Green Table Talk is a social justice podcast that offers unique perspectives on issues and initiatives going on within our community.
The podcast focuses on issues at FGCU, locally and nationally through co-hosts and guest speakers. Green Table Talk is run by the Multicultural and Leadership Development Center (MLD) and was revamped in February 2023. It originally began as an FGCU version of the titular Red Table Talk series.
Co-hosts Evan Clemente and Andrea Toles record on Mondays in the audio production room in the library and guest speakers from different organizations come onto the show. The podcast is streamed on Spotify and episodes are uploaded twice a month on Fridays this semester.
“I made the choice to join Green Table Talk because I wanted to be a part of a space that allows me to be a voice for the underrepresented as well as be a part of conversations I care about and learn more about topics that I am not an expert on,” senior Evan Clemente said. “Green Table Talk pushes me to speak up and be assertive on topics I care about and learn to have my own opinions and perspectives on things as an independent individual.“
This year they have had members from the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), United Greek Association (UGA) and Best Buddies. They will also be collaborating with the Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Incorporated for a panel incorporating Trio Student Support Services. The panel will be a first-generation live interactive recording where they will discuss what it’s like to be a first-generation student. It will discuss what struggles and privileges first-generation students have as well as compare life to the average college student.
“Green Table Talk has the foundations of topics surrounding social justice issues, but I would want it to grow in various ways with new people, new topics and new ways to regulate the podcast so that we can grow our listeners and have more people know about it,” Clemente said.
So far Green Table Talk has discussed Latinx culture and personal stories around it, small black-owned businesses, LGBTQ+ awareness, autism awareness, gender inequality in athletics and cultural differences. The Co-hosts have expressed the need to be genuine in bringing their personalities to their roles. Graduate Student and former Co-host Sadreena Colonel also oversees the production element of Green Table Talk. According to Clemente, the environment when recording isn’t fully structured or formal, but rather, a natural relationship that continues to grow.
“Green Table Talk is always the beginning of any conversation, so we want to always provide a brave space for students to hear from different perspectives,” senior Andrea Toles said. “It’s a conversation starter for anything going on in the world!”
During the brainstorming sessions for the semester, the co-hosts decide if they want a guest to come and record or if they will select a topic and go back and forth on their own. Green table talk strives for folks to listen and then strike up a conversation with the people in their circle.
“We don’t know when these types of conversations will be allowed again so if not us, who and if not now, when?” Toles said.
