Introducing Critical Connections: Stories from 20 years of the Allied Media Conference

We are excited to announce the launch of AMP’s new podcast, Critical Connections: Stories from 20 years of the Allied Media Conference available wherever podcasts are streaming.

The podcast comes from a desire to “begin by listening”, a pillar of AMP’s Network Principles. “These stories are important to share because the AMC has been such a rich space for critical connections,” explains Jenny Lee, Executive Director of AMP. “We cannot possibly know all of the connections that have been made at the AMC and all the beautiful things that have grown from them, but these stories are giving us a glimpse.”

Jenny co-hosts the podcast with Mo Willis, AMP’s Associate Director, who has been a driving force behind the AMC for seven years. For Mo, the AMC is a constant reminder that “the world we need is possible, and we have what we need to achieve it.” The stories collected through the podcast offer evidence of this. Listeners can look forward to interviews with AMC superstars like Sterling Toles, Diana Nucera, and adrienne maree brown.

The Critical Connections podcast is a means of sharing the lessons and the love so central to the AMC, but it also happens to be an example of critical connections in its own right. The podcast is a collaboration between AMP and WNUC 96.7 LPFM Detroit, which is the only licensed low-power FM radio station in Detroit. “This in itself is an AMC story,” Jenny explains, “because AMC organizers and participants worked for years to pass national legislation that opened up the spectrum for more LPFM stations, making it possible for WNUC to exist.”

As Grace Lee Boggs so brilliantly stated, “In this exquisitely connected world, it’s never a question of ‘critical mass.’ It’s always about critical connections.” It is with gratitude that we both reflect on twenty years of the Allied Media Conference and look ahead to building on the legacy of the critical connections that have led us here today. Listen and subscribe to the Critical Connections: Stories from 20 years of the Allied Media Conference wherever you listen, and let us know what you think!

Special thanks to: Rev. Joan Ross (WNUC Station Manager), Morris Porter (sound engineer), Puck Lo (editor), Kat Aaron and Kristy Li Puma (interviewers), Emi Kane (AMP Board member, interviewer and co-wrangler of this project), and all of our guests, especially Sterling Toles for providing the theme music!