The Kitchen Sisters Present

It is Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the day when millions of Americans go to the polls to vote for who will lead their towns, their states, the nation. Souls to the polls today across the country, and so much hangs in the balance. On this fraught and tender Tuesday, when all our nerves are frayed, we offer a moment of respite and contemplation — an episode of the podcast Constellation Prize from radio producer and filmmaker Bianca Giaever, featuring writer, poet and activist Terry Tempest Williams. Constellation Prize is a podcast from The Believer Magazine. This story is Episode 1 of a 4 part series. You can hear the whole Nightwalking series and more episodes of Constellation Prize wherever you find your podcasts. Our thanks to Bianca, The Believer, and the poet laureate of nightwalking, Terry Tempest Williams, for allowing us to share this story. The music in Nightwalking is by Ishmael Ensemble, John Carroll Kirby and Elori Saxl. Our theme music is "Day of the Dead" by Ted Savarese. We’re dropping this podcast on Tuesday, November 5. If you’re hearing it today and haven’t already voted we hope you’re headed to the polls for a little night voting. The Kitchen Sisters Present... is part of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent podcasts that widen your world. Thanks for listening.

July 17, 2024, Washington, D.C. Some 200 young people from across the nation aged 14-19 — aspiring poets, storytellers, MC's, activists — are gathered in the nation’s capital for the 29th annual Brave New Voices Festival — four non-stop days of slam poetry competition, coaching, workshops, late-night freestyling and in 2024, voting information. In summer, as the election loomed larger and larger we decided to turn our microphone to young people across America to hear their thoughts and feelings about the nation, about voting, about the election. Everyone always says young people are the future. But the truth is they are the present. And it is all on their plate. The Kitchen Sisters and producer Bianca Giaever traveled to the Brave New Voices Festival to take in the poets and their poetry, to listen and take the pulse of the moment. The hope, the scope, the vote.  On July 21, the day after the festival ended, President Biden dropped out of the race. Keep that in mind as you listen.   The Hope & The Scope was produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Nikki Silva & Davia Nelson) and Bianca Giaever and mixed by Jim McKee. In collaboration with Nathan Dalton and Brandi Howell. Funding for The Hope & the Scope comes from The Robert Sillins Family Foundation, Susan Sillins & The Buenas Obras Fund. Special thanks to all the poets, the teams, the coaches, to the fabulous Future Corps 2024 and to all the staff, volunteers and radiant community of Brave New Voices. And to all we interviewed at the festival. Very special thanks to Youth Speaks, trailblazers of local and national youth poetry slams, festivals, mentoring, youth education and development — creators of the Brave New Voices Festival. Deep bow to Executive Director Michelle Mush Lee, Communications Director Bijou McDaniel, Stephanie Cajina, Joan Osato, James Kass, to Paige Goedkoop, Jamie DeWolf and Pawn Shop Productions and especially to Bianca Giaever who joined us in Washington, D.C. and came with her mic blazing. The Kitchen Sisters Present... is part of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent, thought-provoking, deeply-produced, highly-entertaining podcasts that widen your world. Thanks for listening. Thanks for subscribing.

Tupperware, which gave generations of women a chance to make their own money outside the home, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. We revisit a story from the early years of The Kitchen Sisters about the iconic plasticware brand.

As elections loom, we need to get involved, step up to the civic plate, take part in discourse. And that’s what Manny Yekutiel has been driven to do since 2018. He’s created a community-focused meeting place in San Francisco — a gathering space for people to watch presidential debates, meet people working on the front lines of social change, and discuss issues with policy makers in person. From community forums debating the new trash can designs in San Francisco, to town hall meetings with political candidates for the Senate and the Presidency, Manny’s is a place to commune, listen, and be heard. They’ve got a restaurant — Farming Hope, a non-profit that hires formerly homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals and trains them in the food skills needed to work in the restaurant industry. They’ve got a bookstore specializing in local history and politics — with no pressure to buy books. As church basements and social clubs fade as places where young people feel comfortable gathering, Manny has created a place — not home, not work — but a "third place" where people can come together to meet and engage with civic leaders, elected officials, artists, and activists. Thanks to Precious Green and to the staff of Farming Hope. Thanks also to Valerie Velardi who led us to Manny’s, and to Manny Yekutiel for the time and the vision. The Kitchen Sisters Present is part of the Radiotopia from PRX, a network of hand-crafted, independent, vibrant podcasts that widen your world.

The story of the 6-year-old girls who first integrated the New Orleans public schools in 1960 and the US Deputy Marshalls who protected them.