In August of last year, Vermont Public, our organization, got a new CEO, Vijay Singh. He came to VP by way of two public radio stations in California and while this is Vijay's first time being a CEO, he has had a hand in leadership, and ushering companies through times of deep change. A skill that’s currently being tested as over a month ago, Congress voted to rescind more than $1 billion in federal funding for PBS and NPR. In this episode, Vijay sat down with Homegoings host Myra Flynn just two days after Vermont Public eliminated 15 positions and changed two full-time positions to part-time. This is their conversation.

Homegoings is a production of Vermont Public. Follow the show here.

This episode was hosted and reported by Myra Flynn. Our producer/director is Mike Dunn and Aaron Edwards is our story editor. Myra composed the theme music with other music by Blue Dot Sessions. Kyle Ambusk is the graphic artist behind this episode’s Homegoings portrait.

Thank you for listening. You can see this episode on our YouTube channel.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for the Homegoings newsletter
• Write to us at: hey@homegoings.co
• Follow us on Instagram @wearehomegoings
• Make a gift to continue elevating BIPOC storytelling
• Tell your friends, your family or a stranger about the show!
• And of course, subscribe!

Back in February, Homegoings hosted a live event at Vermont Public studios that featured a conversation with sexologist Tyomi Morgan in front of a live audience. In this episode, we share highlights from that night and dig right into that tricky space where attraction meets fetishization, racial curiosity turns into racism, and how to overcome societal tropes, barriers and nasty stereotypes associated with race that can sometimes keep us from loving one another — better.

Homegoings is a production of Vermont Public. Follow the show here.

This episode was hosted and reported by Myra Flynn. Our producer/director is Mike Dunn and Aaron Edwards is our story editor. Myra composed the theme music with other music by Blue Dot Sessions. Kaylee Mumford is the graphic artist behind this episode’s Homegoings artist portrait.

Thank you for listening. You can see this episode on our YouTube channel.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for the Homegoings newsletter
• Write to us at: hey@homegoings.co
• Follow us on Instagram @wearehomegoings
• Make a gift to continue elevating BIPOC storytelling
• Tell your friends, your family or a stranger about the show!
• And of course, subscribe!

In 2015, theatre director Jarvis Antonio Green founded JAG Productions, a theatre company that served as an artistic sanctuary for Black creatives in American theatre. Last year after losing venues and revenue, JAG took a final bow and closed its curtains for good. Soon after, Jarvis suffered other losses and heartbreak in his personal life that led to him uprooting his home, his craft and in a lot of ways — his identity. What happens when you’re just one life shift away from things breaking? And what does it look like to piece it all together again? In this episode we talk to Jarvis about a different kind of art he’s putting his energy into these days: The art of starting over.

This episode was hosted and reported by Myra Flynn with help from our associate producer James Stewart. Our producer/director is Mike Dunn and Aaron Edwards is our story editor. Myra composed the theme music with other music by Blue Dot Sessions. Elodie Reed is the graphic artist behind this episode’s Homegoings artist portrait.

Thank you for listening. You can see this episode on our YouTube channel.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for the Homegoings newsletter
• Write to us at: hey@homegoings.co
• Follow us on Instagram @wearehomegoings
• Make a gift to continue elevating BIPOC storytelling
• Tell your friends, your family or a stranger about the show!
• And of course, subscribe!

U.K. based Karen Arthur refuses to become invisible as she ages. On the contrary, she's brighter, bolder and more vibrant than ever. And she wants that confidence for other women who are aging – especially Black women. So, as host and founder of the podcast “Menopause Whilst Black” Karen is opening up a long-overdue conversation about the intersectionality of racism, aging and menopause.

In this episode, Karen shares her journey of overcoming domestic abuse, mental health issues and generational cycles of trauma to arrive where she is today: 63, Black, in the midst of menopause and fabulous!

Thank you for listening. You can see this episode on our YouTube channel.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for the Homegoings newsletter
• Write to us at: hey@homegoings.co
• Follow us on Instagram @wearehomegoings
• Make a gift to continue elevating BIPOC storytelling
• Tell your friends, your family or a stranger about the show!
• And of course, subscribe!

***A heads up: This episode discusses sensitive topics like suicide and self-harm***

Joseph Awuah-Darko is a 28-year-old Ghanaian artist who announced last year that he was moving to Amsterdam to pursue what in the Netherlands is called “termination of life on request,” or euthanasia, amid a long struggle with bipolar disorder. That announcement shook the Internet. Joseph’s followers have reacted with every emotion from shock to disgust; commiseration to fascination. All in all, it’s one of those stories you feel you should look away from… But you can’t stop watching.

Mainly because — shouldn’t this be private? Shouldn’t we be having conversations about mental health and death…more? We went to Amsterdam to have one of those conversations, over a meal.

Homegoings is a production of Vermont Public. Follow the show here.

This episode was hosted and reported by Myra Flynn with help from our associate producer James Stewart. Our producer/director is Mike Dunn and Aaron Edwards is our story editor. Myra composed the theme music with other music by Blue Dot Sessions. Kaylee Mumford is the graphic artist behind this episode’sHomegoings artist portrait.

Thank you for listening. You can see this episode on our YouTube channel.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for the Homegoings newsletter
• Write to us at: hey@homegoings.co
• Follow us on Instagram @wearehomegoings
• Make a gift to continue elevating BIPOC storytelling
• Tell your friends, your family or a stranger about the show!
• And of course, subscribe!

Marc Pierre is a Haitian American father currently living in Birmingham, Alabama who responded to the crushing anxiety of being Black in America with a child on the way – by writing about it. Marc wrote letters to his son Myles even before he was born. Today, he shares them on Substack with over 4,000 subscribers from around the world, many of them fathers – who come for the joy and stay for the vulnerability.

Homegoings is a production of Vermont Public. Follow the show here.

This episode was hosted and reported by Myra Flynn with help from our associate producer James Stewart. Our producer/director is Mike Dunn and Aaron Edwards is our story editor. Myra composed the theme music with other music by Blue Dot Sessions. Kaylee Mumford are the graphic artist behind this episode’s Homegoings artist portrait.

Thank you for listening. You can see this episode on our YouTube channel.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for the Homegoings newsletter
• Write to us at: hey@homegoings.co
• Follow us on Instagram @wearehomegoings
• Make a gift to continue elevating BIPOC storytelling
• Tell your friends, your family or a stranger about the show!
• And of course, subscribe!

We're talking soul-to-soul, and you're invited. In every episode, host Myra Flynn invites you to eavesdrop on candid conversations with people who will challenge what you think you know. Check out our latest episodes now on YouTube.

Homegoings is a production of Vermont Public. Follow the show here.

Thank you for listening. You can see a video version of this episode on our YouTube channel.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for the Homegoings newsletter
• Write to us at: hey@homegoings.co
• Follow us on Instagram @wearehomegoings
• Make a gift to continue elevating BIPOC storytelling
• Tell your friends, your family or a stranger about the show!
• And of course, subscribe!

Josh Lo is a husband, father and former pastor at a multi-ethnic, non-denominational Christian church in Southern California. (Emphasis on former). In this episode, Josh shares his calling to ministry, his life in the church and how what he witnessed there — the complicated intersection of power and religion — shifted his perspective entirely. He found himself turning away… not from God completely, but from the institution he once lived and breathed.

Homegoings is a production of Vermont Public. Follow the show here.

This episode was hosted and reported by Myra Flynn. Our producer/director is Mike Dunn and Aaron Edwards is our story editor. Myra composed the theme music with other music by Blue Dot Sessions. Elodie Reed, Kyle Ambusk and Kaylee Mumford are the graphic artists. Check out Elodie’s work in this episode’s Homegoings artist portrait.

Thank you for listening. You can see a video version of this episode on our YouTube channel.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for the Homegoings newsletter
• Write to us at: hey@homegoings.co
• Follow us on Instagram @wearehomegoings
• Make a gift to continue elevating BIPOC storytelling
• Tell your friends, your family or a stranger about the show!
• And of course, subscribe!