reading bell hooks to love better, and with intention, with Ricki Cummings [S1E2]

Dancer, choreographer, and documentary filmmaker Dan Watt joins Elle for the first episode of March, which is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. He is eager to share his film Everybody Dance, which follows a group of diverse dancers with various disabilities as they prepare for a recital with an inclusive dance studio, Ballet For All Kids. Dan, who is not disabled, and Elle, who has acquired a disability later in her life, discuss their love of the arts, the joys and challenges of working creatively with children of any ability, and their evolving capacities to center the voices, consent, and autonomy of the disabled individuals with whom they have worked.

You can find links to Everybody Dance! in the full show notes at hoorfpodcast.com

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Content note: this episode contains swearing, and is a frank discussion about death, directed death, and medically assisted dying. We encourage our listeners to exercise care while listening to this episode.

Toronto-based disability advocate and real-life disabled icon Andrew Gurza returns to Hoorf for their second appearance in this heavy-hitting episode. Andrew and Elle share a frank discussion about MAID, Canada’s Medical Assistance In Dying program. Andrew shares his raw feelings about a friend who has applied for MAID, their deep concerns about how the program is being offered to disabled Canadians, and what the availability of the program signifies about the failing social supports for vulnerable Canadians.

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Content Note: this episode contains swearing

Griot Goods owner and exuberant plant nerd Curly Dacs joins Elle for an upbeat episode, where Curly shares some wisdom from the potting bench: people are really just complicated plants. Plant parents of all skill levels (and no skill level at all!) will want to hear what she has to say, so dig into this conversation, forgive yourself for past plant failings, and remember to hydrate.

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Dextra Hoffman’s talent as a portrait artist first captured Elle’s attention when Dex posted a WiP (work in progress) of Kate McKinnon as Holtzmann on Facebook. Elle quickly procured the portrait (which now hangs in their bedroom), spent a Comic Con with Dextra, and asked their brilliant friend to come on the podcast with the hopes that she would share the story of her grandpa and Captain America. She lovingly obliged. In this far-ranging conversation, Elle and Dextra share how their art has been impacted by grief, their sometimes goofy strategies for breaking out of the tunnel vision of ADHD-driven creative activities, so they remember to do things like eat and stretch, and as many things as their ADHD can fit into a meandering 45 minute episode.

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Content Note: this episode contains some swears and discusses the occupation of Palestine

Hoorf! Podcast co-producers Elle Billing and Ricki Cummings sit down for a long winter’s chat over the holidays. On their minds: the season of Advent, the occupation of Palestine, and their ache for a something better in the world. Join them for the final episode of 2023 as they light a candle against the dark and ponder the why of our winter rituals.

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Content Note: discussions of parental illness and death; mention of su* ideation, discussion of depression and alcohol abuse.

Our host Elle and this episode’s guest Nick Josten have known each other since sharing the improv stage in university. Since that time, Nick has lived in Japan, performed stand-up in Reno, and co-starred in an independent film. During their conversation, he and Elle agree that the one thing they were never prepared to face as adults was becoming caregivers for their aging parents. Engaging with their parents’ mortality has forced both of them to confront a whole slurry of emotions; Nick shares how he has used creative practices — acting and writing — to alchemize his grief into tangible projects that can resonate with others.

Nick and Elle recorded this conversation in late September. We here at Hoorf extend our condolences to the Josten family, as Nick’s father passed from cancer in the days preceding the release of this episode. May his memory be a blessing to all who knew him.

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Content Note: this episode contains descriptions of a child's coming out from the perspective of a parent, who is candid about her own homophobia. This story is shared with the consent of the (now adult) child, but some of the parent's early conceptions of the queer community are admittedly uneducated. 

In this episode, Elle shares an earnest conversation with Jen Blair, who shares her journey as the mother of a gay son. Jen’s family spent decades in the LDS church, and by most standards were a typical Mormon family. When her son came out 10 years ago, she found herself at a complete loss for information, and with a singular mission: to love her son the same as she had been loving him before he came out. Jen shares her story of rebuilding community with and for her family in this episode of Hoorf!

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Austin Foudy is an emerging artist in Boise, Idaho. In this interview, he and Elle exchange some vulnerable truths about living with big feelings, their experiences with alcohol and sobriety, and how painting has given each of them the space to move through their emotions with intention and create something that resonates with others.

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Connect with Elle Billing:

• Website: www.hoorfpodcast.com / www.elleandwink.com
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Content note: this episode contains swearing.

Karina Blackheart is The Crone Herself — a Women’s Leadership and Whole Life Evolution Priestess. Her spiritual imperative is to live exactly as she desires while guiding others to liberate their own truth, purpose and power. She joins Elle this episode to talk about Big Crone Energy, the joys of getting old and giving zero f***s, and her new guided container Provocations, which offers women a chance to step into their own Big Crone Energy, no matter their age or station in life.

Subscribe to Hoorf! Radical Care in a Late Capitalist Heckscape wherever you listen to your favorite podcast:

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Become a Patron:

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Connect with Elle Billing:

• Website: www.hoorfpodcast.com / www.elleandwink.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/hoorfpodcast

 Join host Elle Billing as Hoorf! podcast launches its second season with a special two-part episode recorded on a visit to Idaho, where she connected with guest Brandon Connolly. In part two, Brandon illustrates how his life as an amputee leads to frequent encounters with ableism and inaccessibility, as well as his efforts to address the accessibility of the local Pride festival. He and Elle spend a bit of time riffing on their list of dream accessibility features for a perfect world— sidewalks would be a great start.

Subscribe to Hoorf! Radical Care in a Late Capitalist Heckscape wherever you listen to your favorite podcast:

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Become a Patron:

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Connect with Elle Billing:

• Website: www.hoorfpodcast.com / www.elleandwink.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/hoorfpodcast