Here to Help

In this episode, Chris is joined by writer and comedian Monica Heisey where they cover Monica’s journey as a writer, the power of humor, gender, feminism, and the challenges of living in modern society. Monica was born in Toronto and moved to London in 2010 to study Early Modern Literature. Monica began her writing career in media, contributing to the Guardian, The New Yorker, The New York Times and Playboy. From 2015 to 2017 she was Editor-at-Large at Broadly, VICE magazine's women's website.

 Her first book, ‘I Can't Believe It's Not Better', a collection of essays, short stories, awas published in 2015, and Lena Dunham said of it that it’s the “only humor book she ever wants to own.” 2015 was also the year of her first television job, sketch comedy series Baroness von Sketch Show. Since then she has worked on television projects including Netflix’s Schitt's Creek, Workin’ Moms and BBC’s The Cleaner, and Everything I Know About Love. 

Monica’s writing offers a unique blend of humor and social commentary and her debut novel, Really Good, Actually, was published around the world in January 2023, and is currently in development for television. She is working on a second novel. 

Dr Ibram X. Kendi is the award winning author of 14 National Book Awards for adults and children, including nine New York Times bestsellers—five of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers. Dr. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor. Dr. Kendi is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest author to win that award. He also authored the international bestseller, How to Be an Antiracist, which was described in the New York Times as “the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.” In 2020, Time magazine named Dr. Kendi one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the "Genius Grant. "

Dr Ibram X. Kendi is the award winning author of 14 National Book Awards for adults and children, including nine New York Times bestsellers—five of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers. Dr. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor. Dr. Kendi is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest author to win that award. He also authored the international bestseller, How to Be an Antiracist, which was described in the New York Times as “the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.” In 2020, Time magazine named Dr. Kendi one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the "Genius Grant. "

This week's guest is, the inimitable, Ms. Panti Bliss. Panti is considered to be Ireland’s foremost drag queen, “gender discombobulist” and “accidental activist.” Panti was the forerunner in Ireland's ‘Yes’ campaign for marriage equality and in February 2015 she took to the stage of Dublin’s Abbey Theatre to deliver a ten minute speech that was described as ""the most eloquent Irish speech"" in almost 200 years. It garnered support from RuPaul, Graham Norton, Stephen Fry, and Madonna. She is the recipient of a host of awards including the Award for contribution to Irish society - at the People of the Year Awards in 2014. In 2015 Panti’s alter-ego Rory O'Neill was awarded an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin for his contribution to LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality. In 2016, following a reported 160% increase in HIV positive tests in Ireland between 2005 and 2015, as an advocate for others and small business owner, she turned the basement of her self named Panti Bar into a HIV testing center in a bid to help protect a new generation of young gay men. Panti was most recently on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars, where Panti, aka Rory, performed out of drag, making Irish TV history with Ireland's first same sex dance couple appearing on screens across the country. Join us where we’ll discuss Panti’s activism, advocacy, and contributions to the LGBTQ+ community in Ireland and beyond. 

This week's guest is, the inimitable, Ms. Panti Bliss. Panti is considered to be Ireland’s foremost drag queen, “gender discombobulist” and “accidental activist.” Panti was the forerunner in Ireland's ‘Yes’ campaign for marriage equality and in February 2015 she took to the stage of Dublin’s Abbey Theatre to deliver a ten minute speech that was described as ""the most eloquent Irish speech"" in almost 200 years. It garnered support from RuPaul, Graham Norton, Stephen Fry, and Madonna. She is the recipient of a host of awards including the Award for contribution to Irish society - at the People of the Year Awards in 2014. In 2015 Panti’s alter-ego Rory O'Neill was awarded an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin for his contribution to LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality. In 2016, following a reported 160% increase in HIV positive tests in Ireland between 2005 and 2015, as an advocate for others and small business owner, she turned the basement of her self named Panti Bar into a HIV testing center in a bid to help protect a new generation of young gay men. Panti was most recently on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars, where Panti, aka Rory, performed out of drag, making Irish TV history with Ireland's first same sex dance couple appearing on screens across the country. Join us where we’ll discuss Panti’s activism, advocacy, and contributions to the LGBTQ+ community in Ireland and beyond. 

In this best of episode of Here to Help, Chris speaks to Katie Schmidt, Quality Assurance Engineer at Indeed. Katie will speak about her career in the gaming industry, how it led to a job in QA and the important role language plays in game design. Katie will also speak about Pride month and the importance of iPride in her journey. If you have ever wondered what we can learn about our own reality through game design or what exactly is the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis then this episode is one worth listening to.

In this best of episode of Here to Help, Chris speaks to Katie Schmidt, Quality Assurance Engineer at Indeed. Katie will speak about her career in the gaming industry, how it led to a job in QA and the important role language plays in game design. Katie will also speak about Pride month and the importance of iPride in her journey. If you have ever wondered what we can learn about our own reality through game design or what exactly is the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis then this episode is one worth listening to.

In this week's best of episode of Here to Help, Chris' guest is disability rights and inclusion activist Imani Barbarin. Imani uses her voice and social media platforms to create conversations engaging the disability community. Born with cerebral palsy, Imani often writes and uses her platform to speak from the perspective of a disabled black woman. They discuss the importance of having difficult but necessary conversations, what Covid-19 revealed about ableism and her unwavering belief in what's possible. 

In this week's best of episode of Here to Help, Chris' guest is disability rights and inclusion activist Imani Barbarin. Imani uses her voice and social media platforms to create conversations engaging the disability community. Born with cerebral palsy, Imani often writes and uses her platform to speak from the perspective of a disabled black woman. They discuss the importance of having difficult but necessary conversations, what Covid-19 revealed about ableism and her unwavering belief in what's possible. 

This week’s guest is Johnson Cheng, a Chinese American writer/director from the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles. A member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), his films have screened in competition at international festivals such as Tribeca, AFI FEST, and Toronto.  Johnson is a recipient of the HBO APA Visionaries Award, the Princess Grace Award (Cary Grant Film Award), and fellowships such as Film Independent’s Project Involve (Writer/Director Fellow). Johnson is also one of the directors chosen for the very first class of Indeed’s Rising Voices and “Only the Moon Stands Still’ is an incredibly moving film about the complexities of intergenerational families and work. It’s a slice-of-life tale of three generations of Chinese women confronting the realities of having to shut down their family’s ballroom dance studio and bid farewell to a life that has defined them for so long. This episode discusses tradition, community, work and the power of story to create opportunity for people.