The Facing Project

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 anthropolog...

The United States is the most divided it has been since the Civil War, yet there are everyday people who are still willing to work together to find a path forward. Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they explore identity and family and discuss J.R.’s forthcoming father-son memoir, Hillbilly Queer —a gripping tale of two men who see the world differently, one a gay liberal highbrow and the o...

In the next decade, 500,000 teens with autism will enter adulthood and age out of school-based services. Adults with autism are less likely to access healthcare, have a job, or pursue a degree beyond high school. Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they discuss Autism in Adulthood . Photo – By Jesper Sehested Pluslexia via Flickr Creative Commons: https://flic.kr/p/EHKB5v . Stories – • One D...

Kelsey Timmerman is joined by author and educator Daisy Hernández to discuss her new book, Citizenship , a provocative and intelligent examination of our country’s ongoing debate about what it means to be an American. In their conversation about her work, Hernández braids together memoir, history, and cultural criticism to expose the truths and lies of how we define ourselves as a country and a pe...

Today half of women in the tech field are likely to leave their positions by the age of 35. But in the 1970s it was even more challenging to work in the industry as a woman, and especially for a woman of color. But one organization is working to change those stats. Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they discuss Race, Tech, and the Fight for Equity . Photo – By Michael Himbeault via Flickr...

If all 7 billion people on Earth consumed the amount of resources as the average American, it would be as if the planet were shared with 72 billion people. Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they discuss Food, Earth, and Sustainability and chat with two organic farmers who opened their own grocery store. Photo – By Matthias Ripp via Flickr Creative Commons: https://flic.kr/p/J4xXyd . Story...

Host J.R. Jamison sits down with Jim Fielding, a C-suite executive who spent 30 years leading some of the world’s most beloved media and retail brands, including The Gap, Disney, Claire’s, DreamWorks, and 20th Century Fox. Jim’s latest book, All Pride, No Ego: A Queer Executive’s Journey to Living and Leading Authentically, was released last year, and in their conversation the two explore lessons...

2020 is the year that never was, but also the year that had it all: fires, floods, protests, murder hornets—a pandemic! With so much unrest and concern about the future, it’s easy to overlook the good that’s happened in the world. Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they take a look back at 2020 and share their favorite stories from everyday people who provide inspiration despite their prese...

Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they take listener call-ins from coast to coast and discuss Alone Together: Stories from a Pandemic. Music Used in this Episode • "Quiet Drive" by Ryan Andersen . Released under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. From the Free Music Archive. Chapters [00:00] Introduction. [02:44] Megan Hamilton's story. [07:00] Three cal...

As a child, Lucy Mangan was reading all the time, using books to navigate the challenges and complexities of this world and many others. As an adult, she uses her new relationship with literature to seize upon the most important question: (How) do books prepare us for life? Bookish vividly tells the story of a reader’s life from the cusp of teenagerhood, when everything—including the way we read—u...

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 o...

Life after the age of 60 . . . for some, they’re living their best lives . . . like, skydiving with friends . . . others are searching for purpose after retirement . . . but it can also be a time of loneliness. Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they take call-ins, share stories, and discuss the diversity of Life After 60 . . . the Golden Years . Photo – By Stefan Barna , via Flickr Creativ...

It’s been one year since a gunman opened fire in Dayton’s Oregon District, killing nine people and injuring 27. It was the 233rd mass shooting of 2019 . . . and one of 107 in the Midwest. Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they hear from three survivors from that night, and sit down with Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley to discuss A Shooting in the Heartland. Stories • Like the Book of Job: Dion Gre...

Host J.R. Jamison sits down with award-winning photographer, author, and peace activist John Noltner to talk about photography as a form of storytelling that explores the common humanity that unites us, and they discuss Noltner’s latest book, Lessons on the Road to Peace, that covers his 45,000-mile journey across the U.S. Chapters [00:00] Introduction [02:27] Interview with John Noltner [03:50] O...

The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, and the subsequent protests, have brought to the forefront a renewed conversation on Black lives and the injustices BIPOC folks face each day. But this time, will there be change? Join J.R., Kelsey, and special guest WaTasha Barnes Griffin as they discuss Living While Black in the U.S.A. Stories It Shouldn’t Matter WaTasha Barnes Griffin...

Half of today’s students are the first in their families to attend college. But at a time when college is more expensive than ever, how do these students succeed? On this show, a first-generation student who works 30 hours a week to support her family while balancing classes shares her experience with us; and we sit down with Mary Henley, Director of Pathways to Academic Student Success at Central...

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 Christm...

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 wor...

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 w...

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 tod...

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 orga...

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 pover...

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...