“But like being a father, I have to excel at that because a lot of people were expecting me not to.” Joel was born and raised in the Bronx. He is the author of A Book About Things I Will Tell My Daughter and God Wears Durags Too. His recent TED talk on co-parenting is recommended viewing for everyone who listens to this episode. https://twitter.com/joelakamag https://www.instagram.com/joelakamag

“But like being a father, I have to excel at that because a lot of people were expecting me not to.” Joel was born and raised in the Bronx. He is the author of A Book About Things I Will Tell My Daughter and God Wears Durags Too. His recent TED talk on co-parenting is recommended viewing for everyone who listens to this episode. https://twitter.com/joelakamag https://www.instagram.com/joelakamag

“I truly believed that we had gotten Bruce Springsteen to commit to this benefit compilation. And so when I went to present that to the group, I went back through my emails and there was no such communication.” Kasey currently serves as a program coordinator for a recovery services nonprofit in Portland, Oregon. Between around 2004 and 2013, he was best known as a recording artist, releasing a string of three solo albums and two with his band Kasey Anderson and the...

“I truly believed that we had gotten Bruce Springsteen to commit to this benefit compilation. And so when I went to present that to the group, I went back through my emails and there was no such communication.” Kasey currently serves as a program coordinator for a recovery services nonprofit in Portland, Oregon. Between around 2004 and 2013, he was best known as a recording artist, releasing a string of three solo albums and two with his band Kasey Anderson and the...

“I didn't feel like, oh, I need to call my lawyer or anything like that. I felt like I was totally with it. And then I did the breathalyzer and I can't remember exactly what number I blew, but it was like, I think, two times the legal limit. And I thought, this machine is broken.” When Abby retired from professional soccer in 2015, she was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, World Cup champion, and the all-time leader in goal scoring for the U.S. Women’s National Team. Today, she is also known...

“I didn't feel like, oh, I need to call my lawyer or anything like that. I felt like I was totally with it. And then I did the breathalyzer and I can't remember exactly what number I blew, but it was like, I think, two times the legal limit. And I thought, this machine is broken.” When Abby retired from professional soccer in 2015, she was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, World Cup champion, and the all-time leader in goal scoring for the U.S. Women’s National Team. Today, she is also known...

“And then all the emotions sort of flowed and I started crying in a way I don't think I have since or probably didn't before. I was just sort of heaving and then I thought, wow, this is going to ruin me. This is the end of my life. You know?” Darin lives in New York City. His memoir Half a Life won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography in 2011, and his latest book is called The Queen of Tuesday: A Lucille Ball Story. https://twitter.com/Darinstrauss

“And then all the emotions sort of flowed and I started crying in a way I don't think I have since or probably didn't before. I was just sort of heaving and then I thought, wow, this is going to ruin me. This is the end of my life. You know?” Darin lives in New York City. His memoir Half a Life won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography in 2011, and his latest book is called The Queen of Tuesday: A Lucille Ball Story. https://twitter.com/Darinstrauss

“We would also be very conscious of preaching anti-communism because people were saying that the African National Congress, you know, former President Mandela's political party, they were really not liberation fighters, they were terrorists.” Wilhelm is a facilitator and researcher based at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. A dedicated peace activist, he is also the author of several books, including most recently Verwoerd: My Journey Through Family Betrayals.

“We would also be very conscious of preaching anti-communism because people were saying that the African National Congress, you know, former President Mandela's political party, they were really not liberation fighters, they were terrorists.” Wilhelm is a facilitator and researcher based at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. A dedicated peace activist, he is also the author of several books, including most recently Verwoerd: My Journey Through Family Betrayals.

“So it's not necessarily an overnight thing. And the only person, the only person or people who get to decide if a person should be forgiven, are the ones harmed.” Season two of The Confessional is coming very, very soon. In the meantime, I invited my good friend Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg on the show to offer a different perspective on repentance and forgiveness. Danya is the author of seven books including most recently Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears,...

“So it's not necessarily an overnight thing. And the only person, the only person or people who get to decide if a person should be forgiven, are the ones harmed.” Season two of The Confessional is coming very, very soon. In the meantime, I invited my good friend Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg on the show to offer a different perspective on repentance and forgiveness. Danya is the author of seven books including most recently Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears,...

“You know, it was like very hot - with that particular hotness of a terrible, terrible thing driven by desperation beyond the immediate situation.” Melissa is a literary phenom who has won a gazillion awards for her incisive, honest, colorful writing.  Her third book, Girlhood comes out in the Spring of 2021. I was her camp counselor for 3 years when she was in middle school. https://twitter.com/melissafebos https://www.instagram.com/melissafebos/

“You know, it was like very hot - with that particular hotness of a terrible, terrible thing driven by desperation beyond the immediate situation.” Melissa is a literary phenom who has won a gazillion awards for her incisive, honest, colorful writing.  Her third book, Girlhood comes out in the Spring of 2021. I was her camp counselor for 3 years when she was in middle school. https://twitter.com/melissafebos https://www.instagram.com/melissafebos/

“I held Nate's face as far away from me as I could so that he couldn't hit me. And then with my right hand I tried to destroy him” Mishka has an MFA in writing, but prefers to live out of his van while touring as a musician. He is a storyteller, a songwriter, and a shipwreck survivor. https://twitter.com/MishkaShubaly/ https://www.instagram.com/mishkashubaly/?hl=en

“I held Nate's face as far away from me as I could so that he couldn't hit me. And then with my right hand I tried to destroy him” Mishka has an MFA in writing, but prefers to live out of his van while touring as a musician. He is a storyteller, a songwriter, and a shipwreck survivor. https://twitter.com/MishkaShubaly/ https://www.instagram.com/mishkashubaly/?hl=en

“I just was super hungry sexually. I was super out there. I just didn't want to be the victim. You know, I wanted to run the show. And I did.” Amy has a degree in comparative religion from Harvard, but most folks know her as a famous actress. She’s a mom, a producer, an activist and the host of The Challengers Podcast. https://twitter.com/AmyBrenneman  https://www.instagram.com/amybrenneman/

“I just was super hungry sexually. I was super out there. I just didn't want to be the victim. You know, I wanted to run the show. And I did.” Amy has a degree in comparative religion from Harvard, but most folks know her as a famous actress. She’s a mom, a producer, an activist and the host of The Challengers Podcast. https://twitter.com/AmyBrenneman  https://www.instagram.com/amybrenneman/

"So I just googled, 'how to tell if your boyfriend is a Satan worshiper.'" Eric lives in Baltimore with his husband. He’s a playwright, a columnist for Elle, and the author of Here For It, a book of essays about how to save your soul in America. https://twitter.com/oureric https://www.instagram.com/oureric/

"So I just googled, 'how to tell if your boyfriend is a Satan worshiper.'" Eric lives in Baltimore with his husband. He’s a playwright, a columnist for Elle, and the author of Here For It, a book of essays about how to save your soul in America. https://twitter.com/oureric https://www.instagram.com/oureric/

“On the playground, people would be singing this song, Yo Mama's on Crack Rock. … And I love that song because I love chanting it and everything. And I also loathe that song because it was my truth. I grew up in the height of crack cocaine in poverty, and my mother was on crack rock.” Theresa lives in Princeton, NY with her beloved Kenny and their insane dog. Having a Doctorate, a Masters and a faculty position at Princeton is cool and everything, but Theresa believes there should be more...

“I came into software development relatively late in life. You know, I'm in my mid 40s and my training actually started in 2014 inside the walls of San Quentin.” Chris is the founder and developer of Fitness Monkey, an app that encourages the physical fitness of addicts in recovery. https://twitter.com/nukeSchuhmacher https://www.instagram.com/nukeschuhmacher/

“I run into someone in Boulder, and they're like you want to do some speed? And I was like, ‘hell, yeah.’ And I do some speed, and I just fall off the map.... I didn't see my daughter for 13 years after that.” Lenny now lives in Vancouver, Washington where he is doing the crazy thing of starting a new church. His book, Dear Church, a Love Letter From A Black Preacher to The Whitest Denomination in America, is alternately tender and scathing and non-stop...