Lives That Speak: Recent Episodes
Sidwell Friends School
In this new series, we share stories of how alumni let their lives speak and the unexpected twists and tales of life after Sidwell Friends.
In this episode, we talk with Ava Coleman, class of 2011. From interning at DC’s own 9:30 club while she was a student at Sidwell Friends to managing a Grammy-nominated musical artist, and eventually writing for critically acclaimed sitcoms, Ava has spent nearly her entire life around the entertainment industry. Currently, Ava serves as a writer for an award-winning sitcom. In this episode, we discuss her experience in the industry, how she approaches writing, and the importance of developing a healthy balance and perspective in life.
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In this episode of the Lives That Speak podcast, Bryan spoke to J. Bradford DeLong ’78, an economics professor at UC Berkeley about his new book, Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century. They discuss technological innovation, the unintended outcomes of development, historical hypotheticals, and the economic lessons learned from the long 20th century.
A highly regarded author, public servant, and scholar, Brad is currently a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Brad also writes a widely read economics blog called Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality. Previously, he was a deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury during the Clinton administration.
Buy the book - Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century
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In this episode of the Lives That Speak podcast, Bryan spoke to Andrea Johnson Razzaghi ’78, on the vastness of deep space, practicing for failure, the scariest seven minutes in engineering, and why you should always stop and smell the science.
The director of the NASA Office of JPL Management Oversight at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Andrea has played a significant role in many exciting NASA endeavors over the course of her career. She’s worked on missions that have earned the Nobel prize, landed an SUV-sized rover on Mars, helped to unravel the mysteries of the big bang, and discovered planets beyond our solar system, just to name a few. During the Clinton Administration, The White House requested that Andrea serve as a senior policy analyst in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. In that position, Andrea coordinated the activities of the National Science and Technology Council and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Prior to her time at NASA, she worked as a Navy contractor. Andrea has won many awards for her service to NASA and the nation and was the 2014 recipient of the Brown University Engineering Alumni Medal and the 2020 Catholic University of America Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award.
Video - 7 Minutes of Terror: Curiosity Rover's Risky Mars Landing
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In this episode of the Lives That Speak podcast, Natalie Randolph ‘98 sat down with Jon Bernthal ’95 to discuss actor training in post-Soviet Russia, creating his Louisiana passion project, and navigating the perils of acting.
An actor, playwright, and screenwriter, Jon has appeared in such well-known films as Fury and Ford vs. Ferrari. Currently, he stars in the critically acclaimed King Richard and the film adaptation of Small Engine Repair. His work on King Richard has garnered multiple supporting actor nominations, including a golden globe nomination.
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Real Ones Podcast
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In this episode of the Lives That Speak podcast, Bryan spoke to Liz Kleinrock ’05, an anti-bias, anti-racist educator and founder of Teach and Transform. We discuss curriculum development, how teachers can approach uncomfortable topics with their students, and the importance of calling in rather than calling out.
A transracial adoptee, Liz was born in South Korea and grew up in DC before attending Washington University in St. Louis. When not in the classroom, Liz works as a facilitator for schools, organizations, and companies across the country, developing anti-racist curricula. In 2018, Liz received Teaching Tolerance's 2018 Award for Excellence in Teaching, and her 2019 TED Talk from "Education Everywhere" has been viewed more than 2 and a half million times. You can also see her on the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s “We Are Not a Stereotype” series about breaking down bias against Asian Americans.
Watch Liz’s TED talk - How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics
Purchase Liz’s Book - Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community
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This month, the Lives That Speak podcast spoke to artist Sonya Clark ’85. We discuss the power of Sonya’s art, how curators put objects in conversation with one another, and one of Clark’s favorite media: textiles. Clark has added an afro to Lincoln’s pate on the $5 bill, sewn long rows of dreadlocks to a chair, and invited spectators to join her in painstakingly unraveling the Confederate battle flag until it’s just thread. The deconstruction of “monumental” cloth specifically—whether it’s flags, Black hair, currency, or literature—demonstrates the possibility and the power of undoing to, paradoxically, create something more whole.
Sonya’s upcoming exhibits
Tatter, Bristle, and Mend (solo retrospective) | March 3-May 31
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC
Heavenly Bound + Monumental Cloth: the flag we should know | April 9-September 12
deCordova Museum and Sculpture park
Crafting America February 6-May31
Crystal Bridges Museum, AR
Barring Freedom through April 25, 2021
San José Museum of Art
Never Done: 100 years of Women in Politics and Beyond through June 6, 2021
Tang Teaching Museum, NY
Word on the Street through August 29, 2021
Emerson Collective, Washington DC
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On this episode of the School’s Lives That Speak podcast, we hear from Baratunde Thurston ’95, the best-selling author, comic, and host of the podcasts How to Citizen and We’re Having a Moment. With the inauguration of the 46th president, the nation seems poised for positive change. Thurston embraces that thirst for change and explains how to manifest it. Because the stories we tell—through both comedy and pain, in both public and private—come to define the kind of world we live in, every person has the extraordinary power to make a better world. If, that is, they choose to tap into that power.
TED Talk - How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time: https://www.baratunde.com/livingwhileblack
How to Citizen: https://www.baratunde.com/howtocitizen
We’re Having a Moment: https://www.baratunde.com/wham
Purchase the Book “How To Be Black: https://bookshop.org/books/how-to-be-black/9780062003225
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Follow Baratunde on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube: @baratunde
In this episode of Lives that Speak, Head of School, Bryan Garman chats with composer and singer/songwriter Kathryn Bostic about working with August Wilson, celebrating Toni Morrison, honoring her own self-sovereignty, and listening to silence.
Kathryn is known for her original work on film, TV, theater, and symphonic music. She was recently Emmy nominated for her score in the 2019 award-winning film “Toni Morrison- The Pieces I am”; Kathryn is the recipient of many fellowships and awards including the prestigious Sundance Time Warner Fellowship. in 2016, Kathryn became the first female African American score composer in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Kathryn's Website - https://kathrynbostic.com
Distinguished Alumni Award Video - https://youtu.be/ViYQ8eCdpz0
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Bryan Garman, Sidwell Friends' Head of School, chats with David Fischer '90 about the importance of giving a voice to all and the delicate balancing act of nurturing an inclusive organizational culture.
David Fischer is the Chief Revenue Officer at Facebook. He is responsible for Facebook's advertising business and manages the Sales and Marketing teams worldwide.
Prior to joining Facebook in 2010, David was Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. Starting in 2002, he built and directed Google's online sales channel, which represents the majority of Google's customers worldwide, and helped build Google's online advertising network into the largest in the world. He played a major role in globalizing Google's business and operations, opening offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
David previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Treasury Department. At Treasury, he served as an advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and worked on a variety of economic policy issues within the federal government. Prior to that, David was an Associate Editor at U.S. News & World Report, where he covered economics and business from Washington, DC.
David holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a master's in business administration from Stanford University. He is recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. David serves on the boards of the Alterra Mountain Company and the Ad Council, where he is Board Chair.
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Head-of-School, Bryan Garman, talks with Anand Giridharadas '99 about the critical role journalism plays in addressing injustice in our modern society and America's need for social and historical introspection. A writer, author, and social commentator, Anand’s writings can be seen on his website the.ink, The New York Times, TIME, and the New Yorker. He is a regular commentator on MSNBC and the author of three books, the most recent is “Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World”.
The Ink: https://the.ink
Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/539747/winners-take-all-by-anand-giridharadas/9780451493248/
Photo Credit: Mackenzie Stroh
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When Daniel Goldman ’94 sat down with Head of School Bryan Garman, they had almost too much to discuss. The MSNBC legal analyst, father of five, and Sidwell Friends lifer has been busy. After a decade as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, Goldman explained the intricacies of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election to an audience hungry for details during a slew of television appearances—which led to a chance meeting, which led to an investigation, which culminated in the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Oh, and he successfully battled the coronavirus.
Head-of-School, Bryan Garman, chats with Dr. Vidisha Patel '81 about some of the effects the current Covid-19 pandemic can have on the mental health of students and parents. She also shares a few ways we can cope as a community. Dr. Patel is currently a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Sarasota Florida, where she specializes in the problems of young children, adolescents, and parents. In addition to Dr. Patel's private practice, she is also very active in her local community. Dr. Patel serves on the boards of multiple organizations and regularly works with pregnant and parenting teens at Cyesis, a school for pregnant and teenage mothers in Sarasota County.
Director of Equity, Justice, and Community Natalie Randolph ’98 is the latest guest on our podcast, Lives That Speak. Listen as Natalie talks about celebrating her identity, her mentors while she was a student at Sidwell Friends, this year's BSU Production, and more.
Read more about this year's Black Student Union production:
https://www.sidwell.edu/about/news/news-detail/~board/homepage-news-panel/post/this-years-bsu-production-explored-the-meaning-of-black-music
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You're listening to “Lives That Speak”, a podcast associated with the Sidwell Friends Magazine. This program highlights the exceptional work of Sidwell Friends School alumni. In our second episode, Bryan Garman, the head of school for Sidwell Friends, sat down with Kim R. Ford, an alumnus from the Class of 1999. Ford is the recently appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Martha's Table, a charity and volunteer non-profit serving the Washington DC area. Previously, Ford served as Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. During this interview, Ford spoke at length about her work, the ethical considerations that frame it, and how Sidwell Friends has shaped her career.
Read more about Kim R. Ford '99:
https://www.sidwell.edu/alumni/magazine/lives-that-speak-podcast/~board/magazine-podcast/post/food-and-thought
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You're listening to “Lives That Speak”, a podcast associated with the Sidwell Friends Magazine. This program highlights the exceptional work of Sidwell Friends School alumni. In our first episode, Bryan Garman, the head of school for Sidwell Friends, sat down with Mason Morfit, an alumnus from the Class of 1993. Mason is the President and Chief Investment Officer of ValueAct Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm. Since joining ValueAct in 2001, he’s had the distinction of serving on the boards of a variety of public companies, including Microsoft. This fall, Mason spoke about his work, the ethical considerations that frame it, and how Sidwell Friends has shaped his career.
Read more about Mason Morfit '93:
https://www.sidwell.edu/alumni/magazine/lives-that-speak-podcast/~board/magazine-podcast/post/learn-it-go
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