In part two of the Dandelions season finale, we hear about the past year and a half of David Hicks’ life—a year and a half he has lived face to face with death. As David contemplates how he has found meaning and provided definition to an illness and loss otherwise indefinite, we hear how faith has allowed him to appreciate life's delicate dance between gratitude and grief, love and loss, fear and hope.

In part one of the Dandelions season finale, HLS/HKS dual degree student David Hicks transports listeners through the ‘seasons in his faith.' As he candidly reflects on formative events in his life through the lens of his faith—and the doubt that so often comes with it—David brings attention to the unspoken interplay between belief and belonging and how emotional isolation can masquerade as intellectual opposition.

Deviating from the usual one on one conversations Dandelions has explored throughout the season, Mazelle is joined by Diego and Sebastian Negron-Reichard, two brothers who entered law school together this year. The trio will examine the brothers’ draw to public service and what it means to come from a family where service is a central tenet of their history. Diego and Sebastian also confront how it feels to be facing some of the same issues as previous generations—scrutinizing the cyclical nature of both history and the violence it’s steeped in.

Much as her recent book is a collection of stories tied with a common thread, Joey Bui’s life seems to burst at the seams with the ideas, identities, and idiosyncrasies she embodies. Discussing the evolution of fiction rooted in fact and generational understanding, Joey pushes beyond the binary of real and not real to explore the depth of human experience in times of conflict, migration, and resilience.

3L Connor Vineski is the first person to come to HLS from a tribal college. In this episode, we dive into an authentic conversation with Connor about all that came before and after that. In telling his story, Connor provides insight into the complicated interplay between individual identity and societal expectation, and how the decision to stand up may be dictated by where you have been made to sit.

In episode two Kit Metoyer interrogates into what the phrase ‘family values’ really means in practice and how she balances high expectations with mental health. A high achiever, former student athlete, and general go-getter, Kit discusses the limits of the body and the mind and how she pushes them without losing sight of what’s important.

Join us in conversation with HLS 2L Marta Canneri as she examines her residency across multiple countries and how it has spurred her interest in understanding online identity groups and niche organizations. This conversation scrutinizes how different contexts can shape our understandings of ourselves and what it’s like to investigate from the fringes.

Introducing: Dandelions a new podcast brought to you in partnership with Student Government at Harvard Law School. Join Harvard Law student Mazelle Etessami in conversation with fellow students at HLS, exploring themes of community, human connection, and more. In the wake of this socially distant environment, Dandelions aims to bring us a little closer together.