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Sounds Good hosts hopeful conversations with optimists and world-changers about the headlines we can be hopeful about — and how you can get involved and make a difference. Every week, Good Good Good founder Branden Harvey sits down with the people driving positive change against the world's greatest problems. Each episode will leave you with a sense of hope about the good in the world — and a sense of direction on how we can all be a part of that good. Episodes are released every Monday. Div ...
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Sounds Good Season Finale // If you've been looking for a sign to change your life, this is it. As you've probably figured out by now, life isn't a linear line. It's full of ups and downs, uncertainty, and confusion; however, what guides us through is intentionality. That's what illustrator and author Adam J. Kurtz's fourth book, You Are Here (For …
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The gap between good intentions and real change is a big one to fill. While many companies are interested in making their workplaces more diverse, it’s not enough to simply want more inclusion. It takes real systemic change to transform any professional setting into an equitable one and many value-driven organizations find themselves stuck at being…
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Develop for Good pairs students with nonprofits to use tech to make a difference. The founder of the organization, Mary Zhu, is no stranger to the experiences of underserved communities. She’s the daughter of two Chinese immigrants and her cultural background was a huge driving force in helping see disparities in marginalized communities… and how t…
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Growing up in the racially and economically segregated suburbs of Maryland, Patrice Berry found herself wanting to work in U.S. policymaking after experiencing firsthand how hard it is for marginalized folks to finish school, get assistance, and provide for their families. She now works for the mayor of Oakland, California, working to improve local…
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After trading jazz for a Harvard education, this doctor chose to support refugees by not only working in a refugee camp in Turkey, but by developing an app that supports refugees’ unique healthcare needs. One of the major challenges of being a refugee is the lack of access to real healthcare, particularly for refugee women. But through the power of…
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Being an environmentally conscious consumer means shopping smarter, not harder. But with so much information and products in the world, it can be challenging to know where to start making choices that are good for the planet. Thankfully, our guest is doing the good work to help everyday folks make small, but valuable choices that benefit the enviro…
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After getting out of prison, Jason Wang committed to helping ex-felons get jobs, end generational poverty, and re-enter society. The United States’ incarceration system has made it nearly impossible for ex-felons to have a second chance at life. From the minute they’re incarcerated to the minute they’re released, the U.S. justice system imposes the…
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After a 7.2 earthquake struck the western part of Haiti last week, it’s been all hands on deck to help the country get back on their feet. This week, we’re talking to Christy Delafield, Managing Director of Communications at Mercy Corps, about the devastating effect the earthquake has had on Haiti and how Mercy Corps has been helping Haitians throu…
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Contacting an elected representative is an effective way to make change, but it might not always be clear how to make your voice heard. Our show guest today is Jason Putorti, one of the founders of Resistbot — a free and easy to use messaging service that connects constituents directly with their elected officials. In the four years that Resistbot …
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Mental health influencer Poppy Jamie is letting go of the idea of perfection. The British entrepreneur and lifestyle personality made the radical choice to unsubscribe from habits that were making her miserable and in her new book, Happy Not Perfect: Upgrade Your Mind, Challenge Your Thoughts, and Free Yourself from Anxiety, Poppy shares why anyone…
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Growing — whether in our personal or professional lives — requires change. But change can be terrifying, no matter what stage in your life you’re at. Fortunately, there are people who can help us deal with change — and show us how it can transform our lives and the communities around us. Josh Chambers has done it all. Prior to being an entrepreneur…
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Recycling glass turned this young founder into a TikTok star. Franziska Trautmann was at the end of her college career when her frustration at her city’s (New Orleans, Louisiana) lack of a recycling program for glass boiled over. But rather than just stewing on it, she jumped into action and created the solution that she wanted to see. With the hel…
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Maggie Smith is an award-winning poet who shot to prominence in 2016 with her viral poem, Good Bones. Widely celebrated in the poetry community for her lyricism and her poetic style, Maggie’s poems have appeared in publications such as The New York Times and The Paris Review. Her bestseller, Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change (2020)…
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Petitions help people feel like they’re making change in the world — but do they really make a difference? Stuart Perelmuter, the founder of OD Action and Atadvocacy, has worked for over a decade to keep hundreds and thousands of people informed and engaged in progressive politics through cause-related community development. From launching his own …
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Pulitzer Prize winner Professor Annette Gordon-Reed has been celebrating Juneteenth her entire life. But in light of the global spotlight on the Black Lives Matter movement from last year’s protests against police brutality, more and more people are aware of what Juneteenth represents for America. As well as a celebration of Black joy and liberty, …
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Intervening when someone is being harassed feels scary. But a global, people-powered movement called Hollaback is making it easy to put an end to harassment — and they’re seeing huge progress. The organization has grown to 14 countries, where it provides free trainings on conflict de-escalation, bystander intervention, resilience, and more. Through…
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The nonprofit New Story is solving global homelessness with innovative and holistic solutions. By providing financing and creating innovative home designs and processes, New Story has built 26 communities in four countries, all while partnering with local builders using local resources. The organization prides itself on experimenting with new housi…
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Sarah Red-Laird is “the bee girl” who started the nonprofit The Bee Girl Organization to educate and inspire communities to conserve bees, their flowers, and our countryside. The nonprofit helps to regenerate soil, bees, and communities through educational programs and events for both kids and adults. They also partner with universities, public lan…
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Terence Lester (Love Beyond Walls) is making a difference for people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and economic inequality. He founded Love Beyond Walls, an Atlanta-based organization that serves people experiencing homelessness. He returns to the podcast for the second time to discuss the power of change-making in the context of community an…
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There’s always good news if you know where to look. Every month, we publish a print newspaper called The Goodnewspaper, full of hope and ways to make a meaningful difference. In this episode, Branden sits with the managing editor of The Goodnewspaper, Kailey Thompson, to share our favorite good news stories from the first half of 2021. These storie…
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Moms Demand Action began the day after the Sandy Hook shooting, which claimed the lives of 28 people, including 20 children. Shannon Watts, a mother of five, knew she needed to do something — so she moved into action to end gun violence. She started Moms Demand Action, a non-partisan grassroots movement of moms who fight for stronger gun laws in Am…
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Rainbow Railroad helps LGBTQ+ people escape countries where they face imminent danger because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Canada-based organization works to solve a multi-layered problem that goes beyond LGBTQ+ persecution — they’re also responding to a global refugee crisis. Refugees already face mounting challenges, but an…
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John Moe (“Depresh Mode,” “The Hilarious World of Depression”) is bringing humor to mental health. The writer and radio personality’s work often centers on his mental health journey, and his writing has appeared in numerous humor anthologies as well as The New York Times Magazine, McSweeney's, The Seattle Times, and many more publications. For two …
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Yonathan Moya grew up on the U.S./Mexico border and sought out a way to tell the stories of the people living there. Following a nine-day photographic journey in 2017, he launched an organization supporting families along the border. Border Perspective leads service-learning trips along the south Texas border to provide opportunities to support loc…
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Gene Stone (author of “Forks Over Knives”) has spent the last decade writing about plant-based diets and their relationship to health, animal protection, and the environment. The former Peace Corps volunteer and journalist (Esquire, GQ, and Vogue) is a New York Times bestselling author who has written popular books including “Forks Over Knives,” “H…
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All over the world, mysterious signs have been popping up. They say messages like: “Don’t give up.” “You are worthy of love.” “Your mistakes don’t define you.” Today we’re introducing you to the woman behind these messages and the global movement: Amy Wolff. One weekend in 2017, Amy and her family anonymously staked in yards in their small town of …
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At 22, Paige More (The Breasties) got a preventative double mastectomy before ever being diagnosed with cancer. At the time, she was working as a producer for Good Morning America and felt on top of the world, but she had just discovered she carried the BRCA 1 gene mutation that indicates a higher risk for developing breast, ovarian, and other type…
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Photographer Aundre Larrow (@aundre) has worked with clients such as The North Face, Amex, Volcom, Lululemon, and the Warriors, and his work has been published in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. His work aims to show the fundamental value in each person and commonly captures the intersection of art and racial justice. He’s currently…
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Journalist and photographer KK Ottesen has photographed and interviewed the world’s most notable politicians and activists. She is a regular contributor to The Washington Post Magazine, and her work has appeared in many other international publications. Her new book, “Activist: Portraits of Courage” includes portraits of Stacey Abrams, John Lewis, …
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Expert writing coach Allison Fallon says writing can help you unlock your purpose. Allison is the author of “The Power of Writing It Down” and founder of the writing coaching company Find Your Voice. In Allison’s newest book, she shares why writing down your story is one of the most powerful tools you have at our disposal to see your life with clar…
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This teacher has turned to Instagram to combat misinformation. Sharon McMahon — who describes herself as “America’s (not boring) government teacher” — and her highly engaged Instagram community (self-described as Governerds) — just joined forces and raised enough money to forgive $50 million in medical debt — breaking records in just a matter of da…
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Activist Leah Thomas created a platform to address the ways environmentalism impacts not only the planet, but the people on it, too. She calls the platform Intersectional Environmentalist, a movement that addresses and incorporates lawyer and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw’s feminist framework of intersectionality.The platform Leah co-founded is now hom…
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After working on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns, Amanda Litman founded Run for Something, an organization dedicated to helping young and non-traditional candidates successfully run for office. Run for Something removes barriers to entry by providing assistance with behind-the-scenes mechanics, tactical and strategic suppo…
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Is the world becoming more peaceful? Or less? How would we know if it was? In an effort to measure peace, entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Killelea founded the Institute for Economics and Peace, a nonprofit global research institute that measures peace levels around the world. The Institute created the conceptual framework for “positive peace,…
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Jedidiah Jenkins is a travel writer who lives with life with intention and purpose. He worked a dream job as a lawyer for the nonprofit Invisible Children before quitting to bike 10,000 miles from Oregon to Patagonia. He wrote a New York Times-bestselling book about his experience and has inspired thousands of people to engage their own lives with …
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This is the full-length, unedited version of our conversation with Jedidiah Jenkins. Jedidiah was one of our first-ever guests on the show when we launched Sounds Good five years ago. His episode remains one of our most popular episodes, so we thought it would be fun to release the full unedited conversation of our latest conversation together. Enj…
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Dressember founder and CEO Blythe Hill is on a mission to use fashion to end human trafficking. What she started as a style challenge in 2009, she turned into a nonprofit with global reach. The challenge is simple: Every December, wear a dress (or tie) every day. It’s a great conversation starter, and it works to raise funds for trafficking prevent…
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Echo chambers are a real problem in our news and media consumption. We follow, listen to, and read news from people who tell us what we already believe, so we run the risk of missing out on the truth or valuable perspectives. Our guest, Harleen Kaur, co-founded Ground News, a news comparison platform that promises to uncover your media blind spots …
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Shane Claiborne is an outspoken critic of the death penalty. He’s a well-respected justice system reform activist and Christian faith leader, and he believes capital punishment needs to go for good in the United States — a country that’s in company with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt for countries with the highest execution rates. In th…
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The nonprofit Kids Boost empowers kids to become philanthropists and social entrepreneurs. With $100 in start-up funding, kids work with a one-on-one coach to raise funds for a charity they love. On average, participants turn the initial $100 into $1,850 for deserving charities. In the first half of this episode, Kids Boost founder Kristen Williams…
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Miles Adcox (Onsite Workshops, Unspoken Podcast) is passionate about emotional wellness. His company offers life-changing personal growth workshops, leadership retreats, and emotional treatment. He lives his life by three concepts: Empathy over action, love over agenda, and grace over advice. He also co-hosts a podcast, Unspoken, with friend of the…
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Danielle Coke (@ohhappydani) uses art to educate and inspire her Instagram followers about anti-racism and allyship. For many of us, this year has inspired big questions about how to meaningfully take action and make a difference in the realm of a lot of big problems — and especially systemic racism and racial injustice. These problems aren’t new, …
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Katherine Gehl says reforming our voting system is the solution to political division and gridlock. Our current political system makes polarization and incivility commonplace and compromise nearly impossible, but ranked choice voting promises to make efficient cooperation possible. Katherine founded Democracy Found and The Institute for Political I…
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Terence Lester (Love Beyond Walls, Dignity Museum) is on the forefront of providing support for people experiencing homelessness — in Atlanta, Georgia and around the world. More than 500,000 people experience homelessness every single night — and their needs are made worse by COVID-19. It's a serious problem — in need of empathetic and creative sol…
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The podcast that leaves you feeling more hopeful is coming back! Sounds Good hosts hopeful conversations with optimists and world-changers about the headlines we can be hopeful about — and how you can get involved and make a difference. Every week, Good Good Good founder Branden Harvey sits down with the people driving positive change against the w…
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From projects with Lin Manuel Miranda, to writing for Netflix’s BoJack Horseman — from illustrating a book about an aliebn, to getting a master’s degree from Yale, Jonny Sun is doing it all. Somehow he’s also maintaining a humble approach to infusing a sense of empathy, hope, and purpose into the internet.…
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