The Ben & Jamesa Podcast: Conversations about Compassion, Curiosity, and Courage
🎙️ The Ben & Jamesa Podcast
Conversations about Compassion, Curiosity, and Courage.
Join Ben and Jamesa as they explore the experiences, perspectives, and challenges that shape who we are and how we relate to one another. Each episode invites you to notice difference, embrace complexity, and build deeper, more inclusive connections — all with warmth, humor, and heart. Start with Episode 163, the first episode in season 10!
Episodes
80 episodes
Ep. 165: Octopuses, MDMA, Cosplaying Blackness, and the Art of Disobedience
What is the secret to human connection? This week, Ben and Jamesa follow that question down a rabbit hole that takes them from a laboratory full of surprisingly affectionate octopuses, to the aging back streets of Japan where a quiet army of wo...
•
Season 10
•
47:01
Ep. 164: Male Friendships, Hot Mics, and Raising Kids who Care, A Conversation with Author Derrick Barnes
Ben and Jamesa are joined by author Derrick Barnes to discuss the growing challenges men face in forming deep friendships, the backlash against gentle parenting and what it means for raising children with empathy and courage. We also disc...
•
Season 10
•
58:42
Ep. 163: Season 10 Opener: Olympics, Loneliness, and Interracial Dating
In this season opener of the Ben and Jamesa Podcast, we explore relationships, loneliness, and cultural moments like the Olympics through the lens of compassion, curiosity, and courage. We discuss interracial dating, the challenges of hum...
•
Season 10
•
40:28
Ep. 162: The End of the Ben and Jamesa Podcast (at least for 2025)
In this short end-of-season episode, we share why we’re pausing The Ben and Jamesa Podcast for the rest of 2025—and what it means to winter.We explore the wisdom of slowing down, resting, and syncing with th...
•
15:01
Ep. 161 Communities and Workplaces that Give a Damn and Gratitude Part Two
What happens when gratitude becomes more than a feeling — when it turns into a shared responsibility?In this week’s episode, we explore gratitude as a community practice — how remembering what sustains us can become a guide for ho...
•
39:50
Ep. 160: SNAP, Decolonizing Gratitude, Remembering Deeply and Gratitude Part One
Gratitude isn’t about counting blessings — it’s about remembering the people, systems, and histories that make our lives possible.In this opening episode of our Gratitude Series, Ben and Jamesa reclaim gratitude from individualism and pe...
•
43:36
Ep. 159 It Takes A Village to Work with Anger (Anger Part Four)
In this fourth and final episode of our anger series, we explore what happens when emotions are treated as private property—and how that belief keeps us isolated, performative, and disconnected.We dive into the idea of toxic individua...
•
51:56
Ep, 158: The Neurobiology of Good Trouble: The No Kings Protest and Anger Part Three
What happens in the brain when we rise up against injustice — and how can anger become a force for clarity, compassion, and creativity rather than destruction?In this episode, Ben and Jamesa explore the neurobiology of “good trouble,”...
•
47:04
Ep. 157: Unrighteous Anger: Cockroaches, Narcissists, and Politicians (Anger Part Two)
In Part Two of our series on anger, we get honest about what happens when anger stops being a tool for truth and starts becoming a trap. From the self-righteous outrage that fuels online culture to the quiet, corrosive resentment that poisons c...
•
48:20
Ep. 156: The Art of Losing Your Sh!t (Anger Part One)
Season 10 opens with fire. 🔥In this episode of The Ben and Jamesa Podcast, Ben and Jamesa dive headfirst into the theme of anger—how it shows up in our relationships, our communities, and even in our healing. What begins ...
•
54:18
Ep. 155: Jimmy Kimmel, Black Jobs, and Openhearted Living Part 4
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is back on air—but what about the 300,000+ Black women who have lost jobs since January 2025 and haven’t been given theirs back? In Part 4 of our Open-Hearted Living series, we hold space for this reality w...
•
45:15
Ep. 154: Do We Need to Have Empathy? (Openhearted Living Part 3)
What does it mean to truly feel with someone else? In this episode of The Ben and Jamesa Podcast, we explore empathy—not as a skill or a moral obligation, but as a living, sometimes fragile experience. We talk about how it grows across our live...
•
43:53
Ep. 153: Is Fear Black and White? (Openhearted Living Part 2)
Fear isn’t always what it seems. In this episode, we explore real vs. imagined fear, how it shows up in our nervous system, and how identity shapes the fears we live with. Stories from our life in Portugal, recent headlines, and listener letter...
•
Season 9
•
44:55
Ep.152: Openhearted Living (and White Folks) – Part 1
In this episode, we explore why living with an open heart can feel impossible—especially for white folks—and what it might take to shift toward more connection, presence, and curiosity in daily life.We talk about:What it trul...
•
41:16
Ep. 151: 5 Things Men Misunderstand About Love
Love isn’t just desire, provision, or possession—yet too often that’s what men are taught to believe. In this episode, we dive into 5 Things Men Don’t Understand About Love, drawing from the wisdom of bell hooks, James Baldwin, and Joh...
•
Season 9
•
43:58
Ep. 150: What is Control Culture
Control culture is everywhere—at work, in our relationships, even in how we treat ourselves. But what exactly is it, and how does it quietly shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others?In today’s episode, we unpack the hidden wa...
•
Season 9
•
46:42
Ep. 149 Community as an Antidote to Whiteness, Pt. 4: Family & Community
We’re continuing our series on community with a focus on our very first one—family. We’ll dig into the growing trend of adult estrangement, explore 4 common causes that fracture connection within families, and share 6 practi...
•
Season 9
•
48:35
Ep. 148: Community as an Antidote to Whiteness, Pt. 3: The Workplace
What if our workplaces actually felt like community?In Part 3 of our series on community, we explore how the harmful patterns of whiteness and control show up in our work lives—and what it would take to build somet...
•
Season 9
•
40:01
Ep, 147 Community as an Antidote to Whiteness. Pt. 2: Obstacles to Community
In Part Two of Community as an Antidote to Whiteness, we name five common ways people unintentionally sabotage the very thing they say they want: community. From profit-chasing to power-seeking, avoidance of vulnerability to lack of ac...
•
Season 9
•
44:31
Ep. 146: Community, the Antidote to Whiteness, Part 1: Defining Community
What even is community—and how have whiteness and capitalism distorted our understanding of it? In this first episode of our new series, we explore how community has been replaced by performance, productivity, and transactions—an...
•
Season 9
•
44:37
Ep. 145: The Great American Brain Drain
This week on The Ben and Jamesa Podcast, we’re talking about what happens when some of America’s brightest minds decide they’ve had enough—and leave. We’re exploring the growing wave of academics and thinkers moving abroad, why it’s ha...
•
Season 9
•
38:50
Ep. 144: Red, Whiteness & Blue: The Freedom Paradox
This Fourth of July, we’re unpacking the irony of a holiday built on freedom—while whiteness continues to rely on control. We explore how white people can move from control to connection using our CACTI model: Compassion, Accountability, Curios...
•
Season 9
•
46:13
Ep. 143: Why Do White People Love Violence?
This week, we explore how violence—whether in relationships, policing, or foreign policy—is normalized and often celebrated in white American culture. Drawing from our experience in domestic violence work, we unpack how control, blame, and forc...
•
Season 9
•
43:55
Ep. 142 Why Do White People Hate Black Joy?
In this episode, we dig into the discomfort, resentment, and backlash that often show up when Black joy takes center stage—especially around holidays like Juneteenth. We explore why white supremacy depends on Black suffering, how joy beco...
•
Season 9
•
48:11
Ep. 141: Shit I Have A Problem With (Ft. Eckoes)
This week, we’re joined by the brilliant Eckoes, creator behind one of our favorite social media accounts, Shit I Have a Problem With. We get into what it actually means to have a problem with something — and how to do it in a way that...
•
Season 9
•
51:46