What Shapes Our Desires? On Culture, Power, and Parenting with Myrna Perez- Ep. 23

Multicultural Family Hub

We’re so excited to welcome our very first guest, Dr. Myrna Perez!

In this expansive and thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Dr. Perez—a scholar, mother, and bold truth-teller—to explore what it means to live, parent, and think across cultural and racial borders.

A HARVARD-educated professor (yes, the bold will make sense when you listen!), Dr. Perez leads courageous conversations about science, religion, gender, and sexuality at Ohio University. She speaks candidly about the many cultures that shaped her—from growing up in a San Diego border town surrounded by Filipino and Mexican influences, to navigating elite academic spaces, to raising a family in Appalachia.

We dive into how growing up with immigration as a backdrop formed her worldview, and how clarity often emerges when the unsaid finally gets spoken. Dr. Perez shares her experience designing a tarot deck that reimagines knowledge, and reflects on how colonialism shapes our desires in ways we don’t always see.

Together, we unpack how culture acts as the “third presence” in every room, what it means to raise children with honesty and humility about race and power, and how the tension of living in-between identities can become a wellspring of wisdom.

Dr. Perez's insight, warmth, and practical tools for listening will leave you thinking—and feeling—long after the episode ends.

📚 Check out her book: Criticizing Science: Stephen Jay Gould and the Struggle for American Democracy 🎧 Use code HTWN at https://press.jhu.edu/books/title/12930/criticizing-science for 30% off!