Mighty Forces is the podcast for people who give a damn — about other people, about the state of our world, and about prying this one wild and precious life from the jaws of fascism, white supremacy, and automated customer service menus. We'll go deep, and we'll get stupid, because the best conversations do both. In each episode, host and story coach Amanda Hirsch chats with smart, funny artists and activists, healers, teachers, and entrepreneurs, plus folks doing super cool work that defies easy job titles. You’ll leave each episode feeling lighter, less burdened, and with enough optimism in the tank to last at least seven to ten seconds.
In the final episode of Season One, we return to the question at the heart of every Mighty Forces conversation: How are you continuing to give a damn in this world? Across the season, guests answered this in ways that were tender, funny, raw, defiant, hopeful, and deeply human. But there is a through line — we give a damn by remembering we belong to each other. Every conversation eventually circled its way back to connection. Over and over, guests revealed: The relief of being seen.The courag...
23 Dec 2025
Fighting for Beauty: Finding Light in Dark Times with Philippa Hughes
In this heartfelt reunion, Amanda reconnects with Philippa Hughes after more than 15 years apart. Fresh off a plane from Paris where she spent three months writing a book, Philippa joins Amanda for a wide-ranging conversation that goes from the trivial to the profound (just as the best conversations do). They explore what it means to age without giving up on life, the tension between caring deeply about the world versus caring only about ourselves, and why choosing to unpack your suitcase at ...
16 Dec 2025
The Magic of the Longest Table: Belonging, Agency & Everyday Connection with Venu and Maryam
In today’s conversation on Mighty Forces, Amanda is joined by two extraordinary community builders: Maryam Banikarim, founder of The Longest Table, and Venu Gupta, who helped bring the concept to life in Chicago. Together, they explore what it takes to create belonging in a time when loneliness is on the rise—and why small, everyday actions still hold enormous power. Maryam shares the simple spark that launched The Longest Table during the pandemic which grew into an annual hyperlocal celebra...
2 Dec 2025
When Creativity Meets Parenthood with My Friends Tim and Stephanie
This week, Amanda brings together two wonderfully creative humans who also happen to be parents: writer and teacher Tim Manley, and artist and educator Stephanie Krauss. If you’ve ever wondered how to stay connected to your creative self while raising kids, navigating technology, and trying to be a decent human in this messy world… this conversation will feel like a deep, relieving exhale. The three talk about parenting, boundaries, doodling during Zoom calls, creative identity, technology’s ...
25 Nov 2025
My Origin Story (and a bit from my book, Improvising Adulthood)
In this special Thanksgiving-week solo episode, Amanda invites listeners into a more intimate corner of her story. She reads from her book Improvising Adulthood: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me and shares the origin story that shaped who she is, how she thinks, and why Mighty Forces exists at all. Through scenes from her college years—loneliness, questioning, creative sparks, depression, and ultimately a reclamation of agency—Amanda reflects on what it means to veer off script, listen to your...
18 Nov 2025
Pebbles, Pugs & Purpose: Finding Joy in Service with Kimberly Wilson and Michelle Hynes
In this episode of Mighty Forces, Amanda reunites with longtime friends Kimberly Wilson and Michelle Hynes, two women whose lives embody creativity, compassion, and service. The three first met decades ago at Kimberly’s beloved Tranquil Space Yoga studio in Washington, D.C.—a place that sparked deep friendships, activism, and the founding of the Tranquil Space Foundation. Throughout the episode, they explore what it means to give a damn in a world that can feel overwhelming: how acts of servi...
11 Nov 2025
Lean Into the We: On Connection, Creativity, and Collective Intelligence with Lisa Gates and Jay Moon Fields
In this episode of Mighty Forces, Amanda Hirsch brings together two longtime friends, collaborators, and creative powerhouses: Lisa Gates and Jay Moon Fields. What begins with laughter over coffee mugs and shared birthdays unfolds into a layered conversation about what it means to belong—to ourselves, to one another, and to something larger. Amanda, Lisa, and Jay explore the tension between separateness and togetherness, and how both are necessary parts of being human. Through stories of art,...
4 Nov 2025
Curiosity & the Courage to Begin with Suzanne and Johanna
In this warm and honest episode of Mighty Forces, Amanda brings together two women she’s long admired — Suzanne Ehlers, CEO of USA for UNHCR, and Johanna, a leadership coach and consultant — for a reflection on curiosity, competence, ownership, and what it means to give a damn in complex times. The three explore how curiosity fuels good leadership, how competence breeds confidence, and why giving people (and ourselves) the space to try, fail, and draft again is essential in both work and life...
28 Oct 2025
Less Hierarchy, More Community with Vanessa Van Burek and Jean Michel David
In the newest episode of Mighty Forces, Amanda Hirsch brings together two creative community builders from New York’s Hudson Valley — Vanessa Van Burek, co-founder of Zena Democratic School, and Jean Michel David, founder of Megabrain Comics — to explore what it really means to nurture curiosity, community, and care. From reimagining education without hierarchy to building a comic book store that doubles as a safe haven for queer and neurodivergent kids, Vanessa and Jean-Michel reveal how the...
21 Oct 2025
Picking Our People & The Power of Creative Outlets with Jordan Hirsch
In this special episode, Amanda welcomes her husband, Jordan Hirsch, to the Mighty Forces podcast. Together, they trace the winding path of their relationship—from high school drama club crushes and early fandom litmus tests (The Simpsons! Robert Altman’s The Player!) to co-parenting, co-creating, and supporting each other’s creative lives. Jordan shares how horror movies, improv, and music have shaped his identity, how creativity energizes him, and why February Album Writing Month (FAWM) has...
14 Oct 2025
Nerds of a Specific Varietal: Designing for Connection with Mirit Cohen and Sara Fenske Bahat
In this conversation, Amanda Hirsch brings together two longtime kindred spirits who’d never met: Mirit Cohen and Sara Fenske Bahat. What begins with hilarious, deeply human stories of how they each met their life partners unfolds into a deeper exploration of connection—how we create it, why we need it, and what it looks like across our personal and civic lives. Mirit shares how her journey from social psychology to food and event design has shaped her work in designing for connection, while ...
7 Oct 2025
Giving a Damn Quietly, Loudly, and Together with My Friends, Neda and Mollie
In the very first episode of Mighty Forces, I sit down with two of my closest friends, Dr. Neda Frayha and Mollie Erickson. We talk about decades-long friendship, memory, anthropology, wellness, apricot jam, and what it really means to give a damn. Topics: How friendship can sustain itself across decades and distanceThe quirks of memory — from motherhood brain to COVID brainMotivations, enneagrams, and why we all see the world through different lensesBringing wellness to unexpected places: fr...
23 Sept 2025
Introducing: Mighty Forces
Mighty Forces is the podcast for people who give a damn — about other people, about the state of our world, and about prying this one wild and precious life from the jaws of fascism, white supremacy, and automated customer service menus. We're launching this fall, be sure to subscribe today and share the podcast with other people who you know give a damn. Resources: Mighty Forces Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn Follow Amanda on Instagram Mighty Forces is produced by Amanda Hi...
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