Craig and Them

We're back! After a long hiatus Craig and Them is back with a new guest, author and blogger Paul A. Henderson. We discuss his upcoming book, Slave No More, his blog about fatherhood, and the importance of mentoring. "Through the sharing of true stories, Slave No More teaches how to overcome life circumstances and live a life free from belief in limitation." Pre-order Slave No More wherever you choose to purchase your books.

Tune in for some laughter as Atlanta-based comedian Kyndra Crump joins us to share her thoughts about her favorite comedians and a lot of other things. Check her our on her social media to hear from this hilarious comedian.

Michelle and I are joined by award winning documentary filmmaker, Alicia Aroche. Alicia talks about her beginnings, experience, and current and future projects. 

Patrick and Aaron, hosts of the Trauma Teacher podcast, join me to discuss their great show. We also discuss travel, sports, and how to awkwardly go about making the world a better place.

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Professional counselor, Natasja Visser, joins us from South Africa to discuss the how and when of having the sex talk with your kids. Natasja is an experienced counselor and coach specializing in working with children, adolescents, and families. She developed the Let'S EXplain coaching program to assist parents and teenagers with practical guidance to navigate through a risky world filled with sexual imagery and sexual exploitations. 

This week we have a conversation with psychologist Dr. Megan. She tells us about being and becoming a Geek Therapist and how she uses Dungeons and Dragons and a therapeutic tool to help her clients build confidence, learn social skills, and learn to be the best version of themselves. 

Hear more from Dr. Megan and learn more about Geek therapy:

In this week’s episode Michelle and Craig have a conversation with Amy Edge, an operations and project management expert for visionaries and change-makers in the online space.We talk to her about her own passion project, The Rising Sisterhood. The Rising Sisterhood is a book, movement, and a collective created by Amy and other women designed to build a community of support and uplifting change.

Marcus, Shawn, and Craig get back together after a couple month break to discuss the issues that have occurred since last we spoke. Beginning with current events, the conversation eventually turns to the guys discussing their own personal stories about growing up as black men.

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Craig and Michelle are joined by Christoper Rashad Green, a community organizer and activist for New Virginia Majority's Criminal Justice Campaign. Christopher shares his emotional story of going from incarceration to activism and how what he believes needs to be done to help re-entrants as well as preventing African-American youth from entering the pipeline. Christopher also shares his vision for his own organization, Free*Dome Unlimited, Inc. 

We are joined by Author Ericka K. F.  Simpson to discuss her new book, Fostered to Love:  

"After learning that there is a shortage of foster parents across the state of Georgia, Cheyenne sees an opportunity to not only help more children in the system but to also fulfill her desires of being a mother...if she can only convince her wife the reward will be worth the risk."

Ericka discusses how her own rewarding and life altering experiences as a foster and adoptive parent influenced her work.  We also talk about what has helped her to produce so much quality work (8 books since 2003).

Today's guest is Mz. Valentine, a published model, who has appeared at New York’s Fashion week and recently launched a perfume fragrance called, Unbreakable. We discuss her burgeoning career as a model, entrepreneur and check in to see what other areas this multi-talented woman will be breaking into. Check out her work and purchase your own bottle of Unbreakable. 

We're back with Marcus and Shawn as we discuss our views on the return of sports and not getting drawn into the social media haze of fake news. We also introduce you to the new format of the show and if you stick around until the end you may be able to win a $25 giftcard to a black owned business of your choice.

Theme music – Too Funky owned by FesliyanStudios

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We lighten things up this week as two of my former interns, Carol and Julie, join Michelle and me for a fun conversation. So if you want a break from all the heaviness of the moment, pour your self a drink and join us. 

Aaron, Marcus, and Shawn rejoin me to continue our conversation about the Black Live Matter movement, defunding the police, and what steps we've taken in the three weeks since our last conversation. We also discuss our fears and concerns about what happens if this movement is not as successful as we all hope it should be.

Our guest this week is Mark Lowen. He’s a licensed professional counselor in Richmond, VA, founder of Launchpad Counseling, and specializes in parenting, relationships, and LGBTQ issues. He joins us to discuss his new project, The True Colors of Family, a coloring book that celebrates LGBTQ families. We also mine his decade-plus experience working with families, to discuss parenting and talking to our children during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Links to get in contact with Mark and to find his books:

Virginia is currently debating legalization of marijuana. There are several routes the state is considering and there are a number of organizations attempting to help guide the debate and ensure that the decisions made benefit everyone. Marijuana Justice is one of those organizations. Ed Miller, the co-founder and president, joins us to discuss aspects of the debate and his organizations goals and plans for the future.

Licensed Master Esthetician, Lori Ragsdale, joins us to discuss how we can all take better care of our skin and offers tips to ensure that you maintain hydrated healthy skin. She also discusses what it takes to become a master esthetician and the services she offers. Join us for a conversation about the skin you're in.

Find out more about Lori's services:

On this week's episode, Erin Leigh of @theNeatNiche joins us as she discusses her holistic approach to helping her clients organize and de-clutter their space. She provides insight into her philosophy of teaching individual and corporate clients to "live organized and enjoy life."

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Many people decide to take a cruise for a vacation. For those of you who have never experienced a cruise and still desire to do so, tune in to this episode to get tips and tricks to make it the best experience possible. Our friend Chris is a frequent cruiser and shares some helpful advice for anyone who wants to sail away on their next vacation. 

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We're back! Episode 11 highlights some of my favorite moments from the first ten episodes as well as gives a sneak preview of some of our upcoming topics. Give us a follow: 

In this episode I'm joined by certified financial planner, Stephen Korving. We discuss his experiences helping families budget, save, and plan for retirement.  He provides insight into why he feels people struggle with knowing where their money is going and how they may get a better hold of their finances. Stephen explains the benefits of the Virginia 529 and the options you may not knew existed with it. We also may have gotten a little too personal.

Things get a little random. Michelle throws herself under the bus, and Craig has a little too much fun not letting her get out of it.