HeyJaredLya Williams
A time for unraveling, becoming and rebuilding. A collection of real and random thoughts.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 11
- Latest publication
- Sep 29, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 14, 2026
Latest issues
The Rules Nobody Wrote Down (opens the original)
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Iowa has been in its own monsoon. Weeks of rain, then one glorious hour of sun, and I did not get my walk. Why? Because I was preparing for a meeting, which is what grown-ups do instead of frolicking.Here’s what I’ve learned at 50: there are two rulebooks. The first is the one we publish. It has numbers, sections, and a matrix that shows exactly how things flow. I have explained that matrix so many times it has practically become a bedtime story.The second rulebook is unwritten, and it gets enfo
Your Gas Bill, Your Kid's School, Your Vote: It's All Connected (opens the original)
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Lya and Dana open this episode of Unfiltered with the Oskaloosa homecoming incident, where racist remarks targeted a staff member and the school district responded by canceling a football game and homecoming dance. They connect this to workplace racism, sharing personal stories involving a noose incident at a data center and another at a training in Madison, Wisconsin. The conversation shifts into a passionate call to action around voting, with the hosts breaking down how many Iowa races get dec
Facing East (opens the original)
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I'm sitting with my candle lit and a coffee in hand from my Moka pot— not the pistachio latte I'd hoped for after last weekend's Des Moines farmers market, but this. Plans don't always go the way we intend, and maybe that was the point. This week I ended up on an impromptu trip to the landfill, off the pavement and onto gravel, and all my old ag engineering instincts came flooding back. I remember thinking: I'm in the middle of nowhere. If my phone dies, if a tire blows, I'm at the mercy of whoe
Not Soft. Not Strong. Just Free. (opens the original)
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I spent this past weekend at Ingersoll Live, two days in a row, sitting at a table in support of a friend’s business — a podcast built by and for Black women. And somewhere between the foot traffic and the merchandise and the good, loud joy of Black women simply existing in public together, a stranger walked up, glanced at our table, and asked how much money we were making.Not “tell me about your business.” Not even “what inspired this?” Just: how much did you make.I said what I said. Something
Keeping it Real, No Filter Revisiting the 90's and Back to School Reality (opens the original)
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In this episode, Lya and Dana get real about what it actually takes to build community — from the classroom to the ballot box to the block party down the street. They dig into why authenticity matters more than ever in how we communicate, starting with historical Black women activists to the organizers doing the work today, and talk about what real representation looks like when it shows up in local events, education, and public spaces. Along the way: the wins and the growing pains in education
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