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I'm Curious with Ashley Asti

I'm Curious with Ashley Asti

By Ashley Asti

I'm curious. Aren't you?
A podcast that brings the unfamiliar closer. Telling stories that remind us love demands we move toward justice and that we're all connected.
Hosted by Ashley Asti (@ashleyasti on Instagram).

Follow I'm Curious podcast on Instagram and Twitter @imcuriouspod
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Returning Citizen

I'm Curious with Ashley AstiSep 30, 2020

00:00
37:08
Poetry as Healing with Jim Elsaesser
Mar 16, 202350:60
Building an Unprecedented Future with Jason Bryant
May 16, 202254:51
Healing our Discontent with Michael Hoffner
Apr 07, 202247:29
Redefining the Dream with Denise Correll
Mar 10, 202254:36
From a Life Sentence to Love with Richard Mireles
Feb 24, 202201:08:47
Healing Trauma with Marina Yanay-Triner
Feb 10, 202201:02:02
One Refugee at a Time with Kayra Martinez
Jan 27, 202245:35
Re-emerging Into Her Power with Serena Liguori

Re-emerging Into Her Power with Serena Liguori

Serena Liguori, the Executive Director of New Hour for Women and Children—Long Island, is an activist and a force—a woman living from her power who’s equipping other women to emerge after incarceration knowing their power as the leaders of their own lives and in their communities. She unpacks her story, from growing up poor but filled with joy and love, to the women she met behind bars, to her depth as an activist and her intentions as a mother.

Website: https://www.newhourli.org

Instagram: @newhourforwomen

Twitter: @NewHOUR_LI

Facebook: @NewHOURforWomenandChildren

Jan 13, 202256:23
Unleashed with Dionne Ybarra
Dec 02, 202150:37
Movement is Life with Gloria Araya
Nov 11, 202101:01:44
Growing Up with Dad in Prison
Nov 04, 202144:32
Doing the Work with Zach Minuto

Doing the Work with Zach Minuto

Zach and I set out to answer this question: are work and purpose the same thing? Zach and I have known each other since high school and, since then, have found ourselves on unlikely paths: him working his way through divinity school only to lapse with the Church and me seeking entrepreneurial—but not always stable—pursuits all in my hunger to unite my passion and my job. But as we both stand at the precipice of new career opportunities—him choosing, at least for the moment, a solid 9 to 5 at a local company and me a full-time opportunity at a nonprofit—we want to know: can and should a job fulfill you? Along the way, we wonder about what it means to do the work of living a life—creative work, spiritual work, and community work—all to unpack what it means to us to live a good life.

Oct 21, 202101:17:23
Standing in Her Beauty with Jade Beall

Standing in Her Beauty with Jade Beall

“I’m going to show you what a divine miracle you are.” Photographer Jade Beall doesn’t simply capture someone’s image through her lens; she reminds them of their beauty. Ten years ago, deep in postpartum depression after the birth of her son and feeling at war with her body, she stripped off her clothes and took a photo for the world to see, no hiding. It went viral—women wanted to liberate themselves from hiding, too, and to see the truth of their own magnificence in a world that continues to tell them their bodies are too much or never enough. Since then, Jade has taken millions of photographs of women in their bare beauty, all shapes and stages of life.

It is Jade’s heart that can be felt the most in this episode. Her book Wise Bodies Beautiful Elders comes out this spring.

About Jade:

Jade Beall is a proud mother and a Tucson, AZ based world-renowned photographer specializing in truthful images of women that inspire them to feel irreplaceably beautiful and good about one's body as a counter-balance to the airbrushed, photoshopped imagery of a single body shape and age that dominates mainstream media. Her work and book "Bodies Of Mothers" has touched millions of women's lives and garnered global attention from media outlets including the BBC, The Today Show, The Huffington Post, and beyond. Jade's books and social media platforms feature truthful photos of women alongside their stories of their journey to build self-compassion in a world that thrives off women believing that their bodies are problematic and never enough.

Connect with Jade:

Website: jadebeall.com

Instagram: @jadebeallphotography

Facebook: @jadebeallphotography

Oct 14, 202101:00:37
Finding Joy with Oneika Mays
Oct 07, 202152:41
The Promise of Justice with Mercedes Montagnes

The Promise of Justice with Mercedes Montagnes

“We have to get out of this notion that revenge is going to heal us in any way.” Mercedes Montagnes grew up wanting to be an actress. Instead, she found herself taking the LSATs on a whim and, eventually, becoming a lawyer. As the Executive Director of The Promise of Justice Initiative, Mercedes and her litigation team are challenging racist laws and practices in prisons in Louisiana, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world. In our conversation, we explore what meaningful healing looks like (including for survivors), her continuing fight for justice for those convicted by the Jim Crow era practice of nonunanimougs juries, prison plantation labor, Covid—and, of course, change. “There is hope,” she told me. “It’s hard,” but change is possible.

Mercedes Montagnes is the Executive Director of The Promise of Justice Initiative. Mercedes jumped into her legal career feet first by litigating prison conditions throughout Louisiana. Her first impact litigation case challenged the alarming heat conditions on Death Row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. Today, her litigation team is tackling a myriad of issues ranging from medical care to over detention.

In addition to leading the litigation team, Mercedes oversees the projects at PJI. In the last year, this has included exposing corruption and violence in law enforcement in Jefferson Davis Parish, building the Jim Crow Juries Project on behalf of people incarcerated from non-unanimous juries, establishing and building Louisiana Survivors for Reform—a group of justice minded survivors, and coordinating litigation and policy responses to COVID-19 for those in prisons and jails throughout the state. Mercedes’ work is rooted in the belief that our criminal court system must be reformed in order to keep our communities, both inside and outside prison, safe. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and clerked for Judge Carl Barbier in the Eastern District of Louisiana and Chief Judge Roger Gregory on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Connect with Promise of Justice Initiative:

Website: https://promiseofjustice.org

Instagram: @justicespromise

Twitter: @justicespromise 

Facebook: @promiseofjustice

Sep 30, 202155:55
In the Hot Seat with Ashley Asti

In the Hot Seat with Ashley Asti

The host is in the hot seat! I handed the I’m Curious keys over to my friend Diane Kahn, who interviewed me. We explore my life lessons, my moments of shame and fear about my purpose, the best yoga classes where laughter erupts in the middle of them, and more. Let’s dive in!

Connect with Ashley:

Instagram: @ashleyasti

Twitter: @ashley_asti

Sep 23, 202153:39
Reimagining Healing for Pakistani Survivors with Alina Anjum Ahmed

Reimagining Healing for Pakistani Survivors with Alina Anjum Ahmed

I grew up in a “very, very patriarchal country,” Alina Anjum Ahmed told me about her home, Pakistan. “It’s a different place,” she said, where gender role constrictions and violence against women is common. “I’m certain that a lot of women who have been abused or who have had violence committed against them don’t even know because they’re so used to it and because they think it’s so normal.” 

By her early 20s, Alina started realizing the full scope of the violence and decided to do something about it. Today, a graduate student on a Fulbright scholarship in the United States, Alina is changing the way survivors in Pakistan understand harassment and abuse by bringing them together in listening circles where they can feel seen and heard.

Alina is youthful and fiery and determined. I love her sense of her own power to create change and her responsibility—and I can’t wait to continue watching her grow.

About Alina:

Alina is a Pakistani Fulbright graduate student studying Philosophy in the US. She is a feminist activist and organizer who aims to work on Transformative Justice in community organizing. She volunteers for Aurat March Lahore, which does amazing work in feminist organizing, community aid, and socio-political resistance. She is also a GATHER fellow with Seeds of Peace for her work in her organization CHADAR (Challenging Harassment and Abuse, Demanding Action and Respect) and is a co-founder for Pakistan's first intersectional feminist e-mag Behenchara (translation: sisterhood).

Behencharamag.com

Chadar.org

Seedsofpeace.org/changemakers/alina-2/

Spread Love:

Alina suggests whoever can visits this GoFundMe page to support Afghan women activists fleeing the Taliban. 

Sep 16, 202101:04:30
Worthy of Love with Sol Mercado
Sep 02, 202101:03:02
Music is Power with Eric “Maserati-E” Abercrombie
Aug 26, 202101:07:53
Our Shared Humanity with Diane Kahn
Aug 19, 202101:12:54
Purpose-Driven Life with Martin Lockett

Purpose-Driven Life with Martin Lockett

When Martin Lockett drove drunk on New Years Eve 2003, it changed everything. Upon learning that the two people who died when he crashed into their car that night were volunteers in the drug and alcohol recovery community, Martin chose to dedicate his life to helping others through addiction counseling and drinking and driving prevention.

This episode is a special one for me because Martin and I are friends. And, after 17 years in prison, Martin is finally home.

About Martin:

Martin Lockett is a writer and speaker whose words have impacted thousands of people, even before leaving prison. While incarcerated, he earned his Master of Science in Psychology with honors and his state certification as a substance abuse counselor. He has published two books and, home for just a month, he’s already a sought-after speaker for his story and wisdom.

Aug 12, 202101:21:55
A Practice for the Tired & Weary with Rashid Hughes
Aug 05, 202101:09:60
Basketball Means Love with Anthony Ammons
Jul 29, 202101:02:27
Prison and the Pandemic with Natalie Keyssar
Jul 22, 202156:42
Bringing Feminism to Prison with Mannie Thomas III
Jul 15, 202101:26:46
Unapologetically About the Women with London Croudy
Jul 08, 202101:08:04
A World Without Sexual Harm with Alissa Ackerman
Jun 27, 202155:59
Why is this Happening? with Troy Williams
Jun 21, 202155:14
Unchurched with Zach Minuto

Unchurched with Zach Minuto

This is I’m Curious: Friends Edition. I’ve known my guest, Zach Minuto, since high school. This episode is called Unchurched, and we’re getting into all of it: Catholic sexual repression, did Jesus have a wife?, false gods, climate change, reimagining Eve, and more.

Zach Minuto is, among many other things, a writer, musician, and instrument-maker who resides in New Haven, Connecticut. He completed his MA in Religion at Yale Divinity School and began a Ph.D in History of Religion before dropping out to pursue other projects independently. As a musician, his work foregrounds homemade instruments, and his debut album, /our father has left us but our mother is all around/, will be out digitally this fall. His writing combines musical and cultural criticism with a postmodern theological outlook as he seeks to understand the things that bring us together. His book about noise is in its infancy, but he promises it’ll be out eventually…

Jun 13, 202101:35:01
"This Runs Deep" with Rodolfo Buenrostro
Jun 06, 202144:29
No Longer Silent with Kimya Motley
Jun 01, 202152:20
Holy Ground is Everywhere with Darren Calhoun
May 23, 202101:00:56
Leaning into Questions with Brooks Scott

Leaning into Questions with Brooks Scott

Brooks Scott is a motorcycle-riding, classical music-listening, poet-admiring Executive Coach. He percolates connections and works with organizations to facilitate uncomfortable conversations around unconscious bias.

Brooks was an English teacher turned NJ State Trooper who led Chris Christie’s protection team. He then left the East coast to head up the Executive Protection team at Facebook for Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. At Facebook, he travelled the world and had a literal backseat to everything happening there. But it was upon stumbling into some executive coaching courses that he knew he had found his calling.

Our conversation spans the gamut from how to make peace with risks in your life and career, to the power of asking the right questions, to vulnerability, to the current state of race relations in this country—and whether you should be talking about it at work.

Connect with Brooks:

Merging Path Coaching: https://www.mergingpath.com/

Twitter: @brooksescott

Instagram: @brooksescott

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brooksavesso.scott

May 16, 202155:27
The Comeback with Emily O'Brien
May 09, 202153:50
Broken Wide Open with Katie Jameson
May 02, 202158:35
Coming Home with Danica Gim
Apr 25, 202152:12
Authentic Manhood with Austin Galy
Apr 18, 202101:04:05
Sacred Pleasure with Vanessa Cuccia
Apr 11, 202147:27
Love Without Borders with Kayra Martinez
Mar 28, 202142:48
A Storyteller's Life with b. john gully
Mar 21, 202101:02:50
Artie Gonz on Love
Mar 14, 202101:12:15
The Stubborn Optimist with Dorie Hagler
Mar 07, 202152:34
The One with the Best Friend: Brittany Schiavone

The One with the Best Friend: Brittany Schiavone

This is a fun one! My guest is one of my best friends, Brittany Schiavone. Brittany is the founder of Brittany’s Baskets of Hope, a nonprofit on a mission to spread resources, hope, and love to families with new babies with Down syndrome across the United States. Brittany is creative, playful, sassy, and she happens to have Down syndrome.

Brittany and I have been guests on a bunch of podcasts together, but today we’re dishing on some never been told before inside stories! We talk about our friendship and play a game of how-well-do-we-know-each-other trivia. We talk about our celebrity crushes, a scandalous 30th birthday party, one epic week spent together in New York City, and of course Brittany’s Baskets of Hope.

I’m blessed to serve as a Board Member and the Social Media Director of Brittany’s Baskets of Hope. I featured my friendship with Brittany in my book, Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community.

Brittany’s Baskets of Hope:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Request a basket of hope here.

Feb 28, 202150:39
Becoming a Dancer with Nilaya Sabnis
Feb 21, 202154:54
College in Prison with Stacy Burnett

College in Prison with Stacy Burnett

Without Bard Prison Initiative, Stacy Burnett says she would have “rotted in a prison cell.”

My guest today is Stacy Burnett, who got her college degree in her forties while she was in prison. Stacy was part of the groundbreaking program BPI, or Bard Prison Initiative, which was featured in the acclaimed documentary, College Behind Bars. The program enrolls hundreds of incarcerated students full-time in college programs. When these students graduate, they cross that stage with a real degree from Bard College in their hands.

Stacy has worked for years as a writer and now works for College & Community Fellowship in New York, where she helps criminal justice-impacted women get into college.

In the episode, she shares the life-altering impact of a higher education—and who’s worthy of it, the criminalization of mental health issues especially for women, and the grief of being a mother behind bars.

You can follow Stacy on Twitter @stacylynburnet2

You can find a full transcript of this interview here.

Feb 07, 202159:36
Messages from Beyond with Denise Correll
Jan 31, 202152:54
Overdose Isn’t Murder: Morgan Godvin on America’s Failing Drug Policies

Overdose Isn’t Murder: Morgan Godvin on America’s Failing Drug Policies

When Morgan Godvin gave her friend Justin some heroin, she didn’t imagine he’d end up dead. Not, at least, until a SWAT team showed up at her house, pointing guns at her, and arresting her for his overdose.

In this powerful episode, Morgan shares her story and the devastating drug policies that are failing us and continuing to leave, as Morgan says, “too many of my friends dead.”

Morgan is now a student at Portland State University studying public health. She’s a prolific decarceration and drug policy reform advocate, researcher, and speaker with hopes for law school.

Full episode transcript available here.

Jan 24, 202155:08
Food Apartheid in Crow Country with Tsanavi Spoonhunter

Food Apartheid in Crow Country with Tsanavi Spoonhunter

In this episode, I speak with Native American reporter and filmmaker Tsanavi Spoonhunter about her documentary Crow Country: Our Right to Food Sovereignty. On the Crow Reservation where food sources are already scarce, the one affordable grocery store has burned down and tribal members are restricted from their traditional hunting grounds. Crow Country: Our Right to Food Sovereignty follows several tribal members who are fighting for better food and a better future for their community.

As Tsanavi makes it clear, this is a deeper crisis than simply not having access to healthy food: this is food apartheid. “It’s food racism,” she says. Systematic oppression.

Jan 12, 202137:06
Syria Through the Lens with Catherine Ward
Jan 05, 202153:14
Meet Formerly Incarcerated Trans Activist Lisa Strawn

Meet Formerly Incarcerated Trans Activist Lisa Strawn

For two years while Lisa was incarcerated, she and I hand-wrote letters to each other, sent between New York and California. Lisa Strawn, a trans rights activist, is a transgender woman who served time in San Quentin’s men’s prison until her release in July 2020. In this episode, Lisa shares her story from childhood to the present, talking about her early gender confusion, life in prison, activism, getting COVID while incarcerated, and what the freedom she never expected to experience feels like.

Dec 07, 202058:27