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Sam and LT talk with Boston Celtics and WNBA reporter Noa Dalzell about turning lifelong basketball obsession into a real job after being told the dream was unrealistic. They dig into why off-court community reporting creates better access, better questions, and a more honest picture of sports culture.

Recommended links:

https://www.youtube.com/@WNBAonCLNS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1xjBrTJiOk&list=PLv1Zsk99iuxAt3OJ4QBfKSVCCg0Nhs8W9

Go here for the Smart Girl experience:

https://www.smartgirlbook.com/

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Season two starts with a pivot. We’re still here for first-generation college and grad school life, but now we’re applying that lived experience to the stories we all watch, quote, and argue about. As two English PhDs, Sam and LT bring a sharp cultural analysis style without losing the warmth, humor, and honesty that made this show feel like a real conversation in the first place.

In this episode, they talk about the methodology shift from season one, which stayed close to La'Tonya's Smart Girl origin story, into a bigger project focused on cultural representation.

Subscribe, share this kickoff with a friend, and leave us a review. What show or film should we put under the first-gen microscope next?

Go here for the Smart Girl experience:

https://www.smartgirlbook.com/

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In this episode, LT and Sam go behind the scenes of First Gen & Juice, a practitioner-driven anthology that turns pop culture, such as Barbie, Oppenheimer, K-pop, comics, Tupac, even The Godfather, into ready-to-use lessons for classrooms, advising, and staff development. Born from a standing-room-only conference session, the book responds to a simple but urgent request from educators: don’t just tell us why pop culture works, show us how.

We talk with co-editor Martha Enciso about advising offices lined with action figures, writing classes built on cinematic analysis, and why confidence is often the missing ingredient in first-gen student writing. Martha breaks down how cultural touchstones lower defenses in hard conversations, while LT unpacks the editorial blueprint that makes this book so usable: every chapter includes activities, prompts, or week-by-week plans you can copy, remix, and teach tomorrow.

The only homework: buy the book:

https://adeii.health/first-gen-and-juice-exploring-first-gen-college-student-narratives-in-pop-culture-and-mass-media

Go here for the Smart Girl experience:

https://www.smartgirlbook.com/