Episodes

  • S2E14: Alpha, Boomer, Millennial: Learn about Generational Biases

    S2E14: Alpha, Boomer, Millennial: Learn about Generational Biases
    Sep 3 2025
    Will and Amber are dressed up as Dorothy and Sophia from “The Golden Girls”, in honor of this month being the 40th anniversary of that groundbreaking television show. Amber's shares her joy a formal tea dining experience she had with friends (where they dressed “Bridgerton”-esque to make it extra special), and Will’s joy is his universally adored dog, Ezra, a silvery gray Westiepoo! Their discussion topic is generational biases, and Amber starts us off by quizzing Will and producer Eric Roman on Gen Alpha slang! They go on to discuss many ways inter-generational stereotypes and biases occur. One issue of note is the misperception that concepts or ideas are “new” when in fact they are merely new to you, or just more out in the open and have become mainstream (e.g., thinking trans* and nonbinary identities are “new”). This can happen both from older people against younger and vice versa. They also discuss age bias and questioning the competence of older (or younger) folks. Another important generational issue that can impede healthy discussion is neglecting to recognize both how far society has come and how far we still have to go. Amber and Will recommend both embracing the passion and fresh eyes of youth and recognizing the experience and groundwork of those who came before. They also draw attention to how people often dismiss the opinions and choices of both kids and seniors. During Story Time, Will shares a story about a time a professor made an assumption that his colleague was racist because he was older, and Amber shared stories about her “lifespan development” college course, including helping people visualize themselves older and bringing older ladies to speak to her class and the joy that always brought her students. This episode’s question is about imposter syndrome and how to cope with it. The bias habit-breaking skill covered this time is something the hosts help you work on every episode with their joyful recommendations, which is to Broaden Your Input via Media. If you can add stories from diverse perspectives to your media diet, it can help reduce bias! To help you apply that skill, consider checking out Will’s joyful media recommendation this episode, which is the evergreen, hilarious, smart, and wonderful television show, “The Golden Girls,” and its sequel series “The Golden Palace.” It was groundbreaking in many amazing ways, with many hot-button issues that are still relevant, or that have become relevant again, today! We now have merch! Buy some to support the show at https://www.biashabit.com/store Follow Diverse Joy on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Threads, and Bluesky.
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • S2E13: Diverse People Bring Diverse Perspectives

    S2E13: Diverse People Bring Diverse Perspectives
    Aug 6 2025
    Will’s joy this month is the annual Woof’s Boat Cruise in the lakes around Madison, and Amber's is a lovely, heartwarming gift from her former students! The cohosts start off discussing the benefits that diversity brings to organizations. Teams with more diversity tend to have more creative, transformative solutions to problems, and some reports say that corporations with more diversity actually make more money. They also caution against thinking of diversity only in terms of utility, because removing barriers to full inclusion is just the right thing to do! Next, they talk about the unfortunate “Pet to Threat” phenomenon that can often push diverse people out of organizations. Coined by Dr. Kecia Thomas and her colleagues, Pet to Threat involves someone, often a person of color, first being trotted out as wonderful addition to an organization (like a “Pet”), but when they have new ideas or want to address problems in the organization, people start turning against them (they become a “Threat”). Another analogy for this is that organizations start off excited for someone to “shake things up” (seen as a positive), but when they start actually making changes, they’re “rocking the boat” (seen as a negative). During Story Time, Will and Amber share about their own Pet to Threat experiences and how that impacted them, and also how having the “Pet to Threat” label for their experiences has been therapeutic for them and others! This episode’s question involves the difference between “inclusion” and “belonging”, with a conversation around how and why many organizations have recently begun adopting “belonging” as a major diversity goal. This episode’s bias habit-breaking skill is to Track the Data. Tracking data is a great way to assess where problem areas might be and also how well you’re doing with solutions. Look at types of data you might track regarding your customers, clients, employees, or even just yourself! Will’s joyful media recommendation is the adorable, smart, and endearing television show, “Bluey!”, which is great for kids and adults! The cohosts shouted out and promised to link you to a lot of extras this episode, so check these out if you wish! America Ferrera’s amazing TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/america_ferrera_my_identity_is_a_superpower_not_an_obstacle An article by Dr. Kecia Thomas about Pet to Threat: https://www.forbes.com/sites/keciathomas/2024/01/13/the-persistence-of-pet-to-threat/ The song “A Diagnosis” from Crazy Ex Girlfriend: https://youtu.be/uic_3vlI5BE?si=Fv58K0tbGe4Uo6Oj Two great Instagram accounts Will and Amber recommend: https://www.instagram.com/astar4real/ https://www.instagram.com/aletheacrimmins/ Brene Brown on how “fitting in” is the opposite of belonging: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2ClCPF9w7yc Also check out the wonderful work by Julie Oyemaja and the Interprofessional Primary Care Institute: https://www.linkedin.com/company/interprofessional-primary-care-institute We now have merch! Buy some to support the show at https://www.biashabit.com/store Follow Diverse Joy on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Threads, and Bluesky.
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • S1E12: Moving From Surviving to Thriving: Addressing Bias Impacts on Mental Health

    S1E12: Moving From Surviving to Thriving: Addressing Bias Impacts on Mental Health
    Jul 2 2025

    Amber's geeky joy this month is the creativity of insurance commercials, and Will’s joy is visiting the American Players Theater for Shakespeare productions. July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness month, so the cohosts discuss bias and its effects on mental health. We talk about various ways that bias can cause mental health issues, whether that bias comes from outside influences or from within oneself. We also discuss coping mechanisms to help mitigate the impacts of stereotyping and bias on mental health, one of which is Amber's acronym SAFETY, which stands for Soul care, Asking for help, Finding community, Engaging in social activism, Tending to your whole self, and Yanking the plug. We also cover some of the obstacles and intolerance people have against mental health therapy. During story time, Will shares a story about a time he unintentionally expressed bias and was called out for it but worked to understand why what he did was not great, and a story about someone expressing prejudicial preconceived notions against his father for displaying American flags in office, and how his father came to understand that person’s differing perspective. These stories lead to a nice deliberation about how people can see the same event or symbol (e.g., the American flag) in very different ways and how to be intentional in the values we put on display (such as pairing an national flag with other, values-based flags). The audience question is about how to respectfully make presentations, or how to lead discussions, about identities that are not your own. This episode’s bias habit-breaking skill is to Retrain Reactions with the mnemonic Detect/Reflect/Reject. And we close with Amber’s joyful recommendation of the long-running, goofy, time-twisty television series, "Doctor Who", with a special shout out to Jinkx Monsoon!

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    1 hr and 45 mins
  • S2E11: Guidelines for Fair and Legal Employment Practices with Guest Nicki Vander Meulen

    S2E11: Guidelines for Fair and Legal Employment Practices with Guest Nicki Vander Meulen
    Jun 4 2025

    The cohosts and returning guest Nicki Vander Meulen are dressed up in rainbows and sparkles in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride Month! Nicki’s joy is a bracelet with a neurodiversity symbol for Autistic people, and Will’s joy is a rainbow necklace and a pin he got when our Inequity Agents of Change nonprofit was admitted to Wisconsin’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Amber’s joy is her work with The Rainbow Connection at Camp Ukando, where she helps kids cope with battling childhood cancer. This episode’s discussion topic makes use of Nicki’s expertise as a lawyer, as we discuss diversity and legal issues in the hiring process. We discuss laws and protections related to various group statuses and identities in the workplace, and what people can and cannot discuss when making hiring decisions. Even people who have good intentions related to diversity sometimes make big missteps in this area. The discussion also lends itself to a nice chat about disability and accommodations issues in hiring, including whether and when to disclose a disability-related need or diagnosis in the hiring process. We also talk about how to legally bring in diversity-related values to recruitment and hiring processes. During Story Time, Nicki shares a story of someone violating the legal guidelines related to race in a hiring process, and a more positive story related to someone from her past reaching out to apologize for not being receptive to her accommodations needs! Since this episode is coming out in during LGBTQ+ Pride Month, the question is “Why are Pride/Heritage/History months important?”, which leads to a great discussion about recognition of how many social groups, their histories, and how their contributions are sometimes overlooked. This month's bias habit-breaking skill is to Think Ahead. Bias is more likely to happen when we’re being more spontaneous. Especially in hiring situations, we can think ahead by committing to the types of credentials we want to use to make our hiring decision, which reduces the likelihood of bias coming into play. We also cover how these credentials you think ahead about can have built-in flexibility. We finish with Nicki’s joyful recommendation, which is the heartwarming, trendsetting, and transcendent music of Dolly Parton!

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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • S2E10: Healing and Understanding Intergenerational and Collective Traumas

    S2E10: Healing and Understanding Intergenerational and Collective Traumas
    May 7 2025
    To celebrate Star Wars Day ("May the Fourth be with you!)", Will and Amber dress in their favorite colors (pink and green) as "Star Wars" characters, and share "Star Wars" related joys. Amber's joy is attending one of Disneyland's After Dark Nites for "Star Wars" last year - with her mom, Will, and producer Eric Roman. Will's joy is the fun "Star Wars"-inspired details producer Eric Roman has added to their house. Before they get into the main discussion topic, Will shares some "bonus science" about aggression research. The episode's discussion topic focuses on Intergenerational Trauma, with the conversation ranging from epigenetics and genetics, to how the self-talk of parents can affect their children, corporal punishment and Stacey Patton's book "Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America", and how events such as the Pulse nightclub shooting and the murder of George Floyd create collective trauma for members of related communities. And, importantly, they discuss steps to take to help heal from these intergenerational and collective traumas. The anecdotes from Story Time include a negative story from Will and how the Chienese Exclusion Act of 1882 directly affected his family and lead to his great-grandfather, who was Chinese and Native Hawaiian, to abandon his Chinese last name. Amber shares about how she helps Black youth in the predominantly White state of Oregon. The question this month is about how to "be better" when you grew up in a very racist space, and the short answer is that if you're already thinking about how to be better, you're on the right path! Put in the effort, use the tools you've learned from listening to "Diverse Joy", and keep at it. This month's bias habit-breaking skill is a spin on a classic: Broaden Your Input, but this time via Images in the Environment. Amber and Will discuss many great ways to increase representation in your physical and digital environments. The episode wraps up with Will's joyful recommendation of "Fire Island" (2022) as part of the lead-up to Pride next month! This movie is a gay, Asian-American take on "Pride and Prejudice" focusing on a group of friends who go to Fire Island for the summer, and all the shenigans that ensue! This movie is particularly imporant for its representation of diversity in the gay community, since a lot of LGBTQ+ media focuses on White folks, and the two main characters in "Fire Island" are Asian-American (played by the amazing Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang), with Margaret Cho showing up as their group's queer auntie. It's a lot of fun; check it out! We now have merch! Buy some to support the show at https://www.biashabit.com/store Follow Diverse Joy on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Threads, and Bluesky.
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    1 hr and 42 mins
  • S2E09: Discovering Room To Grow! With Guest Sandy Eichel

    S2E09: Discovering Room To Grow! With Guest Sandy Eichel
    Apr 2 2025
    Will, Amber, and returning guest Sandy Eichel are dressed up in purple and green to celebrate Spring! Sandy shares their joy about early spring flowers, Amber continues that thread sharing her joy about the flower farms and tulip festival in Oregon, and Will’s joy is using butterfly pea flower tea to make color-changing cocktails! 
Sandy leads off the discussion about how to find joy in discovering you have room to grow. The hosts and Sandy discuss how to maintain positive motivation when you make a mistake, or when someone else points out a mistake to you. They also discuss some of the ways things can go wrong with someone who isn’t able to accept constructive feedback related to bias. This discussion produces several handy insights into how our emotional reactions to feedback can be used for good, to help us make progress, or how our emotional reactions can lead us astray, if we get too defensive or upset. One major area of discussion includes how some folks can have very strong emotional reactions to issues that don’t actually affect their lives at all (e.g., non-transgender folks having very strong emotional reactions to trans* people just existing). These strong reactions often arise from societal norms, more than any strong personal values that have been consciously examined and adopted. Habit disruption results in frustrated feelings, but try to redirect them and “get curious, not furious”! This discussion also leads the host to talking about how the “coming out” process that LGBTQ+ folks go through often involves examining and challenging societal norms, and also ways to expand your friend group beyond people who are similar to you. 
During story time, Sandy shares a negative story about someone being hostile about LGBTQ+ people even existing, and they share a more positive story about someone having a negative reaction to LGBTQ+ topics at first, but they later came around and thanked Sandy for the education Sandy provided. This story time also opens the door for discussion of how you can and should set boundaries and protect yourself during difficult conversations. This month’s audience question involves pronouns, specifically whether it might be good or useful to use “they” as a default pronoun for everyone until you know their actual gender identity and pronouns. That also opens the door to another question, about cisgender people using “she/they” or “he/they” as their stated pronouns, as a way to signal that they are open and accepting to diverse gender identities. This episode’s habit-breaking skill is Don’t Rely on Personal Objectivity. It backfires when people bluntly believe that they are objective when making decisions, leading to more, rather than less, bias. Objectivity is something you can strive for, but never think you’ve achieved it. We’re better served by being mindful of ways biases may influence us. This discussion also gets into learning about how to question your self-talk. The episode wraps up with Sandy’s joyful recommendation of the inspiring, calming, and beautiful reality show, “Escape to the Chateau”, which is a comfort show for Sandy, and it inspires them to try new things. The folks from that show also have a great podcast, called “Dick and Angel’s Chat…eau”. We now have merch! Buy some to support the show at https://www.biashabit.com/store Follow Diverse Joy on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Threads, and Bluesky.
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    1 hr
  • S2E08: Unpacking the Science and Controversy around "Implicit Bias"

    S2E08: Unpacking the Science and Controversy around "Implicit Bias"
    Mar 5 2025

    March is Disneybound* month, something Amber enjoys every year, so for this month’s episode, we got dressed up as Chip (Will) and Dale (Amber) from Disney’s Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers! What’s bringing us joy this time? Will shares about how much joy cosplay brings to him, and getting to inhabit a character who’s someone other than himself - even if it’s a villain. And Amber talks about the joy she got from taking some of the high schoolers she mentors to Atlanta to tour HBCUs and helping them realize they could go to those types of schools. This episode’s main discussion focuses understanding what implicit bias is, and the controversy around the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and the ways in which it gets used without proper context and how that can create bad data (and how it negatively affects meta analyses of stereotyping and bias research). The discussion topic leads into the audience question where Will explains terminology variations regarding unintentional bias versus unconscious bias vs implicit bias (and how and why he prefers “unintentional bias” but for our purposes, they’re essentially the same thing). This episode’s habit-breaking skill is to Be Mindful of Your Input, because your social environment and the media all influence how you think, particularly related to marginalized or stereotyped groups. This discussion carries us into story time, where Will relates a story about a very young White boy whose only regular exposure to Black folks was on the TV show COPS and how that lead to an embarrassing situation; and Amber shares about a time she accidentally assumed a name that was difficult for her to pronounce belonged to the only Latin intern in her group, but she acknowledged the mistake and explained how it happened - rather than trying to ignore the error - and the intern graciously understood and forgave her. The episode wraps up with Amber’s joyful recommendation of Trixie Motel the motel (and then home) makeover show staring Trixie Mattel! *Disneybounding: If you are bound for (traveling to) a Disney Parks property, Disney does not allow adults in costumes (unless it’s a special event), so fans will create versions of Disney character outfits using “everyday clothes” rather than costumes, hence Disneybounding.

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    Follow Diverse Joy on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Threads, and Bluesky.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • S2E07: Living Black History! With Guest Bernie Hoes

    S2E07: Living Black History! With Guest Bernie Hoes
    Feb 5 2025

    For this Black History Month episode, Will wears the Black History Month colors while Amber dresses in an Ankara print; they are joined by educator Bernie Hoes. What’s bringing us joy? For Will, it's an Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy he attended with friends; for Amber, it's Portland's My People's Market, a gathering of diverse vendors and entrepreneurs; and for Bernie, fellowship with good friends! Because it's Black History Month, the discussion focuses on the idea of Living Black History. It's a great discussion, with many great topics, ranging from Chocolate City in Baltimore, other Black neighborhoods in predominately White cities, sundown cities and counties, George Floyd, Walidah Imarisha, Snoop Dogg and Niecy Nash-Betts, Black vernacular and code-switching, to how Blackness is not a monolith, the "tyranny of categories," and so much more. Did it result in our longest episode to date? It sure did! But we know you'll find it fun and enlightening. For story time, Amber shares about a well-intentioned but unfortunately poorly executed diversity effort, and Bernie has a positive story about a student using “gay” derogatorily, but other students stepped in to question his word choice correct the behavior. Our audience question asks Bernie about the intersection of being Black and gay. This episode’s habit-breaking skill is Don’t Try To Ignore Group Statuses, meaning don’t try to ignore race or other group statuses, but rather acknowledge how they affect the lives of people, and watch out for how they could create biases! The episode wraps up with Bernie’s joyful recommendation of "House Hunters" as a lovely insight into diverse people's lives!

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    1 hr and 43 mins