THE Conversation

Falmouth Community Television

🎙️ THE Conversation is a monthly podcast that brings together diverse voices to engage in honest, courageous, and deeply relevant discussions about race and justice. Co-hosted by The Rev. Will Mebane and Onjalé Scott Price, this award-winning series was created by Falmouth Community Television (FCTV) to open dialogue and foster education on issues of racial equity—starting at the local level and rippling outward. Each episode features panel discussions, community voices, and expert guests who explore how racism and bias shape our everyday lives across institutions such as education, healthcare, housing, religion, and more. With a focus on awareness, action, and community connection, THE Conversation aims to inspire lasting, meaningful change—one conversation at a time. Originally launched in 2020, the show has received the Rika Welch Community Impact Award and continues to spark partnerships, elevate marginalized voices, and support anti-bias education throughout Cape Cod and beyond. Listen and be part of THE Conversation—because change starts with listening.

  1. 11/10/2025

    Racism and Trauma

    Falmouth Community Television (FCTV) presents the 26th episode in a series of programs entitled THE Conversation. Co-hosted and co-produced by Onjalé Scott Price and The Rev. Will Mebane, the series offers a timely dialogue on race. The program is also produced by Debra Rogers and Allen Russell.  The topic of this month’s episode of THE Conversation is “Racism and Trauma”. This month’s panelists are Dr. Donna Jackson and Dr. Alex Pieterse. Sandra Faimain-Silva also appears on the program. Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and Vice Chair of the Falmouth Select Board.  The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. The discussion focuses on the questions: “What is Internalized Racism and what causes it? and “How do you overcome it or live with it? Dr. Donna Jackson is a Clinical Psychologist with a private practice in Falmouth and Mashpee. Her child/adolescent internship training at the Institute of Living in Hartford, and subsequent postdoc at the Manchester CT Child Guidance Center, has helped her to take a developmental look at how childhood trauma and resilience affects later adult mental health. She has had a life-long interest in issues of race and gender as well as the impact this has for people realizing interconnectivity, belonging, and accountability. Dr. Alex Pieterse an Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Counseling, Educational and Developmental Psychology at Boston College. He received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr.Pieterse’s scholarship focuses on psychosocial aspects of race and racism, racial trauma, and anti-racism training and self-awareness. He is a prior recipient of a NIH – Health Disparities Grant. Dr Pieterse is currently an Associate Editor for The Counseling Psychologist. Dr. Pieterse is a Licensed Psychologist and has experience as a Racial Diversity Consultant.

    1h 9m
  2. 10/13/2025

    Environmental Justice

    In an ongoing effort to foster dialogue and educate our community on racial justice issues, Falmouth Community Television (FCTV) presents the 21st episode in a series of programs entitled THE Conversation. Co-hosted and co-produced by Onjalé Scott Price and The Rev. Will Mebane, the series offers a timely dialogue on race. The topic of this month’s episode of THE Conversation is “Environmental Justice.” Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and Vice Chair of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. This month’s panelists are Robert Thieler and David Welch. Bette Hecox-Lea and Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser also appear on the program. The discussion focuses on the questions: “What role does racism play in efforts to address the climate crisis?” and “What steps are necessary to ensure environmental justice?” Dr. David Mark Welch, Senior Scientist and Director of the Josephine Bay Paul Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), is an evolutionary biologist with a background in biochemistry and molecular biology.  His research spans processes of metazoan genome evolution to how rare and unknown microbes shape ecosystems and is united by an overarching interest in the molecular mechanisms by which natural selection and evolutionary history create biological diversity. He led the development of the bioinformatics tools necessary to analyze the first massively-parallel tag sequence datasets that demonstrated the existence of a “rare biosphere” of microbial taxa and leads the teams developing the Visualization and Analysis of Microbial Population Structures project. He co-chairs (with Cathy Pfister at UChicago) The Microbiome Center, an intellectual home for researchers across the University of Chicago, the Marine Biological Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory to advance understanding of the identity and function of microbes. As Director of the Bay Paul Center, he also oversees the development of bioinformatic resources for the Encyclopedia of Life. Dr. Welch earned his B.A. in Biology from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard University. Dr. Rob Thieler is the Center Director of the U.S. Geological Survey's Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center in Woods Hole. Rob received his B.A. in political science from Dickinson College and his M.S. degree in environmental science and Ph.D. in geology from Duke University. Rob conducts marine geologic research on the geologic framework and evolution of the coastal zone. This includes understanding the relationships between geology, sediment transport, climate and sea-level change, and coastal erosion. Rob has conducted assessments of sea-level rise vulnerability for the U.S. and locations worldwide. He served as a Lead Author of a U.S. Global Change Research Program report on the potential impacts of sea-level rise and works with many federal and state agencies to develop science and policy plans for addressing coastal change hazards. Rob also studies habitat use and availability for beach-nesting and migratory shorebirds. Rob developed the widely-used DSAS software package for measuring coastal erosion and accretion and has recently developed smartphone applications for coastal science. Episode 22 of THE Conversation can be viewed Friday at 6:00 PM, Sunday at 8:00 PM, Monday at 8:00 AM, and Wednesday at 11:00 AM on FCTV Public Channel 13. Channel 13 is also streamed live via FCTV’s website at www.fctv.org, and the program will also be available for viewing on-demand on the website, FCTV’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and the Falmouth Community Television Apple TV and Roku channels.

    1h 4m
  3. 10/06/2025

    Diversity in STEM

    In an ongoing effort to foster dialogue and educate our community on racial justice issues, Falmouth Community Television (FCTV) presents the 21st episode in a series of programs entitled THE Conversation. Co-hosted and co-produced by Onjalé Scott Price and The Rev. Will Mebane, the series offers a timely dialogue on race. The topic of this month’s episode of THE Conversation is “Diversity in STEM.” Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and Vice Chair of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. This month’s panelists are Ambrose Jearld Jr. and Catalina Martinez. Gabriel Duran and Monét Murphy also appear on the program. The discussion focuses on the questions: “Why isn't there more racial diversity in the STEM fields?” and “How do we increase diversity in the STEM fields?” Ambrose Jearld Jr. spent over 39 years as a fisheries scientist and a decade as the Director of Academic Education at NOAA Fisheries in Woods Hole. Ambrose was the first chair of the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee, a collaboration started in 2004 to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the scientific community in Woods Hole. He was also the Co-founder of the Partnership Education Program and served as its Director from its inception in 2009 until his retirement in 2016. In 2017, the Woods Hole scientific community launched an annual lectureship named in his honor. He frequently speaks on diversity in the earth sciences, including more academic perspectives, and how his upbringing has influenced his understanding of the world. Catalina Martinez is the Regional Program Manager for NOAA Ocean Exploration in Rhode Island. A certified diversity professional with three graduate degrees from the University of Rhode Island, Ms. Martinez began her ocean science career 20 years ago, helping to formalize and manage important regional NOAA partnerships, and spent many years working on telepresence-enabled expeditions to explore little-known and unknown ocean areas. Ms. Martinez also engages in various local, regional, and national efforts to mitigate the barriers to entry, persistence, advancement, and success for underrepresented and minoritized scholars into STEM fields. She has been honored with several awards for this work, including the URI Diversity Award for Staff/Administrator Excellence in Leadership and Service in 2010, and was recognized by the YWCA as one of their 2015 Women of Achievement in Rhode Island for promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity. In 2019, Ms. Martinez was awarded the Women of Color in STEM Diversity Leadership in Government Award for sustained leadership in creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Federal workforce. Most recently, Ms. Martinez received the 2022 URI Graduate School of Oceanography Distinguished Achievement Award for excellence in professional achievement, leadership contributions, community service, and philanthropy. For More Information check out the articles below Hostile Obstacle Course article.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00868-0 NSF study.https://osf.io/xb57u/

    1h 14m
  4. 09/29/2025

    Juneteenth

    In an ongoing effort to foster dialogue and educate our community on racial justice issues, Falmouth Community Television (FCTV) presents the 20th episode in a series of programs entitled THE Conversation. Co-hosted and co-produced by Onjalé Scott Price and The Rev. Will Mebane, the series offers a timely dialogue on race. The topic of this month’s episode of THE Conversation is “Juneteenth.” Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and Vice Chair of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. This month’s panelists are Barbara Burgo, L’Merchie Frazier, and Ambrose Jearld Jr. Mark Long, Robin Joyce Miller, Krissie Williams, and Sonia Tellier also appear on the program.  The discussion focuses on the questions: “What is Juneteenth?” and “Why don’t we learn about Juneteenth?” Barbara Burgo is the Co-founder, Clerk and Curator of the Cape Cod Cape Verdean Museum and Cultural Center in East Falmouth. Barbara was also Chair of the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission, Vice Chair of South Coastal Counties Legal Services, and former State President of American Association of University Women – MA. Barbara is a member of the NAACP Cape Cod and Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition. She also served for seven years as a Commissioner on the Brewster Housing Authority Commission. Visual activist, public historian and artist, innovator, poet and holographer, L’Merchie Frazier is Director of Education and Interpretation for the Museum of African American History, Boston/Nantucket and Executive Director of Creative Strategic Partnerships for SPOKE. She also serves as Director of Creative Engagement of the Transformative Action Project/Violence Transformed in the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University. She has served the artistic community for over twenty years as an award winning national and international visual and performance artist and poet, with residencies in Brazil, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Africa, France, and Cuba. Her artworks are collected by the Smithsonian Institution, the White House, Museum of Arts and Design, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art. She is a Boston Foundation Brother Thomas Fellow and Massachusetts Historical Society Fellow, a member of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, and has recently been appointed to the Massachusetts Arts Commission. L’Merchie was recently awarded the first Museum Educator Award by the Massachusetts Council on Social Studies. Ambrose Jearld Jr. spent over 39 years as a fisheries scientist and a decade as the Director of Academic Education at NOAA Fisheries in Woods Hole. Ambrose was the first chair of the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee, a collaboration started in 2004 to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the scientific community in Woods Hole. He was also the Co-founder of the Partnership Education Program and served as its Director from its inception in 2009 until his retirement in 2016. In 2017, the Woods Hole scientific community launched an annual lectureship named in his honor. He speaks frequently on diversity in the earth sciences, including more perspectives in academia, and how his own upbringing has influenced his understanding of the world. Visit FCTV.org to learn more about the program.

    1h 16m
  5. 09/22/2025

    Racism in Politics

    In an ongoing effort to foster dialogue and educate our community on racial justice issues, Falmouth Community Television (FCTV) presents the eighteenth episode in a series of programs entitled THE Conversation. Co-hosted and co-produced by Onjalé Scott Price and The Rev. Will Mebane, the series offers a timely dialogue on race. The topic of this episode of THE Conversation is “Racism in Politics.” Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and a member of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. Joining the co-hosts for this episode of THE Conversation are Samuel Gebru and Shea Brown-Kirlew. Stephen Tom and Megan English Braga also appear on the program. The discussion in this episode of THE Conversation focuses on the questions: “Where do you see racism in politics?” and “How do we keep racism out of politics?” Samuel M. Gebru is a social entrepreneur, community organizer, and professional troublemaker. He is the Managing Director of Black Lion Strategies, a boutique social impact and public affairs consulting firm, building on his 17 years of political and nonprofit experience in the United States and East Africa. Samuel is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, where he contributes to policy research, programming, and partnerships. Shea Brown-Kirlew, a Falmouth resident for nine years, is the owner of Falmouth Beauty Supply and More in Teaticket. Originally from Jamaica, she recently ran for the Falmouth School Committee in the Falmouth Town Elections on May 17th. Shea is the mother of nine children, from ages nine to 25.

    1h 10m

About

🎙️ THE Conversation is a monthly podcast that brings together diverse voices to engage in honest, courageous, and deeply relevant discussions about race and justice. Co-hosted by The Rev. Will Mebane and Onjalé Scott Price, this award-winning series was created by Falmouth Community Television (FCTV) to open dialogue and foster education on issues of racial equity—starting at the local level and rippling outward. Each episode features panel discussions, community voices, and expert guests who explore how racism and bias shape our everyday lives across institutions such as education, healthcare, housing, religion, and more. With a focus on awareness, action, and community connection, THE Conversation aims to inspire lasting, meaningful change—one conversation at a time. Originally launched in 2020, the show has received the Rika Welch Community Impact Award and continues to spark partnerships, elevate marginalized voices, and support anti-bias education throughout Cape Cod and beyond. Listen and be part of THE Conversation—because change starts with listening.