The Facing Project

Host J.R. Jamison sits down with Julio Vincent Gambuto—author of Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!, a book about taking back our time, attention, and purpose in a post-pandemic world. The two explore Julio’s feature film, Team Marco, that follows the life of a boy who’s always plugged in until his grandpa makes him play outside.

Photo Credit – Julio Vincent Gambuto, photo provided.

Chapters –
[00:00] Introduction. 
[02:19] Interview with Julio Vincent Gambuto. 
[06:29] Workplace culture as the default society culture in America. 
[17:41] Generational aspects of work and lifestyle choices. 
[24:05] The impacts of living a life unplugged. 
[37:15] Difficulties balancing work, connectedness, and unplugging. 
[45:31] Finding new ways to enjoy the world. 
[49:16] Anticipating reality in media. 

Original air date: Aug. 31, 2024

It’s the time of year when most of us will gather to give thanks, clinking our seasonal beverages over plates of food; but that won’t be the case for nearly 34 million Americans who are food insecure. But how is that even possible when the United States is one of the richest countries in the world?

On this episode of The Facing Project, J.R. Jamison will explore that question as he shares the story of a mother in Kansas who struggles to make ends meet after an accident; another from a volunteer in Indiana who sees the unexpected faces of poverty; and one from a food pantry provider in Georgia who worries what will happen when the shelves go bare. Later, he is joined by Ami McReynolds, the Chief Equity Officer of Feeding America.

Photo Credit – Ada Be via Flickr Creative Commons: https://flic.kr/p/7WoGYG.

Stories included in this episode –
• The Story of a Hit-and-Run Survivor: An anonymous story as told to Katie Omo from Facing Hunger in Manhattan, Kansas.
• Unexpected Faces of Poverty: An anonymous story as told to Kayla Conrad from Facing Poverty in Muncie, Indiana.
• Something’s Got to Give: The story of the Georgia Mountain Food Bank as told to Cassidy Collier from Facing Homelessness in Gainesville, Georgia. 

The Facing Project Radio Show is made possible in part by Behavior Associates.

Chapters –
[00:00] Introduction.
[06:08] "The Story of a Hit-and-Run Survivor" - An anonymous story.
[08:32] "Unexpected Faces of Poverty" - An anonymous story.
[11:11] "Something’s Got to Give" - The story of the Georgia Mountain Food Bank.
[17:03] Interview with Ami McReynolds, the Chief Equity Officer of Feeding America.
[20:10] Underlying drivers of issues with equitable food systems.
[24:38] Misconceptions around who struggles with food insecurity.

Original air date: Dec. 31, 2022

Grief has long been known to be psychological, but scientists now know that grief is also physiological and can impact brain function, gut health, the cardiovascular system, and breathing. But does grief also have the ability to change our bodies in positive ways?

On this episodes of The Facing Project, J.R. Jamison shares the stories of two women who experienced profound grief — one from a mother in Ohio who lost her son to gun violence, and another from a woman in Indiana who rebuilt her life after an abusive relationship. Later, he is joined by Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona and author of The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss.

Photo Credit – Sarah Gath via Flickr Creative Commons: https://flic.kr/p/njp6UG

Stories included in this episode –
• Life Goes On: Marjorie Jackson’s story as told to Kate Geiselman from Facing Gun Violence in Ohio. Performed by Chandra Ford.
• Through the Eyes of the Past: Emma’s story as told to Madison Savage from Facing Teen Dating Violence in Muncie, Indiana. Performed by Amanda Hummer.

The Facing Project Radio Show is made possible in part by Behavior Associates. 

Chapters –
[00:00] Introduction.
[05:18] "Life Goes On" - Marjorie Jackson’s story.
[13:27] "Through the Eyes of the Past" - Emma’s story.
[17:12] Interview with Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor.
[20:42] The neuroscience of grief.
[23:29] How different types of grief affect the brain.
[26:03] The impact of storytelling in the grieving process.

Original air date: Nov. 26, 2022

J.R. Jamison is joined by David Ambroz to discuss his memoir, A Place Called Home, a story about growing up homeless in New York, Ambroz’s subsequent years in foster care, and eventually becoming an attorney with a vision to change the laws that affect children in poverty. Hillary Rodham Clinton praised A Place Called Home “[as a book that will] redouble your efforts to fight the systems of poverty that have plagued America for too long.”

Photo credits: David Ambroz (by Austin Hargrave)

Chapters
[00:00] Introduction.
[01:53] Interview with David Ambroz.
[10:05] The impact of being identified as LGBTQ in the foster care system.
[15:33] Positive representation of identifying as LGBTQ but the push back as well.
[20:56] Proposing solutions to the flaws in congregate care.
[29:13] The freedom of having accepting caregivers and role models in life.
[35:39] Understanding connections between homelessness, mental health, and the foster care system.
[42:43] The importance of advocacy.
[54:23] Getting involved with the foster care system and child welfare.

Original air date: July 26, 2025

Think for a second about the last time you forgave someone. Was it hard? How did it make you feel? Or what about the person you forgave?

J.R. Jamison shares the stories of two women — one who forgave the man who paralyzed her son in a car accident, and another who forgave her once absent mother and abusive brother. Later, he is joined by Dr. Robert Enright, who was named by TIME magazine as the leading researcher on the psychology behind forgiveness.

Photo Credit – Flickr Creative Commons: https://flic.kr/p/6BaVu2

Stories included in this episode –
• Stopping to Forgive: Greg Zgunda’s story as told to Stephanie Fisher by his mother, Beverly Zgunda, from Facing Disabilities in East Central Indiana. Performed by Katy Wolfe.
• What I Know About Me: An anonymous story as told to Bev Nye from Facing Poverty in McPherson, Kansas.Performed by Tiffany Erk.

Chapters –
[00:00] Introduction. 
[05;27] "Stopping to Forgive" - Greg Zgunda’s story. 
[13;45] "What I Know About Me" - An anonymous story. 
[17;40] Interview with Dr. Robert Enright. 
[19;41] Forgiveness as a form of healing. 
[23;58] Differences between toxic positivity, forgiveness, and reconciliation. 
[26;54] Learning and teaching to forgive. 

Original air date: Sep. 24, 2022

Did you know that nearly 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with some type of cancer during their lifetime? That’s shocking, right? So, this got us curious about life with and after cancer — or in other words, the stories of those still deep in their fight and those who made it through to the other side.

This time on The Facing Project, J.R. Jamison shares the stories of an oncologist and two cancer survivors, and later he is joined by mother-daughter and storyteller-writer duo Connie Robertson and Aimee Robertson-West to discuss Life With Cancer.

Photo Credit – Aimee Robertson-West (provided)

Stories included in this episode –
• Cancer Is My Specialty: Dr. Michael Williamson’s story as told to Dagny Zupin from Facing Cancer in East Central Indiana. Performed by Carl Frost.
• The Consequences of Cancer: Connie Robertson’s story as told to Aimee Robertson-West from Facing Cancer in East Central Indiana. Performed by Amy Leffingwell.
• I Decided to Stop Being Mad: Brian Fitzgerald’s story as told to Eddie Metzger from Facing Cancer in East Central Indiana. Performed by Larry Beck.

Chapters –
[00:00] Introduction.
[03:12] "Cancer Is My Specialty" - Dr. Michael Williamson’s story.
[09:06] "The Consequences of Cancer" - Connie Robertson’s story.
[14:14] "I Decided to Stop Being Mad" - Brian Fitzgerald’s story.
[19:01] Interview with Connie Robertson and Aimee Robertson-West.
[22:14] How personal storytelling can be different than other forms of storytelling.
[26:22] Advice to those facing cancer from someone who faced it directly.

Original air date: Jul. 30, 2022

J.R. Jamison is joined by Drs. Ziwei Qi and Lori E. Kniffin, editors of Facing Relationship-Based Violence, to discuss their book’s collection of nineteen first-person stories from people in rural Kansas whose lives have been impacted by the harm that occurs when relationships have been shaped by fear and control instead of love and trust, and the three explore how survivor stories serve as a resource to increase awareness and encourage conversations. 

Chapters
[00:00] Introduction. 
[01:07] Interview with Dr. Ziwei Qi and Dr. Lori Kniffin. 
[03:53] Why this form of storytelling was the chosen vehicle for understanding. 
[09:07] Learning from the process of collecting people's stories. 
[11:27] Misconceptions about relationship-based violence. 
[14:55] "From Betrayal to Becoming" - an anonymous story. 
[21:39] "Not That Simple" - Cia's story. 
[27:19] "You Can’t Get Rid of Glitter" - an anonymous story. 
[31:56] "A Glimmer of Jana" - Christie Brungardt's story. 
[42:50] Interview with psychologist Dr. Sherry Hamby. 
[44:52] Recent understandings of connecting with the natural world and psychology. 
[48:21] Learning from and moving forward from relationship based violence. 

Original air date: Sep. 26, 2026

J.R. Jamison shares the stories of three women from rural Kentucky whose lives have changed forever due to addiction: one from a sister who fights each day to win back her brother; another from a pharmacist on the front lines of the opioid epidemic; and one from a young mother who abused pain pills after the death of her child.

Later in the show, J.R. is joined by Kyle Brewer, the Peer Specialist Program Manager for NAADAC—the Association for Addiction Professionals.

Photo – The Facing Project at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky

Stories included in this episode –
• Denial Is Over: Robin’s story, as told to Missy Reid from Facing Addiction in Knox County, Kentucky. Performed by Melinda.
• Abuse Is No Secret: Susan’s story, as told to Sarah Wilder from Facing Addiction in Knox County, Kentucky.Performed by Amanda Hummer.
• Love Is Greater Than Anger: Debbie’s story, as told to Melinda Hornback from Facing Addiction in Knox County, Kentucky. Performed by Tiffany Erk.    

Music used in this episode –
• "Like Life" by Hello Keller. Released under an Attribution 3.0 United States (CC BY 3.0 US) License. From the Free Music Archive.
• "A Moment" by Scott Gratton. Released under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License. From the Free Music Archive.

Chapters –
[00:00] Introduction. 
[01:25] "Denial is Over." Robin's story. 
[07:44] "Abuse Is No Secret." Susan’s story. 
[11:32] "Love Is Greater Than Anger." Debbie’s story. 
[16:32] Interview with Kyle Brewer. 
[19:33] The waves of the opioid epidemic and its impact on governmental reform. 
[23:44] The impact on rural communities and what is being done to help. 

Original air date: Jun. 25, 2022

We’ve all seen and read the stories of those with disabilities portrayed as secondary characters, there in the background to support the able-bodied lead in their quest for love, adventure, and success. But what if the script were flipped, and those with a disability were the main characters finding their own love, adventure, and success?

Join J.R. Jamison as he shares the story a polio survivor who loves to dance; a former runner with an auto-immune disorder who is finding a new path; and a college student with autism who asks us to pay attention. Later in the show, J.R. is joined by global disability influencer Monica Engle Thomas who has reclaimed her own narrative and uses it to inspire others.

Photo – Provided by Monica Engle Thomas.

Stories included in this episode –
• Carry: Sandy Penrod’s story as told to Jennifer Stanley from Facing Disabilities in East Central Indiana. Performed by Beth Nahre.
• Finding My Way: Antonio Kioko’s story as told to Deirdre Lane from Beyond Face Value: A Facing Project from Principal Financial in Des Moines, Iowa. Performed by Carl Frost.
• Pay Attention: Carter Tharp’s story as told to Jamie Reece from Facing Autism in Muncie, Indiana. Performed by Charley Isaacs. 

Music used in this episode –
• "HOEDOWN" by Jason Shaw. Released under an Attribution 3.0 United States (CC BY 3.0 US) License. From the Free Music Archive.
• "The Woods (Remastered)" by Axletree. Released under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. From the Free Music Archive.
• "Gourd Hunting" by Jesse Spillane. Released under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. From the Free Music Archive.

Chapters –
[00:00] Introduction. 
[01:51] "Carry." Sandy Penrod’s story. 
[07:58] "Finding My Way." Antonio Kioko’s story. 
[10:50] "Pay Attention." Carter Tharp's story. 
[16:12] Interview with Monica Engle Thomas. 
[17:30] Getting started as a social media influencer and seeing its impact in the world. 
[23:10] The work of reclaiming the narrative around disabilities. 

Original air date: Apr. 30, 2022

Host J.R. Jamison sits down with FRONTLINE filmmaker, producer, and journalist Ursula Liang to talk about her latest film Two Strikes, a documentary short that follows the two strikes law in Florida that put a former West Point cadet struggling with PTSD and alcoholism in prison for life without the possibility of parole. The two also explore how to tell authentic stories through print and film.

Photo Credit – Ursula Liang, photo provided.

Chapters –
[00:00] Introduction. 
[03:05] Interview with Ursula Liang. 
[06:32] Making the transition from written storytelling to film. 
[10:38] The decision making process of visual storytelling and navigating complex narratives. 
[17:24] Handling the delicate balance of investigative interviews, and consequences that impact more than just individuals. 
[26:38] Building a storytelling experience while balancing the control of the narrative. 
[30:07] Storytelling that connects the audience and the creator to the story's culture. 
[41:14] Advice for filmmakers and storytellers. 
[49:03] How do we create a more empathetic world? 

Original air date: Jul. 27, 2024