Let's Give A Damn

Dan Simpson—the CEO of Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe and an all around badass, damn-giving human—is on the podcast today! For those of who don’t know what Taziki’s is, by the end of this episode, you’re going to wish you had one nearby. Taziki's has 92 locations and 2000+ employees. In this conversation, we talk about caring for our environment, fresh food, the importance of fostering community over meals, their HOPE program, and the ways in which they are giving a damn by hiring veterans, refugees, and other often marginalized groups of people.  Learn more about Dan here.  SPONSOR: Today’s episode is being brought to you in part by The Russell—a historic East Nashville Church transformed into a one-of-a-kind, boutique Hotel. The Russell’s mission is to give back to the Nashville community through their Rooms for Rooms program by donating a portion of your stay to local organizations who provide a safe haven for those in need in the Nashville community. It[s an absolutely beautiful space with an incredible miss

Molly Burke is on the podcast this week! Molly is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cycle Connect—a company that connects clients in Uganda with the necessary tools to propel themselves forward out of extreme poverty. They do this through giving their clients the opportunity to continuously invest in their futures through Cycle Connect’s portfolio of products that are proven to increase income. She leads a team of 30 full-time employees that serve their 5,000+ clients in Northern Uganda. Follow Cycle Connect online and on Instagram. If you really love what they're doing, give today!  ___________________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. Support Let’s Give A Damn by giving $5 per month on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a

My guests today are Scott Erickson and Justin McRoberts. This is good news, y'all! You may remember Scott from a few weeks ago. If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, push pause now, and go listen to that one first. As a reminder, Scott is an artist, speaker, and storyteller from Portland Oregon. My other guest is the incredible Justin McRoberts. Justin is a pastor and a storyteller, and a musician, and a podcast host, and much more. He has put out 18 musical projects over the last 20 years and is the host of the @ SEA Podcast. We talk about so many things but we focus on their brand new book that is out TODAY called May It Be So. It's a "simple yet profound guide to facilitate the instinctively human desire to pray." Their other book is a must-read, also. I promise! They've helped me so deeply. ___________________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to mis

Arrested for murder at the age of 18, Rahim Buford spent 26 years in a variety of prisons in the state of Tennessee. While he was incarcerated, he completed course work for Lipscomb University, Ohio University, and Vanderbilt Divinity School, he co-founded the Schools for Alternative Learning and Transformation, and he self-published his own book, Save Your Own Life. When he got out, he became a decarceration advocate, he founded the Unheard Voices Outreach, and he became the Nashville Community Bail Fund Manager. Rahim gives a damn!  Follow Rahim on Twitter and keep up with the work he's doing at Unheard Voices Outreach.  ___________________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. Support Let’s Give A Damn by giving $5 per month on Patreon. 100% of the money you c

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. And this is a bonus episode of the Let's Give A Damn Podcast! We already had a fantastic conversation planned for release on this day with Bethany Haley Williamson (you should definitely go listen to it) but we didn't want to forget about the importance of WSPD19.  800,000 people die by suicide each year. That’s one person every 40 seconds. For each death, there are an additional 25 attempts. That's why WSPD exists. That's why we keep talking about it.  Our guest today is my sister, Leah Laparra. She's a wonderful human that has survived, anxiety, depression, anorexia, and multiple suicide attempts. We've cried together many times over the struggles she has gone through and continues to go through. She is such a warrior, y'all. I wish you all could meet her. But hopefully you'll get the chance to get to know her a bit via our conversation today. If you'd like to say hi to her on Instagram, follow her here.  If you'd like to get involved with the amazing work our f

Bethany is the Founder and CEO of Exile International — an organization providing holistic rehabilitation and art-focused trauma care to rescued child soldiers and children orphaned by war. She also has a PhD in counseling psychology and a license in clinical social work which means she has over 20 years of experience working with emotionally wounded children. She is the author of The Color of Grace. In it, and in our conversation, she talks about her own trauma journey that ultimately led her to into literal war zones to love, care for, and rehabilitate children that have been abused, kidnapped, and turned into weapons of war. We laugh and cry and learn together for an entire hour. I hope you're ready for it!  Follow Exile International on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. And follow Bethany on Instagram!

Madison Mikhail Bush is the Founder and CEO of Point. She runs Point while splitting time between Columbus, Ohio and New York, New York. Point is a platform that helps people and organizations do good. In a recent interview, she said, “Charities who want to do good but spend so much time with data entry or managing volunteers, we want to get them out from their desks and help them fulfill their mission.” That resonates so deeply with the vision and mission of LGAD. Follow Madison on Instagram! She is always sharing little ways to do good in the world.  Follow Point online, on Instagram, and on Facebook. Download the app to join the Point family! And if you know anyone that lives in/around Columbus, tell them about Point.  ___________________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra on Facebook, Instagram

Shane Claiborne is on the podcast today! If you don’t know him, you’re in for a treat. A little over a week ago, We met at the State Capitol in downtown Nashville where he, his wife, and a group people were camped out to ask Governor Bill Lee to intervene in the execution of Stephen West by electric chair that was to take place last week. Sadly, Stephen's state sanctioned murder did take place last Thursday evening. I, for one, will not stop fighting for the abolition of the death penalty and I know Shane Claiborne won’t stop fighting, either.  In this conversation, we talk about so much more than the death penalty but that is a huge chunk of it given the circumstances under which we were recording this chat. Follow Shane on Twitter and Facebook. And check out his website to learn more about what he is up to and where he is going! ___________________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming month

My guest today is Jean Paul Laurent. Jean Paul was born in Haiti and came to the United States in 2004 with a dream and a desire to change the world and to do something bigger than himself. He found out what that something was after he returned to Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake that decimated so many parts of Haiti and took the lives of hundreds of thousands of lives. As a result of spending time with his people and his home country in the aftermath of that tragedy, the Unspoken Smikes Foundation was born—an organization that envisions a world where every single human has access to great dental care. Jean Paul and I met in NYC a few weeks ago to record this conversation at their office in the financial district of Manhattan. You’re going to love this guy. He is such a sweet human with a deep passion that I think so many of you are going to identify with.  Follow him on Instagram! You'll be encouraged.  ___________________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagr

Before I introduce today's guest, here is the article I referenced in the intro of this conversation — If You're Angry, You're Part Of The Problem, Not The Solution by Ryan Holiday. Read it. And let me know what you think!  My guest today is Scott Erickson. Scott is an amazing artist, an incredible communicator, and a good friend. He is a touring painter, performance speaker, and creative curate who mixes autobiography, mythology, and aesthetics to create art and moments that speak to our deepest experiences. You MUST check out his art on Instagram. You’ll be blow away, helped, and encouraged. And you’ll want to put his art all over your home. We have some in our home and I look at it every single day. Scott was in Nashville performing his one-man show called Say Yes: A Liturgy Of Not Giving Up On Yourself. My wife and I went to see him do his show and we loved it! The following morning, we drank coffee and recorded this conversation. It’s a long one but I know you’re going to be greatly encouraged. So, pour

Before I introduce today’s guest, a little housekeeping. I’m taking the month of July off. It’s not you, it’s me. But seriously, we have been putting out an episode each week for almost 2 years now. I know we skip a week from time to time but it’s been pretty much been weekly released for almost two years. And don’t take me wrong, I love it! This podcast is one of the best things I’ve ever been part of in my life. But I need and want to take the month of July to regroup and put together a clearer vision for the future of Let’s Give A Damn. Additionally, I’ll be heading to NYC and ATL in July to capture quite a few podcast conversations so we can hit the ground running when we release the next episode on August 6. I may or may not be interviewing a Democratic candidate for President while in New York. We’ll see:) We will still be posting on social media and interacting with you in the comment section and in direct message conversations and stuff like that. We aren’t going anywhere. But we just need the extra s

As most of you know, June is Pride month. Why June? Well, here is a very concise primer for you. On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village, but the bar patrons weren’t having it and they fought back. This incident, known as the Stonewall Riots, marks the beginning of the gay rights movement in the United States. The activist Brenda Howard organized a march and some other events to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots and…well, the rest is history. So, Happy Pride to all of my LGBTQ friends. I love you all.  I wanted to have my guest today on the show during the month of June because she is amazing, she is a huge damn giver, and she is part of the LGBTQ community. Today, you’ll get to hear my conversation with Lisa Schmidt. Lisa and her wife live in Portland, Oregon. Lisa, among many other things, has started a community called The Sober Hipster. Everything she does stems from these five words: You Matter. Your Story Matters.  Lisa created the

My guest today is *fingers crossed* the future Mayor of Nashville, John Cooper.  John is a family man with a successful business career in banking, real estate, and retail. Additionally, John has served on numerous Metro Council committees, including the Independent Audit Committee, Public Works, Parks and Libraries, and Budget and Finance, which he chaired from 2016-2017. He serves on the Greenways Commission and the Leadership Council for Nashville’s After-Zone Alliance, which supports after-school learning in public schools. John created and donated two signature public parks in the Nashville area: the Tower Park and the Margaret Hayes Powell Park. He also founded Happy ReTales, a volunteer-directed pet products retail store, where all profits go to animal rescue. Managed by a dedicated group of staff and volunteers, Happy ReTales has provided over $500,000 to local animal charities. It's very clear John gives so many damns! To learn more about John, click here. To learn more about his policies, click here

THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR My friends at Goodwell are doing incredible work. They create environmentally conscious products that empower people to make a sustainable choice in their daily oral care routines. If bamboo toothbrushes are your thing, they have those. They also have a metal toothbrush with toothbrush heads that are 100% biodegradable. They have toothpaste, they have floss, and they have an amazing product called Be. Brush — the first non-electric powered toothbrush in the world. Everything I just mentioned can be purchased as a one-time purchase OR as a subscription—it just shows up at your doorstep when you need it. And everything they make and sell is biodegradable and compostable. Needless to say, we love them and use them in our home. AND I have exciting news! If you use the code DAMN at checkout, you’ll get 30% off your order. That’s a huge discount and you'll feel really good about buying and using their products. So, do us a favor and go check them out. They make it possible for us to continue to

This week on the podcast, meet Nicole Devereaux! Nicole is a Conversational Intelligence Coach® based in Minneapolis, MN. She helps leaders and teams have successful conversations so that they can make more of what's awesome.  I wanted to have Nicole on the podcast because during a dark period of her life a few months ago, she decided to do something really bold. During a time when most people would have given up or spent most of their time thinking about themselves, she decided to think about others.  Nicole is raising $40k in the 40 weeks leading up to her 40th birthday! She's inviting you to join her in this quest to do the unimaginable. And guess what? She's on track to hit her goal! In the next 12 weeks, she needs to raise $13k. Will you help her reach her goal? Also, follow Nicole on Instagram—you'll be encouraged! _______________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want yo

We don’t need billionaires and government to save us. They can and should play their part, don’t take me wrong. But we can’t and shouldn’t wait around for them to change the world. That’s not their role AND it’s never going to happen. It’s our job to change the world. How? Real and lasting change will only happen when millions of people give a damn imperfectly and over a long period of time. I share more on this in the first part of this episode.  During the last part of this episode, I share some of my favorite clips from some of the podcast episodes that have taken place during the first few months of 2019. The clips were taken from my conversations with Claude Silver, Courtney Hale, Audrey Assad, Scott Hamilton, Trae Crowder, and Holiday Reinhorn. ENJOY! _______________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our hos

This week’s show is pretty remarkable. My guest is Steven Elliott. Steven was one of two men most likely responsible for the death of Pat Tillman—the NFL player that enlisted as an Army Ranger as a result of the 9/11 attacks in NYC. During this chat, we talk about the story of how he ended up as a Ranger and all that happened while he was deployed. We also chat a bit about veteran care, caring for those actively serving, PTSD, America's current global military footprint and whether or not we are being helpful, and so much more.  Please visit The Elliot Fund for articles, books, videos, and other resources you can use to become an advocate for those serving in our military. And buy Steven’s forthcoming War Story: A Memoir book on or before May 21. Or preorder it from your local library.  _______________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want

This week on the show, I chat with Trae Crowder aka The Liberal Redneck. Trae Crowder hails from Celina, TN—population 1500. Warning right here at the onset, there is more cursing than usual in this interview. I like to curse but Trae loves to curse. If you don’t like to hear it, this might be a good one to skip. Or maybe just don’t listen to this in the car with your kids on the way to soccer practice. So, just wanted to give you a heads up because, I love you. Trae has been doing comedy for quite some time but his career skyrocketed after this video that he made about North Carolina’s HB2 bill went viral back in 2016. When I saw that video back in 2016, I really appreciated his creative blend of comedy and talking about important issues. Important societal and political issues have always been addressed in comedy and Trae is doing that very well, I think. In this conversation, Trae and I talk about how there are more liberals in the South that might think, what liberals get right and what they get wrong, ho

I went up to the Rainn Wilson residence last week in LA but it was not to chat with Rainn this time. I stopped by to record a podcast conversation with his wife and much better half, Holiday Reinhorn. Erin Shacory, one of the LIDÈ Haiti board members, joined us for the chat and I had a blast. We spent the majority of our time together chatting about all things Haiti, LIDÈ, empowering young people, and we even talk about how a Rainn stole a bunch of hotel keys over 20 years ago. But back to LIDÈ. LIDÈ provides academic support and arts programs that empower girls who have been denied equal access to education and strengthen their resiliency. You may be asking, “Is educating Haitian young girls in the arts the best thing LIDÈ can be doing for them? I mean, they probably need clothes, and food, and jobs!” Holiday and Erin have a fantastic response to this question.  Allow me to point something out to you—this organization exists to serve young women and it is primarily led and run by women. This is hugely import

My guests today are Philippe Lazaro and Christie Huizenga Renaud. Philippe and Christi are part of the Plant With Purpose team. Plant With Purpose equips farming families around the world to increase farm yields, heal damaged ecosystems, improve nutrition, and increase household savings and opportunities. Their approach solves two major issues facing the world today: environmental degradation and rural poverty.  Another way to say it is that they reverse deforestation and poverty around the world by transforming the lives of the rural poor. Since our chat is about the environment and food and sustainability and other things like these, we met at a park in downtown LA to record our conversation. If felt like the right thing to do to meet outside while we had our chat. We talk about the environment, sustainability, how we can and should make the world a little bit smaller, we talk about a podcast we are creating for their organization, and so much more. These two humans impressed the hell out of me. So grateful