Almost There
Emerson Collective
1 Listener
All episodes
Best episodes
Seasons
Top 10 Almost There Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Almost There episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Almost There for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Almost There episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
11/28/23 • 34 min
When Hurricane Katrina barreled toward her home stretch of the Gulf Coast, Sara Zewde had not yet decided what she wanted to do professionally. But the aftermath of the storm inspired her to work across ecology, infrastructure, and culture as a landscape architect. Today, she runs Studio Zewde, a landscape-architecture practice based in New York City, and is an assistant professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. As one of just a few Black female landscape architects, she is dedicated to building culturally-responsive spaces where people experience a sense of belonging. “People walk around Central Park, around landscapes, around sidewalks and street corners, and don’t realize they are living in somebody’s design,” she says. “Every single tree, every single path, all the topography – it’s a complete work of fiction.”
In this episode, Sara tells Dwayne about her interest in Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture in the U.S. and the designer of New York’s Central Park, who, she learned, traveled the American South as a journalist and documented the horrors of slavery there – an experience that came to fundamentally shape his approach to park design.
For more on the work of our guest, Sara Zewde: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/sara-zewde
To learn more about our show and read the transcript of this episode: emersoncollective.com/almost-there.
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Reginald Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
1 Listener
09/19/23 • 31 min
Shari Davis first began dreaming about how to empower young people as a teenager, while serving on the Mayor's Youth Council in Boston. In 2014, the Mayor of Boston asked Shari to launch the country's first youth-focused “participatory budgeting” effort—a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. Today, Shari co-leads the Participatory Budgeting Project, which has helped more than 700,000 people in over 30 cities directly decide how to spend $400 million in public funds. The process has led to new art walls, park renovations, student centers, and imaginative public safety efforts.
In this episode, Shari and Dwayne talk about the key steps in the participatory budgeting process; real-world examples of participatory budgeting in action; and what the Black martial arts tradition taught Shari about how democracy works. Plus, Shari and Dwayne bond over Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Sower.
For more on the work of our guest, Shari Davis: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/shari-davis
To learn more about our show and read the transcript of this episode: emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Reginald Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We’re “Almost There”
Almost There
06/06/23 • 6 min
On Almost There, a new podcast from Emerson Collective, poet and lawyer Dwayne Betts talks to creative problem solvers—architects, doctors, writers, voyagers, organizers, artists—whose ideas could remake our world. In each episode, we’ll learn about the unpredictable journeys that have led them to the big questions driving their work: How do we keep our families and communities healthy? How do we build a democracy that works for everyone? How can we stay alert to the beauty around us, and harness human ingenuity to protect our planet? Questions this big don't have easy answers, but the conversations on Almost There will point us to the surprising paths forward.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/11/23 • 32 min
Sailing around the world is very, very hard. But sailing around the world without the help of modern navigation technology? Shouldn’t that be impossible? Not for Lehua Kamalu, who has captained her way across our great oceans as the Voyaging Director for the Polynesian Voyaging Society, an organization based in Hawaii that perpetuates traditional Polynesian voyaging and the spirit of exploration. Lehua travels the ocean in Hōkūle’a, a double-hulled canoe designed to replicate ancient Polynesian voyaging vessels, powered only by traditional wayfinding methods that rely on the natural elements—the sun, stars, and ocean wildlife.
In this episode, Lehua tells Dwayne about the valuable leadership lessons she’s learned from captaining her team across thousands of miles of ocean; what she has realized about the beauty of the natural world; and how we should think about humanity’s place on this planet. Plus, she helps coach Dwayne through his fear of the ocean.
Lehua is currently leading her most important voyage yet—a 4-year, 43,000-mile voyage around the Pacific. Follow her journey: https://hokulea.com/moananuiakea/
To learn more about Almost There and to read the transcript of this episode: https://www.emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
Subscribe to the Emerson Collective Fellows newsletter: http://www.emersoncollective.com/fellows-newsletter
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/22/23 • 32 min
Work isn’t just the place where we work. It’s also the place where we meet new people who are different from us, which is why Elise Smith thinks the office is the perfect place to start building a more empathetic world. She is the co-founder and CEO of Praxis Labs, an immersive learning startup that is reimagining diversity, equity, and inclusion training for corporate America. Using virtual reality, workers take on new perspectives, experiencing incidents of bias or discrimination from multiple points of view, and get to actually practice responding. The goal: to build empathy and spark behavior change.
In this episode, Elise talks to Dwayne about what it is like to raise venture funding as a young, Black founder; the early virtual reality experiences that changed her life; and the surprising similarities between poetry and virtual reality.
For more on out guest, Elise Smith: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/elise-smith
To learn more about Almost There and to read the transcript of this episode: https://www.emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
Subscribe to the Emerson Collective Fellows newsletter: http://www.emersoncollective.com/fellows-newsletter
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/20/23 • 34 min
Before Michael Murphy became an architect, his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. For the next eighteen months, as his father was treated, they worked together to restore their old family home. When the house was completed, his father’s cancer was in remission, and he told Michael that the project saved his life.
Today, as the founder of MASS Design Group and lead designer on projects like the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Butaro Hospital in Rwanda, Michael is committed to making buildings that can heal, reshaping our understanding of what architecture can do for our health and for the planet. As Michael says, “If architecture can change our health and can keep us alive, it has to be a right.”
In this episode, Dwayne and Michael discuss the perverse architecture of prisons and hospitals; their collaboration designing the first-of-its-kind “Freedom Library” bookshelf for prison dormitories; and the lasting impact of the great Dr. Paul Farmer, who co-founded Partners in Health, on Michael’s design thinking.
For more on the work of our guest, Michael Murphy: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/michael-murphy
To learn more about Almost There and to read the transcript of this episode: https://www.emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
Subscribe to the Emerson Collective Fellows newsletter: http://www.emersoncollective.com/fellows-newsletter
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/03/23 • 33 min
Sheila Davis began her career as a nurse working on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Boston. Today, lessons from that experience guide her work as the CEO of Partners In Health, the global health nonprofit with nearly 20,000 people, providing care across 11 countries, from Rwanda to Haiti. Building on the legacy of PIH founder and Sheila’s longtime friend Dr. Paul Farmer, who died unexpectedly in 2022, Sheila and her team of doctors, nurses, clinicians, and administrators are working to establish medical centers, educate future generations of health care workers, and directly provide care to those who need it most. “We are fighting for global health equity, boldly and unapologetically,” she says.
In this episode, Sheila talks to Dwayne about the lessons she carries from her time as a nurse into her leadership role at Partners in Health; why joy and beauty are so important to the healing process; and why you should always listen to your driver when you arrive in a foreign country.
For more on the work of our guest, Sheila Davis: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/sheila-davis
To learn more about our show and read the transcript of this episode: emersoncollective.com/almost-there.
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Reginald Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/25/23 • 34 min
Robert Stewart defended his doctoral dissertation almost 11 years to the day after he walked out of prison. Today, as a sociological criminologist at the University of Maryland, he researches the experiences and beliefs of people who have also been through the criminal legal system. Asking important questions about civic inclusion, Robert has researched the startling impact of criminal records on college admissions, and today is working to understand the political beliefs of the 4.6 million Americans who are barred from voting due to a felony conviction. “We have to rethink the labels that we apply to people,” Rob says. “We have to rethink how we reduce people from infinitely complex human beings with views and experiences and likes and dislikes to that one event that happened in their life.”
In this conversation, Dwayne and Rob talk about their own experiences with the prison system; what it feels like to carry the label of “felon” through life; and what we sacrifice as a society when we punish people by taking away their right to vote.
For more on the work of our guest, Rob Stewart: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/robert-stewart
To learn more about Almost There and to read the transcript of this episode: https://www.emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
Subscribe to the Emerson Collective Fellows newsletter: http://www.emersoncollective.com/fellows-newsletter
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/21/23 • 19 min
Each year, more than 200,000 young people are held in hundreds of juvenile-detention centers across the U.S., many of which do not provide a quality education to the students in their care. David Domenici is working to change that. He co-founded the Maya Angelou Schools, a successful network of alternative schools in Washington, D.C. that includes the Maya Angelou Academy, located inside Washington’s juvenile-correctional facility. In 2011, he founded BreakFree Education, which works closely with teachers and incarcerated students to advocate for policy change and advise prison educational programs. “By ensuring young people in prison receive the education they deserve, we can help restore their humanity and dignity, and positively influence the institutions that hold them captive,” David says.
In this episode, David tells Dwayne about transforming the notorious Oak Hill juvenile facility into the Maya Angelou Academy; the books that have changed the lives of his students; and why it’s so important to see all young people – in and out of prison – as students first. Plus, Dwayne reads an excerpt of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk.
For more on the work of our guest, David Domenici: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/david-domenici
To learn more about our show and read the transcript of this episode: emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Reginald Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/12/23 • 31 min
You can’t change what you can’t see. And good data, Amy Bach believes, is one of the keys to seeing what’s not working in our criminal justice system. She is the founder of Measures for Justice, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization developing data tools to help both community advocates and law enforcement reshape how the criminal justice system works. Amy believes that data trends from a local criminal justice system – like the racial disparities in diversions for felony convictions, for instance – can become tools to help communities advocate for real change, and can, at the same time, be a way for prosecutors to demonstrate a commitment to reform. “When we can see where things go wrong, we can work to make them right,” Amy says.
In this episode, Amy and Dwayne talk about Commons, a new criminal justice data platform; what’s possible when data is used to start difficult, community-driven conversations about reform; and why data can ultimately only ever tell part of the story. Plus, Dwayne reads a Langston Hughes poem to Amy.
For more on the work of our guest, Amy Bach:
To learn more about our show and read the transcript of this episode: emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Reginald Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller.
Email us at [email protected].
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Almost There have?
Almost There currently has 21 episodes available.
What topics does Almost There cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture and Podcasts.
What is the average episode length on Almost There?
The average episode length on Almost There is 32 minutes.
How often are episodes of Almost There released?
Episodes of Almost There are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Almost There?
The first episode of Almost There was released on Jun 6, 2023.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ