Culture Stew

Maria Morukian
  • 4.8 (17)
  • Relationships
  • Updated Biweekly

Culture Stew is a show dedicated to exploring diversity, inclusion, and cultural identity in its many dimensions. We explore how our identities and values influence our personal and professional lives. Through interviews with scholars, journalists, scientists, and leadership development practitioners, we'll delve into different concepts around cultural identity, explore how to lead diverse teams and organizations, and seek ways to build bridges across cultural chasms.

  1. Jun 17

    AMPLIFY! Storytelling to Activate Social Change

    In this episode of Culture Stew,  we bring you the remarkable Emmy Award-winning journalist and author, Dion Lim. Dion has been known for nearly two decades as a TV news anchor and reporter, most recently with ABC News in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Dion made history as the first Asian American woman to anchor weekday evening newscasts at television stations in multiple major markets, including Kansas City, Charlotte, and Tampa Bay. Her reporting on racism and violence targeting Asian Americans has been featured on Good Morning America, 20/20, Nightline, and ABC News Live. Her work and advocacy have also been highlighted by PBS, NPR, New York Magazine, USA Today, and numerous other outlets.   Dion is also the author of the brilliant book, "AMPLIFY! My Fight For Asian America" (Third State Books). Through deeply personal anecdotes about her own life as a Chinese American, and her groundbreaking work as a journalist bringing forth the experiences of Asians during a time of heightened fear and hate, she provides the very first book to tackle one of the biggest political and social controversies of this century from the perspective of the AAPI community.   In our interview, Dion shared her experience reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on anti-Asian violence and how it transformed her work into something more personal and impactful. She shares some of the stories that most defined the #StopAsianHate movement, including the killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee, and how these stories forced the country to confront a much bigger and harder truth about who was being targeted and why. Dion also shares her views on the difference between activism and what she calls "activation," explaining why calling attention to undeniable racism isn't advocacy but journalism with urgency and moral clarity. Through her insights, you'll discover how storytelling, and amplifying the voices of those whose stories are often marginalized, can be a tool of empowerment, resilience, and community mobilization.      Connect with Dion at  DionLim.com Follow @DionLimTV on social media:  Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

    53 min

  2. Jun 3

    Recentering and Empowering Diverse Voices in Publishing

    Lilly Ghahremani is a recovering attorney who now "uses her powers for good!" as the co-founder and literary agent for adult and children's books at Full Circle Literary. She represents a wide range of authors and illustrators, thinking strategically about building lasting careers that are both productive and satisfying in a rapidly-changing publishing landscape. As literary agent, she's spent over two decades advocating for marginalized voices and transforming the publishing landscape. In this episode of the Culture Stew, Lilly reveals how the industry's biases and censorship, both overt and subtle, silence diverse stories and what we can all do to reclaim them. From supporting diverse authors to engaging in meaningful conversations Lilly and Maria explore how activism can be woven into daily life, making it accessible and impactful for everyone.

    43 min

  3. May 20

    Re-envisioning Social-Emotional Learning- A Conversation with Ashley Brown, Executive Director of Peace of Mind

    Ashley Brown is the Executive Director of Peace of Mind, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that is on a mission to equip kids with the mindfulness tools they need to manage big emotions, build healthy relationships, and become — in their words — peacemakers. For over a decade, Ashley has championed educational equity and student success across diverse school communities. Whether she's designing curriculum, leading professional development for educators, or facilitating workshops directly with students, her focus has always been the same: creating learning environments where every child can thrive. What Ashley and her team at Peace of Mind do is more than teaching breathing exercises and yoga poses. It's mindfulness woven together with brain science, conflict resolution, and social justice — giving kids not only the tools to regulate themselves, but the courage and agency to stand up for what's right in their communities. Today we're talking about what it really looks like to teach peace, why this work is more urgent than ever, and how one small D.C. nonprofit is quietly building a global movement — one classroom at a time.

    56 min

  4. May 6

    Reframing Civic Engagement For Children & Caregivers- A Conversation With Allison Matulli, Ed.D., J.D.

    Allison Matulli, Ed.D., J.D., M.Ed. is an author, law professor, childhood educator, and Free Speech advocate and Fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum. Dr. Matulli has dedicated her career to helping communities and their children understand the law, with specific attention to the First Amendment. Combining her legal training and education background, she is also the founder of The Little Lawyers, which empowers communities and children to learn the law. Dr. Matulli recently completed her Ed.D. with a doctorate thesis on Free Speech and Digital Citizenship. She is also a Global Fulbright Scholar focusing on how children experience freedom of speech in various countries worldwide, both online and offline. She is a lecturer at Howard University and serves as a criminal justice adjunct professor at  Florida International University and affiliate faculty at the  Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership.  Her book, Your Freedom, Your Power: A Kid's Guide to the First Amendment (Hachette/Running Press Kids) has garnered broad interest from educators and free speech advocates and was named a  Junior Library Guild Selection and included in the Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books of 2023. She is the author of three forthcoming picture books. We Are Free (RISE x PRH) invites the youngest readers to understand how the First Amendment affects their lives and the world around them.  Matulli was named one of Miami's Most Prominent Black Women in Business and Industry by Legacy magazine, among other accolades.

    48 min

  5. Apr 23

    Reimagining Sustainable Economies: A Conversation with Veryl Pow of Sustainable Economies Law Center

    Veryl Pow is a movement lawyer at the Sustainable Economies Law Center who practices at the intersection between solidarity economics, housing decommodification, and land liberation. An activist first, Veryl's politics developed from his grassroots organizing experiences in resistance movements that spanned Third World solidarity to abolitionist campaigns; and has since expanded to prefigurative worldmaking movements that attempt to transform social and economic relations from profit accumulation, extraction, and atomization to care, cooperation, and mutual aid in the here and now.    The Sustainable Economies Law Center is a worker self-directed nonprofit that is one such experiment in worldmaking because of its non-hierarchical structure and democratization of decision-making and labor. You can learn more about the work of the Law Center through their 2026 Project Gallery. In the month of May 2026, the Law Center is running their annual, community-gathering Grassroots Fundraising Campaign. The theme this year is #AllHandsOnDeck, as we need as many hands to build strong ties in local communities to meet this moment of curated chaos in our federal government.

    56 min

  6. Apr 9

    Recentering Courage & Care in Education with Dr. Todd Beer and Dr. Devin Moran

    What is the role academics play in institutions, especially in the classroom, when it comes to supporting students' critical thinking around social issues? As we struggle with questions around free speech and what can or cannot be taught on campuses, how do educators navigate these issues, not necessarily from an administrative perspective, but from a student-focused one?  Dr. Todd Beer is an Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology and Anthropology at Lake Forest College in Illinois, where his research spans globalization, social movements, environmental sociology, and climate justice.  Dr. Devin M. Moran is a faculty member at Austin Peay State University's College of Education in Tennessee, teaching classroom management, instructional design, and the foundations of education. Dr. Moran is a sought-after speaker, researcher, and facilitator known for helping institutions build more inclusive, equitable, and effective learning environments.

    1h 5m

  7. Mar 25

    Reimagining Media Literacy: A Conversation with Lyanne Alfaro

    In a media landscape shaped by algorithmic amplification, AI-generated content, and narratives that move faster than facts — credibility has become the scarcest resource in the room. Lyanne Alfaro is an award-winning journalist, a narrative advisor, and a former insider at some of the most influential institutions shaping how the world understands business, technology, and capital. Her latest venture, Project Reliable, is an independent initiative working at the intersection of narrative strategy, media posture, and ethical influence. In this conversation, Lyanne shares how we can engage in everyday activism in how we consume, question, and share media. We also discuss the importance of organizations being intentional in how they respond to crisis situations to build credibility and trust.  Find out more about Lyanne and her projects at: https://projectreliable.com/ https://www.monedamoves.com/

    57 min

  8. Mar 11

    Rethinking Patient Advocacy: A Conversation with Dr. Leigh Ann Simmons

    Dr. Leigh Ann Simmons wants to give women tools to better advocate for themselves at every stage of their health journey. As a medical practitioner and researcher, Dr. Simmons has published extensively on health disparities and is a leading scholar in promoting behavioral interventions to improve equity in health care.   Dr. Simmons is a professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis and co-director of the Perinatal Origins of Disparities (POD) Center at UC Davis. She is the author of an upcoming book that will help women advocate for their care and help healthcare professionals become better allies for women's health.

    1h 5m
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Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

Culture Stew is a show dedicated to exploring diversity, inclusion, and cultural identity in its many dimensions. We explore how our identities and values influence our personal and professional lives. Through interviews with scholars, journalists, scientists, and leadership development practitioners, we'll delve into different concepts around cultural identity, explore how to lead diverse teams and organizations, and seek ways to build bridges across cultural chasms.

Information

  • Creator
    Maria Morukian
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    125
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Culture Stew

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