Community is a Verb: Recent Episodes
Community is a Verb
Community is a Verb (CiaV) is the podcast for allies, advocates, and activists - hosted by Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner Cayson. In every episode, we talk about tools for social action - social media, systems, processes, and strategies - and what we’re doing to create the world we want to see.
In Season 2, Episode 9 of Community is a Verb, Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner discuss wealth and power. They break down the recently released details behind the net worth of the 5 Seattle Mayoral Candidates:
**Andrew Grant Houston’s net worth: $0
Bruce Harrell’s net worth: $15 million
M. Lorena González’s net worth: $266,000
Colleen Echohawk’s net worth: $400,000
Jessyn Farrell’s net worth: $1.25 million**
source: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/from-0-to-15-million-what-seattles-mayoral-candidates-say-about-their-own-finances/?mc_cid=cfc87096bb&mc_eid=98adb54834
Other sources include:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9456145/Shell-pick-white-people-complain-BLM-founder-buys-1-4M-LA-home.html
Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled are both officially fully vaccinated. The two talk about their thoughts about receiving both doses over the past month and compare their different experiences in the process.
This episode is called War on Voting Rights after the State of Georgia, and their Republican dominated legislature passed laws this past week to limit access to voting. Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner also react to some of the other major headlines this week including the start of the Derek Chauvin trial.
Quotes from the show include:
Derek Chauvin trial from MSNBC - https://youtu.be/-S7RJxFau84
Voting Access from PBS News - https://youtu.be/-YytmK3As5s
Growing Calls of Boycott - https://youtu.be/yuGOej_OYgU
Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled meet this week to discuss the tragic, racist fueled shooting in Atlanta, Georgia and the response on social media.
We honor those victims by saying their names:
- Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33
- Paul Andre Michels, 54
- Xiaojie Tan, 49
- Daoyou Feng, 44
- Soon Chung Park, 74
- Hyun JungGrant, 51
- Suncha Kim, 69
- Yong Ae Yue
- Elcias Hernandes Ortiz (survivor)
Links from this episode include:
Atlanta Shootings: Asian Americans Speak Out About Hate Crimes - https://youtu.be/4VcH4XeG-i4
The Dark History of the Washington State Fairgrounds During WWII - http://www.southsoundtalk.com/2018/12/21/the-dark-history-of-the-washington-state-fairgrounds-during-wwii/
Daniel Dae Kim Speaks to Congress About Anti-Asian Hate - https://youtu.be/fRhkZ5EZnJo
Donate - https://stopaapihate.org/
The Making of Asian America: A History - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1476739412/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_RXGKAWGNPQSGT7A7GR8H
Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner are excited about Non Fungible Tokens aka NFTs. They have just discovered them recently and are still in the research phase of discovery, however, they already see the future of the technology and the benefits to communities. In this episode, they talk about what they've learned about the new technology and some of the future applications of NFT, Blockchain and how these intersect with the world of art, content and creation.
Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled discuss what it was like in Texas this week to experience the power grid failure.
Community is a Verb
Season 2 Episode 3
WHY LOCAL ELECTIONS MATTER
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/seattle-and-sequim-show-why-local-elections-matter/
"Only 42.7% of King County voters turned out for the 2017 general election, which had dozens of local races on the ballot, including the county executive, sheriff, Seattle mayor and council seats. In contrast, the county’s voters showed up in droves — 85.9% turnout — for the high-profile presidential, congressional and legislative races in November."
https://crosscut.com/opinion/2021/01/lessons-2021-seattles-first-black-mayor
“People tend to make fun of Seattle process, which can be as slow as a banana slug on pavement. But Rice supports extensive civic engagement — he says he thinks every public college or university should have a Department of Civic Engagement devoted to keeping the public informed and involved, studying the ways “movements such as March for Our Lives or Black Lives Matter can move from marching to governing.” Activists, he says, are good at identifying problems; government’s task is to find answers.”
https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/dates-and-deadlines.aspx
http://www.seattle.gov/democracyvoucher/program-data
https://web6.seattle.gov/ethics/elections/campaigns.aspx?cycle=2021&type=contest&IDNum=188&leftmenu=collapsed
Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled start the show talking about Seattle's Democracy Voucher Program and having previous podcast guest, "Ace" Andrew Grant Houston, be Seattle's first name in the race for Mayor.
The guys also answer an email question from a listener regarding the Seattle Freeze and dealing with relationships during the pandemic. Here's the questions:
"Dear Mr. Well-Travelled, and Conner,
Last week you shared your story about meeting each other in person after connecting on Instagram. Honestly, it made me a little sad, and a little jealous. I graduated from college in 2019 and moved from Florida to Seattle in November 2019 for my new job. With it being the holidays, I realized I might not have moved here at the best time, however, when Thanksgiving came around, one of my coworkers invited me over to celebrate with him and his family which took some of the worry away about being alone for the holidays. I spent Christmas by myself, but was lucky enough to again spend NYE with my coworkers. I had met some new people and thought I was starting to make friends, I even went on a date with a girl I met online. I know this sounds good, but 3 months later, the pandemic had started, and my job moved to remote full time. Since then, I really haven't had many friends in Seattle. I haven't heard from my coworkers (outside of work) and the friends I thought I had been making haven't reached out. I heard about the Seattle Freeze when I moved here, but hearing you two share your story, made me wonder, what do you think of the Seattle Freeze and how have you made friends in Seattle?"
Welcome to season 2! We are going to try a different style this season by incorporating more from you! This week's episode includes a question that was sent to us from another listener, and some questions from Conner's Ask Me Anything on Instagram.
Subject: My Friend Hates My Podcast!
Dear Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled,
I launched my first podcast in November 2020 after seeing so much misinformation being shared on social media throughout the election.
I have a master’s degree in political science from an Ivy League school, and the podcast gives me an opportunity to share my knowledge about how election systems work with others.
After recording two episodes, I sent a link to the show to a friend from Twitter, who I’ve known for a couple of years. We’ve met in person several times. And recently I attended a socially distanced housewarming at her beautiful new home.
While there, I asked her what she thought of the podcast. She said that it was wonderful and that she really enjoyed the guests. I haven’t had any guests on my podcast. I jokingly responded that I guess she hadn’t actually clicked the link and listened.
I guess she didn’t like that, because she loudly replied that she has been a good friend and supporter for many years. And that my podcast just wasn’t something she was interested in. I was surprised and kind of embarrassed. I left the housewarming after that exchange. We haven’t spoken since. And I have mixed feelings about moving forward as friends.
My question is: Are we really friends?
Welcome to Episode 09 of Community is a Verb, a show that talks about tools for social action - we talk about social media, systems, processes, and strategies - and what we’re doing to create the world we want to see. This week, cohosts Conner Cayson, and Mr. Well-Travelled review the 2020 year from the Pandemic, Racial Justice Demonstrations, and Elections, and give a look toward 2021.
Seattle 2020 in Review
Pandemic
- Stay home, stay safe
- Lockdown and unemployment
- Essential Workers and hazard pay
- Housing insecurity
- Food insecurity
- Indefinite Work From Home
- Work From Homers flee the city
- City budget shortfall
Racial Justice Demonstrations
- Demonstrations
- Defund the Police
- CHOP / CHAZ
- Rise of Independent Local Media / Citizen Journalism (Omari Salisbury and Converge Media)
Presidential Election
- Anarchist City
- Mail in Ballot Drop Boxes
- Record Turn Out
Announcements
- Police Chief Carmen Best resigns
- Mayor Jenny Durkan declines to run 2021
- Vaccine! - oops! Not enough ☹️
_______________________________
Seattle 2021 Themes:
- Pandemic
- Who gets the vaccine?
- Work From Home forever?!
- Issues
- Housing insecurity
- Food insecurity
- Unemployment
- Racial Justice
- How defunding the police is working out in Seattle
- Mayoral Race
- Contender’s for Seattle’s Next Mayor
Referenced Links:
"How Defunding the Police is Working Out in Seattle" - https://youtu.be/NIboJ6uUBm8
"First Take: Handicapping Contenders for Seattle's Next Mayor" - https://www.postalley.org/2020/12/21/first-take-handicapping-contenders-for-seattles-next-mayor/
Can architects be activists? How does the built environment and its designers shape who we are and who we want to be? How can cities be redesigned to ensure that essential services can be accessed within 15-minutes without a car?
In this week’s episode, Conner Cayson and Mr. Well-Travelled talk to activist architect Andrew Grant Houston (he/him), known on social media as Ace the Architect, about housing policy and his work as Head of Design at House Cosmopolitan in Seattle.
And as always, we shout out some individuals and organizations doing great work in the community:
-Mary Lyles - No More Under
-Kelechi Iroegbu - #TexasSizedChristmas
-The Common Acre
-Beyond the Built Environment
-15 Seconds of Stardom
-Pike Place Market Foundation
Links referenced in the show:
Ace the Architect on Instagram
https://instagram.com/theurbanace?igshid=13y74ieltcpph
Ace the Architect on Twitter
https://twitter.com/theurbanace?lang=en
Seattle could become the next 15-minute city
https://crosscut.com/focus/2020/11/seattle-could-become-next-15-minute-city
The Color of Law
https://www.amazon.com/Color-Law-Forgotten-Government-Segregated-ebook/dp/B01M8IWJT2
No More Under on Instagram
https://instagram.com/nomoreunder?igshid=1051jm53fbrfj
No More Under website
https://www.nomoreunder.org/
Kelechi Iroegbu on Instagram
https://instagram.com/yaboyykel?igshid=10k1z4usyk44x
TexasSizedChristmas on Instagram
https://instagram.com/uhforthestudents?igshid=1jfba8quwwb9o
The Common Acre website
https://www.commonacre.org/
Beyond the Built Environment
https://www.beyondthebuilt.com/
15 Seconds of Stardom
https://15secondsofstardom.com/
Pike Place Market Foundation
https://pikeplacemarketfoundation.org/
This week's episode welcomes our second ever guest to the show, David "Pryme" Monroe, better known by his stage name "deejaypryme." Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled know Pryme from a series of pop-up events in Seattle where they first met, and have been friends for a few years now. Deejaypryme is well known around the Seattle music community for his appearances around the nightclub scene. This week's episode is a friendly discussion between the three touching on the changes to Pryme's communities in 2020. His communities include the music and DJ industry, his connections online through Instagram, and the new people he has met after becoming a father earlier this year. They end the show with shout outs and recommendations for organizations participating in Giving Tuesday.
Here are the links referenced in the show:
Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nut Cracker - https://www.netflix.com/title/80217229
His House - https://www.netflix.com/title/81231197
Giving Tuesday:
Debbie Allen Dance Academy - https://www.debbieallendanceacademy.com/donate
Center for Anti-Racist Research - https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/
Donate here - https://trusted.bu.edu/s/1759/2-bu/giving/interior.aspx?sid=1759&gid=2&pgid=9134&cid=17366&appealcode=WEBCAR
Chief Seattle Club - https://chiefseattleclub.org/
Donate Here - https://chiefseattleclub.z2systems.com/np/clients/chiefseattleclub/donation.jsp?campaign=48
Seattle Parks Foundation - https://www.seattleparksfoundation.org/
This episode’s conversation is a “Letter to Future Voters” from Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner Cayson.
In this “letter,” we reflect on how it felt to live through Election Day and Election Week 2020, as well as on how the country reacted to the results with protests and celebrations.
We examine the slow ballot counting process and feelings of anxiousness as we watched results trickle in from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona.
Next, we dive deeper into Georgia and how the state was able to flip from Red to Blue. We honor the Black women organizers (Nse Ufot, Helen Butler, Deborah Scott, and Tamieka Atkins) who worked alongside Stacey Abrams to register voters and increase turnout in the state.
In the second half of the show, we discuss the demographic breakdown of election results and explore what the White Racial Identity vote says about America in 2020 and beyond.
______________________
Here are the links from today’s conversation:
Stacey Abrams and Other Georgia Organizers Are Part of a Long—But Often Overlooked—Tradition of Black Women Working for the Vote
https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/5909556/stacey-abrams-history-black-women-voting/%3famp=true
Stacey Didn’t Do It Alone
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHTAW9ZFWSW/?igshid=13fm7h0opqmt5
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHQKaYehlMT/?igshid=1d8u7c0drzqt7
November 4, 2020 Instagram post by @dopequeenpheebs
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHMBcFwB5gP/?igshid=ra6jf746s8km
1A - How Whiteness Affected the Election
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1a/id1188724250?i=10004978
The 2020 Presidential Election is a few days away and we have already seen record turnout around the county. In this week's show, Conner and Mr Well Travelled talk about what they are seeing around the election, voting, and the differences between Seattle and Houston. The second half of the show dives into an app by Mr Well Travelled called Next Up that provides waiting times in Harris County on Election Day.
Welcome to Episode 04 of Community is a Verb a show that talks about tools for social action - social media, systems, processes, and strategies - and what we’re doing to create the world we want to see.
Today's show with Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner Cayson focuses on moving beyond the Black Square. The Black Square was a social media trend in June 2020 that had confusing intentions and mixed messages during the start of the George Floyd Protests. Now that we are 4 months away from that viral day, we are talking about the event and if and how people have moved forward and taken action in their own lives. This topic was inspired by this Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGAT-S3jBhv/
We also reflect on the murder of Jonathan Price and the recent murder charge and firing of the officer responsible for his death.
Source article from discussion: https://www.bet.com/news/national/2020/10/05/jonathan-price-texas-police-facebook-post.html
They also talk about how Yelp recently added a "Business Accused of Racist Behavior"Alert
source article: https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/10/09/922271718/yelp-will-label-businesses-accused-of-racist-behavior
Welcome to episode 03 of Community is a Verb with Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner Cayson. We are excited to invite our first guest host to the show. Vanessa Janay is cohost of The Undefined Good Girls Podcast - Along with her sister and cohost Kiara, the show is about shattering the label of “good girl” and empowering women to discover their authentic and undefined lives!
In this week's show, the three of us discuss Lifelong Community Fighters including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, John Lewis and James Jackson. We also start the show with our community check-ins, and reflecting on the recent grand jury decisions regarding the Breonna Taylor case.
Links to this week discussion below:
UNDEFINED GOOD GIRLS PODCAST on Instagram
Vanessa Janay on Instagram
Podcast Art Work design by @cocoaamli
Ballot Defenders
Kallie Music
article: "These Cities Replaced Cops With Social Workers, Medics, and People Without Guns"
article: Social Disorganization Theory
article: James Jackson
Dining Out for Life Fundraising TShirts
You can follow along with Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner Cayson on Instagram.
Let's talk about voter suppression! In this week's show, Mr. Well Travelled and Conner dive into voter suppression and talk about some of the actions and process to make sure your vote counts. Here are some other topics and notes they cover:
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The guys give a shout out to Kiara & Vanessa "Undefined Good Girl Podcast"
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Personal Check-ins
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Reaction to this week's fires across the West Coast
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Some information and facts about voter suppression
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Impacts and History of Voter Suppression
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Do You Have a Voting Plan?
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Polling Station wait times with Mr Well Travelled's new app NEXT UP
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Anticipation for "All In: The Fight for Democracy"
Welcome to our podcast, COMMUNITY IS A VERB, with Mr. Well Travelled and Conner Cayson. Community is a Verb (CiaV) is the podcast for allies, advocates, and activists - hosted by Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner Cayson. In every episode, we talk about tools for social action - social media, systems, processes, and strategies - and what we’re doing to create the world we want to see.You can find the video version of the show on our Youtube channel.
The world is changing, hopefully for the better, and our communities will be the cornerstones of change. The goal of the show is to create a new form of social transformation by talking about real issues in our communities, and taking it a step further. That next step is about ACTION, and that is why the show is called COMMUNITY IS A VERB.
Welcome to the first episode of COMMUNITY IS A VERB. Mr. Well Travelled and Conner Cayson are two friends who originally met each other through Instagram in Seattle, Washington. They met at a local event and became friends from there. Their discussions have always covered a wide range of topics, and although they don't always agree, they believe their conversations are examples of how people, who are different, and come from different places, can come together to work on improving the world and make change.
In this week's episode, they lay a foundation for the principles of their show. It's important to talk about social justice on social media, but how are we taking the next steps toward action. What are the systems, processes and strategies being created to further the message? Are there ideas from other industries that we can reproduce to improve our communities?
Conner and Mr Well Travelled talk about this past week's protest across sports, speaking out against racial injustice. They reflect on a historical week that includes the Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and the March on Washington. They also reflect on the life of Chadwick Boseman.