Changed World.
New Perspectives.

In starting a new media company, I began writing down my 'founder's thoughts' early. For a blog? Notes to share with my grandkids? I didn't know why at the time, but I recorded stories of our founding. One, about why iPondr is needed in the world, involves girl power and the disinhibiting effects of wine. I also have a story about naming the company. What an inorganic and dispiriting process that was; until we landed on the perfect name. Then I felt like I was looking into my new baby's face for the first time: iPondr.

We are in a time when unseen algorithmic forces determine what temptations we'll face in our social feeds late at night. I thought these personal musings were pithy insights into 'throwing down' against that unacceptable status quo; or me being authentic and engaged, maybe funny? Anyways, a Pondr-er.

But now we are in a double State of Emergency in our headquarter town of Minneapolis; TWO States of Emergency, formally declared by the Governor. In Minnesota, as now much of the country, we are fighting two deadly diseases; COVID and Racism, with no clear sense of how many more will be lost before a cure is identified.

Our small-but-mighty team is seeing how quickly it gets REAL for us at iPondr.

The first Producer/Hosts we hired joined us in February. In our shared commitment to foster a more interconnected society by portraying authentic America, we had about one minute to slap each other on the back for what we were about to do.

Then, BOOM.

First, COVID. We saw the reporting about expanding cases, desperate situations in some-- but not all-- parts of the country, and we considered what we could add. The team set out to share a rich and textured understanding of what we, collectively, miss during lockdown. What scares us and what matters to us. In simply listening to 'May Day: Covid Across America', we hear how COVID affects people differently, depending on things like race, income and geography. Listen, watch; hear the wisdom and the wondering about what's next and what will follow after that. These personal insights come from places of lived experience across the spectrum and across the country. It was well received--over 150K views and TWO short documentary awards.

As tens of thousands of Americans lost their jobs overnight, we turned our attention to our programming area, "Women at Work", and the theme of Reinvention. iPondr shared the personal experience that Jill had with furlough, in her own words. By the numbers, you likely know someone who has had this experience. With better understanding, we can bring the compassion and hopefulness that people who are losing their jobs need.

In our program, "Dimensions of Health", we visited the Frontiers of Science to understand what it is like to be a Chief Research Scientist developing therapies, preventives and the cure(s) for COVID.

With limitations on movement due to COVID, we were finalizing these pieces and developing some bios on the iPondr team.

Then, BOOM.

May 25, Memorial Day; George Floyd's life was extinguished by police, in an excruciating 9-minutes of depravity, filmed by horrified onlookers. This occurred in Minneapolis, which is our backyard. I mean really--George Floyd's death occurred in the literal backyard; streets where members of our team grew up and played and felt community.

This has been hard, hard, hard. Our team is diverse. Our producing team is all-diverse, and Minneapolis is their home. They are processing trauma in real time, along with millions of other black Americans. Trying to feel, and not feel, the genuine here-it-comes-again heartbreak of previously broken hearts.Hearts many times broken, by the falsity of the American Dream, for people whose glorious humanity is zipped up inside something as random and mundane as skin color. Pale and read-headed? You will endure long, curious looks. Might be uncomfortable. Black? Ah, well. You'd better be mindful of your space and place-- all your life, otherwise this could be deadly.

As a digital news and information media company, iPondr aims to be a NEW essential, for you. You, our Pondr-ers are ready to get inside the insidious, the ridiculous and the sublime. You want to get closer to authentic American points of view, and human experiences that cannot be debated. And not for benign reasons, but to deepen your understanding and play your part in moving us forward and shaping a better culture.

Sometimes this endeavor hurts. Hurts to tell, hurts to hear. Right now, it's very heavy on our team. But when we tell our stories to grandchildren, ours or others', whether pithy or painful, we want to make sure they count. We will make sure they count.