Well, That Went Sideways!

In this episode, we talk with Marchell Taylor about his journey through childhood trauma, an undiagnosed brain injury, and incarceration. His story highlights the need for proper diagnosis and treatment for individuals in the criminal justice system. It's a need Marchell Taylor responded to himself by developing programs for inmates and by his work as a screener for TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, and as a peer specialist for WellPower, a mental health services provider in the Denver, Colorado area.

In this episode, we talk with Natalie Thoreson about centering love in the work of social justice and conflict resolution. They're a consultant and facilitator who works with individuals and organizations to bring about positive social change through love, compassion, and community. We spoke with Natalie Thoreson at the 2023 White Privilege Conference.

In this episode, we talk with Natarsha Prince Sanders about racial justice and spiritual development. She's a speaker, teacher, and community pastor, as well as a doctoral student at Columbia Theological Seminary.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Shemariah Arki about building community and promoting institutional equity in education. She is an educator, an activist, an organizer. She currently serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies as well as the director of the Center for Pan African Culture, both at Kent State University in Ohio. Dr. Arki is also the founder and program director of the Ellipsis Institute for Women of Color in the Academy. We spoke with her at the 2023 White Privilege Conference in Mesa, Arizona.

In this episode, we talk with Debby Irving about white privilege. She's a racial justice educator and author of the book, Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race. We spoke with Debbie Irving at the 2023 White Privilege Conference in Mesa, Arizona.

In this episode, we talk with Curtis Acosta about conflicts over ethnic studies and about humanizing education. He taught high school for over 20 years in Tucson, Arizona, and developed a groundbreaking Mexican-American studies program. The state of Arizona banned that program in 2010, despite several years of positive academic outcomes. The ban was later ruled unconstitutional. Curtis Acosta currently works as an educational consultant and teaches at the University of Arizona. We spoke with him at the 2023 White Privilege Conference in Mesa, Arizona.

In this episode, we talk with Aaron Stark about his journey from an abusive childhood to almost carrying out a mass shooting, and then becoming an advocate for mental health services and gun control. His TED talk, entitled, I Was Almost a School Shooter, has over 14 million views.

On this episode, we talk with Erin Breeze about navigating conflict in divorce and transforming the way we look at divorce. She is a life after divorce strategist who works primarily with mothers through her program, Happy Home.

On this episode, we talk with Lisa Forbes about how she draws on her personal experience with trauma and incarceration to advocate for others who are struggling to re-enter society as restored citizens. And she also describes a simple technique called Tapping that has helped her deal with the emotional and physical effects of trauma. Lisa Forbes is an author and keynote speaker. Her book is titled, I Can Take it From Here: A Memoir of Trauma, Prison, and Self-Empowerment.

In this episode, we talk with Dante King about the roots of racism in America. Dante King is the author of The 400 Year Holocaust: White America's Legal, Psychopathic and Sociopathic Black Genocide - and the Revolt Against Critical Race Theory. He is also a human resources professional and has taught at the University of California, San Francisco, and will soon be guest faculty at The Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. We spoke with Dante King in April at the 2023 White Privilege Conference in Mesa, Arizona.

On this episode, we talk with Jes Rau about pronouns, why they matter, and how we can respond to some of the common conflicts and apprehensions around using non-binary pronouns. Jes Rau is the Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training at Well Power, a large mental health service provider in Denver. They are also a member of the production team here at Well, That Went Sideways!

On this episode, we talk with Grace Gee about the healing power of art and storytelling. She is a Colorado-based artist, writer, and teacher, and much of our conversation centers on one of her recent projects called Bubbling Up. It's a public exhibit that invites members of the BIPOC community to write their stories of discrimination and injustice, and then non-BIPOC community members are invited to write a response.

Kimberlee Yolanda Williams is an educator, DEI consultant, workshop leader, speaker, certified life and health coach, and author of the book Dear White Women, Please Come Home. In this episode we talk with Kimberlee about engaging across difference.

Dena Samuels is an author, professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and consultant on mindful inclusive leadership development. In this episode we talk with Dena about the role of mindfulness in addressing conflict and advancing social justice.

René Marie is a Grammy nominated jazz vocalist and songwriter. In this episode we talk with René about music and art as a form of communication and explore the idea of the artist's response to conflict.

Sideways Pod is a proud sponsor of the 2023 White Privilege Conference hosted by The Privilege Institute. To promote this event, we'd like to re-share our interview with Dr. Eddie Moor Jr., founder of The Privilege Institute, where he discusses the conference which has become one of the top national and international conferences for participants who want to move beyond dialogue and into action around issues of diversity, power, privilege, and leadership. For more information, visit https://www.theprivilegeinstitute.com/

Tom Cosgrove is the founder and president of New Voice Strategies and is the co-creator of the documentary film "Divided We Fall." In this episode, we talk with Tom about making human concoctions with people who have different political beliefs and who come from different backgrounds.

In this episode we explore the work of community mediation with Kabrina Bass, the Executive Director of the Midlands Mediation Center, a non-profit conflict resolution organization serving central South Carolina.

Dr. Ajenai Clemmons is an assistant professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. She was formerly the director of the Office of the Independent Monitor, the civilian oversight agency for the City and Courtney of Denver Police and Sheriff departments. In this episode, Dr. Clemmons explores how conflicts with police could be reduced if police built understanding and worked to meet public expectations.