The Facing Project
Indiana Public RadioThe Facing Project
This is the show that seeks to strengthen communities by connecting people through stories. 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 non-profit story sharing model, to interviews with storytellers exploring complex topics we all face. The creators of The Facing Project and this radio show hope each episode leaves you with the courage to share your own stories and the empathy to listen to others.
Copyright © Indiana Public Radio, Ball State University, and The Facing Project
This is the show that seeks to strengthen communities by connecting people through stories. 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 non-profit story sharing model, to interviews with storytellers exploring complex topics we all face. The creators of The Facing Project and this radio show hope each episode leaves you with the courage to share your own stories and the empathy to listen to others.
Copyright © Indiana Public Radio, Ball State University, and The Facing Project
J.R. and Kelsey explore identity and family and discuss J.R.’s forthcoming father-son memoir.
Discussing the unthinkable: going analog in a digital world.
Exploring how to tell authentic stories through many forms of media.
J.R. and author Samantha Allen discuss the art of writing.
A conversation exploring lessons on empathy and cracking the rainbow ceiling.
Photography as a form of storytelling that explores the common humanity that unites us.
Using identity and story as a gay Iranian-American to help build empathy and understanding.
On writing authentic stories for kids and the harmful effects of book banning in America.
Exploring civil discourse across major ideological divides.
J.R. sits down with documentary filmmakers to discuss a man's attempts to bring people together across party lines to pass landmark criminal justice reform.
Think for a second about the last time you forgave someone. Was it hard?
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.
J.R. and Brittany Means discuss the power of the human spirit—and the written word—to combat the most harrowing of childhood memories.
Not every eviction is equal.
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.
J.R. travels to Cyprus to explore what led to the 1974 Turkish invasion and, ultimately, the Green Line.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so we wanted to revisit one of our favorite episodes.
What if the script were flipped, and those with a disability were the main characters finding their own love, adventure, and success?
Time, culture, and climate determine if empathy grows, remains neutral, or worse—leads to anger or distress.
J.R. sits down with documentary filmmakers to discuss a man's attempts to bring people together across party lines to pass landmark criminal justice reform.
With jealousy being such an innate emotion, how does one turn it off or use it for good?
How is food insecurity even possible when the United States is one of the richest countries in the world?
A Christmas Eve party. A missing ring. A down-on-his-luck private eye. It’s a combination that has all the makings of a perfect mystery. Or should we say, “Chris-Mystery?”
Does grief also have the ability to change our bodies in positive ways?
Bathrooms. Pronouns. Sports. These are a few of the topics in which transgender people have become the center of a debate on who is allowed to exist and where.
Think for a second about the last time you forgave someone. Was it hard?
Professional athletes are often expected to temper and censor their statements despite their ability to influence positive change.
Did you know that nearly 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with some type of cancer during their lifetime?
The stories of three woman from rural Kentucky whose lives have changed forever due to addiction.
In the next decade, 500,000 teens with autism will enter adulthood and age out of school-based services.
What if the script were flipped, and those with a disability were the main characters finding their own love, adventure, and success?
With nearly 12% of the overall population battling anxiety or depression, mental health is still stigmatized and misunderstood.
Teachers and educators are facing challenges like never before, including battling misinformation, burned-out kids, parents, and of course—COVID.
In 2019, a gunman opened fire in Dayton’s Oregon District, killing nine people and injuring 27.
A special treat for the holidays.
With an unemployment rate of over 27% for the formerly incarcerated, what does life on the outside look like for them?
In August, over 200,000 Afghans fled their country, but where did they go and what would be their fate?
Bathrooms. Pronouns. Sports. These are a few of the topics in which transgender people have become the center of a debate on who is allowed to exist and where.
What do you imagine your community will be like in another generation?
Racism has existed for millennia, but as laws and time have passed it can now show up in covert ways.
38 million Americans live in poverty, but we like to pretend it doesn’t exist and could never happen to us.
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.
Professional athletes are often expected to temper and censor their statements despite their ability to influence positive change.
In the next decade, 500,000 teens with autism will enter adulthood and age out of school-based services.
Today half of women in the tech field are likely to leave their positions by the age of 35.
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.
Stories from everyday people who provide inspiration despite their present-day circumstances.
A gift from IPR that takes a look behind the process of creating this local holiday tradition.
J.R. and Kelsey take call-ins, share stories, and discuss the diversity of life after the age of 60.
The American Dream . . . Fact or fiction?
J.R. and Kelsey take listener call-ins from coast to coast.
It’s been one year since a gunman opened fire in Dayton’s Oregon District, killing nine people and injuring 27.
This time, will there be change?
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?
What do you imagine your community will be like in another generation?
A woman’s search for perfectionism leads to a battle with anorexia.
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.
If you have a sudden illness and your entire life changes, what would happen with your job?
We hear from a man in who shares his life not as a homeless person. . . but as someone who happens to live. . . outside.
A special from Indiana Public Radio: Two O. Henry stories brought to life to tell a holiday story that spans generations and recreates the magic of old-time live radio.
How do you view the police in your community? Positively? Negatively, or somewhere in between?
The American Dream . . . Fact or fiction? For those who come to the U.S. undocumented as children, the future can seem uncertain.
They say girls shouldn’t go to school. And by "they", we mean Boko Haram.
J.R. and Kelsey reflect on Season 1 and explore the adage: When one door closes, another always opens.
J.R. and Kelsey discuss Facing Project stories that have created tangible change in communities.
J.R. and Kelsey discuss the impacts of addiction with a personal revelation for listeners.
J.R. and Kelsey explore what happens when life changes in an instant.
J.R. and Kelsey discuss if ignorance is bliss or if awareness is the key to happiness.
J.R. and Kelsey reflect on alone time and finding the space for self-acceptance.
J.R. and Kelsey talk about how painful stories are often the ones that provide a sense of strength.
J.R. and Kelsey discuss the man with two spleens, the great dynamite incident of 1961, and how legacy is more than instilling values; it’s valuing what’s come before. Also in this episode, the two unveil an easy way to engage with The Facing Project an...
J.R. and Kelsey explore connecting across difference in a world divided.
Lessons learned from gratitude and Kelsey’s latest book, Where Am I Giving?
J.R. and Kelsey talk about J.R.’s experience of growing up gay in Cowan, Indiana, and how we often find what we need in the most unlikely of places.
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.
S03 E06 - Hillbilly Queer
April 24, 202132min 52sec
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 other a working-class Trump supporter, and their travels together to rural Missouri at the height of the 2016 election to uncover truths about their family’s past.