Diverse Joy

S3E12: Most Joyful Show on Earth: Inclusion in Circus and Variety Arts With Guest Mark Hayward

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:01:00 -0500

We invite guest Mark Hayward, a highly accomplished international performer with multiple world titles and world records, to talk about bias and inclusion in circus and variety arts. (Spoiler alert: It might sound oddly specific, but the stuff we talk about is entirely generalizable).
For this episode, Mark’s joy is the sense of community he gets from spending time with fellow jugglers, performing artists, and circus folks. Amber’s joy is her project watching all the Disney animated feature films (an idea she got from producer Eric Roman)! And Will shares about his husband Eric Roman’s amazing baking, which you can check out on Instagram @SuperGayBakes.
For the main discussion, Mark talks about inclusion and bias in the past and present of circus and variety arts. The world of the circus has an interesting and rich, but complex, relationship with diversity. On the negative side, of course sometimes circuses used differences to make spectacle (e.g., “freak shows”). On the more positive side, the circus was often a place where people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, and disabled folks could make a living and find a sense of community, in times when traditional financial opportunities were often closed to them. We also discuss how activities like juggling and yo-yo are forms of play that can contribute positively to mental health.
During Story Time, Mark shares a story related gender and belonging/inclusion in competitive environments, and a story related to being receptive when someone pointed out a misuse of power during a performance.
This episode’s question is about how changing social norms related to inclusion, has played out when working in performance arts, and the importance of knowing how to grow and change with the times.
This episodes bias habit-breaking skill is to Think Ahead. We’re less likely to show bias when we’ve thought things through ahead of time.
Mark’s joyful recommendation (which Amber also loves!) is Murderbot, a sci-fi TV show and book series that connects to many issues related to classism and culture, with a diverse cast of characters–without the show being about diversity.
CSAW Nonprofit: https://www.csawcircus.org/about
@TheMarkHayward

Dr. Cox’s book is available for preorder! The publisher is University of California Press, and the full title is Overcoming Bias Habits: An Evidence-Based Guide to Creating a Joyfully Inclusive World.

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E11: Joy as a Wellness Practice

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:01:00 -0500

Will and Amber are dressed as pirates for “Arrgust,” which is International Pirate Month. While Amber sports a more traditional pirate outfit, Will’s takes inspiration from Star Wars and includes a Kowakian monkey-lizard puppet that he wears on his shoulder.
While sharing their joys for the month, Amber discusses her collection of Loungefly bags and mini backpacks (a vast collection that includes many that have been gifted to her, because so many people know she collects them, making her easy to shop for) which she uses for her various Disneybounds; and Will discusses the joy of cruises he and Eric Roman have been on (a couple of them with his parents).
This episode’s discussion is about how to work joy into your life to promote your mental and physical health. Amber shares science and practical skills, as found in the field of positive psychology, related to joy and health, to help your nervous system, prefrontal cortex, and more. She also shares some new-to-the-show acronyms: PERMA and SMILE to help you remember the tools she discusses.
In Story Time, Will shares an experience related to racism in high school, and Amber shares a story connected to microdosing joy and her cultural heritage.
This episode’s question: Is there a difference between happiness and joy? (Spoiler alert: For technical and diagnostic reasons, yes, there is.)
This episode’s Bias Habit-Breaking Skill is Seeking Individuating Information, which is getting to know the details of what makes someone unique, rather than relying on group membership to distinguish them - this comes more naturally when dealing with majority culture folks in a group, as you have to rely on more individuating information to tell them apart, but less naturally for folks not in the majority: It’s a numbers game!
Will’s joyful recommendation is the touching, LGBTQ+ Netflix show–which recently concluded with a movie–Heartstopper! (It’s based on a graphic novel, so a double recommendation.) We highly recommend it if you like adorable romance and need more queer representation and joy in your life!

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E10: Avoiding Demotivational Traps When Consuming Educational Diversity Media

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:01:00 -0500

We start this July episode discussing joy, including: Will’s is a trip he took with Roman and friends to Skywalker Ranch! Amber’s is “dopamine dressing,” in which you dress to bring yourself, and others, joy - usually through mixing patterns and colors (it’s kind of maximalist).
This episode’s discussion topic is Avoiding Demotivational Traps — there are many ways people try to face problems like racism and disparities that end up resulting in less motivation, rather than more motivation, to solve the problems. Many involve misusing “educational media” to achieve catharsis or avoid seeing or facing real problems (”entertainment” and “educational media” can certainly mix and overlap, when we say “educational media” in this capacity, we mean the kind of movies or books where even the marketing is trying to make sure you “know” this is some kind of “inspirational” piece that you “should get something out of,” even though many pieces of “entertainment” can also accomplish the same thing - they just tend to be more subtle about it).
Amber shares the idea of Sankofa (a word from Akan, one of the many languages spoken in Ghana), which involves having your feet firmly facing forward, to make positive progress to the future, but also looking back to remember the past, both to learn from it and to bring forward what was good.
During Story Time, Will shares a story about someone who got censored by her work place, with them saying she could not be a guest on Diverse Joy, because they were afraid of federal backlash for the show focusing on DEI. The more positive story was about another popular podcast, Stop Podcasting Yourself, doing a very nice job with diversity among its guests (having women, people of color, and folks with disabilities make up a large portion of its guest list).
This episode’s Question is “Why are ‘checklist’ approaches to DEI bad?” Checklist approaches can give a “catharsis” effect–you’ve finished a thing, check it off–that demotivates people, making diversity and inclusion efforts something that you “get over with” rather than an approach that is about maintaining inclusion over time with ongoing effort.
Our Bias Habit-Breaking Skill is Broadening Your Input via Increasing Representation in your Social, Physical, and Digital Environments. This takes many forms, such as increasing diversity of speakers you invite to your organizations (Social), in whose pictures or art is displayed in your work or home (Physical), or the picture on your website (Digital).
The skills segment leads to an excellent chat about Amber’s church and how her pastor does a great job of Increasing Representation in invited speakers and even in different representations of Jesus found throughout the church.
Amber’s joyful recommendation is KPop Demon Hunters, a movie that became a cultural sensation over the year. It’s a fun, goofy, musical action movie set in a reality centered around (generations of) K-Pop musical group(s) that must stop demons from entering reality through music! (Amber got Will and Eric Roman watch it soon after we recorded this episode, and they agree that it is fantastic!)

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E09: What a Drag! Queens Past and Present! With Guest Cynthia Mooseknuckle

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:01:00 -0500

It’s June, which means it is Pride Month, so we invited a special guest–drag queen Cynthia Mooseknuckle, a Madison legend–to talk drag and the LGBTQ+ community!
For “What’s bringing us joy?” Cynthia’s is hot beverages in the morning, to help awaken the senses! Amber’s is attending Vogue Balls in Portland. And for Will, it‘s his recent trend of discovering new (and old) music albums every morning.
This episode’s discussion topic is the history and contemporary use of drag performance as both an art form and a form of community and protest. Cynthia shares how drag has been a way to bolster her self-confidence, both in and out of drag. The conversation touches on acceptance and self-acceptance, authenticity, the influx of competitiveness into drag, and related topics and tangents (it’s a great conversation)!
In Story Time, Cynthia shares a negative story about drag is–sometimes–more exploitative and exclusionary as it has become more mainstream, competitive, commodified, and profit-motivated. For her more positive story, she shares about going back to her small Midwestern hometown to be celebrated and honored in drag!
This episode’s question is about whether it is difficult to remain sober within the drag community. Cynthia shares her personal journey with sobriety.
This episode’s bias habit-breaking skill is to Broaden Your Input via Genuine Connections. Making friendships with people different from you can help push back against biases in your mind. While talking about genuine connections and friendships, the discussion taps into recent tragic experiences with persecution of immigrant communities in the United States.
As always, we close out the episode with a joyful recommendation. Whenever we have a guest, we let them give theirs, and Cynthia’s is “retro gaming,” or playing classic video games, which can bring in good feelings of nostalgia and comfort that can bolster your mental health! She recommends classic Pokémon games, in particular. (Cynthia Mooseknuckle’s name actually comes from the character of Cynthia, introduced in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.)

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E08: Neurospicy and Thriving: ADHD and Neurodiversity

Wed, 06 May 2026 00:01:00 -0500

For this late-spring episode, Amber and Will dressed up to express their love of the Netflix series Bridgerton.
Will’s shares that his joy is his recent ADHD diagnosis (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). While Amber’s joy is her job as a full-time pediatric clinical psychologist and the lives she can impact through that work, which includes doing ADHD testing and being able to tell people, “yes, that’s what this is,” or, “no, it’s this other thing” and helping folks get the treatment they need.
The main discussion topic of this episode is learning about ADHD and, more broadly, neurodiversity. Amber discusses what ADHD is (including how ADD, attention deficit disorder, which you’ve probably also heard of, is now classified as one of three types of ADHD rather than being its own thing), some of how it is diagnosed, how it shows up in people’s lives, and some coping mechanisms–including another Amber Acronym: BOOST. As people with ADHD diagnoses themselves, Will and Amber both pull on their own life experiences as well as the research and clinical literature to discuss all of the above.
During Story Time, there are stories related to testing for ADHD, and how an early diagnosis can be helpful for avoiding addiction issues later in life (because proper treatment will help with how the brain’s reward system handles an ADHD person’s dopamine requirements).
This episode’s Question is, “What is neurodiversity?” (Hint: It’s an umbrella term for conditions that are neurodevelopmental and neurological in their etiology.)
Will shares two Bias Habit-Breaking Skills this month: Considering Situational Explanations for Behavior and Doing Perspective-Taking. Both of which are handy tools for helping to reduce bias and create inclusion.
Amber and Will close out the episode with the joyful recommendation of the hilarious and musical TV show that touches on many great diversity and mental health topics, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend! (It acknowledges that its title is a bit problematic.) (If you were expecting the recommendation to be Bridgerton, and are confused about why it isn’t - go give season 1, episode 5 a listen.)

Dr. Cox’s book becomes available for preorder! The publisher is University of California Press, and the full title is Overcoming Bias Habits: An Evidence-Based Guide to Creating a Joyfully Inclusive World.

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E07: Reclaiming Native American Heritage! With Guest Jack Pepple

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:01:00 -0500

In this episode, we invite special guest Jack Pepple, a member of the Santee Sioux Tribe, to share some of his experiences and perspectives related to his Native American heritage.

Jack’s joy is that April is National Poetry Month, and he shares with us a delightful, uplifting, spiritual poem by Joy Harjo called, “For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet“. Joy Harjo is an award-winning poet and was the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States. Amber’s joy is Pitch Black, a Black entrepreneurship organization that lifts up Black businesses and nonprofits across the U.S.! Will’s is a train trip he took with producer Eric Roman, Jack, and other friends, in which they crossed the country and collectively wrote their own murder mystery.

In a combined Story Time–Discussion Topic segment, Jack shares his personal story related to people around him trying to erase or deny his Native American heritage, how that affected him and how he reconnected with his identity over time. It provides an excellent framework to also discuss some of the historical context related to Native heritage erasure and redemption, and many related topics like reservations, media portrayals of native folks, alcoholism and substance abuse stereotypes and realities, assimilation and mandatory religious conversion to Christianity, two-spirit people, and more! Our connections to our identities provide a sense of stability and strength that buffers our well-being, and when an identity is erased or stigmatized, we can lose those beneficial effects. We also discuss land acknowledgments (e.g., we record the podcast in Madison, WI, which is situated on unceded land from the Ho Chunk nation).

This episodes question is “Is it okay to say ‘Indian,’ versus ‘Native American’ or ‘Indigenous’?” The answer: It depends, and you should ask the person it impacts.

This episode’s bias habit-breaking skills are two tools to help overcome bias habits, to Detect/Reflect/Reject Bias and to Rehearse Replacements.

Jack’s joyful recommendation is the novels of award-winning Blackfeet Native American horror author Stephen Graham Jones. One book Jack particularly recommends is My Heart is a Chainsaw, in which a young Indigenous girl who loves horror movies finds herself in a horror movie-like scenario when a slasher attacks people in her community! It is a fast-paced, intriguing offering for any horror fans out there!

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E06: Understanding Gender Bias and Gender Similarities

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:01:00 -0600

Amber and Will are dressed up as Daisy and Donald Duck for Disney Bounding month!
Will’s joy this month is his new routine of charging his phone in his kitchen at night, which has significantly transformed his sleep and his mental health all day long by not having his phone in the bedroom with him at night. Amber’s joy is the book “Romanticize Your Life,” which gives her daily recommendations to make her life more whimsical and fun!

This month’s discussion topic is gender bias, which taps into how we treat kids differently based on gender and teach them gender, how women get taken less seriously in several domains, including science, and how people often devalue femininity or things associated with it (a problem some researchers call “femmephobia”). We also talk about the “man vs bear” scenario that went viral last year and the “pink tax,” in which products marketed at women often cost more. They also discuss the gender similarities hypothesis, which argues (with LOTS of data) that men and women tend to be more similar than different on most psychological variables.

During story time, the first story involves an instance of people teaching gender norms, and the more positive story involves women’s sports being given more prominence and respect.
This episode’s listener question is “What is the Bechdel test?” The Bechdel test is a litmus test related to movie/TV portrayals of women.

This episode’s habit-breaking skill is to favor mindfulness over blunt, ineffective tools. Sometimes people try to bluntly shove away bias in their minds, which backfires. Rather than that, it is better to be mindful of bias and accept the reality that bias sometimes comes to mind, then you can work on making sure it does not affect your behavior. Mindfulness is a powerful tool in changing bias.

Amber’s joyful recommendation is the play, “& Juliet!” It’s a diverse, nostalgic, empowering jukebox musical, exploring what would have happened if Juliet of “Romeo and Juliet” had lived on after the play.

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E05: Why Belonging Matters As a Multi-Cultural Immigrant With Guest Xizhou Xie

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:01:00 -0600

This episode, we invite special guest Xizhou Xie (pronounced “She-Joe She-uh”), an artist, statistician, and Chinese-American immigrant. Xizhou’s joy this episode is her wonderful cats, Shadow and Kit-Kat! Amber’s joy is a local BIPOC community group, and Will’s joy is his and producer Eric Roman’s annual “Soup-er Bowl” party.
For the main discussion topic on belonging, Xizhou shares some of her story of how she came to the U.S., how she thinks of belonging (or lack thereof) as an immigrant in the U.S., and that in recent times it’s been especially difficult for immigrants in the United States. The hosts discuss related concepts like racial battle fatigue and how to address ambiguous bias.
During Story Time, Xizhou shares a negative story about anti-Asian racism, especially highlighting how overt hate can happen anywhere, even in places we hope are more safe or accepting. Her positive story relates to having a booth at an LGBTQ+ Pride event, where she felt amazing community, safety, and belonging, even without identifying as a member of LGBTQ+ community. The positive story leads to great discussion about cross-group solidarity across stigmatized identities.
Xizhou’s statistical expertise was wonderful to have as we discussed the answer to our question, “What are some challenges when working with data comparing identity groups?” Even if you are not a scientist or mathematician, this is an excellent primer on how to understand statistics that compare racial, LGBTQ+, or other groups, which can more easily be overblown or misrepresented.
The Bias Habit-Breaking Skill is Cognitive Inertia, which perpetuates our preexisting ideas in a number of ways. These include Attentional Spotlight, in which our attention is biased such that we notice more confirmatory evidence, Confirmation Bias, in which we give more weight to confirmatory than disconfirmatory evidence, and Untested Assumptions, when there is no evidence at all, but our own assumptions are a mental rehearsal that can strengthen stereotypes. Xizhou was an author with Will on one of the big research papers providing evidence for some of these phenomena! Xizhou and Amber share additional examples of Untested Assumptions, specifically related to assumptions that Asian folks don’t speak English well.
Xizhou’s joyful recommendation is the whimsical Icelandic-Chinese musician Laufey (Loy-vey), who is “making jazz music cool again.” Her music gives you “main character energy” and fills you with joy!

Check out Xizhou's art!

https://xizhouxie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/xizhouxieart

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E04: Learning About Bias in Kids

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:01:00 -0600

It’s our New Year’s episode (happy 2026 everybody)! For this mid-winter episode, Will shares the joy of going to the Lake Geneva Winterfest America’s Snow Sculpting Invitational™ and the delightful sights of artfully crafted snow sculptures there, and Amber’s joy is discovering new-to-her music and musicians like Doechii, Panic Shack, and Olivia Dean!
The discussion topic is Learning About Bias in Kids, including how kids learn bias from their environments and peers, and how they often display bias, even when their parents don’t think they will, due to not having learned to filter their thoughts yet. Kids learn especially strongly from modeling the behavior of their peers. They also pick up on subtle cues from their parents’ and other adults’ behaviors, even subtle, unintentional biases. Amber gives some great advice about how to react when kids point out differences they see in other people (spoiler: avoiding it because it is uncomfortable is not the answer!).
In story time, we share a listener story about a kid who thought romantic couples had to be same-race (since those types of couples are much more prominent than mixed-race couples), and a story about a time a kid was thoughtful about gender identity and pronouns–and even corrected an authority figure.
This episode’s question was “Can dogs be racist?” (Which is more accurately, “Can dogs be racially biased?” since “racist” and “racism” are about systems of oppression, which dogs are not active participants of.) We discuss some of the ways dogs can learn racial biases from their owners–which actually ties back to the ways that kids learn the same things from their parents.
This episode’s bias habit-breaking skill involves understanding and undermining Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, which happens when our expectations about someone else lead us to behave in ways that bring out the behavior we expected. Will discusses this concept using examples from a group of probation officers he worked with, who had a policy that might create self-fulfilling prophecies with recidivism rates.
The joyful recommendation this time comes from Will, who recommends the diverse, intriguing, hilarious, genre-bending television show, The Afterparty (2022-2023), starring the amazing Tiffany Haddish (an Apple TV+ exclusive that ran for two seasons).

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E03: Mind-Body Connection: The Body Keeps the Joy

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:01:00 -0600

Will and Amber’s joys this holiday season relate to holiday traditions: Amber’s recalls how her mom would give her and her brother gift every day of the month leading up to Christmas as kids, and then segueing that into gifting board games as adults, and getting to spend time together playing them; and Will talks the current tradition of he and Eric Roman getting Lego Star Wars Advent Calendars from past guest (and friend) Sandy Eichel and their wife!
For this episode’s main discussion, the hosts draw on Amber’s clinical expertise in discussing wellness and the mind–body connection. This can be especially relevant around the holidays because of the stress and pressures to create joyful holiday memories, or just how the holidays can lead to spending time with extended family that might be trying. They discuss how the amygdala and prefrontal cortex influence our moods and behavior, as well as methods to bring ourselves back to a state of calm after emotions strongly impact us: One such regulatory skill uses the acronym SHINE, including your Senses, Humming, Inner Joy, Notice Color, and Exhale. This episode is also the official introduction of the Wellness Skill segment, something we’ve occasionally had but never labeled.
In story time, both the positive and negative stories expand on the mind–body connection, with Amber sharing how she recognized the ways in which an unpleasant colleague was causing negative reactions in her body, and Will sharing about recognizing when aroused states (including learning another acronym, HALTS - Hungry, Angry, Late/Lonely, Tired, or Surprised) can lead to more bias.
This month’s audience question asks how mind–body connection may bring in special concerns for members of stigmatized groups, with Will and Amber addressing that topic, and tying the response back to previous discussions of racial battle fatigue.
This episode’s bias habit-breaking skill involves Norm Enforcement, where people act in ways to enforce norms, including norms that arise from stereotypes, because our brains “like” when people conform to norms and “dislike” when people violate them.
Amber’s joyful recommendation this episode is Jingle Jangle, a lovely musical Afro-Futuristic Christmas movie with a Black-centered cast. She also shouted out additional Black-centered Christmas movies including This Christmas, Last Holiday, and The Preacher’s Wife.
Happy holidays, everyone! Now, go find your joy.

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E02: The Brain’s Wicked Reward System and Overcoming Stereotypes for Good

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:01:00 -0600

In excitement for the release of the movie Wicked: For Good later this month, Amber and Will are dressed as Elfie and Guy-linda from Wicked!
Will’s joy this month is Heels and Wheels, a disability-inclusive dance group in Madison, Wisconsin. Amber’s joy is the power of Wicked The Musical and especially the movie starring Cynthia Erivo, which brings a new depth of feeling to the character of Elphaba as portrayed by a Black woman, and especially her experience of the Pet-to-Threat phenomenon. Amber also adored going to a sing-along screening of Wicked: Part 1 with her family!
This episode’s discussion topic involves the science behind the brain’s reward system and how it is involved in stereotyping and bias. Stereotypes lead to probabilistically uncertain predictions, and when those predictions are upheld, it engages your brain’s reward system. This is sometimes called “intermittent reinforcement”, which is the most difficult learning pattern to overcome. We can all work on trying to recognize that we might have positive emotional reactions when stereotypes are upheld, and frustrated emotional reactions when stereotypes or predictions are disrupted–those are fundamental building blocks for understanding and undermining bias habits. Finding pleasure (e.g., joy!) in things that oppose stereotypes and bias can help work against these neural processes and improve diversity and inclusion.
During story time, Will shares a story about someone who used a rude statement to try to prove stereotypes are true. Amber’s more positive story was about her summer camp’s commitment to diversity and their statement regarding gender inclusion that embraces transgender and nonbinary identities.
Continuing from the Wicked discussion, this episode’s question revisits the Pet-to-Threat phenomenon we talked about in Season 2, Episode 13, and discuss what other factors sometimes drive diverse people out of career paths, especially academic careers.
For the bias habit-breaking skill, this time we’re talking Impression Justification, which involves having a “good gut feeling” when someone matches stereotypes or “bad gut feeling” when someone mismatches stereotypes. Those gut feelings then become lenses that color your judgments.
Amber’s joyful recommendation is everything related to Oz, including The Wizard of Oz, Wicked, Return to Oz, The Wiz, and all of Frank L. Baum’s books!

Check your small local bookstores!

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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.

S3E01: Joy as Resistance and Bias Reduction

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:01:00 -0500

For this Halloween episode, Will is dressed as Dracula and Amber is the Bride of Frankenstein! This is the first episode of season 3, and Amber’s joy is all the great reactions the podcast has received, including “Diverse Joy” being officially ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts globally! Will’s joy is that his book, "Overcoming Bias Habits", is now available for preorder! (Details below.)
This episode’s discussion topic is how joy can be used as a scientifically validated tool against bias. Some of this concept is reflected in historical and contemporary notions of “joy as resistance,” using joy in many forms—community, song, fellowship—to fight injustice and oppression. They also discuss the distinction between genuine joy and performative or toxic positivity. Many scientists say that the primary driving force behind bias is having more pleasant (i.e., joyful) memories with similar folks and fewer with those who are different from you. In that way, cultivating diverse joy, in terms of building more, and more joyful, memories with diverse people, directly helps combat and push back against bias in your mind and behavior. The discussion brings into focus two primary goals that Will and Amber want everyone to keep in mind: doing the work to 1) cultivate diverse joy, and 2) disrupt bias habits. Working on each goal can help you with the other, and together they will help us all build a better world, bit by bit.
Our answers to this episode’s question explains that we don’t talk about current events because every episode is meant to be an evergreen educational resource, and discussing current events would date the episodes in an unhelpful way.
During story time, the more negative story this episode involves how one of Amber’s colleagues had traumatic negative experiences with Black folks, which fueled them to have stronger unintentional race bias towards her. This episode’s positive story comes from a listener who shared that they actively use the notion of bias being a habit whenever they notice a biased thought.
Our bias habit-breaking skill continues that theme, encouraging us all to Approach Biases as Habits to be Broken. We further emphasize that all the habit-breaking skills are actionable (they involve you doing something), self-sustainable (you can maintain them over time), customizable (you can adapt them to different contexts), and generalizable (you use them to work on biases related to race, gender, LGBTQ+ statuses, age, disability, or any other group status you can think of).
Will’s joyful recommendation is the movie “Sinners.” It includes themes of “joy as resistance” with the Black community combating racism through a horror allegory. It is a fun, not-too-scary vampire romp to help you cultivate diverse joy and disrupt bias habits!

Dr. Cox’s book becomes available for preorder the day this episode releases! Preorder through our website BiasHabit.com, on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The publisher is University of California Press, and the full title is Overcoming Bias Habits: An Evidence-Based Guide to Creating a Joyfully Inclusive World.

Preorder Overcoming Bias Habits

From Amazon: https://a.co/d/iwnakbM

From Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/overcoming-bias-habits-william-t-l-cox-phd/1148276458?ean=9780520410428

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

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 00:01:00 -0500

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 shares her joy about 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!

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S2E13: Diverse People Bring Diverse Perspectives

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 00:01:00 -0500

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

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S2E12: Moving From Surviving to Thriving: Addressing Bias Impacts on Mental Health

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 00:01:00 -0500

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

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 00:01:00 -0500

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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S2E10: Healing and Understanding Intergenerational and Collective Traumas

Wed, 07 May 2025 00:01:00 -0500

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 Chinese 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 shenanigans 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!

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S2E09: Discovering Room To Grow! With Guest Sandy Eichel

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:01:00 -0500

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”.

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S2E08: Unpacking the Science and Controversy around "Implicit Bias"

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 00:01:00 -0600

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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S2E07: Living Black History! With Guest Bernie Hoes

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 00:01:00 -0600

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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S2E06: Joy in Challenging Beauty Standards

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:01:00 -0600

We help you ring in the New Year with this month's episode (released New Year's Day)!
Will shares that (last year's) New Year's Eve festivities brought him joy; and Amber gives us an inside look at her Spotify Wrapped.
This episode's main discussion topic is Beauty Standards and the Halo Effect (allowing people whom you might find more attractive to get away with things that you might not let people you find less attractive to get away with - see the TV show "You" as a great example of "the character is a stalker, but he's hot, so it's kind of okay!").
For story time, Will recounts a negative story about what could have been a human resources violation at a workplace related to a married couple where the wife was up for a promotion and the boss wanted to make sure she did not wind up with a pay bump that would have resulted in her making more money than her husband, but the HR person stepping in to stop that nonsense; followed up by a more positive story that ties into the main Beauty Standards topic, and how "Star Trek: Discovery" had a lovely storyline about a "repulsive looking" alien character finding love in the final season of the show (with a more traditionally beautiful character). In response to this month's audience question, Amber and Will discuss name bias and the ways in which it can negatively impact folks, such as applying for jobs (and ways in which to potentially combat that bias).
The bias habit-breaking skill in this episode is to Adopt a Cumulative Perspective on Bias, which requires understanding that just because you might think if you slip up and express bias towards someone, you should acknowledge that your "one time slip up" is actually probably one of dozens of "slip ups" that person has been the recipient of that day - because bias, even minor slips - aren't actually rare and isolated incidents for those people experiencing them.
The episode wraps up with Amber's joyful recommendation of "Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins", a travel show hosted by a larger bodied Black man, who doesn't let the lack of accommodations for heavier folks stand in his way of having all the life experiences he wants to have (like skydiving).

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S2E05: Christmas is NOT Cancelled: Moving Past Cancel Culture

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:01:00 -0600

This month's episode focuses on the holiday season. We share holiday-related joy! Amber discusses visiting Disneyland during the holidays and the extra magic it brings! Will's joy is his friends' annual (faux) gingerbread crafting party.

This episode's main discussion topic focuses on cancel culture and how to move past cancel culture to have productive and constructive conversations when someone makes a mistake. This leads us to touch on many timely and important topics, including how to maintain accountability without "canceling" someone, the difference between guilt and shame, how to "call people in" rather than "call them out", and how to have productive conversations about correcting language that others might use without realizing it's offensive or problematic. This brings up several widely publicized instances of public figures being criticized (in some cases, we suggest, too severely) for honest mistakes or misunderstandings, as well as some cases of public figures who doubled down on their offensive rhetoric.

For story time, Amber and Will both share stories related to difficult or productive conversations, which provides them a with a chance to discuss the negative and positive impacts those conversations can have. In response to this month's audience question, they provide additional advice on how to manage discussions about difficult or polarizing topics, and how to "respond" to criticism, rather than merely "reacting" to it.

The habit-breaking skill in this episode is to Listen With Humility. When others bring up an issue related to bias, diversity, or related topics, have enough humility to hear what they have to say, and be willing to question your own way of thinking. Growth and change require some discomfort!

And we close out with Will's joyful recommendation of the adorable, charming, cute, and quirky movie, "A Christmas Movie Christmas".

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S2E04: Learning About Immigration With Guest Valeria Martinez

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 00:01:00 -0600

In this episode we have a very special guest, Valeria Martinez, Esq., who is an immigration attorney and joins Drs. Cox and Nelson to talk about immigration issues! We share joy! Valeria's joy is that after recently graduating from law school, she has now "made it" and is employed her lifelong goal of being an immigration lawyer! Will's joy is his 40th birthday this month, and being named one of Madison, Wisconsin's "Forty Under 40" class of 2024 by InBusiness Magazine. Amber's joy is her "forty before 40" list of forty new grand experiences she is working on before she turns 40 next year!

This episode's discussion topic involves immigration, especially legal issues related to immigration. With our guest, we talk through some an array of topics and history related to immigration in the United States, including the Chinese exclusion act, the "undesirable aliens act" of 1929, the State Department's Diversity Visa program, country caps on immigration, the role of the law in mandating fairness, asylum seekers, the definition of migrants as compared to refugees, and more!

For story time, Valeria shares difficult stories related to her parents immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico, and more joyous stories related to immigration victories in her legal work today. In response to this month's audience question, Valeria gives you her best advice related to what people should look for in an immigration attorney.

The habit-breaking skill in this episode is to Broaden Your Input via Contact. In other words, seeking more positive, genuine contact with people different from you. Make new friends! Although we often assume someone of a different race or other group status won't have much in common with us, the reality is that you likely share more in common than you think; all you need is one small thing in common as a foundation to build a genuine relationship. As we build positive connections with people from different groups, those connections and relationships push back against biases in our minds. Genuine relationships then also can serve as resources for helping us to learn more about the experiences and perspectives of people in other social groups.

And we close out with Valeria's joyful recommendation of the wholesome and multifaceted K-Drama, "The King's Affection". It was so lovely to have Valeria as our guest this episode.

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S2E03: The Joy of Learning via Analogy In Media

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:01:00 -0500

October means it's our Halloween episode! For the occasion, Amber is dressed up as Weird Barbie from Barbie (2023) and Will is dressed up as Quicksilver from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)! We share joy! Amber's joy is getting together with her family to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters; Will shares his joy about his friends' massive annual Halloween party, with a different theme each year! This episode's discussion topic involves the power of analogy in media representations. Although we talk about how media representation matters in terms of literal portrayals in each episode during our joyful recommendation segment, often the media can provide powerful analogies to teach meaningful lessons, and that's what we dig into during this main topic. This month's audience question asks why dressing in costumes of other cultures is often considered offensive, and we talk about the nuances around this topic. For story time, Will and Amber continue the thread from the question and share anecdotes related to costumes and culture and setting expectations for what costumes are or are not acceptable in a given context. The habit-breaking skill in this episode involves favoring mindfulness over blunt, ineffective approaches to bias reduction. Specifically, Don't Try to Bluntly Suppress Stereotypes! Bluntly pushing thoughts out of your mind actually makes those thoughts have a bigger influence on your subsequent thinking and behavior. And we close out with Amber's joyful recommendation of the heartwarming, insightful, and impactful Disney/Pixar movies Inside Out and Inside Out 2.

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S2E02: Questioning Colonialist Assumptions

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 00:01:00 -0500

For this Labor Day month episode, Amber and Will are dressed up as Rosie (and Ross) the Riveter!

We share joy! Will's joy is visiting Disney Parks, especially Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, which puts you on the immersive Star Wars planet of Batuu. Amber shares her joy about a recent project in which she reads fiction book series then watches their corresponding movies!

This episode's discussion topic involves the concept of colonialism and decolonization, in which we seek to understand and examine personal or cultural practices that arise from colonial history. These practices can include things like leadership styles, decision-making procedures, and inherent hierarchies. The goal with this idea is not to necessarily reject "colonialist" ways of doing things, but to examine whether they are the way we want to move forward, or if we're just perpetuating the way "things have always been done" without critical examination.

During story time, Will and Amber share stories related to people falsely adopting identities they do not hold, including the notion of "pretendians", which are people who pretend to have Native American Indian heritage.

This month's audience question is about how to speak up for JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) work when you're a member of spaces that don't have much diversity.

This episode’s habit-breaking skill is to Question Assumptions, and discussion of that skill taps into many areas, including how more assertive communication styles tend to dominate in science and academic domains.

And we close out with Amber's joyful recommendation of Beyoncé's invigorating and revolutionary album, Cowboy Carter.

Shout-outs this episode include Disney World and Disney Land, especially Galaxy's Edge. We also mentioned Nicole Byer's "Newcomers" podcast. Books we discussed include "The Education of Little Tree" by Asa Earl Carter under the pseudonym Forrest Carter and "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang. We also discuss the broadway musical "Hamilton." Amber also encourages you to check out the writing of her beloved and insightful friendtor Jude Bergkamp to learn more about decolonialism and decolonization! Will also wants to shout out the amazing Black country music star, Brittney Spencer, who was on the "Cowboy Carter" album. Check out her recent album, "My Stupid Life" (it's a bop!) and also her interview on The Daily Show with Dulcé Sloan, where they discuss many great topics related to Black women and country music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEb03tPe9eQ

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S2E01: Why Joy is Important for Diversity Work

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 00:01:00 -0500

This episode is the season premier of season 2! Will and Amber share their joy about people's responses to season 1 of the podcast, and also about their recent trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire! They discuss the core philosophy behind "diverse joy", and why joy is so crucial for diversity work. During story time, Amber's stories touch on the theme of "yucking someone's yum", which can rob joy from others. In response to our audience question, we discuss how to stay motivated in the face of events and movements that oppose justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) work. During the skills segment, we revisit the core idea of how to Approach Bias as a Habit to Be Broken, which involves Motivation, Awareness, Tools, and Effort. We also discuss why and how we focus on developing skills that empower people to make changes to their own behaviors, rather than prescribing or enforcing "rules" about what is or isn't acceptable. This episode's joyful recommendation is the suspenseful and exciting Star Wars TV show, "the Acolyte".

Also check out these shout-outs from this episode! Will mentioned his and Eric Roman's favorite Star Trek podcast, "The Greatest Generation" which reviews old Star Trek episodes (also check out its sibling podcast, "The Greatest Trek", that reviews new Star Trek and also Battlestar Galactica), they are @GreatestTrek on YouTube and on social media, and special thanks to their producer Wynde Priddy for helping us out! Amber and Will also mentioned the Bristol Renaissance Faire @BristolRenaissance on Insta and https://renfair.com/bristol/, at which we saw amazing shows by Barely Balanced @barelybalanced and Adam Crack @winrichadam. Amber mentions her nonprofit For Us By Us: Kinship Coalition, and Chris Rock's Documentary "Hair". Will also mentioned a book he thought was called "Hair", but we couldn't find it! Maybe he misremembers the title. Apologies! Amber also discusses her Psychology Today piece, "Catching One's Breath in the age of "I Can't Breathe"" interview. Last but not least, we also mention Eric Roman's photography, which you can check out at https://www.erbeining.com.

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S1E14: Addressing Biases and Inequities in Healthcare

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 00:01:00 -0500

In this final episode of Season 1, Amber shares her joy about vacationing in Hawai'i, and Will shares his joy about the Madison Chamber Orchestra's annual "Concerts on the Square" outdoor concert series. We discuss many different ways that biases can seep into healthcare settings, through the perceptions of medical professionals, treatment plans, policies and procedures in medical offices, and even in the way medical equipment works. During story time, Will shares stories about a doctor jumping to biased conclusions about him, and also about finding a much better, more inclusive and accepting doctor. This month's habit-breaking skill is learning to disrupt Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, in which our expectations about others bring out the behaviors we were expecting, with people living up to our heightened expectations, or living down to lowered expectations. Amber's joyful recommendation is the visually and musically stunning masterpiece, "Encanto."

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S1E13: Individual and Collective Wellness and Self-care

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:01:00 -0500

In this episode, Will shares his joy about Gay Pride month, and Amber's joy is seeing outdoor movies in the park! They discuss wellness and self-care, both in terms of individual self-care (e.g., rest, getting a massage) and collective self-care (e.g., coming together with community). Considerations of wellness and self-care are important for everyone, but are especially crucial for people frequently disadvantaged by biases and inequities. Amber shares stories about having to maintain work productivity after major collective traumas (i.e., the murder of George Floyd), and how a colleague helped take up burdens during that difficult time. This month's habit-breaking skill is to Speak Up when bias occurs, and we review several key guidelines on how to speak up about bias effectively, to effect change in others' behavior. This skill also provides opportunity to discuss something foundational to the podcast, the notion of adopting a "scientist-practitioner" model, in which we translate scientific evidence and knowledge into practical, concrete skills for laypeople. Will's joyful recommendation this episode is the endearing and heartwarming hit show, "Steven Universe".

In this episode, Amber mentions using a Steven Universe song, "Here Comes a Thought", to teach people about mindfulness. If you're interested, check it out here: https://youtu.be/dHg50mdODFM?si=HA7kTYCkoKq-he8T

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S1E12: You Can't Tell Just By Looking: Breaking Assumptions About "Gaydar"

Wed, 01 May 2024 00:01:00 -0500

Amber shares her joy about attending Portland's Outdoor Market, and Will's joy is his koi pond waking up after winter! This episode discusses a major topic from Will's research career: the notion of "gaydar" as a legitimizing myth that perpetuates stereotyping related to lesbian/gay/bisexual (LGB) folks. Although many people have intuitions that they believe allow them to "tell" that someone is gay/lesbian, research in this area consistently shows that those intuitions most often lead to largely inaccurate conclusions in the real world. Expanding on this notion of LGB stereotyping, Amber and Will discuss many ways this type of stereotyping perpetuates harm, and also unpack the LGB community's multifaceted relationship with its stereotypes and communicating or concealing identity. This episode's bias habit-breaking skill is learning to identify and disrupt "Attentional Spotlight", which draws your attention more strongly to evidence that supports stereotypes (and away from evidence that contradicts stereotypes). Amber's joyful recommendation this episode is the thoughtful and dynamic TV show, "Home Economics", which tackles many issues related to social class and race, while still being wildly entertaining!

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S1E11: Intersectional Joy

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 00:01:00 -0500

In this early spring episode, Will’s joy is his local Gallery Night, a festive celebration of local art and artists. Amber’s joy is cherry blossom season in the Pacific Northwest. This episode's discussion topic is “Intersectionality”, a term that had seen widespread attention and some misunderstanding in recent years. Intersectionality is a framework for understanding how our various identities come together (i.e., intersect) in unique ways. For example, the experiences of a straight Black woman and a gay Black man will have some similarities, but also important differences. We have a better understanding of people’s experiences when we consider their many identities that intersect. This episode’s question dispels misconceptions sometimes raised in rude public discourse that intersectionality is just about “adding up” identities for victimization. In story time, Amber shares a couple of powerful stories about difficult and positive interactions she’s had with police officers, and discusses some of the nuances of being Black and dealing with the police. This month’s habit-breaking skill is to Seek Individuating Information. The more you get to know the unique details that make someone and individual, the less likely it is that stereotypes and biases will try to “fill in the gaps” in your perceptions of that person, leading to discriminatory assumptions or behaviors. Will’s joyful recommendation is the hilarious and fun woman-led musical comedy TV show “Girls5Eva”.

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S1E10: Accommodations Help Everyone! With Guest Nicki Vander Meulen

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:01:00 -0600

In this Disability Awareness Month episode, we invite back lawyer Nicki Vander Meulen to talk about the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), especially how other movements, including the Black civil rights movement and the gay rights movement, cooperated to bring about the ADA. Nicki's joy this episode is the Marvel character Rocket Raccoon, who many see as an icon for inclusion, especially among the disability community. Amber's joy is that March is also "Disney Bounding Month", when she dresses up daily as various Disney characters, to the delight of all who know her! Will's joy is his annual tradition of throwing big theme parties for all his friends! We discuss the many protests and sit-ins related to the disability rights movement, including the 504 sit-in and the Capitol crawl, both of which succeeded in part due to solidarity and support from other rights movements. Throughout this discussion, we touch on many issues around disability and accommodations, especially highlighting how accommodations help everyone, not just people with disabilities. Nicki shares several stories related to obstacles she's faced as an Autistic person with cerebral palsy, teaching us some ways people fall short in their interactions with people with disabilities, but also giving us guidance on how to do things better! This episode's question centers on why disability is not "just" a feature of people's medical conditions, but of obstacles created by a world that often overlooks differences in ability. Today's habit-breaking skill is learning to catch Untested Assumptions, which, when unchecked, serve to perpetuate biases in our minds. Nicki's joyful recommendation is the amazing "Guardians of the Galaxy" series of movies.

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S1E09: Joy at Every Size: Weight Bias

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 00:01:00 -0600

Will's joy this episode is "Camp Bingo", a local drag bingo event that fundraises for services for people living with HIV/AIDS, and Amber's joy is after-Valentine's candy sales! This month's episode focuses on weight bias, and Amber and Will discuss terminology for people who occupy bigger bodies, and many ways the world isn't set up for fat people, creating challenges for them. Amber shares stories related to being fat when seeking healthcare. This episode's question is "Isn't supporting fat people supporting them being unhealthy?", and in answer to that we unpack the relationship between body positivity and health, specifically challenging the notion that supporting fat people's body positivity is supporting them being unhealthy. In this discussion, Amber talks about the recent movement to champion "Health at every size". This episode's habit-breaking skill is learning to watch out for and disrupt Confirmation Bias, which results in us giving more mental weight to confirmatory evidence over disconfirmatory evidence. Amber's media recommendation is Lizzo's reality show "Watch Out for the Big Grrrls". (We also acknowledge that, after the recording of this episode, some controversy about Lizzo and that show has come to light. As of this episode's release the allegations have yet to be addressed in court.)

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S1E08: Being Intentional in Diversity Efforts

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:01:00 -0600

In this new year's episode, Will's joy is cozy winter activities, especially his friend group's weekly movie night. Amber's January joy is birthday celebrations, because her family has a lot of birthday celebrations in January. As she does in all things, Amber brings lots of themed, personalized festivity to birthday celebrations! Connecting to new year's traditions of setting new intentions, this episode's discussion topic focuses on how to be intentional in diversity efforts. We don't want diversity efforts to be something we fall backwards into; diversity and inclusion deserves forethought and intentionality. Continuing that theme, we share stories that exemplify unfortunate diversity attempts and some that are more successful. This episode's question is "How do I ask about someone's identity respectfully?", and we discuss bad ways to ask about identity and offer suggestions for more positive and respectful ways to ask about others' identities. This episode's habit-breaking skill is to Think Ahead. Bias is more likely when we're figuring things out spontaneously, and less likely if we've thought things through ahead of time. Will's media recommendation for this episode is the action-packed period piece, "Prey", which is a wildly entertaining sci-fi action flick that also showcases Comanche history, language, and culture.

In this episode, we mentioned our producer, Eric Roman Beining, and his photography. If you're interested, check it out at erbeining.com.

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S1E07: Finding the Joy in Cultural Humility, Responsiveness, and Justice

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 00:01:00 -0600

Amber's joy this month is everything festive, most especially the ever-expanding array of Christmas movies! Will's joy is his friend group's annual "Krampus and Crafts" tradition, where they watch the holiday comedy/horror movie "Krampus" and do a holiday craft project. This episode's discussion focuses on some common terms used in diversity discussions (cultural competency, cultural humility, and cultural responsiveness), and how to translate those concepts to practical actions. In brief, we recommend learning common ways people may see the world differently from you (cultural competence), but also recognize that we can never have complete knowledge of this (cultural humility), and we should be receptive and thoughtful in our response to listening to others’ perspectives and feedback about their experiences (cultural responsiveness). This episode's question is "What is justice?" and we discuss how to define and think about social justice in our efforts to be more inclusive. This episode's habit-breaking skill is to Consider Situational Explanations for Behavior. Amber's media recommendation for this episode is the touching and fun reality TV show, "We're Here".

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S1E06: Learning about Trans* and Nonbinary Identities With Guest Sandy Eichel

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 00:01:00 -0500

For this Trans* Awareness month episode, we bring back special guest Sandy Eichel, who is a transgender nonbinary person themself! We start off addressing notions of tokenism, and specifically discuss the difference between including an underrepresented voice versus tokenizing that person to speak for their whole group. This episode, we share our joy around Will's costume room, Amber's holiday sweater collection, and Sandy's amazing annual Solstice Party! We discuss a variety of trans*-related issues, including pronouns, how to correct yourself if you slip up and misgender someone, and hearing about Sandy's own journey to understand themself as a transgender and nonbinary person. This month's habit-breaking skill is learning to Replace Stereotypes, and we learn about using the pneumonic "Detect, Reflect, Reject" as a way to help us retrain our automatic reactions. Sandy's joyful media recommendations is the powerful documentary "Paris is Burning".

Learn more about Sandy at SandyEichel.com.

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S1E05: Joyful Representation of Interracial Relationships on TV

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 00:01:00 -0500

For this Halloween episode, Will and Amber are dressed up as Captain Christopher Pike (from "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds") and Lucy Ricardo (from "I Love Lucy"). Bringing us joy this October are Will and Eric Roman's annual "Hallow-Crafts Day" and Amber's traditions of visiting pumpkin patches and going apple-picking! Matching our outfits, we discuss representation of interracial relationships and racial diversity in the media, especially "I Love Lucy" and "Star Trek" (and, in true A&W fashion, we go down a rabbit hole of many others, including Brandy and Whitney Houston's "Cinderella", "Black Panther", "Wakanda Forever", "The Princess and the Frog", and "Champions"!). Representation Matters! We also discuss some of the issues surrounding actors being cast to portray people with identities they don't share. This episode's habit-breaking skill is to Broaden Your Input Via the Media, which is something we emphasize every episode, with our media recommendations! Amber's dual media recommendations for this episode are the hilarious and evergreen "I Love Lucy" and the more recent, fantastic Netflix show, "Bridgerton".

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S1E04: Better Together: Disability Desegregation in Schools With Guest Nicki Vander Meulen

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 00:01:00 -0500

With special guest Nicki Vander Meulen, we share our joy about the TV show Star Trek: Lower Decks, back to school, and football season! Nicki is a lawyer focused on disability issues and the first-ever openly Autistic person to be elected to a school board in the U.S., and she shares her perspectives on disability desegregation in schools. We argue that desegregation is best for not only student with disabilities, but those without disabilities as well. We also discuss language norms around disability (e.g., the difference between "person with autism" and "Autistic person"). To develop our bias habit-breaking skills, we learn to Do Perspective-Taking as one powerful way to forge emotional connections to others' experiences that drives our inclusive behavior going forward. Nicki's joyful recommendation is Judy Bloom's amazing novel "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret".

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S1E03: Joyful Facets of Identity: Get to Know Us and Our Backgrounds!

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 00:01:00 -0500

To start off, we explain that, even though we both have doctorates, we describe ourselves as “so-called experts” because diversity and inclusion topics are ever-evolving, and there’s always more to learn. Things bringing us joy this episode are Will’s visits to the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Bristol, Wisconsin and Amber learning to make her Italian grandmother’s recipe for long sauce. Our discussion this episode focuses on our own identities and backgrounds, and we each share our stories of how we came to our career paths. As with many folks, our appearances aren’t complete indicators of our racial/ethnic identities — Amber discusses her Black and Italian heritage, and Will talks about being White and Hawaiian, as well as sharing his story about coming out as gay to his religious, Mormon family. Then we reflect on our answers to the question "Is race a social construct?". To work on our bias habit-breaking skills, we learn to watch out for Impression Justification as one way that biases can influence judgments and decision-making. Our joyful recommendation is the delightfully diverse and absolutely hilarious TV show, “Superstore.”

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S1E02: What is ”Professional” Anyway? With Guest Sandy Eichel

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 00:05:00 -0500

With special guest Sandy Eichel, we share our joy about gardening and working with kids. We discuss ways that stale notions of "professionalism" can stifle authenticity and increase marginalization. People are happier and more productive when they can authentically express themselves through their appearance. In other words, we celebrate Sartorial Joy! We also share our perspectives on how to start diversity discussions in workplaces that aren't talking about diversity issues. To develop our bias habit-breaking skills, we learn to watch out for Norm Enforcement as one way that biases play out. Sandy's joyful recommendation is the fantastic TV show, "Schitt's Creek."

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S1E01: Centering Joy, and Why Non-Scientific Diversity Trainings Fail

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:25:50 -0500

In this premier episode, we introduce the core idea behind our podcast and why we want to emphasize and center our “Diverse Joy.” What’s bringing us joy this episode is the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser and the new acronym for diversity work, JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). We also discuss the widespread issue of non-tested bias and diversity trainings, and how they often make bias problems worse. Answering our first "audience" question, we reflect on "positive biases" and whether bias is always a bad thing. To develop our JEDI skills, we learn about the habit model as a scientifically validated method of cognitive-behavioral change. Our recommendation for something bringing us joy is the NBC show “Grand Crew” starring the hilarious Nicole Byer.

Diverse Joy is hosted by Dr. William T. L. Cox and Dr. Amber Nelson, produced by Eric Roman Beining, with music by Jay Arner. New episodes release the first Wednesday of each month. Learn more at DiverseJoy.com.

Diverse Joy is sponsored in part by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number R35GM128888. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Production is also supported by donations to our nonprofit, Inequity Agents of Change. Learn more at BiasHabit.com.

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