Anaika Forbes to the Rescue

(episode 8)

JAMIE: It’s The Broadly Entertaining Podcast for all you Femme Broads, Them Broads, and Dude Broads out there. Today we're joined by the very generous and talented Anaika Forbes – lead organizer for Hashtag Lunchbag Brooklyn.

GIANA: We've got fun, games, and feminism coming at you. Thanks for letting us entertain you. Let’s p-p-p-party!

[bright ukulele theme music layered with the rhythm of a shaker]

JAMIE: Hello friends! I am Jamie and I am on the lookout for good news.

GIANA: And I am Giana and I love DIY… to a point.

[theme music reprise with a whistled coda]

GIANA: Hey Jamie, can I be honest with you?

JAMIE: I would hope for nothing less.

GIANA: It has been a very long month.

JAMIE: Yes. Yes, it has been a full September, indeed. Hopefully not confusing to our listeners listening to this at the end of October.

GIANA: They're pretty sharp and I think that they will be able to put all of the pieces together. So, in September we had a lot of Broadly Entertaining gigs, a lot of commitments — personally, professionally, just a lot.

JAMIE: Which is great. We got a lot going on.

[they laugh]

GIANA: Yes, yes it is, of course. But every gig is a chance for us to both be proud of the work that we put forth and also recognize that we can learn, and handle things better the next time.

JAMIE: Yes. Yes, absolutely.

GIANA: Um…

JAMIE: You got something you want to share? [laughs]

GIANA: [laughing] Sorry to jump on you but yes! I was thinking about this recently. I'll touch on what I'm proud of; I'm really proud of— We're kind of new to this wedding business thing and we've put in a kickass year with it and I've always really loved flowers. I love arranging flowers and I'm kind of proud of how good I've gotten at it as a layperson. I don't really have a lot of professional experience but I feel really good about the work that I've been able to put out there in sort of hurried situations especially. But what I've learned is that if I'm working a wedding— and we support DIY, we support people trying to save money on weddings; we get it, the industry is intense so I'm all for DIY and I'm always the first one to be like, I'll put flowers in jars I love putting flowers in jars — but what I learned is that the florist is sort of an unsung hero. If you are having flowers at all, the florist is so key. Like, this is a big commitment and big time commitment. I love to do it. I love to offer it for our clients, but arranging flowers takes a gentle hand. Being in that pre-show vibe before the wedding kicks off, it's not the time to be dealing with arrangements last minute, and so I learned that, that is something that if that's what they want me to do that is my only job before a wedding. Or that needs to be one person's job, solely, to do that. As much as I love it and I'm proud of what I do, I need to maybe take a step back. [laughs]

JAMIE: Sure. And it's good to recognize that florist is a valuable position in that situation.

GIANA: Oh, yeah.

JAMIE: I appreciate, also, that you're making the distinction between having and not having flowers, because you don't have to have flowers period. But if you are going to have them, it is important to the look, the decorations, the visual that you're creating, recognizing that the florist is more than someone who's just putting flowers in jars.

GIANA: Absolutely. Yeah it's a lot, it's messy; they're very good at what they do.

JAMIE: Absolutely.

GIANA: How about you?

JAMIE: Well, I am going to take my proud moment and my moment to learn also from one bucket. It'll be a different bucket than yours. I am going to talk about the Trivia Night for Abortion Rights, the virtual event that we ran on September 10, which was not as long ago as it feels. But I'm very proud that somebody thought of us first as the people that they could come to, to run, to organize, to create the content for a virtual trivia night in support of abortion funds. That means that the work that we've done and the quote-unquote brand that we're putting out into the world is sticking with people and people come back to us. Especially when it is about putting together an event that not only covers our skill sets but covers our, you know, our hearts. It's always been important to us to run our business in a way that also tries to leave things better than we found them, and I'm also just proud of the event itself, you know? From signup to lineup it all went off without a hitch! [Giana laughs] It was great. We had a lot of great people in our virtual room, we got performers together, there was live music and comedy, we had two medical professionals who work in the obstetrics and gynecology field talk from their expertise about the moment and the crisis and just facts versus fiction. And it was great, so I'm very proud of us for doing that.

GIANA: Yeah!

JAMIE: Yeah. I also learned a couple of things from this event.

GIANA: There it is…

JAMIE: Yeah. Very proud, but also learned that, first of all, we still need to check our instinct — individually and as a business — when somebody comes to us to work for a cause that we believe in. We need to remember that, you know, even if we're slashing our rates, it's okay to get paid when you need to get paid to survive. We are very quick to offer ourselves up to the cause sometimes, and then afterwards be like, this is actually a lot of work that we put in and we are not getting a penny.

GIANA: [laughing] Yeah. Yeah, I mean, we take pride in supporting businesses that are just like ours all the time, but it's hard to be like, oh yeah, we are a small business.

JAMIE: We are not a non-profit.

GIANA: Yeah, I feel you.

JAMIE: And then also just like, on the organizational tip, an administrative note that we got during the party is that when you're running a nationwide event and you're collecting people's home locations, we need to ask for more than just the 50 states. There is Washington, D.C., there's Puerto Rico, there's Guam. The U.S. has 50 states, territories, other words that they use — I found possessions is a word but I don't really like that one and I think maybe it is losing its grip on meaning. But anyway, thank you to the player that pointed out that we left out Washington, D.C. and anything that wasn't a 50 state. So, my bad. Lesson learned.

GIANA: Yeah. Call us out. Love it.

JAMIE: So, speaking of learning from experience, we have a guest today and our guest has perhaps unknowingly been a great influence on Broadly Entertaining.

GIANA: Yes! Well if she doesn't she's about to find out right now. You have been a big influence on Broadly Entertaining.

JAMIE: Hell yeah! Everybody give it up: Anaika Forbes! She manages community refrigerators and runs a regular event for Hashtag Lunchbag Brooklyn that brings folks together to spread love and feed people!

GIANA: Yes! We're not done, Anaika, you are gonna have to hear every word of this praise and love that we have. She is generous and she is fun and she is one of the most committed people that I've ever come across. She is committed to goodness, and she's a goddess. She is a licensed dental hygienist. She is Current Associate Manager for Colgate. and advocates for diversity in her field with the nonprofit BrownGirl, RDH. Helping others up the ladder is what she does. Helping others all the time, all the time. We love you.

ANAIKA: Thank you, that was nice. Hi everyone!

JAMIE: Hi! And let us not forget that you are a loving auntie, a devoted dog mom, and a badass dancer to boot! What a list!

GIANA: I just— We can't say enough good things about you. We love you. Every single person that we've ever talked to about you gets the same rap sheet every time. We're like, well you wanna know a little something about her? And we do this every time.

ANAIKA: Well thanks!

GIANA: Thank you, thank you for making time. We know that you're very busy, so thank you for making the time to be here today.

ANAIKA: I'm so glad to be here, I know it was a long time coming. I'm like, I have to do this, I have to do this! And finally we got it done.

GIANA: Yeah!

JAMIE: Yes! We are so excited for other people to get to know you a little bit, and hear about what an accomplished and wonderful person you are. And hopefully we'll have some fun together, too!

JAMIE: Everyone deserves fun. / ANAIKA: Looking forward!

GIANA: We want to focus on all the community service that you engage in, but I would love to start with your dancing if that's okay, because come on! Can we talk about how amazing those videos are that you put on your Instagram? It stops me in my tracks every time.

ANAIKA: Sure, yeah. So I am a pole dance instructor, and I have been instructor for about… I want to say maybe like four or five years? I started pole dancing for myself almost nine years ago.

GIANA: Oh my god, it’s so impressive. [laughs]

ANAIKA: Honestly it was just like to get a different type of workout in because I didn't feel like anything was happening at the gym. I was bored. I have to stay healthy, what else can I do?

GIANA: Yeah.

ANAIKA: I just started looking at alternative styles of fitness and came across pole dancing and I was like, okay I'll try it why not let's see what happens. And class one, hooked. Gave them all my money, here take all my money. [laughter] Every day for months I was in that studio learning how to do things that I didn't know I could do. For weeks, every day I was there after work trying to figure it out, and I fell so much in love that I was like, oh I wonder if I could teach this, because that's just who I am. I do something so much I'm like, oh what else can I do with this? I just don't do something and then just stop. I gotta do more with it, right? What can I do with this? I took a couple certifications, found an amazing studio that I'm still with in Brooklyn that I teach for. I just love— I teach intro and beginners, and I love teaching intro and beginner students, particularly because they all come in here like, hi this is my first time, or, I'm not really good, and I'm like, Yes you are! The minute you walked in here you became a pole dancer.

GIANA: [laughing] Oh my god, you're the perfect teacher. I can't even— that is perfect. Because I would be that person. I would walk in and be like, I am very scared that I'm gonna, I don't know, do something. Roll an ankle? Crack a hip?

ANAIKA: It takes courage to just walk into a pole studio.

GIANA: Yeah!

ANAIKA: The minute you get over that, you— listen, it's all about your mindset. The minute you walked into the studio you became a pole dancer, that's it.

GIANA: Yeah. Yeah.

ANAIKA: And now you take your own journey. You decide how you want that journey to look for yourself. Whether you want to keep going or you want to stay where you are, it doesn't matter. Once you walked in, the journey is yours to explore.

GIANA: Mm-hmm. Honor that big choice, honor that big hill that you had to cross just to walk in the door. And just do it, you're right. That is a hard— that's probably the hardest part.

One of the things I just love about all the content that you post that I really appreciate — I have little to no dance experience whatsoever, just musical theater over here — but the slowness and control that you have in each video is the thing that really sticks out. Like, you are controlling every muscle, and moving really slowly like that is actually super difficult. And to make it look like it's flowing and beautiful all at the same time, I really appreciate that a lot. That's what always really sticks out in your videos, to me. I'm like, yeah!

ANAIKA: Those minutes, those few minutes that you see on social media’s a culmination behind that of ten minutes of trying to figure out what am I actually doing here. [laughter] You only see the good two-plus minutes, but behind the scenes it’s about ten, fourteen minutes of like [loud & labored inhale-exhale]

JAMIE: Not to mention all the hours that you have put in and all the years that you have put in to get to that point for that video, but yeah.

GIANA: Well, let’s kind of take— This seems like maybe a harsh turn, but I kinda want to know if there's any crossover between this hobby that you picked up that you just fell in love with and your professional life. Do you get people in the chair while you're looking down there in their mouths like, have you ever tried pole dancing?

[Everyone laughs]

ANAIKA: So, unless you like know me know me or you follow me, then you'll see it. I don't— It's not something that I readily like put out there in the universe but I'm not— I don't hide it all either. It's not really a conversation starter that I start. Usually how it happens is other people start the conversation for me. “Do you know that she also…?!” That's kind of how it happens. Other people start the conversation for me. Because it's kind of like, I guess now it's a thing that I do, like wake up in the morning and eat breakfast. It’s just a thing that I do, like…

GIANA: Yeah. Yeah, sure, absolutely. And you look amazing, so it's working, so…

ANAIKA: Well thank you.

GIANA: Yeah, of course.

Okay fair enough, I see how that might be an odd, you know, beginning appointment, but I don't know, I kind of—

JAMIE: Especially to the patients, I thought you were gonna ask about coworkers.

GIANA: [laughs] Yeah no, I went right there. Because I— I’m going to share this with you because I do want to transition into your dental career because I actually find it really intriguing.

I have — and Jamie has been my buddy — but I have a pretty deep fear of going to the dentist. It is like one of those things that I wish that I could shake. It's not something I wish I— It's not something I feel like I have control over, but I have gotten better and it's amazing the difference, when you're at the hygienist level, like with that first person. It's like you guys are like the guardians at the gate and if I have a good hygienist that changes the whole appointment. It's like, it really can put me at ease and could be the difference between needing gas or not for a cleaning. Really, what you do is a really important job for people like me, so thank you, because I'm sure you're amazing at it and helping people like me. Like, I've cried at many hygienists before. Some of them deal with me really great and some of them are like, alright let's get the doctor in here, I’m not dealing.

ANAIKA: Well you know what's so funny is that I— I'm not currently practicing anymore because of my new amazing role, but I've been a licensed hygienist fifteen years and ten of those years I did solely pediatric for that same reason. I wanted the pediatric patients to have a good experience long term so when they get older they don't have that fear of going to the dentist. Because, you know, when you're younger your mom can force you to go but when you're older and you have a fear, like, we're just out here adulting unsupervised. [Jamie laughs] So no one's going to make me go to the dentist if I'm 35. I’m unsupervised, I can do what I want.

GIANA: Mm-hmm.

ANAIKA: So if you're 30-plus, or 20-plus, you know, unsupervised, you have that experience from youth where someone took the time to make that visit pleasant for you and kept that same sentiment. That way when you're older you're not afraid of going to the dentist. Because before I even was in pediatrics I did general and I did adult, and a lot of adults are afraid of the dentist. When you ask them it's because they had a horrible childhood dental experience. And I was like, Okay I’m gonna just stop this right where it starts. Because we’re not about to have this, like, you not about to be a 55-year-old man gripping this chair and you ‘bout to break it. No, sir. [Jamie and Giana laughing] I'm gonna go back to the root cause of this, and get the children, and just do it that way.

GIANA: And that is why your brain is so beautiful and why we love you so much, because that's how it seems you approach every problem. You're like, okay great let’s go to the cause and fucking fix it. Like, every single thing that you put your hands into you're like, I got this let's go, and I just love that about you.

Well, let's talk about BrownGirl, RDH. Tell us a little bit about— This is actually kind of new to me, so I want to know more about this.

ANAIKA: Yeah, for sure! So, I am a board member of an organization, a nonprofit called BrownGirl, RDH, and it is a nonprofit that's geared to getting minority dental hygiene students, or those who want to be dental hygienists, into dental hygiene programs that can be affordable. So we provide them with scholarships because dental hygiene is expensive. School is expensive, but dental hygiene is expensive because there are auxiliary costs. Uniforms, books, instruments, scrubs, shoes, bonnets. There's a lot of auxiliary costs, and what always seems to be the barrier for Black and brown minorities in the field is that they, A) don't know about it, so we promote the field of dentistry; B) they can't afford it, because they don't have the wherewithal to understand finances or they can get this much but they can't get that much; and C) they don't see dental providers that look like them. If you don't see someone that looks like you in the field, you don't think that you can— it's not attainable for you. So those are the three barriers that we're trying to break down. Let me tell you about this field, it's for everyone. Look at all of these amazing people that look like you that are in this field. And here is some money. It's not an end-all-be-all, but here is something that we can do to get you just over that hump a little bit.

GIANA: This is awesome, and I’m not at all surprised that you are involved in something like this.

[short ukulele segue]

How long have you been with Hashtag Lunchbag? Which is actually how we met you, or found you, is through that organization. But how long have you been with them?

ANAIKA: So, the Brooklyn chapter which I've been with— I started the Brooklyn chapter so it's been six years, but Hashtag Lunchbag in itself, which originated in L.A., they've been around for ten years, so I've been with them total for eight years.

GIANA: I see. Wow! Oh my gosh, and that's like most of the time that they've been running so you are a…

JAMIE: An O.G.! / ANAIKA: We call ourselves OGs.

GIANA: Oh okay! Awesome, yes! And I, like a dummy, I forgot that you actually started the Brooklyn chapter. For people that don't know what Hashtag Lunchbag is do you want to just give them like a brief…?

ANAIKA: Yeah! Sure sure sure. So Hashtag Lunchbag is a community-led initiative that brings volunteers together to pack brown lunch bags with a sandwich, a love note, a fruit, a water, and some type of dessert like a cookie, and we distribut it out to neighborhoods where people are hungry. You don't have to be homeless to be hungry, but if you want a sandwich and a little love note, here you go.

GIANA: Mm-hmm. Broadly Entertaining has come to your events once or twice and we have had a really really great time. You’re a really good organizer. Everybody that's working for you or doing this with you knows exactly what to do and they just like— You're so good at it. We’ve taken a lot from it. Earlier when we said that you influenced us a lot, the way that you run that event is one of the big ones. Also your heart and your brain, of course, but something major that we've taken from these events is your social media moment. I don't know how many meetings I've been in with Jamie or with anybody to be like how do we get people to post about this? What we really need is engagement. And like, here comes Anaika, you just tell them to do it. You just carve out a time and you just say, get your phones out now's the time. And then it's amazing, people just fucking do it! We're like, amazed by this. It's so simple, and the best ideas are that way, and I just— That's so smart. Anyway, I had to give you props for that because it's great.

ANAIKA: Thanks.

GIANA: Thank you! Thank you for all that you do, you're amazing.

ANAIKA: One day at a time. Thank you, I appreciate that, though.

JAMIE: I love the love notes. They are… certainly not more important than the food but a very important accompaniment, I think. It just adds that degree of humanity and human connection, and just that we are all hearts in these bodies, you know?

ANAIKA: Yeah, for sure, that is my favorite part, too. And I love when we have students come, ‘cause students – whoo! Not only do they write the love notes but they also design the bags and they have— My favorite will always be: I had an NYU student and she drew this whole Finding Dory situation on a Post-It! I was floored. Like, these artistic children.

GIANA: Yeah!

ANAIKA: I'm like, that’s not the kind of gift that I have, but that was one note that has stuck with me for years. If I could keep the note I would have kept it.

GIANA: Aw, but you had to share it.

ANAIKA: I did, I did.

JAMIE: Well hopefully it stuck with whoever got it, as well, you know? You got to have the memory of it, and it still gets to be passed along.

ANAIKA: Yes.

JAMIE: That’s beautiful. Well, so your love for community and helping people is clear. We have mentioned Brooklyn a handful of times, we know that you love Brooklyn, so you are here representative as a Brooklynite. I hope that's alright.

ANAIKA: Mm-hmm!

JAMIE: So now, we are going to play a little game with you as a Brooklynite? I have put together a short quiz to find out what you know about Brooklyn, but it's very short, so there's a lot you could know about Brooklyn—

GIANA: You're gonna be great.

JAMIE: It's very short. It's about Brooklyn and famous Brooklynites. It's all multiple choice—

ANAIKA: Okay, good, great.

JAMIE: There are no points, you're not playing against anyone, so it's all just for fun.

ANAIKA: Alright, let's do it! Let's do it.

JAMIE: Alright, alright. Here we go, number one: Which is the oldest bridge in Brooklyn? Is it A) the Williamsburg Bridge B) the Brooklyn Bridge or C) the Carroll Street Bridge

ANAIKA: Umm… I am going to go with… the Carroll Street Bridge

GIANA: [defeated groan]

JAMIE: [laughs] You can probably tell by Giana’s reaction that that is not the right answer.

GIANA: But I see why you chose it! I would have chosen it, too. It was the red herring of the three. It was like, look at me I'm fancy.

JAMIE: Sure. And I am glad that worked. The answer is actually the Brooklyn Bridge. However, the Carroll Street Bridge is one of the oldest bridges in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 and the Carroll Street Bridge opened to traffic in 1889, so it's not that much older.

ANAIKA: Ooh, okay…

JAMIE: The Williamsburg Bridge was early 1900s, or the Manhattan Bridge was early 1900s? But yes, I was looking for bridges in Brooklyn and then it brought me to Gowanus and I was like, Oh yes, all the bridges over the Gowanus Canal…

GIANA: She says, with her witchy fingers.

JAMIE: That was my journey. And it worked, it worked!

ANAIKA: Alright, I'm gonna get the next one…

JAMIE: There you go! And hey, now we all know the Brooklyn Bridge, the oldest bridge in Brooklyn. Also fun fact, the first fixed bridge over the East River, so the first fixed connection between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Alright, number two, number two. The Notorious B.I.G is probably one of the most famous Brooklynites in the world, and he had what name on his birth certificate? A) Chris Jeffrey Lionel Wallace; B) Christopher Robin James Williams; or, C) Christopher George Latore Wallace

ANAIKA: A.

JAMIE: Ooh, it was actually C!

ANAIKA: And I’m a big Biggie fan! Just take my Brooklyn card, just take it.

JAMIE: Oh no! Never. Never never. You got tricked by the Chris Wallace of it, that’s okay!

GIANA: It’s those witchy fingers.

[Jamie laughs]

ANAIKA: Mm-hmm. Okay, okay, okay. I’m revved up now.

GIANA: And this one’s— I'm excited for this one.

JAMIE: This is your final question, and this one is going to take multiple choice in a slightly different direction. There are nineteen subway lines that run through Brooklyn. How many of them can you name?

ANAIKA: Okay… We have the L. We have the 2. We have the 3. We have the 4. We have the 5. We have the G. We have the N, the Q, the R. We have the Franklin Ave shuttle. We have the… the sev— no, not the seven. The G and the F, the F. That's the one, I’m comparing the G. So we have the F.

JAMIE: Did we have G already?

ANAIKA: Yeah, I said G. That's why I asked. I said G, and then I was thinking about what lines up with the G and it's the F; the G and the F.

GIANA: Oh my god, you're doing so good.

ANAIKA: What's in Bushwick? The J. Yes. The M.

GIANA: Yes.

JAMIE: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm…

ANAIKA: I don't know what my number is, I'm sorry I lost count.

JAMIE: We're a few short; I've lost a little track myself.

ANAIKA: I know there's the B, the B!

GIANA: Yes! / JAMIE: There is the B, yup!

ANAIKA: Ummm… the A.

JAMIE: Yup! / GIANA: Yeah.

ANAIKA: And the C.

JAMIE: Yup. / GIANA: Yes.

GIANA: I think you’re only missing two.

JAMIE: Three.

GIANA: Oh three, okay.

ANAIKA: The D.

JAMIE: Yup. / GIANA: Yes.

ANAIKA: The Z doesn't go to Brooklyn, does it?

GIANA: Yes, the Z does! And then you have one more. One of the— I go by colors.

JAMIE: It's the absolute trickiest one on here, I think, because it very rarely goes through Brooklyn, but it does.

ANAIKA: Oh!

JAMIE: On, like, minimal rush hour transit. / ANAIKA: Like on a Sunday.

JAMIE: Yeah, exactly.

ANAIKA: Oh, what is that? Umm… hmmm… the W?

GIANA: Yes! / JAMIE: Yes!

ANAIKA: The W goes to Brooklyn? Wow, I would have never…

JAMIE: Yup, it goes through Brooklyn.

ANAIKA: Oh that was fun! Okay, I think I can keep my Brooklyn card.

GIANA: Yes you can, absolutely.

JAMIE: Yes! 100%.

ANAIKA: Whoo! I can't move to Queens. [everyone laughs]

JAMIE: That’s where the 7 is.

[fade out with shaker segue in the background]

Up next, a word from our sponsor: Broadly Entertaining’s 5th anniversary discount offer.

[shaker fades out; sound of a cheering crowd fills in]

GIANA: Broadly Entertaining turns 5 this year and we want to celebrate with you no matter where you are.

JAMIE: In honor of this milestone we're offering 5% off every virtual event for the rest of 2022. Use code BE5 — that's B, E, and the number five — to save on your next booking today.

GIANA: Choose from a list of uniquely fun games and workshop options, perfect for everything from company team building to Nana’s 90th. We plan and customize everything, so you can party and connect with your crew.

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[ukulele & shaker coda, plus a Homer Simpson “woo-hoo”]

JAMIE: We are back, and it is time to feature feminism and promote other women in what is still the most consistent thing we've got going: Our BE a Feminist shout out!

[BE a Feminist theme music, whistling accompanied by a shaker, claps, and a tambourine]

JAMIE: I will kick it off this month. I went looking for good news. I wanted to share something uplifting, inspiring, sunny, so I found a story on a zero waste store operating out of the Boston area, started by a woman named Maria Vasco when she was still a student at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. It is a zero plastic packaging, bring your stuff in, bring in your empty shampoo bottle and you can refill it, and… A zero waste store, it’s a zero waste store! I will share the link of her story specifically but apparently there is a count of at least 350 zero waste stores across the United States, which is pretty cool.

GIANA: Yeah!

JAMIE: There is one in Austin, where I am, founded by a woman named Christina Guerra. She's a 6th generation Austinite who has seen the city change from like, small Central Texas town to big Central Texas city, and has seen the waste grow with that human growth. So her store is explicitly working to make a dent in single-use plastics, as are all zero waste stores. So knowing that there are 350 around the nation, if you're listening, see if you can go find one near you. I will share the story of this young woman operating out of Boston. She's a bilingual store owner and she talks about being able to communicate with her community about climate change from the fact that she owns this zero waste store, and is able to spread information that way to people that are not getting it elsewhere. And I know we can't shop our way out of climate change but people are not going to just stop shopping, so it's important that these other avenues and opportunities are being created.

GIANA: Yeah!

JAMIE: Yeah. So there you go, that was it.

GIANA: Yay, good news!

JAMIE: Yay. Anaika…

ANAIKA: In terms of feminism… This is the quote that I know everyone knows, but we should all be feminists. Every single person that has limbs, that breathes air, that grows or does not grow hair, that has eyes, that speaks… Any single human being on this earth should be a feminist. And the only reason I say that is because our bodies are still being policed by people who could never do what it is that we do, a.k.a., push out a whole human being.

GIANA: Have one period.

JAMIE: [laughs] Right?

ANAIKA: Until you can push out a whole human being, don't talk to me about nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

GIANA: Yep. Not your place.

ANAIKA: Absolutely not.

GIANA: Yeah.

JAMIE: Yup. Mind your own uterus.

ANAIKA: Exactly.

GIANA: And it is good for every person to have this way of thinking, that everyone should have their own autonomy. Like, that benefits everyone, so I echo and hear you. Every single person. It does the best for everyone if we do.

ANAIKA: Yeah, just that little piece. I'm like, you need to sympathize with us who can bear children — if we want to, if we don't want to — it should only be that person, that individual human being’s choice, and nobody else. Right?

GIANA: Absolutely.

ANAIKA: That’s it, that’s my take.

GIANA: I'm gonna just jump right off of your take and put a little spotlight on what's happening in Iran right now, as my BE a Feminist segment. There are women screaming, there are women burning their hijabs, there are women that are cutting their hair off to just make the fucking point that there are atrocities happening, and we as an international community should get behind them.

So I was looking for ways to help in whatever way that I can and I came across Nazanin Boniadi, who is an actor, activist, and ambassador with Amnesty International. You may know her from the new Lord of the Rings television thing; she plays Bronwyn. If that's your brand of nerdery that's how you might know her, but she's great. This is straight from her Amnesty International bio, it says, “Nazanin has partnered with Amnesty International since 2008 to campaign for the rights of disenfranchised populations across the world with the focus on the unjust conviction and treatment of Iranian youth, women, and prisoners of conscience.” Which, if you don't know what that is, that's just basically if you disagree with any ideologies that your government decides is something you should believe in, and you become a prisoner of just believing something different.

Her opinions have been published in global media outlets like the Washington Post, CNN, New York Times and so on. On her Instagram, she has a great video: four steps on how we can help. One is basically, she says contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the U.S. it's just the Department of State, so contact your Department of State and say, Hey! International bullshit is happening and we call bullshit on the Iranian government right now we need you to call bullshit on it too. Our eyes are on you we're watching you. To organize demonstrations in your own towns and to share the info that they are giving. She makes the point in one of her quotes to really listen to the things that they're saying and chanting on the streets in their protests right now in Iran, and take that as your cue, but help spread the word on social media outlets. And then also create online traction and donate, as usual. So check her out. She is just one ambassador, there are plenty of other activists out there that want to help with this issue. I know that we do, so if we do we will of course share it with you on our socials, too. So, that's it.

JAMIE: Thanks for sharing that, Giana, thank you. Yeah, that is definitely one of the things going on at the moment that had me wanting to look for good news. I know I'm usually the bummer in the room [Giana laughs] and that is —

GIANA: That’s not true! [continues laughing] “I’m usually the bummer in the room.” That’s not true.

JAMIE: Alright, sometimes. Sometimes I’m the bummer in the room. And it can just be hard when there's a lot of heartbreaking stuff going on in the world, and we are certainly not advocates for looking away from it so I appreciate you bringing that to our attention. I like the idea of paying attention literally to the people who are in the street making the demands. That's where it starts, that's where your best information is, and spreading what it is that they want you to spread.

GIANA: Yep, exactly.

JAMIE: Well, Anaika, thank you so much. It has been such a pleasure, a treat, a delight to spend this time with you. Is there any website or social media handle that you want to share with people to get information about you or any of the amazing organizations that you work with?

ANAIKA: Yeah. Please feel free to follow us on social media, [at] hash — the word, these are all words — [at] Hashtag Lunchbag BK. And you can see and join in on the efforts of what we're doing to feed, feel, love, in the Brooklyn community.

GIANA: Thank you.

ANAIKA: Thank you.

GIANA: Well we'll see you around, my dear! We appreciate you. Thanks for coming. Enjoy the rest of your day, I hope you have it off and you could take a nap or just do something for yourself.

ANAIKA: I’m gonna get some food.

GIANA: Yeah, get some food! / JAMIE: Yeah!

GIANA: Feed your body.

ANAIKA: Mm-hmm.

GIANA: Alright, we'll talk to you later, Anaika, thank you.

ANAIKA: Thank you guys, have a great day!

GIANA: Yeah, you too! / JAMIE: You too!

ALL: Bye…

[sweet ukulele tune has been playing in the background, it continues a few bars before transitioning into the brighter closing theme music which plays underneath the following and until the end]

JAMIE: Thanks again, so much, to Anaika Forbes for joining us, and to you all for listening or watching. Check the show notes or links, a transcript of the episode, or more information on Broadly Entertaining’s events and offerings mentioned in today's show.

GIANA: The Broadly Entertaining Podcast is written, produced and hosted by Giana DeGeiso and Jamie Rosler of Broadly Entertaining.

JAMIE: Giana composes and performs all of the theme music and segue songs, plus she manages sound mixing and audio editing.

GIANA: Jamie puts together the episode outline, transcript and sometimes the video version for YouTube.

JAMIE: If you like what we do, please rate, review and follow us in your podcast feed. Tell a friend! Word of mouth is priceless, especially for a small business like ours.

GIANA: If you've got some good entertainment value from this episode, Venmo a tip to Broadly [dash] Entertaining or click the support button at anchor [dot] FM [slash] Broadly Entertaining. And of course you can always hire us to host or plan your next celebration!

JAMIE: We are based in New York State, central Texas, or anywhere you’ve got an internet connection. You can find out more at Broadly Entertaining [dot] com, follow us on Instagram [at] Broadly Entertaining.

GIANA: Thanks for joining us, broads. We'll talk to you again soon. B’bye!

[The Broadly Entertaining Podcast outro jingle]