Liberation Now Podcast

About Liberation Now Podcast

Liberation Now is a podcast about research, practice and activism around healing and liberation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. We share inspirational content and stories to provide hope and possibilities for a more liberated future.

Publisher

Liberation Lab: University of Illinois

Category

health & fitness · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Dec 2020

Latest episode

31 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   31 Jul 2026

   Liberation Now EP 21: Decolonial Psychology: Implications for Research and Therapy

   In this episode, Helen Neville and Radia DeLuna speak with Dr. Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas and Dr. Hector Y. Adames about decolonizing psychology and psychotherapy. Dr. Chavez-Dueñas and Dr. Adames share their insights regarding liberation and decolonization as constant, sometimes painful, journeys and their critical roles in psychology. Listen as we examine the transformative power of unlearning and liberating our minds, and imagine what becomes possible when we embrace liberation psychology in our psychological practice, scientific inquiry, and everyday lives. ABOUT THE GUESTS Dr. Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas is a Full Professor at The Chicago School, College of Professional Psychology where she serves as the faculty coordinator for the concentration in Latinx Mental Health in the Counseling Psychology Department. She is the co-founder and co-director of the IC-RACE Lab. Her scholarship examines colorism, racism, immigration, and culturally grounded mental health practices in Latinx communities, with a focus on healing from ethnoracial trauma and advancing decolonial approaches to psychology. She has authored and co-authored several influential books and numerous articles on Latinx mental health and social justice in psychology and earned several awards from the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Latinx Psychological Association (NLPA) the National Multicultural Conference Summit. Dr. Hector Y. Adames is a nationally recognized leader in decolonial and liberation psychology. As a Full Professor at The Chicago School, College of Professional Psychology, he co-founded and co-directs the IC-RACE Lab, driving research on ethics, racism, racial trauma, and culturally responsive psychotherapy for Communities of Color. Dr. Adames has authored or co-authored eight influential books and numerous articles, advancing innovative approaches within psychology designed to support Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color. His work has earned prestigious honors from the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race (APA Division 45), the National Latinx Psychological Association (NLPA), and the American Psychological Association for his commitment to human rights and racial justice through research, service, and mentorship. SELECTED WORKS RELATED TO THE EPISODE Adames, H. Y., & Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y. (2026). Construyendo a decolonial Latinx mental health with Black and Indigenous Latinxs at the center. In M. Campos, Y. Mejia, & A. Consoli (Eds.), Forging caminos: Pathways to becoming a bilingual mental health professional (pp. 69–85). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000481-005 Adames, H. Y., Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., Jernigan, M. M., & Helms, J. E. (2025). Racism-conscious reflexivity in qualitative research: A practical methodological framework. Qualitative Psychology, 12(2), 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000315 (https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/qup0000315) Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., Adames, H. Y., Perez-Chavez, J. G., & Salas, S. P. (2019). Healing ethno-racial trauma in Latinx immigrant communities: Cultivating hope, resistance, and action. American Psychologist, 74(1), 49–62. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000289 Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., Adames, H. Y., Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. T. (2025). The fierce ethical urgency of decoloniality in therapy: From understanding to action. American Psychologist, 80(4), 510–521. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001370 Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., Perez-Chavez, J. G., & Adames, H. Y. (2026). Echoes from the HEART: Applying the healing ethno and racial trauma framework with Immigrants of Color. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0002222 Comas-Díaz, L., Adames, H. Y., & Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y. (Eds.). (2024). Decolonial psychology: Toward anticolonial theories, research, training, and practice. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000376-000 Goertz, M. T., Adames, H. Y., Parker, C., Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., DeLuna, R., & Perez-Chavez, J. G. (2024). The decolonial mentoring framework: Advancing an anticolonial future in psychology and beyond. In L. Comas-Díaz, H. Y. Adames, & N. Y. Chavez-Dueñas (Eds.), Decolonial psychology: Toward anticolonial theories, research, training, and practice (pp. 247–269). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000376-011 Pope, K. S., Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., Adames, H. Y., Sonne, J. L., & Greene, B. A. (2023). Speaking the unspoken: Breaking the silence, myths, and taboos that hurt therapists and patients. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000350-000 Pope, K. S., Vasquez, M. J. T., Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., & Adames, H. Y. (2026). Ethics in psychotherapy and counseling: A practical guide (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. STAY IN TOUCH! #LiberationNowPodcast Email: liberationlab.uiuc@gmail.com | Instagram & Bluesky: @liberationlab_ EPISODE CREDITS Music: Amir Maghsoodi and Briana Williams Podcast Artwork: B. Andi Lee & Amir Maghsoodi Episode Intro: Radia DeLuna and Helen Neville Episode Outro: Radia DeLuna and Helen Neville

2. 

   19 Jun 2026

   Liberation Now Ep 20: Reparations, Self-Determination, and Healing

   In this Juneteenth episode, Helen Neville speaks with Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons about reparations as a process of repair, healing, historical truth, and self-determination. The conversation explores the legal foundations of reparations, the relationship between public policy and racial justice, the importance of restoring memory and ancestry, and concrete ways listeners can engage in reparative justice. ABOUT THE GUEST State Representative Carol Ammons is serving her sixth term representing Illinois' 103rd District, proudly serving the communities of Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding region. A lifelong activist and accomplished legislator, Rep. Ammons has dedicated her career to advancing equity, justice, and opportunity for all Illinoisans. She made history as the first African American woman elected to represent the 103rd District, and she continues to be a steadfast advocate for her constituents and a leading voice on issues of racial justice, economic equity, environmental sustainability, higher education, and community well-being. With nearly 15 years of elected public service spanning county, municipal, and state government, Rep. Ammons brings the perspective of both a grassroots organizer and an experienced policymaker. Her work is grounded in the belief that lasting social change requires strong partnerships between community organizers and elected officials. Throughout her legislative career, she has championed transformative policies that expand opportunity, remove systemic barriers, and strengthen communities across Illinois. Committee Assignments Chair, Energy & Environment Committee Appropriations – Higher Education Economic Opportunity & Equity Ethics & Elections Higher Education Museum, Arts, Culture, & Entertainment Personnel & Pensions Task Forces and Commissions Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers Task Force Commission on Equitable Public University Funding Mahomet Aquifer Council Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices Final Report Implementation Task Force Task Force on Campus Sexual Misconduct Climate Surveys Task Force on Higher Education in Prisons REPARATIONS INITIATIVES First Repair National organization supporting state and local reparations initiatives and hosting the National Symposium on State and Local Reparations. H.R. 40 Federal bill to establish a commission to study and develop reparations proposals. S.40 Senate companion legislation on reparations. California Reparations Task Force Report Landmark report and recommendations. Evanston Reparations Nation's first publicly funded municipal reparations program. New York State Reparations Commission Information on New York's reparations commission. Asheville Community Reparations Local reparations initiative. TAKIR (The African Kinship and Identity Reconstruction Project) Illinois genealogy initiative that reconnects African descendants with family histories. SELECTED REPARATIONS GROUPS N'COBRA (National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America) Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) CARICOM Reparations Commission National Reparations Network WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Learn about reparations efforts in your own community. Attend the National Symposium on State and Local Reparations. Support state and local reparations legislation. Read scholarship on reparative justice and African American history. Engage elected officials about reparative policies. Support organizations advancing healing, historical truth, and self-determination. STAY IN TOUCH! #LiberationNowPodcast Email: liberationlab.uiuc@gmail.com | Instagram & Bluesky: @liberationlab_ EPISODE CREDITS Music: Amir Maghsoodi and Briana Williams Podcast Artwork: B. Andi Lee & Amir Maghsoodi Episode Intro/Outro: Helen Neville Episode Production: Helen Neville and Salman Safir EPISODE TRANSCRIPT bit.ly/LibNowE20

3. 

   12 Jan 2026

   Liberation Now Ep 19: Textbooks as Tools for Liberation: Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the United States

   Episode Description In this episode of Liberation Now, Salman Safir and Helen Neville sit down with Dr. José Causadias to discuss his recent open access textbook, Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the United States. Drawing from his experiences as a Panamanian immigrant and scholar, Dr. Causadias describes the book as a "love letter" to the United States. In this powerful text he critically unpacks the myth of the American Dream, centers the lived experiences and scholarship of Women of Color, and exposes how laws and policies actively produce inequity. We explore why accessibility matters, how stories and case studies can cultivate critical consciousness, and what it means to ground JEDI work in ethics, care, and humanization. This is a powerful conversation you won't want to miss if you're committed to justice, collective action, and liberation. ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. José M. Causadias (he/him) is a Panamanian developmental psychologist, activist, and author of "Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the United States" a new Open Access textbook published by Cambridge University Press. He earned a bachelor's in psychology at Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua in Panama in 2001, a master in psychotherapy at Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain in 2004, and a PhD in Child Psychology at the University of Minnesota in 2014. He worked as faculty in the School of Family and Human Development at Arizona State University from 2015 to 2025. He received tenure in 2021 and was promoted to Associate Professor. He is currently the Director of the Education Research Center in Panama. He pursues innovation in theory and research on culture, development, and mental health to improve the lives of Latinx children, youth, and families, especially Panamanian. He has employed systematic reviews and meta-analyses to document the link between risk, protective, and promotive factors in the development of psychopathology, including familism values, racial discrimination, and ethnic neighborhood concentration. He has examined the role of rituals and celebrations during the pandemic and developmental transitions, and their link to mental health, including graduations and funerals. He has co-edited several handbooks and special issues in journals such as American Psychologist, Cultural Development and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Development and Psychopathology, and Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. In 2025, he was named Salzburg Global scholar. Selected Publications Causadias, J. M. (2025). Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the United States. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781009098151 Causadias, J. M., & Neblett, E. W. (2024). PARQUES: Dreaming a future for our Latinx children, youth, and families. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 53(1), 129-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2024.2304140 Tyrell, F., Neville, H. A., Causadias, J. M., Cokley, K., & Adams-Wiggins, K. (2023). Reclaiming the past and transforming our future: Introduction to the special issue on foundational contributions of Black scholars in psychology. American Psychologist, 78(4), 367–375.  https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001170 (https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001170) Causadias, J. M., Alcalá, L., Morris, K. S., Yaylaci, F. T., & Zhang, N. (2022). Future directions on BIPOC youth mental health: The importance of cultural rituals in the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 51(4), 577-592. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2022.2084744 Cahill, K. M., Updegraff, K. A., Causadias, J. M., & Korous, K. M. (2021). Familism values and adjustment among Hispanic/Latino individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 147(9), 947-985. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000336 Causadias, J. M. (2020). What is culture? Systems of people, places, and practices. Applied Developmental Science, 24(4), 310-322. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2020.1789360 Causadias, J. M. (2013). A roadmap for the integration of culture into developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 25(4pt2), 1375-1398. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000679 STAY IN TOUCH! #LiberationNowPodcast Email: liberationlab.uiuc@gmail.com (mailto:liberationlab.uiuc@gmail.com) | Instagram & Bluesky: @liberationlab_ EPISODE CREDITS Music: Amir Maghsoodi and Briana Williams Podcast Artwork: B. Andi Lee & Amir Maghsoodi Episode Intro/Outro: Helen Neville Episode Production: Helen Neville and Salman Safir EPISODE TRANSCRIPT bit.ly/LibNowE19

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 33 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

45

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

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Guest appearances

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