Ben & Jerry’s New Podcast Stirs Up a Crucial Recipe of Activism, Art, and Culture

“Into the Mix” Kicks off Today with Guest John Legend

BURLINGTON, VT, February 23, 2022— Ben & Jerry’s, an ice cream company known for advocacy work on issues ranging from criminal justice reform to refugee rights, today gave the scoop on its newest project: a podcast to inspire the next wave of activists and artists around the world.

The show, titled Into the Mix: A Ben & Jerry’s Podcast About Joy & Justice, is hosted by New York Times best-selling author Ashley C. Ford and features prominent cultural figures reflecting on how they’ve used their influence to champion social change.

Today’s first episode has singer-activist John Legend breaking down racism in the criminal justice system, the importance of voting rights, his history of social activism, and his current efforts to dismantle structural racism at the local level.

Speaking on the relationship between artists and activists, John Legend shared, “Artists should be part of the imagination of the future; imagining a better world and creating art that shows people that.”

The podcast is being brought to life by Vox Media’s award-winning brand studio Vox Creative, with production by Black-owned ABF Creative.

“Successful movements for social change have never just been about good ideas and good policy,” said Chris Miller, Global Head of Activism Strategy at Ben & Jerry’s. “Historically–from the abolitionist movement, to the modern civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam war movement, and Occupy Wall Street—music and art were woven into the fabric of these efforts.

“This podcast celebrates the intersection of activism, art and culture, which can be described as the joy on the long journey to justice,” Miller said.

Into the Mix follows the success of Ben & Jerry’s first standalone podcast, a six-episode series titled Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, hosted by Jeffery Robinson. Who We Are showcased the hidden ways legal discrimination and state-sanctioned brutality continues to impact Black Americans. The show earned a place on Apple’s top 100 list of podcasts and the top 10 history podcast list.

Into the Mix is free for listeners to stream on their favorite podcast app. Future guests will include environmentalist Bill McKibben and singer-poet-activist Patti Smith.

Listen to the show trailer here.

About Vox Creative
Vox Creative is Vox Media’s award-winning brand studio. Vox Creative’s team of strategists, writers, storytellers, and analysts create original content and experiences that connect brands with influential audiences across Vox Media’s editorial networks and beyond. Vox Creative's work spans short and long-form video, podcasts, explainers, experiential, shoppable content and more. They’ve built houses, invented cocktails, produced documentaries, traveled inside companies to uncover untold stories, and, on rare occasions, have gone to the moon.

About Ben & Jerry's
As an aspiring social justice company, Ben & Jerry's believes in a greater calling than simply making a profit for selling its goods. The company produces a wide variety of super-premium ice cream, yogurt and sorbet using high-quality ingredients. Ben & Jerry's incorporates its vision of Linked Prosperity into its business practices in several ways, including a focus on values-led sourcing. In 2015 the company completed its transition to using entirely non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) ingredients by source and fully sources Fairtrade-certified ingredients wherever possible, which benefits farmers in developing countries. Ben & Jerry's products are distributed in 35 countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops, restaurants and other venues. Ben & Jerry's, a Vermont corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever, operates its business on a three-part Mission Statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community. Ben & Jerry's became a certified B Corp in 2012. The Ben & Jerry's Foundation granted $3.7MM in 2021 to support grassroots organizing for social and environmental justice around the country. The Foundation’s philanthropy is guided by Ben & Jerry’s employees, who serve on committees that review applications.

About ABF Creative
ABF Creative is an award-winning podcast network known for their production of children’s content for the multicultural listener. The minds behind “African Folktales with Miss JoJo,” “Raising The Game” and “Charm Words,” ABF Creative uses a proprietary podcast production framework to deliver world-class audio entertainment.

Amplifying diverse stories, ABF Creative prides itself in creating premium content that connects with the listener through narrative-driven storytelling. ABF Creative builds partnerships with brand partners like Wondery, Essence and Audible.

Media Contacts
Laura Peterson, Public Elations Manager
Ben & Jerry’s
[email protected]
802 825-2129

Peyton McCarthy, Senior Director, Communications
Vox Media
[email protected]
845 750-5281

Tequilla White, Principle Publicist
ABF Creative
[email protected]