On this episode of What the Folk, our guest is Michael McPhearson, the executive director of online news publication the South Seattle Emerald, the former executive director of Veterans for Peace, and a longtime activist for racial and social justice within and outside of the US. This interview covers empathy as a radical act, the challenges of fostering solidarity across differences, and the necessity of localized independent media. Afterwards, Joy and Sarah reflect on their own solidarity and communication challenges, as well as how freaking tired they are because who isn’t these days. Treat yo’self to a nap, dear listeners – after you listen to this episode. Featured music on this episode is “I Don’t Know Much About Star Wars” by Joy Damiani GET INVOLVED Veterans for Peace https://www.veteransforpeace.org/ South Seattle Emerald https://southseattleemerald.com/category/news/ FOLLOW MICHAEL Michael’s Medium https://mtmcphearson.medium.com/ MTM Daily https://mtmdaily.com/ Michael’s Twitter https://twitter.com/MTMcPhearson

On this episode, our guest is Stephanie Atkinson, an Army veteran and war resister who now works with nonprofits Veterans for Peace and Courage to Resist to bring the truth about military recruitment to heavily-recruited high school students. Besides sharing her inspiring personal story, we discuss everything from military “feminism” to our favorite dystopian fashion (spoiler alert: Blade Runner ftw). Featured music on this episode is “If You Ain’t Cheatin’ You Ain’t Tryin’” and “Just A Little Cog” by Joy Damiani GET INVOLVED Veterans for Peace https://www.veteransforpeace.org/ Courage to Resist https://couragetoresist.org/ Truth in Recruitment https://truthinrecruitment.org/ READ STEPHANIE’S WRITING https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2011/proud-deserter LEARN MORE Shoshana Jackson https://www.msnbc.com/podcast/shoshana-johnson-was-america-s-first-black-female-prisoner-war-n1283841 Jessica Lynch https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/us/jessica-lynch-where-is-she-now/index.html Lynndie England https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/news/a170/lynndie-england-1/ Book: Bananas, Beaches, and Bases by Cynthia Enloe https://bookshop.org/p/books/bananas-beaches-and-bases-making-feminist-sense-of-international-politics-cynthia-enloe/6561808?ean=9780520279995

We've missed you, What the Folk fam! We took a hiatus to get our respective and collective shit together, and now here we are, back and weirder than ever. In this, our 42nd episode, we cover – well, Life, the Universe, and Everything. Since it led us to discuss relationships, political corruption, the patriarchy, and cats – just to name a few hot topics – Joy's theory is that the Ultimate Question is "how's your apocalypse going?" Plus! Hear Sarah's original poem, "Bad Timing," and Joy's songs "Love Yourself!" and "Happy Ever After" – all inspired by the endlessly exciting and complicated theme of Love, during this Valentine's week. Featured music: "Love Yourself!" and "Happy Ever After" by Joy Damiani https://joydamiani.bandcamp.com/track/love-yourself-feat-jules-indelicato https://joydamiani.bandcamp.com/track/happy-ever-after References: https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/i-was-embarrassed-humiliated-reporter-says-of-east-palestine-arrest/ https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-train-derailment-could-become-full-blown-ecological-crisis-1781148

Hello, What the Folk fam, we’ve missed you! We’ve had a lot of reasons we’ve been away but one majorly exciting reason is that JOY WROTE A BOOK! What’s also exciting is that friend of the pod Samantha Hart is joining us again for this episode to help illuminate the 14-year writing journey behind If You Ain’t Cheatin’ You Ain’t Trying – as well as Sarah’s English major-y opinionating on art, political messaging, and, of course, M*A*S*H. Featured music is “If You Ain’t Cheatin’ You Ain’t Trying” and “Yellow Ribbon” by Joy Damiani (released under Emily Yates) SUPPORT JOY’S KICKSTARTER https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joydamiani/if-you-aint-cheatin-you-aint-tryin-a-military-memoir/community PREORDER JOY’S BOOK Coming soon! FOLLOW JOY http://joydamiani.com/

Russian history scholar and political scientist Michael Iasilli joins us to discuss, what else, the war in Ukraine. Besides giving us a fascinating tour through Russian and Ukrainian history, Iasilli also has a lot to say about avoiding xenophobia against Russians during this time. Naturally, your hosts and Michael got along swimmingly because we all agree that we have much more in common with the regular people in other countries than we do with our respective governments. Afterward, Joy and Sarah riff on the idea of finding common ground, living in a world of multiple truths, and discuss the latest infuriating developments in the Assange extradition case. Featured music is “Soul Creature,” “Staircase,” and “Scary Days” by Michael Anthonia FOLLOW MICHAEL’S WORK https://www.maiasilli.com/ MICHAEL’S MUSIC Instagram: Michaelanthonia_music Facebook: @realmichaelanthonia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/14D2f50WgDvuTLVEVzOAhk?si=X1iwTHp_TTWUiIWgOkp9gg FURTHER READING In reference to the data on Russian citizens’ displeasure with Putin’s war: see “FBK” (a sociological survey in Russia: https://navalny.com/p/6615/?fbclid=IwAR3h2PzC3w1X2or27-6WjXg_WgGNNwZg2OihGpfYm27otGwvaWskQFhmUik On racism in Ukraine refugee policy https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/black-ukraine-refugees-racism-discrimination-russian-invasion/ HISTORY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union by Terry Martin Red Nations: The Nationalities Experience in and after the USSR by Jeremy Smith Russia in Flames by Laura Engelstein Red Famine: Stalin’s War in Ukraine by Anne Applebaum

The fabulous Lauren Flynn returns to the pod! We talk about the inspiration for her awesome new band, Buried Blonde, trust and intuition in the creative process, why artists are essential workers and grappling with death at the Cheesecake Factory. Afterwards, Joy and Sarah discuss the lessons they have learned during the pandemic, Colonel Bruce Hampton, and how to have a non-monogamous relationship with yourself. Featured music is “Like a Scar” and “Perfect Machine” by Buried Blonde, and “Good Riddance Fake Bitches” by Joy Damiani, courtesy of the artists. FOLLOW BURIED BLONDE https://www.buriedblonde.com/

We’re baaaack! Again! Thank you, dear listeners, for being understanding about our (sometimes variable) apocalypse release schedule. We are rewarding your patience with a fantastic episode featuring Nicole Foerster, an advocate for psilocybin mushrooms as a treatment for cluster headaches, a mental health professional, and a proponent for the full decriminalization of entheogenic plants and fungi. In this episode, we talk about their work as director of Decriminalize Nature Colorado which recently submitted a ballot proposal to decriminalize entheogens in the 2022 Colorado statewide election, why decriminalization offers a more intentional and just model for psychedelic access, and the emerging models for holistically supporting mental health. Afterward, Joy and Sarah wander through strange metaphors as they reflect on these strangely psychedelic times in the Society of the Spectacle. GET INVOLVED Decriminalize Nature Colorado https://www.facebook.com/decrimnaturecolorado/ Insta: @decrimnaturecolorado https://www.instagram.com/decrimnaturecolorado/?hl=en Decriminalize Nature (national) https://decriminalizenature.org/ FEATURED MUSIC “All the Same” by FaceKiss https://facekiss.bandcamp.com/ “Hey Moon” and “Peter Pan” by Ray Diess https://open.spotify.com/artist/2k9ZPxMCH5vm2E7KHBwmfD https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ray-diess/1553592537 RECOMMENDED READING AND RESOURCES Your Healing is Killing Me https://bookshop.org/books/your-healing-is-killing-me/9780991418398 Our Right to Drugs https://bookshop.org/books/our-right-to-drugs-the-case-for-a-free-market/9780815603337 The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry https://bookshop.org/books/the-book-of-woe-the-dsm-and-the-unmaking-of-psychiatry-9798200063345/9798200063345 Psychiatric Survivors https://www.psychiatricsurvivors.net/ Mad in America https://www.madinamerica.com/ Students for Sensible Drug Policy https://ssdp.org/ SPORE: Society for Psychedelic Outreach, Reform, and Education https://www.thespore.org/ Unlimited Sciences https://unlimitedsciences.org/

How do we enter into dialogue across differences, especially in a world where we are actively discouraged to do so by the powers that be? That question is not only at the heart of Corey Nathan’s work on his podcast Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other, but also a principle we put into practice during this episode. Corey and your folking hosts come from different (at times, vastly different) perspectives but we navigate thorny subjects such as religion, democracy, and cancel culture without losing our shared goal of unfucking the world – or our senses of humor. This episode is praxis-y af, y’all! Afterwards, Joy and Sarah dive further into the ideas of dialogue, curiosity, and building shared spaces in our “this AND that” reality. We would like to wish our What the Folk fam a safe and, hopefully, joyous New Year. Or at least a year where the silver linings stay in view. Onwards to 2022! Featured music is “It’s All Right to Not Be Okay” and “Brains in Meat Suits” by Joy Damiani. FOLLOW COREY’S PODCAST Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other @TPandRPod on all the socials https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/Yedrl1sr7igl

Happy holidays What the Folk Fam! Our gift to you – not sure you asked for it, but you shall receive – is a whole hour of Sarah and Joy’s stoney shenanigans! Joy has a new single and accompanying video, “It’s All Right to Not Be Okay,” dropping on December 21st. We dive into the therapeutic and combat-sport inspirations for the song and vid, as well as the challenges of trying to get your work noticed as an independent solo artist in the algorithm wilderness. This mini-interview is sandwiched with talk of Assange, abortion rights, creating utopia, and Sarah’s rather embarrassing amount of basic Matrix references. Wishing a safe and cozy holiday season to all, whatever you may or may not be celebrating. FOLLOW JOY AND GET THE PRE-SAVE LINK FOR THE NEW SINGLE https://joydamiani.com/ IG: @joydamianimusic FB: facebook.com/trynottobeadick Featured music by Joy Damiani: “Please Don’t F With Me (This Xmas)”: https://joydamiani.bandcamp.com/track/please-dont-f-with-me-this-xmas “(No Such Thing As) Bad Words”: https://joydamiani.bandcamp.com/track/no-such-thing-as-bad-words

The power of vulnerability and going with the flow are at the top of the conversation menu with guest Samantha Hart, author of a new memoir, Blind Pony: As True A Story As I Can Tell, about her unconventional journey from traumatized teenage runaway to creative force in the Hollywood music and film industry. Sam shares her thoughts on independent marketing, self-publishing, and disrupting the book industry, and Joy and Sarah follow up with a healthy discussion about intuition, the 100th Monkey, and whether life is a paradox, or we are just high. Listen to the end for a sneak peek of Joy’s new single! FOLLOW SAMANTHA and buy her book at www.samanthahart.net FEATURED MUSIC: “It’s All Right (To Not Be Okay)” by Joy Damiani