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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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.