S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. Today's show is about San Diego's arts and culture scene. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman. Here's to conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. A local author who pioneered a form of trauma therapy , talks about his new memoir , An Autobiography of Trauma.
S2: So I would say that trauma is looking at it as a wound or an injury to mind and body is a fact of life. But I think the good news , Andrew , is that it doesn't have to be a life sentence.
S1: Plus , we hear about a new exhibit featuring photography and poetry of incarcerated women. Then a conversation with NPR voice Rachel Martin on her new podcast , Wild Card. That's ahead on Midday Edition. Overcoming trauma can be a lifelong challenge. Traumatic events , which may have happened long ago , but their impacts often continue on if not resolved. Peter Levine has been working in the field of trauma recovery since the 1960s. He developed an approach called somatic experiencing that has seen increased interest and popularity in recent years. He has a new book out called An Autobiography of Trauma. He will be appearing at Diesel Bookstore in Del Mar this Sunday , May 5th at 3 p.m.. Peter Levine joins me now to talk more about his work and his new book. Peter , welcome to Midday Edition. Great.
S2: Great. Thanks.
S1: So , Peter , I want to start here.
S2: And I see things more generally actually , if you look at the root for the word trauma , the Latin root , it means injure or wound. And we may experience deep injuries and deep wounds that don't give us flashbacks and the kind of classical things you see with , with PTSD. So I think in a way I would say that trauma is a fact of life , an injury , a wound that we carry with us , and we may not realize it until all of a sudden we see we find ourselves reacting in a , in a situation where we're all of a sudden very angry or frightened , and it doesn't make any sense for the situation that it is. So I would say that trauma is looking at it as a wound or an injury to mind and body is a fact of life. But I think the good news , Andrew , is that it doesn't have to be a life sentence. Trauma does not have to be a life sentence. We can heal these wounds given the right support and the right tools. I have a saying that with the right tools , trauma doesn't have to rule. But without those tools , trauma does rule. And there are simple tools that we can use to be able to soften the impact that these these injuries that we've had over the many , many years of our lives. Yeah.
S1: And I want to get into those tools. But first , I mean , you've referred to trauma and , you know , the impact it has on us is kind of being I think you've called it an unresolved loop. Can you talk a little bit more about what you mean there ? Yeah.
S2: You know , again , when trauma was defined as PTSD , it was already 12 or 13 years after I started working with trauma. So I didn't have that definition in my mind. And in that definition , trauma was seen to be a brain disorder or even a brain disease that at best could be managed with medications and with helping people change their negative thoughts. And I realized that it was something that also happened and happens primarily in the body. So for example , you go outside and you see somebody's been injured and your guts go , yuck ! And you look and you see that they've really , really seriously injured and you've got to twist even more. Now , that gut twist is the brain recognizing injury recognizing threat. And it sends that information to the body. But there's a nerve in the in in the body called the vagus nerve. And it's the largest nerve in the body. And it turns out that over 80% of that nerve is actually getting information from the guts back up to the brain. So the brain with the 20% sends the , the the threat message to the guts. The guts twist. And then that goes back up to the brain and gets amplified. So one of the tools is finding out where we've gotten stuck in the body and gently coax ourselves out of that , what I call a positive feedback loop with negative consequences.
S1: And , you know , I think in your book , you know , you talk about your own personal history with trauma , but you also kind of touch on these more positive memories that you just kind of mentioned there. And particularly an early memory you have of I think it's from your fourth birthday.
S2: But in somatic experiencing , we don't go right for the trauma. That's , again , one of those important tools that we just gently touch into the periphery. And so when I had one of my students sit with me and guide me through these really disturbing symptoms that I was having , uh , the image that came up , the memory that came up was , as you mentioned , I was about four years old , and it was my birthday , and my parents must have come into the room , snuck into the room at night or early in the morning , and laid tracks from a model railroad , sat underneath my bed , out into the room , and then back again underneath the bed. And so when I awoke , exuberance would be an understatement. I just literally jumped out of bed , ran to the transformer so I can control the speed of the train , increasing it , decreasing it , making the horn go. And in that moment I didn't have the words for it , but I knew that I was cared for and I knew that I was loved , even though some very violent and horrible things happened. I could also return to that memory , which I felt and experienced in my body. So it gave my body this positive message. Sending back to the brain yes , things are okay to dealing with the the violent memories that that followed.
S1: So you've touched on , you know , some of these tools that that you work with in your work to recover from trauma , like you write about in your book here. So can you talk a little bit more about somatic experiencing ? How does it work. And you know , what's the idea behind it ? Okay.
S2: The idea is that because trauma is something that happens in the body that we come to the body , we need to address how it got stuck in the body so that we can move through. Because if we're just looking for the content or what happened or you know , what didn't happen , it really it misses the point that when we are able to shift out of these , these states of , of of hyper arousal and shutdown in our bodies , then we come back into , into the here and now , into present time. In a way , you could say that trauma , a wound or an injury is also an inability or results in an inability to be in the here and now , to be to be present. And again , the it's through interception through our internal body sense that we come to presence. You know , there's been a lot of work recently showing that people who are able to tune in to their body sensations , that these people are healthier , not just psychologically , emotionally , uh , anxiety wise and so forth , but it also it has also health benefits. So it really helps bring us to the here and now. I mean , there's a lot of talk about what does here and now mean. Well , I think that's always an important question. So for me here and now is to be in the moment , not encumbered by the past and not over encumbered by the future. And so I think one of the things in somatic Experiencing is it helps people move from trauma , from fixity to flow. And flow takes us into the present moment.
S1: What are some simple recommendations you'd give to someone who may be looking to recover from their own trauma ? Yeah.
S2: Let me give you an example. Let's just say as a child we were hit. And , uh. And because of that , our shoulders brace. To protect ourselves from being hidden. But if this threat continues , our shoulders don't return. They stay up. Up towards the the ears. And so one of the things we might do is have the person be. Many people have pain in their shoulders. And but then to become aware of the tension that's underneath the pain and the tension as an incomplete response. So we feel the pain that we feel what's underneath the pain , which is the tension. And then to imagine what might happen if the tension actually increased. So our shoulders would go up towards our ears , but instead of doing it in one fell swoop , we do it one small amount at a time. So raise the shoulder the smallest amount and you all can try it at home. And then just releasing the shoulders and again one more time , just tensing them a little bit more as they come up a little closer to the ears. And then just slowly drop down. And after doing that to 2 or 3 times , most people find that they have an increase in energy and increase in vitality and a capacity to be in the here and now , to be more in the here and now.
S1: And sometimes trauma may come from experiences that we may not even remember from early childhood. For example , how does memory play a role in , you know , how you treat trauma ? And I mean , is it more difficult to treat something that we don't have , um , a , you know , conscious memory of ? No.
S2: And by the way , in Somatic Experiencing , it's not necessary that we relive our traumas. And that's not sometimes images , sometimes associations , sometimes body memories will come up. Uh , but it's not necessary to remember them. What's necessary is to find where the body got stuck and to let that come to completion , as I just did with this simple exercise with the shoulders. And so when we're doing that , this is the person who was again , hit by a parent. Often they'll have images and feelings. Feelings about that. This was wrong , that it wasn't their fault , that we don't hold the shame. It was an injury that happened to us and that helps people take go away from self-blame and self shame back in again to the present moment.
S1: This book you've written here is different from some of your previous work about somatic experiencing and explaining that.
S2: You know , the the subtitle is An Autobiography of Trauma A Healing Journey. And it's about my healing journey. It's about coming back from a situation where there was constant life threat and violence. Uh , and , you know , because of my age , I have clearly less years in the future to live than I've had in the past from the moment of conception to now. And I thought it would be a good time for me to write a journal , basically looking at the trajectory of my life. What were the important things ? Important , uh , memories that happened to me , and also some of the most difficult experiences that happened to me. And it was only meant to be a personal excavation. Uh , then a friend of mine said , you know , Peter , I think that if you made this a book , it could really help people. Well , first I said , well , I couldn't write it as a book because it's too vulnerable. It's too transparent. It's too revealing of myself and who I am. And that's when my friend said , but , Peter , I think if you write this book for the reader , it will help them heal their own trauma wounds. And so often when I can't make a decision , I'll have a dream. And in this case , uh , again , I was unable to really make the decision. But in the following dream , I'm standing in front of an open field and a wind comes from behind me. A breeze comes from behind me. My hands are filled with these manuscript pages , and it just takes these pages and then blows them into the wind to land where they may. And I think when I awoke , I knew that my unconscious had made the decision for me , that even though it would be difficult , and even though I was in some ways scared to do this , that I was going to do it because I felt that it could help people who read it in their own healing. And that was my hope. That was my belief.
S1: You mentioned earlier , you know , you believe trauma may be a fact of life , but it doesn't have to be. A life sentence , I think is how you put it. Yeah. You talked a little bit about some of the tools , but any sort of last tips or suggestions you'd like to leave people with ? Um , ways to approach it to kind of get over that , that life sentence. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. You know , when you feel deeply upset or even upset , the first thing we should do is just see where that is registering in our bodies , to see how we hold it in our bodies , and then to start gradually letting it go. Letting it continue to complete its own course of action. So if it's the racing against being hit , then to actually feel the position of the shoulders and notice what happens if that tension increases and then slightly increasing it and letting it go. So these are certainly things that we can all do. And you know , it really is helpful to do it with another person. There's a Motown song that goes it takes one to stand in the dark alone. It takes two to let the light shine through. But if we're only on our devices and we're not making contact with other people , we don't have this gift that we can give each other , that we can provide for each other. So we've got to have times when quiet times for devices , when they're just off for a period of time. And again , I don't want to blame everything on devices , but it is an important factor that keeps us from engaging with others and being present with each other and helping each other come to the here and now.
S1: Peter Levine's book is called An Autobiography of Trauma A Healing Journey. He'll be appearing at Diesel Bookstore in Del Mar on Sunday , May 5th at 3 p.m.. We'll have the details on our website at KPBS. Org. Peter , thank you so much for joining us today.
S2: Oh , yeah. Glad to do it. I appreciate the the questions. Yeah.
S1: Coming up on Midday Edition , we hear about a new exhibit featuring photography and poetry by incarcerated women.
S3: The issue of mass incarceration is everybody's problem. It's a systemic issue. So this isn't something that you're passively taking in and just walking through. We want you to understand. Educate yourself.
S1: You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman. Voices on the inside is a new exhibit of photography and poetry by incarcerated women from California , Oklahoma and Tijuana , led by the nonprofit Poetic Justice. The project's goal is to humanize the women by amplifying their art and their stories. The exhibit is opening this weekend at San Diego Central Library. And joining me now to tell us more is Rekha Barton. She's one of the curators of voices on the inside. She's also a faculty fellow and researcher with the University of San Diego. Rekha , welcome to Midday Edition.
S3: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.
S1: Great to have you. And Samantha Bhatia also joins us. Samantha is an assistant program director with Poetic Justice. Samantha , welcome to you.
S4: Thank you. I'm really happy to be here.
S1: So , Rekha , tell us , I mean , how did you come up with the idea for voices on the inside ? Yes.
S3: So I had the pleasure of meeting Katie Turner , who is the director for the California Poetic Justice. Through my course. At that time , I was a doctoral student at San Diego State University , and I had the opportunity to create a course and teach it to the Webers Honors College. And my course was called Craft of Wisdom. I have been a long standing lover of arts , tactile , visual , all of the arts , and in my doctoral program for Social Justice really looked at the intersection of art and activism. How do we use these arts to send messages , to create awareness , to really impact change ? And through that course , one of our one of the students , Jasmine , actually introduced me to Katie , and Katie did a presentation for the course that really talked about this photography project , which allowed incarcerated women to self direct their portraits and as a visual methodologies. All of my research really overlaps with the visual , the multimodal. I found it fascinating and knew that Katie and I needed to collab. Three years later , we were able to secure a grant through the California Arts Council and the World Design Capital , and we created voices on the inside , the multimodal exhibit. So when we think about multimodality , we know that in the US context , other places the written is prioritized. However , visuals are so impactful , and this exhibit has the self-directed portraits of the women that are next to their poems. We also have QR codes where you can hear their voices. The issue of mass incarceration is everybody's problem. It's a systemic issue. So this isn't something that you're passively taking in and just walking through. We want you to understand , educate yourself and feel the call to action to actually produce change.
S1: So you described a little bit about how the exhibit looks. But walk us through it. I mean , what what does this exhibit feel like you mentioned ? It's multimodal. Paint a picture for us. Yes.
S3: Yes. So when you arrive , I love a the location matters. The public library is a center most part of San Diego. But also when we think about the idea of incarceration and sort of the reentry back into society , public spaces such as libraries are really influential to formerly incarcerated person. So it was really intentional for us to have a public space. So our exhibit is open to the public. Anyone can come. It is completely free. So once you come in , even from the entry point , you can see these massive portraits that are hanging in the on the first floor. When you come in , you see displays which give you information about poetic justice as a whole. But also there's a display of children's books , because we think of those of us on the outside may think of these incarceration issues as an individual , but this takes women out of their communities. It takes them away from their families. Children are impacted by this. So we have those children's books. We also have all the women's portraits paired with their words. It was very intentional to them to make sure that , yes , we want to be seen , but we also want to be heard. And to amplify that mode. The QR code takes you to a recording of the woman's voice. Some of the women decided to recite their poetry , so being able to hear their words in their voice is super dynamic. And some of the women just wanted to tell us other things , like some of the questions.
S1: You work with poetic justice. Rick has been kind of talking about how that partnership's been working , but tell us about the work you're doing there. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. So I have been with Poetic Justice for a little over two years now. I started when I was in college , and I became a facilitator at the California Institution for women , which is one of two women's prisons in California , and I have been facilitating classes in there for two years. We also teach at Las Colinas , which is the only women's jail in San Diego as well as we are starting to get our foot in the door at the Central California Women's Institute women's facility , which is up in Fresno , to try to teach classes there so that , you know , we are able to reach as many people as we can. Voices on the inside is kind of like a culmination of everything that we do. But at the heart of what we do , we are a community within and beyond women's prison. So , you know , when Rekha talks about us going beyond the individual , like we really do believe that incarceration is a social problem. It's a problem that whether or not people feel that they're impacted by incarceration , they are , um , we talk a lot with our participants about how , um , incarceration is one of those things that it's really easy to turn a blind eye to because you're not faced with these women day to day. So I think the the purpose of this show and kind of the reasoning and the intentionality behind having their portraits at such a large scale , having their portraits be , you know , in a public place , making it very accessible to people is kind of our way to make sure that that , you know , once they're seen , they can't be unseen and , and kind of bring that humanity back to people who are incarcerated. Um , we also work a lot with like , self agency and teaching , teaching , having to reteach people who are incarcerated that they , you know , are a person and they are an individual and they do matter and they do have a sense of agency , even if it's only , you know , within the two hour span of our classroom.
S1: And yeah , tell us more about that. I mean , you work with these women on these workshops to , you know , to work on these artworks. Um , how do the workshops work ? What does that look like ? Yeah.
S4: So I , I always say I'm , I'm not by any means a teacher. I am 100% a facilitator. I am by no means in charge of a classroom. Um , it is a very collaborative space. Um , it's been really cool to , you know , be at CIW for , for the span of two years because I've gotten to watch a lot of our participants kind of take on a leadership role and take on the role of , of picking up on , on how our curriculum is structured and being able to , to run certain aspects of it. And , and , you know , each one of them kind of supports each other and they hold each other in this really safe space. But yeah , we we walk in with the curriculum and you know , as much as we say this is a writing course , at the end of the day , this is a trauma course. We we work a lot with addressing the root causes of trauma , both while incarcerated and any trauma that that women experience prior to incarceration. A lot of a lot of these women have been through , been through a lot. And a lot of times , particularly with women who are incarcerated , they are , you know , victims and survivors of abuse and different just childhood experiences that that can really , you know , impact the trajectory of someone's life. So we do a lot of a lot of work with that. But we also really like to do a lot of work with just like the light stuff and the fun stuff and , and reminding them , you know , memories about childhood and like , you know , talking about sensory details , you know , when you're incarcerated , it's a lot of a lot of grays , a lot of dull colors. There's not a lot you can work with. And so I think being able to bring that light of , you know , reminding them what the world is like and reminding them that that they have a sense of agency has been really , really amazing to be a part of. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. So how does having this creative outlet help the women process some of the things they've experienced ? You know , some of this trauma that you've just been describing ? Yeah.
S4: So , um , one of the I think when we we start every class , you know , a lot of them say like , I'm not a writer or like , you know , we're working with people who have varying levels of , of education. So , you know , we always tell them , like , the biggest thing is to just like , get your emotions out on paper. Um , there's this theory that like when you write something down the , like physical process of putting words to emotions and then like having them go through your hand , through a pen onto a paper is like this sense of relief. Um , and so it's , it's a way of like really processing emotions to yourself. And then the second act. Aspect of that is sharing. So like when you read those words aloud , they're no longer words on a paper. They become very real. And it's almost a sense of like being able to identify , you know , the emotions that you're feeling , which when you're incarcerated , you kind of have to push all of that down as a form of survival. Um , so being able to provide a space where they can , you know , have that , that sense of like processing of emotions and also that like sharing of emotions to them , like release them and kind of like allow them to be separate from , you know , everything else that they're holding in their bodies. So that that is , you know , a really big , big process. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And like you said , I mean , it really takes on a new form when you share it with others.
S3: And I think another huge piece of the poetic justice process or organization as well as this exhibit is being in community. And so the idea of being together and a lot of our US society , especially the carceral system , moves to this idea of isolation and individualism and what we do both inside and outside of the jails and the prisons and those spaces is really bring back , um , the community. So whether it's in this classroom or in this exhibit or listening to panelists who will speak , um , at the opening launch event , it's how are we in community with each other and really go back to the nature that we in community can actually provide. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And on that community , this exhibit , you know , it's traveled across the country. It started in Oklahoma. Now it's in California. I mean , what what has been the response from the different places that you've shared this work with ? Yeah.
S3: So , um , part of the team , um , conducted the Oklahoma viewing and there was so much good feedback about really just , hey , I've learned so much in this space , um , opening people's people's eyes up. And I love the quote , which actually came from one of the women we work with is once the public sees us , they can't unsee us. And so the idea of this movement , this isn't a one and done thing , because as long as there is mass incarceration for women , we still need to keep sharing these stories. So moving from Oklahoma , being able to learn just different lessons , how , um , the audience interacted and be able to add multiple modes to this California show. So what we've brought in this time is a lot of the multi-modality , a lot of the regional local aspects. Um , there is a branch in Tijuana , so we've also brought some of the border ideas of what happens when we think about incarceration , even across borders.
S1: You've talked about breaking away from these biases around women who are incarcerated. What else do you hope audiences will get out of this exhibit ? Samantha.
S4: Yeah , I , I often think that it's it's it's very easy to ignore incarceration. You know , you're not faced with these people. Uh , these people are quite literally taken out of our societies. Um , so , you know , the point of having these large scale photos and , and placing them in a public places is so that they can't be unseen , you know , once they are seen. And the whole purpose and structuring of this show is to kind of allow people to check their own biases. You know , we all walk through the world , um , from different backgrounds. We all , you know , walk through the world with different biases. But at the end of the day , you know , we're all human. And I think just bringing back a little bit of humanity to to people who who have been told , you know , by a system that we've set in place that , that they're not deserving of , of humanity and they are not deserving of being seen or being heard. And and they're kind of , you know , just ignored as , as a whole. So I think that that is is really important. And , you know , hopefully we're able to convey that with our show. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Enrica , voices on the inside. The opening is this weekend. Can you tell us about , you know , the opening. What can people expect and how can they find out more about it. Yes.
S4: Yes.
S3: So part of the opening event is we will also have a panelists. And our panelists include some formerly incarcerated women who have gone through the poetic justice curriculum and programming. And some of those same women will be featured in the exhibit through their , um , portraits or their words , their poetry , their voices. And so I think it just brings that additional element because we sort of distance ourselves from these issues. And. Till they're in our face. And I think there's something so profound about being able to see this almost larger than life image portrayed in such a wonderful way , juxtaposed with some of the statistics that are the realities of this systemic issue of mass incarceration for women. And then hear from this woman or series of women who have actually been on the inside , been able to come to reenter their spaces , their communities , their society , and be able to share the stories and to hear the team , the women who have been involved , like , yes , we want people to know that we are human. We want people to know that we are bigger than maybe the worst mistake of our life , or maybe that situation. We want people to know about the other overlapping issues that create these spaces , or traumatic incidents for women. So this opening event is also leave here and be able to share knowledge or combat some stereotypes , or just be more knowledgeable that this issue is not just for those incarcerated women.
S1: Again , voices on the inside. It opens this weekend. We'll have links to that on our website at KPBS. Org I've been speaking with Rekha Barton from the University of San Diego. Rekha , thanks so much for being here today.
S3: Thank you so much for having us.
S1: I've also been joined by Samantha Bhatia , an assistant program director with Poetic Justice. Samantha , thank you.
S4: Thank you so much for having us. We really appreciate it.
S1: When we come back , we hear about a new podcast from a familiar public radio voice.
S5: I wanted to kind of turn the lens inward and think about people's interior lives and big existential questions that all of us really have.
S1: That's just ahead on Midday Edition. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken , filling in for Jade Hindman. The voices we hear through our smartphones and radio often become a familiar part of our days. They help us get out of bed in the morning and help make our commutes just a little more enjoyable. One voice that's done that for millions of NPR listeners over the years is Rachel Martin. She's worked on public radio mainstays like Morning Edition and the Up First podcast. Rachel has a new podcast out called Wild Card with Rachel Martin. The podcast features striking interviews with a range of guests , but with a game of chance twist. KPBS host Jade Heineman spoke with Rachel Martin about the show.
S6: Your new podcast , Wild Card. I mean , it features interviews , but it's also an existential game show.
S5: And I wanted to kind of turn the lens inward and think about people's interior lives and big existential questions that all of us really have. To some degree or another. Right. And stuff about grief or experiences that shaped us as a child , or belief systems that help us make sense of the world. That stuff , though , can get heavy from time to time , and I like that I will swim there all day long in that space , but to kind of lighten it up a little bit , we thought , why not create a game around this like a conversational game ? And we it was a risk. But we've tried this out now , um , several different times with guests and it works really well. It's actually really liberating.
S6: All right , I like it.
S5: So it's like a big deck with all kinds of big questions that anyone is supposed to be able to to grapple with. Right ? But that's it. So when we're actually in the game , each round is comprised of questions. I would love a guest to answer , but I hold up three questions from the deck in front of them , and then they pick one , 2 or 3 randomly. And I love surrendering control that way , because then I'm genuinely surprised. And so often in the other jobs I've had in journalism. I wasn't surprised because I'm actually writing questions to elicit a certain response , because I have a plan for how the conversation is going to go , and it needs to go that way. And in this format , it just throws it all up in the air , you know ? And and I'm genuinely surprised by the answers that people give. And then I get to kind of go down the rabbit hole with them. And we don't know where the conversation is going to go. And that feels so refreshing.
S6:
S7: Yeah.
S5: And and too often I think we especially in interviews capital I , we don't have time. There are all kinds of constraints about why we can't. Someone will say something right , and you'll listen. And now I have the permission to like , seize onto that and go down that road. Whereas , you know , to be being like a slave to the clock , you know , you got a clock ticking down and you have to get out. You have to get out of your segment , you have to get out of your interview. Right. And , and I get to talk to folks for a long time and really settle into things and settle into subjects. And it's it's right where I want to be.
S6: That's that's great. I mean , you know , some of the conversations in this series are real and get into deep topics as you said. Here's a clip from Wild Cards first episode featuring comedian Jenny Slate.
S8: I think of it a lot as like at the beginning of our relationship , like I met him and then. A year later , we started to date and I couldn't stop the timing of falling in love with him. And it was right for both of us to fall in love. And that was totally right on. But while walking down that path , I was very aware that I was injured. Wow.
S6: Wow. So was it a challenge for you to walk this line between having a fun game show of chance while also holding these intimate conversations ? No.
S7:
S5: If I'm honest , it , um , the the game aspect of it. You know , I'm not like doing sound effects. Actually , I do do a sound effect at one point , but it's , it's they're mainly prompts , you know , their prompts. It is a game because there's a , there's an element of chance. There are a couple rules. Um , they can skip question a question. They can flip one on me. There is a prize at the end that I won't reveal. Um , but mainly these are just prompts for us to to talk about what it means to be human , you know , and , and challenges that all of us face. There's so much in our politics and in the world writ large that , um , that divides us along all kinds of lines. And so I really did want to create a space that felt more universal. Um , if I could be so bold about that. I mean , this this is about , um , this is not about issues. That is not about politics. It is it is not about , um , uh , big , big issues of the day. This is about people and how people walk through life. And hopefully listeners will hear that and hear themselves in those conversations and feel a little , a little less lonely in that. Yeah.
S9: Yeah. Well , you.
S6: Say this podcast came out of personal experiences that you had in recent years , as well as just burnout from news. Tell me a bit more about that. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. Um , it happens to all of us of a certain age. But , uh , my dad died unexpectedly a couple of years ago , and my mom had died many years ago now. But that feeling of , uh. Oh , it's just me looking over the precipice like there aren't these people anymore standing in between me and the other side of life , and and I just , I , I , I started wrestling with all kinds of big existential questions about about what we're supposed to do here , about the the finiteness of life , what happens after we die. Um , did the belief system I was raised with , did that still hold up for me now as an adult trying to parent kids ? So I was I was in these questions , stuck in them hard. And I , I was having these conversations with other people in my life , friends and family , and they were resonating with this stuff , too. You know , I think the the pandemic isolated us in a lot of ways , and we're still trying to heal those psychic wounds. And and I think I was just naturally drawn to this pivot and to create a conversational space that was that was satisfying the stuff that I was going through at the same time as hopefully being a beacon for other people. Yeah.
S9: Yeah. I mean , and what about.
S6:
S5: Yes. It's real. And God bless my friends and colleagues who are still there every day and on Morning Edition at all hours of the day and very , very early on , very little sleep. Because we need them. We need them. Yeah. Um , and I am not I am not advocating putting your head in the sand about anything , even though it's tempting. Uh , and I , to be honest , I did have to for a while. I did have to put my head in the sand just to just to recoup and come back on the other side. Yeah. And and , you know , when you're in news , you all , you all also learn how to compartmentalize emotionally because you just simply can't empathize with every single person you talk to about every single issue because you would collapse. Mhm. And so I had kept all this stuff inside and then it just all came out. So it was time to turn it over to someone else. And it was time to , to indulge my curiosity in another way and try to serve our audiences in another way. And so it it , you know , when you , you know , when it's time to move on with a thing. And it was time for me. Yeah.
S9: Yeah. Well , what do you think.
S6:
S5: Um , because because I do talk to a lot of people who have tuned out and , and we can't afford to do that. Like not to get too high and mighty about it , but they're there are very important things at stake. And we we need to stay informed. And this is where I get on my soapbox. You need to support your local public radio station. But but you do because , um , facts matter. Truth matters. It it can feel like it's hanging by a thread sometimes and you have to stay aware. But it is okay to go on a news reprieve. You know , don't sit there on your Twitter feed or your Instagram feed. Either you know or your Facebook feed. Don't like , look up , look up , look at your neighborhood. Look at your community. Look at the people next door to you. How are you affecting your corner of the world ? How are are you being a good citizen in your in your in your real life ? And so be aware. Don't don't be in denial about what's going on in the world , but don't swim in it to the point that you're drowning either. No one to pull up and then take stock of your own , your own corner and pay attention. And water that garden.
S1: That was Midday Edition host Jade Heinemann , speaking with Rachel Martin about her new podcast , Wild Card with Rachel Martin. It's out today wherever you get your podcasts. That's our show for today. Thanks for joining us. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hyneman. Have a great day , and we'll catch you next time.
