On this season finale of “America, Who Hurt You?” Sarah Jones sits down with New York Times bestselling author and activist, Sonya Renee Taylor to discuss why radical self love IS the moment. Yes, even in the face of oppressive systems and the current American Bro-ligarchy. Sonya reminds us that, in order to build the world we want to live in, we must first unlearn all the myths telling us we are unworthy of it. You can follow Sarah Jones, see pod updates, and respond to AWHY prompts @yesimsarah...
Dec 18, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In case the holiday season and heading into (project 🫠) 2025 is feeling like an emotional mixed bag, this week Sarah Jones sits down with actress, producer, and activist, Sophia Bush for her take on how to show up for change and healing both individually and collectively. After coming through a year of personal upheaval to find freedom on the other side, Sophia has plenty of wisdom to drop on how returning to our true selves and the support of community can give us the strength to face what mig...
Dec 11, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Even with the most urgent issues facing the US as we head into (Project) 2025, our foreign policy on the Middle East and Islam are right at the top. And if you think it only affects people overseas, just ask Muslim Americans how the consequences play out stateside in their everyday lives. This week, host Sarah Jones talks to Kashif Shaikh , president and co-founder of Pillars Fund , an organization that raises money to support Muslim American artists and civics groups as they fight Islamophobia....
Dec 04, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 18
If you need a pre-Thanksgiving pep talk, this is the episode for you. This week host Sarah Jones talks to Paul Scheer about his New York Times best seller Joyful Recollections of Trauma and how to both love your family AND still hold space for yourself. Whether you can’t swallow how your cousin voted or you’re stuffing (😬) down unacknowledged childhood trauma, you’re not alone. This episode just might help you decide whether keeping the peace is worth hiding your truth. You can follow Sarah Jon...
Nov 27, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Politics got you rethinking your mental health? You’re not alone! In the aftermath of the election, some are considering therapy for the first time, while others may be wondering if their current therapeutic practices are really addressing the grief they’re experiencing. This week, Sarah Jones talks to psychologist and best-selling author of Decolonizing Therapy Dr. Jennifer Mullan about the importance of healing, and how the ‘mental health industrial complex’ replicates the same oppression that...
Nov 20, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Well, we survived the election; now we just have to… keep going. This week, host Sarah Jones pushes through the exhaustion with CNN commentator Ashley Allison and national director of the Working Families Party Maurice Mitchell to break down what really happened. And more importantly what in the (literal?) hell is next, for all of us, but especially Black folks who understood the assignment while others barely showed up for class. You can follow Sarah Jones, see pod updates, and respond to AWHY ...
Nov 13, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 15
With the election a week away, polls show immigration is a top issue for voters even though most Americans have no idea how our immigration system actually works, or how much our society depends on the contributions of immigrants, both documented and not. This week, Sarah sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and founder of Define American , Jose Antonio Vargas to break down some of the legal and personal barriers facing undocumented Americans. From limits on sponsoring family’s visas...
Oct 30, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Project 2025 may be the Heritage Foundation’s plan for next year, but its strategies are built to set equality back decades, especially for groups already dealing with America’s legacy of discrimination. This week, host Sarah Jones is joined by Janai Nelson, the President and Director Council of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to break down Project 2025’s threat to Black communities. Whether you care about reproductive rights, justice reform, or equality in education, Janai explains how these poli...
Oct 23, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 13
This week on #AmericaWhoHurtYou , author and climate policy expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson ( @ayanaeliza ) is ringing the alarm about the climate crisis, but in a way that offers real solutions, including how to do our small part in practical ways AND hold the biggest climate culprits (hiii fossil fuel execs and paid for politicians!) accountable. Spoiler alert: we have to VOTE both with our ballots and our dollars. Get Ayana's Book Here for 20% Off with Code AYANA20 Fill out your Climate Action...
Oct 15, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Years of exit polls tell us that the outcome of this election may come down to white women who, at 40%, make up the majority of the entire electorate. But what can be done about the fact that white women have a track record of voting more conservatively in the majority of presidential elections since 1950, even when a fellow white woman was an option? This week, host Sarah Jones talks to activist and organizer Shannon Watts about the often overlooked power white women hold in politics and why it...
Oct 09, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Our second ever female candidate is running for the highest office in the land– and the gender divide among Americans is at an all time high. This week, host Sarah Jones talks with Liz Plank, (a.k.a. Feministabulous ) about the murky waters dividing men and women, and how to bridge across them in time to save democracy. If you’re tired of running into the same road blocks every time you talk with a man about feminism, then Liz and Sarah are here to help! You can follow Sarah Jones, see pod updat...
Oct 02, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 10
“Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” But how long after serving their prison sentence should we punish people? And in an economy fueled in large part by the prison industrial complex, what kind of crimes should warrant keeping a person unemployed, unhoused, and in a cycle of poverty? This week, host Sarah Jones talks to Sheena Meade, the director of the Clean Slate Initiative, about the barriers Americans face when they’re no longer behind bars. You can follow Sarah Jones, see pod upda...
Sep 25, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Supplements, and Gut Health, and Ozempic , Oh My! The wellness industry has no shortage of solutions for what ails us. But in a saturated market it feels nearly impossible to tell the fish oil from the snake oil—and whether the problem is really our physical health, or something much bigger…and more political. On this episode, host Sarah Jones talks with actress and activist Jameela Jamil about true wellness, “It’s affection. It's time with loved ones…It is not waiting to rest when you are dead....
Sep 11, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 8
With our planet (and therefore everyone on it) in crisis, how do we keep our heads above rising sea levels while demanding a sustainable future…not just for billionaires with bunkers? This week, Sarah Jones asks Academy Award winner and climate activist Jane Fonda how she keeps up the good fight after decades of activism filled with both successes and setbacks. From the moments that prepared her to speak out against the Vietnam War to the strategies that keep her advocating for (and learning fro...
Sep 04, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7
This week Sarah and labor organizer, Ai-jen Poo, dive into the “care economy” and how we’re all part of it, even if we don’t know what it is You can follow Sarah Jones, see pod updates, and respond to AWHY prompts @yesimsarahjones on Instagram , TikTok , and Facebook. Send your responses to our weekly prompts to awhypod@gmail.com . This podcast was produced in collaboration with The Meteor ....
Aug 28, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In a world defined by voters fed up with the binary options of our two-party system, is there a third way that’s not…delulu? In this episode, Sarah talks with Maurice Mitchell, the national director of The Working Families Party, about how to build a robust third party without ignoring the very real math problem third party candidates can pose in America’s intensely polarized elections. Maurice gets into the community support it takes to reach long term political goals— without letting democracy...
Aug 21, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Ok, white people, how y’all doing? Cause the data is in, and the answer for some of you seems to be… not great. In this episode, Sarah is joined by Jonathan Metzl, a researcher who investigates the impact of right-wing health care and gun control policies on their white supporters. Jonathan’s books Dying of Whiteness and What We’ve Become reveal the history of how working-class white Americans have been convinced to support these policies—even at their own expense. Also, despite the schadenfreud...
Aug 14, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 4
The debate about trans rights is everywhere, from sports headlines to school board politics, but the people shouting the loudest are almost never trans folks themselves and often don’t even know any trans folks. So now more than ever, we all need to show up for our trans siblings. In this episode, Sarah Jones is joined by the incomparable actress and trans rights activist, Laverne Cox to discuss the monsoon of misinformation that our media uses to fearmonger about what exactly trans rights (and ...
Aug 07, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In this episode, host Sarah Jones is joined by comedian, author, and “political provocateur” W. Kamau Bell to talk about the struggles and contradictions of living in America, especially as a Black man. “My joke is that whenever I think about am I going too far, the ghost of Harriet Tubman shows up and is like, Oh, is it hard to Tweet? Is it hard to Instagram? ” Maybe it’s not, but how do we stay informed without going crazy? And how do we get involved while also, you know, leading our lives? Yo...
Jul 31, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 2
The hosts of America, Who Hurt You? are all trapped in the Tony-winning brain of Sarah Jones, who over the years has created a multiracial, multi-generational cast of characters based on her own family and friends (who weirdly still talk to her). In this bonus episode, she reveals more than she ever has about her own story, and why this personal and political podcast felt so important to create. You can follow Sarah Jones, see pod updates, and respond to AWHY prompts @yesimsarahjones on Instagra...
Jul 24, 2024•23 min
America allegedly observes a separation of church and state, but if you’ve bought anything with a U.S. dollar, pledged allegiance to the flag, or just lived through an election season, you know it’s more complicated than that. In this episode, Sarah talks with On Being host Krista Tippett about her own religious journey, her “hellfire and brimstone” grandfather, and the past, present, and uncertain future of religion and politics. (“I do not think that one Tuesday in November is the only day tha...
Jul 24, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Our country has always been a hot mess. But now, between political rage, climate crises and social-media polarization, it’s quite literally on fire. This low-key mid-apocalyptic moment has raised a question for Tony-award-winning Sarah Jones and her many characters: America, Who Hurt You? You can follow Sarah Jones, see pod updates, and respond to AWHY prompts @yesimsarahjones on Instagram , TikTok , and Facebook. Send your responses to our weekly prompts to awhypod@gmail.com . This podcast was ...
Jul 10, 2024•1 min
