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...

 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,...