The He's Just Podcasts

The He's Just Podcasts

by Jules Douge

Self-Improvement

Season 12

Dr. Donna Adams-Pickett 4 Girls For Girls

The week of (April 11–17), is Black Maternal Health Week. In the United States, Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy related complications than white women. These are not just statistics. They are mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends whose lives matter. Meet Dr. Donna Adams-Pickett, board- certified OB/GYN with a deep commitment to women’s health. Her expertise spans a range of topics, including gynecologic cancer awareness, menopause management, and reproductive health. Through her compassionate approach and dedication to education, Dr. Adams- Pickett is making a lasting impact on women’s wellness nationwide. She empowers women with knowledge so they can advocate for themselves with confidence at every stage of life. This is a call to stand with Black mothers, to listen to trusted voices, and to support women of color not just with words, but with platforms, policies, and purpose. Let’s use this moment to amplify life-saving information, center equity in maternal care, and remind every woman: you deserve to be seen, heard, and protected.

Val Whiting- "Mentally StrongHER

Val Whiting, two-time NCAA Champion and former elite WNBA athlete. Val starred all four years at Stanford, she ranks 6th all-time in scoring (2,077 points) and 6th in rebounds (1,134). Val holds a Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology and is currently a certified Mental Health Coach. On paper, her career was a success. Mentally, it was a different story. Despite her championships and her accolades, Val struggled with pressure, self-doubt, and emotional overload, challenges no one had trained her to manage. That experience led her to found MentallyStrongHer, an organization dedicated to helping female athletes build mental resilience, emotional stability, and confidence beyond the scoreboard. Through Mentally StrongHer, Val has coached and supported athletes navigating anxiety, identity loss, burnout, and the pressure to perform, issues that don’t end when the game does. Her work bridges the gap between performance and mental health, helping current athletes compete with clarity, former players rediscover purpose after sport, and individuals beyond athletics apply the same mental skills to leadership, career transitions, and everyday life. We walk with Val Whiting as she teaches us what it truly means to champion the game beyond the court, because being emotionally prepared matters just as much as being physically ready for the game called life.

Season 11

Dr. Allen Saxson- "Training In Charity."

Since retiring from a life spent in the operating room, Dr. Allen Saxon, has returned to two enduring callings: storytelling and teaching the next generation of physicians. A graduate of Tulane Medical School, he learned medicine where it is most human, inside safety net hospitals, where care is given not for profit, but for dignity, survival, and hope. Those early years shaped Dr Saxon. Before screens, algorithms, and electronic charts softened the edges of training, medicine was learned hand to hand and heart to heart. Skill came from doing. Compassion came from standing at the bedside when there was nothing left to offer but presence. Today, Dr. Saxon teaches at Northwestern University and Rosalind Franklin University, carrying forward the lessons he first learned among the most vulnerable patients. On the season 11 finale we will discuss his latest book, “Training in Charity”, which is a tribute to that era of 1970s New Orleans. Training in Charity is a reminder that while medicine may evolve, its soul is still forged in service, humility, and human connection.

Lauren C. Johnson- "The West Facade"

Lauren C. Johnson, holds a B.S. in Journalism from Emerson College and an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. Her work has appeared in the Orion and The Rumpus. She is the co-host of Babylon Salon, one of the Bay Area’s longest-running literary and performance series, and the co-founder of Club Chicxulub. Today, we’re discussing her haunting new novel, “The West Facade.” Set during the plague in Paris, the story begins high above the city walls at Notre Dame Cathedral, where statues stand frozen as centuries pass below them. In an act of grief and devotion, a mourning woman places a citrus fruit into the hands of Sainte Geneviève, and that single offering changes everything. But freedom comes with a devastating cost. To remain human is to accept mortality, decay, and death. To return to the cathedral is to surrender choice and feeling, and exist forever untouched,,, but alone. Death and life are often spoken of as opposites, but sometimes the most painful moment is not the crossing itself, it’s the choice of whether to cross at all. At the center of today’s conversation is that impossible decision: remain untouched by time, or step fully into a life that will one day break your heart. West Facade is a story about what it means to truly live. About whether love is worth the certainty of loss. And about the quiet, excruciating courage it takes to choose life, knowing it will not last.

Dexter Hall- "Like Home"

For more than three decades, Dexter R. Hall has been a powerful voice at the intersection of economic opportunity, corporate responsibility, and community impact. As the leader of Noir Kith Consultants, he has helped businesses, nonprofits, and public institutions move beyond intention and toward real, sustainable change. An MBA graduate and respected board leader, Dexter’s work in financial literacy, crisis recovery, and corporate philanthropy has expanded access to opportunity for thousands in underserved communities. Today, our conversation turns to one of the most urgent issues facing our cities, homelessness and housing stability. Through his work with the Providence Foundation in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point community, an organization dedicated to providing supportive housing, family shelters, and services for seniors and vulnerable families, Dexter is helping turn compassion into action. Mr Hall is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, he believes real change happens when leadership meets service "Like Home."

VICTORIA HETHERINGTON- "The Friend Machine."

VICTORIA HETHERINGTON’s debut novel, Mooncalves, was shortlisted for the 2020 Amazon Canada First Novel Award. Her second novel,Autonomy, looks at human agency in the age of technology. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Into the Mist, which explores an aviation tragedy. Victoria is also a screenwriter, instructor, and communications specialist, she has written for Yahoo! Finance and Hazlitt, she has served as a frequent panelist at universities and conferences, appeared on CBC, and performed on the main stage of NPR’s The Moth. Today on our show we discuss her new book “The Friend Machine: On The Trail To AI Companionship. This book offers a compassionate and intimate look at the lives of individuals from diverse backgrounds who have sought and found companionship in AI. The Friend Machine shows us that, as the lines between humans and machines continue to blur, the nature of our relationships will change in ways we’re only beginning to imagine.

Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs- "Defend Public Health."

Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs is a cancer and nutritional epidemiologist, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and nutritional sciences at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and a researcher with the University of Arizona Cancer Center. As Principal Investigator on a federally funded R01, her work examines how selenium supplementation affects cancer prevention, grounded in rigor, precision, and deep respect for human life. But science alone is not Dr. Jacobs’ calling. She is the co-founder of Defend Public Health, an all-volunteer coalition of physicians, scientists, and advocates united in a steadfast mission: to protect the health and dignity of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Her gift is the balance she has learned to hold, pairing scientific exactness with moral courage, and data with humanity. Today’s conversation centers on an urgent and growing public health threat: the resurgence of measles in the United States amid declining vaccination rates. With confirmed cases reported among people detained at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, the danger of unchecked spread is escalating. We speak with Dr. Jacobs about measles, medical neglect, misinformation, and the human consequences of public health policy, and what it will take to respond with science, integrity, and compassion. Dr. Jacobs is clear-eyed yet unwavered ,because in the end, it’s the small things that help us attain the major victories.

Dr. Adam Barsouk= "Outsmarting Cancer."

ADAM BARSOUK, MD , is an oncology fellow at Johns Hopkins University and resident-physician at the University of Pennsylvania. His articles about science, medicine, and policy have been featured in Forbes, Newsweek, Fox News, and Business Insider. Today we discuss his new book Outsmarting Cancer Risk Reduction and the Power of Prevention. Cancer has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in many developed countries and US states, and is the leading cause of healthcare expenditure worldwide. That’s the bad news. The good news is that half of all cancer deaths could be preventable through lifestyle changes and social reforms. Outsmarting Cancer reframes one of the most pressing medical challenges of our time: how to prevent cancer. Dr. Barsouk presents a sweeping examination of cancer’s true origins,biological, environmental, dietary, infectious, industrial, occupational, and behavioral makes a compelling case for why cancer prevention must become a central priority in public and personal health. His book explores a wide range of overlooked and misunderstood risk factors, as well as how inequities in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention disproportionately impact underserved populations.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin- "The Art Of Flourishing."

Jeffrey B. Rubin, PhD, is a psychoanalyst, teacher, and author of eight books. Today on our show we will have a conversation about one of his most treasured pieces “The Art of Flourishing,” A Guide to Mindfulness, Self Care, and Love in A Chaotic World. Dr. Rubin practices in New York City and North Salem, New York, and teaches at the Object Relations Institute of New York, the American Institute of Psychoanalysis, and the C. G. Jung Institute of New York. He is widely regarded as a leading integrator of Western psychotherapy and Eastern meditative traditions. A Sensei in the Rinzai Zen lineage, he is the creator of Meditative Psychotherapy, an approach shaped by decades of clinical practice, teaching, and study. His pioneering work has also been featured in The New York Times Magazine. Today we walk with Dr. Rubin, and take a deeper look at his most recent work The Art Of Flourishing, a book where he helps us understand that in order to be better to others you must first be deeply attentive to yourself. If you don't nourish your own "soil," your relationships will eventually wither.

Alexa Morris- "The Courtyard."

ALEXA MORRIS grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, dabbling in several jobs (including Senate page) before choosing the world of non-profits, where she remains to this day. When she married Ben Parkett’s daughter and learned of his Holocaust survival journey, she became determined to help him turn his story into a book. Alexa lives with her family in Northern California and is currently at work on her first novel. Alexa joins us today to discuss “ The CourtYard” , a memoir she co-wrote with Ben Parkett. Hours before the Nazis came to arrest the Parkett family in July 1942, Madame Nicolas from the apartment upstairs, tips them off that their names are on a list. Their neighbors band together to protect them, hiding the family in a vacant warehouse across the courtyard from their apartment. The courtyard becomes a refuge. With their world turned upside down, it is Ben’s job, at only nine years old, to leave the courtyard each day to get food for his family. This is a story of community support and resilience-building that provides us with strategies that are useful in our current professional environments The courtyard helps us unlock new pathways for innovation and growth it's about cultural resilience and the ways it drives transformation across various life challenges.

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