PODCAST

The Leftscape

Robin Renee and Wendy Sheridan

the shape of progressive conversation

news politics

All Episodes

31:13

Men Have Feelings, Too (Episode 41 Redux)

The Leftscape ·

2023/02/08

Please enjoy our last redux episode before our new season begins. This conversation is another of our favorites: John Tod shares about creating a space for honest, vulnerable conversation among men. What started with one other friend in Fort Wayne, Indiana grew into a weekly safe container where men can talk about all the things they were taught not to express. John was originally featured way back in Episode 41, "Of Memes and Men." Take a listen to this inspiring story of how the members of a men's

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41:02

Decisions By Reflex (Episode 133 Redux)

The Leftscape ·

2023/01/25

We're back with another favorite interview from our last season on DEMOCRACY. Featured guest Susan Szanyi, a lifelong resident of Ohio and an international traveler, shared her insights on Ohio politics post-midterm elections as well as perspectives on the US political landscape from around the world. She discussed how most of our decisions are made by quick reflexes, which is part of the challenge of creating openness to dialogue across the proverbial aisle. Check out the show notes from "Swing

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32:55

Monarchy, Democracy, Autocracy, Art (Episode 131 Redux)

The Leftscape ·

2023/01/11

Happy New Year! Please enjoy this redux episode while we're on winter break. In "Traversing Democracies (Episode 131)," Wendy interviewed Kat Ardern. Kat is an artist, a part-time student (Fine Art BA), and a full-time carer for her wife who has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). She shared her insight and knowledge about the various versions of democracy she has experienced while living and working in New Zealand, Australia, and currently, the UK. They spoke in the unique time frame just after the

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40:10

Go Forth and Be Brilliant! (Episode 123 Redux)

The Leftscape ·

2022/12/28

While we're on winter break, we chose a few of our favorite interviews to reshare. This one is with Susan Billmaier, whose professional background is in Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy and whose personal exploration encompasses healing arts, religious ritual, and study of the “big questions” like “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” In this interview from our season of exploring FREEDOM, Susan speaks about living and working with deep intention around spirituality and the betterment of community,

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46:45

Fighting for Big Things (Episode 118 Redux)

The Leftscape ·

2022/12/14

Happy Holidays to one and all! While we're taking our winter break, we hope you enjoy the show rewinds we've scheduled for you. We first featured a conversation with Halina Brooke back in Episode 97, “Therapy, Activism, and Reclaiming Freedom.” She is a therapist at Recourse Counseling, a mental health counselor, and a longtime advocate in Phoenix, Arizona. This is an encore presentation of our second interview with Brooke, which was featured in Episode 118, "Navigating Pay-to-Play Politics." This

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1:27:54

The Science Fiction Conversation (Episode 134)

The Leftscape ·

2022/11/30

David M. Higgins is a Senior Editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books, and they are the Chair of the English Department at Inver Hills College in Minnesota, where they teach classes on science fiction, graphic novels, and American literature. They are the author of Reverse Colonization: Science Fiction, Imperial Fantasy, and Alt-Victimhood, which won the 2021 Science Fiction Research Association Book Award. Leftscape co-hosts Wendy Sheridan and Robin Renée have a lively discussion with Higgins

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1:31:27

Swing State Reflections (Episode 133)

The Leftscape ·

2022/11/16

Susan Szanyi is a lifelong resident of Ohio. Thanks to her job as a Program Manager for an international company, she is fortunate to travel throughout the US and Europe and she has gotten perspectives on the US political landscape from around the world. Advocating for animals was her first foray into politics. She got engaged with electoral politics starting with the 2016 presidential election. She was a volunteer for the Elizabeth Warren campaign in 2020. Susan shares her thoughts on the recent

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1:15:59

Mythbusting: Body Facts and Birth Control (Episode 132)

The Leftscape ·

2022/11/02

Co-hosts Wendy Sheridan and Robin Renée take a look at a growing issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this past June -- a movement to make access to birth control the next to go. Sparked by a recent article from the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, they look at the lack of information, purposeful disinformation, religious fervor, and social media efforts merging to form this latest threat to choices and autonomy. Wendy gives an apparently much-needed 101 on the menstrual cycle and

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1:10:38

Traversing Democracies (Episode 131)

The Leftscape ·

2022/10/05

Kat Ardern is an artist, a part-time student (Fine Art BA), and a full-time carer for her wife who has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). She is a New Zealander who left in 1990 at age 21, in the middle of a recession, to travel to Australia for a six months which turned into four years. She has now lived in the UK for over 20 years. In this conversation with Wendy Sheridan, she shares her knowledge and experiences of living and working within these three democratic systems as well as under a monarchy

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1:42:41

World Citizens (Episode 130)

The Leftscape ·

2022/09/21

In keeping with this season's theme of DEMOCRACY, The Leftscape revisits special guest Matt Bird from "Down the Rabbit Hole (Episode 98)." Matt talks about his creative background, current projects as a musician and DJ in Melbourne, and gives an overview of politics in Australia and his thoughts on what it takes to be a good world citizen. Originally posted on March 21, 2021, this interview is also a time capsule view of how someone on the other side of the planet experienced "the former guy" as US

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1:32:27

Democracy: The Long View (Episode 129)

The Leftscape ·

2022/09/08

Dr. Elisebeth VanderWeil on Democracy, Fear, the Future, and How History Can Help Elisebeth VanderWeil, PhD, is the author of Apocalyptic Best Practices: A unique approach to fear and change. She also works as Organization Development Specialist for Pioneer Human Services and Principal Consultant at Hand in the Dark Consulting, as well as volunteer librarian for The Whidbey Institute. When she isn’t doing one of these things, she is expanding her amigurumi crochet repertoire, playing with her dog,

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1:15:02

A Need To Survive (Episode 128)

The Leftscape ·

2022/08/22

Featured guest Stacy Staggs is a wife and mother to twin girls who are the lights of her life. The girls also live with complex medical needs and disabilities. Since the twins' birth, Stacy has been advocating for their access to healthcare, public education, and community inclusion. She volunteers across a number of organizations mainly as the Director of Community Engagement for Little Lobbyists and as a Consultant with Long COVID Families. Listen to her compelling stories about family, healthcare

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1:23:21

Stand and Be Counted (Episode 127)

The Leftscape ·

2022/08/10

Tolley Casparis has been a progressive activist since the age of 15. Now at 57, she continues to work tirelessly to uphold democracy and civil rights. She lives in Los Angeles and works as a casting director and a death doula. In this inspiring interview, Casparis talks about the deeply important activities and indirect effects of grassroots activism, the issues she champions including the environment, bodily autonomy, and gun control, and why the connections we form and cultivate matter so

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1:19:49

In the Town, For the Town (Episode 126)

The Leftscape ·

2022/07/27

Danny Vargas is a freelance graphic designer, musician, activist, and the youngest member of the Rahway Democratic Committee. He's committed to making the city he grew up in a place where he wants to live his best life and to make the area a destination for music and art. In the first featured interview in The Leftscape season on DEMOCRACY, Vargas recalls joining his local committee, what it does and how it works, talks about the things he finds most important in politics, and also shares some tales

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1:11:03

Back to the Blanket Fort (Episode 125)

The Leftscape ·

2022/07/13

Robin Renée and Wendy Sheridan are back from summer vacation and are ready to begin a new season of The Leftscape. This season's theme will be on DEMOCRACY. Upcoming shows will explore the U.S. democratic system, how we might rescue and preserve it, which systems might work better, democratic approaches in small groups and relationships, what we can learn about democracy from other times and places, and more. In this episode, Wendy and Robin start off with a check-in about what they did over the

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23:14

In All My Natural Glory (Episode 107 REDUX)

The Leftscape ·

2022/06/29

Serell Brown is the founder and creator of Nubian Nudist, an organization for Black nudists and naturists based in New Jersey. She is a fun-loving, hard-working mother of two teens with old school morals. Serell originally spoke with us for Episode 107, "Your Body is Beautiful." Join us for this replay interview for her candid thoughts on becoming a nudist, creating social spaces for body-positivity, and letting go of shame. (Apologies for the sound challenges we had on this one -- The conversation

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29:24

Life The Way I’m Supposed To Be Living It (Episode...

The Leftscape ·

2022/06/15

Caroline Vahrenkamp has a cancer diagnosis AND is living her best life more authentically than she could have imagined possible. While undertaking her cancer journey, she navigated and accepted her identity as a transgender woman. As the host of the Wonders of the World podcast, she shares her love for travel, food, and history. Caroline joined us on Episode 109, "Just Figuring Things Out." Here is a reprise of that interview. Check out Caroline's moving message from International Women's

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31:17

Not Every Stupid Law is Unconstitutional (Episode 121...

The Leftscape ·

2022/06/01

It's time for a break! While we're off doing summery things, we will repost a few of our favorite interviews. First up is Professor David S. Schwartz from "Where's the Freedom? (Episode 121). Wendy talks with her brother about which commonly understood freedoms in the United States are written down in the Constitution, which have been interpreted from the founding documents, the current conservative Supreme Court, and what we each can do to keep our freedoms from eroding. Professor Schwartz teaches

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1:25:53

Why Not Me? (Episode 124)

The Leftscape ·

2022/05/19

Casey Probus and Lisa Ferraro Act Locally Co-hosts Wendy Sheridan and Robin Renée have recently been reminding listeners of the growing importance of local politics. Wendy takes a deep dive into her local political landscape in this episode by way of an interview with candidates Casey Probus and Lisa Ferraro: Casey Probus was born and raised in Rahway, NJ, where she lives with her daughter who attends a Rahway Elementary School. Casey attended Rahway public schools where she was a part of the 2003

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1:28:15

Better and Better Together (Episode 123)

The Leftscape ·

2022/05/04

Susan Billmaier's professional background is in Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy applied to higher education and non-profit management. This coincides with a lifetime of self-education in healing arts, religious ritual, and psychological study of the "big questions" like "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?" Her website, WithPearls.com, focuses on shifting humanity from a consciousness of separation to a consciousness of Oneness. In this interview, Susan speaks about living and working with deep

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