The Conspiracy of Goodness Podcast
Hosted by Dr. Lynda Ulrich, Goodness Exchange Co-Founder
The Conspiracy of Goodness Podcast is designed to give you more joy, less fear, and no end to the evidence that a bright future is possible. Each episode, we help you make sense of the world by introducing you to people tackling some of the world’s most difficult problems and show you why they still think the future is bright.
Staff Recommended
Reintroducing Yourself as You Are, Not as You Were with Cheldin Barlatt Rumer (Episode #115)
Many of us have first-hand experience with grief and loss, but our guest today—a grief coach and death midwife—will give us alternatives to how we approach this rite of passage. Today’s guest, Naila Francis, shows us how we find simple sources of joy even in the depth of our losses, that help us move forward...
Get Closer to the Good Life: Ditch the Fast Life with Carl Honoré (Episode #114)
Many of us have first-hand experience with grief and loss, but our guest today—a grief coach and death midwife—will give us alternatives to how we approach this rite of passage. Today’s guest, Naila Francis, shows us how we find simple sources of joy even in the depth of our losses, that help us move forward...
Past Episodes
Rebranding Loss and Grief: How Beginnings AND Ends Can Be Celebrated with Naila Francis (Episode #125)
Many of us have first-hand experience with grief and loss, but our guest today—a grief coach and death midwife—will give us alternatives to how we approach this rite of passage. Today’s guest, Naila Francis, shows us how we find simple sources of joy even in the depth of our losses, that help us move forward with grief, NOT move on from it.
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How 82 Million Minutes of Rainforest Audio Could Save Your Life with Bourhan Yassin (Episode #124)
It is possible to save all the remaining rainforests in the world when we connect three things: technology, imagination, and our love for the world. Our guest today, Bourhan Yassin, is CEO of a nonprofit—the Rainforest Connection (RFCx)—that has been working towards doing exactly that since 2014. Their founder discovered that we could use simple cell phone technology to detect and stop illegal logging, and in less than a decade, the RFCx has expanded into using sound and machine learning to protect biodiversity in all kinds of places.
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One Eagle Scout’s Hydroponic Gardening Project Tackles Hunger in Five Countries with Christian Heiden (Episode #123)
There’s a generation coming up that could be called the “see it and then solve it” generation. They look at problems like riddles just waiting to be solved, and then they start ingeniously doing what they can with what they’ve got. Today’s guest, Christian Heiden, is an amazing example of this style of innovator. He has taken an Eagle Scout project he started at age 16, and turned it into a solution to malnutrition and food insecurity in 5 countries and the impact of the endeavor is expanding at an extraordinary, inspiring pace.
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Corporate Giants Start to Care—It’s Great for Business! with Andrew Winston (Episode #122)
It’s easy to look at a daunting challenge - something so big that you know you can’t possibly finish the job - and then do nothing. It’s easy to just not start at it, somewhere. But our guest today, Andrew Winston, did the opposite. When experience started telling him how important it was that we make a fundamental, global change in how business is done on our planet, he committed to a life of fighting for all our shared futures. He is truly living up to the moniker of “change-maker” and we are honored to share his insights.
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The Ultimate Triangle Pose: Connecting Yoga, Travel, and Girls’ Education with Jordan Ashley (Episode #121)
If you are wondering about your “purpose,” and you like to travel, then today’s guest will open a whole new landscape of possibilities for you. Jordan Ashley had two passions (yoga and travel) but over time, she began to feel like both were too self-involved. Then, the magic happened (travel with purpose) and she decided to connect her passions to her commitment to helping girls around the world who were being denied access to education. We can all learn from Jordan’s story and perhaps discover what we are uniquely built to contribute.
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A Brain in Each Leg? Follow Your Curiosity to the Bottom of the Ocean with Nathan Robinson (Episode #120)
Having filmed bioluminescent shrimp 4,700 feet beneath the sea and studied light as the world’s potentially most common communication method in the world, Dr. Nathan Robinson’s deep sea discoveries lead the world in exploring the depths of our ocean and changing the way we see this largely unexplored landscape. He spots opportunities for wonder everywhere, and celebrates them with a sense of awe that is infectious. Taking us to the most extraordinary realms on our planet, Nathan’s work and enthusiasm have the power to move mountains… and it may already have.
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Looking for Easy Ways to Volunteer? There’s an App for That! with Stephanie Page (Episode #119)
What if you could instantly connect with people who share your passions, and then, spur of the moment, do something fun together that makes the world a better place. Oh, and while you are expanding your friend network, you’d also be learning about your community and building your skills and resume! Turns out, all that is very possible, and today’s guest may send you spinning off into a new life of possibility. Stephanie Page is co-founder of POINT, the app and website that the world has needed for too long. (Think Uber meets volunteerism.)
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The Leaders in Your Life are Not Who You Think with Drew Dudley (Episode #118)
If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of a timely bit of kindness from a stranger or received a compliment or word of encouragement at just the right moment, then you know how these seemingly small acts can lead to a lifetime of impact. Drew Dudley would call those moments ``Everyday Leadership,” and he has some inspiring ideas about how we can all be leaders in the lives of others, right where we are. Sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do is simply recognize someone else’s leadership.
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282 Lawyers Defend a Client Without a Voice: Planet Earth with Elspeth Jones (Episode #117)
Today's episode will give you hope and a sense that the tide is actually turning, if just thinking about the state of our planet makes you sad or fearful. Our guest—Elspeth Jones—is the warm, funny, brilliant Deputy CEO of an environmental law charity called ClientEarth whose main client is just what the name implies: their client is our planet! Turns out, there is a group of global lawyers whose only client is The Earth. And with a support team of experts in conservation, they are defending our planet and making real change legally binding.
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Saving Whales to Save Ourselves: Shared Survival through Whale Research with Iain Kerr (Episode #116)
A constant source of wonder in the world is learning about innovators who use technology in wildly novel ways to do tasks that used to be chores or next to impossible. Our guest, Dr. Iain Kerr, is at the center of that kind of wonder with the way he combines drone technology, the science of snot, and the study of whales. (Yes, you read that right.) Even if you are not a science enthusiast, Iain’s take on progress, finding purpose, perseverance, and innovative thinking will simply put a spring in your step.
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Reintroducing Yourself as You Are, Not as You Were with Cheldin Barlatt Rumer (Episode #115)
Communication is a struggle for most of us. Either we don’t really know when to keep quiet, or we can’t muster the courage to speak up. Our guest, Cheldin Barlatt Rumer, is an expert in seeing our communication landscape, in every moment, with fresh eyes. She has some inspiring perspectives on how we elevate the voices of others, re-introduce ourselves to others after all we’ve been through, and how we can re-imagine the role of the internet in our lives as a tool for communication that can help us thrive.
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Get Closer to the Good Life: Ditch the Fast Life with Carl Honoré (Episode #114)
If many days end with you feeling depleted and wondering what just happened because of your dizzying pace, Carl Honoré has insights that will help you break free from this need for speed. Carl is the originator of the “Slow Movement,” a growing way of thinking about how we spend our time: Should we continue rushing through everything, or consciously decide which things we will slow down for so we can truly savor the moments? Due to Carl’s work, there are growing communities around Slow Travel, Slow Food, Slow Schools, Slow Living, Slow Biking, Slow Money, and more.
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10,000 Volunteers Fighting the Waste Created by Fast Fashion with Jessica Schreiber (Episode #113)
What fascinates you? If you wonder how your unique skills and interests could combine to put bread on your table, and make the world a little better place, then our guest, Jessica Schreiber, will change your future. She took an observation in her internship, and turned it into an amazing nonprofit in New York City that has 800+ companies as clients, over 10,000 volunteers, and saves NYC tens of millions of dollars every year. It’s a story that any of us could use in our own journeys to discover what we are uniquely built to contribute!
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Identifying Three Helpful Qualities You Can Bring to Every Situation with Christopher Ancona (Episode #112)
Have you ever talked yourself out of doing something important? If so, then our guest today may make that impossible for you to do, next time. Christopher Ancona is an expert in helping others see the limitations they are putting on themselves. And when I discovered his work, I absolutely had to share it here on the Conspiracy of Goodness Podcast. His work made me think that each of us has some vast pool of potential just waiting to break open, if only we could shift our way of thinking in a few key areas.
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Collaborative Hub Breathes Life into Big Ideas for Entrepreneurs of Color with LoLo Smith and George Zarebski (Episode #111)
If you’ve ever wondered what it would take to start a business or a social enterprise that solves a problem for others, today’s interview with Lolo Smith and George Zarebski will send your mind and heart soaring. They are experts in helping others find the resources to start and succeed in creating businesses and endeavors that matter. Turns out, there is no shortage of assistance for people who have good ideas. It’s just that the entrepreneur ecosystem has become so fragmented that no one knows what’s available or who is just waiting to help them!
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10 Stories That Will Make You Feel Grateful Right Now with Michael Shields (Episode #110)
This episode will feel like "food for the soul" because it is chock full of quick insights and 10 recommendations for places to head to next if you want your hope in the future rekindled. My guest, Michael Shields, is also a podcaster, and like me, he speaks with amazing people every week who fill him with delight and wonder. So today, we are swapping stories about 10 of our guests (4-5 from each of us) who come to mind immediately when we think about ingenious ideas and helpful perspectives.
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The Father-Daughter Business Fixing the Broken Chocolate Industry with Shawn and Lawren Askinosie (Episode #109)
If you or someone you know has aspirations to find more meaning and purpose in life, then today’s episode will serve as both inspiration and a bit of a roadmap. Our guests, Shawn Askinosie and his daughter Lawren, have each found their niche. In their working lives, their family business is reinventing one of the world's most important, and yet unsustainable, luxury items. And all the while they are enjoying wonderful personal lives of deep connection, travel, family and adventure.
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Are You the Hero, Artist, Prophet, or Nomad? Why Generational Archetypes Matter with Dr. Steven Shepard (Episode #108)
If you’ve ever felt stuck in a problem, and yet sensed that you were just one key insight away from a “Eureka moment,” then you will enjoy today's interview with Dr. Steve Shepard. In today’s episode, Dr. Shepard helps us see the differences between generations as a tremendous asset, instead of a source of friction. And in the end, we realize that someone who seems a planet away because of their age (young or old) may have just the insight we need to leap forward!
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