Woke Points: Recent Episodes
Marni Edelhart and Ted McCarthy
The podcast where each episode two friends try to strip away the conventional wisdom from issues of ethical or moral importance in order to identify ways to move beyond scoring "Woke Points" to engaging in practices that make a real difference.
A whole lot has been happening in the Middle East since October 7th, and there's been no shortage of coverage of the conflict on news, social media, and almost anywhere else we look.
But what was it like to visit before all this started — and especially, what was it like to visit Gaza? Listen in as Ted describes his experiences mentoring startups there in 2015 and 2017. This is an atypical episode — no music, and no Marni — but we hope this can help add some context to what's happening in the region today.
Ted will read excerpts from a series of essays he's posting on his weekly newsletter, The Web and the World. If you'd like to read more about his time there (and see photos of Gaza in a time of peace), take a look there as well.
Resources from this episode:
- John Oliver's excellent coverage of the war on "Last Week Tonight"
- Ezra Klein's interview with Nimrod Novik, a fellow at the Israel Policy Forum and a member of the executive committee of Commanders for Israel’s Security
- Gaza Sky Geeks, Gaza's first and only tech accelerator, which hosted Ted's visits
- Gaza Online — help a Gazan tremendously for very little money by buying an eSIM card to provide vital mobile data access to someone in Gaza today
- Ted's newsletter, The Web and the World
We chose not to include our usual bright, upbeat music in this episode, but usually we rely on Inny PDX for our excellent tunes — thank you!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
When Henry Kissinger died, various obituaries struggled to sound respectful while recounting his long history of war crimes and dastardly deeds. Woke Points, on the other hand, will not be burdened with that struggle.
Ted and Marni are joined by Danae Hendrickson of Legacies of War to discuss the Secret War that Kissinger led in Laos and Cambodia during the (far-from-secret) war in Vietnam. Together we discuss the devastating impacts that 2 million tons of bombs dropped on Laos in the 1960s and '70s still have to this day. Danae shares her personal history with The Secret War and the important work of Legacies of War and other NGOs striving to shed light on, and ameliorate the continued harm of, the war and its aftermath.
Resources from this episode:
- The New England Review of Henry Kissinger Obituaries
- Henry Kissinger, the Devil at the Dinner Party
- Henry Kissinger Dead at 100
- Why Laos Has Been Bombed More than Any Other Country
- Kennedy and Khrushchev Agree on Neutrality for Laos
- Tham Piew Cave
- Biden: sending cluster munitions to Ukraine was ‘difficult decision,’ but ‘they needed them'
- Convention on Cluster Munitions
- Mother of Five Killed by UXO
- Legacies of War's The Originals
Books:
- Jessica Pearce Rotondi, What We Inherit
- Naomi Klein, Shock Doctrine
- Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust
Who to Support:
- Legacies of War
- MAG International
- COPE
- APOPO
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Getting outdoors has never been nerdier! Atmospheric scientist and avid ultra runner Joe Boomgard-Zagrodnik joins Ted and Marni to bring a truly informed, scientific perspective on how we can conscientiously enjoy the great outdoors.
We talk climate change, optimism, microplastics and much much more. If you like Woke Points then you should love Joe BZ because he originally introduced Ted and Marni when they crewed for him at The Western States 100 race.
- Books referenced in this episode:
- Yi-Fu Tuan, Topophilia
- Links:
- William Cronon, “The Trouble with Wilderness”
Keep learning from Joe:
The Convergence Zone
Twitter/X
Google Scholar
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Some folks on the left have adopted the maxim that the "best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." Listen in as we discuss our own reaction to that belief, and the practice of using guns to defend threatened groups from the violence of oppressors.
Marni and Ted share stories of groups in the minority who are taking up arms for their protection, and discuss our own experiences with, and feelings about, guns.
Resources from this episode:
Books:
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
Links:
- Pew, “Key facts about Americans and guns”
- Pew, “Gun Violence Widely Viewed as a Major – and Growing – National Problem”
- HCN, “Meet the gun-toting ‘Tenacious Unicorns’ in rural Colorado”
- TNR, “Antifa Is Arming Itself Against a Trump Crackdown”
- Atlantic, “Guns Have Always Been Regulated”
- Harpers, ”Good Guys with Guns”
- Gallup, “Stark Gender Gap in Gun Ownership, Views of Gun Laws in U.S.”
- Atlantic, “The Secret History of Guns”
- NJSBF, “The Evolution of the Second Amendment”
- Socialist Rifle Association
- The Pink Pistols
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Having served five tours of duty as a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan, Elliot Ackerman knows what he's talking about when it comes to military service. He makes the argument that a draft could increase public engagement with the military and thus potentially reduce wars because everyone would have more skin in the game. In this episode, Ted and Marni talk to Elliot about how his experience informs his perspective and if he sees any real potential for a universal draft to be brought to fruition.
Resources from this episode:
- Elliot's Time article about reinstating the draft
- Pre-order Elliot's latest book, 2054
- Buy Elliot's National Book Award-nominated novel, Halcyon
- Read more of Elliot's thoughts on war and military service in his book, Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning
- Elliot's recent interview with Terry Gross — that's right, we interviewed someone before Terry Gross did!
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Ted is super Outdoorsy and Marni is more Outdoors-ish, but we both love our time in the woods, on the water, and just out in the fresh air. In this episode, we explore (see what I did there?) how to love the outdoors without destroying them.
Resources from this episode:
- COVID spikes in Outdoor Recreation
- Outdoor Activities and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- The impact of urbanization on Austria’s carbon footprint
- Trail running events contribute microplastic pollution to conservation and wilderness areas
- Nat Geo article: Rock climbing is getting more popular—and that concerns conservationists
- Apparently helicopters use lead fuel
- Helicopters with SAF! Promising for general travel too
- “Your stoke won’t save us: The idea that outdoor recreation leads to meaningful conservation rests on a big ‘if’
- Are We Loving Our National Parks to Death?
- Ted and Marni's favorite Wilderness Reads
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Most Americans pass every day blissfully unaware of the impacts our military has around the world. We are insulated by a volunteer military that carries out global campaigns while we go about our lives. On this episode, Ted and Marni discuss whether a national, inclusive draft could result in increased civic engagements and fewer wars.
Resources from this episode:
- Why Bringing Back the Draft Could Stop America’s Forever Wars
- How I Learned to Love the Draft
- Should the United States Reinstate the Draft?
- Watson Institute Cost of War Map — Counterterror Locations
- CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) data on military demographics
- Countries with Mandatory Military Service, 2023
- Skin in the Game: Poor Kids and Patriots
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Chorus Foundation founder Farhad Ebrahimi is in the process of giving away all $50 million of his inherited wealth, and he'll be done by the end of this year.
Listen to this episode to learn not only why is Farhad giving away his fortune, but is encouraging others to follow his lead. Beyond his own foundation, he's part of a larger movement to work with others across society to imagine a future beyond philanthropy as we know it.
Resources from this episode:
- The Chorus Foundation — Farhad's Organization
- The Whitman Institute —Trust Based Philanthropy
- Justice Funders
- The Mexico City Policy — Ted couldn't remember the name of this during recording, but it's important knowledge!
- Vu Lee's Blog "Nonprofit AF"
- Boot's Riley's "I'm a Virgo"
- Winners Take All, by Anand Giridharadas
- Pineapple Street, by Jenny Jackson — a surprisingly relevant beach read
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Author of multiple books on national identity and patriotism, Duke's Noah Pickus brings his historically-informed perspective to this week's episode.
This conversation goes beyond our emotional responses to patriotism and expands into some deep topics, like the relationship between patriotism and immigration policy, and what it even means to be a citizen of a place.
Resources and recommendations from this episode:
- Buy Noah's latest book, The New Global Universities
- Buy Noah's other books, True Faith & Allegiance: Immigration and American Civic Nationalism and Immigration & Citizenship in the 21st Century
- Dismal Science: How Thinking Like an Economist Undermines Community
- "What does it mean to be an American?"
- "The Home We Build Together: Recreating Society"
- Connect with Noah via Linkedin and Twitter
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
When you approach a house flying an American flag, do you feel welcome? When you hear the national anthem, do your eyes well with tears of national pride? Do you bleed red, white, and blue?
Can you answer yes to any of the questions above and still consider yourself politically progressive?
In this episode, Ted and Marni discuss their own relationships with patriotism as well as how it seems to have been co-opted by the right. We ask if progressives should try to re-stake our claim on patriotism, and if so, how we can go about it.
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
If you've had enough Marnsplaining, then this episode is for you! Ted and Marni welcome Kelly Hodgins to add her brilliantly informed perspective around equity in our food system.
Born and raised on farms in Canada and New Zealand, Kelly brought her interest in farming into her academic career where she focused her research on food and agriculture systems, and did a lot of public engagement on different food system issues, such as food waste and inequality in food access.
She's conducted significant research exploring the classed dynamics of the “ethical” or “alternative” food system. You can read about her work here and here.
Episode resources and notes:
- Correction: Ted stated that organic farming requires more water; this is not necessarily true, often it requires LESS water!
- 1940’s United Fruit Company video of the banana supply chain Ted referenced featuring “the Great White Fleet,” a great watch
- Netherlands protests around climate & farming regulations
- Is it possible to make 'ethical' food available to all, not just the rich?
- Access to ‘ethical’ food often available only to the wealthy
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Season three is here, and if we say so ourselves it's a Snack! Join Ted and Marni for a conversation about how progressives sometimes focus more on elitist dietary practices over increased food access for all.
Here are some of the items we mention during the episode:
- One of our favorite TikToks about City life - thank you Jane Jacobs!
- The book that inspired that TikTok and that Marni is currently (slowly) reading.
- Donate to MAG, a great organization helping save lives and open land to farming and tourism in Laos by getting rid of all those bombs America dropped in Laos during the “Secret War"
- If you’d rather fund some amazing cute rats helping de-mine Cambodia (and other places), APOPO is doing amazing work saving lives and boosting economic development as well.
- Want to support a US organization that is addressing food deserts? Check out Daily Table
- West Seattle's Delridge Farmer's Market
- Pandemic worsens food deserts for America
- House republicans' policy related to food access
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Season 3 starts on September 19th so now is the time to subscribe!
We have a lot of fun in store for you this season like...
- Food Politics
- Patriotism
- Philanthropy (should we abolish it?)
- and much much more!
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In our last bonus episode before season 3, Ted and Marni talk about Americans' relationship to international travel, our shared love for solo travel, and why wanderlust drives us both.
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
For this bonus episode Ted and Marni speak with professional Dominatrix and fetish wrestler Katarina "The Domme Kat" Pierce and sexual health educator Momo about the wide world of sex work and get their perspective on everything Sex Robots...did we mention that Momo had a sex robots blog back in the early 2000s?
Learn more about Kat via her website or visit her Link Tree
Momo likes to keep a low public profile, but check out this book that she recommends during the episode.
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Podcaster, Political Commentator and founder of the More Freedom Foundation Rob Morris joins Ted and Marni for this bonus episode to reveal the unseen violence of US Sanctions, and we do our very best to have fun while doing it.
Check out Rob across multiple social channels:
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram, TikTok, and Threads: @morefreedomfoundation
Listen to Rob's podcast
Read Rob's Book
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying Woke Points?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Just like any reputable educational institution, Woke Points works in semesters. So now's the time we sign off for Ted and Marni to take a summer break!
Now is also a great time to catch up on any episodes from Season 1 or Season 2 that you've missed.
Season 3 is coming at the end of August.
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
University of Alabama Communications Professor and author AJ Bauer joins Ted and Marni for this week's deep dive into the history of truth and fairness in media. By the end, we wonder, "is truth even the right goal?"
Follow AJ on Twitter, and buy his books: the acclaimed News on the Right: Studying Conservative News Cultures, and his forthcoming Making the Liberal Media.
Resources from this episode:
Institute for Public Knowledge
News on the Right: Studying Conservative News Cultures
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Woke Points uses affiliate links for purchases made with the excellent Bookshop.org, so if you purchase books through these links you help sustain both our podcast and independent bookstores across the country — thank you!
Enjoying season 2?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Help keep Woke Points going & growing with support through Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this episode, Ted blows Marni's mind by explaining to her that once upon a time it was legally mandated that news outlets (at least those using terrestrial channels) present both sides of a story. Our current Fox News vs MSNBC world seems very far from the days of the Fairness Doctrine.
While we recognize that cable news would not actually fall under the decree of the rule we discuss in this episode, we do wonder whether it could have helped us avoid the extremes we live with now.
Resources from this episode:
Host: Deep into the mercenary world of take-no-prisoners political talk radio by David Foster Wallace
Ziegler's takedown of David Foster Wallace
5 Facts About Fox News
What Happened When Fox News Viewers Watched CNN for a Month
Trump Couldn't Have Incited Sedition Without Fox News
Fairness Doctrine Topic Guide
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Enjoying season 2?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Support Woke Points financially via Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Have you had enough Sex Robots talk yet? Of course not! In this episode, Ted and Marni welcome Tania Leiman, Dean of Law at Flinders University, and legal scholar Madi McCarthy (no relation to Ted), both of whom have studied and written extensively about how the law handles intimate AI.
Find Tania's publications here.
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Enjoying season 2?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Support Woke Points financially via Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
This week Ted and Marni welcome author, professor, and evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks to the podcast to provide a scientifically informed perspective on human/AI relationships particularly when it comes to intimacy. Rob's knowledge of human evolutionary behavioral patterns provides a rich context to understand how we currently interact with technology and the potential future for those interactions.
If you listened last week and wondered, what can scientific research tell us about sex robots then this episode is for you!
Buy Rob's Book: Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, Digital Lovers, and Algorithmic Matchmakers
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Enjoying season 2?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Support Woke Points financially via Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this episode, Marni and Ted stutter and blush while doing their best to discuss the promise and peril of humanoid sex robots. Are they a solution for socially incompatible sexual drives? Will they lead to even worse abuses in human sexual interactions? We don't know, but we are still going to discuss these and more questions.
If you enjoy the schadenfreude of eavesdropping on folks in the midst of a very awkward conversation, then this is the episode for you!
Resources from this episode:
Love and Sex with Robots
Sex, Robots, and Vegan Meat
Would Child Sex Robots Stop Pedophilia?
Can Child Sex Dolls Keep Pedophiles from Offending?
It's 2023, Where are the Sex Robots?
Can Today's Sex Robots Offer a Relationship?
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Enjoying season 2?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Support Woke Points financially via Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
This week Ted and Marni welcome Dr. Jennifer Rubenstein, Associate Professor of Politics at The University of Virginia and author of Between Samaritans and States to the podcast. Jenn brings a much needed informed perspective on the multitude of approaches to charitable giving and how we each can all evaluate our own giving practices.
If you listened last week and wondered "but what would someone with demonstrated knowledge about this topic say?" this week's interview is for you!
Resources from this episode:
Between Samaritans and States
Small Money Donating as Democratic Politics
The Lessons of Effective Altruism
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Enjoying season 2?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Support Woke Points financially via Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this episode, Marni and Ted discuss the Effective Altruism movement and whether or not there is a "right" or "most effective" approach to charitable giving. Content note - this episode is NOT about Sam Bankman-Fried.
If you've ever wondered whether you could make more of every dollar you donate, then this episode is for you.
Welcome to a new era of Woke Points! We will now be serving up episodes weekly with the Ted and Marni convo one week, followed by our expert interview on the same topic the next week.
Resources from this episode:
Giving What We Can
How to do Good Better
The Lessons of Effective Altruism
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Enjoying season 2?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Support Woke Points financially via Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this episode, Marni and Ted discuss the challenges faced by night owls in a world designed for early birds. Many people are at their most productive or creative late in the day and even into the night, but are squeezed into the modern world's 9 - 5 structure. Can we create more opportunities for night owls to soar?
Following Ted and Marni's moderately informed discussion, Haley Shapley, a writer and editor who has recently been researching night owls, joins the conversation to provide a more data-driven perspective. Haley and Ted have some fun razzing Marni for being a real "Normy" who is most productive from 7 am - Noon, and at points the convo devolves into a real "hoo's-hoo" of a support group for the owls on the call.
If you've ever dreamed of a world where work starts at 5pm and ends at 1am, or for even a single self-help author to suggest something like this instead of the usual advice to "wake before the sun", then this episode is for you.
Connect with Haley via:
Her Website
Instagram
Twitter
Buy her book, "Strong Like Her"
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Enjoying season 2?
Please stay subscribed and continue to follow us to stay apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Support Woke Points financially via Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this episode, Marni and Ted trip into the increasingly interesting world of psychedelics - both their potential to offer transformative therapeutic treatments and what the recent popular, scientific, and regulatory discourse around them can teach us about the war on drugs.
Following Ted and Marni's moderately informed discussion, Devon Phillips, Creative Strategist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) joins the conversation to share what he has learned in his time working to expand cultural consciousness.
Check out:
MAPS
Psychedelic Science 2023
Devon's Instagram
MAPS Instagram
PS 2023 Instagram
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Are you enjoying season 2 so far?
If so, please stay subscribed and continue to follow us in order to keep apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Support Woke Points financially via Buy Me a Coffee
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this episode, Ted and Marni embrace the anxiety of discussing the complex Israel / Palestine conflict, and question why it has been such a taboo, hot-button issue, especially for those of us on the left.
Following Ted and Marni's moderately informed discussion, Mitchell Plitnick, president of ReThinking Foreign Policy and co-author, with Marc Lamont Hill, of the book "Except for Palestine: the Limits of Progressive Politics," joins to add context to help us think and talk about this important issue.
Check out:
"Except for Palestine" by Mitchell Plitnick and Marc Lamont Hill
ReThinking Foreign Policy
Donate to the Adalah Justice Project
Gaza Sky Geeks
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
This episode marks the start of season one, please stay subscribed and continue to follow us in order to keep apprised of updates and new episodes!
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In this episode, Ted and Marni — two childless adults — discuss the ethics of human reproduction in the midst of a global climate crisis.
Following Ted and Marni's moderately informed discussion, Jenn Marlon, Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) joins to share what her research has to say about the way Americans are thinking about climate change in relation to their life choices.
Please note that this conversation was recorded in February 2022 before the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade.
Some references from this conversation:
The I=PAT Equation
Six Americas Survey
Factfulness
Meet the Couple Who Have Forgone Children to Save the Planet
A World Without Children
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
This episode marks the end of season one, please stay subscribed and continue to follow us in order to keep apprised of updates and new episodes!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this episode, Marni returns to her roots as a humane society professional and explains to Ted why the "No Kill" label adopted by many animal shelters is more complicated than you might think.
Some references from this conversation:
Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace
Why Euthanasia Rates at Animal Shelters have Plummeted
Support the your local humane society or municipal animal shelter. Marni knows great local organizations all over the country, feel free to email with questions about finding a reputable organization.
Let your elected officials know that you want them to support animal-friendly housing to keep more pets in their homes.
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this episode, Ted and Marni interview Marie Collins about her work as an actual activist. Marie shares her experiences in activism and some advice for well-meaning progressives who want to put their energy to good use.
Referenced in this episode:
No Shortcuts
The 3.5% Rule
You're More Powerful Than You Think by Eric Liu
Twitter & Tear Gas
Support the groups that are supporting activists:
Indivisible
Sister District
Let your elected officials know what you care about - this is one important form of activism.
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
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In this episode, Ted and Marni discuss the ethics of eating Chick-Fil-A and consumer activism in general.
Please note that this conversation was recorded before the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade and thus put many more of our rights in jeopardy.
Also, next week we will be coming at you with an interview with an actual activist who can put some of this episode's conversation into a broader perspective.
Some references from this conversation:
Notre Dame Students Protest Chick-Fil-A
Chick-Fil-A Controversy Explainer
Support the groups that are fighting for lgbtqia+ communities:
https://www.moneygeek.com/financial-planning/lgbtq-charities/
Let your elected officials know that you want them to support lgbtqia+ rights.
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
In this bonus episode, Ted and Marni interview Today.com reporter Danielle Campoamor about how the US and corporations can and should do better when it comes to Parental Leave while she fends off her two feral children.
Connect with Danielle via Twitter and check out her writing on Today.com
Read The Cost of Unpaid Parental Leave is Devastating
Support the groups that are fighting for parental leave:
National Partnership for Women and Families
PL+US
ACLU
Let your elected officials know that you want them to support family leave.
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Two single, childless adults discuss recent pushback against parental leave programs and how America could and should do parental leave better.
Following Ted and Marni's moderately informed discussion, Avi Kopparthi, Senior Director of HR at a major corporation joins for an interview about how forward-thinking corporations are handling HR challenges and where government intervention could help drive progress.
Tune in next week for an additional interview that offers a journalistic perspective on this topic.
Connect with Avi
Check out the articles we referenced:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/technology/parents-time-off-backlash.html
https://www.fastcompany.com/90564837/we-need-to-talk-about-the-bias-against-childfree-employees
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/08/opinions/parents-nonparents-filipovic/index.html
Read the books we recommended
The Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson
In the Fields Between Us by Molly McCully Brown and Susannah Nevison
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com
Two avid travelers examine whether or not we should all give up traveling in order to save the planet.
Following Ted and Marni's moderately informed discussion, Sami Grover, author of We're All Climate Hypocrites Now, joins for an interview about how we can balance the lives we want with the treehugger values we espouse.
Learn more about Sami.
Buy We're All Climate Hypocrites Now
Checkout Treehugger.com
Thank you to Inny PDX for the music!
Follow Woke Points:
@wokepointspod on Instagram and Twitter
Have feedback and/or topic suggestions to share? email: wokepointspod@gmail.com