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The Facing Project

Indiana Public Radio

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.

Copyright © Indiana Public Radio, Ball State University, and The Facing Project

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.

Copyright © Indiana Public Radio, Ball State University, and The Facing Project
54hr 38min
Thumbnail for "Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways: An in-depth discussion with author Brittany Means".
J.R. and Brittany Means discuss the power of the human spirit—and the written word—to combat the most harrowing of childhood memories.
September 30, 202330min 19sec32.78 MB
Thumbnail for "The Invisible Poor [Encore]".
38 million Americans live in poverty, but we like to pretend it doesn’t exist and could never happen to us.
July 18, 202636min 51sec37.65 MB
Thumbnail for "Athletes & Activism [Encore]".
Professional athletes are often expected to temper and censor their statements despite their ability to influence positive change.
July 15, 202631min 29sec32.41 MB
Thumbnail for "Facing Aging — 24 Stories on Life and Living in the Golden Years [Encore]".
Looking back on times of war and peace; strength and bravery; struggle and tenacity.
July 11, 20261hr 10min71.72 MB
Thumbnail for "Hillbilly Queer [Encore]".
J.R. and Kelsey explore identity and family and discuss J.R.’s forthcoming father-son memoir.
July 4, 202632min 55sec33.65 MB
Thumbnail for "Autism in Adulthood [Encore]".
In the next decade, 500,000 teens with autism will enter adulthood and age out of school-based services.
July 1, 202628min 59sec29.81 MB
Thumbnail for "Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth".
Examining our country’s ongoing debate about what it means to be an American.
June 27, 202657min 22sec60.25 MB
Thumbnail for "Race, Tech, & the Fight for Equity [Encore]".
Today half of women in the tech field are likely to leave their positions by the age of 35.
June 20, 202629min 23sec30.09 MB
Thumbnail for "Food, Earth, & Sustainability [Encore]".
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.
June 17, 202630min 46sec31.3 MB
Thumbnail for "Living and Leading Authentically with Business Executive and Author Jim Fielding [Encore]".
A conversation exploring lessons on empathy and cracking the rainbow ceiling.
June 13, 20261hr 10min71.33 MB
Thumbnail for "The Best of 2020 [Encore]".
Stories from everyday people who provide inspiration despite their present-day circumstances.
June 6, 202628min 59sec29.46 MB
Thumbnail for "Alone Together: Stories from a Pandemic [Encore]".
J.R. and Kelsey take listener call-ins from coast to coast.
June 3, 202628min 59sec29.34 MB
Thumbnail for "Bookish".
(How) do books prepare us for life?
May 30, 202652min 18sec80.46 MB
Thumbnail for "Facing Recovery — 17 Stories of Survival [Encore]".
The diverse definition of recovery through the lens of Facing Recovery.
May 23, 202652min 40sec55.05 MB
Thumbnail for "Life After 60: The Golden Years [Encore]".
Call-ins, stories, and the diversity of life after the age of 60.
May 16, 202630min 20sec30.71 MB
Thumbnail for "A Shooting in the Heartland [Encore]".
It’s been one year since a gunman opened fire in Dayton’s Oregon District, killing nine people and injuring 27.
May 13, 202631min 57sec32.12 MB
Thumbnail for "Lessons on the Road to Peace with John Noltner [Encore]".
Photography as a form of storytelling that explores the common humanity that unites us.
May 9, 20261hr 4min65.57 MB
Thumbnail for "Living While Black in the U.S.A. [Encore]".
This time, will there be change?
May 2, 202643min 32sec43.17 MB
Thumbnail for "First But Never Alone [Encore]".
At a time when college is more expensive than ever, how do students succeed?
April 29, 202632min 22sec47.89 MB
Thumbnail for "The Heart Folds Early".
An examination of the ways in which great loss can make us simultaneously fearful and intrepid.
March 28, 202659min 58sec91.44 MB
Thumbnail for "Black Bear: Grief and Peaceful Coexistence in a Divided World with Author and Environmental Journalist Trina Moyles".
Exploring the fragility of our relationships with human and nonhuman species alike.
February 28, 20261hr63.39 MB
Thumbnail for "Always Carry Salt, with Author, Playwright, and Journalist Samantha Ellis".
Journey through time, language, and cultural connectivity as we explore "Always Carry Salt."
January 31, 202656min 54sec59.61 MB
Thumbnail for "Talking Story with Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner Malia Chun".
How Hawaiian stories carry genealogy, belonging, environmental knowledge, and resistance.
December 27, 202559min 38sec62.15 MB
Thumbnail for "Stone Lands: A Journey of Darkness and Light".
Exploring Britain’s standing stones and the solace of their offerings in times of darkness.
November 29, 202553min 47sec56.53 MB
Thumbnail for "Facing (In)Justice in Health".
16 Stories on Resilience, Advocacy, and the Power of Voice in Confronting Inequity
October 25, 20251hr62.68 MB
Thumbnail for "Exploring Love, Longing, Loss, and Home with Singer-Songwriter Cliff Ritchey".
Stories behind music inspired by global travels and the simple country life.
August 30, 20251hr 8min69.82 MB
Thumbnail for "A Place Called Home with Award-winning Author David Ambroz".
On embodying a vision to change the laws that affect children in poverty.
July 26, 20251hr 10min71.89 MB
Thumbnail for "Healing Earth and Growing the Future with Author Kelsey Timmerman and Regenerative Farmer Chris Baggot".
Regenerating Earth and working to build a local food system while healing the land.
June 28, 20251hr 5min67.54 MB
Thumbnail for "Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ Inclusion Changed the Boy Scouts—and America".
Exploring its tangled past all the way through landmark policy changes in the mid-20teens.
March 29, 202553min 47sec56.03 MB
Thumbnail for "Forging Queer Leaders: How the LGBTQIA+ Community Creates Impact from Adversity".
How crucible moments, such as coming out and code switching, have prepared better leaders.
February 22, 202556min 27sec58.55 MB
Thumbnail for "Big Red’s Mercy: The Shooting of Deborah Cotton and a Story of Race in America".
On how a 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.
January 25, 202557min 37sec59.64 MB
Thumbnail for "Telling Own-Voices Stories with Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai".
On how writing the American and Viet Nam war from Vietnamese perspectives influences how stories are told.
November 30, 20241hr 16min77.68 MB
Thumbnail for "Love in the Time of Fentanyl".
A conversation about how providing a safe and welcoming place to use drugs saves lives.
November 23, 202450min 54sec53.15 MB
Thumbnail for "Radical Love and Empathy with Author and Activist Sara Sharpe".
And how a series of love letters provides space for bridge-building.
October 26, 202459min60.9 MB
Thumbnail for "Unplugging Your Life with Author and Filmmaker Julio Vincent Gambuto".
Discussing the unthinkable: going analog in a digital world.
August 31, 20241hr 4min65.25 MB
Thumbnail for "Filmmaker and Journalist Ursula Liang".
Exploring how to tell authentic stories through many forms of media.
July 27, 202454min 17sec56.35 MB
Thumbnail for "Writing Unexpected Plot Lines and Finding Community with Award-winning Author Samantha Allen".
J.R. and author Samantha Allen discuss the art of writing.
June 29, 20241hr 1min62.86 MB
Thumbnail for "An In-depth Conversation with Author and Hollywood Screenwriter Abdi Nazemian".
Using identity and story as a gay Iranian-American to help build empathy and understanding.
March 30, 20241hr 45min105.44 MB
Thumbnail for "Telling Authentic Stories with Author Leah Johnson".
On writing authentic stories for kids and the harmful effects of book banning in America.
February 24, 20241hr 1min63.06 MB
Thumbnail for "The Abortion Talks".
Exploring civil discourse across major ideological divides.
January 27, 20241hr 5min66.32 MB
Thumbnail for "Growing Food, Community, & Vibes in an Urban Food Desert".
J.R. sits down with four of the faces who keep the Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm and its neighborhood thriving each and every day.
October 28, 202338min 14sec40.48 MB
Thumbnail for "A Place to Call Home".
Not every eviction is equal.
August 26, 202341min 3sec43.03 MB
Thumbnail for "Writing Tough Topics for Young Adults: An in-depth discussion with #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Glasgow".
A discussion on writing for young adults and the themes of teenage depression, addiction, and self-harm that are often covered in her sought-after novels.
July 29, 202328min 59sec31.38 MB
Thumbnail for "Searching for Peace on a Divided Island".
J.R. travels to Cyprus to explore what led to the 1974 Turkish invasion and, ultimately, the Green Line.
June 24, 202332min 43sec34.93 MB
Thumbnail for "The Empathy Effect".
Time, culture, and climate determine if empathy grows, remains neutral, or worse—leads to anger or distress.
March 25, 202345min 14sec46.88 MB
Thumbnail for "The First Step: An in-depth discussion with filmmakers and producers Lance & Brandon Kramer".
A man's attempts to bring people together across party lines to pass landmark criminal justice reform.
February 25, 202353min 46sec54.99 MB
Thumbnail for "When Jealousy Strikes".
With jealousy being such an innate emotion, how does one turn it off or use it for good?
January 28, 202332min 44sec34.7 MB
Thumbnail for "Food for Thought".
How is food insecurity even possible when the United States is one of the richest countries in the world?
December 31, 202229min31.05 MB
Thumbnail for "The Science of Grief".
Does grief also have the ability to change our bodies in positive ways?
November 26, 202231min 47sec33.65 MB
Thumbnail for "The Psychology of Forgiveness".
Think for a second about the last time you forgave someone. Was it hard?
September 24, 202231min 38sec33.46 MB
Thumbnail for "Life With Cancer".
Did you know that nearly 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with some type of cancer during their lifetime?
July 30, 202229min 35sec31.44 MB
Thumbnail for "Stopping the Cycle of Addiction".
The stories of three woman from rural Kentucky whose lives have changed forever due to addiction.
June 25, 202228min 59sec30.76 MB
Thumbnail for "Reclaiming the Disabled Narrative".
What if the script were flipped, and those with a disability were the main characters finding their own love, adventure, and success?
April 30, 202228min 59sec30.69 MB
Thumbnail for "More Than My Illness".
Mental health is still stigmatized and misunderstood.
March 26, 202229min 51sec31.46 MB
Thumbnail for "Teachers are Heroes".
Teachers and educators are facing challenges like never before, including battling misinformation, burned-out kids, parents, and of course—COVID.
February 26, 202228min 59sec30.6 MB
Thumbnail for "Life After Prison".
With an unemployment rate of over 27% for the formerly incarcerated, what does life on the outside look like for them? 
December 18, 202128min 59sec30.52 MB
Thumbnail for "Afghanistan, My Neighbor".
In August, over 200,000 Afghans fled their country, but where did they go and what would be their fate? 
November 27, 202129min 48sec31.19 MB
Thumbnail for "Beyond the Binary".
Bathrooms. Pronouns. Sports. Transgender people have become the center of a debate on who is allowed to exist and where.   
October 30, 202133min 35sec34.78 MB
Thumbnail for "Covert Racism".
Racism has existed for millennia, but as laws and time have passed it can now show up in covert ways.
August 28, 202128min 59sec30.18 MB
Thumbnail for "Big Changes in Small Towns".
What do you imagine your community will be like in another generation?
April 25, 202034min 36sec34.5 MB
Thumbnail for "Dying to be Perfect".
A woman’s search for perfectionism leads to a battle with anorexia.
March 28, 202033min 6sec33.1 MB
Thumbnail for "Faith, Identity, and Life-Changing Chance Encounters".
In the span of a life, you’ll interact with thousands of people but only a handful of those will impact you in such a way that changes your perspectives and ideologies forever.
February 29, 202033min 2sec33.02 MB
Thumbnail for "Living to Work and Working to Live".
If you have a sudden illness and your entire life changes, what would happen with your job?
January 25, 202028min 59sec29.09 MB
Thumbnail for "Life Without A Home".
We hear from a man in who shares his life not as a homeless person. . . but as someone who happens to live. . . outside.
December 28, 201937min 18sec37 MB
Thumbnail for "Police and Community Relations".
How do you view the police in your community? Positively? Negatively, or somewhere in between?
November 30, 201930min 43sec30.59 MB
Thumbnail for "Dreaming in America".
The American Dream . . . Fact or fiction? For those who come to the U.S. undocumented as children, the future can seem uncertain.
October 26, 201928min 59sec28.77 MB
Thumbnail for "New Beginnings".
They say girls shouldn’t go to school. And by "they", we mean Boko Haram.
September 28, 201928min 59sec28.63 MB
Thumbnail for "The End is a New Beginning".
When one door closes, another always opens.
August 19, 201921min 49sec21.47 MB
Thumbnail for "Stories that Inspire Action".
J.R. and Kelsey discuss Facing Project stories that have created tangible change in communities.  
July 22, 201923min 25sec22.97 MB
Thumbnail for "The Depths of Addiction".
J.R. and Kelsey discuss the impacts of addiction with a personal revelation for listeners.  
June 24, 201924min 12sec23.77 MB
Thumbnail for "Life After the Bomb".
What happens when life changes in an instant.
May 20, 201924min 53sec24.4 MB
Thumbnail for "Empathy & Proximity".
J.R. and Kelsey discuss if ignorance is bliss or if awareness is the key to happiness.
April 22, 201923min 25sec22.85 MB
Thumbnail for "Walk in My Shoes".
J.R. and Kelsey reflect on alone time and finding the space for self-acceptance.
March 25, 201925min 17sec24.71 MB
Thumbnail for "Finding Strength in Your Story".
Painful experiences are often the ones that provide a sense of strength.
February 25, 201923min 25sec22.75 MB
Thumbnail for "The Legacy of Stories".
The man with two spleens, the great dynamite incident of 1961, and how legacy is more than instilling values.
January 21, 201923min 25sec22.82 MB
Thumbnail for "Connecting Across Difference".
J.R. and Kelsey explore connecting across difference in a world divided.
December 24, 201824min 4sec23.32 MB
Thumbnail for "Giving Thanks".
Lessons on gratitude learned from past stories told. 
November 19, 201823min 17sec22.57 MB
Thumbnail for "Seeing Yourself Reflected in the World".
How we often find what we need in the most unlikely of places.
October 18, 201824min 34sec23.8 MB
Thumbnail for "Unity".
J.R. and Kelsey share the inspiration behind The Facing Project and why bringing people together across borders and through stories is more important than ever.
September 24, 201826min 6sec25.21 MB

Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways: An in-depth discussion with author Brittany Means

Thumbnail for "Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways: An in-depth discussion with author Brittany Means".
September 30, 202330min 19sec

Ahead of her debut memoir hitting shelves in October, J.R. Jamison sits down with Brittany Means to discuss the power of the human spirit—and the written word—to combat the most harrowing of childhood memories.  

Hailed by Jeannette Walls (author of The Glass Castle) as “Gut-wrenching but at the same time triumphant,” Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways untangles the web of Means’s most painful memories, while crafting a tale of self-preservation, resilience, and hope.

Synopsis – Brittany Means’s childhood was a blur of highways and traumas that collapsed any effort to track time. Riding shotgun as her mother struggled to escape abusive relationships, Brittany didn’t care where they were going—a roadside Midwestern motel, a shelter, or to The Barn in Indiana (the cluttered mansion her Pentecostal grandparents called home) as long as they were together. But every so often, her mom would surprise her—and leave.

As Brittany grew older and questioned her own complicated relationships and the poverty, abuse, and instability that enveloped her, she began to recognize that hell wasn't only the place she read about in the Bible; it was the cycle of violence that her family was stuck repeating. Through footholds such as horror movies, neuropsychology, and strong bonds, Brittany makes sense of this cycle and finds a way to leave it.

Photo Credits – Brittany Means (photo by Jeff Owens and provided by the author)

The Facing Project Radio Show is made possible in part by Behavior Associates.

Thumbnail for "Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways: An in-depth discussion with author Brittany Means".
Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways: An in-depth discussion with author Brittany Means
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