The Connection is in the Intersection with Simma Lieberman of the Everyday Conversations on Race Podcast

07/18/19 • 17 min

Simma Lieberman remembers bits and pieces from that iconic day in Washington, D.C. She was young, and faintly recalls Martin Luther King giving his world-famous speech, “I Have a Dream”. But what she remembers most about that day are the people. People from different families, different backgrounds, all united by the shared belief that equality is integral to a better life for all people. She knew then that she wanted to devote her life to this cause.

Starting her work in New York, Simma was first trained in facilitating dialogue between diverse cultural groups. Eventually she parlayed the knowledge she gained there into work as a “diversity and inclusion/culture change consultant”. In the time since, she has worked as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies and written several books on the topic.

Despite her decades of experience, Simma still remains curious. “The best thing for me is when I learn something I didn’t know,” Simma says of conversations with her pocast guests.

While Simma has always enjoyed the work she does to increase diversity and cultural understanding, she lamented the fact that she was not reaching a wider audience. Creating a podcast has given her the platform to reach listeners on a global level. It has also given her the chance to get to know local podcasters in her community, where she goes to meet up groups to stay up to date on the best practices in podcasting.

One of her strengths, she says of her work, is the gift of getting people to open up, which is key if you’re going to get two people to see eye to eye. “We’re not just one identity, but we’re so many different identities, and that’s really where we find a lot of the connections. And after we find the connections, it’s easier to talk about differences.”

Key Topics

Introducing Simma and her podcast. [00:46]
Reason for starting the podcast. [01:58]
Why she chose podcasting as a medium for the message. [02:53]
Challenges in producing a podcast. [04:58]
Interpersonal challenges that arise when doing a show like this. [06:16]
Simma’s favorite moments from the shows. [09:31]
Color of Change charity. [12:20]
Advice for potential podcasters. [14:30]

See the show notes at https://www.causepods.org/podcast/connection-intersection-with-simma-lieberman-everyday-conversations-race-podcast

Podcast Links
http://raceconvo.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raceconvos-podcast/id1416323393
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/simma-lieberman/raceconvo
https://simmalieberman.com/resources/podcasts/

Social Media
https://www.instagram.com/simma18/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/uncommondialogue/
https://twitter.com/theinclusionist?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Charity Link
https://colorofchange.org/

Thanks for listening!

Despite her decades of experience, Simma still remains curious. “The best thing for me is when I learn something I didn’t know,” Simma says of conversations with her pocast guests.

Key Topics

Introducing Simma and her podcast. [00:46]
Reason for starting the podcast. [01:58]
Why she chose podcasting as a medium for the message. [02:53]
Challenges in producing a podcast. [04:58]
Interpersonal challenges that arise when doing a show like this. [06:16]
Simma’s favorite moments from the shows. [09:31]
Color of Change charity. [12:20]
Advice for potential podcasters. [14:30]

See the show notes at https://www.causepods.org/podcast/connection-intersection-with-simma-lieberman-everyday-conversations-race-podcast

Social Media
https://www.instagram.com/simma18/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/uncommondialogue/
https://twitter.com/theinclusionist?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Charity Link
https://colorofchange.org/

Thanks for listening!

Previous Episode

The 9 Lives of Dr. Richard Shuster - The Daily Helping Podcast

One could say Dr. Richard Shuster has lived many lifetimes. A successful tech consultant in his 20’s, Richard thought he had it all – cool car, cool toys, vacations to Europe. He didn’t mind the fact that he made a lot of money and spent it on himself.

Richard might very well have grown into an even wealthier bachelor, living a comfortable life on his own terms. But all that changed the day he was in a car accident that nearly left him lifeless. Self-described as a near death experience, Richard says that in the mere three seconds he saw the end of his life approaching, the emotion he was overcome with was guilt. Guilt that his parents would be left without a son, and guilt for the fact that, despite growing a successful company, he had never sought much beyond that.

With the desire to make a humanitarian impact in mind, Richard forayed his IT work into internet safety, gaining a Master’s Degree in social work and eventually a Doctorate in clinical psychology. The Daily Helping Podcast was born along the way.

Encompassing not only the podcast but an entire movement, #mydailyhelping encourages listeners to upload and share their daily good deeds. Richard has even used the momentum from The Daily Helping to start a charity, Every Kid Rocks, aimed at supporting schools with the resources they need to provide speech, physical and occupational therapy to children who need it most.

Richard took this second chance at life as an opportunity to move from selfishness to selflessness, encouraging the spread of good deeds and the infectiousness of service to others.

Key Topics

Introducing Richard. [00:47]
Discussing the podcast and the life-changing cause for that. [01:14]
#mydailyhelping movement [06:13]
The science behind helping people. [06:25]
The relationship between death and guilt. [08:24]
Why a podcast? [10:13]
Ways in which having a podcast for the message has been beneficial. [12:28]
The supportive nature of the podcasting community. [15:59]
How Every Kid Rocks charity was borne from the podcast. [17:05]
The story of Richard’s son and how that inspired Every Kid Rocks. [18:31]
Advice for potential podcasters. [28:56]

Thanks for listening!

Next Episode

A Focus on Healthcare in Rural America with Beth O'Connor of The Rural Health Voice Podcast

In today’s episode, I sit down with Beth O’Connor, Executive Director of the Virginia Rural Health Association. She has a degree in Health Education and has worked diligently for the last 13 years to focus on healthcare in rural America. When talking about rural health there are many different aspects to consider, from how hospitals and clinics run, to getting transportation to people who need it, to the opioid crisis, and obesity the list is seemingly endless.

Starting a podcast wasn’t on Beth’s radar. In fact, she’d never really listened to podcasts. Once she started researching the platform as a marketing tool, she realized that she could spark conversation about this very important topic. So she applied for a grant, received seed money, and started her podcast thanks to the National Rural Health Association.

She now has over 12 episodes under her belt and has interviewed the keynote speakers from the Annual Education Conference hosted by the Virginia Rural Health Association. She has also interviewed state Senator Creigh Deeds and chatted about his efforts to improve mental health in rural Virginia.

Beth is dedicated to bringing a spotlight to the healthcare needs of small rural communities across America. She always has two questions for her podcast guests at the end of the episode, (1) What action can listeners take to effect change in their communities? (2) What do you think we should do to improve health and healthcare in rural America? These are questions that have no easy answer but with enough exposure maybe we will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Key Topics
● Introducing Beth. [00:49]
● Reason for her focus on healthcare in rural America [01:16]
● Why she started the podcast despite not being a podcast listener [02:18]
● Process for funding the podcast through a grant [03:42]
● Barriers to starting a podcast [04:25]
● Finding a sponsoring platform at Podcast Movement [05:34]
● How Beth finds guests for her podcast [06:43]
● The many aspects of rural health [07:38]
● Beth shares guests she has interviewed [10:10]
● Having startup funds is very important for a successful podcast launch [11:43]
● Which episodes should rural Virginia citizens check out? [12:35]
● What do you think about when picking guests or topics to keep it interesting? [13:40]
● How you can help make a difference [15:53]

Learn more at. https://www.causepods.org/podcast/focus-on-healthcare-in-rural-america-with-beth-oconnor-of-the-rural-health-voice-podcast

Link to Podcast:

https://www.blubrry.com/rural_health_voice/41842381/rhv-health-literacy/

https://podcasts.apple.com/dz/podcast/the-rural-health-voice/id1436519979?mt=2

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/VaRuralHealth/

https://twitter.com/varuralhealth

https://www.instagram.com/varuralhealth/

Charity Link:

https://vrha.org/

Thanks for listening!