Our America with Julián Castro

Latest Episodes:

Listen to This: Good Grief Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

It’s a fact: death is inevitable, and so is grief. It can stop us in our tracks, regardless of the amount of time that's passed. Good Grief is a six-part, sixty-minute binge of true, short stories that immerse us in the grieving process, find healthy (and avoid unhealthy) ways to cope, and even share a few laughs. Comfort, community, and catharsis guide this audio portrait of love and loss.

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Safety Doesn’t Mean More Guns (with John Legend) Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

Season Finale! We’re ending on a high note with Grammy-award winning musician and social justice advocate, John Legend, who joins us to talk about using his platform to fight for racial equity, and his personal connection to reforming the criminal justice system and upholding the voting rights of formerly incarcerated folks.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

Learn more about changing the conversation on incarceration through the FreeAmerica initiative.
Check out the FreeAmerica + New Profit partnership, Unlocked Futures, that funds social entrepreneurs with a connection to the criminal justice system.

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

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The Filibuster’s Racist Roots (with Adam Jentleson) Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

When you hear the word ‘filibuster,’ you might think of an idealistic Jimmy Stewart delivering an impassioned speech against corruption on the Senate floor in Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. But the reality of the filibuster of today – and how we got here – is anything but justice-seeking. Senate insider and author Adam Jentleson walks us through the filibuster’s racist history, its impact on if and how legislation gets passed, and what’s at stake if it isn’t eliminated or reformed, at the very least.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

Adam Jentleson’s Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy
Learn more about the filibuster through Adam’s appearances on Fresh Air, The Ezra Klein Show, and KALW’s Your Call

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

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A Seat At The Table For Native And Indigenous People Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

After a year of disproportionately high rates of COVID-19, the major losses within Native and Inidigenous communities have underlined just how deep-seated historical discrimination still is – evident in an overwhelming lack of access to water, electricity, and health care services on reservations. We’re joined by Áshįįhí Clan member President Jonathan Nez of the Navajo Nation and climate activist and journalist Julian Brave NoiseCat of the Canim Lake Band Tsq'escen to talk about reopening Navajo land, the Biden/Harris American Rescue Plan’s investment in tribal lands, and what Secretary Deb Haaland’s historic confirmation to the Department of the Interior means for the health and environmental justice of Native and Indigenous communities.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

Follow Julian Brave NoiseCat’s journalism
The Indigenous Green New Deal, by the NDN Collective
Navajo Nation Department of Health COVID data and resources
Mapping Indigenous lands, by Native Land Digital
The Navajo Water Project
Color of Coronavirus project, by APM Research Lab
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Reckoning in Texas Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

In February, Texas faced the startling reality of a changing climate with single-digit temperatures that led to widespread power outages, flooded homes and lives lost. But why was Texas hit with one of the worst blackouts in our country’s history? And why was its energy grid unprepared to handle it? This week, senior energy analyst Julie McNamara of the Union of Concerned Scientists helps us answer these questions, and Lori Landry, a longtime friend of Sec. Castro, shares her family’s experience of having to evacuate their impacted North Texas home.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

Julie on The Takeaway - The American Power System Is Unprepared For Climate Change
6 things to know about supply, demand, and our electricity future - The Union of Concerned Scientists
- Read Julie's latest blog post on what happened in Texas here
Tracking the Texas power outages with PowerOutage.US
Power outage terms explained - KUT
Mutual aid for people affected by the outages - Vox
How to prepare for power outages - CDC

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

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Who Responds to a Mental Health Crisis? (with Rep Leslie Herod) Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod saw a gap in mental health services in Denver and decided to do something about it. With the help of a van, a mental health professional, and an EMT, the Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) program was born – and six months in, it has proved effective at fielding mental health calls received by the Denver Police Department. Rep. Herod joins us to talk about STAR’s success, her personal stake in it, and other state-level measures being taken to modernize the current system of policing.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

Caring for Denver, the foundation helping to fund STAR
STAR 6-month evaluation
Servicios de la Raza, community services for Denverites
SB 217 explained, courtesy of Colorado Public Radio
Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS, the program that started it all

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 anytime, or chat with them online. The Crisis Text Line also provides support over text at 741741. For people who identify as LGBTQ, the Trevor Project's Lifeline can be reached at 1-866-488-7386.

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Curbing Anti-Asian and Pacific Islander Hate (with Cynthia Choi) Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

Since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in the US, over 3,000 attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have been reported – with many targeting the Bay Area’s elderly population. Misinformation, fear, and politicians’ racist rhetoric tied to COVID’s origins in China have only fueled the sometimes fatal violence against AAPI communities across the country. Cynthia Choi of Stop AAPI Hate and Chinese For Affirmative Action joins us to talk about scapegoating, the data collected on these verbal and physical attacks, and the pressing need for community-led, intersectional public safety initiatives.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

Keep up with Chinese For Affirmative Action and Stop AAPI Hate action items and data collection.

Report an incident to Stop AAPI Hate.

February press release on hate crimes against AAPI elderly.
August report on AAPI attacks nationwide.

AAPI hate crime resources courtesy of National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Volunteer with the Oakland Chinatown Coalition to assist elderly community members with daily activities.

Request a chaperone or volunteer to chaperone with Compassion In Oakland.
Support the GoFundMe to cover funeral costs for 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee who died in late January after a brutal beating.
Contribute to the Asian Pacific Fund’s Solidarity Fund to address anti-Asian sentiment in the Bay Area.

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moms Demand Action Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, many Americans felt a call to action to reform our country’s gun laws. One of these people was Shannon Watts, a mother of five who started a Facebook group that turned into Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Two years later, a mom in Texas joined her local chapter of Moms Demand Action after losing her 20-year-old son to gun violence. Calandrian Simpson-Kemp and Shannon Watts join us to speak about turning grief into action and passing common-sense gun legislation in a country that has a gun homicide rate that’s 25x higher than any other high-income country.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

Follow Moms Demand Action and Shannon Watts on Twitter
Get involved in your local Moms Demand Action chapter
Resources and research on laws mentioned in this episode:

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unions Are Vehicles of Justice (with Mary Kay Henry) Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

For over 40 years, Mary Kay Henry has fought for the rights of workers with the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU. With the rise of COVID-19 and an increased reliance on essential workers, these rights have too often been disregarded, leaving many without adequate personal protective equipment or access to fair wages and benefits. This week, Mary Kay joins us to talk about unions as a vehicle of justice for a racially diverse workforce that’s representative of our country.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

SEIU resolution in support of Black Lives Matter

National Employment Law Project on raising the minimum wage to $15

NPR on Biden’s COVID-19 relief plan and his Build Back Better economic plan
Mobile Workers Alliance
Gig Workers Rising
Rideshare Drivers United
Listen to our episode on immigrant workers benefits, The Luxury of Paid Sick Leave, here

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Families Ripped Apart Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

Los Angeles County is home to the largest foster care system in the country, and it’s run in partnership with the police and local Sheriff’s department. So what happens when a system that’s meant to protect our children intersects with law enforcement and ends up criminalizing them instead? How do we get to the root of the system’s domino effect in Black, Brown and Indigenous communities? This week, we’re joined by two women, La Mikia Castillo and Yahniie Bridges, who share their personal experience with the foster care system and how ending police partnerships can help to reimagine child safety.

Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX.

Resources from the episode:

Read up on the BLMLA #ReimagineChildSafety campaign petition here
Follow BLMLA on Twitter
Missed our first episode on foster care and transition-age youth? Listen to it here

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date.

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.