Episodes

This time on the podcast, the story of an invisible war. Shots are fired. Injuries sustained. But how do you fight an enemy you can't see — one that may not even exist?

An armchair safari to a place where humans and elephants are engaged in a deadly conflict over resources — and the one man who can speak to both sides.

Confederate soldiers never reached the US Capitol during the Civil War, but the "Confederate flag" (which was actually the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia) finally arrived in the building on January 6. Join us for a deep dive into the question: why does that symbol still speak to people so long after the Civil War? The answers lie in a disinformation campaign that took root in this country 155 years ago, and still impacts us today. This time on the podcast: the Lost Cause — and the real cost of alternative facts.

The divisions that have taken hold of the country are playing out not only in our public lives, but also in some of our closest relationships. What drives the tensions are our very different answers to that perennial question: What do you do when you believe your country is heading in the wrong direction? In this episode, we look to history — and the story of a man who has been called “one of the most troubling figures in American History”— for insight.

Is Santa real? You bet. These days he goes by the name Mike Gray, a retired jack of all trades who lives not at the North Pole, but in a recycled house in the Arizona desert—when he’s not with the Lakota on Pine Ridge or the Seri people in Mexico. He's given up the red suit for a work shirt, jeans and a straw hat. And he's stopped making toys in favor of making gardens, building houses and furnishing clinics for people who need them. The sleigh filled with gifts? He traded it in for a van full of tools he also uses to carry people and art—and he is the gift.

In the first of our “be the change” stories — stories about people who are being the change they want to see in their own communities — we talk with Matt Marasch, former infantry paratrooper and green beret turned potter and healer. A couple of years ago, having lost a number of veteran friends to suicide and struggling to reinvent himself, Matt started looking for a way to bring veterans together to learn new skills and build the kind of close relationships they missed from their days in the mi...

This has been a time of trauma — for some of us it started four years ago, for others just last week. It's tempting to think the answers to our pain lie in retreating further into tribalism. But if there’s one thing this election made painfully clear, it’s that we can’t vote the other side away.Transcending our differences won't be easy. Our guest, Alaine Duncan, Author of the Tao of Trauma explores this time through the lens of our national body as a trauma survivor. How do we heal the divisions and the mistrust? How can we — individually and collectively — act from the connection and regulation of our frontal cortex instead of the primitive, reactive fear of our brain stem? And how can we play a role in helping all parties find that all important moment to distinguish between “I am uncomfortable” and “I am unsafe"?Keep listening (from 42:30) as we talk with co-host Obaidul Fattah Tanvir in Bangladesh about some of the surprising (and hilarious) responses people there have ha…

Today, as voters head to the polls in record numbers and with concerns around the election at a fever pitch, we’re talking about a topic that has us alternately feeling like Chicken Little and Pollyanna. But we’re not alone. Everywhere you look people (and organizations) are prepping for this election—and most would say with good reason. So when we heard about a training designed to prepare people to take action in the event of an undemocratic power grab, we decided it was definitely worth our virtual attendance. The premise of the training, called Choose Democracy, can be distilled into a few simple sentences: We will vote and we will refuse to accept election results until all of the votes are counted. And if this, the most basic principle of democracy, is denied, then we the people will defend our democracy through nonviolent mass protests. (Now, it’s important to say here that no one candidate is supported for the win. The objective is simply that democratic processes are …

There's nobody better to kick off our new season — and "Plan Be" — than the man who helped inspire it: Citizen Baratunde, Executive Producer and Host of the hit podcast How to Citizen with Baratunde. Writer, activist and comedian Baratunde Thurston has been "citizening" since way back in high school (which we discuss). In addition to his podcast, check out his Ted Talk, and his New York Times bestselling book, How to Be Black. You can find all of that and more on his website: www.baratunde.com

As the pandemic drags on and the American project feels like it’s spiralling out of control, hope can feel hard to come by. What’s an ordinary person to do? Especially if you're more comfortable ghosting family members with different political beliefs than engaging them, and clicktivism is your idea of getting involved. Join hosts Kelley Lynch and Cindy Sealls in Washington, DC and Obaidul Fattah Tanvir in Bangladesh as they step outside their comfort zones and embark on "Plan Be"— a project to live more in line with at least a few of their loftier ideals by cultivating connection, community and conversation in their own backyards one episode at a time.

Early on during the pandemic there was a popular refrain: "We're all in this together." Sadly, time has shown that to be a fiction. The recession ended for the haves months ago. Meanwhile, it's gotten harder and harder for many of us to kumbaya our way through it all. Join us as we talk with our go-to economists Shuaib Hassan and Chinesom Ejiasa about the wealth gap—what it looks like today, how we got here and what it means for us going forward. It may be economics, but we promise you it's not ...

What do All in the Family, the Brady Bunch and our all too apparent political divisions have in common? Join us as we cast (real) political commentary aside (we were no good at that anyway) and resurrect the sitcoms and TV dramas of the 70s in a musically fuelled episode for the current political climate. Grab your lifejacket and climb aboard!

Enough already! As if a pandemic, looming economic disaster, racial and civil unrest, and political division weren’t enough, there is talk in some circles about a second civil war. Clearly we're in uncharted territory. Is it possible that what we learned all those years ago in high school history and government classes might come in handy after all? This week's guest, Steve Steinbach, current high school history and government teacher and former trial attorney, looks back at our past, examines o...

It's a surreal time. Millions are unemployed and, for others, work has changed in ways they never imagined. This week we talk with career and leadership coach Karen Gulliford about managing change, what it takes to lead during a pandemic and why NOW could actually be the time to find a job or a career that fits you better than the one you’re leaving behind. Find out more about Karen's work here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karencgulliford/ Connect with us on our Instagram feed: https://www.insta...

Mortgages, the economy and capitalism, oh my. In this wide ranging conversation, our guest, economist Shuaib Hassan, talks about (among other things) immigrating to the US from Afghanistan when he was 11, what makes capitalism great (and how we could do better) and how the chaos in the housing market that led to the Great Recession has become a lifesaver (for those with a mortgage) during the pandemic. Find out more about Shuaib's work here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shuaib-hassan-mba-7119363/...

Is there one (bitter) pill that, consumed regularly, could save us from COVID-19? As cases surge across the country, our guest, hospital pharmacist Samira Duja, reflects on the challenges of keeping up with the demand for medicine in her New York hospital during the spike—and we take the opportunity to rummage through the medicine cabinet in search of the only remedy guaranteed to slow the spread of a pandemic: clear, accurate information. To see pictures related to this story, check out our Ins...

For many of the world's 1.2 billion children who are out of school due to the pandemic, continuing their education is not a matter of how or even when—but if. Kelley talks with Education Specialist Alberto Begue about the impact the crisis is having on students, families, schools and governments in developing countries and the opportunities it may provide to modernize education.

What's the future of tourism in a post-COVID-19 world? How do you do it sustainably, so that it benefits local communities without leaving a massive carbon footprint? Kelley talks with Mark Chapman, whose community tourism organization, Tesfa Tours, has been answering these questions—while providing guests with unforgettable experiences—for the last 20 years. Check out Testa Tours at www.tesfatours.com Tesfa Tours has been featured in National Geographic , The Guardian , The New York Times , The...

What's it like to collect news footage in a brothel while wearing full PPE in 93ºF (34ºC) heat and 90% humidity? During the pandemic, Bangladeshi video-journalist Salman Saeed has been taking on the near impossible to bring the news you need to the safety and comfort of your air conditioned living room. Links to Salman's work: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/densely-populated-bangladesh-faces-immense-infection-control-challenge https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/26/asia/daulatdia-bangladesh-broth...

America is battling two deadly pandemics. Is this a moment for hope or despair? Kelley asks her two co-hosts and close friends, Cindy and Tanvir—both from cultures with a history of white oppression, but on opposite sides of the planet—to weigh in on the current moment and that other virus that has infected America from the beginning: racism. Want to put faces to the voices you hear on the show? Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anewnormalpodcast/ And if you have a suggestion for...

How are companies using the pandemic as an opportunity to re-imagine the way we work? Marie Woods, Director of Operations for a global law firm based in Washington, DC, talks about how her firm has shifted operations and how this shift may become the new normal. Want to put faces to the voices you hear on the show? Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anewnormalpodcast/ Our website will be up soon: www.anewnormalpodcast.com And if you have a suggestion for the show, by all means get...

Why do African Americans make up just 47% of the population of Washington, DC but account for 80% of DC's deaths from COVID-19? We’ve been told that it boils down to factors like genetics and diet. But today’s guest, Maurice Cook, Founder and Executive Director of Serve Your City DC, a non-profit based in Washington, is fed up with explanations like that. Maurice talks with co-host Cindy Sealls about how his organization is continuing to support underserved youth and their families during the pa...

Who do you call when you suspect that life as we know it may have reached a point of no return? Kelley talks with Laurie Mazur, Resilience Editor at Island Press. Laurie has been writing and thinking about scary things since the 80s. She talks about what the pandemic has revealed about our world and how resilience thinking might come to the rescue. Check out some of Laurie’s most recent publications: https://islandpress.org/resilience-matters-download https://progressive.org/magazine/build-infra...

What do you do when a pandemic brings life as you know it to a screeching halt? In quarantine, with travel on hold, photographer and storyteller Kelley Lynch, finds a new normal at home and ropes her two best friends—one in Washington, DC and the other in Bangladesh—into starting a podcast. Join hosts Kelley Lynch, Cindy Sealls and Obaidul Fattah Tanvir as they talk with people from around the world about adapting to life during the pandemic and where we go from here. New episodes every week sta...