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.
62 min listen
Solutions to the Tension Between Convenience and Sustainability with Brandi Parker (Episode #158)
Brandi Parker has some uplifting and even “freeing” new ways for us to think about our lives as consumers (with less guilt and shame.) She’s helping us all—industry included—get clarity about who should be responsible for the things we need to “throw away.” Instead of consumers bearing the burden for the “end of life” for everything we buy, she is proposing that the brands we love should be responsible for what they’ve made and put out into the world. And we can push them to do that!
Listen InSolutions to the Tension Between Convenience and Sustainability with Brandi Parker (Episode #158)
63 min listen
U-Maryland’s Do Good Institute Puts Progress on the Syllabus with Nathan Dietz & Jenny Cox (Episode #157)
U-Maryland’s Do Good Institute Puts Progress on the Syllabus with Nathan Dietz & Jenny Cox (Episode #157) The University of…
43 min listen
Love, Fear, and Courage: Choices that Lead to a Future of Radical Optimism with Kiarra Danielle Lucas (Episode #156)
If you had any doubt about the next generation coming up in colleges today, Kiarra Danielle Lucas will fill you with confidence in Gen Z. Today we all get a new perspective on how children can practice a kind of radical optimism, in the worst circumstances, and use it to build remarkable futures for themselves and others. Kiarra is an 18-year-old inspiration for anyone who thinks their circumstances limit their potential and her vision for the future might be just the spark you need to find exactly what you are built to contribute.
Listen InLove, Fear, and Courage: Choices that Lead to a Future of Radical Optimism with Kiarra Danielle Lucas (Episode #156)
56 min listen
You Can Transform Your Outrage into Action: The Proof Is In This Elephant Plushie with Kristina McKean (Episode #155)
Kristina McKean has a story that demonstrates exactly why we should not wait to start building lives of meaning and purpose. Kristina found a way to take the skills of her working life and combine them with her lifelong passion for animal welfare. Now, she finds joy every day in her work and the impact it’s having on wildlife and a new generation of very young philanthropists through her work at The Elephant Project.
Listen InYou Can Transform Your Outrage into Action: The Proof Is In This Elephant Plushie with Kristina McKean (Episode #155)
73 min listen
Your Life Is One Continuous Mistake, Just Like Everyone Else’s with Sunni Brown (Episode #154)
Sunni Brown is an intrepid and inspiring “creative” who is zooming through our world, project after project, sparking bursts of hidden potential everywhere she goes. She was named one of the “10 Most Creative People” on X (formerly Twitter), and she has been featured in every major U.S. publication: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, and CBS Sunday Morning, the latter of which has celebrated her work twice! And so will you, once you’ve enjoyed her infectious positive energy.
Listen InYour Life Is One Continuous Mistake, Just Like Everyone Else’s with Sunni Brown (Episode #154)
74 min listen
Navigating the World Without Sight: You Don’t Have to See the Road to Determine Your Path with Daniel Kish (Episode #153)
Daniel Kish has a natural ability that has amazed over 2 billion people on this planet. He is often referred to as “The REAL Batman” because he has no eyes and yet he “sees” the world with sound, much like bats and dolphins do. He has traveled the globe unaccompanied for 25 years teaching tens of thousands to live independent lives with this remarkable adaptation. In this rousing conversation, Daniel shows how this works – and asks us all to let go of our fear of the unknown.
Listen InNavigating the World Without Sight: You Don’t Have to See the Road to Determine Your Path with Daniel Kish (Episode #153)
55 min listen
4,000 Years of Wisdom and We’re Still Learning with Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde (Episode #152)
Dr. Pamelo Ayo Yetunde demonstrates why we are right to look for answers to our modern problems in timeless wisdom, some of it thousands of years old. She brings together her insights from the world’s greatest wisdom traditions, philosophies, and religions to help others find peace-of-mind, timeless truths, and clarity amid the often daunting chaos in our times.
Listen In4,000 Years of Wisdom and We’re Still Learning with Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde (Episode #152)
53 min listen
Championing Radical Neighborliness with Michael Wood-Lewis (Episode #151)
Does your neighborhood or community feel like one where everyone has each other’s back, or do you barely know anyone enough to say “hello?” Our guest today, Michael Wood-Lewis, is the co-founder of Front Porch Forum, a platform where 2/3rds of households in Vermont are choosing to come together with their neighbors. Whether it's finding lost pets, locating free building materials, volunteering to rebuild after disasters, or discovering a reliable plumber, the strength and bonds that are forming are a model for the future. Here’s inspiration and possibility at its best.
Listen InChampioning Radical Neighborliness with Michael Wood-Lewis (Episode #151)
54 min listen
Fresh Remedies for Relationship Struggles with Andy Chaleff (Episode #150)
Today we talk with author Andy Chaleff about some fresh remedies for our relationship struggles. The points of friction in our relationships can feel like a broken record and have us stuck, or worse, on the brink of heartbreaking separations. But Andy’s insights are so helpful, simple and inspiring that they will make you feel like a path is appearing.
Listen InFresh Remedies for Relationship Struggles with Andy Chaleff (Episode #150)
47 min listen
Turn Your Sustainability Sacrifices into a Joyful Game with Claudia Ruane (Episode #149)
Dr. Lynda sits down with Claudia Ruane from an amazing company, Do Nation, that is turning the loss and sacrifice model of “living sustainably” on its head and making it possible for people to change habits and feel expansive, important, and energized. Do Nation is connecting businesses and all of us as individuals—each in our own way—to small acts that can really move the needle in mitigating climate change and putting a spring back in our steps.
Listen InTurn Your Sustainability Sacrifices into a Joyful Game with Claudia Ruane (Episode #149)
53 min listen
How Radical Generosity Can Help You Invest in a Brighter Future with Vicki Saunders (Episode #148)
Vicki Saunders is the visionary, social entrepreneur who founded an organization called SheEO (now Coralus) which is widely renowned for supporting women who are getting the world’s to-do list done! This conversation will generate sparks for your own impact and totally validate the fact that you were right to hold out hope for humanity. Momentum is building behind an economic model that is “circular” and regenerative when it comes to expanding goodness and progress.
Listen InHow Radical Generosity Can Help You Invest in a Brighter Future with Vicki Saunders (Episode #148)
55 min listen
Find Work That Matters: Sustainability-Focused Companies Want Your Talents with Hannah Phang (Episode #147)
Doing work that matters—work that really lights you up—can impact your health and longevity so much that the goal of creating that kind of working-life is fast becoming a central theme in the new world of work. People seek work that matters, but for the longest time there hasn’t been a place dedicated to helping people find that work. To solve this problem, Hannah Phang co-founded The Now Work, a platform that connects people who have world-changing skills and aspirations with world-changing work and companies who are just waiting for the right talent to come along.
Listen InFind Work That Matters: Sustainability-Focused Companies Want Your Talents with Hannah Phang (Episode #147)
54 min listen
The Slow AF Run Club Welcomes YOU to the Back of the Pack with Martinus Evans (Episode #146)
When did society decide that people with larger bodies can’t possibly be “fit,” and create systems that exclude them from most fitness communities? Martinus Evans is flipping all those notions upside down and providing a rapidly growing community with insight and inspiration. At 300 pounds he has run 8 marathons, is a certified running coach, and has 95K followers on Instagram. And today, we will learn why the joy in fitness activities is for everyone, in every kind of body.
Listen InThe Slow AF Run Club Welcomes YOU to the Back of the Pack with Martinus Evans (Episode #146)
60 min listen
Our Lives are Only Limited By the Space We’ve Had to Explore with Christal Brown (Episode #145)
Many of us rush through our days, weeks, and lives, chasing goals and just trying to get everything done. But all that activity can blind us to the fact that our goals come from the notions of “influential others” in our lives, and not from what lights us up as individuals. Christal Brown is a master in helping others discover and structure a personal vision that is all their own, and one that will be a central source of joy, no matter the ups and downs in the journey.
Listen InOur Lives are Only Limited By the Space We’ve Had to Explore with Christal Brown (Episode #145)
79 min listen
“John’s Crazy Socks” Puts Disabled Employees in Positions to Succeed with Mark and John Cronin (Episode #144)
Listening to this episode will burst open a joyful place in your heart and will give you a leap in business savvy. Our guests are part of a flip in perspective in the business world that will change the future for millions. John Cronin, a young man with Down syndrome, and his father, Mark, are co-founders of John’s Crazy Socks, a business hiring people with differing abilities not as an act of charity, but a smart business move.
Listen In“John’s Crazy Socks” Puts Disabled Employees in Positions to Succeed with Mark and John Cronin (Episode #144)
70 min listen
Mindfully Embracing the Unexpected: Advice from a Zen Teacher with Flint Sparks (Episode #143)
If you or someone you know is struggling with a complexity that seems irrevocably stuck, our guest today—Flint Sparks—will point you in some new directions. He’s been a professional psychotherapist for four decades, and he is also a Zen teacher: a wonderful combination that brings a level of timeless wisdom to the table that adds a path to freedom we may not find any other way.
Listen InMindfully Embracing the Unexpected: Advice from a Zen Teacher with Flint Sparks (Episode #143)
60 min listen
Filmmaker Tours 150 Small U.S. Communities: The Surprising, Positive Lessons with Sarah Yourgrau (Episode #142)
The media seems to bombard us with stories of how bad it is “out there” and it would be easy to think that anywhere outside our particular pocket of the country is a bit frightening. But our guest today, Sarah Yourgrau, spent time in 150 small communities across America as a producer on Mike Rowe’s uplifting series: “Returning the Favor.” On this journey, she learned things that blew her away with joy. Here are some surprising stories that build a perspective we can all celebrate!
Listen InFilmmaker Tours 150 Small U.S. Communities: The Surprising, Positive Lessons with Sarah Yourgrau (Episode #142)
60 min listen
Aging Has Its Perks! How to Embrace Life Year After Year with Carl Honoré (Episode #141)
This week we take a deep dive into our expanding potential in every single decade of the aging process. Our guest, Carl Honoré, is raising eyebrows with his novel insights about aging, with special emphasis on how it improves collaboration in diverse groups, the advantages we are gaining with age, and the things to look forward to that we can’t get to any other way.
Listen InAging Has Its Perks! How to Embrace Life Year After Year with Carl Honoré (Episode #141)Follow Us
Positive news for curious people.
There is a wave of goodness and progress well underway, all around the world.