Let's Give A Damn

My guests today are Philippe Lazaro and Christie Huizenga Renaud. Philippe and Christi are part of the Plant With Purpose team. Plant With Purpose equips farming families around the world to increase farm yields, heal damaged ecosystems, improve nutrition, and increase household savings and opportunities. Their approach solves two major issues facing the world today: environmental degradation and rural poverty. 

Another way to say it is that they reverse deforestation and poverty around the world by transforming the lives of the rural poor.

Since our chat is about the environment and food and sustainability and other things like these, we met at a park in downtown LA to record our conversation. If felt like the right thing to do to meet outside while we had our chat. We talk about the environment, sustainability, how we can and should make the world a little bit smaller, we talk about a podcast we are creating for their organization, and so much more. These two humans impressed the hell out of me. So grateful for their work! 

Follow Plant With Purpose on Twitter and Instagram. And check out their work and more ways you can get involved by visiting plantwithpurpose.org.

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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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

Another throwback episode for you! My guest today is Noor Tagouri. Noor is a Libyan-American Muslim woman. She is a friend, an activist, a journalist, a storyteller, a podcaster, a speaker, and so much more. In every way, she is a force to be reckoned with. 

Since I recorded our conversation a while back, she has been very busy! But I want to point out one project she has done that I’ve loved so much. She created and hosted a podcast called Sold in America. It’s an eight-episode journey into the world of selling sex in the United States. In it, she takes you, the listener, across the country to meet the human faces of this billion-dollar trade. Along the way, she uncovers many surprising misconceptions.

This conversation originally aired on July 11, 2017.

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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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

This past weekend, my family and I attended a vigil in Nashville to mourn the loss of the 50 men, women, and children who died in their place of worship in New Zealand. Muslims, Jews, and Christians gathered together to comfort our Muslim brothers and sisters and also to re-commit to pursuing a peace-filled world together. It was beautiful. 

There was a local muslim leader that led parts of the vigil. Towards the end, she shared some ideas for how non-muslims can help dispel the widespread fears surrounding Muslims and Islam—otherwise known as Islamophobia. I found her ideas helpful and I was glad to know that I was already doing some of them. And I look forward to finding ways to implement the others. Here are two of her ideas:

Meet a Muslim. It’s important to get to know about Islam from a Muslim. If you don’t know any Muslims living around you (I guarantee most of you do), google your local mosque. I’ve been to a few mosques and I’ve always been welcomed with open arms. And I know they’d be happy to meet you and to help you learn more about Islam. 

Partake in local activities led by Muslims. Muslims are very active in the community so I’m sure there will be many ways for you to get involved. 

Let me know if you end up taking this advice seriously. I’d really love to know about budding relationships and partnerships happening amongst the Let’s Give A Damn family as a result fo this tragedy.

My guest today is Diana Oestreich. My goodness, Diana, is amazing! She is a war veteran, a sexual assault nurse examiner, a justice advocate, a recovering racist, AND the Key Relationships Officer at Preemptive Love Coalition. Preemptive Love’s work stretches across Iraq, Syria, the United States, and beyond. They work together to unmake violence and create the more beautiful world their hearts know is possible. They literally go where no one else will go. They’re amazing. 

Follow Diana on Instagram. Also, make sure you're following Preemptive Love on Instagram. You’re going to love the work they’re doing. 

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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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

Today's podcast guest is Thad Beaty. If you’re into the country music scene, you might know Thad as Sugarland’s guitarist (as well as a bunch of other bands and music projects in the past). You may also know his wife Annie who plays bass guitar for the incredible Maren Morris. But if you’ve never heard of Thad before, that’s about to change because Thad is incredible. He went from living an unhealthy life as a tour musician to losing over 70 pounds and becoming an ironman triathlete. And that’s only the beginning! He's also encouraging touring bands/artists to give back while they're on the road through Music That Moves.

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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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

My guest today is an incredible young man, Enis Cirak. Enis and I met a year ago and we have continued hanging out every month or so. He is thoughtful, smart, peaceful, passionate, and he most definitely gives a damn. Enis launched Gigamunch—a Nashville based company that prepares a new meal each week for you from a different country and they deliver it to you fully cooked and ready to go. My family and I have eaten their meals and they are amazing. The meal I remember eating was from Budapest, Hungary. It was mind-blowingly delicious! And they throw in a few components to the meal—like a music playlist and a ton of information about that week's country—that you’ll never get from Blue Apron or Hello Fresh or any of the others out there. This is a completely new and amazing experience. 

What I love about this company is that exposure begets empathy. And we all need to harness more empathy in our lives. And the reality is, so many people can’t or won’t travel as much as they’d like to so Gigamunch brings the world to you. It’s a win-win for everyone! Don't worry, we don’t talk about food the entire time. His story is amazing and he shares great tips and wisdom for how to get healthy and stay healthy in this crazy world.

Enis isn't on social media all that much but please follow Gigamunch online, on Facebook, and on Instagram to keep up with all they're doing!

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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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

Audrey Assad is on the podcast today! She is not only a friend—she’s also a favorite artist of mine. Our whole family loves her, in fact. If you know me well, you know that I don’t listen to much music outside of classical music, broadway tunes, and some operas. I just don’t like all that much in pop music. Not into rock all that much. No oldies. But there are a few exceptions and Audrey is one of them. Most of her music is spiritual and Christian in nature and it has helped us so much over the last few years as we continue out spiritual journey. Listen to her today on Spotify!

I’ve just described Audrey the artist to you but we don’t actually talk that much about her music all that much in this conversation. We do talk about her Syrian father and his family migrating to the states, we talk about her faith, we talk about pornography, we talk about refugees and immigrants, and a whole lot more. I truly enjoyed my hour with her and I hope you will, too.

During our chat, I mentioned a song she wrote as a “prayer for all the mamas who have had their children separated from them at the borders of our country. A mother's love is fierce, enduring, and never gives up.” 

If you are in/around Middle Tennessee and want to see Audrey perform live AND you want to help a great organization that I love at the same time, then plan on attending this event on on March 8, 2019.

Follow Audrey on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! She just launched a Patreon so consider supporting her there!

Lastly, go listen to her music! Some of my favorite songs are I Shall Not Want, Even Unto Death, Good To Me, and so many more!

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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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

There’s been so much talk over these last few months and years about mental health—how we can help each other, what to look out for, etc. So, I thought it was high-time to bring back this old episode with my friend and fantastic human, Jamie Tworkowski.

Jamie started TWLOHA—a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. They have been a beacon of hope for millions of people over the years and they continue, day after day after day, to inspire, educate, and help so many.

We first ran this episode in on March 10, 2017—just a few short months after bringing this podcast into the world! I hope you enjoy it.

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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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

Scott Hamilton—yes, that Scott Hamilton—is on the podcast this week! In case you're one of the 18 people out there that doesn't know who Scott is, here are some important highlights. During his figure skating career, he won four consecutive US championships, four consecutive world championship, and he won an olympic gold medal in 1984. 

On top of being a figure skating legend, Scott is a very very wise man. He once calculated that he has fallen 41,600 times while skating in his life. After he made that calculation, he said this: “But here’s the funny thing: I got up 41,600 times. That’s the muscle you have to build in your psyche — the one that reminds you to just get up.”

Additionally, he has conquered stage 4 testicular chance and multiple brain tumors over the last couple of decades. Scott is a steadfast, faithful, and bold damn-giver.

He's still doing great work today through the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation. Follow them on Twitter and follow Scott on Twitter. You'll be encouraged by the work they do and the content they share!

And last but definitely not least, his book is out in paperback TODAY! Buy a copy for you and for your friends. It's a fantastic and encouraging read.

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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

I opened this podcast by discussing the International Holocaust Remembrance Day that occurred over the weekend. During that short monologue, I shared a few quotes. I wanted to share those quotes here:

“People growing up today must know what people were capable of in the past and we must work proactively to ensure that it is never repeated." —Chancellor Angela Merkel

“To remember these men and women — those who perished and those who survived — is to strive to prevent such suffering from happening again. Any denial or indifference to the horror of this chapter in the history of humankind diminishes all men and women everywhere and invites repetition of this great evil." —President Donald Trump

"The threats of violence, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism still exist today. The murder of eleven Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh ... is fresh in our minds." —Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” —George Santayana

You’re going to love this week's podcast guest. She is incredible. Her name is Lindsay Menard-Freeman. She and her team at Torchlight Collective are doing fascinating and impactful work all over the world. They primarily work on global health and human rights issues as they aim to achieve gender equality and social justice. In this podcast, we chat consulting, billionaires, white savior complex, parents modeling being damn good people to their kids, and so much more. 

Follow Lindsay on Instagram and Torchlight Collective on Twitter.

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—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!

Yesterday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. It's a day when we honor the life and legacy of one of America's most important leaders. King embodied humility, service, and boldness. My life is forever changed because of this man and I'm forever grateful.

At the beginning of the episode, I read a few paragraphs from his famous Letter From Birmingham Jail. It's incredibly powerful. Read the entire letter here. I hope you were able to spend a few minutes reflecting on his life and work and considering any changes you should make in your own life.

Now, for today's guest. Courtney Hale is amazing. I'm so grateful to know him. Courtney grew up in Nashville and a variety of circumstances led him to leave a nice corporate job and take a deep interest the financial well-being of young people. The result of his leap of faith is Knowledge Bank. Their mission is to produce a generation of financially knowledgeable, responsible, and empowered youth. They "create economic hope where hope may not have existed before and we equip youth with the tools to adequately and healthily participate in free enterprise."

Follow Courtney and Knowledge Bank 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! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by sharing $5/month with us 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!