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Filmmaker, artist, and Doing Hopeful Things producer J.J. Anderson explains how she balances pain and joy while sharing culturally specific stories. Driven by the mantra “Light Lens, Dark Matter,” J.J. discusses how she uses cinema to explore life’s complexities, possibilities, and inner evolution.

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In this special episode, Doing Hopeful Things hosts Rev. Dr. Bertice Berry and Rev. Jimmy Marsh, Jr. explore laughter, joy, and comedy. Together, the two reminisce about sharing the stage with larger-than-life personalities and recount moments when humor spared them from grief.

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Dr. Ky’a Jackson shares how becoming a caregiver at 14, after her mother’s Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, shaped her ongoing journey of authorship, advocacy, and high-level consulting. In this episode, our hosts and Ky’a discuss her book, The Color of Care: A Beginner’s Guide for the African American Caregiver, and her commitment to opening doors for others through advocacy, consulting, and her student learning and development company, The Urban Butterfly Effect, LLC.

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Nathaniel Smith is an educator, ordained minister, and doctoral candidate who founded Dissertating While Black™, a support group for Black male doctoral students. With Black men making up only about 2.5% of doctorate earners, the group reduces isolation by building "brotherhood in the doctorhood" through online forums and in-person meetups for connection, collaboration, and shared resilience. In this episode, Nathaniel joins the team to investigate what it means to manifest and personify one’s values and dreams while creating opportunities for others to do the same.

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Ayize Jama-Everett is an American writer of science fiction, speculative fiction, and Afrofuturism, best known for the Liminal People series. Born in Harlem in 1974, he holds master's degrees in Divinity, Clinical Psychology, and Creative Writing. He combines these fields as an educator, community therapist, and author, bringing together scholarly insight and practical care. His fiction focuses on collective trauma, identity, change, and spirituality, often exploring how communities and individuals navigate transformation. In this episode, Ayize joins Bertice and Jim for a discussion on our chosen and assigned attachments to identity and the concept of self.

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As the Executive Director of the Faith and Money Network and Co-Founder of A Wider Table, Mike Little possesses over twenty-five years of expertise in guiding individuals toward the intersection of spiritual values and economic decisions. His vocational focus centers on transforming perspectives to cultivate transparent, equitable, and community-oriented relationships with financial resources. In this episode, Mike explores how the idea of “trouble” evolved throughout his personal and professional journeys— ultimately guiding him to a ministry dedicated to racial economic equality.

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Rev. Dr. Bertice Berry and Rev. Jimmy Marsh, Jr. share the backstory of Doing Hopeful Things.

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Doing Hopeful Things is a solution-driven one-hour podcast, hosted by acclaimed author and sociologist Rev. Dr. Bertice Berry and psychotherapist Rev. Jimmy Marsh, Jr., that explores topics related to mental, spiritual, and physical well-being. Deeply rooted in community and connection, each episode delves into a guiding theme, with Berry and Marsh joined by a guest voice whose life experience makes them an unquestionable source of knowledge. In this introductory episode, the co-hosts share background on how the podcast came to be, what listeners can expect, and why they've made it a joint mission to turn heavy moments into hopeful events.