The Human Challenge

In this heartfelt episode, we hear from Chip Skowron, MD/PhD and former CEO of Prison Entrepreneurship Program, who takes us through the double life he lived since childhood and how he found peace with himself following the four years he spent in prison for insider trading.

Emerging with a renewed sense of purpose, Chip shares how Vanessa's new book served as a poignant reminder of the power of community and healing that he exp...

In this episode of The Human Challenge, Elspeth Hay, author of ""Feed Us With Trees" and host of the Local Food Report on Cape Cod's NPR station, joins us. We explore the fascinating world of acorns and their potential as a superfood, delving into the historical and ecological significance of nut trees. Elspeth shares her journey of discovering the interconnectedness of humans and ecosystems, challenging the dominant narratives of ...

It's been 10 years since Emily O'Brien found herself in prison. "A lot of people think in prison that you have nothing," she says, "but if you reframe it as a place where you have everything, you can kind of create anything you want." Following that mindset, Emily created the idea for Comeback Snacks, Popcorn so good, it’s criminal, while incarcerated. In this episode of The Human Challenge, Emily shares her journey of incarceratio...

Quan Huynh has been described as a mighty warrior, a magician, and a mountain of goodness. He spent 22 years of his life behind bars for murder. In the midst of a life sentence, he found his freedom from within and wishes to share that freedom with others. He is the bestselling author of Sparrow in the Razor Wire: Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence and is also the Executive Director, Southern California at De...

25 years after finding herself divorced, a single mom of three kids with a truck, 26 cents, and a grade education, Dr. Paulette Steeves, Cree Métis author of "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", walked across the stage receiving her PhD with honours. She had already been told of her legacy that would shed truth on Indigenous history by an Elder at the time of her divorce, but it was in that moment, she finally un...

In this episode of "The Human Challenge", an Amazon Music x ACAST Indie Podcast Amplifier, Vanessa sits down with Robert Gil Jr, Re-entry Manager at Prison Entrepreneurship Program in Houston, in this inspiring and vulnerable conversation to breakdown barriers for returning citizens. From drug dealer to case manager, Robert showcases his journey through incarceration, including personal revelations, post-release anxieties, and his ...

"Refugee is a title, given to someone who is a displaced person, but it does not change the right to [their] data", says Mathew Lubari, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Community Creativity for Development (CC4D).

Mathew joined the show from Rhino Refugee Camp in Uganda.

Mathew's passion for technology repair, and what is know as the "Repair Movement", a movement that increases awareness of repair of everyday items, sta...

Moroccan-Yemeni artist, AŸA, is back on The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier", with new music, new live tracks on vinyl, and new stories!

This music is deeply personal to AŸA, as she navigates grief from the loss of a dear friend of hers and the ongoing horrors the world is witnessing in Palestine, where she has family and friends. She shares how music has helped her through this journey and how...

You might know Matt Edwards as your jack-of-all-trades actor/producer/writer and Doug Jones from one of your favourite franchises like Hocus Pocus, Hellboy 1 & 2, Star Trek, and Fantastic Four -- but get to know them in a more human light in this episode of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST Indie Podcast Amplifier 2023.

This budding Hollywood friendship will warm your hearts as they come together in their nex...

** Please be welcome to note sensitive content is discussed, including sexual violence in relation to corrective punishments experienced by trans peoples. **

"Solidarity is power," says activist, Judith Cabrera, Co-Director of Borderline Crisis Center, a shelter for migrant women and kids on the border of US/Mexico.

Borderline Crisis Center started as a call-center for migrants to connect with their family as soon as they cro...

In our new segment, New Beginnings, supported by The Being Human Foundation, Vanessa speaks to CEO/Founder of FreeWorld, Jason Wang, a tech non-profit that trains and places people with criminal histories into the trucking industry.

At the age of 15, Jason was incarcerated for a 1st degree felony (Aggravated Robbery) and given a 12-year sentence at a maximum security prison in Texas. Even though he was released early due to pris...

Lama Cynthia Jurs' commitment to healing Mother Earth began in the 1990s in the Himalayas, visiting a a 106 year-old Tibetan Buddhist in the Himalayas where she was told to bury Earth Treasure Vases. Since then, Cynthia has buried almost 100 vases across the world, including Libya, Congo, Australia, New Mexico, and more! The journey is meticulously documented in her new book, "Summoned by Earth", released in March 2024. Her commitm...

They're baaaaack! On this episode of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier 2023", Leanna Carriere and Timm Döbert are back to talk about their recent cycling trip across Canada to support the 30x30 initiative, a United Nations goal of protecting 30% of land and water by 2030.

You might remember them (how could you forget this dynamic duo, Canada's First Woman Decathlete and a Global Change Ecologi...

With over 2.11 million people incarcerated as of 2018, almost 600,000 people per year reenter society from incarceration with little re-integration support, leading to over 66% of formerly incarcerated people rearrested within three years of reentry.

Kylie Hwang saw this firsthand while working at a background check company, and noticed that most solutions focused on supporting formerly incarcerated individuals with employment,...

It took 6 years for Petra Molnar to write "The Walls Have Eyes", a book showcasing the use of technology in immigration and migrant affairs. As a lawyer and anthropology specializing in human rights, the book documents both research and true stories of people on the move that she herself has supported in their own journeys to freedom.

Petra joins Vanessa on The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier 2...

On this episode of The Human Challenge, Leah Rampy, award-winning author of "Earth & Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos", talks about the story of separation and "otherness" we have a society have been living in a predominant Western culture.

To her, the biggest human challenge is that "being human is not about being separate... being human is about being part of that incredibly family tree... we are a leaf on it, but we...

Jessica Gonzalez is one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in New Jersey. Jessica was EY Entrepreneur of the year award runner up 2019 + 2021, 50 Best Women in Business NJ, Women, Minority, & Small Business Enterprise Certified, NGLCC® LGBTBE® Certified, and has been published over 100 times in Forbes, Huffington Post, and INC. Magazine.

Jessica is the CEO of Happen Ventures, a latina-owned social enterprise that supports ...

There are two main narratives we are told about welcoming immigrants into our countries: that they harm society by taking jobs or that it is our "moral responsibility" to support immigrants. But are these truly representative of the value immigrants offer our society?

Is there a third narrative that tells us otherwise?

Zeke Hernandez, Professor at Wharton School of Business and author of "The Truth About Immigration: Why Succ...

Have you ever felt so passionate about a cause that it made you swim the English channel?

Well, Poppy Mason-Watts, Chief Growth and Impact Officer of WaterBear, has!

What is WaterBear? It is more than a streaming platform; it is a community! WaterBear is the home of captivating films and thought-provoking series that empower you to lead a meaningful life. You can watch this powerful social good content for free (always!) and...