Let's Give A Damn

Join me in welcoming Josh Mundy to the pod! On March 3, an F4 tornado hit Nashville and caused billions of dollars of damage. Josh Mundy housed 4 of his businesses in one building and lost them all overnight. Yet, Josh and Tabitha have a tremendous amount of peace that whatever comes next will be for their good and for the good of their community. I can’t wait for you to hear our chat!

If you want to know more about what Josh is working on and the businesses he hopes to rebuild, check out The Lab, Pivot Technology School, and Fortitude Homes. And be sure to follow Josh on Instagram! All sorts of great content on there. 

And if you’d like to help the Mundy’s get back on their feet, you can donate here. 

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! Support us on Patreon! We can't do this without you. Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

March 8 is International Women’s Day and we have my favorite person in the world and Let’s Give A Damn’s biggest fan on the podcast today! My wife has sacrificed so much so that I can bring amazing stories to your ears each and every week. I’m thrilled that you get to meet her via this one-hour conversations with one of the biggest damn-givers I know. Enjoy!

She’s not on social media right now but if you want to get in touch with her, send an email to [email protected].

Love y'all!

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! Support us on Patreon! We can't do this without you. Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Justin Jones is running for Congress in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District and he is my guest on the podcast today. His bio, found on his website, is worth reading because it highlights the breadth and depth of the ways he has given a damn from such a young age:

Justin Jones is an activist, graduate student, and community organizer in Nashville. Born in Oakland, California, he grew up in the East Bay where he attended public school and learned at an early age the importance of speaking up for equality for all. His mother, Christine, raised Justin and his sister while putting herself through nursing school. She’s now a registered nurse active in the California chapter of National Nurses United. He is the grandson of black, working-class grandparents from the South Side of Chicago and Filipino immigrants who migrated to California during the Vietnam War. Growing up, his family, especially his two grandmothers, taught him the importance of community involvement, care for the environment, and spirituality.

In high school, Justin served as his city’s Youth Commissioner and began organizing for the civil rights of students and policies that ensured racial equity, environmental protections, and inclusivity. Justin first saw the power of community organizing as part of a successful campaign to force a recall election of three city council members involved in financial mismanagement and corrupt practices. In high school, he found himself on the front lines of organizing in Oakland following the murder of Trayvon Martin and during student campaigns to repeal nationwide Stand Your Ground laws.

Justin came to Fisk University in 2013, where he received the John R. Lewis Scholarship for Social Activism. Inspired by its legacy of the student-led movement for civil rights, Justin became involved on campus and in community groups and spent his four years organizing student campaigns for the expansion of healthcare in Tennessee, the repeal of restrictive state voter ID laws, and community accountability in cases of police brutality against unarmed black victims. He served on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Healthcare Campaign and has led actions at the Legislature, and across the South, for the expansion of Medicaid. In 2015, Justin helped file a federal lawsuit against the State of Tennessee for its restrictive voter ID laws that targeted students. He has chaired the Nashville Student Organizing Committee and is a recipient of awards from the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, ACLU of Tennessee, Tennessee Alliance for Progress, Fisk University Alumni Association, the Vanderbilt Organization of Black Graduate Students, and the Nashville NAACP.

It was a true pleasure to speak with Justin. I'm very encouraged when young people take seriously the role of leading in communities, cities, states, and countries.

Follow Justin on Twitter and Instagram. And keep up with his campaign by following them on Instagram.

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! Support us on Patreon! We can't do this without you. Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Let's talk about the Oscars. Many actors and artists used their stage time to share their thoughts on what is happening in society and in politics. Which, for the record, I’m 100% OK with. In fact, I applaud it! Entertainers throughout history have used their art form and platform to speak out against injustices happening around them. The notion that athletes should stick to playing sports or that actor should stick to acting or that musicians should stick to music and not speak up is ludicrous. It’s bullshit.

So, let's talk about Joaquin Phoenix. Let's talk about Jane Fonda. Let's talk about awareness and activism. Let's talk about cancel culture. 

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SPONSOR: We keep this show (relatively) ad-free but we do need to make a little money so we can cover the costs of recording, production, travel, and *fingers crossed* my time. I won’t put a dollar amount on how much that costs per episode but it’s a lot. if you didn't know, we are on Patreon! Patreon is a place where — for the price of a damn cup of coffee each month, you can help us make this podcast and platform more sustainable. Go to Patreon.com/letsgiveadamn to find out how you can join the Let's Give A Damn family or hit me up on social media if you have any questions at all. I hope you’ll join us!

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Will Acuff, Co-Founder of Corner to Corner, is on the podcast today! Will is a force of nature. He and his family give so many damns. Will and I met at our favorite cigar shop in Nashville. We both like cigars so that was a great start to a friendship. But the more I got to know Will, the more I knew I wanted to share his life and work with you.

Follow Corner to Corner on Facebook and Instagram.

Email will directly at [email protected]. 

And follow his street photography account on Instagram! He is really good!

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SPONSOR: We keep this show (relatively) ad-free but we do need to make a little money so we can cover the costs of recording, production, travel, and *fingers crossed* my time. I won’t put a dollar amount on how much that costs per episode but it’s a lot. if you didn't know, we are on Patreon! Patreon is a place where — for the price of a damn cup of coffee each month, you can help us make this podcast and platform more sustainable. Go to Patreon.com/letsgiveadamn to find out how you can join the Let's Give A Damn family or hit me up on social media if you have any questions at all. I hope you’ll join us!

Jamel Campbell-Gooch is on the podcast this week! Jamel is a violence interruptor and is part of the Gideon's Army leadership team. Gideon's Army uses restorative justice-based programs to build resilient kids and healthy communities. 

A few links that may interest you:

Check out Gideon's Army on Facebook and Instagram. 

Follow Jamel on Instagram and Twitter.

Take a look at Blackstorian.

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SPONSOR: We keep this show (relatively) ad-free but we do need to make a little money so we can cover the costs of recording, production, travel, and *fingers crossed* my time. I won’t put a dollar amount on how much that costs per episode but it’s a lot. if you didn't know, we are on Patreon! Patreon is a place where — for the price of a damn cup of coffee each month, you can help us make this podcast and platform more sustainable. Go to Patreon.com/letsgiveadamn to find out how you can join the Let's Give A Damn family or hit me up on social media if you have any questions at all. I hope you’ll join us!

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. Support Let’s Give A Damn by giving $5 per month on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help. Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Join me in welcoming Josh Radnor to the podcast this week! You probably know Josh for his role as Ted Mosby in the wildly popular show, How I Met Your Mother. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of the show but I know it was/is a big deal to lots of people. Sure, we chat about HIMYM a little bit but we spent most of our time discussing Ram Dass, Spirituality, Radnor & Lee (his band), porn, giving a damn, a lawsuit he is involved in, and so much more.  

A few links that may interest you: 

Check out Josh's band, Radnor & Lee.  

Subscribe to Josh's email newsletter, Museletter. They're so good! 

Josh has a new show coming out on Amazon Prime soon. It's called Hunters. Jordan Peele is the Executive Producer and it stars Al Pacino. Make sure to watch it when it comes out!

Follow Josh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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SPONSOR: We keep this show (relatively) ad-free but we do need to make a little money so we can cover the costs of recording, production, travel, and *fingers crossed* my time. I won’t put a dollar amount on how much that costs per episode but it’s a lot. if you didn't know, we are on Patreon! Patreon is a place where — for the price of a damn cup of coffee each month, you can help us make this podcast and platform more sustainable. Go to Patreon.com/letsgiveadamn to find out how you can join the Let's Give A Damn family or hit me up on social media if you have any questions at all. I hope you’ll join us!

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. Support Let’s Give A Damn by giving $5 per month on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help. Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Here's a short monologue for you as we finish 2019 and begin 2020. I feel incredibly excited about what will happen in 2020 with Let's Give A Damn. Do you feel it, too? I hope so. Because I need you. 

I hope these words help you and give you hope. Also, buy Becoming Human (or any of the 30+ books Jean Vanier wrote while alive). You'll learn so much from him.

I love you and I can't wait to give so many damns alongside you this next year. Let's go!

This is me. Raw. Unscripted. Sitting in my bedroom staring at a wall for 13 minutes while talking to you. In this brief monologue, I share why we've been taking more breaks than normal, what's going on right now, and where we are headed in 2020. Exciting things ahead, friends! But not without some growing pains.

Remember, giving a damn must take place in this order:

First, give a damn about yourself 

Second, give a damn about each other 

Third, give a damn about others 

Love y'all. Hit me up at [email protected] or anywhere on social media and let's chat about LGAD or 2020 or anything you want. I'm here for you.

My guest today is David French. David is a senior editor for The Dispatch. He just left a role as senior writer for National Review last month. David is a New York Times bestselling author, and his next book, The Great American Divorce, will be available for you to purchase in a few months. He graduated from Harvard Law School and he is a former lecturer at Cornell Law School. David is a former major in the United States Army Reserve. In 2007, he deployed to Iraq an, during that time, was awarded the Bronze Star.

In this conversation, we talk about faith, cancel culture, gun control, how the Left and the Right can work together for the good of our country (is this even possible?), and so much more.

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SPONSOR: We keep this show (relatively) ad-free but we do need to make a little money so we can cover the costs of recording, production, travel, and *fingers crossed* my time. I won’t put a dollar amount on how much that costs per episode but it’s a lot. if you didn't know, we are on Patreon! Patreon is a place where — for the price of a damn cup of coffee each month, you can help us make this podcast and platform more sustainable. Go to Patreon.com/letsgiveadamn to find out how you can join the Let's Give A Damn family or hit me up on social media if you have any questions at all. I hope you’ll join us!

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by giving $5 per month on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!