Friends, we took a little break, as you may have noticed.

We used the downtime to put together something special: we asked writers to submit their very best writing on the theme "finding meaning in a time of strife." The submissions were overwhelming, and for the next twelve weeks or so, you'll get to hear some of the best of them.

To introduce the series, Alyssa and Ben share one of Ben's own essays: "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord." This essay won the Emerson College Graduate Writing Award in Nonfiction with High Distinction. It grapples with faith, history, evil, and, of course, music.

It’s been a minute–Alyssa was away on vacation with her family and doing some cool political and creative work. But she didn’t miss anything, right? The world was calm and nothing ridiculous happened, right?

Well, let’s find out as we spend this episode digging into the news of the summer and the general state of all of this.

Is Trump a fascist? Is MAGA a fascist movement? Give a listen to the first half of this two-parter and decide for yourself.

In the 1990s, Umberto Eco published the essay "Ur-Fascism," which explored fourteen common points of fascist movements and governments. In this episode, we present the first seven of those characteristics and then present Trump's own words, along with excerpts from the 2024 Republican Platform and words of prominent Trump supporters and administration members.

It’s been a minute since Alyssa’s been here–she’s been on a vacation and doing some really cool stuff in the entertainment world, but I’m sure you all miss her. After all, you don’t tune in to Ben Jackson Sorry Not Sorry! Well, a few times over the years, Alyssa has actually been the guest on this show instead of the host, and I thought it would be fun to give you what you want–some of Alyssa’s best moments here on Sorry Not Sorry.

In recent weeks, Jeffrey Epstein has burst from the grave and back into the news. Trump made much of his campaign identity about releasing the Epstein files and promised to release them–a promise on which he has since reneged. Trump had a longstanding friendship with Epstein, and recent reporting from the Wall Street Journal claims that Trump wrote Epstein a letter for his 50th birthday depicting a naked woman and wishing for more “Magical Secrets.”

In this episode, we will her interviews and testimony from women–some who were girls–who have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct–in their own words. It will not be easy to hear, and while the story will certainly continue to evolve, even between the time I am recording this and you are hearing it, the words of these brave women endure to paint a damning picture.

A couple of weeks ago, Alyssa and Ben had a conversation about the challenges of creativity in times like we’re living in. Since t’s the last week of our summer vacation, we thought we’d take a little break from the full-on politics and social issues of the show and take a look back at some of the great creatives we’ve had join us over the years. Guests include Misha Collins, Amitav Ghosh, Heather Matarazzo, and Kim Raver.