Episodes

Michelle L’amour’s Instagram bio reads: “Erotic Artist. Empowerment Advocate” and we cannot agree more with those descriptions. And if you don’t know what those are, you definitely need to listen to this episode, we promise you’ll get it after to listeni...

Our resident therapist is back, and she has more insight and words of wisdom to share. We are so lucky to have her. Karen talks to us about how her life experience informed her path as a therapist, how the pandemic has shifted how people can find mental ...

Mama Tits, some may know her as Brian Peters, is a force to be reckoned with. His journey of self-discovery, love and joy has taken him from California to Idaho to New York to Seattle and now he and his husband live in Puerto Vallarta where Mama Tits has...

Dr Elisa Woodruff is a counselor and an educator of future counselors. Her clinical and research interests include sexual and gender diversity, wellness and the mind/body connection, systemic and generational trauma, religion and values in counseling, th...

We love this lady. Kosha met Alicia long ago and she clung to her because she knew she was special. And damn was Kosha right. Alicia Elkins is a gay woman who came out in her early 20s. Her coming out story is unique, but it reminds us that every coming...

Haaz Sleiman is a velvet-voiced actor and activist. He has been in shows like ER and Veronica Mars. He played the beloved Mo-Mo in Nurse Jackie, Rafiq in the critically-acclaimed Little America, and will be in the new Marvel movie Eternals. But to introd...

"...take that idea [of what you thought being a parent would be] and blow it the hell up." - Seth Turner Listen to this episode. You will learn something about yourself, how to be an ally, and why transgender people seeking top surgery in the Kaiser Syst...

Holy Crap. There is a reason Kosha isn't the "main host". She lost words. But Shailushi found the words. And Kosha come around eventually. Violet Turner is the most self-possessed teenager you can meet. Violet has a significant stutter. It does take a fe...

**BONUS EPISODE** To finish off I Am Speaking's first season of conversations with first generation Americans, we present a bonus episode with two people who know your beloved co-hosts better than almost anyone...their siblings! Spruha Thompson and Dr....

Excuse me, Mr. [Former VIce President]... When Ann Chen is speaking, it benefits everyone around her to listen up. Ann is brilliant, she is honest, she is passionate, and she is a lawyer so I am sure she can argue circles around most of us. As a Taiwanes...

How does do two brothers marry two sisters and there is no Netflix rom-com made about it? Who was Shailushi's first date to a high school dance, and why did he have to leave so early? How does Liz use her "secret superpower" on a Chicago bus? If you are ...

The cat is on the mat! Kwasi Amankwah's father is from Ghana, his mother is from Guyana. He spent most of his life between Canada and America. He is the youngest of three brothers. He is an accomplished artist. A dad of two boys. A husband of an amazing ...

Karen Rothstein Pineda. She is a keeper. Karen Rothstein Pineda is Latina, Jewish, Queer first generation American born to immigrant parents from Colombia. She is the founder and CEO of Multicultural Counseling Associates, P.C., a psychotherapy practice ...

What a freaking gem! Haydet Giulianetti is someone who should be everyone's friend. Everyone's life would be better to have her in it. Haydet was born in Mexico, and came to the US with her mom when she was very young. She speaks to Shailushi and Kosha a...

Annemarie Pedraza is a good friend of Kosha's. They go back 25 years. And yet, there is always so much to learn from people, even if you have known them forever. Annemarie was born in the Netherlands and came to the US very young for what was supposed to...

Continuing with Season 1 of I Am Speaking, a season that is focusing on 1st generation Americans, Shailushi and Kosha sat down with Jenny Shin Yang. Born in South Korea, she was not even 5 years old when her parents brought her to the US (technically an ...

We were truly blown away and inspired by Kristin Salvador. Part Chinese, but raised culturally Filipino, Kristin has been through her share of high highs and low lows as a first-generation American. Her parents immigrated from the Phillippines in 1971, s...

Welcome to I Am Speaking, the podcast that gives voice to people who have been "othered." In this very first episode, Shailushi and Kosha sit down with...each other! We talk about where we came from, where we went, and why we decided to do this podcast. ...