Episodes

May 27, 2021

Stories matter: the invisible war

This time on the podcast, the story of an invisible war. Shots are fired. Injuries sustained. But how do you fight an enemy you can't see — one that may not even exist?

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April 16, 2021

Stories matter: the elephant whisperer

An armchair safari to a place where humans and elephants are engaged in a deadly conflict over resources — and the one man who can speak to both sides.

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March 12, 2021

History matters: not Gone With the Wind

Confederate soldiers never reached the US Capitol during the Civil War, but the "Confederate flag" (which was actually the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia) finally arrived in the building on January 6. Join us for a deep …

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Jan. 26, 2021

History matters: heroes or traitors?

The divisions that have taken hold of the country are playing out not only in our public lives, but also in some of our closest relationships. What drives the tensions are our very different answers to that perennial question: What …

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Dec. 10, 2020

Plan Be: embracing "radical hospitality" with Mike Gray

Is Santa real? You bet. These days he goes by the name Mike Gray, a retired jack of all trades who lives not at the North Pole, but in a recycled house in the Arizona desert—when he’s not with the …

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Nov. 19, 2020

Plan Be: warrior turned potter Matt Marasch

In the first of our “be the change” stories — stories about people who are being the change they want to see in their own communities — we talk with Matt Marasch, former infantry paratrooper and green beret turned potter …

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Nov. 12, 2020

Transcending Tribalism

This has been a time of trauma — for some of us it started four years ago, for others just last week. It's tempting to think the answers to our pain lie in retreating further into tribalism. But if there’s …

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Oct. 29, 2020

Country over party: this is what democracy looks like

Today, as voters head to the polls in record numbers and with concerns around the election at a fever pitch, we’re talking about a topic that has us alternately feeling like Chicken Little and Pollyanna. But we’re not alone. Everywhere …

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Oct. 22, 2020

Let's get it started with Baratunde

There's nobody better to kick off our new season — and "Plan Be" — than the man who helped inspire it: Citizen Baratunde, Executive Producer and Host of the hit podcast How to Citizen with Baratunde. Writer, activist and comedian …

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Oct. 15, 2020

Season 2 trailer: Plan Be

As the pandemic drags on and the American project feels like it’s spiralling out of control, hope can feel hard to come by. What’s an ordinary person to do? Especially if you're more comfortable ghosting family members with different political …

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Sept. 16, 2020

The Gini* is out of the bottle

Early on during the pandemic there was a popular refrain: "We're all in this together." Sadly, time has shown that to be a fiction. The recession ended for the haves months ago. Meanwhile, it's gotten harder and harder for ma...

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Sept. 3, 2020

Don't rock the boat (feat. Archie Bunker)

What do All in the Family, the Brady Bunch and our all too apparent political divisions have in common? Join us as we cast (real) political commentary aside (we were no good at that anyway) and resurrect the sitcoms and …

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Aug. 19, 2020

History lessons from the great divide

Enough already! As if a pandemic, looming economic disaster, racial and civil unrest, and political division weren’t enough, there is talk in some circles about a second civil war. Clearly we're in uncharted territory. Is it ...

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Aug. 6, 2020

Pivot!!!

It's a surreal time. Millions are unemployed and, for others, work has changed in ways they never imagined. This week we talk with career and leadership coach Karen Gulliford about managing change, what it takes to lead durin...

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July 29, 2020

Risky business

Mortgages, the economy and capitalism, oh my. In this wide ranging conversation, our guest, economist Shuaib Hassan, talks about (among other things) immigrating to the US from Afghanistan when he was 11, what makes capitalis...

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July 17, 2020

Truth and consequences

Is there one (bitter) pill that, consumed regularly, could save us from COVID-19? As cases surge across the country, our guest, hospital pharmacist Samira Duja, reflects on the challenges of keeping up with the demand for med...

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July 1, 2020

Education on the line

For many of the world's 1.2 billion children who are out of school due to the pandemic, continuing their education is not a matter of how or even when—but if. Kelley talks with Education Specialist Alberto Begue about the impact …

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June 24, 2020

Visit Ethiopia... later

What's the future of tourism in a post-COVID-19 world? How do you do it sustainably, so that it benefits local communities without leaving a massive carbon footprint? Kelley talks with Mark Chapman, whose community tourism or...

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June 17, 2020

WTF (Wear That Facemask)

What's it like to collect news footage in a brothel while wearing full PPE in 93ºF (34ºC) heat and 90% humidity? During the pandemic, Bangladeshi video-journalist Salman Saeed has been taking on the near impossible to bring t...

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June 9, 2020

American dreaming

America is battling two deadly pandemics. Is this a moment for hope or despair? Kelley asks her two co-hosts and close friends, Cindy and Tanvir—both from cultures with a history of white oppression, but on opposite sides of ...

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June 3, 2020

Don't stand so close to me

How are companies using the pandemic as an opportunity to re-imagine the way we work? Marie Woods, Director of Operations for a global law firm based in Washington, DC, talks about how her firm has shifted operations and how ...

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May 27, 2020

A little cross-contamination

Why do African Americans make up just 47% of the population of Washington, DC but account for 80% of DC's deaths from COVID-19? We’ve been told that it boils down to factors like genetics and diet. But today’s guest, Maurice …

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May 19, 2020

That holy [expletive] moment

Who do you call when you suspect that life as we know it may have reached a point of no return? Kelley talks with Laurie Mazur, Resilience Editor at Island Press. Laurie has been writing and thinking about scary things …

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May 18, 2020

Season 1 trailer: Welcome to A New Normal

What do you do when a pandemic brings life as you know it to a screeching halt? In quarantine, with travel on hold, photographer and storyteller Kelley Lynch, finds a new normal at home and ropes her two best friends—one …

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