The Happy Hour Podcast Episode 3: A NECESSARY CONVERSATION Part 1

Two reporters highlighting Black experiences during a pandemic

shaylyn martos, Malakai Wade, Nia Coats, and Whitney Papalii • Aug 7, 2020

Welcome back to The Happy Hour! Your palate cleansing podcast is here to provide some fresh insight on Black experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the intersections of identity shape how we all move through the world.

Join hosts Malakai Wade (@malakaiwade) and shaylyn martos (@shaylynmartos) in a short jaunt from our regular format; episode 3 is a conversation with Golden Gate Xpress reporters Nia Coats and Whitney Papalii about their recent work and personal experiences.

We find our happiness through sharing our passions with people we respect. Change begins with necessary conversation, and results from organized action.

Listen to part 2 here.

Find this week’s stories and background below:

Nia’s stories:

Black owned cannabis companies (link)

Black Invincibility: The Myth (link)

Whitney’s stories:

Black Residents United in Housing hosts its first meeting of the semester to welcome back students (link)

Background research (optional!):

SFSU Resource Guide, collected by the BSU (link)

Fighting inequity in the face of COVID-19 (link)

Marijuana’s prohibition, its politics and its historic racists undertones (link)

‘We still have a long way to go,’ say 1968 SF State activists (link)

The fight for Ethnic Studies continues (link)

Promises unfulfilled for College of Ethnic Studies (link)

Gater article from 1967 (link)

About the Contributors

shaylyn martos

shaylyn martos (she/her) works to provide better representation of LGBTQ+ people in media, and produces stories that address possible solutions to larger, systemic issues. She currently serves as multimedia editor for SF State's Golden Gate Xpress and produces The Happy Hour Podcast. In 2019, shaylyn was honored as an NPR Next Generation Radio Mentee. When not chasing a story, shaylyn can be found reading speculative fiction, cooking her favorite native Chamorro foods or bombing at a stand-up open mic. She's online @shaylynmartos

Malakai Wade

Malakai is a senior journalism student at SFSU and the Editor-in-Chief of Xpress Magazine. She is in her last semester after finishing a minor in International Relations. Malakai wants to focus on multimedia productions such as podcasting and video, as well as magazine design and publishing. She likes writing about global feminism, community organizations, and other artists. She also co-hosts and produces The Happy Hour Podcast, a comedy/news/talkshow all about happy stories. Catch her at home or wearing a mask when she goes out.

Nia Coats

Nia Coats is a San Francisco Native and a 4th year journalism student at San Francisco State. Her beat is mainly telling Black stories along with arts and culture. She also conducts interviews on her independently ran blog Lucky7mag.org.

Whitney Papalii

Whitney Papalii is a student at San Francisco University, pursuing a BA in Journalism (Online/Print) and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. This is her last semester as a student at SFSU and first semester writing for Golden Gate Xpress. Originally from Los Angeles, Whitney was a student at Santa Monica College before she transferred schools and moved up to the Bay Area. After graduation, she hopes to find a job that fulfills her interests in writing and fashion. Her other interests include social media, local news, and design.