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Being a surrogate is a selfless and noble act but it's also complicated and emotional. Add in religious considerations pregnancy loss and everything is heightened almost beyond measure. In this week's episode, Raquel and Jennifer speak with guest Kelila Green Siciliano about her decision to become a surrogate and the journey that has grown from that decision.

Kelila Green Siciliano is a mom, a surrogate, a pregnancy loss survivor, the founder of OursAndYRS: A Pregnancy Loss Survival Toolkit, a speaker, the host of the podcast, “Pushing Through Loss”, and a coach. Kelila speaks about her experience with surrogacy and pregnancy loss, creating her loss survival toolkit, and how she learned to use personal challenges to work with and not against her in order to help others feel empowered to activate their own inner strength warrior.

Where to find Kelila:
Website: https://www.kelilagreenspeaker.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oursandyrs/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelila.green
Podcast: Pushing Through Loss

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We're talking about anger in this week's episode. Given the state of the world it's no wonder that anger is a repeat topic of conversation. Listen in as we speak with guest Bronwyn Schweigerdt about anger and what it might be trying to tell us.

Browyn Schweigerdt may be the most evocative psychotherapist you’ve ever heard. Instead of fixing peoples’ messes, her goal is to elicit feelings you’re most ashamed to have, such as hatred and betrayal. She knows that even though feelings are invisible, they don’t evaporate, but store away in our bodies when they’re disowned.

Where to find Bronwyn:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bronwyn-schweigerdt-3124857/
Podcast: https://angryattherightthings.podbean.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555715646671, https://www.facebook.com/bronwyn.schweigerdt

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Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.

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In this week's episode, Raquel and Jennifer speak with guest Cait West about her new book, Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy, which chronicles her upbringing in the world of ultra-conservative, high control, patriarchal religion. The discussion touches on how things started to shift for Cait, how she left, what her life is like now, and how she's helping others looking to break away.

Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, MI. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai’i Pacific Review, among others. As a survivor of Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse. Cait also cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss.

Where to find Cait West:
Website: https://www.caitwest.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caitwestwrites/
Substack: https://caitwest.substack.com/
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/caitwestwrites

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Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.

Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!

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What is natural hair? Why are we talking about it? Find out in this week's episode where Raquel and Jennifer dive into it with guest Lyzette Wanzer.

Lyzette Wanzer’s work appears in over thirty literary journals and books. Her book, TRAUMA, TRESSES & TRUTH: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives (Chicago Review Press) appears on Library Journal’s 2022 Top 10 Best Social Sciences Books list and was a 2023 Black Women’s Studies Association Selection. Lyzette is a contributor to Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth from the Margins (Wayne State University Press 2023), Civil Liberties United: Diverse Voices from the San Francisco Bay Area (Pease Press 2019), and the multi-award-winning The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie 2012).

A National Writers’ Union and Authors Guild member, Lyzette’s work has been supported with funding from Center for Cultural Innovation, San Francisco Arts Commission, California Arts Council, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Black Artist Foundry, The Awesome Foundation, and California Humanities, a National Endowment for the Humanities partner.

Where to find Lyzette Wanzer:
Website: www.lyzettewanzermfa.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lyzettewanzer/

Mentioned in this episode:

• 2024 TRAUMA, TRESSES & TRUTH: A Virtual Conference Interrogating Black Women's Natural Hair - https://shuffle.do/projects/trauma-tresses-truth-a-natural-hair-conference
• Muses & Melanin Fellowship for BIPOC Creative Writers - https://forms.gle/eP5KHEVD3S4AQY7h9
• The CROWN Act - The Official CROWN Act (thecrownact.com)
• Dove's CROWN Act campaign - www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns/the-crown-act.htmlEpisode Photo by Jessica Felicio on Unsplash

Episode Photo by Jessica Felicio on Unsplash

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Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.

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Many heartfelt thanks to everyone who supports the show!

In this week's episode, Raquel and Jennifer celebrate their 3rd anniversary! Join in as they revisit the very first episode of the podcast, reminisce about their initial visions for the show, and share new dreams for Madness Cafe.

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Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.

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Women are woefully underrepresented in politics in the United States. (https://www.statista.com/topics/10417/women-in-politics-in-the-us/#topicOverview) But there's one organization dedicated to changing that - EMILYs List, the nation's largest resource for women in politics.

EMILYs List works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and communities by recruiting and training candidates, building strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and run one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats.

In this week's episode, Raquel and Jennifer speak with Christina Reynolds, Senior Vice President of Communications and Content, of EMILYs List. Christina joined EMILYs List after nearly two decades of experience as a communications and research strategist. A lifelong fighter for progressive causes, she has managed large-scale press operations from the campaign trail to the White House.

Christina spent most of her career in campaigns and politics, serving as Deputy Communications Director at Hillary for America, White House Director of Media Affairs and Special Assistant to President Obama, Director of Rapid Response at Obama for America, Research & Policy Director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) during the 2006 midterms, senior roles in several presidential and Senate campaigns, and Deputy Research Director at the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She also worked in strategic communications and public affairs at the Global Strategy Group and the Glover Park Group.

A proud Tar Heel and Marine brat, Christina studied journalism and political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also the co-author, with EMILYs List former President Stephanie Schriock, of Run to Win: Lessons in Leadership for Women Changing the World.

Where to find EMILYs List:
Website: EMILYs List
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilys_list/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilyslist
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/emilyslist
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/emilyslist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emily's-list

Support the Show.

Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.

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This week Raquel and Jennifer speak with guest Afarin Ordubadi Bellisario about her novel Silenced Whispers which tells the story of a young Iranian woman's fight for freedom and love amid the struggle between tradition and modernity at the beginning of the 20th century. Historical fiction that holds lessons for today's society.

Where to find Afarin Ordubadi Bellisario:
Afarin's Website: www.afarin.net
Book website: www.silencedwhispers.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/posts/afarin-bellisario-091115
Facebook: www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2491778997662828&set=a.113842555456496
Instagram: www.instagram.com/p/C3nj3TrO4IY/
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/afarin_afarina/status/1760358357683077338

Support the Show.

Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.

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This week, Raquel and Jennifer speak with Julie Bee - an award-winning entrepreneur who’s been dubbed the “small business fixer” by her clients and peers. With over 15 years in the entrepreneurial field, Julie has solidified her reputation as a dynamic consultant, a riveting speaker, and a leader who sheds light on the darker side of business ownership. Having been celebrated by Fast Company and Forbes, Julie’s insights are in high demand across the industry. And, as of June 18, everyone can have greater access to Julie’s insights via her upcoming book Burned: How Business Owners Can Overcome Burnout and Fuel Success.

Where to find Julie Bee:
Website: https://www.thejuliebee.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejuliebee/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejuliebee_/
X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/thejuliebee
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejuliebee

Photo Credit: Jeff Cravotta

Support the Show.

Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.

Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!

Thanks!