On Behalf Of

On this episode of On Behalf Of, Dara Kalima speaks with Nathan P on behalf of men living with Lupus. Nathan, being the spoken word artist he is, spins all things to a positive. He shares his story of diagnosis and his life with this blessing. He gives advice on living through pain and then shares some vital feedback to artists out there. This is a must listen episode about vulnerability and heali...

On this episode of On Behalf Of, Dara Kalima speaks with Jim McCarthy who represents the Literary Agent community. Jim shares some of the knowledge he’s gained over the past 20 years. But of course the conversation goes in all directions as Jim and Dara also have been friends for over 20 years. Prepare to giggle, to be inspired, and get an inside look into the writing industry in this conversation...

On this episode of On Behalf Of Dara Kalima speaks with Johnny J Martin who speaks on behalf of the Trekker/Trekkie community. But of course the conversation doesn’t stop there. They discuss several other of his fandoms, his now famous cat Captain Delilah and how he’s dealt with living with multiple sclerosis. The conversation is definitely from a different time and space, so join them. Find out m...

Balin Lubsy also known as The Great Cigma joined Dara Kalima on this episode of On Behalf Of where he represented for the Magical Community. He explained a bit of Magician history and the different types of magicians. Understand Balin is not just you classical professional magician that started this yesterday, he got but by the bug and had his business license prior to becoming a teenager. While M...

Maritri Garrett, a dynamic singer, songwriter, and healer, joined Dara Kalima on this episode of On Behalf Of. They were supposed to talk primarily about Maritri’s career as a multi-instrument wielding musician but they connected so personally that this conversation is more like two lifelong friends catching up. Listen in as they talk about Maritri’s journeys to being an independent artist, to par...

Nayma Chamchaoun, a British Moroccan Author, joined Dara Kalima on this week’s episode to speak on behalf of her community. They spoke about what it was like for her to be part of both communities, and how they influenced her writing. Nayma takes you into a deep exploration of culture, pride, belonging, clashes, aging, and what that means when raising children. Do listen in to learn about this dyn...

Eichakeem McClary, Esq. visited with Dara Kalima to speak on behalf of Black lawyers. The conversation got real deep real quick. They spoke about their love of Harlem, their church affiliations, the gauntlet that was NYU, and the importance of sisterhood. They cheered each other on, celebrated the wins and shared in the struggle. There was so much hope in this episode and for the second time on th...

Social Worker, Taneeka Wilder, sat down with Dara Kalima to speak on behalf of the youth in which she serves. She really helps us look at how we dangerous labels are and challenges us to operate with more compassion for one another. The conversation continues on to her many hobbies and interests and you will get to hear some of her poetry.  Find out more about Taneeka and book by visiting the foll...

In this episode, Dara Kalima sits on the other side of the microphone and allows award winning poet and open mic host M.A. Dennis. They talk about her many communities including the theater community, the Trek community, the Black community, the Bronx, the podcast community and a few others. It’s a silly episode where you get to better learn about the On Behalf Of host but then things get real whe...

In this episode, Dara Kalima welcomes Jenny Pisani to the show to speak on behalf of Peace Corp Volunteers. Jenny generously talked about what it was like for her to spend two years in the Peace Corp in Cambodia as she learned about the people, the customs and herself. She delved into some of the beautiful aspects of her time there as well as some of her hardest moments. The two then laugh hysteri...

Nav the Poet educates host, Dara Kalima, on the Sikh religion and community. And when we say educate, he goes into detail about the history, principles and symbols. They then bond over their respective faiths, their love of poetry, and their interest in films. They talk activism, feminism, and beatboxing. This episode is full of great information about the Sikh faith, how we can support our friend...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, and Ella McLeod, Author and Poet, completely geek out in this episode as they talk about the Fantasy Writing Community. Ella shares her favorite authors, how she fell into this genre, and why it’s so important to her. They then dive into some of the deep frustrations about the sci-fiction fandom communities all while celebrating the wonderfulness of Black Women, es...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Dr. Virginia Seewaldt on behalf of the Anti-Racism Community. This conversation defines some terms, explores if and when breaks are warranted, and why this is work is so necessary. They even share the history of their friendship and Virginia tricks Dara into sharing a little known, or more so previously not shared on this show, fact. They really dig into...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Deborah Anderson on Behalf of the Black Animators Community. In this episode, Deborah and Dara speak about a myriad of things such as hair, Black Greek life, racism and of course, animation. This conversation was recorded before the Little Mermaid reveal but somehow is still quite timely. Deborah shares her reflections on the many places she’s lived arou...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Mark Gindick on Behalf of the Circus Arts Community. In this episode, Mark tries his best to help those with phobias of clowns to understand they are just people too while highlighting those you’ve seen on TV throughout the years. Then they kind of geek out on the styles of clowning and the history of the craft. For the first time on this podcast, Dara s...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with nora oz on Behalf of the Millennial Community. In this episode, nora talks about all things Millennial, from their struggles to their innovations. They then compare the experiences of the different generations and Dara forgives nora for skipping over the Gen X group as many others tend to as well. It’s a great conversation in which all listeners get to t...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Thomas Fucaloro on Behalf of the Staten Island/NY Poetry Community. In this episode, Thomas talked about what it meant to be a mid-level poet, his feelings on gatekeeping, and what he loves about the poetry community. He holds nothing back and shares many gems and history lessons along the way. When two poets get to talking the conversation gets deep and...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Shay Marie G on Behalf of the non-traditional families. In this episode, Shay Marie talks about what it was like to be raised in a non-traditional family and how others can be more sensitive to these communities. They are detoured through some common interests and geeked out for a moment. There’s some silly content, a cute dog, and a couple words of insp...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Orane Williams on Behalf of the Travel Enthusiasts Community. In this episode, Orane, a public-speaking dual-citizen, talks with Dara about his passion for traveling and where it all stems from. He also shares some of his travel best tips in terms of ways to find the best deals and how to make it the most beneficial experience. They also talk about the i...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Rohi Mirza Pandya on behalf of the Mixed-Race Children Community. In this episode, they talk about her identity as being a person raised by having parents from two different racial/religious groups and what that has meant for her childhood, her adulthood, and her parenting style. Rohi is a dynamic film producer who’s got a lot to say about representation...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Phillip Giambri (aka The Ancient Mariner) on behalf of the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. He shares with Dara the impact he’s had on the neighborhood and the changes he’s seen through the years. They then find they both worked as theater technicians though Phillip’s story is so much more compelling. Phillip also goes on to share his wisdom on pe...

Dara Kalima, the Community Poet, chats with Hattress Barbour, III about his experience as a Black father. He shares what it means to him to be part of this community and what he wants others to know is beautiful about it. He also gets a bit vulnerable in talking about balancing his poetry career in relation to his parenting duties and he then discusses his own relationship with his late father. Yo...