A variety of books, podcasts, and articles I have found influential to my life and perspective.

Podcasts:

• This American Life: “The Problem We All Live With”: a thought-provoking podcast about the American public school system and the ongoing racial injustice. Highly recommend this – much of the story centers on a struggling school district outside of St. Louis, which makes this story all the more important to me (7/26/2015)
• WTF with Marc Maron: “Episode 613 – President Barack Obama”: a candid, inspiring conversationg with comedian Marc Maron and President Barack Obama. This interview occurred the week before Obama’s “big week” at the end of June 2015, when the ACA mandate was upheld by the Supreme Court and gay marriage was legalized in all 50 states by the Supreme Court, among other things. I love this podcast and what Obama has to say about getting the public engaged with politics.

Books:

• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2014): an inspiring fictional novel about race, identity, and gender in America.
• The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan (2015): by far one of the best books I’ve ever read. A compilation of essays and short stories by a young woman as she graduated college and reflected on her college experiences and anticipated what was next. An absolutely beautiful book.

Articles:

• What We Do Now an article about how we can get involved in local politics/make local change in the wake of Donald Trump’s election