Welcome to Jay's Conversations!

A cringey video of our host, Jalen Layfield, describing our rebrand!

Hello kings, queens, and fellow monarchs!!

As you may have heard in the video, we are back for season 2!! My apologies for dropping 6 episodes last year and then going radio silence 😬. Truthfully, I needed time to reflect on everything! It was a scary experience for me to learn in real-time and to share my thoughts & views about the world so publicly, opening the doors for criticism. But despite those frightening feelings, I think it was a necessary exercise in practicing vulnerability and releasing the need to feel like I always have a sense of control over my world (sorry I’m a Capricorn ♑️ AND anxious girly 😟, I can’t help it). 

That scary feeling proved to be a great personal reminder that learning is supposed to be respectful, fun, explorative, and free of judgement from myself and others. In addition to the personal reminder, I hope it also serves as a reminder for anyone who interacts with Jay’s Conversations. The intention of my work is to provide materials to engage with and provide the opportunity for listeners to define how they want to interact with it afterwards. We might not agree or hold the same perspective but as long as human rights and human decency are the foundation then you’re doing exactly what I intended for folks to do. Listen and engage so thank you. 

That being said, during my hiatus, I’ve reflected on what lies ahead and the steps we can take to continue to grow. The first step is a biggie. We will no longer be called Conversations: With Wine in Hand but instead Jay’s Conversations which is a fun, thought-provoking podcast that explores the intersection of community, culture, and intellectual thought.

The original name for the podcast was inspired by the many wonderful conversations I’ve had with loved ones over a glass or 3 of wine which I still partake in occasionally. But during my reflection, I realized that I didn’t want to limit myself. I didn’t want to stick with just drinking wine because 1) I don’t always want to drink alcohol 2) there are drinks I like. I’m the kinda gworl who enjoys variety, one day it might be a Sho Berry Peace Tea or Country Time Lemonade with ½ cup more sugar than necessary 😉. But more importantly, I want to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe and welcome to participate. Whether it's by listening at home or by being a guest on the show, for some folks that doesn’t include alcohol and I want to honor that. 

Additionally, as my worldview continues to expand, I want the topics that I discuss on the show to reflect that, hence the change in the description which includes community, culture, and intellectual thought. I want to be inspired by being in the community and interacting with people who are passionate about their work and the lives it impacts. I’m excited to continue to see how culture shows its beautiful colors through different expressive forms. Ultimately, I’m looking forward to bridging everything together to continue to learn and to do my part in making science more accessible to anyone who seeks its knowledge. 

Looking ahead, you can expect a 12-week mini-pod series. Similar to a traditional episode, I’ll consume a few media sources (scholarly articles, books, art, tv shows/movies, etc) and summarize them, and then provide an analysis with my commentary. This series won’t feature any guest and each episode will be about 10-20 minutes long (sorry you’re stuck with just hearing my voice!). But don’t worry too much because a season 2 that features guests will follow the 12-week series :) If this sounds like a lot to keep up with, you’re right, SO I recommend subscribing to our weekly newsletter. I promise your mailbox won’t be bombarded, it’s just so you can stay up to date on all the exciting things that are happening! 

Lastly, I just want to end by saying thank you. This wouldn’t be possible without everyone’s support and people’s willingness to be open to the world. My goal is to build a supportive community of curious thinkers who enjoy engaging with the world and the learnings it constantly offers and we are already off to such a great start! 

Alright enough of my yapping, bye y'all!