Using Storytelling to Address Complex Social Issues: Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom

About this sermon

Jen first met Tressie McMillan Cottom the way most normal people meet – under the bright lights on the set of an Oprah special. Invited by Ms. Winfrey to speak on a panel alongside influential voices like Rebel Wilson, Amber Riley, Katie Sturino, Jamie Kern Lima, and Busy Philipps, the conversation tackled diet culture, body image, and shifting the narrative from shame to acceptance. Tressie left the entire studio gobsmacked—which is fitting given her brilliance as a cultural commentator and Professor at UNC Chapel Hill. Her work explores nuanced and loaded topics like racial capitalism, beauty standards, and the exploitation within higher education—yet she presents them in ways we can all understand. We knew immediately that she needed to be on our show, and today is that day. Segments: Bless & Release: The News Cycle Thought-Provoking Quotes: "I think every life has a trauma, so there’s nothing really special about mine. But whatever your trauma is, you are usually faced with a decision: Do I want to be who I was before this, or am I going to be something different?" – Tressie McMillan Cottom "I love really hard questions. I am my happiest, most connected, most joyful when I am trying to disentangle a really hard social problem that I think everybody has got wrong." – Tressie McMillan Cottom "I thought my grandmothers sounded as intelligent as my professors, and so I really struggled with the idea that there was something counterfeit or illegitimate about them and their stories." – Tressie McMillan Cottom "History is weirdly comforting when we can look at our worst impulses and know this isn't the first time we’ve faced this level of chaos and inequality and systemic injustice. It’s just our generation’s turn." – Jen Hatmaker Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Leave us a voicemail- https://jenhatmaker.com/podcast/ Click the “Send Voicemail” tab on the right side of the page Pantsuit Politics - https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/ Allison Gill - https://allisongill.com/ The Daily Beans | News with Swearing - https://www.dailybeanspod.com/ Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy by Tressie McMillan Cottom - https://amzn.to/4hv6dPF Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom - https://amzn.to/3Co8gWX Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom’s New York Times newsletter - https://www.nytimes.com/by/tressie-mcmillan-cottom Tressie’s MacArthur Fellowship - https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2020/tressie-mcmillan-cottom Oprah + Weight Watchers: Making the Shift special - https://www.weightwatchers.com/makingtheshift/?srsltid=AfmBOortVultNvf8Oy7KWezSW1X6uVsvMm9ziScOvAzxUg3XsWQ_2H44 Guest’s Links: Dr. Cottom’s website - https://tressiemc.com/ Dr. Cottom’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tressiemcphd/ Dr. Cottom’s Twitter - https://x.com/tressiemcphd Dr. Cottom’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tressiemcmillancottom/ Dr. Cottom’s podcast - https://tressiemc.com/podcast/ Connect with Jen! Jen’s website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy.