The Good Problem

We're flipping things for the final episode of season five, and host Leigh Mathews is being interviewed by the wonderful Mel Harwin who has over 15 years experience working as a leader, implementor, human designer and evaluator in the international development, social, and environmental programs globally. Mel's experience, curiosity and critical thinking thinking skills contribute to a wonderful interview unpacking the privilege of doing good.

Ethics is a term we throw around quite often in the doing good sector. But what does it really mean? Where do ethics apply? Is it at the organisational level, the individual level, or both?In the humanitarian sector, where staff are regularly placed in situations where they are required to make decisions that can deeply affect the lives of others, how does ethics apply? Is it ok to be placed in that situation? In a sector with a high burnout rate, and an expectation to just accept working conditions – who is responsible when things go wrong?Today, we are talking about my absolute favourite topics, ethics and philosophy, with Dr. Matt Beard. Matt is a husband, dad, and pop culture nerd, who also happens to be one of my favourite moral philosophers and ethicists. He is also the resident philosopher on one of the best kids ethics podcasts around – Short and Curly. Matt is the Program Director for the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship at the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership.

In the aftermath of the #metoo movement, we saw the emergence of #aidtoo and the resulting exposure of harassment, abuse and discrimination in the development and humanitarian sector. While the reports are shocking to read, it's no surprise – abuse, sexual misconduct, racism, and discrimination have been long prevalent in the sector, and we continue to see reports naming major agencies in scandals. The rise of #aidtoo has resulted in long overdue attention on these issues, and the voices are only getting louder. The latest report to come out is by Decolonise MSF, an organic, unofficial anti-racism and anti-discrimination movement composed of more than 1200 current and former MSF staff, formed in response to decades of unanswered calls for change within the organisation.The report, called Dignity at MSF, was a survivor led initiative to publicly assess and disclose findings on abuse and discrimination within MSF, and the first to involve MSF's global and historical staff base, as well as community partners. On reading the report, it is damning: more than 50% of respondents witnessed or experienced one or more forms of abuse in a one year period.I invited the report's authors, Monica Mukerjee and Arnab Majumdar onto the podcast today to talk us through the report, their own experiences working in MSF and what it means to have publicly authored a report like this.

Organisations all over the world are engaging in a long overdue self-analysis and reflection of how they operate and how they engage with communities whom they have traditionally worked ‘on behalf of'. This can be both confronting and challenging, but it's also entirely necessary if we want to dismantle the harmful systems and structures rooted in colonialism that underpin how we operate. So how do organisations best go about this when they are still part of, and beholden to these systems?I've invited the amazing Aleem Ali onto the podcast today to talk about what this journey looks like in practice. Aleem is the CEO of Welcoming Australia, working with leaders and organisations across the country to cultivate a culture of welcome and advance communities where people of all backgrounds can belong, contribute and thrive. Aleem has spent the past 20 years seeding and mentoring the development of leading initiatives and social enterprises that advance welcoming and inclusive communities. He is also a mentor and advisor to various startups, community enterprises and government agencies.Follow Aleem on Twitter

Working in a sector that is traditionally seen as ‘doing good' can mean that often, actions and behaviours that are not good at all, and in fact, cause harm are able to proliferate. The international development sector is built upon colonial ideals and has traditionally perpetuated those through a harmful system of top-down do-gooding that actively suppresses development instead of encouraging it. In recent times, voices speaking out against the system have gotten louder and louder, and in fact, a number of them have been guests on this podcast. Today, I've invited Mary Ann Clements on to the podcast. Mary Ann is one of AltoLearn's course creators, and is someone who has been speaking loudly about these issues for years now and actively interrogating her own role in the system. Mary Ann is currently Chief Transformation Officer (interim CEO) at ADD International.She's a feminist author, facilitator, activist, and coach and has spent two decades working in the international development sector. She's also the creator of Healing Solidarity, a project that brings together activists, practitioners, and thinkers interested in welcoming the change we need in international development practice and figuring out how to care for ourselves and one another in the process.

As somebody who has spent their entire career working to protect the rights of vulnerable children, today's episode was challenging to record. While we know that children's rights are violated daily, we don't expect that harm to be caused by the very institutions created to protect them. Australia's family court was established in the 1970s, underpinned by a naive belief that if couples could separate quickly and easily, family violence would perhaps disappear. Forty six years later, we are faced with an institution that has, and continues to cause irreparable harm to children and families. The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was damning and resulted in the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, which are designed to guide how institutions are required to protect and safeguard children from harm. Sadly, despite being an Australian Government institution, the Family Court does not follow the Principles. I'm joined today by the wonderful Camilla Nelson, co-author of the new book Broken, a searing account of how Australia's family law system is failing. The book explores the complexities and failures of the family courts through the stories of children and parents whose lives have been shattered by them.

Today's episode is a deep dive into exploring doing good in the context of activism. This podcast exists to explore why we do good, how we do good, and what the implications of our do gooding are. In activist communities, we often see a spectrum of people – from those who participate in activism sporadically, to those who dedicate their entire lives to the causes. At this extreme end, we see the outcasts and visionaries – those living on the fringes of society and making change in their own unique way.In spaces where emotion is high, and beliefs are held closely about the ‘right' way to do things, we often see tensions. People tearing each other down – a dogma of the right way to do things. How does this impact the cause itself? And is something good if it still causes harm?I've invited author and poet Lisa Wells on to today's podcast to talk about her new book, Believers – Making a life at the end of the world, which introduces us to these visionaries and outcasts who have found radical new ways to live and connect to the Earth.

Today's conversation is a topic very close to my own heart, and one that's formed a core part of my professional career: children living in orphanages. The evidence tells us that growing up in an orphanage is harmful, yet it's still happening at scale with millions of children globally stuck in institutions. A key fact that I want to continue to drive home is that the idea that there are millions of orphans in orphanages waiting for the love, care and attention of well meaning foreigners is a myth. These children have families. In fact, anywhere between 70 and 90% of them have one or more living parents who with support, would be willing and able to care for them. Orphanages are harmful and result in the unnecessary separation of children from their families.It's a complex, and often emotive issue. There's no single driver for children ending up in orphanages, there are many: trafficking, exploitation, poverty, abuse, neglect, child protections systems that don't function, and the insatiable desire to do good among those more fortunate. I've invited Brandon Stiver onto today's podcast to unpack these issues with me. Brandon is the Community of practice director at 1MillionHome, an organisation that works to shift mindsets about orphan care and scale community based care models that reunite children with families and eradicate practices that lead to family separation. Brandon is also an evangelical Christian who was called to work in an orphanage in Tanzania, where he and his wife adopted a child.Brandon and I have a wide ranging, and at times challenging conversation about the intersections between evangelism, missionary work, colonialism, race, adoption and orphan care.

Ethics don't exist in a vacuum, they are developed over time, at an individual level through the course of our relationships with people, animals, the environment, and systems. In our modern world, it's difficult to be independent of systems we don't ethically align with. Advances in medical technology are moving at an unprecedented pace, and the frameworks we have to guide the ethical application of these are unable to keep up. At what point does innovation become destructive? My guest today is Eben Kirksey, an anthropologist known for his work in multi-species ethnography which argues that all species, however small have agency and importance. That lifeforms such as invertebrates, microbes and plants are not simply the backdrop for the agency and action of animals and people. Eben is also the author of the utterly riveting book, The Mutant Project published by Black Inc Books, which explores bioethics through the story of CRISPR technology and how it led to the birth of the world's first genetically modified children: Lulu and Nana. Find out more about Eben here.

Today's episode unpacks a topic that can be uncomfortable for some of us, but is something that we will all experience. Death. Death is the natural end of life, one certainty that every human being will experience, yet something we are often deeply unfamiliar with and shy away from. My guest today is Zenith Virago, a professional Deathwalker of over 20 years. Zenith is a leader in the field and has pioneered the concept of empowered continual care at the end of life.So what is a Deathwalker? A Deathwalker is a person who walks their own journey towards their death as openly, courageously and as best they can. They also walk with, or accompany someone else in their death journey – whether it's their own, or a loved ones.Zenith joins me today to talk about her own journey through life and places and spaces she navigates daily.You can find out more about Zenith here.

This week alone, in the midst of a devastating global pandemic, we have seen a massive earthquake hit Haiti, and horrific images and stories streaming out of Afghanistan documenting the fall of government and takeover by the Taliban. It's difficult to process these events when we are already suffering collectively, and difficult to know what to do next, if anything.These events, and others like them continually raise the question of the role aid and development work play in these crises, and the effectiveness of humanitarian responses. Aid and development effectiveness should be continually interrogated. Maintaining the status quo and doing things how they've always been done will never result in the outcomes those in the global north profess to want for those in the global south. And herein lies the problem – the power imbalance inherent in aid as a construct.My guest today is someone infinitely more qualified than me to talk on these topics. Themrise Khan has spent that last 25 years working in the international development sector in Pakistan, South Asia and globally. Her work focuses on social policy, aid effectiveness, gender, and global migration and she actively speaks, writers and advises the global community on notions of decolonisation, North-South power imbalances in development, race relations, immigrant citizenship and integration.You can find Themrise on Twitter here.

Opening season 5 with this episode seems fitting, with the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) damning report that found escaping human caused climate change is no longer possible. Even if earth's climate was stablised in the near future, some of the climate change induced damage could not be reversed in centuries, or even millenia. We should expect worse fires, longer droughts, and more severe floods.My guest today is Scott Ludlam, former deputy leader of the Australia Greens and Senator from 2008 – 2017. Scott is a lifelong climate activist and for his first book, Full Circle is a deep exploration of the failures of the financial and political systems that have led us to this place in time, where political, human and natural systems are on the verge of collapse. While the book is sobering, Scott also asks “How can we can make our systems more humane, regenerative, and more in tune with nature?”Join Scott and I for a wonderfully explorative dive into the book!

The concept of shared value has gained popularity in recent years, with recognition that solving social and environmental problems requires the input, participation and action of all stakeholders. Leveraging the resources and innovation capacity of the private sector is key to solving the world's most pressing problems, and as the logic goes – if businesses can benefit at the same time, it's a win win. But is shared value a panacea for solving all of our problems? Or is there still a role for philanthropy and charity, and activism? My guest today is Phil Preston, author of Connecting Profit With Purpose, a practical roadmap for (re)building trust and creating high-performing, sustainable businesses. Phil is reading Stakeholder Capitalism, by Klaus Schwab Connect with Phil on Twitter.

Working in the international development sector is complex. From the outside, it can seem like an exciting, adventurous life – living in places that are perceived to be dangerous, or hard. But for humanitarian workers, it's not always easy – especially for those working in conflict zones, or emergencies. Burnout and PTSD are common, and often left untreated. It's also common for humanitarian workers to ask themselves whether what they are doing is really helping. It can be easy to get caught up in the delivery of projects, and ignore the bigger questions about effectiveness, impact and ethics. My guest today chose not to ignore those questions, and not to accept the status quo. Taking a sabbatical from her long career in the sector, Cornelia Walther decided to explore these questions in detail and has recently published the book: Development, humanitarian action and social welfare: Social change from the inside out. Check out Cornelia's work here. Cornelia is reading Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Accessibility is often taken for granted by people who are not disabled. Everyday situations like shopping, catching transport, accessing public bathrooms, using the internet can be extremely challenging for those who have a disability. Disability is so individual, and so misunderstood, and our world does not do well at accepting, accommodating and including individuals who are disabled. We need to do better. My guest today is the amazing Carly Findlay, an award winning writer, speaker and appearance activist. Carly is the editor of Growing Up Disabled in Australia, an anthology of stories written by disabled Australians and published this week by Black Inc Books. Carly is also the author of Say Hello, published in 2019. She writes regularly for CNN, ABC, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and SBS and appears regularly on television and radio. Carly identifies as a proud disabled woman. Carly is reading People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd Carly is listening to the Conversations series by ABC Vist Carly's blog. Follow Carly on Facebook and Twitter.  

Today's guest has quite the life story. Born in a remote village in the far west of Nepal, At the age of 7, Sushil went for a walk beyond the hills that surrounded his village and a few months later found himself homeless, living on the streets of Kathmandu. Sushil's story of street living, his time in an orphanage and his perspective on volunteers that want to help children like him is invaluable. It's Sushil's and my hope that by sharing his story, we can amplify the voices of other children and adults who have been on the receiving end of people's good intentions to support children in orphanages and through that, change the way we care for vulnerable children. Sushil is listening to the suite of VICE podcasts. Follow Sushil on Twitter and on Facebook.

Everything is connected, and every action we take impacts somebody, something, or someplace. As I get older, and learn more about the world, the connections become clearer. Things that seem straightforward on the surface are incredibly complex, and intersect with things that seem completely unrelated. I love this about the world – how we can seem to be on opposing sides of an issue, yet have a shared goal that will benefit us all. Ghost Gear is one of those things – A staggering 640,000 tonnes of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing nets, lines and traps are left in our oceans every year, trapping, injuring, mutilating and killing hundreds of thousands of whales, seals, turtles and birds annually. But this doesn't only affect wildlife – it affects livelihoods, biodiversity, climate and human rights. To unpack this, I invited Ingrid Giskes on to the podcast. Ingrid is the Director of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) at Ocean Conservancy. The Ghost Gear Initiative brings together a multi-stakeholder approach to solving the problem of ghost gear, with over 100 partners involved, including governments around the world. Ingrid is reading Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama. Ingrid is listening to the Yoga Girl Daily podcast.

I'm fascinated by the different ways humans express what it means to do good: why they do good, how they do good, and what their consequences of their actions are. One of most widely used mechanisms for doing good is through religion. As with everything humans do, this is interpreted in vastly different ways: all driven by a personal interpretation of what it means to be a believer in one's chosen religion. Evangelism and missionary work are expressions of this and each year, millions of Americans travel overseas for missions trips. Some of them head off for a short term mission, while others dedicate years of their lives to mission, fully supported by their home churches to set up home in far-off places and embed themselves and their beliefs in communities they deem in need of saving. Race and power dynamics play a huge role in how missionary work is conducted and to help me unpack this, I invited Dr. Andreana Prichard on to the podcast. Andreana is an Associate Professor of African History at the University of Oklahoma whose work deals with the history of gender, Christianity and development in Africa and explores the history of evangelical child sponsorship initiatives in East Africa and the American Bible belt. Andreana is listening to Serial by NPR, the Undisclosed Podcast, Missing and Murdered by the CBC, Andreana is reading The Searcher by Tana French, and Cribsheet by Emily Oster

I often lament that doing good is not done well enough, and talk about the need to pay more attention to the why, the how, and the impact of doing good. I'm a strong proponent of not engaging in the act of doing good unless you have a deep knowledge and understanding of the cause you are wanting to support, and the charity you want to support it through.   But behind all this doing good is a deeper problem, one that challenges our willingness to do good in a meaningful, connected way. It's the question of civic engagement. My guest today is Andrew Leigh MP, co-author of the book Reconnected, and Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury and Charities within the Australian Labour Party.   In Reconnected, Andrew tells us of the overall decline in civic engagement across all domains including involvement in community associations, membership of political parties, union membership and participation in organised religion. We have less close friends, we give less, we volunteer less, and we vote less. Reconnected calls for more engagement in helping, giving and volunteering as ways to increase social cohesion and resilience to improve outcomes for all Australians.   As I was reading Andrew's book, it occurred to me that while both Andrew and I are calling for more involvement in doing good, we are doing so with a slightly different lens. When Andrew speaks of the need for more engagement in doing good, I speak of the need for caution, and for ensuring that you don't cause further harm. When Andrew speaks of the need for systems to be in place to transform spontaneous altruism into a lasting volunteering ethos, I talk about the need to examine spontaneous altruism itself.   Andrew is reading Truman, by David McCullough Andrew is listening to the Freakonomics Podcast, the Radiolab podcasts, and The Jolly Swagman Podcast by Joseph Noel Walker.

We need to talk about power.   In the doing good sector, the people who are in the positions of power are those who make decisions about money. Who gets it, how much, when, how and why. In many cases, these decision makers are not representative of the communities who are meant to benefit from these decisions. They don't have lived experience, they don't share cultural backgrounds, and their understanding of the issue itself is limited.   In a time when diversity and inclusion is high on the agenda for many organisations, there is a serious need to examine power structures and how they impact the allocation of resources. To unpack this further, I invited Weh Yeoh on to the podcast. Weh lived in Cambodia for 5 years, where he founded OIC Cambodia. Now back in Australia, he's the co-founder of Umbo - an initiative to improve access to services for children in rural and remote communities. 

Right now, in West Papua the long struggle for independence from Indonesian rule has reignited, triggering a brutal crackdown that involves chemical weapons, horrific killings, and mass displacement. All of this is occurring on Australia's doorstep, yet we barely hear or see a thing about it in the news. Rewind, just over twenty years ago to Timor Leste, when a similar situation was unfolding – a struggle for independence, accompanied by a brutal crackdown by Indonesian authorities. Again, despite this occurring less than 700 km from Australia's coastline – we heard very little. What little we do hear comes from journalists on the ground – people who are risking their own lives to ensure the stories of these atrocities make it out. I've always been fascinated by journalists working in conflict zones. The trauma of witnessing war combined with the burden of responsibility for documenting the horrors of war is a heavy load to carry. I invited four time Walkely Award nominated investigative reporter and author, John Martinkus on to the podcast to talk through what's happening in West Papua. John is the author of the book, A Dirty Little War – covering Timor Leste's struggle for independence – written after John's experience of being the only foreign journalist in the country through this period. John has also recently released another book, The Road, covering the current uprising in West Papua.  

Allyship has been on everyone's lips this year – and the conversation is incredibly overdue. But what does it mean to be an ally? How do we move beyond tokenism to a place of genuine allyship? What kind of self examination is required? What are the barriers in place and how do we break them down? To unpack these big questions, I invited Sarah Sheridan on to the podcast. Sarah is the non-indigenous co-founder in the Aboriginal owned and led business, @clothingthegap. Sarah's background is in health promotion and community engagement and she has a long history of working alongside the Victorian Aboriginal Community. Sarah is reading: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe, Kindred, by Kirli Saunders, and On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist by Clarissa Ward.   Find out more at Clothing The Gap.  

Doing good is tricky at the best of times. Even at an individual level, it's difficult to get it right. When it comes to tackling the world's biggest problems such as climate change, education, violence, gender inequality, immigration and living standards it's even tougher. Some countries are doing better than others at solving these problems within their own borders, and my guest today – Andrew Wear has put together a wonderful exploration of just how they are doing it in his book, Solved! Andrew is a senior Australian public servant with degrees in politics, law, economics and public policy, and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is also a Fellow at the Institute of Public Administration, and a director of Ardoch – a children's education charity. His work appears in peer-reviewed journals, as well as The Mandarin, The Guardian and others. Follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewWear Andrew is reading: Pale Rider, by Laura Spinney, The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry, and The Pandemic Century, by Mark Honigsbaum Andrew is listening to: America, if you're listening, by Matt Bevan at ABC, and Humans of Purpose with Mike Davis.

Access to quality education is a huge issue globally, and parents everywhere want the best for their children. In Australia, where large areas of the country have been in a hard lockdown due to COVID-19, schools have been closed to students for a lengthy period of time, and parents have been forced to home school their children. Some children have thrived, and some have suffered – unable to effectively engage in home schooling and falling behind. This, against the backdrop of scandal after scandal involving elite private schools and racist, sexist and homophobic behaviour from students has reignited the ongoing debate about the merit of federal government funding for private schools. Season 4 kicks off with John Marsden, storyteller, renowned author and Principal of Candlebark, a P-7 school nestled in the foothills of the Macedon Ranges on 1100 acres of bushland. John and I chat through the merits of alternative education, access and equity and the public vs private debate.    

There's a common misconception in the doing good sector that the people working within it must be wholesome, values driven and above things like racism and sexual exploitation. But the reality is that the sector is driven by harmful structures that perpetuate the very things we are trying to ‘fix' through our work. I've always found the psychology behind wanting to be in the helping professions fascinating, and more recently have become deeply interested in the systems and structures that facilitate doing good. The international development sector is a fascinating expression of how the colonial structures that underpin the sector are the very same structures that caused, and continue to cause the damage that development interventions profess to be fixing. The sector has been in the spotlight over the past few years, with repeated scandals including #metoo, #aidtoo, as well as the well publicised safeguarding crises within large charities. Racism in the sector has also come under the spotlight, withthe emergence of the Charity So White movement in the UK highlighting the systemic racism and power imbalances that permeate the development world. To unpack these issues, I invited the Chief Executive of Oxfam Australia, Lyn Morgain on to the podcast. As a relative newcomer to the international development world, Lyn shares her experience of transitioning into the sector at a very challenging time, and proposes some ideas for change. Lyn has spent her career advocating for the rights of disadvantaged peoples and is passionate about using strengths based approached that engender community ownership and control. Lyn is reading Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir by John Lyons Lyn is listening to Dharma Talks Follow Lyn on Twitter @MsLynM

Today's episode features Kelly Dent of World Animal Protection talking about ending the global wildlife trade. The global trade in wildlife is worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually and includes both the legal and illegal trade in animals. While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora boasts a membership of 183 countries, many argue it is insufficient, unsustainable and ineffective to protect vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered species. The system is full of loopholes which allow trade in wildlife to continue unchecked, with very little ability to differentiate between legal and illegal trade. Calls to end the global wildlife trade have been growing through this pandemic, not only due to the likelihood that COVID-19 is a zoonotic pathogen, meaning it comes from animals, but also due to the sheer cost of the pandemic to human life and economy. As the population grows, pressure on wildlife and wild places also grows, meaning more interaction between both and more likelihood of animal / human conflict and disease transmission. I invited Kelly Dent to chat about why we need a blanket ban on the trade in wildlife. Kelly is the Director of External Engagement with World Animal Protection and a lifelong activist and has 25 years experience lobbying and campaigning on climate change, poverty, corporate accountability, trade, labour and human rights around the world. Kelly is reading 'Such a Fun Age' by Kiley Reid; 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy; 'Why we love dogs, eat pigs and wear cows' by Melanie Joy; 'Me and White Supremacy' by Layla F Saad. Kelly is listening to 7AM; 'Nice White Parents' New York Times; 'Debutante: Race, Resistance and Girl Power' by Nakkiah Lui & Miranda Tapsell; Rabbit Hole, New York Times.

Have you ever raised money for a cause online? Have you ever donated to a crowdfunding or fundraising platform? If so, you've participated in the online fundraising sector. While online fundraising has undoubtedly been a huge benefit to charities, exposing their brand and their work to a global audience and raising enormous amounts of money in the process – it is a murky ethical area. What responsibility do fundraising platforms hold when it comes to whether or not to host a charity, or a personal fundraiser? Is it enough for a charity to be legally registered, or do fundraising platforms have an obligation to take a position on the ethics of a cause? What about personal fundraisers? How do we regulate who can fundraise, what for, and where the money will go? What about Celeste Barber's $51million bushfire campaign that ended up in court? I invited Tania Burstin, the founder and managing director of mycause, Australia's first online fundraising platform to chat with me about these issues. Tania started mycause after noticing a gap in the market for donation sponsorship. Mycause has now grown to have over 6500 charity partners and has raised more than $140 million for Australian community groups, charities and individuals. Tania was named in the Female FinTech Founders project as a fintech entrepreneur in 2018 and a Monash University Global Fellow in 2019. She is a thought leader in the crowdfunding community and regularly commentates on charitable fundraising in Australia. Tania is reading American Wife: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld

Joining me today is Associate Professor Tobias Denskus from Malmø University in Sweden, and we're talking about communication in the development sector. Communicating well can be tricky at the best of times, but when it comes to communicating about development issues, it becomes even tricker. For a long time, the vast majority of charities communicated their work through fundraising campaigns, featuring stereotypical representations of the poor and vulnerable in order to elicit donations.Think about the ads featuring starving African children, with flyblown eyes and distended bellies. Growing up, this was the standard for charity advertising – and it seemed that charities were trying to one up each other in a race for scare donor funds - who can publish the most heartbreaking image? What about media? What responsibility does media have to portray the poor and vulnerable in dignified and respectful ways, while also being careful to avoid perpetuating the white saviour complex? Tobias teaches a Masters program in Communication for Development, and conducts research on how communication can lead to learning and challenge white saviorism, stereotypical campaigns and superficial influencers on Instagram. Tobias runs the excellent blog, Aidnography and a Twitter account of the same name. Tobias is reading Understanding Libya Since Gaddafi by Ulf Laessing and People in Glass Houses by Shirley Hazzard Tobias is listening to the ReThinking Development Podcast, UN Dispatch by Mark Goldberg, and The Missing Cryptoqueen by BBC

Art is something we consume, or participate in every day – whether we realise it or not. Every podcast we listen to, book we read, or tv show or movie is a piece of art. A lot of the time we don't realise that we are participating in it at all. I invited Jade Lillie, Head of Sector Development at the Australia Council for the Arts to chat with me about the role art plays in our everyday lives, how it can be used as an effective tool to address social issues, and the complexities surrounding the funding and delivery of arts project in Australia and overseas, particularly in an international development context. Jade is known for her work as a leader, executive, facilitator and specialist in community engagement. She has been recognised for her thought leadership in receiving the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship in 2018 – 19 following her role as Director and CEO, Footscray Community Arts Centre (2012 – 2017). Whilst Jade has held a number of leadership roles across the sector, she is primarily known and respected for her skills and expertise in strategy, governance and her commitment to collaboration, cultural leadership and advocacy in championing diversity and access. She has worked extensively in arts, cultural development, health, education, community and international development contexts in government and non-government settings, including non-profit management, local and state government. She has lived and worked in regional, remote and metropolitan contexts across Australia and South East Asia. Jade is also the Curator and Editor for The Relationship is the Project. Jade is reading Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World by Jess Scully Jade is planning to listen to I Weigh with Jameela Jamil.

Today we have feminist, teacher and human trafficking survivor advocate Sophie Otiende talking 'freedom business'. The anti-trafficking sector is big business - with countless organisations trying to tackle the issue from wildly different perspectives. The 'raid and rescue' model, practiced by well known organisations and endorsed by celebrities has become well known amongst the general public. As Sophie says, rescuing trafficked children is one small piece of the puzzle. Trafficking is complex, layered and requires a holistic approach that not only works on prevention and provides quality aftercare for survivors, but challenges the systems and structures that allow trafficking to proliferate. Sophie Otiende describes herself as a feminist, poet, teacher, and survivor advocate for human trafficking. Sophie is a Program Consultant at HAART Kenya, where her main role involves coordination of services offered to victims of trafficking. She also developed curriculum and has co-authored three manuals on different issues in human trafficking. She is passionate about developing systems for grassroots organisations and has been working in development for more than ten years. She is passionate about human trafficking because she is a survivor of child trafficking. Sophie is reading 'Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays' by Zadie Smith The Penguin Press (2009) Sophie is listening to 'Otherwise?' Podcast.

Today's episode features the amazing Eva Galperin, and we're talking about stalkerware, surveillance and Tik Tok.⁠ ⁠ Back in 2018, Eva tweeted "“If you are a woman who has been sexually abused by a hacker who threatened to compromise your devices, contact me and I will make sure they are properly examined”. ⁠ ⁠ Her tweet was retweeted more than 10,000 times, and she was inundated with responses from people who had experienced abuse.⁠ ⁠ We talk about her work to eradicate stalkerware, and what she's working on in her role heading up the Threat Lab at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.   Eva is Electronic Frontier Foundation's Director of Cybersecurity. Prior to 2007, Eva worked in security and IT in Silicon Valley and earned degrees in Political Science and International Relations from SFSU. ⁠ ⁠ Her work is primarily focused on providing privacy and security for vulnerable populations around the world. To that end, she has applied the combination of her political science and technical background to everything from organising EFF's Tor Relay Challenge, to writing privacy and security training materials (including Surveillance Self Defense and the Digital First Aid Kit), and publishing research on malware in Syria, Vietnam, Kazakhstan. When she is not collecting new and exotic malware, she practices aerial circus arts and learning new languages.⁠ ⁠ Follow Eva on Twitter @evacide Eva is reading 'A Distant Mirror' by Barbara Tuckman (2017) Penguin Books. & 'The Neuromancer Trilogy' by William Gibson Eva is listening to 'Homecooking' with Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway.

Joining me for a bonus episode today is Dr. Jessica Kaufman from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. We're chatting about Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison's recent announcement about a potential COVID-19 vaccination, and his statement that the vaccine would be "as mandatory as you could possibly make it". Jess and I discuss the ethical implications of rushing a vaccine with unknown effects, and what would be required to make a vaccine ethically defensible. Will a vaccine be the golden ticket for travel, employment, or even access to restaurants, child care or school? Dr. Jessica Kaufman is a Research Fellow at Murdoch Children's Research Institute and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne. You can find her on Twitter @jessicajkaufman Jess is reading Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood Jess is listening to the Bang On podcast with Myf Warhurst and Zan Rowe  

Today on the Good Problem Podcast we have the amazing Nic Holas talking about the evolution of HIV activism.⁠ Nic is a queer activist, writer and the co-founder of The Institute of Many, an advocacy platform and grassroots movement for people living with HIV. ⁠In addition to his work with The Institute of Many, Nic is the Campaigns Director at Change.org and his writing on HIV/AIDS, LGBTIQA issues, law reform, and human rights has appeared in the ABC, Archer Magazine, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, SBS, Hello Mr., The Lifted Brow, and Junkee, as well as in international and local queer media. He has been a frequent guest on current affairs TV and radio, including appearances on Q&A, Lateline, Radio National, and Triple J. Nic has also worked extensively in media and communications for non-profits and digital agencies, as a political policy writer, and as an artist. Nic is reading Conflict is Not Abuse, by Sarah Schulman, Humankind, by Rutger Bregman, and Glimpses of Utopia: Real ideas for a fairer world, by Jess Scully Nic is listening to the Rabbit Hole podcast by the New York Times You can find Nic on Twitter at @nicheholas⁠ and find The Institute of Many at https://theinstituteofmany.org/

Today's episode features...me! In a departure from regular programming, i've put together a short episode on child sex trafficking to help provide some objective facts around the issue. There's been a huge surge in interest in this issue recently, accompanied by a significant increase in information being shared across social media platforms. While this issue is of vital importance, it's important to recognise that child sex trafficking has been prevalent for much of our history, and there are many incredible organisations working to address this issue using well established, child-focused interventions that have been tested and are measured. For more information see www.ecpat.org    

Today's episode features Jon Cornejo from the advocacy organisation, Charity So White which exists to tackle institutional racism in the charity sector. Jon and I talk about the importance of shifting the conversation to power and privilege instead of diversity and inclusion and how these structures and cultures actually reinforce inequality in the sector. Jon is a campaigner and activist who also works with Save the Children UK, leading campaigning and organising work on the Protecting Children in Conflict campaign. He has previously worked with Amnesty International UK where he led campaigns in response to human rights crises. Throughout his career, he has worked with other people of colour to highlight issues of systemic racism and push leaders to tackle institutional racism in their own organisations. Follow Charity So White on Twitter @CharitySoWhite Jon is reading Woman Who Glows In The Dark by Elena Avila Jon is listening to the Radio Menea podcast Correction: In the episode Leigh Mathews mentions 'forced' Covid testing of residents of Victoria's housing commission flats. We would like to clarify that no residents were forced to be tested, however testing was required to ensure the lockdown was lifted.  

Today's episode features Tyson Yunkaporta: academic, author, arts critic, researcher, and member of the Apalech Clan with community and cultural ties all over the country. Tyson is the author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World - an incredible book that shares indigenous ways of thinking that respect the complexity of the world we live in and finds ways to communicate this knowledge through pictures, carvings and stories. Tyson uses Sand Talk - which honours the Aboriginal custom of drawing images on the ground to bring clarity to complexity, and asks: what would happen if we applied indigenous thinking to the immense social and environmental problems our world faces today. Tyson also carves traditional tools and weapons, and also works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Find out more about Tyson here. Tyson is reading: The Song of Mavin Manyshaped, by Sheri Tepper Tyson is listening to: The Douglas Rushkoff Podcast and the Jim Rutt Show This podcast is recorded on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge them as the Traditional Owners and true sovereigns of the land.  Despite the impact of European Invasion we acknowledge their deep understanding and connection to country and rich cultural knowledge. We acknowledge and pay respect to their elders and elders of indigenous communities across the world.

Today's episode of The Good Problem Podcast features the amazing Clementine Ford. We chat about power, privilege and feminism in the context of doing good. ⁠We also discuss her recent tweet about coronavirus and what it means to make mistakes.⁠ ⁠Clementine is a freelance writer, speaker and feminist thinker. Her books, Fight Like A Girl, and Boys Will Be Boys radically challenge issues of men's violence against women, rape culture and gender warfare in Australia. ⁠ ⁠If you haven't read her books, please - go read them! ⁠ Clementine is reading: Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid, and The Mothers, by Britt Bennett Clementine is listening to: Seeing White, by Scene on Radio and Men, by Scene on Radio ⁠   ⁠

Today Nathan Parker and I talk about the COVID-19 crisis in the United States. We chat about why we haven't learned from past disasters, and how the development of a distributed digital infrastructure can help better coordinate the response and create a greater resilience for future disasters. Nathan is a problem solver and man of many talents - you can find him working on many projects, as well as for Uncompromise.   Nathan is reading The Peripheral by William Gibson Nathan is listening to The Dollop Podcast

Today on the Good Problem Podcast we have the amazing Emily Braucher of ReFresh Communication talking cross cultural communication and how important it is to listen to those we are working with.⁠ I loved this chat with Emily, and I love this topic - I could talk about it for days on end! So much goes wrong because we consistently look at, and hear things through our own cultural lenses. It's not deliberate, but it can be very harmful and downright dangerous in some cases (there's been a few cases of plane crashes and near misses due to cultural misunderstandings). Emily has worked, volunteered, researched and traveled in over 30 countries including two years of service in the US Peace Corps, She supports diverse clientele including non-profit staff, international business professionals, refugees, university students and high school students both domestically and abroad through her organisation, Refresh Communication.⁠ ⁠ Check out some of Emily's work here: https://www.refreshcommunication.com/trainings/cross-cultural-communication/ Emily is reading: Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy Emily is listening to: On Being, by Krista Tippett

Today we have Part 2 of my episode with Professor Andrew MacLeod: corporate director, futurist, writer, speaker, humanitarian and traveller. Andrew and I unpack child sexual exploitation and abuse of children within the aid and international development sector, particularly within the United Nations. ⁠ ⁠This episode offers a fascinating perspective on the fight against child sexual abuse and exploitation in the aid sector. Find out more at www.heartheircries.org ⁠Andrew is listening to podcasts by The Economist.  

Today's guest is Professor Andrew MacLeod: corporate director, futurist, writer, speaker, humanitarian and traveller. Andrew and I explore his fascinating career working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the United Nations in conflict and natural disaster settings including the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Pakistan, and the Philippines. This episode offers a fascinating perspective of life as an aid worker, and the personal and professional lessons learned throughout Andrew's career. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week. You can find Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewMMacLeod

On today's episode, Lonny Grafman of Humboldt University and I talk community centred design, service learning, and how important failure is. Lonny's work is prolific - check it out here. Lonny is reading: UNFU CKTHE WORLD by Cabot O'Callaghan, and Sinai: a novella by David Gallagher Lonny is listening to: 99% invisible by Roman Mars

Today's episode features Erika Cramer, Queen of Confidence. In a bit of divergence from our regular programming, Erika brings a different perspective to doing good. We follow Erika's life journey through all its traumas and challenges to where she is today as a mother, entrepreneur and confidence coach, and what she's learned along the way: authenticity, congruency and being a good human. Find out more about Erika here: www.thequeenofconfidence.com Erika is listening to the Goop Podcast with Gwyneth Paltrow and Elise Loehnen Erika is reading Loving What Is by Byron Katie and Big Magic: Creating Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.  

Today Natalie Jesionka, a professor, media professional and human rights advocate joins me to discuss what the development sector might look like in a post-covid-19 world. What will international development work look like? Will the ways we work and program change for good? Natalie is reading The Overstory by Richard Powers Natalie is listening to the Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness podcast, and The Longest Shortest Time Podcast

Today's episode features Dr. Delia Pop, Director of Programmes at Hope and Homes for Children, and soon to be Director of Tanya's Dream Initiative Fund. We explore how Covid-19 is affecting children living outside of family care around the world, in orphanages, institutions, and foster care arrangements. With tourism halted, funding for orphanages is drying up and children are being sent 'home'. Will we see an increase in the number of children requiring care? Will we see an explosion of people wanting to help these children once tourism resumes? Delia is reading Donut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist by Kate Raworth Delia is listening to The Guardian Podcast, and the Tortoise Podcast. Don't forget to subscribe, share and please leave us a review if you like it!

Today's episode features Leigh Barnes, Chief Customer Officer at the Intrepid Group. We explore how Covid-19 has affected the tourism sector: How will tourism survive this? What responsibility does the tourism sector hold toward communities they have profited off, or those reliant on tourism for survival? What will tourism look like once this is over? We also unpack how the tourism sector might take this opportunity to rethink how they engage with destination communities to create mutually beneficial experiences.   Leigh is reading Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Do/ Story/: How to Tell Your Story So the World Listens, by Bobette Buster, and 10 Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink, by Kevin Cook. Leigh is listening to the ABC Conversations Podcast, and The Secret To Happiness Podcast, by Lewis Howes.   Don't forget to subscribe, share and please leave us a review if you like it!

Mat Tinkler from Save the Children Australia and I unpack what Covid-19 means for the most vulnerable members of our society - children. We chat about the challenges in keeping 'eyes on the child' in the middle of a global pandemic, the extra risks posed by Covid-19 in places like Cox's Bazar, or Al-Hawl refugee camps, and how NGOs are trying develop new ways of working to support children in this unprecedented time. Mat is reading: Dark Emu, by Bruce Pascoe    

Shawn Humphrey is a man of many ideas, many projects and many thoughts! Shawn and I chat about the 'Do Gooder Industrial Complex' and Shawn's projects including the Sidekick Manifesto, Two Dollar Challenge, and Imagine Social Good. Shawn is reading: Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words, by David Whyte Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Shaping Worlds, by Adrienne Maree Brown Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way, Ursula K. Le Guin   Find out more about Shawn and all his projects here.

Welcome to the first episode of Season 2! Today's guest is Peter Mares - lead moderator at the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership, and journalist of over 25 years. Peter and I talk ethics in the time of Covid-19 and what an ethical framework looks like in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic. What Peter is reading: Solved, by Andrew Wear Links to interesting articles mentioned in this episode: https://insidestory.org.au/doing-what-we-do-every-day-as-well-as-we-can/ https://insidestory.org.au/ethics-in-a-time-of-scarcity/ And here are some links to the Centre for Policy Development's work on forced migration and climate risk: https://cpd.org.au/intergenerational-wellbeing/asia-dialogue-on-forced-migration/ https://cpd.org.au/sustainable-economy-media-links-and-resources/directors-duties-climate-risks/

The final episode of Season 1 features ethicist and philosopher Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. Often called the "world's most influential living philosopher", Peter is credited with starting the modern animal rights movement, and the concept of effective altruism. He is also known for his controversial critique of the sanctity of life ethics in bioethics. Peter talks to us about the importance of applying logic, reason and evidence to decision-making around giving and puts forward effective altruism as the methodology to do the 'most good'. What Peter is reading: Night-Gaunts and Other Tales of Suspense, by Joyce Carol Oates What Peter is listening to: Revisionist History, by Malcolm Gladwell

Today's episode is the final in our 3-part series on InterCountry Adoption (ICA) and features Laura Martinez-Mora, lawyer and Secretary of the Permanent Bureau at the Hague, responsible for the InterCountry Adoption portfolio. If you haven't listened to the previous two episodes with Lynelle Long and Jessica Davis, please do so before listening to this one. Laura provides us with a legal perspective on ICA, and discusses the challenges in implementation of the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of InterCountry Adoption, and the impact of the Convention on adoption practices and numbers.