Racha Tahani Lawler Queen (she/her) is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Licensed Midwife (LM) in California, and Virginia, Registered & Certified Sangoma (South African Traditional Healer Herbalist), fourth generation midwife, farmer, beekeeper and occasional textile artist. Mama to three brilliant children born postdates, at home in water. August 2022, marked 20-years of supporting over 1,600 homebirth families. This includes owning and operating Los Angeles California’s “The Community Birth Center” from 2011 to 2016, which prioritized Black families and midwifery students.Gather Grounded Midwifery LLC is committed to maintaining the traditional midwifery care of the Black midwives Racha Tahani descends from. Honoring them and their legacies with the cowrie shell. African omens of fertility, protection in pregnancy, symbolizing abundance.
House of SWÉ / Just Cause presents:
The Elements of Music Episode 4 1/14/23 11pm-1am
Bandhunta Izzy says he would not be with Zonnique if it was not for their child
Andrea Kearney House of SWÉ / Just Cause January 14th, 2024
Posted In: Music, Music Shows, News
Tags: #wrir #localmusic, Music show, RVA
Women & Politics presents:
Women & Politics with Senator McClellan and Racha Tahani Lawler
It’s our anniversary show and we have our first guest back, Jennifer McClellan to talk about her new role in Congress. And with that we are celebrating a new voice in the community the first birth center for black women in Virginia.
Jennifer McClellan entered the U.S. Congress in 2023 after winning a special election to replace the late Congressman A. Donald McEachin. A lifelong Virginia native, McClellan was born in Petersburg to parents who served the community: her father worked as a professor at Virginia State University and her mother worked as a counselor at VSU. McClellan attended Matoaca High School in Chesterfield County, where she was valedictorian. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond, where she served as a Charter member of the Rho Rho Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She then obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law. McClellan has served the greater Richmond area in elected office for nearly twenty years. She was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2005 and served in that post until she was elected to the Virginia State Senate in 2017, where she succeeded A. Donald McEachin after his election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
In Congress, she sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. A principled and progressive legislator, McClellan has always worked to ensure Virginians’ voices are heard in government. Throughout her eighteen sessions in the Virginia General Assembly, McClellan passed over 370 pieces of legislation, including landmark bills to protect and expand voting rights, combat climate change, preserve reproductive health care, and enhance workers’ protections and labor rights.
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Follow our show on our social media on twitter, facebook, and our blog – look for womenpoliticsva
Follow our host and producer at @sherishannon27 and @carololson
Carol Olson Women & Politics January 11th, 2024
Posted In: Music, Music Shows, News
SIFTER for the Ear presents:
Starting Virginia’s oldest production facility
BES Teleproductions (now BES Studios) is the longest continually-running video production facility in Virginia and Guy Spiller was the founder. Even after he sold it 1995, Guy continued to have video adventures, including his new company AnalogRetentive. We discuss:
– Getting started operating a camera for basketball games at age 12
– The inspiration to open a video facility
– What the name means
– Adventures with Burford Advertising
– Buying 106 FM radio
– What does Analog Retentive do?
– Transferring a video of a star as a child
– Downgrading a 70s camera for a Comedy Central promo
LINKS
BES Studios (current website)
AnalogRetentive
Video of Prince being interviewed as a kid
James River Short Film Showcase
Matt Paxton’s 1st podcast
Matt Paxton’s 2nd podcast
Jerry Williams SIFTER for the Ear January 11th, 2024
SIFTER for the Ear presents:
What is NoVa Motion Pictures?
Robert Kendzie worked in Hollywood before moving to Fredericksburg, where he continues to write and produce. He also started the Northern Virginia Motion Picture Co-Op. We talk about:
– Working in development for movies like Clear and Present Danger & Beverly Hills Cop 3
– The famous Paramount Gate
– Firing himself in Hollywood
– Starting the co-op
– Working with the Virginia Screenwriters Forum
– Past and current projects with the co-op
LINKS
You can see some of the Co-Op’s productions on their YouTube channel
Coop’s Facebook page
Robert’s website for Dire Destiny
Nebula TV
Dan Olson’s In Search of a Flat Earth
Jerry Williams SIFTER for the Ear January 4th, 2024
In the Octopus’ Garden with the Science Museum of Virginia
Photo by Diane Picchiottino on Unsplash
Is it octopuses or octopi? (Hint: it’s not octopods). Timshel Purdum, the Science Museum of Virginia’s Virginia C. Ellet Deputy Director of Education, is back at WRIR studios to tell us about one of her favorite creatures – the octopus (and the class to which it belongs, the cephalopods). Tune in to learn some mind-blowing facts about these fascinating and intelligent beings under the sea.
Further reading/watching:
Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel
Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith
amiller January 1st, 2024
SIFTER for the Ear presents:
From backyard wrestling to the Beach Boys tour
Joe Carabeo is a multi-talented creator who got his start producing backyard wrestling videos, but went on to write, shoot and direct all manner of short and long films. He also helps run 2 of DC’s most successful short film festivals. We’ll talk about:
– How the wrestling videos boosted his career
– Project Resolution and RVAtv’s HouseShow in Richmond
– Adding films to Awesome Con
– Updating DC Shorts Film Festival
– Shooting the doc on the Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Tour
– His new sci-fi web series
LINKS
Joe Carabeo’s website
Astray Productions
Joe’s films to rent on Amazon
Awesome Con Short Film Fest
DC Shorts Film Festival
Trailer for Kia vs Everyone
Comic illustrator Kenneth Rocafort
My review of The Iron Claw
My review of Wonka
Jerry Williams SIFTER for the Ear December 29th, 2023
SIFTER for the Ear presents:
He’s been in 70+ shows
Raynor Scheine has been a working actor since 1979 (totaling more than 70 movies & TV shows). He’s retired now, living in Ashland and has great stories about his work:
– Playing in two August Wilson plays on Broadway
– W
orking with friend Kathy Bates on Fried Green Tomatoes
– Getting recommended by Joe Peschi after My Cousin Vinny
– Going from In Living Color to Ace Ventura with Jim Carrey
– Getting beat up by Kim Bassinger
– Having O.J. Simpson kill him with a canon
– What took so long on the Pace Salsa commercial
LINKS
Raynor’s IMDB page
Jerry Williams SIFTER for the Ear December 22nd, 2023
Women & Politics presents:
Women & Politics: The Year Wrap with Sheri Shannon and Carol Olson
We are just talking 2023 politics, the new movers and shakers, the rise of Black Women in Politics at all levels, and our playlists that uplifted us throughout the year. We end on a musical note. We are on break until January 2024!
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Follow our show on our social media on twitter, facebook, and our blog – look for womenpoliticsva
Follow our host and producer at @sherishannon27 and @carololson
Carol Olson Women & Politics December 14th, 2023
Posted In: Music, Music Shows, News
Women & Politics presents:
Women & Politics with Ann Klockner of Legal Aid Works
Ann H. Kloeckner, Esq.
Executive Director
Ann Kloeckner joined Legal Aid Works® in 2011 to take the helm from Bill Botts upon his retirement. Ann hails originally from Vermont and most recently from Texas, with a non-linear career path emphasizing public service and advocacy on behalf of survivors of domestic violence. With law licenses in four states (PA, NJ, TX, and VA), Ann is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Villanova University School of Law, where her stint at a legal aid clinical program nurtured her passion for equal justice and her tolerance of a nonprofit lifestyle. She enjoys mentoring new attorneys and maintains a robust schedule of public speaking engagements throughout the seventeen-county service area. Ann was appointed in 2016 by the Virginia Supreme Court to a three-year term as a member of the faculty of the Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course, which is mandatory for every newly licensed attorney in Virginia, served as the chairperson of the Association of Virginia Legal Aid Programs, and interim chair of the statewide legal aid Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access committee
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Follow our show on our social media on twitter, facebook, and our blog – look for womenpoliticsva
Follow our host and producer at @sherishannon27 and @carololson
Carol Olson Women & Politics December 7th, 2023
Posted In: Music, Music Shows, News
SIFTER for the Ear presents:
He rents old cars to movies
Brian Rhodes owns Antique and Classic Automobiles in Staunton. We talk about renting cars for movies and other interesting car stories:
– His first car, which he still drives
– Getting started with Bruce Elder’s business
– Delivering a car with 5 minutes to spare
– What’s involved in renting cars for movies
– What a classic car license really means
– Three types of cars used in movies
– Cars needed for Wonder Woman
LINKS
Antique and Classic Automobiles website
Levys of Monticello podcast
Cheryl Miller on the Christmas Parade
Jerry Williams SIFTER for the Ear December 1st, 2023