Co-Creating the Universe | Baratunde Thurston ’95 - Ep 09

In the latest episode of Lives That Speak, Head of School Bryan Garman talks with two of our alumni coaches: boys' head basketball coach Eric Singletary, class of '93, and head tennis coach Logan West, class of '01. Together they discuss Eric and Logan's time as students, what it's like to coach at their alma mater, the importance of savoring the moment, and what it takes to imbue students with a culture centered on gratefulness, resilience, service, and community.

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In the latest episode of Lives That Speak, Head of School Bryan Garman talks with Ava Coleman ’11, a writer for Abbott Elementary. Coleman talks about her quick rise in the entertainment industry, why she loves coming-of-age stories, and why the principal on Abbott is also named Ava Coleman. (The podcast was recorded on April 17, before the start of the Hollywood writers’ strike.)

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In this episode of the Lives That Speak podcast, Bryan spoke to J. Bradford DeLong ’78, an economics professor at UC Berkeley about his new book, Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century. They discuss technological innovation, the unintended outcomes of development, historical hypotheticals, and the economic lessons learned from the long 20th century.

A highly regarded author, public servant, and scholar, Brad is currently a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Brad also writes a widely read economics blog called Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality. Previously, he was a deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury during the Clinton administration.

Buy the book - Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century

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In this episode of the Lives That Speak podcast, Bryan spoke to Andrea Johnson Razzaghi ’78, on the vastness of deep space, practicing for failure, the scariest seven minutes in engineering, and why you should always stop and smell the science.

The director of the NASA Office of JPL Management Oversight at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Andrea has played a significant role in many exciting NASA endeavors over the course of her career. She’s worked on missions that have earned the Nobel prize, landed an SUV-sized rover on Mars, helped to unravel the mysteries of the big bang, and discovered planets beyond our solar system, just to name a few. During the Clinton Administration, The White House requested that Andrea serve as a senior policy analyst in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. In that position, Andrea coordinated the activities of the National Science and Technology Council and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Prior to her time at NASA, she worked as a Navy contractor. Andrea has won many awards for her service to NASA and the nation and was the 2014 recipient of the Brown University Engineering Alumni Medal and the 2020 Catholic University of America Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award.

Video - 7 Minutes of Terror: Curiosity Rover's Risky Mars Landing

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In this episode of the Lives That Speak podcast, Natalie Randolph ‘98 sat down with Jon Bernthal ’95 to discuss actor training in post-Soviet Russia, creating his Louisiana passion project, and navigating the perils of acting.

An actor, playwright, and screenwriter, Jon has appeared in such well-known films as Fury and Ford vs. Ferrari. Currently, he stars in the critically acclaimed King Richard and the film adaptation of Small Engine Repair. His work on King Richard has garnered multiple supporting actor nominations, including a golden globe nomination.

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In this episode of the Lives That Speak podcast, Bryan spoke to Liz Kleinrock ’05, an anti-bias, anti-racist educator and founder of Teach and Transform. We discuss curriculum development, how teachers can approach uncomfortable topics with their students, and the importance of calling in rather than calling out. 

A transracial adoptee, Liz was born in South Korea and grew up in DC before attending Washington University in St. Louis. When not in the classroom, Liz works as a facilitator for schools, organizations, and companies across the country, developing anti-racist curricula. In 2018, Liz received Teaching Tolerance's 2018 Award for Excellence in Teaching, and her 2019 TED Talk from "Education Everywhere" has been viewed more than 2 and a half million times. You can also see her on the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s “We Are Not a Stereotype” series about breaking down bias against Asian Americans.​

Watch Liz’s TED talk  - How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics

Purchase Liz’s Book - Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community

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This month, the Lives That Speak podcast spoke to artist Sonya Clark ’85. We discuss the power of Sonya’s art, how curators put objects in conversation with one another, and one of Clark’s favorite media: textiles. Clark has added an afro to Lincoln’s pate on the $5 bill, sewn long rows of dreadlocks to a chair, and invited spectators to join her in painstakingly unraveling the Confederate battle flag until it’s just thread. The deconstruction of “monumental” cloth specifically—whether it’s flags, Black hair, currency, or literature—demonstrates the possibility and the power of undoing to, paradoxically, create something more whole.

Sonya’s upcoming exhibits

Tatter, Bristle, and Mend (solo retrospective) | March 3-May 31

National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC

Heavenly Bound + Monumental Cloth: the flag we should know | April 9-September 12

deCordova Museum and Sculpture park

Crafting America February 6-May31

Crystal Bridges Museum, AR

Barring Freedom through April 25, 2021

San José Museum of Art

Never Done: 100 years of Women in Politics and Beyond through June 6, 2021

Tang Teaching Museum, NY

Word on the Street through August 29, 2021

Emerson Collective, Washington DC

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On this episode of the School’s Lives That Speak podcast, we hear from Baratunde Thurston ’95, the best-selling author, comic, and host of the podcasts How to Citizen and We’re Having a Moment. With the inauguration of the 46th president, the nation seems poised for positive change. Thurston embraces that thirst for change and explains how to manifest it. Because the stories we tell—through both comedy and pain, in both public and private—come to define the kind of world we live in, every person has the extraordinary power to make a better world. If, that is, they choose to tap into that power.

TED Talk - How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time: https://www.baratunde.com/livingwhileblack

How to Citizen: https://www.baratunde.com/howtocitizen

We’re Having a Moment: https://www.baratunde.com/wham

Purchase the Book “How To Be Black: https://bookshop.org/books/how-to-be-black/9780062003225

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Follow Baratunde on  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube: @baratunde

In this episode of Lives that Speak, Head of School, Bryan Garman chats with composer and singer/songwriter Kathryn Bostic about working with August Wilson, celebrating Toni Morrison, honoring her own self-sovereignty, and listening to silence.

Kathryn is known for her original work on film, TV, theater, and symphonic music. She was recently Emmy nominated for her score in the 2019 award-winning film “Toni Morrison- The Pieces I am”; Kathryn is the recipient of many fellowships and awards including the prestigious Sundance Time Warner Fellowship. in 2016, Kathryn became the first female African American score composer in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Kathryn's Website - https://kathrynbostic.com
Distinguished Alumni Award Video - https://youtu.be/ViYQ8eCdpz0 

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Bryan Garman, Sidwell Friends' Head of School, chats with David Fischer '90 about the importance of giving a voice to all and the delicate balancing act of nurturing an inclusive organizational culture.  

David Fischer is the Chief Revenue Officer at Facebook. He is responsible for Facebook's advertising business and manages the Sales and Marketing teams worldwide. 

Prior to joining Facebook in 2010, David was Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. Starting in 2002, he built and directed Google's online sales channel, which represents the majority of Google's customers worldwide, and helped build Google's online advertising network into the largest in the world. He played a major role in globalizing Google's business and operations, opening offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. 

David previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Treasury Department. At Treasury, he served as an advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and worked on a variety of economic policy issues within the federal government. Prior to that, David was an Associate Editor at U.S. News & World Report, where he covered economics and business from Washington, DC.  

David holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a master's in business administration from Stanford University. He is recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. David serves on the boards of the Alterra Mountain Company and the Ad Council, where he is Board Chair. 

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