We need to support social impact work now more than ever. For the sake of our environment, for our health and wellbeing, we need people working to make a difference. Unfortunately, work for the good of others isn’t always work that pays. How can we sustain social and environmental work in the long term? In this episode, we speak with Kerryn Krige, a specialist in social entrepreneurship, about new economic models for social impact and solidarity.
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How can we see beyond our current state of oppression, polarization, and extraction to build a better future? We asked Anne Snick to share insights from her brilliant Young Persons’ Guide to the Future.
Do you have the feeling that life is getting harder than ever? Not only do we grapple with big issues like climate change, but every day tasks sometimes seem increasingly complex. But what if a simple shift in perspective could change everything? In this episode, we’re speaking with Jon Jandai, who not only thinks life is easy, but he can prove it too.
We need consensus to tackle the looming problems of climate change and economic inequality. Digital tokens and blockchain technology could help us do just that. In this episode, we speak with Andrea Baronchelli, an Associate Professor of Mathematics at City, University of London. We ask him about his research on the token economy and how decentralized digital platforms will shape our future.
Eating less meat is one thing we can all do to reduce our contribution to the climate crisis, but making changes to our diets isn’t always easy. In this episode, we speak with Chef Alejandra Schrader about her Low-Carbon Cookbook and Action Plan to get some tips for eating a more plant-based diet and reducing food waste.
In 1934, Simon Kuznets developed the modern concept of a gross domestic product to measure the market value of all goods and services produced by a country. Nearly 90 years later, our measures of economic growth remain blind to the extreme inequality and environmental degradation produced by “business as usual”. We need a new tool that help guide us on a path to greater wellbeing for people and planet. In this episode, we’re speaking with Michael Green, CEO of the Social Progress Imperative. We talk to Michael about his new measure, the Social Progress Index, and how it could change the way we think about economic success for the better.
In this episode, we speak with Emma Heiling, one of the co-founders of ClimaTalk and a masters student in environmental policy at Sciences Po. Through her work, she’s demystifying climate policy and giving people the information they need to act fast on the climate crisis.
Is there an inherent conflict of interest in ‘sustainable finance’? In this episode, we speak with Theodor Cojoianu, an associate professor at the University of Edinburgh who works at the intersection of sustainability, data science, and finance. We ask him to explain the world of sustainable finance and help us understand what needs to change to make our planet’s health the bottom line for businesses.
An explosion of remote work opportunities has given people the freedom to build all new kinds of lives in all different kinds of places. But how will this growing movement impact our environment? In this episode, we speak with J Mendes (the No Footprint Nomad) about cultivating a nomadic lifestyle that’s ALSO sustainable.
Our food system is broken, producing massive amounts of waste in some places and leaving people starving in others. (Not to mention the damage our agricultural practices are doing to the environment.) In this episode, we speak with Lujain Alqodmani from EAT about what needs to happen so all people can eat food that’s both healthy and sustainable.
The industrial production of beef comes at a major cost to the environment, degrading soil quality and emitting extreme amounts of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. But what if there was a better way? In this episode, we speak with Langdon Hill, who’s turned about 20,000 acres of Arizona desert into a ranch laboratory to see if it’s possible to raise cattle in a way that nourishes the environment instead of breaking it down.
Imagine if the science taught in schools put the health of our planet front and center. In this episode, we speak with Eugene Cordero, a professor at San Jose State University who’s created the Green Ninja science curriculum to foster the next generation of environmental stewards.
Advancements in modern medicine have made us healthier and improved our quality of life. But at what cost? In the pursuit of science, many of us have lost touch with indigenous modes of healing. We spoke with Olatokunboh Obasi, an herbalist and teacher in Puerto Rico, about the wisdom of indigenous teachings that can bring us in better balance within ourselves and with nature.
There are over 2.69 billion active online gamers in the world. Most of them just want to have some fun in a digital reality. But what if we could mobilize those masses to make a difference in the real world? In this episode, we speak with Kayla Anderson, a gamer, streamer, and content creator, about the transforming the gaming community into a force for climate action.
Ever feel intense anxiety over the deteriorating state of our planet? Good news: you’re not alone. Even better news: there’s help. In this episode, we speak with climate psychologists Megan Kennedy-Woodard and Patrick Kennedy-Williams who have made it their mission to help people turn climate anxiety into climate action.
Making a difference in the fight against climate change doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. In this episode, we speak with Selva co-founder Harry Hely-Hutchinson about how people can easily offset their carbon footprints by funding the planting of trees.
What can we learn from recollections of the Ice Age about climate change today? Veli Albert Kallio is an ethnoclimatologist who uses history from indigenous peoples to evaluate our current climate crisis. Through this lens, we can see the ghosts that may come back to haunt us–hopefully in time to do something about it.
Why can’t we stop degrading our ecosystems? It’s not our failure to recycle, so much as a matter of systemic inertia. Continuously prioritizing corporate profit has led us to our current climate crisis, while also exacerbating racial and economic injustices. In this episode, we discuss the importance of centering anti-racist and feminist leadership to disrupt this status quo in the fight for our planet with Northeastern University’s Jennie Stephens.
In this episode, we speak with Donna Reitano and Ajay Mehta, two of the founders of em4. Through their work, they help social impact organizations in the Global South build capacity to increase their reach and efficacy. We ask their advice for others trying to do the same.
We have a massive waste problem, with hundreds of millions of tons of garbage going into landfills every year. In this episode we talk to Richard Perl, CAO of TerraCycle, about the economics driving this massive waste issue and what we can do to recycle better and phase out single use packaging.
In this episode, we talk about how cities can recover economically from the COVID-19 pandemic and launch into a greener and more equitable form of urban life with NYC Comptroller, Scott Stringer.
Mel and Stef take a closer look at our last four interviews, drawing connections and painting a picture of the future based on key nuggets from past episodes.
Former Häagen-Dazs CEO and founder of the L’Oréal Prestige innovation World Lab, Fabrice Leclerc, shares his ideas about how we can transform corporations to do business that maximizes life instead of profit.
What if time spent helping others could earn you help in return? Get to know the ways the Zeitpolster time bank is creating systems of mutual care in this episode with Gernot Jochum-Müller.
So nice, we had to do it twice! Dive deeper into the topic of Unconditional Basic Income in our second webinar, co-hosted with FEASTA and Vermonters for a New Economy. We discuss the finer points of UBI as a key element in the transition to a society centered around universal well-being. Featuring Scott Santens, Marjukka Turunen, Herbert Jauch, Enno Schmidt, and Michel Bauwens.
Earlier this year, we co-hosted two webinars with FEASTA and Vermonters for a New Economy to discuss the feasibility and mechanics of an unconditional (or guaranteed) basic income. This episode is an edited recording of our first conversation with Marjukka Turunen, Elinor Buchen, Brent Ranalli, and Justin Williams.
Economic empowerment and community agency are the new humanitarian aid. In this episode, we’re exploring the power of digital currencies to spark economic activity and build resilience in refugee communities with Danish Red Cross’ Adam Bornstein.
There’s an inherent catch-22 in decarbonization. Building wind turbines, solar panels, and electric cars requires the use of rare metals like cobalt and nickel. The question is: are we willing to sacrifice the health of our oceans to get them? Everything you need to know about the problem of deep sea mining in this episode with OceanCare’s Cyrill Martin.
Domination and partnership. Our guest this week, Riane Eisler, looks at the history of human society through these two lenses. When in a domination configuration, our familial, economic, and political lives are characterized by conquest, imbalance of power, and abuse. Partnership configurations, on the other hand, emphasize the values of caring, consciousness, and creativity at all levels of society. We got to speak with Riane about what we can do to reorient our systems around the values of empathy and interconnection so that we can survive and thrive in the 21st century.
With the development of peer-to-peer networks like blockchain and Holochain, we are witnessing the birth of a new generation of the internet. There are myriad applications of this technology to revolutionize our data management, supply chains, social interactions, and economic systems. But, as with any technology, we have to be intentional in its design and application to avoid unwanted biases and outcomes. Shermin Voshmgir, founder of Token Kitchen and author of Token Economy, is committed to making this technology accessible to users without tech backgrounds, so we can all participate in deciding how it’s used.
A healthy ocean is essential to the survival of almost all life on Earth. Unfortunately, at it’s last check up, the ocean wasn’t doing so hot. Acidification, melting ice caps, pollution, and overfishing are just a few of the threats to its wellbeing. In this episode, we speak with Max Bello of Mission Blue about the policy interventions and individual actions that could pull the ocean back from the brink.
Pandemic. Vaccine. Climate emergency. Is it controversial to say that we need scientific knowledge to understand and deal with issues like these? Not on our show. But it’s no question that public trust in science has diminished in recent years. In this episode, we speak with Avisha NessAiver (@distilledscience) about his work delivering digestible scientific knowledge on social media and how we can reestablish trust in this essential field.
These children had nowhere to go. Then, Silke Rösner created Kinder Paradise. Kinder Paradise is a children’s home in Ghana where kids who have been orphaned, abandoned, or formerly enslaved can find a safe place to live, learn, and grow. In this episode, we ask Silke to share her story and discuss the power of purpose-driven action to transform a community.
Care about climate change? Concerned about political polarization? Confused by economics? Let John Barry, professor at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen’s University Belfast, talk you through his practical approach to achieving a green political economy.
This time, we’re tackling faith. While most of our episodes are about technology, economics, science, or community organizing, these aren’t the only areas people turn to for hope about the future of humanity and the planet. In this episode, we’re talking with Sally Moore and Tina Case, a mother/daughter duo who share the ways that faith colors their lens on power, greed, gratitude, and money.
With the birth of decentralized platforms, like block-chain, we’re seeing new possibilities open up for people, not just in world of crypto-currency, but as a way to securely share data and knowledge of all kinds. In this episode, we’re speaking with Michel Bauwens, a Belgian researcher and founder of the Peer-to-Peer foundation. His work focuses on the capacity of peer-to-peer theory to enable the growth of our knowledge commons and foster a more distributed, equitable, and ecological society.
Industrial agriculture has led to deforestation, land degradation, and biodiversity loss around the world. In this episode, we’re speaking with Festus Kiplagat, an expert in agroforestry and the founder of Green Planet Initiative 2050 in Kenya, who is working to reinstitute indigenous farming practices that can restore the land.
In our relatively short existence as a species, the human race has had a dramatic impact on the Earth. But what if human society could emulate and collaborate with nature rather than trying to dominate it? In this episode, we’re speaking with Dayna Baumeister, a partner at Biomimicry 3.8 and director of the Biomimicry Center at Arizona State University. Dayna’s work is all about how we as humanity can learn from the millions of other species on the planet to improve our lives and live in greater harmony with nature.
If the entire history of the planet Earth were a novel, readers of the book who got to our current chapter might start worrying about the possibility of an unhappy ending. Luckily for us, that story is not completely written yet, which means we have a say how it goes. In this episode, we speak with Mary Alice Arthur, a story activist who empowers people and organizations through storytelling to create positive systemic shifts.
Most of us are aware that social media has caused us to become more polarized. Specialized algorithms feed us content from like-minded people to keep us entertained and addicted to their platforms. The question now is: how do you break out of these echo chambers? In this episode, we’re speaking with Bjarke Calvin, founder and CEO of a social media platform called Duckling. Bjarke is on a mission to transform social media to broaden our worldviews and decentralize our data for a more connected, empowered world.
When you flush, where does it go? In this episode, we speak with Cheryl Hicks, former Executive Director and CEO of the Toilet Board Coalition. Learn about the untapped value of sanitation and an emerging economy of waste to support our agriculture and energy systems, water preservation, and even our personal health.
How can we mobilize people en masse to act on behalf to the environment? Maybe it’s through song and dance. In this episode, we speak with Kofi Debrah, co-founder of Oko Forest and one of the producers of the Asa Baako music festival in Ghana, where change makers can come together to ‘party with purpose’. Listen as we talk agroforestry, neocolonialism, and the power of culture and creativity to make a positive impact on the planet.
What role will technological innovation play on the road to universal wellbeing? In this episode, we’re speaking with Nicolas Henchoz, Founder and Director of the EPFL+ECAL Lab in Lausanne, Switzerland. The EPFL+ECAL is a collaboration between Lausanne’s major technical university and art and design school, focused on fostering innovation at the crossroads of technology, design, and architecture. We ask Nicolas why he thinks this multidisciplinary approach to technological advancement is so important in our path forward as a society.
Where does money actually come from? What’s the difference between a private bank and a public bank? These questions and more are answered in our interview with Ellen Brown, Chairman of the Public Banking Institute and author of several books on financial reform. We ask her to break down the banking system and share her thoughts on changes we need to make to achieve a more stable and equitable monetary system for the COVID crisis and beyond.
When we can see the impact of the climate crisis on our own lives, we become motivated to act. That has certainly been the case for Dominique Perret. Dominique is one of the world’s most accomplished off-piste skiers who became a leader in the fight against climate change after noticing drastic changes to our mountains and glaciers. We ask Dominique to share his personal story with climate change and what he thinks it will take to get more people engaged on this critical issue.
Political polarization and misinformation have led to many people to become confused by or completely disengaged from conversations about the climate. Now, Will Hackman is working on a way to address that disengagement. Will is an environmental policy advocate working in Washington D.C. who has dubbed himself the Climate Explainer. Through his advocacy (and a new book he’s writing), Will is connecting people to their personal stake in protecting our planet with the hope that more widespread support will lead to the policy outcomes we need to decarbonize our economy.
Is it possible to build a world economy that actually stops climate change? In this episode, we get to hear from Dr. Barbara Buchner, executive director of Climate Finance at the Climate Policy Initiative. Barbara believes whole-heartedly that we can solve climate change, address economic disparity, and prosper like never before.
Holochain is a distributed digital ledger. Like Blockchain, it allows transactions to be recorded securely without a centralized database. Unlike Blockchain, its design is scalable, without a limitation on the number of transactions that can occur at a time. In this episode, we’re speaking with Arthur Brock, the Chief Architect of Holochain, about how he sees this new technology unlocking our collective intelligence as human beings and leading us to a more egalitarian and sustainable society.
Greenpeace is one of the most recognizable names in environmental advocacy. In this episode, we have the privilege of speaking with Jorgo Riss, director of Greenpeace Europe. We ask him how a campaign to reimagine a sustainable monetary system could fit in with Greenpeace’s other actions and what such a campaign would look like.
So you have a brilliant idea for a new policy or campaign to improve the world. Great. Now what? When it comes to policy and activism, an idea can only go so far. How you achieve it is it’s own challenge. In this episode, we speak with Maura Carabello, activist, policy consultant, and founder and CEO of the Exoro Group, to get her practical tips for making real and lasting change.
In the last year, all of our working lives have been turned upside-down by the COVID-19 pandemic. But are these changes just for now? Or will we see a complete culture shift in the way we conceptualize work? In this episode, we speak with Paul Millerd, who several years ago left behind his corporate 9 to 5 to pursue life on the road as a “solopreneur”. He is a writer, blogger, and host of his own podcast ‘Reimagine Work’, where he questions the role of work in our lives. We ask Paul where he sees the future of work going and together imagine a world where we’re all free to carve our own paths in life.
1 billion women around the world remain outside of the formal financial system today. Yes, you read that right. 1 billion. In this episode we speak with Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, about this staggering imbalance. We ask Mary Ellen about what it will take to close that gap and how investing in women leads to greater economic stability and prosperity for their families and communities.
In 1934, Werner Zimmermann and Paul Enz created the WIR currency to help stabilize Switzerland’s economy through the pangs of the Great Depression. Today, the WIR still circulates, strengthening and stabilizing local commerce throughout Switzerland. In this episode, we speak with Volker Strohm, Head of Corporate Communication for the WIR bank. We ask him about how the WIR works and potential applications for today’s economic problems.
Is democracy under threat? Persisting inequity and increasing polarization brings the strength of representative governments into question. In this episode we speak with Niheer Dasandi, a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Development at the University of Birmingham. His book, Is Democracy Failing?, takes a look at the health of democracy in the face of rising populism in the West. We ask Niheer to give us a sense of where our democracy is today and if it’s still the best form of government to meet the challenges we have ahead.
Economics touches all of our lives. Shouldn’t it be easy to understand? Turns out, it’s mostly common sense. You just need the right person to explain it to you. And that person is Howard Yaruss. Howard Yaruss is an adjunct professor of economics who’s written a book called Understandable Economics: Because You Can’t Improve a System You Don’t Understand. In this episode, we ask him to dispel some common misconceptions about economics and explain why it’s so important for all people to have a solid understanding of this field of knowledge.
Indigenous economic models value collaboration over competition, harmony with nature over extraction, and subsistence over accumulation. In our first episode of 2021, we speak with Rebecca Adamson, an American Cherokee economist and scholar, about the lessons we can learn from indigenous economies to improve the wellbeing of all people and of our planet.
The Korean War is the longest standing overseas US conflict. It’s been 70 years since it began and North and South Korea remain deeply entrenched in the ideological and political struggles engendered by the Cold War. Christine Ahn, founder and executive director of Women Cross DMZ, is mobilizing women around the world to finally bring this war to an end. In this episode we speak with Christine about the echoing impacts of the Korean War and why it’s so important to have women lead the way to future peace.
The fashion industry has a waste problem. In addition to being one of the worst polluters of our world’s waters, this industry sends billions of dollars worth of unused textiles to landfill each year. Now, Stephanie Benedetto is doing something about it. Stephanie Benedetto is the founder of Queen of Raw, a marketplace to buy and sell sustainable and deadstock fabrics and textiles. By cataloguing and repurposing these fabrics that would otherwise go to landfill, Stephanie is creating a model of integrity and sustainability in the supply chain for the fashion industry and beyond.
Unconditional Basic Income. People around the world are in desperate need of economic relief in a pandemic that has exposed and exacerbated extreme levels of disparity and poverty. A basic income could be the solution. In this episode, we speak with Scott Santens, a writer and advocate for UBI who is also the first person to crowdfund his own poverty-level basic income. We ask about his argument for UBI, the barriers to achieving it, and the future he sees possible for humanity.
How do you jumpstart an economy in a community that has no money? Create a new currency. Will Ruddick is one of the directors of Grassroots Economics, a non-profit foundation focused on community development through economic empowerment and community currency programs. By creating new and secure currencies with blockchain, marginalized communities can more easily become self-sustaining economies.
Rachel Cook, founder of Seeds, is the architect of a new economy. The way Rachel sees it, there’s more than enough money in the world to meet every human being’s needs. But in our current monetary system, the flow of that money is carefully controlled by gatekeepers like banks and investors. Using the power of cryptocurrency, Rachel’s opening new pathways for giving, allowing wealth to flow more easily from person to person. Once the barriers blocking access to wealth are broken down, suddenly anything seems possible.
Who’s responsible for our happiness? For most people, finding happiness–true happiness–is a personal journey. But what if the government took on some of that responsibility? In this episode, we speak with Dasho Karma Ura, President of the Center for Bhutan Studies on Gross National Happiness. We ask about Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index, key findings, and what we can do to bring us all more happiness.
Jean-François Noubel calls himself an ‘open source earthling’. Though he lives in France, he considers his true home to be within himself. Like a turtle. And though he lives within a market economy, he chooses to live as much as he can in a gift economy instead, without money. But why? As a researcher of collective intelligence, Jean-Francois sees currency as the tool that informs the design of human society. He believes we have to expand our concept of wealth and redesign the currencies that connect us to create economics systems that are fair, civil, and transparent.
These fish need some friends. In this episode, we speak with Kurt Beardslee, executive director of the Wild Fish Conservancy in Duvall, WA. We ask Kurt about the current threats to dwindling Chinook salmon populations and what we can do to protect essential, life-giving species of fish. In the world of ‘sustainably’ caught fish, things aren’t always what they seem.
In the spirit of patriotism this election week, we’ll be talking about our national mammal—the American bison or buffalo. And not just any Buffalo. Wild Idea Buffalo. Wild Idea is a family owned-business in South Dakota that has become a model for clean, regenerative, and healthy meat production. We wanted to talk to the family about our current system of industrial agriculture and how we can change our relationship with food to be in better balance with the planet and our own bodies.
Meet the millionaire who wants to tax the rich. In this episode, we speak with Morris Pearl, a former managing director at BlackRock who now serves as the chair of an organization called Patriotic Millionaires. Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net-worth individuals who believe that all Americans would be better off in a more prosperous, stable, and inclusive nation. We ask Morris how we can get to that more inclusive place and why the wealthy should care.
Extinction Rebellion is a global movement to get the world’s governments to address the climate and ecological emergency. What started in the UK in 2018 has now grown to include 1145 groups in 72 countries around the world. In this episode, we speak with Christina See, a core organizer in New York, to learn more about how this movement has brought in so many people from such a wide array of backgrounds and what it will take to save ourselves from extinction.
In this episode, we start a dive into the role of money in politics. From campaign financing and Citizens United to lobbying and taxation, the influence of money on democracy is undeniable. And in a system where dollar contributions count as speech, some voices will inevitably be raised above the rest. We ask Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition, what we can do to safeguard and fortify the principles of democracy in the face of big money.
We’re in a crisis of consciousness around money. A system of endless growth isn’t sustainable for people or planet. But to change that system, we first need to change minds. That’s the business Dr. Pedram Shojai is in. Pedram is a doctor of oriental medicine and former monk turned entrepreneur. Through books, film, and online platforms like Well.org, he is opening minds around the world to new possibilities in the areas of health, environmentalism, and conscious capitalism.
Until destructive fossil fuel extraction practices are ended, until the rights of nature are restored, until the world comes together to face the climate crisis, we will not stop fighting. That’s Nnimmo Bassey’s message to the world. Nnimmo is an environmental and human rights activist working out of Nigeria. He has been involved with countless environmental advocacy groups, including Friends of the Earth International, Environmental Rights Action, and the Health of Mother Earth Foundation. In this episode, he shares his vision of a world that dances to a new beat.
How does our prevailing money system drive growth? Through the creation of debt. In this episode, André Peters, a former analyst at the National Bank of Belgium, shares everything you need to know about the creation of money and how its design is damaging to our planet.
Dr. Marcia Chatelain is a historian and professor at Georgetown University specializing in African-American life and culture. Her latest book, Franchise, investigates the relationship that grew between McDonald’s and black communities across America following the Civil Rights movement. What does black wealth look like under American capitalism? And is true equality ever possible?
It’s been a man’s man’s man’s world. Now it’s time to lift up the women who will save it. In this episode: our interview with Osprey Orielle Lake, founder and executive director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, and the impact women are making worldwide for climate justice.
Monopoly is one of the world’s most popular board games. But who invented it? And why? Tom Forsyth, a game aficionado and special expert on the game Monopoly, reveals the unexpected background of the world’s most popular money game and its unique influence on our lives.
Chuck Collins, a program director at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-editor of inequality.org, shares the story of waking up to his own privilege and the racist systems that granted his family generational wealth while stripping it from others. Since that discovery, Chuck has dedicated his life to spreading awareness about wealth inequality and working toward a more equitable economic system. If we’re going to mend the damage done by the ‘extraction economy’, we must first tell the true story of how we got to where we are.
Does more money lead to greater happiness? In Rivera Sun’s novel, Billionaire Buddha, inspired by the life of Dariel Garner, true happiness doesn’t come until immense wealth is given away. In our 20th episode, Mel and Steff chat with Rivera and Dariel about income inequality, the immense damage being done to people and planet in the name of wealth accumulation, and the importance of reexamining our values to build a more collaborative and equitable future.
This is like no weaving you’ve seen before. In place of threads and looms, Ross Hall and the Weaving Lab employ collaboration and experiential learning to empower communities and promote universal wellbeing.
What if you could pick up a book and learn how to transform your entire community in a single hour? That’s what Faye Cox is working on with her startup called Hourbooks. She’s on a mission to empower people to live more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable lifestyles. Hourbooks is the gateway.
What will it take to make air pollution a thing of the past? According to Kristian Lande, it’s all about decentralizing data. His start up, AirVeraCity, aims to give people direct access to the information they need to take local action on air quality.
As part of her lifestyle, Nobel nominee Dr. Evelin Lindner tries to live without money as much as she possibly can. Mel and Steff got curious about that choice and how it helps her spread her message of love.
Worried about climate chaos, inequality, and conflict? Podcast hosts, Mel Wymore and Stefanie Overbeck, want to introduce you to the people out there who are making a difference.
