Melissa Saenz Gordon is a cultural worker, photographer, artist, cultural producer, writer, San Francisco native and self described “CivicArt BAE” with a background in geography and urban planning. She is also the co-founder of Soft Power Vote, a voting initiative in New York City that produces voter guides and content that illuminates the connectivity between art, pop-culture, and local politics. Soft Power Vote produces voter guides and online resources for New Yorkers to level up on voting...

Kelsey Jones and Gabriela Tejedor, are the founders and Co-Heads of School and the respective Math and ELA teachers at Brooklyn Independent, a private middle school with a sliding scale tuition model located in Fort Greene. BKI names diversity and inclusion as keys to effective learning, and the school’s goal is to cultivate a community that sincerely reflects the racial and socioeconomic diversity of Brooklyn. Gaby and Kelsey started BKI as a response to the stark segregation and inequity...

Brittany Owens Micek is the founder and lead organizer of Meditating for Black Lives, a community organization that uses the principles and practices of various meditation traditions to support community efforts to heal oppression. Brittany started Meditating for Black Lives last summer with hopes to create a space for attendees to sit in contemplation together to process our absorbed trauma and breathe for the lives of Black and Brown people, and for all people, throughout the world. On...

Brittany Owens Micek is the founder and lead organizer of Meditating for Black Lives, a community organization that uses the principles and practices of various meditation traditions to support community efforts to heal oppression. Brittany started Meditating for Black Lives last summer with hopes to create a space for attendees to sit in contemplation together to process our absorbed trauma and breathe for the lives of Black and Brown people, and for all people, throughout the world. On...

Today, we bring you part II of Alexis’ conversation with Rev. Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft. In part II, Alexis and Amanda discuss: the tension of being a white person in the anti-racist movement and how they wrestle with that tension, how anti-racism needs to show up in day to day life beyond Instagram, the complicated relationship between the Black Lives Matter movement and capitalist institutions like the Grammys, the danger of white feminism and the off base assumptions progressive white...

Do we hate the player, but love the game? Ball is Business is an investigation into the complex world of amateur basketball, from the players who love the game to the systems that break their hearts. In September 2020, Alexis' original pitch for “Ball is Business” was chosen as one of 10 finalists (out of 1,800 entries) in iHeartRadio’s Next Great Podcast competition. She had three weeks to create a pilot of an narrative documentary podcast investigating the exploitative nature of the high...

Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft is a white mother raising three white kids, a 5 year old daughter and 7 year old twin boys, in the East Village of NYC. She was born and raised in a small town in Kentucky, went to college in Birmingham, AL and to seminary in Richmond, VA. She has lived in NYC for 13 years. Amanda is a movement builder and leader who writes, speaks and studies at the intersection of race, faith, politics, feminism, and parenting. Amanda is the founder of Raising Imagination, an online...

Nattalyee Randall is an actor, singer and voice over artist based in Manhattan. She is also the founder and leader of the 50 Mile Run for Justice Protest, a national initiative to use running as a means to fight for and celebrate the lives of Black people who lost their lives because of police brutality. In November of 2020, she ran a 50 mile route that spanned the five boroughs honoring 50 Black lives lost to police violence. She is currently training to run 100 miles for 100 lives lost on...

Michael Shelton is 28, from Washington Heights, a music lover, biker, software engineer and activist currently living in Williamsburg. Michael is also an organizer and member of Riders 4 Rights, a community organization that organizes bike protests, leads educational rides and provides mutual aid to New Yorkers across the city, all in the fight for Black Liberation with the intention of building community and keeping its members safe. In this episode, Michael fills Alexis in on how life in...

Marcus Alston is 18 years old. A Bushwick native. An activist. A Fashion Killa. A 2020 graduate of Pace High School in lower Manhattan and current freshman at Lafayette College in Easton, PA. Marcus is an activist who is in love with activism and his people. He has spent the last four years fighting for a more equitable city, with a specific focus on school suspension reform and integrating New York City’s very segregated schools. In this episode, Marcus shares with Alexis his experience...

Alexis won an award! The pilot episode of her show, Appropriate:Stories from the grey area of consuming culture was award BRIC Media Arts 2019 B Spoke award- recognizing a show that pushes the boundaries of free speech in podcasting. In this episode she examines her relationship to hip hop and attempts to answer the following questions:Why do so many white people like Chance the Rapper? Why were there so many of us at his concert? Why are there so many of us at rap concerts in general? Why do...

Alexis won an award! The pilot episode of her show, Appropriate:Stories from the grey area of consuming culture was award BRIC Media Arts 2019 B Spoke award- recognizing a show that pushes the boundaries of free speech in podcasting. In this episode she examines her relationship to hip hop and attempts to answer the following questions:Why do so many white people like Chance the Rapper? Why were there so many of us at his concert? Why are there so many of us at rap concerts in general? Why do...

In part II of our final episode, we return to Wing on Wo & Co, the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown to sit down with Mei Lum- the store's fifth generation owner. She explains what informed her decision in 2016 at the age of 26 to defer her acceptance to grad school at Columbia and assume ownership of the store. And also how that ownership has informed the development of the W.O.W project (https://www.wingonwoand.co/aboutwowproject), her non profit whose mission...

In part II of our final episode, we return to Wing on Wo & Co, the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown to sit down with Mei Lum- the store's fifth generation owner. She explains what informed her decision in 2016 at the age of 26 to defer her acceptance to grad school at Columbia and assume ownership of the store. And also how that ownership has informed the development of the W.O.W project (https://www.wingonwoand.co/aboutwowproject), her non profit whose mission...

Gary Lum is the steward, guardian and current shopkeeper of Wing on Wo & Co, the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown. Wing on Wo has been at its current location, 26 Mott Street, since 1925 and sells consciously chosen Chinese porcelain. Wing on Wo is a family business and is truly one of the most special spaces in our city. The Lum’s story of tenacity, legacy and loyalty is New York City at its very best. There couldn't be a more fitting interview to close this...

Gary Lum is the steward, guardian and current shopkeeper of Wing on Wo & Co, the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown. Wing on Wo has been at its current location, 26 Mott Street, since 1925 and sells consciously chosen Chinese porcelain. Wing on Wo is a family business and is truly one of the most special spaces in our city. The Lum’s story of tenacity, legacy and loyalty is New York City at its very best. There couldn't be a more fitting interview to close this...

Tomorrow, the last episode of New York, I Love You But You've Changed will air in two parts. Part one will feature an interview with Gary Lum, the steward, guardian and current shopkeeper at Wing on Wo & Co- the oldest continuously running store in Manhattan's Chinatown. Part two features an interview with Gary's daughter, Mei Lum- the fifth generation owner of her family's store. As a prelude to this final episode, Alexis shares what making this show has taught her (people don't like to...

Tomorrow, the last episode of New York, I Love You But You've Changed will air in two parts. Part one will feature an interview with Gary Lum, the steward, guardian and current shopkeeper at Wing on Wo & Co- the oldest continuously running store in Manhattan's Chinatown. Part two features an interview with Gary's daughter, Mei Lum- the fifth generation owner of her family's store. As a prelude to this final episode, Alexis shares what making this show has taught her (people don't like to...

From Seinfeld to bagels with lox, New York City has been anointed the pinnacle of American Jewish culture. But what does that actually mean? Is there a difference between being Jewish by culture and Jewish by religion? And do all of NYC’s Jewish residents access their religion and their city in the same way? Judaism in NYC is at once both highly visible and highly misunderstood. In this week’s episode we attempt to answer those questions and clear up some misunderstandings along the way. We...

From Seinfeld to bagels with lox, New York City has been anointed the pinnacle of American Jewish culture. But what does that actually mean? Is there a difference between being Jewish by culture and Jewish by religion? And do all of NYC’s Jewish residents access their religion and their city in the same way? Judaism in NYC is at once both highly visible and highly misunderstood. In this week’s episode we attempt to answer those questions and clear up some misunderstandings along the way. We...

Kya and Jonah are two 12 year old Brooklynites with a lot to say, and on this week's episode of NewYorkILYBYC they say a lot. They took some time out of their busy school day to share with Alexis their thoughts on the peaks and valleys of growing up as kids of color in 2018 Brooklyn. They give their take on local issues including gang participation, police brutality, racial profiling in retail, and the borough's drop out rates while making connections to national themes like our current...

Kya and Jonah are two 12 year old Brooklynites with a lot to say, and on this week's episode of NewYorkILYBYC they say a lot. They took some time out of their busy school day to share with Alexis their thoughts on the peaks and valleys of growing up as kids of color in 2018 Brooklyn. They give their take on local issues including gang participation, police brutality, racial profiling in retail, and the borough's drop out rates while making connections to national themes like our current...

We welcome fan favorite Rutherford back to NewYorkILYBYC for a very special episode. This week, Alexis and Rutherford share some premium recommendations to keep listeners busy. In part one, the ladies discuss what they are currently reading- books to make you a better human for Ruth (think Rumi and Ta-Nehisi Coates) and Alexis shares the long form journalism she is currently crushing on (covering topics ranging from NYC's homelessness crisis to Coney Island's brightest basketball prospects)....

We welcome fan favorite Rutherford back to NewYorkILYBYC for a very special episode. This week, Alexis and Rutherford share some premium recommendations to keep listeners busy. In part one, the ladies discuss what they are currently reading- books to make you a better human for Ruth (think Rumi and Ta-Nehisi Coates) and Alexis shares the long form journalism she is currently crushing on (covering topics ranging from NYC's homelessness crisis to Coney Island's brightest basketball prospects)....