ALSSI News
March 2026
Hello!
Welcome to the official season of hope! We don’t know whether there are blossoms where you are in the world, but it’s spring in ours and it feels like good news arriving just in the nick of time. Saved by the sun again! Whew, that was close.
Before we begin the slide toward summer, here’s a quick heads-up about ALSSI coming attractions. Mark your calendars for anything you don’t want to miss!
"Hope sleeps in our bones like a bear waiting for spring to rise and walk."
— Marge Piercy
Calendar—
03/31 Ep. 257: Big Ideas | The Beatitudes
04/02 Say More 1 | Susan Hinckley
04/07 Ep. 258: C&S’s Rage-cast Potpourri
04/09 April Worthy Stuff | Susan Edition
04/10 Friday Live Chat | 10:00 am Mtn
04/14 Ep. 259: What Do You Say | Listener Edition 2
04/16 Say More: At Last She Writes It 2
04/16 ALSRI Book Club | 7:00 pm Mtn
04/21 Ep. 260: Big Ideas | Letting Go
04/23 ALSSI News
04/24 Friday Live Chat | 10:00 am Mtn
04/28 Ep. 261 Ask Us Anything | Q & R w/ C & S
05/05 Ep. 262 Big Ideas | Confirmation Bias
A few calendar notes:
We hope you’re enjoying the ALSSI Season 11 episodes as much as we’re enjoying making them! Fyi, our current season will run through mid-July. (Pssssst! We’re talking about ending this season with a live event in SLC, so file that info in the back of your mind and stay tuned for details…🤞🤞🤞)
Watch for links for our Friday Live Chats in the regular Substack chat a few minutes before starting time. No need to pre-register! We’ll record the meeting so you can listen later if you’re unable to join us in real time.
Lastly, hard to believe, but it’s almost time for our 2nd ALSRI Book Club meeting of the year! If you haven’t started reading yet, don’t panic—these discussions are great whether you’ve read the book or not. At the end of the meeting, we’ll all vote on the selection for next time. We really hope you’ll join us!
Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground, by Mirabai Starr
April 16, 2026
7:00 pm Mountain
Register to receive Zoom link by clicking here
“Change, personal and political, does not come about in a day, nor a year. But it is our day-to-day decisions, the way in which we testify with our lives to those things in which we say we believe, that empower us. Your power is relative, but it is real. […] Change did not begin with you, and it will not end with you, but what you do with your life is an absolutely vital piece of that chain.”
—Audre Lorde, from this speech
And now…we’re pleased to introduce the newest member of our team!
Sarah Morse
Sarah’s stepped into the role of creating our social media, and we couldn’t be happier. We’re loving her whole vibe! (We can’t thank anyone enough for stepping up when we ask for help, but today we’re feeling especially thankful for you, Sarah—it’s a big job, and we were thiiiis close to dropping every ball there is! At last we can breathe again.)
Here’s Sarah in her own words:
I'm a long time ALSSI listener, thrilled to work for one of my favorite podcasts. Even though I’ve lived in Austin for the last 22 years, I’m a Midwesterner at heart, since I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and still visit often. I’m turning 50 in a couple weeks, and I’m pretty excited about it. (I’m one step away from pulling on some high waisted pants and doing my best Sally O’Malley kicks.) I have a degree in political science, and I will happily talk about news and politics with anyone. My favorite thing to do is wander a thrift store and hunt for vintage housewares, some of which I keep, and some I re-sell. I’ve been married to Matt for 28 years, and we have three boys, ages 20, 18, and 12. At church, for the past several years I’ve been both a Relief Society teacher and the stake communication director, and I love both roles. You can find me on IG at @craftandopinion.
Call for Voicemails—Ask Us Anything!
It’s been a long time since we had an episode where we responded to your questions. Is there something you’d like to hear us talk about? Anything you want us to take a stab at? We can’t guarantee “answers,” but we’d love to respond to your thoughts with some of ours! Leave us a voicemail here or send us an email at atlastshesaidit@gmail.com and we’ll tell you what we think. You have 90 seconds of recording time.
“Perhaps it’s worth saying it’s OK not to be hopeful. I feel like there’s so much emphasis in our society on being hopeful, as if that’s the answer to unlocking everything. I’m not a hopeful person. I’m not an optimist. I see the data. I see what’s coming. But I also see the full range of possible futures. I feel like there’s so much that we could create, and the question that motivates me right now is, What if we get it right? It’s not going to be perfect. There’s no scenario in which we have a perfectly pristine planet, given that we have eight billion people living on it now. But how can we each be a part of getting it as right as possible?”
—Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, from this interview
Thanks!
We continue to be grateful for all the support that comes our way, and also the many words of encouragement we see exchanged between members of this community. It’s the space it is because together we make it that way. Thanks for your contributions—the ones we know about, and the ones we don’t.
Thanks for your hope.
Warmly,
Susan, Cynthia
& the ALSSI Team 🌺
Hope makes itself every day
springs up from the tiniest places
No one gives it to us
we just notice it
quiet in the small moment
—Naomi Shihab Nye, from Window
I’m so grateful for you both for being there and opening up this venue for we who are questioning, wondering. transitioning, and suffering at times. I love this space and the people who participate in it in all of the ways.