First thing: The country Liberia was formed when a group of Americans made an attempt to ‘repatriate’ African-American slaves to Africa. As I’ve been reading Alexis de Tocqueville’s important book Democracy in America I’ve been appalled by his account of America’s treatment of Native Americans and Blacks in the 19th Century. The fact is, once slavery had become established, abolishing it became very complicated. In the early 1800’s, simply proclaiming all slaves free was considered to be a dangerous proposition, particularly for African-Americans who would suddenly have little to no economic standing and no home to call their own.
Liberia was founded by a group of white Americans known as the ‘American Colonization Society‘. This organization (and others like it) helped thousands of Black Americans emigrate to Liberia over the course of several decades. The idea wasn’t perfect but it was an attempt to provide a practical economic and social remediation for the sins of slavery and to begin transitioning toward the complete abolition of slavery.
[Personal Reflection: My understanding of the Black experience in America has gone through a number of evolutions in the past 5 years and I can tell I’m in the midst another ‘deepening’ of my perspective. The fact that slavery exists so recently in our national history is hard to fully grasp, and I’m just beginning to understand many of the complex and generational effects that such a primally evil program created.]     

Second thing: Four Sigmatic Mushroom drinks are SOO GOOD! I picked a few boxes of these up at a local discount store and have become hooked. I’ve seen interest in mushrooms take off in the past 5 years and for good reason: they are actually effective. Whether it was stigmas from the psychedelic era or just a general cultural aversion to fungi, most people just haven’t taken mushrooms seriously until late. Either way, I’m excited to see more mushroom products in the market.
My favorite variety is the Mushroom Hot Cacao (it has a little bit of cinnamon in it as well.) It’s in their ‘CHILL’ line, and I drink one almost everyday in the early afternoon. 

Third thing: I had a TON of fun listening to the Brains On! podcast with my eight- and six-year old during our holiday travels this year. Not only is the podcast hilarious (especially for kids😉), it’s educational and very well produced. With topics like “Why Do Siblings Annoy Each Other?” and “What Makes Some Things Gross?”, my kids were literally cracking up in the back seat of the car, which was really fun to watch. Next time you’re on a longer ride with a kid, give the podcast a try! (I recommend reading through the list of episodes and letting the kid pick–it increases skin in the game as well as the likelyhood he/she will get hooked😉).