Romanistan
The authors of Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling present: Romanistan! Do you love rebels? Do you want to live in a place where outcasts shine their brightest? Welcome to Romanistan! We're your friendly neighborhood Gypsies, celebrating Romani identity and outcast culture, and practicing good diplomatic relations with other marginalized communities.
We love the rebels who are living their truth, even if it clashes with tradition. We also love tradition and honoring our roots. This podcast is for everyone who loves and supports Roma & related groups, and anyone who feels like a misfit and wants to uplift others to create a beautiful community.
We feature pioneers in culture, fashion, art, literature, music, activism, cuisine, and everything good. We adore the intersections of gender, sexuality, spirituality, ability, and identity. We cover all topics, from the difficult to the glorious. Let's sit crooked and talk straight.
Hosted by Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiele. We reclaim the slur Gypsy, but if you aren’t Romani, we prefer you don't use it. xoxo.
P.S. The Romani people are a diasporic ethnic group originally from northwest India, circa the 10th century. Now, Roma live all over the globe, and due to centuries of oppression, slavery, genocide, and other atrocities, Roma are still fighting for basic human rights. We seek to raise awareness of who Roma are, and highlight Romani resilience, creativity, & culture.
Romanistan
Herbal Medicine with Jennileen Joseph of Sastimos Holistic Health
Jennileen Joseph of Sastimos Holistic Health brings herself as a Rroma woman into how she approaches all aspects of herbalism and Ayurveda, encouraging people to understand healing from a lens of relationship to land and community. The stories of plants and people are intertwined, as they have grown alongside one another since time immemorial.
Jennileen received her bachelor's degree from New York University in US History: Origins and Effects of Intergenerational Trauma. She is a graduate of the Clinical Herbalism I and II programs, as well as the Ayurvedic Studies program, from the University of New Mexico. She apprenticed with Herbalist and Ayurvedic practitioner Sonia Masocco for several years, where she focused on herbal pharmacy, teaching, and working one-on-one with clients. She also studied with Ecological Herbalist Dara Saville.
Before becoming a practitioner, Jennileen was a domestic worker for over 30 years. She is the founder and former director of the Massachusetts Alliance of Professional Nannies and co-founder of the Massachusetts Coalition for Domestic Workers.
Jennileen taught Herbal Medicine and Food as Medicine courses at the Albuquerque School of Healing Arts. She is currently a plant medicine instructor at the University of New Mexico, as well as Albuquerque Herbalism.
Follow Jennileen on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
Our Romani crush for this episode is Alice Psychic.
Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.
Please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen or can give us 5 stars. It helps us so much.
You can find us at romanistanpodcast.com, where we have a blog, all of our episodes, merch, links to our patreon, fundraiser, & social media. On Instagram, TikTok, & Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod
We run entirely on your support, so if you love the show, consider donating to our Ko-Fi fundraiser. The link, Ko-fi.com/romanistan is on our website. You can also subscribe to our Patreon for extra content & treats every month!
Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com with listener stories, requests for advice, recipes, romani culture and language facts, and anything else you want to share. Reach out if you want to advertise with us too. We offer sliding-scale for Romani, Sinti & related businesses, so reach out!
You can find Jez on Instagram, TikTok, & Facebook under @jezmina.vonthiele. Also please check out my vintage and curiosities shop Evil Eye Edit on Etsy.
You can find Paulina Verminski on Instagram @_paulina_v_ and at https://romaniholistic.com/. Follow Paulina’s store, Romani Holistic, in Corona Del Mar, CA, on Instagram @romaniholistic
Romanistan is hosted by Jessica Reidy aka Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina Verminski
Conceived of by Paulina Verminski
Edited by Cherub
With Music by Viktor Pachas
And Artwork by Elijah Vardo