B-Side Detour: George P. Brooks on Green Day, Recovery, and Black Men’s Mental Health

Host Jesse Jackson welcomes George P. Brooks for a B-side episode that steps outside Springsteen to focus on music, life experience, and purpose. George, a longtime mental health advocate and founder of the Meta Association, shares his Memphis upbringing shaped by diverse music, his lifelong love of Green Day, and how recovery from addiction led him to nonprofit work supporting Black male mental health, recidivism, and fatherhood. He discusses surviving homelessness and two heart attacks, the barriers men—especially Black men—face in seeking therapy, and the importance of safe spaces, unplugging from social media, journaling, and basic health screenings. The conversation also explores faith, grace in public discourse, and George’s conservative values, before closing with a call to treat people with respect and be better each day.

00:00 B-Side Welcome

00:37 Meet George Brooks

01:48 Wrestling and Memphis Roots

02:35 Memphis Music Upbringing

03:52 Discovering Green Day

05:40 Service and Nonprofit Mission

07:07 Recovery and Resilience

08:02 Men and Mental Health Stigma

13:31 Social Media and Unplugging

14:57 Faith and Spiritual Journey

18:22 Politics and Conservatism