When it comes to personal fitness, it turns out that one size does not fit all. 

This week Amanda is joined by personal trainer, Founder and Executive Director of the Aunt Sister Project - Ashley Lentz. 

Ashley has over 15 years of experience in the fitness industry and discusses with Amanda the importance of community, doing what feels good to you, and the fundamentals of understanding your own body. Spoiler: turns out not everyone is built the same!

Ashley explains the six things that you should do while exercising to make it effective, and just because something has made its way into the fitness world, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. 

Ashley and Amanda also explore Ashley’s mission to bring exercise to those diagnosed with cancer and cancer survivors through her non-profit The Aunt Sister Project. 

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The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful industries in the world, making up roughly 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, it is the second largest consumer of water worldwide, and 85% of textiles end up in landfills every year. How can we change that and what is the difference between ethics and sustainability?

This week Amanda is joined by Kevin Robert Fernandez of Kevin Robert Designs, artist, designer and stylist based in Brooklyn. After realizing he enjoyed getting dressed for his job in criminal psychology more than the job itself, it was time to reevaluate and pursue what he was actually passionate about--fashion and design inspired by waste reduction and sustainability. 

Amanda and Kevin talk thrift store shopping, developing your own style, and determining what stands out to each individual as far as ethical practices and what we can do on our own to support our personal missions. Everyone is capable of ethical practice, but it does require commitment. What companies actually have a good recycling program and what prevents others from participating in one at all (side eye to luxury brands). 

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Turns out consent doesn't only apply to sexual situations. At the root of it, consent is really about permission.

This week Amanda is joined by Aela Mansmann, peer educator with SafeBAE - Safe Before Anyone Else. Aela breaks down common misconceptions about consent (annoying, mood ruining, and lame) versus what it actually means.  What is coercion? Why is sex so tied up in our ego? Spoiler alert: we should be talking about it much sooner than we are. Unfortunately, it's not students taking issue with it, it's our administrations and school systems. Oh, and it turns out, porn isn't doing us a lot of favors, either. 

Aela shares her personal experience with consent activism and how she became involved with the program. Consent revolves around personal boundaries and relying on our own intuition where the only clear message is: consent is not one size fits all and enthusiastic participation is paramount. Grey comes in many shades, let's get to know them better. 

SafeBAE is a survivor founded, student led organization that came to fruition after the 2016 documentary 'Audrie and Daisy' appeared on Netflix. The documentary chronicles several teenage women's rape cases and their outcomes. 

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Is finding a solution to homelessness as difficult as we think? Prepare yourself for some worm cans!

Amanda is joined this week by Kara Birrell, comedian, podcaster, and housing advocate. Kara shares her experience with homelessness in New York City and how she found her turning point by continuing her education.  

Many of the homeless population are not homeless by choice but struggle with addiction and mental health and the only way to make their way into housing is addressing those issues first, but is that effective? The cost of keeping people homeless is more expensive than finding permanent housing, but because the conversation isn’t making its way to the forefront, change isn’t happening. 

Kara and Amanda discuss the layers and layers of stigma and racism around this topic and what we can do as a society to improve the lives of everyone. 

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Link to fundraiser for iHomeless, Kara's app in development that is supported by HUD and the National Coalition for the Homeless

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Instead of assuming what people want, we should be asking them what they need. 

This week Amanda speaks with Juvenile Law Center lawyer, Christina Sorenson, about the foster care to prison pipeline and the history of foster care in the United States. It’s difficult to understand how foster care got where it is today without discussing the history of it’s origin in the commodification of children. 

Foster care isn’t always to the benefit of the child, either. The common (puritan) perception of what is needed isn’t what has been linked to healthy child development, but many find themselves in situations that are beyond their control. This often puts children into institutional care where there isn’t an opportunity to acquire skills that are needed to healthily exist in society. Does the United States government give communities what they need in order to succeed? The short answer is ‘no’. 

Christina and Amanda discuss the differences in determining age between white children, native children, and children of color--it wasn’t the same for everyone. How does this system continue to perpetuate the adultification of children of color and the pipeline to prison? Why is removing a child from their home more cost effective than giving families the tools they need to thrive. 

Christina graduated from the Richmond School of Law in 2015. Afterwards she clerked at the Unified Family Court in Delaware. Christina is a Soros Justice Fellow, which funds outstanding individuals to undertake projects that advance reform, spur debate, and catalyze change on a range of issues facing the United States criminal justice system. 

Additional resources:

Financial incentives

Blind removals

Historical perspective

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The children are the future--and they’re smarter than us.  

It’s been an exhausting, challenging, and eye-opening year, but what has it been like for the younger generation? This week Amanda sits down with middle school student, Mia Gault, to get the lowdown on what the past year has actually been like for students. 

Has virtual learning been awful? What has it been like witnessing the civil rights protests of the summer and other world events without being around a similar age group? Can new friends even be made during a pandemic? Not without the whole class knowing. 

Amanda and Mia gush about Hamilton, attending an International Baccalaureate Program, and in what spaces has it been ok to talk about what’s really going on--thank god for humanities class and theatre.   

Mia shares her reactions to Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and also talks to Amanda about the practice of self-love and the challenges in doing so. Mia also teaches Amanda about pack mentality and breaking away from things that don’t serve you. 

This episode serves as a reminder that the young are already ahead of us. Embrace their knowledge. 

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Amanda is on her own this week, and she has some baggage to unpack (this won't be the last time, either). 

Framing Britney Spears, presented by the New York Times, promises to take a deep dive into the #FreeBritney movement and her ongoing conservatorship battle with her father. As is her fashion, Amanda took away something else--the b-story-- and determined that she, Amanda Van Nostrand, a regular person, owes Britney Spears, a pop star sensation, an apology. 

How have women been taught to think of other women? Amanda explores her perception of Britney as a woman in the media at the height of her fame. How is it possible that the dichotomy of teenage girls is still baffling? Has Justin Timberlake been a dirtbag this ENTIRE TIME?

Amanda attempts to untie the thread of her perceptions of womanhood in her teenage years, what society, history, and media have taught her about women, being one, and how to move forward with the understanding of how she wants to relate to women now. 

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Community based solutions, grassroots efforts, and a progressive agenda are just a few things that make NYC mayoral candidate, Dianne Morales, stand out. 

With a background in the nonprofit sector, Dianne served as former Executive Director of The Door where she developed an outreach program for homeless LGBTQ+ youth. She was a founding board member of Jumpstart, a national early literacy program, and her most recent role: CEO and Executive Director of Phipps Neighborhoods, which helps children, youth, and families in low-income communities in the South Bronx rise above poverty. 

Dianne acknowledges that New York doesn’t work until it works for everyone--and the underrepresented are the ones that have been keeping the city going. Dianne is ready to fix a broken system.  

Amanda and Dianne discuss the insurrection at the United States Capitol and the vulnerabilities that COVID has exposed nationally and locally. What does New York need to do to rise out of the ashes? Dianne believes that respect and dignity belongs to all New Yorkers and access to housing, healthcare, education, safety, and transportation are necessities that communities deserve to feel empowered to make the changes necessary to improve their lives. Dianne isn’t making promises to bring us back to normal, she is making promises to apply progressive movement that includes everyone in our city. 

Dianne's book recommendation, The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph can be found here

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