By the nature of our mission, the CASE team spends a lot of time thinking about social entrepreneurship and how we can foster a growing community of social impact leaders and organizations. But what about when we’re not in the office?
In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday this week in America, the team sat down and shared what media we’re thankful for in providing us with the inspiration to work towards scaling social impact both through our work at CASE and in our local communities. We hope that you enjoy this round up of podcasts, blogs, and more as much as we do.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Rob Cast – Weekly podcast led by progressive Christian minister and writer Rob Bell that I listen to while I’m running. Rob’s messages always ground me and keep me thinking long after the run & the show are over!
Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga – As a yoga teacher and practitioner, Rolf Gates’ daily reminders help me deepen my practice on and off the mat.
@MsPackyetti – Tweets by my friend and former colleague Brittany Packnett. Brittany is Vice President, National Community Alliances at Teach For America and co-founder of Campaign Zero, a comprehensive policy platform to end police violence. Her tweets educate, inspire, and challenge me to use my privilege to help create more equitable systemic change wherever I can.
The CASE team knows that I listen to our local NPR station, WUNC, at my desk pretty much all day. I particularly look forward to The Diane Rehm Show for its in-depth coverage of politics, current social issues, and culture.
Even if I’m only “half-listening” as I’m doing my work, I feel informed and inspired at the end of those two hours, and sometimes I gather a tidbit of something to instruct our own work. For example, sharing a resource from an episode on “using design theory to build a better life” with my teammate Kim who runs our annual Design Thinking workshop for MBAs.
I am really loving podcasts right now. Partly because they fit well with times my mind is free (commuting, running), and partly because I appreciate practicing the important skill of listening. Listening to new voices and perspectives, but also listening without also having my mind pre-occupied with how to respond. Two podcasts I am finding to be incredible sources of inspiration, learning, and empathy-building are:
The Monti – The Monti is a local nonprofit organization “dedicated to developing community through the telling of stories.” It broadens my understanding of the diverse people in my community, with a great consequence of also helping me better understand myself.
Founders’ Corner – Founders’ Corner, produced by the Omidyar Network, features one on one interviews with engaging social entrepreneurs – giving me continued context for my work and inspiring me to do more to support the incredible people out there changing our world for the better.
Jane Goodall’s Good For All News educates and inspires me. The stories found there encourage readers to embrace hope and take action, especially in the realm of wildlife protection. Jane Goodall is the closest I have to an idol. I wish I could be more like her!
I spend a lot of time commuting in my car during the week which means a lot of listening to NPR. While it’s no longer in production, I still often download and listen to episodes of WUNC’s The Story with Dick Gordon. Hearing intimate interviews with people from all walks of life, especially those with very different backgrounds from my own, is a reminder of the common ground we share as humans even in uncertain times. If you have never listened to the show before, I recommend starting out with the story of Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton.
BackStory with the American History Guys is one of several history-themed podcasts I also enjoy. The topics they cover often highlight how far the United States has come over the centuries and makes me feel hopeful for how much more we can accomplish together in our future. I particularly enjoyed their recent episode on the history of disability in America as a reminder of how far we’ve come in this area.
Cathy Clark’s “On Impact” weekly newsletter. Why? It helps me keep up to date on what is happening in the wild world of impact investing, and enables me to thus better serve the students I work with.
Katie Kross’s book Profession and Purpose. My go-to resource when I’m looking for websites or Twiter handles for specific sustainability fields
Old Planet Money podcasts from 2008-2010. Give me a better understanding of how the financial collapse happened, and motivation to help CASE students enter into the finance world!
Two of the news sources that keep me inspired are the NY Times Fixes column and NPR’s StoryCorps.
The NY Times Fixes column inspires me because of its focus on “looking at solutions to social problems and why they work.” I wish that more of the news media would focus on the positive stories that give us hope and a path forward.
StoryCorps always feels like such an authentic interaction with people from all walks of life. There have been many times that I’ve sat in my car in the parking lot at work, waiting to hear StoryCorps before I head in to the office (or, waiting to dry a tear or two after an emotional story!).