Teach the Babies w/ Dr. David J. Johns Podcast By Dr. David J. Johns & Thomas Cunningham IV cover art

Teach the Babies w/ Dr. David J. Johns

Teach the Babies w/ Dr. David J. Johns

By: Dr. David J. Johns & Thomas Cunningham IV
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On Teach the Babies with Dr. David J. Johns, we’re examining the intersection of education, access, race, and how government impacts the teaching of our babies.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.Dr. David J. Johns World
Episodes
  • Dr. Zakiya Smith Ellis on DEI, Public Schools, and Refusing to Stop

    Dr. Zakiya Smith Ellis on DEI, Public Schools, and Refusing to Stop
    Mar 31 2026
    In this conversation, Dr. David Johns welcomes back a colleague, a co-conspirator, and a genuine friend from their Obama White House days—Dr. Zakiya Smith Ellis—for an honest, urgent, and surprisingly joyful conversation about the state of public education in America and what it demands of all of us, in spite of this moment.

    Zakiya brings her full toolkit: the policy precision of a former Senior Advisor on the White House Domestic Policy Council and U.S. Department of Education, the grounded clarity of New Jersey's former Secretary of Higher Education, and the voice of a mother who—in spite of best-laid plans—had to pause this very recording to redirect her daughter and close a door. Together, she and David break down the federal push to require all recipients of federal funding to certify they don't operate "illegal DEI" programs, unpacking what those words actually mean, what the courts have repeatedly said, and why the vagueness is entirely the point. They take on the narrative that public schools are failing, the difference between an executive order and the law of the land, and what Black families—and all families invested in democracy—should be asking, demanding, and refusing to be intimidated into silence about.

    In spite of what's being torn down, Zakiya insists we are still living in the house. And she wants us to start dreaming about what we're going to build.

    SHOW NOTES & RESOURCES

    Organizations doing critical work right now:
    • NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) — ldf.org
    • Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law — lawyerscommittee.org
    • Democracy Forward — democracyforward.org
    • LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) — lulac.org
    • EducationCounsel — educationcounsel.com (weekly plain-language updates on the latest policy and legal developments)
    Follow Dr. Zakiya Smith Ellis:
    • Substack: zakiyaellis.substack.com
    • Instagram: @zakiyasmithellis


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.
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    34 mins
  • The White People Whisperer: On Authenticity with Maya Rupert

    The White People Whisperer: On Authenticity with Maya Rupert
    Mar 24 2026
    What does it really cost to be yourself in America—and who gets to decide if you're "real" enough? In this class session, Dr. David J. Johns sits down with political strategist, presidential campaign trailblazer, and debut author Maya Rupert to dig into The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic—a book written not just for people who've lived the cost of inauthenticity, but for the people unconsciously sending the bill. From Lisa Turtle to Kamala Harris, Candace Owens to Jasmine Crockett, Maya and Dr. Johns examine the authenticity trap, the machinery of whiteness, and why political authenticity is really just gatekeeping in a blazer—and why it's time to storm the gates.

    SHOW NOTES & RESOURCES

    Guest: Maya Rupert — Political Strategist | Author | Host, When We Win Podcast (NAACP Image Award Nominee), @MayaRupert. The Book: The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic by Maya Rupert
    • Available wherever books are sold
    • Order online at bookshop.org (the independent-bookstore-supporting alternative)
    • Shoutout to Loyalty Bookstores — Black, Asian, and queer-owned — on 9th Street NW in Petworth, Washington, D.C.
    Referenced in This Episode:
    • Misogynoir — term coined by Moya Bailey; explored in the "Lisa Versus Jessie" chapter
    • Kamala Harris, Jasmine Crockett, Julián Castro, James Heller Rico, Candace Owens, Hasan Minhaj — all examined through the lens of the authenticity trap
    • The Black Tax — page 165, The Real Ones
    • Being "deputized in your own oppression" — page 86, The Real Ones
    Follow the Show: @NBJCONtheMove across all platforms

    📚 EmpowerED Book Club Giveaway: Look out for our giveaway featuring The Real Ones — details at @NBJCONtheMove

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.
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    45 mins
  • Take Up Space, Y'All w/Tess Holliday

    Take Up Space, Y'All w/Tess Holliday
    Mar 17 2026
    When was the last time you gave yourself permission to just exist? Not shrink, not apologize, not mold yourself into what somebody else needs—but to simply take up space?

    Dr. David Johns sits down with trailblazer Tess Holliday—one of the world's most recognized plus-size models, the first of her size to be signed to a major agency, and creator of the viral "Eff Your Beauty Standards" campaign. Today's conversation centers on her latest work: Take Up Space, Y'All: Your Bold and Bright Guide to Self-Love, co-written with Kelly Coon.

    While marketed as a guide for teens navigating social media, body image, and toxic friendships, this book is essential reading for anyone who has ever felt they needed to make themselves smaller. Tess brings her full self—as a mom raising a 20-year-old and a 9-year-old, as someone who grew up in rural Mississippi without the resources she desperately needed, and as a woman who has spent over a decade breaking barriers in the modeling industry. From discussing mutual aid and community care to naming joy as resistance, this conversation reminds us that in a world telling you to shrink, taking up space is the most radical thing you can do.

    SHOW NOTES & RESOURCES:

    Purchase the Book:
    • Take Up Space, Y'All: Your Bold and Bright Guide to Self-Love by Tess Holliday and Kelly Coon
    • Available at independent bookstores nationwide
    • Find your local bookstore: bookshop.org
    Learn More:
    • "Eff Your Beauty Standards" campaign: Search #EffYourBeautyStandards on social media platforms


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.
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    27 mins
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