RECORDED 10/19/16: You don’t want to miss this conversation with two of the most dynamic young, mixed-chick entrepreneurs around.  Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi are the co-founders of Shine Text. Shine is a daily text experience to help you be your best self at work and life. Every morning, Shine sends you actionable tips and content around confidence, daily happiness, mental health, or productivity. It’s available via Facebook Messenger as well.  Learn how these millenials went from good idea to product and now an ever-growing tech business.  You can listen to the episode here or download it from itunes.-Heidi Durrow

Marah Lidey is the co-founder of Shine Text, helping people live more intentionally through the power of daily messaging. Her expertise lies at the intersection of millennials and messaging; Marah previously directed mobile for brands like DoSomething.org, American Express and Viacom. Marah secured her B.A. in Journalism at the University of Georgia and currently reside in Brooklyn, NY. A World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and one of the Top 35 People to Watch in NYC Tech by Built in NYC, Marah also actively advocates for increasing racial and socioeconomic diversity in technology and entrepreneurship.

Naomi Hirabayashi is the co-founder of Shine: the daily messaging experience to help you be your best self. Prior to Shine, Naomi was the Chief Marketing Officer at DoSomething.org, the largest organization for young people and social action in the world. Naomi, named one of the Top 35 People to Watch in NYC Tech by Built in NYC, lives in Brooklyn with her fiancé, is passionate about diversifying entrepreneurship, women & confidence, and believes Brené Brown is a QUEEN.

RECORDED 9/13/16: I had a great talk with Robert Reece about his recently released study, “What Are You Mixed With?: An Analysis of Perceived Attractiveness, Skin Tone, and Mixed Raciality.” We have a wide-ranging discussion and touch on ideas about agency and racial strategy, facing the “What are you?” question without taking race into account, mixed race babies, and give a nod to Hey Arnold.  Don’t miss this interview.  You can listen to it here or download it on itunes.-Heidi Durrow

Robert Reece is a PhD candidate in sociology at Duke University where He takes an intersectional critical race approach to research on the American South, colorism, gender/sex/sexuality, and digital technology. Robert is a co-founder of Still Furious and Brave, a blogging collective of scholar-activists that focuses on issues that rest at the intersections of race, region, and feminism, and founder of Magnolia Fresh, a fashion blog that seeks to cater to black men in the South.  He is also a member of the editorial board for Scalawag magazine, a quarterly magazine that focuses on southern politics and culture.
Robert is originally from Leland, MS, a small town in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, and obtained BA and MA degrees in sociology from The University of Mississippi. He has organized or co-organized forums about masculinity and sexual assault, blackness in the 21st century, Mississippi’s Personhood Act, and the contemporary social movements with co-founder Bobby Seale. Robert collects black art, Black Panther Party memorabilia, black superhero comics Legos, and consider herself to be a connoisseur of southern rap.