The Promised Land

Despite living in an era of unparalleled connectivity, we’re arguably more disconnected than ever. Some of the very means of keeping us together—traditional ones such as churches, neighborhoods, schools, and television, and emerging ones like social media, apps, and the gig economy—have served to expose how far apart we are becoming, and in some situations, have always been. The differences we’re seeing in gender, political views, racial identities, sexuality, and sometimes all of these at once, have drawn battle lines. As a result, we need not only new conversations but an entirely new destination. If we continue in this fashion, we might find ourselves in such a societal moral drift that we’ll never recover. With “The Promised Land” we’ll begin re-sowing the connections that we’ve started to lose. We’ll take what now feels wildly disparate—the white opioid crisis and the black crack epidemic; the notion of one God, made partisan; men confronting and healing their internal #Metoo stories—and bringing us back to one nation where all our stories can reunite. We’re not just a podcast or a conversation; we’re a destination. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The common advice when you are searching for a therapist is “try two or three” to fine one that fits. I had a short list of the attributes I wanted in someone to whom I would eventually reveal all of life's darkest moments, but to my surprise, I got someone I that wouldn’t have made the list. In the episode, my therapist Kelly and I discuss the early days of forming our relationship, the treatments I underwent, and how we show up for each other across many lines of connection and difference. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s moments before Pastor Michael has to make an announcement to his congregation, after a week of contemplating whether it's the right decision. He’s been following similar decisions from other ministries which resulted in steep declines in membership, forcing some to close their doors. He’s forced to decide what comes first: Church Business or God’s Business. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While onboarding for a new role, Taylor discovers his school district set lower academic targets for Black students than their white peers. He now wants to take steps to address this disparity but doesn’t know to get started. In Part 3 of our series White Work, we’re examining whiteness through the lens of Taylor’s experience: a white educator whose racial epiphanies are coming through a very professional context. As he comes face to face with standards, mindsets, and a web of biases, he talks with our guest host, Laura, about moving from a reactive to proactive place in his whiteness and his White Work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The bible was created by men for men, positioning the role of women in the gospel secondary throughout scripture. In the culminating episode in this series, we depict God as a Black woman made in the image of her creator. Our guest, Rev Yolanda Norton tells us the unfiltered truth about who exactly God is, overcoming the political jockeying to bring God to our side. This is one God, one fight, and one salvation, and she shows us all how to move in that holy direction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crack users had two options: get clean or go to jail. When the government walked away, two dynamic women working in drug harm reduction work, started an underground treatment program deemed illegal—they kept it running by navigating legal loopholes. Thelma and Louise, much like the fictional characters, are two friends who become partners in starting controversial clean needle exchanges to support users instead of telling them to quit. The shift of paradigm made the user the expert with one simple statement: “I can never be clean because I was never dirty.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might be considered one of the more idyllic, utopian, and enlightened settings in America: a white liberal church. Female ministers, social justice ministries, and diverse churchgoers are symbols of racial progress—yet, they have in many cases opted out of the real fight for equality. In this episode, we meet Amy and Debbie as they walk into this church. The mission is to do white work starting with the clergy, to tell those who think they are doing the work that they really aren’t making a difference. How will they respond? Will they step up, or back down? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Set in Chicago, this episode follows an ardent believer attending a prominent bible college and evangelizing to lost souls on the south side of Chicago, when his faith begins to unravel. Torn between his deep conservative theology forged at age 13, and a new awakening to more inclusive worldview, Brandon has to make a decision to remain in seminary or break away from the church to adopt a more radical view of Christianity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Underground drug markets are male-dominated, but women have an advantage in the cartel economy, using their femininity to remain inconspicuous in a variety of situations. As drug lords worked their way from corner boy to Frank Lucas status, women became more involved. In this episode, we meet Margaret, a shy, unassuming girl until she met a guy and fell in love. The cartel ecosystem entangled Margaret, her kids, and her life in a web of street cops, the court system, and child welfare services. Where did 1980s women end up in life? What are they doing now? What do they think about the growing role of women in drug culture? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pews are empty as church membership declines. Reports say our grandmother's religion doesn’t resonate with our generation. Antonio reconnects with his college pastor, Bishop L. Spenser Smith, to discuss the relevance of the Black church in our community and political process. The candor leads to a long overdue and personal conversation, exploring the politics of Black Jesus and Antonio’s sexuality. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James’ life is changing rapidly. His white community is choosing to opt out of neighborhood schools, leaving families without the means to navigate the gaps. He wife is expecting their first child soon, and they want to parent in an anti-racist way. He’s an assistant principal at a low-income school that disproportionately suspends boys of color.Our second episode in our series, White Work, is centered around James—a common white man—who now has to engage with his white peers to understand the truths of their community and find solutions where they see there are none. This episode is about a white man, who could easily be your neighbor, your boss, or your landlord, confronting his role in society, both as a man of authority and as a father, to undo the generations of pain imposed on black folks to this day. This is a story of a man finding what it means to do his White Work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He was the most revered man in the drug empire. Drug Lords are a necessary evil. They steal to give. In this episode, Eric Gardener is untouchable; he is your typical vigilante who steals and destroys to prosper the weak and vulnerable. White America went into the American dream and locked the door to economic freedom and prosperity, leaving drug lords with the dual roles of destroying the community and saving it at the same time. In this episode we meet Jesse, who is on the run from the police. We follow him as he navigates a world of drugs, crime, imprisonment, and pain. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five years ago, I came into therapy thinking it would be a fleeting exercise in recounting my traumatic childhood and the resulting issues we still navigate today. It became much more, a core ritual to my existence, as I uncovered and reset the unconscious patterns of all the facets of my life. In this episode, I bring you into a routine appointment as I discuss the realities of supporting my family while making more room for me. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode two, I interviewed my therapist Kelly on how we meet and forged a relationship across racial lines and the deep work of therapy and the types of mental treatments we used. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the middle of the room, there is a mint green sofa with a couple of pillows, a coffee table with a box of tissue in front of it. That’s where I sit. On the other side is a chair and a woman who listens and writes down the details of who I am and how I got here. I have some of the clues but much of the pieces are missing. Around us are doors to experiences, some of them I haven’t been in since they happened, others creep into my dreams while some of these moments influence how I think,...

He was the most revered man in the drug empire. Everybody in the hood wanted to be like Nino Brown, Pablo Escobar. The infamous drug lords were not on your local evening news being arrested. Like any CEO running a million and billions dollar enterprise, you were untouchable even by the Feds building a concealed fortress that lured and recruited police to join the operations to get a cut of the profits Even the most notorious fictional gangsters had us holding our breath through as they...

Underground drug markets are male dominated but women had an advantage in the drug economy, using their femininity to remain inconspicuous in a variety of situations I can imagine as you worked your way from corner boy to Frank Lucas, drug Lords used women as decoys lowering their vulnerability for police suspicion and arrest. The government fabricated reports of the portages then as the mothers to crack babies or single parents. We rarely tell their stories about growing up in the drug...

Crack users had two options: get clean or go to jail. When the government walked away, two dynamic women working in drug harm reduction work, started an underground treatment program deemed illegal—they kept it running by navigating legal loopholes. Thelma and Louise, much like the fictional characters, are two friends who become partners in starting controversial clean needle exchanges to support users instead of telling them to quit. The shift of paradigm made the user the expert with one...

The American education system has been languishing as it labors to make good on what used to be seen as a given good or promise; to deliver a quality set of outcomes and opportunities to every child that walks through the schools. has truly produced. There’s a crisis of faith in nearly every aspect of the public education system, as a movement towards greater accountability, a more sober look at the racist bent, the funding issues and the uneasy tensions around segregation and quality, have...

Our second discussion in our series White Work is centered around James - a common white man - who now has to engage with his white peers to understand the truths of their community and find solutions where they see there are none. This episode is about a white man - your neighbor, your boss, your landlord - confronting his role in society as both a man in power but also as a father to undo the generations of pain imposed on black folks to this day. This is a story of a man finding what it...