500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastPatricia Valentine JonesPatricia Valentine Jones was born and raised in Chowchilla, California. She moved to Sacramento in 1960, married and had two daughters. As a young person she sang in a 125 voice community choir. The Voices of Inspiration traveled to Seattle to sing at the worlds fair in 1962. Little did she know she would move to Seattle in 1982 to marry and live. She began her work career as a Cosmetologist in California and continued her profession in Seattle at a couple salons around town. Patricia worked as a house cleaner with “Extra Hands” to learn her way around Seattle. She then returned to Beauty...
2020-03-0800 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastNatasha Ria El-ScariNatasha Ria El-Scari is a writer, Cave Canem fellow, and educator for over a decade. Her poetry, academic papers, and personal essays have been published in anthologies, literary, online journals and even as decor in a restaurant in London. She has opened for and introduced many great writers, singers and activists, and has been featured at a host of universities and venues nationwide. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Natasha has a BA from Jackson State University and a MA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Natasha’s Black Feminist approach is reflected in her writing, poetry and per...
2020-02-2300 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastLashanna WilliamsLashanna (she/her) is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Washington’s own Northwest Academy for the Healing Arts. During a massage, her goal is always a flowing conversation between her hands and your tissue. "My touch is not a pointed deep touch, yet we access deep tissues without you leaving in pain. Causing pain is counter-intuitive to how I want to walk this life. " Lashanna practices from an in home studio that creates an environment that bathes you with light energy. The grounds are lush with herb and vegetable gardens, chickens and love. Access to he...
2020-02-1600 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastOmitosin FayemiThere are times when just one healing practice or modality won’t achieve the balance and healing that some need. Omitosin, The Spiritual Curator, brings many gifts, spiritual tools and workshops to help her clients with their personal transformation…Her collection of healing tools is vast and she supports clients on their path with loving kindness and non judgement. Using intuitive Ifa readings, reiki, chakra balancing, ritual, coaching, as well as crystals, and other tools, Omi assists clients in getting an understanding of their own energy and healing. Her intuitive and mediumship gifts help them “see the unseen...
2020-02-0900 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastRiz Rollinswriter and dj riz rollins (just 'riz' to his friends) has been a presence in the seattle music landscape where he hosts a variety and electronica show on 90.3 fm for almost thirty years. a stalwart in both the club and event scene, he has played alongside a diverse roster of artists that includes nirvana and james brown, die antwoord and funkadelic, amon tobin and osunlade. proficient with a plethora of styles that include disco, hip hop, house, world, r&b,ambient, jazz and gospel he regrets that he won't be slugging his vinyl on this trip, but maybe he'll in...
2020-02-0200 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastTommy PicoTommy “Teebs” Pico is author of the books IRL, Nature Poem, Junk, Feed, and myriad keen tweets including “sittin on the cock of the gay.” Originally from the Viejas Indian reservation of the Kumeyaay nation, he now splits his time between Los Angeles and Brooklyn. He co-curates the reading series Poets with Attitude, co-hosts the podcasts Food 4 Thot and Scream, Queen! and is a contributing editor at Literary Hub.
2020-01-2600 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastJessica RychealJessica Rycheal is a Multi-disciplinary Storyteller, Photographer, and Creative Director from Macon, Georgia. Her work embraces vulnerability as an act of resistance, as she weaves themes of healing, resilience, and self-preservation across a loom of visual arts and spoken word. She has been featured in the Northwest African American Museum, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, NPR, Seattle Times, and City Arts Magazine.
2020-01-1900 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastC. Davida IngramC. Davida Ingram is an award-winning artist and civic leader born in Chicago and based in Seattle, Washington. Her artwork, curatorial projects, and writing all discuss race and gender via lens-based media, social practice, performance art, lyrical essay and installation art. Ingram has exhibited at the Frye Art Museum, Northwest African American Museum, Bridge Productions, Intiman Theater, Town Hall in Seattle, Evergreen College and more. Her writing has appeared in Arcade, Ms. Magazine blog, The James Franco Review, and The Stranger.
2020-01-1200 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastAzure SavageAZURE SAVAGE is a black trans man in his senior year of high school. He wrote You Failed Us as a response to the racial injustice within the education system. After releasing the book, Savage has started to pursue speaking opportunities, workshops, and meeting directly with people working in Seattle Public Schools. He is working towards creating more understanding of the harm caused to students of color in order to inform actions taken by the district. Aside from book-related opportunities, Savage also has a strong voice at his high school around sexual assault education. All of his interests come fro...
2020-01-0500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastVirgie Tovar live from Seattle Town HallVirgie Tovar is an author, activist and started the hashtag campaign #LoseHateNotWeight. In 2018 she was named one of the 50 most influential feminists by Bitch Magazine. She is the founder of Babecamp, a 4-week online course designed to help women who are ready to break up with diet culture. In 2012, Tovar edited the anthology Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love and Fashion and in 2018 The Feminist Press published her manifesto, You Have the Right to Remain Fat, which was placed on the American Library Association's Amelia Bloomer List. Her new book, FLAWLESS: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color, co...
2019-11-1700 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastDr. Eric Darnell Pritchard (Cameo from Dr. Stanlie James)Born and raised in Queens, NY, Eric Darnell Pritchard is an award-winning writer, cultural critic, and an Associate Professor of English at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. A self-described "Black queer feminist alchemist," he writes and teaches about literacy and rhetoric and their intersections with fashion, beauty, popular culture, identity, and power. He is author of Fashioning Lives: Black Queers and the Politics of Literacy (Southern Illinois University Press, 2016), winner of three book awards, and editor of “Sartorial Politics, Intersectionality, and Queer Worldmaking,” a special issue of QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking (Michigan State Universit...
2019-11-1000 minTown Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series100: Deep End Friends Podcast: Live with Virgie TovarThe Deep End Friends podcast is an exploration of liberation, healing, hope, joy, and wholeness. What does it mean to be free? What are people of color doing to heal themselves and the world? Hear from incredible people from all walks of life about their journeys, what they are doing to thrive and how they are contribution to broader movements of empowerment and liberation. Co-hosts Reagan Jackson and Anastacia-Renee took Town Hall’s stage to record a live episode of Deep End Friends featuring an in-depth interview with author and activist Virgie Tovar. They discussed Tovar’s work as a...
2019-11-051h 35
The Deep End Friends PodcastDr. David Glisch-SanchezDavid Luis Glisch-Sánchez is an award winning teacher and Assistant Professor of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Buffalo, in Buffalo, New York. His work as a scholar and teacher focuses broadly in the areas of the sociology of emotions, Latinx studies, women of color feminisms, queer of color critique, and public policy and the law. He is also founder of Soul Support Life Coaching, which is a coaching practice he created to help individuals, groups, and organizations live and operate more intentionally on the principles of Love, Courage, Equity, Fairness, and Balance. Lastly, he i...
2019-11-0300 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastKwame MorrowKwame Morrow is a husband, father of three, son, and brother. He is an active member of his community, and an urn in which his ancestors reside. He describes himself primarily as a soul having a human experience. Kwame earned his BA in Business Administration Finance from The Evergreen State College with a focus on international trade. He graduated from Goddard college with his Master's of Education with an emphasis in early childhood and community leadership. Kwame is an administrator at his family's business, Kidus Montessori, which has been in existence for over 30 years. Kidus Montessori serves children ages 1...
2019-09-2900 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastLive from We Out Here Part 2 - Nyema ClarkThis Episode was recorded live at Langston Hughes from We Out Here, a festival of black excellence curated by Michael B. Maine. Nyema Clark is farm boss at Nurturing Roots on Beacon Ave & S Graham St. in Beacon Hill. A native to south Seattle, Nyema’s entrepreneurial chops shine in her efforts as a beginning urban farmer. Proprietor of Avenue South, a line of natural health and beauty products, Nyema is deeply dedicated to the wellness and healing of her community. Come say hey at a Thursday farm stand, be embraced by her radiating love, and get a t...
2019-08-0400 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastLive from We Out Here Part 1- Inye WokomaLive from We Out Here Part 1, a festival of black excellence curated by Michael B. Maine. The Deep End interviewed Inye Wokoma. Inye Wokoma’s family has lived in the Central District since the 1940s. As a journalist, filmmaker and visual artist, he explores themes of identity, community, history, land, politics and power through the lens of personal and visual narratives. His work is informed by a deep social practice that prioritizes the utility of his art to the collective welfare of his community. Three of his most recent projects, A Central Vision, An Elegant Utility, and Th...
2019-07-2800 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEsmy JimenezEsmy Jimenez. Born in Mexico but raised in rural Washington, Esmy Jimenez is a multimedia journalist and writer. After attending USC in Los Angeles, she moved to Seattle where she was a 2016 apprentice for The Seattle Globalist. Esmy’s work has appeared in High Country News, the Washington Post’s The Lily, National Native News, and NPR. She is additionally a Maynard Fellow and Next Gen Radio alum. When she’s not running around, you can usually find her talking about eating or eating while talking.
2019-07-2100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastBlack Doulas Matter: Rokea Jones and Kristin TravisJoin us for a conversation about motherhood with two amazing black doulas and activists literally bringing us life! Rokea Jones is a Seattle Native and a mother to her brilliant two year old daughter. Rokea is currently a Community Based Outreach Doula serving the African-American community at Open Arms Perinatal Services. She is also a certified PALS doula serving the Seattle area. Rokea is a certified lactation educator and is a local leader in the current cohort of Health Connect One’s Birth equity leadership Academy. Rokea is a staunch advocate for reproductive justice and birth equity si...
2019-06-1600 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastLama Rod OwensLama Rod Owens was officially recognized by the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism after receiving his teaching authorization from his root teacher the Venerable Lama Norlha Rinpoche when he completed the traditional 3-year silent retreat program at Kagyu Thubten Chöling Monastery (KTC) outside of New York City. It was during this time that he dealt with years of past pain and trauma and found forgiveness and compassion for himself, what he views as a critical step before truly being able to help others. Since coming out of retreat he has completed his Master of Divinity degree at Har...
2019-06-0900 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastK. Wyking GarrettK. Wyking Garrett is the President & CEO of Africatown Community Land Trust and chief strategist for the Africatown community development initiative in Seattle, WA. A third generation community builder and recognized change agent, Wyking designs programs and initiatives that catalyze, mobilize and activate communities for policy change and social impact. He has been a co-catalyst for several Seattle based initiatives including precedent-setting real estate development projects Liberty Bank Building and Africatown Plaza, Umoja PEACE Center, Hack The CD, Black Dot business incubator and Africatown Center for Education Innovation. He was a founding director of the African American H...
2019-05-2600 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastChef Tarik AbdullahChef Tarik Abdullah is a chef, artist, innovator, and community activist. His culinary creations honor traditions using spices spanning from North Africa, South East Asia and the Mediterranean; and inspired by the tastes and flavors of his childhood. Growing up in a Muslim family and broader community where ethnic foods were the norm, his artistry comes through not only in his food, but in his everyday interactions with people - sharing his passion for cooking with the younger generation by teaching week-long summer camps called “In the Kitchen with Chef T”, or the current Project Midnight Mecca. Abdullah also appe...
2019-05-1900 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEvan Flory-BarnesGrammy-winning Seattle double bass player (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis), composer and vocalist, Evan Flory-Barnes, is a sorcerer. Able to concoct large, swelling scores with symphonies following his precise baton or manifest nuanced, delicately woven narratives on his solo upright bass, the Emerald City virtuoso offers elegant, honest, approachable and magical music. With deep influences in hip-hop’s boom-bap, classical music’s delicacies and rock ‘n’ roll’s power, Flory-Barnes is a fire, centralized and for any to be made warm. Known for his bass versatility, Flory-Barnes recently began stepping out center stage – singing “Move On Up” to an audience of thousands during...
2019-05-1200 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastSharon ChangS H A R O N H. C H A N G is an award-winning Author Photographer Activist with a lens on racism, social justice and the Asian American diaspora. She is author of the critically acclaimed academic book Raising Mixed Race: Multiracial Asian Children In a Post-Racial World and her newly released memoir, Hapa Tales and Other Lies: A Mixed Race Memoir About the Hawai’i I Never Knew. Her writing has also appeared in BuzzFeed, ThinkProgress, Racism Review, Hyphen Magazine, ParentMap Magazine, South Seattle Emerald, The Seattle Globalist, AAPI Voices and International Examiner. Sharon was named 2015 Social Jus...
2019-05-0500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastGeorgia McDadeGeorgia Stewart McDade, a Louisiana native who has lived in Seattle more than half her life, loves reading and writing. As a youngster she wrote and produced plays for her siblings and neighbors and collaborated with church youth to write plays for special occasions. Earning a Bachelor of Arts from Southern University, Master of Arts from Atlanta University, and Ph. D. from University of Washington, the English major spent more than thirty years teaching at Tacoma Community College but also found time to teach at Seattle University, the University of Washington, Lakeside School, Renton Technical College, and Zion Preparatory...
2019-04-2800 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastDr. Ersula OreDr. Ersula J. Ore is the Lincoln Professor of Ethics in The School of Social Transformation and Assistant Professor of African & African American Studies, and Rhetoric at Arizona State University. Her work as a race critical rhetorician maps the suasive strategies of aggrieved communities as they operate within a post-emancipation historical context. In Lynching: Violence, Rhetoric & American Identity (University Press of Mississippi, 2019), Ore examines lynching as a rhetorical strategy and material practice interwoven with the formation of America’s national identity and with the nation’s need to continually renew that identity. Specifically, the book draws connections between the rhet...
2019-04-2100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEbo BartonEbo Barton is a Black and Filipino, Transgender and Non-Binary, poet and educator. As a representative of Seattle, they've been on 4 National Slam Teams and participated at 3 Individual World Poetry Slams. Their most notable poetry slam accolade is placing 5th in the world in 2016. Ebo curated and directed, How to Love THIS Queer Body of Color: An Unapology and wrote and directed the award-winning play, Rising Up. You may have seen Ebo's work in Adrienne: A Poetry Journal by Sibling Rivalry Press, SlamFind, Write About Now, Button Poetry and All Def Poetry. They and their work have been featured in...
2019-04-1400 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastNaa AkuaNaa Akua, Citizen University, Poet-in-Residence, is a queer poet, emcee, and actor. They are, poetry teacher at The Northwest School and WITS writer-in-residence at Franklin High School. Intentionality, love, and encouragement is the focus of Akua’s work that can be found in tracks like “The Elements” or “Till It All Goes Away” from their mixtape Odd(s) Balance (on SoundCloud.com). Recently, Naa Akua was a cast member of Book-it Repertory Theater’s adaptation of T. Geronimo Johnson’s “Welcome to Braggsville”. Naa is currently a cast member for Theater Schmeater’s production of “Welcome to Arroyo’s” and in a original boilesqu...
2019-04-0700 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastGerry Ebalaroza-TunnellGerry Ebalaroza-Tunnell is the founder of Co3 Consulting: Co-Creating Cohesive Communities. She is a Doctoral candidate in the department of Transformative Studies and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies and identifies as a Pacific Islander born and raised on the island of O’ahu, Hawaii. Gerry is a dynamic educator who co-mingles humor and philosophy, making her teachings easy to apply. She is a fantastic facilitator who demonstrates that the best gift we can give ourselves and others is the practice of resilience; our ability to promote positive emotional perceptions, manage our stress-induced reactions and ad...
2019-03-3100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastAmanda JohnstonAmanda Johnston earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine. She is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, and the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter (Argus House Press). Her poetry and interviews have appeared in numerous online and print publications, among them, Callaloo, Poetry, Kinfolks Quarterly, Puerto del Sol, Muzzle, Pluck!, No, Dear and the anthologies, Small Batch, Full, di-ver-city, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, and Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism. The recipient of multiple Artist Enrichment grants from the Kentucky Foundation...
2019-03-2400 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastMichael B. MaineMichael B. Maine. Seattle-based photographer and creative director. He combines an understanding of business, art, and social systems to bring about awareness and action around issues such as homelessness, media literacy, and human trafficking. Committed to volunteer service in the community, Michael is currently the board president of both Reel Grrls, a youth media program that teaches young people how to express themselves through film and B.E.S.T (Business Ending Slavery and Trafficking), a collaborative non-profit that's working to reduce sex trafficking by establishing best practices, alliances, and policies with and through business. Michael holds a...
2019-03-1700 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastIntroducing Zion and Ha'aheoThe Deep End is committed to youth empowerment. Our interns have been with us from day 1, running tech, developing our social media, and lending their voices to our content. Special shout out to Emma Reid and Aisha Al Amin who have been the primary hosts of our youth segment The Caring Corner with features from Zaria Ali, Eyerusalem Mesele, Nasra Ali, and Layla Mohumad. Emma and Aisha have decided to transition into more behind the scenes roles, so in Season 2 we will be welcoming some new voices. Fresh on the mic are Zion Thomas and Ha'aheo Auwae-Dekker. Ha'a has...
2019-03-1300 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastQuenton BakerQuenton Baker is a poet and educator from Seattle. His current focus is anti-blackness and the afterlife of slavery. His work has appeared in Jubilat, Vinyl, Apogee, Pinwheel, The James Franco Review, and Cura. He is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and the recipient of the 2016 James W. Ray Venture Project award and the 2018 Arts Innovator Award from Artist Trust. He is the author of This Glittering Republic (Willow Books, 2016).
2019-03-1000 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastNacala AyeleNacala Ayele is the creator and owner of “FLY! Culinary Tours” where she has traveled to Ghana, Kenya, Guatemala, Jamaica, Trinidad, and The Bahamas to gather recipes, meet culinary historians, and gather stories of Black people of the African diaspora through food. She is enamored with the richness of Black foodways; from the creativity of African pre-colonial dishes enjoyed and dishes created in slavery, to the ingenuity used to craft meals using cultural food products brought from Europe. The history of Black folks can be found in the cultural, social, and economic practices relating to the production and consumption of fo...
2019-03-0300 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastDr. Maxine MimmsMaxine Mimms was born on March 4, 1928, in Newport News, Virginia, to Isabella DeBerry Buie and Benson Ebenezer Buie. Influenced by her grandparents' love for Marcus Garvey and educational lectures by Howard Thurman and other black leaders at nearby Hampton University, Mimms attended Booker T. Washington School and graduated from Huntington High School with highest honors in 1946. She earned her B.A. degree from Virginia Union University in 1950. In the early 1950s, Mimms served as a social worker in Detroit, Michigan. There, she was married and would eventually earn her Ph.D. in educational administration from Union Graduate School.
2018-12-0200 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastGabriel TeodrosGabriel Teodros is a musician and writer from South Seattle who first made a mark with the group Abyssinian Creole, and reached an international audience with his critically-acclaimed solo debut Lovework. Over the ten years since he has set stages on fire all across the US, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Ethiopia and South Africa; often in combination with workshops on creative writing, music, history, science fiction and media literacy.
2018-11-2500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastBlack ImaginationThis mini-deep end was produced by our intern Aisha Al Amin. Aisha, Eyerusalem, and Damme took a field trip into the Black Imagination of Natasha Marin, Imani Sims, Rachel Ferguson, and Amber Flame. This experiential art exhibit debuted on January 27, 2018 in Core Gallery. https://www.seattleglobalist.com/2018/01/12/why-core-gallerys-black-imagination-is-so-necessary/71383
2018-11-1500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastJordan ChaneyJordan Chaney is a spoken word poet, author, public speaker, teacher, mentor, and all-around creative residing in Eastern Washington’s wine country. Awarded the 2017 Commitment to Diversity award by AACCES, Jordan also guest speaks at colleges on race, politics, and social justice. He is the author of WOLF seven poems – a book on race, politics, and social justice, Art of the Spoken Word – a workbook for enhancing communication skills, creativity, and confidence, Rocket Fuel for Dreamers, a poetry book about love and manifesting one’s dreams, and Double-Barreled Bible, a collection of urban poems that blend Ea...
2018-11-1100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastHowie Echo HawkJoin us for a chat with comedian Howie Echo-Hawk. Howie is an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation (Kitkehaki band), and a member of the Mentasta Athabaskan Upper Ahtna people. The youngest of 8 siblings (5 sisters and 2 brothers), he comes from the Echo-Hawk family on his dad's side, and the Kelly family on his mother's. He writes, talks, sings, laughs and confronts in various mediums, but mostly he just wants Native people to have their voices heard. Other interests include equity and true decolonization. We also have two special guests from the You Got This Podcast, Laila and Nasra.
2018-11-0400 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastIjeoma OluoIjeoma Oluo is a Seattle-based writer, speaker, and Internet Yeller. She’s the author of the New York Times Best-Seller So You Want to Talk about Race, published in January by Seal Press. Named one of the The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2017, one of the Most Influential People in Seattle by Seattle Magazine, one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Seattle by Seattle Met, and winner of the of the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award by the American Humanist Society, Oluo’s work focuses primarily on issues of race and identity, feminism, social and mental health, social justice, the art...
2018-10-2700 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastThe Deep End Holiday Party Live from Virago GalleryAnastacia and Reagan unpack some of the magic from the Deep End, talk about their goals for 2018, take questions from listeners and as always ask the deep ish.
2018-08-1100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastJoshunda SandersJoshunda is a Bronx native obsessed with moving stories about black women from the margins to the center of everything. She writes fiction, journalism, poetry and essays. She was the receipt of a 2017 Hedgebrook Writing Residency and selected as one of four Young Women Empowered Teaching Artists. She has presented and lectured on college campuses across the country including at Old Dominion, Princeton, Bard, Iona and Pittsburg State University. Her work has appeared in the DAME Magazine, Bellevue Literary Review, Buzzfeed, Salon, Publishers Weekly, The Week, Bitch Magazine, Gawker, Kirkus Reviews and many other outlets. Her books include: Single & H...
2018-08-0500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEze-Basil OluoEze-Basil is an accountant, a teacher, a public speaker, a public relations and community engagement specialist. He is a socio-economic and political rights crusader and a wealth creation and distribution strategist. He was a founding Administrator of PROUD TO BE ETCHE- a 10,000+ member community based organization redesigning social constructs and economic & political inclusivity in Nigeria.He is currently the elected Secretary General of Rivers State Foundation USA. He has worked with Governments, Corporations, Nonprofits and a host of community based organizations.
2018-07-2300 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastNikkita OliverNikkita is a Seattle-based writer, teaching artist, attorney, and organizer. Her writing has been published in the South Seattle Emerald, Crosscut, the Establishment, Last Real Indians, The Seattle Weekly, and the Stranger. Oliver holds a J.D. and Masters of Education from the University of Washington. She is also the case manager for Creative Justice, an arts-based alternative to incarceration, and has worked for arts organizations such as Writers in the Schools and Arts Corp. Nikkita is one of the Seattle Mets 2018 50 Most Influential Women in Seattle, and the recipient of the 2018 UW Women’s Center Woman of...
2018-07-1500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastDåkot-ta Alcantara CamachoDåkot-ta was born in Snohomish Territory and raised in Tscha-kole-chy (within a predominantly diasporic Chamorro community. Their lineage comes from Låguas yan Gåni [Law-gwas zan Gaw-knee) (the archipelago known as the Mariånas Islands, and specifically the largest island known as Guåhan - incorrectly pronounced as Guam by the Western world). Dåkot-ta grew up in the Seattle hip hop underground and social justice movement excercising a life long passion and skill for rap. Attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a First Wave Hip Hop Scholar, Dåkot-ta graduated with a degree in Gender and Women's...
2018-07-0800 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastDr. Deniece DortchDr. Deniece Dortch is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Higher Education Administration at George Washington University in Washington DC.Her research and teaching grapples with systemic oppression across multiple axes. She is especially interested in how psychological violence and fear is experienced, manifested and reproduced in the academy. Her most recent projects explore intra-racial relationships, racial agency and their effects on persistence in higher education. Dr. Dortch was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Utah where she created the African American Doctoral Scholar’s Initiative, a comprehensive mentoring program focused on graduate student socialization into th...
2018-07-0100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastStacy Torres Stacy Torres is a somatic healer, a health justice organizer and a facilitator. Stacy created her practice Everyday Medicine to offer culturally relevant healing in Queer,Trans, Disabled, People of Color communities(QTDPoC) in Seattle. Her practice centers developing a liberated legacy of changemakers, caregivers, activists/organizers, healers, artists, spiritual and thought leaders. She is a founding member of The Well on Beacon, a POC centered Health Justice Collaboration Project in Seattle, WA.
2018-06-2400 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEpisode 9: Rell Be FreeJerrell G. Davis aka RELL BE FREE is a proud product of the South End who brings creative artistry and radical activism together thru music, education, and community. Rell is a founding member of Washington Building Leaders of Change (WA-BLOC), which serves out of Rainier Beach HS working with scholars, teachers, and administration in a number of transformative capacities; coordinates an innovative community and youth led crime reduction project with the Rainier Beach Action Coalition called the "Corner Greeters"; Rell is also one of the founding core members of the groundbreaking Seattle Peoples Party. On top of all that...
2018-06-1300 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEpisode 8: Bettina JuddBorn in Baltimore and raised in Southern California, Bettina Judd is an interdisciplinary writer, artist and performer. She is an alumna of Spelman College and the University of Maryland and is currently Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at the University of Washington. Most recently, her collection of poems titled Patient. won the Black Lawrence Press Hudson Book Prize and was published in November of 2014.
2018-02-1900 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastAfam AyikaOur guest for the day is Afam Ayika. Afam is a father, martial artist, and the co-founder of Rainier Beach Restorative Justice Project and restorative justice coordinator. Deep End Interns Emma and Aisha pilot their new segment Caring Corner.
2018-02-0100 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEpisode 6 Live from the Black Zone: Shontina VernonThe Deep End goes to the Black Zone for a special live episode with Shontina Vernon. Shontina is an artist and social justice activist most noted for her genre bending storytelling and performance style. Working across forms, using live music, choreography, multimedia, and poetic narrative, she tells the stories of marginalized communities, unapologetically privileging the lens of people of color and women.
2018-01-0700 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastAmber FlameAmber Flame is a writer, composer and performer, whose work has garnered artistic merit residencies with Hedgebrook, The Watering Hole, Vermont Studio Center, and Yefe Nof. Flame’s original work has been published in diverse arenas, including Winter Tangerine, The Dialogist, Split This Rock, Black Heart Magazine, Sundress Publications, FreezeRay, Redivider Journal and more. A 2016 Pushcart Prize nominee, Jack Straw Writer and recipient of the CityArtist grant from Seattle's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Amber Flame's first full-length poetry collection, Ordinary Cruelty, was recently published through Write Bloody Press. Flame joins the Hugo House in Seattle as the 2017 poet...
2017-12-1700 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEpisode 4: Dani TirrellDani Tirrell is a dance artist, performer, choreographer and dance educator. Dani has danced with Jazz and Spirit Dance Theater of Detroit, Monroe Ballet Company, Full Circle Dance Company, Natural Locz Dance Company and Dani Tirrell Dance Theater which he founded and serves as Artistic Director. Dani also created Color Lines Dance Ensemble for youth dance artist ages 12 to 18. Currently his work focuses on the queer, gender non-conforming and black experience. Dani also incorporates House, Vogue, Whacking and Contemporary movement in his artist practice and work. Dani teaches throughout the Seattle area with Northwest Tap Connection and Mass...
2017-12-0300 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastJade Solomon CurtisJade Solomon Curtis, born in Texas, is a choreographer, dance artist and founder of Solo Magic, a non-profit arts initiative collaborating with innovative artists to create socially relevant multi-disciplined performances highlighting dance; “Activism is the Muse". A celebrated soloist of Donald Byrd’s Spectrum Dance Theater for four seasons, Curtis is also the subject of an Emmy Award winning short film, Jade Solomon Curtis directed by, Ralph Bevins. 2017 began with Curtis being awarded SeattleDance’s first “Dance Crush Award” for Performance/Choreography in the riveting workshop of “Black Like Me”. Curtis received her BFA in Dance Performanc...
2017-11-1200 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastHaji BasimJoin the Deep End for a magical mystery tour with Haji Basim. Haji is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who created a new genre of positive acoustic music titled Urban Folk. He is also the founder and guide instructor of Holistic Method Music.
2017-11-0500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastEpisode 1: Cristina OrbeJoin the Deep End for an interview with musician and plant whisperer Cristina Orbe. Drawing from her experience stewarding FEEST from an idea into a nationally recognized food justice and youth leadership development organization, Cristina offers workshops and talks on a variety of topics including, Collaborating Across Difference, Power and Influence, Equitable Hiring Practices, Financial Healing, Feminine Leadership, Cultivating Imagination and Vision, Values Driven Leadership and more. In this episode she talks about her ancestry and the healing she has received from plants.
2017-11-0500 min
The Deep End Friends PodcastThe Deep End Origin StoryThe Deep End is an exploration of liberation, healing, hope, joy, and wholeness. What does it mean to be free? What are people of color doing to heal themselves and the world? Join co-hosts Reagan Jackson and Anastacia Renee for a series of in-depth interviews. Hear from incredible people from all walks of life about their journeys, what they are doing to thrive and how they are contribution to broader movements of empowerment and liberation. About Us: Reagan Jackson is a writer, artist, international educator, prayer practitioner, and seeker of truth. She is a Program Manager...
2017-11-0400 min