Keep it Positive, Sweetie - Black Women and the Power of the Group Chat 

Episode Date: March 1, 2026

Crystal sits down with Jotaka Eadd, Founder of Full Circle Strategies and known as the Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley, for a heartfelt conversation about grief, healing, and finding strength in heavy moments. From navigating personal loss to continuing the work of community, advocacy, and leadership, Jotaka shares how she moves forward through challenges, learns from missteps, and stays connected to purpose.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, Doubt, the case of Lucy Lettby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in 2023. But what if we didn't get the whole story? Evidence has been made to fit. The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe? Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent Bradley Hall. In 2018, the FBI took down a ring of spies working for China's Ministry of State Security, one of the most mysterious intelligence agencies in the world. The Sixth Bureau podcast is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets. Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, it's Joe Interesting, host of the Spirit Daughter podcast where we talk about astrology, natal charts, and how to step into your most vibrant life. And today I'm talking with my dear friend, Krista Williams. It can change you in the best way possible. Dance with the change. Dance with the breakdowns.

The embodiment of Pisces intuition with Capricorn power moves. So I'm like delusionally proud of my chart. Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast starting on February 24th on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one-night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here. This case has gone viral.

The dating contract. Agree to date me. But I'm also soon. you. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love Trapped on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Calling all my sweeties to the forefront, I'm your host Chris Renee Hazett and this is the Keep It Posit Sweetie show. Welcome to Keep It Posit, sweetie, a place where we heal, grow, and learn together. Today's guest is a strategist, advocate, and movement builder, Joteca Edy. Jolteca is someone many people know for her impact. but today's conversation goes deeper, from navigating grief and personal healing

to finding power in heavy moments. This is a chance to hear how she moves forward through challenge, leadership, and purpose. Kim's family, please give a very warm welcome to my sister, Jotaka Edie. Hi. Hi, sis. How are you?

I feel good. I'm happy to be here with you. Well, you look good. You came in here radiating. You know, I think we got a memo. I got the memo for the brown and the creams today. No, it just feels good.

It's 2026. They said, what, the year of the horse? The year of the horse. That's what I'm hearing. Let's go. Let's go. We are not playing. Go.

Go. Because 2025 was. We made it, though. We made it. It was very, yeah. It was tumultuous, but we made it. We made it. Yes, we did.

So, Jataka, I met you first. I believe it was Essence Festival. That was the first time we actually met. Trell had come on, and I'm talking about saying your praises. He was like, you've got to meet just heck of. I got to meet her. And we got to finally meet at Essence Festival at his all-white Black Excellence brunch. And from there, your name proceeded itself.

So I knew who you were, but I had never gotten to meet you. And everything that we hear about Jotakey, you are that. And then you blessed us in Washington, D.C. for our Kipps Live show, poured into us like no other. And I just want to say thank you just for being you, but also coming into our world and sharing a piece of you with us. seriously. Well, thank you. And I love Trell.

You know, Trell is my South Carolina brother. So, and just doing amazing things. Like, I think about the Black Excellence brunch, what is done for the culture. And then really to be here with you. Like, so I'm grateful to be here with you. Love, love, love your journey. Thank you. And, you know, the D.C.

Like, you know, like the D.C. The D.C. hustle. Baby, because that's what it is. The D.C. also, but to just see just the space and just the beauty of what you bring, the impact. So I'm just glad to be here. I appreciate that. Thank you.

So I want to know before the titles, before the world knew who you were, take us back to who you were before you knew advocacy was your calling on that journey, because I know it's been a journey. It's been a journey. So interestingly, you know, I'm from rural South Carolina. So I'm from a town with population 1,400 people. Wait, that's less than me. I thought I was from a small town.

Are you serious? Johnsonville, South Carolina. Wow. I think it's 1,491. Something like that. Like, it changes from time to time. But I'm from a little small town. I grew up on a dirt road.

My family still lives on that dirt road. And I think really what, like who I always was the, kid growing up, my mom would tell me stories about me being the kid that would talk to anybody in the grocery store. And I used to say, I want to be a no-ya. I couldn't even say lawyer. So I used to say, I want to be a lawyer. And really, I think probably watching Claire Huxable was a big influence for me growing up.

And so that gave me this idea. I want to be a lawyer. I always wanted to help people, but I always wanted to talk to people. So I was that kid that got talks too much, talks too much, but I also was the advocate for other kids in school. So always growing up in like, you know, a small rural town, I was that kid that was very talkative. And I was also that kid that your grandma made you get your ESA speech together. So, interestingly, I got my confidence for speaking and being in front of people doing ESA speeches in church. And so I would get an extra long.

on Easter speech. And I never forget my grandma. And I was good at, like, memorizing. Yeah. So I would wait to the last minute. And my grandmama would be like, I think her and her sister would compete, like, which grandchild was going to do the best? Like, my cousin Tara would sing.

And it was like, you've got to get up there and do a good job. So I would go through my Easter speech. I would memorize it. But I would get up. And it was like I would perform. Wow. And so as I grew up, people would wait. I would get to do my Eastern speech last because they were like.

They know you got to do something of your Eastern speech. But it gave me confidence. And it gave me a sense of like, I could just get up here and speak. And I just remember, you know, older black women, right? Like the Miss Bernie Roos, the Miss Annie Luz, you know, the Miss Louvignas that's sitting there, go ahead, baby, go ahead, baby, do it, baby. And that just did something for me. So, like, you know, fast forward 20-something years later, when I'm speaking at the,

you in. I'm nervous, but I had that confidence to be there because I revert back to what that felt like. And so that was like the kid growing up, but I was also that kid in student government. I grew up in the church. A very strong faith, spiritual just tradition for me. Like I grew, yeah, I grew up in the church. I know like for me, like I'm nothing without God. And so that all together made me this kid that just believed. that I wanted to create something better in the world. And really what did it for me was what I was probably around eight or nine, the local plant in my town when the workers went on strike.

And Reverend Jesse Jackson came to Johnsonville, South Carolina. That's huge. Yes, can you imagine? 1,400 people. I'll never forget. He marched from Wellman Industries to the high school football field. And I remember seeing Reverend Jesse Jackson. I would never forget it.

I was standing on the other side of the fence. And I was like, oh, my God, like, this is, this is it. This is what I want to do. And I was so inspired from that moment on, I wanted to be an advocate. And I would fight little fights as through the government. Like I was in middle school, like the mirrors in the bathroom were plastic. And I was like, we need real mirrors. I'm going to fight for real.

mirrors in the bathroom. But that was kind of the start. That is amazing. And I love hearing stories like that because a lot of times when you are born into a small country town, we don't have a lot of the outlets that most kids in the city have. So to be able to have a Jesse Jackson come to your town, you know, to show you this is what real advocacy looks like and what standing up for the right thing looks like. I'm sure that was very pivotal.

Yeah. It was something, you know, what's interesting. You think about, like, what we had. I mean, like, this is like, you know, we had the big satellite dishes because we didn't have, like, we only had, like, three channels, right? We barely had NBC because it was really in Charleston, which is like two hours away. So I guess we didn't get signals. So you had, like, you know, channel 13, channel 15, anybody who's watching this.

I know there's some, you know, I know y'all along here from South Carolina. If y'all are from, like, where I'm from, from Florence County, You know, then the channel 13 and channel 15. And then Fox came like a couple of years later. Wow. But we had like three channels. And then like you were lucky to, you know, get a satellite and like, and then. That's crazy.

Yeah. I'm sure they're like so proud of you. Like the star of the town. I'm well known for like, you know, coming out of Johnsonville because it's interesting because any time I've ever done an interview or any magazine ever like, writes about me, I'm very, very, like, conscious and I'm very, like, deliberate about them printing that I am from Johnsonville, South Carolina. Because to me, I'm like, I'm so proud of, like being from the small town. And I think it's important, like you say, like, people that

come from small towns, we, I grew up in, like, a place where in the school system, you know, guidance counselors, it leads you to believe that you can do any. and everything. That's so true. In these small towns across the country, like they don't tell particularly us. Yeah. You know,

and so it's important, I think, for people to see that you can, especially if you're like that kid, that young girl that's on a dirt road that's, you know, living in these small towns. You're not in a big city.

You don't have access to some of the programs and some of the activities and you don't have that to see that like, yes, you can't come from a small town. You can do, you could go anywhere, you could travel, you can be anything that you want. And I just think it's really important for me to be a representation of that.

Well, you are an outstanding representation of that. You said before that advocacy isn't a career choice. It's a responsibility. When did that responsibility show itself to you in a way that you couldn't ignore anymore? I think it probably was in my high school days for me, I became very interested in learning about the death penalty. So also, Johnsonville, South Carolina is also home to this very infamous multiple murderer, Donald Peewee Gaskins.

So my small town had this man who had committed a lot of murders and was on death row. When I was in seventh grade, he had come up for execution. And I'll never forget my seventh grade teacher asked us to argue in class our position. Now, this was the girl who like did the power east of speeches. Right. So I was ready. And I was like, I don't people with gas can be executed. You know, I was at, I was like, I went in debate.

I'm on the winning side. We had to write a paper on the opposing viewpoint that you took in class. Oh, wow. So I go and I'm doing this research and I start to learn about the death penalty. So I learned about George Steny who was 14 years old, the youngest person ever executed in the United States,

who grew up in Clarenin County, South Carolina, which is probably like 45 minutes from where my little small town is. And I'm reading the history. Then I started digging into Furman v. Georgia, which was the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case. and I was like, whoa, the death felony has been racist,

and they were executing people who committed crimes at the age of 16 and 17. I became very opposed to the death penalty. So I started like a little student group in my middle school and high school. And if you go back to my yearbook, interestingly, my friends would write, good luck trying to abolish the death penalty. That was like the thing that they would say. in my yearbook because I was so opposed. But that was for me, that's what I got.

And then I saw Reverend Jesse Jackson as a younger person. I was on fire. And it was like, I'm going to go, I'm going to be a criminal defense lawyer. And I'm going to go work on death penalty cases. And you did that. I ended up. Abolicing the juvenile. I ended up being a part of the movement to abolish the juvenile death penalty like in 2005.

So for me, like that advocacy was like that thing that I couldn't unsee because I realize that like we have been fed this information about a criminal justice system when really when you look back the history of the death penalty why the death penalty like we went from slave codes to you know the death penalty and like who largely got the death penalty largely black and brown men and women in the United States that the the just the unfairness the bias in the system And so that was just something that was just a calling for me. And so what I was in, I think I was in maybe the 10th grade,

my high school teacher recommended me to go to the National Youth Leadership Form of Law and Constitution in D.C. And it cost $3,000 to go. And it was $3,000 my mom and daddy didn't have. And so the town of Johnsonville, all of the good people of Johnsonville, many black women in my church, they raised them, sold cakes and debtors to put me on an airplane that many of them and some of them have never even been on still today and sent me to Washington, D.C. And there I met the executive director, Steve Hawkins, of the National Coalition Abolishes

to Death Pillar. I'm like 60 years old. And I was like, I would have come work and abolish the death penalty. He offered an internship. He said, when you finish high school, and I begged my mom and dad to let me go to D.C. and when I graduated high school, I would have stayed with a distant cousin, my cousin, Mildred in D.C., and did an internship, and that literally was what put me on the trajectory

that has taken me to where I'm at today. My goodness, that is fascinating. And we share similar stories in me going from Martin, Tennessee to D.C. What was that like going from a very small town? I'm interested to hear your take on it to the city known as Washington, D.C., because I know for me it was a big jump. And I was like, whoa.

It's different. Yes. So I went, so it was a bit helpful because I went to the University of South Carolina. And so that, when I went to USC, it was, you know, large campus. I was very active at USC and then student government and student activism there. But when I went to D.C., it was so Columbia was like kind of city. Yeah. But that was big city to me.

But D.C., it was like, what is this? And then I had never been around or in a city with so many black folks that were like just doing the thing. And not that Johnsonville didn't have dynamic, amazing, excellent black folks, but like just seeing black people running things, you know, leading mayors, all of that. Like, I had never seen that. Honestly, like, I had never even seen or been around other just popular. of the diaspora of black people. Right. So that was like my first time like experiencing Ethiopian food or like, and it's just like

one of those things because like Johnsonville there is not an Ethiopian restaurant in Johnsonville. So like for the first time I'm eating Ethiopian food or being open to other, the other cultures is being in DC. And so I, and I love DC because I always saw DC as the place where you could go create change. Absolutely. For sure. And like that's where it changes.

I mean, over time and over the years of my career, I started to learn that, like, nah, like, you could create change in other spaces. But I used to think that, like, if you're going to do change, change work, you need to be doing movement work. You need to be, like, in a nonprofit or you need to be in the government. That's the only way you could do change. And that's involved for me, but that was, like, my experience. And it was just like, in D.C. to me still, D.C. is still my home.

I spent my time between D.C. and L.A., but D.C. for me still, there's something, even though, like, the heaviness. of a Trump administration in Washington, D.C. is very heavy and like what's happening right now, particularly how black women and black people are infected. Let's talk about that. Yeah. It's still something special to me about D.C. Yeah. I don't know the exact number, and you may be able to help me on this, of black women that lost their jobs last year.

Over 300,000. Three hundred. Grief. And shout out to Valicia Butterfield. Yes, we love you, Valicia. Yes, we love you, Felicia, for the global state of women. Yes. And the fun for black women to have some relief.

And so it's a hard time. And it's particularly painful, like, when you know people. Yes. And not just one person, but you know multiple people. Yeah. Who have been out of work for over a year. And it's all because of a deliberate. aggressive, poignant attack on black women, on black people, on our, on our livelihood,

on our lives, on our education, on our culture. And so in this moment, I just think that it's a reality check for a lot of people because I think some people didn't take it seriously and now are realizing that this is real. Yeah, this is real. I remember a friend of mine saying when everything, the pendulum started swinging in our favor, he said, be careful. He said because just as it swings, it's going to go back in the other direction very drastically. And what could you give us as a community advice on how to handle this as the pendulum is not in our favor?

I think in this moment, I'm going to go back to where we started this podcast in prayer. Yes. is being grounded and recognizing that we are always going to be okay because God has us. And I think that's where it starts. It's just having a level of peace and understanding as hard as it is. And I just to speak to my own self about that. That there is something greater that is holding us. So I think that's the first place.

And the second is that we cannot as a people in this moment be silent. Yes. It's not an option. And we have to be united and together, support each other, and support our own in this moment. And so I think that as this pendulum, because it's not just people that had a federal job, it's people who consult or law firms or, or, or. it's an attack on the entire culture and the entire system, and I think that's the part that is very real

and is the part that is the most dangerous. And so you see now attacks on studios. And so what does that mean about content and studios and ensure that there's diversity, not on the camera, but behind the camera and all of the craftsmen, all of that? So the attacks now on that. The tax on universities and funding. NIH just announced that they are no longer going to have diversity, equity, and inclusion grants.

That they don't need that anymore. Think about research and help. So the greater impact, think about all the jobs that are associated with that. So I think sometimes when we think about what has happened in terms of these massive, you know, jobs that have disappeared, that we think, oh, it's just someone that was working in a federal government office, that maybe we didn't need them. Right. You know, maybe we, yeah, we do need them.

Yeah. But it's also, you know, all of the surrounding jobs and industries that are also impact. Yeah. Music, concerts, all those things because there's not the support for all of that. And I think it's just a moment, like, for us to recognize that we are not in normal times. We are not. And because we are not in normal times, we cannot do. our resistance can't look like, you know, business as usual.

Right. That is such good. That's good. Thank you for sharing that. Hi, this is Joe Winterstein, host of the Spirit Daughter podcast, where we talk about astrology, natal charts, and how to step into your most vibrant life. And I just sat down with a mini driver. The Irish traveler said when I was 16, you're going to have a terrible time with men. Actor, storyteller, and unapologetic, Aquarian, visionary.

Aquarius is all about freedom-loving and different perspectives, and I find a lot of people with strong placements in Aquarius are misunderstood. A son and Venus and Aquarius in her seventh house spark her unconventional approach to partnership. He really has taught me to embrace people sleeping in different rooms, on different houses and different places, but just an embracing of the isness of it all. If you're navigating your own transformation or just want to chart-side view into how a leading artist

integrates astrology, creativity, and real life, this episode is a must listen. Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast, starting on February 24th on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. In 2023,

a story gripped the UK, evoking horror and disbelief. The nurse who should have been in charge of caring for tiny babies is now the most prolific child killer in modern British. is history. Everyone thought they knew how it ended. A verdict, a villain, a nurse named Lucy Lettby. Lucy Lettby has been found guilty. But what if we didn't get the whole story?

The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapses. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, doubt the case of Lucy Lettby, we follow the evidence and hear from the people that lived it, to ask what really happened when the world decided who Lucy Lettby was. No voicing of any skepticism or doubt. It'll cause so much harm at every single level of the British establishment of this is wrong. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. China's Ministry of State Security is one of the most mysterious and powerful spy agencies in the world. But in 2017, the FBI got inside.

This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent. Bradley Hull. This MSS officer has no idea the U.S. government is on to him. But the FBI has his chats, texts, emails, even his personal diary. Hear how they got it on the Sixth Bureau podcast. I now have several terabytes of an MSS officer, no doubt, no question, of his life. And that's a unicorn. No one had ever seen anything like that.

It was unbelievable. This is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets. Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd, and in 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor.

Unfortunately, it didn't go according to plan. He became the first Bachelor to ever have his final rose rejected. The internet turned on him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. But what happened to Clayton after the show made even bigger headlines. It began as a one-night stand and ended in a courtroom with Clayton at the center of a very strange paternity scandal. The media is here. This case has gone viral.

The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. Please search warrant. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. This season, an epic battle of He Said She Said, and the search for accountability in a sea of lies. Listen to Love Trapped on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You have been known for also movement building. And people see the movements when it's visible, but they don't see it when it's fragile and behind the scenes and in its incubator phase. I wanted to ask you, can you walk us through what it really takes to move a movement? movement in the way that you have from working with Kamala Harris or even with the abolishing the juvenile death penalty. What does it take to really build those movements from the ground up? I think the first thing is authentic relationships. Because when I go back and I think about how we were able to abolish a juvenile death

penalty in 2005, like no one thought that that could happen. Right. And it was a lot of hard work. I remember, you know, I was like, I think it was 25 in that Supreme Court case. And I was the chief organizer for the National Coalition of Justice Department of that case. And I remember having to go to South Dakota, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and the work that we did in the United Nations to really get that case into a place where the Supreme Court would vote, which is a five to four vote, Justice Kennedy. was the swing vote, very pivotal vote.

But what it took was coalition and authentic relationships. And it takes strategy, but I think sometimes people think that the strategy leads, but really it's the authentic relationships first. And once you have that, then you can employ a strategy with those authentic relationships that then can move the movement. And I think also movement is about collective, collective leadership. for sure. And it is about collective power.

And when I think about the work around like when with black women, that has really been the power behind when with black women is the collective nature of women with black women. Because the notion for women with black women is that we all have power. Right. Like you don't need institutional power. You don't need positional power to have power. No matter who you are, where you sit.

Yes. You have some type of power that. can be a contribution to the collective place that we are moving together as a people. So if you can just think of us as we're all on this journey together, we're all on like the big, it's the big highway together. We're in our individual cars. But we're moving, as long as we're moving in the same direction, we're moving forward. Not everybody's going to drive the same color car or have the same car.

We're not all going to drive at the same speed. But if we're moving in the same direction with the goal of getting to the destination, that's how we can have, I think, strong positive movements. I love that. I love that. Now, we talked about your holy yes and your sacred no. When do you know when it's time to say yes to something? I'm sure you get a lot of calls like of things to take on. When do you know what to say yes to and what to say no to? And how do you discern like what projects you'll take on? Yeah, and the notion of the sacred no and the holy yes. You know, Oprah went free and Ayala Van Zanzai cat. We were just saying, yeah. We just said in. I love it.

I love it. But we were talking about, and I heard that, and it was just so profound to me, because I've struggled with being able to say no. I'm one of those people that my whole life, it was always hard to say no because I've always wanted to be accommodating. And I think this last year for me has been, oh, interestingly, it's like it's been the roughest, hardest year in my life. And it's interesting because I think most people have seen or saw all the awards or all of the things, the Image Award, the this, the that, the this, the that, the this, the that. Yeah.

But I have been on a grief journey. Yeah. And it was so hard to be in deep grief. Yeah. To deal with a multitude of challenges, but also be thrusted into this light. Yeah. Where people are expecting you to smile and inside, you're really just crumbling. You're crumbling.

You're crumbling on the inside. Yeah. And, you know, my mother, like the loss of my mother and the way my mother died, it was so sudden. It was like an unknown condition that never was, could be diagnosed. And she was fine in July and died December the 4th. And while the election was going on, I was, most people didn't realize that I was spending most of my time in the medical. My mother was in medical ICU on a ventilator for two months. And when she ultimately passed, it was very hard.

So it's like my mother dies December the 4th. We lost the election in November. This administration comes in in January. The country starts to move in this direction. And so it's just heavy. And I realized last year that I had. to learn how to say no more and yes to myself. And so that's when I think for really the first time, forever in my life, I was forced to slow down

because I just, there were days I just couldn't. Right. I just couldn't. And I'm still learning how to say no, but it has been a work in progress. But, you know, life sometimes and God will sit you down. Tell me about it. He'll sit you down sometimes. He'll sit you down.

Yeah, a lot of people don't take the, they don't understand that also, like, as you're being thrust into the light, life still happens. And so many people don't know what we're dealing with behind the scenes. And the way you push through would have never known. And I didn't know that until you shared it on the live show. And I was just like, wow, like the fact that you can, that's a lot. I know what you put into the election, you know, and then to go through that laws and then turn around and lose your mother.

I know that was hard. Yeah, yeah. And it's one of those things where I was just thinking, I was like, man, I was thinking about people I'm grateful for it. I was thinking about. And I know it was the craziest thing to think about. And I was like the dynamic dope women that have done my makeup before I have gone on to get anything, right, or speech or an award or whatever.

And because they've had to redo my makeup so many times because I literally. crying before I have to walk out. I miss my mom so much. She's not here for these things. And so it's been, it's like I know her spirit is here. But you miss her. And so like you go through life

and this person who has poured everything into you to make you who you are and finally you're there you're there or you're somewhat there and she's not physically there and it's

I got some tissue for you yeah it's it's it's it has an impact on you so yeah so

yeah so it's been really a journey. And I've learned so much about grief and how grief will, you just have to just go through it. It will hit you at any moment. I could be in the grocery store and I would see Welch's grape juice

because when my mom was getting sick, she liked Welch's grape juice. And it would just impact me. Because I just think about, you know, like my mother, if I can say her name, Lenora, Abraham Eaddy, my best friend, my biggest supporter. My mom and my dad, but my mom was this person that gentle, kind soul. And she taught me everything. She was always there. The person I talked to every day.

And, you know, it was so harsh. I learned also, like, when my mom, through her sickness, the horror of the health care system. Because my mom, you know, it was a July. My mother was fine, laughing, talking. And then all of a sudden she was, like, feeling a little off. And she goes to the doctor. And the doctor tells her, you know, that she has anxiety and depression. And I'm like, this seems a little off, you know, but maybe.

And so they prescribe her medicine. I was like something, my spirit kept saying something's not right. That all of a sudden my mother started having like the onset of like advanced dementia. And everything I read, every doctor or friend that I spoke to is like dementia doesn't onset like this. It's not this fast. Right. And so by August, my mom was, could barely talk, could not. I'll never forget there was this moment

and I would fly back home and I'd go see a neurologist and they're like oh it's pseudo pseudo dementia like what is pseudo dementia you know it's not really real it'll reverse and so and I'm like something's not

right and I never forget I went home and I was in my room and I'm on emails and the crazy part is life is lifing but the world is still moving. So in the midst of this election, like, I'm taking calls and doing strategy,

and I'm sitting there and my mom walks in my room door she has on Sunday clothes. And I go, and it's, why are you doing? It's a Thursday. And she was like, I'm going to church. We're going to church, and she's out of her mind. But just as childlike, it's sweet and innocent, dressed to the nines. And I remember, I just looked at her and I said, mama, I said, but it's, it's Thursday. And she looked at me and it was as if like she felt like, oh, no. And she said, it's Thursday? And I said, yeah, I said, come sit beside me. And I remember I said, it was this moment where I just said, but we can pretend like a Sunday, you know.

And that was that moment where I realized, like, and I had thought still at that moment, like, my mom's just going to have, be in the state. And I'm going to be able to. And at that moment, it was like, oh, I can figure this out. We could live with this. We could get the best doctors, the best treatment. We fast forward to September, and my mother has to go to the emergency room. They run a scan.

My mother has a four-centimeter mass on her brain. What? Yes. And that's what was causing. And that was what was causing. And then from there. But nobody was like, we should do that. They didn't think, let's run a scan before.

They ran a scan in August. And it wasn't there? There was nothing there. What? And so this happened so fast. And then from September 24th to December 4th, we went through first being told my mother had a rare infection to no, it's not an infection. She has a rare form of brain cancer. No, it's not brain cancer to we don't know what this is.

And so when my mother died, I literally had to fight the hospital system because they tried to say that my mother died from kidney phillers. It was like, no. No. Mother to die for kidney failure. Her kidneys failed because she's been on a ventilator. Right. She's been in this hospital in a coma for two months. Yeah. But I learned that the hospital system,

I just remember having to stay at the hospital because of rounds. Like the way the rounds work, if you don't, if you're not there when the doctor comes, you don't get to talk to the doctor for the day. So I would stake out at the hospital. I could never leave to, fight and then it's always like, but did you do this? Did you do this test? And what I learned is like I had all this privilege, all this access. I could call friends that are all these

expert doctors, all of this access. And I had the ability and the economic ability to basically relocate myself to Charleston, South Carolina, where she was. And I thought, if this is this hard for me, you can imagine. What is it like for people who don't? don't have my access, who don't have just my abilities, and it just breaks my heart what people are dealing with on a day-to-day basis in a health care system. And now with the administration that we have, it's even worse. Hospitals are shutting down, you know, the one place or the one hospital that could actually serve. And so it just really for me was a lesson. It was heartbreaking, but it also, for me, was more of a resolve to be a voice and an advocate,

to tell the story of my mother about misdiagnosis because black women are pain, whether or not it's the fibroids in our bodies, or it's, you know, whatever it is, our pain or when we go to doctors, it's not, it's not viewed to say. It's like, oh, you just got this. Like, my mother was misdiagnosed and just pushed aside. And I still was fighting and we still couldn't save her. And so imagine the countless other people who have to go through that and are losing loved ones because the health care system is not listening, particularly to black people and black women.

Right. Oh, goodness. Yeah, that's, I hear so many times where people are misdiagnosed. And even sometimes, like, the medication, given the wrong medication to begin with, and it's like that wasn't even what they needed. Yeah. My mother, she has worked in the health care system since I can remember. And I could see the toll that it would take on her just as a person who had to see that every single day. Yeah.

And I can't, yeah, I couldn't imagine, especially with our resources and reach what other people are going through. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah. But I hope my story just can just move the needle. Yes, for sure. It's like it's hard to talk about, but it's important because it's to shed a light.

Absolutely. It's like we've got to talk about how we're treated. We do. In the hospital system, we've got to talk about just how it works and how it doesn't work for everyday people who are just struggling to just keep their loved ones healthy and alive and in our lives. My goodness. Last season on Sisters, we touched on the disparaging inconsistencies of white women who have birth, childhood birth deaths, and then, I mean, child labor birth deaths, and then black

women who have children died during labor, and even women who died during labor. And the numbers... Two to three times more likely to die. Yes. to die giving birth. And the statistics for black women against the world. Yes. It's alarming.

It's alarming to hear the stories, the painful stories of black women, like just the recent stories of black women who had to give birth in a car or not sit in a hospital as a nurse is not paying attention to her pain while she's in labor. That's very real. It is. And we have to do something about it. We've got to talk about it. And not just talk about it. There's powerful legislation in Congress, black women in Congress that are leading on this conversation.

Legislation, you know, that has been championed by black women in Congress for us to talk about this. And I think the more we talk about it and the more we take action on it, the better we are as a people and particularly the safer we are as black women. For sure, yeah. Well, I know with you being behind it and putting your voice in front of it, I know that the movement will go on and people will hear. And I support you wholeheartedly because I've seen it even with some friends of mine recently who have gone through that. And even as a woman who hasn't had children, that is one of the fears.

You know, that's always been a fear of mine is, I don't know why, but a fear of mine was always that I'm going to die during child labor because of that. You know, so to see it happening more than hitting closer to home. home. Yeah, however I can support and be a voice I will. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. Hi, this is Joe Winterstein, host of the Spirit Daughter podcast, where we talk about astrology, natal charts, and how to step into your most vibrant life. And I just sat down with a mini driver. The Irish traveler said when I was 16, you're going to have a terrible time with men. Actor, storyteller, and unapologetic, Aquarian visionary. Aquarius is all about.

freedom-loving and different perspectives and I find a lot of people with strong placements in Aquarius are misunderstood. A son and Venus and Aquarius in her seventh house spark her unconventional approach to partnership. He really has taught me to embrace people sleeping in different rooms on different houses and different places, but just an embracing of the isness of it all. If you're navigating your own transformation or just want to chart-side view into how a leading artist integrates astrology, creativity, and real life. This episode is a must listen. Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast starting on February 24th on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. In 2023, a story gripped the UK, evoking horror and disbelief.

The nurse who should have been in charge of caring for tiny babies is now the most prolific child killer in modern British history. Everyone thought they knew how it ended. A verdict? A villain. A nurse named Lucy Letby. Lucy Letby has been found guilty. But what if we didn't get the whole story?

The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapses. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, doubt the case of Lucy Lettby, we follow the evidence and hear from the people that lived in. To ask what really happened when the world decided who Lucy Lettby was. No voicing of any. any skepticism or doubt. It'll cause so much harm at every single level of the British establishment of this is wrong. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

China's Ministry of State Security is one of the most mysterious and powerful spy agencies in the world. But in 2017, the FBI got inside. This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent Bradley Hall. This MSS officer has no idea the U.S. government is on to him. But the FBI has his chats, texts, emails, even his personal diary. Hear how they got it on the Sixth Bureau podcast. I now have several terabytes of an MSS officer, no doubt, no question, of his life. And that's the unicorn.

No one had ever seen anything like that. It was unbelievable. This is a story of the inner workings of the MSS. and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets. Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd, and in 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. Unfortunately, it didn't go according to plan. He became the first Bachelor to ever have his final rows rejected.

The internet turned on him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. But what happened to Clayton after the show made even bigger headlines. It began as a one-night stand and ended in a courtroom with Clayton at the center of a very strange paternity scandal. The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. Please search warrant.

This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. This season, an epic battle of He Said She Said, and the search for accountability in a sea of lies. Listen to Love Trapped on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You have been called, and this is one of my favorite shows, you've been called the Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley. You are the fixture, the strategist, and the power broker. When people started calling you that, did you feel like, was it like, okay, yeah, I'm next. girl or was it pressure did you feel pride or were you like okay this is a bigger

responsibility that I thought it was all of the above I think what I think about it was like all of the above like I think I think it was like Forbes of Fortune that had vote that it actually first started on a podcast and they were like she's Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley right and it's interesting how that came because you know we all was watching scandal honey like 30s had my wine honey like scandal was a thing I with those scandal parties you know everybody's like watching scandal parties see what love you write you about it, you know, Roland Martin, what he got to say about it. So it was, so what I, it's interesting when I went into tech.

It was, I was, did the work around the death penalty. Yes. Was excited about the abolition of juvenile death penalty. And then I was like, okay, I don't want to just be the death penalty strategist. I want to just be a strategist. So I went into doing progressive policy and advocacy work that I did Obama, Obama campaign, first campaign. Wow.

And then after that election, people were like, are you going to go in the White House? Everybody was going in the White House. And I went to the NAACP. My friend who I met doing anti-death penalty work, been jealous and became the president and CEO of the NACP. And so I went as a senior advisor and the right hand. And so I had been at the NWACP for seven years.

Wow. And then I got a call. from some investor friends in Silicon Valley who said, we think you should come into Silicon Valley. And I remember, I was like doing my movement work at the NAACP, and I was happy. I'm like, I'm great. I couldn't even say, I'll never forget.

My friend Albert Sanders, we went to when they first started talking to me about Silicon Valley, and they reached out and they were like, hey, we think you should come in this industry. And I was like, I don't know how to code. So this is like 2013. So nobody's talking about Silicon Valley or tech in D.C. No. And I remember I was like, I don't know how to code. It's a bunch of white boys and hoodies.

I'm not really a hoodie girl. Like this is not for me. I don't know anything about tech. So I really had this imposter syndrome that I didn't belong in the industry. But I had already, you know, worked on Roper Simmons, which is a landmark Supreme Court case. I had lobbied in the UN. I had worked on voting rights laws at the NAACP. So all of this stuff that I had done,

but I still didn't see a reflection of myself in the industry. And so I remembered when I first got the offer to go. And it was also, it was foreign. Like, no one, I think Soledad O'Brien had did this special on CNN about Silicon Valley. And that was probably maybe the first time I think, I could say I had been really exposed. So when they first time, I was called it at Silicon.

And I never again, I went to the dinner with my friend Albert Sanders. And he was, you know, it's like, you know, back in D.C. River Coast. Yes. Oh, Kay Street. Like, we thought we was doing something. We go to lunch at Coast. Like, I'm going to a power lunch at Coast.

I'll never forget. Albert worked in the Senate. So we're like, we go and I'm like, Albert, you're talking to me about this going. Should I, I never get he leaned over. And Albert goes, it's. Silicon, not Silicon, okay? So if you're going to go there, it's Silicon Valley, not Silicon. And so I'll never, I hesitate this moment.

So it tells you how much I really kind of like knew about the industry. But I still felt like, okay, what is this thing? I don't really know about it. I don't think I can do it. And I remember talking to my friends and mentors like Tanya Lombard and Mignon Moore. And then Frida K.Poor Klein, who. amazing investor. And I would never forget she had this conversation.

She was like, you could do good and do well. Because I also had this notion of you could only do good work if you were doing nonprofit, civil rights, in the government. That's the only, like, that's true movement work. Yeah. If I go to Silicon Valley, which is business, then I'm selling out. And so I had had like that notion. Like, this is in my 30.

So I'm still thinking like, no, like, if I go do this, I'm like leaving the movement. Right. When actually I, you know, the work that I do impact where you just take that to a different industry. Yep. And so when I went to Silicon Valley, I was, I came from the NAACP. So I was never quiet about my advocacy. Good. I was never quiet.

I was the first black employee in the company. I mostly was in financial technology and fintech. And so I was the first black employee. but I also came out of Washington. So I was this person that was like different and unique in Silicon Valley. And so the reason I got that nickname was because I was political. And so they're like, you're like Olivia Pope. Like you could do strategy, but you also are very well connected.

And what I realized it's like I just had different connections. And so that's how it came about. And I remember like CEOs and tech leaders often would want to talk to me because they didn't understand. in Washington. Yes. And so I would get invited to dinner, lunches, CEOs of big companies that would say, like,

help me understand, investors, help me understand, or how should we be thinking about these candidates? And so I'm just kind of, and it was me just going and talking to people, and that's how I became the quote,

the Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley. Then it would have got printed. And I was like, oh. It's a nice ring to it. Okay. You know, like, but it's still, then you also like, you're like, ooh, like, I ain't all of that, you know. So, like, it's still, it's like imposter syndrome because it's like, okay, like, you know, Olivia Pope was like, boom, boom.

But then when you think about it, like, you know, I know so many Olivia Pope's. Like, you know, like so many dynamic, like so many of my colleagues, our friends, you know, from Angela Ride to, you know, I could just go on and on with just like all of these dope. dynamic women that are like Olivia Popes, like their strategists, their connectors. And the most important thing is, you know, they wear the white hat in terms of always focused on impact. And so that was for me being in tech, it was like not only was my goal when I finally went into Silicon Valley because I was reluctant, it took me eight months. Like I never forget, I got an offer.

And I didn't want to leave the NAACP because I was like, I don't know if I want to do this. And I remember I went into the industry and my goal was not only to help my company but how can I make sure other people understand how to come into this industry. And that was the first time that I learned about equity, that I had learned about, you know, all I just knew is to negotiate, you know,

vacation and salary, not to understand equity or to understand valuations of companies. So I went from not being able to, being able to pronounce Silicon Valley to being an investor, having an equity stake in multiple companies, having worked with a number of companies in Silicon Valley, advising companies in Silicon Valley, still today. And it's been a blessing.

And it was actually the scariest, one of the scariest jumps that I ever made, but it was the best jump that I made. And even when I made the jump, I had a bump in there. Like my first job, eight months in, I got laid off. What? I got laid off. Because in Silicon Valley, it's about fundraising and raising, you know, a company has to raise to continue to continue.

And the first company that I went to, they didn't raise the C that they thought they were. And, you know, last one in, first one out. And I never forget the CEO called and said, I'm so sorry, you know, accruited you away from your job. So what y'all going to do? Yeah. And it was a blessing.

And I remember being so depressed after that. Because I was like, I left my good job at NAACP. Now, granted, when I did go into tech, it was a whole different, you know, it was, it was great. Yeah. And so I still felt it was the first time I didn't have a job. And I'd never forget my mom had came to visit in D.C. I didn't have the courage to tell my mom that I had got a call the day before to tell I'd have a job anymore.

Like, what am I going to do? And I remember sitting in the dark in my house. And this was early days. Like, Facebook video was brand new. Wow. And why Kenya Clanton had posted a Facebook video, and it was Oprah Winfrey speaking at Stanford University. And it's a very viral clip.

Yes. But I remember seeing it. And it says, they go, is there anything else that you want to say? And Oprah goes, yes, there are no mistakes. There are no mistakes. That marriage, that job that didn't work out, just to paraphrase what she was saying. There are no mistakes. It is simply the universe moving you in the direction that you are divinely meant to journey.

Yes. And your job is to understand the lesson. And that spoke to me. I felt like Oprah was talking to me directly. And I never forget that night. That night, I think I tweeted at Oprah. I was like, Oprah, thank you for reminding me that, you know, black women. You are excellent.

And it was something like, one day you will meet. And it was just like, you know, I was just like, one day I'll meet you. But I was just, but it took me out of because I shifted my mind. You know, I think it's about like the mind is so powerful. It is. And how we condition our mind or how we think about. our situation. Like I was thinking about, I talk a lot to younger people and I say,

you are always going to have rocks thrown in your path. Yep. And the question is whether or not you see that rock as a, you see that as a blocking stone. Yeah. Is it a boulder or is it a stepping stone? Right. But only you, like how you view it.

Yeah. Will determine your next move. and your next move will determine your journey. And so you can sit there and that rock can be a boulder. And it could be a blocker for you. Or you can say, no, this is a stepping start. I'm going to learn. And so when I heard her say that, I got out of my funk.

And then soon after that, I went to another company and that company had explosive growth. And everything in life has led me to where I'm at. And probably if that hadn't happened, I probably would maybe still be at that. company. Maybe like, maybe I've been an executive vice president or something happy, you know, but I would not be where I am if that had not happened. And the power is in it for me, that lesson is that sometimes God might, what might feel like a denial, he's actually

preparing you for what he has for you. And the most important thing is to recognize that sometimes God is protecting you or he's closing a door so that he can open another door. And for you to understand that when that is happening to just have peace and to just have faith and that's a lesson that I'm still on today, but to just have faith that God is opening this door and to recognize and know that the door is there. Yes. That's good. You might not see it.

But the door is there. And it's waiting for you. It's waiting for you. And when God's perfect timing, when his perfect timing, not yours. Exactly. It will manifest for you. And so that was what it was for me.

And so Silicon Valley, like, I go back. I would make the decision a hundred times. I learned so much. I grew so much. My mindset on understanding, investing, and generational wealth, all of that shifted. And also the understanding that you can be, because you think about the tech industry, the explosive nature of the tech industry, a lot of wealth is created there.

And there's still a lot of work for us as black and brown folks, and particularly black women and black people, to have our rightful place in this industry. Because I was in my own way when I was being recruited, I was in my own way. I had to get out of my own way. And then when I had that stumbling block that I thought was a stumbling block but really was a stepping cell,

this industry has taught me so much. And I'm proud of all of the people who came to me said, girl, I saw you go in and tell me what you did. And I literally would sit down with folks and say, okay, this is how you need to negotiate your package, this is what you need to understand. Because, you know, as Menyam Moore often tells us, you got to lift as you climb, you know, the whole notion, each one, teach one. So for me, once I learned, it's like, how can I, like, you know, for me it was like,

I'm trying to be the, you know, the underground railroad, the Silicon Valley. So a lot of people shifted out of government in D.C. in the tech. And that's something that, like, I'm not, like, solely responsible for, but I feel very proud of so many people that came to me and said, I've been inspired and I'm going into tech, and they've gone on to be at major companies, making major decisions, creating major impact across the number of tech companies. That's incredible. Wow. You got me wanting to go into tech. Listen, because I know, like, yeah, I don't understand that world at all, but definitely interested in learning more for sure. It's something that, particularly with eight.

AI now. Yes. And I think there's all kind of sides to AI. But there's such power when you think about, you think about like an Uber, right? And one of my closest friends, she was the 70th employee at Uber. I think they were only in 19 cities when she started. Amazing, brilliant investor, Kimberly Marshall. And when she left, they were in 400 cities.

And you think about that technology. But I think when you think, if you look at our backgrounds, right, we often think, oh, we don't know about that world. I don't know how to code. It's technical. When you think about a company like an Uber or an Airbnb, they need marketers, they need lawyers, they need strategies, they need government affairs. They need all of these skill set that are transferable from other industries that we have. And I think, you know, really demystifying tech and helping people understand not only the side of how you can work in tech, but also how you can invest in tech. And how understanding deal flow, understanding how to support particularly black founders that have amazing tech companies but cannot get the funding because black women get less than 0.1% of venture funding for their.

companies. And then black businesses, black women, I think it's one to two percent in small business loans. So there's a struggle there, but there's opportunities to invest. And I think that is an opportunity for us as a people to engage more in that industry. I love that. Speaking of Black women founders, the one million black women initiative with Goldman Sachs, that was phenomenal. One billion dollars. Yes, yes. How? Like, how did you pull that off? That's crazy. So let me be very clear. Margaret Anandu, because I'm going to say a whole lot of people named with this podcast

because I think that's what I believe in doing. Margaret Anandu, amazing, just investor, leader, had been at Goldman Sachs, I think, for like 20 years. Wow. And she came up with this idea inside of Goldman Sachs. How to really take investment dollars and bring and pull a business. billion dollars for direct investment that has a direct impact that can be tied to impact to black women. And so she had, and Goldman Sachs had already developed this program. And my work with that program was helping to launch it along with my good friend and partner Joshua Dubois

and Michelle Dubois at Values Partnerships. Our firms came together to help launch it. And what was important to to Margaret and to Goldman Sachs and the leaders there, and still leaders that are still there like Sister Asahi there, was that this was something that was done with black women. And so we had the privilege to work with them to help guide the launch of that, to help guide how we had conversations with black women to help shape how that work was done. And I'm just so proud to have been a part of that. But Margaret Anandu, I'll say her name over and over and over again,

was the visionary and went to the CEO of Goldman and said, let's do this. And David Solomon at the time was like, yes. Wow. And I think that speaks to the power of black women. It does. who have back to Oprah and I have Van Zens conversation. Yes. Having that holy yes, you know, because Margaret had that holy yes

and she was determined and built something, you know, quite incredible and to be a part of, you know, helping launch that was something really like deeply powerful and impactful for me as a black woman. Yeah. To just be a part of something so significant of that magnitude. That's incredible. there's been other funds like the Fearless Fund that had initiatives for black women founders that received backlash.

Did you guys hit any roadblocks or was it pretty smooth because she had been with Goldman Sachs for so many years? Yes, it was pretty smooth because, and it was before all of the attacks, but it was pretty smooth. And it was a great launch and the program invested. And, you know, it's just amazing. And a lot of these are large, a lot of these are large-scale investments. well. So it was like large scale investments and projects that had direct impact that would impact black women across the board. That is so cool. You know, I think again, like, you know, when you look at, when you see like in that moment, I think that was in 2020, 21, 2021. I get the years,

like, you know, the COVID years, it starts to get, it starts mixing up. But then you fast forward now and you see the attacks on the fearless fund. You see the attacks on all of these funds that support black women and you're just like how are we going backwards i mean we know like it's a it's a rhetorical question we know why we're going and how we're going backwards but you know you just sort of like you know as barman gay says it makes you want to holler you know like we just we just keep getting pushed back but the thing is black women we're resilient yes as you know back to that you know i'm just keep talking about like that that that podcast you know with high yawlin Oprah, but like getting to that, that holy yes, you know, like when we get that, I think that gives us a power that that's, that's unstopped.

Right, for sure. I love that. Joteka, thank you so much. I've totally enjoyed this conversation. Our theme of season 10 is unapologetic. What does unapologetic mean to you? I think unapologetic in this season for me, it just meaning, it just meaning, it just, you. It just means that I can recognize that I'm going to be boldly my authentic self in my truth.

Yes. Oh, my goodness. I literally had to play you this. I did a video while I was doing makeup today talking about the word for this season. And I literally said walking authentically in boldness in your truth. It's an alignment. It's an alignment. And I think, because it's a thing that I, like, I have like these mantras.

And so one for me is when I get up, I say evolve and repeat. She's just like you can evolve and repeat. Yeah. You got a choice. Yes. Wow. And every day we're not going to all evolve. We're not.

But some days we go repeat. Yeah. And that's okay. You got to give yourself grace. Yeah. But my prayer is that I evolve. more than I repeat. And that's like for me, like when I wake up and a part of that evolution.

And when we evolve, it's about how can't, like, I'm like one of those people like, I am going to always cheer for my sister and my brother that's walking ahead of me. Yeah. Behind me, beside me. Yes. And the person that I am going to look into the mirror every single day, it is about evolution. it is not about trying to be better than anybody else. It is about being a better version of myself.

That allows me to find and to tap into God's purpose on my life so that I can live that but do that authentically in my truth, being my authentic self, being who I am, that little black girl, Lorna, Abraham Edie's daughter that grew up on that dirt road that was nerdy, that guys talks too much, that wants to help people, but is just going to be that girl. And I can go all over the world, I could do all those things, but I am still that girl.

And I think what I hold that and just tap into what I feel God has for me. And God, I feel like God's calling on my life, It's just to do something and to push our people forward. Then to me, that is being unapologetic. I love it. Yeah. So good. So good.

I have been very open about us talking about our lows equally as as much as our highs. Yes. Because I think right now social media has us people on highlight reels. Mm-hmm. And people lead, people are led. to believe that it's always good. It's not. It is not.

And so I talk about the low moments. Equally as I talk about my high moments because I believe deeply that really, I think, and it's been true for me, more people have connected when I talked about my lowest moments.

Because what everybody's going through. Because other people are going through it. And so when you talk about that, someone can say, I'm not alone because most of the time somebody's sitting there. They're going through it and they think that it's just them. It's not. And it's not.

And I think it's important for all of us with platforms to talk about it. To talk about the low moments equally as the high to talk about how we have tests. Because without tests, we don't have a testimony. Come on. And to talk about the testimony and how we've come through. But the fact that we had to go through to get in also that, I think sometimes people see, you know, they see the awards, they see the lights, they see the red carpets, they see all of that.

Yeah. But people don't see, they don't see the tears or they don't see the work or they don't see the 20 years that got us there. Like, it wasn't overnight. Yes. And I think social media, while it is a blessing in many ways, I believe that it's dangerous because it gets into people's psyche, that people are often forced to compare themselves. Oh, yeah. To edited videos. And they are comparing their everyday life to an edited highlight reel that someone created.

And cropped out the low. And I think we got to talk about the lows so that people can understand that they're not walking these journeys along. That's it. I love that. So true. So true. Hi, this is Joe Wintersy, host of the Spirit Daughter podcast, where we talk about astrology, natal charts and how to step into your most vibrant life.

And I just sat down with a mini driver. The Irish traveler said when I was 16, you're going to have a terrible time with men. Actor, storyteller, and unapologetic, Aquarian visionary. Aquarius is all about freedom-loving and different perspectives. And I find a lot of people with strong placements in Aquarius are misunderstood. A son and Venus and Aquarius in her seventh house spark her unconventional approach. approach to partnership. He really has taught me to embrace people sleeping in different rooms,

on different houses, and different places, but just an embracing of the isness of it all. If you're navigating your own transformation or just want to chart side view into how a leading artist integrates astrology, creativity, and real life, this episode is a must listen. Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast starting on February 24th on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. China's Ministry of State Security is one of the most mysterious and powerful spy agencies in the world. But in 2017, the FBI got inside. This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent Bradley Hall.

This MSS officer has no idea the U.S. government is on to him. But the FBI has his chats, texts, emails, even his personal diary. Hear how they got it on the Sixth Bureau podcast. I now have several terabytes. of an MSS officer, no doubt, no question of his life. And that's the unicorn. No one had ever seen anything like that. It was unbelievable.

This is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets. Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, a story gripped the UK, evoking horror and disbelief. The nurse who should have been in charge of caring for tiny babies is now the most prolific child killer in modern British history.

Everyone thought they knew how it ended. A verdict, a villain, a nurse named Lucy Letby. Lucy Letby has been found guilty. But what if we didn't get the whole story? The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, Doubt, the case of Lucy Lettby, we follow the evidence and hear from the people that lived in, to ask what really happened when the world decided who Lucy Lettby was.

No voicing of any skepticism or doubt. It'll cause so much harm at every single level of the British establishment of this is wrong. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Clayton Eckerd, and in 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. Unfortunately, it didn't go according to plan. He became the first Bachelor to ever have his final rose rejected. The internet turned on him.

If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. But what happened to Clayton after the show made even bigger headlines. It began as a one-night stand and ended in a courtroom, with Clayton at the center of a very strange. paternity scandal. The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. Please search for it. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. This season, an epic battle of he said she said, and the search for accountability in a sea of lies. Listen to Love Trapped on the

Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, so we have what is called positive outcomes where our audience members write into us and ask us a question. This one says, hello, Crystal. First off, I want to say that I love your podcast and the light it shines on mental health and finding faith. For the past 25 years, I've been dealing with CPSD, chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and depression stemming from deaths and other adverse childhood experiences. I started therapy during COVID-19 lockdown, hoping to put an end to thoughts of self-harm and to feel better. Suggestions of medication have been made, but I am very apprehensive about introducing that into my system. My question to you is, what is your thoughts on taking medication for mental health?

I worry about the side effects and have been trying to look for more natural, holistic alternatives. I've also started a slow return to faith traditional church and have received conflicting opinions on the subject there. I don't know what to do on this one. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Sierra M. First of all, Sierra, thank you so much for writing in. Jolteke, I thought this would be a good one because you spoke about your mother and she was diagnosed with mental health disorder and they put her on meds. And that wasn't even what it was.

Yeah, it was a misdiagnosis. Yeah. So what advice would you give her because you have actually dealt with this firsthand? Yeah. first of all, Sierra, just saying to you, my prayers and my thoughts are with you, but also I heard the part of going to faith and getting conflicting opinions. And the thing that I would say first is, for me, when I'm most quiet, I hear God. And so you're going to hear all kinds of opinions, but listen to that inner spirit, that inner voice.

I believe that's God talking to us. So that's the first thing. But I believe that, you know, like my experience with my mom, I remember like it was like when my mom came and said, when they said, the doctor said what they said, I struggle with it because it was like, what is this like, you know. And my family has a history of mental health challenges. My great-grandmother died in a mental health institution. And so, and, you know, back then it was like, They don't know what's wrong with her. I think now it was, you know, postpartum and, you know, complicated postpartum of what was happening.

But she was in and out. And I don't know much about her. And that's been like this thing to try to learn about her. But when my mom, like, you know, I was very, I had friends, very close friends who have had parents that have been diagnosed with mental health disorders. And so when they said that and they just so quick to do the meds. Which was detrimental to my mom because it wasn't her diagnosis. My mother had a mask on her brain, not a mental health disorder. And so what I would say is that, you know, really finding the health care provider that you can trust,

that really will dive deep into a diagnosis, but also what will help most. And I'll also say that I recently started to look into more natural, holistic, started learning about psilocybin treatment and reading more about celosybin, which is the treatment, mushroom treatment, psychedelic mushroom treatment for healing. And I had a friend that shared that they had experienced that and shared that it was like four years of therapy as he was going through grief, very traumatic grief. So I would say being open to holistic, but really finding that therapist and that medical provider that you trust that will give you the right mix of remedy. Because sometimes people think that you could just take a pill and sometimes those medicines may make it worse. Or I'm not a doctor, so I never would give medical advice.

but, you know, seeing all the things that, that, you know, but I don't, I'm not a person that says don't take medicine because I think if you, I have lots of friends that have to take medicine and it's needed. But I just think making sure, not really being a shame of it, I think that's the bigger thing is like destigmatizing mental health. Like we have to destigmatize that sometimes you are not okay I believe everybody at some point is not okay.

So we have to destigmatize this notion that we're always okay. De-stigmatize going to therapy. De-stigmatize if you need to take medication and destigmatize this notion that having a mental health diagnosis is the end or that something is innately wrong with you because we are made by God. and God does not make mistakes. And we are all made perfectly imperfect. And I think it's important for us to just accept. And I think as a society, when we destigmatize, that we don't,

we will not have, you know, this question of, you know, it's one thing to think about, do I want to put medicine in my body? Yeah. Is it healthy for me? Yes. It's another is what, how do I feel if people know I'm taking medicine? medicine. You know, I'm on meds.

You know, and I think that's the part that we've got to destigmatize. No, for sure. That's so good. Thank you so much. For me, Sierra, I would echo what you said about being still and silence and hearing God's voice. For me, I journal working out as my therapy. I have a therapist, but also meditation in that sitting still and really hearing God's

voice, but also with journaling, I'm getting out my thoughts. That's my outlet. When I don't have anybody just to physically sit down and talk to, I can also write down how I'm feeling. And when it comes to church, and I've heard it so many times, like, I don't need therapy or I don't need help because I have Jesus. I feel like you will get conflicting messages when it comes to that, but I am a true believer that both go hand in hand. Both go hand. Because Jesus, Jesus gave the doctors the expertise to be able to help you. And so that's the part too. It's like, you know, God gave them like, you know, God gave them the, God gave them what they got to help you.

And sometimes God is helping you through other people. He is, yes. He's helping you through other people. Yeah. So thank you so much for writing in. Thank you so much. Your advice was spot on. And thank you for sharing your experience with that.

Yes. Is there any way that we can support you or anything that the audience needs to be on the lookout for it? because we want to get behind you on everything you have going on. Well, I would first say, when with black women, if you're a black woman, I know there's lots of black women I hear watching, yes. Oh, y'all out here. I love it.

It's just, being in D.C. was so amazing. My goodness. Say it so many sisters driving, flying, come in. Crazy. You know, I love the community. Yeah, so beautiful. But I would say, you know, join us on a Sunday night. I would love for you to come on a Sunday night,

went with black women and to talk about not only the podcast. but everything that you're doing. It's at Whenwithblackwomen.org on most Sunday nights we're on Zoom still. All of us are still getting on Zoom's, thousands of us and it's really a space. Because it's like 44,000.

Was that the very first? Well, we started in 2020 during the pandemic. Wow. And they were like, that was what it was like hundreds of us. And it was interesting. So even from 20 to 2024, Ms. Oprah had gotten on the calls. I would never forget.

Oprah was like, So you have these calls. I wanted to get on one. I'm like, girl, what? I'll never forget. Like, this, we had, like, it's like the first, people don't realize. When with black women calls for the first four and a half years before the viral call was a regular Zoom. Wow.

On my Zoom account, they had like a thousand people could be on the Zoom. And so I never forget what time when Ms. Winfrey, Oprah got on. It was like the zoo went from like 250. It went like the 9, 99 and everybody. It was like, because like over like getting, you're like, just sitting in a Zoom and Oprah in the box just with you like. She was just like all the calls. It's been so over the years, like we had had every black women that were running for office, you know, black women and entertainment. It's all of it.

And so people knew about it. So if you knew, you knew. And so the crazy part was the night that we had the viral call. I'll never forget that day. I was crazy. I was in South Carolina because my mom first got sick. Wow. So I was in South Carolina.

because I just went to check on my mom because she wasn't feeling well. So it was July 24th. Yeah. And so the announcement comes out, we had already had a call set for Sunday. It was already set. Yeah. And so the women with black women called was set. Jasmine Crocket, Congresswoman Jasmine Crocket was on the gender, Donna Brazile.

And so we were talking about Melanie Campbell, shout out of Melanie Campbell, because everybody was trying to push President Biden out. And black women were like, no. President Biden has been good to us until he's ready to go, then he'll go. Right. And Sister Melody Campbell had penned an open letter as 8,000 black women had signed that letter. And we were standing firm. Yes.

And when he made his decision with the announcement happened, I remember it was like about 2 o'clock. And so we were like, oh, we got the call tonight. So we shifted kind of the focus of the call. And I really thought that they would might be, we would have gone from 1,000 and maybe 3,000. thousand people on the call, you know. And we were just thinking like, oh, it would be maybe a thousand. We're going to hit our max. And I never forget, I told, you know, one of the sisters that helped on the tech. I was like, let's keep it at 950. Let's only let 950 people in. So we have like a, you know, a special guest that want to get it. We got enough space. When I could get on my own

Zoom, then we switched a webinar. And in real time, the reason why we were able to grow, in real time, who was a sister of black woman, got on the phone while we were like, I don't know, so many people on that call, we were like, yeah, people are like trying to get in, and I'll never forget that I'll never forget, she picks up the phone and she calls her friend at Zoom.

And in real time, real time, artist Hampshire Cohen, calls her friend, the COO of Zoom, in real time, 1030 or something at night. They open up, the engineers come in, open up the Zoom in real time. And that's when... They lifted the cap off.

And it went to 44,000. But by then, there were 30,000 people in Clubhouse. There were 10,000. My lion's sister told me, she just put out a free conference call number. And she said the next day, she was like, it was 10,000 people on it. So there were, we count,

probably about 150,000 people were either on the Zoom or watching that Zoom that night. And so that was... The Power of the Blame. That's the, honey, the power of black women, the power of the group chat. The group. And the group text. Who's in the group chat and the group text?

Because people would be like, how did that happen? It was like, child, that's black women talking to each other. That's how that call happened. It was black women, honey, black women. We will definitely be tapped in. Yes. I love that. Thank you.

No, thank you. Thank you. So good. Oh, my goodness. This is a powerful reminder that even in the hardest seasons, healing and purpose can coexist. Thank you. so much for tuning into another episode of Keep It Positive, sweetie. Don't forget to subscribe and share this episode with someone who could use a little encouragement today. And as

always, stay blessed, stay encouraged. And remember, keep it positive, sweetie. See you guys next time. Hi, it's Jill Winterstein, host of the Spirit Daughter podcast where we talk about astrology, natal charts, and how to step into your most vibrant life. And today I'm talking with my dear friend Krista Williams. It can change you in the best way possible. Dance with the change. Dance with the breakdowns. The embodiment of Pisces intuition with Capricorn power moves.

So I'm like delusionally proud of my chart. Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast starting on February 24th on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent Bradley Hall. In 2018, the FBI. It took down a ring of spies working for China's Ministry of State Security, one of the most mysterious intelligence agencies in the world. The Sixth Bureau podcast is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets.

Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in 2023. But what if we didn't get the whole story? Evidence has been made to fit. The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe?

Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Lettby, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. That's when his life took a disturbing turn.

A one-night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love Trapped on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.