In this episode, Therese Markow and Jill Dixon discuss the rising food insecurity in the U.S., highlighting the critical role of food banks. Jill explains that food banks coordinate efforts across 200+ food banks and thousands of food pantries. The Food Depot in Northern New Mexico serves 43,000 people annually, distributing 10 million pounds of food. Recent cuts to federal programs like TEFAP and SNAP have significantly impacted food banks, with the Food Depot losing 10% of its food supply and 58,000 New Mexicans at risk of losing SNAP benefits. Dixon emphasizes the need for community support and innovative programs to address these challenges.

Key Takeaways:

• Food banks across the US all have different requirements based on the people they serve, where they are, and what those people need. If you’ve seen one food bank, you’ve seen one food bank.

• While food drives are still extremely meaningful and important, fund drives are becoming increasingly common and necessary.

• The vast majority of people who receive SNAP assistance and turn to food banks when SNAP assistance is not enough are already working at least one job or are caregivers.

• Food banks are a highly sophisticated business network, working together nationwide to acquire supplies through different means.

"Hunger is not actually its own issue. It's a symptom of poverty; it's a symptom of the cost-of-living crisis that is making it increasingly hard year over year." — Jill Dixon

Connect with Jill Dixon:

Professional Bio: https://thefooddepot.org/jill-dixon/

Website: https://thefooddepot.org/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jill-dixon-22b15b312

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Irin Carmon discuss Irin's new book, "Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America." 80% of maternal deaths in the United States are due to completely preventable reasons. She highlights the three pillars of reproductive justice: the right not to have a child, the right to have a child, and the right to parent in a safe community. She shares her personal experiences and those of five women to illustrate systemic inequalities in maternal care. Irin emphasizes the need for respectful, autonomous care and the impact of systemic racism and misogyny on maternal health outcomes.

Key Takeaways:

• Abortion care affects all levels of pregnancy care. In many states, such as Alabama, many former abortion clinics want to turn into birth centers, but are prevented by the government and state medical associations.

• 80% of maternal deaths in the United States are due to completely preventable reasons.

• In the US, we have a system where OBGYNs are classified as primary care providers and are the most common way people give birth, which is not right for everyone.

• False binaries (C-Section vs vaginal birth, epidural or not, etc.) are a way to pit women against each other for their own biological story that is often outside of their control.

"There's something profoundly wrong with a system that doesn't recognize your full humanity at a point where you need it the most. Because these are life and death experiences, even in the best of circumstances and regardless of the course of your pregnancy and your choices around it, they concern our deepest held values and our ideas about our destiny." — Irin Carmon

Episode References:

• Pregnancy Justice: https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/

Connect with Irin Carmon:

Professional Bio: https://www.irincarmon.com/about

Website: https://www.irincarmon.com/

Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Unbearable/Irin-Carmon/9781668032602

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. James Michael Thomas discuss Critical Race Theory (CRT). Dr. Thomas explains CRT as a framework for understanding persistent racism post-Civil Rights Era, emphasizing its structural presence in law, education, and urban planning. He highlights the misconceptions around CRT, noting it's often misrepresented in legislative efforts to ban it. Dr. Thomas also discusses systemic racism, implicit vs. explicit racism, and the concept of white privilege. He shares personal anecdotes and research on white Southerners' awareness of racial advantages, and critiques legislative attempts to control education and maintain inequality.

Key Takeaways:

• Critical Race Theory is a framework for understanding how racism persisted and continues to persist in the post-Civil Rights Era.

• We distinguish systemic racism from personal acts of prejudice, racist attitudes, or racist actions because those individual attitudes and actions do not have the same effect on the distribution of power, resources, and opportunity.

• Many who object to teaching American history, good and bad, often are in power and do not want to discuss the unequal arrangements that have resulted from the racism and inequality that have shaped this country and present-day conditions, nor do they want to have their source of power questioned.

• Race has no basis in biology; race is a social construction.

"When Critical Race theorists consider the idea of racial progress, what they're trying to do is make distinctions between changes in law and then how that law is enforced or not enforced, and if it is enforced, often unevenly and with very mixed results." — Dr. James Michael Thomas

Episode References:

• 'It's a complicated time to be a white Southerner' - and their views on race reflect that: https://theconversation.com/its-a-complicated-time-to-be-a-white-southerner-and-their-views-on-race-reflect-that-261454

Connect with Dr. James Michael Thomas:

Professional Bio: https://olemiss.edu/profiles/jmthoma4.php

Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00SJPHVD2/allbooks

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/james-thomas-63952728

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.