Call Declined

4.7 (92)
MENTAL HEALTH
WEEKLY SERIES

In times of need, who do you turn to? What systems do you believe are there to catch you if you fall? Is there a way to interrupt generations of trauma and family violence? What might the world look like if we decriminalized mental illness, substance use disorder, and poverty? Call Declined follows the lives of two extraordinary women, Kamisha Thomas and Aimee Wissman, and the captivating story of how they fell through a frayed safety net and how resilience, friendship, and the power of creativity enabled them to survive the grim walls of the Dayton Correctional Institution. It is a story of how art became their north star and inspiration for what was to come when they finally were released from prison. Call Declined is hosted by Melissa Beck, the executive director of the Sozosei Foundation. To learn more about our country's mental health system, check out the episodes in this feed marked Call For Help, hosted by Stephanie Wittels Wachs, which explores the promise and perils of the nationwide rollout of the 988 hotline. Call Declined is presented by the Sozosei Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Otsuka. The Foundation’s goal is to increase access to mental healthcare in order to eliminate the inappropriate use of jails and prisons for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in the United States. Learn more at www.SozoseiFoundation.org. The Sozosei Foundation extends special thanks to Aimee Wissman and Kamisha Thomas, visionary artists and co-founders of The Returning Artists Guild whose creativity, resilience, and lived experience inspire us to build a world where mental illness is not a crime. To learn more about the Guild visit www.thereturningartistsguild.org. Please note that this podcast contains mature content, including explicit language and discussions about drug use and other potentially sensitive topics. The views expressed are solely those of the participants and do not reflect the opinions of the Sozosei Foundation, podcast host or sponsors. Listener discretion is advised. This content is intended for mature audiences and is not suitable for all listeners.

See All Season 2 (6)

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4.8 (8845)

COMEDY
When an evil force threatens to incinerate the fantastical land of Golgorath, it's up to Hildy the Barback and her friends to kick some ass on a comedic quest to save the world. Oh, also there are lots of dragons. Melissa McCarthy leads an all-star cast, including Ben Falcone, Octavia Spencer, Glenn Close, and more, in Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire, a legendary adventure you won’t want to miss! Featuring original music in every episode, it's a hilarious extravaganza of epic proportions. For Hildy merch, head to: https://hildy.store/ Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media

4.6 (157)

FICTION
…Is this it? That’s the question our host Reshma Saujani asks herself daily. She’s the founder of two successful nonprofits, she’s married to a great guy, and she’s raising two beautiful children. She’s gotten everything she’s ever wanted, so why does she feel so unsatisfied? Is this a woman’s version of a midlife crisis? She’s determined to figure it out, and with the strength of her group chat behind her, she’s calling in reinforcements. From Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, to Emily Oster and Cheryl Strayed, to experts, friends, authors and more, Reshma’s going to help us all figure out how we stop trying to just get through this time of life… and actually start living it.

4.1 (76)

HEALTH & FITNESS
Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe is a love letter to Black women in entertainment. Emmy-Award winning writer, actor, and producer Lena Waithe sits down with trailblazers like Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenifer Lewis, Debbie Allen, and more, to discuss their creative process, their journey, and how they became the incredible women they are today. Legacy Talk is more than just a series of interviews; it’s a documentation of the stories and experiences of women who shifted narratives, broken barriers, and inspired a generation. Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe, from Hillman Grad and Lemonada Media, drops November 12 on all platforms. And if you want to see all the magic unfold, catch the full episodes on YouTube.

4.3 (19)

TV & FILM
To be human is to fail – period. And not just to fail once, but to fail a lot. As the author Samuel Beckett said: “Fail again. Fail better.” This saying means a lot to me and my family – so much so that my daughter got a tattoo of it. Why are we, and so many others, so deeply concerned by failure? And if it’s something we all do so often, why are we so afraid of it – especially those of us here in win-at-all-costs America? In this podcast, I sit down with successful, thoughtful people like Ben Stiller, Bette Midler, Sean Penn and more to talk about failure – or what they labeled “failure,” but what was really an unparalleled opportunity for growth and revelation. I even want to delve into my own hardest moments, when I wrestled with setbacks, shame, and fear. We’ll still fail again. And again. But maybe if we fail better, we’ll feel better -- and maybe if we can all laugh together in failure, that's a start.

4.5 (380)

SOCIETY & CULTURE
Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens. Find her online at @katecbowler. Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

4.8 (4638)

SOCIETY & CULTURE

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Melissa Beck

Host

4.7

out of 5

92 Ratings

Inspirational!

Apr 20

92007 (level 30)

Thank you for giving me strength through your stories. It’s so easy to fall into traps set by racism, poverty, stress, and exhaustion. Of course drugs and mistakes are all part of the “calculated formula.” Thank you for showing the way out through art and the right social support, not punishment.
Powerful

12/25/2023

Papaya678

It is rare to hear the stories of 2 women who make it through drugs, mental health and prison to the other side and start their own nonprofit. You go go go! So inspired.
Important listen

12/04/2023

AJ Hanger

Individual stories can and do encourage people to vote for elected officials that can make positive change - like ending mass incarceration and decriminalizing mental illness. Thanks to Aimee and Kamisha for sharing theirs!
Great host!

12/02/2023

Prisonreformgurl

Melissa Beck is one of the best hosts I’ve heard on a podcast. What a great way to share these unique and powerful stories of these two women. If only there were more podcasts hosted by Melissa Beck… the world would be a better place.

In times of need, who do you turn to? What systems do you believe are there to catch you if you fall? Is there a way to interrupt generations of trauma and family violence? What might the world look like if we decriminalized mental illness, substance use disorder, and poverty? Call Declined follows the lives of two extraordinary women, Kamisha Thomas and Aimee Wissman, and the captivating story of how they fell through a frayed safety net and how resilience, friendship, and the power of creativity enabled them to survive the grim walls of the Dayton Correctional Institution. It is a story of how art became their north star and inspiration for what was to come when they finally were released from prison. Call Declined is hosted by Melissa Beck, the executive director of the Sozosei Foundation. To learn more about our country's mental health system, check out the episodes in this feed marked Call For Help, hosted by Stephanie Wittels Wachs, which explores the promise and perils of the nationwide rollout of the 988 hotline. Call Declined is presented by the Sozosei Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Otsuka. The Foundation’s goal is to increase access to mental healthcare in order to eliminate the inappropriate use of jails and prisons for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in the United States. Learn more at www.SozoseiFoundation.org. The Sozosei Foundation extends special thanks to Aimee Wissman and Kamisha Thomas, visionary artists and co-founders of The Returning Artists Guild whose creativity, resilience, and lived experience inspire us to build a world where mental illness is not a crime. To learn more about the Guild visit www.thereturningartistsguild.org. Please note that this podcast contains mature content, including explicit language and discussions about drug use and other potentially sensitive topics. The views expressed are solely those of the participants and do not reflect the opinions of the Sozosei Foundation, podcast host or sponsors. Listener discretion is advised. This content is intended for mature audiences and is not suitable for all listeners.