“Look at you, you’re beautiful”: Racism, self-acceptance, and the powerful bonds between women with Ritika Pillai

My Act One Finale: A power ballad for vanishing words and a meditative reminder that “words will always retain their power”

I am wrapping up season one of Our Elphaba Era with my very own power ballad finale: a poetic protest and meditative celebration of the power of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Join me in voicing and amplifying the words, ideas, and identities which are being erased, censored, restricted, and banned. In an Elphaba spirit, join me in this act of resistance in support of the marginalised and oppressed because “no one should be scorned or laughed at or looked down upon or told to keep quiet”. Like Elphaba challenges us, we can’t just sit here in silence because our existence matters.  Thank you for joining me in season one of this feminist-rights-based podcast inspired by Elphaba. Season two will start up in early autumn, just in time for the second film, Wicked: For Good!  Searching for an easy, no cost way to support the podcast and use your voice for good like Elphaba? Simply leave a nice rating and review wherever you listen to the podcast! Follow the podcast @OurElphabaEra on Instagram and Threads. Or you can get in touch w/ Michelle at ourelphabaera@gmail.com [ourelphabaera@gmail.com]  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera [https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera] If you’re a fan of this podcast and want to show support with even just a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee, that would mean the world. Truly anything helps! You can help me continue peeling back the curtain by buying a virtual coffee (or some green elixir or whatever kind of swankified drink you prefer in the land of Oz). They’re never gonna bring us down babes. It’s time to smash some patriarchy and defy some gravity. CIVICUS Monitor — https://monitor.civicus.org/watchlist-march-2025/ [https://monitor.civicus.org/watchlist-march-2025/]  “Here are all the ways people are disappearing from government websites” -- NPR - By Huo Jingnan, Quil Lawrence —  https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5317567/federal-websites-lgbtq-diversity-erased [https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5317567/federal-websites-lgbtq-diversity-erased]  New York Times investigation — https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/07/us/trump-federal-agencies-websites-words-dei.html [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/07/us/trump-federal-agencies-websites-words-dei.html]  Feminist Instagram account — https://www.instagram.com/feminist/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/feminist/?hl=en]  Mental Health toolkit — feminists.co/mental-health-help [http://feminists.co/mental-health-help]

“Look at you, you’re beautiful”: Racism, self-acceptance, and the powerful bonds between women with Ritika Pillai

Join me for a special Galentine’s episode with Ritika Pillai (she/her), a human rights advisor and legal expert I had the wonderful opportunity to study with and befriend during our LL.M. course at the Irish Centre for Human Rights. We talk about the beauty and power of female friendship and the supportive bonds between women, and how the people in our lives shape us for good. Ri dives into her experience of racism in India, her journey of self-acceptance, learning to love her voice, identity, and being in her own skin, becoming the woman she is today because of her time in Ireland.    Searching for an easy, no cost way to support the podcast and use your voice for good like Elphaba? Simply leave a nice rating and review wherever you listen to the podcast! Follow the podcast @OurElphabaEra on Instagram and Threads. Or you can get in touch w/ Michelle atourelphabaera@gmail.com [ourelphabaera@gmail.com]  Buy Me a Coffee:https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera [https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera] If you’re a fan of this podcast and want to show support with even just a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee, that would mean the world. Truly anything helps! You can help me continue peeling back the curtain by buying a virtual coffee (or some green elixir or whatever kind of swankified drink you prefer in the land of Oz). They’re never gonna bring us down babes. It’s time to smash some patriarchy and defy some gravity.

Holding space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity and the black feminist civil rights activists who came before us

I’m devoting a special episode to hold space for the Defying Gravity scene in the Wicked film. Journey with me in exploring why it’s so powerful, weaving in some wisdom from the magnificent black feminist civil rights activists Audre Lorde and Maya Angelou to inspire us to see our differences as forces for social change & seek a world in which we can all flourish and rise. Searching for an easy, no cost way to support the podcast and use your voice for good like Elphaba? Simply leave a nice rating and review wherever you listen to the podcast! Follow the podcast @OurElphabaEra on Instagram and Threads. Or you can get in touch w/ Michelle at ourelphabaera@gmail.com [ourelphabaera@gmail.com]  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera [https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera] If you’re a fan of this podcast and want to show support with even just a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee, that would mean the world. Truly anything helps! You can help me continue peeling back the curtain by buying a virtual coffee (or some green elixir or whatever kind of swankified drink you prefer in the land of Oz). They’re never gonna bring us down babes. It’s time to smash some patriarchy and defy some gravity. Links to creators and creative work mentioned: Audre Lorde — “The Master’s Tools will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” — https://collectiveliberation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Lorde_The_Masters_Tools.pdf [https://collectiveliberation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Lorde_The_Masters_Tools.pdf]  Maya Angelou — “And Still I Rise” — https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise]  …and a brilliant live performance by Maya Angelou of this poem — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM_GnJbOM [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM_GnJbOM]  The Holistic Psychologist (I misspoke in saying therapist in the episode) — https://www.instagram.com/the.holistic.psychologist/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/the.holistic.psychologist/?hl=en]

Wake up and Arise: the power of feeling deeply, keeping our hope, and strategic resistance in the fight for justice

Those times when life truly humbles us, when the days feel dark, when circumstances make us feel like everything is falling apart — those are the best times for a deep awakening. I’m shining some light on: how at its core Wicked is about a fight for human rights and justice, how the wizard resembles the corrupt politicians of our world, and how Elphaba teaches us to be strategic in our resistance. In this episode I open up about what it’s looked like for me to rise up from my dark days.  Searching for an easy, no cost way to support the podcast and use your voice for good like Elphaba? Simply leave a nice rating and review wherever you listen to the podcast! Follow the podcast @OurElphabaEra on Instagram and Twitter. Or you can get in touch w/ Michelle at ourelphabaera@gmail.com [ourelphabaera@gmail.com]  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera [https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera] If you’re a fan of this podcast and want to show support with even just a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee, that would mean the world. Truly anything helps! You can help me continue peeling back the curtain by buying a virtual coffee (or some green elixir or whatever kind of swankified drink you prefer in the land of Oz). They’re never gonna bring us down babes. It’s time to smash some patriarchy and defy some gravity.

Challenging perceptions of villainy and radical retelling of stories with Rena Bryson

Just like Wicked is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, giving more substance, depth, and nuance to the characters of Glinda and the Wicked Witch, writer and theatre artist Rena Bryson (she/her) has created a new play Ruffled Feathers, a radical retelling of the Children of Lir. Why has it always been about Lir? Highlighting voices in Ireland who have traditionally not had their stories heard (particularly w/ issues of women & queers), Eva's Echo wanted to give full lives and tell the stories of the three sisters in this Irish mythology - Eva, Aoife, & Ailbhe. The play centers around their relationships with each other and how each one tries to survive the patriarchy. Is it possible? And how can we live joyful, delicious lives in the midst of it? Get tickets now for Eva’s Echo Theatre’s last production Ruffled Feathers at the Mick Lally Theatre the 22nd and 23rd November 2024 — https://www.druid.ie/the-mick-lally-theatre/whats-on/ruffled-feathers [https://www.druid.ie/the-mick-lally-theatre/whats-on/ruffled-feathers] Connect with this week’s guest @renabryson and @evasecho on Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook. Searching for an easy, no cost way to support the podcast and use your voice for good like Elphaba? Simply leave a nice rating and review wherever you listen to the podcast! Follow the podcast @OurElphabaEra on Instagram and Twitter. Or you can get in touch w/ Michelle at ourelphabaera@gmail.com [ourelphabaera@gmail.com]  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera [https://buymeacoffee.com/ourelphabaera] If you’re a fan of this podcast and want to show support with even just a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee, that would mean the world. Truly anything helps! You can help me continue peeling back the curtain by buying a virtual coffee (or some green elixir or whatever kind of swankified drink you prefer in the land of Oz). They’re never gonna bring us down babes. It’s time to smash some patriarchy and defy some gravity.