“Cash can’t solve everything. But it can solve everything that has to do with cash.” Michael Tubbs became the youngest mayor of any major city in US history – at the age of 26. He immediately made poverty his number one issue. In 2017, as the newly elected mayor of Stockton, California, he recognized that lack of money was the root cause of most of the problems in his community. But what can the government do to alleviate poverty? Michael’s answer – give cash directly to people experiencing...

“If we want to address the climate crisis, we have to heal our relationship with the land. And part of that looks like returning lands to indigenous people.” Within the movement to solve the climate crisis, there is a generational divide. Established leaders are doggedly working within the system. But younger activists want FASTER progress — and deeper changes. After all, young people will have to face the greatest effects of climate change. They feel the URGENCY — and thus often have some...

“People asked me hard questions. They asked, if Trump wants to do a press conference with you about Rodney Reed’s case, would you appear with him – if it meant stopping the execution of Rodney Reed?” If you know Shaun King, you know him as one of America’s staunchest advocates for racial justice in the digital age. One of the most controversial as well. After all, his viral videos have transformed the global conversation about police misconduct and racial violence. But you may not know that...

"[Homelessness] has become a humanitarian crisis. It has become an emergency that I believe needs to be addressed with the same mentality that you would address a natural disaster. I mean, this is Los Angeles. We have the skills, the knowledge and the resources." Karen Bass is going back to where it all began: Los Angeles, California. After an extensive and impressive tenure in Congress, Karen Bass is running for Mayor of LA. She has big goals and tangible plans to make them happen. At the...

“How can you hate me if you don’t even know me?” This is the question that Daryl Davis has spent much of his life trying to answer. Daryl is a Black musician who spends a surprising amount of time with members of the Ku Klux Klan. How and why does he do this?! Over the last 30 years, Daryl has interviewed senior Klan members, attended Klan rallies and even made friends with Klansmen. In the process, he’s convinced many of them to renounce their affiliation to the KKK and give up their...

This week, Van Jones tackles these questions and more with Bill Bratton, the former police commissioner of New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston. Bratton was associated with the controversial “Broken Windows” and “Stop & Frisk” approaches. Later in his career, he experimented with more community-based approaches to policing. He talks about his decades of law enforcement experience with surprising candor and self-reflection. Van (a criminal justice advocate) and Bratton (a former Top Cop)...

This episode might deserve a warning label: “SHOCKING TRUTHS—SERVED EXCEEDINGLY HOT.” Van is joined this week by Charlamagne Tha God and Tezlyn Figaro, two influential voices in media and in the Black community. His guests expose a white-hot level of frustration in the Black community—one that could upend the next two elections. Democrats hold the White House and Congress, but the party’s slow legislative progress has left many of its base voters— especially Black voters— exceedingly...

Maxine Waters has been serving in Congress for more than 30 years. In that time, she’s built a reputation as someone who calls it like she sees it. But she doesn’t shy away from reaching across the aisle and working with Republicans, when it means she can pass bills that will improve the lives of all Americans. In this episode, Rep. Waters gives an insider’s perspective on Washington and leadership, and the problems she’s using her position to solve. She shares the importance of standing for...

It’s an unlikely friendship: Van, a climate advocate, and Cecil Roberts, the president of the United Mine Workers of America. Many assume that coal miners and climate activists must be at odds. But in this episode, Van and Cecil challenge that assumption. As climate activists push for more reforms and a move to cleaner energy, can coal be part of a greener future? Van and Cecil will get to the heart of the matter — finding some solutions that just might work for everyone.

Will Be Wild is a new 8-part series about the forces that led to the January 6th insurrection and what comes next. Through in-depth stories from a wide range of characters – from people who tried to stop the attack to those who took part – hosts Andrea Bernstein and Ilya Marritz explore the ongoing effort to bring autocracy to America, the lasting damage that effort is doing to our democracy, and the fate of our attempts to combat those anti-democratic forces. Because January 6th wasn't the...

“I started to realize the political discourse nationally is not representative of the American people at all. It's what's best for TV or social media. It's good for a headline, but it's not good for actual people.” Two unlikely allies in the environmental movement – Michelle Romero, a liberal leader at Green For All, and Benji Backer, a conservative leader at the American Conservation Coalition – prove that certain problems, like the climate crisis, are bigger than political parties. Join...

Newt Gingrich might be best known for his strong opinions and fierce partisanship. But he’s also a deeply patriotic thinker who is open to finding common ground where it counts. Can blockchain technology increase trust in our elections? Can we place satellites in space to beam solar power to Earth? These are just a couple of the creative solutions Van and Newt explore. Can the Left and Right unite to save American democracy? Can Van and Newt? Tune in to find out.

Van sits down with one of his closest allies in the fight for criminal justice reform: Kim Kardashian. Kim gives a behind-the-scenes look at how she pursues justice for those behind bars, how her approach to criminal justice reform has evolved, and how a hypothetical “President Kardashian” would revolutionize the system.

How does someone go from producing comedy blockbusters, like The Hangover, to helping to pass landmark criminal justice reform? For Scott Budnick, it was all about taking that first step: saying ‘YES.’ He started out teaching a writing class at a juvenile hall. Now Budnick is the founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which helps people coming out of jail and prison access support. In this episode, we dig into the ways that Scott has connected with people from ALL political backgrounds and...

Former California Surgeon General, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, joins Van to answer listener questions about how to handle the adverse effects of the pandemic on children.

Van sits down with Dr. Robin DiAngelo, bestselling author of White Fragility and Nice Racism, to discuss the history of racism in America, how we got to where we are today, and how we can approach these difficult but necessary conversations – so we can forge a better future.

This week, Van Jones sits down with Phillip Agnew, founder of Black Men Build. Phillip challenges Van on his decision to form an alliance with the Trump Administration and other Republicans to reform the criminal justice system. Van questions Phillip on his stated commitment to abolishing the prison system in its present form. In exploring this tricky territory, the two long-time activists examine paths to racial justice that are both complementary and conflictual.

“We have to be more transparent, more honest, more vulnerable, more willing to confront our mistakes than ever before, because we're in this context where lies can become truth with great ease.” Malkia Cyril - activist, writer, and founding director of the non-profit Media Justice - has deeply considered answers.

“Freedom has never been free, and it shouldn’t be. We get independence through recognition of our interdependency.” Van sits down with Sean Penn to discuss questions of freedom and responsibility, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"To live in a system of free enterprise, and to not understand the rules of free enterprise, must be the very definition of slavery." The racial wealth divide in America is a huge problem. So what do two Black men, both of whom have access to enough capital to actually make a difference, think we should do about it?

Uncommon Ground with Van Jones will be back soon with more inspiration, solutions and great guests like Kim Kardashian, Sean Penn, John Hope Bryant, and more. Here's a quick preview of what's to come!

“The media, and the nature of our politics right now, relies on binary division. And you're defined more by your enemies than you are by your friends.” What happens when you no longer feel at home in your own political party? How do you handle it at a personal, emotional level? And how do you vote? In this episode, Van and S.E. Cupp grapple with these questions and more. A long-time political commentator and host of the CNN show Unfiltered, S.E. is a lifelong conservative.

“I'm not saying the South doesn't have problems with race. It does. But it allows the rest of the country to point at one place and be like, that right there–that's the racist part. When racism is very much an American problem.” You may have a particular image of a white southern male. They sound a certain way — therefore they must think and vote a certain way. But comedian, Trae Crowder, is complicating that image.

These days it's easy to feel overwhelmed and stuck. Visionaries, like Van's guest will.i.am, show us a better path forward. In this episode, musician, philanthropist and futurist will.i.am discusses innovations the future may hold.

“If I can feed people in the good times, why can I not put my talents to use to serve people in the not so good times?” In their first conversation since each receiving Jeff Bezos’ Courage & Civility Award — a $100,000,000 grant to further their charitable efforts — Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, sits down with Van.