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In this episode of OP Talks, Rev. Dr. Tony Lin talks to Dr. Nely Galán, entrepreneur, Emmy Award–winning TV producer, real-estate mogul, author, and podcaster. Her New York Times bestseller Self Made: Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way (Spiegel & Grau, 2016), which features a foreword by financial advisor Suze Orman, inspires women to find their financial footing in the world...

READ EXCERPT: Sacred Fields, Sacred Nostalgia Discount code for purchase of either paperback (ships out from mid-July to early August) or hardcopy : AAFLYG6

In this episode of OP Talks, sociologist Rev. Dr. Tony Lin talks to New York Times National Correspondent Edgar Sandoval about his start in journalism, writing about Texas, and the nuances of the U.S. Latino experience. In particular, Sandoval discusses his experience of reporting on the mass shooting that occurred on May 24, 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Sandoval was born in Ca...

In this episode of OP Talks, Emanuel Padilla talks to T.I. Frazier about growing up with parents who were pastors, writing for children, and about his most recent book, Faith Arising (Timothy Frazier, 2022), which charts his journey of discovery and explores Christian teachings. The book invites readers “to critically examine key moments in your life where you felt lost, heartbroken, inspired, cha...

In this episode of OP Talks, Rev. Dr. Tony Tian-Ren Lin talks to celebrated author Sandra Cisneros about her new poetry collection 'Woman Without Shame' (Knopf, 2022) "Art," she says, "is the medicine that heals our heart from the darkness that overwhelms and transforms us. You need to create art not to distract you but to bring you in touch with this darkness that is inside us. Art's mission isn'...

In this episode of OP Talks, historian Dr. Felipe Hinojosa talks to filmmaker Ray Santiesteban about his documentary The First Rainbow Coalition (Independent Lens, 2020) and the need for more Latinx historians and filmmakers. Through rare archival footage and interviews with members of The Rainbow Coalition, Santiesteban tells the story of the groundbreaking alliance between the Black Panther Part...

“The arts is where we find our humanity,” says José Pérez, who spent 20 years in prison and now advocates for the rehabilitative arts and foster children. He credits poetry, and the arts in general, with transforming his life. “Our art comes from us. It comes from the deepest parts of ourselves,” he tells cultural sociologist Rev. Dr. Tony T. R. Lin. “And when [our art] goes into the world, you kn...

Theologian Lucila Crena talks to photojournalist Eve Fairbanks, who has lived in Johannesburg, South Africa for thirteen years. Her debut book The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa's Racial Reckoning (Simon and Schuster, 2022) “weaves together the stories of three ordinary South Africans over five tumultuous decades in a sweeping and exquisite look at what really happens when a coun...

Faith, Love, Outreach, Restoration, Advancing the Gospel—these are the stated values of FLORA Ministries, founded by Noemi Córdova. Based out of Expansion Church in Queens, New York, the organization “supports immigrant families and mobilizes the Church to build with their communities.” In this episode of OP Talk, Rev. Milly Silencio talks to Córdova, who is “passionate about working alongside oth...