2026

2026

Design Decisions / Organizational Histories

Ideas Need Time To Grow: How Starting My First Podcast Led Me To Social Justice Origin Stories

Sometimes, reflecting on the past helps us move forward. Social Justice Origin Stories is an idea whose time has come, but there was a podcast before the podcast, a platform before the platform. 

In today’s episode of Design Decisions, I’m reflecting on the experiences that led me to create my very first podcast, Notes From an Aspiring Humanitarian, and how that journey laid the groundwork for my work with Social Justice Origin Stories.

July 22, 2026
Personal Journeys

Rejecting The Path Of Least Resistance and Refusing To Be A Passenger With Tyler Adams

Tyler Adams of the GoodPain Podcast opens up about how a life-altering event involving his youngest daughter cracked his heart open and expanded his understanding of privilege, complicity with oppressive systems, and what it really means to live in alignment with his values, including using storytelling to make heart-to-heart connections that create lasting change.

He shares his experiences with the complexities of navigating loss, confronting privilege, subverting the status quo, and the power of staying connected to our humanity.

Tyler encourages listeners to resist the “path of least resistance,” refuse to be passive participants, and to remember the importance of collective action and accountability on the journey toward justice.

July 8, 2026
Organizational Histories

Using My Oar, My Voice, to Design Equitable Futures: Ubuntu and Social Justice with monique liston

dr. monique liston, founder of Ubuntu Research and Evaluation, tells the story of how her dissertation research on human dignity for Black people led her to root her organization in the concept of ubuntu: “I am because we are” as a rejection of individualistic, capitalist thinking and a response to anti-Blackness and data violence.

She shares how navigating academic and professional spaces as a Black woman moved her to create an environment where smart Black girls are affirmed and where teams can interrupt harmful narratives, misinterpretations, and visual depictions about Black communities.

dr. liston connects Ubuntu to abolitionist leadership, describes Ubuntu Research and Evaluation’s “undisciplined” and “ungovernable” approach, and encourages listeners to read books, write books, and embody Ubuntu right where they are.

June 24, 2026
Personal Journeys

Stop Believing In Things That Don’t Believe In You: On Asymmetrical Vulnerability with Kwesi A. Robertson

Kwesi A. Robertson shares about his journey through corporate America, pop culture, and the experiences that shaped his awareness of social justice. He describes the patterns that led him to recognize why access to vulnerability isn’t a level playing field, noting how popular self-help and success narratives often hide an “underbelly” that ignores systemic barriers while blaming individuals for the negative outcomes they experience.

Kwesi defines social justice as a form of love and a foundational lens for reality, urging listeners to seek connection, shared language that actually acknowledges the complexity of our experiences, and shared responsibility to build spaces where everyone can fully show up.

June 10, 2026
Design Decisions

A Guide To Everything On The Social Justice Origin Stories YouTube Channel (So Far) | Design Decisions

Social Justice Origin Stories started off as a podcast, but is growing into something more. This is your guided tour of everything available on Social Justice Origin Stories’ YouTube channel (so far).

In this episode of Design Decisions, you’ll learn about the categories, special series, and the playlists that are available, so you’ll know where to explore and what you’ll find when you get here.

June 4, 2026
Design Decisions

Wherever You Are In The Hard Things, These Stories Are For You, Too | Design Decisions

Realizing social justice is not a simple or linear process, and the weight of the work can wear us down. Whether you are actively engaged on the front lines of your work, taking time to rest, or simply trying to survive the everyday realities of living within oppressive systems, we need you.

Social Justice Origin Stories is here to remind you that wherever you are in the struggle, these stories are for you.

May 20, 2026
The Justice We Imagine

The Justice We Imagine Vol. 4 | Social Justice Origin Stories

This is Volume 4 of “The Justice We Imagine”, a special series from Social Justice Origin Stories. This series focuses on storytellers’ responses to three essential questions:  

When is true social justice possible?

What shapes our approach to the work?

Why does understanding and sharing our social justice origin stories matter?

As you listen to their responses, reflect on what your answers might be.

May 13, 2026
Personal Journeys

The Power of Relationships and Lived Experiences with Sharman Spieser

After witnessing the racism her Black students experienced up close on a bus trip to Kentucky, Sharman Spieser’s awareness shifted from understanding how racism operates on an intellectual level to a deeper understanding gained from lived-experience.

She reflects on how segregation, isolation, and scarcity thinking operate within a white supremacist capitalist system to keep us apart, and emphasizes the power of building authentic, trusting relationships that create the conditions for honest dialogue to happen as a way of unlearning white supremacy and advancing antiracist social change.

April 29, 2026
Design Decisions

Introducing Design Decisions | Social Justice Origin Stories

This is Design Decisions: a space where I share news and updates about Social Justice Origin Stories as it continues to grow and evolve. More than updates and announcements, though, it’s a space for meaning-making, where I expand on the ideas, values, and design decisions that shape this work. It’s a space to think out loud, and a place where I talk through what it’s like to build social justice origin stories in this time we’re living in, and the things I learn and experience along the way.

April 22, 2026