The Dissidents

W.F. Twyman, Jr and his cousin Nathan Twyman, connect across racial lines in their family tree to discuss how they embrace their full family heritage - both the angels & devils, heroes & villains - in the spirit of Christmas and with a Christmas Heart.  To read a recap of the conversation and additional thoughts, and to see what we are reading, visit our post Angels, Devils & a Christmas Heart, or visit our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.

Mike Yates is working to change the landscape of learning, helping our kids to become stakeholders and investors in their own education. In this episode, we discuss his vision for moving beyond anti-racism to being pro-black in our education system. He suggests a whole new way to do education in general, and especially for the empowerment of black and brown students. We don't always see eye-to-eye in this episode, but we come together in our commitment to finding new ways for our kids to thrive. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a coffee. To read a recap of our conversation and see what we are each reading, visit our post Anti-racism vs Pro-black, or visit our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.

Ilana Redstone, creator of the YouTube series Beyond Bigots & Snowflakes, joins me as the co-host to discuss how we do diversity and diversity training in America and how we can do it better. All with a chaser of civility of course, for me this week it was with a splash of Jamesons for a hot toddy. To read a recap of our conversation and to see what each of us is reading, see our post Doing Diversity Different or visit our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.

There are approximately 40 million Black Americans, and 40 million different life stories. Ron McFarland, aka Sugar Bear, has his own story to tell. His bottom line - he is a Republican because of Frederick Douglass. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course. For Mr Sugar Bear, that included a nice cold beer and a hot toddy for me. To see what we were reading this week, check out our blog Red & Blue in Black & White or visit us on our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.

W.F. Twyman Jr and James Twyman join me to discuss coming together as family across racial divisions, all over a ginger beer. A multicultural family reunion in time for Thanksgiving!   To see what we were reading this week, check out our blog, Family Reunion in Black & White or visit us on our website. You can also watch the conversation on the Hold my Drink YouTube page.

After last week's episode, Finn expressed his concerns over the latest Supreme Court appointment so I asked him to join me again for another conversation. In this episode we discuss fear, freedom and Amy Coney Barrett's appointment to the Supreme Court, and the impact it may have in shaping our American landscape. To read more about our conversation and to see what each of us is reading for this episode, see our blog post Fear, Freedom & the Law.

On this week's podcast my co-host is my son, Finn. We discuss how we survived a divided household during the 2020 Election, all over a cup of hot chocolate.   To read our Family Survival Guide and see what we're reading this week, see our blog post Red v Blue: Family Survival.

A Republican and a Democrat walk into a bar and ....  Not exactly in a bar in this age of Covid 19, but two people with different views, different genders and different ethnicity talk about how Cancel Culture is affecting American's ability to talk all while having a drink.  Grab your favorite beverage, sit back and learn how someone on the other side thinks and talks about things you care about, without the barroom brawl... well, mostly... To read more of what we're thinking and to see what we are reading - different news with different views - see our accompanying blog Disagreement and Offense.

Have you noticed how conversations about politics quickly devolve into bitter arguments and it seems the facts being discussed are not the same. Well, Bronchae a former Military Information Operation planner explains how this is not by chance. To read more on this topic and to see what each of us reading - different news and different views - visit our accompanying blog Information Warfare.