← The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
Cyntoia Brown encounter with God after surviving sex trafficking +an open group convo about faith!
00:30:39
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- [00:00]
Katie Couric
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
Bernie Sanders
On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric. I sat down with Bernie Sanders. We've talked many times over the years, and today he even throws a few questions my way.
- [00:15]
Jonathan Goldstein
All right, are you ready for another question?
- [00:17]
Katie Couric
Go ahead, hit me, Bernie.
- [00:20]
Bernie Sanders
We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living, and of course, the government shutdown. Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:38]
Maggie Freeling
The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [00:51]
Lauren LaRosa
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small town.
- [01:03]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [01:19]
Lauren LaRosa
It'S Anna Ortiz and I'm Markin Delicato. You might know us as Hilda and Justin from Ugly Betty.
- [01:26]
Katie Couric
Welcome to our new podcast, Viva Betty Y rewatching the series from start to.
- [01:32]
Lauren LaRosa
Finish and talking to iconic guests like Betty herself, America Ferreira.
- [01:37]
Katie Couric
There was this moment when the glasses went on and it was like, this is our Betty.
- [01:42]
Lauren LaRosa
Listen to Viva Betty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:51]
Gisele Bryant
You know the shade is always shadiest right here. Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryant and Robyn Dixon is here dropping every Monday as two of the founding members of the Real Housewives Potomac. We're giving you all the laughs, drama and reality news you can handle. And you know, we don't hold back. So come be reasonable or shady with us each and every Monday. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [02:27]
Lauren LaRosa
I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything.
- [02:29]
Bernie Sanders
And everybody knows you don't lie.
- [02:33]
Jonathan Goldstein
Lauren came in hot.
- [02:34]
Lauren LaRosa
Hey, y', all, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa and this is the latest with Lauren the Rosa. This is your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the conversations that shake the room, baby. Now, I have been on an HBCU tour. You guys know I've been all over, but we ended the tour literally this week in real time. I'm recording this. We ended it yesterday as Delaware State University defeated Norfolk State University at Lincoln Financial Field, which is the stadium where the Eagles play. Deshaun Jackson for Delaware State University vs. Mike Vick for Norfolk State University was a huge game. Over 47,000 people. Over 47,000 people purchased tickets, y'. All. I was told by the end of the night by the president of Delaware State University, Dr. Tony Allen, that they were looking at making a profit, which they would then use to put back into the school. And look out for Norfolk a bit, because it's a home game for Del State, they were looking at a profit of over a million dollars. Let me tell y' all something, okay? When I was at Delaware State University, I was literally told, going to this school is going to make it so hard for people to ever know who you are, what you want to do, and for you to work in the industry you want to work in. It takes one small, one small dream and a whole lot of faith and a whole lot of God to be able to break barriers where people are like, wow, what.
- [04:07]
Jonathan Goldstein
Hold on.
- [04:07]
Lauren LaRosa
What is that transformation? What's happening? And that has been the story of Delaware State University. You know, now Norfolk State University, Jackson State, and what Deion Sanders did there, because somebody had a vision, a dream, but also somebody was really tapped into their spirituality and their faith. And God said to them, listen, I need y' all to go over here, climb this mountain, and then you'll be able to make a way for other people. So as I'm recovering from all of the events that we hosted at Norfolk State University and, you know, ending our HBCU alumni tour that we do for Bronco grinding And myself, Lauren LaRosa, as you know, I recover from all of that. I wanted to share a conversation that is very much in the vein of that the faith of a mustard seed and But God. So let's get on into a convo. I sat down in conversation with Cyntoya Brown Long, and a lot of you guys may have heard her story. Cyntoya brownlong is an American author, a speaker, and a criminal justice reform advocate. She was a victim of sex trafficking as a minor, and she served 15 years in prison for murder after she shot and killed a man who solicited her for sex. And originally, her sentence was 1551 years behind bars, but God. We also were joined in this conversation by Maria Doris, who's a pastor, a faith leader, and a woman who has lived lives. Okay? I mean, she has done makeup for some of the biggest celebrities and models in the entertainment business. But all of that comes with some things for some people. And by Some things, I mean, addiction, I mean, you know, losing it all and having to gain it all back through faith and realizing God. Now, as a former lead pastor of Christ Tabernacle, a huge congregation, which was also the first church to be born out of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, Maria takes all these lived experiences as that top celebrity makeup artist. At one point, a woman who went through years of really intense drug use. I mean, like, almost didn't make it to see today type of drug use, but, you know, she has come up out of that and now she is using her faith to transform and to have conversations, transformative conversations with others. And lastly, but totally not least, in this conversation, you guys will hear from Randall Long. Randall is the creative mind behind the cool world mascot, Cooley. With numerous children's clinic now, Cooley is more than just a character. Randall likes to say that Cooley is a figure that represents unity, diversity and acceptance. All these things which are, you know, really close to his heart. But all of this creativity is utilized the best. And what Randall does as he is ministering and honestly developing children. And when I say developing, I mean like really pouring into them and, you know, tapping into their creative and, you know, just using his story to inspire others. That's the common thread here is inspiration. Faith of a mustard seed. Let's get on into the conversation. I think you guys are enjoying this one. When you look back over your story, what stands out as your turning point? You know, the moment when pain begin to give purpose.
- [07:23]
Randall Long
Go ahead, ladies first.
- [07:25]
Katie Couric
I think a turning point for me when I saw that there was purpose in my pain was when my now husband had challenged me. I was speaking about my situation. For those of the. Those of you didn't hear the introduction, but I spent 15 years incarcerated. I was sentenced to life in prison. Was supposed to be 67 years old. Before I got out, all of my pills had been denied. I had none left. And I received a letter in the mail from my now husband. And that started us going back and forth having conversations. And when I told him how I was pretty much frustrated with God, but I didn't believe he was ruthless. He challenged me and he said, who told you he was finished? And I had kind of written on end. I thought that was it. Like it was nothing but ashes, right? But it helped me to see that, you know, God is really doing something with this. Let me sit back and let him finish. And so I think that was a turning point for me. And then the way that it unfolded, I saw that if I hadn't gone through all that I had gone through, I wouldn't be able to do the things that I am now testifying about how good he was and about how there is a way out.
- [08:35]
Lauren LaRosa
Yes. Question for you guys. You know, talking about, you know, what some of your lives have been like and what you've been through. Did you guys recognize God when he met you in your mess? Like, did you know it was him or what were you feeling or experiencing when that moment happened?
- [08:53]
Katie Couric
So for me, I don't feel that I really recognized it was him. And that was because it was. I was in such a funk from everything that I went through. Like, so much anger had consumed me that I had convinced myself that he wasn't real. And so while I knew there was something that would keep me holding on and pushing forward, I knew there was something that would tell me, you're not going to spend the rest of your life in prison. I called it everything but him. I said it was the universe, but the universe was looking out for me. And all these things that you hear. But. But it was him all along. And it wasn't until I saw that his hands. I started acknowledging that it was him. Till I learned to call on the name of Jesus. And I said, you know what? It was him all along. And I started seeing the way he showed up. But, yeah, I was so angry that I didn't. I wouldn't even acknowledge that it was him.
- [09:42]
Maria Doris
Well, I had a definite encounter with God. I was crazy, out of my mind. Did drugs from the age of 10 to 25. I've overdosed on heroin three times. I've been arrested, tried to commit suicide. Find the man of my dreams, go on this vacation to Mexico. Worked in Bergdorf Goodman, did famous people's makeup. And I have everything the world says I need in order to be happy. I had designer luggage. I had more chains than Snoop Dogg. I did, I did. If it was on the COVID Cosmopolitan or Vogue, I had it. But we get to my new boyfriend, we get to this vacation spot in Mexico. He smuggled in, I smuggled in, I'm sorry, $3,000 worth of cocaine. I see how God has protected me so many times. And on this 10 day vacation, as the days are going on, I'm emptier and emptier and emptier. I never heard of being born again. Imagine that. I knew where to get the latest haircut. I never waited online to get into a club. I knew every dj, but I did not know we could be born again, have a new life. And as the day's going on, I have everything the world says I have in order to be happy. I'm successful. This guy loves me, he's good looking. But I'm empty. And you know, we all have that emptiness inside of us. And the only one that could fill it is God. He's the only one. And all of a sudden, as the fifth day to this 10 day vacation, I felt like something was screaming inside of me. Help me. Help me. And I didn't know who to tell because I didn't know what it was. So my boyfriend went out for a walk on the beach one night and I stayed in the room and I decided to talk to God. But I didn't talk to him. And the way we talk to him, I shook my fist and I called him every name in the book. And I said, what kind of God are you? What kind of God are you? What is this thing called life? I feel like a dog chasing a tail. And in this room, this holy God that should have struck me dead with my filthy mouth, with my immorality, with it all, he said my name. And it was not audible, it was internal. You have to know my name. When I was born, my mother died. I have no name on my birth certificate. He knew my name. He knows your name. And he said the name Maria. And he said, give me your life before it's too late. And I knew that. I knew it was God. I didn't know his name was Jesus. I didn't know anything. But I knew that. I knew. My boyfriend came back from this walk on the beach, 15 minutes. And I said, michael, when we go back home and you go to church. And me. He said, church? He said, you need to smoke a joint, girl. You need to get a job. And then when I was leaving this vacation spot, they offered me a job. They said, we know you're not married and why don't you stay here and be a host? And I turned to my boyfriend and I said, that's the devil. He doesn't want me to go home or go to church now. My boyfriend's like, first you hear God and now you know who the devil is. He said, we're definitely cranking up when we get back to this apartment. We had just moved in together and I had a telephone and I called a friend of mine and I said, I got to talk to you. I did not know any Christians. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Christian. And I said, I got to talk to you. And she said, hurry up, And I said, barbara, I need God in my life. And Barbara said, praise the Lord. I said, praise the who? She said, while you were gone, some hippie preached the gospel to her and 30 of our friends, she said, we held hands and we said, lord, save Michael and Maria in Mexico. And that was the night that voice spoke to me in that hotel.
- [13:50]
Bernie Sanders
Took.
- [13:50]
Maria Doris
Us to church and we gave our lives to Christ. And that was 50 years ago in September.
- [14:04]
Bernie Sanders
On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric. I sat down with Bernie Sanders, who is 84 years old, has spent 34 years in Congress and he can still pack a rally with people a quarter of his age.
- [14:17]
Jonathan Goldstein
Denver, 34,000 people come out. Salt Lake City, 20,000 people. You know, huge turnouts. People are really dissatisfied about the status quo.
- [14:28]
Bernie Sanders
His Fighting Oligarchy tour with AOC and other young progressives has become a movement. But is his message too far to the left? Well, he certainly doesn't think so.
- [14:38]
Jonathan Goldstein
Does that sound like a radical idea, Judy? Is that too far left for you?
- [14:41]
Bernie Sanders
Okay, okay, wait. I get your point, Bernie. We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living and of course the government shutdown, not to mention the current state of the Democratic Party.
- [14:56]
Jonathan Goldstein
To me, the failure of the Democratic Party has been an unwillingness to recognize the real issues.
- [15:02]
Bernie Sanders
Open your free iHeartRadio app search next question with Katie Couric. And listen now.
- [15:11]
Lauren LaRosa
All I know is what I've been told, and that's a half truth is a whole lie.
- [15:17]
Maggie Freeling
For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [15:32]
Lauren LaRosa
I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.
- [15:35]
Maggie Freeling
We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.
- [15:44]
Lauren LaRosa
Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky.
- [15:47]
Maria Doris
Housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.
- [15:51]
Maggie Freeling
My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.
- [16:01]
Jonathan Goldstein
I did not know her and I did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.
- [16:06]
Lauren LaRosa
They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her.
- [16:14]
Maggie Freeling
From lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.
- [16:25]
Lauren LaRosa
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.
- [16:34]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [16:55]
Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis here. My book the Big Short tells the story of the buildup and birth of the US housing market back in 2008. It follows a few unlikely but lucky people who saw the real estate market for the black hole it would become and eventually made billions of dollars from that perception. It was like feeding the monsters, said Eisman. We fed the monster until it blew up. The monster was exploding. Yet on the streets of Manhattan, there was no sign anything important had just happened. Now, 15 years after the Big Short's original release and a decade after it became an Academy Award winning movie, I've recorded an audiobook edition for the very first time. The Big Short story, what it means when people start betting against the market and who really pays for an unchecked financial system is as relevant today as it's ever been, offering invaluable insight into the current economy and also today's politics. Get the Big Short now at Pushkin FM audiobooks or wherever audiobooks are sold.
- [18:03]
Katie Couric
In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang they suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia.
- [18:13]
Maria Doris
We had 30 agents ready to go.
- [18:15]
Randall Long
With shotguns and rifles and you name it.
- [18:18]
Maggie Freeling
But what they find is not what they expected.
- [18:22]
Lauren LaRosa
Basically your stay at home moms were.
- [18:24]
Maria Doris
Picking up these large amounts of heroin.
- [18:26]
Lauren LaRosa
They go, is this your daughter?
- [18:28]
Randall Long
I said, yes.
- [18:29]
Lauren LaRosa
They go, oh, you may not see her for like 25 years.
- [18:35]
Katie Couric
Cotton. In between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women.
- [18:41]
Maggie Freeling
Must decide who they're willing to protect and who they dare to betray.
- [18:47]
Lauren LaRosa
Once I saw the gun, I tried.
- [18:48]
Randall Long
To take his hand and I saw.
- [18:49]
Lauren LaRosa
The flash of light.
- [18:51]
Katie Couric
Listen to the Chinatown sting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcast.
- [19:04]
Lauren LaRosa
So for all of you guys, how did you deal with? I mean, if there was shame, right, how did you deal with? Now I'm going to take everything I've been through in my story to help other people. And in doing that, you got to be very honest about what you've been through and how you felt and all these things. And not everybody receives it the best all the time. How do you guys deal with that? Even today when you're going around and sharing your story and, you know, ministering to people dealing with people that might not, you know, receive it the best way, but also dealing with any internal shame or guilt that you may experience.
- [19:38]
Katie Couric
So for me, coming through the way that I came through, the way that the Lord brought me through, it's just, it's so amazing what he did with me. I can't help but tell someone, I can't help but tell other young girls in my situation that there is a different way of life, that there's a way life out for you. Somebody who's in that situation right now. I'm so excited to let them know that like the Lord, he's got a plan for you, he can bring you out of this. Like you said, you just keep walking. So shame is never even a thought. And I know where shame comes from and it's not from my Lord. So it has nothing to do with me. It has no part of my identity, has no room in my life. So it's, it's not even an issue, it's not even a thought, you know, and when you, when you, when you get brought through something, when you have that testimony, it doesn't become hard. I know a lot of people like to ask me whenever I share my story, isn't it hard for you to relive? No, honey, I know how it ends.
- [20:38]
Maria Doris
It's hard at all.
- [20:39]
Katie Couric
There is no shame. So there's only glory to him. And so I tell anybody who would listen, if you don't want to listen, I'll tell you anyway.
- [20:49]
Lauren LaRosa
Thank you for that.
- [20:51]
Bernie Sanders
Al.
- [20:52]
Lauren LaRosa
Question for you. So you're really passionate about investing in the next generation, especially children of color. Why is that mission so personal for you?
- [21:02]
Randall Long
Why is it so personal for me? One, I like to empower all. Two, the reason why I love to empower kids of color, people of color is because I know I grew up in the 90s, I'm an 80s baby, I may not look like it, but I know that by seeing certain communities, I see there's a lack of male presence. And the reason why I go so hard in what I do, in showing empowerment through creativity and different forms of empowerment. These kids are so used to seeing people come in and out of their lives. And I noticed by doing certain back to schools and speaking at certain schools that some individuals come into schools and yes, they'll do their projects and then they'll move on to things. That's not to say that certain schools can go a different route, but the thing is that there's no consistency in these kids lives. And one of the Ethnic groups that lack it is people of color. They see people coming in and out of their lives. I see at different community events where there's less men or champion. Kudos to our mothers and our grandmothers and things of that nature. But we need more men that's going to stand up and actually show up to events, put on events that actually empower you and not be lackadaisical about it. Because majority of our kids, when they see us put effort into things, they show up as their best. So the reason why I love empowering people of color is that I like to show them that it is possible. I was born deaf in my left ear. I was placed in special education. There were so many labels where it kept me in a mental prison walking through life. Because every great opportunity that I did have, I wasn't capable of walking into it because I was in a mental prison, basically allowing my past to dictate every step I took. So by numbing the pain through alcohol, drugs, partying, sex, porn, things of that nature, our communities, our kids, they need to see men of color, men in general, show up. That's what we need.
- [23:22]
Lauren LaRosa
Thank you for that. Thank you for the work that you do too. Yes, sir. I said thank you for the work that you do too.
- [23:29]
Katie Couric
I'm sitting here.
- [23:29]
Lauren LaRosa
I'm sitting here and just. I don't have kids, but I have a niece. And my niece is 10. And as I'm watching her grow up, one of the hardest things for me is that I can't protect her from like, the world of things, right? And then it always makes me think, like when I was younger and my mom was trying to teach me things, why she tried to instill certain things. Because your kids go out into the world and you just gotta rely on what you've taught them. And there were people in my life that I came across. Like, I know Ms. Hayes spoke earlier, but, like, there were people in my life that I came across, people like you that helped to, like, you know, reinforce things as it was happening. And you guys are so important because sometimes we don't be here in our house, but then we go into the world and we forget it or, you know, so just appreciate what you're doing. I'm really sitting here thinking, like, wow, what you're doing is really going to.
- [24:13]
Maria Doris
You know what I mean?
- [24:14]
Lauren LaRosa
Like, it's really going to help and change people's lives because it did it for me. So appreciate you. Thank you for being here too. Now, one question for you, Cyntoya, now that you're advocating for victims of trafficking and criminal justice reform. What drives you to keep sharing your story? And you talked about this. The memories that you have aren't painful for you because you know how it ends. But what drives you to keep telling your story in ways that reach people where they feel like they want to come and think about what the end of their story will be and not where they are right now? How are you pushing these women or even men to be able to see or know their end so that they're not afraid to come and share things with you?
- [25:01]
Katie Couric
So how I do it, Yes, I just. I just show up as me authentically. And, you know, there's nothing that's off the table. We have conversations, to be honest with you, when I go into facilities, I go where they are. A lot of the girls that I serve, they're currently incarcerated in facilities. I go into the facilities, and sometimes we just sit and we just have crafts. We just do crafts, arts, we crafts. A lot of conversations are had over glitter, and they just open up. Some of the toughest, you know, kids that are wreaking havoc throughout the week in the facilities, they just melt. When it comes to beaded bracelets, I don't know what the science is, but that's my thing. And we just. We just talk. We just have honest conversations. And I feel like that's really important. Another thing that's important is that I show up consistently because they desire that consistent.
- [25:47]
Lauren LaRosa
There's this consistency again, consistent, healthy relationship.
- [25:51]
Katie Couric
And so a lot of these young girls, they're struggling with the same thing many of us have encountered. And that's this attack on identity. Like the enemy has this huge assignment attacking us in our identity. And that's something that I face. But meeting them where they are, meeting them for who they are, loving them just as they are. That's really, I guess, if I had a strategy, that's what my strategy is. But it's really important for me to also do the other side of my work, going out and speaking about my experience. Because I can remember when I was young and I didn't identify as a quote, unquote, trafficking victim, because the whole discourse on human trafficking was you get snatched off the street and thrown into a white van and held in a basement somewhere for girls like me who were living on the streets as runaways and did things that we were taught you needed to do in order to survive. We were considered fast or promiscuous. We were considered doing things that were an act of volition instead of being violated as children by adults. And so having that conversation is really important because there are other young people who may be going through that, may be experiencing that and they don't understand. There's a name for that they don't understand. Like that's not on you. And there's a way out of that. I didn't even understand that, that what I was doing was not healthy. I didn't understand that it was wrong. Like my entire perception of relationship was skewed. My entire perception of what it means to be with someone else was skewed. And so that's why it's really important for me, because they need to understand that there is a way out, that there's a different life, that there's fulfillment waiting for you, there's happiness waiting for you. And this is not the end of it.
- [27:34]
Bernie Sanders
On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric. I sat down with Bernie Sanders, who is 84 years old, has spent 34 years in Congress and he can still pack a rally with people a quarter of his age.
- [27:48]
Jonathan Goldstein
Denver, 34,000 people come out. Salt Lake City, 20,000 people. You know, huge turnouts. People are really dissatisfied about the status quo.
- [27:58]
Bernie Sanders
His Fighting Oligarchy tour with AOC and other young progressives has become a movement. But is his message too far to the left? Well, he certainly doesn't think so.
- [28:09]
Jonathan Goldstein
Does that sound like a radical idea, Judy? Is that too far left for you?
- [28:12]
Bernie Sanders
Okay, okay, wait. I get your point, Bernie. We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living and of course the government shutdown, not to mention the current state of the Democratic Party.
- [28:26]
Jonathan Goldstein
To me, the failure of the Democratic Party has been an unwillingness to recognize the real issues.
- [28:32]
Bernie Sanders
Open your free iHeartRadio app search next Question with Katie Couric. And listen. Now.
- [28:42]
Lauren LaRosa
All I know is what I've been told and that's a half truth is a whole lie.
- [28:47]
Maggie Freeling
For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [29:03]
Lauren LaRosa
I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.
- [29:05]
Maggie Freeling
We know A story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.
- [29:14]
Lauren LaRosa
Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky.
- [29:17]
Maria Doris
Housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.
- [29:21]
Maggie Freeling
My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.
- [29:31]
Jonathan Goldstein
I did not know her and I did not kill her. Or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.
- [29:37]
Lauren LaRosa
They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her.
- [29:45]
Maggie Freeling
From Lava For Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.
- [29:55]
Lauren LaRosa
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.
- [30:04]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season at 4. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [30:25]
Jonathan Goldstein
I'm Jonathan Goldstein and on the new season of Heavyweight, I help a centenarian mend a broken heart.
- [30:32]
Maria Doris
How can a 101-year-old woman fall in love again?
- [30:39]
Jonathan Goldstein
And I help a man atonement for an armed robbery he committed at 14 years old. And so I pointed the gun at.
- [30:48]
Lauren LaRosa
Him and said, this isn't a joke.
- [30:50]
Katie Couric
And he got down.
- [30:51]
Lauren LaRosa
And I remember feeling kind of a surge of like, okay, this is power.
- [30:54]
Jonathan Goldstein
Plus, my old friend Gregor and his brother tried to solve my problems through hypnotism. We could give you a whole brand.
- [31:01]
Randall Long
New thing where you're like super charming.
- [31:03]
Katie Couric
All the time, being more able to look people in the eye, not always.
- [31:06]
Bernie Sanders
Hide behind a microphone.
- [31:09]
Jonathan Goldstein
Listen to heavyweight on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [31:20]
Katie Couric
Welcome to Decoding Women's Health. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Poynter, Chair of Women's health and Gynecology at the Atria Health Institute in New York City. On this show, I'll be talking to top researchers and top clinicians, asking them your burning questions and bringing that information about women's health and midlife directly to you. 100% of women go through menopause. It can be such a struggle for.
- [31:44]
Lauren LaRosa
Our quality of life.
- [31:46]
Maria Doris
But even if it's natural, why should.
- [31:48]
Lauren LaRosa
We suffer through it?
- [31:49]
Maria Doris
The types of symptoms that people talk about is forgetting everything. I never used to forget things.
- [31:54]
Maggie Freeling
They're concerned that one, they have dementia and the other one is do I have adhd?
- [31:59]
Katie Couric
There is unprecedented promise with regard to cannabis and cannabinoids to sleep better, to have less pain, to have better mood, and also to have better day to day life. Listen to Decoding Women's Health with Dr. Elizabeth Poynter on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening now.
- [32:26]
Lauren LaRosa
In the work that you guys do, have you guys ever felt like what if I can't save this person? Like, I'm telling my story, I'm doing all this work, but what if I can't save this person? Like, and is there a weight to that feeling that you guys experience at all?
- [32:43]
Maria Doris
We don't save anybody. The Holy Spirit saves them. And God wills that not one would be lost. He didn't come to judge. He came to save. He didn't come for the well, he came for the set. And our job is to tell, to speak with compassion and grace and to pray and to pray for them, you know, when we're not with them, to pray for them because, you know, some plants, some water, God gives the increase. I cannot believe that a seed that goes into the ground will not grow if it's a good seed. I definitely believe that. We got married on a rainy Monday in City hall when we got saved. And 40 years after we got saved, we got married in our church. Our three sons of pastors with our eight grandkids. We finally did it right. Listen, I love this because we're photoshopped here. And you know what? That's how Jesus sees us. We are photoshopped. He sees us without spot and wrinkle. We think he's examining every piece of dandruff, every little skin, you know, every little pimple he does. And he sees us through the eyes of the blood of his son. This is how we look to him. Amen.
- [34:02]
Katie Couric
And he loves us.
- [34:05]
Randall Long
It's interesting to see those photos because it makes me think about the times where I just tried to mask so much because I couldn't stop my mind from thinking so much. So I always think, thought that alcohol, even though I don't eat alcohol, when I step into a room, I'm confident when I step into a room. But in order to shut my mind off, at times it was alcohol did that. And I don't know why I allowed it to get to a certain place because it started small. And you know, when small things turn into big things, it started on the weekends in college. And then from college it turned on the weekdays after work only. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Then it turns to Tuesdays, karaoke night. Then Thursdays is ladies only. But guys, this, it's like a snowball effect to where it gradually creeps up on you. But the thing is that my mom always says that by our choices and our decisions, some things don't have to happen to us. But by our decisions, we get in our own way. And those things, we make the wrong decision to put ourselves in the wrong places at the wrong times and things of that nature. So I say all that to say that just seeing those pictures just made me start thinking, rehearsing things.
- [35:25]
Lauren LaRosa
Cynthia, I don't know if you had something you wanted to say a while back before you brought in the pictures, but if so, I wanted to bring it up to you.
- [35:31]
Katie Couric
She basically said what I said, you know, we can't save anybody. And especially, like, in the line of work that I'm in with the organization that I work with, by the time a girl has made it to me, like, she's already been given up on, the system has written her off. Parents, teachers, they've all written her off. Like, I serve what they titled the hardest to serve youth. And so there are some that, you know, all I can do is show up and be consistent. And I can plant good seeds. That's what's important. We plant good seed, not just plant a seed. Plant a good seed and you just trust that the Lord is going to take over the rest. But sometimes it doesn't work out that way. Every story is not a happy ending. I just lost a girl not too long ago, and it happens, and it's.
- [36:18]
Lauren LaRosa
A part of the work.
- [36:19]
Katie Couric
But you still show up and you still keep planting those seeds. You don't worry about the end result. Like, the end. That's none of your business what the Lord does there. You just do what he called you to do in that moment, that show up. Be consistent. Thank you.
- [36:35]
Lauren LaRosa
So in closing, I want you guys to be able to, you know, give closing remarks, whatever you're led to say. But there is a closing question, so I'm going read a scripture. And then I just want you guys to also mention, you know, what this verse means to you. The scripture says the Lord will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of warning, and a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair. What does that mean to you guys?
- [37:03]
Maria Doris
Well, it means that God makes us new. You know, I want to speak to the believer for a moment, because a lot of times we carry our ashes and we put them on the next day's sacrifice or on the. The next day's altar of worship. And you can't have fresh fire with ashes. And in the Old Testament, the scriptures tell us that God designated a specific place for the ashes. It was called an ash heap. The priest would actually burn a sacrifice. What he was saying, he was. He cut off the animal's head, it was the eyes, the ears, gave it to God. The legs gave his steps to God. The inner parts washed, put on that altar and, and the fat, the successes put on the altar burned up. Then there were ashes. That priest literally had to change his garment, take all the ashes. That was his pain, his problems, his provision, all of it. And he would put it on an ash, he. And he had to remove it far from the area of worship. And those ashes, to God, they were sacred. God knew what every ash meant. He knew every tear that that ash meant. He knew every problem that priest was going through, everything the provision that he was grateful for. Every ash meant something. But the next day, here comes Sunday, we're going to worship. We're not going to have yesterday's ashes on today's sacrifice because that would be like trying to cook like this delicious steak in an old sooted pan that you made something of. You're going to ruin it. So we got to get those ashes out. If we've given it to God, we have to believe he took it and he's going to make a way for us. And he understands and he's a man that sympathizes with our weakness, weaknesses. But we gotta go the next day in faith and just once again worship the Lord. Because you know what? God, without faith, it's impossible to please God. God smells faith. He smells faith. He says, wow, they believe I'm going to take care of it. Wow, they believe that. I understand their situation today. They're coming in and they're just worshiping me. Because every day, you know, you and I, we have ashes and we got to remove those ashes so we can have fresh sacrifice.
- [39:38]
Katie Couric
So this, this actually just came to me because whenever you said that about the ashes, I was like, you know, you can actually, you actually make soap from ashes. Ashes used to make lot which is used to make soap. Soap is used to make clean cleanliness.
- [39:50]
Maria Doris
To get things clean.
- [39:54]
Katie Couric
But for me, that verse in my life, when I think of, you know, the ashes, I think of how I had given up in that point. I think a lot of times we allow our circumstances, the things that we go through to kind of put a period on things. We think it's all over with for us, right?
- [40:09]
Maria Doris
It's.
- [40:09]
Katie Couric
We live in that state of despair. The rest of the scripture, you know, it talks about, you know, freedom to the captives, to freedom from darkness for the prisoners, and we can put ourselves in that own prison. Prisons of shame, prisons of anger, or prisons of hate even. And I was in that place. I was so I can't even begin to express to you how angry I was at God that he didn't move the way I wanted him to move when I wanted him to move that way. And I thought that that was just it. I was so angry that other people's faith enraged me. It enraged me to the point where I would sit there and have entire debates with people about the existence of God because I didn't want them to believe, because I didn't believe either. And that's where I was whenever my husband came to me and said, wait a minute, because he's not finished yet. He's not done. And he took from that place where I had decided everything was just ashes. It was done, it was destroyed. And now there's beauty in it, because now, through my freedom from all of that, other people can achieve that freedom. I was praying, and I was thinking, man, I'm supposed to be free from this physical prison right now, because, Lord, I'm pleading to you, you know, everything that went on, you know my heart, you know me inside and out. Why are you allowing this to happen to me? But I wasn't even ready for what he was preparing for me. And, you know, that's. That's the crown that he's given me, that now. That's the life that I can do. All I have to do is go around and tell people how good God is. I don't have a job. That's my job. Testify how good he is. And so that's what it means for me.
- [41:49]
Randall Long
You know, sitting here listening to you guys. It reminds me of a poem. And don't quote me on it, because I don't know who actually says it, but it says, our deepest fear is that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is not our light, but our darkness that will frighten us. You playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about you shrinking so others won't feel insecure around you. Because we are all meant to shine as children do. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
- [42:28]
Lauren LaRosa
I'm Lauren LaRosa. This is the latest with Lauren LaRosa. At the end of the day, I tell you guys every episode, my low riders, y' all could be anywhere with anybody having a conversation about this, but y' all choose to be right here with me. I appreciate y' all for that. I will catch you in my next episode.
- [42:47]
Bernie Sanders
On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric. I sat down with Bernie Sanders. We've talked many times over the years and today he even throws a few questions my way.
- [42:58]
Jonathan Goldstein
All right, are you ready for another question?
- [43:00]
Katie Couric
Go ahead, hit me, Bernie.
- [43:03]
Bernie Sanders
We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living, and of course, the government shutdown. Listen to next question. With me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [43:20]
Maggie Freeling
The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [43:33]
Lauren LaRosa
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns.
- [43:45]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [44:00]
Katie Couric
Sami Gente It's Ana Ortiz.
- [44:02]
Lauren LaRosa
And I'm Markin Delicato. You might know us as Hilda and Justin from Ugly Betty.
- [44:09]
Katie Couric
Welcome to our new podcast, Viva Betty.
- [44:12]
Bernie Sanders
Yay.
- [44:12]
Katie Couric
We're rewatching the series from start to.
- [44:15]
Lauren LaRosa
Finish and talking to iconic guests like Betty herself, America Ferreira.
- [44:19]
Katie Couric
There was this moment when the glasses went on and it was like, this is our Betty.
- [44:25]
Lauren LaRosa
Listen to Viva Betty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [44:34]
Gisele Bryant
You know the shade is always shadiest right here. Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryant and Robyn Dixon is here dropping every Monday as two of the founding members of the Real Housewives Potomac. We're giving you a all the laughs, drama and reality news you can handle. And you know we don't hold back. So come be reasonable or shady with us each and every Monday. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [45:07]
Katie Couric
This is an iHeart podcast.