Staring Down the Storm: Autism Advocacy in America

What happens when we stop seeing people as diagnoses, case numbers, or "clients"—and start seeing them as human beings again? That's exactly the conversation I wanted to have with Melissa Fisher and Erica Pearson, the co-founders of New Wave Wellness. Their stories are deeply personal, but what they're building goes far beyond disability services. They're challenging the way we think about care, c...

I sat down with Rocky Roggio, filmmaker, advocate, and someone who isn’t afraid to challenge deeply held assumptions about faith, identity, and power. We talked about her work exposing misinformation surrounding the Bible—particularly the ways scripture has been used, and often misused, against LGBTQ+ people. If the Bible wasn’t originally written in English, why are so many modern interpretations...

For years, we've been told that autism advocacy is about awareness. But what if awareness isn't enough anymore? What if the real challenge is building communities that actually support families, caregivers, and autistic individuals where they live—especially in places that often get overlooked? In this conversation, I sit down with Tiffany Neal, who brings more than two decades of experience in au...

What does it mean to truly represent a community that has been pushed to the margins? That's the focus of my conversation with Bella Bautista, the Democratic nominee for Georgia House District 14. Bella shared her journey into politics, her experiences as a trans woman in the South, and her commitment to bringing a new generation of leadership to the Georgia State Capitol. We discussed why represe...

What happens when the people who claim to represent us stop listening to the people they're supposed to serve? That's the question at the heart of my conversation with Andrew Rice, who is challenging a long-time incumbent and taking aim at what he sees as a Democratic Party more interested in maintaining control than creating real change. We talked about political disillusionment, corporate influe...

At what point do we stop pretending the system is working? That’s the question I kept coming back to in this conversation with Carlos Gomez, better known as Coconut Justice. Carlos walked away from corporate advertising and started using his creative skills to support grassroots political candidates, independent media, and real community advocacy. Why? Because too many people with power are protec...

Chad Ennis doesn’t fit neatly into a box — and honestly, that’s the point. In this conversation, we talked about identity, travel, race, power, education, masculinity, and what happens when you finally stop performing the version of yourself the world expects. Chad shared stories about growing up as a first-generation Jamaican-American, the influence of his grandfather, discovering he had ADHD, an...

Early this year, I decided to leave my job with the US Postal Service and become a candidate for Indiana's 8th Congressional District, in this fall's midterm election. With the primary on May 5th, I had roughly three months to get set up, attend events, gain recognition and most of all, learn what people were looking for in this district. It was one of the most fascinating and meaningful experienc...

What happens when the life you built your identity around suddenly stops making sense? That’s what I talked about with Brianna Newhart — creator of “Recovered Republican” — and this conversation goes way beyond politics. We talked about grief, religion, autism, disability, misinformation, and the exhausting pressure so many people feel to perform perfection just to be accepted. Brianna shared how...

I’m still thinking about my conversation with Taylor Hines where we didn’t sugarcoat a single thing. What’s happening to families navigating disability right now isn’t just frustrating—it’s unacceptable. Services are being slashed, hours reduced, and the people making these decisions? Many of them have never stepped foot into the lives they’re impacting. So I have to ask: who are these systems act...

I sat down with my friend Erica Thomison, and honestly, I’m still angry. Not at her—at the system. Because how is it that a mom with a master’s in social work, someone who knows how to navigate the maze, is still spending 20+ hours on the phone just to get life-saving medication for her son? What chance does anyone else uneducated in “the system” have? We say these things are in place to support f...

I sat down with Bernard Taylor, a firefighter turned congressional candidate, and this conversation didn’t feel like politics - it felt like a reality check. When you’re responding to 911 calls and seeing how people actually live, you don’t get to hide behind talking points. You see the consequences of policy failures up close. So why are we still letting politicians sell us stories instead of sho...

We need to stop lying about war. Not softening it. Not dressing it up. Lying. Because what Melinda Grisby shared with me isn’t the version you see in movies—it’s the version we actively avoid. Limbs torn apart. Burned bodies. Children caught in the blast radius. So let me ask you—why are we still so comfortable romanticizing something this brutal? Melinda spent 10 years in the Air Force, serving t...

I don’t think we talk enough about where leaders actually come from—and what they’ve had to survive to get here.  In this conversation, Bri Woodson shares a story that is anything but polished politics. Addiction. Trafficking. A suicide attempt. Medical neglect. Grief. And somehow, through all of that, she didn’t just rebuild—she decided to run for Congress. So I have to ask: why are we still bein...

Last year, I met with Yolanda Kincaid, CEO of Sycamore Services, and we had one of those conversations that makes you stop and ask: who exactly are these policies supposed to help? Because right now, it feels like families are being told their child is “done” with support based on a number on a spreadsheet — not real life. We talked a lot about the proposed caps on ABA therapy in Indiana, and I’m...

This episode kicks off the first conversation in a new series I’m doing with Barbara Busolo, and let me tell you — we’re not easing into this topic gently. If you’ve been hearing nonstop hype about AI lately and wondering what’s actually real versus what’s marketing, you’re not alone. I’ve been asking the same questions. Barbara’s story alone is fascinating. She came to the United States from Arge...

I sat down with Jackson Franklin, and this wasn’t a polite political conversation. This was someone saying out loud what most politicians are too afraid to admit: the system isn’t broken by accident — it’s working exactly the way the powerful want it to. A combat medic, a paramedic, and now a congressional candidate, Jackson has literally watched veterans get sent home to die because they couldn’t...

We have two episodes for you this week! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the stories we tell ourselves about other people. Especially when it comes to disability. Why do we assume limitation before we ever take the time to understand the person standing in front of us? In this episode, I sat down with Mitch Stevens, author of Transcending Labels , and our conversation challenged a lot of thos...

What happens when you grow up surrounded by one political worldview… and realize it just doesn’t fit? That’s exactly the journey Natasha Baker shares in this conversation. Raised in a deeply conservative Hoosier family, Natasha didn’t suddenly become “political.” She simply started asking questions. Why do policies hurt the very communities they claim to protect? Why are families struggling while...

Last week, Dr. Stuart Jones and I started a conversation about disability advocacy, faith, and the responsibility we all have to stand up for people who are too often ignored. This week, we keep going—and honestly, we go deeper. Stuart shares powerful stories about his brother Stephen and the simple but profound message that shaped his life: God don’t make no junk. It’s a phrase that sounds almost...

I sat down with Dr. Stuart Jones to talk about For the Love of Stephen — but this conversation is bigger than one book. It’s about who we decide is fully human. When Stuart’s brother Stephen was born in 1954, his parents were told to institutionalize him. Put him away. Out of sight, out of mind. They refused. And that decision shaped generations. With the powerful endorsement of Temple Grandin — w...

What happens when your very existence challenges the boxes society demands you check? This week, Jaclyn Peterson and I go deep — into ancestry, apartheid, passing, and the audacity of being told to “pick a race.” From her South African Cape Colored heritage to growing up an Air Force brat in America, this story exposes how race isn’t just personal — it’s political, economic, and generational. Weal...

What if the system isn’t broken—what if it’s working exactly as designed? I sat down with Melinda Grisby to talk about decolonization as more than a buzzword. We unpack whiteness as ideology, privilege as proximity to power, and how nationalism and capitalism rely on keeping us divided. If we’re constantly reacting, exhausted, and fighting culture wars—who’s actually benefiting? We challenge the m...

Last week, Sierra Martin and I opened the door. This week, we walk straight through it. The baby is babbling in the background of this episode, and honestly, it’s the perfect soundtrack. Because this conversation is about who we claim to value—and who we actually take care of. Sierra was 18 when her body began shutting down—waking up day after day with a new joint that wouldn’t move. She was takin...

I sat down with Sierra Martin - a full-time student, mother, and someone done pretending power is accidental. We talked about Arab history in Indiana, post-9/11 surveillance, how fear is manufactured to justify erasure. We traced the throughline from stripped cultural education to Zionism as a political project, the parallels between Palestinian dispossession and Indigenous removal in the U.S. We...