Keep Connected is a podcast about the power of community hosted by me, David Siegel, CEO of Meetup. For nearly 20 years, Meetup has fostered connections and inspired lifelong friendships for its members. Ranked among the top 25 CEO podcasts, tune in to hear inspiring stories of how these connections have changed lives and learn from experts who will explain the real impact of community. Keep connected with us today! For podcast questions, topic suggestions, or just to connect, reach out to u ...
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How to Turn Any Idea into a Real Movement
30:49
30:49
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The Ryan Meetup group has nearly 2,000 members whose common bond is simple: their first name! David sits down with founders Ryan Rose, Ryan Cousins, and Ryan Le to hear the amazing origin story of these three partners spreading the Ryan gospel. The Ryans reveal how they were able to take a Meetup of just three members—themselves—and turn their firs…
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An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Community Building
37:14
37:14
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Before he was a co-founder of General Assembly and founder of Common co-living spaces, Brad Hargreaves was a Meetup organizer hosting tech events in New York. In this conversation with David Siegel, a legendary entrepreneur talks about how he’s made community building an essential part of his business strategy. Learn how the right community can hel…
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Aldwyn Altuney’s path took her from a rebellious teen who ran away from home to a world-class journalist working with major news organizations on multiple continents. Her latest effort is Good News Day, a campaign to change the tone of the contemporary news cycle that always skews toward fear, panic, and negativity. Aldwyn sits down with David to d…
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Amnoni Myers has persevered through addiction, abuse, abandonment, homelessness, and the many difficulties of the foster care system to become an author and nationally recognized child welfare advocate. Her success story (recounted in the new memoir You Are The Prize) is not only a tale of resilience and self-discovery but a brilliant guide for any…
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Platonic Longing: Make the Friends You Want
41:20
41:20
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Kat Vellos is a certified connections coach and the author (plus illustrator!) of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships. She and David sit down to discuss why platonic relationships between adults are so important, why they’ve become difficult to maintain in the modern social landscape, and how to buck that trend thro…
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Tara Schuster was Vice President of Talent and Development at Comedy Central, and much of her identity and self-esteem was founded on that Emmy and Peabody Award-winning work. But when she was laid off during the pandemic, a severe identity crisis followed. Now, Tara is the author of Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies and the forthcoming Glow in the F…
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Bakari Akil is a self-described scrappy entrepreneur bridging the gap between the corporate world and homegrown success stories. He’s also the organizer of two Meetup groups. His first, the Alternative Investment Club, has more than 5,000 members and is officially the largest private equity and hedge fund Meetup group in the world! Bakari and David…
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Ximena Vengoechea listens for a living, as an expert in UX Research for Pinterest, and previously for Twitter and LinkedIn. She is also the author of Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection. Her book is a practical and immediately-applicable guide to empathy and understanding of your fellow humans through conversation. X…
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Less than one year ago, Anthony Paul moved from Brooklyn to the Boston area without a single previous social connection. Today, he’s the organizer of the Cambridge "Finer Things" Culture Club, a Meetup group with more than 760 members! Anthony and David sit down to discuss the key elements behind this community’s meteoric rise and its place within …
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Dr. Marisa G. Franco is a psychologist, an interdisciplinary professor at the University of Maryland, and a top writer on Psychology Today. In her new best-selling book, Platonic, she shares her expertise in the subtle art and social science of adult friendship. Marisa and David sit down to discuss the value of platonic relationships, and why they …
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Dr. Rick Hanson is a renowned psychologist and a New York Times best-selling author of several books, translated into over 30 languages with more than a million copies sold worldwide. His latest work, Making Great Relationships, shares the wisdom Rick has gained through a half-century as a professional psychotherapist, 40 years of marriage, and dec…
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Ann Marie Rakovic and David first met on an eight-mile walk she organized through Meetup. Today they sit down to talk about the transformative power of her group, Central Park NYC Ever Walk, and “the collective effervescence” that springs naturally when people get together to socialize through physical activity. David seeks advice for fellow organi…
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Before becoming the world famous singer-songwriter, Jewel was a teen in rural Alaska surrounded by people in pain. Performing in bars with her father, she became acutely aware of the unhealthy ways people deal with their emotions. After leaving home at 15 and facing her own struggles including anxiety and bouts of homelessness, Jewel learned to pri…
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Brenda Bea grew up being described as “shy” and “quiet.” In her adult life, she’s owned her identity as an introvert, and helped many other women do the same as an organizer of Introverted Girlfriends of Dallas & Surrounding Cities. This Introverted Girlfriends Meetup group is just one of fourteen different chapters around the United States. David …
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Known as the Renaissance Rabbi, Dovid Cohen is a spiritual leader, lawyer, therapist, writer, public speaker, and part of an organization that services individuals with special needs throughout the United States. In the course of these many roles, he hasn’t “got it all figured out,” but he has learned a tremendous amount about people’s ability to t…
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Monique Rhodes was adopted into a difficult situation in New Zealand. By her early teens she was quite depressed, and at 19 years old hit rock bottom when she attempted to take her own life. Since then, she’s been on a journey of resilience and self-discovery that has utterly transformed her experience as a human being on Earth. From a four-year mo…
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From investment banker, to four-time CFO, to operating partner at a top venture capital firm, to board of directors member, to lecturer at Stanford University—Jeff Epstein has done it all. Over the years, his experience, contacts, and willingness to both teach and learn have helped him become what David refers to as “the trillion dollar connector.”…
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Andrew Horn is the co-founder and CEO of Tribute, a company that has been called “Hallmark 2.0” because its modern technology is keeping the old tradition of showing appreciation alive. With nearly 6 million collaborative videos created, Tribute has brought 82% of its customers to tears of joy! Andrew and David sit down to discuss the relevance of …
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JeVon McCormick has a success story for the ages. The son of an orphaned sex worker and a drug dealer, JeVon grew up poor in the 1970s without reliable access to food, water, and electricity. Experiencing an identity crisis and lack of belonging as a mixed-race person, he also faced long periods of abandonment and several stints in juvenile prison.…
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Alysia Allen is the founder of Mocha Girls Read, a Meetup book club that began with 12 women in Inglewood, California, and now has more than 10,000 members across the United States in 14 cities and two virtual communities. 11 years ago, Alysia was an introverted bookworm who never quite saw herself as a leader. Now she sits down with David as an aw…
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Jonathon Stalls spent 242 days walking from the coast of Delaware to the Pacific Ocean. He is also the founder of Walk2Connect - Mile High Ramblers Chapter, a decade-old Meetup group that has linked more than 3,250 members through the spiritual and physical journey of walking. In his book, Walk, Jonathon recounts his adventure, sharing how he overc…
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Ken Tucker, the “conversation and relationship expert,” is a Fortune 500 strategist, international speaker, and CEO of the management consulting firm KTA Solutions. As if that weren’t enough, Ken is also the best-selling author of six books on self-reflection and self-improvement! He sits down with David to discuss navigating unexpected twists and …
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John Cass is an innovator. 20 years ago, he was on the ground floor of blogging as a marketing tool. In 2001, when he got interested in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), few of his colleagues knew what he was talking about. A cutting-edge marketing guru, John has been the organizer of the Boston Agile Marketing Group for more than a decade. This ni…
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Trust: the Crucial Community Ingredient with Seth Besmertnik
43:24
43:24
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Seth Besmertnik is the CEO of Conductor, an organic marketing and SEO platform. As two CEOs of former WeWork companies, Seth and David sit down to discuss their lived experiences as CEOs working in similar conditions. Seth has developed a leadership style that emphasizes trust and transparency. He shares some useful tips on how to drive engagement,…
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Audrey Heller is the founder of The Novel Tourists of Philadelphia, a Meetup book club for adventurers. She attended her first-ever Meetup event one lonely New Year’s Day and had an incredibly heartwarming experience. Ten years later, when she moved to Philadelphia and “literally did not know anybody,” she returned to Meetup—this time as an organiz…
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Daniel Liebeskind is the co-founder and CEO of Topia, a virtual gathering platform that helps people create a social experience in the metaverse. In 2020, Topia was one of the co-hosts of the first-ever virtual Burning Man, a “vibey” virtual vacation and spiritual retreat with over 20,000 attendees. Daniel and David sit down to discuss the profound…
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Deborah Gilboa (aka “Dr. G”) is a family physician, as well as a frequent feature on TODAY, Good Morning America, and The New York Times. She’s fluent in American Sign Language, a leading expert on stress management strategies, and the author of From Stressed to Resilient: The Guide to Handle More and Feel It Less. Dr. G and David sit down to discu…
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Rachel Herman was a graduate student at NYU when she discovered her calling to support pet owners in need. Now she’s the executive director of Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS), the largest organization in New York City that pairs volunteers with senior pet owners facing physical and financial burdens. Through her work with PAWS, Rachel has been re…
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Brandon Emerick, the organizer of the Permaculture/Sustainable Living Meetup Group, used to not believe in climate change. One high school research assignment and a few hours on Google Scholar later, he was convinced. These days, Brandon is deeply dedicated to educating the world about sustainable living. He and David sit down to discuss everything…
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In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Bradi Nathan joins the podcast to talk about the life and legacy of her son, Jack. He set up an art studio in the basement of his fraternity house to channel his feelings of anxiety and depression. Soon after, he parlayed his love of art into a way to help other kids who felt the way he did. Jack founded a…
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David Meltzer is a three-time international best-selling author, top 100 business coach, host of top entrepreneurial podcast The Playbook, and so much more. It’s easy to see why David Siegel thinks he “may be the busiest person alive!” The two Davids sit down to discuss Mr. Meltzer’s transformative path from multi-millionaire business prodigy to lo…
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Arjay Ruggles has done it all. He was a self-described Neopets supernerd, a successful makeup artist, an IT specialist, and a sex worker before founding HomeRoom, the first-ever Discord community management agency. These days, Arjay is on the cutting edge of community-centered business, helping companies navigate the evolving tech landscape while r…
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Danielle Bayard Jackson taught high school English for six years, where she learned a thing or two about coaching people through interpersonal issues. Now, as a certified friendship coach, Danielle helps adults improve their overall wellbeing by teaching them how to make new connections and create more depth in their relationships. She and David ch…
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Gerald Soriano grew up in Hawaii, then lived in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and the Bay Area. Everywhere he’s gone, Meetup has played an important role in his story. From helping him land a pivotal internship to making lifelong friendships, Meetup became a constant in Gerald’s life. These days, he’s using the platform as a leadership opportunity through …
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Special Episode: Decisions, Connections, & Leadership
1:03:58
1:03:58
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We’re flipping the script on Keep Connected! In this episode, host becomes guest and guest becomes host when author, CEO, and founder of Daybreaker, Radha Agrawal interviews Meetup CEO and Keep Connected host David Siegel. This episode delves into topics from David’s new book, Decide & Conquer, a guide for decision-making that’s sure to help new an…
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Jenn Bane and Trin Garritano are the duo behind the cult favorite podcast Friendshipping, as well as a book of the same name that explores the art of finding friends. No strangers to the Meetup community, Jenn and Trin’s Meetup Live event had the most RSVPs of 2021. They’re back to discuss creating new friendships, deepening current friendships, an…
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One Run, One Beer: Small Steps Make Big Changes
30:31
30:31
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Nearly 10 years ago, Nina Baltierra founded the Bull City Beer Runners in Durham. Now her group is one of Meetup’s largest running communities, with more than 1600 members. Not a pure running lover by heart, Nina’s group has been a huge source of personal motivation and accountability. Over time, Beer Runners has evolved into a “home base” for frie…
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Daniel Findlay used to struggle with social anxiety and a lack of confidence: now he teaches social skills to CEOs. His coaching method helps clients develop confidence and self-esteem by focusing on listening skills, small talk, building rapport, and polite assertiveness. Learn from a self-described introvert how to use simple conversation hacks t…
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Steven Petrow, Washington Post columnist and author of Stupid Things I Won’t Do When I Get Old, joins the Keep Connected podcast to discuss community building at any age. In this talk on aging gracefully and living well, you’ll learn to fight loneliness, make new friends, and hear the difference between being alone and being lonely. Find out how to…
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Author and recipient of Forbes’ elite 50 Over 50 distinction, Susan McPherson is making waves in the world by helping people connect and amplify their impact. The message in her book The Lost Art of Connecting is clear: the best way to make lasting relationships is to start with how you can help others instead of the other way around. Learn how you…
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From a young age, Carrie Melissa Jones has benefitted from the support of a strong community. By joining online music forums and chat rooms as a teen, Carrie was able to spark connections with new people, find her voice, and flourish into a leader. Today, Carrie is an author and the leader of a community for other community leaders. Hear her advice…
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Cherie Werner is a people connector. Her monthly events draw students, entrepreneurs, investors, and networkers to her Austin-based Meetup group, which now has more than 1500 members. Learn how Cherie practices deep listening skills to match members with like-minded people. Discover what listening to others can teach you about yourself. Ranked as o…
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Matt Schneider is changing parenting norms in a big way. His Meetup group, NYC Dads, was originally designed to help stay-at-home dads like him share advice. Now, the group helps dads from all walks of life navigate parenthood. Now in 40+ cities, Matt’s group helps fathers, parents, and guardians find a childcare arrangement that works for their fa…
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What can you do when your friend group becomes toxic? If you’re Marissa Meizz, it’s simple: launch a massive friendship movement. When a video about her friends’ plot to exclude her from their plans went viral on TikTok, Marissa Meizz used an unpleasant experience to find healthier friendships and help others do the same. She created No More Lonely…
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For Tal Ben-Shahar, happiness is a study and a practice. In this episode of Keep Connected, Tal breaks down steps that anyone can take to lead a happier life, from developing meaningful relationships to keeping a gratitude journal. Learn from the bestselling author and instructor of one of Harvard University’s most popular courses on how to live a …
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Christina Howell knows the power of the written word. Her writing Meetup groups, Happy Writing: Munich and Shut up & Write!, have helped thousands of writers make time to put pen to paper. In this episode, you’ll hear how Christina quit her job as a project manager to become a memoirist living in her dream city, all while running a thriving global …
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We could all stand to add a dash of charisma to our social encounters. Hosts of the hit podcast The Art of Charm join Keep Connected to discuss one of the most elusive aspects of socializing: how to charm others. Learn why AJ Harbinger and Johnny Dzubak think charm is a skill rather than a personality trait and how friendships mark the difference b…
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Entrepreneur and computer scientist Shelly Bell is on a mission to change the landscape of venture capital—and she’s using community to do it. To date, her organization Black Girl Ventures has helped more than 250 women of color get the capital they need to launch businesses. Hear Shelly’s advice for finding your dream career, staying motivated in …
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Thomas C. Knox’s pop-up, Date While You Wait, started by bringing New Yorkers together for meaningful conversations in the Union Square subway station. After going viral, Date While You Wait has been replicated in cities around the world and even became an Emmy-nominated TV show! In this episode of Keep Connected, you’ll hear about the keys to Thom…
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Omar Acosta is a natural when it comes to connecting people. His Dallas-based group, DFW Adventurers, has attracted 6,000 members, hosted 900+ events, and led to five marriages (at least!). Over the years, Omar has brought people out of their comfort zones to embrace local adventures like rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, and—scariest of all—finding…
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