Finding Humanity

Addiction was common in the McDaid family. So when Carol, the youngest in her upper-middle-class household began using, the disease quickly took root. Carol sipped her first drink at age 12, and by 1…

Sherry Johnson grew up in Tampa, Florida as a member of the Pentecostal church. She was only 11-years-old when her mother married her off to a man nearly twice her age. She had already been a victim …

Juan Escalante's family immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela when he was a child. It wasn't until he applied to college that he learned his family had overstayed their visa.

Every year, visa oversta…

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses sexual violence.

Stephanie Mosley experienced sexual violence perpetrated by a schoolmate in college, then a football player at her alma mater, the University …

As a teen, Leah Juliett sent nude photos to a boy who spent years requesting them. When the boy learned that Leah was gay and paying attention to other people, Leah became one of the millions of vict…

Yanique Brandford had to skip school and go to the nearest shopping mart to buy herself period products. The price tag was $15, and she only had $8 in her bank account. Born from a single-parent hous…

Shon Hopwood is a serial robber who spent 11 years in federal prison. But when he walked out of prison in 2008, Shon couldn’t have predicted an incredulous twist: earning the title ‘Professor’ at Geo…

In solving the world’s most profound challenges like poverty, discrimination, and inequality, are we fixing the right problems?

In Season 4 of the Finding Humanity podcast, we examine the institution…

Until the late 20th century, assimilation was the Brazilian government’s official indigenous policy. Native inhabitants were sometimes driven out of their communities and flown by plane to distant lo…

Catherine Healy confronted her roommate after learning that she was a sex worker. But instead of an intervention, Catherine’s encounter revealed an industry that she would ultimately end up fighting …

In 2004, Jonathan Hancock was assigned to the Second Battalion Fourth Marines, also known as the “Magnificent Bastards.” He was sent to Ramadi, then a stronghold for Saddam Hussein's followers and Al…

Victims of coercive control might not recognize their experience as domestic abuse. In the case of Ryan Hart, his mother was left with no choice but to stay with his father — who portrayed himself as…

From picking a new name to burning her belongings and spying on new members, Dr. Janja Lalich did not foresee how her life would dramatically change as a budding feminist in the 70s. Like many others…

In 2008, Deependra Giri was promised a decent salary as a clerk in Qatar. Needing money to support his family, he left his home country Nepal — only to work an unpaid construction job and worse, live…

Born in Vietnam, Lynelle Long felt like an outsider as the only nonwhite child in her family and community in Victoria, Australia. As an adoptee, she spent her entire adult life fighting to understan…

This is Part 2 of a two-part episode on extremism.

Jesse Morton was a drug-dealing groupie when he became fascinated with Islam — and converted to it. But, it wasn’t until the U.S. waged the ‘War on …

In 2007, Nelson Mandela founded The Elders with a mission of engaging with “global leaders and civil society at all levels to resolve conflict and address its root causes, to challenge injustice, and…

This is Part 1 of a two-part episode on extremism.

The “great replacement” is a theory that white people are being systematically replaced around the world by nonwhites through events like mass migra…

Born in Uttar Pradesh, a slum in India, Kinsu Kumar couldn’t make friends when he was young. While kids in his neighborhood went to school, Kinsu worked as a car cleaner and domestic helper to help h…

Alex Sanchez’s recruitment into the notorious Los Angeles-based gang MS-13 can be largely attributed to three things: isolation, music, and domestic violence. Formed by children of refugees fleeing t…