White People Work

In this episode Scott muses on the roots of white defensive responses when the topic of race comes up, especially around DEI, reparations, or affirmative action. In seeking to start a conversation, Scott explores the white cultural value of fairness and the way that it seems to be inconsistently applied, or the challenges to how it is defined depending upon one's point of view. Scott would love to...

In this episode, Scott takes his first stab at one of the themes of this season:  how do we lean more into the humanity we share with all people? Starting with the third tenet of whiteness--that it urges us to attempt to transcend our humanity--Scott works his way from there to his direct experiences of some of the assumptions and worldview embedded into whiteness that have kept him from living an...

In this episode, Scott shares some of his favorite stories of his own journey of growing in empathy, particularly as a result of displacing himself as the only white family on a block of African-American and Central American residents in South Central Los Angeles. Additionally, Scott references the very recent Senate interview of Jeremy Carl of Montana, part of which can be viewed here on youtube:...

Scott's back! This is the launch of season five, where Scott will dive into three key steps of growth to better understanding ourselves and find our part to play in opposing racial injustice:  gaining perspective on ourselves, growing in empathy, and experiencing our shared humanity with others outside of whiteness. If you're just starting here, welcome! If you're back for more, thank you! Scott c...

In this final episode of season four, Scott ties together the threads of the fourth season, looking back at some of the uncanny conversations that have played themselves out in real-time in the US. Scott wraps up this season of examining the US political landscape through the tenets of whiteness by offering one last idea, one invitation for personal reflection, and one last proposal to motivate us...

In this episode, Scott steps away from the historical journey to put his feet on the ground and find sustainable hope. He shares about his steps of active engagement, lessons he learns along the way, and encouragement that he is finding to balance out some of the challenging realities of the daily news cycle. See the youtube video of how small steps of resistance can change the world through the l...

In this episode Scott completes the three-week tour through the history of the turn of the century, and brings together how the threads of science, immigration, and economics parallel the current state of the US. Scott tracks the way that mounting tension and disparity between labor and employers came to a head during and after World War One, and makes the case for this season as the starting poin...

In this episode Scott continues his look at the turn of the century, and how it parallels today. This is the second installation of this comparison, and traces the theme of immigration from the late 1800's through the early 1920's. Scott builds upon how the scientific ideas of eugenics and determinative heredity informed assessments and social views of the newer wave of Eastern and Southern Europe...

In this episode, Scott goes back into history mode, leaning heavily on the amazing work of Princeton historian Dr. Nell Irvin Painter in looking at what the turn of the 19th to 20th century in the US has to teach us about what we're in the midst of today. Tariffs, immigration, deportations, oligarchs, and the resurgence of white supremacist groups are just a few of the parallel issues of today and...

In this episode, Scott shares in a very live way the ways that he has had a recent revelation that he's been attempting to transcend his humanity in the way he's carried his own emotions and concerns with all that happening in the US political sphere in the present. Scott shares vulnerably about his own arrogant assumptions about soldiering on as a good white person in these dynamic times, and abo...

Scott interviews friend and co-founder of Italian Homecoming, Chris Centracchio, discussing the story of Chris's experience of being received by his long-lost Italian relatives, and the felt need it brings to the surface for many white European Americans. Chris shares his story of growing up as an Italian American in Rhode Island, the complexities of his grandmother's relationship with her Italian...

In this episode Scott shares his experience of diversity, equity, and inclusion, how they have never threatened him, and why the stated narratives of DEI being dismantled in favor of merit don't hold up under scrutiny. Additionally, Scott covers the opposition to critical race theory and honest about US history, and offers tools for naming, dissecting, and evaluating narratives about reality that...

Scott interviews Dr. Corey Clay, a PhD in industrial/organizational psychology, and recent director of diversity and inclusion for the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Clay shares his unique life journey--from Texas to the military to corrections to academia--and how it has led him to be passionate about advocating for the rights of African Americans and margin...

This episode kicks off the start of season four with Scott sharing about the interesting relationship between words and actions as a set up for the season. He introduces the theme of the season, which will observe current political rhetoric, values, and decision-making through the lens of whiteness. Scott starts the observation by discussing the inauguration day declaration that Denali and the Gul...

In this final episode of season three, Scott invites a guest speaker to share her experiences of growing up in an under-resourced community as a white person. Scott and the guest journey into some of the complexities of how race and class combine to chart different paths of understanding what it means to be a white European American. This episode is, in many ways, a composite of many of the themes...

In this episode Scott shares a recent insight from his friend about the ways white folks tend to seek more information about racial injustice, when they're not putting into practice the information they've already learned. Beyond that, Scott explores some of the insights from James Baldwin about the unconscious awareness that all white folks carry, and the importance of white folks moving the impe...

In this episode Scott live-processes his experiences in Ireland, and the way that he got the pilgrimage he needed, not the one he wanted. Scott brings a present-tense level of processing the humiliating nature of learning the same lessons over again with higher stakes, and how that is part and parcel toward the ongoing journey of getting out from underneath whiteness as while people. Scott shares...

Scott goes back to the "stick" in this episode, breaking down his take on how the ideology of whiteness leads people to a violent way of being in the world. He takes the tenants of whiteness--the god-complex that centers itself, controls others, and seeks to transcend humanity--and breaks down how these lead those under the influence of whiteness toward a violent way of relating to the earth, to o...

In this episode, Scott takes a more personal turn to share his experiences from his own family of origin, and how he and his wife have discovered and stumbled into ways to live differently in their home now, as they host friends and neighbors, and as they raise their family. While some of the engagement with whiteness in previous episodes can be at a historical and abstract level, this episode get...

TRIGGER WARNING: this episode contains direct quotes of historical anti-Jewish literature and ideas that are disturbing. In this episode Scott seeks to shed a little bit more light on the historic connection between whiteness and anti-semitism, and in doing so clarify the confusing double-standard by which the United States can be consciously or unconsciously anti-Jewish while being so deeply alig...

In this episode, Scott breaks down the complex relationship between race, dominance, privilege, and personal identity, particularly for white European Americans. While it is common to be unaware of these dynamics for white men like Scott, learning to notice them, empathize with those most hurt by them, and engage with correcting them can be a wonderful journey of purpose and transformation.

In this episode Scott balances out the "stick" of the challenge in the previous episode with the "carrot" of how white folks can be free from the pressure of trying to never make mistakes, and--how when white folks do deep work on themselves--there's good that come out of them that might be better than expected. The episode addresses some of the knee-jerk responses white folks can have when issues...

Welcome to episode two of the third season!  This episode reveals Scott's exploratory thoughts on the ways white people can tend toward being falsely nice, what's behind that, and why it might be a deeper issue than one would think. Follow Scott's recent story from a friend and how it connects to his own reflections on failures and revelations from his own cross-cultural relationships. And join in...

Welcome to Season Three! Scott's been living out the principles of the first two seasons, testing out ideas and theories and learning new things, and he's back, ready to share more of the journey of understanding himself as a white person, and taking responsibility for his presence in the world.  In this episode Scott shares his evolving thoughts on whiteness--adding more nuance on some aspects an...

In this episode, Scott shares his reflections on the past season's interviews with eight of his friends of color as well as a new insight he's had into why it is that whiteness is so toxic and unsustainable.