The Laverne Cox Show

Laverne is back for Season 2! In this intimate recording, she fills us in on her big, busy beautiful life, what she's been up to, and how she’s changed. It's dreamy! But there’s still work; there’s always the work. This time she’s tackling her second season with a whole new perspective.

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

As always, stay in the love.

Links of Interest:

Trauma & Community Resiliency Models

Episodes from Season 1 referenced:

Trauma Resilience & Healing w/ Jennifer Burton Flier

Adverse Childhood Experiences w/ Nadine Burke Harris

The Power of Mind Over Body w/ Joe Dispenza

Trauma Resilience & Healing Encore w/ Jennifer Burton Flier

CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sandie Bailey, Alex Alcheh, Lauren Hohman, Tyler Klang & Gabrielle Collins

Producer & Editor: Brooke Peterson-Bell

Editing Support: Nikolas Harter

Associate Producer: Akiya McKnight

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Season two of The Laverne Cox Show is dropping July 27th! In the meantime, why not re-listen to all of the amazing episodes from Season 1? The conversations were so good, so deep and so important, one listen is not enough!

Episodes Featured:

Class & Poverty Shaming w/ Mary O'Hara

Overcoming Trauma Through Art w/ Billy Porter

Residential Segregation & Structural Racism w/ Richard Rothstein

Beauty as Capital w/ Kimberly Foster

Becoming a Love Warrior w/ Dr. Cornel West

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On this final episode of the season, the one and only Billy Porter talks about his life in show business. He also candidly shares the trauma of his student days at Carnegie Mellon, the AIDS crisis, and bankruptcy, and his evolution into a multi-award winning superstar. Billy has wisdom to share about what it means to be a true artist dedicated to your craft and explains how his creative expression has been a tool to work through his trauma. Much of that trauma ironically stemming from working in creative industries which, back in the 80’s and 90’s, had little tolerance for an openly gay black man. His new memoir, Unprotected, is the life story of a singular artist and survivor. //

 Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love.

Unprotected: A Memoir by Billy Porter: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unprotected-billy-porter/1138773867

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On this episode, Jennifer Burton Flier joins Laverne again to go deeper into the Community Resiliency Model and to tie in so many of this season’s episodes on healing. They’re all connected! Laverne and Jennifer go over practical skills that you can use to build your resiliency for this (very) challenging world. Those skills are tracking, resourcing, grounding, gesturing, shift and stay, and help now. You can find more helpful therapeutic tips and information in the first episode with Jennifer Burton Flier, “Trauma Resilience and Healing.” Jennifer is a senior faculty member with the Trauma Resource Institute and Laverne’s personal therapist! 

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

As always, stay in the love.

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Poor people have always been shamed. Writer, producer and award-winning journalist Mary O’Hara says that’s not new, but the last 40 years of government and corporate interests have created a focused initiative to demonize people who need financial and social assistance. Between the creation of the Welfare Queen trope in the 80’s and vilifying single mothers in the 90’s, most people do whatever they can to not be associated with safety nets. They’re ashamed. In this powerful conversation, Laverne and O’Hara break down the larger game at play, the lasting effects of experiencing poverty, and the importance of people sharing their stories.

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal.

As always, stay in the love.

Show References:

The Shame Game: https://www.shamegamethebook.com/

Project Twist-It: https://www.projecttwistit.com/

Project Twist-It on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNLum6yi4QnBbQf0HF_ojdw

Pro-Publica Report - 25 Billionaires Pay Fraction in Taxes:

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-we-calculated-the-true-tax-rates-of-the-wealthiest

Urban Institute report on poverty rate: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/2021-poverty-projections-assessing-impact-benefits-and-stimulus-measures

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In this episode, Laverne introduces us to her opera singing teacher of 25 years, the celebrated opera lecturer, Metropolitan Opera Broadcast co-host and retired diva, Ira Siff. Ira is the creator of La Gran Scena, the all-male cross-dressed opera troupe that performed internationally for over 20 years to much critical acclaim with a cult-like following. Ira was the prima donna of La Gran Scena as his diva alter ego, Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh. Vera was an amalgamation of the most famous opera stars of the 20th century. As Vera, Ira toed the line between spoof and adoring tribute with a thoughtfulness that earned La Gran Scena the praise and patronage of the very same opera stars Scena lovingly spoofed. Known for his lectures and the approachable manner in which he talks about opera, Ira breaks down opera history while telling stories of growing up as an “opera queen” in New York, and the insane fandom of diva worship. //

Glossary of Opera Terminology:

Aria: A self-contained piece for a singer, or “solo.” In opera, arias mostly appear during a pause in dramatic action when a character is reflecting on their emotions. // 

Bel Canto: An Italian vocal technique or “school” developed and popularized in the 18th and 19th centuries. It places emphasis on beauty of sound and brilliance of performance rather than dramatic expression and romantic emotion. // 

Coloratura: Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal melody, especially in operatic singing by a soprano. // 

Falsetto: A method of singing used by male singers, especially tenors, to sing notes higher than their normal range. // 

Forte: A musical direction that means “loud.” // 

Legato: (adj.) Smooth and flowing in manner, without breaks between notes. // 

Libretto: The text of an opera (or other vocal work). // 

Lucia: Short for “Lucia di Lammermoor,” a famous opera work by Gaetano Donezetti. //

Ornaments (ornamentation): Musical flourishes or embellishments (such as a trill or a slide) that are not essential to carry the overall line of the melody, but serve instead to decorate or “ornament” that line. // 

Pianissimo: A soft performance, played or sung quietly. // 

The Met: The Metropolitan Opera House in New York. //

Tosca: A famous opera by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. //

Traviata: Short for “La Traviata,” a famous opera by Giuseppe Verde. La Traviata also goes by the name “Camille” in English, which was the title of the book that inspired it. //  

Verismo: An operatic genre that attempts to portray the world with greater realism. It came about in the 19th century and often focuses on subject matter that was not previously fit for opera, such as the life of the poor. // 

Wagner/Wagnerian: Richard Wagner was one of the most famous Opera composers of all time. He lived during the 19th century. Notable operas include: Tristan und Isolde, Die Walküre, Lohengrin. //

Famous Opera Divas //

Joan Sutherland, active from 1947 - 1990. // 

Maria Callas, active from 1945 - 1965. //

Renata Scotto, active from 1952 - 2002. //

Leontyne Price, active from 1952 - 1997. //

Leonie Rysanek, active from 1959 - 1996. // 

Montserrat Caballé, active from 1956 - 2018. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love.

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There truly is no better person to discuss spiritual matters with than the delightfully foul-mouthed Reverend Valerie Spencer, therapist, activist and creator of Holistic Empowerment Institute. After an epiphany while meditating on the beach, Valerie decided to “take the God out,” which she explains. Now she specializes in healing that goes beyond physical and mental health. Valerie makes spiritual and relational healing approachable while drawing from a mélange of religious, ethno-spiritual, and academic traditions. Valerie’s awareness of her connection to her anointed trans ancestors is a history lesson not to be missed. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love.

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This episode is about addressing misinformation, educating, and correcting the record. Right wing media has gone largely unchecked making false claims, distorting statistics, and outright lying primarily about gender-affirming care for trans kids and trans women and girls in sports. The mean-spirited outcry has led to legislators quoting this media and bills becoming very real laws intended to extinguish transgender people. 2021 has seen the highest number of state bills presented and passed in the last 10 years. But the danger of these bills isn’t just for transgender people. These laws potentially affect the privacy and bodily autonomy of all kids, especially girls. //

Chase Strangio is Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project and a nationally recognized expert on transgender rights. He has been on the frontlines defending trans rights and tells us what is happening in our nation’s courtrooms. //

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love. //

References and Resources:

Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885

// The Trevor Project National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2020:

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2020/?section=Introduction

// Legislative Tracker: Anti-Transgender Legislation: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/

// Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board (Update):

https://www.aclu.org/cases/grimm-v-gloucester-county-school-board

// Contrapoints video titled "Pronouns" published Nov. 2, 2018 on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bbINLWtMKI 

Audio Clips:

Clip 1 Bill Maher August 6, 2021, HBO, speaks to Donna de Varona; Maher misstates that 2021 was the first year trans folks have been able to compete in the Olympics. We have been eligible since 2004.

// Clip 2 The Ben Shapiro Show, July 18, 2021 via YouTube; Shapiro and Neil deGrasse Tyson discuss how the use of "science" can impede freedoms and liberty for some, (7:44-8:04) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w89etN8QqNQ

// Clip 3 Bill Maher August 6, 2021 HBO; Maher conflates sex assigned at birth with gender identity.

// Clip 4 Blaire White's YouTube channel January 10, 2018 titled: "Debate: Ben Shapiro and Blair White.” (10:56-11:06), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbTwoLah2VY

// Clip 5 Joe Rogan and Ben Shapiro; Joe Rogan Experience August 2, 2017 via YouTube; Taken from The Joe Rogan Experience 993; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdjdNgvF42o

// Clip 6 Tucker Carlson, Fox News via YouTube, May 25, 2021; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YbRNgBg9Og

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In this episode, Dr. Joe Dispenza shares with us techniques to heal the body through meditation. When Joe was a young man he had his spine crushed in a biking accident. Doctors told him that without invasive surgery he may never walk again. Defying the odds, he was able to rebuild his spine in just a few short months using nothing but his thoughts. Since then, he’s devoted his life to the healing potential of the mind-body connection. // 

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love. //

References:

Dr. Joe Dispenza website: drjoedispenza.com

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Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is changing the way governments think about and treat mental health. As the founder of the Center for Youth Wellness, she pioneered a system for evaluating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in order to treat the physical symptoms of childhood trauma. Now, in her role as California’s first Surgeon General, she’s bringing that system to doctor’s offices across the state. Her goal is to integrate mental health evaluations into your regular physicals and check-ups— especially for kids. In this episode, her and Laverne discuss the effects of toxic stress and the challenges involved in addressing mental health on a systemic level. // 

Please rate, review, subscribe and share The Laverne Cox Show with everyone you know. You can find Laverne on Instagram and Twitter @LaverneCox and on Facebook at @LaverneCoxForReal. //

As always, stay in the love. //

References:

Take the ACE test and learn more: https://numberstory.org/

Nadine Burke Harris TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime?language=en

Center for Youth Wellness: https://centerforyouthwellness.org/

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