The Ben & Jamesa Podcast: Conversations about Compassion, Curiosity, and Courage

In this episode of the Ben & Jamesa Podcast, we’re joined by author Jill Damatac, whose book Dirty Kitchen beautifully examines home through the lens of food, identity, and lived experience—and was just nominated today for the prestigious James Beard Award. 
Together we explore the deeply personal and ever-evolving idea of “home.” Is it a physical place, a feeling, or something we carry within us? Through thoughtful conversation, we unpack how home is shaped by memory, migration, family history, and the world around us. Along the way, we reflect on how our understanding of home shifts over time, and what it means to come back home and also to ourselves.

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In this episode, Ben and Jamesa take a close look at hope — not as a feeling to perform or a wish to hold onto, but as an active practice of staying engaged with life when outcomes are uncertain. They explore the real benefits of hope: how it sustains meaning, drives action, and keeps us connected to others. But they also sit with the harder questions — when does hope become avoidance, pressure, or even a quiet form of denial? Along the way, they share stories that ground the conversation in the real world, from young inventors tackling environmental crises to the people and communities that keep Ben and Jamesa themselves moving forward. If hope is less about optimism and more about how we orient ourselves toward what matters, this episode is an invitation to practice it more honestly. 
Learn more about their organizational leadership work at www.benandjamesa.com
Learn more about the Ben and Jamesa Podcast at www.BenandJamesaPod
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In this episode of the Ben and Jamesa Podcast, we're asking does marriage actually help or harm women? We kick things off with the Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma. We explore the gray divorce revolution, the "Living Apart Together" movement, Leslie Jones' fiery claim that marriage is "legalized slavery," and the rise of women building their own community housing outside of traditional partnership. Joining Ben and Jamesa is award-winning author and activist Soraya Chemaly.
Soraya is an award-winning author, activist, and cultural critic whose work examines gender norms, social justice, free speech, and sexualized violence. She is the author of All We Want Is Everything: How We Dismantle Male Supremacy, described as "a potent rallying cry for a beleaguered feminist movement," in which she draws powerful connections between intimate inequality and the global antifeminist backlash. You can find her on Substack at Unmanned and on Instagram at @ragebecomesher.
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What is the secret to human connection? This week, Ben and Jamesa follow that question down a rabbit hole that takes them from a laboratory full of surprisingly affectionate octopuses, to the aging back streets of Japan where a quiet army of women are saving lives one yogurt delivery at a time. They'll get into Jack Harlow's claim that he "got Blacker" and the layers of problematic whiteness that it reveals, and why we all need a daily disobedience practice. Come hang out.
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Ben and Jamesa are joined by author Derrick Barnes to discuss the growing challenges men face in forming deep friendships, the backlash against gentle parenting and what it means for raising children with empathy and courage. We also discuss a recent incident in New York City where a professor’s racist remarks were caught on a hot mic during a school board meeting. 
Derrick is a New York Times bestselling author and has earned numerous honors, including a Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Award, Ezra Jack Keats Award, Charlotte Huck Award, Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor, YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award, and the Kirkus Prize. Derrick’s books  have reshaped children’s and young adult literature with joy, dignity, and cultural pride.
The Ben and Jamesa Podcast explores the subtle ways harm and injustice show up in our lives, from relationships and family to community and culture. Learn more at www.benandjamesapod.com 
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