Hi, Laverne Cox Show listeners! We're excited about the new show, Unpacking the Toolbox, with Katie Lowes and Guillermo Diaz. Each week you get to enjoy special behind-the-scenes stories, fun facts, and a healthy dose of laughs from the hit show, Scandal.

About Unpacking the Toolbox: Each week, Katie Lowes and Guillermo Diaz come together to talk about Scandal's memorable moments. Former B613 duo - Huckleberry Quinn - will share behind-the-scenes stories, fun facts, on-set memories, and a lot of laughs - sometimes inviting their co-stars, writers, crew members, and maybe even super fans to reminisce and relive the making of Scandal together. And, of course, Katie and Guillermo will take us back in time with tweets from die-hard fans - our #Gladiators. So pour yourself a glass of red wine, grab some popcorn, and tune in as your hosts take you back in time to Scandal's iconic OMG moments.

New episodes every – you guessed it – Thursday!

Listen to Unpacking the Toolbox on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Hi, Laverne Cox Show listeners! We're excited for the new season of Go Ask Ali with funny woman Ali Wentworth. She's back for another round of stimulating conversations with some of today's most interesting people. Don't just take our word for it, though. Check out this trailer to get a dose of Go Ask Ali for yourself!

About Go Ask Ali: Ali Wentworth has become a comedic authority on dissecting the shit show that is modern life. In season 3 of Go Ask Ali, she speaks with experts, friends, and celebrities as part of her personal masterclass to learn more about the things happening with us and our world. She also answers questions from listeners and guests the only way Ali can: with honesty, candor, and humor. Leave her a question at (323) 364-6356 or email a voice memo to GoAskAliPodcast@gmail.com.

Listen to Go Ask Ali on the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Hi, Laverne Cox fans! Since you love Shondaland podcasts, we think you may also like this new show, The R Spot with Iyanla Vanzant. You don't have to take our word for it, though. Check out the trailer and decide for yourself!

Show description: Shondaland Audio and iHeartRadio present: The R Spot with Iyanla. Each week, New York Times best-selling author and famed spiritual life coach, Iyanla Vanzant, invites callers to share their personal relationship issues during live sessions to help inspire, grow and guide them and other listeners to “do the work” toward healing. 

Listen to The R Spot on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Hi, Laverne Cox fans! The riveting iHeartPodcasts and Shondaland Audio podcast, #Matter, has a full season available to binge now. Since you enjoy great audio programming (like our show), we think you'll love this fiction pod as well. Don't just take our word for it, check out the trailer to decide for yourself!

About #Matter: When Gerald Hayes (Amin Joseph, SNOWFALL) witnesses his teenage son Niles’s (Nile Bullock, POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN) brutal beating by police officers, a split-second decision leads him to being barricaded in friend Jayce’s (Steve Harris, THE PRACTICE) nearby restaurant with one of the officers, Sergeant Place (Haley Joel Osment, THE KOMINSKY METHOD). As the situation deteriorates and the press paints Niles as the offender, Gerald fights for justice for his son using the one tool at his disposal in that moment – social media. Told through the lens of an investigative journalist, Kate Bell (Jennifer Christopher, TIMELESS) takes us back to that fateful afternoon and its aftermath a year later through interviews, found surveillance footage and more. Additional voices include: Tarina Pouncy (ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ.) as Michelle Hayes, Pooch Hall (RAY DONOVAN) as Martin, and Snoop Dogg as Big H.

Listen to #Matter season 1 on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Hi, Laverne Cox fans! iHeartPodcasts and host Gabrielle Collins are excited to launch Bridgerton Season 2! With guest hosts from the show's creative team, Bridgerton: The Official Podcast will take you inside the NEW season of the hit Netflix show. The conversation each week will deep dive into Bridgerton’s social season, the costumes and sets, the historical context of the era, and more. Get the inside scoop directly from the cast and all the drama you can handle from the rewatch podcast. Don't just take our word for it, check out the trailer to decide for yourself!

About Bridgerton: A Netflix Companion Series Podcast - Hosted by Gabrielle Collins along with guest hosts from the show's creative team, the Behind the Bridgertons podcast will take you inside the NEW Netflix show, featuring insight from series creator Chris Van Dusen, the key creatives and Julia Quinn, author of the popular book series that inspired the show. Much like Lady Whistledown’s inside scoop, the conversation each week will take you inside Bridgerton’s social season, the costumes and sets, the historical context of the era, and more.

Listen and subscribe to Bridgerton here.

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Hi, Laverne Cox fans! iHeartPodcasts and Shondaland are excited to announce Katie’s Crib Season 5 - a show about unexpected joys, pains, foibles, and hilarity of new motherhood hosted by Scandal actress Katie Lowes. Each week Katie conducts a frank, intimate conversation with a fellow mom about the ups and downs of being a new parent and then brings in an expert to help put things into perspective. A fulfilling talk show-style podcast but don't just take our word for it. Check out the trailer to decide for yourself!

About Katie’s Crib: Katie’s Crib is a weekly podcast covering the unexpected joys, pains, foibles, and hilarity of new motherhood hosted by Scandal actress Katie Lowes. Each episode will highlight a specific parenting issue from a variety of different points of view. Each week Katie conducts a frank, intimate conversation with a fellow mom about the ups and downs of being a new parent and then brings in an expert to help put things into perspective. With empathy, honesty, and a sense of humor about it all, Katie’s Crib is a relevant, relatable, indispensable guide for new parents trying to find their way.

Listen and subscribe to Katie’s Crib on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

Hi, Laverne Cox fans! iHeartPodcasts and Shondaland are excited to announce Inventing Anna. The companion podcast of a Netflix series that will delve deeper into the story of Anna Sorokin - the fake heiress who stole the hearts – and money – of New York’s social elite. A story that will keep you guessing but don't just take our word for it. Check out the trailer to decide for yourself!

About Inventing Anna: Based on the Netflix show, Inventing Anna, the companion podcast will delve deeper into the story of Anna Sorokin - the fake heiress who stole the hearts – and money – of New York’s social elite. Featuring conversations with creator Shonda Rhimes and the real-life people who inspired this iconic story. 

Listen and subscribe to Inventing Anna on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

Hi, Laverne Cox fans! iHeartPodcasts and Shondaland are excited to announce #Matter - a brand new show about a father that intervenes in his son's beating by police and later finds himself, his badly hurt son, and a wounded cop barricaded in a nearby restaurant. A shocking thriller but don't just take our word for it. Check out the trailer to decide for yourself!

About #Matter: When Gerald Hayes witnesses his teenage son Niles’s brutal beating by police officers, a split-second decision leads to him being barricaded in a friend’s nearby restaurant with one of the officers. As the situation deteriorates and the press paints Niles as the offender, Gerald fights for justice for his son using the one tool at his disposal at that moment - social media. Told through the lens of an investigative journalist, Kate Bell takes us back to that fateful afternoon and its aftermath a year later through interviews, found surveillance footage, and more.

Listen and subscribe to #Matter on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, The Laverne Cox Show fans! We're excited for the launch of the Dominant Stories podcast hosted by culture expert Jess Weiner. It's a brand new show from Shondaland and iHeartRadio and we think you'll enjoy it too. Don't just take our word for it, though. Check out the trailer and decide for yourself!

About the podcast: Dominant Stories is a conversation series that reclaims and rewrites the stories we’ve been told about our bodies, our beauty, our creativity, and our identities. For example, does your inner monologue sound like: “I’m not good enough, pretty enough or thin enough”? How about: “I can’t do that” or “I’m not worthy”? These are what Cultural Expert and host Jess Weiner calls our Dominant Stories - the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves (whether they are true or not). This show has stemmed from Jess’ personal and professional mission to help people challenge the external (and internal) voices that are holding them back from living the life they desire and deserve. Through witty, curious, and hopeful conversations with celebrated guests, we’ll unpack, challenge, and change these Dominant Stories.

Listen and subscribe to Dominant Stories with Jess Weiner on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

On this final episode of the season, the one and only Billy Porter talks about his life in show business. He also candidly shares the trauma of his student days at Carnegie Mellon, the AIDS crisis, and bankruptcy, and his evolution into a multi-award winning superstar. Billy has wisdom to share about what it means to be a true artist dedicated to your craft and explains how his creative expression has been a tool to work through his trauma. Much of that trauma ironically stemming from working in creative industries which, back in the 80’s and 90’s, had little tolerance for an openly gay black man. His new memoir, Unprotected, is the life story of a singular artist and survivor. //

 Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love.

Unprotected: A Memoir by Billy Porter: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unprotected-billy-porter/1138773867

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On this episode, Jennifer Burton Flier joins Laverne again to go deeper into the Community Resiliency Model and to tie in so many of this season’s episodes on healing. They’re all connected! Laverne and Jennifer go over practical skills that you can use to build your resiliency for this (very) challenging world. Those skills are tracking, resourcing, grounding, gesturing, shift and stay, and help now. You can find more helpful therapeutic tips and information in the first episode with Jennifer Burton Flier, “Trauma Resilience and Healing.” Jennifer is a senior faculty member with the Trauma Resource Institute and Laverne’s personal therapist! 

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

As always, stay in the love.

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Poor people have always been shamed. Writer, producer and award-winning journalist Mary O’Hara says that’s not new, but the last 40 years of government and corporate interests have created a focused initiative to demonize people who need financial and social assistance. Between the creation of the Welfare Queen trope in the 80’s and vilifying single mothers in the 90’s, most people do whatever they can to not be associated with safety nets. They’re ashamed. In this powerful conversation, Laverne and O’Hara break down the larger game at play, the lasting effects of experiencing poverty, and the importance of people sharing their stories.

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

As always, stay in the love.

Show References:

The Shame Game: https://www.shamegamethebook.com/

Project Twist-It: https://www.projecttwistit.com/

Project Twist-It on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNLum6yi4QnBbQf0HF_ojdw

Pro-Publica Report - 25 Billionaires Pay Fraction in Taxes:

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-we-calculated-the-true-tax-rates-of-the-wealthiest

Urban Institute report on poverty rate: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/2021-poverty-projections-assessing-impact-benefits-and-stimulus-measures

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Laverne introduces us to her opera singing teacher of 25 years, the celebrated opera lecturer, Metropolitan Opera Broadcast co-host and retired diva, Ira Siff. Ira is the creator of La Gran Scena, the all-male cross-dressed opera troupe that performed internationally for over 20 years to much critical acclaim with a cult-like following. Ira was the prima donna of La Gran Scena as his diva alter ego, Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh. Vera was an amalgamation of the most famous opera stars of the 20th century. As Vera, Ira toed the line between spoof and adoring tribute with a thoughtfulness that earned La Gran Scena the praise and patronage of the very same opera stars Scena lovingly spoofed. Known for his lectures and the approachable manner in which he talks about opera, Ira breaks down opera history while telling stories of growing up as an “opera queen” in New York, and the insane fandom of diva worship. //

Glossary of Opera Terminology:

Aria: A self-contained piece for a singer, or “solo.” In opera, arias mostly appear during a pause in dramatic action when a character is reflecting on their emotions. // 

Bel Canto: An Italian vocal technique or “school” developed and popularized in the 18th and 19th centuries. It places emphasis on beauty of sound and brilliance of performance rather than dramatic expression and romantic emotion. // 

Coloratura: Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal melody, especially in operatic singing by a soprano. // 

Falsetto: A method of singing used by male singers, especially tenors, to sing notes higher than their normal range. // 

Forte: A musical direction that means “loud.” // 

Legato: (adj.) Smooth and flowing in manner, without breaks between notes. // 

Libretto: The text of an opera (or other vocal work). // 

Lucia: Short for “Lucia di Lammermoor,” a famous opera work by Gaetano Donezetti. //

Ornaments (ornamentation): Musical flourishes or embellishments (such as a trill or a slide) that are not essential to carry the overall line of the melody, but serve instead to decorate or “ornament” that line. // 

Pianissimo: A soft performance, played or sung quietly. // 

The Met: The Metropolitan Opera House in New York. //

Tosca: A famous opera by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. //

Traviata: Short for “La Traviata,” a famous opera by Giuseppe Verde. La Traviata also goes by the name “Camille” in English, which was the title of the book that inspired it. //  

Verismo: An operatic genre that attempts to portray the world with greater realism. It came about in the 19th century and often focuses on subject matter that was not previously fit for opera, such as the life of the poor. // 

Wagner/Wagnerian: Richard Wagner was one of the most famous Opera composers of all time. He lived during the 19th century. Notable operas include: Tristan und Isolde, Die Walküre, Lohengrin. //

Famous Opera Divas //

Joan Sutherland, active from 1947 - 1990. // 

Maria Callas, active from 1945 - 1965. //

Renata Scotto, active from 1952 - 2002. //

Leontyne Price, active from 1952 - 1997. //

Leonie Rysanek, active from 1959 - 1996. // 

Montserrat Caballé, active from 1956 - 2018. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love.

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There truly is no better person to discuss spiritual matters with than the delightfully foul-mouthed Reverend Valerie Spencer, therapist, activist and creator of Holistic Empowerment Institute. After an epiphany while meditating on the beach, Valerie decided to “take the God out,” which she explains. Now she specializes in healing that goes beyond physical and mental health. Valerie makes spiritual and relational healing approachable while drawing from a mélange of religious, ethno-spiritual, and academic traditions. Valerie’s awareness of her connection to her anointed trans ancestors is a history lesson not to be missed. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love.

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This episode is about addressing misinformation, educating, and correcting the record. Right wing media has gone largely unchecked making false claims, distorting statistics, and outright lying primarily about gender-affirming care for trans kids and trans women and girls in sports. The mean-spirited outcry has led to legislators quoting this media and bills becoming very real laws intended to extinguish transgender people. 2021 has seen the highest number of state bills presented and passed in the last 10 years. But the danger of these bills isn’t just for transgender people. These laws potentially affect the privacy and bodily autonomy of all kids, especially girls. //

Chase Strangio is Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project and a nationally recognized expert on transgender rights. He has been on the frontlines defending trans rights and tells us what is happening in our nation’s courtrooms. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love. //

References and Resources:

Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885

// The Trevor Project National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2020:

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2020/?section=Introduction

// Legislative Tracker: Anti-Transgender Legislation: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/

// Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board (Update):

https://www.aclu.org/cases/grimm-v-gloucester-county-school-board

// Contrapoints video titled "Pronouns" published Nov. 2, 2018 on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bbINLWtMKI 

Audio Clips:

Clip 1 Bill Maher August 6, 2021, HBO, speaks to Donna de Varona; Maher misstates that 2021 was the first year trans folks have been able to compete in the Olympics. We have been eligible since 2004.

// Clip 2 The Ben Shapiro Show, July 18, 2021 via YouTube; Shapiro and Neil deGrasse Tyson discuss how the use of "science" can impede freedoms and liberty for some, (7:44-8:04) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w89etN8QqNQ

// Clip 3 Bill Maher August 6, 2021 HBO; Maher conflates sex assigned at birth with gender identity.

// Clip 4 Blaire White's YouTube channel January 10, 2018 titled: "Debate: Ben Shapiro and Blair White.” (10:56-11:06), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbTwoLah2VY

// Clip 5 Joe Rogan and Ben Shapiro; Joe Rogan Experience August 2, 2017 via YouTube; Taken from The Joe Rogan Experience 993; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdjdNgvF42o

// Clip 6 Tucker Carlson, Fox News via YouTube, May 25, 2021; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YbRNgBg9Og

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In this episode, Dr. Joe Dispenza shares with us techniques to heal the body through meditation. When Joe was a young man he had his spine crushed in a biking accident. Doctors told him that without invasive surgery he may never walk again. Defying the odds, he was able to rebuild his spine in just a few short months using nothing but his thoughts. Since then, he’s devoted his life to the healing potential of the mind-body connection. // 

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love. //

References:

Dr. Joe Dispenza website: drjoedispenza.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is changing the way governments think about and treat mental health. As the founder of the Center for Youth Wellness, she pioneered a system for evaluating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in order to treat the physical symptoms of childhood trauma. Now, in her role as California’s first Surgeon General, she’s bringing that system to doctor’s offices across the state. Her goal is to integrate mental health evaluations into your regular physicals and check-ups— especially for kids. In this episode, her and Laverne discuss the effects of toxic stress and the challenges involved in addressing mental health on a systemic level. // 

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love. //

References:

Take the ACE test and learn more: https://numberstory.org/

Nadine Burke Harris TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime?language=en

Center for Youth Wellness: https://centerforyouthwellness.org/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We get way more from our ancestors than our height, nose or personality. We absorb life lessons that have been passed down from generation to generation. But what if those life lessons were first learned while trying to survive slavery? What if those skills are now more harmful than helpful and we don’t even know what we’re doing? Psychologist, social worker, researcher and teacher Dr. Joy DeGruy explains how descendants of slaves are more connected to their ancestors than they realize. But simple awareness can heal. // 

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. // 

As always, stay in the love. // 

References:

Dr. Joy DeGruy 10-Week Course:

(https://www.joydegruy.com/online-course)

Georgia Daycare Accused of Racism After 'Making Black Kids Wait to Eat'

(https://www.newsweek.com/georgia-daycare-accused-racism-after-making-black-kids-wait-eat-1583051)

San Francisco Supervisor Trolls ‘Karens’ Who Call Cops on People of Color for No Reason With ‘CAREN Act’

(https://www.thedailybeast.com/san-francisco-supervisor-trolls-karens-who-call-police-on-people-of-color-for-no-reason-with-caren-act)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laverne, like many of us, struggles with self-criticism. She says it comes from a place of trying to protect herself, but in reality, it can be more debilitating than helpful. Dr. Kristin Neff is a professor and a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research. In this episode, she gives us tools to be more kind to ourselves—- which does not mean being easy on ourselves. Dr. Kristin Neff recently released a book entitled Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive. Using concepts from Buddhism and informed by her research, she has a message for all of us about how being kind is not always about being nice. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love. //

References:

Kristin Neff’s compassion.org/">Website (compassion.org/">https://self-compassion.org/)

Kristin Neff's Books (https://www.amazon.com/Kristin-Neff/e/B004DM0CVS)

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Warning: Please be aware this episode discusses targeted violence and may be triggering for some, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community.

If you can understand the cause of something, you can fix it, right? Don’t treat the symptoms; treat the disease. Laverne talks with award-winning forensic psychologist Dr. Karen Franklin about why transgender people, especially women, are so often targeted in violent hate crimes; the role of religion; and if offender reform is possible. What is the psychology of the person who attacks, or even kills, someone just for being trans or gay or gender nonconforming? Fear is a powerful force and the sources of fear are far and wide. Fear is in our human nature as a survival tool and fear is nurtured by people in power. Now, how do we end the violence? //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love. //

Resources:

Forensic Psychologist Dr. Karen Franklin: (https://www.karenfranklin.com/resources/violence-against-transgender-people/) //

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives: (https://www.amazon.com/57-Bus-Story-Teenagers-Changed/dp/0374303231) //

Vawnet.org - an online resource library of gender-based violence: (https://vawnet.org/sc/serving-trans-and-non-binary-survivors-domestic-and-sexual-violence/violence-against-trans-and) //

National Center for Transgender Equality: (https://transequality.org/issues/resources/responding-hate-crimes-community-resource-manual)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are your dating preferences? Do you prefer a certain ethnicity or race over another? What does it mean to have this sort of preference and where does it come from? Sociologist and social worker Sarah Adeyinka-Skold's latest research involved interviewing Black women about the unique difficulties they experience dating on and offline. In this episode, she and Laverne breakdown how the structures of white supremacy and patriarchy imprint themselves onto our dating habits. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

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Dr. Cornel West, renowned professor and philosopher, and one of the greatest American orators alive speaks with Laverne about what it means to be a love warrior. “Justice is what love looks like in public just like tenderness is what love feels like in private,” is a Cornel West quote that Laverne repeats so often people mistakenly attribute it to her. In this conversation they discuss the resiliency of the Black spirit, how to hold our institutions accountable, and how to be a wounded healer instead of a joy crusher. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

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Laverne visits with one of her idols and sources of inspiration Tracey ‘Africa’ Norman to talk about her dramatic career in fashion in the 70s and 80s. Norman became a trailblazer when she was chosen as the first Black woman on a box of Clairol hair color in 1975. This was momentous for the entire Black community. It was also momentous for the transgender community, but nobody knew it then. Tracey had been assigned male at birth. She came up in the days of secrecy, but she’s open now and finally sharing her historic story. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love.

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Dr. Wendy Walsh, psychologist, author, radio and podcast host, explains just how important our first three years on earth are to the relationships we have over the rest of our lives. There’s this thing called Attachment Theory and it’s based on what happened to us as tiny little beings (thanks, Mom and Dad). As always, there’s hope. Regardless of your personal circumstances, there are definitely ways to rise above! //

Dr. Wendy Walsh is the author of three books on love and is the writer and host of the podcast Mating Matters. She also hosts a live radio show in Los Angeles (KFIAM 640) all about relationships. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

As always, stay in the love.

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Dating as a trans woman can be complicated, frustrating and even dangerous. Longtime friend, actress and writer Jen Richards, joins Laverne for a very candid truth-only conversation. Together they dish on what they have learned over the years, like why some men are attracted to trans women and why so many men have a hard time being honest about their attraction. Of course they go deep, and Jen shares what she thinks is the biggest kept secret about trans women, opens up about why she thought she could never be loved, and then shares her amazing news. Get the tissues. //

You might know Jen Richards from her Emmy nominated short series, Her Story. You can also see her in the HBO series, Mrs. Fletcher, and in the Netflix documentary Disclosure, which was executive produced by Laverne. Currently she can be seen on the CBS primetime thriller Clarice. //

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this powerful episode, Laverne talks with Richard Rothstein, the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. Rothstein breaks down how the government implemented housing policies in order to segregate Black people primarily in the 1930s and 50s. Though many decades ago, the effects are as present as ever in the education gap, income gap, wealth gap, and “slums.” As violations of the Constitution, it is a requirement to correct past injustices. //

INFO:

New Movement to Redress Racial Segregation

Email to Get Involved: carrie@nmrrs.org //

Richard Rothstein is a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and a Senior Fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

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Laverne speaks with Kevin Allred, author, scholar, speaker, who came on the pop culture radar when he started teaching a university course on Beyonce back in 2010. It’s called Politicizing Beyonce, with a syllabus composed entirely of black feminist writers. It’s his mission to facilitate conversations that disrupt America’s racist and heterocentrist status quo by studying America through the eyes of female Black artists and intellectuals, like Beyonce. He draws connections through history and asks us to take a different perspective. His class has been adapted into a best-selling book, Ain’t I a Diva, available at The Feminist Press. //

Kevin Allred’s Twitter

allred.com/bio.html">Kevin’s Website

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It was the fall of 2017 when the MeToo Movement exploded. It seemed every woman on social media was typing #MeToo. The reality of how many people had experienced some sort of sexual harassment, assault or other violence shocked nearly everyone. MeToo was the charge that galvanized millions of survivors and allies around the world. MeToo = You Are Not Alone.

The founder of the MeToo Movement, Tarana J. Burke, talks with Laverne about how the narrative has changed from focusing on the survivors to focusing on the guilty and how she’s working on reclaiming the original intent of the message. //

Links:

Book: You Are Your Best Thing

We, as Ourselves

Time's Up

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

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Hey, Lavern Cox Show fans! Obviously, you love great podcasts and we think you'd love the new season of Katie's Crib as well. Check out the trailer to decide for yourself!

About Katie's Crib: With empathy and a sense of humor about it all, Katie’s Crib keeps it real while providing an indispensable guide for parents trying to find their way. Hosted by actress and mother Katie Lowes, each week the show welcomes guests for open and honest conversations about everything parenting from fertility and postpartum life to the trials and tribulations of raising tiny humans.

Listen and subscribe to Katie's Crib on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

The Laverne Cox Show will return from its brief hiatus in May! Just a few guests lined up are activist and MeToo creator Tarana Burke on reclaiming the movement; award-winning author, educator, and musician Kevin Allred on politicizing Beyonce; and researcher and academic Richard Rothstein on the roots of housing inequality in America. //

Thank you for listening to The Laverne Cox Show! Please rate, review, subscribe and share with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. As always, stay in the love.

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There are not enough words to describe Ts Madison. Bold. Brash. Outrageous. Loud. Colorful. Savvy. But first and foremost Entrepreneur. Ts is an openly transgender entertainer who learned young how to hustle and make that coin. She learned business the hard way as a sex worker, but her head for business, marketing and promotion has led her to mainstream television. She is the first openly transgender person to have her own reality TV show. You can watch “The Ts Madison Experience” on WE TV. She and Laverne have SO much to talk about. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

As always, stay in the love.

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Beauty. What is it? Who has it and who doesn’t. Does it really matter? Sure, everyone would probably like to be “beautiful” if given a choice, but does it actually matter? Kimberly Foster says yes. Actually she says hell, yes. The way a person is perceived in the world affects everything from job security to healthcare, which means there are real consequences for anyone brave enough to push back and opt out of the high heels, slinky dresses and eyelash extensions. //

Kimberly Foster is a writer, cultural critic and founder and editor-in-chief of For Harriet, a multi-platform digital community for Black women. For Harriet was founded in 2010. The site has been featured in the New York Times, ESSENCE, Forbes and Huffington Post. // https://www.youtube.com/user/ForHarrietdotcom

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Jennifer Burton Flier is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice and a senior faculty member with Trauma Resource Institute (TRI). She is also certified in Brene Brown’s Daring Way and Rising Strong models. The Community Resiliency Model she teaches with TRI focuses on stabilizing the nervous system when we are under stress or triggered by traumatic events. Jennifer says learning some simple concepts about the body and brain can reduce our stress responses, creating more balance and ease in our daily lives. //

More about Jennifer at www.jenniferburtonmft.com

More about TRI at www.traumaresourceinstitute.com

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Alok Vaid-Menon, also known simply as ALOK, joins Laverne for an inside perspective on what it means to live in the world as a person who does not belong on either side of the traditional gender binary - meaning strictly male or female. ALOK (they/them) is a gender non-conforming writer and performance artist. As a mixed-media artist ALOK explore themes of gender, race, trauma, belonging, and the human condition. They are the author of Femme in Public (2017) and Beyond the Gender Binary (2020). In 2019 they were honored as one of NBC’s Pride 50 and Out Magazine’s OUT 100. They have presented their work in more than 40 countries.

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Writer, fat activist and podcast host Virgie Tovar teaches us about the roots of fatphobia and the many pitfalls of diet culture. She and Laverne cover everything from discrimination to health care, white supremacy and social policing. Even if you’ve never been on a diet a single day in your life, this is for you, too. 

Virgie Tovar is the author of You Have the Right to Remain Fat and The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color. She is a contributor for Forbes.com, where she covers the plus-size market and how to end weight-based discrimination at work. Her podcast, Rebel Eaters Club, investigates the North American relationship to food and body. 

Rebel Eaters Club podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rebel-eaters-club/id1495401238

You Have the Right to Remain Fat audiobook:

https://www.audible.com/pd/You-Have-the-Right-to-Remain-Fat-Audiobook/B08G1T4LGZ

The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Love-Revolution-Radical-Positivity-Solutions/dp/1684034116

Babecamp: Break Up with Diet Culture E-Course

https://bodypositiveschool.teachable.com/p/babecamp 

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Professional dating coach and media personality Damona Hoffman takes Laverne’s questions on the best way to find a mate as a person over 40. Find out the top three challenges people face in the search for a partner, what to do about them, what we need to let go of along the way, why there's no such thing as a wasted relationship, and more. The romance pool changes as we age, but the guideposts to love stay the same. // You can find Damona Hoffman on Twitter/IG/FB @DamonaHoffman, DatesandMates.com, and The Dates & Mates with Damona Hoffman Podcast.

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For the premier of The Laverne Cox Show, Laverne talks with one of her biggest influences, researcher, speaker, author and storyteller Dr. Brené Brown. They talk candidly and vulnerably (of course) about the state of the country and what we must do and *stop* doing to heal our current division. Spoiler alert: We are all humans.

Dr. Brené Brown is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of five books including Dare to Lead, Braving the Wilderness and The Gifts of Imperfection.

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Years ago, a therapist said in our very first session that there are only two things that we can truly control in our lives - our own perception and our own behavior. That's it. Nothing more than that.  

Each week, The Laverne Cox Show will feature intimate conversations with folks who help me to see and think differently so that maybe I can act differently. It is my hope that this becomes a place that fosters perspectives that might inspire new behavior in each of us, which in turn gets us closer to becoming the very best versions of ourselves. Let's have a spiritual makeover together. 

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