Progress Reimagined

Kathleen Chu
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Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies, and emerging economic models that put humanity and our planet first. The show challenges assumptions to reshape how we think about progress and prosperity, through conversations with people making a real impact. New episodes every other week.

  1. Sep 25

    What If Systems Change Starts With Inner Work | School of Radical Imagination: Emergent Worlds, Ep. 4

    We usually try to fix a divided world from the outside: better policies, better institutions, better systems. Educator and leadership coach Lena Papadopoulos asks a different question. What if the biggest barrier to change is the systems that live within us? In this episode of our School of Radical Imagination series, Lena explains shadow work: the process of reconnecting with the parts of ourselves we learned to push down in order to belong. We talk about why people cling to hate, why she sees binary thinking as a trauma response, how the ego protects us from seeing the harm we cause, and how a pattern inside one person can repeat all the way up to conflict between countries. Lena Papadopoulos is an award-winning educator and leadership coach who works at the intersection of personal and collective liberation. She hosts the podcast Leadership That Liberates. Her course, Tending to the Roots of Conflict in a Divided World, starts October 6 at the School of Radical Imagination. Applications close September 30, and spots are limited. Use code PROGRESSREIMAGINED10 for 10% off (new students only). Course: https://www.radicalimagination.school/courses/tending-to-the-roots-of-conflict-in-a-divided-world Lena's website: https://www.lenapapadopoulos.com/ Lena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-papadopoulos/ Leadership That Liberates: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-that-liberates/id1809241430 Progress Reimagined What does real progress actually look like? Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies and economic models that put humanity and our planet first.   Through solo reflections and conversations with thinkers, innovators and changemakers, we examine the ideas shaping our world and the ones that could reshape it for the better.  Subscribe to Progress Reimagined https://substack.com/@progressreimagined https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressReimagined https://www.instagram.com/progress_reimagined/ Host:  Kathleen Chu progressreimagined at proton.me ❤️ Thank you for listening! If you know anyone who would benefit from today's episode, please share it and help spread the word. © 2026 Progress Reimagined. All rights reserved.

  2. Sep 22

    Between Fear and Hype: Where Should You Stand on AI? | School of Radical Imagination: Emergent Worlds, Ep. 3

    Most of us have already picked a side on AI. It'll replace us or free us. It's overhyped or inevitable. Oumaima Talouka says that's exactly the mistake: treating AI as all or nothing. Oumaima Talouka is an AI strategy advisor, a leadership coach, and founder of The Human × Tech. She built her career across engineering, product and Responsible AI at Microsoft, and is Regional Director for MENA and Francophonie at The AI Collective. She teaches AI literacy at the School of Radical Imagination. We talk about what AI literacy actually means, the failure modes hiding under the word "hallucination," the skills we quietly give away when we delegate, whether the layoff story holds up, and why it matters where AI gets built. Part of the School of Radical Imagination Special Edition. Take her course: use PROGRESSREIMAGINED10 for 10% off (new students only). Connect with Oumaima: [link] Chapters 00:00 Five people, five answers 02:14 The all or nothing trap 03:02 Growing up in Morocco, and computer science as leverage 06:22 What AI literacy actually means 09:10 Choosing where you keep the friction 16:07 Is AI really taking jobs? 20:20 Sustainability, and checking claims on both sides 24:16 Using the right model for the task 28:04 Why it matters where AI gets built 31:55 One sentence for the skeptic, one for the enthusiast 33:32 Inside her course 34:11 Her vision, and one thing to try today Progress Reimagined What does real progress actually look like? Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies and economic models that put humanity and our planet first.   Through solo reflections and conversations with thinkers, innovators and changemakers, we examine the ideas shaping our world and the ones that could reshape it for the better.  Subscribe to Progress Reimagined https://substack.com/@progressreimagined https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressReimagined https://www.instagram.com/progress_reimagined/ Host:  Kathleen Chu progressreimagined at proton.me ❤️ Thank you for listening! If you know anyone who would benefit from today's episode, please share it and help spread the word. © 2026 Progress Reimagined. All rights reserved.

  3. Sep 8

    We Overlook This Superpower | School of Radical Imagination: Emergent Worlds, Ep. 2

    Imagination is directly tied to your mental wellbeing, and most of us stopped using it on purpose years ago. Dr. Sheila Pontis has spent over two decades studying imagination, wellbeing, and design at University College London, Princeton, and MIT, and her argument is that imagination isn't a gift reserved for children and artists, it's a cognitive skill every adult still has and can train.  Sheila now leads the Everyone Imagines initiative and teaches at the School of Radical Imagination. In this episode, she explains why the quality of what you imagine shapes your emotions and wellbeing, why researchers describe this moment as a crisis of imagination, why she doesn't think AI is imaginative at all, just a tool that reflects whatever imagination you bring to the prompt, and how a few minutes of daily practice can rebuild the skill. For anyone who feels stuck searching, scrolling, and asking AI for answers that never quite land, this conversation is for you. Learn more about the School of Radical Imagination: https://www.radicalimagination.school/  *Applications open Sept 1. There's a discount code near the end of this episode. (New student only) Follow Progress Reimagined for more conversations like this one. Progress Reimagined What does real progress actually look like? Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies and economic models that put humanity and our planet first.   Through solo reflections and conversations with thinkers, innovators and changemakers, we examine the ideas shaping our world and the ones that could reshape it for the better.  Subscribe to Progress Reimagined https://substack.com/@progressreimagined https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressReimagined https://www.instagram.com/progress_reimagined/ Host:  Kathleen Chu progressreimagined at proton.me ❤️ Thank you for listening! If you know anyone who would benefit from today's episode, please share it and help spread the word. © 2026 Progress Reimagined. All rights reserved.

  4. Aug 28

    Imagine Higher Education in the Age of AI | School of Radical Imagination: Emergent Worlds, Ep. 1

    Besan Abu-Joudeh has advised governments, built her own organization, and sat inside some of the most prestigious rooms in the world, including Wharton, Accenture, and A.T. Kearney. Now she's built the School of Radical Imagination, a live, cohort-based school with no institution behind it. It's her third venture, after co-founding BuildPalestine in 2016. In this episode, we talk about the moment everything shifted, why she built a live, cohort-based school instead of recording another online course, and what she believes people get wrong about imagination, impact, and education in the age of AI. For anyone who's watched every video and asked AI every question and still feels stuck, this one's for you. Learn more about the School of Radical Imagination: https://www.radicalimagination.school/  *Applications open Sept 1. There's a discount code near the end of this episode. (New student only) Follow Progress Reimagined for more conversations like this one. Progress Reimagined What does real progress actually look like? Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies and economic models that put humanity and our planet first.   Through solo reflections and conversations with thinkers, innovators and changemakers, we examine the ideas shaping our world and the ones that could reshape it for the better.  Subscribe to Progress Reimagined https://substack.com/@progressreimagined https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressReimagined https://www.instagram.com/progress_reimagined/ Host:  Kathleen Chu progressreimagined at proton.me ❤️ Thank you for listening! If you know anyone who would benefit from today's episode, please share it and help spread the word. © 2026 Progress Reimagined. All rights reserved.

  5. Jun 26

    Your Empathy Is Not a Weakness, It's Where the Future Begins

    Anxious about the state of the world? You're not alone. Host Kathleen Chu makes the case that empathy isn't a weakness but a starting point. Drawing on Octavia Butler, adrienne maree brown, and Eckhart Tolle to explore how to stay hopeful and imagine a better future. Three practices that help: quieting the input, turning inward, and turning outward. Books (affiliate links) A New Earth — Eckhart Tolle   Emergent Strategy — adrienne maree brown    Parable of the Sower — Octavia E. Butler     Communities & organizations School of Radical Imagination  —  live cohort classes on imagining liberatory futures Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll)  —  global network reimagining the economy around wellbeing  Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL)  —  Kate Raworth's framework for an economy within social & planetary limits   Practices mentioned Tara Brach — talks & guided meditations Boho Beautiful — guided meditations Progress Reimagined Substack A Book for Turbulent Times: Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth  —  the companion essay referenced in the episode  Research cited APA 2024 mental health poll  —  70% of U.S. adults anxious about current events (April 2024)   Progress Reimagined What does real progress actually look like? Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies and economic models that put humanity and our planet first.   Through solo reflections and conversations with thinkers, innovators and changemakers, we examine the ideas shaping our world and the ones that could reshape it for the better.  Subscribe to Progress Reimagined https://substack.com/@progressreimagined https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressReimagined https://www.instagram.com/progress_reimagined/ Host:  Kathleen Chu progressreimagined at proton.me ❤️ Thank you for listening! If you know anyone who would benefit from today's episode, please share it and help spread the word. © 2026 Progress Reimagined. All rights reserved.

  6. Jun 9

    Blind Faith in Tech Is Over. What Comes Next?

    We trusted the people in the spotlight to have all the answers. We handed them our data, our attention, our cities, our public squares — and assumed the market would sort out whatever followed. It didn't. This episode asks what blind faith in technology actually cost us — and what it would take to build something better. From a WeWork launch party in Tokyo to the Rohingya crisis. From an Uber driver in Istanbul with no seat at the table, to the Vatican calling for AI to be disarmed. From Silicon Valley's 278 billion dollar tax gap to Europe's first serious push for digital sovereignty. We dive into the story of extreme capitalism without oversight, and the people already voting with their feet.  In this episode: The WeWork warehouse and the end of the tech god eraHow social media went from the Arab Spring to genocide in MyanmarThe Uber driver generating value for a platform worth hundreds of billionsSilicon Valley's 278 billion dollar tax gapWhy people are already voting with their feetAlternatives already being built — Mastodon, Proton, and beyondProgress Reimagined What does real progress actually look like? Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies and economic models that put humanity and our planet first.   Through solo reflections and conversations with thinkers, innovators and changemakers, we examine the ideas shaping our world and the ones that could reshape it for the better.  Subscribe to Progress Reimagined https://substack.com/@progressreimagined https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressReimagined https://www.instagram.com/progress_reimagined/ Host:  Kathleen Chu progressreimagined at proton.me ❤️ Thank you for listening! If you know anyone who would benefit from today's episode, please share it and help spread the word. © 2026 Progress Reimagined. All rights reserved.

  7. May 13

    A Dystopia Trap That Feels Like a Delicious Meal | Huxley vs Orwell

    In Spirited Away, Chihiro's parents stumble upon an empty town, find fresh steaming food, and just... eat. One comfortable choice at a time. Until it's too late. I think that scene describes something happening in our world right now. This episode explores what we are quietly trading away — our attention, our capacity to think deeply, and our tolerance for anything difficult or slow. Drawing on Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death and a 2025 MIT Media Lab study on AI and cognitive decline, I ask the question that sits at the heart of Progress Reimagined: what does real progress actually look like when comfort becomes the trap?  Progress Reimagined What does real progress actually look like? Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies and economic models that put humanity and our planet first.   Through solo reflections and conversations with thinkers, innovators and changemakers, we examine the ideas shaping our world and the ones that could reshape it for the better.  Subscribe to Progress Reimagined https://substack.com/@progressreimagined https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressReimagined https://www.instagram.com/progress_reimagined/ Host:  Kathleen Chu progressreimagined at proton.me ❤️ Thank you for listening! If you know anyone who would benefit from today's episode, please share it and help spread the word. © 2026 Progress Reimagined. All rights reserved.

  8. Season 2, Episode 1 Trailer

    Progress Reimagined Is Back | Season 2 Trailer

    Season 2 of Progress Reimagined is here. This season features conversations with thinkers reimagining our economy, technology, and planet, plus solo episodes where I sit with a book and an idea worth exploring. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and find me on Substack for written reflections and book recommendations. https://substack.com/@progressreimagined/posts Progress Reimagined What does real progress actually look like? Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies and economic models that put humanity and our planet first.   Through solo reflections and conversations with thinkers, innovators and changemakers, we examine the ideas shaping our world and the ones that could reshape it for the better.  Subscribe to Progress Reimagined https://substack.com/@progressreimagined https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressReimagined https://www.instagram.com/progress_reimagined/ Host:  Kathleen Chu progressreimagined at proton.me ❤️ Thank you for listening! If you know anyone who would benefit from today's episode, please share it and help spread the word. © 2026 Progress Reimagined. All rights reserved.

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About

Progress Reimagined explores innovative ideas, technologies, and emerging economic models that put humanity and our planet first. The show challenges assumptions to reshape how we think about progress and prosperity, through conversations with people making a real impact. New episodes every other week.

Information

  • Creator
    Kathleen Chu
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Progress Reimagined
  • Show Website
    Progress Reimagined