✦ “Bad B*tch” ✦ Poet Deanna Repose Oaks ✦ Kat Graham ✦ UpBeat Benefit ✦ Heather Infantry of the Giving Gap

✦ We live in a time where women's rights, visibility, and autonomy are under assault and being eroded daily. Writer Trenton Judson has decided to write a film that challenges and flies in the face of these attacks. Enter, Bad... well, the second word also starts with a B and rhymes with Mitch. So, for the sake of FCC-monitored radio, let's call the film BB. Enter BB, an independent vigilante film with a strong female lead that looks to challenge stereotypes, perceptions, and even your definition of the second B. ✦ "In Their Own Words" is our segment where creatives tell us who they are, what they do, what they love, and a few things you might not see coming. What things? Who knows, there's only one way to find out. Today, poet Deanna Repose Oaks takes the spotlight. ✦ LA star power thrives in Atlanta, as actor Kat Graham can attest. An Atlanta transplant since 2017, Kat starred in TV's megahit series "The Vampire Diaries" throughout its 8 seasons: she's also a dancer, author, musician, and recording artist with four studio albums. Now, the multi-talented performer stars in - and executive produces - the new Lifetime original movie "If I Run." It's based on a novel by Terri Blackstock about a suspenseful murder mystery with Graham's character falsely accused, on the run, and surviving on faith. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans spoke with Graham about this new film. ✦ This Saturday, August 16, the Star Bar in Little Five Points is hosting a benefit for Upbeat, an Atlanta nonprofit that helps musicians in need. City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes has more. ✦ There's been a lot of chatter lately about proposed budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, but what is the actual impact of these cuts on working artists, arts institutions, and the communities they serve? Who are the human beings whose livelihoods are at risk? City Lights Collective member Kelundra Smith recently spoke with Heather Infantry, CEO of The Giving Gap, to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.