S2E9: Going Viral

In this episode of Stone Written, host Dr. Rhon sits down with Dr. Donovan Livingston — educator, poet, MC, Chapel Hill Poet Laureate, and UNC alumnus who initially struggled to make it through. Now back at Carolina as Teaching Assistant Professor and Director of College Thriving, Dr. Livingston reflects on the full-circle journey from undergraduate to community leader and scholar.  They dig into what it really means to thrive — beyond GPA and accolades — and explore the dangers of hyper-visibility in the social media age. Dr. Livingston gets candid about what it was like when his 2016 Harvard graduation speech, Lift Off, went viral, racking up millions of views and a shoutout from Hillary Clinton — and why going viral isn't all it's cracked up to be.  From the power of educators who make room for students to become themselves, to the concept of "body fictions" and the false intimacy of social media, this conversation moves between the cosmic and the deeply personal. Expect poetry, real talk, and a cipher or two.  Sources:   About Dr. Livingston (via UNC-Chapel Hill)  Dr. Livingston’s famed speech, Lift Off  College Thriving curriculum at UNC-Chapel Hill  Debra Walker King, Body Politics and the Fictional Double (2000).  The Sonja Haynes Stone Center