Behind the Seen

Continuing with our #CheckTheBox theme for this season, special guest Karith Foster joins us to discuss two boxes we tend to put people in when it comes to the race conversation: Victim or villain. In reality, those labels aren't so cut and dried, especially when you introduce intersectional identities into the mix.  Karith Foster is a comic turned motivational speaker, TV &am

What are barriers to men living conscious, compassionate, connected lives in their homes and communities? How does this apply to the race conversation? Guest: Addison Brasil, VP of branding for tethr, an online peer-to-peer support community for men. Follow us on Instagram Behind the Seen: @behindtheseenpod Mark Bauer: @BarkMauer Branden Polk: @BrandenPolk Tethr: @tethrformen

In this episode, we discuss policing behavior (behavior of police) and the act of policing other people's behavior in our day-to-day lives. Recent civil unrest around the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police has shined light on inconsistencies in what we view as acceptable policing. More often, policing of any kind is a preservation of power and is an attempt to invalidate

In this episode we discuss the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. A lot of white people are being confronted for the first time with the injustice of racism and unsure how to process it. Others are perplexed why race has to be dragged into the equation at all. In this conversation, Branden turns the questions on Mark to discuss how the unexamined identities of white moderates continue to pe

Before the Tiger King, the quarantine binge was the reality show Love is Blind, which puts strangers in neighboring cubes and allows them to get to know one another without the benefit of seeing each other. Then, they fall in love. Or at least that's the idea. But is love REALLY blind? How do subtle ways we talk even give away things about how we were raised? And if love isn't blin

Has coronavirus altered how you view racial disparity? Has it amplified it? Who are the populations most affected by coronavirus disruptions? Disruptions of this magnitude always allow for a shift in the landscape. When all of this lifts, how can we rebuild more equitably? Follow us on Instagram Behind the Seen: @behindtheseenpod Mark Bauer: @BarkMauer Branden Polk: @BrandenPo

This is actually a replay of one of our favorite episodes from last season. I've experienced a lot of fear the last few weeks around quitting my job and moving to Los Angeles for the summer, and in conversations with friends there seems to be a widespread season of fear that a lot of folks are walking in. So, in this episode we go a little deeper into understanding what fear is try

In this episode, we review the Emanuel documentary, which covers the history of the black church in Charleston leading up to the church shooting in 2015 by Dylan Roof that killed nine congregants, including the pastor. The movie's primary emphasis is on the expressions of forgiveness by family members toward Dylan Roof, less than 48 hours after he committed that heinous act. Co-hos

In the last episode on racism in dating, Todrick Hall briefly touched on something that a lot of listeners picked up on: Colorism—the idea that whiteness has defined some skin tones and features in people of color as more beautiful and acceptable in society. This twisted idea has resulted in a sort of prejudice and resentment from some blacks toward other blacks. In this episode,

In a freewheeling conversation about dating, singer/songwriter/producer Todrick Hall joins Behind the Seen to discuss our racial “preferences,” how we acquire those preferences in the first place, and why we are OK completely disregarding a different group of people as potential partners based on such inconsequential factors as race. References For more on the breakdown of numb