Episodes

This week we bring you a conversation with Dr. Angela Duckworth, pioneering professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit that advances science to help children thrive. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2013, and in 2016 published Grit, a book that explores what elements lead to success. She makes the case that achievement is not dependent on genius, but instead, on The Power of Passion and Perseverance: grit. Dr. Duckworth believes that gr...

This week we’re bringing you a conversation about human flourishing and how the digital age is reshaping human potential with Vint Cerf, a man globally recognized as one of the “fathers of the Internet.” In recognition for his extraordinary contributions to the creation of Internet technology, Cerf has been awarded a U.S. National Medal of Technology, the Turing Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And, drawing on his own experience with being hearing impaired, he’s also known as a lead...

Our guest today is Dr. Deepak Chopra, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality. He is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation, and the author of over 90 books translated into over forty languages. In addition to holding a number of positions at medical schools across the US, Dr. Chopra has been at the fore...

Today, we’re in conversation about the act of listening. Our guests are researchers Netta Weinstein, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Reading, and Guy Itzchakov, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Services at the University of Haifa. Profs. Weinstein and Itzhchakov are part of a research team working to develop a scientific understanding of what listening is, what its benefits are, and why it matters so much to our well-being. Learn more: Guy Itzchakov...

Today, we’re talking about a pursuit of well-being that impacts us all — climate health. Today’s guest is Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and the first woman to hold that elected office and former United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. Since Robinson’s tenure as Ireland’s President ended in 1997, she has continued to work tirelessly to promote gender equity, human rights, and, most recently and most intensively, climate justice. Robinson speaks about the interdependence of peop...

Today’s guest is international superstar dancer/choreographer Judith Jamison. In 1964, at just 21 years old, Jamison made her dance debut in New York with the American Ballet Theater. She soon joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, eventually becoming the company’s principal dancer, then its artistic director, and, since 2011, she’s been artistic director emerita. Jamison shares her insights into the power of dance to facilitate connections between audience and performer that encourage b...

In today’s episode, we delve into how humans flourish through music and listening – and what music and listening teach us about ourselves – with internationally acclaimed musician, composer, and bandleader Wynton Marsalis. At the age of 60, after a long, international career, Marsalis identifies not only as a solo artist and a group leader, but as an educator and a leading advocate of American culture. Learn more: Wynton Marsalis Catch the video edition of this episode here: Adversity...

Today, we hear about human happiness from two of the world’s foremost researchers on the subject: Dr. Laurie Santos and Dr. Arthur Brooks. Each of the researchers shares what they see as the ingredients to a flourishing life. Santos and Brooks agree that a sense of meaning and purpose is essential to human happiness. Neither Brooks nor Santos ties happiness and flourishing to material comfort or to personal achievement. Rather, they emphasize that the investment we make in relationships with oth...

In today’s episode, we hear from The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, the first African-American woman to lead a top-ranked research university — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — and Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an intergovernmental economic organisation with 38 member countries who stimulate economic progress and world trade. These two global l...

Today, we’re delving into a discussion with Casper ter Kuile and Reverend Sue Phillips, two of the co-founders of Sacred Design Lab, which describes itself as a “soul-centered research and development lab.” If you’re thinking, “Wait, how can you do R&D on the soul?!”, you’ll want to hear what ter Kuile and Rev. Phillips have to say about how spiritual practice shapes our lives. Rev. Sue Phillips is a graduate of Colgate University and the Episcopal Divinity School, and she has served as a Min...

Our new season begins with scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropy leader Dr. Andrew Serazin, President of Templeton World Charity Foundation. Dr. Serazin discusses TWCF's latest initiative, the Grand Challenges for Human Flourishing, which will enable researchers to discover new knowledge, develop new tools, and launch new practices or interventions that make a lasting impact on human flourishing. Hear the new ideas that support human flourishing. Learn more about the Grand Challenges for ...

The birthright of every human being is not just to survive, but to thrive. This year on the Stories of Impact Podcast, we bring you conversations about innovative tools that help human beings flourish - the science behind flourishing. Join host Tavia Gilbert and journalist Richard Sergay to hear about the intersection of the science and spiritual practices that give life the deepest meaning and fulfillment. Every first and third Tuesday, you’ll hear from global luminaries with expertise in...

Today’s episode highlights Richard’s conversation with Dr. Everett Worthington. Dr. Worthington is Commonwealth Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University. For the last 30 years, Dr. Worthington has been studying forgiveness, and he has written more than a dozen books on how forgiveness can heal and transform. In 2001, he developed the pioneering REACH Forgiveness method, which has helped thousands of people—including himself—reap the mental and physical benefits of forgiveness. L...

Today, we hear a fascinating and inspiring conversation having to do with the flourishing of young South Africans. Today’s episode features Richard’s conversation with Nina Callaghan, former Associate Director and current South African Chair of Children’s Radio Foundation. In a post-apartheid country still suffering the social, psychic, and economic wounds of decades of institutionalized racial segregation, the very act of teaching these youth basic journalism 101, including ethics, consent, and...

Today we hear from Dr. Arthur C. Brooks, Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. In this fascinating interview, Dr. Brooks considers the question "can capitalism and spirit work together for good?" and discusses democratic capitalism, why the bottom 30% — those historically shut out of economic opportunity in the United States — are our country’s greatest untapped assets, and the gift of a p...

Templeton World Charity Foundation President, Dr. Andrew Serazin, is back for another conversation with podcast host Richard Sergay about what it means to invest in flourishing. Dr. Serazin talks about human flourishing — what it is, and how TWCF hopes to spur discovery about it. Dr. Serazin shares his excitement about the foundation’s Grand Challenges for Human Flourishing program, born out of a specific strategy to discover new knowledge, develop new tools, and launch new innovations that make...

Imagine a state of being in which all the many dimensions of your life are good. Imagine health that goes beyond typical measures of physical and mental well-being, but expands to include life satisfaction, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and thriving social relationships. This spring, join producer Tavia Gilbert and journalist Richard Sergay for the fourth season of the award-winning Stories of Impact podcast. This season, we will bring you explorations of how people throughout the w...

Today, Richard is in conversation with Dr. Filippo Trevisan, assistant professor at the School of Communication and Deputy Director at the Institute on Disability and Public Policy at American University. Dr. Trevisan talks about our evolving views on social media and offers insight on how we can use — and how we are already using — the Internet as a tool to improve representation in our democratic process. Listening can change the world. More about Filippo Trevisan Mentioned in this episo...

Today’s conversation is with David O’Brien, Assistant Research Director at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University about protecting democracy in the digital age. Prof. O’Brien talks to Richard about how we as citizens can bring our democratic values to bear on social media platforms; the role privacy plays online in allowing democracy and democratic citizenship to flourish; and more. More about David O’Brien and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society...

Today’s episode features a conversation with Colin Mayer, Peter Moores Professor of Management Studies and the former dean at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. Prof. Mayer speaks to host Richard Sergay about how policy shapes social connection and the role of business institutions in building resilient and cohesive communities, as well as the necessity of trust in whether civilization itself will be sustained. More about Colin Mayer and his published works, including Prosp...

Today, host Richard Sergay speaks with Baroness Onora O’Neill, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Cambridge University. Prof. O’Neill, whose work has focused on international justice and the roles of trust and accountability in public life, discusses what makes communication ethical – the value of privacy in a time of surveillance capitalism, human rights after the digital revolution, and the importance of listening as a civic virtue. Mentioned in this episode: Citizenship in a Networked...

As we explore our season focusing on citizenship in the networked age, journalist Richard Sergay explores the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in the digital era, the individual and community strengths inherent in healthy citizenship, and the threats to our future without it. Today’s conversation is with Sir Paul Collier, a professor of economics and public policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, and discusses how we go about finding common purpose in a ...

Today’s conversation features three intersecting perspectives on the topic of rethinking citizenship in a connected world. We’ll hear from Vint Cerf, Google's vice president and chief Internet evangelist, and one of the world’s recognized “fathers of the Internet”; Nuala O’Connor, former president and CEO at the Center for Democracy and Technology; and Michael Wear, a strategist, speaker, and practitioner at the intersection of faith, politics, and public life. Each of them adds dimension to our...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Andrew Briggs, a professor of nanomaterials at the University of Oxford, and Dr. Dominic Burbidge, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford and director of the Canterbury Institute. Along with a team of scholars, their study of citizenship in a networked age has led to a carefully crafted report and a new vision for civic life, including seven recommendations in support of their Agenda for Rebuilding Our Civic Ideals. Learn more about Citizenship in...