A Liberty Hill Podcast

Conversations From The Frontlines

Real Talk, Real Change with Shane Murphy Goldsmith

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Real Talk, Real Change

Since 1976, Liberty Hill Foundation has leveraged the power of community partners, donor activists, foundation partners, grassroots leaders, and other allies to advance social justice and equity through strategic investment in grants, capacity building, leadership development, data and research, and convening.

Our new podcast, “Conversations From The Frontlines: Real Talk, Real Change with Shane Murphy Goldsmith” will serve you the insight and commentary you need to be a better ally in the fight for justice. Whether you’re an organizer, donor, or a concerned resident looking to get involved, we’re here to help you have real conversations about topics like race, community safety, and justice with empathy and humor.

Liberty Hill is giving you a front row seat—and a bird’s eye view—of the social justice battles shaping Los Angeles.

This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation—because we're all part of the story.

Join Liberty Hill President and CEO, Shane Murphy Goldsmith as she chats with insiders and outsiders fighting to create a more just society.

Meet Our Host

Shane Murphy Goldsmith is the President and CEO of Liberty Hill Foundation. Shane is honest, funny, and isn’t afraid to keep it real. In each episode, Shane will dive into the current social justice landscape in L.A. County. Join us for real talk and real change.

Season 3 Teaser


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Season Three

Igniting Electoral Power & Defending Our Democracy

Preseason Episode – The Best of Season 2

The Best of Season 2

We look back at some exciting moments from Season 2 and highlight engaging conversations with frontline organizers and community activists who are working to create a more just L.A.

Preseason Episode – Liberation & Progress - Ending Girls Incarceration

Dr. Monique Couvson, Jessica Nowlan, Katherine Lucero

Recorded live at our annual Leadership Appreciation Brunch, we go behind-the-scenes of Liberty Hill’s new Liberation Fund—a groundbreaking initiative to end incarceration of girls and gender-expansive youth in L.A. County—with Dr. Monique Couvson, Jessica Nowlan, and Katherine Lucero.

Episode 1 – Right Wing Threats to Progress: Who is the Right Wing in LA?

Former L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin and Peter Dreier, Occidental College

Former LA City Councilmember Mike Bonin and Professor of Politics at Occidental College Peter Dreier discuss how the right-wing agenda influences and shapes the political terrain in Los Angeles.

Episode 2 – Building Electoral Power for Lasting Change

Anthony Thigpenn, California Calls and Manuel Pastor, USC Equity Research Institute

Founder & President of California Calls Anthony Thigpenn and Director of the USC Equity Research Institute Manuel Pastor dive deep into the history of L.A. organizing and movement building and explore its role in shaping political power.

Episode 3 – Overcoming Longstanding Roadblocks to Electoral Progress

Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect

The American Prospect Editor-At-Large Harold Meyerson explores the evolution of progressive and grassroots movements in Los Angeles and the opportunities ahead for advancing social justice.

Episode 4 – Creating A Movement: On the Frontlines of Electoral Power Building

Christina Livingston, ACCE Institute and Meghan Choi, POWER & Ground Game LA

POWER & Ground Game LA Incoming Executive Director Meghan Choi and ACCE Institute Statewide Executive Director Christina Livingston delve into the role of strategic organizing and movement building in shaping political power in L.A.

Episode 5 – Housing Justice on the Move in the Courts, in the Streets, at the Polls

Faizah Malik, Public Counsel, Estuardo Mazariegos, ACCE Institute and Pete White, LA Community Action Network

Public Counsel Managing Attorney Faizah Malik, ACCE Institute Los Angeles Co-Director Estuardo Mazariegos, and LA Community Action Network Executive Director Pete White discuss the latest Housing Justice headlines and recent developments from the frontlines.

Episode 6 – When Movements Win Elections: Why ULA Worked

Alexandra Suh, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance and Joe Donlin, United to House LA Director

Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA) Executive Director Alexandra Suh and United to House LA Director Joe Donlin break down Measure ULA, the coalition work behind its success, and the Housing Justice movement it continues to inspire.

Episode 7 – The Bold New Approach to Housing at the Ballot Box

Elise Buik, United Way LA and Jennifer Hark Dietz, PATH

Subject matter experts United Way for Greater LA President & CEO Elise Buik and PATH Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Hark Dietz talk about the bold new way to house Los Angeles and movement building beyond the ballot box.

Episode 8 – Moving from Community-Based Campaigning to Electoral Power (Part 1)

Alberto Retana, Community Coalition

Alberto Retana, President & CEO of Community Coalition, explores LA’s political and movement landscape and explains how LA organizers are turning progressive activism into electoral power.

Episode 9 – Moving from Community-Based Campaigning to Electoral Power (Part 2)

Marqueece Harris-Dawson, LA City Council President Pro Tem

Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson joins in to talk about the inside-outside game and the generational shift happening in L.A. politics.

Episode 10 – Show Me the Money: Funding Progress During an Election Year

Miguel Santana, CA Community Foundation and Fred Blackwell, San Francisco Foundation

CA Community Foundation President & CEO Miguel Santana and San Francisco Foundation Chief Executive Officer Fred Blackwell go behind-the-scenes of what it takes to fund progressive change during an election year.

Bonus Episode – Reparations and the Rebirth of a Nation

Joel Edward Goza, Author and Kaci Patterson, Black Equity Collective

“Rebirth of a Nation” author Joel Edward Goza joins Kaci Patterson of Black Equity Collective in this special live audience taping where they talk through the state-wide work being done around reparations in California.

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Season Two

Power, Politics and Solidarity in L.A.

Episode 1 – Reimagine Multiracial Democracy

Steve Phillips, New York Times Bestselling Author

Recorded Live from the SoCal Grantmakers 2023 Policy Conference, this episode explores the intersection of race and politics with New York Times Bestselling Author, Steve Phillips.

Episode 2 – Grassroots vs. Grass Tops in L.A. Racial Coalition Politics (Part 1)

California Assemblymember Isaac Bryan

Two-part episode exploring multiracial solidarity in Los Angeles and the state-wide work being done around reparations with California Assemblymember Isaac Bryan.

Episode 3 – Grassroots vs. Grass Tops in L.A. Racial Coalition Politics (Part 2)

Derek Steele, Social Justice Learning Institute

Catch part two of this engaging conversation as Executive Director of Social Justice Learning Institute, Derek Steele shares insight on the social justice ecosystem of Los Angeles.

Episode 4 – Building Solidarity with Community, Politics, and Labor

L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez & Jared Rivera, SEIU Local 2015

L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez and SEIU Local 2015 Political Director Jared Rivera join the conversation around the landscape of the labor movement in L.A.

Episode 5 – Building Coalitions for Radical Visions

L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez & Ivette Alé-Ferlito, La Defensa

Frontline stories about movement solidarity and the inside-outside perspective of L.A. politics with L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and Executive Director of La Defensa Ivette Ale-Ferlito.

Episode 6 – Lifting the Curtain on Power and Governance

L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman & Bill Przylucki, Ground Game LA

Turning progressive activism into electoral power with L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman and Ground Game LA Executive Director Bill Przylucki.

Bonus Episode – The Multi-Generational Fight for Environmental Justice in L.A.

Ashley Hernandez, Communities for a Better Environment & Michele Prichard, Liberty Hill & Nalleli Cobo, People Not Pozos

Environmental justice champions Michele Prichard, Ashely Hernandez (Communities for a Better Environment), and Nalleli Cobo (People Not Pozos) join us for an in-depth conversation on the past, present, and future of the environmental justice movement in L.A.

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Season One

Fearless conversations about social justice that you've been waiting for.

Episode 1 – Community Safety As Thriving, Not Surviving (Part 1)

David Turner of Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition

Dr. David Turner discusses the future of youth justice in Los Angeles, and the ways he is fighting for black and brown communities as both an educator and organizer. Also, David shares his love for tacos and basketball, discusses abolition as the future of community safety, and tells us why Kendrick Lamar's “Alright” holds a special place in his heart.

Episode 2 – Community Safety As Thriving, Not Surviving (Part 2)

D'Artagnan Scorza, Executive Director, Racial Equity

Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza discusses institutional racism and its impact on community safety. Dr. Scorza leads the Anti Racism division and is working to eliminate systemic barriers that have made sure that large portions of the Black community, and other communities of color, live within the confines of concentrated disadvantage depriving communities of the opportunity to achieve self-determination and the opportunity to thrive.

Episode 3 – Race & Intersectionality in LGBTQ Social Movements (Part 1)

Yue Begay of Indigenous Pride Los Angeles

Yuè shares how her experiences as a Navajo transgender woman influence her perspective as an artist and public health professional. Join Shane and Yuè for a bold conversation about reparations and campaigns to return stolen land back to indigenous people in Episode three.

Episode 4 – Race & Intersectionality in LGBTQ Social Movements (Part 2)

Lorri L. Jean, CEO of Los Angeles LGBTQ Center

Lorri L. Jean has been an activist on LGBT issues since 1979 and is nationally recognized as one of the most seasoned and effective leaders in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement. Jean currently serves as CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the world's largest provider of programs and services for LGBT people.

Episode 5 – The Rising Generation: How L.A. Youth Are Shaping the Future (Part 1)

Miguel Dominguez of Community Coalition

In this episode, Shane and Miguel discuss the future of youth justice and what it would take to build a more just community safety ecosystem. Hear Miguel reflect on how his experiences growing up in South LA and attending UCLA influenced his work organizing South LA youth to advocate for their neighborhoods.

Episode 6 – The Rising Generation: How L.A. Youth Are Shaping the Future (Part 2)

The Honorable Peter P. Espinoza

The Honorable Peter P. Espinoza, a retired judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California joins Shane for Episode Four to discuss the future of youth justice and community safety in LA County.

Bonus Episode – Defending the Future: America Post-Roe

Janette Robinson Flint & Laura Jimenez

Conversations From the Frontlines: Real Talk, Real Change is back with a special Season One Bonus Episode on the fight for reproductive justice—Defending the Future: America Post-Roe. Join Liberty Hill President/CEO Shane Murphy Goldsmith and her guests Janette Robinson Flint, Executive Director of Black Women for Wellness, and Laura Jimenez, Executive Director of CA Latinas for Reproductive Justice, as they tackle the future of the fight for bodily autonomy and the intersections of the movements for reproductive and housing justice.

Bonus Episode – Charting a New Course for L.A. with the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles

Mayor Karen Bass

In this bonus episode of “Conversation From the Frontlines,” Mayor Karen Bass joins the Liberty Hill community on the eve of her inauguration to discuss her plans to address pressing issues facing the City of L.A. Tune in as Mayor Bass shares her vision for how to tackle youth incarceration, environmental justice, and housing the unhoused, as well as her top priorities for her first 100 days in office.

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Ensure Equity & Justice for All

Economic and Racial Justice are core to our work to make L.A. a more just and equitable place. Join the movement today!