Best Sanctuary Berkeley Podcasts (2025)

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Short Cuts: Nico Lang 17:55

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29d ago17:55

17:55

Nico Lang is joining us for an event at Kepler's books on September 9th, 2025. Get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trans-narratives-of-america-tickets-1485118843439 Join us for a timely evening at Kepler’s Books as acclaimed authors Carolina De Robertis (So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit…

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Narrating the Mother 1:00:26

2M ago1:00:26

1:00:26

Join the Bay Area Book Festival and Litquake for an intimate (virtual) conversation with Iman Mersal and Kate Briggs, two writers who reshape our understanding of motherhood and the art of living. Mersal, acclaimed Egyptian-Canadian poet and essayist who most recently authored Motherhood and Its Ghosts, excavates the invisible labor and haunting ab…

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So Many Stars: A Celebration of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color 45:31

2M ago45:31

45:31

Join us for an insightful conversation surrounding So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color by Caro De Robertis. In this groundbreaking work, De Robertis brings together the voices of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit elders of color, offering an intimate look into their personal st…

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A Memoir for Remembrance 45:01

2M ago45:01

45:01

A shape is composed of its outline and the space inside, meaning that the people around us play an integral role in forming who we are. In navigating the questions left behind following tragic loss, the authors of this poignant memoir panel honor their loved ones through writing, and, in doing so, redefine their own selves along the way. After grie…

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Wound is the Portal: Healing into the Future and Incantation for Future: Closing Headliner & Portal Closing 1:11:56

2M ago1:11:56

1:11:56

This poetry portal explores the wound not as an end, but as a powerful beginning. Join us for a journey where language becomes a site of transformation—where grief, memory, and survival are not just revisited, but reimagined. Mimi Tempestt breaks open conventions with a voice that insists on reclamation and the sacredness of Black queer futurity. H…

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Seeking Justice in Historical Fiction 46:21

2M ago46:21

46:21

What lengths would you go to to prove your innocence? For Anglo-Indian nurse Sona, it’s following a cryptic note and four paintings that lead her around Europe to uncover details about the complicated personal life of the renowned painter she is suspected of killing in Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi. The story of a wrongly accused Irish maid in S…

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Women, Cyborgs, Revolutionary Petunias, and Other Creatures 52:20

2M ago52:20

52:20

This reading celebrates the wild, wired, and the wondrous. Inspired, and the fierce multiplicity of the natural world, this portal brings together five poets whose work transgresses borders—of body, genre, and possibility. These poets will open portals that invite us into places of resistance and rage, that when honored transform into generative an…

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In Search of Sanctuary: Stories of Migration, Hardships and Hope 44:49

2M ago44:49

44:49

Shining a light on the often invisible and incredibly complex experience of migration, the established scholars of this panel examine migration through human-centered lenses by documenting the difficult reasons people move away from an old home and the realities they must face upon arrival in their new one. Sin Padres, Ni Papeles details Stephanie …

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Living Legacies: Native Authors on Memoir and Memory 43:39

2M ago43:39

43:39

From the very first contact, Indigenous people have been spoken about more than they have been heard. Early "autobiographies" of Native individuals were often penned by outsiders, distorting the essence of the genre by denying autonomy to the very subjects for whom autobiography—by definition—should uplift. In recent years, seminal works of First N…

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Essay as Form 48:32

2M ago48:32

48:32

The essay’s subjective and fragmented nature enables writers to grapple with complexities without the restrictions of systematic, traditional approaches to writing (Theodor W. Adorno, “The Essay as Form”). It liberates the essayist to take a nuanced look at the world, as cultural essayist and social critic Steve Wasserman does in Tell Me Something,…

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Chimera Space: Monstrous, Lovely, and Liminal 1:13:23

2M ago1:13:23

1:13:23

Enter the liminal. In this portal, hybridity is power, and contradiction is poetry. Chimera Space brings together a group of poets whose work inhabits the monstrous, the beautiful, and the in-between—bodies, identities, and voices that resist categorization and embrace complexity. Cindy Juyoung Ok writes into multiplicity, turning silence into disr…

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Creators’ Collective Action 42:54

2M ago42:54

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Amidst current challenges like book bans in schools and libraries across the country, record numbers of legal restrictions on the human rights of immigrants and trans people, especially trans youth, in our community, creators play a crucial role when they come together in a unified voice of resistance. We have many models of people who resisted und…

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Homeland to Home 48:13

2M ago48:13

48:13

A sense of place is something we all deserve. For children whose roots lie in lands and cultures that are often under- or even mis-represented, the concept of home can be complex. When the politics of war propaganda and media stereotypes permeate our lives, children’s books offer insight, better understanding, and for some a path home. From Iraq, P…

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Murder in Mysterious Places 43:15

2M ago43:15

43:15

The talented woman sleuths of this panel have once again found themselves in unexpected conundrums that hit close to home. Join Parisian PI Aimée Leduc on her quest for innocence after being framed for the murder of her daughter’s father in Murder at la Villette, the 21st installment of Cara Black’s New York Times bestselling mystery series. Altern…

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Follow Your Heart to Graphic Novels 48:32

2M ago48:32

48:32

Whether in a comic panel or at a panel discussion, these earnest graphic novel stories are here to remind us to stay true to ourselves, our beliefs, and our passions! Follow Huda Fahmy’s exhilarating and chaotic family vacation to Disney World, where self-conscious Huda quickly realizes that her family’s public prayers make them stand out; and whil…

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Healing, Activism and Collective Liberation: Strategies for Building a New World 48:32

2M ago48:32

48:32

This panel unites four transformative leaders pioneering the incorporation of healing into activism, demonstrating how personal transformation fuels collective liberation. Their work bridges social justice and healing, emphasizing the need for community care in the fight for a just future. Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, poet laureate of Oakland and founder of…

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All Bodies All Selves 47:40

2M ago47:40

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As we face increasing attacks on our bodily autonomy from our federal and state governments, these books provide essential resources and narratives that approach the topic with acuity and compassion. Award-winning author Zetta Elliott reflects the voices of Black women and girls for whom body policing has long been an issue in Say Her Name, a colle…

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Storming the Gatekeepers: Past, Present, & Future Publishing Alternatives 48:06

2M ago48:06

48:06

Long before politicians weaponized book bans across the country, mainstream publishers have controlled which books get published, carrying out “soft book bans” through gatekeeping. For as long as books have been published (and censored), indie and alternative publishers have challenged these gatekeepers, who have often excluded and marginalized div…

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Poetry stage: Incantations to Open Portals + Garden of Possibilities 1:49:13

2M ago1:49:13

1:49:13

We begin with invocation—of memory, of resistance, of radical possibility. Incantations to Open Portals is the ceremonial opening of the poetry stage at the Bay Area Book Festival, co-sponsored with the Berkeley Poetry Festival, where poetry becomes spell, speech becomes spellwork, and presence becomes protest. This opening event features incantato…

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Our Beautiful, Burning World 49:37

2M ago49:37

49:37

In the face of climate catastrophe, it’s natural to react with grief, sorrow, and hopelessness to the constant reminders of how fragile and impermanent our world is. Lauren Markham reckons with her grief in Immemorial, a speculative synthesis of reporting, memoir, and essay describing her desire to memorialize something in the process of being lost…

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Coming of Age in an Unsteady World 46:15

2M ago46:15

46:15

In a country that tries to erase our troubled history of the oppressive treatment of certain groups, today’s youth are forced to find their footing in an increasingly unsteady world that rejects their exploration of different identities and experiences. Join Oakland writers Carolina Ixta (Shut Up, This is Serious) and J.R. Rice (Broken Pencils) for…

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Bridging the Gaps: Redefining Healthcare Through a Justice Lens 40:14

2M ago40:14

40:14

The for-profit American healthcare model has left gaps in the system that harm everyone by stripping away the human element and emboldening shifty ethical and legal practices. The authors of this panel draw on their medical expertise to propose new frameworks for healing by targeting specific areas of today’s complex healthcare system. In My Brothe…

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Pages and Pictures from Early Reader to Middle Grade 40:52

2M ago40:52

40:52

The only thing better than an awesome story? An awesome story with pictures, perfect for early readers and middle graders! Follow along with Stella & Marigold as they explore secrets involving blankets, a terrible storm, and two brave children in Annie Barrows’ bright new series about a pair of sisters adventuring through their imaginary worlds. Ni…

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Problematic Reports from the Frontlines of Tech 55:20

2M ago55:20

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While the tightrope of technological advancement is proving quite difficult to navigate, experts from the frontlines of the tech industry are here to offer insights on how we can move forward as a society. First, we must look critically to the scars etched by generations of systemic segregation, as journalist Alexis Madrigal does in The Pacific Cir…

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Drawn to Justice: Graphic Novels and the Power of Social Action 40:30

2M ago40:30

40:30

Fight hate, make art, and build community with these graphic novels, based on true stories, that depict the importance of fighting for justice in whatever ways we can. For Eddie Ahn, author of Advocate, becoming an environmental justice lawyer for non-profits defies his Korean immigrant family’s notions of economic success but allows him to confron…

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Paths to Publishing: From the Big Five to DIY 54:18

2M ago54:18

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These days, there are so many ways to get your book out into the world, choosing the best option can be daunting. Join us as a published author from each pathway — the Big 5 (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette Book Group), other traditional publishers, small presses, university presses, hybrid presses, an…

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Portable Intersectionality: Roxane Gay in conversation with Alicia Garza 1:40:06

2M ago1:40:06

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As critical works and perspectives are being increasingly censored by the federal government’s hypocritical campaign for its distorted vision of “free speech,” our strategies for organizing and mobilizing communities must adapt to most effectively resist these attacks on justice. Here with an urgent reminder that feminism is expansive rather than d…

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Bringing our Youth Back to the Land 41:29

2M ago41:29

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Within societies that have been constructed in ways that separate generations and sever connections to storytelling traditions, Indigenous and colonized communities see high rates of teen depression, disenfranchisement, and suicide. In response, projects in rematriation and revitalization of land have emerged to restore this lost connection through…

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Mystery writers Unmasking Larger Issues 46:00

2M ago46:00

46:00

Fiction is often a vehicle for confronting political issues, and the mystery genre is no exception. Former newspaper reporter Jennifer K. Morita’s debut mystery, Ghosts of Waikīkī, features an out-of-work journalist looking into the murder of a controversial land developer and explores timely issues in Hawai’i, including locals getting priced out o…

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Panel: We Will Not Disappear: Queer/Trans Voices in a Time of Backlash 50:45

2M ago50:45

50:45

Nefertiti Asanti, Natasha Dennerstein, Edward Gunawan, Miah Jeffra, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Grayson Thompson Community members of the Bay Area's beloved LGBTQ+ collaborative, Foglifter Journal and Press, discuss the role of queer and trans publishing in a time when the nation has further precluded being a place of support and comfort, and shape a …

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Nightmares Revealed: The Rise of Latinx Horror Fiction 44:20

2M ago44:20

44:20

Join us for an invigorating discussion on the rising influence of Latinx voices in horror fiction. Panelists Daniel A. Olivas, Cynthia Gómez, and M. M. Olivas will delve into how Latinx authors are using the genre to blend culture, resistance, horror, and social commentary, confronting both real and imagined monsters. Daniel A. Olivas, author of Ch…

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Becoming an Authorpreneur 50:55

2M ago50:55

50:55

Do you have an idea for a reading series, literary podcast, website, or game? Maybe you've imagined starting your own literary nonprofit, magazine, bookstore, or (gasp) book festival. Chances are, if you've dreamed it up, Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner have insights to help make it happen—and can inspire you to turn your literary visions into rea…

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Redefining Home 42:39

2M ago42:39

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Featuring stunning literary debuts from authors who are enrolled members of the Akwesasne Kanienkehaka and the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, this panel centers the Native experience as influenced by modern political and personal struggles. Old School Indian by Aaron John Curtis follows an Ahkwesáhsne man’s reluctant return…

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Ghosts of Justice: Exposing the Failures and Reimagining the Future of the American Legal System 54:19

2M ago54:19

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Having witnessed and experienced the American justice system’s unreasonable treatment of incarcerated people, the activists of this panel shed light on the shrouded reality of the ghosts currently being unduly punished. In his polemic Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future, Emile Suotonye DeWeaver…

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Strength and Solace in Numbers 58:34

2M ago58:34

58:34

In times of love and loss, demonstrations of care can be another form of activism. This sentiment is perhaps most evident in the AIDS epidemic, when physical touch became paradoxically a symbol of tenderness yet agonizingly painful for someone with complications from HIV, as Keiko Lane recalls in Blood Loss: A Love Story of AIDS, Activism, and Art,…

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Who’s Afraid of Gender? 1:20:42

2M ago1:20:42

1:20:42

During the 2024 presidential race, the Trump campaign released an anti-trans ad blitz across swing states. Once in power, he wasted no time issuing an executive order proclaiming there are only two biological sexes. Accordingly, trans protections, gender affirming care, and DEI initiatives are being dismantled nationwide. Philosopher and human righ…

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Telling Our Futures: Speculative Fiction and Social Change 42:49

2M ago42:49

42:49

This visionary, multi-generational panel brings together Bay Area authors who weave speculative fiction with powerful messages of resistance, transformation, and justice. Through creative storytelling, these authors tackle the pressing issues of our time—exploring the legacies of the past and imagining a future where change is possible. Angela Dalt…

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Organized Resistance From the Ground Up 59:33

2M ago59:33

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Learn from the best of community organization leadership in this empowering panel, which will get to the bottom of how to build resilient and justice-oriented communities. Jaz Brisack, a leader of the Starbucks and Tesla union movements, narrates their stories from the front lines in the context of current social unrest and shows us how we too can …

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“Writing as an Other” 1:18:16

2M ago1:18:16

1:18:16

“What is the relationship between the role of the outsider and literary writing?” Pulitzer Prize-winning Viet Thanh Nguyen poses this question in his new book To Save and To Destroy, which is based on a series of six lectures at Harvard. Having escaped from the Vietnam War to a refugee camp in Pennsylvania when he was four, Nguyen is no stranger to…

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Decolonizing Wealth: Confronting Systemic Barriers, Creating Lasting Change 1:09:37

3M ago1:09:37

1:09:37

Income inequality in the U.S. has reached its highest level in over 50 years, making the American Dream increasingly unattainable—especially for Black Americans. One major factor is “predatory governance,” the racist policies that have systematically undermined Black homeownership and generational wealth. Property law scholar Bernadette Atuahene ex…

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The Embodiment of Care 1:14:26

3M ago1:14:26

1:14:26

As we emerge from the past few years of collective upheaval, how do we face the complexities of our time with joy, authenticity, and connection? Therapist, somatics teacher, activist, and writer Prentis Hemphill shows us how in What It Takes to Heal, a life-affirming framework toward a future in which healing is done in community. In Hemphill’s rev…

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In Dialogue: Building Communities that Thrive 59:58

3M ago59:58

59:58

In a moment of global crises and heightened polarization, how do we foster belonging and minimize othering? How and where do we build bridges when so many communities and institutions are fracturing and re-constellating? Drawing on the panelists’ four books and their unique experiences and perspectives, we will speak into a future where generative …

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Indigenous Poetry: Words that Map the Natural World 42:55

3M ago42:55

42:55

Celebrate indigenous poetry with these intergenerational poets from different parts of Indian Country, who will share their powerful words that navigate land, memory, music, and more. Diné poet, editor, and playwright Kinsale Drake explores the intricate relationships between Native peoples and the natural world, and her debut collection The Sky Wa…

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Art as Radical Practice: Black Women’s Creative Expression as Social Change 1:02:31

3M ago1:02:31

1:02:31

This powerful panel showcases three Black women artists, authors, and activists who use their creative practices to challenge oppressive systems and fight for social, cultural, and environmental justice. Through their intersectional approaches, they address race, gender, inequality, and healing. Berkeley Poet Laureate, organizer, activist and autho…

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Mutual Aid and Community Care in California 56:27

3M ago56:27

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Join us for a conversation on the vital role of different forms of community care and mutual aid across California’s diverse communities. Red Flag Warning, a collection of essays and interviews by survivors Dani Burlison and Margaret Elysia Garcia, highlights how grassroots organizing, community care, and resilience help navigate ecological and soc…

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Romantasy — Not for the Faint of Heart 44:41

3M ago44:41

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A competition to find the king’s lost heir. A war fought by a woman soldier in disguise. A quest to escape a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts. The fiery protagonists of this romantasy panel adventure far and wide, questioning their judgments and learning to trust along the way. In Our Deadly Designs, the epic conclusion to Kalyn Josep…

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Stories of Tomorrow: Speculative Fiction 35:43

3M ago35:43

35:43

Buckle up for a disorienting launch into the vast unknown with these works of speculative fiction that transcend time and space. How We Know Our Time Travelers is Anita Felicelli’s collection of dark, intellectual, and surreal stories that examine our post-pandemic reality and future, introducing characters such as a bickering couple who use an app…

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Unyielding Resistance: Perspectives on Political Prisoners and the Lifelong Pursuit of Freedom 56:57

3M ago56:57

56:57

The fight for justice and freedom for political prisoners in the US has long been rooted in revolutionary struggle against state violence and political repression. Since the 1960s, resistance to politically motivated incarceration has taken many forms, both inside and outside prison walls. Garrett Felber, author of A Continuous Struggle: The Revolu…

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Voices Against the Tide: Independent Media and the Struggle for American Democracy 57:48

3M ago57:48

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In an era of rising authoritarianism, media polarization, and attacks on voting rights, independent journalism plays a critical role in safeguarding democracy. This panel brings together two of the most incisive voices in political reporting—Zack Beauchamp and Ari Berman—to examine the challenges facing American democracy and the essential role of …

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Fiction Debuts Navigating Historical Memory 57:33

3M ago57:33

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Making their literary entrance in insightful fiction debuts, the protagonists of this panel reckon with pasts that stretch beyond their own lifetimes. The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne spans eight generations of a Black family in West Tennessee, beginning with the story of Yetunde, who makes a deal with the Devil upon awakening aboard a slave s…