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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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_outline
Rethinking Patient Advocacy
Culture Stew
Dr. Leigh Ann Simmons wants to give women tools to better advocate for themselves at every stage of their health journey. As a medical practitioner and researcher, Dr. Simmons has published extensively on health disparities and is a leading scholar in promoting behavioral interventions to improve equity in health care. Dr. Simmons is a professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis and co-director of the Perinatal Origins of Disparities (POD) Center at UC Davis. She is the author of an upcoming book that will help women advocate for their care and help healthcare...
info_outline
Rethinking Community and Climate Justice with Collective Power
Culture Stew
“At the roots of Collective Power is the idea that we can do more collectively than we can do individually.” On this week's episode of the Culture Stew, Maria interviews Kelly and Christine Wyche, co-founders of Collective Power, an organization founded with the purpose of assisting underserved communities facing the challenges of climate change, aging infrastructure, and unsustainable lifestyle practices. Together, they explore how to imagine new infrastructures for sustainable living, scaling from book clubs to broader communities. We will get a sneak peak into their new book...
info_outline
Healing as Resistance: Food Justice as Activism
Culture Stew
How can the food we choose to eat, as well as the practices we use to source, prepare, and share our food, be a source of activism and liberation? Karina Sanchez (she/they) is a holistic health and wellness practitioner and food justice organizer. She co-leads Veggie Mijas Chicago, supporting plant-based education, mutual aid, and community programming for Queer BIPOC communities. Karina is an herbalism apprentice with Urban Growers Collective, a yoga teacher through the Latina Sweat Project, and an energy healing apprentice at Verde Holistic Wellness Studio, where she studies...
info_outline
Screaming Together for Liberation & Connection
Culture Stew
In this episode, Maria sits down with Manny Hernandez and Elena Soboleva, co-founders of Scream Club™, to explore what it looks like to create spaces where people no longer have to hold it all in. Manny, a men’s coach and breathwork practitioner, and Elena, a personal brand expert and community leader for women entrepreneurs, are aware of the impact of societal gender norms on mental health and wellbeing. Together, they share how their own lived experiences led them to build a community that challenges norms around silence, emotional suppression, and rigid gender roles,...
info_outline
Redefining Activism: An Intro to Season 7
Culture Stew
What does activism really mean? This season, we’re centering the idea that justice and equity are not only pursued through protests, but also through everyday actions that shape how we show up for ourselves, our communities, and the world around us. Whether it's teaching women how to advocate for their healthcare needs, buiding sustainable communities through homesteading, relearning ancient wisdom related to food, or collectively screaming over a body of water to promote mental wellbeing, our guests this season will demonstrate how activism takes many forms across disciplines and...
info_outline
Bringing Joy to Change: A Conversation with Judy Oyedele
Culture Stew
In this episode of Culture Stew, host Maria Maroukian welcomes Judy Oyedele, founder and principal consultant of Joyedele Consulting. Judy is an organizational development practitioner and executive leadership coach with over a decade of experience helping leaders across sectors break out of the status quo and lead with clarity, ease, and strong boundaries. Judy shares reflections on her upbringing as the daughter of Nigerian immigrants in Texas and how early messages around worthiness and faith shaped her identity and resilience. She and Maria explore the evolution of self-worth beyond...
info_outline
“Rewriting the Wellness Script: Melanie Smith’s Holistic Path to Healing”
Culture Stew
In this live and in-person episode of Culture Stew, Maria sits down with the dynamic Melanie Smith, founder of Moves with Melanie, a health and wellness company based in Silver Spring, Maryland. With a powerful blend of pharmacy expertise, fitness instruction, and integrative nutrition coaching, Melanie shares her personal and professional journey one that took her from a military childhood to pharmacy school to a life changing pivot into holistic wellness. Maria and Melanie explore: How growing up as a “military brat” shaped Melanie’s go for it mindset The realities of burnout in...
info_outlineIn this solo episode, Maria dives into the pressing challenges facing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the wake of the new administration's executive orders. With DEI programs under increasing scrutiny and pressure, Maria discusses the broader implications for organizations in both the public and private sectors, and what they can do to uphold their commitments to equity and inclusion.