We end the second season of the award-winning Mighty Writers podcast in my personal comfort zone, as I sit down with a former student,16-year-old Brooke Fulton.

Brooke talks to me about her childhood in one of the most distressed neighborhoods in Philadelphia — a section of the city where drugs are sold and used openly, a place that continues to be afflicted by all of the devastating effects of the opioid crisis, especially homelessness and violence. 

Brooke was born in Brooklyn, but her family moved to Kensington when she was 4 years old. She lives with her 11-year-old sister and 7-year-old brother just off of the intersection of Kensington Avenue and Allegheny, a place so well-known that many Philadelphians refer to it simply as “K&A.”

Brooke was a student of mine when I taught 9th grade English at an accelerated school where students earn diplomas and associate’s degrees in four years. She is an exceptional student with grand academic achievements and ambitions.

I spoke to Brooke the day after the mayor made good on her promise to clear encampments that had been erected by people in addiction at Kensington and Allegheny.

Brooke talks to me about growing up in Kensington and what she thinks about the new mayor’s plan to revitalize the community.

---

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan. This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

In Philadelphia, one figure who needs absolutely no introduction is the Phillie Phanatic, the team mascot who is as iconic in these parts as Dr. J, Ben Franklin, or Rocky Balboa.

Beyond being a key fixture of Phillies' home games, the Phanatic shows up at playgrounds, schools, hospitals and all kinds of special events with one purpose: to bring happiness — especially to kids.

In this episode, I speak with Dave Raymond, the man who first brought the Phanatic to life in 1978. Dave spent 16 years in the green suit, entertaining thousands along the way.

Now a marketing expert, personal development trainer and coach, Dave is also a motivational speaker who talks about the power of fun and the tenets of positive psychology.

Listen in as we talk about the Phanatic’s inception, the business of mascoting and how Dave was saved by the power of fun. 

---

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Philadelphia is awash in grieving children and families. But it’s not all bad news, because where there are serious problems, there are humans at work on serious solutions.

In my years as a classroom teacher, I saw many organizations try to help students with problems like grief. Rarely did I see an immediate impact — that is, until I observed the work of Uplift, formerly known as The Center for Grieving Children.

Uplift’s therapists go into schools (and other places where kids gather) and convene groups of young people who have lost someone significant. Some of my students involved with Uplift moved from despondent and unfocused to engaged and hopeful after just six sessions. My only regret was that they couldn’t work with more of the kids in my school. It sometimes felt like they were only getting at the tip of an iceberg.

Because I believe so deeply that children need this kind of support, I invited Samantha Anthony, a senior clinician, to speak with me about her work facilitating therapeutic grief groups with youth in grades K-12. Like others at Uplift, Samantha also provides support for the families of grieving children.

Samantha and I talk about how grief presents itself in young people, as well as our own experiences with grief, her work with students at the Juvenile Justice Center, and what it means to say that grief is a social justice issue.

It’s a heavy but hopeful conversation about the good that comes when we acknowledge grief in community and with mindful empathy.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

I’ve been obsessed with coming-of-age stories since I first read “A Catcher in the Rye” when I was in seventh grade. That obsession is probably what made me feel entirely at home when I became a ninth grade English teacher. There is very little that moves me more than hearing people grapple in language with themselves and society during that short but profound moment that occurs somewhere between the ages of 13 and 16. 

In the thousands of pieces of writing I had access to as a ninth grade English teacher in Philadelphia, certain themes emerged over and over. And when I met a young person named Semaj in a workshop I facilitated for Mighty Writers, I was struck by how his storytelling embodied those themes, including the way his everyday life was shaped by gun violence and an inequitable criminal justice system. 

Semaj embodies something else I’ve seen repeatedly: He really wants his story to be heard.

People are sometimes surprised to hear this about teens. But in my experience, young people can quickly sense a safe space, and when they do, they often want to share their experiences far and wide.

Semaj’s voice is memorable and beautiful for reasons far beyond his vulnerability and what he can tell us about broken systems, gun violence and injustice. 

It’s also worth hearing because he shares wise advice for living in this deeply fraught place, time and place (no matter your zip code). He reminds us to reflect, meditate, accept, strive, connect, dream and heal. 

I am deeply honored to be able to share this interview with you, and I hope Semaj’s voice does, in fact, travel far and wide. 

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

I often say that my favorite thing about being a classroom writing teacher was my access to stories. It was enriching to me as a teacher and as a human being to learn about my students' lives through their stories. And I learned a lot about issues in society by hearing the same kind of stories over and over again. 

One issue that came through to me via my students’ stories is the challenge people face when their citizenship — or the citizenship of their loved ones — was unsettled. I became aware of how anxiety-provoking it is to grow up worrying that a traffic ticket could lead to deportation. I watched the best and brightest high school seniors defer college dreams because they couldn’t figure out how to navigate the educational system without a U.S. birth certificate.

Because this particular kind of anxiety is something I’ve heard so many times, I was deeply grateful when my colleague, Yakquelin Garduño, agreed to tell her story. As director of Mighty Writers in Kennett Square, Yakquelin works with children who are facing many of the same issues she faced as a DACA recipient (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

In this candid interview, Yakquelin shares her family’s immigration story and what her life has been like as someone who crossed the southern border before she was able to walk. Even though she’s never known life outside of the U.S., and even though she has lived a life of exemplary citizenship, she still cannot claim to be a U.S. citizen. Yakquelin agreed to this interview because she knows she speaks for countless others who live with the daily consequences of a broken immigration system.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

My close friend and colleague Liz Wesley knows what it’s like to fight for fairness in a profoundly unfair world. She battled her way through the education system as a child only to find herself up against some of the same forces of inequity as a teacher in Philadelphia's highly segregated public school system. 

Always a social justice warrior, Liz became even more involved in trying to fight racial segregation in education in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd. 

But the often lonely struggle took its toll. After working with a therapist and reading the work of Tricia Hersey, author of “Rest is Resistance,” Liz finally decided to give herself some much needed rest.

Liz shares her deeply personal journal toward the realization that she owed herself rest and self-care with the hope that others may benefit from her wisdom.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

LuQman Abdullah caught my attention when I read his commentaries on gun violence in the Philadelphia Citizen.

He emphasized something that had become evident to me through my work as a classroom teacher: Young people are not being heard.

Now maybe that’s always been the case. Maybe American adults have perennially dismissed the voices of children. But what LuQman says is that given the prevalence of guns and despair, our failure to listen is having deadly consequences.

LuQman’s passion for saving Philadelphia’s children is connected to the fact that he lost his way as a young man.

In this episode, I talk to LuQman about losing his way and about his perspective on young people.

We talk about the years he spent in prison, including five and half years in solitary confinement, and how he emerged from that time as a scholar, a leading voice in violence prevention and a human rights activist. I hope you’ll be as inspired as I am by LuQman’s vision for a more just and equitable city.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

I am an obsessive people-watcher. Which is one of the reasons working in a school never-got old for me. Schools are full of people and stories. 

When I started the podcast, I thought about other workplaces that allow for good people-watching, and public transportation came to mind. Bus drivers, train conductors, transit workers — they all see an incredible cross section of the city’s population every day. My grandfather, Charlie Gibbons, knew this well: He was a trolley car driver for SEPTA, Philadelphia’s public transportation system. So as a sort of tribute to Charlie, I decided to interview someone who drove the same route that he did. 

That’s what led me to SEPTA driver Soup Davis, who talks to me in this episode about what it’s like to see all those people, and why he decorates his trolley for the holiday season each year. 

Soup’s perspective on the city is fresh and interesting. Like me, I’m guessing you’ll walk away from this episode with a deep appreciation for all of the city workers who maintain optimism and sincere concern for the people around them. That’s not always easy in Philadelphia.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Here's a taste for what's in store for our second season! Season 2 officially launches on December 14th. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Season 2 of the Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland will have 9 biweekly episodes (our first episode with Eagles legend Malcolm Jenkins came out a little early), focused on good people doing good work in and around a big American city. 

Known for its sports fans and food, history and grit, inequality and authenticity, Philadelphia maintains a complicated relationship with the notion of brotherly love. 

But Maureen finds lots of love in these intimate conversations with genuine, open-hearted people who share stories about justice, healing, hope and joy.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

We kick off the second season of the Mighty Writers Podcast with a conversation with former NFL safety and two-time Super Bowl champ Malcolm Jenkins who recently published a revealing and introspective memoir, “What Winners Won’t Tell You: Lessons from a Legendary Defender.”

In addition to his achievements on the field, Jenkins is admired for the work he did with Anquan Boldin and other NFL players to form the Players Coalition, which transformed the NFL by bringing together owners, players and other stakeholders to fight racial injustice. In 2010 he founded the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation, which aims to make positive change in the lives of youth in Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and his home state of New Jersey. 

In this episode, we discuss writing, influential people and moments in Jenkins’ life, activism and fatherhood.
--
The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers. This episode was produced by John Myers. 

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

On paper, Maureen Boland and Pat Cooper might seem like unlikely friends. They come from very different backgrounds and have had totally disparate life experiences. Maureen was Pat’s high school teacher years ago. But as deeply curious people, interested in complex matters of the heart and mind, they’ve found many threads of connection between them.

In our final episode of this season, Pat talks to Maureen about growing up in North Philadelphia, his spiritual awakenings, fatherhood and writing. The two also reflect on some of the podcast stories that resonated with him.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers. 

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

The U.S. is facing an unprecedented youth crisis: 1 in 10 young adults is dealing with some form of homelessness each year, and the numbers of them struggling with mental health issues has increased dramatically. When host Maureen Boland was a high school teacher, it was not unusual for her to discover that one of her students was homeless. The clues were subtle: Maybe they’d just be carrying extra bags, or arrive later than usual. But when she learned that one of her students who had a baby had no place safe to stay, she took her to Covenant House.

In this episode, Maureen speaks with Makiyah, a young writer who’s in transitional housing at Covenant House, about how she came to be homeless and what that experience was like. She also talks to Covenant House Pennsylvania’s Hugh Organ, who describes the remarkable strengths he’s seen in some of society’s most vulnerable people: “I’ve been doing this 23 years. I’ve never met a bad kid in the bunch.”

Warning: This episode deals with difficult topics such as childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence and may be triggering for some people. This episode is not appropriate for young children. Please take care when listening.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers. 

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

In this episode, we speak with award-winning Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Helen Ubiñas about her career path, themes in her writing, the challenges of being a woman of color in journalism, and why she created The Ñ Fund, a scholarship fund for Latinas who want to pursue a career in journalism. We’ll also speak with young Idaho journalist Mariela Esquivel Rodriguez, the first recipient of the The Ñ Fund for Latinas in Journalism award. 

For more information about The Ñ Fund for Latinas in Journalism, check out Helen’s column.

Visit Philafound.org to make a donation to The Ñ Fund.

To learn more about Voces Internship of Idaho, the nonprofit started by two Latina journalists who reached out to Helen Ubiñas to sponsor Mariela with an internship, check out this website.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Kennett Square, PA, aka the Mushroom Capital of the World, is about an hour south of Philadelphia. Fully half of the U.S. gets its mushrooms from Kennett Square, and the majority of people who make that happen, often in substandard working and living conditions, are migrant farmworkers from Mexico, Central America and Venezuela.

Today we speak with friends Anita Davidson and Nelson Alberto Contreras Gelves, who both work at a food pantry in Kennett Square. Nelson, a Venezuelan migrant who fled political persecution, tells us his immigration story and explains why he feels so connected to the food pantry.

This is a story of friendship. But it’s also a reminder to those of us from immigrant backgrounds to never forget our own place in the so-called American Dream.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Kirkus called Jane Wong’s debut memoir about her childhood in Atlantic City “a generous, steaming stew of a book loaded with personality and originality and sprinkled with the fiery chili of rage.” In this episode we talk to Wong about structuring a memoir, writing about family, marginalized history and generational healing.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

In January, Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos adapted her popular “Science of Well-Being” course for teen audiences. That curriculum was picked up by Philadelphia high school teacher Kate Reber, who offered the online course in the hopes that it would help her students — many of whom have been struggling with anxiety and depression — navigate their lives.
 
In this episode, we begin by talking to Kate about being on the frontlines of the youth mental health crisis, and how “The Science of Well-Being”fit into that. Then we speak with two of Kate’s seniors, Jada Brown and Hedaia Abuali, about taking the class. 

Finally, we speak with Dr. Santos herself about her course, especially in terms of what local students had to say. The episode deals sensitively with real life issues affecting students, including mental health, gun violence and social media and provides some hopeful takeaways.

Warning: This episode mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or go to 988lifeline.org.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

“A brilliant and fucking fearless debut.” That’s what acclaimed author Carmen Maria Machado said about “Sink” by Joseph Earl Thomas — and that was just the beginning of the raves, from Kiese Laymon to the New York Times. In this episode, we speak with Thomas about his brutal and wrenching memoir, and what it means to thrive when you’re living a life so focused on survival. 

Warning: This episode contains subject matter and language that may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

In 2021, mother, writer and yoga instructor Linda Geraghty was featured in the stirring and critically acclaimed documentary Our American Family. The project, which was filmed over the course of a year inside Linda’s family home in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, documents the family experience as Nicole, Linda’s adult daughter, begins a journey of recovery from heroin addiction. 

For Linda, writing was the lifeline that helped her make sense of her complicated childhood with a mother who suffered from anorexia, and it helped her process her adult life dealing with a spouse and children with substance-abuse disorders. Today, writing is the light that helps Linda unravel and make peace with her family’s generational battle with addiction.

This week on the Mighty Writers Podcast, host Maureen Boland sits down with Linda to discuss life after the documentary, writing toward generational healing, and the practice of letting go.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Thirty-year-old Akeiba Emerson shares her journey from foster care to adoption. Like too many children, Akeiba experienced abuse and neglect as she moved through 22 different foster care placements before she was old enough to read. But, thanks to a chance encounter with Judy Emerson, a remarkable single mother who was looking to grow her family, Akeiba went on to enjoy the best of what a good family life has to offer. Their voices and spirits are full of warmth and love, and their story speaks to the power of healing that happens when open hearts manage to find each other.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is a new show from Mighty Writers, a Philly non-profit that promotes literacy as a tool for social change. Through decades of experience as a writing teacher, host Maureen Boland knows the power of storytelling and mindful listening; how an honest story, even one that looks unflinchingly at a sometimes brutal world exactly as it is, has the power to lessen the isolation, despair, and polarization so many of us feel. 

Like the Mighty Writers centers themselves, this podcast is a place to find creativity, compassion, and community through devotion to writing and storytelling.

SHOW NOTES

Visit Mighty Writers' website to learn more about their work. You can also follow MW on Facebook and Instagram. 

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions.  The Executive Producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Sojourner Ahebee. Rowhome’s Executive Producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.  Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.