jeremy courtney

In this episode, Jeremy and senior field editor Erin Wilson share a candid conversation about the themes Jeremy explores in his latest book, Love Anyway. He answers never-before-asked questions, uncovers his writing process, and shares the why behind his vision of how we can heal all that’s tearing us apart. 

Visit our show notes to enter to Win a signed copy or audiobook Version of Love Anyway by Jeremy Courtney.

In his book, Jeremy says that the way things are is not the way they have to be. There is a more beautiful world.

And as you'll hear in this episode, to find it, we have to we confront our fear—and end war where it starts: in our own heads and hearts.

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Hear how late last year, before the coronavirus started it’s deadly spread across the world, Preemptive Love founder Jeremy Courtney was noticing striking parallels between the process for stopping the spread of infectious disease and stopping the spread of violence.

Travel back in time to 2016 with host Erin Wilson, when she met two Iraqi doctors in a displacement camp she'd never forget. In raw audio from her time there, hear how Dr. Qudama and Dr. Mustafa decided to create a health clinic from scratch in one of the toughest places you can imagine, learning along the way that trust is essential to healing.

In this episode, Jeremy shares a three-step effort as we work together to stop the spread of violence and work to end war:

1. We listen and show up fast so we can address felt needs as quickly as possible.
2. We create jobs to protect the vulnerable.
3. We foster community where diverse people can truly hear each other, discover common joys and fears, and maybe even change our ideas that lead to war.

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This first episode of season four takes you behind the scenes of the Love Anyway tour that took place last fall. Peek behind the curtain into the making of the Love Anyway film, a short documentary we created to explore the ideas around how we can heal what’s tearing us apart. We let you in on some of the conversations that happened before and during the making of the film.

We were planning to share this immersive episode with you later this year to go along with a new Love Anyway tour across the US. But because of COVID-19, our spring tour is going online. So we bumped up our production schedule to share this with you now!

(Starting April 9, we’re hosting five online, interactive events with Preemptive Love founders Jeremy and Jessica Courtney. Free tickets are available now, but space is limited.)

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Who are the helpers in times of the COVID-19 pandemic? They might be closer than we think.

In today’s special episode, we talk with people across the U.S. to explore what it looks like for all of us to not only look for the helpers — but to be the helpers — even in a global pandemic hitting very close to home.

Many of us are familiar with Mr. Roger’s admonition to “look for the helpers” in times of chaos. As life continues to change in the face of COVID-19, podcast producer Kayla Craig looks for the helpers in her own community, recording conversations along the way.

• Kayla talks with Preemptive Love grants officer Lindsey Pruett-Hornbaker about her online storytime for “little revolutionaries.”
• Dane Barnett, Preemptive Love’s student and university engagement manager, spends some self-isolation time interviewing his mom Kris, a nurse in a local hospital's pediatric emergency department.
• We also hear from Kayla’s four young children who are now figuring out what their days look like without school. She also receives a message from her brother Nathan, who is helping keep grocery store shelves stocked during the pandemic.

And Jeremy Courtney, founder and CEO of Preemptive Love, shares an important message about why he’s cutting his salary to $0 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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We're in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, responding to the refugee crisis on the US-Mexico border. Earlier this year, we began showing up just across the border in El Paso, Texas, listening, learning, and lending a hand where we could, thanks to many of you. We distributed emergency backpacks and listened to leaders on the ground.

US protocols have rapidly changed, forcing most asylum seekers to wait on the Mexico side of the border. So we’ve shifted our focus to the growing needs in Juarez, just across from El Paso, where many people are sheltering after they petition for asylum.

On Giving Tuesday, we’re excited to announce a new initiative we’re launching where you can help us provide jobs for the most marginalized asylum seekers on the US-Mexico border.  And you can be a part of it.

Text “border update” to 72000 to sign up so you can be the first to know about what we're launching on Giving Tuesday. You can play an important role in choosing to love anyway at the US-Mexico border.

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This breaking episode features firsthand accounts of what's happening on the ground in Syria. After our team heard updates from Erin Wilson and Jen Meyerson about what they saw displaced people facing weeks after the US troop withdrawal in northeastern Syria, we knew we had to pause our regularly-scheduled Love Anyway podcast episodes.

What they told us is too important not to share. Some of the stories you’ll hear are quite literally life-and-death scenarios.

Our team reports that the Turkish ceasefire is not over. Violence is continuing. Families are hiding in gutters and sewers as Turkish bombs fall. 

Preemptive Love has a presence throughout the vulnerable region of northeastern Syria. Despite the danger, we’re not going anywhere. Our on-the-ground teams are continuing to receive people, including young children, who have experienced serious injuries as a direct result of this violence.

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Preemptive Love is on the ground in Northeastern Syria. This is the biggest crisis we’ve seen at one time...and it’s getting worse. In this breaking episode, hear from our colleagues in the Middle East, who share what they’re seeing unfold.

Some of our team members delivering emergency aid have been shot at. Upwards of 300,000 people are running for their lives, fleeing Turkish bombs. The situation is desperate. We need your help.

We breakdown terms like "safe zones" and "ceasefire." We examine President Trump's recent statement about the US troop withdrawal from Syria, Turkish bombings, and the  massive wave of displacement it triggered.

It’s been a difficult week across the Middle East, from protests in Iraq to the recent news that the US administration is withdrawing its presence from northeastern Syria. On this breaking episode of the Love Anyway podcast, we hear from our Preemptive Love team about how the decision by the US to pull out of northeastern Syria could have reverberations that last generations.

We can’t follow the news right now without seeing headlines about US pullout from northeastern Syria. So, what’s happening? What are the implications? Why is this withdrawal so important...and so potentially devastating, not just for our friends in Syria, but for all of us?

We speak with Preemptive Love founder Jeremy Courtney, who has lived in the Middle East, including Turkey and Iraq, for more than a decade.

We also hear from Erin Wilson, Preemptive Love's senior field editor in the Middle East, who describes the sense she is getting from her friends and neighbors in Iraq, many of whom have Kurdish friends and family in the line of fire in northern Syria.

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How much should kids be involved in shaping our communities? Should we shield children from news about violence and war? In this episode, we attend a vigil with the Oestreich family, who believes community involvement is a core family value.

Diana Oestreich has been the key relationships officer with Preemptive Love for nearly four years. Before that, Diana was a combat medic in the Iraq War. Her experience as a veteran shapes her views on everything, including how she and her husband Jake raise their kids Zelalem and Bridger.

What does their commitment to showing up for their community look like? Recently, Diana and her sons joined their community at a local Lights for Liberty event, a vigil for children seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border, and they let us come along with them for this episode.

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Can kids be peacemakers? Preemptive Love founders Jeremy and Jessica Courtney share how living in Iraq has influenced how they raise their children. With host Erin Wilson, they explore how culture, technology, and war changed their perception of parenting—and invite us all to enter into difficult conversations with the young people in our lives.

Their kids, Emma (14) and Micah (11), dive into their perspectives on growing up in Iraq, sharing thoughts on violence, media, and what makes home to them. Kids are often shielded from bad things, but what happens when that’s not possible? This episode also includes a call with Molly Goen, a teacher who confides what students taught her after they survived a traumatic act of violence in an Iraqi classroom.

Young people absorb more than we might imagine, and they understand more than we may assume. When we examine what it looks like to love anyway, we often come up with complicated answers. But ask a kid in your life what it means to love anyway, and you might be surprised at the depth even simple responses bring to the conversation.

In the trailer for season two of the Love Anyway podcast, host Erin Wilson and Preemptive Love founder Jeremy Courtney share why it’s important to enter into hard conversations with all kinds of people—including kids.

In season two, we’ll explore the fears and questions kids—and the adults in their lives—have about violence, racism, media, cultural differences, and war. Children are often left out of hard conversations. But what if we welcome future generations to the table, now?

Join us as peacemakers of all ages share true stories of hope, exploring how to broaden the picture of what it looks like to love anyway.

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We're inviting you to a behind-the-scenes look at the people and stories behind the Love Anyway podcast. Host Erin Wilson joins Ben Irwin, director of communications, for a casual conversation recapping season one with producer Kayla Craig.

Hear Erin share her favorite episode and what she finds most challenging about hosting a podcast. (And experience her infectious laughter that those of us at Preemptive Love get a front row seat to every day.) Discover the episode Ben was most skeptical of—and how it turned out to be his favorite.

You'll also catch an exclusive sneak peek into Season Two of Love Anyway, which launches in July.

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