Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Passport Mommy. I'm your host, Michelle Jerson. This
show is for anyone raising little humans. We feature experts
with tips and advice to enrich the lives of our children.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Mom and dad.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Entrepreneurs tell us their inspiring stories, learn about products that
could make both you and your child's life easier and
more fun, and of course, fellow parents discuss and laugh
about what's happening in their child's world. Motherhood is a journey.
Thanks for joining me on mine. Welcome to Passport Mommy.
I'm Michelle Jerson, and I am thrilled to have Mikela
(00:33):
Malazzi on the show with me today. She is a
four time Emmy Award winning host and executive producer of
Bare Feet with Mikela Malatzi, a travel series highlighting the
diversity of dance, which airs on public television stations nationwide.
She is a professional dancer and a trained musician, and
so she decided to start a journey around the world
(00:55):
and basically she takes her camera with her to follow
dance in the lives of everyday people wherever she goes. MICHELA,
thank you so much for joining me today. So I
want to talk about bear Feet, because you're coming up
on season seven, which is incredible. Tell me about season seven.
I know it's all about community. How has your understanding
(01:16):
of just community evolved through your travels and this season's filming.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah, So it turns out all of our seasons have
been about community and it just keeps being reiterated and
showing that in so many different ways. And Season seven
has really come to fruition in that reaching out to
folks through the lens of dance and music, of how
dance and music has kept people together. You know, seasons
(01:41):
five and six were filmed here in New York City.
I'm based in New York because of COVID, we couldn't
travel internationally, and that was another sense of community of
how did we get through this really difficult time? What
did the city look like when we were reopening? And
so season seven goes back to the roots of Bare Feet,
of traveling throughout the world, and we love traveling throughout
New York, but throughout the world and here domestically in
(02:03):
the United States, of how can we connect with folks
and just showing how people can keep their identity and
their culture alive through the lens of dance in music
and that naturally creates community. And so it's this beautiful way,
especially since we feel a little divisive. Our country feels
a little divided right now. It reminds us like we
(02:25):
are so similar. There's so many things that we all need. Food, shelter, love, family,
and a little bit of dance and music to get
through the day. It's this really wonderful reminder. So it
kind of kind of flows through all the bare feet.
But I think this season in particular, it's really special.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yes, And I know, you know, I have kids, they're
eight and five, and my eight year old daughter is
always dancing and always singing, and she just loves to
express herselves that way. And you know, we travel as
much as we can, but clearly we're not traveling to
the countries yet where I can expose her to diverse culture.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So how can I expose her?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Like I think your show is perfect because she can
want your show and she can see all the different
dancing in different countries around the world.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yeah, thank you. And I love to hear when kids
are dancing. I grew up making putting on shows in
my living room with my sisters and all my cousins,
So like I get to do what I did as
a kid now, but I get paid for it. It's amazing.
But for you know, we've had schools use bare Feet
for teaching for years because of this, because kids have
(03:26):
access to programming and stories of diverse stories not only
from around the world, but from within our own communities.
Again as New York we featured New Yorkers. But what's
really great is you get to see sort of this
aspect of other kids. We feature kids in our show.
We think it's really important to show and empower young people,
especially since it's multi generational. Storytelling, dance, and music is
(03:49):
passed down through generations and through families a lot of time.
That's how a lot of these cultures have been maintained.
So it's really important, I think to show kids you
can be involved. You can be dancing with mom or
grandpa or grandma and learn these things and ask them questions.
And if you don't have access to travel, when I
(04:10):
say travel, that means like getting on a plane, but
travel can also be your own backyard.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
There's so many diverse cultures throughout the United States that
if we just take the time to ask our neighbor, like, oh,
you're having I see you're celebrating right here in music?
What is that about? What does that mean? You know?
What is happening? Can we celebrate with you? Always ask
for permission? But I think in general most communities are
open to having and sharing their culture. That's what Barefeets
(04:36):
has been about is without people sharing their culture with me,
I wouldn't have access to any of this. And I
think sharing that with kids of like you can ask questions.
You can go up to someone and say can I
dance with you? Or can you teach me this? That's
a really wonderful skill to have of asking questions and
being curious. Right, we want our kids to be curious.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Absolutely. I'm all about when traveling.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
I feel like you learn about a country through the food,
fo through the arts, and throughout this series we see
you engaging with local musicians and dancers and real unscripted moments.
So what advice do you have for families who are
looking to create those authentic connections when traveling with kids?
I know you just mentioned like have them go up
to them and ask for permission to celebrate with them.
(05:18):
What else can they do?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Well? That's the good thing is is celebrations of festivals.
Bare feet started because when I can't speak every language
in the world, right, I only speak Italian. I'm Italian American,
so I can speak Italian. But I would go and
travel before the cameras were following me of going to
festivals and holidays because you're in an atmosphere where you
(05:41):
get everything at once, especially for kids. You have the food.
Excuse me, you have the food, the dance, the music,
the Maybe it's a holiday that only happens in that
particular area, and then again if it's you can't travel specifically,
and it's happening in your neighborhood or in your own
community where these immigrants communities bring these traditions with them.
(06:02):
They're transforming your neighborhood into their home, their hometown, or
their home country. So I think festivals, holidays, celebrations are
the best way to start because you'll see other kids
there too. People are bringing their families there to celebrate together,
so then other kids can interact with other kids, like
that's the best way to learn, is to make friends
with other children and other families agree. But it's through celebration, holidays, festivals,
(06:27):
and it's the most approachable and you're kind of getting
everything all at once, one big shot of it. It's
the best.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
And so have there been any interactions that really stand
out for you on your journeys?
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yeah, so many, so many. I've been doing this for
fifteen years. I can't believe it's still around. You know,
we're in season seven, but it takes about a year
and a half, two years per episode, excuse me, per season,
and there are so many. I get very emotional for
people who watch my show. I cry on the show
a lot. I'm very vulnerable on camera, but I think
it's okay to share. Travel is about that too. Travel
(07:02):
should change you in a lot of different ways. In
it should change you in the sense that you feel
connected to a place but also moved by a place.
There's so many to think about it, but especially in
the new season. We are filming in Ireland, and I've
been to Ireland so many. I love Ireland. It's one
(07:23):
of my favorite countries in the world. And I had
never been to Northern Ireland, and so we went through
Dairy the Giant's Causeway, but we ended in Belfast and
there was so many great stories. We decided to do
a whole extra episode in Belfast and Belfast this year
they're celebrating the Good Friday Agreement was just the anniversary
just this past weekend and twenty seven years of peace
(07:46):
of the peace process, and there are all these peace babies.
It's the generation of peace babies that are artists and
creating this space of how do we deal with the
trauma that our parents went through maybe they went through
as young people. And so there's this beautiful moment of
connecting with folks through the arts and the power of
(08:07):
the arts. And what's the first thing to be cut
when there's funding cut is the arts. And so it
really reminds us kids need art to express themselves. Young
people need art, and older folks, everybody needs art in
their life to be able to express things that they're
experiencing their life, good and bad. And that I think
this kind of is a thread through in this entire
season of resilience, real resilience.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
And so you've been filming, like you said, bare Feed
for over a decade. How had your own journey, both
as a traveler and as a woman changed since the
show began.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
I did this for completely selfish reasons. When I started this,
I was like I want to dress up in as
many costumes and learn as many.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Dances and go to as many far.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Places around the world. And I realized as the show
was airing here, first locally in New York City on
our local public television station, and then nationally on PBS
member stations across the country, is it really touched people? Dance?
Is this universal language? Most of our viewers don't identify
as dancers. But the beautiful thing is we're featuring professional
(09:08):
dancers and non professional dancers, folks that just make music
and want to dance because it's part of their culture.
As a woman, PBS is one of the only platforms
where there are the most female travel hosts because there's
no barrier to entry. I'm an independent producer. You know
Kathy McCabe, She's a wonderful producer and host herself, Samantha Brown,
she went to PBS, Colleen Kelly, Kim Haass. I mean,
(09:32):
these are women, strong, powerful women who have strong stories
to tell. That PBS is the only place where we
can actually have our voice be heard and tell the
stories we want to tell and not have to wear
a bikini to do it right. It's very powerful to
have that autonomy and that independence of being able to
tell the stories. How the show has evolved is seeing
that our show is more than just this show about
(09:53):
traveling and getting to put on costumes and dancing. Over
the years, there's this real responsibility of jur storytelling, of
authenticity and of truth. It's been empowering. I feel very
lucky that I've been able to be able to do
the same thing right, and so the best way to
do that is be the strongest example of that.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So yas, You're an amazing woman, Mikla Malatzi, and I'm
so happy that you joined me on this show today.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Where can we go to watch bear.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Feet season seven and all of the past seasons.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Yeah, you can check out everything at travelbearfeet dot com.
That's our website. But if you have PBS app PBS
dot org, or check your local listings for your local
PBS member station. We're also on the go Traveler app
for free. All these episodes are for free. We want
to make all of bare Feet accessible to as many
people as possible, so there's no barrier to entry. And
(10:48):
also we're on Amazon Prime. But yeah, check your local listings.
The new season of Barefeet will start airing on your
local PBS member station starting May first.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Perfect. Oh well, thank you so much. Thanks Michelle soon
of course it was great talking.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
I look forward to checking out season seven of Fairfeet
with Mikhaila Malazzi.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Thank you so much for joining me today on Passport Mommy.
Thank you, Michelle, my pleasure. I'm Michelle Jerson. More coming
up in a few.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
You're listening to Passport Mommy, I'm Michelle Jerson, And you know,
the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is alive and thriving
as one of the seven natural Wonders of the World.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
It has been on my bucket list.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
For so long as a scuba diver, and I'm so
happy to have our guests on the show with us
today because joining us are two experts to.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Share details about a global.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Initiative to recognize this amazing treasure with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Natalie Smith is senior Marine.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Biologist and Master Reef Guide for GBR Biology, and Mark
Olsen is a Great Barrier Reef advocate and CEO of
Tourism Tropical North Queensland.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Thank you both so much for joining me today.
Speaker 4 (11:54):
Thank you so much for having us tell.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Me about the efforts to honor the Great Barrier Reef.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Everyone in the world has heard of the Great Barrier Reef.
As you said in your intro, it's an icon. It's
one of the seven natural Wonders of the World, and
it has inspired millions of people around the world to
protect coral reefs, not only here in Australia, but right
across the world and take action on climate change. So
when the United Nations Environment Program put out their nominations
for Champions of the Earth, we knew we had the
(12:22):
perfect candidate for the Lifetime Achievement Award. It's the world's
largest living entity. It has impacted on millions of people's lives,
it gives to us every single year and inspires us
to take action. So the Great Barrier Reef meets all
the criteria.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Let's bring the world.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
Together with the Lifetime of Greatness Project and put a
nomination in for the first non human to be nominated
for a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
I love that, I love it and miss Smith, why
is it important to recognize the Great Barrier Reef?
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Absolutely so, just touching on from what Mark's said. Obviously,
it's the largest living entity in the world. It supports
over nine thousand different species, so it makes some of
the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. But it's not
just those species that rely on it. Like we've got
seventy different traditional owner groups up and down the Great
Bay Reef, We've got hundreds of thousands and millions of
(13:15):
people that get touched by the reef every year. You know,
from my personal experience, the Great Bayriac is much more
than just the set one of the natural wonders of
the world. It's a mentor, it's a teacher, it's.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
A provider, and it's a healer.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
And when you finally get to witness the wonder that
is the Great bayri if you truly begin to understand
what we're talking about.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Yes, and so tell me, though, are there challenges facing
the Great Barrier Reef?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Absolutely so.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
The many challenges the Great bayries facing, the largest one
is climate change at the moment. Obviously, climate change increases
disturbances like heat stress. You know, large weather events like
tropical cyclones or hurricanes America. You know, they can lead
to disturbance on parts of the reef. The reef is
(14:05):
quite naturally resume. It can bounce back from these disturbances
on its own. And that's the beauty of having tourism
and having marine biologists out on the boats that get
to go to these reef sites every day. We know
that our site like the back of our hand. We
know what's going on, we can monitor it, we can
collect data, we know how well it does bounce back
after these disturbances, and we.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Know areas that might not.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
We might need to help that through industries like side
assistic recovery and efforts like that.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Right, and mister Elson, how does an initiative like this
help preserve this natural treasure?
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Well, the Great Barrier Reef is massive, right, It's one thousand,
four hundred miles long. That's the difference from like Miami
to Boston. So we need to bring the world together
to work together to look after Coral Reef. So the
Lifetime of Greatness project brings together marine scientists like Natalie,
First Nations, Australians, our students, our tourism industry, our govern
(15:00):
and we're putting it forward to see the Great Barrier
Reef elevated to the likes of Sir David Attenborough who
won the Lifetime Achievement award in twenty twenty two to
be the first non human recognized, so that we can
bring to the attention of the world the important effort
that needs to be undertaken in taking action on climate
(15:21):
change to preserve and protect reefs from around the world,
not only as biodiverse ecosystems, but for our culture, for
our future, and for future generations we reckon a lifetime
as great as the Great Barrier Reef deserves to be recognized.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Yes, and I think yes, so please go ahead.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
I'm just touching on what Mark said, especially from Sir
David Abra. I know he was asked whereas the most
magical place he's ever witnessed, and his response was the
first time he ever put a mask on and put
his face on the order at the Great Bay Reef
and saw the beautiful colors and the sounds and everything
that the Great Bay Reef is.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
So yeah, it deserves it with you.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
And like I mentioned earlier, I'm a scuba diver, I've
never been and I've just heard such beautiful and wonderful
things about the Great Barrier Reef and it is up
to us to help preserve it and to make sure
that we can do Oh that we can. So what
you're doing is amazing. Where can we go from more information.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Michelle, It's really really simple and super meaningful. Just jump
onto our website, our Lifetime of Greatness dot com. Add
your name to our petition to have the Great Barrier
Reef recognized as the first non human to win the
Lifetime Achievement Award. But more importantly, learn about what's happening
on the Great Barrier Reef. The Master Reef guides our
(16:42):
reef restoration programs, the Reef Guardian schools, all the things
that our communities are doing to look after the reef,
and we would love to have you here, Michelle. The
most important thing people can do is come and see it.
Tourism plays a vital role in preserving the Great Barrier Reef.
If we are the eyes and ears of the scientific
community around what's happening in the water, so visitors play
(17:07):
an essential role in reef conservation. Come and see it.
We know you'll love it and you're going to be
a vital part of its protection. So come to a
Lifetime of Greatness dot com. Please add your name. This
is a global movement. We want to make history, and
please don't forget to tell your friends that you've supported
our nomination on your socials so that everybody knows this
(17:28):
is something we've all.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Got to do.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
It takes a global effort to look after something as
precious to us as the Great Barrier Rouge.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Absolutely well, thank you Bill so much for the work
that you're doing. Natalie Smith, Mark Olson, I look forward
to hopefully meeting you in person soon. You're listening to
Passport Mami. I'm Michelle Jersen and I'm thrilled to have
our next guests on the show. Debbie Hartanchi is the
author of The Factory of Maladies sevent d's on a
(17:57):
San Francisco Sake ward and it is an in depth
exploration of this stigma of mental illness and suicide, the
danger of cults and family dynamics. And I think this
is something, especially in these times, that may hit home
for a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Debbie, thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
Thank you, Michelle, it's lovely to be here.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Thanks so much for having me my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
So talk to me about your book and in what
ways does your book destigmatize mental illness.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
So, my book, as you mentioned, is a memoir and
it's just a week long, and it is. It starts.
It begins when I wake up in a psychiatric ward
and I cannot remember how I got there. And as
the week goes on, my memory improves and I put
together the pieces of what led up to my institutionalization,
(18:54):
and throughout the book, I think that it really destigmatizes
mental illness because I'm able to show compassion to my
fellow patients and also to myself, and I really illustrate
that patients suffering from the mental illness deserve to be
(19:14):
treated with the utmost care, dignity, compassion, and kindness, just
like any other illness.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Absolutely, and I applaud you and thank you for bringing
this to light and to sharing such a personal story.
I mean, this book has to be so inspiring and
to so many, and so many need to read this.
So what inspired you to turn your journal entries into
a book?
Speaker 6 (19:40):
Well, it was a slow process. I'll tell you that
I spent seven years heeling from the PTSD that began
after my institutionalization, and the more I wrote in the beginning,
the more intense the flashbacks were. But it also me
because as I came to realize, when I put my
(20:03):
pain to paper. It was the ultimate Catharsis for me,
and eventually my flashbacks stopped. And after that point, after
a few years, I typed up my notes and I
shared them with a few select friends and family members.
And when I did this, I really had no expectations,
(20:27):
but when I received feedback, it was always I've experienced
something like this, I've never shared it with someone or
my cousin went through something similar. And I realized that
there was this common thread of relatability in my story
that I really didn't think about before. And that's what
(20:50):
compelled me to share my story with the world at large,
because I think through this commonality and help reduce the
stigmas surrounding mental illness absolutely.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
And so what did you learn when you were where
you were in the psych ward for a week?
Speaker 2 (21:10):
What are some of the things that you uncovered.
Speaker 6 (21:14):
I uncovered many things, but the major, the major things
that really came to light, unfortunately, was that I had
been associated with a new age group and in the
beginning it seems like a nice group, but it soon
spiraled into sort of a cult dynamic, and it happened
(21:38):
so quickly that I didn't even realize it until I
had the ability to look back. During this time, I'll say,
like the guru of the cult became very greedy, and
he became aware that I was in a vulnerable place
(21:59):
with depression and anxiety, and he exploited this and encouraged
me to go off of my medication and to stop
seeing my therapist because he was going to provide spiritual
healing for me that would heal my my karmic bonds
that were, you know, keeping me chained to depression. Oh
(22:19):
my goodness, yes, it was. It's quite scary, right. Unfortunately,
you know, I was so desperate and in such a
low place I believed him right, and it just, you know,
it really illustrates that mental health crises can happen, you know,
(22:41):
in the blink of an eye sometimes. So this whole scenario,
it went on for about six months, and then I
was so depressed, I was suicidal, and I, as he
was acting as my therapist, I shared this with him,
and unfortunately he actually encouraged me to take my own
life and to leave my small inheritance to him.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Oh my goodness, yes, so it was.
Speaker 6 (23:09):
It's it's heartbreaking, and I did attempt to take my
own life, which is how I ended up on a
fifty one to fifty, which in the state of California
is a legal hold in a psychiatric facility. And when
I awoke, I, you know, I honestly couldn't remember how
(23:29):
I got there. Wow within you know, the week and
the healing that all of all these many factors came
to light incredible.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
And so what areas of mental health facilities do you
feel after being there need reform and what would that
look like?
Speaker 6 (23:48):
So for me, I, based on my experience, I really
feel like most aspects of treatment and publicly funded psychiatric
words need and over hall, especially regarding adequate training for staff.
The staff I encountered, I'd say ninety percent of them
(24:09):
were undertrained, overworked, and really did not have any clue
how to engage with a person in an emotional crisis.
But I also feel that compassionate and kind care is
a must, as well as basics like keeping psychiatric ward
(24:32):
patients comfortable, clean and safe. And for example, I had
been in the same hospital, but on a different ward
for an ovary problem five years prior to my hospitalization,
and when I was there, I was given heated blankets
and fluffy pillows and round the compassionate care. And yet
(24:53):
when I awoke on the psychiatric ward, I was in
filthy scrubs. I was glacially cold, and there was no
therapist anywhere that I could speak to. I just sort
of wandered the halls and went to occupational therapy when
it was offered, but I wasn't allowed outside. I felt
(25:17):
like it was a dehumanizing experience and to some extent,
my patients and I were treated like criminals.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Wow, that's devastating.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
And you know, and so many people they struggle with
mental health, and whether it's for a short period of
time for a certain reason, or maybe something that's ongoing,
A strong support system is so important. And so what
advice would you give to friends and family who want
(25:50):
to support but maybe don't.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Know how or to what extent.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
And if you yourself know that you could really use
the support, what can you do?
Speaker 6 (25:59):
So I think, you know, that's a great question, and
I can really only speak to my personal experience. But
for me, I think, and for anyone that is suffering
from a mental health challenge or crisis, wherever you are
on the spectrum, you can always call it suicide hotline.
You can always call nine one one and there are
(26:21):
many resources available, and I really hope that anyone in
that situation can get the help they need before another
crisis happens. For friends and family, I think just being compassionate,
listening and really trying to, you know, put yourself in
(26:46):
another's shoes. What would it you know, how would I
feel if I had been in a hospital and it
was traumatic, or imagining different scenarios and just treating your
loved ones with care and respect and dignity. And the
third thing for me is that although family and friends
(27:08):
support was crucial, the most important thing for me was
to go back on my medication. I have a great
licensed therapist and to attend outpatient programming. That really that
combination saved my life. Yes, and that's great advice.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
And you know what, and it's not necessarily a quick
or an easy road, but you know what, if you
believe in yourself and like you said, you have the support,
whether it's family, friends, a good therapist, it's so important.
So what other messages do you hope that readers take
away from your memoir?
Speaker 6 (27:46):
So the overall message and the whole reason why I
pushed myself out of my comfort zone and published the
book was a message of hope. Although my story may
seem a little bleak in the beginning, it truly is
a story filled with compassion, kindness, human frailty, and also
(28:10):
while reducing the stigmas around mental health, also shares my
personal journey. And if I was able to write a
memoir that in the beginning was incredibly triggering while sustaining
a brain while dealing with a brain injury that I
sustained during my suicide attempt, I feel that I've overcome
(28:32):
great adversity in my life and I think others can
also do that.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Absolutely, and I don't know a lot of people who
would put their story out there like you did, So
huge kudos for that and thank you because I think
anybody who reads it will benefit. And so I mean,
I just think it's amazing that you did this and
that you were able to publish such a difficult time
in your personal life and put it to paper.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Do you plan on writing more in the future.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
Thank you Michelle for that, and yes I do. I'm
currently working on a book of short stories and a novel.
I think I'd like to take a break about writing
about myself and the book Reflection and write some things
are fun. So that's what I'm working on at the moment.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Oh, that's terrific.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Well, I look forward to reading that when it comes
out as well. And so overall, how has writing this
book just impacted your own mental health journey?
Speaker 6 (29:34):
It's impacted in some really fabulous ways which I wasn't
prepared for. I just in the beginning, all I could
think about was how anxious I felt and how uncomfortable
it was to have a spotlight upon me. But now
it's really helped me release the shame that I felt
(29:57):
around being a survivor suicide attempt. It's helped release the
stigma that I also had about mental illness. Really, it's
given me this great tool to interact with people because
I realized there's this common thread of relatability and you know,
(30:19):
a lot, for whatever reason, most people are conditioned not
to really talk about mental illness in the same manner
that you would talk about a broken leg or some
other diagnosis. So it's been really eye opening and actually
it's it's been quite a wonderful experience.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yes, well, I look forward to reading the book and
real quickly, what perspective do you think your book offers?
Speaker 2 (30:45):
That maybe others don't, so I.
Speaker 6 (30:47):
Think the perspective it offers is quite unique because it's
very in depth. It is a you know, a first
person narrative, and it's written in a manner where you
really feel like you're in the psychiatric ward with me.
So there's that aspect, and the other aspects are that
(31:10):
it is told through a lens of compassion for myself,
for my fellow patients. And the third the third thing
is that there's also dark humor, which a lot of
people probably wouldn't think would happen on a psychiatric ward,
but it does in addition to human frailty and kindness
(31:33):
as well.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Sure well, thank you so much for sharing all of
that in your book, The Factory of Maladies Seven Days
on a San Francisco psych Board.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
It's a memoir. Where can we go to get it?
Speaker 6 (31:45):
So you're welcome to purchase it through my website The
Factory of Maladies dot com, or on bookshop dot org,
Barnes and Noble or Amazon.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Terrific.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Well, Debbie Hartung, thank you so much much for joining
me today. I'm passport mommy. It was such a pleasure
speaking with you again. I think you're so motivational, and
I have to ask, do you do like personal appearances
or motivational speaking, because if not, I think you should.
Speaker 6 (32:13):
Oh, thank you so much, Mizelle. It's been a pleasure
talking with you. And I don't but I'm always open
to something new. So let's say yes to all of
the above.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
This sounds great. Thank you so much again.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
I'm Michelle Jurson the Passport Mommy More coming up in
a few you're listening to Passport Mommy. I'm Michelle Jerson
And did you know that April is National frog Month?
And yet students across the country will be winding down
the school year by dissecting these animals. And I don't
know if you remember when you were in school that
(32:48):
many times we did have to dissect real animals. Well,
I'm happy to have Samantha Crowe on the show today.
She is the program manager of Science Education for PETA
and teach Kinds Science, which is ped Us Humane Science
Education Division, has created the kind Frog. This is a
silicone based dissection model that includes anatomically correct, color coded
(33:13):
organs and a complete female reproductive system. So basically, it
gives students a hands on experience without the harm to
wild frog populations and not to mention the trauma to students. Samantha,
thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you
for having me, Michelle, my pleasure. So how common is
animal dissection in schools in the US?
Speaker 7 (33:32):
Well, high schools and even some elementary schools across the
country still require students to dissect frogs and other animals.
And it's a practice that has not changed in one
hundred years, even though today we have access to computers
and all kinds of technology. You know, we also study
showing that cutting apart real animals can traumatize students and
normalize animal abuse.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Yeah, which is the last thing that we want because
we all know that that can also lead to other things.
And so where do animals use for dissection come from?
And how many of these are dissected each year?
Speaker 7 (34:04):
Yeah, so every year more than ten million animals are
used for classroom dissection in the United States. And this
includes about three million frogs who are taken from their
habitats in the wild, which of course, you know, disrupts
the ecosystem, but it also includes fetal pigs who come
from slaughterhouses where their mother's throats are slit and it
includes cats who could have been someone's you know, lost
(34:28):
companion animal. Yeah, there's no humane way to kill an
animal for dissection, as we know, right.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
And as you mentioned, students can be traumatized. And I know,
even all these years later, I still have memories of
dissecting the animals in class and it was not something
that I really wanted to relive. The sounds of everything,
the looks of everything, and I feel like in this
day and.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Age, you don't need to.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Would you say that animal dissection also just dissuades students
from the sciences.
Speaker 7 (34:58):
I would say undoubtedly it does. You know, animal dissection
kills so many animals every year. It is an inferior,
outdated teaching method. You know, it exposes students to car synogens,
it desensitizes them to animal suffering, and it's indirect conflict
with most young people's natural affinity to want to help
(35:19):
animals or be kind to animals. And you know, the
expectation to dissect animals can really discourage some students from
pursuing studies and careers in science, you know, because the
most caring and compassionate students are usually the ones who
you know would then miss out on entering the medical
field where their empathy would be an asset. You know,
these are the exact students we want with you know,
(35:41):
the wonderful compassionate hearts and bedside manner to you know,
become doctors and veterinarians.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Right, absolutely, absolutely, So, how is Peter working to end this?
Speaker 5 (35:52):
Well?
Speaker 7 (35:53):
Teach Kind of Science which is part of PEDUS Humane
Education Division. It's run by former science teachers and one
of our biggest part priorities is replacing animal dissection. We
just want to help schools and teachers, you know, phased
out the archaic animal dissection and replaced with modern and
humane methods. So we launched our pilot program last year
(36:15):
and we are just doing gangbusters.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
And so how many schools would you say right now
are in the program? And if our school is not participating,
how can they participate?
Speaker 7 (36:29):
Absolutely? Yeah, So we have donated more than ten thousand
kind frogs this year since we launched the kind frog
in the fall last fall. So we have which is
just amazing, ten thousand. We are in almost every single
state in the US already and teachers can check out
(36:50):
teachkind dot org to get more information about the Teach
Kind Science program. Our pilot program, you know, and how
to get involved.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
That's terrific. I love it, and I I know PEDA
has a lot.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Of information on their website in general, what do you
have in the works coming up and what can we
expect to see on the website.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
Yeah, absolutely so listeners could go to PEDA dot org
slash dissection to you know, learn how to advocate for
animal free classrooms, you know, in their own community. So
if you're a parent, you know, please encourage your students
to opt out of animal dissection. If you're a teacher,
the time is now, let's do this. Get in touch
with with teach kind of science and we will donate
(37:31):
materials to replace all of your animal dissections. And if
you're a student, I definitely encourage you. If you are
facing an animal dissection and just need some help, just
need some support, you know, speaking with your teacher about it,
reach out to us our youth division at hello at
PTA two. It's p E t A the number two
dot com.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
Perfect Well.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Thank you so much, Samantha Crowe, Program Manager of Science
Education for PETA. Thank you for all that you are
doing for students everywhere, for animals and for all all
of your work with PETA.
Speaker 7 (38:01):
Thank you so much for having me
Welcome to Passport Mommy. I'm your host, Michelle Jerson. This
show is for anyone raising little humans. We feature experts
with tips and advice to enrich the lives of our children.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Mom and dad.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Entrepreneurs tell us their inspiring stories, learn about products that
could make both you and your child's life easier and
more fun, and of course, fellow parents discuss and laugh
about what's happening in their child's world. Motherhood is a journey.
Thanks for joining me on mine. Welcome to Passport Mommy.
I'm Michelle Jerson, and I am thrilled to have Mikela
(00:33):
Malazzi on the show with me today. She is a
four time Emmy Award winning host and executive producer of
Bare Feet with Mikela Malatzi, a travel series highlighting the
diversity of dance, which airs on public television stations nationwide.
She is a professional dancer and a trained musician, and
so she decided to start a journey around the world
(00:55):
and basically she takes her camera with her to follow
dance in the lives of everyday people wherever she goes. MICHELA,
thank you so much for joining me today. So I
want to talk about bear Feet, because you're coming up
on season seven, which is incredible. Tell me about season seven.
I know it's all about community. How has your understanding
(01:16):
of just community evolved through your travels and this season's filming.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah, So it turns out all of our seasons have
been about community and it just keeps being reiterated and
showing that in so many different ways. And Season seven
has really come to fruition in that reaching out to
folks through the lens of dance and music, of how
dance and music has kept people together. You know, seasons
(01:41):
five and six were filmed here in New York City.
I'm based in New York because of COVID, we couldn't
travel internationally, and that was another sense of community of
how did we get through this really difficult time? What
did the city look like when we were reopening? And
so season seven goes back to the roots of Bare Feet,
of traveling throughout the world, and we love traveling throughout
New York, but throughout the world and here domestically in
(02:03):
the United States, of how can we connect with folks
and just showing how people can keep their identity and
their culture alive through the lens of dance in music
and that naturally creates community. And so it's this beautiful way,
especially since we feel a little divisive. Our country feels
a little divided right now. It reminds us like we
(02:25):
are so similar. There's so many things that we all need. Food, shelter, love, family,
and a little bit of dance and music to get
through the day. It's this really wonderful reminder. So it
kind of kind of flows through all the bare feet.
But I think this season in particular, it's really special.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yes, And I know, you know, I have kids, they're
eight and five, and my eight year old daughter is
always dancing and always singing, and she just loves to
express herselves that way. And you know, we travel as
much as we can, but clearly we're not traveling to
the countries yet where I can expose her to diverse culture.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So how can I expose her?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Like I think your show is perfect because she can
want your show and she can see all the different
dancing in different countries around the world.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yeah, thank you. And I love to hear when kids
are dancing. I grew up making putting on shows in
my living room with my sisters and all my cousins,
So like I get to do what I did as
a kid now, but I get paid for it. It's amazing.
But for you know, we've had schools use bare Feet
for teaching for years because of this, because kids have
(03:26):
access to programming and stories of diverse stories not only
from around the world, but from within our own communities.
Again as New York we featured New Yorkers. But what's
really great is you get to see sort of this
aspect of other kids. We feature kids in our show.
We think it's really important to show and empower young people,
especially since it's multi generational. Storytelling, dance, and music is
(03:49):
passed down through generations and through families a lot of time.
That's how a lot of these cultures have been maintained.
So it's really important, I think to show kids you
can be involved. You can be dancing with mom or
grandpa or grandma and learn these things and ask them questions.
And if you don't have access to travel, when I
(04:10):
say travel, that means like getting on a plane, but
travel can also be your own backyard.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
There's so many diverse cultures throughout the United States that
if we just take the time to ask our neighbor, like, oh,
you're having I see you're celebrating right here in music?
What is that about? What does that mean? You know?
What is happening? Can we celebrate with you? Always ask
for permission? But I think in general most communities are
open to having and sharing their culture. That's what Barefeets
(04:36):
has been about is without people sharing their culture with me,
I wouldn't have access to any of this. And I
think sharing that with kids of like you can ask questions.
You can go up to someone and say can I
dance with you? Or can you teach me this? That's
a really wonderful skill to have of asking questions and
being curious. Right, we want our kids to be curious.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Absolutely. I'm all about when traveling.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
I feel like you learn about a country through the food,
fo through the arts, and throughout this series we see
you engaging with local musicians and dancers and real unscripted moments.
So what advice do you have for families who are
looking to create those authentic connections when traveling with kids?
I know you just mentioned like have them go up
to them and ask for permission to celebrate with them.
(05:18):
What else can they do?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Well? That's the good thing is is celebrations of festivals.
Bare feet started because when I can't speak every language
in the world, right, I only speak Italian. I'm Italian American,
so I can speak Italian. But I would go and
travel before the cameras were following me of going to
festivals and holidays because you're in an atmosphere where you
(05:41):
get everything at once, especially for kids. You have the food.
Excuse me, you have the food, the dance, the music,
the Maybe it's a holiday that only happens in that
particular area, and then again if it's you can't travel specifically,
and it's happening in your neighborhood or in your own
community where these immigrants communities bring these traditions with them.
(06:02):
They're transforming your neighborhood into their home, their hometown, or
their home country. So I think festivals, holidays, celebrations are
the best way to start because you'll see other kids
there too. People are bringing their families there to celebrate together,
so then other kids can interact with other kids, like
that's the best way to learn, is to make friends
with other children and other families agree. But it's through celebration, holidays, festivals,
(06:27):
and it's the most approachable and you're kind of getting
everything all at once, one big shot of it. It's
the best.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
And so have there been any interactions that really stand
out for you on your journeys?
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yeah, so many, so many. I've been doing this for
fifteen years. I can't believe it's still around. You know,
we're in season seven, but it takes about a year
and a half, two years per episode, excuse me, per season,
and there are so many. I get very emotional for
people who watch my show. I cry on the show
a lot. I'm very vulnerable on camera, but I think
it's okay to share. Travel is about that too. Travel
(07:02):
should change you in a lot of different ways. In
it should change you in the sense that you feel
connected to a place but also moved by a place.
There's so many to think about it, but especially in
the new season. We are filming in Ireland, and I've
been to Ireland so many. I love Ireland. It's one
(07:23):
of my favorite countries in the world. And I had
never been to Northern Ireland, and so we went through
Dairy the Giant's Causeway, but we ended in Belfast and
there was so many great stories. We decided to do
a whole extra episode in Belfast and Belfast this year
they're celebrating the Good Friday Agreement was just the anniversary
just this past weekend and twenty seven years of peace
(07:46):
of the peace process, and there are all these peace babies.
It's the generation of peace babies that are artists and
creating this space of how do we deal with the
trauma that our parents went through maybe they went through
as young people. And so there's this beautiful moment of
connecting with folks through the arts and the power of
(08:07):
the arts. And what's the first thing to be cut
when there's funding cut is the arts. And so it
really reminds us kids need art to express themselves. Young
people need art, and older folks, everybody needs art in
their life to be able to express things that they're
experiencing their life, good and bad. And that I think
this kind of is a thread through in this entire
season of resilience, real resilience.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
And so you've been filming, like you said, bare Feed
for over a decade. How had your own journey, both
as a traveler and as a woman changed since the
show began.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
I did this for completely selfish reasons. When I started this,
I was like I want to dress up in as
many costumes and learn as many.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Dances and go to as many far.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Places around the world. And I realized as the show
was airing here, first locally in New York City on
our local public television station, and then nationally on PBS
member stations across the country, is it really touched people? Dance?
Is this universal language? Most of our viewers don't identify
as dancers. But the beautiful thing is we're featuring professional
(09:08):
dancers and non professional dancers, folks that just make music
and want to dance because it's part of their culture.
As a woman, PBS is one of the only platforms
where there are the most female travel hosts because there's
no barrier to entry. I'm an independent producer. You know
Kathy McCabe, She's a wonderful producer and host herself, Samantha Brown,
she went to PBS, Colleen Kelly, Kim Haass. I mean,
(09:32):
these are women, strong, powerful women who have strong stories
to tell. That PBS is the only place where we
can actually have our voice be heard and tell the
stories we want to tell and not have to wear
a bikini to do it right. It's very powerful to
have that autonomy and that independence of being able to
tell the stories. How the show has evolved is seeing
that our show is more than just this show about
(09:53):
traveling and getting to put on costumes and dancing. Over
the years, there's this real responsibility of jur storytelling, of
authenticity and of truth. It's been empowering. I feel very
lucky that I've been able to be able to do
the same thing right, and so the best way to
do that is be the strongest example of that.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So yas, You're an amazing woman, Mikla Malatzi, and I'm
so happy that you joined me on this show today.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Where can we go to watch bear.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Feet season seven and all of the past seasons.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Yeah, you can check out everything at travelbearfeet dot com.
That's our website. But if you have PBS app PBS
dot org, or check your local listings for your local
PBS member station. We're also on the go Traveler app
for free. All these episodes are for free. We want
to make all of bare Feet accessible to as many
people as possible, so there's no barrier to entry. And
(10:48):
also we're on Amazon Prime. But yeah, check your local listings.
The new season of Barefeet will start airing on your
local PBS member station starting May first.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Perfect. Oh well, thank you so much. Thanks Michelle soon
of course it was great talking.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
I look forward to checking out season seven of Fairfeet
with Mikhaila Malazzi.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Thank you so much for joining me today on Passport Mommy.
Thank you, Michelle, my pleasure. I'm Michelle Jerson. More coming
up in a few.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
You're listening to Passport Mommy, I'm Michelle Jerson, And you know,
the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is alive and thriving
as one of the seven natural Wonders of the World.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
It has been on my bucket list.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
For so long as a scuba diver, and I'm so
happy to have our guests on the show with us
today because joining us are two experts to.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Share details about a global.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Initiative to recognize this amazing treasure with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Natalie Smith is senior Marine.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Biologist and Master Reef Guide for GBR Biology, and Mark
Olsen is a Great Barrier Reef advocate and CEO of
Tourism Tropical North Queensland.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Thank you both so much for joining me today.
Speaker 4 (11:54):
Thank you so much for having us tell.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Me about the efforts to honor the Great Barrier Reef.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Everyone in the world has heard of the Great Barrier Reef.
As you said in your intro, it's an icon. It's
one of the seven natural Wonders of the World, and
it has inspired millions of people around the world to
protect coral reefs, not only here in Australia, but right
across the world and take action on climate change. So
when the United Nations Environment Program put out their nominations
for Champions of the Earth, we knew we had the
(12:22):
perfect candidate for the Lifetime Achievement Award. It's the world's
largest living entity. It has impacted on millions of people's lives,
it gives to us every single year and inspires us
to take action. So the Great Barrier Reef meets all
the criteria.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Let's bring the world.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
Together with the Lifetime of Greatness Project and put a
nomination in for the first non human to be nominated
for a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
I love that, I love it and miss Smith, why
is it important to recognize the Great Barrier Reef?
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Absolutely so, just touching on from what Mark's said. Obviously,
it's the largest living entity in the world. It supports
over nine thousand different species, so it makes some of
the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. But it's not
just those species that rely on it. Like we've got
seventy different traditional owner groups up and down the Great
Bay Reef, We've got hundreds of thousands and millions of
(13:15):
people that get touched by the reef every year. You know,
from my personal experience, the Great Bayriac is much more
than just the set one of the natural wonders of
the world. It's a mentor, it's a teacher, it's.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
A provider, and it's a healer.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
And when you finally get to witness the wonder that
is the Great bayri if you truly begin to understand
what we're talking about.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Yes, and so tell me, though, are there challenges facing
the Great Barrier Reef?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Absolutely so.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
The many challenges the Great bayries facing, the largest one
is climate change at the moment. Obviously, climate change increases
disturbances like heat stress. You know, large weather events like
tropical cyclones or hurricanes America. You know, they can lead
to disturbance on parts of the reef. The reef is
(14:05):
quite naturally resume. It can bounce back from these disturbances
on its own. And that's the beauty of having tourism
and having marine biologists out on the boats that get
to go to these reef sites every day. We know
that our site like the back of our hand. We
know what's going on, we can monitor it, we can
collect data, we know how well it does bounce back
after these disturbances, and we.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Know areas that might not.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
We might need to help that through industries like side
assistic recovery and efforts like that.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Right, and mister Elson, how does an initiative like this
help preserve this natural treasure?
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Well, the Great Barrier Reef is massive, right, It's one thousand,
four hundred miles long. That's the difference from like Miami
to Boston. So we need to bring the world together
to work together to look after Coral Reef. So the
Lifetime of Greatness project brings together marine scientists like Natalie,
First Nations, Australians, our students, our tourism industry, our govern
(15:00):
and we're putting it forward to see the Great Barrier
Reef elevated to the likes of Sir David Attenborough who
won the Lifetime Achievement award in twenty twenty two to
be the first non human recognized, so that we can
bring to the attention of the world the important effort
that needs to be undertaken in taking action on climate
(15:21):
change to preserve and protect reefs from around the world,
not only as biodiverse ecosystems, but for our culture, for
our future, and for future generations we reckon a lifetime
as great as the Great Barrier Reef deserves to be recognized.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Yes, and I think yes, so please go ahead.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
I'm just touching on what Mark said, especially from Sir
David Abra. I know he was asked whereas the most
magical place he's ever witnessed, and his response was the
first time he ever put a mask on and put
his face on the order at the Great Bay Reef
and saw the beautiful colors and the sounds and everything
that the Great Bay Reef is.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
So yeah, it deserves it with you.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
And like I mentioned earlier, I'm a scuba diver, I've
never been and I've just heard such beautiful and wonderful
things about the Great Barrier Reef and it is up
to us to help preserve it and to make sure
that we can do Oh that we can. So what
you're doing is amazing. Where can we go from more information.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Michelle, It's really really simple and super meaningful. Just jump
onto our website, our Lifetime of Greatness dot com. Add
your name to our petition to have the Great Barrier
Reef recognized as the first non human to win the
Lifetime Achievement Award. But more importantly, learn about what's happening
on the Great Barrier Reef. The Master Reef guides our
(16:42):
reef restoration programs, the Reef Guardian schools, all the things
that our communities are doing to look after the reef,
and we would love to have you here, Michelle. The
most important thing people can do is come and see it.
Tourism plays a vital role in preserving the Great Barrier Reef.
If we are the eyes and ears of the scientific
community around what's happening in the water, so visitors play
(17:07):
an essential role in reef conservation. Come and see it.
We know you'll love it and you're going to be
a vital part of its protection. So come to a
Lifetime of Greatness dot com. Please add your name. This
is a global movement. We want to make history, and
please don't forget to tell your friends that you've supported
our nomination on your socials so that everybody knows this
(17:28):
is something we've all.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Got to do.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
It takes a global effort to look after something as
precious to us as the Great Barrier Rouge.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Absolutely well, thank you Bill so much for the work
that you're doing. Natalie Smith, Mark Olson, I look forward
to hopefully meeting you in person soon. You're listening to
Passport Mami. I'm Michelle Jersen and I'm thrilled to have
our next guests on the show. Debbie Hartanchi is the
author of The Factory of Maladies sevent d's on a
(17:57):
San Francisco Sake ward and it is an in depth
exploration of this stigma of mental illness and suicide, the
danger of cults and family dynamics. And I think this
is something, especially in these times, that may hit home
for a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Debbie, thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
Thank you, Michelle, it's lovely to be here.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Thanks so much for having me my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
So talk to me about your book and in what
ways does your book destigmatize mental illness.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
So, my book, as you mentioned, is a memoir and
it's just a week long, and it is. It starts.
It begins when I wake up in a psychiatric ward
and I cannot remember how I got there. And as
the week goes on, my memory improves and I put
together the pieces of what led up to my institutionalization,
(18:54):
and throughout the book, I think that it really destigmatizes
mental illness because I'm able to show compassion to my
fellow patients and also to myself, and I really illustrate
that patients suffering from the mental illness deserve to be
(19:14):
treated with the utmost care, dignity, compassion, and kindness, just
like any other illness.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Absolutely, and I applaud you and thank you for bringing
this to light and to sharing such a personal story.
I mean, this book has to be so inspiring and
to so many, and so many need to read this.
So what inspired you to turn your journal entries into
a book?
Speaker 6 (19:40):
Well, it was a slow process. I'll tell you that
I spent seven years heeling from the PTSD that began
after my institutionalization, and the more I wrote in the beginning,
the more intense the flashbacks were. But it also me
because as I came to realize, when I put my
(20:03):
pain to paper. It was the ultimate Catharsis for me,
and eventually my flashbacks stopped. And after that point, after
a few years, I typed up my notes and I
shared them with a few select friends and family members.
And when I did this, I really had no expectations,
(20:27):
but when I received feedback, it was always I've experienced
something like this, I've never shared it with someone or
my cousin went through something similar. And I realized that
there was this common thread of relatability in my story
that I really didn't think about before. And that's what
(20:50):
compelled me to share my story with the world at large,
because I think through this commonality and help reduce the
stigmas surrounding mental illness absolutely.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
And so what did you learn when you were where
you were in the psych ward for a week?
Speaker 2 (21:10):
What are some of the things that you uncovered.
Speaker 6 (21:14):
I uncovered many things, but the major, the major things
that really came to light, unfortunately, was that I had
been associated with a new age group and in the
beginning it seems like a nice group, but it soon
spiraled into sort of a cult dynamic, and it happened
(21:38):
so quickly that I didn't even realize it until I
had the ability to look back. During this time, I'll say,
like the guru of the cult became very greedy, and
he became aware that I was in a vulnerable place
(21:59):
with depression and anxiety, and he exploited this and encouraged
me to go off of my medication and to stop
seeing my therapist because he was going to provide spiritual
healing for me that would heal my my karmic bonds
that were, you know, keeping me chained to depression. Oh
(22:19):
my goodness, yes, it was. It's quite scary, right. Unfortunately,
you know, I was so desperate and in such a
low place I believed him right, and it just, you know,
it really illustrates that mental health crises can happen, you know,
(22:41):
in the blink of an eye sometimes. So this whole scenario,
it went on for about six months, and then I
was so depressed, I was suicidal, and I, as he
was acting as my therapist, I shared this with him,
and unfortunately he actually encouraged me to take my own
life and to leave my small inheritance to him.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Oh my goodness, yes, so it was.
Speaker 6 (23:09):
It's it's heartbreaking, and I did attempt to take my
own life, which is how I ended up on a
fifty one to fifty, which in the state of California
is a legal hold in a psychiatric facility. And when
I awoke, I, you know, I honestly couldn't remember how
(23:29):
I got there. Wow within you know, the week and
the healing that all of all these many factors came
to light incredible.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
And so what areas of mental health facilities do you
feel after being there need reform and what would that
look like?
Speaker 6 (23:48):
So for me, I, based on my experience, I really
feel like most aspects of treatment and publicly funded psychiatric
words need and over hall, especially regarding adequate training for staff.
The staff I encountered, I'd say ninety percent of them
(24:09):
were undertrained, overworked, and really did not have any clue
how to engage with a person in an emotional crisis.
But I also feel that compassionate and kind care is
a must, as well as basics like keeping psychiatric ward
(24:32):
patients comfortable, clean and safe. And for example, I had
been in the same hospital, but on a different ward
for an ovary problem five years prior to my hospitalization,
and when I was there, I was given heated blankets
and fluffy pillows and round the compassionate care. And yet
(24:53):
when I awoke on the psychiatric ward, I was in
filthy scrubs. I was glacially cold, and there was no
therapist anywhere that I could speak to. I just sort
of wandered the halls and went to occupational therapy when
it was offered, but I wasn't allowed outside. I felt
(25:17):
like it was a dehumanizing experience and to some extent,
my patients and I were treated like criminals.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Wow, that's devastating.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
And you know, and so many people they struggle with
mental health, and whether it's for a short period of
time for a certain reason, or maybe something that's ongoing,
A strong support system is so important. And so what
advice would you give to friends and family who want
(25:50):
to support but maybe don't.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Know how or to what extent.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
And if you yourself know that you could really use
the support, what can you do?
Speaker 6 (25:59):
So I think, you know, that's a great question, and
I can really only speak to my personal experience. But
for me, I think, and for anyone that is suffering
from a mental health challenge or crisis, wherever you are
on the spectrum, you can always call it suicide hotline.
You can always call nine one one and there are
(26:21):
many resources available, and I really hope that anyone in
that situation can get the help they need before another
crisis happens. For friends and family, I think just being compassionate,
listening and really trying to, you know, put yourself in
(26:46):
another's shoes. What would it you know, how would I
feel if I had been in a hospital and it
was traumatic, or imagining different scenarios and just treating your
loved ones with care and respect and dignity. And the
third thing for me is that although family and friends
(27:08):
support was crucial, the most important thing for me was
to go back on my medication. I have a great
licensed therapist and to attend outpatient programming. That really that
combination saved my life. Yes, and that's great advice.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
And you know what, and it's not necessarily a quick
or an easy road, but you know what, if you
believe in yourself and like you said, you have the support,
whether it's family, friends, a good therapist, it's so important.
So what other messages do you hope that readers take
away from your memoir?
Speaker 6 (27:46):
So the overall message and the whole reason why I
pushed myself out of my comfort zone and published the
book was a message of hope. Although my story may
seem a little bleak in the beginning, it truly is
a story filled with compassion, kindness, human frailty, and also
(28:10):
while reducing the stigmas around mental health, also shares my
personal journey. And if I was able to write a
memoir that in the beginning was incredibly triggering while sustaining
a brain while dealing with a brain injury that I
sustained during my suicide attempt, I feel that I've overcome
(28:32):
great adversity in my life and I think others can
also do that.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Absolutely, and I don't know a lot of people who
would put their story out there like you did, So
huge kudos for that and thank you because I think
anybody who reads it will benefit. And so I mean,
I just think it's amazing that you did this and
that you were able to publish such a difficult time
in your personal life and put it to paper.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Do you plan on writing more in the future.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
Thank you Michelle for that, and yes I do. I'm
currently working on a book of short stories and a novel.
I think I'd like to take a break about writing
about myself and the book Reflection and write some things
are fun. So that's what I'm working on at the moment.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Oh, that's terrific.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Well, I look forward to reading that when it comes
out as well. And so overall, how has writing this
book just impacted your own mental health journey?
Speaker 6 (29:34):
It's impacted in some really fabulous ways which I wasn't
prepared for. I just in the beginning, all I could
think about was how anxious I felt and how uncomfortable
it was to have a spotlight upon me. But now
it's really helped me release the shame that I felt
(29:57):
around being a survivor suicide attempt. It's helped release the
stigma that I also had about mental illness. Really, it's
given me this great tool to interact with people because
I realized there's this common thread of relatability and you know,
(30:19):
a lot, for whatever reason, most people are conditioned not
to really talk about mental illness in the same manner
that you would talk about a broken leg or some
other diagnosis. So it's been really eye opening and actually
it's it's been quite a wonderful experience.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yes, well, I look forward to reading the book and
real quickly, what perspective do you think your book offers?
Speaker 2 (30:45):
That maybe others don't, so I.
Speaker 6 (30:47):
Think the perspective it offers is quite unique because it's
very in depth. It is a you know, a first
person narrative, and it's written in a manner where you
really feel like you're in the psychiatric ward with me.
So there's that aspect, and the other aspects are that
(31:10):
it is told through a lens of compassion for myself,
for my fellow patients. And the third the third thing
is that there's also dark humor, which a lot of
people probably wouldn't think would happen on a psychiatric ward,
but it does in addition to human frailty and kindness
(31:33):
as well.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Sure well, thank you so much for sharing all of
that in your book, The Factory of Maladies Seven Days
on a San Francisco psych Board.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
It's a memoir. Where can we go to get it?
Speaker 6 (31:45):
So you're welcome to purchase it through my website The
Factory of Maladies dot com, or on bookshop dot org,
Barnes and Noble or Amazon.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Terrific.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Well, Debbie Hartung, thank you so much much for joining
me today. I'm passport mommy. It was such a pleasure
speaking with you again. I think you're so motivational, and
I have to ask, do you do like personal appearances
or motivational speaking, because if not, I think you should.
Speaker 6 (32:13):
Oh, thank you so much, Mizelle. It's been a pleasure
talking with you. And I don't but I'm always open
to something new. So let's say yes to all of
the above.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
This sounds great. Thank you so much again.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
I'm Michelle Jurson the Passport Mommy More coming up in
a few you're listening to Passport Mommy. I'm Michelle Jerson
And did you know that April is National frog Month?
And yet students across the country will be winding down
the school year by dissecting these animals. And I don't
know if you remember when you were in school that
(32:48):
many times we did have to dissect real animals. Well,
I'm happy to have Samantha Crowe on the show today.
She is the program manager of Science Education for PETA
and teach Kinds Science, which is ped Us Humane Science
Education Division, has created the kind Frog. This is a
silicone based dissection model that includes anatomically correct, color coded
(33:13):
organs and a complete female reproductive system. So basically, it
gives students a hands on experience without the harm to
wild frog populations and not to mention the trauma to students. Samantha,
thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you
for having me, Michelle, my pleasure. So how common is
animal dissection in schools in the US?
Speaker 7 (33:32):
Well, high schools and even some elementary schools across the
country still require students to dissect frogs and other animals.
And it's a practice that has not changed in one
hundred years, even though today we have access to computers
and all kinds of technology. You know, we also study
showing that cutting apart real animals can traumatize students and
normalize animal abuse.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Yeah, which is the last thing that we want because
we all know that that can also lead to other things.
And so where do animals use for dissection come from?
And how many of these are dissected each year?
Speaker 7 (34:04):
Yeah, so every year more than ten million animals are
used for classroom dissection in the United States. And this
includes about three million frogs who are taken from their
habitats in the wild, which of course, you know, disrupts
the ecosystem, but it also includes fetal pigs who come
from slaughterhouses where their mother's throats are slit and it
includes cats who could have been someone's you know, lost
(34:28):
companion animal. Yeah, there's no humane way to kill an
animal for dissection, as we know, right.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
And as you mentioned, students can be traumatized. And I know,
even all these years later, I still have memories of
dissecting the animals in class and it was not something
that I really wanted to relive. The sounds of everything,
the looks of everything, and I feel like in this
day and.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Age, you don't need to.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Would you say that animal dissection also just dissuades students
from the sciences.
Speaker 7 (34:58):
I would say undoubtedly it does. You know, animal dissection
kills so many animals every year. It is an inferior,
outdated teaching method. You know, it exposes students to car synogens,
it desensitizes them to animal suffering, and it's indirect conflict
with most young people's natural affinity to want to help
(35:19):
animals or be kind to animals. And you know, the
expectation to dissect animals can really discourage some students from
pursuing studies and careers in science, you know, because the
most caring and compassionate students are usually the ones who
you know would then miss out on entering the medical
field where their empathy would be an asset. You know,
these are the exact students we want with you know,
(35:41):
the wonderful compassionate hearts and bedside manner to you know,
become doctors and veterinarians.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Right, absolutely, absolutely, So, how is Peter working to end this?
Speaker 5 (35:52):
Well?
Speaker 7 (35:53):
Teach Kind of Science which is part of PEDUS Humane
Education Division. It's run by former science teachers and one
of our biggest part priorities is replacing animal dissection. We
just want to help schools and teachers, you know, phased
out the archaic animal dissection and replaced with modern and
humane methods. So we launched our pilot program last year
(36:15):
and we are just doing gangbusters.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
And so how many schools would you say right now
are in the program? And if our school is not participating,
how can they participate?
Speaker 7 (36:29):
Absolutely? Yeah, So we have donated more than ten thousand
kind frogs this year since we launched the kind frog
in the fall last fall. So we have which is
just amazing, ten thousand. We are in almost every single
state in the US already and teachers can check out
(36:50):
teachkind dot org to get more information about the Teach
Kind Science program. Our pilot program, you know, and how
to get involved.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
That's terrific. I love it, and I I know PEDA
has a lot.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Of information on their website in general, what do you
have in the works coming up and what can we
expect to see on the website.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
Yeah, absolutely so listeners could go to PEDA dot org
slash dissection to you know, learn how to advocate for
animal free classrooms, you know, in their own community. So
if you're a parent, you know, please encourage your students
to opt out of animal dissection. If you're a teacher,
the time is now, let's do this. Get in touch
with with teach kind of science and we will donate
(37:31):
materials to replace all of your animal dissections. And if
you're a student, I definitely encourage you. If you are
facing an animal dissection and just need some help, just
need some support, you know, speaking with your teacher about it,
reach out to us our youth division at hello at
PTA two. It's p E t A the number two
dot com.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
Perfect Well.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Thank you so much, Samantha Crowe, Program Manager of Science
Education for PETA. Thank you for all that you are
doing for students everywhere, for animals and for all all
of your work with PETA.
Speaker 7 (38:01):
Thank you so much for having me
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