Episode theme: lament
“To be sane is to experience the fullness of humanity, pausing life’s pace, acknowledging what has been lost, and grieving it in its due. There is a time for action, and a time to sit with the truth that things are not as they should be.” —Laura Joyce Davis
Episode 89: family history
“The United States of America celebrates its history. But a majority of our citizens celebrate in ignorance. As a nation, [we] do not share a common memory, and therefore struggle to have true community.”
As we approach this holiday weekend, Laura looks to Independent presidential candidate Mark Charles to help us celebrate without ignoring our country's complicated family history.
Episode 68: difference
“Even in the worst moments, I’ve known that my family’s intentions toward me were good. I cannot say the same for my country’s intentions toward all of its people.”
In the wake of cancelling a long-anticipated trip to see her extended family, Laura explores how the differences that have created conflict within her own family have revealed the lies she has believed about her family and country.
Episode transcript
Episode 64: blues for almost forgotten music
“We have holidays to honor the dead who have been lost in war. Why don’t we have holidays to honor those whose lives have been lost to the evils of racism?”
Award-winning poet Roxane Beth Johnson shares poems to help us remember the music of life, and talks about how this time has taught her to to live a quieter life and find hope in the small moments.
Episode transcript
Episode 56: story Saturday (bent toward hope)
“I think there's part of me that's always kind of searching for this legitimacy.”
In this very special Story Saturday edition, Laura talks with award-winning author Kirin Khan, who began this time of sheltering in place in a firestorm of tragedy, but through it all has found her way to hope and grace.
Please note: this episode mentions suicide.
Episode transcript
Episode 33: let them cry
“Once we’re adults, our tears become a kind of exclamation mark. A signal to ourselves and others that there’s a problem. It’s our cue that we need to reach out for support. That we need someone to comfort us.”
As Laura processes her own grief over two major losses this week, she looks to the science of tears and Professor Ad Vingerhoets, one of the world's leading researchers on crying, to understand what we need for our tears to help us.
Episode transcript
Episode 75: the helper
“It just doesn't occur to us not to meet a need until we are utterly exhausted, and our bodies or spirits start screaming. This is something I wish that people in my life understood.”
Hilary Davis is a hospital chaplain who enjoys helping people have what she calls "a good death," and who brings equal enthusiasm to her work fighting climate change. She's also an Enneagram 2, the type often called "the Helper," because they're quick to help those around them and to work with endurance to better this world. They're the unsung heroes of our world, whose greatest challenge is helping others at the expense of themselves.
Episode transcript
Episode 65: goodnight America
“It's not about me, the message is so much more important. It's bigger than me. And so I was like, I have to do this song.”
Singer songwriter Miko Marks shares music and words to guide us in these troubling times.
Episode transcript
Episode 62: balance
“We are a country that likes to brag about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, but can’t seem to stop falling off the beam when it comes to the things that are harder to talk about, like economic equality and racism.”
What a failed gymnastics career and a Virginia realtor’s perspective can show us navigating this time with humility and presence.
Episode transcript
Episode 46: Ahmaud
“This is what running should be like. An opportunity to share a common experience with uncommon people. This is what sport should be. It should be understood regardless of race, culture, or language.”
Ahmaud Arbery was killed on February 23, 2020 while he was out for his daily run. Laura looks to fellow runners Alison Mariella Désir and Bayano Kamani for wisdom on where we go from here.
Episode transcript
Episode 32: be still
“No matter how much we try to plan or cut costs or do things differently, we have no idea what the future looks like, no clue if this situation will be one that ends in a matter of weeks, or if it’ll take months of draining our savings just to get through it.”
Today, Laura shares some big news in this little episode. As her family faces the reality of unemployment and a future they can't control, Laura considers what it means to sit in this moment of fatigue and uncertainty while staying focused on the things that matter.
Episode transcript
Episode 72: a common memory
“On a reservation, the only non-natives you see are people who come to take your picture or give you charity; almost nobody comes to just build a relationship and get to know you.”
Presidential candidate Mark Charles shares why he thinks our country's struggles with racism have everything to do with our need to find a common memory of our history, and why eleven years of watching the sunrise on the Navaho Nation has given him hope for the future.
Episode transcript
Episode 63: the show must be paused
“I have a deep love for Minneapolis. Until last week, I naïvely held onto the belief that it was a city without racism.”
Shelter in Place is joining with other arts organizations in observing “Black Out Tuesday” on June 2. This is a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with community in light of the deaths of African American citizens and the systemic racism, violence, and brutality they continue to endure.
Episode transcript
Episode 47: tell the kids
“I’m concerned that each time one of these situations arises and I don’t address it with my kids, I’m teaching them it doesn’t matter. Or that I don’t care. Or that silence in the face of injustice is acceptable.”
In this second episode of lament over Ahmaud Arbery's death, Laura faces the hard reality that her kids may not have the view of equality that she thought they did. She looks to two leaders in the church who are crying out against injustice in a new way, one that includes sharing our grief with our kids.
Episode transcript
Episode 10: grief
“It’s been great to keep up with people by Zoom or Voxer, but there’s pressure in technology to fill the spaces, to not waste anyone’s time.”
As Laura struggles with her sorrow in real time, she looks to generations past as well as to those who are currently suffering on wisdom for how to grapple with the challenges we face.
Episode transcript
Episode 7: lament
“A few years ago, my dentist told me I needed to sleep with a mouth guard because I was grinding my teeth.”
Laura discusses the anxiety many of us are feeling right now, and shares the insights she learned from Dr. Chuck DeGroat on how the best way to move through that anxiety might just be through ancient practices of lament.
Episode transcript