All About Change
How do we build an inclusive world? Hear intimate and in-depth conversations with changemakers on disability rights, youth mental health advocacy, prison reform, grassroots activism, and more. First-hand stories about activism, change, and courage from people who are changing the world: from how a teen mom became the Planned Parenthood CEO, to NBA player Kevin Love on mental health in professional sports, to Beetlejuice actress Geena Davis on Hollywood’s role in women’s rights. All About Change is hosted by Jay Ruderman, whose life’s work is seeking social justice and inclusion for people with disabilities worldwide. Join Jay as he interviews iconic guests who have gone through adversity and harnessed their experiences to better the world. This show ultimately offers the message of hope that we need to keep going. All About Change is a production of the Ruderman Family Foundation. Listen and subscribe to All About Change wherever you get podcasts. https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/
Episodes
March 17, 2025 • 26 mins
Alexis Tutunnique is a ballet dancer, a graduate of the Kyiv National Ballet School, a member of the United Ukrainian Ballet Company, and the subject of the recent documentary Front Row. In Front Row, Alexis befriends and invites Sascha, a former Ukrainian soldier who lost his legs in a bombing, to join the dance troupe for a performance in LA.
Jay and Alexis discuss the state of cultural activism, the way Ukrainian artists and so...
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March 3, 2025 • 27 mins
Chris Nowinski is a former football player at Harvard University and professional wrestler with WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment.
After enduring a career-ending head injury, Chris has dedicated his professional life to serving patients and families affected by brain trauma, particularly Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that develops after repeated head injuries.
Jay and Chris disc...
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February 18, 2025 • 30 mins
Tyler Merritt is a Nashville-based actor, comedian, vocalist, and creator of The Tyler Merritt Project. He believes empathy is a powerful tool to fight injustice and encourages people to step out of the anonymity of social media and engage in face-to-face conversations. Using his creativity, Tyler Merritt challenges racism and promotes empathy.
In 2018, Tyler's viral video "Before You Call The Cops" (released by The Tyler Merritt...
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February 3, 2025 • 26 mins
Joe Bates is a member of the Bad River Band, a Native American Tribe residing along Lake Superior in Wisconsin. He and his community have been embroiled in a long-standing legal and public relations battle against Enbridge, a Canadian energy company, to protect their ancestral lands. This struggle has been documented in "Bad River," a documentary film released in early 2024, which showcases Bates and his fellow activists within the...
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January 21, 2025 • 30 mins
In 2016, Yuriy Boyechko founded Hope for Ukraine to raise awareness for voices not heard in Ukraine, especially children affected by HIV and AIDS. Providing medical care for children with disabilities as well as food and clothing for families that live in extreme poverty.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Yuriy’s work surged in importance. Today he joins Jay Ruderman to talk about how the work of providing food...
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January 6, 2025 • 32 mins
Vicki Sokolik refuses to be an Ostrich. Her son brought to her attention the crisis of unhoused youth — youth unhoused, not living with a parent/guardian, and not in foster care — in America, and she has been fighting to support this vulnerable population every since. Most active in Tampa Bay, Florida, Vicki is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Starting Right, Now, which removes barriers for unaccompanied homeless youth to culti...
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December 23, 2024 • 38 mins
All About Change is on break for the holidays. For now, we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes, Jay’s conversation with fellow dog lover, Lee Asher.
Lee Asher is known for his positive presence. Visit the Asher House page and you'll be met with countless videos of Lee greeting animals getting a second chance at his Oregon sanctuary. But Lee's struggles with mental health don't often get the same spotlight.
Lee joined host...
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December 9, 2024 • 36 mins
Like many activists, Peter Egan found his cause by chance. When a labrador named Custard collapsed outside the Downton Abbey actor’s house, his wife jumped into action, taking the animal to a vet, and eventually the family adopted the dog. For Egan, this moment opened his eyes to the crisis of surplus pets in the UK, and it served as his initiation into advocating for animal rights.
Peter Egan joined host Jay Ruderman to discuss t...
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November 25, 2024 • 34 mins
As a toddler, Mia Silverman had a near-fatal encounter with an allergen. That emergency revealed to her parents not only that she was allergic to dozens and dozens of different everyday foods and additives, but that many of those allergies were life-threatening. Later, as a teen, Mia made a TikTok listing her myriad of allergies. What she didn’t anticipate, however, was that her TikTok would go viral and give her a platform thro...
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November 11, 2024 • 32 mins
Montana Tucker built a massive platform on social media using her talents in art, music, and dance. She even shared her personal journey of exploring her family’s history with the Holocaust. But after October 7th, she knew she had to use her platform to combat antisemitism and make a difference.
Montana Tucker joined host Jay Ruderman to talk about her experiences raising awareness about antisemitism and supporting Israel. M...
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October 28, 2024 • 38 mins
Dr. Michelle Oakley decided that as a veterinarian, she wanted to treat all species in her practice. And as if that were not enough of a challenge, she built her career treating wildlife in some of the most remote areas of North America.
Dr. Michelle Oakley joined host Jay Ruderman to talk about her career as a veterinarian specializing in treating all species of wildlife in Alaska and the Yukon. Dr. Oakley speaks about turning he...
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October 15, 2024 • 35 mins
Amanda Jones never set out to be an activist. As an award-winning librarian and educator in her small Louisiana hometown, she had sought to shape the minds of and inspire the love of reading in her students. But when the book bans sweeping our nation came to her front door, she realized the importance of using her position and privilege to speak out for free speech.
Amanda Jones joined host Jay Ruderman to talk about the growing i...
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September 30, 2024 • 32 mins
Princess Noor Pahlavi was born into the Iranian royal family as the eldest child of the Crown Prince. She heard the call to civic duty from an early age, inspired by the legacy of her grandfather, the last Shah of Iran, along with her grandmother, The Empress of Iran. But she was not content to sit on the sidelines, and decided to use her place of privilege to be a voice for progressive change for the people of Iran.
Princess N...
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September 16, 2024 • 41 mins
Kyle, also known by his gamer tag Bugha, started playing Fortnite as a young teen. He soon realized that he possessed exceptional skills and began competing. In 2019, at the age of 16, he entered the Fortnite World Cup and defeated 99 other players. However, the pure joy of that fame was short-lived when trolls hacked his phone, and Bugha had to learn to deal with online hate. He was also a victim of "swatting," a dangerous prank w...
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September 3, 2024 • 42 mins
Octavia Spencer is an Academy Award and Golden Globe award-winning actor and film producer, but her story has many different turns. Octavia thought studying law would be her path to change the world. But when a movie started production in her hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, her persistence landed her an internship that set her on a path to a successful career in Hollywood.
Octavia joined host Jay Ruderman to talk about her inspir...
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August 19, 2024 • 35 mins
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau has spent much of her adult life in the public eye as a broadcaster and political leader. And, as someone who has been public about her own struggles with mental health, Sophie believes that the key to restoring trust in our institutions lies in our leaders reckoning with emotional awareness and their own traumas.
Sophie joined host Jay Ruderman to discuss the complexities of mental health and the power of...
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August 5, 2024 • 33 mins
Torrey DeVitto grew up in an entertainment family, and as an adult, she has gone on to star in a number of shows, including Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, and Chicago Med. Her many roles and personal experiences with two very different abortions helped empower and inspire her to speak up for hospice, women, and reproductive rights.
Torrey joined host Jay Ruderman to talk about learning to handle her anxiety during her e...
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July 22, 2024 • 41 mins
Erin Brockovich became a household name when her crusade against the polluting power company PG&E in a small California town was dramatized in the Oscar-winning movie Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts. But her mission to empower communities to fight for environmental justice didn't end there.
Erin joined host Jay Ruderman to share her journey from a Kansas childhood marked by dyslexia to becoming a pivotal figure in environm...
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July 8, 2024 • 42 mins
Bill Courtney first became widely known as the volunteer coach who transformed an underprivileged high school football team into champions in the Oscar-winning documentary “Undefeated.” But going from a traumatic childhood to becoming an inspiring community leader was a hard-fought victory.
Bill joined host Jay Ruderman to talk about how overcoming a difficult upbringing led to his success in business, his community, and on the f...
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June 24, 2024 • 41 mins
Lee Asher is known for his positive presence. Visit the Asher House page and you'll be met with countless videos of Lee greeting animals getting a second chance at his Oregon sanctuary. But Lee's struggles with mental health don't often get the same spotlight.
Lee joined host Jay Ruderman to talk about the importance of pet adoption, resilience, and what it took to go from a 9 to 5 to running a 240-acre animal sanctuary. The two a...
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