Multiracial Family Man

Ep. 91: Bennett Greenspan is the founder of Family Tree DNA (https://www.familytreedna.com/), which offers DNA tests that can help people trace genealogy and lineage through time.  Listen as Bennett explains his love of genealogy and how he decided to found Family Tree DNA.  Bennett also shares what each of the tests offered by Family Tree DNA reveals and how the tests help people understand their roots and ancestry. Don't miss this fascinating interview! For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ep. 90: Selena Anduze is originally from the island of St. Croix in the West Indies.  She is French, Danish, Swedish, Puerto Rican, Native American Indian, Algerian, and Jewish - in other words, quintessentially multiracial.  And, in St. Croix, where her family was a prominent one (her grandfather was a Senator), race wasn't really an issue of contention.  That changed, however, when she moved to Atlanta and was confronted head-on with issues of race, racism, and discrimination.  This period of her life caused her to struggle with questions of self-confidence and identity, but over time (after a pit stop to undertake a career as a naturopathic doctor), Selena found her footing, as she moved back into acting - a lifelong passion.  And, now you can see her on tv, including on the reincarnation of the popular tv show "MacGyver." Don't miss this fascinating interview! For more on Selena, please visit her website at: http://selenaanduze.com/index.html Also, visit her imdb page: http://www.imdb.me/selenaanduze For

Ep. 89: Stevvi Alexander is a singer-songwriter who has toured with music legends such as Diana Ross and Barbara Streisand. A multiracial woman who was raised in a Pentecostal household (with a Pentecostal preacher as a father), Stevvi understands well what it's like to be outside the mainstream, to feel different.  And, she has used those experiences to infuse her work with a fusion of different influences, most recently in her new project Public Art. Stevvi can also be seen in the Academy-Award winning documentary film 20 Feet From Stardom. For more on Stevvi, please check out her website: http://www.stevvialexander.com/ For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution

Ep. 88: Kimberly Torres is Black, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Italian.  She grew up and still lives in Philadelphia, where she has developed a powerful and profound artistic voice, which she represents through primarily oil-based paintings.  Given her extremely diverse background, Kim is no stranger to being a part of (and being isolated from) multiple communities.  However, through her art, she's been able to synthesize her expansive and diverse background and experience into one very moving and significant multiracial voice that celebrates racial identity for people coming from a multiracial/Biracial background. Her paintings are meant to show symbols that culturally connect to her subjects depending on their mixture. By containing them in frames also gives them a sense of preciousness. Her interests in photorealism, portraiture, Northern Baroque and Italian Renaissance work are what’s influencing the use of portraiture in her work. You can find her work at: http://kimberlytorres93.wixsite.com/paintingsandrawin

Ep. 87: Lauren Lola is a writer from the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from California State University, East Bay where she earned her B.A. in Communication and a minor in Theatre. She has had writing featured on Hapa Voice, Entropy Magazine, Multiracial Media, YOMYOMF, VerseWrights, and in zines published by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Lauren also regularly blogs for the entertainment non-profit organization, Kollaboration, and for The Wind-Up Books Chronicle. She released her debut novel, "A Moment's Worth," in 2014, and will release her second novel, "An Absolute Mind," this fall.  She is of German and Portuguese descent on her mother's side, and her dad's side is of Filipino and Irish descent. You can reach Lauren on social media at: Twitter: @akolaurenlola Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8294989.Lauren_Lola Blog/Website: https://lolabythebay.wordpress.com/ For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www

Ep. 86: Darlene Eliopoulos is a writer and filmmaker.  She's also a multiracial woman who was separated from her biological parents almost at birth and raised by an aunt.  Throughout her life, identity has been a question with which she has grappled. Listen as Darlene talks with Alex about her path: growing up in San Francisco, her period of rebellion, finding a satisfying outlet in writing, finding out about her biological father, and exploring her own multiracial story through the powerful illustrative media of film. For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  

Ep. 85: Liz Days is a comic and actress. She's one of the stars of the webseries of Plant. She's also known for Woods Baseball (2013).  Her mother is white (Irish, Scottish, English) from Providence, RI. Her dad is black (My sister's DNA test sites Mali as the African part) born in Atlanta, grew up in FL and New Rochelle (age 13 on).  As a light-skinned multiracial person, Liz has often been the beneficiary of "White Privilege," which has left her with decidedly mixed feelings.  Listen as she describes these to Alex. For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ep. 84: LaTice was born and raised in the suburbs of South Jersey and has turned the challenges of being black in a white neighborhood into comedy.  Her conversational style makes you feel like you’re in her living room laughing about interracial marriage, being a parent, reality TV, ridiculous commercials and her day-to-day encounters. LaTice will pull you right into her world the minute she steps on stage, with her zest for life and positive energy.  She has crowds laughing out loud until she says goodnight.  LaTice appeared on ABC's The View for their "Hilarious Housewives" how funny are you? She was chosen to perform in NYC's SHE DEVIL comedy festival in October 2015 and returned to Las Vegas to compete in the World Series of Comedy in September 2015, as one of the 101 comedians around the country to perform at the Tuscany Hotel & Casino. She has been seen on the Dr. Oz show and the Betheny Show. She has opened for some of comedy’s top headliners including Tony Rock, Jessica Kirson, and Dan Adhoot,  j

Ep. 83: Actor, comedian, and writer James Goff was born and raised in the South Bronx of New York City. In just a short time in the business, James has demonstrated the unique ability to bridge the gap between any audience, and connect with them on a level that makes them feel they've known him for years. Not only has he worked with some of the best in the business, James Goff's appearances also include Gotham Comedy Live, Comedy Central's Open Mic Fight, Sirius Radio, and a performance for Superbowl XLII Champions The New York Giants. When he's not headlining around the country, James is producing a weekly podcast, The Force 2 Care Podcast, centered around surviving parenthood and speaking to at risk youth about overcoming life's obstacles.  James, who is African-American, has 2 biracial children, whose mom is a White, Jewish woman from New Hampshire.  So, for James and his family, multiracial experience is part and parcel of their daily lives. For more on James, please visit his website: http://www.jamesgof

Ep. 82: Shannon Rutherford Hardin is a biracial woman from the Pacific Northwest. Her father is African-American and her mother is White and of Danish extraction.  Shannon is the granddaughter of Verdell and Otto Rutherford, two of Portland's and the nation's leaders in the Civil Rights Movement.  They led the Portland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) when it confronted the 1953 Oregon Legislature with a bill to outlaw discrimination in hotels, motels, restaurants and amusement places on the basis of race, religion or national origin. Recently, Shannon wrote an article about her own multiracial experience for Multiracial Media.  Her article, My Father Is Black and No I Am Not Adopted was widely acclaimed and shared.  It can be found at: http://multiracialmedia.com/2016/08/09/father-black-no-not-shannon-hardin/ Look for more of her writing soon. For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.f

Ep. 81: Alex Chester is Russian, French, and Romanian Jewish on her mother's side and Japanese on her father's side.  She is proudly Hapa, and she is the founder of http://mesohapa.com/ a blog dedicated to exploring the Hapa (multiracial Asian) experience. Alex started performing professionally at a very young age. At 5 she began her career in modeling, and was the cover for such magazines as Parenting, Woman’s Day, and Victoria Magazine. She modeled children’s clothing lines on The Home Show, along with posters for malls, catalogues, department store and newspaper ads. With a successful modeling career underway Alex ventured into commercials and became the face that introduced the Chevy Geo to the world. Many commercials later Alex has once again introduced a new vehicle, the Ford Kuga, to Europe. Television followed commercials, including such shows as 7th Heaven, Boston Public, ER and The Closer. Alex filmed the title role in the Independent film, The Mermaid, produced by the award winning production compa

Ep. 80: Eric Jackson is in a multiracial family.  He's a Black man married to a White woman, and together they have 4 multiracial kids. Eric also is the principal of a high school in an overwhelmingly White, rural town, with a slowly-but-surely growing multiracial population.  It's because of this and because of his own personal experience with multiracial life that he has made it a part of his mission to ensure that multiracial students are not being isolated and not suffering from identity-based negative issues.  For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ep. 79: Sarah Doneghy's mother is White, British, and Catholic. Her Dad is Black, American, and Muslim.  She was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia.  Listen to her describe life in a state not known for multiracial experience. But, Sarah did not stay in West Virginia.  She moved to New York to pursue acting.  Now, she's a working actor with a multitude of experience in theater, television, film, stand-up, sketch and improvisation. Her one woman show, Mixed Nut – a personal story about growing up mixed race in West Virginia – was produced by the People’s Improv Theater and packed the house every night. Her all female sketch comedy group, Nomansland has performed at comedy clubs throughout New York City and enjoyed a residency at The Broadway Comedy Club. They are currently working on a web series.  She has worked with some of the best teachers in New York. She studied the Stanislavsky Method with Anthony Abeson and Meisner with William Esper in the two year conservatory program at the Esper Studio. 

Ep. 78: Sarah Gaither is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University.  She obtained a M.S. and Ph.D in Social Psychology from Tufts University in 2014, and prior to attending Tufts, she received her B.A. in Social Welfare with a concentration in Psychology in addition to a minor in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of California, Berkeley in May 2007. She was a Provost's Postdoctoral Scholar in the Psychology Department at The University of Chicago for two years before beginning at Duke. Her main research interests are: mixed-race identity flexibility, multiracial perceptions, interracial interactions and intergroup contact, and the use of stereotypes and prejudice among children and young adults. Listen to her speak with Alex about her own multiracial heritage and how she's used her own experiences to inform her work. For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.c

Ep. 77: Yawna Allen is a Native American (Quapaw, Cherokee, and Euchee) multiracial woman who is a former professional tennis player. After playing collegiately at Oklahoma State University and graduating with a degree in journalism, she competed in professional tennis tournaments in several different countries, won two doubles titles, and was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. She went on to earn a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Liberty University. She is currently consulting on a project for a Native American internship program for American University and is part of an advising team for a tribal election in Oklahoma where she resides. She is an advocate for biracial and multiracial identity and is happy to meet and share experiences with others in the multiracial community. For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To su

Ep. 76: Elle C. Mayberry is a writer, creator of the international parenting community Tuned In Parents, and a founding member of The Fribourg Foundation. She’s also a proud single mother, Star Wars geek, and a way-too-loud laugher. She lives in L.A. with her little girl, and together they write children’s books and dig in to life one day at a time. To read more about Elle and her writings on education, child development, parenting, health and wellness, connect with her at Tuned In Parents.   For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ep. 75: Jen Borget and Erin Lai are Black women living in America.  They're both also married to men who aren't Black.  Jen's husband is White, and Erin's husband is Asian.  The other thing they have in common is that both their husbands are police officers. Troubled by recent news regarding police brutality as well as violence against police officers, Jen and Erin came together to form Police Wives for Black Lives (http://policewivesforblacklives.com/) discuss ways to bridge a divide and create more unity between law enforcement officers and the black community. Listen as Jen and Erin discuss how they decided to take action and their mission to bridge a divide and create unity. For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompete

Ep. 74: Sonia Smith-Kang is a social entrepreneur. She is designer and founder of Mixed Up Clothing, a culturally inspired children’s fashion brand that celebrates diversity and inclusion featured on NBC’s Today show, The Real, Fab Life and Latina Magazine. Sonia is a multiracial/multicultural activist and expert contributor at NPR, The Huffington Post, The Mixed Up Blog and Modern Mom Magazine. She is co-founder of MultiCulti Corner, a multifaceted group dedicated to sharing and learning about different cultures. Sonia serves on several boards including Vice President of Multiracial Americans of Southern California (MASC). A multiracial woman who is now the mother of her own multiracial family, she prides herself on raising her children as global citizens, who speak English, Spanish and Korean. For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family

Ep. 73: Athena Asklipiadis is Japanese, Greek, Italian, Armenian, Egyptian.  She is about as multiracial as they come!  When her aunt, Esther Matsuguma, died in 2007 after a battle with Lymphoma -- and after a chance meeting with patient, Krissy Kobata’s family at a marrow drive -- Athena recognized the need for outreach to for donors of bone marrow for multiracial/multi-ethnic patients.  In 2008, she launched Mixed Marrow (http://mixedmarrow.org/) which is dedicated to this mission. Listen as she talks about her own multiracial upbringing and how Mixed Marrow came into being.  And remember Athena's motto: “Being diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disease is not a death sentence. We can save each other.” For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST   Intro and Outro Music is Funk

Ep. 72: Kevin Williams is a man of many hats, many talents, and many races and ethnicities.  Hailing originally from St. Louis, Kevin has a heritage that is quintessentially American and that consists of Black, Native American, Welsh and Jewish ancestry. An alum of Morehouse College and Stanford University's MBA program, Kevin is also a proud military man, having served in the US Navy.  Before and after his MBA education, he worked on Wall Street, then he explored comedy as a creative outlet, and now he's found his true passion as an Ed-Tech professional for a California-based startup company. He's also found the love of his life, who is about to marry.  Interestingly, Kevin's fiancee is a White woman from Florida, adding yet another layer to Kevin's multiracial life and experience. A man of wit, wisdom, humor and warmth, Kevin is a good guy, a good friend, and a raconteur when it comes to his life, life in general and what it means to be a multiracial man in this World.  Take a listen. For more on host, Alex