Listen to the podcast that started it all.

E66 Operation Stop CPS – Amanda Wallace, BSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Amanda Wallace, Founder and Executive Director of Operation Stop CPS, discusses the surveillance and regulation of families, particularly Black families, within the child protection system. Having worked in child protective services for a decade, Amanda realized the harm being inflicted on children and families, leading her to advocate for change. Operation Stop CPS intervenes to assist families affected by the system, including those who have had their children taken away, emphasizing the system’s connection to historical and present-day anti-Black racism while aiming to build a movement to end family policing through education, advocacy, and support.

E65 Liberation Health Model – Dawn Belkin Martinez, PhD, LICSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Dr. Dawn Belkin Martinez, Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion at Boston University School of Social Work, discusses the Liberation Health Model, which she co-created as a transformative, sociopolitical approach to assessment and intervention. Rooted in radical traditions including Black feminism, Brazilian mental health movements, and Marxist theory, the model originated in a hospital psych unit through collaboration with patients and families. Dr. Martinez explains how to use the Liberation Health Triangle for assessment and shares tools like deconstructing dominant messages and recovering historical memory. This powerful model offers a flexible, collective liberation framework that encourages authentic, action-oriented practice.

E64 Liberatory Lawyering to End the School-to-Prison Pipeline – Ashleigh Washington, JD & Ruth Cusick, JD
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Ashleigh Washington and Ruth Cusick, co-founders of The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering (C4LL), discuss their work as movement lawyers fighting to end the school-to-prison pipeline. They explain how legal strategies must be rooted in community organizing to create lasting change, especially for Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled, and other marginalized students and families. Drawing on their shift from direct legal services to movement lawyering, they highlight the need for shared power and collective governance beyond traditional civil rights frameworks. The episode also explores their Barefoot Lawyering model and efforts like LA Police Free Schools.

E63 Constructing a White Nation: Social Work in the Americanization Movement – Yoosun Park, MSW, PhD
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Dr. Yoosun Park, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses her co-authored article on social work’s role in the Americanization movement from 1880 to 1930—a national project rooted in whiteness and white supremacy. She explains how the profession helped define who was deemed American and how this process excluded Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Mexican communities. The conversation reveals how these racist ideologies shaped early social work and continue to influence the field today. Dr. Park’s groundbreaking research is being expanded into a book that critically examines this legacy.

E62 Paid Social Work Internships Part 2 FED UP – Beth Wagner, Claire Mancuso, Natalia Norzagaray & Parham Daghighi
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Beth Wagner, Claire Mancuso, Natalia Norzagaray, and Parham Daghighi—MSW students at the University of Texas–Austin and members of FED UP—share their work organizing for paid social work internships. As part of a growing movement, they discuss how they formed FED UP, their strategies, and the resistance they’ve encountered from within the profession. The conversation highlights how unpaid internships harm students’ well-being and reinforce systemic inequities in social work. Their organizing offers a powerful model for collective action and a challenge to the profession’s status quo.

E61 Paid Social Work Internships Part 1 Payment 4 Placements – Matt Dargay, MSW & Arie Davey, LLMSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Matt Dargay and Arie Davey, co-founders of Payment 4 Placements, discuss their national campaign to secure paid internships for social work students. As former MSW students at the University of Michigan, they highlight the financial burdens of unpaid placements—including the cost of internship credits—and the inequities this system creates, especially for Black students. They share successful organizing efforts at the university and state levels, including legislation to fund paid internships in Michigan schools. This episode offers strategies and inspiration for challenging the status quo and building a more equitable path into the profession.

E60 Understanding Antisemitism and Racism – Kohenet Shoshana A Brown, LMSW & Autumn Leonard
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Shoshana Brown and Autumn Leonard of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective and Jews for Economic & Racial Justice explore how antisemitism and racism operate as interconnected pillars of white supremacy. They discuss their organizing work to support Black Jews and disrupt systems of oppression through community building and education. The conversation highlights the need to deepen our understanding of antisemitism, even within progressive spaces, and to name it as part of our collective justice work. This episode calls us to confront difficult truths and build solidarity across movements.

E59 Creating Culturally Safe Spaces for Indigenous Populations – Turquoise Skye Devereaux, MSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Turquoise Skye Devereaux, a Salish and Blackfeet educator, consultant, and PhD student, discusses how colonial systems continue to harm Indigenous Peoples through education and social work. She breaks down the four stages of colonization, critiques the concept of cultural competency, and highlights the importance of creating culturally safe spaces. Drawing from her personal experience and interviews with Indigenous students, Turquoise offers concrete examples of what inclusion can—and should—look like. This episode calls on educators and practitioners to challenge colonial norms and commit to equity and Indigenous liberation.

E58 Organizing to End the School-to-Prison Pipeline – Jewel Patterson, MS; Edgar Ibarria; Nicole Bates, JD
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Jewel Patterson, Edgar Ibarria, and Nicole Bates discuss their organizing work to end the school-to-prison pipeline in California. Representing COPE, CADRE, and C4LL, they explain how criminalization in schools—through vague policies like “willful defiance,” surveillance, and policing—disproportionately harms Black and Brown students. The conversation highlights their legal and grassroots strategies, coalition building, and a major victory: defunding $25 million from school police to reinvest in Black student achievement. This episode offers a powerful blueprint for reimagining school safety and building collective power.

E57 Race Doesn’t Exist Without Racism – Deadric Williams, PhD
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Dr. Deadric Williams, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, breaks down the relationship between racism, race, and racialization—emphasizing that racism came first, not race. He explains how racism is upheld by both ideology and structures, and how the invention of race served to justify settler colonialism and slavery. The conversation explores how whiteness functions to divide oppressed groups and maintain dominance, including the use of coded language to sustain racial inequities. Dr. Williams offers a vital framework for understanding and dismantling systemic racism at its roots.

E56 Addressing Racism in Social Work Licensing #StopASWB – Charla Yearwood, LCSW; Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP; Alan Dettlaff, PhD, MSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Charla Yearwood, Cassandra Walker, and Dr. Alan Dettlaff discuss the ASWB’s long-awaited release of social work licensing exam pass rates by race and age. The data reveals significant racial disparities, confirming what many have long known—that the exam is racially biased and discriminatory toward Black, Latinx, and Indigenous social workers. The conversation unpacks how ASWB has avoided accountability and why this exam must be challenged. This episode is part of the growing movement to end the use of this racist exam and calls listeners to take action.

E55 Surviving Racism in Academia – Maxine Davis, MSW, MBA, PhD
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Dr. Maxine Davis, Assistant Professor at Rutgers School of Social Work, shares her powerful and deeply personal experience navigating anti-Black racism, sexism, and institutional betrayal in academia. She speaks candidly about the toll this took on her mental health, including a suicide attempt, and the lack of accountability within her former institution. Dr. Davis calls attention to the broader issues within social work and higher education and introduces her plan to develop a Green Book and Red Book to guide Black faculty and scholars navigating the job market. This episode is a courageous call for systemic change and collective care.

E54 Trans Rights and Justice in a Time of Anti-Trans Attacks – Daye Pope
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Daye Pope, Director of Civic Engagement at T.A.K.E. (Trans Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering), discusses the organization’s work supporting trans women of color and resisting the wave of anti-trans legislation across the U.S. She explains how these laws—rooted in racism, classism, and cisnormativity—harm trans youth, deny essential health care, and criminalize affirming providers and families. Daye also highlights T.A.K.E.’s civic engagement efforts, including voting rights advocacy for trans people of color. Grounded in love, resilience, and community leadership, this conversation offers a powerful look at organizing for safety, dignity, and justice.

E51 Abolish the Family Policing System (”Child Welfare”) – Joyce McMillan & Victoria, MSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Joyce McMillan, Founder and Executive Director of JMac for Families and Parent Legislative Action Network, and Victoria, a PhD candidate at UCLA and community organizer, discuss the family policing system—commonly known as the child welfare system—and their abolitionist work. They explain how the system targets families in poverty, disproportionately harms Black, Brown, and Indigenous families, and functions as a carceral system of surveillance and control. Drawing on their personal experiences, they highlight the lack of rights for parents, the misuse of mandatory reporting, and the need to shift from separation to true family support. Together, they call for a complete transformation rooted in justice and care.

E49 Stop Whitewashing Social Work History: Tell the Truth – Kelechi Wright, LCPC & Kortney Carr, LCSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Kelechi Wright, a doctoral student in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas, and Kortney Carr, a Professor of Practice and doctoral student at the same institution, discuss their article The Whitewashing of Social Work History, which calls for an honest, equitable retelling of the profession’s past. They highlight how traditional narratives erase Black social welfare leaders, uphold white saviorism, and perpetuate white supremacy in social work education and practice. The conversation emphasizes the need to honor Black social work movements rooted in community traditions and to build a just foundation for the field’s future. Kelechi and Kortney also explore the responsibilities of educators and practitioners in advancing racial justice within the profession.

E48 Decolonizing Mental Health & Supporting Indigenous Women – Tyra Wanatee-Flores, BSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Tyra Wanatee-Flores, a descendant of the Sac and Fox Nation of the Mississippi in Iowa and an MSW student at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses her work addressing youth suicide, substance abuse, and gender-based violence in Indigenous communities. She shares how she integrates culturally grounded, community-driven approaches to mental health and social work, informed by her experience as a Buder Scholar and her commitment to decolonizing practice. Tyra also talks about her advocacy with Meskwaki RISE, supporting Indigenous survivors of domestic and sexual violence. She highlights her activism in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement and why it is critical for all of us to take action to end this violence.

E44 Civil Rights Organizing – Alesandra Lozano, MSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Alesandra Lozano, Director of Communications and Advocacy at the Texas Civil Rights Project, shares her journey from grassroots LGBTQ organizing to leading policy advocacy efforts in Texas. She discusses TCRP’s work to protect voting rights and how it's deeply connected to immigrant justice and criminal legal reform. Alesandra offers practical strategies for engaging in local advocacy, including public testimony and coalition building through efforts like the Texas for All coalition. This episode is a master class in organizing for change and ensuring our communities have a voice in the policies that affect them.

E42 Transformational Healing & Critical Race Theory in Practice – Nicole Vazquez, MSW, MPP & Susana Victoria Parras, LCSW, PPSC
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Nicole Vazquez, a critical race scholar and consultant, and Susana Victoria Parras, a justice-focused therapist, discuss how critical race theory (CRT) can transform social work practice. They explore applying CRT’s tenets to challenge the micro-macro divide, reexamine professionalism, and build authentic, collaborative relationships rooted in humility and historical context. The conversation highlights how liberalism and individualism undermine collective healing and perpetuate oppression, while ancestral and Indigenous ways offer paths toward connection. Susana also shares her perspective on healing justice work and what it means to move beyond the limitations of CRT.

E41 Anti-Racist, Anti-Oppressive Mental Health – Hayden Dawes, LCSW
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Hayden Dawes, a PhD student, therapist, and clinical social worker in Greensboro, North Carolina, shares his work addressing mental health disparities and promoting culturally humble, anti-racist clinical practice. He discusses the importance of talking openly about race, racism, and systemic oppression in therapy—and doing the inner work to recognize internalized oppression and privilege. Hayden explains his approach to training clinicians and supporting clients, particularly people of color and LGBTQIA communities, in identifying when “the oppressor is speaking.” The conversation also explores how White therapists can and must engage White clients in conversations about racism.

E22 Fighting White Nationalism – Eric Ward
Visit episode page for audio player, show notes, and transcript

Eric Ward, Executive Director of Western States Center, shares his decades of experience organizing against white nationalism and white supremacy. He explains how antisemitism and racism fuel the white nationalist movement and outlines its growing political influence in the U.S., particularly in shaping policy. Eric discusses community-based strategies used by Western States Center—like local research, coalition building, and education—to counter this threat. He also reflects on his personal path into this work and offers actionable ways listeners can get involved in the fight against white nationalism.