Huskie Conversation Cafe Podcast

This episode invites students, faculty, and staff to explore the major insights gathered from our 2024–25 campus pláticas (conversations). Listeners will learn about the methodology, shared experiences, emerging themes, and opportunities to shape future initiatives that reflect our campus community’s needs and aspirations. Music: Many thanks to idokay for the use of his music as the intro and outr...

In this powerful season opener, join your host, Ana Velazquez, with Marla Franco, Ph. D., Karla Silva, Ph. D. and Jared Lujan, Ph. D., as they unpack the critical concept of servingness in higher education and its connection to the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation. They explore how institutions can embrace this designation to better support Hispanic and underrepresented student popul...

In the season 5 premiere, join your host, Ana Velazquez, with Marla Franco, Ph. D., Karla Silva, Ph. D. and Jared Lujan, Ph. D., as they explore the intersection of servingness and the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation in higher education. They discuss how colleges and universities can leverage the HSI designation to better serve Hispanic and underrepresented communities, foster inclu...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Café Podcast, we present a recorded lecture on the legacy of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable featuring Dr. Courtney Joseph. This lecture, recorded in October of 2021, brought the NIU community together to discuss the importance of oral history and storytelling in research and preserving the legacy of important historical figures such as Jean Baptiste Point du Sabl...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by NIU Police Department officer Andrew Sotomayor (he/him). J and Andrew discuss ways to challenge bias in police, how a legacy of police brutality creates generational trauma, and alternative models of engagement with civilians that are more aligned with the values of protecting and serving. They reference chapter...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by fellow Huskies Maliyah Davis (she/her), Ayan Manning (she/her), Dallas Douglass (he/him), Nani Quezada (she/they), Justin Smith (he/him), Parth Chokski (he/him), Devon Wenger (he/him), and a student who wished to remain anonymous. J and their guests discuss the opportunities that have shaped their lives, side hu...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by fellow Huskies Erin Marie Barker (she/her), Scott Tyler (he/him), Abby Byer (she/her), and Brian Griffin (he/him). J and their guests discuss what family means to them, how we know that a community values us, the NIU community, and what their dream future communities might look like. They reference chapters 6, 7...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them/theirs) is joined by Dr. James Cohen (he/him/his), an associate professor of ESL/Bilingual education at Northern Illinois University. J and Dr. Cohen discuss education, the importance of access and representation in the classroom, ways to teach with inclusion in mind, and why knowing yourself is critical for social justice, e...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them/theirs) is joined by Pastor Joe Mitchell (he/him/his), Senior Pastor at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in DeKalb, IL! J and Joe discuss religious practice, the intersections of racial and religious communities, the role of gender in religion and faith, and how religious communities can be a central force in healing and re...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them/theirs) is joined by Dr. Mehdi Semati (he/him/his), Professor and Chair in the Department of Communication at Northern Illinois University. J and Mehdi discuss culture and language, how the two create one another, the importance of common language, and communication and humor as a form of civic engagement and activism. They r...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them/theirs) is joined by Tamara Boston, (she/her/hers) a proud double alumna of Northern Illinois University and seasoned project coordinator for the Office of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. J and Tamara discuss the history of apartheid, the parallels between South Africa and America, raising a biracial child in both c...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Café, your host J Pappas (they/them/theirs) is joined by Northern Illinois University associate professor and author of White Fatigue: Rethinking Resistance for Social Justice, Dr. Joe Flynn (he/him/his). In the final of two episodes of this interview, J and Joe discuss white fatigue, identity development, social justice education, activism, antiracism, and the...

CW: Discussions of sexual assault, hate crimes, racial violence, suicide ideation, and terrorism. This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by cohosts Jasmine Ivy and Starr Lee from the office of Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for an exclusive conversation with Dr. LaVonya Bennett. In this full-length interview, J, Jasmine, Starr, and LaVonya di...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Café, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by Northern Illinois University associate professor and author of White Fatigue: Rethinking Resistance for Social Justice, Dr. Joe Flynn (he/him/his). In the first of two episodes of this interview, J and Joe discuss how early racialized experiences impacted his adult perspective, the process of writing a book and...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by Northern Illinois University professor and author of Humanity’s Last Stand: Confronting Global Catastrophe, Dr. Mark Schuller (he/him/his). In the final of two episodes of this interview, J and Mark discuss anthropological imagination, global capitalism, empathy, climate change, and how all of humanity’s struggl...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by Northern Illinois University professor and author of Humanity’s Last Stand: Confronting Global Catastrophe, Dr. Mark Schuller (he/him/his). In the first of two episodes of this interview, J and Mark discuss writing a book on major global events amidst a pandemic, a civil rights uprising, and national and global...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by the director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Professor of History at Grand View University, and author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto, Kevin Gannon (he/him). In the second and final episode of this interview, J and Kevin discuss themes in Radical Hope, including inclusive pedagogy,...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by the director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Professor of History at Grand View University, and author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto, Kevin Gannon (he/him). In part one of this episode series, J and Kevin discuss the process of writing from blog to book, what it was like to write t...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by Jocelyn Santana (she/her/hers) to discuss chapters 14-16 of When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele. J and Jocelyn discuss perspectives, self-reflection, community, and the 2020 election's parallels and differences to 2016. Find the work that Social J...

In the Huskie Conversation Cafe Deep Dives, your host J Pappas (they/them) takes a closer look at some of the big topics discussed in the main episode. This week, J is wrapping up season 1 of the podcast, and shares what you can expect from this podcast feed moving forward to the coming semesters. A big thank you to our listeners, our guest experts, and the educators sharing these episodes in thei...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by Jocelyn Santana (she/her/hers) to discuss chapters 14-16 of When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele. J and Jocelyn discuss perspectives, self-reflection, community, and the 2020 election's parallels and differences to 2016. Find the work that Social J...

In the Huskie Conversation Cafe Deep Dives, your host J Pappas (they/them) takes a closer look at some of the big topics discussed in the main episode. This week, J discusses the Black Lives Matter movement today, and what organizers have been working on in the seven years since the movement's inception in 2013. Sources for today's episode: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0pJEXffvS0uOHdJREJnZ2JJ...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by Sandy Lopez (she/her/hers/ella) to discuss chapter 13 of When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele. J and Sandy discuss building power, activist strategies, voting, and the importance of showing up for the Black community. Sandy's Reading List: We Deman...

In the Huskie Conversation Cafe Deep Dives, your host J Pappas (they/them) takes a closer look at some of the big topics discussed in the main episode. This week, J discusses voting, and what you need to know to vote in the 2020 election. Sources for today's episode: https://www.niu.edu/huskies-vote/index.shtml https://www.lwv.org/elections https://www.vote.org/state/illinois/ https://www.niu.edu/...

This week on the Huskie Conversation Cafe, your host J Pappas (they/them) is joined by Shaunda Wilson (she/her) and Rob Williams (he/him) to discuss chapter 12 of When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele. J, Shaunda, and Rob discuss trauma, poverty, crime, police brutality, and the importance of nuance in discussions around reform. Find...