The People Who Make Us
The People Who Make Us
Podcast Description
What I’ve come to realize is we all have a central “self” at our core that is who we innately are. However, every day we meet people- some just for a moment and others that stick around for a while. And every single one of these people have some type of influence on who you become in the world, and how you live your life. Whether it’s by giving you someone to look up to, showing you love/admiration/compassion/ or kindness, or by showing you exactly who you don’t want to be. We truly have such a profound effect on each other and I'm here to showcase the importance of that.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The show focuses on themes of personal growth, human connection, and storytelling, with episodes discussing impactful books, overcoming life's challenges, and the importance of kindness and perseverance, such as the conversation with Maria Bertrand about her documentary 'Finding Happy' and the launch of the 'People Who Make Us Book Club'.
In a world driven by algorithms, filters, and conformity- I’ve discovered real life exists outside of that all. Variety, nuance, curiosity, and uniqueness are what make us human and what makes us feel alive.
This show is about refusing pre-packaged thinking: the scripts, narratives, identities, and beliefs we inherit without choosing (what my friend Jen calls “mother, father, preacher, teacher tapes”).
I am no guru or self-help authority… just a guy committed to living fully, talking with people who do the same. Tune in if you want to feel less alone… and a little more awake.
jonnythyne.com
New York Times bestselling author Marjan Kamali joins Kira and me for a conversation that starts with her novel, The Lion Women of Tehran, and very quickly becomes about so much more.
If you’ve listened to our book club episodes before, you might remember Kira bringing this book up during our very first one- and after finally reading it myself, I immediately understood why. At its heart, The Lion Women of Tehran is a story about friendship, but underneath that story are all of these currents about identity, culture, family, the things we internalize about ourselves, and the scripts we’re handed before we’re ever old enough to question them.
And THAT is where this conversation goes.
Marjan talks about growing up across seven countries and how that shaped the way she sees humanity; the Iranian women who inspired Homa; what historical fiction can give us that a textbook sometimes can’t; and the strange, wonderful ability stories have to make someone thousands of miles away recognize themselves in a life that looks nothing like their own.
We also get into the relationship between fiction and healing, the closure we sometimes get through stories that we never get in real life, and the details readers pick up on in The Lion Women of Tehran.
But my favorite part may be where we eventually land: on the scripts Marjan herself was handed, the ones she’s spent her life refusing, and a perspective I somehow hadn’t explored yet on a podcast literally called Refuse to Subscribe…
Sometimes we had a reason for following the script.
Sometimes it was survival.
And that doesn’t mean it’s too late to change it.
This is such a beautiful conversation about books, friendship, Iran, identity, art, humanity, and giving ourselves a little more grace as we figure out who the hell we actually want to be.
SPOILER WARNING: We absolutely get into the details of The Lion Women of Tehran, so if you haven’t read it yet, go grab yourself a copy from a local bookstore and then come back!
Also discussed: The Stationery Shop and Together Tea.
Marjan Kamali:
Instagram: @marjankamali7
Jonny:
Instagram: @jonnythyne
Come on the show: https://jonnythyne.com/reflect
Kira:
Instagram: @kiraleclair
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