Welcome to People in Common

People in Common is a podcast and community for people who want to turn concern into action.

Every conversation takes hard-won wisdom from a leader doing hard things well,
and turns it into something you can actually do, today.

Wisdom. Courage. Community. Action. How we meet this moment.

‍Join Our Community on Substack and listen here: 🎧 Spotify 🎧 YouTube 🎧 Apple

'Whatever You Can Give Is Enough' with Victoria Vrana

As CEO of GlobalGiving, the world's first and largest nonprofit crowdfunding platform, Victoria Vrana connects donors with vetted local changemakers in 175 countries. Jama serves on GlobalGiving's Tech and Innovation Advisory Council. The people powering that generosity at scale: a man who made a mosaic out of NYC subway cards in the colors of the Ukrainian flag and auctioned it for $400. A woman who sold stickers for $2 each and donated $500 to wildfire relief. A group of former USAID staffers who organized comedy shows, happy hours, and QR code campaigns to keep PEPFAR-related HIV programs alive. Victoria says "Whatever you can give is totally enough."

'Minnesota Showed Us How' with Steve and Mary Grove

In January 2026, federal agents flooded Minnesota and the state responded “peacefully, lovingly, loudly, relentlessly.” The resistance worked. Steve Grove, CEO and Publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune, and Mary Grove, Managing Partner of Bread and Butter Ventures, were inside that story in both public and deeply personal ways. This conversation covers what was already built in Minnesota before the crisis arrived, what the singing resistance taught us about joyful collective action, and what the rest of us can do right now, wherever we live.

'Coding Belonging' with Justin Steele

Even someone who has spent his career solving for belonging fell into the same trap most people do: building the tech first and hoping connection would follow. Now his teenage daughter is helping code the fix. This conversation is about belonging, conviction, and building. We follow those instincts across Justin Steele's career of betting on himself: a decade directing $700 million in philanthropic grants at Google.org, then a company built to solve the same fundraising problem his own nonprofit ran into. Kindora, his AI fundraising tool, is now a public benefit corporation. Go build something.

Impact Investing

'If You Ran the World' with Soman Chainani

Soman Chainani wrapped up a three-week, 40-school national tour and sat down with Jama to talk about the Young World playbook. The New York Times bestselling author wrote a "primal scream" thriller about a teenager who accidentally becomes president. This conversation covers the four things every young person agrees on, what to do when you realize no one is coming to fix it for you, and how anyone, teenager or not, can answer the People in Common question: what do you want the world to look like, and how do you make that happen?

'Joy Is the Strategy' with Brad Newsham

Brad Newsham is a travel writer and self-taught organizer who has spent 20 years staging human banner events on Ocean Beach, where thousands of people lie in the sand to spell out a political message, photographed from above, with music instead of speeches and dancing instead of marching. No staff. No permission required. Just people creating something beautiful together. This conversation is a proof of concept for what People in Common is trying to do: inspire people to joyful collective action.

'From Isolation to Community' with Shaka Senghor

"I was incarcerated before I ever was arrested and I was free long before they let me out of prison. Freedom really is an inside job." When so many of us feel stuck, his New York Times bestselling book "How to Be Free" reveals the hidden prisons we all carry and shares the practices that transformed his life.

'Start Something Local' with Jama

When the world's problems feel enormous and your bandwidth feels small, worry without action is exhausting. Jama Adams, coalition-builder and host of People in Common, shares her answer: stop trying to take on the whole world. Bring it back down locally, to where things actually start.

'Chaos to Clarity' with Tiana Epps-Johnson

Elections are "the load-bearing beam of democracy and the civil rights issue of our time." Tiana Epps-Johnson, CEO of the Center for Tech and Civic Life, uses technology to prevent that beam from cracking under coordinated attacks targeting 8,000 election offices that represent the scaffolding of our democracy.

'Protecting Elections Together' with Carolina Lopez

Carolina Lopez is elevating the voter experience via a national network supporting officials who run elections for more than 123 million Americans. We talk about why elections matter to everything we hold dear, how PLEJ builds trust across deep political divides, and what it looks like when Republicans and Democrats work together to protect the foundation of our democracy. Get involved!

'Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable' with Baron Davis

Baron Davis (two-time NBA All-Star who led the league in steals twice) says "Be comfortable being uncomfortable" and "Show up ready"

Open Door, Open Heart: How Mel Allbright Shows Up for Democracy

Mel Allbright opened her Arizona home to Jama for five weeks before the 2024 election, not because she's a professional organizer, but because she believes in showing up for people.

Military Service, Spiritual Calling, and Political Courage' with Col. Pam Stevenson

Col. Pam Stevenson is Kentucky's House Minority Floor Leader and U.S. Senate candidate. She founded the Stevenson Law Center providing pro bono legal services, serves as an ordained minister, and is the first Black woman to lead a legislative caucus in Kentucky. Col. Pam brings 27 years of Air Force service as a Judge Advocate General who negotiated in 11 countries, where she learned "there's more than one way to do everything" and "you've got to treat people with a lot of respect." Her approach starts with one simple question: "What can I do to serve you?"

Values in Action: The Craft of Democratic Organizing with Marshall Ganz

Marshall diagnoses our democratic crisis through hard-won wisdom from decades of organizing, from the Civil Rights Movement to the Obama campaign. "We look for hope in the wrong place, ‘out there’ in the great hero," he explains. "What we should be doing is connecting with each other to create the kind of hopeful imagination and willingness to take risks." His framework for change starts with three simple questions: Who are my people? What change do we need? How do we turn resources into power?

'From Activism to Spiritual Healing' with Reggie Hubbard

Reggie Hubbard is a political activist turned yogi turned activist yogi. We explore how our spiritual problems are at the root of our political problems. He shares his personal transformation journey, triggered by professional setbacks, leading him to adopt yoga and meditation as life-changing practices. Through a spiritual and holistic approach, Reggie emphasizes resilience training, the importance of dealing with hard truths, and the power of healing. He talks about how his stroke was a great teacher. Reggie's approach focuses on grounding, fostering creative brilliance, and addressing systemic societal issues with personal spiritual transformation. Reggie is the founder and chief serving officer of Active Peace Yoga. Check out his upcoming workshops, meditations, and wisdom at Active Peace Yoga (activepeaceyoga.com).

'Fabulously Fighting Fascism' with Anat Shenker-Osorio

Anat Shenker-Osorio examines why certain messages falter where others deliver. We talk about why fabulously fighting fascism - together - is the thing that matters most right now. She emphasizes the importance of direct political action and the need to promote positive messaging rather than just reacting to opposition narratives. Anat discusses effective communication strategies, the flaws of conventional polling, and the power of social proof. She also highlights the 3.5% rule: "no government has withstood a challenge of 3.5% of their population mobilized against it" (credit to Erica Chenoweth of the Harvard Kennedy School) and the significance of local involvement and visible resistance in dismantling authoritarian regimes. She calls for living your beliefs openly. Anat is the author of "Don't Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense About the Economy" and host of the "Words to Win By" Podcast. Check out her "Ways to Resist" and "Freedom Over Fascism Toolkit."

'How to Win With Love' with Desmond Meade'

Desmond Meade is Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He led the historic victory of Florida Amendment 4, which restored voting rights to more than 1.4 million Floridians with previous felony convictions, the largest expansion of voting rights in a half-century. The grassroots citizen initiative won by nearly 65 percent of the vote - and as Desmond says, “won with love.” Desmond Meade is a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, a Ford Foundation Global Fellow, one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the World.

'Do Democracy to Save Democracy' with Kelly Ward Burton

Kelly Ward Burton is the founding President of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) and its affiliates, the National Redistricting Foundation and All On The Line. Under the leadership of NDRC's Chairman Eric Holder, Kelly has led NDRC and affiliates to become the first-ever centralized hub for a comprehensive redistricting strategy, resulting in the fairest maps this country has seen in decades. Prior to leading NDRC, she was the Executive Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and managed several campaigns for U.S. Senate and House. Kelly has a long history as a political entrepreneur, helping to launch several advocacy organizations to expand the number of women running for office and help nonprofit leaders leverage their power for impact.

'We Belong to Each Other' with Father Greg Boyle

Father Greg Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. Homeboy received a $20M gift from MacKenzie Scott the week we spoke. Father Boyle is the author of the New York Times-bestseller Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion and other books. He has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the California Peace Prize. He has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. In 2014, President Obama named him a Champion of Change.

'Welcome to People In Common' with Jama

This trailer introduces the People in Common podcast, where we speak with inspiring leaders about what we can do about the urgent and overwhelming problems of the world. With powerful stories and recommendations for action, we bridge the gap between movement leaders and those of us who care but aren’t sure what to do. So glad you joined us.