Our podcast series, Into the Fold, is a way for us to move from simply talking about our grantmaking to influencing dialogue and learning about mental health and well-being.
Hosted by “Ike at the Mic,” our public affairs representative Ike Evans, the series captures the human implications of mental health and the factors that influence it, bringing you conversations with mental health experts, consumers, advocates, practitioners, researchers and community leaders from across Texas and beyond.
In today’s blog, we’re presenting a retrospective of the year in podcasts for 2021.
Year in Podcasts: COVID’s Ongoing Impacts
It’s been a challenging year. Amid continuing health and social justice concerns, a number of our conversations have reflected the negative impact of these serious issues on mental health. However, we’ve been gratified to also share many inspiring stories of progress and resilience, of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things!
These first five episodes address the outsized role that COVID-19 continued to play in our lives this year, with a particular focus on its impact on traditionally marginalized and underserved communities.
Episode 118: Children in 2021: Grief and Loss
Orphanhood and grief are an essential part of the story of the COVID-19 pandemic, one whose impact is just beginning to be understood. In this first of two episodes exploring how children are faring during the pandemic, we speak with Laura Olague, director of Children’s Grief Center of El Paso. She discusses the importance of understanding that children’s grief isn’t expressed like adult’s grief. “Children grieve developmentally,” says Laura.
Episode 119: Children in 2021: The First Three Years
In our second episode exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, we speak with Christy Serrano, Houston regional director for First3Years, a Dallas-based organization working to support the social and emotional development of infants and toddlers. “We had a really great remote working model as an organization, so we were really able to respond quickly to COVID,” Christy says.
Episode 113: Vaccine Equity and Trust
Episode 117: Vaccine Equity and Disability Rights
Episode 115: Fear of Going Outside: A Podcaster on Asian Identity, Mental Health and Belonging
Year in Podcasts: Empowering Youth
Even in these challenging and politically divided times, young people continue to show us what’s possible when both their mental well-being and capacity for leadership are taken seriously. These episodes help show why.
Episode 108: Empowering Girls Through Policy
Episode 114: The Case Against Spanking
Episode 116: Young and Invincible
Episode 122: Gender Affirmation Can be Life and Death
Episode 125: A New Deal for Youth
Year in Podcasts: Race and Mental Health
In September 2020, the Hogg Foundation declared racism a mental health crisis. Learn more about the intersection of mental health with historic forms of discrimination through these episodes.
Episode 107: A Therapist on Racial Grief
Episode 109: Declaring Racism a Mental Health Crisis
Episode 120: Why History?
Year in Podcasts: Impactful Leaders
Because mental health is so complex, there will always be opportunities for people to make their mark through pioneering approaches to advocacy, treatment, and collaboration. Be inspired by these examples.
Episode 110: Women Make History: Maggie Kuhn and the Gray Panthers
Episode 111: Remembering Stephany J. Bryan
Episode 121: Peer Leadership and Why it Matters
Episode 123: The Global Cause of Mental Health
Year in Podcasts: Social and Environmental Determinants
Mental health doesn’t take place in a vacuum. These episodes will show you how mental health is impacted not just by the physical environment, but by the conditions in which we live, learn, work, play and pray.
Episode 112: Southern Smoke: Mental Health in the Restaurant Industry
Episode 124: Changing the Landscape: People, Parks and Power