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Bring Your Full Self is a series of conversations that center the humanity and emotions of people of color in the context of their labor, how they generate their work, and survive inside the systems of capitalism. The podcast helps to make the process of creating Converge Collaborative transparent and provides a platform that allows us to connect with a wider community of laborers, professionals, and artists of color. Our co-op was founded with the belief that work, our connections to ourselves, our communities, and our families cannot be compartmentalized. We invite ourselves and others to cultivate spaces that allow us to safely step away from the myth of professionalism and extractive labor practices to embrace the reality that the intersections of our experiences, learnings and challenges make us the multitudes that we all are.
Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 features one-on-one conversations between Converge Collaborative members along with several roundtable episodes that include discussions about how labor is discussed, perceived, portrayed, and understood in different cultural contexts.
Episode 1: (A) Process, Part 1
Pat McMahon + David Rios
Welcome to the inaugural episode of Bring Your Full Self, conversations about our relationships to and experiences within labor and creativity as people of color. Pat McMahon & David Rios discuss their respective experiences working in marketing and higher education, the pressures of capitalism, carving paths for one’s self, and who gets to call themselves an expert.
Episode 2: (A) Process, Part 2
Pat McMahon & David Rios
Part 2 of Pat McMahon & David Rios's conversation in which they discuss their respective experiences working in marketing and higher education, the pressures of capitalism, carving paths for one’s self, and who gets to call themselves an expert.
Episode 3: Teaching, Part 1
Louis Bryant III + Katie Giritlian
In the second episode of Bring Your Full Self, we join two more Converge members in conversation. Katie Giritlian and Louis Bryant III come together to converse, share, and laugh across the broad topics of learning and teaching, formal and informal educations, and passions for photography.
Episode 4: Teaching, Part 2
Louis Bryant III + Katie Giritlian
Episode 4 of Bring Your Full Self returns to a wonderful conversation between Katie Giritlian and Louis Bryant III. Katie & Louis continue to discuss their teaching and learning methods, explorations of language and definitions, and their experiences that brought them to Converge.
Episode 5: Work Self
A Roundtable Discussion About 'Severance'
In the inaugural roundtable episode, Amy Yoshitsu, Pat McMahon, and David Rios cover the Apple TV+ program Severance. They discuss how the show echoes our own experiences, how identities are defined within working environments, and our aspirations for labor in which we can be our fully embodied selves.
Episode 6: Looking For Spaces For Me, Part 1
AmaYah Harrison & Coral Martin
AmaYah Harrison and Coral Martin share their experiences and approaches across careers in the arts. They also discuss their identities as Black women and how geographic and professional environments impact their work, creativity, and voice.
Episode 7: Looking For Spaces For Me, Part 2
AmaYah Harrison & Coral Martin
We return to a conversation between AmaYah Harrison and Coral Martin, in which they discuss their experiences with teaching and learning as a 'gradual incline.'
Episode 8: Full Embodied Life, Part 1
Michelle McCrary & Amy Yoshitsu
In the final conversation of the first season, we join Amy Yoshitsu & Michelle McCrary, the earliest and newest working members of Converge Collaborative.
Episode 9: Full Embodied Life, Part 2
Michelle McCrary & Amy Yoshitsu
Amy and Michelle discuss their passion for music scenes, their identities as only children, and how they've navigated workspaces while maintaining a sense of self.
Episode 10: Don’t Worry About The Pauses
A Roundtable Conversation featuring Ryan Park
We return to the roundtable for a session of questions from our intern, Ryan Park, ranging in topics, such as: self-knowledge, curiosity, and power.