
Mark Povinelli On The Return Of Benjamin Lay
Always Looking Up
03/31/25
•57m
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In this week’s episode I sat down with Mark Povinelli. Mark is an activist as well as an actor on stage and screen. He is currently portraying Benjamin Lay, shepherd, sailor, revolutionary, the British Empire's first revolutionary abolitionist, and someone whose story for too long has not been told, in the Off-Broadway production of The Return of Benjamin Lay. We discuss who Benjamin Lay was, how this show came to be, the importance of telling this story at this time, much more.
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Get your tickets to see The Return Of Benjamin Lay (Use the discount code"LPA"): Here
Follow The Return Of Benjamin Lay Play: Instagram: @benlayplay
Follow Mark: Instagram: @markpovinelli IMDb: Mark Povinelli
Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: alwayslookingup227@gmail.com
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Relief For Disabled People Impacted By The Los Angeles Fires:
Richard Devylder Disaster Relief Fund: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/rd-relief-fund/
United Spinal Disaster Relief Grant: https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/
Inevitable Foundation Emergency Relief Fund: https://www.inevitable.foundation/erf
This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin
Previous Episode

In this week’s episode I sat down with Rachel Wherley, Erin Elswood, and Shelby Holloway, the co-directors of the Mascots Matter campaign. Mascots Matter is an independent grassroots advocacy initiative calling for the retirement of offensive disability mascots. We discuss the origins of the “m” slur and its continued, harmful use through to present day, the founding of Mascots Matter and its advocacy efforts thus far, why discriminatory disability mascots are not just a local issue and much more.
For reference, this conversation was recorded on March 18, 2025. Also, the “m”-slur will be used in context when explaining it as a slur as well as referring to these mascots. It is important to note that neither myself nor my guests condone the use of this word nor is it a part of our vocabularies.
Follow And Support Mascots Matter:
Website: https://mascotsmatter.net Donate Here
Instagram: @mascotsmatter Facebook: Mascots Matter
Follow Rachel: Instagram: @thatlittlemom TikTok: @thatlittlemom
Follow Erin: Instagram: @erinkaseyhughes
Follow Shelby: Instagram: @shelbyhollowayy TikTok: @shelby_holloway
Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: alwayslookingup227@gmail.com
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This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin
Next Episode

Makenzie Morgan Gomez On Dancing (Disabled) Through Life
April 7, 2025
•71m
In this week’s episode I sat down with Makenzie Morgan Gomez. Makenzie is a Mexican-American, queer, dynamically disabled performer based in Brooklyn, NY. She is a member of Actors' Equity Association and recently made her Off-Broadway debut starring as Libby in Neil Simon's I Ought To Be In Pictures at Theatre Row, where she used both a cane and a manual wheelchair on stage. We discuss going against society’s expectations of disability, how disability representation should not be limited, question what it means to maintain the integrity of a piece of art and much more.
Join The Patreon: Click Here
Follow Makenzie: Instagram: @makenziemorgangomez TikTok: @makenziemorgangomez YouTube: Makenzie Gomez Website: https://www.makenziemorgangomez.com
Creative Adaptations: https://www.creativeadaptations.co
Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: alwayslookingup227@gmail.com
Read With Me:
Relief For Disabled People Impacted By The Los Angeles Fires:
Richard Devylder Disaster Relief Fund: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/rd-relief-fund/
United Spinal Disaster Relief Grant: https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/
Inevitable Foundation Emergency Relief Fund: https://www.inevitable.foundation/erf
This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin
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