Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!What is the purpose of education, of schooling, of the school system? How was the American education system developed? What were the reasons behind how and why certain practices and programs were put into place? How were Black and Native children considered in the system? In Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, Eve L. Ewing goes into great detail to chronicle how the American system of education was created and how it was specifically designed with regard to Black and Native people. This book is a must read, especially for anyone interested in education, history, and racial and social justice. Listen in to hear our discussion and how learning this history affected us personally. This was a tough one, but knowledge is power. Stay informed!Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!Jesse Andrews' Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the next installment of our Banned Books Series. It has been banned and removed from library shelves for sexual explicitness, profanity, and degrading content. Tune in to hear our review of the book.Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!Resistance movements are happening all over the world. Some are in their infancy, and some have been in existence for decades. Case in point, Iran. Our guest this week, Zolal Habibi, joins us to talk about Iran's women's rights and human rights resistance movements. Her connection to the movement and her work to support it are incredibly interesting and powerful. We can learn so much from her story and the resistance at large. As a human rights and women's rights advocate and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Zolal Habibi works to amplify the voices of Iranians fighting for freedom and justice.Her activism began as a teenager, shaped profoundly by the loss of her father - a celebrated Iranian writer - who was killed by the regime in 1988. Today, she engages with policymakers, journalists, and civil society leaders worldwide to expose human rights abuses in Iran and support the movement for a democratic, secular republic.Where to find Zolal Habibi and learn more about her work:X/Twitter: x.com/ashrafi4ever                                                                                                               Instagram: instagram.com/ashrafi4everLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zolalhabibi/Websites: ncr-iran.org, maryam-rajavi.com/enSupport the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!What can we learn from myths, archetypes, and goddesses? Specifically, what can we learn from the goddess Inanna? And what does Carl Jung have to do with any of this? This week's guest, Mari Castle, joins us to discuss it all, and then some. Where to find Mari Castle:Website: www.breathwork9.comEmail: Mari.breathwork9@gmail.comSupport the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!In this month's installment of our Banned Books Series, we discuss Shaun David Hutchinson's YA novel We Are the Ants. Tune in to hear our thoughts on the book. Have you read this book or any of Hutchinson's other books? What did you think? Let us know - join the discussion!Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!What effect does an absent father (whether physically or emotionally) have on children, specifically daughters? We explore this topic with this week's guest Dr. Susan Schwartz. Susan E. Schwartz, Ph.D. trained in Zurich, Switzerland as a Jungian analyst and appears on podcasts and presentations at Jungian conferences and teaching programs in the USA and worldwide. Her books are: The Absent Father Effect on Daughters, Father Desire, Father Wounds; Imposter Syndrome and the ‘As-If’ Personality: The Fragility of Self (September, 2023); A Jungian Exploration of the Puella Archetype: Girl Unfolding (December, 2024) and An Analytical Exploration of Love and Narcissism (July, 2025), Absent Fathers, Yearning Sons: A Jungian Analysis of the Father-Son Dynamic (2026). Where to find Dr. Susan Schwartz:Website: www.susanschwartzphd.comEmail: sesphd@cox.net LinkedIn: @susanschwartzphdFacebook: @susanschwartzphdInstagram: @susanschwartzphdSupport the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!In this episode, we talk about the club that has become an entire movement - the We Do Not Care Club - started by the amazing, down to earth, and comedically gifted Melani Sanders known on Instagram as @justbeingmelani. Melani gives voice to the reality of women in midlife trying to make sense of menopause and talking about the things we no longer care about. In this episode we even share some of the things that we no longer care about. We want to know - what are some of the things that you no longer care about?Where to find Melani Sanders and the We Do Not Care Club:Instagram: @justbeingmelaniYouTube: @justbeingmelaniTikTok: @justbeingmelaniFacebook: melani.sandersSupport the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!Imagine if America went into therapy. What would that look like? This week's guest Phyllis E. Leavitt went down that rabbit hole and wrote the book America in Therapy: Hope and Healing for a Nation in Crisis. In this episode, we discuss the book as well as the premise of how therapy could help our country during this time of political upheaval and distress. Phyllis Leavitt is an author and a psychotherapist of over 30 years. Her newest book, "America in Therapy: A New Approach to Hope and Healing for a Nation in Crisis," is all about bringing the best of what psychology and psychotherapy have to national attention to help us heal from escalating divisiveness and violence and restore us to a sense of brotherhood, peace and cooperation. In exploring power dynamics, issues around equality, cooperation vs. unbridled competition, and a new relationship to dependency and interdependence, directly and indirectly she addresses many of the issues that characterize a more feminist approach to human relations and politics. Where to find Phyllis Leavitt:Website: https://www.phyllisleavitt.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/phyllis.leavittYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOdxqvDK9N421AZ5TTxqUgQLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phyllis-leavitt-630179255/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phyllis_e_leavitt/Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PhyllisLeavitt2Substack: https://substack.com/@phyllisleavitt1Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!As we say in this episode, once you read Tiffany D. Jackson's Monday's Not Coming it stays with you. And maybe it should. After all, isn't that what art is supposed to do - change you, provoke you, make you think? And isn't that one of the reasons why certain books are banned? Fight against the bans. Read the books that are banned. Discuss them. Think about them. Let them change you. Let them effect you. Your growth depends on it. Some might argue that democracy also depends on it. Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!So many people are living lives lacking in true intimacy or are in relationships that are not sexually satisfying. This week's guest Xanet Pailet has firsthand experience with this and knows how to help. Xanet is the bestselling author of Living an Orgasmic Life: Heal Yourself and Awaken Your Pleasure and the founder of Passionate Intimacy Retreats.  Xanet is a former health care lawyer who lived in a sexless marriage for over two decades.  At age 50, after experiencing her own sexual healing and awakening in 2011, she transitioned her career into a full-time sex and intimacy educator and coach and trauma practitioner. Xanet believes that pleasure is our birthright, and she is passionate about helping individuals find their way back into their bodies, their desires, and their pleasure.  Over the past decade, she has helped rescue hundreds of couples from unsatisfying sex lives and has helped women who are sexually shut down learn how to love themselves, their body, and reclaim their desire.Where to find Xanet Pailet:Website: https://www.passionateintimacyretreats.comFree Gift: https://howtoimprovemylovelife.comInstagram: @xanetpopLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xanet-pailet-2b464671/Facebook: @xanetpopYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepowerofpleasure8132/featuredBook: https://a.co/d/555SMdfSupport the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!According to society, fairy tales, and rom coms being single is a problem in search of a solution. Our guest Fanny Tristan, a trauma therapist and clinical social worker with over 15 years of experience, had many clients who felt like they were failing because they were single. Unwilling to pathologize singledom, Fanny developed Her Soul Supply - a wellness collective and coaching program for single women of color combating loneliness and toxic relationship cycles. Tune in to hear how Fanny and Her Soul Supply help women reclaim their voice, power and joy.Where to find Fanny Tristan:Website: www.hersoulsupply.comIG/TikTok/FB: @hersoulsupplyFreebie: How to Have a Happy and Healthy Heaux SeasonSupport the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!Society and fairy tales try to convince us that marriage is the penultimate marker of success as an adult. But studies and reality have shown that that may not be the case. Indeed, equality and equity are not guaranteed under the marriage contract. We have some strong opinions about marriage, and we aren't afraid to share them. Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, written by Sherman Alexie, tells the story of 14-year-old Native American Arnold Spirit, Jr. on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his decision to go to the nearly white high school in a nearby town. The book has been consistently challenged since its publication due to descriptions of alcoholism, poverty, violence and flatulent Jesus. Recent controversy surrounds the author Sherman Alexie and allegations of sexual harassment. Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!Join us as we celebrate our 4th anniversary!  A look ahead, a look back and a little self analysis.To find out the real date when women could have their own credit card, click the link below:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/28/fact-check-9-things-women-couldnt-do-1971-mostly-right/3677101001/Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!How many times have you joked with your friends about buying that big vacation house on the beach or about living together in your retirement a la The Golden Girls? It doesn't have to be a joke. For many people, it's a realistic solution to housing affordability and loneliness crises. This week's guests Amy McKenna, a managing broker of Windermere Real Estate Company, and Ruby Grynberg, Branch Manager at Salmon Bay Community Lending, talk to us about how cohousing can (with a bit of planning) be the perfect solution for you and your friends.Amy McKenna (managing broker at Windermere Real Estate Company) and Ruby Grynberg (Branch Manager of Salmon Bay Community Lending) created “CoHome” - a community platform for education and connection because they saw a yearning for ingrained community and more affordable housing and at the same time a feeling of helplessness about how to attain them.Mentioned in this episode:Link to The Seattle Times article - 52996289_1.pdfWhere to find Amy McKenna and Ruby Grynberg:CoHomeWebsite: www.CoHome.Community Amy McKennaWebsite: www.AmyMcKennaHomes.comEmail: McKenna@windermere.comPhone: 206-304-2400Instagram: @AmyMcKennaHomesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amymckennahomes/  Ruby GrynbergWebsite: https://salmonbaylending.com/Email: ruby@salmonbaylending.com Phone: 206-214-5575Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salmonbaylending/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/salmonbaylending/Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!In this week's episode we're diving into a topic that most of us probably rarely think about - pelvic health. To talk about why pelvic health is important, we're joined by Dr. Judy Rossi, PT, DPT, PHC - a certified pelvic health specialist. Dr. Rossi graduated from physical therapy school at California State University at Long Beach. She later received her doctorate in physical therapy and her pelvic health certification through Evidence in Motion. Judy began her journey in pelvic health after spending most of her career as an orthopedic physical therapist, most recently as co-owner of a large outpatient orthopedic practice in Cherokee County, Georgia before selling it in 2019. It was her own physical challenges that were solved through pelvic health physical therapy that motivated her to specialize in pelvic health herself. While this occurred later in her career, she has truly found her passion in this realm. Opening her business, Woodstock Pelvic Health (also in Georgia), allows her to provide compassionate care to those with pelvic health challenges.Where to find Dr. Judy Rossi:Website: www.woodstockpelvichealth.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/woodstockpelvichealth/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodstock.pelvic.health/  Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!We're joined this week by Dr. Uche Blackstock to discuss her memoir Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine. Legacy is more than an account of Dr. Blackstock's journey to and in healthcare, it is also a love letter to her mother (the "original" Dr. Blackstock) and her community. As you can hear in our conversation, Legacy is also a wakeup call to all who read it, especially those in healthcare, that racism is more than unjust - it can be deadly. Dr. Blackstock received both undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University, making her and her twin sister, Oni, the first Black mother-daughter legacy graduates from Harvard Medical School. As an ER physician, and later as a professor in academic medicine, Dr. Blackstock became profoundly aware of the systemic barriers that Black patients and physicians continue to face.Dr. Blackstock's generational memoir, LEGACY: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine, at once a searing indictment of our healthcare system, a generational family memoir, and a call to action, is Dr. Blackstock’s odyssey from child to medical student to practicing physician—to finally seizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.Dr. Uché Blackstock is the founder and Chief Advisor of Advancing Health Equity (AHE), founded in 2019 with the mission of partnering with healthcare organizations to dismantle racism in healthcare and to close the gap in racial health inequities. Advancing Health Equity has helped major companies, hospitals, and health systems create strategic plans for promoting equitable health care moving forward.Where to find Dr. Blackstock:Websites: www.ucheblackstock.com, www.advancinghealthequity.comIG: ucheblackstockmdLinkedIn: Uché BlackstockX: uche_blackstockSupport the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!What happens when a clinical psychologist writes a novel about a girl on the verge of adulthood trying to find her way in the world without her mother? You get By the Way, I Love You written by this week's guest Susan Beth Miller. In this book, Susan explores the main character's journey to understand her deceased mother and who she is in relation to her mother all while trying to navigate college life. There are so many interesting themes running through the book - coming of age, self-actualization, activism, and redemption. Tune in to hear our discussion.Susan Beth Miller is an author and clinical psychologist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is the author of novels A Beautiful Land and Indigo Rose as well as 5 psychology books.Where to find Susan Beth Miller:Website: susanbethmiller.comAmazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/stores/Susan-B.-Miller/author/B001IXU0Z8?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=trueFacebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/millerwriter/Instagram: @booksbarksandbeautyNetgalley:  https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/530627LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-miller-56a78424/Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!Originally published in 2018, Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison is a novel that focuses on the life and self-discovery of Mike Munoz, a young working class Mexican American man. In 2022, the American Library Association reported that Lawn Boy was the 7th-most-banned book in the country that year due to LGBTQ+ content and sexually explicit content. Evison touched on several themes in this book. Tune in to hear our thoughts about the book.Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!Understanding the connection between humans and nature is of utmost importance now. In fact, developing that understanding may lead to solutions to existential threats like climate change and social inequality. Our guest Anne Riley has spent a lifetime thinking about and trying to understand this connection. She even wrote a book about it - The Human Idea: Earth's Newest Ecosystem.For many years, Anne balanced family life with a career in various industries, including technology, teaching, and finance, before retiring in 2011. Influenced by Michael Rothschild's Bionomics, Riley developed a theory known as the Ideasphere, exploring the parallels between human and ecological systems. Her theory is articulated in her book The Human Idea, Earth's Newest Ecosystem. Riley’s work is not just a reflection on our past but a call to action for our future. As we stand at a pivotal moment in history, grappling with existential threats like climate change and social inequality, The Human Idea offers a roadmap for applying the lessons of nature to build a better world.Where to find Anne Riley and her work:Website: https://www.thehumanidea.comSurvey: https://www.thehumanidea.com/surveyYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheHumanIdeasphereFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/anne.riley.16144606/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-riley-656b0125a/Instagram: @anne_riley_ideasphereThreads: @anne_riley_ideasphereSupport the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!