Closing the Gap

Tania Roa and Adriana Maria Medina

1 Creator

There are a lot of gaps in society- the racial wealth gap, gender equality gap, education access gap, and more. To help close these gaps, best friends Colombian-American Tania Roa, climate justice advocate, and Mexican-American Adriana Maria Medina, avid protestor and volunteer, share stories of ways to take action for systemic change. Through these stories, we can all gain new perspectives and begin a journey towards collective healing, while imagining what a more equal and just future could look like. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

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Top 10 Closing the Gap Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Closing the Gap episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Closing the Gap 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 Closing the Gap episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Gente in Gentrification

Closing the Gap

12/27/22 • 32 min

Gentrification impacts communities around the world. It can lead to increased cost of living, displacement of long-term residents, and discriminatory behavior. We analyze gentrification trends in México City, Puerto Vallarta, and California and use them as examples of a larger issue. To allocate resources fairly, policies and practices should be created and implemented by local communities rather than foreign investors, who tend to prioritize profit over people's well-being. As travelers and as immigrants, we acknowledge that by us moving to new areas we influence the local culture, and we can do so in a way without uprooting the lives of those who were there before us. ("Gente" means "people" in Spanish)

At Closing the Gap we acknowledge that the above-mentioned places lie on Indigenous land.

Speak up for Iran:

Mohsen Shekari

Middle East Matters Action Items

Persian with Purpose Action Items

Resources:

Community Land & Investment Trusts Explained

Rent control groups: @housingjustice4all, @streetwatchla, @latenats, @oaklandtenatsunion

Definitions:

Gentrification - the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses

Digital Nomad - people who travel while working remotely using technology and the internet

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Community Building Against Oppression: Melanated Youth

Closing the Gap

11/22/22 • 23 min

Students Ahsha Jones and Chloe Serrano founded Melanated Youth, a BIPOC youth-led coalition that uplifts members of the community who need it most. The coalition provides resources and organizes demonstrations to end inequality on all fronts through mutual aids, protests, and discourse. Ahsha and Chloe are based in Orange County, California, but they plan to expand the coalition's impact across the nation. This action-led group relies on the support of fellow community members who volunteer, donate, or participate in Melanated Youth's events. Their anti-oppression efforts are "by the people, for the people."

Melanated Youth and Closing the Gap acknowledge that Orange County lies on unceded Tongva land.

Melanated Youth Resources:

Website

Social Media - Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Support Iranian Protests:

Middle East Matters Action Items

Definitions:

Decolonize - to free from the dominating influence of a colonizing power

AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander)

Femicide - an extreme form of gender-based violence where women are killed because they are female

Xenophobic - prejudice against people from other countries

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

The Struggle to Identify in the Latin Diaspora

Closing the Gap

09/16/22 • 32 min

People of Latin American descent can identify as Hispanic, Latino/a, Latinx, Latine, or Chicano/a/x. Others prefer to identify as Indigenous as a way to reclaim their roots. Others identify according to their nationality(ies), such as Colombian-American or Mexican-American, to speak out against terms that group multiple countries and cultures together. Identifying under multiple hierarchical systems, and according to two or more different cultures, can be confusing, but also powering. Many of these terms aren't perfect, but they all express the desire for members of the Latin diaspora to organize, mobilize, and advocate for their rights. When we learn about the history of each term, we grow appreciation and understanding for the struggle to find community and belonging.

Resources:

Raíces Verdes (featuring host Samara)
Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Representation in the Outdoors: Our Paper Trails

Closing the Gap

07/21/22 • 30 min

Meet Veronica Castillo and Miguel Venegas of Our Paper Trails. Four years ago, this power couple decided to transform their lifestyle and live in a van to reach their traveling and financial goals (they just paid off their student loans - woot woot!).

Joining the vanlife and nomadic communities changed how Vero & Miguel approach life choices, from what they purchase to how they become better allies. Even in the outdoors, representation, inclusivity, and diversity is important to ensure that everyone feels safe and welcome. Vero & Miguel are transparent about their struggles with vanlife, how the nomadic community only recently began embracing more diversity, and their undeterred dedication to get out on the road. Although it hasn't always been easy, Our Paper Trails proves we can all fulfill our dreams with the right amount of risk, effort, and support.

Follow Our Paper Trails:

Instagram

Resources:

Diversify Vanlife Website

Diversify Vanlife on Instagram

Definitions:

Nomadic - a community without fixed habitation made up of people who regularly move to another area

Minimalism - a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Allyship All Year Long: A Tribe Called Queer Founder, Sabine Maxine Lopez

Closing the Gap

06/28/22 • 22 min

Pride month is every month! Sabine Maxine Lopez, founder of A Tribe Called Queer, discusses how her Instagram page grew to a brand and now a nonprofit organization. This platform creates and shares resources for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and LGBTQIA+ (see definition below) communities including mental health services, book clubs, clothing swaps, legal advice, wellness events, and much more. As a small team, Sabine and Melba are limited in their reach and resource offerings. To grow its team and impact, A Tribe Called Queer needs funding, like so many other nonprofits, and that's where the power of community comes in. Support this incredible organization and their life-changing work today by giving them a follow, donating to their fundraiser, and getting involved (links below!).

A Tribe Called Queer Links:

Partner Links:

Definitions:

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

The Theory of Intersectionality

Closing the Gap

06/02/22 • 24 min

American scholar and civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term "intersectionality" in 1989 as a way to describe what Black women are subjected to. Recently, this theory has received mainstream attention as people from other marginalized communities, from Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) and people who identify as LGBTQ+, are using it to describe what they experience. In this episode, we discuss why we appreciate this term and often use it to discuss social justice issues, how it has helped us see the world differently, and its contribution to our own lives.

Resources:

Kimberlé Crenshaw: The urgency of intersectionality

Follow Kimberlé on Instagram

Organizations to support:

Stop Asian Hate

Black Lives Matter

The Trevor Project (for LGBTQ+ mental health)

Voto Latino

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Warren Dickson On Hip Hop & Environmental Education

Closing the Gap

04/21/22 • 24 min

Meet Warren "Dzign" Dickson, hip hop artist from Watts, California who combines his love for music, community, and the environment through education and advocacy. Warren highlights the connections between different social causes, specifically, racial justice, wildlife conservation, and environmental protection, to emphasize the need for all of us to join together to create change. As someone who has witnessed local wildlife struggle to adapt to urban areas, and communities of color lack the resources they need to survive and thrive, Warren knows firsthand the urgency of addressing environmental and social causes simultaneously. Through his music, Warren uses hip hop culture as a way to relate to others while spreading awareness for all of the above.

Warren's Work:

3rd Rock Hip Hop

3rd Rock Hip Hop's Instagram

If I Was Wild (Music Video)

Community Partners:

Sisters of Watts

Still Waters Network

Environmental Partners:

Sierra Club

National Wildlife Federation

Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

The Impacts of War & the Refugee Crisis

Closing the Gap

03/31/22 • 19 min

In light of Russia's attack on Ukraine, Tania & Adriana discuss the impacts war has on citizens. Ukraine is gaining a lot of international attention, and while we are glad the media and governments are responding to this attack, we can't help but question why this situation is receiving such rapid responses. Refugees in other countries, including Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan, have also needed international help for years, and have yet to receive the same amount of aid as Ukrainians did in a matter of days. By addressing these unfair international policies, and by advocating for all people forced to flee their homes, we hope to spread compassion and understanding.

Organizations to support:

Choose Love

Refugees International

Refuge Point

International Refugee Assistance Project

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Climate Justice is Social Justice: Climate Operation

Closing the Gap

02/09/23 • 30 min

Meet our first international guest: Heizal Patricia Nagginda of Uganda. Heizal founded Climate Operation to create a place where all people can learn about the climate crisis, how it impacts them, and what they can do to address it. Climate Operation began as a regional hub and is now an international space that has reached thousands of people. To promote creativity and accessibility, Climate Operation uses different mediums to get the message across, including tool kits and comic books. In all of her work, Heizal highlights the connections between climate and social justice, such as the effects weather extremes have on people who contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions, yet are feeling the worst impacts of climate change.

Climate Operation:

Website

Climate Education Directory

11th Hour Climate Education Comic Book

Follow Climate Operation on Instagram

Other Resources:

Tania’s article on climate migration

Tania & Heizal’s chat on Indigenous voices in conservation

How to take climate action venn diagram

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Identifying as a Minority in the U.S.

Closing the Gap

03/23/23 • 29 min

It's our last episode of Season 1! Tania & Adriana take time to reflect on the past season and celebrate the beautiful, progress-oriented community we've all built - that includes you! We then discuss something very close to our hearts: what it's like to live in the United States when you lack certain powers or privileges, and when you possess others. The mixed emotions including frustration, despair, and the urge to take action are ones many people experience. By sharing our perspectives, we hope to inspire you to share your story. It's time for us minorities, or marginalized/underrepresented people, to take up space and show up for our communities.

Definitions: Reparations - making amends through financial compensation or other means to try to right wrongs

Organizations to support:

Regional-Based Organizations

⁠Little Miss Flint

Trans Defense Fund Los Angeles

National-Based Organizations

United We Dream

Indigenous Peoples Movement

Movement for Black Lives

Dear Asian Youth

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)