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Hey, everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to a

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bonus episode of Work in Progress. Thank

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you so much for listening to Work in Progress

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through. One of the

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things I've really been enjoying about

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the year beginning to wrap up is sitting

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and taking stock of where

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we've been, how far we've come, the

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things that we've done as a society,

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and also the things that I've done as

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an individual. Who I've listened to,

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who I've learned from, what I've read, and

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I want to speak a little bit about the

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phenomenal guests that I've talked to this

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year. In a lot of ways, I feel

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like this podcast itself

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is a measure of progress

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and growth, which I know are things were always

0:56

working on, hence Work in Progress

0:58

forever. And the plus side

1:01

of all of that is that I think one

1:04

here at the podcast was our strongest set

1:06

yet. All of our guests prompted

1:08

conversations that had a huge impact

1:11

on the way that I understand and think about the world,

1:13

the deepening of my perspective and ideas,

1:16

And it's meant so much to hear from so many of you that

1:18

you feel that way too, when you send in

1:21

notes and tell us that you listened to

1:23

a conversation and it helped you expand

1:25

your view of a subject, or

1:28

of a place, or of people. That

1:30

to me feels like not

1:33

only we're doing it together, but those of us who make

1:35

this podcast for really doing something right. So

1:37

thank you for that. I

1:40

thought it might be neat to recap some of the

1:42

moments that I have found looking

1:44

back have stuck with me the most as we transition

1:47

from the end of this year to the

1:49

beginning of the next. So let's

1:51

get started. In

1:54

my conversation with Ebermex

1:56

Candy, I got to really confront

1:59

and examine what it means to be

2:01

active as an ally. Dr

2:03

Kendy's distinction between being not racist

2:06

versus being anti racist put

2:08

a new lens on privilege. Not just for me,

2:11

I know for the world. His book is

2:13

a bestseller after all, and

2:15

he helps really clarify

2:18

and crystallize the role

2:21

that we can take to fight prejudice

2:23

in our country. Something

2:25

he said really stuck with me during our talk.

2:28

He said that we as individuals

2:30

have to recognize our power. I've

2:33

been thinking a lot about what that means in terms

2:35

of working towards being an

2:38

ever better version of myself. And

2:40

how I might and each of you might

2:43

use our individual power to impact

2:46

the world around us. I'd

2:48

love to know, as we reflect

2:50

together, what you think

2:53

you can do to use your individual

2:55

power to impact the world around you. Send

2:57

us a note, send us an email. I'd

2:59

love to hear it. And if

3:02

you took notes, and I know a couple of you did

3:04

during Dr Kendy's interview, feel free

3:06

to send us those two. It's always so nice

3:08

for me to compare my

3:11

notes to yours and to hear about

3:13

the things that impacted me versus

3:15

what impacted you, or or if

3:17

those things are the same. With

3:20

journalists Ken Armstrong and marib

3:23

A Knight, we took a deep dive into the

3:25

power of investigation to uncover

3:28

otherwise invisible issues

3:30

in our society. For me, it

3:32

really demonstrated the role that journalists

3:34

play in holding our society accountable

3:37

and demanding that we live up to our ideals

3:39

and also that we confront with

3:41

truth when we don't. It's

3:44

so incredibly important for all of us

3:46

to protect a free press. Kennon

3:49

Marabaz Pulitzer Prize winning news story

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about children being jailed in

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school districts of Tennessee was

3:56

jaw dropping and heartbreaking and eye opening

3:59

in the episode is something

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I carry with me. It's it's ever

4:03

present in the back of my mind,

4:06

and the story itself is definitely

4:08

worth the read. I imagine

4:10

many of you read it after the episode aired,

4:13

but if you haven't, we will also put a link to

4:15

that story in today's show notes. We

4:17

have to show up better for our kids. We

4:19

have to demand better for their futures,

4:22

and Kennan Marraba really reminded

4:25

me to double down on

4:28

a personal level. Having Anita

4:31

Hill on the show, it was

4:33

just such a refresher to my spirit. I've

4:36

spoken about it on the episode, but

4:38

it feels worth reiterating that seeing Anita

4:40

speak truth to power about her

4:42

experience as a victim of sexual harassment

4:45

to go up against a Supreme Court justice

4:49

is something that I drew so much

4:51

strength from, and I know so many

4:53

people who listen to the episode did as well,

4:56

because so many of us have those

4:58

experiences of our own, perhaps

5:00

not with a justice, but with

5:03

people whose power can be intimidating.

5:06

The interview dropped at a period of time

5:08

where I feel like a lot of us were wondering if things

5:10

were actually improving if

5:13

if all of our work was actually yielding

5:16

progress. But talking

5:18

to Anita reminded me that sometimes

5:20

when we make the most progress, when when our

5:22

collective voice gets the loudest, systems

5:24

of power really try

5:27

to quell us. Because there are more of us

5:29

than there are of them. Power is hard

5:32

to topple and change, but

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it is possible. And in

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talking to Anita and listening

5:38

to her compare where she was during the Claris

5:40

Thomas confirmation hearings and

5:43

her view of watching history

5:45

repeat itself with the Brett Kavanaugh hearings,

5:48

I was really able to I

5:50

don't know, dive deeper and

5:53

and examine perspectives on social

5:55

change. I got to take

5:57

with me that feeling that yes, sometimes

6:00

the rules feel like they stay the same, but it

6:02

doesn't mean the game isn't changing. We

6:04

are making change,

6:07

and it will require dedication

6:10

and longevity. Changesn't

6:13

sexy and it doesn't happen overnight. It

6:16

uh, it's dedicated,

6:18

and it requires us to stay

6:20

the course. But we see more

6:22

and more people calling for

6:25

things to be different, and

6:27

I believe that we

6:30

are going to continue to. As Dr

6:32

King famously said, bend

6:34

that moral ark of the universe towards justice.

6:38

Anita continues working after

6:41

all she went through, she continues

6:44

to light a hope torch for the way

6:46

that the world is changing, especially for women

6:48

and victims of sexual assault and harassment.

6:51

And if after all this time, she believes

6:53

it, she reminds me that we all can too, So

6:56

I highly recommend her episode and her

6:58

incredible book. One

7:02

of the most delightful surprises for me this year

7:04

was getting to sit down with Chef jose Andres.

7:07

By talking to him, I really got to see firsthand

7:10

why he was awarded Humanitarian of

7:12

the Year, and I feel like that award should

7:14

have come with a sort

7:17

of extra metal for jolliest

7:19

person of the Year. He's so incredibly

7:22

positive. Regardless of how many disaster

7:24

zones he's worked in, how many communities

7:26

he's seen just devastated by natural disasters

7:29

or man made disasters, he shows

7:31

up with a smile, and he shows up with so much

7:34

love that it really beams out of him.

7:37

And for someone who's committed to taking

7:39

on and understanding a lot of our deepest

7:41

problems, he reminded

7:43

me of two things. First

7:45

of all, we can find solutions

7:48

and be a part of them as a species.

7:50

Human beings have solved so many impossible

7:52

problems. There is nothing out

7:54

there it should feel undoable, no

7:57

matter how big the challenge might be, and

7:59

the set and thing is keeping our optimism alive.

8:02

To paraphrase Jose's own words, it's

8:05

easy to get bogged down by the things we know are

8:07

wrong or unjust or harmful. But it

8:10

is so important to remember and draw strength

8:13

from all the things that we do

8:15

have. Working from all the societal

8:17

and humanitarian crises we have

8:20

managed to send aid to, to

8:22

move past, or even to surmount.

8:25

We can do hard things,

8:27

and if we do them with love, we

8:29

can often do them with a smile. My

8:32

discussion with Neil cat y'all got to cover

8:34

a lot of different areas and topics, but the

8:36

overall theme that emerged from

8:38

that interview where the effects of

8:40

power on integrity. I

8:43

love opportunities to explore our social

8:45

and political realities on work in progress,

8:47

and there's no better expert than Neil to

8:50

look at the judiciary aspect of

8:52

our political reality. He

8:54

was able to put into really clear words the way

8:57

that our constitution was tested by

8:59

the fast few years. I honestly

9:01

think this episode is a must listen for anyone

9:03

who's interested in the impact of government and party

9:06

politics, and

9:08

he reminded me that's so

9:11

much of the founding

9:13

principles and the best principles

9:15

of our country can

9:17

only remain true if we fight for them to do so,

9:21

and fight we shall. Ah

9:25

again. I just feel so happy to be wrapping out

9:27

another year with all of you. When we started the show

9:29

in twenty nineteen, we had no idea what it would

9:31

become, and it is a

9:33

highlight of my life. For

9:36

those of you who follow me on socials, you know, I'm

9:38

also experiencing another pretty great

9:40

highlight right now. I am gearing

9:43

up to launch my brand new show Good

9:45

Sam premieres on CBS

9:47

on Wednesday, January five at ten pm.

9:49

It feels like it's almost here, and

9:51

I just can't believe it. You know, we all

9:53

got together to make this TV show in and

9:56

then the pandemic hit, and everybody

9:59

put in of work and tested

10:01

their patients by waiting until early to

10:04

film the pilot, and then we went back to

10:06

start shooting the show at the end

10:08

of September. So it is

10:10

a two year labor of love to bring

10:12

this show to you in January,

10:16

and I can't wait for you to see it. And

10:19

because we have been on the grind of those

10:21

sixteen hour days and doing these podcasts

10:23

on the weekends, I

10:25

am going to take a little

10:28

delicious hiatus break for this

10:30

holiday and spend it with my family.

10:33

We've got two weeks off during

10:35

production. It's kind of like being in school, right You get

10:37

a two week holiday break and you jump back in. And

10:40

I've made the decision to actually take these

10:43

two weeks off to be with

10:45

my loved ones as much as possible. So

10:48

that means we're going to take a little bit of a New year

10:50

hiatus, not too long, don't worry,

10:53

but work in progress will not come back

10:55

right away with a new episode for you. The first

10:57

week of two I

11:00

will tell you that we will be back. And

11:02

I want to say again how much getting to do this show

11:04

means to me. How much I appreciate all

11:06

of you for listening and supporting the podcast,

11:09

the creativity that goes into

11:12

it, the way that people show up, open,

11:14

vulnerable and honest for conversations.

11:17

It's something that's very rare in today's

11:20

world, and we are deeply grateful to have this

11:22

space. And we only have it because all

11:24

of you show up, and so I

11:26

hope you too will take a little bit of a

11:29

break and just relish

11:31

in your loved ones, whether they're your family

11:33

or your chosen family. And

11:35

let's all come back to each other rested

11:40

and loved and happy, and let's

11:42

dive back in sending love,

11:45

happy New Year to all of you.