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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.
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Past Episodes
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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5 min read
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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Misery or Mindfulness? Choosing Your Perspective Wisely with Dr. Srikumar Rao (Episode #107)
Turns out, we don’t have to solve any of our problems through struggle, trial, and error. No, there are pieces of wisdom out there that are as true today as they were 2,000 years ago. And today’s guest, Dr. Srikumar Rao, has done the work of gathering those pieces of insight and making them relevant to modern life. Dr. Rao is a sought-after speaker around the globe because the perspectives he shares have the power to help us make enormous leaps in our personal wisdom and use those leaps to rise above the chaos.
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Let Your Work Run Itself By Declaring Your Big Promise with Mike Michalowicz (Episode #106)
If your head is sent spinning by a constant swirl of financial and business priorities, today’s guest will open a path to clarity and peace of mind for you. Mike Michalowicz’s “zone of genius” is in simplifying the most dizzying concepts. He is a master at using easy-to-remember stories and analogies that help his insights soak in for us all. In today’s episode, we talk about his recent book “Clockwork” and a few of the ah-ha moments can send your working life in fresh and fundamentally exciting new directions.
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Don’t Look for Connection in Nature, Listen for It with Liz McKenzie (Episode #105)
If there are times when a moment of delightful joy or wonder would save the day for you, then our guest today has a message that will be a gift that keeps on giving. Liz McKenzie is an expert in giving us all access to the quiet, small wonders - usually just steps away - in a window sill, balcony, our own backyard, or a nearby park. No vacations are necessary to “get out into nature” and feel its calming warmth. It’s all around us all the time, and listening for it might be the greatest joy of all.
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5 min read
After Adopting 123 Kids, Former Buddhist Monk Transforms Education with Gen-la Lobsang Phuntsok (Episode #104)
There is nothing quite as enlightening as listening to the insights of someone who has been to the edge and back. Today’s guest - Lobsang Phuntsok - had been to many edges of human existence. He was abandoned at birth, left under dry leaves by his 13 year old mother, but rescued to grow up as a Buddhist Monk. After an amazing journey of insight, he is now “Dad” to 123 children in an amazing family that is also a school and community that could fundamentally change the goals of education worldwide.
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5 min read
Streets are for People, Not Cars? Bringing Joy & Humanity to Your Neighborhood with Blaine Merker (Episode #103)
If you wish your neighborhood brought more opportunities for delight and connection close to home, you will love our conversation with guest, Blaine Merker. His work with one of the most important Urban Design companies in the world is aiming at unique, inspiring “street cultures” in the future for us all. Blaine has some amazing stories of how our streets are being transformed from places for our cars, to places for people! If ever the future felt bright, this episode will fill you with a sense of possibility.
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5 min read
“Do You Know What I Like Most About You?” And Other Ways to Make Life Happier with Dr. Hal Urban (Episode #102)
If you’ve committed to spending more time on things that add to your quality of life, then our guest today will bring delight to your everyday experiences. Dr. Hal Urban has traveled over two million miles talking about how small shifts in our positive character traits can help us celebrate the life we are living. He has written eight books on the power of positivity, but with a unique twist on how we can take control of our happiness.
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5 min read
From Unemployment to World Traveler: Turn Setbacks into Opportunities with Doug Barnard (Episode #101)
Ever dream of traveling the world? Is it possible to visit places less traveled with almost nothing more than a radiant smile? It is! Our guest today—YouTuber Doug Barnard—has attracted a global following of almost 500,000, at age 26. People in places like Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, and Alexandria, Egypt are recognizing him, and often embracing him on the street. Best of all, his popularity is not due to outrageous behavior, but rather his sense of celebration of every person he meets. His energy is contagious.
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5 min read
Lessons Learned from 8 Years of Publishing Good News with Liesl Ulrich-Verderber (Episode #100)
If you want to hear a rare, fresh take on the present and future - a conversation full of progress and wonder - then join Liesl Ulrich-Verderber and I as we share what we’ve learned through 8 years of curating the internet for “good news.” The remarkable stories of newsworthy insight and innovation are out there, but going uncelebrated. Liesl will be changing that soon as she bursts onto the scene with a young, exciting, and brilliant voice, amplifying a “Conspiracy of Goodness” happening right now, across the world.
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