Habits and Hustle - Wondery: Uncommon Ground with Van Jones

Episode Date: October 27, 2021

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 in a divided nation. New episodes of Uncommon Ground with Van Jones are released weekly, every Wednesday. Listen here: wondery.fm/UG_HabitsandHustle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by FX's The Bear. The hit series returns with Jeremy Allen White and the Golden Globe winning role of Carmie. He and the team will transform their family sandwich shop into a next-level spot, all while being forced to come together in new ways as they confront their past and reckon with who they want to be in the future. FX is The Bear, all episodes now streaming only on Hulu. In the new Amazon original podcast, Uncommon Ground with Van Jones, news commentator Van

Jones explores issues that affect us all, from climate change to racial inequality to the state of our democracy. If you're looking for hope and real solutions that can unite us, join Van and his guests on the journey to find uncommon ground. You're about to hear a preview of uncommon ground with Van Jones, with guest Jose Andre. This is a show about what it takes to make meaningful change in a divided nation. Make sure to follow and listen to uncommon ground on Amazon music, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen. It seems like a local crisis can sometimes it bring out good in people.

But then we have these global crises that seem to bring out bad in people. What do the people, when you talk about the global crisis of COVID and climate change, all these big disasters that are coming and coming and coming. What do you wish that the people who are dealing with those big global disasters would learn from the people who are so beautifully dealing with these local disasters? That's a deep question. Listen, are you always tell people that some of the very big problems, they have very simple solutions?

And that food and water is very simple to see. The urgency of now in terms of water and food is yesterday. Every day you wait is one day people are suffering, especially after hurricanes with a lot of heat. Water is not only essential, but it's every second we wait to bring in water to those men and women we are putting in lives at risk. So what we try to do, obviously, as an organization, where I still very small, what Sandra Kitchen has, I think 50, 60 people only on payroll. And look, we responded in Haiti, close to 20, 25,000 meals a day, probably more. We responded in New Orleans at the same time. We've, I think, reached over 35,000, 40,000 meals a day, we are only able to do this with

locals. We come from the outside because we need to be coming with a coolness and the support that outsiders can bring, but outsiders will never be as successful if it was not for the help of the people that know best, which are the locals. I remember Lebanon, we were able to respond within 12 hours to the big explosion that destroyed that big part of the route. Why were we able to respond into a power? Well, because we had already ex-volunteers that were Lebanese and were in the root, but because the local restaurants, they wanted to debate with us. We put 10 restaurants around the circles, surrounding the explosion. Within one day, we were doing close to 20,000 meals a day from firefighters to volunteers,

to hospitals, etc. So you see, we are not trying trying use to say we know better. I know that when FEMA, the men and women of FEMA are good people, it's only like sometimes the the red tape that big government agencies have are not in the business of solving the problems of the people today. And this is some of the problems we only need to redefine the meaning of emergency. That's the only thing I keep asking everybody. I want to move on and second to this. The money, you can see now, why Jeff Bezos wants you to have a rocket ship of money behind you. But I think

your secret ingredient, kind of like with stone soup, you know, that story where, you know, the person shows up and nobody wants to feed him, so he puts a big bowl of water and so I was boiling the water. He puts one stone in there. People say, hey, what are you doing? And everybody, well, I'm making some stone soup, but if I had some carrots, if I had some celery, whatever. So eventually everybody puts their food in that big boiling pot, and it's the best meal anybody's ever had, I think the stone in your stone soup is joy and hope. You're not just bringing the physical atoms

and molecules of nutritious food. You're bringing something else. You're bringing a spirit, you're bringing joy. How do you maintain this energy and this enthusiasm and this love and the fun that you have in the middle of all this bad stuff you see? Listen, obviously I have a wife that I don't deserve. She's my rock and she likes to be always

on the sidelines and behind everything. But without her, I wouldn't have the support at every level that I need to do what I do. My little drop of water in this ocean of need. But I think her, my daughter, she's one of the reasons, right? Watching how they get involved, gives me joy. And I do believe it's very important that we all do little bit more to really understand the world we live in. Because I do believe the American dream is real. But I think we need to change it. We need to call it the world we live in. Because I do believe the American dream is real,

but I think we need to change it. We need to call it the new American dream. And the new American dream must be that you are looking to provide for others, you don't know, the same thing you're looking to provide for your own. We are talking about walls, and I know this is becoming very political, but we all need to be more pragmatic. I can put my daughters behind walls and trying to think I'm protecting them.

But then they're gonna be knowing sink of what's really happening around those walls, outside those walls. And one day those walls eventually will come down. If I'm gonna be protecting my daughters because I'm a dad that won my daughters to do well I do believe I need not to build high walls but to build longer tables if others do well My daughters will always be protected and that's what I believe is the America I believe and

This to me essentially is what keeps me going Protecting my daughters means, I protect my communities doing better, my cities doing better, others I don't know are doing better. That's what we all need to be finding common ground and working together towards that. Listen to uncommon ground on Amazon music,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. You've just heard a preview of uncommon ground with Van Jones. Thanks for listening. Make sure to follow and listen to uncommon ground on Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen. Hope you enjoyed this episode. I'm Heather Monahan, host of Creating Confidence, a part of the YAP Media Network,

the number one business and self-improvement podcast network. Okay, so I want to tell you a little bit about my show. We are all about elevating your confidence to its highest level ever and taking your business right there with you. Don't believe me, I'm gonna go ahead and share some of the reviews of the show so you can believe my listeners. I have been a longtime fan of Heather's no matter what phase of life I find myself in, Heather seems to always have the perfect gems of wisdom that not only inspire,

but motivate me into action. Her experience and personality are unmatched and I love her go getter attitude. This show has become a staple in my life. I recommend it to anyone looking to elevate their confidence and reach that next level. Thank you! I recently got to hear Heather at a live podcast taping with her and Tracy Hayes and I immediately subscribe to this podcast. It has not disappointed and I cannot wait to listen to as many as I can as quick as I can. Thank you Heather for helping us build confidence and bring so much value to the can. Thank you Heather for helping us build confidence and bring so much value to the space.

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