In this episode, we welcome Yonty Friesem and returning guest Luke Jacob to continue the series on digital wellness. Together, they unpack the concept of empathy—what it is, how it has evolved, and why it’s more complex than we often assume. The conversation explores empathy as a multi-dimensional skill and examines its critical role in supporting gifted students, especially within today’s digital environments.

Yonty Friesem is the executive director of the Media Education Lab and the founding director of the MA in Media for Social Impact at Columbia College Chicago as part of an effort to shape more equitable and trauma-informed practices of media and community engagement. Yonty’s publications include the theory of inclusive dialogs via youth media they call digital empathy. In 2022, Yonty co-founded the Illinois Media Literacy Coalition and co-edited the Routledge Handbook of Media Education Futures Post-Pandemic. Yonty serves as a member of the international global board of UNESCO Information and Media Literacy Alliance.

Lucas Jacob is an educator with more than 30 years of experience across PreK–12 settings, a published writer and poet, former Fulbright Scholar, and former co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Media Literacy Education. His work focuses on the intersections of media, learning, and human development.

Host: Meghan McCarthy

Co-Producers: Adam Metcalf and Jeff Westbrook

Original Music by Adam G-F

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