Project Good Podcast

Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s November focus on “adoption truths,” framing adoption as involving love, loss, identity, and belonging. She interviews Jean Kelly Widner—adoptee, researcher, advocate, and author of The Adoption Paradox—after citing 2024 foster care adoption data and noting uneven access to original birth records across states. Widner shares her closed-era adoption story (born in 1965, relinquished via a Salvation Army hospital, adopted in Washington) and describes beginning her birth-family search after a 2020 DNA match and obtaining her original birth certificate. The conversation critiques sealed/altered birth certificates, highlights adoption’s links to poverty-driven neglect in foster care, discusses the for-profit private infant adoption marketplace and coercion risks, and offers guidance for adoptive parents. Widner urges policymakers to open original birth certificates and address the socioeconomic conditions driving family separation.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Jean Kelly Widner is an award-winning author, researcher, and passionate advocate for truth in adoption narratives. Her background in professional writing empowers her to tell complex stories with clarity and compassion. Jean writes with the goal of giving voice to those often left out of the adoption conversation—birth parents, adoptees, and families shaped by the system. The Adoption Paradox is the result of years of personal interviews, research, and emotional courage.

The Adoption Paradox challenges the romanticized narrative of adoption. Jean explores the deep emotional and psychological impacts adoption has on all parties involved. Drawing from real-life stories, expert interviews, and in-depth research, this book invites readers to examine adoption through a new lens—one of nuance, trauma-awareness, and healing.

Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good podcast’s special “vote 2026” episode on why voting matters as midterm elections near, with public concerns including the economy, rising costs, education, and political corruption. She interviews Rebekah Caruthers, president and CEO of Fair Election Center, who shares her family’s complicated American history and argues the U.S. must continually strive to “build better.” Caruthers explains how misinformation versus disinformation undermines trust and functions as voter suppression, alleging the current president is using federal power to restrict voting. She directs listeners to nonpartisan state-by-state voter guides at fairelectioncenter.org, advises naturalized citizens to vote early to allow time to resolve issues, and notes it is against federal law to send armed federal law enforcement to polling places. The episode closes by urging voters to research ballots, candidates, and initiatives and participate in shaping a multiracial representational democracy.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Rebekah Caruthers is President & CEO at Fair Elections Center, a national voting rights organization. She served as Vice President for four and a half years. For 20 years prior, Caruthers worked on issue and electoral campaigns, candidates, and organizations like MoveOn.org, Everytown for Gun Safety, the National Democratic Training Committee, Equal Justice Works, and the National Network for Arab American Communities.

Caruthers worked on the Affordable Care Act in Congressman John Dingell’s office before becoming director of a lobby shop for an energy trade association. She has appeared on national and international media, and is a regular contributor for the Roland Martin Unfiltered daily digital show.

Caruthers studied law at the University of Nebraska College of Law, studied abroad in South Africa through Howard University School of Law, and Creighton University for her undergraduate studies. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the Metropolitan (DC) Chapter of the Links, Inc., and the DC Bar.

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Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s October theme, “a nation in crisis,” citing U.S. polarization, institutional gridlock, public pessimism, and rising strain. She interviews Dr. Raymond R. Roberts—pastor, University of Richmond health ethics professor, and author—about his path to ministry, sparked by spiritual renewal in college and a film about Martin Luther King Jr. Roberts describes democratic deterioration through political violence, threats against officials, unaffordable healthcare, mass incarceration, media fragmentation, housing inaccessibility, and declining trust in democracy. He argues the church’s failure to pass on values has weakened democratic culture, while Christian nationalism misconstrues religious freedom’s roots in freedom of conscience and distinct church-state vocations. They discuss loneliness, COVID-era trauma, internet-fueled extremism, and the need for local community-building and civic education grounded in human dignity. Roberts says America’s greatness depends on serving causes beyond itself.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Dr. Raymond R. Roberts (Richmond, Virginia) is a Pastor with 40+ years of experience, Professor of Health Ethics at University of Richmond, Author of "A Democratic and Republican Faith: A Public Theology for a Church and Nation in Crisis and a Musician, Singer, and Songwriter. Roberts is also the Author of "Whose Kids Are They Anyway: Religion and Morality in America’s Public Schools" (2002) and a Substack blogger (@raymondrroberts). In addition, Roberts previously served as Head of Staff at River Road Presbyterian Church (Richmond, VA), The Presbyterian Church (Westfield, NJ), Grace Presbyterian Church (Jenkintown, PA), and Amherst Presbyterian Church (Amherst, VA). Roberts received a Ph.D. in History and Theology from Union Presbyterian Seminary and is a 30+ year member of the Society of Christian Ethics. In addition, Roberts is songwriter, guitarist, and singer in the band Reckless and Wild, and co-wrote the song “Let Freedom Ring.” Roberts' work has been featured on WRVA 1140AM, The Presbyterian Outlook, The National Law Review, The Thought Atlas Podcast, Zooming In at The UnPopulist, and many more podcasts. https://raymondrroberts.org

Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s September focus on climate change solutions, citing NOAA data that July 2026 was the hottest month recorded in the U.S. and outlining key drivers such as heat domes, human-caused climate change, warm oceans, humidity, and El Niño. She interviews Joshua Harrison, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Leaf Island, about his lifelong engagement with environmental issues, including early activism around solar energy and a multidisciplinary background in ecological art. Harrison argues for systems thinking, nature-based solutions like urban greening, and long-term “seven generations” decision-making, emphasizing reconnecting people—especially youth—to hands-on climate action. He explains Leaf Island’s concept of restoring city “leaf cover” to cool urban environments and discusses repurposing styrofoam into lightweight, high-performing growing media for scalable green infrastructure.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Joshua Harrison the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Leaf Island, an award-winning green infrastructure company based in New York. He also serves as Director of the Center for the Study of the Force Majeure at UC Santa Cruz. For over three decades, Joshua has worked at the intersection of art, ecology, and systems strategy — from designing immersive installations on ocean collapse to building regenerative models for wildfire impacted landscapes in the American West. His current focus: transforming cities into functioning ecosystems using modular, scalable technologies — starting with rooftops, walls, streets, and coastlines is reshaping how we move forward with this crisis.

Host Annmarie Hylton introduces Project Good’s September focus on pain, highlighting a global crisis of inequitable access to basic pain relief and palliative care alongside opioid overprescription and overdose in high-income nations. She interviews Dr. Melissa Durham, a USC clinical pharmacy associate professor and clinical pharmacist who founded and runs a pharmacy-led pain medication management service for complex chronic non-cancer pain. Durham describes choosing pharmacy, building her pain practice model from the ground up, and navigating barriers to controlled-substance prescribing and dispensing amid regulatory fear. She emphasizes functional outcomes and quality of life, evidence-based monitoring, stigma reduction, and patient privacy, noting harms from misapplied 2016 CDC opioid guideline dose cutoffs while acknowledging improved prescribing trends. The conversation covers personalized care through social determinants and health equity, clinician compassion fatigue and “boundaried compassionate caregiving,” AI for efficiency, and a vision for multidisciplinary pain care access.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Melissa J. Durham is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Southern California (USC) Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.  She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, completed a residency in Community-based Pharmacy Practice, and has a Master of Academic Medicine degree, all from USC.

Dr. Durham is a clinical pharmacist at the USC Pain Center, where she established and runs a pharmacist-led pain medication management service for patients with a variety of complicated chronic nononcologic pain conditions. She is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with chronic pain through patient-centered and compassionate care. The value of her unique practice model has been recognized and published both nationally and internationally. Dr. Durham is also a practicing community pharmacist and provides a valuable and unique perspective of a clinician who is both a prescriber and a dispenser – a perspective that is valuable to patients, providers, health systems, and industry alike.

Dr. Durham is a sought-after speaker on the topics of pain management, risk reduction and harm reduction, and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. She is originally from Central California and resides in Los Angeles.

Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s August focus on intentional consumerism and interviews Courtney Barriger, a sustainable fashion designer, author of Refashion Workshop, and founder of Holding Court. Barriger explains fast fashion’s rapid, cheap production model and shares how modeling exposed her to low-quality, untraceable clothing and raised questions about waste and supply chains. She argues fast fashion is increasing, citing newer platforms like Shein and Temu and the lack of transparency, and discusses growing concerns about toxins in clothing, including PFAs, BPAs, and lead, alongside emerging regulation such as California’s testing requirements and related lawsuits. The conversation links overconsumption to identity and insecurity, recommends practical consumer habits like reading labels and delaying impulse purchases, urges businesses to use third-party certified materials and design for durability and circularity, and highlights innovation in biodegradable, alternative fibers. Barriger describes Holding Court’s made-to-order, low-tox approach and her broader education and storytelling work.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Courtney Barriger is an award-winning artist, published author, sustainable fashion designer, and storyteller exploring the intersection of fashion, psychology, mythology, sustainability, and human consciousness. She is the author of ReFashion Workshop, an educational book and creative platform focused on sustainable living, textile awareness, conscious consumerism, and the future of ethical fashion. Through ReFashion Workshop, Courtney examines the environmental, psychological, and cultural impact of what we wear from microplastics and textile waste to identity, storytelling, and consumer behavior in the digital age. Courtney is also the founder of Holding Court a sustainable luxury fashion brand centered around wearable art, ethical production, and environmentally conscious design. Find out more at: https://holdingcourtinc.com/

Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s August focus on culture and climate resilience amid record heat, wildfires, and political discord over environmental policy. She interviews journalist and storyteller Majella Mark, who experienced Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 and helped respond to severe damage on Carriacou, including destruction of the Carriacou Museum’s top floor and loss of artifacts. Mark explains how preserving cultural institutions protects identity—especially for the African diaspora—and connects culture to biodiversity through land-based practices, fishing traditions and reef restoration, and knowledge of sky and moon cycles. She outlines plans to rebuild the museum as a sustainable community hub and storm shelter using solar, rain catchment, and resilient materials, while using storytelling to document local traditions such as recipes in a cookbook. Mark calls for listening, youth leadership, and locally informed blue economy policies.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Majella Mark is a journalist, researcher, and storyteller whose work explores the intersection of culture, technology, social impact, and human behavior. Through her writing, she examines the forces shaping our world, encouraging thoughtful conversations about identity, equity, innovation, and the future of society.

Annmarie Hylton introduces Project Good and a July focus on USAID, outlining its creation in 1961, global development and humanitarian roles, and its reliance on grants and contracts, before noting it ceased operations in July 2025 and was merged into the State Department after 2025 funding freezes and mass program terminations. She interviews former USAID Mission Director and attorney Clifford Brown, author of Inside USAID: An Odyssey of Foreign Assistance, about his path from commercial law to overseas development work and how USAID evolved from in-house technical expertise to primarily funding implementers. Brown argues the shutdown was a politically driven “stop work” action led by Elon Musk’s DOGE team that disrupted even “life-saving” programs despite stated exemptions, generated major legal claims, harmed staff and partners, and likely contributed to preventable deaths, while also weakening global health, development knowledge systems, and international efforts tied to broader goals; both emphasize rebuilding trust, human connection, and public awareness.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Clifford Brown is the author of Inside USAID: An Odyssey of Foreign Assistance. Mr. Brown is also an attorney who graduated from UCLA law school in 1976 and practiced commercial securities and law for eleven years in Beverly Hills,CA. His interest in international affairs and languages, convinced him to join the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1987 when he was the Mission Director for Guinea and Sierra Leone.

In this episode of the Project Good Podcast, host Annmarie Hylton welcomes author and climate advocate Guy Dauncey, who describes himself as a “practical utopian” and “realistic dreamer,” to discuss how to face climate change, political division, economic anxiety, and social fragmentation without despair. Guy argues that renewable solutions are advancing rapidly, yet fossil fuels persist due to profit and propaganda, and he frames capitalism as a culture of selfishness masked by “scientific” economics. Drawing on human history, he contrasts domination with cooperation and emphasizes democracy, economic democracy, and community action as paths forward. He previews his book The Economics of Kindness, proposing social purpose charters for businesses, stronger worker rights, cooperative ownership in workplaces and housing, fairer taxation of extreme wealth, and “circles of hope” that rebuild trust through local relationships and collective organizing.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Guy Dauncey is an author, climate advocate, systems thinker, and self-described "practical utopian." For more than forty years, he has explored what it will take to create a future that is not only sustainable, but also more just, compassionate, and deeply human. Through his books, speaking, and advocacy, Guy has challenged the idea that hope is simply a feeling. Instead, he argues that hope is something we build through action, imagination, and a willingness to rethink the systems that shape our lives.  Check out his new book The Economics of Kindness out this July 2026.

Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s June focus on prison reform, outlining longstanding criticisms of California’s prison system and recent reform efforts. She interviews Keith Wattley, founder and executive director of Uncommon Law, about what drew him into criminal justice reform and why he built a legal model centered on partnership, people-first language, and clients’ agency to tell their stories to the parole board. Wattley argues that punishment is often chosen over healing, that trauma and disconnection commonly underlie harm across society, and that accountability means acknowledging harm and taking steps to repair it. He discusses racial and wealth disparities as policy choices, cautions against simplistic comparisons to Scandinavian models, and describes how proximity to incarcerated people shifts stereotypes. Wattley highlights that people released from long and life sentences have extremely low violent recidivism (under 1%) and calls for healing-focused policies and community-based alternatives to incarceration.

00:00 Welcome to Project Good

Keith Wattley (he/him), Founder and Executive Director, received his B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University and his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law. He has been advocating for the rights of people in prison and on parole for more than 25 years. Prior to launching UnCommon Law in 2006, Keith was a staff attorney at the Prison Law Office, a nonprofit law firm in Berkeley. At UnCommon Law, he has focused on helping people transform their lives and demonstrate to the parole board that they can safely be released from their life sentences. He has also engaged in impact litigation and individual cases involving unlawful prison and parole conditions, and he has trained hundreds of lawyers, law students and others in advocating for the rights of incarcerated people.

In 2018, Keith was selected as one of the Obama Foundation’s inaugural Fellows, recognizing his unique legal model and vision, and in 2020, he was awarded the James Irvine Foundation's Leadership Award. Keith has been active on several boards of directors, and served as co-chair of the Institutional Review Board (human subjects committee) for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. He was also a member of the Founding Board of Directors for the Prison University Project (San Quentin’s College Program) and a member of the Board of Directors for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. Keith currently teaches a course titled "California Prisons and Discretionary Parole" at UC Berkeley School of Law where he also supervises the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project.