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Behind the Mic
These blog posts go deeper into the conversations you hear on the podcast. Amy and Carolina explore the stories, ideas, and moments behind the episodes, because some answers deserve more than a timestamp.
A perpetual problem solver: Tonika Lewis Johnson combines creativity and critical thinking to disrupt segregation in Chicago
Tonika Lewis Johnson on Speaking of Phenomenal Podcast As a teenager in the 90s, Tonika Lewis Johnson faced a 15-mile daily commute from...
Carolina Campos Ruiz
May 2, 20253 min read
Will the Story Be Unbroken? Women, Memory and the Power of Revisiting Division Street
photo of Mary Schmich and Melissa Harris by Alex Garcia In this week’s Speaking of Phenomenal episode, I sat down with two...
Amy Boyle
Apr 10, 20253 min read
"Profoundly deaf" and deeply connected. Anna Tess' love for people amid and through hearing loss
She was a toddler who loved dancing to music and had no trouble following instructions from her teachers at daycare. But when Anna was...
Carolina Campos Ruiz
Apr 3, 20252 min read
Thinking about authenticity as Women’s History Month nears the end
Earlier today I was browsing old stories by one of my favorite authors, Olga Kahzan, and I ended up finding one Reddit thread she...
Carolina Campos Ruiz
Mar 27, 20252 min read
“Here's to change, both sharp and sweet.” Jack Perez on mindful, happy aging
It was three in the morning, and Jack was writing poetry in her closet. Her son had left for college, her sister had moved to the...
Carolina Campos Ruiz
Mar 20, 20253 min read
A journalism that makes sense: Jillian Melero on finding needs and driving change
Jillian Melero had worked multiple jobs when she saw Anthony Bourdain on TV and decided to do what he was doing: travel, experience new...
Carolina Campos Ruiz
Mar 13, 20254 min read
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