America, Who Hurt You? - The Meteor, Foment Productions

Latest Episodes:

No Person Is Illegal— Ask an Undocumented Citizen w. Jose Antonio Vargas Oct 30, 2024

With the election a week away, polls show immigration is a top issue for voters even though most Americans have no idea how our immigration system actually works, or how much our society depends on the contributions of immigrants, both documented and not. This week, Sarah sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and founder of Define American, Jose Antonio Vargas to break down some of the legal and personal barriers facing undocumented Americans. From limits on sponsoring family’s visas to how racism informs our perception of immigration, Jose highlights just how much humanity is missing from this discourse.

You can follow Sarah Jones, see pod updates, and respond to AWHY prompts @yesimsarahjones on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Send your responses to our weekly prompts to awhypod@gmail.com . This podcast was produced in collaboration with The Meteor.

Understanding Project 2025 Is the Ultimate "Black Job" w. Janai Nelson Oct 23, 2024

Project 2025 may be the Heritage Foundation’s plan for next year, but its strategies are built to set equality back decades, especially for groups already dealing with America’s legacy of discrimination. This week, host Sarah Jones is joined by Janai Nelson, the President and Director Council of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to break down Project 2025’s threat to Black communities. Whether you care about reproductive rights, justice reform, or equality in education, Janai explains how these policies will severely impact Black and brown Americans most of all.

Find out if you're registered to vote here!

Renewable Energy: How to Stay in the Climate Fight w. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Oct 15, 2024

This week on #AmericaWhoHurtYou, author and climate policy expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (@ayanaeliza ) is ringing the alarm about the climate crisis, but in a way that offers real solutions, including how to do our small part in practical ways AND hold the biggest climate culprits (hiii fossil fuel execs and paid for politicians!) accountable. Spoiler alert: we have to VOTE both with our ballots and our dollars.

Get Ayana's Book Here for 20% Off with Code AYANA20

Fill out your Climate Action Venn Diagram here!

And find out how to divest your retirement from fossil fuels here!

Don’t miss this must-listen conversation that will give you a helpful to-do list and even an anti-apocalypse playlist! Tune in wherever you get your podcasts, and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review!

White Women for the Win? The Politics of America’s Biggest Voting Block w. Shannon Watts Oct 09, 2024

Years of exit polls tell us that the outcome of this election may come down to white women who, at 40%, make up the majority of the entire electorate. But what can be done about the fact that white women have a track record of voting more conservatively in the majority of presidential elections since 1950, even when a fellow white woman was an option? This week, host Sarah Jones talks to activist and organizer Shannon Watts about the often overlooked power white women hold in politics and why it’s so consistently leveraged against their own interests.

Escape the Manosphere w. Liz Plank Oct 02, 2024

Our second ever female candidate is running for the highest office in the land– and the gender divide among Americans is at an all time high. This week, host Sarah Jones talks with Liz Plank, (a.k.a. Feministabulous) about the murky waters dividing men and women, and how to bridge across them in time to save democracy. If you’re tired of running into the same road blocks every time you talk with a man about feminism, then Liz and Sarah are here to help!

Who Deserves a Clean Slate? w. Sheena Meade Sep 25, 2024

“Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” But how long after serving their prison sentence should we punish people? And in an economy fueled in large part by the prison industrial complex, what kind of crimes should warrant keeping a person unemployed, unhoused, and in a cycle of poverty? This week, host Sarah Jones talks to Sheena Meade, the director of the Clean Slate Initiative, about the barriers Americans face when they’re no longer behind bars.

How Well Is The Wellness Industry? w. Jameela Jamil Sep 11, 2024

Supplements, and Gut Health, and Ozempic , Oh My! The wellness industry has no shortage of solutions for what ails us. But in a saturated market it feels nearly impossible to tell the fish oil from the snake oil—and whether the problem is really our physical health, or something much bigger…and more political. On this episode, host Sarah Jones talks with actress and activist Jameela Jamil about true wellness, “It’s affection. It's time with loved ones…It is not waiting to rest when you are dead. Or when you're older. It is learning to be present. And none of that can be sold in a tincture bottle.”

How to Start (and Sustain) a Lifetime of Activism w. Jane Fonda Sep 04, 2024

With our planet (and therefore everyone on it) in crisis, how do we keep our heads above rising sea levels while demanding a sustainable future…not just for billionaires with bunkers? This week, Sarah Jones asks Academy Award winner and climate activist Jane Fonda how she keeps up the good fight after decades of activism filled with both successes and setbacks. From the moments that prepared her to speak out against the Vietnam War to the strategies that keep her advocating for (and learning from) intersecting social justice issues, Jane offers iconic inspiration to keep moving toward a better world.

For more info about our prompt, check out this article on the calming power of humming here!

Who Cares About the "Care Economy"? w. Ai-jen Poo Aug 28, 2024

This week Sarah and labor organizer, Ai-jen Poo, dive into the “care economy” and how we’re all part of it, even if we don’t know what it is

Let's Get This (Third) Party Started w. Maurice Mitchell Aug 21, 2024

In a world defined by voters fed up with the binary options of our two-party system, is there a third way that’s not…delulu? In this episode, Sarah talks with Maurice Mitchell, the national director of The Working Families Party, about how to build a robust third party without ignoring the very real math problem third party candidates can pose in America’s intensely polarized elections. Maurice gets into the community support it takes to reach long term political goals—without letting democracy do a swan dive off the top of the top of the Capitol Building.

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being w. Jonathan Metzl Aug 14, 2024

Ok, white people, how y’all doing? Cause the data is in, and the answer for some of you seems to be… not great. In this episode, Sarah is joined by Jonathan Metzl, a researcher who investigates the impact of right-wing health care and gun control policies on their white supporters. Jonathan’s books Dying of Whiteness and What We’ve Become reveal the history of how working-class white Americans have been convinced to support these policies—even at their own expense. Also, despite the schadenfreude people of color get from white folks experiencing the consequences of their own harmful policies, as Jonathan says, “either we all rise together, or we fall together.”

Debating Trans Rights? Maybe Talk to Trans People... w. Laverne Cox Aug 07, 2024

The debate about trans rights is everywhere, from sports headlines to school board politics, but the people shouting the loudest are almost never trans folks themselves and often don’t even know any trans folks. So now more than ever, we all need to show up for our trans siblings. In this episode, Sarah Jones is joined by the incomparable actress and trans rights activist, Laverne Cox to discuss the monsoon of misinformation that our media uses to fearmonger about what exactly trans rights (and the attack on them) means for all of us, regardless of how we identify.

Harriet Tubman Would Never, with W. Kamau Bell Jul 31, 2024

In this episode, host Sarah Jones is joined by comedian, author, and “political provocateur” W. Kamau Bell to talk about the struggles and contradictions of living in America, especially as a Black man. “My joke is that whenever I think about am I going too far, the ghost of Harriet Tubman shows up and is like, Oh, is it hard to Tweet? Is it hard to Instagram?” Maybe it’s not, but how do we stay informed without going crazy? And how do we get involved while also, you know, leading our lives?

You can follow W. Kamau Bell on Instagram and get updates about his work at wkamaubell.com.

BONUS: Meet the Host — or Should We Say Hosts… Jul 24, 2024

The hosts of America, Who Hurt You? are all trapped in the Tony-winning brain of Sarah Jones, who over the years has created a multiracial, multi-generational cast of characters based on her own family and friends (who weirdly still talk to her). In this bonus episode, she reveals more than she ever has about her own story, and why this personal and political podcast felt so important to create.

Are You There, God? w. Krista Tippett Jul 24, 2024

America allegedly observes a separation of church and state, but if you’ve bought anything with a U.S. dollar, pledged allegiance to the flag, or just lived through an election season, you know it’s more complicated than that. In this episode, Sarah talks with On Being host Krista Tippett about her own religious journey, her “hellfire and brimstone” grandfather, and the past, present, and uncertain future of religion and politics. (“I do not think that one Tuesday in November is the only day that is going to matter in terms of how we turn out,” she says.) Whether you’re mid crisis-of-faith or you’ve never given it much thought, this conversation dives into the deeply personal role faith plays in all our lives—and might even make you start smiling at strangers.

You can follow Krista Tippett's podcast, On Being wherever you get your pods, and keep up to date with the show on Instagram and Facebook.