A Thousand Natural Shocks With Gabe S. Dunn

Everyone is donating. But where should we donate and how do we know what impact our money is having? Gaby talks to Open Philanthropy's program officer for criminal justice reform, Chloe Cockburn. It's her job to figure out the best places to put your money if you want to help with criminal justice reform, ending bail, electing politicians and District Attorneys that share your progressive values, ending mass incarceration and tons of other worthwhile causes. Aside from donating money, we'll also discuss other ways to effectively get involved with activism at a local level.  Resources: Chloe's Twitter Thread of Recommended Places To DonateA Criminal Justice Expert’s Guide To Donating Effectively Right Now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Gaby gathers listener emails, voicemails and questions about money during the COVID-19 pandemic. She invites financial therapist Amanda Clayman on to give advice about what to do about the stress of unemployment, loss of control, having more than your friends and family, and redirecting your long-term money plans now that the world is totally different. Clayman, host of Financial Therapy with Amanda Clayman, and Gaby respond to your voicemails and emails and try to provide context for the structural, systemic and emotional changes that need to happen in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Can we decide what our cities spend money on? Should we defund the police? Gaby is joined by Lexis-Olivier Ray, a black journalist covering protests against police brutality in Los Angeles. He describes his most recent work, reporting on homelessness and the housing crisis’ tie to crime rates, funding and police brutality. Gaby and Lexis-Olivier also break down the People’s Budget LA, which seeks to defund the LAPD and redirect funds towards housing, parks, libraries, crisis management, mental health services and other proactive rather than reactive community safety measures. Black Lives Matter. Learn more: Black Lives Matter MPD 50 on Instagram Black Visions Collective on Instagram Coverage by Lexis-Olivier Ray at LA Taco Donation Option #1 Donations Option #2 Other Ways To Donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We’ve talked about buying a better you. But how are we being sold our health and wellness during “these trying times?” Gaby talks to linguist and author Amanda Montell about the capitalistic language shifting to sell people wellness and “immunity-boosting” products of varying levels of harm during the coronavirus pandemic. What scams should we be looking out for? Is it possible to buy total safety from COVID-19? Why are we so desperate to believe the language of advertising? And, like in every episode of this season, we ask: Are we all just trying to buy control? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Can you buy better mental health? Gaby talks to psychiatrist Dr. Imani Walker, who works primarily with homeless patients and those who’ve been convicted of crimes, about mental illness in the time of COVID-19. What is it like to see patients now? What should mental health services cost when so many more people are suffering from depression, anxiety and PTSD? And what are we realizing as a country are the basic necessities for at-risk populations to thrive today? Especially now that those same problems are affecting the wealthy and privileged. Content Warning: Discussion of mental health and domestic violence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Is it possible to buy perfect skin? And now, under quarantine, are we spending more on skin care products just to trick ourselves into an illusion of control? How has being forced to do beauty regimens at home changed how people are spending their money? Gaby talks to Natch Beaut podcaster and beauty expert Jackie Michele Johnson about aligning your self-care budget with your ethics, if it’s possible to buy “perfect” skin and how during a very scary and uncertain time, something as simple as skin care can provide ritual, control and comfort.  Listen to the Natch Beaut podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Call your Congressperson. Seriously. Gaby wants to learn more about what the U.S. government is doing for us during the COVID-19 pandemic, so she calls up California Congressman Rep. Mark Takano on Zoom. They discuss how the community comes together to fill in the gaps in social safety nets, potential upcoming legislation for those suffering financially and how to show you give a damn during a worldwide economic crisis. (Content Warning: Suicide Mention) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Gaby interviews reporter Olga Khazan, who wrote an article for The Atlantic about the increasingly visible class divide during the COVID-19 pandemic. What does it mean to be able to buy safety and when you do, who else are you putting at risk? As Khazan wrote, “the poor get socially close, so the rich can socially distance.” Plus, will the possible eventual revolution result in fairer wages and better social safety nets, as it has at other points in history? Or will it just allow middle-aged white women to get haircuts? Gaby is… cautiously optimistic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Can good health be bought? We flashback to when Coronavirus cases were newly emerging in the states. Gaby revisits an interview she did with public health expert Dr. Abdul El-Sayed about what compels us to invest in wellness trends and how much it actually costs to be healthy. (Spoiler alert: it’s prohibitive as hell.) And later, how are health scams working in the midst of COVID-19?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Gaby reflects on the meaning of success in today’s uncertain world. We flash back to our early plans for the season, including an interview with associate philosophy professor Jennifer Morton. What does it mean to be successful? What are we willing to sacrifice? After the interview, Gaby shares how her perspective on money has changed since so many lives were upended by the Coronavirus pandemic.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy