Transforming Reproductive Justice: Advocating for Incarcerated Women with Dr. Carolyn Sufrin
Release Date: 01/15/2025
Rethinking Civic Connection: Building Trust & Collaboration Across Difference
Culture Stew
Can activism build bridges instead of walls? At a time when half the country sees the other half as immoral, undemocratic, and dangerous — and vice versa -- is real civil discourse even possible? Michelle Sobel and Morgan Lasher say yes — and they're proving it. As leaders at Unify America, they're on a mission to reduce political polarization and rebuild civic trust nationwide. In this episode, we dig into two of their boldest tools for change: Civic Gym programs that train students to engage in deep and meaningful dialogue across differences and find common ground on tough topics,...
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Recentering Community: Creating Wellness Spaces Accessible for All
Culture Stew
Gabriela Estrada is a Chicago-based entrepreneur, graphic designer and author. After working as a teacher for 5 years, Gabriela authored 2 autobiographical books and shortly after receiving her 200hr RYT certification, opened The Groove Chicago, a community yoga and art studio that centers all women of color in Avondale. Born and raised in Humboldt Park, Gabriela knows the power of community and giving back and is thrilled to help her community reach their highest potential through curated programming that fits their collective needs.
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Reframing Activism: Living a Values-Based Life to Create Social Change
Culture Stew
Chris Haigh is the Founder and Lead Consultant of True Change Associates, where they partner with organizations to build more equitable, inclusive, and socially just workplaces. With more than two decades of experience across higher education, nonprofit, and corporate sectors, Chris specializes in leadership development, organizational change, and team building. They have served in leadership and faculty roles at institutions including Brown University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Merrimack College, and the Federal Executive Institute, and have presented nationally at...
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AMPLIFY! Storytelling to Activate Social Change
Culture Stew
In this episode of Culture Stew, we bring you the remarkable Emmy Award-winning journalist and author, Dion Lim. Dion has been known for nearly two decades as a TV news anchor and reporter, most recently with ABC News in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Dion made history as the first Asian American woman to anchor weekday evening newscasts at television stations in multiple major markets, including Kansas City, Charlotte, and Tampa Bay. Her reporting on racism and violence targeting Asian Americans has been featured on Good Morning America, 20/20, Nightline, and ABC News Live....
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Recentering and Empowering Diverse Voices in Publishing
Culture Stew
Lilly Ghahremani is a recovering attorney who now “uses her powers for good!” as the co-founder and literary agent for adult and children’s books at Full Circle Literary. She represents a wide range of authors and illustrators, thinking strategically about building lasting careers that are both productive and satisfying in a rapidly-changing publishing landscape. As literary agent, she's spent over two decades advocating for marginalized voices and transforming the publishing landscape. In this episode of the Culture Stew, Lilly reveals how the industry's biases and censorship, both...
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Re-envisioning Social-Emotional Learning- A Conversation with Ashley Brown, Executive Director of Peace of Mind
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Ashley Brown is the Executive Director of Peace of Mind, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that is on a mission to equip kids with the mindfulness tools they need to manage big emotions, build healthy relationships, and become — in their words — peacemakers. For over a decade, Ashley has championed educational equity and student success across diverse school communities. Whether she's designing curriculum, leading professional development for educators, or facilitating workshops directly with students, her focus has always been the same: creating learning environments...
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Reframing Civic Engagement For Children & Caregivers
Culture Stew
Allison Matulli, Ed.D., J.D., M.Ed. is an author, law professor, childhood educator, and Free Speech advocate and Fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum. Dr. Matulli has dedicated her career to helping communities and their children understand the law, with specific attention to the First Amendment. Combining her legal training and education background, she is also the founder of , which empowers communities and children to learn the law. Dr. Matulli recently completed her Ed.D. with a doctorate thesis on Free Speech and Digital Citizenship. She is also a Global Fulbright...
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Reimagining Sustainable Economies
Culture Stew
Veryl Pow is a movement lawyer at the who practices at the intersection between solidarity economics, housing decommodification, and land liberation. An activist first, Veryl's politics developed from his grassroots organizing experiences in resistance movements that spanned Third World solidarity to abolitionist campaigns; and has since expanded to prefigurative worldmaking movements that attempt to transform social and economic relations from profit accumulation, extraction, and atomization to care, cooperation, and mutual aid in the here and now. The Sustainable...
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Recentering Courage and Care in Education: A Conversation Dr. Todd Beer and Devin Moran
Culture Stew
What is the role academics play in institutions, especially in the classroom, when it comes to supporting students’ critical thinking around social issues? As we struggle with questions around free speech and what can or cannot be taught on campuses, how do educators navigate these issues, not necessarily from an administrative perspective, but from a student-focused one? Dr. Todd Beer is an Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology and Anthropology at Lake Forest College in Illinois, where his research spans globalization, social movements, environmental sociology, and climate...
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Reimagining Media Literacy
Culture Stew
In a media landscape shaped by algorithmic amplification, AI-generated content, and narratives that move faster than facts — credibility has become the scarcest resource in the room. Lyanne Alfaro is an award-winning journalist, a narrative advisor, and a former insider at some of the most influential institutions shaping how the world understands business, technology, and capital. Her latest venture, Project Reliable, is an independent initiative working at the intersection of narrative strategy, media posture, and ethical influence. In this conversation, Lyanne shares how we can engage in...
info_outlineIn this compelling episode of Culture Stew, host Maria Morukian speaks with Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, medical anthropologist, obstetrician/gynecologist, and a leading advocate for the reproductive health and rights of incarcerated women. Dr. Sufrin shares her journey from delivering babies shackled to a bed as a young resident to leading groundbreaking research and advocacy for some of the most marginalized individuals in the healthcare system.
Dr. Sufrin reflects on how her early experiences shaped her commitment to systemic change and justice, emphasizing the need for compassionate healthcare, accurate data, and dismantling oppressive structures. Her team’s pivotal PIPS Project revealed staggering gaps in care and outcomes for pregnant individuals in carceral settings, highlighting the need for community-based alternatives and policy reform. Together, Maria and Dr. Sufrin explore how the intersection of race, gender, and reproductive justice underscores the urgency of reimagining healthcare for incarcerated individuals.
Key Topics:
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The story that inspired Dr. Sufrin’s advocacy journey
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Racial disparities in incarceration and reproductive healthcare
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Systemic challenges and reforms in carceral healthcare
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The power of reproductive justice as a framework for change
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Collaborative and abolitionist approaches to reimagine justice
Mentioned Resource:
Belly of the Beast (documentary): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11454670/
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