In this special, personal episode, we continue our conversation about history with a special guest and a special project in which Jonathan's father recently rediscovered the story of Kurt Klein and Gerda Weissmann Klein: two Jews who left Germa

#35: Personal notes on current events and the past

Feb 13th, 2024 55m 2s

In this episode, Ed and Jonathan, a Jew in LA and Jonathan a German in Berlin, reflect on current political events and their personal relation and experience with it: The rise of the far-right AfD in Germany, mass protests against it, and how G

#34: MDMA and social change

Sep 28th, 2023 48m 10s

Can psychedelics like MDMA drive positive social change? Journalist Rachel Nuwer wrote a book on "MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World", and in one chapter she describes how taking the drug in a scientific study seems to have

#33: Why toilets are a key to progress

May 25th, 2023 31m 43s

When thinking about global development, toilets are not the first thing that comes to mind. But facilitating access to toilets for everyone has surprising benefits for health, nutrition, safety, education and the economy. In this episode, Sarik

#32: The benefits of the four-day work week

Mar 30th, 2023 35m 15s

A popular saying goes: “nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come,” and the four-day work week (without any salary cuts) seems to be exactly such an idea. More and more companies around the globe are introducing it. In the UK, t

#31: The 'Solar Punks': Bringing power to the people

Mar 17th, 2023 34m 21s

What can citizens do to contribute to halt global warming? Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell set out their plan to turn their London street into a community solar power station. In this episode, Dan tells us why they use art and filmmaking to prom

#30: Zero-interest loans for Black homebuyers

Feb 23rd, 2023 31m 9s

Classical reparations may be a good idea, but financially such one-off payments are not very sustainable. That's why a congregation from the Bay Area came up with another idea and introduced a zero-interest loan programme for Black homebuyers.

#29: 'You can't be what you can't see': How to connect low-income kids with nature

Nov 24th, 2022 42m 36s

Not long ago, nature was our natural environment. Nowadays, more and more children grow up in cities without much contact to trees, hills, meadows and animals. For kids from low-income families it can be even more difficult to spend time outsid

#28: How to tackle food poverty with the tools of a modern start-up

Nov 10th, 2022 35m 59s

Millions of American families depend on food banks, but why until recently has nobody come up with a better solution? Dion Dawson realised that something is wrong with food banks when he had to wait in the rain with his family for hours only to

#27: Walking clubs for better mental health

Oct 12th, 2022 31m 23s

After having dealt with anxieties for years, Scott Oughton-Johnson created a walking group for men with similar issues. Now more and more of such groups are starting in the UK. In our new episode, Scott tells use why the idea works so well and

#26: Humor for Humanity

Sep 15th, 2022 45m 20s

Can humour help solve social problems? Comedian Jimmy Tingle thinks it can. With his project "Humor for Humanity" he aims to raise spirits, funds and awareness for non-profits and social causes. In our new episode, Jimmy explains to us how that

#25: India's open prisons

Aug 25th, 2022 1h 1m

A few years ago, authorities in the Indian state of Rajasthan faced a unique problem: inmates who had served their sentences did not want to leave prison. They had done time in open prisons without wardens or guards, but with their familes inst

#24: Free pianos for disadvantaged kids

Aug 5th, 2022 27m 18s

The positive benefits of playing music are well known. But instruments are expensive and courses even more so. St Louis based non-profit Pianos for People aims to eliminate these barriers by providing both free pianos and free lessons to childr

#23: Standup comedy for men at risk of suicide

Jul 21st, 2022 35m 7s

Severe depression is a taboo, and when people talk about it, they usually do it with utmost seriousness. Angie Belcher, founder of Comedy on Referral, has another approach: She teaches men at risk of suicide standup comedy – and has just won NH

#22: The Good Newspaper

Jul 8th, 2022 46m 35s

There are several online magazines covering exclusively "good news", but hardly any newspaper. Interestingly, Branden Harvey, the man who founded one of them, had never purchased a printed newspaper in his life before. In this show, Branden tel

#21: Rehearsal for Life

Jun 23rd, 2022 24m 37s

In our daily lives, we prepare for almost everything, but not for communication about our thoughts and feelings. The organisation Rehearsal for Life prepares young people for crucial situations in daily life using improvisational theater. In th

#20: People Walking

Jun 8th, 2022 48m 11s

Loneliness is now considered a public health issue. Is there a cure? Chuck McCarthy may have invented one by chance, when he started a service that connected people who didn't know each other before to talk a walk together. In our new episode,

#19: The unknown advantages of playfulness

May 12th, 2022 46m 48s

Playfulness is a quality most adults don't think about, let alone as something desirable or even a skill. Yet, recent research suggests exactly that. In this episode, we talk with René Proyer, a professor for psychology from Austria who has stu

#18: The Confess Project – A Mental Health Barbershop Movement

Apr 24th, 2022 44m 49s

Millions of people struggle with mental health issues, especially in the Black community. So Lorenzo Lewis, founder of The Confess Project had a unqiue idea. He brought mental health to where people go and talk about life; the barbershop. The t

#17: Cities owned by locals – or how to become a landlord with little money

Mar 21st, 2022 36m 13s

Social inequality is one of the major problems of our times, and housing is one of the areas where you can feel that immediately. In a movement called incremental development, people who would usually not be able to afford it and sometimes not

#16: Empowerment Avenue – bringing solutions journalism into prisons

Mar 3rd, 2022 49m 38s

There are few places where it is more difficult to be heard than in prison. One of our guests in this episode, Emily Nonko helps incarcerated people to publish stories on solutions by pairing them with outside editors – while our second guest,

#15: Adversity to University: degrees for homeless people

Feb 8th, 2022 47m 35s

In this episode, we're talking to two special guests, Becky Edwards and Darren Higginson. Becky has established a pioneering programme at the University of Chichester that opens up access to higher education for people who have experienced home

#14: New Zealand's plan to end smoking, top chefs offer vegan menus, roundabouts saving lives

Jan 27th, 2022 25m 28s

In our fourteenth episode, we're talking about New Zealand's unique plan to eliminate smoking, Michelin-starred chefs who are going meat-free, and how roundabouts in Indiana reduce both accidents and emissions.Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonatha

#13: The NGO that introduced a $70,000 minimum wage

Dec 21st, 2021 31m 33s

In our thirteenth episode, we're talking to Sean Goode, director of the NGO 'Choose 180', who just increased all employee salaries to an annual minimum of $70,000.Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Nina Bohlmann.Stories dis

#12: Changing lives by phone, exchange programme across states, US Navy ship named after Harvey Milk

Dec 6th, 2021 26m 27s

In our twelfth episode, we're talking about a buddy system for homeless people via phone, an exchange programme connecting high schoolers from diverse backgrounds, and a new US Navy ship named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk.Hosted by Ed