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Are you concerned about the future? Tired of divisiveness? Join political commentator and changemaker Van Jones on a journey to find unifying solutions to our country’s biggest problems. Each week, Van and his guests explore topics that affect us all—from climate change to prison reform, from voting rights to political polarization. In Uncommon Ground with Van Jones, you’ll hear inspiring, hopeful and unique perspectives on what it takes to create meaningful change and foster productive dial ...
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In this final installment of the podcast, Van thanks the Uncommon Ground community for joining him on this journey. Some doubted that anyone could do a successful podcast based solely on finding positive solutions, deepening understanding and bringing people together across lines of difference. But we're happy to report: measured by downloads, Unco…
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“Yes, the system is broken. But the solution lies not in dismantling it or burning it down, but in finding solutions that have been shown to work. We should focus on the bread-and-butter issues. Most rank-and-file Democrats are practical and not ideological. Most of them have no Twitter accounts. They worry about the cost of housing, healthcare, an…
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In this season’s final bonus episode, we wanted to make sure you got a chance to hear from some incredible young people who are trying to save the Earth. Last year, Van went to COP26 (the UN Climate Change Conference) held in Glasgow, Scotland. There he met with Jerome Foster, Kevin Patel, Chante Harris, Alexandria Villaseñor, Kevin Mtai, and other…
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It is exceedingly rare these days for two national voices on opposite sides of the political spectrum to come together and have an honest, respectful exchange of views. Many on the right believe that progressives want to abuse government power to punish them for their views. Many on the left feel under constant assault from the right. It is increas…
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In this special bonus episode, Van moves into the guest seat for an interview with comedian and author Chelsea Handler. The conversation took place in 2018 while Chelsea was filming her Netflix documentary: Hello, Privilege. It's Me, Chelsea. Chelsea’s goal was to explore the impacts of ‘white privilege’ on American culture. In the intervening year…
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“So many people in politics, they've all got opinions. My job is not to be about my opinions. My job is to go out and listen to other people's opinions.” What shot does Donald Trump have at re-election? What do Republicans really think about Ron DeSantis? How are people feeling about the Biden Presidency? What issues are really keeping Americans up…
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"There's that quote: ‘First I was smart, and I tried to change the world. Then I got wise, and I tried to change myself.’ What I've leaned into now is: let me stop soap-boxing and telling everyone else what to do. And let me start looking at myself. I was a fraud in many ways because I felt that I had to represent the thing, but I didn't have to be…
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“I've seen situations, which are far worse than our situation, where the impossible became possible. I saw the Berlin wall come down. I was in South Africa in 1989 when Mandela was still in prison. And within six years there was an astonishing political transformation in South Africa. Even in the Middle East, Israel and Egypt forged a peace that en…
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“Failure is not the opposite of success. It's a stepping stone to success. If we're lucky, we get 30,000 days to play the game of life. How we spend those 30,000 days depends on what we value. And if we are disconnected from our spiritual essence, it is so much easier to value things that will never really fulfill us.” This week, Van is joined by A…
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“What am I going to do to create lasting positive transformation? Everyone has that opportunity. And I think everyone should recognize that you should not ever quit or doubt your ability to make something positive happen.” You might know Aloe Blacc as a famous musician. But did you know that he’s also an activist, a non-profit founder, and a biotec…
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“What's being sold today is that one side is good, and the other side is bad. That one side is racist, and the other side is not. There's just nothing further from the truth.” Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is up for reelection this fall. Many speculate that he will run for president one day soon. Scott is one of only three Black United States…
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“Because there were so few people who looked like me in my business throughout my career, I've been so cautious about drawing attention to my ethnicity, to my gender. To bring these issues to the fore has been very uncomfortable, but necessary. I hope that I've inspired people in my own community to no longer be content to sit on the sidelines. It'…
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“You have a bold generation now that you can tap into. Younger people. They are ready to go toe-to-toe with whomever on an idea that they feel passionate about. And a lot of the ideas could help us be the America that we claim to be.” TikTok is becoming the social media home of a new generation of activists, while older folks debate politics on Fac…
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“It is very clear that we are on the precipice – two years, three years, ten years max – that some of these disruptive technologies will fundamentally threaten the way we presently exist on the planet, in the way that nuclear weapons did when you and I were growing up. That transformation is scary, but it's also ripe with opportunity.” This week Va…
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“To be queer and come out in 1985 when I'm 16 years-old, and be thrust into the AIDS crisis and fighting for our lives on the front lines…Silence does equal death...I don't know anything else, but to fight. I do understand that as a queer Black man in this space who has been unapologetic from the beginning, there is a responsibility for me to conti…
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“While people are occasionally motivated to do wonderful things on the basis of their faith, faith generally speaking provides bad reasons to do good things when good reasons are actually available.” Can a Christian and an Atheist have a civil and constructive dialogue about the future? For the past 20 years, neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harr…
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“You have this phenomenal wealth-generation going on. Yet you still have so much of the country totally left out – half the country, if not more, thinking the American dream isn't gonna be available for their kids.” U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna is an uncommon Congressperson. He represents California’s 17th district – a district with one of the highest conce…
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“I do not have the privilege to be partisan.” Get ready for a strong dose of inspiration from Van’s guest this week - Brittany K. Barnett. When Brittany was 17 years old, her mother went to prison for drugs. Although Brittany may not have known it at the time, this awful breakdown would lead her to a powerful breakthrough. Hear about Brittany’s jou…
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“I am pro-life. But Roe is a 40-year-old legal precedent. Respecting the rule of law, means I accept the decision. I don't want to celebrate abortion, but I don't want to demonize it, either. I'm the majority. It has never felt so lonely to be in a majority.” S.E. Cupp is back – this time to discuss abortion. Van is a pro-choice progressive. S.E. i…
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“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…
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“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 de…
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“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 …
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"[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 exte…
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“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 …
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Violent crime is on the rise across the country; relationships between community members and police remain strained and fractured. While we can all agree that something needs to be done about this, the question is - WHAT? Should we defund the police – or give them more money? Should we abolish the police – or increase police presence? Are there oth…
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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 …
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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…
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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…
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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 …
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“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 conservativ…
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“I worry some about the pure polarization – the Left versus the Right…But I worry equally about a lack of faith in the future.” 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 …
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“My whole life has been so much about me. And I'm at a place in my life where I don't care for that, the way that I used to. Now it's time to help other people. We shouldn't stop fighting for people that no one wants to fight for.” Van sits down with one of his closest allies in the fight for criminal justice reform: Kim Kardashian. Kim gives a beh…
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“I'm sitting on a mountaintop in Vegas. I should be super happy, with all the movie stars, shooting Hangover 3. But instead I wish I had been there for that kid.” 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:…
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“The thing that is most important for us as parents and caregivers is this: to be able to be there for our kids, we gotta take care of ourselves.” 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. What do you do if your child is neu…
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“This is a terrifying moment in our country – it's literally illegal to teach that racism exists. But most white people live segregated lives. And I think the most powerful message of white supremacy is that I could live, love, work, play, die in racial segregation with no sense whatsoever that anything of value has been lost.” There’s been a lot o…
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“The freedom of Black people is a big American question – can those two things coexist? Can the United States of America, as we know it, coexist with true Black freedom? It's a constant fight, and I don't think many people in this country are very free.” – Phillip Agnew It’s easy to complain about people and policies on the other side of the politi…
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“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.” What is the role of mercy, grace and redemption within movements for freedom? Malkia Cyril - activist, writer, and founding director of the non-profit Medi…
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“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. Most people know Sean Penn as an award-winning actor with a rebellious spirit, but his life work extends far beyon…
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"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? In this week’s episode, Van Jone…
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“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 Jones and S.E. Cupp grapple w…
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“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…
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“I was stuck in my neighborhood. I was stuck with no opportunity. But creativity is the way out. The same brain that creates a song can come up with concepts and pitch them to companies – or build programs to help kids in the inner city.” These days it's easy to feel overwhelmed and stuck. Visionaries, like Van's guest will.i.am, show us a better p…
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“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 for this rep…
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“The only thing that helps me is to feel like I'm holding hands with others who are remembering.” It seems like there are two types of people. Some are focused on fixing the external world – fighting to solve tough social problems. Other people are focused on healing their internal worlds – doing the spiritual work to deepen their own wisdom. What …
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“Today, people film high school fights on their cell phones — and post them online. Back in the day, things would happen in school. But that was just between you and the other person. Now you have thousands of people who've seen it, which pushes people to respond with violence.” Should Black Lives Matter expand their scope to address gun violence o…
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“We're at a crossroads right now, where I truly believe this is the reckoning.” With the Omicron variant spreading globally and Covid-related hospitalizations on the rise again, Van pulls back the curtain on a vaccination debate raging within the Black community. Arguments for and against the COVID-19 vaccine tend to play out differently among Afri…
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“Nobody's going to be changed by being judged or condescended to.” In this episode, Van is joined by comedian, actress, writer, and podcast host, Sarah Silverman. They talk about the need for empathy (even for hecklers or haters), and how the best way to start to love someone is to get to know them. Sarah shares about her love for apologizing. And …
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“Civility is key to civilization.” In this episode Van talks with Meghan McCain, columnist for The Daily Mail, author, and former co-host of The View, about the importance of recognizing the good in each political party and respecting those who have different perspectives. Van and Meghan’s friendship shows us that people with political differences …
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What if we start taxing the robots? What if we eliminate closed primary elections? What if we launch a new political party? In the fifth episode of Uncommon Ground, Van sits down with that supernova of solutions, Andrew Yang. During the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, Yang was a fount of fresh thinking -- including his proposal to give every Ameri…
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You may not have heard of LaTonya Myers — at least not yet. But Van Jones bets your heart and soul will be uplifted by discovering her story today. In the fourth episode of Uncommon Ground, Van sits down with the trailblazing young activist — who just won the Reebok International Human Rights Award for her incredible work to uplift urban communitie…
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