Ep. 133: Tiktok Ya Don't Stop

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EQ: To what extent would we miss out on trivial nonsense if we didn’t have Tiktok Summers?

In this episode, Hope and Megan catch up with the O.G. white lady, Annie Jansen. After an update of her journey to being an electrician, they take on the ins and outs of Tiktok. We’re sure you’ll learn a little about who to follow, how to prevent echo chambers, and some of the weird nonsense on the tok.

Referenced in the show:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Expand your Tiktok bubble

Ep. 132: Spin the Bottle Elections

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EQ: Do the results coming in from the primary elections inform what is to come in November or are politics in the United States a cluster and nothing makes sense any more ever? And what, if anything, can we learn from what happened?

Aug 2  was the primary elections, gearing up for the Mid-Term elections in November. Some interesting, disheartening, and hopeful things took place. Today, Hope and Megan focus on what happened through the lens of why and how we can use that to propel us forward into November in order to see the results that we want.

Related Links:

Your Fudging Homework:

  • Find 1-2 people who aren’t registered or don’t usually vote—bring them along

Ep. 131: How to Cope with Living Through History

EQ: How do you best teach (learn)  about the past in order to serve the present while at the same time understanding the present in terms of the past?

Today’s special guest is the one and only Nate Bowling from Nerd Farm Podcast.

In today’s episode, Hope and Nate discuss their recent trip to Munich and the takeaways from their experience. First, despite being years away from WWII and the effort to convert specific Third Reich sites, it is still on a journey to reconcile its role as the center of Naziism AND its identity as a metropolitan/thriving city. The conversation shifts to parallels in United States history, what makes our story here unique, and why we often can’t acknowledge the  good/bad of our past at the same time.

Related Links

Ep. 130: A Book Challenge in our Backyard

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EQ: How has anti-LGBTQ sentiment seeped in local school boards?

Hope is joined by guest Gavin Downing, a teacher-library in the Kent School district who recently experience a very intense effort by some community members to ban a young adult book, Jack of Hearts and Other Parts by L.C. Rosen. In this episode, we dig into the timeline of events, discuss the recent rise in book bans and how we can all be more proactive in our support of students’ rights to read diverse perspectives and experiences.

Related Links:

Do Your Fudging HW:

  • We can’t do this alone–reach out to SD, let them know/policies for district; shore them up BEFORE the challenge comes in; school board; public library

  • How folks can support you/prevent the banning of books in KSD or in their local districts

Ep. 129: Wheel of Nonsense

EQ: How do we  manage life’s wheel of nonsense?  

After a bit of a hiatus we’re happy to welcome Megan back to the show for today’s episode. It is a hodgepodge of topics chosen by the “wheel of nonsense”. We felt there was so much going on yet with summer looming we should temper the serious with the nonsensical. Enjoy!

Related sources:

Ep. 128: An Interview w/ The Writing Hippo aka Author Jesse Q. Sutanto

This is our third podcast in our authors of color series. Today, we are continuing to answer our essential question.

EQ: How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by  authors of color changed the writing landscape?

Jesse Q Sutanto is the author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Oxford University. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties came out last year and was purchased by Netflix. Jesse lives in Indonesia with her husband, her two daughters, and her ridiculously large extended family, many of whom live just down the road.

Sutanto shares how her experiences growing up in urban places like Jakarta and Singapore shape your own experiences/your writing including several pivotal moments that shaped her identity as a writer. We dig into her passion to disrupt stereotypes about female protagonists and Asian representation in literature. We also discuss how her work spans a range of target audience and why she’s exploring different genres. 

For more Sutanto Conversations check out:

Check out her other writing:

Ep. 127: On the Alito Leak and the Threat to Roe

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Ep. 126: How and Why the Baddies Are Winning

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Essential Question: How is the right leveraging social and economic conditions to pass such $h!* legislation (aka how and why are the baddies winning)?

Across the country bills are being passed that is limiting/censoring educators more and more. We have seen this with the CRT debate, Book Banning, and today’s topic, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. In today’s episode we discussed the high profile cases everyone should be paying attention to but also why initiatives in smaller states matter too. This whole episode deserves one giant shame bell rung from start to finish.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Megan: Educate yourself about what’s happening & check out the links above. Donate money to organizations who are fighting these bills. Contact your members of Congress!

  • Hope: HCR ad “Let Us Play” will bring tears to your eyes; Facing History

Ep: 125: Cozy Mysteries Take On Colonialism

EQ: How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by  authors of color changed the writing landscape?

Guest: Raquel V. Reyes. Reyes’ short stories appear in various anthologies, including Mystery Most Theatrical, Midnight Hour, and Trouble No More. Find her on social media @LatinaSleuths.

Based on the recommendation of Mia Manansala in Ep 121, we invited Raquel Reyes to join us and share her own journey as a cozy mystery writer. We spend some time discussing her book, Mango, Mambo, and Murder, especially the integration of food and culture intertwined with a murder mystery. She shares some pivotal moments in her development as a writer, influential writers, opinions on Latinx representation in literature, and the changing landscape of the literary world. 

Related Resources:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Facebook Group “Cozy Mysteries Crew”

  • Megan: Read Raquel’s work!

  • Raquel: Request books at your libraries or your independent bookstores. Give anthologies a try!

Ep. 124: The Power of a Hush

Essential Question: How much hushing could a husher hush if a husher could hush fools?

Today we bring back some of our favorite segments for a few laughs. We’re joined by Hope Bixby, “the New Hope” who is currently a Social Studies teacher at Lincoln High School and an all around badass. Bixby pitches the idea of a weekly “hush” here we get to highlight  the people, topics, concepts, situations, etc who have received our “hush” of the week. 

Favorite segments: 

  • Yeah, No Yeah

  • Does it Venn?

  • Hush of the Week: Related links

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 123: The Scoop on Relationship & Sex Education at Home & Abroad

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EQ:  What is the importance of Sex Education in both the US and abroad, and how can you ensure equity for all students  in the curriculum delivered?


Guest: Emily Zien, a health and physical education teacher. Please check out her website for more information.

In our third episode centering international schools, we chat with Emily about her work as a relationships and sexual education educator.  We begin by learning about the present landscape, comparing what this work looks like in the United States and in the International School scene. We also discuss the role of DEIJ in shaping these conversations, how we can ensure equity in the curriculum and how child “safe guarding” is a growing field that opens the door for revamping school policies. 

Do you Fudging HW:

Ep. 122: The Scoop on International Schools, Part II

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Note: This episode was recorded mid-February, prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

EQ:  How are international schools uniquely situated to fight, perpetuate or contribute to educational inequities around the world

Guest: Yvette Santos Cuenco a school counselor at the Edmund Burke Independent School in DC.

Hope and Megan continue their conversation with the amazing Yvette about the inner workings and nuances of international schools. In this episode the three of them dive into what the DEIJ landscape looks like on the international level. They discuss how over the last several years there has been movement in being open about the work, but discuss how and why the work can feel so slow on the international level. Also, how International schools have unique responsibilities, barriers, and challenges to equitably serving all students in DEIJ work. The conversation focuses on what those might be as well as how International schools as well as educators in these spaces can continue to tackle the work within this. On the flip side of the challenges, they also discuss how International Schools are uniquely positioned to tackle this work in ways that schools in the US are not.

Related Sources:

Champagne & Real Pain 

🥂International School Services (ISS) pushing the DEIJ work in international schools

🥂 Raise a glass to all past students. Especially those celebrating Black History Month or Lunar New Year

🥂All those that are having honest and challenging conversations around DEIJ work.

👎🏻Book burning, cameras in schools, and overall the laws restricting teachers

👎🏻Any school district that is making it more difficult for their staff. Also those that are sending in bomb threats for HBCUs; HBCUs are undeterred

👎🏻Another no knock warrant murder of Amir Locke in Minneapolis

Do your fudging homework: 

  • Hope: Educators, look into your options! Don’t stay where you aren’t appreciated! 

  • Yvette: Find a place where you are valued as a teacher!

  • Megan: Find the right fit as a teacher, don’t leave the profession!

Ep. 121: Identity is Not a Plotline--On Cozy Mysteries & Representation

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EQ:  How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by  authors of color changed the writing landscape?

We’re so excited to announce our new author series! Joining us today is  Mia Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries series).

  • Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @MPMtheWriter  

  • Check out her website: www.miapmanansala.com 

In this episode we learn all about the cozy mystery, a subgenre of crime! As you might predict, it is often described as “hallmark movies with dead bodies in them.” Mia shares her writing journey shouting out key mentors such as Kellye Garrett and Lori Rader Day. We discuss how the publishing scene is a business rather than an art, thus is slow to change. However, the consistent effort by the “everyday” reader (and any allies who want to see more representation)  is helping put pressure on the industry to expand the stories and authors they support.  We really appreciate Mia’s openness with us about her triumphs and challenges as a newly published author transforming a genre! 

Other Writers to Check Out:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Check out Mia’s books–library or purchase!

  • Megan: Read the work and post about it!

  • Mia: Check out Crime Writers of Color

Ep. 120: The Scoop on International Schools Part I

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EQ:  How are international schools uniquely situated to fight, perpetuate or contribute to educational inequities around the world?

Guest: Yvette Santos Cuenco a school counselor at the Edmund Burke Independent School in DC.

In this episode Hope and Megan are joined by Yvette, an experienced international educator and school counselor. We discuss the historical context which led to the establishment of these schools throughout the world.  Listeners will learn a little about who attends, how they are designed, how the culture of the country impacts the school community and much much more. We also dip our toes into the DEIJ/social justice landscape in these contexts, reviewing such things as disparities in these schools, problematic hiring practices and the way they operate as predominantly White institutions often perpetuating (intentionally or unintentionally) white/colonial culture. 

Related Sources: 

Ep. 119: Manifest A Mask & Other Nonsense Educators Are Expected to Do

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EQ: If society believes that having students attend  in-person schooling is so critical, why didn’t they do anything to make it safe and sustainable?


In this episode, Megan and Hope discuss the dire conditions in which educators and students are facing upon the return to school. As per usual, they try to dig into some of the arguments for the in-person vs. remote learning debate and hold multiple truths at the same time. Namely, we all know high quality in-person instruction is ideal but in-person schooling has hella flaws & leaves kids out all the time AND remote learning has hella flaws and leaves kids out too. BOTH can be empowering. BOTH can be meaningful. BOTH can be racist, inequitable and garbage for students and the teachers. One of our biggest concerns is that districts lack plan Bs, Cs, and Ds. The needs, desires, and health of teachers matters. They are people whose lives matter. Just because they are teachers does not mean that they surrender their humanity.

Related articles:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Buy some rapid tests for your favorite school teachers

  • Write to your local school board members about going remote during a search and creating clear plans for thresholds to school closures/return to in-person learning.

Ep. 118: Combating Moral Panics At School Board Meetings

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EQ: How can School District Leaders manage and respond to moral panics of the moment, particularly around DEI/CRT? 

Guest: Wendy Smith our guest from Episode 111: Back to School, Go to School Board Meetings! 

In this episode, we catch up with Vancouver School board chair, Wendy Smith. We discuss her recent election win and related lessons. We pickup our conversation about current issues facing school districts across the nation, particularly what it’s like serving a diverse range of community needs and constant pressures from various stakeholders. Wendy shares the process for the VPS equity audit and the implications for the district. 

Related Resources:

Do Your Fudging Homework: 

  • Hope: Reach out to an educator and offer a word of encouragement or support

  • Megan: Email an educator and let them know you see them

  • Wendy: The Daily’s series “School Board Wars”


Ep. 117: Vaccines and Vacays

Essential Question:  How can you “protect your peace” during this first post-vaccine covid holiday season?

Megan and Hope meander through ideas about how to navigate the holiday season and all it’s madness. They also share listener recommendations for cookies, favorite movies, and how to maintain you peace and joy at this time of year. 

PS folks should listen to previous holiday episodes:

Ep. 116: Our Role in Upholding Anti-Blackness

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EQ: How are white supremacy and anti-blackness a result of the living legacy of colonization and what does it mean for us today?

Guest: Alysa Pererras, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Consultant and Researcher in Medellin, Colombia.

Hope and Megan return to an important conversation about the presence of anti-Blackness in our society. This time, they’re exploring its presence in relation to colonization. They’re joined by DEIJ consultant Alysa to discuss its roots, relationship with White Supremacy and everyone’s responsibility to dismantle the systems of oppression around them. You can follow Alysa on Twitter.

Related Resources:

Do Your Fudging HW:

Ep. 115: Confessions of an Ed Policy Insider

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EQ: Do the Nov 2 election results give us a preview of how the campaigns against education will impact elections/politics as we move forward in the United States?

Guest: Sandy Boyd Sandy is the CEO of Seek Common Ground (SCG), an organization committed to empowering independent state and local organizations advancing equitable solutions with and for children, families and communities. 

Sandy shares with listeners the impetus for starting Seek Common Ground and some of the work they are currently engaged in. A majority of the conversation centers on the politics of education and how policies have really not changed over the years. We theorize about the impact of Covid on student learning and if the pandemic was a catalyst for the fight around CRT (note: this was recorded prior to the Mom’s for Liberty bounty nonsense in New Hampshire--white rage anyone?). 

References in the show:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Megan: Read the articles linked in the show notes & pay attention to local politics.

  • Hope: Check out the work of Seek Common Ground & if you have a chance to help partner with them, use it.

  • Sandy: Check out what’s happening locally including school board elections

Ep. 114: Facing Racialized Bias and Coded Language

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EQ: How can facing our racialized biases help fight against the stronghold of white supremacy in our personal and work life?

Inspired by a discussion with the Whiteness Accountability Group for International Educators, Hope and Megan discuss the nature of positionality and how shifting power and privileges are wrapped up in social hierarchies. For many of us we need to start with examining our positionality, then identify our implicit biases (especially the negative ones) and finally consider the implications of these elements in our personal and professional relationships. 

Resources to consider:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Megan: Go read the articles posted above

  • Hope: Inventory your life & where you stand. Make a goal for yourself to use your positionality in a way that benefits others