Take blockchain and cryptocurrency, for example. My son convinced me to invest in crypto. Crypto and blockchain are related in the world of digital assets, and despite the naysayers and doomcasters, I’m diving in. I wanna know what bright people in the field are saying about the future of money. I wanna hear their recommendations on securing my personal data (i.e health care files, mobile apps, etc.) as it becomes more widely distributed.

In this episode of CK Unmuted, Karen Hsu, founder of Blockchain for Women, enlightens us on crypto and blockchain. If you’re thinking about investing in cryptocurrency and/or you want to know more about the astonishing promise of blockchain, listen to Karen’s interview above and check out the resources she recommends below. Thank you, Karen, for answering my questions and for being a trailblazer in this exciting new space!

~CK

Resources:

Blockchain by Women: https://blockchainbywomen.com/ (company founded by Karen Hsu to educate and connect people in the blockchain world)

The Block: https://www.theblock.co/ (all about digital assets)

Cointelegraph: https://cointelegraph.com/ (all about the future of money)

Coindesk: https://www.coindesk.com/ (events and information services company for the crypto asset and blockchain technology community)

The Brutal Truth About Bitcoin: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-brutal-truth-about-bitcoin/#:~:text=It%20has%20no%20intrinsic%20value,have%20been%20created%20so%20far).

To pitch an interview idea, contact Cynthia Kreilick at cynthiakreilick@gmail.com.

For Corinne Goodwin, being transgender isn’t a “lifestyle choice.” She knew she was transgender when she was three. She came out when she was 50. New studies strongly suggest that the brains of transgender people are wired differently in utero. There appear to be genetic markers and hormonal variations during pregnancy that predispose a person to being transgender. These prenatal conditions can cause a child born with a penis to identify as female or a child born with a vagina to identify as male.

Transgender people face innumerable challenges. They are often rejected by family and friends, refused service by health care providers, denied employment and turned away by landlords. As a result, they are prone to substance abuse, mental and physical health problems and homelessness.

My interview with Corinne Goodwin is a call to compassion and a call to educate ourselves about the trans community. Thank you, Corinne, for encouraging us to recognize and support trans people striving to create family, meaningful work and good health…just like the rest of us.

~ CK

Resources:

Organizations:

1. Advocates for Transgender Equality: https://transequality.org/
2. GLAD - GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders: https://www.glad.org/
3. Eastern PA Trans Equity Project: http://patransequity.org

Science:

1. https://www.newsweek.com/neuroscientists-brain-sex-gender-1924056
2. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-there-something-unique-about-the-transgender-brain/
3. https://www.newsweek.com/transgender-people-brains-wired-those-gender-they-identify-new-study-shows-939504

Books:

1. Becoming an Ally to the Gender-Expansive Child: a Guide for Parents and Carers by Anna Bianchi
2. Call Me Max, by Kyle Lukoff, Illustrated by Luciano Lozano
3. You Need to Chill, by Juno Dawson, Illustrated by Laura Hughes

To pitch an interview idea, contact Cynthia Kreilick at cynthiakreilick@gmail.com.

It was no hardship for me to mow less and let the clover and wild strawberries overrun my lawn this spring. I’ve been schooled on lawns, you see. I’ve embraced natives and No Mow May and all the other hippy dippy environmental trends that are becoming more and more common place. And for good reason. The fertilized, “pest-free” lawns of today have virtually zero nutrients, food or shelter for birds and other creatures vital to a balanced ecosystem.

This spring, my yard was teaming with bees, birds, chipmunks and spiders. I love them all! (Out of respect for my neighbors, whose lawn aesthetic is more Puritanical than mine, I try to keep their side of the property more conventionally manicured.).

Is your yard a sterile wasteland of emerald green grass, pumped full of pesticide and herbicide? Take a walk on the wild side! Try less lawn. Experiment with native plants. My interview with Heidi Shiver, of Bird Town PA, will inspire you to start building a healthier home for yourself and all the living things around you. Thank you, Heidi, for extolling the virtues of vultures and all of our feathered friends!

~ CK

Bird Conservation Resources:

1. Bird Town PA link: http:/birdtownpa.org
2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Threats To Birds: https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds
3. Audubon Pennsylvania Backyard Habitat Recognition Program

To pitch an interview idea, contact Cynthia Kreilick at cynthiakreilick@gmail.com.

It’s like rugby on skates. It’s rough and fast and people get hurt, but Roller Derby today is nothing like the bruising, hurl-’em-over-the-rails days of the Philly Warriors. More rules. More safety protocols. More mainstream.

Philly Derby member Jennifer Sulikowski says being part of the team is kind of like being in a sorority, but not in the “cringy” way. You can be yourself, be athletic, get strong, and get sweaty with folks who love physical contact. “I was always in the mosh pit at concerts,” she says with a laugh.

Back in 1971, I was at a slumber party at a friend’s house. We decided it would be cool to play tackle football in the front yard. We spent about two hours ramming each other with our spindly, blue-jeaned bodies, ripping each other’s hair, tackling without guidelines and dragging each other across rock-studded earth. Not too many rules. It was a free-for-all, a hormone-infused exorcism of sorts. It was pretty awesome. Who knows why we did it. We’d never done it before. We never did it again (too sore and too stunned by our own brutal impulses). I guess we wanted to know what it felt like to be boys, the pubescent wrecking balls we knew who grew up on farms with horses and barns and parents who partied, but were never seen.

The physicality of the game was exhilarating. Sure, we played field hockey and lacrosse in school, but this was different. There was something animalistic about it. Something like releasing demons and dark, core energy. It was, perhaps, a ferocious farewell to the comfortable androgyny of youth, before breasts and pubic hair and periods.

As I prepped for my interview with Jennifer, I watched YouTube videos of recent roller derby bouts. That football game came back to me, sparking like a buried cable struck by a shovel. I felt the secret energy. It was rebellious and unladylike and oh, so satisfying.

Watching roller derby reminds me of that singular day with my girlfriends, my pre-teen sorority, and our urge to break free from the code of femininity imposed by our time and place.

I’m too old to put on skates and scrum with the pack, but I’m glad there’s a sport that lets people of all genders roll around a rink at top speed, grunting and shoving and testing their sinew and muscle.

Choose your favorite place to listen to my interview with Jennifer. Tell people about roller derby. There’s always room on the roster.

~ CK

Roller Derby Resources:

1. Philly Roller Derby website: phillyrollerderby.com
2. Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) website: https://wftda.com/
3. Philly Junior Roller Derby (YouTube): https://youtu.be/-_O48n2ZzsY?si=PPoL5siPBZ32337W
4. Tips From Australian Roller Derby Player Marilyn Tantrum: https://youtu.be/RmzvFbf2T5Q?si=rq-0u10JFH4XwI-a

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To pitch an interview idea, contact Cynthia Kreilick at cynthiakreilick@gmail.com.

Barbara Adolphe crackles with energy. She pulses with passion. She is a very live wire at 76, and she electrifies people wherever she goes. As president of Philadelphia’s Northwest Village Network, Barbara helps folks age in place and do it with grace and gusto.

Helping older people find new sources of joy is also high on her list of priorities. Starting with herself. She recently got a puppy. Barbara says the puppy is helping restore some of the joy she felt as an avid contra-dancer and hiker, two things she’s had to significantly cut back on due to back problems.

In this episode of CK Unmuted, we talk about the benefits of belonging to a supportive community as we age. The inevitable losses are softened. The isolation is minimized. The whittling away of autonomy and independence is more easily managed. Barbara stresses the importance of asking for help when needed. It takes courage, she says, but the people who step forward to help, feel the blessing of serving others. Feeling useful and appreciated are gifts, whatever your age.

I love listening to good podcasts in the car or when I’m knitting. Chose your favorite place to listen to this interview with Barbara. You’ll get inspired and you’ll get some great resources for yourself or those older folks you love.

Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your energy and your wisdom!

~ CK

Resources On Aging:

1. Northwest Village Network, Philadelphia, PA: northwestvillagenetwork.org
2. Next Avenue: News and Information for People Over 50: nextavenue.org
3. Book: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande: https://atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/
4. Positive Aging Community: https://www.youtube.com/@ProAgingNetwork

To pitch an interview idea, contact Cynthia Kreilick at cynthiakreilick@gmail.com.

I recently attended a religious exploration class for kids at the Unitarian Universalist church I attend in Mt. Airy. Religious Exploration Director Elizabeth Ann Terry gave each student a sheet of paper covered with symbols representing many of the world’s faith traditions: Buddhism; Judaism; Hinduism; Islam; Christianity. The students pondered the symbols and offered what they knew about the religions represented on the paper.

I was blown away. One sixth grader, in particular, impressed me with her understanding of Islam and Taoism. I thought to myself, If all kids grew up with an understanding of the world’s religions, would we have the conflict we’re having between Israelis and Palestinians?

“We are a religion without dogma, without creed,” says Elizabeth Ann. “We are a religion centered in love. And we are a living tradition…we do course correction to reflect the time that we’re in. We’ve learned to talk about racial oppression in different ways. The world saw George Floyd die, and as a Black person, I know it’s real, and I am cautious around police. Unitarian Universalist faith is about everybody moving toward wholeness…a journey of spiritual awareness and spiritual action. The piece about having no dogma and no creed means that Unitarian Universalism isn’t for everybody. But people who are curious, love reason, awe, know that there’s a sacred center that all of us have, and that we’re going to support each other in our spiritual journeys…wow, that’s a vulnerable place.”

Elizabeth Ann was raised in a conservative Baptist household and congregation. But it didn’t stick. It didn’t feel right. She was drawn to Unitarian Universalism 40 years ago. She traces the moment she got hooked to one particular Sunday. She was working for a pro-choice organization when she met the minister from a Philly UU church at a women’s health conference. He invited her to church. “I don’t do CHURCH!" she said. But she went. That Sunday, the children were invited to speak from the chancel on what they’d learned about concepts of God, a topic that was in the curriculum that year. The kids reported,

“Well, I never knew about Buddhism and I like to meditate.”

“It seems like Hinduism is a lot like Unitarianism because there are many paths to the truth.”

“I was like, wow, this faith lets children talk from the chancel? Are you kidding me? I was hooked,” says Elizabeth Ann. “The real deal is that we help children understand the concept of having a spiritual core, of having a belief system, and then having their social justice action come out of what they individually believe.”

I grew up in the Episcopal church. There were creeds and dogma. There was the unswerving devotion to “One God, the Father Almightly… one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God…” There was very little, if any, attempt to study how other faiths relate to Christianity. It may have changed, but not soon enough for me. In fact, denominational decline in the Episcopal church is significant and, according to church leaders and parishioners, troubling.

Lots of congregations are in decline, including the Unitarian Universalists. What matters to me is, I belong to - “worship” with - a group of people whose spirituality calls for justice, equity and pluralism. And, of course, love. I can’t imagine religion any other way.

Check out my interview with Elizabeth Ann above and check out a UU service near you. I promise, it’ll be enlightening.

~ CK

Resources:

To find a UU church near you: Unitarian Universalist Association: www.uua.org

Liberal Religious Educators Association: lreda.org

To pitch an interview idea, contact Cynthia Kreilick at cynthiakreilick@gmail.com.

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, I totally sympathized. To me, Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair was a pathetic attempt at humor. What kind of person stands center stage, in front of millions of people, and makes fun of a disease over which people have no control? I don’t care that Smith laughed at first, then saw his wife’s expression and decided to defend her honor. I don’t condone violence, but Rock had it comin’.

Maureen McGettigan has had alopecia areata for 45 years. She’s in a clinical trial now, hopeful that the new drug will finally restore her hair, including her eyebrows and eyelashes, to the luxuriant red hair she had when she was 16.

Alopecia is not a life threatening disease, but’s it’s a life altering one. Maureen has decided to take her disease and turn it into a campaign for compassion and education. She’s one of the spunkiest, most kind-hearted people I know. Listen to our interview. I think you’ll agree.

~ CK

Alopecia Areata Resources:

1. National Alopecia Areata Foundation - https://www.naaf.org/
2. Diana Smith, organizer of the Philadelphia NAAF virtual
   support meetings - smith.diana72@gmail.com

To pitch an interview idea, contact Cynthia Kreilick at cynthiakreilick@gmail.com.

Dr. Geri Lynn Utter walks her talk. She grew up in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Her parents had mental health and drug abuse issues. She is now a licensed psychologist, working with children and adults with severe mental illness and drug addiction.

In my interview with Geri Lynn, I got a sense of her pragmatism, her power and her wisdom. I hope the mayor of Philadelphia and City Council members listen to her and employ her skills. I hope teachers and parents listening to this interview consult the resources she recommends (see below). She’s the real deal. Thank you, Geri Lynn, for sharing your experience on CK Unmuted.

~ CK

Following are resources, books by Geri Lynn and links to her podcast and documentary:

Books:

Aftershock: How Past Events Shake Up Your Life Today

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Aftershock/Geri-Lynn-Utter/9780757324901

Mainlining Philly: Survival, Hope and Resisting Drug Addiction

https://www.amazon.com/Mainlining-Philly-Survival-Resisting-Addiction-ebook/dp/B085HDVZ5S

Link to Documentary:

Utter Nonsense (available on Apple TV and Prime Video)

https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/utter-nonsense/umc.cmc.4ci7r9t351wp6b9vm83nxny05

Link to Podcast, Mind Over Mayhem

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mind-over-mayhem/id1725159923

To pitch an interview idea, contact Cynthia Kreilick at cynthiakreilick@gmail.com.