Design Economics Podcast with Vinny Tafuro

Institute for Economic Evolution, Inc.
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Social Sciences

Join us to discover how design thinking can revolutionize economics for the 21st century. Learn about the Institute for Economic Evolution's three tenets of design economics and meet the pioneering thinkers who are shaping this approach. From challenging economic orthodoxy to creating human-centered solutions, explore how design economics is evolving economics to better serve humanity and the environment.

  1. EP 18 Holly McCann: Growing Local; Blue Ridge Blueprint for a Local Food Economy

    11h ago

    EP 18 Holly McCann: Growing Local; Blue Ridge Blueprint for a Local Food Economy

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Holly McCann, co-founder and Core Steward of Blue Ridge Foodshed Commons, a public benefit company catalyzing a self-sustaining local food economy in Western North Carolina. Holly traces her path from Silicon Valley corporate attorney to regenerative systems designer, and explains why food is where you have to start when rebuilding an economy rooted in life rather than extraction. From the paradox of a region with 5,000 family farms that sources only 4% of its food locally, to a Perpetual Purpose Trust in development to protect the mission for generations, this episode explores what it looks like to design a regional food economy from the ground up. Guest Links Blue Ridge Foodshed CommonsHolly McCann on LinkedInRelated DEP Episode EP 12 John Feldman: Documenting Revolution, Scientific Paradigm ShiftsBooks Mentioned Regenerative Economics: Revolutionary Thinking for a World in Crisis — John Fullerton (2025)Bioregional Financing Facilities: Reimagining Finance to Regenerate Our Planet — Samantha Power & Leon Seefeld, The BioFi Project (2024) — also available free at biofi.earthThe Local Food Revolution: How Humanity Will Feed Itself in Uncertain Times — Michael Brownlee (2016)Organizations & Resources Mentioned The BioFi ProjectCapital Institute (John Fullerton)Foodshed Cultivator venture studio — launching June 17, 2026 ★ Support this podcast ★

    1h 11m
  2. EP17 Masami Sato: Woven In; Embedding Impact by Design

    May 26

    EP17 Masami Sato: Woven In; Embedding Impact by Design

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Masami Sato, founder and CEO of B1G1, a Singapore-based social enterprise and certified B Corp that has generated over 395 million giving impacts across more than 50 countries. Masami traces her path from a shy, introverted young woman who left Japan at 20 with little money and no English, to food entrepreneur, to living alongside farmers in rural communities, and explains how each of those experiences led to a single transformative insight: that lasting change isn't built through grand gestures or deferred philanthropy, but through small, intentional actions woven into the everyday fabric of business. From the original "buy one, give one" spark to the fully evolved B1G1 movement, this episode explores what it looks like to design giving into a business from the ground up, and why that changes everything. Links Referenced B1G1Masami SatoOne Percent for the Planet ★ Support this podcast ★

    58 min
  3. EP 16 Miren Oca: Exit While They Slept; Employee Ownership & the Perpetual Trust

    May 4

    EP 16 Miren Oca: Exit While They Slept; Employee Ownership & the Perpetual Trust

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Miren Oca, founder and CEO of Ocaquatics Swim School, who built a Miami swim instruction institution over 32 years before transferring 100% of it to her employees through a perpetual Employee Ownership Trust on the company's thirtieth anniversary. Miren walks through why she walked away from private equity, how the EOT compares to ESOPs and worker cooperatives, what the transaction actually looks like, and how the trust's structure protects the company's mission and keeps wealth in the community it serves. This episode also explores the Own It culture Miren built over three decades, the role of financial literacy in preparing employees for co-ownership, and how Ripples of Impact extends the company's purpose beyond the pool. Links Referenced Miren OcaOcaquatics Swim SchoolRipples of ImpactPurpose Trust Ownership Network (PTON)One Percent for the PlanetFlorida for GoodB1G1Books Referenced Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh)The Man Who Broke Capitalism (David Gelles)Purchase books from our Bookstore.org bookstore ★ Support this podcast ★

    59 min
  4. EP 15 Helena Norberg-Hodge: Local Futures; Happiness as a Cure

    Apr 13

    EP 15 Helena Norberg-Hodge: Local Futures; Happiness as a Cure

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Helena Norberg-Hodge, founder of Local Futures and pioneer of the new economy movement. Helena traces the economic forces that transformed Ladakh, a self-sufficient Himalayan culture untouched by the global economy until the 1970s, and what that experience revealed about the relationship between economic design and human happiness. From the destruction of local economies by deliberate policy to the structural case for localization, this episode explores what GDP cannot measure and what it will take to build the public understanding that real change requires. Local Futures WebsiteThe Economics of Happiness (Film)Right Livelihood AwardVia Campesina ★ Support this podcast ★

    1h 4m
  5. EP 14 Tom Llewellyn: Borrow Don't Buy; Tools, Trust & The Commons

    Mar 4

    EP 14 Tom Llewellyn: Borrow Don't Buy; Tools, Trust & The Commons

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Tom Llewellyn, Executive Director of Shareable, exploring what a genuine sharing economy actually looks like. Tom traces the roots of community sharing infrastructure from the first tool libraries of the 1970s through 2,000+ Libraries of Things operating worldwide today, and examines mutual aid as a proven economic model — not charity. With the new Library of Things Toolkit launching March 19 at the Repair & Share Summit, this episode is both a conversation about economic paradigm change and a practical on-ramp for anyone ready to start building the commons in their own community. Tom's Work & Shareable: Shareable.netLibrary of Things Toolkit — new edition live March 19Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons — free downloadThe Response podcast & documentaryMutual Aid 101Navigating Conflict in Movement SpacesEmergency Battery Network ToolkitTop 50 How-To GuidesRural Power CoalitionCities@TuftsEvents: Repair & Share Summit — March 19-20Referenced: Join or Die documentary — NetflixAsheville Tool Library ★ Support this podcast ★

    1h 5m
  6. EP 13 Pam Shockley-Zalabak: The Trust Deficit: Economics' Costly Blind Spot

    Feb 2

    EP 13 Pam Shockley-Zalabak: The Trust Deficit: Economics' Costly Blind Spot

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a compelling conversation with Dr. Pamela Shockley-Zalabak, former Chancellor of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and leading researcher on organizational trust. Their discussion explores the 50-year decline in social trust, reveals how the 2016 election exposed a crisis in social capital, and examines why orthodox economics has ignored trust despite its role as the market's true "invisible hand." Dr. Shockley-Zalabak shares insights from her decades of research across 400+ organizations and 20 countries, introducing her five-driver trust model and discussing her forthcoming book on navigating our current trust crisis. ★ Support this podcast ★

    55 min
  7. EP 12 John Feldman: Documenting Revolution, Scientific Paradigm Shifts

    Jan 12

    EP 12 John Feldman: Documenting Revolution, Scientific Paradigm Shifts

    Join host Vinny Tafuro and guest John Feldman, filmmaker and founder of Hummingbird Films, for a conversation about how ecological documentaries challenge scientific orthodoxy. Over his forty-year career, John's work has evolved from defending traditional evolutionary theory to documenting how cooperation and symbiosis drive evolution and ecological health. Their conversation explores how this intellectual humility contrasts with the scientific overconfidence that plagues economics, and how interdisciplinary filmmaking can disrupt entrenched paradigms in both science and economics. https://hummingbirdfilms.com ★ Support this podcast ★

    56 min
  8. EP 2.4 Tonya Donati: Growing Slow is Sexy: Kombucha, B Corps & Patient Capital

    12/02/2025

    EP 2.4 Tonya Donati: Growing Slow is Sexy: Kombucha, B Corps & Patient Capital

    Join host Vinny Tafuro and guest Tonya Donati, Founder and CEO of Mother Kombucha, for a conversation about building a certified B Corp through bootstrapped, regional growth. Tonya's journey from occupational therapist to beverage entrepreneur reflects a shift in business fundamentals—rejecting the venture capital model in favor of profitability, community anchoring, and stakeholder capitalism. Their conversation explores how B Corps formalize the paradigm shift from shareholder primacy to values-driven business, and how slow, sustainable growth is making traditional business fundamentals sexy again. Support the Design Economics Podcast on Patreon ★ Support this podcast ★

    47 min
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5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Join us to discover how design thinking can revolutionize economics for the 21st century. Learn about the Institute for Economic Evolution's three tenets of design economics and meet the pioneering thinkers who are shaping this approach. From challenging economic orthodoxy to creating human-centered solutions, explore how design economics is evolving economics to better serve humanity and the environment.

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