Author-Columnist-Political Commentator Steve Phillips: How We Win the Civil War

Steve Phillips suspected there would be no “red wave” in November. One of the most astute political thinkers of our time, he showed us, in his book Brown is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Created a New American Majority, that people of color in combination with progressive whites comprise the majority in this country, a majority that put a Black president in the White House twice. In his new book, How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy Forever, he sheds light on the forces that seek to undermine our democracy, drawing a straight line from the Confederacy to Donald Trump, and illuminates the path forward by highlighting the organizations and individuals whose sustained efforts have transformed the political landscape in Georgia, Arizona, and beyond. In this conversation, Steve shares his core motivation for writing this book, which he describes as a culmination of his life’s work up to this point. We also discuss his writing routine, the surprises he uncovered in his research, and the examples, past and present, that inspire him to continue the fight.

Writing, ActivismTanya ShafferDecember 13, 2022politics, racism, progressive, author, book, writingComment

Singer-Songwriter-Activist Holly Near: I Am Open, and I Am Willing

Holly Near has had a legendary performing career spanning over 50 years, that has taken her from Hollywood to Broadway to marches and rallies and concert halls all over the world. One of the most powerful, consistent, and outspoken singers and songwriters of our time, her music elevates spirits and inspires activism. Some of the topics touched on in this lively and wide-ranging interview are her childhood on a California ranch, her life-changing experience on the Free The Army Tour during the Vietnam War, her songwriting process, her collaborations with artists such as Ronnie Gilbert and Emma’s Revolution, what it means to her to be an elder, and what she’s been up to during the pandemic. The interview is interwoven with snippets of Holly’s music from the seventies to the present.

Music, Songwriting, ActivismTanya ShafferDecember 16, 2021music, musician, women's music, feminism, activism, Singer-Songwriter Comments

Dancer-Choreographer Tonya Marie Amos: Dance for the Revolution

Tonya Amos is the founder of Grown Women Dance Collective, a company made up of internationally renowned dancers in their forties and fifties who have retired from full-time positions in the nation’s finest professional dance ensembles. Tonya combines her exuberant spirit, her passion for arts and community-building, and her expertise in dance, health, and wellness to celebrate Black history; build cross-cultural, cross-racial, and cross-class bridges; and bring arts and wellness services to economically disenfranchised communities all over the San Francisco Bay Area. In this podcast, she talks with host Tanya Shaffer about her extraordinary journey as a dancer, which took her from the racially discriminatory Bay Area dance scene of the 70’s and 80’s to New York and the Alvin Ailey Company. They also discuss Tonya’s work with Grown Women Dance Collective; how she became a choreographer by default; her passion for breaking down barriers between people of all classes, races, and generations; and her plans to train a new generation of health and wellness experts to bring Pilates, dance, and physical therapy into communities that have previously had little to no access.

Multidisciplinary Artist & Disability Rights Activist Gwynneth VanLaven: Am I Allowed to Laugh at This?

Multidisciplinary artist Gwynneth VanLaven uses photography, installation, performance, writing, and social engagement to challenge stigma, which she says “takes the real experience of real people and squashes it flat into stereotypes and presumptions.” Through work that is both playful and dark, layered with irony and mystery, she seeks to break down the binary thinking that separates “the well” from “the sick” and “the disabled” from “the non-disabled.” In this wide-ranging discussion, host Tanya Shaffer talks with Gwynneth about her improvisational photographic process, her interactive public experiments, and the humor and awkwardness of being fully embodied in art and life.

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