Diverse Joy
Infusing science, practical skills, and joy into diversity discussions! Follow @DiverseJoy on social media! In each episode, Dr. William T. L. Cox and Dr. Amber Nelson share something that is bringing them joy, talk about a diversity topic, share stories, teach a bias habit-breaking skill, and give a media recommendation of something that brings them joy. Their goal is jointly to provide entertainment and education, and they infuse science, practicality, and most of all, joy into conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Every episode also exists as a standalone educational video that you can find on YouTube, or through our website at DiverseJoy.com. Diverse Joy is hosted by Dr. William T. L. Cox and Dr. Amber Nelson, produced by Eric Roman Beining, with music by Jay Arner. New episodes release the first Wednesday of each month. Learn more at DiverseJoy.com. Development of the first season of Diverse Joy was sponsored in part by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number R35GM128888. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Production is also supported by donations to our nonprofit, Inequity Agents of Change. Learn more at BiasHabit.com.
Episodes
Will and Amber’s joys this holiday season relate to holiday traditions: Amber’s recalls how her mom would give her and her brother gift every day of the month leading up to Christmas as kids, and then segueing that into gifting board games as adults, and getting to spend time together playing them; and Will talks the current tradition of he and Eric Roman getting Lego Star Wars Advent Calendars from past guest (and friend) Sandy Ei...
In excitement for the release of the movie Wicked: For Good later this month, Amber and Will are dressed as Elfie and Guy-linda from Wicked! Will’s joy this month is Heels and Wheels, a disability-inclusive dance group in Madison, Wisconsin. Amber’s joy is the power of Wicked The Musical and especially the movie starring Cynthia Erivo, which brings a new depth of feeling to the character of Elphaba as portrayed by a Black woman, an...
For this Halloween episode, Will is dressed as Dracula and Amber is the Bride of Frankenstein! This is the first episode of season 3, and Amber’s joy is all the great reactions the podcast has received, including “Diverse Joy” being officially ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts globally! Will’s joy is that his book, "Overcoming Bias Habits", is now available for preorder! (Details below.) This episode’s discussion topic is how jo...
Will and Amber are dressed up as Dorothy and Sophia from “The Golden Girls”, in honor of this month being the 40th anniversary of that groundbreaking television show. Amber shares her joy about a formal tea dining experience she had with friends (where they dressed “Bridgerton”-esque to make it extra special), and Will’s joy is his universally adored dog, Ezra, a silvery gray Westiepoo! Their discussion topic is generational biases...
Will’s joy this month is the annual Woof’s Boat Cruise in the lakes around Madison, and Amber's is a lovely, heartwarming gift from her former students! The cohosts start off discussing the benefits that diversity brings to organizations. Teams with more diversity tend to have more creative, transformative solutions to problems, and some reports say that corporations with more diversity actually make more money. They also caution a...
Amber's geeky joy this month is the creativity of insurance commercials, and Will’s joy is visiting the American Players Theater for Shakespeare productions. July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness month, so the cohosts discuss bias and its effects on mental health. We talk about various ways that bias can cause mental health issues, whether that bias comes from outside influences or from within oneself. We also discuss coping mechan...
The cohosts and returning guest Nicki Vander Meulen are dressed up in rainbows and sparkles in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride Month! Nicki’s joy is a bracelet with a neurodiversity symbol for Autistic people, and Will’s joy is a rainbow necklace and a pin he got when our Inequity Agents of Change nonprofit was admitted to Wisconsin’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Amber’s joy is her work with The Rainbow Connection at Camp Ukando, where she help...
To celebrate Star Wars Day ("May the Fourth be with you!)", Will and Amber dress in their favorite colors (pink and green) as "Star Wars" characters, and share "Star Wars" related joys. Amber's joy is attending one of Disneyland's After Dark Nites for "Star Wars" last year - with her mom, Will, and producer Eric Roman. Will's joy is the fun "Star Wars"-inspired details producer Eric Roman has added to their house. Before they get i...
Will, Amber, and returning guest Sandy Eichel are dressed up in purple and green to celebrate Spring! Sandy shares their joy about early spring flowers, Amber continues that thread sharing her joy about the flower farms and tulip festival in Oregon, and Will’s joy is using butterfly pea flower tea to make color-changing cocktails! Sandy leads off the discussion about how to find joy in discovering you have room to grow. The hosts ...
March is Disneybound* month, something Amber enjoys every year, so for this month’s episode, we got dressed up as Chip (Will) and Dale (Amber) from Disney’s Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers! What’s bringing us joy this time? Will shares about how much joy cosplay brings to him, and getting to inhabit a character who’s someone other than himself - even if it’s a villain. And Amber talks about the joy she got from taking some of the high...
For this Black History Month episode, Will wears the Black History Month colors while Amber dresses in an Ankara print; they are joined by educator Bernie Hoes. What’s bringing us joy? For Will, it's an Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy he attended with friends; for Amber, it's Portland's My People's Market, a gathering of diverse vendors and entrepreneurs; and for Bernie, fellowship with good friends! Because it's Black History Month, t...
We help you ring in the New Year with this month's episode (released New Year's Day)! Will shares that (last year's) New Year's Eve festivities brought him joy; and Amber gives us an inside look at her Spotify Wrapped. This episode's main discussion topic is Beauty Standards and the Halo Effect (allowing people whom you might find more attractive to get away with things that you might not let people you find less attractive to get...
This month's episode focuses on the holiday season. We share holiday-related joy! Amber discusses visiting Disneyland during the holidays and the extra magic it brings! Will's joy is his friends' annual (faux) gingerbread crafting party.
This episode's main discussion topic focuses on cancel culture and how to move past cancel culture to have productive and constructive conversations when someone makes a mistake. This leads us to t...
In this episode we have a very special guest, Valeria Martinez, Esq., who is an immigration attorney and joins Drs. Cox and Nelson to talk about immigration issues! We share joy! Valeria's joy is that after recently graduating from law school, she has now "made it" and is employed her lifelong goal of being an immigration lawyer! Will's joy is his 40th birthday this month, and being named one of Madison, Wisconsin's "Forty Under 40...
October means it's our Halloween episode! For the occasion, Amber is dressed up as Weird Barbie from Barbie (2023) and Will is dressed up as Quicksilver from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)! We share joy! Amber's joy is getting together with her family to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters; Will shares his joy about his friends' massive annual Halloween party, with a different theme each year! This episode's discussion topic inv...
For this Labor Day month episode, Amber and Will are dressed up as Rosie (and Ross) the Riveter!
We share joy! Will's joy is visiting Disney Parks, especially Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, which puts you on the immersive Star Wars planet of Batuu. Amber shares her joy about a recent project in which she reads fiction book series then watches their corresponding movies!
This episode's discussion topic involves the concept of colonialism...
This episode is the season premier of season 2! Will and Amber share their joy about people's responses to season 1 of the podcast, and also about their recent trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire! They discuss the core philosophy behind "diverse joy", and why joy is so crucial for diversity work. During story time, Amber's stories touch on the theme of "yucking someone's yum", which can rob joy from others. In response to our aud...
In this final episode of Season 1, Amber shares her joy about vacationing in Hawai'i, and Will shares his joy about the Madison Chamber Orchestra's annual "Concerts on the Square" outdoor concert series. We discuss many different ways that biases can seep into healthcare settings, through the perceptions of medical professionals, treatment plans, policies and procedures in medical offices, and even in the way medical equipment work...
In this episode, Will shares his joy about Gay Pride month, and Amber's joy is seeing outdoor movies in the park! They discuss wellness and self-care, both in terms of individual self-care (e.g., rest, getting a massage) and collective self-care (e.g., coming together with community). Considerations of wellness and self-care are important for everyone, but are especially crucial for people frequently disadvantaged by biases and ine...
Amber shares her joy about attending Portland's Outdoor Market, and Will's joy is his koi pond waking up after winter! This episode discusses a major topic from Will's research career: the notion of "gaydar" as a legitimizing myth that perpetuates stereotyping related to lesbian/gay/bisexual (LGB) folks. Although many people have intuitions that they believe allow them to "tell" that someone is gay/lesbian, research in this area co...
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