Van Jones officially has his own Billboard in Times Square. The New York City billboard is a dream come true and promoted his new Amazon Music weekly interview podcast, Uncommon Ground with Van Jones.
When Jones was a young activist living in New York City, he always dreamt of making a meaningful impact in the world to earn a Times Square billboard. The background makes his teary-eyed response even more special. Over the past three decades, as Van evolved from upstart activist to national personality, he continued to manifest those dreams into existence via conversations with his closest friends and family members until it just occurred.
You can see the emotional moment here.
In October, the streamer announced it will launch Uncommon Ground with Van Jones, a new Amazon Original podcast hosted by television personality, activist, and entrepreneur Van Jones.
The new series will premiere on October 27 and release new episodes every Wednesday. Uncommon Ground with Van Jones will bring Jones in intimate sit-downs with the most influential personalities across the country in search of unifying solutions to our country’s biggest problems.
The premiere episode will feature the world-renowned Spanish chef, restaurateur, and founder of World Central Kitchen, José Andrés. He and Jones both were awarded the Courage and Civility Award by founder and executive chair of Amazon Jeff Bezos, along with a $100 million gift to the non-profit organization(s) of his choice.
Additional guests will include Deepak Chopra, will.i.am, Sarah Silverman, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Andrew Yang, S.E. Cupp, and many more.
“The uniters need a platform,” Jones said. “America has gotten so fragmented that we can’t even solve basic problems — let alone handle major crises. The dividers get too much attention. With the stakes for all of us this high, people from different backgrounds should be able to listen to each other, learn from each other and get things done. With this podcast, Amazon and I are creating a space for leaders, artists and visionaries to have constructive conversation across lines of difference. Each episode will leave you feeling uplifted, more hopeful and a little wiser about how we can build a better future.”
Uncommon Ground with Van Jones is an Amazon Original production, produced by Magic Labs Media and Wonder Media Network. Hosted and created by Van Jones, Uncommon Ground with Van Jones is produced by Teddy Alexander, Maisha Dyson, Grace Lynch, Sundus Hassan, and Adesuwa Agbonile, with assistance from Taylor Williamson. Executive producers are Jenny Kaplan for Wonder Media Network and Morgan Jones for Amazon Music.
