Racism costs everyone—so when we come together to fight for justice, we all win. In Heather McGhee’s New York Times bestseller The Sum of Us, she explores how racism is at the heart of many of our most crucial social problems, and proves that fighting for racial equality will help us all prosper together. Now Heather is bringing all-new research to her podcast, premiering today, which tells the stories of ordinary people crossing divides to forge a better future.

In a recent Vanity Fair interview, Heather talked about the courage and optimism that helps those she interviewed get their kids to school and save for the future. “Getting back out on the road and experiencing conversations with countless numbers of people in the community really helped me get another shot of that optimism and that sense of hope,” she said. The podcast, produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground, features interviews with a third-generation dairy farmer, a surfer, a fast-food worker, and many more people who are finding strength in their communities and changing the world.

Heather’s book The Sum of Us spent 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. #1 New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi (How to Be an Antiracist) said, “This is the book I’ve been waiting for. The Sum of Us can help us come together to build a nation for us all.”