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Hosted by J.R. Jamison, each episode's theme is explored through a variety of engaging avenues, from performances of stories from different points-of-view collected using The Facing Project's story sharing model, to interviews with storytellers, artists, and bestselling authors exploring complex topics we all face -- leaving listeners with the courage to share their own stories and the empathy to listen to others.
92 Episodes
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J.R. Jamison is joined by author and educator Jill Christman to discuss her new memoir, The Heart Folds Early, a story of transformation through tragedy, and an examination of the ways in which great loss can make us simultaneously fearful and intrepid.Emerging from a childhood that included both devastating sexual abuse and the sustaining joy of being deeply (if imperfectly) loved, Jill Christman’s sights were set on building and protecting her own happy family—until her fiancé was killed in a car accident. In The Heart Folds Early, Christman examines the mournful recklessness of the young widow she was against the backdrop of her later marriage and new motherhood, including the choice to end a half-term pregnancy when a routine ultrasound revealed her baby boy had just half a heart.Courageous, clear-eyed, tender, and unexpectedly funny, Christman reflects on her life and asks: What happens when we’re afraid the worst thing will happen and then, sometimes, it does? And how do we carry life and death in our bodies and survive with our hearts intact?
J.R. Jamison is joined by Trina Moyles to explore the fragility of our relationships with human and nonhuman species alike, and the imperative to protect the wild—along with the people we hold closest—through her new memoir, Black Bear. After years of working for human rights organizations, Trina Moyles returned to northern Alberta for a job as a fire tower lookout, while her brother Brendan worked in the oil sands, vulnerable to a boom-and-bust economy and substance addiction. When she was assigned to a tower in a wildlife corridor, bears were alarmingly visible and plentiful, wandering meters away on the other side of an electrified fence surrounding the tower. Over four summers, Trina begins to move beyond fear and observe the extraordinary essence of the maligned black bear—a keystone species who is as subject to the environmental consequences of the oil economy as humans. At the same time, she searches for common ground with Brendan on the land that bonded them.
J.R. Jamison sits down with Samantha Ellis to journey through time, language, and cultural connectivity as the two explore her new memoir, Always Carry Salt. The daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees, Samantha grew up surrounded by the noisy, vivid, hot sounds of Judeo-Iraqi Arabic; a language that’s on the verge of extinction. Now, raising her own family, she questions how to pass on this heritage without passing on the trauma of displacement. Always Carry Salt is a life-affirming tale of resilience and repair, the healing power of our ancestor's music, stories, and recipes, and a moving meditation on the words and traditions that shape us.
Guest host Kelsey Timmerman “talks story” with Kaua’i educator and cultural practitioner Malia Chun. Together they explore how Hawaiian stories carry genealogy, belonging, environmental knowledge, and resistance—and why reconnecting with our own roots shapes how we move through the world. Malia invites listeners to reflect on their ancestors, their land, and what it means to be a good ancestor today.
J.R. Jamison is joined by writer and editor Fiona Robertson, whose latest memoir of grief, hope, and love explores Britain’s standing stones and the solace of their offerings in times of darkness, and lessons learned on endurance, survival, joy, and the luminous reminder of what it means to exist on this earth.
J.R. Jamison explores the everyday impacts of injustice in health through the stories of those on the frontlines in Baltimore, Maryland, touching on barriers to care in Black, Brown, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities; challenges with mental health and housing; and the influence of identity, community, and culture on wellbeing. Later, J.R. is joined by the Facing (In)Justice in Health project organizers Mindi B. Levin and Dr. Stéphie Dulièpre, along with Dr. David Fakunle, the founder and CEO of DiscoverME/RecoverME, an organization that utilizes the African oral tradition to empower use of storytelling for healing and growth. Photo credit: Dr. David Fakunle
Kelsey Timmerman is joined by singer-songwriter Cliff Ritchey to discuss his new album, The Long Haul, and the stories behind his music that have been inspired by global travels and the simple country life of Markleville, Indiana—where gravel roads, sunsets, and stillness seep into his melodies of home.Photo credits: Kelsey Timmerman for Patagonia Books.
J.R. Jamison is joined by David Ambroz to discuss his memoir, A Place Called Home, a story about growing up homeless in New York, Ambroz’s subsequent years in foster care, and eventually becoming an attorney with a vision to change the laws that affect children in poverty. Hillary Rodham Clinton praised A Place Called Home “[as a book that will] redouble your efforts to fight the systems of poverty that have plagued America for too long.”Photo credits: David Ambroz (by Austin Hargrave)
J.R. Jamison is joined by former co-host Kelsey Timmerman to discuss his latest book, Regenerating Earth: Farmers Working with Nature to Feed Our Future, and later Kelsey sits down with an Indiana farmer to explore how he’s working to build a local food system while healing the land through regenerative farming practices. Music in this episode - "I Leaned My Back Against an Oak (after The Water is Wide)" by AxletreeLicensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.From the Free Music Archive.
J.R. Jamison explores aging through the stories of those aged 60 to 95 who look back at their careers and accomplishments, and discuss times of war and peace; strength and bravery; struggle and tenacity; and the secrets to life and living in the golden years. Special guests: Molly Flodder, editor of Life After 60: The Golden Years?, and Dr. Jacquelyn Frank, a leading gerontologist and anthropologist whose research focuses on aging in place.
J.R. Jamison explores the diverse definition of recovery through the lens of a recent book project, Facing Recovery, a collection of 17 first-person narratives that captures the wide spectrum of what recovery means and that, contrary to popular belief, it’s not just tied to addiction. Special guests: Dr. Kathryn Ludwig, assistant teaching professor of English at Ball State University and editor of Facing Recovery, Bridgett Nesbitt and Hayden Gorham, two writers on the project, and Abby Gluvna, program manager for Recovery Café Muncie.
J.R. Jamison is joined by journalist Mike De Socio, an Eagle Scout and adult volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America, whose new book dives into the history of the Scouts, exploring its tangled past with inclusion beginning in the 1970s, all the way through landmark policy changes in the mid-20teens that opened up Scouting for all.
J.R. Jamison is joined by Colonel Bree Fram and Dr. Liz Cavallaro, whose latest book examines the experiences of 100 LGBTQIA+ leaders in business, academia, nonprofit, entertainment, and government and how crucible moments, such as coming out and code switching, have prepared them to be better leaders. The trio also discuss how organizations can create safer and more welcoming work environments.
J.R. Jamison is joined by journalist Mark Hertsgaard, whose latest book unpacks the histories of segregation, violence, and systematic oppression toward Black Americans through the lens of the largest mass shooting in New Orleans’ history that ultimately led to his friendship with Deborah Cotton and a lesson on empathy.
Host J.R. Jamison sits down with Vietnamese poet and novelist Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai—author of the international bestsellers The Mountains Sing and Dust Child–to talk about writing the American and Viet Nam war from Vietnamese perspectives and how volunteering for international peace organizations has influenced how she tells stories.Photo Credit – Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, photo provided.This Dreamscape® Recording from the book, The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is text copyright ©2020 by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai. Published by arrangement with Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing Company, Inc., New York. Sound copyright ℗2020 by Dreamscape Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Dreamscape® Media, LLC. www.dreamscapepublishing.com.
Host J.R. Jamison sits down with filmmaker Colin Askey, who directed the PBS documentary Love in the Time of Fentanyl, and the two are joined by Sarah Blyth and Trey Helten from the Overdose Prevention Society, the harm reduction organization featured in the film that brings people in from the streets and saves lives by providing a safe and welcoming place to use drugs.Photo Credit – Colin Askey, photo provided.
Host J.R. Jamison sits down with author, actor, and activist Sara Sharpe to talk about radical love and empathy, and the organization she founded called The Letters Project, a bridge-building organization that provides space for an ongoing series of love letters from her—a liberal, left-leaning woman—to a conservative, right-leaning friend.Photo Credit – Sara Sharpe, photo provided.
Host J.R. Jamison sits down with Julio Vincent Gambuto—author of Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!, a book about taking back our time, attention, and purpose in a post-pandemic world. The two explore Julio’s feature film, Team Marco, that follows the life of a boy who’s always plugged in until his grandpa makes him play outside.Photo Credit – Julio Vincent Gambuto, photo provided.
Host J.R. Jamison sits down with FRONTLINE filmmaker, producer, and journalist Ursula Liang to talk about her latest film Two Strikes, a documentary short that follows the two strikes law in Florida that put a former West Point cadet struggling with PTSD and alcoholism in prison for life without the possibility of parole. The two also explore how to tell authentic stories through print and film.Photo Credit – Ursula Liang, photo provided.Chapters –[00:00] Introduction[01:00] Filmmaker and Journalist Ursula Liang
Host J.R. Jamison sits down with GLAAD award-winning journalist Samantha Allen—author of Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States, and the novels Patricia Wants to Cuddle and the forthcoming Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet.Photo Credit – Samantha Allen, photo provided.[00:00] Introduction[01:00] Writing Unexpected Plot Lines and Finding Community with Award-winning Author Samantha Allen
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