Conspiracy of Goodness Podcast

Goodness Exchange
  • 4.9 (23)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

More joy, less fear, and no end to the evidence that a bright future is possible. Hosted by Dr. Lynda Ulrich, co-founder of the Goodness Exchange, each episode we help you make sense of the world by introducing you to people tackling some of the world’s most difficult problems and show you why they still think the future is bright. Find more good news at the Goodness Exchange, a media outlet helping you cut through today’s negative noise, saving your time and sanity with instant access to positive news, fresh insights, and uplifting perspectives.

  1. 4d ago

    245. How WISE Connect Is Helping People Find Their Community with Kat Close & Marie Brodsky

    What if the community you’re looking for is already there, but you haven’t found your way into it yet?WISE Connect founders Marie Brodsky and Kat Close join Dr. Lynda to explore how we can make friendship, purpose, and belonging easier to find at every age.Inspired by their own family experiences, Marie and Kat discovered a surprising disconnect: people wanted meaningful ways to participate in their communities, while nearby organizations struggled to reach them. The possibilities existed. What was missing was a way to bring them together.Their work began with the needs of older adults, but the questions they raise touch all of us. Does anyone expect us to show up? Can we find opportunities to learn, contribute, and have fun? And could technology help us spend more time connecting with people in real life?In this episode, we explore:• Why struggling with technology isn’t a character flaw• The difference between a smart city and a community that works for people• Why joy, purpose, and belonging matter throughout our lives• How WISE Connect helps people discover activities, volunteering, and local support• How families can help loved ones connect from a distance• Using AI to support human relationships• What different generations can learn from each other Chapters 0:00 — Intro & Welcome 5:22 — Rethinking Technology for Older Adults 13:27 — The Story Behind WISE Connect 23:04 — Aging With Purpose, Joy, and Belonging 34:35 — How WISE Connect Works4 9:58 — Finding the Community Already Around You 58:03 — Using AI to Strengthen Human Connection 1:01:55 — What Generations Can Learn From Each Other 1:08:55 — How to Help Build More Connected Communities

  2. Aug 31

    244. What Can Your Old Clothes Become Next? w/ Nicholas Ledra

    You clean out your closet, donate a bag of clothes, and feel pretty good about it. But where do those clothes actually go? Dr. Nicholas Ledra is solving the enormous textile-waste problem hiding in plain sight—and today we celebrate the science that could change it. His work at Nuria Scientific points toward something far more exciting than simply recycling our clothes once: a future where the materials inside them can be recovered, reused, and given life after life, after life, instead of eventually becoming waste. 0:00 — Intro & Welcome 5:32 — The Hidden Reality of Donating Clothes 8:30 — Why Modern Fabrics Are So Difficult to Recycle 12:50 — Break 15:06  — From Grandma’s Sewing Room to Textile Innovator 33:53  — Open-Loop vs. Closed-Loop Recycling 39:44  — Giving Old Clothes Multiple New Lives 44:47  — When Recycling Isn’t Actually Green 48:24  — The Future of Textile Recycling and How to Help

  3. Jul 31

    243. Play Isn’t Just for Kids: It’s the Fifth Pillar of Health! with Teresa Davis

    Most of us know the big health pillars: eat well, move your body, and get enough sleep. More recently, we’ve started to understand the importance of social connection. But according to Teresa Davis, there’s another essential part of being fully alive that many adults have forgotten: play. In this episode, Dr. Lynda Ulrich talks with Teresa Davis, founder of Davis Studio and Play Intention in South Burlington, Vermont, about why play is not a childish escape from real life. It may be one of the most intelligent, healing, connecting, and practical things humans can do. Together, they explore adult play, creative expression, “foraging for joy,” curiosity, resilience, and how small playful choices can help us feel less heavy, more connected, and more human. This conversation is a reminder that play is not a waste of time. It is a way back to ourselves. Learn more and find the full article on the Goodness Exchange. Chapters 00:00 — Intro & Welcome 04:45 — What If Play Was Seen as Wisdom? 07:26 — What Children Teach Us About Connection 13:28 — Foraging for Joy 19:16 — Is Play a Form of Intelligence? 20:55 — What Adult Play Actually Looks Like 33:13 — Break 35:28 — Bringing Play Into Everyday Life 41:10 — Teresa’s Story and Permission to Play 48:11 — Can Play Make Us More Hopeful? 57:05 — Play as the Fifth Pillar of Health 1:07:45 — How to Start Foraging for Joy 1:16:12 — Curiosity at the Core of Play 1:27:47 — Growing the Movement 1:31:52 — What Teresa Wishes People Knew

  4. Jun 30

    242. How To Human: Why Colleges are Putting Life Skills on the Syllabus with Marjorie Malpiede

    What if higher education measured success not only by grades and job placement — but by whether students are actually flourishing? Marjorie Malpiede, editor in chief of LearningWell magazine and host of LearningWell Radio, explains how a committed group of colleges and universities helping students build belonging, resilience, purpose, agency, and lifelong wellbeing in their students. Chapters 00:00 – Intro and Welcome 05:09 – Rethinking the Purpose of Higher Education 16:48 – The Problem With Achievement Culture 29:10 – Break 32:00 – From Mental Health Crisis to Human Flourishing 43:43 – Is College Becoming Too Transactional? 50:16 – Character Education Is Making a Comeback 01:00:50 – Relationship-Rich Education 01:13:05 – What Would an Ideal First Year of College Look Like?

  5. May 31

    241. When Technology Makes Us Better Neighbors with Michael Wood-Lewis

    When we know our neighbors, the world feels more human and much less scary. Michael Wood-Lewis is the co-founder of one simple, moderated platform that has helped rebuild trust, reduce loneliness, and strengthen communities in every town in Vermont. With 250,000 active members in a state of roughly 270,000 households, Front Porch Forum offers a hopeful model for how technology can bring us back to each other.  Chapters 00:00 – Intro and Welcome 05:45 – The Power of Neighborliness 08:38 – Front Porch Forum vs Big Tech 16:00 – Real Stories of Community Connection 22:55 – Break 25:12 – Redistributing Abundance Through Community 29:23 – Why Moderation and Tone Matter Online 39:15 – Building Social Infrastructure for Communities 47:57 – Surprising Insights From Front Porch Forum Data 57:20 – Designing for Decency in Digital Spaces 01:18:38 – Why Real-Life Conversations Matter

  6. Apr 30

    240. The Story in Your Head Might Be Holding You Back with Tom Schlesinger

    The voice in your head is what’s shaping your entire experience…but what if it wasn’t telling the truth? Master storyteller Tom Schlesinger reveals how the stories we repeat to ourselves can quietly limit—or liberate—and he offers a simple, surprisingly powerful way to step out of mental loops and back into a life that feels more present, grounded, and alive. Chapters 00:00 – Intro & Welcome 04:04 – How Self-Talk Shapes Emotions and Decisions 07:49 – Rehearsing Problems That Never Happen 10:13 – The Power of Breathing to Reset Your Mind 12:42 – A Story That Shaped a Lifetime Belief 18:39 – How Stories Create Emotional Patterns 22:48 – What Makes a Story Truly Connect 27:26 – Break 29:41 – How to Catch Harmful Thought Patterns 34:54 – Rewriting Your Inner Narrative 59:54 – Triggers, Boundaries, and Emotional Control 01:05:55 – Why We Get Stuck in Negative Loops 01:08:53 – Good Thing Bad Thing Who Knows 01:13:45 – Zooming Out to See the Bigger Picture 01:16:58 – Simple Daily Practice to Reset Your Mind

  7. Mar 31

    239. New Life for What We Have: Stewards of Our Abundance with Kenny Williams

    Most of us have more abundance than we realize, and we are storing (often stuffing) all that we’ve collected without really putting it to good use anymore. This episode invites us to rethink generosity—not as charity, but as stewardship. Kenny Williams, executive director of the Arkansas nonprofit Pedal It Forward, shares how bikes become pathways to freedom, health, and dignity—and how letting go of unused things can unexpectedly transform both the giver and the receiver. Chapters 00:00 — Intro & Welcome 06:20 — How Pedal It Forward Works 16:01 — The Bike That Saved His Job 22:08 – Break 24:23 — Health, Transportation and Freedom 31:59 — The Volunteers Behind the Mission 50:57 — Movement Is Freedom 53:26 — What Pedal It Forward Needs Next

  8. Mar 12

    238. What Dogs Teach Us About Life — From a Master Storyteller with Tom Schlesinger

    What if the antidote to stress, overthinking, and constant mental chatter has been quietly walking beside us all along? Today we have a conversation with a master storyteller, consultant to the likes of Pixar, LucasFilms and Disney - Tom Schlesinger, on quieting the noise, returning to the body, and rediscovering joy. All through the lens of how dogs can remind us how to lead our best lives. Chapters 00:00 – Intro & Welcome 05:02 – Monkey Mind and Mental Chatter 07:22 – Storytelling Before Language 10:00 – Dogs, Humor, and Emotional Balance 14:30 – Remembering Dog Stories Brings Us Home 20:18  – Myth, Archetypes, and the Heroine’s Journey 31:09 – The Power of the Pause 32:40 – Presence, Time, and Stress 42:50 – Sensory Storytelling and the Body 47:20 – Break 49:37 – The Silent Evolution 01:12:35 – Perfectionism vs Creative Flow 01:28:39 – Returning to the Body and the Earth

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More joy, less fear, and no end to the evidence that a bright future is possible. Hosted by Dr. Lynda Ulrich, co-founder of the Goodness Exchange, each episode we help you make sense of the world by introducing you to people tackling some of the world’s most difficult problems and show you why they still think the future is bright. Find more good news at the Goodness Exchange, a media outlet helping you cut through today’s negative noise, saving your time and sanity with instant access to positive news, fresh insights, and uplifting perspectives.

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