Who Do You Love?

About Who Do You Love?

In a time when independence is glorified, but interdependence is what sustains us, Who Do You Love? invites us to reimagine freedom through relationship. It’s a space to explore how freedom, resilience, equity, sustainability, and power are all shaped by how we show up for each other. "Who do you love?" isn’t just a question — it’s a community organizing principle. The more we expand our circle of who we love, the more we expand our circle of who we’re willing to act on behalf of. Through intimate conversations, host Whitney Buchmann explores how love — in its most collective sense — can shape the systems, relationships, and choices that define our shared future. Whitney is a social innovation strategist, facilitator, and social entrepreneur. She brings stories from the field, lessons from practitioners, and moments from her own life as a nomad and community weaver — all to ask one question: Who do you love? And how might that answer change the world we build together?

Publisher

Who Do You Love?

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Jul 2026

Latest episode

2 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Nov 2026

   17: Presence is Power - with Jodi Grinwald

   What if the most powerful thing you can do in a room is to actually be in it? In this episode, Whitney sits down with Jodi Hope Grinwald, a leadership and connection strategist, host of the Today Is the Day Changemakers podcast, and author of Today Is the Day. LIVE IT!, a book that brought together 31 voices from California to Uganda. Jodi makes the case that connection isn’t a soft skill. It’s a skill that determines who gets funded, hired, and heard. They talk about how networks can be on-ramps or moats, why it took Jodi six years to get one funder to attend an event (and what happened once she did), and what shifts when leaders stop closing the deal and start listening. Jodi also shares her CONNECT method, which starts with being consciously present, and how she has seen it change a classroom of formerly incarcerated adults and the leaders she coaches. She talks about co-founding the Applaud Our Kids Foundation, which expands access to the performing arts for children whose families face financial need, and about the choice to open a door for someone who once kept her out. Her challenge for listeners: you may hold power through access or credibility, so who in your network could you connect this week? Links to Engage with the Episode Connect with Jodi Grinwald LinkedIn: Jodi Grinwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodi-grinwald/) Instagram: @todayisthedayliveit (https://www.instagram.com/todayisthedayliveit/) Facebook: Today is the Day, Live It (https://www.facebook.com/todayisthedayliveit/) Website: todayisthedayliveit.com (https://todayisthedayliveit.com) Listen to her podcast: Today Is the Day Changemakers (https://todayisthedaychangemakers.buzzsprout.com) Read her book: Today Is the Day. LIVE IT! Edge of Comfort to Center of Impact (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/today-is-the-day-live-it-jodi-hope-grinwald/1149042018?ean=9798993750514) Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned Zzak G. Applaud Our Kids Foundation (https://applaudourkids.org) - the nonprofit Jodi co-founded with her sister, which funds performing arts lessons at studios near children’s homes Instagram: @applaudourkids (https://www.instagram.com/applaudourkids/) Facebook: facebook.com/applaudourkids (https://www.facebook.com/applaudourkids) Further reading on ideas we raised Why the American Dream is more attainable in some cities than others (NPR) (https://www.wwno.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-08-01/why-the-american-dream-is-more-attainable-in-some-cities-than-others) - the Raj Chetty research on how friendships across class lines predict upward mobility, related to the on-ramps vs. moats conversation Social Capital Atlas (https://ai.meta.com/ai-for-good/datasets/social-capital-atlas/) - the county-level dataset behind that research The Battle Between Your Present and Future Self (https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_goldstein_the_battle_between_your_present_and_future_self) - Whitey references Daniel Goldstein’s Ted Talk about how we make decisions every day that have good or bad consequences for our future selves.

2. 

   26 Oct 2026

   16: Loving Our Future Selves - with Catherine Campos

   What does resilience look like when it’s something we place on ourselves rather than something we share? Whitney sits down with Catherine Campos, an expert convener, AmeriCorps alum, and proud eldest daughter, to unpack the pressure to have it all together and the quiet cost of never asking for help. Catherine shares how losing her job during COVID led her to knock on the doors of her alumni communities, and how a friend’s reminder that she was allowed to take a break, and to talk about it, changed her path. Along the way, they explore why grit isn’t about suffering in silence, and why showing up for community sometimes means being uncomfortable, vulnerable, and a little inconvenienced. From there, the conversation widens to resilience at scale. Catherine, who now works in the hospitality industry, talks about what it takes to bring people together when you can’t control the weather, the visas, or the supply chain, and how hotels and event planners show up with empathy in hard moments. Then comes her answer to the show’s signature question: who do you love that you haven’t met yet? Her answer, her future self, opens up a conversation about inherent worth, the generations of women who came before, and the nieces who might grow up free of the old expectations. Catherine’s challenge to listeners is simple: show up for 20 minutes, even when you don’t feel like it. Whitney closes with her own question: where could you show up this week, even when it’s inconvenient, to strengthen the relationships that make you resilient? Links to engage with this week’s episode Connect with Catherine: Catherine Campos on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinecamposmps18/) Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned: American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) (https://www.ahla.com/) — the hotel industry trade association where Catherine now works in the events space Aspen Institute Socrates Program (https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/socrates-program/) — the leadership dialogue program where Catherine worked on convenings and Socratic seminars. Festival of the Diaspora (https://festivalofthediaspora.org/) — the international convening for Afro-Latino and Black American leaders where you and Catherine met. University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service (https://clintonschool.uasys.edu/) — the nation’s first Master of Public Service program, based in Little Rock, where Catherine earned her degree AmeriCorps (https://americorps.gov/) — the national service program Catherine is an alum of. Engage with ideas we raised: How the hospitality industry plays a vital role in relief efforts when disaster strikes (https://trellis.net/article/how-hospitality-industry-plays-vital-role-relief-efforts-when-disaster-strikes) — the source for the point that hotels are already physically there with large, fortified buildings during disasters Supporting Communities Through the Storm: Hurricane Milton (https://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/blog/supporting-communities-through-the-storm-resources-for-those-impacted-by-hurricane-milton) — the source for hotels serving as refuge for evacuees and first responders, including distress rates for residents Hotels boost disaster readiness as BHTA urges full preparedness (https://barbadostoday.bb/2026/04/16/hotels-boost-disaster-readiness-as-bhta-urges-full-preparedness/) — the source for the Barbados workshop finding that over 90% of hotels have disaster management plans

3. 

   19 Oct 2026

   15: Let's Walk the Bridge - with Kenny Andejeski

   Kenny Andejeski — founder of why[here]matters, a board member of his local PBS station, and someone who once drove 50,000 miles across rural America just to listen — joins Whitney to talk resilience, and he starts by pushing back on the premise. Mutual aid isn’t a recent workaround for failing systems, he argues — for many communities, from rural Appalachia to the free Black communities of the antebellum South, relying on each other has always been the norm, not the exception born of crisis. Kenny brings that same lesson home, from a stretch of serious illness where he leaned on a partner for the basics, to his twenties spent couch-surfing and trading social capital for a place to sleep. Along the way, they sit with his local PBS station’s own story: losing half its budget overnight, then finding its way to a surplus by doubling down on serving its community rather than waiting on a national system to come back. The conversation widens from there — into the politics of resentment that festers when a well-funded coastal institution asks for donations while a station down the road just lost 90% of its, into the segregation we don’t talk about (the kind where we simply stop sharing space, information, or disagreement with people unlike us), and into what Kenny calls the hardest, most necessary love: for the stranger, the other, the person you haven’t met yet. They land somewhere unexpectedly hopeful — not with a campaign or a five-point plan, but with a bridge. A real one, in downtown Chattanooga, where people cried the day it reopened. Sometimes showing up, walking alongside someone, and trusting they won’t push you off is the whole first step. Links to engage with this episode: Connect with Kenny Andejeski LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andejesk) - where Kenny shares his perspective most regularly, as he describes it, “professionally.” Communitales (https://www.kennyandejeski.com/communitales) - Kenny’s Substack publication capturing stories, experiences, and lessons from his years of community-building work on the road. Instagram: @andajetski (https://www.instagram.com/andajetski/) - for the more personal side Kenny references in the episode, including his reflections on subcultures, festivals, and belonging. why[here]matters (https://whyhere.substack.com/about) - the social enterprise and multimedia storytelling project Kenny founded. Connect with organizations we mentioned WTCI PBS (https://www.wtcitv.org/) - the community-licensed public television station in Chattanooga where Kenny serves on the board. Further reading on ideas we raised NPR: One year ago Congress killed the CPB (https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-public-editor/2026/07/23/g-s1-135128/one-year-ago-congress-killed-the-cpb-public-media-is-still-trying-to-figure-out-the-future) - a retrospective on the Rescissions Act of 2025, which eliminated federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and how stations across the country have adapted a year later. Nonprofit History Crash Course: The Free African Society of Philadelphia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_African_Society) - background on the 1787 Philadelphia mutual aid organization Kenny references when he traces mutual aid back through free Black communities in the antebellum era; similar societies, like Charleston’s Brown Fellowship Society, formed throughout the same period. The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) - the film Kenny references for its bus-scene exchange about loving a place enough to be allowed to hate it, which anchors his answer to “who do you love.”

4. 

   12 Oct 2026

   14: Home Space, Coalition Space - with Megan Black Johnson & Keith Johnson, Jr.

   Megan Black Johnson and Keith Johnson, Jr. are the first duo on Who Do You Love? Megan is a trainer, facilitator, and organizer who helps coalitions hold together across race, religion, and politics. Keith is an Episcopal priest in Baltimore, where they are raising their young daughter. Megan brings a framework from civil rights leader Bernice Johnson Reagon: we all need a home space, where we can be fully ourselves among our own people, and we all have to leave it for coalition space, where the work is riskier and the common good gets protected. Their marriage is where they learned the first half. Their neighborhood, their church, and their work are where they practice the second. The conversation starts on a mountain in rural Tennessee, where the two made a pact: “We are all we got.” From there it widens to a toddler who roams free at church because a whole congregation is watching, a birthday invitation written with their Orthodox Jewish neighbors in mind, and Megan’s challenge to Christian communities to “mind our wake” and stay at the table when coalition work gets uncomfortable. They close by naming who freedom still leaves out: children, and the adults raising them. Whitney leaves listeners with this: Where is your home space, and what would it ask of you to step out of it and stay at the table? Links to engage with the episode: Connect with Megan and Keith Megan and Keith keep a low profile online. To reach them, contact Whitney and she’ll pass your note along. Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned Bernice Johnson Reagon (https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/bernice-johnson-reagon-legacy) - civil rights activist, scholar, and founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock, whose “home space and coalition space” framework anchors this episode; this is the Smithsonian’s tribute to her life and work. Sweet Honey in the Rock (https://www.youtube.com/user/sweethoneyinrock) - the a cappella ensemble Reagon founded in 1973. Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart (https://www.beacon.org/Meditations-of-the-Heart-P1864.aspx) - the collection that includes “How Good to Center Down!”, the phrase Keith names when describing Thurman’s influence. Toni Morrison (https://aas.princeton.edu/people/toni-morrison) - an author Keith named as someone he loves, but has never met. Beloved is a popular book recommendation by Morrison. James Baldwin (https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/introduction-james-baldwin) - an author Keith loves but has never met. The Fire Next Time is a popular book recommendation by Baldwin. Further reading on ideas we raised Washington Monthly: “It’s Time to Leave Home” (https://washingtonmonthly.com/2015/08/16/its-time-to-leave-home/) - an accessible introduction to Reagon’s speech “Coalition Politics: Turning the Century,” with key passages; the full text is published in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, edited by Barbara Smith. Chalkbeat: Nikole Hannah-Jones’ essay on school integration sparks a reckoning (https://www.chalkbeat.org/2026/09/25/hannah-jones-essay-on-daughter-in-nyc-schools-sparks-integration-debate/) - coverage of the New York Times Magazine essay Megan references about Hannah-Jones sending her daughter to a segregated public school, and the debate that followed. DOJ Asks Appeals Court to Allow Churches to Endorse Political Candidates (https://wordandway.org/2026/09/25/doj-asks-appeals-court-to-allow-churches-to-endorse-political-candidates/) - the Johnson Amendment news Whitney raises when asking about faith in public life.

5. 

   5 Oct 2026

   13: Resilience is a Team Sport - with Camila Tapias

   We're often told resilience means being strong enough to get back up on your own. Camila "Cami" Tapias, a disaster resilience leader, UN ARISE Global Board member, university trustee, and former Colombian national team basketball player, makes the case that the opposite is true. Drawing on her journey from the courts of Bogotá to emergency management, Cami shares why the moments she's been most resilient were the moments she leaned on others, and why the most resilient thing any of us can do is recognize we were never meant to do everything alone. Whitney and Cami explore what sports teaches us about knowing your teammates' strengths, why the time to build relationships is in "blue sky" moments before a crisis hits, and how something as simple as knowing who to call can change a community's outcome. From there, the conversation widens. Cami explains why every dollar invested in resilience can save many more in recovery, and why communities stuck in survival mode rarely get the chance to think bigger. She also explains how planning with communities, not for them, changes who gets protected. The two also take on campus safety, accountability, and the courage to speak up at our own kitchen tables. Cami closes with a reflection on love and freedom you won't want to miss: the people who love us give us both the roots and the room to become who we are. Whitney leaves us with this question: When's the last time you took stock of who's on your team, and who's still missing from it? Connect with Camila Tapias LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/camilatapias (https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilatapias/) Instagram: @camilatapias_2 (https://www.instagram.com/camilatapias_2/) Watch her talk: Bouncing from Basketball to Emergency Management (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMbM90ggkvk) Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned ARISE (UNDRR's Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies) (https://www.ariseglobalnetwork.org/) - the UN alliance where Cami serves on the Global Board Festival of the Diaspora (https://festivalofthediaspora.org/) - where Whitney and Cami connected TribalHub / TribalNet Conference (https://tribalhub.com/events/tribalnet-conferences/) - the Dallas convening on technology for tribal governments and enterprises Cami attended SPIN Global (https://spinglobal.org) - Cami's previous firm, home of the Community Disaster Resilience Fund she discussed Further reading on ideas we raised UNDRR Global Assessment Report 2025: Resilience Pays (https://www.undrr.org/gar/gar2025) - source of the $2.3 trillion true-cost-of-disasters figure NIBS Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves (https://nibs.org/the-value-of-disaster-planning-outweighs-its-cost-sixfold-2/) - the U.S. study behind the widely cited 6-saved-per-1 figure Cami referenced FEMA Community Lifelines (https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/lifelines) - the framework Cami described for stabilizing energy, water, food, health, and safety after a disaster The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (https://www.undrr.org/implementing-sendai-framework/what-sendai-framework) - the global framework ARISE supports

6. 

   28 Sept 2026

   12: Soft Place to Land - with Whitney Buchmann

   When guests had to reschedule, Whitney turned the mic on herself and answered the show's own questions. She starts with the parents who gave her no curfew, only trust, and a home in Nebraska she knew she could always drive back to. That secure love made it possible to leave home at 18, live out of two suitcases, and start a business. From there she looks at who doesn't get that kind of safety net: the solopreneurs paying close to rent for basic health coverage, with no unemployment, family leave, or sick days to fall back on, and the women, especially women of color, for whom the risk of leaping is highest. Whitney also shares her own choice to leave a marriage and what she's learned walking beside friends who gave up careers to build a family, only to find that housing costs, pay gaps, and support formulas make leaving feel impossible. She pushes back on the "you made your bed" idea of personal responsibility and makes the case for a world where courage is a less courageous choice. That means being a soft place to land, being the safety net that makes the leap possible, and, with midterms six weeks out, pushing for policies that stop tying our safety to our employer. She closes with her littles and the chosen family that has set her free. Links to engage with this week’s episode: Connect with Whitney Buchmann Illustra Impact (illustraimpact.com (https://illustraimpact.com)) — Whitney's social innovation consultancy Solopreneurs Circle (www.illustraimpact.com/solopreneurs (http://www.illustraimpact.com/solopreneurs)) — the peer community of about 75+ solo founders and consultants in the impact space that Whitney founded Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org (https://www.thehotline.org)) — 24/7 confidential support at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788, and the partner behind the study Whitney cites on survivors staying longer for financial reasons Vote.org (http://vote.org) — check your registration and find your polling place ahead of the midterms Whitney urges listeners to show up for Further reading on ideas we raised "A lifeline for survivors of domestic violence is at risk amid federal funding cuts" (bostonglobe.com (https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/03/metro/commentary-hud-federal-funding-cuts-domestic-violence-survivors-housing-programs/)) — source for Whitney's point that lack of affordable housing is one of the top reasons victims stay with abusers "'He wanted to destroy me financially': The economic abuse of domestic violence survivors" (wbur.org (https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025/01/27/economic-abuse-domestic-violence-survivors)) — On Point episode discussing the study with the National Domestic Violence Hotline where 73% of callers said they stayed longer because of financial concerns Retirement Security: Women Still Face Challenges (gao.gov (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-12-699)) — the GAO report behind the stat that women's household income fell 41% after divorce, compared with 23% for men "Divorce Rates Tend to Rise When Women Earn More, Studies Suggest" (aol.com (https://www.aol.com/articles/divorce-rates-tend-rise-women-184231774.html)) — covers sociologist Pamela Smock's research showing Black and Hispanic women face the steepest income drops after divorce

7. 

   21 Sept 2026

   11: We Are Your Village - with Mac Brazina

   Mac Brazina — mental health and performance coach, writer, and founder of Human Builder — comes to this conversation as a self-described "hyperindependent, don't need no one" human learning otherwise. Newly postpartum, she talks candidly about being handed a card that read We are your village, and what it took to let herself actually receive the support it promised instead of just providing it to everyone else. From there, the conversation moves into the mechanics of what Mac calls the "ailment of hyperindependence": the high performers, entrepreneurs, and pro athletes she coaches who believe they have to break themselves to make something succeed, and the biological cost — disrupted hormones, gut health, sleep, emotional regulation — that comes from ignoring what the body is signaling. Whitney and Mac unpack parts work, the difference between depositing into yourself and running on empty, and why the people who most need to hear "your cup has to be full first" are usually the ones who look like they have it all together. It's a conversation about power, sustainability, and the radical, uncomfortable act of letting a village hold you. LINKS TO ENGAGE WITH THE EPISODE Connect with Mac Brazina On Instagram: @the_human_builder (https://www.instagram.com/the_human_builder/) Human Builder (humanbuilder.com (http://humanbuilder.com)) — Mac's coaching practice Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned Valarie Kaur (valariekaur.com (http://valariekaur.com)) — author of See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love the book and framework Mac cites as a driving influence Disagree Better (disagreebetter.us (http://disagreebetter.us))  — the cross-partisan initiative Whitney references when talking about groups working to find common ground across disagreement Further reading on ideas we raised Crucial Conversations / Crucial Accountability (cruciallearning.com (http://cruciallearning.com)) — the communication framework Whitney references being certified in, related to Mac's point about psychological safety and self-regulation in high-stakes dialogue "Toxic Success Is Burning Out High Performers In 2026" (forbes.com (http://forbes.com)) — source for the ZeroBounce survey stat Whitney cites (44% giving up free time, 37% compromising values)

8. 

   14 Sept 2026

   10: Culture of Interdependence - with Nadia Ali

   This week, Whitney sits down with Nadia Ali — consultant, storyteller, facilitator, and founder of Idea Labs — to explore what it actually takes for power and freedom to be real, not just theoretical. Nadia offers a reframe that anchors the whole conversation: rather than asking how we use our power and freedom, she asks what infrastructure has to exist first so people can fully live into them at all — the childcare, the parental leave, the community support that let someone show up whole instead of white-knuckling it alone. The conversation moves from the personal to the systemic and back again — from the choices Nadia makes as a mother about how much truth a child can hold, to her account of parental leave and community care in Canada, to a candid exchange about academic institutions banding together (or not) when federal funding threats hit higher ed. Along the way, Nadia draws a sharp distinction between "networks of association" and real community — the difference between knowing someone's name and actually showing up when they're sick — and talks through what it costs, and what it's worth, to stand with someone else when your own power is on the line. Whitney closes with the question she keeps coming back to: what would it look like if we stopped assuming everyone can already tap into their power and freedom, and started asking what needs to be built so they can? Links to engage with this week’s episode Connect with Nadia Ali Instagram: @idealabsinaction (https://www.instagram.com/idealabsinaction/) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadia-y-ali/)linkedin.com/in/nadia-y-ali (http://linkedin.com/in/nadia-y-ali) Connect with organizations or leaders mentioned Idea Labs (idealabsinaction.com (http://idealabsinaction.com)) — Nadia's consulting practice, focused on organizational culture, leadership development, and belonging PolicyLink (policylink.org/about/summits (http://policylink.org/about/summits)) — the organization behind the PolicyLink Summit Whitney references attending in August, themed "We Are the Founders" around America's 250th anniversary Further reading on ideas raised The Mutual Academic Defense Compact story (https://www.chronicle.com/article/its-not-a-mutual-defense-compact-but-a-new-ad-from-18-universities-aims-to-send-a-message) — background on the Big Ten faculty push for universities to defend one another against federal funding threats, and how it evolved into a joint ad campaign instead of a formal compact — the example Whitney raises with Nadia about academic institutions.

9. 

   7 Sept 2026

   9: Design at Margins, For All - with Dr. Byron Green-Calisch

   Dr. Byron Green-Calisch, co-founder and co-executive director of Justice Over Everything, is an executive coach, equity strategist, and civic educator. The thread running through all of his work is a single design principle: build for the people furthest from power, and the system gets strong enough to hold everyone. Byron and his organization built Justice Over Everything as a safety net specifically for Black trans women, not as an afterthought or a footnote, but as the starting point — because a net designed to catch the most vulnerable person in the room is a net that catches everybody on the way up. The conversation moves from the intimate to the structural, the way it always does on this show. Byron opens with the story of falling in love with his husband — a white Jewish man — and how their relationship became a years-long practice of curiosity instead of obligation, learning each other's histories through books and museums rather than interrogation. From there, the conversation widens: what it actually looks like to run an organization built on intersectionality, why the redrawing of Florida's congressional maps under a weakened Voting Rights Act should worry all of us, and why "pick one elected official to hold accountable" might be the most practical thing any of us can do with our civic energy. Byron closes with a reminder that love isn't just what we feel for the people already in our circle — it's what pushes us to build for the people we haven't met yet, whose lives will still be shaped by the decisions we make today. So this week, ask yourself: who is the person your systems haven't been designed for yet — and what would it take to build with them in mind first? Links to engage with this week’s episode Connect with Dr. Byron Green-Calisch Instagram: @dr_bgc (https://www.instagram.com/dr_bgc/) LinkedIn: Coaching / work with Byron: justiceovereverything.com/work-with-us (http://justiceovereverything.com/work-with-us) Connect with organizations or leaders mentioned Justice Over Everything — the social justice center Byron co-founded with State Rep. Michele Rayner (justiceovereverything.com (http://justiceovereverything.com)) Instagram: @justice_over_everything (https://www.instagram.com/justice_over_everything/) Further reading on ideas raised Don't Touch My Hair (https://www.awesomebooks.com/book/9780141986289/dont-touch-my-hair?gc=US) by Emma Dabiri — the book Byron references reading with his husband early in their relationship; a cultural history of Black hair from pre-colonial Africa through today's natural hair movement. Louisiana v. Callais (https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/louisiana-v-callais-2/) and the Voting Rights Act rollback — background on the Supreme Court ruling Whitney references, which struck down part of the VRA and opened the door to redistricting fights in several Southern states, including Florida. The 10 states where redistricting has happened (https://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_ahead_of_the_2026_elections) since the SCOTUS decision. Florida's 2026 congressional redistricting (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/stories/florida-redistricting-weaken-voting-power/).

10. 

    31 Aug 2026

    8: Let It Fall Apart - with Yuritzy Gomez Serrano

    Yuritzy Gomez Serrano is a somatic practitioner, a third-generation eldest daughter, and an immigrant from Michoacán, Mexico, who works at the intersection of nervous system healing and systemic change. At the center of this conversation is a phrase she returns to again and again with her clients, especially eldest daughters and caregivers who hold everything together: let it fall apart. Not as resignation, but as an act of trust — trust that when we stop overextending to keep every plate spinning, we finally see our actual capacity, and we make room for others, and for the systems that should be doing the holding, to step in. Yuritzy and Whitney trace how this plays out in real bodies and real budgets — from a client who sold her house rather than keep abandoning her own needs to build a business that wasn't sustainable, to nonprofits absorbing the gaps left by funding cuts and government systems that should be doing the work in the first place. Yuritzy's own path unfolds into a bigger question about what freedom actually requires: not escape, but the courage to feel what we've been powering through, name our real limits, and let some things break so something more honest can be built in their place. As you listen, ask yourself: what are you holding together right now that, if you let go, might reveal the true interdependencies? Links to engage with this week’s episode Connect with Yuritzy: Yuritzy Gomez Serrano on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/yuritzy.gs/) — where she posts on somatic healing, eldest daughters, and nervous system work Join The Eldest Daughter email list (https://thewholelifereset.kit.com/2f07124f80) —  where she shares her free monthly support circles and private podcast for eldest daughters Yuritzy Gomez Serrano on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuritzygomezserrano/) Work with Yuritzy one-on-one or in your org: https://canva.link/4f7frgnut8sqwg6 (https://canva.link/4f7frgnut8sqwg6) Engage with ideas we raised: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) (https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/) — background on the therapy approach, for listeners unfamiliar with the term Brainspotting (https://brainspotting.com/) — the brain-body therapy method developed by David Grand, the other modality referenced in Yuritzy's training University of Cambridge study on the 4-day work week (https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/fourdayweek)  — source for stats about a trial where 71% of employees reported reduced burnout, with revenue staying broadly stable

11. 

    24 Aug 2026

    7: Another Way Forward - with Clinton Drees

    Clinton Drees has spent his career building the very thing this episode is about: proof that another way of living is possible. A social worker who is dedicating his life to mentorship, leadership development, and LGBTQ+ youth advocacy, Clinton helped launch mentorship programs that bring safe, vetted adults into schools to meet LGBTQ+ youth where they are — because, as he puts it, every kid deserves someone who's already walked the road ahead of them. Whitney and Clinton trace resilience from the deeply personal — a closeted childhood, a Tuesday-night ritual with two restaurant coworkers who became lifelines, a partner who taught him how to receive love — out to the systemic: record numbers of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, the defunding of youth crisis resources, and what happens to a community when institutional support disappears. Clinton offers a clear-eyed, hopeful answer: resilience isn't about finding one person to be your everything, it's about collecting small, real data points that prove people show up. As you listen, consider — who in your life offered you proof that there was another way to live, and who might be waiting on you to do the same for them? Links to engage with this week’s episode Connect with Clinton: Clinton Drees on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/clinton-drees-80248130/) Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (https://www.bbbs.org/) — The national mentoring model Clinton drew on when building his mentorship program. The Trevor Project (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/) — Non-profit suicide prevention organization that provides 24/7 crisis support services, research, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ young people. Human Rights Campaign (https://www.hrc.org/) — The nation’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve LGBTQ+ equality. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (https://www.aclu.org/) — Non-profit, non-partisan organization founded to defend and preserve individual rights and constitutional liberties guaranteed by the US Constitution. Engage with ideas we raised: 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/) — The source for stats Whitney cites about the "90% of youth affected by anti-LGBTQ+ policy" and "one-third suicide attempt rate" Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in 2026 (https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2026) — The source for the "500+ bills tracked in 2026" figure discussed LGBTQ+ Youth Reports (https://reports.hrc.org/collections/youth-report-collection) — The "annual youth HRC report" Clinton references as a resource he's used in his own program research Paris is Burning (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paris_is_burning) - A documentary recommended by Clinton in a follow-up to his comment about a read/watch list. The Velvet Rage (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-velvet-rage-alan-downs-phd/1110782534?ean=9780738215853) - A book recommended by Clinton in a follow-up to his comment about a read/watch list.

12. 

    17 Aug 2026

    6: Power to Build Bridges - with Evelyne Kane

    Evelyne Kane is a public health professional and longtime advocate for health equity and authentic community engagement, currently leading national programs centered on people with lived experience. A former teammate of Whitney's at the Camden Coalition (https://camdenhealth.org/), Evelyne has spent her career at the intersection of service delivery and systems change — work she describes not as standing in the spotlight, but as opening doors: connecting the people closest to a problem with the people who hold the power to solve it. That role as a bridge, a liaison, an amplifier, becomes the episode's central image. The conversation moves from Evelyne's own rabbit hole on what love and freedom actually cost her, into the Camden Coalition's practice of "authentic healing relationships" and what it would take to build that kind of genuine responsibility into our healthcare systems rather than leaving it to individual goodwill. From there, Evelyne and Whitney get concrete: the elimination of federal research and data, and the new Medicaid work requirements under HR1. Evelyne closes with a challenge drawn from her own life: take an honest inventory of who's actually in your circle, and notice who gets excluded the farther you get from the people it's easy to have compassion for. Links to engage with this week’s episode Connect with Evelyne: Register for the monthly Community Engagement Learning Network (https://camdenhealth.org/event/inspire-community-engagement-learning-network/) conversations that Evelyne facilitates Follow Evelyne Kane on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelynekruger/) Engage with ideas we raised: The Strength of Weak Ties (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2776392) - Evelyne references this article in her early reflection on love that is freeing. What is value-based care? (https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/payment-delivery-models/what-value-based-care) - this is a concept that Evelyne references as one of the ways of holding our healthcare institutions accountable to genuine care for patient outcomes and wellbeing The Social Change Ecosystem (https://buildingmovement.org/our-work/movement-building/social-change-ecosystem-map/) framework was created by Deepa Iyer at Building Movement Project. Whitney and Evelyne discuss how there are various roles to play in the ecosystem and we need all of them. NIH guts its first and largest study centered on women (https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-cancels-its-first-and-largest-study-centered-women) - ScienceInsider article that Whitney referenced for the numbers about NIH funding cuts Elimination of Federal Diversity Initiatives: Updates and Current Status (https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/elimination-of-federal-diversity-initiatives-updates-and-current-status/) - KFF article that Whitney referenced for specific programs impacted by the cuts A Summary of Federal Medicaid Work Requirements (https://www.chcs.org/resource/a-summary-of-national-medicaid-work-requirements/) - Find out more about the changes to healthcare accessibility that are a result of HR1 (sometimes referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill”) and take effect on July 31, 2026

13. 

    10 Aug 2026

    5: Erasure, Existence, Equity - with Maria Camila Velasquez

    In this episode of Who Do You Love?, Whitney sits down with Maria Camila Velasquez — political refugee from Colombia, former undocumented resident, and now president and CEO of a social services agency serving thousands of children and families — to unpack what equity actually requires of us. Drawing on a training exercise that stuck with her for years, Maria Camila reframes equity not as picking winners but as taking collective responsibility for a track that was never built level to begin with: the weights people carry, the charges that get filed differently for the same crime, the families judged by a system that was never designed around their strengths. The conversation moves from personal to systemic and back again — from Maria Camila's own family, which she calls "brothers and sisters in arms," to her work building trust with Afro-Colombian community leaders, to the coordinated, multi-layered attacks she's watching unfold against immigrant communities in Lake County, Illinois. What emerges is a harder truth than equity alone can hold: for the communities she serves, the fight right now isn't about reaching the same finish line. It's about being allowed to keep breathing at all. This episode asks listeners to sit with a question Whitney can't shake: who in your life might be fighting just to exist — and would you know it if they were? Links to engage with this week’s episode: Connect with Maria Camila Velasquez: Instagram @camilastintico (instagram.com/camilastintico) LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/mariacvelasquez) Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned: Arden Shore Child & Family Services (ardenshore.com) (where Maria Camila serves as President & CEO) Radiante Strategy Group (www.linkedin.com/company/radiantestrategygroup/) (founded by Maria Camila) Casa Innovation (www.instagram.com/casa_innovation/) (a non-profit that supports underestimated social entrepreneurs, founded by Maria) Othering & Belonging Institute (belonging.berkeley.edu) at UC Berkeley, home of john a. powell's equity framework Whitney references in her opening Donate On July 10th, a fire tore through barrio Pablo Sexto in Quibdó — destroying more than 30 homes, displacing nearly 120 people, and taking two lives: a grandmother and her six-year-old grandson. Support survivors and displaced people from the fires in Quibdó at gofund.me/5f067e05b (http://gofund.me/5f067e05b) (organized by Casa Innovation and Liseth Martinez) Further reading on ideas we raised “First They Came” (https://hmd.org.uk/resource/first-they-came-by-pastor-martin-niemoller/) – by Pastor Martin Niemöller (original poem that Whitney adapted) Whitney’s adaptation of “First They Came” (www.instagram.com/reel/DbtaQ49y61y/?igsh=MXVpemkyMGwzMXo5dQ==) referenced by Maria

14. 

    3 Aug 2026

    4: Level Up Your Freedom - with Darrie Matthew Burrage

    Darrie Matthew Burrage is an innovation consultant who treats every relationship like a friendship — diving in deep, building trust fast, and refusing the small talk. He brings that same approach to this conversation. Darrie Matthew unpacks the difference between what he calls exploitive interdependence — where people need each other, but the power between them is wildly unequal — and something more equitable, more dignified. He traces that idea from garden plots to workplaces to the wealthy, arguing that freedom isn't just about what you have, but what you're willing to be free from: scarcity thinking, blame, the exhausting hustle of going it alone. Along the way, he and Whitney talk about Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King Jr.'s indictment of America, and what it costs — and what it opens up — to keep showing up for people, especially across lines of race and gender, even when it's uncomfortable. By the end, Darrie Matthew's advice is disarmingly simple: get curious about the people already in your life. Most of us don't actually know what our friends do, what they're building, or what they need — and that ignorance, he says, is quietly limiting our freedom. So this week: who in your circle could you go one level deeper with? What might become possible if you did? Links to engage with this week’s episode: Connect with Darrie Matthew LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrie-matthew-burrage/)linkedin.com/in/darrie-matthew-burrage (http://linkedin.com/in/darrie-matthew-burrage) Further reading on ideas we raised “Nobody's free until everybody's free." - Fannie Lou Hamer (https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/fannie-lou-hamer), during her speech at the founding meeting of the National Women's Political Caucus in Washington, D.C. on July 10, 1971. "I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech (https://afscme.org/about/history/mlk/mountaintop/). He delivered this speech in support of the striking sanitation workers at Mason Temple in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968 — the day before he was assassinated.

15. 

    27 Jul 2026

    3: Power With, Not Over - with Selena Chávez

    In this episode of Who Do You Love?, Whitney sits down with Selena Chávez — photojournalist, executive director of Fuerza Democrats Tennessee, and proud daughter of Colombian immigrants — to explore what it actually looks like to build power with a community rather than over it. Selena shares how she's organizing in one of the country's toughest political landscapes for immigrant communities, leading language justice work, poll safety efforts, and a first-of-its-kind support system for Latino candidates in Tennessee. The conversation moves from the personal to the systemic: Selena's own journey with imposter syndrome and self-acceptance, growing up as one of the only Latina kids with curly hair in Chattanooga, and how her father's sacrifices as a refugee shaped her belief in showing up for people she'll never meet. Whitney and Selena dig into what collective power actually requires — listening before assuming, defining success beyond the obvious win, and holding urgency alongside the patience that real coalition-building demands. This episode is a reminder that power isn't something you hoard at the head of the table — it's something you build by bringing more people to it. Don’t forget to prepare for upcoming election dates (https://www.vote411.org/) in your area. For those in Tennessee with Selena, make sure to vote on August 6 for State and Federal Primary races, along with the General Election for open state judicial seats and certain county offices. Links to engage with this week’s episode: Selena's photography work — Instagram @MiradaBySelena  (https://www.instagram.com/miradabyselena/) Fuerza Democrats Tennessee — Instagram @FuerzaDemsTN (https://www.instagram.com/fuerzademstn/) or www.fuerzatn.org (http://www.fuerzatn.org) Community Land Trust background — Whitney references this example of collective power building. For more information, read this Brookings article (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/community-land-trusts-an-old-school-innovation-with-new-school-structural-applications/). 287(g) agreement — Selena references this ICE/local law enforcement agreement. Read a bit about it from this MIRA Coalition explainer (https://miracoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Understanding-the-Difference-287g-Agreements-vs.-ICE-Detention-Bed-Contracts-IGSAs-.pdf). Festival of the Diaspora — Whitney and Selena first met volunteering at this annual gathering. Instagram @festival_diaspora (https://www.instagram.com/festival_diaspora/)

16. 

    20 Jul 2026

    2: Keep Going...with Support - with Asad Bandeali

    What happens when resilience isn't something you build alone, but something a whole community hands you, piece by piece? In this episode of Who Do You Love?, host Whitney Buchmann sits down with Asad Bandeali, founder and lead strategic consultant of A Spark Consulting, to explore resilience as a lifelong, communal practice rather than a solo pursuit. Asad traces resilience across his own life — from immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager and quietly answering to the wrong name for two years, to becoming a father and learning that raising a child "takes a village" of perspectives, not just one. The conversation moves from the personal to the systemic: how funding instability is reshaping the nonprofit sector, how faith communities model showing up for people regardless of shared belief, and how designing for resilience means designing for everyone — introverts, non-English speakers, people who find solace in a pet or a book instead of a crowd. Along the way, Asad and Whitney dig into what it really means to build interdependent communities on purpose — through mentorship, local "champions" models used during COVID-era outreach, and the discipline of stepping back so communities can lead themselves. It's a conversation about self-love as the foundation of showing up for others, and a reminder that no one — including Asad himself — has to go it alone. Links to engage with this week’s episode: Asad's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/asadbandeali/) A Spark Consulting website (https://asparkconsult.com/) Asad's personal website (https://asadbandeali.com/) Family Rise Together (https://www.facebook.com/familyrisetogether/) — the BIPOC-led, Northeast Minnesota fatherhood-focused organization Asad mentioned supporting UMMA Health (https://www.ummahealthca.org/) (Los Angeles) - the faith-based clinic Asad mentions that was build to improve health access regardless of a person’s faith tradition TRS Health (https://trshealth.org/) (Houston) — the mobile health clinic organization Asad’s friends run

17. 

    13 Jul 2026

    1: Sustainability is for People - with Kristen Kerr

    What does it actually mean to live sustainably? In this first episode of Who Do You Love?, host Whitney Buchmann sits down with Kristen Kerr, founder of Cultivate the Creative and CEO of Creating Resilient Solutions, to explore how sustainability shows up far beyond recycling and clean energy. From a shared snowblower in a Nebraska cul-de-sac to extension cords strung across a Florida hurricane-hit neighborhood, Kristen and Whitney trace how community — not individual ownership — is what actually sustains us. The conversation moves from the personal to the structural: Kristen shares how burnout taught her that sustaining a nonprofit means sustaining herself first, how tribal communities she works with model interdependence through shared energy sovereignty and intergenerational wisdom, and how grant funding rollbacks are leaving the most vulnerable communities further out of the conversation. Along the way, they talk about thrifting, Sagrada Família, Braiding Sweetgrass, and why "just found a nonprofit" isn't always the answer. This episode asks a hard question: who are we leaving out of sustainability, and what would it actually ask of us to include them? Kristen's answer: usually just time, patience, and a little discomfort — the same price of any real relationship. Links to engage with this week’s episode: Cultivate the Creative (Kristen's nonprofit) Instagram: @Cultivate_The_Creative (https://www.instagram.com/cultivate_the_creative?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==) Website: cultivatethecreative.org (http://cultivatethecreative.org) Email: connect@cultivatethecreative.org (mailto:connect@cultivatethecreative.org) Follow Kristen on LinkedIn (http://linkedin.com/in/kristenkerr34) to see more about her consulting work as the CEO Creating Resilient Solutions The Hub (https://stpetehubs.org/) —a program offering St Petersburg, FL residents free therapy sessions and other support services to create a healthier, more resilient community. Braiding Sweetgrass (https://bookshop.org/p/books/braiding-sweetgrass-indigenous-wisdom-scientific-knowledge-and-the-teachings-of-plants-robin-wall-kimmerer/6fa4d296293d20e8?aid=86677&ean=9781571311771&listref=robin-wall-kimmerer) by Robin Wall Kimmerer (the book Whitney references) Sagrada Família (https://www.sagradafamiliatickets.org/en#galeria) — if you want a quick visual reference of this amazing nature-inspired architectural feat that Kristen references

18. 

    4 Jul 2026

    Trailer: Interdependence Day

    Host, Whitney Buchmann, introduces the podcast and shares a story about why these topics matter from her personal life before reflecting on how these themes intersect with the July 4th celebration in the United States. Subscribe now to know when the first episode drops.

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3 ratings

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