Broken Open: Recent Episodes
Tawanna Nishi
It’s argued that those who have endured hardship have also experienced wisdom, and that what has broken you can also bless you. The most important question hurt people have to eventually ask is simple, “How can my pain fuel personal evolution and revolution?” We will help you answer that question! Broken Open offers you the opportunity to be a voyeur each week-peeking behind the scenes into an individual's journey to explore what they’ve learned from the most challenging times of their lives. We will explore themes in the form of infidelity, loss, tragedy, financial ruin, illness and more – tackling life’s most difficult obstacles and humbling situations. We dig deep. We experience trauma and pain right alongside of each other. We also emerge with you into triumph. Grow. Thrive. Triumph. Host Tawanna Nishi will be with you each step of the way, story after story, victory after victory. These are stories not just of survival, but of how we all have the ability to triumph over the very things that were meant to destroy or break us.
Host Tawanna Williams sits down with William Arnold, Jr., EdD to discuss the wrongful conviction that cost 6 years of his life to imprisonment, the ramifications to his mental and physical health, and what the experience taught him. William's transition back into society after his conviction was overturned informed his passion for helping formerly imprisoned individuals reenter society with the tools necessary for transformation. You won't want to miss this scholar's journey from respected academic and mentor, to convicted felon, and back again. William's grace and faith highlights how to break open when all circumstances are trying to break you down.
Host Tawanna Williams welcomes back Ryan Lugo (co-founder, co-host, and producer of SNA Live) in an end of year episode to discuss the process of renewal. They discuss why some require the symbolism of New Year resolutions to initiate change, why others have to hit rock bottom before initiating a refresh or renewal, what it looks like when your status quo is more unbearable than initiating the change itself, and how renewal is available for each of us whenever we are ready to access it-no new year required. Tune in to witness their candid dialogue on accepting what is and starting fresh wherever you are at.
Husband. Father. Athlete. Activist. Author. Those are just a few of the titles that are ascribed to guest Marcus Stennis. Yet, those are not the things that the world initially sees when they look at him. Can you imagine who you are being initially discounted by a slight difference in your physical appearance? Host Tawanna Nishi sits down with Marcus Stennis to discuss what it is like to first be seen as your physical disability, how to begin on the path to creating your own labels, and how you learn to validate yourself when all else fails. Tune in to hear about Marcus' journey to self realization and the strong women who gave him the foundation to get there.
What if we told you that you are the only one of you who ever was or will be? Irreplaceable. What if we told you that the world needs your gifts, and the only way your dreams will come true is if you learn to live an authentic life? When you make idols of others' expectations for you, you sell out your blessings and avert your destiny. Host Tawanna Nishi walks you through how you may inadvertently help fulfill other's' dreams at your expense until you become fully aligned with your authentic self. Tune in to learn how your super powers are the things that make you unique and how, when you lean into them, you become everything you were supposed to be.
Host Tawanna Nishi does a deep dive into the concept of fear, its propensity to hold you back, and how to take the necessary steps to overcome it and transition to fearlessness as you move through life. You won’t want to miss this episode where you learn what steps to take to free yourself from doubt, stagnancy, a scarcity mentality, and the many other faces that fear wears.
Host Tawanna Nishi explores the importance and power of making tough calls in order to transcend challenging situations. Tune in to learn how making the difficult decision to do the next right thing despite fear changes your outcome from broken down to “broken open.”
There are a myriad of ways that one can lose or be taken away from themselves and the true core of who they are- parenthood, a demanding job, an all encompassing relationship, financial stressors, a traumatic experience, illness, and more. Life can get so hectic that we may not realize we are lost until the damage has been done and we find ourselves in the midst of an existential crisis. Host Tawanna Nishi takes you through the steps necessary to ensure that you remain intact no matter what life throws your way. She leaves you with questions that, once answered, can become your anchor in any storm. Tune in to learn how.
Host Tawanna Nishi does a deep dive into the possibility and power of gratitude and how it can be utilized as an anchor and beacon to teach, and ultimately transform, you through the toughest circumstances of your life. If you feel like hope is gone, how can you think of things to be thankful for? Tune in to see how the alchemy of gratitude can help you break open rather than break down if trouble heads your way.
Host Tawanna Nishi welcomes back Dr. Keenan Davis (One Institution, Pod is My Witness) as they give their take and share their hard earned knowledge and lived experiences as they pertain to race relations, the responsibility of hip hop artists, family, relationships, and the importance of the journey that we all take to arrive at our desired destinations. You won’t want to miss this candid conversation filled with laughter, teachable lessons, and mic drop moments.
Host Tawanna Nishi speaks with educator, artist, and activist Logic Amen (founder of the Griot Party) about the importance of having a support circle, the many variations that a support circle can take, and how curating and "sanitizing" your circle can help set you up for success in life.
In a One Institution Media collaboration, host Tawanna Nishi speaks with SNA Live co-host Ryan Lugo about how to level up when faced with unexpected life circumstances. The two OIM influencers discuss strategies of how to keep moving forward when faced with setbacks by utilizing gratitude, intention, faith, innovation, the wise counsel of others, and a hustler's spirit. Tune in to learn how anyone can learn to level up with the right mindset.
Host Tawanna Nishi speaks with educator, property owner, activist, advocate, and mentor Shereena Lewis about growing up on the West side of Chicago during the 80's and 90's, and what propelled her to devote her life to giving back. They discuss racism, segregation in the city of Chicago and its ramifications, the importance of representation, what was behind her active decision never to code switch, and her unwavering dedication to living her life unfiltered.
It is the general rule that without challenge, change doesn't come. Host Tawanna Nishi has a candid conversation with Phillip Wilson as he dictates his experience of having his family structure change due to illness and loss at a pivotal stage in his life, just as he was on the precipice of making big life decisions. When your foundational structure changes, do you crumble or do you pivot? How do you cope when the individuals that you turn to are no longer available to you? Tune in to see how loss affected the formative years of Phillip's life.
Host Tawanna Nishi speaks with Special Olympic Gold Medalist Ashton Smith as she recounts her experience of bouts of homelessness and food insecurity while competing in the Special Olympics over a 20 year period. Ashton shares how her disability caused her to be bullied and marginalized, what keeps her going through it all, and what she hopes to give back to those in similar situations.”
Host Tawanna Nishi and author Monica Morgan (The ABC's of Racism and Reconciliation) take a deep dive into how to heal in the midst of tumultuous circumstances. They discuss anchors, mantras, faith, asking for help and more as Monica walks us through her journey to healing through loss and ill health.
In a slight departure, host Tawanna Nishi leads a comfortable and candid conversation with fellow One Institution Media hosts Keshia Carr and Keturah Harper about living while Black as a Black woman in America today. The panel touches on stereotypes that Black women face, racism and sexism in the workplace, colorism, Eurocentric beauty standards, potential motivation for solely dating outside of your race, and more... Ultimately, the group agrees that while being a Black woman in and of itself isn't a painful traumatic event with an end date that they break open through, it's the endless microaggressions, double standards, societal hierarchies, and myriad of little injustices that happen in perpetuity that they have had to learn how to thrive in spite of.
Trigger Warning: child abuse, drug abuse, and profanity A candid, raw, gritty, and real conversation with Latif Akins as he speaks from the heart about his tough childhood that ultimately caused him to lose his freedom. Host Tawanna Nishi guides Latif through authentic discourse about what it is like to heal lifelong trauma and the steps one can take to do so. Through their discourse we begin to understand that sometimes simply surviving and getting the opportunity to see another day can be a triumph of its own.
Host Tawanna Nishi does it again. WOW! That's all we can say in this emotional and empowering episode about getting up again after life has counted you out. Because you know ... Life will give you its big shot to knock you down. However, some people find a way to get back up and STAY UP. Fortunately, Broken Open Host extraordinaire brings us guests who share how they managed to survive and give us the tools to do so ourselves. How do they do it? Tune in to find out.
Murphy's Law; The Law of Attraction; Grateful Through Hell with Co-Host of Broken Open: Jessica Lewis.
The Bottom Drops Out; No One To Trust with Jessica "The Shipping Container Lady" Lewis. Lewis is also the co-host of "Container Life" also showing on the One Institution Media Platform.
When the rug is ripped out from underneath you, how do you respond? This episode talks about life through the lens of overcoming an obstacle right when you think life is going in your favor.
What Goes UP Must Come Down; Down the Rabbit Hole with Luck Desravines. Mr. Desravines gave his all to the community and personal relationships only to have nothing returned in kind. Listen how a man went from rock bottom to the top of the mountain in a riveting journey of triumph.
A sit down interview with entrepreneur Dr. Keenan J. Davis about the hurdles he's leaped over in life that led to both financial and emotional happiness. But before Dr. Davis made the "leap", he had to endure humilty, defeat, and unbelievable failure.