Madness Cafe

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! We're joined this week by Dr. Uche Blackstock to discuss her memoir Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine. Legacy is more than an account of Dr. Blackstock's journey to and in healthcare, it is also a love letter to her mother (the "original" Dr. Blackstock) and her community. As you...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! What happens when a clinical psychologist writes a novel about a girl on the verge of adulthood trying to find her way in the world without her mother? You get By the Way, I Love You written by this week's guest Susan Beth Miller. In this book, Susan explores the main character's journey to understand her deceased...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Originally published in 2018, Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison is a novel that focuses on the life and self-discovery of Mike Munoz, a young working class Mexican American man. In 2022, the American Library Association reported that Lawn Boy was the 7th-most-banned book in the country that year due to LGBTQ+ content and sexually...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Understanding the connection between humans and nature is of utmost importance now. In fact, developing that understanding may lead to solutions to existential threats like climate change and social inequality. Our guest Anne Riley has spent a lifetime thinking about and trying to understand this connection. She even wrote...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Why is it important to acknowledge that this week's guest is a transgender scientist and a content creator? Tune in to find out! Amethysta Herrick, Ph. D., is a transgender scientist and content creator who has always been driven by an insatiable desire to understand why the universe works the way it does. Ami’s academ...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! We all know that laughter can be healing. But, it can also be a helpful tool to get your message across regardless of whether you're sharing a good joke, making a toast, or trying to get someone to listen to your message. This week's guest, Lynn Harris, knows quite a bit about this. She is founder and CEO of GOLD...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! The next installment of our Banned Books Series is Maus by Art Spiegelman, a graphic novel in two volumes depicting Art Spiegelman talking to his father, Vladek, about his experience as a Polish Jew before, during and after the Holocaust. Maus originally began as a strip in 1972 and was serialized from 1980 to 1991. Some ha...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! How are DEI professionals reacting to the rapidly changing political landscape? This week's guest Yvonne Jackson joins us to discuss how her company SocialEDG is relying on joy, resilience, and the ability to adjust in order to continue doing the important work that many companies are still committed to.    Yvonne Jack...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Decolonize yourself - it sounds like such a daunting task, right? But it doesn't have to be. Guest Shebana Coelho - writer, performer, and creativity coach - talks about how creativity and play (especially embodied creativity and play) can be catalysts for change. They can help us to shed all that is not ours to carry....

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast Cancer Facts & Stats 2024 - Incidence, Age, Survival, & More . Our guest, Erica Neubert Campbell is one of those women. Having lived through her mother's experience with breast cancer, E...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! How much thought have you given to death? Not just who gets what when you're gone, but also who you want around you in your last moments, what your passwords are, and how you want to be memorialized, just to name a few. Death is easily one of the most difficult topics to talk about. We all know that death is inevitable...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! It's time for the next installment of our Banned Books Series! This month's book is The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Published in 2018, The Poet X tells the story of a 15-year-old Dominican American girl finding her voice as she grows up and comes to terms with life, school, and family. Although The Poet X is clas...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! So much has happened in our lives since our last life episode that we decided to give y'all an update. Tune in to hear what's going on with us! Mentioned in this episode: Money Mindset Financial Coaching: website , podcast , Instagram , YouTube Munk's Motors: website Support the show Be part of the conversati...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! This week's guest Saoirse Nash shares her personal story of living with a long-time chronic UTI and the struggle to get the necessary testing and treatment. Saoirse is a director, content contributor and patient liaison at Live UTI Free Ltd., a globally recognized women's health research and education organization...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Do you remember sex ed from your school days? Did you actually learn anything? Is sex ed even taught in schools anymore? If it is, its days are likely numbered in this political climate. It turns out lack of adequate, comprehensive sex education is universal. In this week's episode we talk to someone who is doing somet...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! This month's selection is The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid. Published in 2022, The Last White Man is the fifth novel by the British Pakistani novelist and consultant Mohsin Hamid. Written as an extended allegory, it tells the story of an unnamed town in an unnamed country whose white inhabitants have all begun to cha...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, poverty continues to be a seemingly unsolvable issue in the United States. But is it really unsolvable? This week's guest, Devon Gray, argues that poverty is a problem that can be solved. In this episode, we speak with Devon about possible solutions that could p...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! In this episode we speak with guest Anika Pavel about her memoir Encounter with the Future, chronicling her journey from childhood in communist Czechoslovakia to her experience as an immigrant to her life now as a writer. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Every life tells a story, and Anika's is no exception...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! In this episode, we have the genuine pleasure of chatting with our Super Fan Susannah Cragwick! After all of the mutual admiration, we dove into Susannah's incredible story of redefining herself after growing up in a high control, conservative religious environment, adjusting to living in a foreign country where she do...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Welcome to the 2nd installment of our Banned Books Series! This month's book is Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, a 2003 novel that Atwood described as speculative fiction rather than pure science fiction because it doesn't deal with things we can't yet do but goes beyond the amount of realism she associ...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Given the amount of mis- and disinformation in the news it's increasingly important that we make smarter decisions about the news we consume and where we get it. But how do we do that? Our guest, journalist and anchor, Jasmine Styles talks to us about what we need to keep in mind when figuring out where to go for accur...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Porn's influence is everywhere - just take a look around. But what is it like to work in the porn industry as a writer, to have a view behind the curtain. Robert Rosen's book Beaver Street: A History of Modern Pornography gives the reader a view that isn't often discussed. Tune in to hear about Robert's...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! In many ways, the country (and possibly the world) is trying to make sense of the 2024 election and what lies ahead. We’re doing the same. Join the postmortem and let us know how you’re processing Trump’s reelection.  Support the show Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Welcome to the 1st installment of our Banned Books Series! In this episode, we discuss George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto. This is a beautiful and important book. Tune in to hear our reactions to and understanding of All Boys Aren't Blue. Afterwards, let us know your thoughts about t...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Sometimes a poem or a piece of writing just speaks to you. In the first book of our Banned Book Series, All Boys Aren't Blue, George M. Johnson talks about Paul Laurence Dunbar's We Wear the Mask - a poem that has significant meaning for Raquel.  Share with us a poem or piece of writing that has impacted you! Supp...