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Apr 29 2019: Today we come to you live from the First Unitarian Society of Denver, where activist, union organizer, and mother Jeanette Vizguerra is living in sanctuary. Jeanette was recently named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People, and is now suing ICE to block her deportation. We discuss her case, as well as her work with the Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition.
We are also joined by Greg Mortimer of Casa de Paz, an organization that sends volunteers to visit with prisoners in Aurora, Colorado's for-profit ICE detention center.
Apr 12 2019: This episode was recorded live at Versa Colorado headquarters in downtown Denver! Rebekah and Danette discuss conspiracy theories ranging from anti-vax claims to the possibility of a world run by reptilians.
Mar 25 2019: The Off Color Live series continues at one of our favorite Denver restaurants, there... on the Northside. Rebekah and Danette welcome guests Brother Jeff Fard (www.brotherjeff.com) and Montyy Taj (www.comfortablyexcluded.com) to discuss gentrification in Denver, the rise of the reparations movement, and the debate over the GOAT female rapper.
Feb 24 2019: On February 23rd, comedian Janae Burris (@negativenegro) hosted Blackstravaganza, a Black History Month celebration at The Black Buzzard in Denver. We recorded a live variety show-sepisode of Off Color featuring some incredible guests: Danette Hollowell, Kerrie Joy, Crystal Hawkins, Jovan Mays, and Hashim Coates. This episode has a little bit of everything: music, poetry, politics, some tears, and a lot of laughs!
Feb 4 2019: We're boycotting the NFL, so we went down to the basement with singer Danette Hollowell and comedian Janae Burris (@negativenegro) to talk about Colin Kaepernick, governors in blackface, and our upcoming live episode on February 23rd. This episode is sponsored by Stapleton Vines & Spirits (www.stapletonvines.com).
Jan 21 2019: To kick off season two, we took the show live on video with a packed panel: Hasira "Soul" Ashemu, Hashim Coates, Danette Hollowell, and Kerrie Joy. We discuss Surviving R. Kelly, the “cancelation” of Kevin Hart, and the persistent myth of a "gay agenda."
Nov 19 2018: Tonight we celebrate one year of Off Color by wrapping up our season with a Thanksgiving dinner. We're blessed to have a table full of wonderful guests: historian Jameeka Lewis, community organizer Ean Thomas Tafoya, journalist Allan Tellis, and singer Danette Hollowell. We discuss the power of ritual, the ever-controversial topic of hair, the whitewashing of MLK, and the question of whether America is even possible.
Thanks for being with us through struggle and joy over the past year. We look forward to seeing you in 2019, but in the meantime feel free to leave us questions at (719) 377-6219 or tweet us @offcolorpod!
Nov 5 2018: Today we welcome award-winning poet Dominique Christina to the basement to discuss her new book Anarcha Speaks, the relationship between politics and poetry, and the deep pathos of Kanye West. Before that, though, Rebekah and James listen to some listener questions from the new Off Color hotline. Give us a call at (719) 377-6219 so we can chop it up with you on the air!
Oct 22 2018: For our Halloween special, we dug into the archives to bring you an unheard episode with the late Dr. Gregory Diggs. But first, Rebekah and James go down the Colorado ballot and tell you how to vote. Got a problem with any of our Rebekahmendations? Yell at us at @offcolorpod.
Oct 8 2018: In the spirit of Rebekah's new film project Running With My Girls, we invite two brilliant Black women who are running for office in Denver: Shontel Lewis (@Shontel4RTD) and Shayla Richard (@ShaylaRRichard). We discuss the Kavanaugh confirmation, Bette Midler's offensive tweet, and the co-opting of Black women's struggle. Stick around until the end to hear some bars from Shontel.
Sep 24 2018: Today we have a packed house, with three incredible women joining us in the basement: activist/academic Lisa Calderón, Denver City Council candidate Candi CdeBaca, and poet Kerrie Joy. We get into some current events including the Botham Jean murder, the infamous Serena Williams cartoon, and the brilliance of Cory Booker and Kamala Harris during the Kavanaugh hearings.
Sep 10 2018: For the second half of our talk with lawyer-turned-engineer Sonia Gupta (@soniagupta504), we move away from Twitter controversies and onto larger questions about how to take meaningful action in the era of Trump. We also revisit Boots Riley's incredible (and controversial) film Sorry to Bother You and get Sonia's take on it.
Aug 27 2018: Tonight we welcome our first-ever white guest, actress Catherine Erhart, to discuss Spike Lee’s hit film “BlacKkKlansman”. We debate what the film says about Charlottesville, the “toothless yokel” Klansman stereotype, and the puzzling sex appeal of Adam Driver. We also share a few thoughts about our dear friend Elisabeth Epps and her legal struggles.
Aug 13 2018: This is the first half of our conversation with Sonia Gupta (@soniagupta504), lawyer turned software engineer turned "mid-level social media influencer". We discuss Sonia's repeated run-ins with racist internet trolls, and ask whether Twitter's benefits outweigh the toxicity of its culture. Tune in on Monday August 27th to hear Part 2!
July 30 2018: Colorado Democratic Party consultant Hashim Coates joins us in the basement to discuss the new Boots Riley film "Sorry to Bother You", the upcoming elections, innovative forms of protest, and the best place in Denver to get a bean pie.
July 16 2018: Tonight we step out of the basement to record our first LIVE episode! Rebekah and a panel of experts discuss inequity in American education, debate the possibility of a prison-free society, and take some lively questions from the audience.
Special guests: Colorado State Rep. James Coleman, Elisabeth Epps of the Denver Justice Project, and educator Fernando Branch.
July 1 2018: We are joined in the basement by activists Elisabeth Epps (@elisabeth) and Victor Galvan Ramirez (@victorgalvan247), as well as jazz singer Danette, to discuss questions of citizenship and equity for POC in America. Whose democracy is this? What is a vote worth? What will it take to survive the struggle we see today in our cities and at our border?
June 18 2018: For this episode we reached back into the archives to bring you an unreleased show from 11/3/2017 featuring our original co-host, the late Dr. Gregory Diggs. This is one of the demo episodes we recorded while the idea for Off Color was still taking shape, and it’s a deep discussion that breaks down racial stereotypes by revealing White James as the only person in the room who can't swim.
June 4 2018: We welcome Emmy-winning journalist Gabrielle Bryant to the basement to discuss more racist relatives, #OurVoiceOurSchools, Spotify's R. Kelly ban, the accusations against Morgan Freeman, and the royal wedding.
May 21 2018: Tonight we welcome Emmy-award winning journalist Tamara M. Banks and Ugandan foreign affairs expert Maria Nagawa. We discuss the recent spate of incidents involving white people who call the police on Black Americans for no good reason, plus a lively discussion on the pluses and minuses of foreign aid in Africa.
May 6 2018: Tonight's guest is Ken McCorkell, a handsome and talented mixed-race jazz pianist who also happens to be Rebekah's husband. We discuss Kanye West's TMZ interview, the Rachel Dolezal documentary, Childish Gambino's brilliant "This is America", and Rebekah's new film All Mixed Up: Our Changing Racial Identities.
April 23 2018: Denverite reporter Allan Tellis got his bike stolen today, but that's not the only reason he's pissed off. He joins us in the basement to discuss the infamous Starbucks incident, racism in American policing, and whether bias can ever truly be "unconscious". It's not all anger, though; we also discuss some recent good news, including Beyonce's Coachella set and Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer.
April 9 2018: We return to the basement after an unplanned week off to discuss the influence of racism on America's public schools. Our guests H-Soul and Fernando Branch bring a wealth of expertise to the discussion, as we ask what people of color can do to take back our schools and begin to reverse America's history of unequal education.
March 18 2018: As Off Color moves forward without Dr. Gregory Diggs, we welcome three brilliant artists to the basement to weigh in on this cultural moment that some people are calling a Black Renaissance. First off, there’s Jeff Campbell, founder of Emancipation Theater Co. and writer/director of the new play Honorable Disorder. He brings with him Theo E.J. Wilson, a returning guest whose recent TED Talk went viral, and who plays the lead in Jeff’s play. And finally, we welcome Dr. Diggs’s brother Brian Diggs, who is an actor and dancer in his own right.
March 5 2017: Our beloved co-host Dr. Gregory Diggs passed away unexpectedly on February 24, and a few days later Rebekah and James got together in the basement for a special episode to honor his memory. This is an honest and unedited hour of talk, recorded while the emotions surrounding our friend's death were still raw. We hope you'll join us, and stay with us as we find a way to push forward without him.
Feb 23 2018: This is Part 2 of our spoiler-ific conversation about Black Panther, featuring Ugandan political economist Maria Nagawa and activist/Wakanda-skeptic H-Soul.
Feb 19 2018: Black Panther is finally here, and we welcome two guests to the basement to help us talk it through: activist and Wakanda-skeptic Hasira "H-Soul" Ashemu, and Ugandan political economist Maria Nagawa. The conversation was so lit that it has to be released in two parts, and it should go without saying that there are LOTS OF SPOILERS. Part 2 will drop a little later this week!
Feb 5 2018: Today we're joined in the basement by Kimberly Ming and Brooke Owyang Lee. They shed some light on the idea of Asians as the "model minority" and the complexities of being both Asian and mixed race. We also ask some tough questions about raising children in the current political environment, and the American government's failure to help its citizens in Puerto Rico.
Jan 22 2018: MLK Day fell on an off-week this year, but the crew still got together in the basement to record an episode to release the following week. Listen in as we discuss the Santa Clausification of Dr King's legacy, Trump's hideous comments about "shithole countries", James's oversized forehead, and the prospect of President Oprah. We also tackle a few listener questions posted to our Facebook page.
Jan 8 2018: Our first episode of 2018 features Theo E.J. Wilson, a Denver-based poet and activist who received worldwide acclaim for his Ted Talk about going undercover in the alt-right internet underworld. We talk about that experience, as well as the state of race education in the United States, the concept of white "Diversity Fatigue", the fake Twitter uproar over Michael B. Jordan's white girlfriend, and whether white and black America can ever heal from the mutual trauma of racism.
Dec 18 2017: Today we are joined by Dr. Diggs's son Langston Shupe-Diggs, who offers a Gen Z perspective on how black women "saved" Alabama from Roy Moore, the CDC's new list of forbidden words, renaming Denver's Stapleton neighborhood, and answering two listener questions.
Dec 11 2017: Join us in the basement to discuss Rebekah's recent Twitter skirmish with Michael Rapaport, Time's decision to feature Taylor Swift on their "silence breakers" cover, recreational wokeness, hens and hogs, and Sharon Reed's sublime mic drop moment.
Dec 4 2017: We welcome Emmy-winning journalist Tamara Banks to the basement to discuss the controversy surrounding Ink! Coffee's gentrification-based ad campaign, which sparked protests in Denver and has led to a nationwide discussion about the changing face of American cities.
Nov 27 2017: Today we welcome Denver-based comedian ShaNae Ross to the basement to discuss the differences between black and white audiences, the unbearable lightness of Sammy Sosa, the "Black tax", Dr. Diggs's skepticism of 23 & Me, and a questionable listener question.
Nov 20 2017: Your hosts Rebekah Henderson and Dr. Gregory Diggs discuss dealing with your racist ass uncle, weaponizing white privilege, the great Thanksgiving pie debate, and hipster cranberry sauce.
Season 3 is carrying on the tradition of Off Color by having excellent and informative guests! In this episode we take a deep dive into our dying oceans. Special guests: At Peace Makita Water Warrior, Dr. Diana Bray, Noe Organz, Jared Bynum and Dana Miller of Extinction Rebellion. We ask the question...is there hope?