Becoming the People Podcast with Prentis Hemphill

A reflection on our growing crisis of connection and why fear keeps people from meeting across differences. Stories about learning curiosity, practicing everyday encounters, and the surprising generosity that often follows. A call to build doorways to understanding through listening, art, and risk-taking to make new shared realities.

Ai-jen Poo, organizer and author who leads national care and domestic worker movements, discusses care as the foundation of democracy. She reflects on caregiving as invisible labor, reframes independence through interdependence, and outlines policy priorities and cultural shifts needed to center care in society.

A reflective love letter about how society is failing young people and why protecting them matters for our future. Questions what our culture embodies toward children and contrasts control with guiding presence. Invokes James Baldwin’s moral clarity to demand structural change. Calls for imaginative, generous action and small practices of care to center children’s well-being.

Dean Spade, scholar, lawyer, and author known for work on mutual aid and abolition, brings a sharp, caring lens to relationships. He talks about transforming connection into spaces for healing and political practice. Short bids, trust across differences, scarcity versus abundance, and how desire and projection shape group life are explored in lively, personal conversation.

Sendolo Diaminah is here to point us to the pathway of hallelujah! Co-Director of the Carolina Federation and community strategist, Sendolo brings profound wisdom for how we’re abdicating our power, shares how she is guided by prophetic wisdom and offers inspiration for how we can all take more potent action in our lives.- Support Carolina FederationSupport the showThe Becoming the People Podcast Team:Producers: Prentis Hemphill & devon de LeñaSound Engineer and Editing: Michael MaineSpecial Production Support: Jasmine Stine Original Music: Mayyadda

Reflections on visiting Minneapolis and the memorials that trace ongoing violence and community care. A look at the Epstein files through the lens of shame, patriarchy, and survivor power. A critique of performative shock and the myth of innocence that protects abusive systems. An invitation to embrace complexity, try, repair, and learn together.

Activist, advocate, author, and co-founder of the me too movement, Tarana Burke joins Prentis for this episode. Tarana is sharing the portals that me too has opened and made possible in our culture, her framework on the solvability of sexual violence, and how we shouldn’t believe the lie that we can’t break apart systems of power.CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains conversation of sexual violence and child sexual abuse. If you are triggered by that, please be choiceful how you listen to this episode. Pace yourself, take breaks, or listen with a friendCheck out the me too International: Survivors SanctuaryFollow Tarana on InstagramIf you enjoyed this conversation, go listen to Prentis’ first convo with Tarana on the Finding Our Way podcastSupport the showThe Becoming the People Podcast Team:Producers: Prentis Hemphill & devon de LeñaSound Engineer and Editing: Michael MaineSpecial Production Support: Jasmine Stine Original Music: Mayyadda

A short dive into burnout as both too much activation and too little meaningful action. Conversations about caregiving exhaustion, social media’s unresolved activation, and community responses to harm. Reflections on agency, small meaningful choices, and how collective work restores purpose and replenishes energy.

The artists and producers from the powerful film, Songs from the Hole, join Prentis for this episode. JJ’88, Contessa Gayles and richie reseda shared their process of making the film about ’88s journey of incarceration, healing, and gaining freedom through a beautiful unfolding of forgiveness.Shownotes:Songs from the Hole on NetflixJJ’88 InstagramContessa Gayles Instagramrichie reseda InstagramQuestion Culture websiteCommunity Healing plan Support the showThe Becoming the People Podcast Team:Producers: Prentis Hemphill & devon de LeñaSound Engineer and Editing: Michael MaineSpecial Production Support: Jasmine Stine Original Music: Mayyadda

Join Prentis for their first mini-episode. They are sharing their thoughts on how to accept the reality of our world right now, so that we can move with our fear towards presence and action.Watch the full video episode and join the conversation on Patreon @Prentishemphill Support the showThe Becoming the People Podcast Team:Producers: Prentis Hemphill & devon de LeñaSound Engineer and Editing: Michael MaineSpecial Production Support: Jasmine Stine Original Music: Mayyadda