The Facing Project

Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they take listener call-ins from coast to coast and discuss Alone Together: Stories from a Pandemic.

Music Used in this Episode
• "Quiet Drive" by Ryan Andersen. Released under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. From the Free Music Archive.

Chapters
[00:00] Introduction.
[02:44] Megan Hamilton's story.
[07:00] Three call-ins & reflection.
[14:15] Natasha Martz's story.
[17:24] Three more call-ins.
[24:42] Matthew Fichter and Michael Broughton's story.

Original air date: Aug. 29, 2020 

As a child, Lucy Mangan was reading all the time, using books to navigate the challenges and complexities of this world and many others. As an adult, she uses her new relationship with literature to seize upon the most important question: (How) do books prepare us for life?

Bookish vividly tells the story of a reader’s life from the cusp of teenagerhood, when everything—including the way we read—undergoes a not-so-subtle transformation. Lucy vividly recounts her metamorphosis from young bookworm to bookish adult, from the way school curricula impact our relationship with literature, to the growing pains of swapping the pleasures of re-reading for those of book-hoarding.

Revisiting the books of all genres that ferried her through each important stage of life—falling in love, finding a job, becoming a mother, and navigating grief—Bookish is a coming-of-age story told through books.

Chapters

[00:00] Introduction.
[01:34] How books have a unique way to hold us as readers. 
[04:30] How books stand alone from other forms of more recent media. 
[07:52] The human experience of reading and connecting with others through books. 
[15:16] How characters in books influence our relationship with the real world. 
[21:10] On relationships with non-bookish people and balancing solitude with connection. 
[34:35] Returning to books later in life. 
[41:12] How the digital age affects our understanding of stories and the world around us. 
[46:05] Reflecting on how being bookish changes your life.

Original air date: May 30, 2026

J.R. Jamison explores the diverse definition of recovery through the lens of a recent book project, Facing Recovery, a collection of 17 first-person narratives that captures the wide spectrum of what recovery means and that, contrary to popular belief, it’s not just tied to addiction. Special guests: Dr. Kathryn Ludwig, assistant teaching professor of English at Ball State University and editor of Facing Recovery, Bridgett Nesbitt and Hayden Gorham, two writers on the project, and Abby Gluvna, program manager for Recovery Café Muncie.

Chapters
[00:00] Introduction.
[01:53] Interview with Dr. Kathryn Ludwig, Bridgett Nesbitt and Hayden Gorham.
[16:36] Roses Over Rocks.
[21:51] A Warrior Heart and a Friendly Smile.
[28:39] Out of Isolation.
[33:07] Come How You Are. 
[37:49] Interview with Abby Gluvna, program manager for Recovery Café Muncie.

Content advisory: Please note that at 18:01 and 19:30, strong language has been beeped. 

Original air date: April 26, 2025. 

Life after the age of 60 . . . for some, they’re living their best lives . . . like, skydiving with friends . . . others are searching for purpose after retirement . . . but it can also be a time of loneliness.

Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they take call-ins, share stories, and discuss the diversity of Life After 60 . . . the Golden Years.

Photo – By Stefan Barna, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Stories –
• Aloha Shirt Man Reflects Upon His Career: Michael Brockley’s story performed by Michael Brockley.
• Freeing the Survivor: Lylanne Musselman’s story as told to Jackie Harris. Performed by Lylanne Musselman.
• Times to Make a Difference: Jay Zimmerman’s story as told to Kelsey Timmerman. Performed by Larry Beck.

Music –
• "Summer Sinners" by Jacket Thor. Released under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. From the Free Music Archive.
• "High Altitude Golden Sunset" by Pulse Emitter. Released under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. From the Free Music Archive.

Chapters – 

[00:00] Introduction
[04:24] Aloha Shirt Man Reflects Upon His Career.
[07:54] Aloha Shirt Man Thanks the Parents of His Students for Teaching Him Gratitude.
[10:04] Listener call-in.
[10:45] Freeing the Survivor.
[16:42] Each Day, poem by Lylanne Musselman.
[18:11] Listener call-ins.
[23:27] Remembering Jay Zimmerman and excerpt from Times to Make a Difference.
[25:05] Aloha Shirt Man Thanks the Students Who Made His School Psychology Career a Gift.
[27:46] Excerpt from Times to Make a Difference.

Original air date: Oct. 31, 2020

It’s been one year since a gunman opened fire in Dayton’s Oregon District, killing nine people and injuring 27. It was the 233rd mass shooting of 2019 . . . and one of 107 in the Midwest.

Join J.R. Jamison and Kelsey Timmerman as they hear from three survivors from that night, and sit down with Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley to discuss A Shooting in the Heartland.

Stories
• Like the Book of Job: Dion Green’s story as told to Ria Megnin. Performed by Kasaahn Johnson.
• Unwritten Books: Tom McMurtry’s story as told to Rick Gebhart. Performed by Saul Caplan.
• Somebody’s Child: Jason Phillips’s story as told to Whitney Bell. Performed by Chris Hahn.

Music Used in this Episode
• "I'm What You'd Be Without Her" by Doctor Turtle. Released under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. From the Free Music Archive.

Chapters

[00:00] Introduction.

[01:47] Mashup of stories Like the Book of Job, Unwritten Books, and Somebody’s Child.

[18:42] Interview with Dayton Mayor, Nan Whaley.

Content advisory: Please note there are descriptions of violence from 05;09 through 13;00. 

Original air date: Jul. 25, 2020

Host J.R. Jamison sits down with award-winning photographer, author, and peace activist John Noltner to talk about photography as a form of storytelling that explores the common humanity that unites us, and they discuss Noltner’s latest book, Lessons on the Road to Peace, that covers his 45,000-mile journey across the U.S.

Chapters

[00:00] Introduction

[02:27] Interview with John Noltner

[03:50] On photography as storytelling.

[07:11] On peace and A Peace of My Mind.

[26:02] On stories that stay with you and building trust.

[37:24] Advice for storytellers and maintaining mental health.

[43:06] On being on the road.

[57:12] What's next?

[59:17] How do we create a more empathetic world?

Original air date: Apr. 27, 2024

The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, and the subsequent protests, have brought to the forefront a renewed conversation on Black lives and the injustices BIPOC folks face each day.

But this time, will there be change?

Join J.R., Kelsey, and special guest WaTasha Barnes Griffin as they discuss Living While Black in the U.S.A.

Stories

• It Shouldn’t Matter
  WaTasha Barnes Griffin’s story as told to Seth Carrier-Ladd from Facing Racism in Muncie Indiana.
  Performed by Amanda Hummer.

Music Used in this Episode

Chapters

[00:00] Introduction

[02:09] It Shouldn’t Matter. WaTasha Barnes Griffin’s story as told to Seth Carrier-Ladd from Facing Racism in Muncie Indiana. Performed by Amanda Hummer.

[09:58] Interview with WaTasha Barnes Griffin.

[16:09] WaTasha Barnes Griffin's address to the community and leaders at a 2020 forum on racial injustice in Muncie, Indiana.

[26:12] Interview with WaTasha Barnes Griffin continues.

Content advisory: At 7:03, 7:05, 7:18, and 8:06, strong language is not censored in order to accurately portray the context of the topic.

Original air date: Jun. 27, 2020

Half of today’s students are the first in their families to attend college. But at a time when college is more expensive than ever, how do these students succeed?

On this show, a first-generation student who works 30 hours a week to support her family while balancing classes shares her experience with us; and we sit down with Mary Henley, Director of Pathways to Academic Student Success at Central Michigan University, and one of the administrators who helped the student on her journey.

Join J.R. and Kelsey as they discuss First But Never Alone. 

Stories
• 47,000 Things: An anonymous story from Facing College at Central Michigan University. Performed by Amanda Hummer.

Music Used in This Episode
• "Rondo" by Pierce Murphy. Released under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. From the Free Music Archive. 

Chapters

[00:00] Announcing weekly podcast encores!

[00:51] Introduction

[05:23] 47,000 Things: An anonymous story from Facing College at Central Michigan University. Performed by Amanda Hummer.

[10:43] Interview with Mary Henley, Director of Pathways to Academic Student Success at Central Michigan University.

Original air date: May 30, 2020

J.R. Jamison is joined by author and educator Jill Christman to discuss her new memoir, The Heart Folds Early, a story of transformation through tragedy, and an examination of the ways in which great loss can make us simultaneously fearful and intrepid.

Emerging from a childhood that included both devastating sexual abuse and the sustaining joy of being deeply (if imperfectly) loved, Jill Christman’s sights were set on building and protecting her own happy family—until her fiancé was killed in a car accident. In The Heart Folds Early, Christman examines the mournful recklessness of the young widow she was against the backdrop of her later marriage and new motherhood, including the choice to end a half-term pregnancy when a routine ultrasound revealed her baby boy had just half a heart.

Courageous, clear-eyed, tender, and unexpectedly funny, Christman reflects on her life and asks: What happens when we’re afraid the worst thing will happen and then, sometimes, it does? And how do we carry life and death in our bodies and survive with our hearts intact?

Chapters
[00:00] Introduction. 
[01:26] Interview with Jill Christman. 
[07:15] Space and time to let a story unfold. 
[11:34] Exploring the ground between fear and hope. 
[22:06] Advice and educating young writers and those needing to process their experience. 
[28:14] The themes of permission and choice. 
[37:36] Balance of levity and understanding emotional topics. 
[44:58] Using different writing approaches for different stories. 

Original air date: Mar 28, 2026

J.R. Jamison is joined by Trina Moyles to explore the fragility of our relationships with human and nonhuman species alike, and the imperative to protect the wild—along with the people we hold closest—through her new memoir, Black Bear. 

After years of working for human rights organizations, Trina Moyles returned to northern Alberta for a job as a fire tower lookout, while her brother Brendan worked in the oil sands, vulnerable to a boom-and-bust economy and substance addiction. When she was assigned to a tower in a wildlife corridor, bears were alarmingly visible and plentiful, wandering meters away on the other side of an electrified fence surrounding the tower. Over four summers, Trina begins to move beyond fear and observe the extraordinary essence of the maligned black bear—a keystone species who is as subject to the environmental consequences of the oil economy as humans. At the same time, she searches for common ground with Brendan on the land that bonded them. 

Chapters
[00:00] Introduction.
[01:36] Interview with Trina Moyles.
[09:07] Why the black bear specifically fit as a symbol for telling this story.
[16:22] Parallels between our current moment and the relationship between bear and humans.
[24:23] Understanding something different from us while not inaccurately personifying them.
[33:39] Allowing for protection while helping others in need.
[46:17] The passage of time as a factor in understanding.
[53:19] Advice for those trying to connect with others with differences.

Original air date: Feb. 28, 2026