Podcast Episodes

A Holiday Gift from Kevin “Earleybird” Earley and a Tribute to Mark Rippee

December 15, 2022 Tony Roberts Comments Off

This year Revealing Voices branched out to promote advocacy for those with brain illnesses and other mental health conditions. The response was tremendous as we grew in listenership and made a large impact not only in the advocacy community but also in the world at large; We hope to continue the momentum we’ve established this year as we explore Faith and Art in 2023.

As our holiday gift to you, we would like to present you with a video from our sound producer Kevin “Earleybrid” Earley of his latest song “Love.” We also are providing you with this link to a tribute playlist for James Mark Rippee. Mark lived as best he could and died as a result of untreated, severe mental illness, traumatic brain injury and homelessness. And to his “twisted twin” sisters Catherine and Linda who loved him to the end. May you have hope in a better life beyond this life of woe.

Episode 54 – The Art and Advocacy of Kevin ‘Earleybird’ Earley

November 30, 2022 Tony Roberts 00:47:21 1 Comment

Kevin “Earleybird” Earley is an artist and musician based out of Northern Virginia. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York where he studied fine art, and Virginia Commonwealth University, where he has earned his Master’s in Social Work.

His love for hip-hop goes back decades, as he wrote and performed his first raps in elementary school at the age of seven years old. His rap name was given to him by a childhood friend, a pun based on his last name.

His challenges with mental health are documented in his father, Pete Earley‘s 2007 best selling book, “Crazy – A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness”, which chronicles his 2002 incident where Kevin broke into a stranger’s house and took a bubble bath before being apprehended by the police.

His work deals with mental health, race, privilege and resilience through adversity. He speaks to inspire and resolve stigma through art. He currently works with youth who live with mental health issues and helps mentor them to recover from their respective challenges.

He has been recording and releasing music for over 20 years. He lives in the Northern Virginia area of the D.M.V. (District, Maryland & Virginia) where he was born and raised.

He was invited to The White House in 2022 following the release of the Ken Burns’ produced documentary, “Hiding In Plain Sight – Youth Mental Illness” which can be seen on PBS.

He believes in the healing properties of art and music. Music is essentially sound vibrations, and he works to create positive vibrations that have the power to help people recover and thrive from the challenges they face in life.

Episode 53 – Janet Hays: Healing Minds NOLA

October 31, 2022 Tony Roberts 00:55:11 Comments Off

Janet Hays, is founder and director of Healing Minds NOLA, a 501(c)(3) educational and charitable organization based in New Orleans, LA that focuses on removing funding and policy barriers to treatment and care for people living with no-fault serious mental diseases. She is a problem solver by nature, and works tirelessly with families and individuals impacted by serious mental illness crises to explore and create alternatives to incarceration, homelessness, unnecessary hospitalizations and death.

Janet’s inclusive and collaborative approach to advocacy has resulted in the creation of Louisiana’s first assisted outpatient treatment court that provides therapeutic, coordinated wrap-around support to people who struggle with medication adherence, advancing policy that brings together health and criminal justice systems to study the relationship between mental illness and incarceration and, most recently, the passage of a bill that includes Psychiatric Deterioration as a criteria for civil commitment before the standards of dangerousness to self/others or grave disability need to be met.

Episode 52 – Kathryn Parke, A Therapist Who Respects Clients with Serious Brain Illnesses and Other Mental Health Conditions

October 1, 2022 Tony Roberts Comments Off

Kathryn Parke is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist in Baltimore, MD. She has fifteen years of experience working with severe psychiatric brain disorders in both community mental health systems and clinical hospital settings. Kathryn is passionate about supporting this community and approaches her work with a method of compassionate partnering. She works with patients and their families with a wide array of mental health issues. She is currently in private practice in Towson, MD.

Episode 51 – Kathy Day, An Advocate’s Advocate

August 30, 2022 Tony Roberts 00:39:15 Comments Off

Tony Roberts and co-host, Laura Pogliano, talk with Kathy Day, MPA. Kathy is currently the caregiver, advocate, and conservator for her family member who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2010. She is active in local, state, and national advocacy to promote the need for family involvement for their loved ones’ mental healthcare. Her experience in advocacy and the personal experience in navigating the system of mental healthcare gives her a unique perspective on the challenges families encounter when searching for resources for their loved ones.

In September of 2021, Kathy joined the team at the Treatment Advocacy Center as the senior family liaison. In this role, Kathy locates resources for families across the country to assist and coach them to find help for their family members.

Kathy co-manages Facebook support pages and writes a blog about her experiences navigating the system of care. It’s called Broken and you can find it here: www.facebook.com/ourbrokensystem.

New Blood in the Hood: The Season 5 Trailer

August 5, 2022 Tony Roberts 00:20:44 1 Comment

While Eric pours himself into saving the planet one pollinator plant at a time, Revealing Voices goes global with top-drawer advocates for co-hosts, a new sound engineer and guests that continue to explore what healing means in the context of caring for those impacted brain illnesses. In this trailer, Kevin Earley, Laura Pogliano, and I explore what lies ahead with episodes on Advocacy, Faith, Trauma and Art.

Episode 50 – Eric’s Finale with Brandon Andress

April 8, 2022 Eric Riddle 01:18:56 Comments Off

On Eric’s final episode as co-host of Revealing Voices, we invited Brandon Andress back for his second interview. In 2021, Brandon published his fourth book, “What Can’t Be Hidden.” At the beginning of the show, we discuss the writing process as he switched to fiction for the first time. Brandon shares his new sense of freedom in an allegorical writing style and unique ability to present spiritual themes through the relationships of the characters.

In the second half of the show, Eric thanks Brandon and Tony for the role they have played in his life as spiritual mentors. Brandon led a weekly Men’s Confession group for 4 years. Tony and Eric co-led a weekly Faithful Friends mental health ministry. Both of these groups were the source of many strong, enduring relationships that developed through transparent communication. Many topics are explored by the author threesome.

From Eric: “Thank you listeners for the last 4 years of listening to this podcast. This show has always been about exploring the meaning of healing and I’m grateful to have learned many perspectives, stories, and experiences. I’m thankful for Tony’s commitment to the show and I’ll continue to encourage him as a true leader of mental health ministry in our country.”

As promised in episode, here it the link to the native plant ecology work that Eric has been devoting himself to in Columbus. As spring approaches, he will be putting down the mic and picking up a shovel!

Episode 49 – Dr. Bruce and Sally Riddle in Studio E

February 13, 2022 Eric Riddle 01:09:14 Comments Off

Eric’s parents, Dr. Bruce and Sally Riddle, join us in Studio E in this penultimate episode of Eric hosting the podcast. Bruce shares his story living with bipolar disorder, discussing the struggle getting through his med school internship and residency. Sally talks through the decision not to share the diagnosis with friends and work contacts for over 40 years. After Bruce’s hospitalization in 2020, they made the decision to share the diagnosis publicly. In this episode, they talk through the experience of 5 decades of marriage and the benefits of finally being able to share with friends and their church.

Some questions explored on this episode:

When did Bruce first start experiencing bipolar symptoms?

How did he navigate the journey to becoming a doctor while struggling through depressive and manic episodes?

How have their relationships with friends changed since deciding to share his diagnosis?

How did their experience prepare them for supporting Eric when he first experienced depression in high school?

What does healing mean to them?

Episode 48 – Origin Story & 2022 Transition

November 25, 2021 Eric Riddle 00:28:48 Comments Off

In this episode, Tony and Eric are in studio to discuss the roots of the podcast and future for the show. Revealing Voices will become a part of Tony’s Delight in Disorder Ministries – a new nonprofit dedicated to publishing content to educate and encourage those impacted by brain illnesses and other mental health conditions. A successful Indiegogo campaign will provide seed money to get the ministry underway. More details will follow about how you can invest in this vital effort.

After episode 50, Eric will be stepping back from co-hosting to devote more of his time and energy to environmental stewardship. In his place, we will have a series of co-hosts representing leaders and experts in the field of faith and mental health. Plans are underway to conduct a series on Advocacy, Trauma, and Mental Health & the Church.

Episode 47 – Art of Invitation with Debbie Teike

November 17, 2021 Eric Riddle 01:03:04 Comments Off

Debbie Teike, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is the author of The Art of Invitation: Building enduring relationships · Connecting community. Debbie has extensive experience working in long-term care, elder abuse and neglect, hospice care and congregational social work. She grew up in Decatur, IL and graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (B.S. in Social Work) and Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work (M.S.W.)-St. Louis, MO.

The Art of Invitation is faith-based and scientifically grounded. It embraces an understanding of human behavior, need, and connection centered in God’s grace, mercy, peace, and love for all people. It provides remedies for the common human experiences of division, isolation, and lack of genuine connection.Debbie is married to her husband, Mark, and has three children, Erin (Jamie), David and Shanthi and two grandchildren, Eloise and Francis.

Some topic include:

How is Art of Invitation different from traditional understanding of hospitality?

How can you have an invitational communication style with someone you’ve known for a long time?

How can the Art of Invitation be taught in churches, businesses, and other settings?

What is a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)?

How can law enforcement be better equipped in deescalation techniques?

What does healing mean to you?

Shownotes:

Art of Invitation website

Relational Values website

Subscribe to Podcast

Podcast launched on March 1, 2018 with new releases every other Thursday.