The Seed Field

Five librarians discuss questions of democracy, censorship, libraries, and books. The panelists—Antioch’s Jen Sturge and Miranda Doyle, incoming AASL President Becky Calzada, 2023 Maryland School Librarian of the Year Sheri Anita Massey, and U of Baltimore librarian Allison Jennings-Roche—discuss how librarians can best serve students in the current political reality, the duty to present a wide variety a viewpoints, and best practices in resisting attempts to destroy public libraries entirely. “This is actually the first time that it's been criminalized for librarians and library workers to do their jobs,” says Jennings-Roche. “This is the first time we have ever been under threat of going to jail for providing access to materials.” ––– To learn more about this event and the larger Antioch Works for Democracy initiative, visit the Antioch Works for Democracy libguide [https://libguides.antioch.edu/c.php?g=1392111&p=10429077]. You can also watch a full-length video recording of the event [https://youtu.be/SFTPojKP3V4?si=8aRmNT33QSfW5KuW] on our YouTube channel. If you enjoyed this conversation, you may want to listen to our interview with Jen Sturge and Christie Kaaland, “S6 E10: Facing Book Bans and Budget Pressure, School Librarians Show Their Importance” [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podcast/s6-e10-facing-book-bans-and-budget-pressure-school-librarians-show-their-importance/] This panel discussion was recorded as part of the Antioch Works for Democracy speaker series on September 24, 2024 via Zoom. It was released on December 4, 2024.  The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University. Guest Host: Nastasia Green Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Interns: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Grace Kurfman, Dani LaPointe, Liza Wisner, Natalie Obando, and Diana Dinerman.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Amelia Bryan, Adrienne Applegate, Jamila Gaskin, Harold Hale, Margaret Morgan, Laurien Alexandre, and Melinda Garland. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].

For both Judy Richardson and David Goodman, 1964 was a pivotal year. That year, Judy moved to Mississippi to help organize “Freedom Summer,” the famous drive to register Black voters in the heart of the Jim Crow South—work that led her to a career as a civil rights-focused activist, filmmaker, and educator. Meanwhile, 1964 touched David’s life in a more tragic way: during a trip to Mississippi, his brother Andrew and two fellow civil rights activists were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. David has spent much of the intervening decades working to honor his brother’s memory and fulfill American democracy’s promise through the Andrew Goodman Foundation. In this conversation, moderated by Janet Dewart Bell, Judy and David talk about their experiences, their decades of activist work since, and the lessons that today’s activists can draw on. As the U.S. grapples with the outcome of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election and what this will mean for civil rights and democracy, this conversation offers hard-won wisdom—and reasons for hope. – – – To learn more about this event and the larger Antioch Works for Democracy initiative, visit the Antioch Works for Democracy libguide [https://libguides.antioch.edu/c.php?g=1392111&p=10432860]. You can also watch a full-length video recording of the event [https://youtu.be/-fFjRqAUe88?si=eDV9nqJjDk_gauLl] on our YouTube channel. This panel discussion was recorded as part of the Antioch Works for Democracy speaker series on October 21, 2024 via Zoom. It was released on November 15, 2024.  The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Interns: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Grace Kurfman, Dani LaPointe, Liza Wisner, Taiwana Shambley, Natalie Obando, and Diana Dinerman.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Amelia Bryan, Adrienne Applegate, Jamila Gaskin, Harold Hale, Margaret Morgan, Laurien Alexandre, and Melinda Garland. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].

Black women have long stood at the crossroads of democracy and liberation. Their voices, advocacy, and resilience have driven progress toward equity and justice, yet the full acknowledgment of their contributions remains elusive. In this wide-ranging conversation, three formidable leaders—Judge Ashleigh Parker, Judge Faye R. Chess, and Cassandra Stokes—come together to share their experiences and wisdom in a conversation moderated by Stephanie Helms Pickett, Antioch’s Vice Chancellor for Equity, Belonging, and Culture. They discuss the challenges and rewards of fighting for our democracy despite facing stereotypes, patriarchy, misogyny, and misogynoir. **** To learn more about this event and the larger Antioch Works for Democracy initiative, visit the Antioch Works for Democracy libguide [https://libguides.antioch.edu/c.php?g=1392111&p=10523852]. You can also watch a full-length video recording of the event [https://youtu.be/7zJIF8NJlkM?si=vqPgVs43piyJIGEN] on our YouTube channel. Visit Antioch’s university news website, Common Thread, to read our interview with Stephanie Helms Pickett [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/interview-stephanie-helms-pickett/]. We invite you to listen to some of our previous conversations with Black leaders at Antioch:  * S5 E4: Centuries of Oppression Built the Racial Wealth Gap. Can Black Entrepreneurs Heal It? [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podcast/s5-e4-centuries-of-oppression-built-the-racial-wealth-gap-can-black-entrepreneurs-heal-it/] * S3 E5: We Need to Face Racism. Womanism Offers a Path Towards Healing. [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podcast/s3e5-we-need-to-face-racism-womanism-offers-a-path-towards-healing/] * S6 E7: School Counselors Play a Vital Role, Schools Need to Let Them Do Their Jobs [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podcast/s6-e7-school-counselors-play-a-vital-role/] This panel discussion was recorded as part of the Antioch Works for Democracy speaker series on September 17, 2024 via Zoom. It was released on October 23, 2024. The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor and Guest Host: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Interns: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Grace Kurfman, Dani LaPointe, Liza Wisner, Taiwana Shambley, Natalie Obando, and Diana Dinerman.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Amelia Bryan, Adrienne Applegate, Jamila Gaskin, Harold Hale, Margaret Morgan, Laurien Alexandre, and Melinda Garland. To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity]. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].

How do we make art in times of oppression? Do artists have a responsibility to explore questions of democracy, censorship, and human rights? In this conversation, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Viet Thanh Nguyen talks with poet and Antioch faculty member Cathy Linh Che about their experiences of democracy as Vietnamese American immigrant writers whose work engages vistas of American democracy amidst the legacy and representations of the Vietnam War. Listen to this edited version of their live conversation in the Antioch Works for Democracy speaker series to hear their ideas about immigrant identities, the after-effects of war, and the role of artists and writers inside of our societies. ——— To learn more about this event and the larger Antioch Works for Democracy initiative, visit the Antioch Works for Democracy libguide [https://libguides.antioch.edu/c.php?g=1392111&p=10506707]. You can also watch a full-length video recording of the event [https://youtu.be/WPvmrTaCSjI?si=ffWEfj27IbH1QxCS] on our Youtube channel. Visit Antioch’s website to learn more about the MFA in Creative Writing [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/creative-writing-communication/creative-writing-mfa/] program that Cathy Linh Che teaches in.  To hear more voices from the Antioch MFA, you can listen to our roundup episode, Big Idea: How Creative Writers Work [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podcast/big-idea-how-creative-writers-work/], and our interview with MFA Chair Lisa Locascio Nighthawk, S5 E9: Creative Writing Offers a Chance to Take Yourself Seriously [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podcast/s5-e9-creative-writing-offers-a-chance-to-take-yourself-seriously/]. We invite you to read the books mentioned in this episode, including An Asian American A to Z: A Children's Guide to Our History [https://bookshop.org/p/books/an-asian-american-a-to-z-a-children-s-guide-to-our-history-cathy-linh-che/18675215?ean=9781642599459] and Split [https://bookshop.org/p/books/split-cathy-linh-che/7771771?ean=9781938584053] by Cathy Linh and The Sympathizer: A Novel [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-sympathizer-a-novel-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction-viet-thanh-nguyen/10875589?ean=9780802124944] and A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial [https://bookshop.org/p/books/man-of-two-faces/19729620?ean=9780802160508] by Viet Thanh Nguyen. This conversation between Viet Thanh Nguyen and Cathy Linh Che was recorded as part of the Antioch Works for Democracy speaker series on September 5, 2024 via Zoom. It was released on October 9, 2024. The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Interns: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Grace Kurfman, Dani LaPointe, Liza Wisner, Taiwana Shambley, Natalie Obando, and Diana Dinerman.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Amelia Bryan, Adrienne Applegate, Jamila Gaskin, Harold Hale, Margaret Morgan, Laurien Alexandre, and Melinda Garland. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].

As we face this century’s challenges—from climate change to democratic backsliding to multinational cooperation—we need new models of leadership. That’s what Antioch alum, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta says. And he should know. He was one of the leaders of Timor-Leste’s long effort to win freedom from colonization and the right to democratically elect its own government. In this wide-ranging conversation with Abigail Abrash Walton, the Chair of Antioch’s Department of Environmental Studies, Ramos-Horta discusses his country’s still-fragile democracy, the vulnerability of island nations in a time of climate change, the activist tactics he and his countrymen used to gain their freedom, and the need for a new generation of leaders on the world stage. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Visit Antioch’s website to learn more about the Individual Master of Arts [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/education/master-of-arts-humanities/] program that Ramos-Horta graduated from. You can also find the program pages for the MS in Environmental Studies [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/environment-sustainability/environmental-studies-ms/], the PhD in Environmental Studies [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/environment-sustainability/environmental-studies-phd/] that Abigail Abrash Walton oversees as chair. To learn more about this event and the larger Antioch Works for Democracy initiative, visit the Antioch Works for Democracy libguide [https://libguides.antioch.edu/c.php?g=1392111&p=10325674]. Listen to our Seed Field Podcast interview with Abigail Abrash Walton in S6 E6: Can We Bring Resilience, Innovation, and Joy to the Climate Crisis? [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podcast/can-we-bring-resilience-innovation-and-joy-to-the-climate-crisis/] Read the profile of José Ramos-Horta that ran as the cover story of the 2021 Antioch Alumni Magazine: “A Champion for Peace.” [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/magazine/a-champion-for-peace/] This conversation between José President Ramos-Horta and Abigail Abrash Walton was recorded as part of the Environmental Justice and Democracy Fall 2024 Colloquia Series and Antioch Works for Democracy on September 6, 2024 via Zoom. It was released on September 25, 2024.  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Interns: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Grace Kurfman, Dani LaPointe, Liza Wisner, Taiwana Shambley, Natalie Obando, and Diana Dinerman.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Amelia Bryan, Adrienne Applegate, Jamila Gaskin, Harold Hale, Margaret Morgan, Laurien Alexandre, and Melinda Garland. To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org/]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity]. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].