🎉 It’s Noam Shuster-Eliassi & Amber Fares week on the podcast!

❤️ Before I share more about my guest, ⁠consider supporting us on Patreon⁠! We need your help to make this podcast happen. Thanks, friends.

👉🏽 Noam is an Israeli activist and comedian who writes and performs in Arabic, English, and Hebrew, frequently touching upon her experience growing up in “Oasis of Peace” (Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam), a mixed community where Palestinians and Jews live together by choice.

👉🏽 Amber is an award-winning documentary filmmaker best known for her directorial debut Speed Sisters, which aired internationally on Netflix, Al Jazeera and RAI. Her directing credits include We Are Agenda (Amazon, 2023), Gutsy Ep5 (Apple TV, 2022), Reckoning With Laughter (Al Jazeera’s “Witness" 2021), Convergence: Courage Under Crisis (Netflix, 2021). Amber also served as cinematographer and co-producer of the Peabody Award-winning The Judge (PBS, 2017), was the cinematographer on Life After (Sundance, 2025) and both produced and shot the short film The Devil Is Busy (HBO, 2025).

Coexistence, My Ass! follows Noam as she creates a comedy show by the same name. Shot over five tumultuous years, the film traces Noam’s personal, professional, and political journey in tandem with the region’s steady deterioration. This is a film that began as something completely different. Because of Covid and escalated settler violence in the West Bank and ultimately because of the genocide which began several years into making this film. It’s stunning and I can’t wait for you to hear more about it in this conversation.   

✊🏽 Support Let’s Give A Damn on ⁠Patreon⁠!

👕 ⁠Buy some of our merch⁠!

🔥 Follow Let’s Give A Damn on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, and ⁠Youtube⁠.

✉️ Sign up for our weekly ⁠Substack⁠.

📱 Reach out anytime: [email protected].

​​❤️ Have an amazing week, friends! Keep giving a damn. Love y’all!

🎉 It’s Brian Recker Week on the podcast! 

❤️ Before I share more about my guest, consider supporting us on Patreon! We need your help to make this podcast happen. Thanks, friends.

👉🏽 Brian Recker is a public theologian, speaker, and writer on Christian spirituality without exclusionary dogma. 

In October, Brian released his first book, Hell Bent. In this taboo-shattering book, Brian takes an honest look at the Bible and reveals what has been true all along: Hell isn’t a real place, and God’s universal love is radically inclusive, in this life and the next. By removing punishment from Christianity’s center, Recker boldly reimagines the core questions of faith, such as why Jesus lived and died, and what it means to be “saved.” 

In the conversation, we talk about who God is, radical inclusivity, why we’re still Christians, why getting people to not believe in hell is so important for them and for society as a whole, and so much more. 

_____________________

✅ Follow Brian Recker on Instagram.

✅ Subscribe to Brian’s Substack.

✅ Order Hell Bent now!

✊🏽 Support Let’s Give A Damn on Patreon!👕 Buy some of our merch!

🔥 Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.

✉️ Sign up for our weekly Substack.

📱 Reach out anytime: [email protected].

​​❤️ Have an amazing week, friends! Keep giving a damn. Love y’all!

It’s Mohsen Mahdawi Day on the podcast! 

Mohsen Mahdawi is a Palestinian organizer, human rights activist, co-founder of the Columbia Palestinian Student Union, and a damn good human.

Mahdawi was a leading voice during the 2024 protests and the encampments at Columbia University. His leadership during those months and his support for a Free Palestine and an end to the Israeli occupation led to him being arrested in April of 2025 by ICE during a citizen interview in Vermont. Keep in mind that Mohsen is a lawful permanent U.S. resident and was arrested because he participated in peaceful protests. Thankfully, he was released two weeks later and gave a very clear statement as he walked out of jail: “I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his cabinet, I am not afraid of you.”

Mahdawi’s fight for justice is not over. He could face arrest again in the future. Please follow him and support him in any way that you can. I know for a fact that Mohsen won’t stop—and we cannot stop—until Palestine is free.

___________________

✅ Follow Mohsen Mahdawi on Instagram.

✊🏽 Support Let’s Give A Damn on Patreon!

👕 Buy some of our merch!

🔥 Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.

✉️ Sign up for our weekly Substack.

📱 Reach out anytime: [email protected].

​​Have an amazing week, friends! Keep giving a damn. Love y’all!

🎉 It’s ‪Arian Moayed week on the podcast!

👉🏽 Ben Cohen is a philanthropist, an antiwar activist, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and the founder of Up In Arms — a movement that is taking on war profiteers and weapons manufacturers and is demanding that the Pentagon slash out outrageous defense budget by...a lot.

👉🏽 In this conversation, Arian and I talk about his immigrant story, moving to the US at a young age from Iran, how he became an artist, the importance of making art in the midst of all the fucked up things around us, and so much more.

❤️ If you love this show and want to support us, ⁠⁠please consider joining our Patreon⁠⁠.

🔔 And while you're at it, hit that subscribe button!

NEXT STEPS:

✅ Follow Arian on Instagram.

✅ Check out Waterwell's important work.

✅ Purchase "Shell" (starring Arian Moayed, Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson) on Digital Now!

✅ Watch Arian in Season 2 of "Nobody Wants This" (starring Adam Brody, Kristen Bell) in a couple of weeks!

CONNECT WITH LGAD:

✅ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠

✅ ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠

✅ ⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠

✅ ⁠Buy some of our merch⁠

CONNECT WITH NICK LAPARRA:

✅ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠

🎉 It’s ‪Ben Cohen week on the podcast!

👉🏽 Ben Cohen is a philanthropist, an antiwar activist, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and the founder of Up In Arms — a movement that is taking on war profiteers and weapons manufacturers and is demanding that the Pentagon slash out outrageous defense budget by...a lot.

👉🏽 In this conversation, Ben and I discuss his Zionist upbringing, his decades of service to so many people, how Ben & Jerry’s became the iconic brand that it is, how he is trying to #FreeBenAndJerrys, his newest initiative called Up In Arms, and so much more.

❤️ If you love this show and want to support us, ⁠please consider joining our Patreon⁠.

🔔 And while you're at it, hit that subscribe button!

NEXT STEPS:

✅ Follow Ben Cohen on Instagram.

✅ Follow Ben Cohen on Twitter. Yes, Twitter.

✅ Join the Up In Arms movement!

CONNECT WITH LGAD:

✅ ⁠Instagram⁠

✅ ⁠Website⁠

✅ ⁠Substack⁠

✅ Buy some of our merch

CONNECT WITH NICK LAPARRA:

✅ ⁠Instagram⁠

🎉 It’s ‪Max La Manna week on the podcast!

👉🏽 Max La Manna is an award-winning author, low-waste chef, and campaigner whose casual approach to cooking has attracted over 2 million followers and more than a billion video views. Drawing from his own life, he shares simple, affordable recipes that make the most of every ingredient and inspire people to waste less. His debut cookbook More Plants Less Waste won “Most Sustainable Cookbook” at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, and his follow-up was named “World’s Best Vegan Cookbook” in 2023. Max has been featured in Vogue, Vice, and The Guardian, and hosted the BBC Earth series Regeneration Food as well as appearing on major TV shows including BBC Saturday Kitchen Live and Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch. Recognized as Digital Creator of the Year at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards, he was also named one of top 30 chefs shaping the future of food.

👉🏽 In this conversation, we discuss his rise to internet fame, how he is using his platform for good, why he doesn't use the term 'vegan' to describe himself, the genocide in Gaza, hunger strikes, and so much more.

❤️ If you love the show and want to support us, please consider joining our Patreon.

🔔 And while you're at it, hit that subscribe button!

NEXT STEPS:

✅ Join Max's campaign to send aid to Gaza.✅ Cook with Max's recipes.✅ Order Max's cookbooks.✅ Follow Max on Instagram.

CONNECT WITH LGAD:

✅ Instagram

✅ Website

✅ Substack

CONNECT WITH NICK LAPARRA:

✅ Instagram

🎉 It’s ‪David Gate Day on the podcast!

👉🏽 It is a joy to have David on the show this week. David is from London and now lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, NC. His work centers around care for the individual (heart, mind, body & soul) and the nurture of community (culture, the earth & environment, the dignity of others and spiritual communities). AND he has a new book of poems and essays out now — A Rebellion Of Care. It's so damn good.

👉🏽 In this conversation, we discuss poetry as a supreme art form, David’s spiritual journey, collective liberation, the genocide in Gaza, his new book, obviously, and so much more.

❤️ If you love the show and want to support us, please consider joining our Patreon: https://patreon.com/letsgiveadamn

🔔 And while you're at it, hit that subscribe button!

NEXT STEPS:

✅ Buy a copy of A Rebellion Of Care: https://lgad.co/4lPwavP

✅ Buy David's stickers, prints, and more: https://www.davidgatepoet.com

✅ Follow David on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidgatepoet/

CONNECT WITH LGAD:

✅ https://www.instagram.com/letsgiveadamn/

✅ https://x.com/LetsGiveADamn

✅ https://www.letsgiveadamn.com

CONNECT WITH NICK LAPARRA:

✅ https://www.instagram.com/nicklaparra/

✅ https://x.com/NickLaparra

🎉 It’s ‪Dr. Ibram X. Kendi day on the podcast!

👉🏽 It is a joy to have Dr. Kendi on the show this week. Read his full bio here: https://www.ibramxkendi.com/bio

👉🏽 In this conversation, we talk about his new book (Malcolm Lives!), collective liberation, the genocide in Gaza, the rise of fascism in the United States, and so much more.

❤️ If you love the show and want to support us, please consider joining our Patreon: http://lgad.co/patreon

🔔 And while you're at it, hit that subscribe button!

NEXT STEPS:

✅ Buy a copy of Malcolm Lives!: https://lgad.co/4kTw7y5

✅ Learn more about Dr. Kendi: https://www.ibramxkendi.com

✅ Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ibramxk/

CONNECT WITH LGAD:

✅ https://www.instagram.com/letsgiveadamn

✅ https://x.com/LetsGiveADamn

✅ https://www.letsgiveadamn.com

CONNECT WITH NICK LAPARRA:

✅ https://www.instagram.com/nicklaparra

✅ https://x.com/NickLaparra

On May 5, Let's Give A Damn co-sponsored an event in NYC called Palestine: The Moral Issue Of Our Time with Gabor Maté and Chris Hedges. It was a sold-out event with 800 attending in persons and hundreds more attended online via our livestream.

Most importantly we raised tens of thousands of dollars for Middle East Children's Alliance! MECA works to protect the rights and improve the lives of children in the Middle East through aid, empowerment and education. In the Middle East, MECA provides humanitarian aid, partners with community organizations to run projects for children, and supports income-generation projects. In the US and internationally, MECA raises awareness about the lives of children in the region and encourages meaningful action.

This is a unique podcast episode where I'm not interviewing anyone. It's just Gabor and Chris. Oh, and the wonderful Aaron Maté introducing these legends.

Listen! Be inspired! Take action! Give A Damn!

✅ Donate to MECA! They're incredible.

✅ Follow Gabor Maté on Instagram.

✅ Purchase Gabor's book, The Myth of Normal.

✅ Follow Chris Hedges on Instagram.

✅ Purchase Chris's new book, A Genocide Foretold.

--------------------

✊🏽 Support Let’s Give A Damn on Patreon!

👕 Buy some of our merch!

🔥 Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.

✉️ Sign up for our weekly Substack.

📱 Reach out anytime: [email protected].

​​❤️ Have an amazing week, friends! Keep giving a damn. Love y’all!

🎉 It’s Taylor Lorenz Day on the podcast!

👉🏽 It is a joy to have Taylor on the show this week. Read Taylor's full bio here: https://www.taylorlorenz.com

👉🏽 In this conversation, we talk about the current state of independent journalism, why she constantly puts herself in the crosshairs of willfully ignorant idiots, the genocide in Gaza, Long Covid, and so much more. This conversation was a long time coming and I really really enjoyed it. ❤️

If you love the show and want to support us, please consider joining out Patreon.

NEXT STEPS:

✅ Buy a copy of Taylor's book.

✅ Subscribe to Taylor's Substack.

✅ Watch Taylor's Podcast.

✅ Follow Taylor on Instagram.

CONNECT WITH LGAD:

✅ https://www.instagram.com/letsgiveadamn

✅ https://x.com/LetsGiveADamn

✅ https://www.letsgiveadamn.com

CONNECT WITH NICK LAPARRA:

✅ https://www.instagram.com/nicklaparra

✅ https://x.com/NickLaparra