Culture Episodes

Jennifer Chassman Browne on Disability Inclusion and Awareness | 1,611 Jennifer Chassman Browne believes true inclusion begins when people are seen, heard, and valued for who they are. An educator, author, and inclusion advocate with more than 25 years of experience, Jennifer has dedicated her career to creating learning environments where every person has the opportunity to belong. As a teacher, school leader, and founder of New Ground Educational Consulting, she helps schools and organizations build cultures rooted in accessibility, equity, and meaningful inclusion. Living with rheumatoid arthritis since the age of six, Jennifer brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work. Through workshops on disability inclusion, allyship, social justice, and belonging, she challenges people to rethink how environments, systems, and attitudes shape the experiences of those with disabilities. Her upcoming book, See Us, Know Us: Profiles of Disability, continues t…

Ryan Virden on Handling Difficult Conversations and Conflict Resolution | 1,606 Ryan Virden believes meaningful change begins with the courage to have difficult conversations. An author, cultural coach, and professor of Justice and Peace Studies at the University of St. Thomas, Ryan helps organizations, schools, and communities navigate conflict with greater empathy, accountability, and understanding. His work focuses on building cultures where trust, belonging, and honest dialogue become the foundation for lasting relationships. As the founder of Lir Cultural Coaching, Ryan equips leaders and teams with practical tools to engage across differences, address complex challenges, and foster environments where people feel seen, respected, and empowered to contribute. Rather than avoiding difficult conversations, he teaches people how to approach them with curiosity, courage, and compassion. Blending academic insight with real world application, Ryan's work challenges individua…

1,358 | Christopher Bylone Explains How Belonging Becomes a Movement Christopher Bylone is the visionary founder of Innovation Unbiased, a platform that blends data and storytelling to build cultures of belonging. As host of the podcast I Know I Belong When…, he amplifies courageous voices and powerful stories that explore identity, inclusion, and impact. A cancer survivor and lifelong advocate, Christopher has led global belonging strategies at Krispy Kreme and IFF, transforming workplace culture through inclusive policies, employee resource groups, and multimillion-dollar DE&I initiatives. His journey—from founding a Gay-Straight Alliance in college to shaping corporate ESG strategies—is defined by resilience, authenticity, and purpose. Based in the Charlotte Metro area, Christopher is a proud father to Derek, a freshman at the Darla Moore School of Business, and Jacob, an eighth grader who plays football and lacrosse. He leads with heart, strategy, and conviction, sh…

1,280 | RaisedByHer: Donnica & Ro Nita Breaks Down Culture, Identity, and Womanhood Raised By Her is where two generations meet to make sense of the past, navigate the present, and shape the future - together. Hosted by public affairs and communications strategist Donnica Hawes-Saunders and her mother, Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders, an accomplished broadcasting and arts executive, the podcast brings forward real, unfiltered conversations about culture, womanhood, and identity. Ro Nita - a lifelong advocate for the arts and education - has spent her career uplifting voices, building cultural institutions, and mentoring the next generation of women leaders. Donnica carries that same torch forward as a public affairs executive, helping brands and leaders tell stories that move people and drive impact. Together, they embody what Raised By Her stands for: legacy, love, and leadership. At its heart, Raised By Her is about growth - the kind that happens when we learn from the women w…

1,241 | Lessons in Reinvention and Purpose with Andreia Poston I'm Andreia, I started studying English at age 13, by 15 I spoke English fluently, I ended up helping a friend at the time open up an English course in Brazil called “Magic English.” I found that learning another language opened up broader horizons and decided to be part of an exchange program in 2003. Since then I have traveled to several cities in Europe, US and in Brazil, being exposed to different cultures and different ways of life, I decided to write a book “Create a Great Brand New Life” to share the thought processes I have learned along the way. I am now getting geared up to write a second book “ Next Level Up” the idea is to continue growing and achieving higher levels in my personal and professional life, to positively impact the lives I come in contact with. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://amzn.to/3ynqFfZ 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio,…

1,135 | How Schools Make Race: Dr. Laura Chávez-Moreno on Latinx Identity, Education & Racialization Laura Chávez-Moreno is an award-winning scholar, qualitative social scientist, and assistant professor in the Departments of Chicana/o & Central American Studies and Education at UCLA. She is the author of the award-winning book "How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America," published by Harvard Education Press. The book has been featured on several podcasts and in popular media, including the New Books Network, Forbes, and Ms. Magazine. She received the 2025 Emerging Scholars Award from the Critical Race Studies in Education Association. Visit LauraChavezMoreno.com ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://laurachavezmoreno.com/ 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-stopping designs? Check out our media services at https://www.kmmedia.pro/ — Top-tier quality without the agency price tag. Perfect …

1,071 | Uncovering Haiti’s Untold History with Scholar & Author Marlene Daut I'm Marlene Daut, I am an author, scholar, editor, and professor. I have published four single-authored books, which include Tropics of Haiti: Race and the Literary History of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World (Liverpool UP, 2015); Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism (Palgrave, 2017); Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution (UNC Press, 2023); and The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe (Knopf, 2025). My articles on Haitian history and culture have appeared in over a dozen magazines, newspapers, and journals including, The New Yorker (“What’s the Path Forward for Haiti?”), The New York Times (“Napoleon Isn’t a Hero to Celebrate”), Harper’s Bazaar (“Resurecting a Lost Palace of Haiti”), Essence (“Haiti isn’t Cursed. It is Exploited”), The Nation (“What the French Really Owe Haiti”), and the LA Review of Books…