Podcasts about ethical culture

If you're watching the news, you know thousands of workers in the federal government are being laid off.  But some are leaving their jobs voluntarily—stepping down from responsibilities, often in protest of specific policies and new rules. Whatever your job or role, what is the ethical red line that might cause you to leave? What is the balance between financial needs and moral considerations? Our guest Dr. Anne Klaysen is Leader Emerita at The New York Society for Ethical Culture. For more, visit ethical.nyc.

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In this insightful episode of The Voice of Virtue, we explore how leaders can build trust and establish credibility when communicating about ethics in today's increasingly cynical world. Discover practical strategies for fostering trust, the importance of authenticity in ethical leadership, and techniques to address skepticism head-on. With real-world examples and actionable insights, this episode equips you with the tools to lead with integrity and inspire confidence in your ethical vision.   Tune in to learn how your voice can be a powerful force for change, trust, and virtue in your organization and beyond.

Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey and special guest, Artistic Director, Jody Sperling In this episode of Dance Talk, host Joanne Carey chats with Jody Sperling, the artistic director of Time Lapse Dance. They explore Jody's journey into dance, the absolute joy it brings, and the influence of historical figures especially Loie Fuller. The discussion delves into the intersection of dance and science, particularly in relation to climate change and environmental themes. Jody shares insights on the role of costumes in her performances, the experience of dancing, and the importance of community connection. They also touch on the two solo works Jody created in homage to Loïe Fuller, Claire de Lune and Vive La Loïe! (world premiere) on the Paul Taylor Company  for their Lincoln Center Season at the Koch Theater.  Tune in - I am sure you  will find Jody's joy and exuberance infectious! Jody Sperling is A New York City-based dancer-choreographer,who has created more than 50 works. She is considered the world's leading exponent of the style of early modern dancer and performance technologist ⁠Loïe Fuller⁠ (1862-1928). Sperling has expanded Fuller's genre into the 21st century, deploying it in the context of contemporary and environmental performance forms. She is currently Eco-Artist-in-Residence at The New York Society for Ethical Culture. Years of working in Fuller's idiom has influenced Sperling's awareness of the body's relationship with the larger environment. In 2014, she participated in a polar science mission—as the first choreographer-in-residence aboard a US Coast Guard icebreaker—and danced on Arctic sea ice. Her short film Ice Floe, shot during the expedition, won a Creative Climate Award. Following her Arctic experience, her artistic focus has been on engaging with climate creatively. Sperling earned a World Choreography Award nomination for her work on the French feature film “The Dancer” (Dir. Stephanie Di Giusto, 2016 Cannes Film Festival). She is also featured and created a new work for the Fuller documentary Obsessed with Light (Dirs. Sabine Krayenbuehl and Zeva Oelbaum, premiere 2023 Rome Film Fest).  Sperling and company have performed or taught throughout the US and in Bahrain, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, and Scotland. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University in Dance and Italian Studies, an MA in Performance Studies from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and an MFA in Dance from Montclair State University. Sperling and Time Lapse Dance have received commissions from the Vermont Performance Lab with Marlboro College, The University of Wyoming through the NEA American Masterpieces Program, and the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics. Works have been featured in the repertory of The Netherlands' Introdans ensemble and performed by Ice Theatre of New York. Sperling, also a dance writer and scholar, has served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Dance History Scholars (SDHS). Her dance writings have appeared online and in print in Dance Magazine, The Village Voice, The SDHS Conference Proceedings, The International Encyclopedia of Dance, and she has contributed chapters to the books Birds of Paradise: Costume as Cinematic Spectacle (British Film Institute, 2014) and Milestones in Dance in the USA (Routledge, 2022). Prior to founding Time Lapse Dance, Sperling performed as a dancer in the works of other choreographers including Sarah Michelson and Yvonne Rainer.  ⁠⁠⁠ Learn More ⁠www.timelapsedance.com/⁠ Tickets to see Jody's work with the Paul Taylor Company  ⁠https://www.davidhkochtheater.com/tickets-and-events/paul-taylor⁠ Follow “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey wherever you listen to your podcasts.  ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://dancetalkwithjoannecarey.com/⁠⁠ Tune in. Follow. Like us. And Share.  Please leave us review about our podcast!  “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey  "Where the Dance World Connects, the Conversations Inspire, and Where We Are Keeping Them Real."

The Outer Realm Radio welcomes the return of dear friend and special guest, Rev. Michael Carter Hosts: Michelle Desrochers, Amelia Pisano Date: July 17th, 2024 Episode: 458 Discussion: Michael will be talking about his latest book " Enlightenment" Michael shares his thoughts on Ancient Cultures, Power of words, Intention, Achieving spiritual awakening, ET Spiritualism, Religion and much more! Please Support Us: Like, Subscribe, Share and Comment! Thank YOU!!! Contact for the show - theouterrealmcontact@gmail.com Website: www.theouterrealmradio.com Please Support Us; Like, Subscribe, Share and Comment! About Our Guest: Rev. Michael JS.Carter is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. He moved to New York City in 1980 and lived there for 27 years, working as a professional actor before moving to Asheville. Michael is an ordained Interfaith Minister and received his BA Degree in Letters from the College of New Rochelle where he graduated cum laude. He received his Masters In Divinity Degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City (class of 2000). He has served as a staff chaplain (Board Certified) at various hospitals in NY and in North Carolina While serving various Unitarian Universalist Congregations in New York, Michael was trained as an anti-racism trainer and has been recognized by President Clinton for his efforts. A long time UFO Contactee, his Book Alien Scriptures: Extraterrestrials In The Holy Bible, was( in March of 2014) number one on Amazon.com's list of UFO related books. Michael has also appeared on George Noory's Coast To Coast radio show, and on George Noory's TV show, “Beyond Belief” on Gaiam Television. Other TV appearances include being a regular consultant on The History Channel's, Ancient Aliens Series, as well as being featured in the UFO TV Documentary, The Real 4400, and UFOs the Hidden Evidence on the Travel Channel. Rev. Carter was also featured in Steven Spielberg”s TV documentary, Abduction Diaries for the Sci-Fi Channel. “Diaries” was the precursor to the Spielberg's HBO series, “Taken.” Author Whitley Strieber calls Rev. Carter's first book, Books: Alien Scriptures: Extraterrestrials in The Holy Bible, “the best book ever written on the topic.” His three other books are, A New World If You Can Take iT: God, Extraterrestrials, and The Evolution of Human Consciousness. God Consciousness: A 30 Day Meditation Manual for God Conscious Thinking, The Metaphysics of Spiritual Healing and the Power of Affirmative Prayer. His most recent book is, " Initiation: The Spiritual Transformation of the Experiencer." Michael serves as the minister for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Swanannoa Valley, located in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. About The Book: https://a.co/d/2K5KIe2 Rev. Michael Carter often reminds his congregation that we are human beings, not human doings. It is who we are in life, not what we accomplish, that defines us and gives us value—while also shaping our values. That belief in ourselves, and in the locus of something divine in all of us as human beings, echoes Dr. Felix Adler, founder of the Society for Ethical Culture in NY, who wrote that “the animating vitality” of every person can reach its highest level when these principles are most potent: 1) respect for all people; 2) kindness; 3) fairness; 4) honesty; 5) forgiveness. Thus, as human beings, we find our own “supreme being” within ourselves and reach our own supreme (state of) being. For “supreme being” is not a noun, but a verb. FB https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069246425720&mibextid=LQQJ4d

On this episode of Culture & Compliance Chronicles, Amanda Raad and Nitish Upadhyaya from Ropes & Gray's Insights Lab, and Richard Bistrong of Front-Line Anti-Bribery, delve into the intricacies of corporate culture and compliance with special guest Guillem Casoliva Cabana. A seasoned traveler and compliance manager at Booking.com, Guillem takes us on a journey through his academic and practical experiences. The conversation covers the importance of understanding team ethical culture, the role of direct managers in shaping it, and how ethics ambassadors can be used to support compliance programs by acting as a bridge between compliance teams and employees. 

Kaoru Watanabe was the featured music artist of the first summer concert in the West Side Community of 2024. Rebecca and I got to the Garden early and set up our portable studio in a corner alcove to talk with Jody Sperling -- dancer and choreographer -- and the Artistic Director of Time Lapse Dance which explores environmental performance forms. Also, Jody is the Eco-Artist in Residence at the New York Society of Ethical Culture. We talked about her artistic work to raise emotions about the climate disaster impinging on our wonderful world. And she told us about the upcoming Time Lapse Dance concert at the NY Society of Ethical Culture on June 1. This program includes selections from Watanabe's performance featuring Taiko drums and Shinobue reed flute. The entire -- unedited -- concert can be heard at BCR #224.Alan Winsonbarcrawlradio@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us on the latest Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper, where we welcome backed choreographer Jody Sperling, to talk about her company's latest work, Sound~Earth~Motion. This new work is a brilliant mix of art and environment, and just like this conversation should not be missed. So be sure to tune in and turn up for this great work!The New York Society for Ethical Culture and Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance PresentSound~Earth~MotionSaturday, June 1st@ The New York Society for Ethical Culture, Adler HallTickets and more information are available at timelapsedance.comAnd be sure to follow Jody and her company to stay up to date on all their upcoming projects and productions:timelapsedance.com@jody_sperling

LRN continues to set the standard for ethics and compliance program research. Volkov Law is a supporter of, and advocate for, LRN's research because it has consistently confirmed what we all know and believe - ethical companies perform better in the marketplace over the long run. It is an intuitive fact that employees respond better to values-based leadership than a rules-based environment and culture. Volkov Law is committed to that mission with our clients, colleagues, partners, and thought leadership. In this Episode Michael Volkov discusses LRN's latest PEI Report, a copy of which can be obtained at https://lrn.com/resources/ethics-compliance-program-effectiveness-reportLRN's 2024 Program Effectiveness Report highlights the importance of corporate values, culture, and accountability in mitigating risks and maximizing financial performance.The report is based on a survey of over 1,400 ethics and compliance professionals from 19 countries and 26 industries.60% of organizations now incorporate ethical behavior into performance management, hiring decisions, promotions, and bonuses to elevate ethical conduct incentives.Top priorities for 2024 include training content, measuring ethical culture, improving web-based compliance resources, internal controls, and audit and compliance monitoring plans.Companies are adapting compliance programs to include remote and hybrid employees post-COVID-19, reflecting changing workplace needs.Senior management engagement in risk mitigation controls and company values is crucial, with 52% of respondents confirming actions over words in fulfilling ethics and compliance responsibilities.Nearly two-thirds of respondents stated their boards actively address misconduct by senior executives or excellent performers, relying on values to ensure ethical behavior.ResourcesMichael Volkov on LinkedIn | TwitterThe Volkov Law Group

Jane Cooke Wright (also known as "Jane Jones") (November 20, 1919 – February 19, 2013) was a pioneering cancer researcher and surgeon noted for her contributions to chemotherapy. In particular, Wright is credited with developing the technique of using human tissue culture rather than laboratory mice to test the effects of potential drugs on cancer cells. She also pioneered the use of the drug methotrexate to treat breast cancer and skin cancer (mycosis fungoids). Wright's family had a strong history of academic achievement in medicine. She was born in Manhattan, New York, to Corinne Cooke, a public school teacher, and Louis T. Wright, who was one of the first African American graduates from Harvard Medical School. He was the first African American doctor at a public hospital in New York City.  As a child, Wright attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, then the "Ethical Culture" school and the "Fieldston School", from which she graduated in 1938. During her time at the Fieldston School, Wright was very involved in extracurricular activities. She served as the school's yearbook art editor and was named the captain of the swim team. Her favorite subjects to study were math and science. After attending the Fieldston School, Wright received a scholarship to Smith College, where she furthered her studies and continued to be very involved in extracurricular activities. She swam on the varsity swim team, discovered a passion for the German language, and lived in the school's German house for a while. Wright graduated with an art degree from Smith College in 1942.] After her time at Smith, Wright received another scholarship, to attend the New York Medical College. She graduated as a part of an accelerated three-year program at the top of her class in 1945 with the honors award. After medical school, Wright completed residencies at Bellevue Hospital (1945–46) and later at Harlem Hospital (1947–48), where she became the chief resident. In 1949 she joined her father in research at the Harlem Hospital Cancer Research Center, which he had founded, and she ultimately succeeded him as director when he died in 1952. In 1949, Dr. Wright joined her father at the Cancer Research Foundation at Harlem Hospital. During her time at the research institute, she and her father sparked an interest in chemotherapeutic agents. They were interested in making chemotherapy more accessible for everyone. In the 1940s chemotherapy was a new development, so it was not a well-known or well-practiced source for treatment because it was still in its experimental stage of drug development. Chemotherapy was considered the “last resort” and the drugs available and dosage was not very well defined. Both Jane and her father wanted to make chemotherapy a more accessible method of cancer treatment. They were the first groups to report the use of nitrogen mustard agents and folic acid antagonists as cancer treatments.  Wright retired in 1985 and was appointed emerita professor at New York Medical College in 1987. In describing her pioneering research in chemotherapy, she told reporter Fern Eckman, "There's lots of fun in exploring the unknown. There's no greater thrill than in having an experiment turn out in such a way that you make a positive contribution." --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/momentsofgrace/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/momentsofgrace/support

““Humanism is the only — I would go so far as saying the final — resistance we have against the inhuman practices and injustices that disfigure human history.” – Edward W. Said was a University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. “My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests.” — George Santayana was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. “We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen, or earned. We are really talking about humanism.” – Gloria Steinem, feminist and author. “Faith in God necessarily implies a lack of faith in humanity.” – Barbara G. Walker is the author of Man Made God and The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. “Faith in God means believing absolutely in something with no proof whatsoever. Faith in humanity means believing absolutely in something with a huge amount of proof to the contrary. We are the true believers.” – Joss Whedon is an American screenwriter, film and television director and producer, composer and actor. “I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.” – Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer, and educator. There doesn't need to be a god for me. There's something in people that's spiritual, that's godlike.” – Angelina Jolie, actor. “What I'm asking you to entertain is that there is nothing we need to believe on insufficient evidence in order to have deeply ethical and spiritual lives.” – Sam Harris, an American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist, is the co-founder and chief executive of Project Reason. He is the author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. “I'm an atheist and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for other people.” – Katharine Hepburn, actor. “It is quite possible to be an atheist and be quite deluded about other things other than religion. ‘A-theism' is an empty category. ‘Humanism' may be deluded about human potential, but at least it is a hopeful and non-exclusionary delusion!” – Joyce Carol Oates AHA Humanist of the Year and prolific author. “Atheism is more than just the knowledge that gods do not exist, and that religion is either a mistake or a fraud. Atheism is an attitude, a frame of mind that looks at the world objectively, fearlessly, always trying to understand all things as a part of nature.” – Carl Sagan was an American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science popularize. In 1981 he received the AHA's Humanist of the Year award. “I have something to say (about atheists) to the religionist who feels atheists never say anything positive: You are an intelligent human being. Your life is valuable for its own sake. You are not second-class in the universe, deriving meaning and purpose from some other mind. You are not inherently evil — you are inherently human, possessing the positive rational potential to help make this world of morality, peace and joy. Trust yourself” – Dan Barker is the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “I have known many good people who did not believe in God. But I have never known a human being who was good who did not believe in people.” – John Lovejoy Elliott was an Ethical Culture Leader at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. An Atheist and Humanist Conversation A group of current and historical atheists and humanists communicate the often intertwined nature of humanism and atheism clearly.” -American Humanist Association. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/antonio-myers4/support

In this week's episode, Britain considers separating church and state, we're excited to learn that gay people are heading to Heaven in a (quote) "coming revival", and Don Ford will be here because once he heard “coming revival”, we couldn't keep him away. --- To make a per episode donation at Patreon.com, click here: http://www.patreon.com/ScathingAtheist To buy our book, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Outbreak-Crisis-Religion-Ruined-Pandemic/dp/B08L2HSVS8/ If you see a news story you think we might be interested in, you can send it here: scathingnews@gmail.com To check out our sister show, The Skepticrat, click here: https://audioboom.com/channel/the-skepticrat To check out our sister show's hot friend, God Awful Movies, click here: https://audioboom.com/channel/god-awful-movies To check out our half-sister show, Citation Needed, click here: http://citationpod.com/ To check out our sister show's sister show, D and D minus, click here: https://danddminus.libsyn.com/ To hear more from our intrepid audio engineer Morgan Clarke, click here: https://www.morganclarkemusic.com/ --- Guest Links: Learn more about the New York Society for Ethical Culture here:  https://ethical.nyc/about/ https://ethical.nyc/events/humanist-happy-hour-2023-03-24/2023-09-22/ --- Headlines: UK considered separating church and state: https://www.christianpost.com/news/parliament-to-consider-bill-severing-church-of-england-from-govt.html WV prisoner given parole despite being atheist: https://www.atheists.org/2023/11/atheists-settle-west-virginia-religious-substance-use-treatment-prison/ Christian prophetess made up the wackiest theory about why some people are LGBTQ: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/11/christian-prophetess-made-up-the-wackiest-theory-about-why-some-people-are-lgbtq/ School is mad they're banned for being transphobic: https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3239022609660-christian-high-school-sues-after-it-s-banned-from-all-athletic-tournaments-for-forfeiting-game-over-transgender-player Priest apologizes for letting guy with long hair present at creationist seminar: https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/christian-college-president-sorry Catholic hospital group removes crucifixes to stop them being used to attack staff: https://www.rawstory.com/hospital-sisters-health-system/ --- This Week in Misogyny: Florida church refused to rent space to women who conceived with IVF: https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/a-florida-church-refused-to-rent French police arrest Yoga leader for sexual exploitation: https://www.euronews.com/2023/11/29/french-police-arrest-yoga-guru Dad proudly disowns trans daughter: https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/this-anonymous-christian-dad-proudly

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Is your company's compliance program truly effective, or is it just ticking boxes? In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov dives deep into LRN's PEI survey with Susan Divers. Susan sheds light on the global nature of ethics and compliance programs, challenging the misconception that they are solely US-centric. They discuss the power of values, the shift from a cop to a coach approach, and the revolutionary trends in employee-centric training, especially in the age of remote work. Susan Divers is the Director of Thought, Leadership, and Best Practices at LRN. She has a wealth of experience as a former Chief Compliance Officer, and her emphasis on values over rules in compliance programs has made her a trailblazer in the industry. You'll hear Michael and Susan discuss:The LRN PEI survey challenges the perception that ethics and compliance are US-centric; many programs worldwide share common features such as codes of conduct, training policies, and audits.Examining a decade of data, the report delves into how ethics and compliance programs responded to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.LRN's data reinforces the idea that ethics and compliance programs relying on values and ethical cultures are more effective than those solely based on rules. Shifting from a cop approach to a coach approach enhances program effectiveness.Ethical companies experience lower employee misconduct rates, higher employee satisfaction and productivity, and achieve greater sustainable financial performance.The pandemic prompted a shift in focus from content-driven training to employee-centric, relevant, and mobile-friendly modules. Shorter modules, just-in-time training, and tailored approaches are emerging as best practices.Ensuring accessibility through web-based policies and procedures, coupled with interactive capabilities and data analytics, becomes crucial in bridging the gap between remote workers and compliance initiatives.Gathering data on employee interactions provides insights into the effectiveness of compliance programs. Metrics such as completion times, pass rates, and group performance allow for targeted efforts to enhance the program's impact.Michael emphasizes the challenge for compliance officers in handling the plethora of available data. Choosing the right metrics, setting standards, and ensuring the usability of metrics over time are crucial considerations.The report highlights that high-performing ethics and compliance programs are integral to the decision-making processes of companies. 70% of respondents reported modifying or abandoning a business initiative due to an ethics and compliance risk assessment.Susan introduces the concept of embedding a short Ethical Culture survey at the end of training courses. This real-time survey, known as the Ethical Pulse Culture survey, serves as a powerful tool to gauge and improve the ethical culture within organizations.The Ethical Pulse Culture survey becomes a game-changer, operationalizing compliance by offering a moving average of data insights. This survey, incorporated into scorecards, provides business managers with valuable insights into their business unit's ethical culture over time.ResourcesSusan Divers on LinkedIn | EmailLRN

On the latest Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper we sat down with dancer/choreographer Jody Sperling, to talk about her upcoming production, Arbor and Other Works. This was a brilliant conversation about the power of dance, and the timelines of the shows message, so be sure to tune in, and then get your Free tickets for this productions!The New York Society for Ethical Culture and Time Lapse Dance PresentsArbor and Other WorksFriday, November 17th at 7pm@ The New York Society for Ethical Culture, Adler HallTickets and more information are available at timelapsedance.comAnd be sure to follow Jody and her company to stay up to date on all their upcoming projects and productions:timelapsedance.com and @time_lapse_dance@jody_sperling

The Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES) conducted by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) provides valuable insights into workplace ethics and compliance from the perspective of employees. Tom Fox recently had the opportunity to visit with ECI CEO Pat Harned on the 2023 GBES. This survey has become a reliable benchmark for organizations to compare their workplace culture with third-party research, allowing them to identify areas for improvement and address potential risks. Over the past 30 years of GBES research, ECI has identified and proven that certain “outcome” metrics are indicative of the well-being of workplaces from an ethics & compliance perspective. In this, the largest and latest update to the GBES body of research, employees in 42 countries around the world told us that there is reason for concern. In Part 4 of a five-part podcast, we explain why companies need a strong ethical culture and high-quality compliance program. The 2023 GBES strongly advocates for the establishment of a robust ethical culture in businesses. Pat Harned's insights reveal that many employees need to operate within a strong ethical culture, and they stress the need for businesses to not only meet minimum standards but also strive for high-quality programs that transform company culture and operations. Pat believes that leaders should model ethical behavior and actively promote program activities that positively influence conduct and minimize the risk of non-compliance. Join Tom Fox and Pat Harned as they delve deeper into this topic on the 2023 GBES podcast episode. Key Highlights: Building a Strong Ethical Culture in Business Transforming Organizational Culture through Ethics and Compliance What is a high-quality compliance program? Join us in Part 5, where we discuss how a compliance professional can use this information in their corporate compliance program. Resources ECI 2023 Global Business Ethics Survey Blog Post on the 2023 GBES, Part 4

This recording contains four addresses of Felix Adler (1851-1933) concerning spirituality from the perspective of Ethical Culture, an educational and religious movement founded and first led by Adler, based on the belief that living in accordance with ethical principles is central to a meaningful and fulfilling life. – Lee Smalley “Spirituality is morality carried out to the finish….The ultimate end (of spirituality) itself is to elicit worth in others, and, by so doing, in one's self. The indispensable condition of this attitude is to ascribe worth to every human being before even we observe it, to cast as it were a mantle of glory over him, to take toward every fellow human being the expectant attitude, to seek the worth in him until we find it.” – Felix Adler, Dec. 11, 1904 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/librivox1/support

Carolyn Jones is a Holistic Health Educator and Chaplain who teaches the art of self-care and practices a ministry of presence. She is licensed by the New York State Chaplain Task Force and serves the community as an herbalist, a certified aromatherapist and reflexologist. In this episode Carolyn shares her insights on the power of deepening our relationship with plants beyond culinary uses to medicinal and spirtual applications. This episode we explore:☀️How to get started with herbalism☀️Spiritual uses for plants☀️Medicinal uses for common herbs and spices☀️Rootworker belief systems Episode Resourceswww.daliakinsey.comDecolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body LiberationConnect with Carolyn https://www.behealed.info/Episode edited and produced by Unapologetic AmplifiedThis transcript was generated with the help of AI. Thank you to our supporting members for helping us improve accessibility and pay equitable wages for things like human transcription.Have you ever wondered why almost all the health and wellness information you see out there is so white, cis able-bodied and het? I know I have. And as a queer black registered dietitian, I gotta tell you, I'm not into it. I believe health and happiness should be accessible to everyone. That is precisely why I wrote Decolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body Liberation and why I host Body Liberation for All.The road to health and happiness has a couple of extra steps for chronically stressed people, like queer folks and folks of color. But don't worry, my guests and I have got you covered. If you're ready to live the most fierce, liberated, and joyful version of your life, you are in the right place.Body Liberation for All ThemeThey might try to put you in a box, tell them that you don't accept when the world is tripping out tell them that you love yourself. Hey, Hey, smile on them. Live your life just like you like itIt's your party negativity is not invited. For my queer folks, for my trans, people of color, let your voice be heard. Look in the mirror and say that it's time to put me first. You were born to win. Head up high with confidence.  This show is for everyone. So, I thank you for tuning in. Let's go.Dalia Kinsey: Welcome to the show Carolyn. I'm so glad to have you.Carolyn Jones: Thank you for having me, Dalia.Dalia Kinsey: I have been really interested in herbalism for years, but I always felt like I wasn't a plant person. I thought I didn't have a green thumb, and only since 2020 have I realized that I just wasn't slowing down enough to pay attention to when the plants were asking for more water or more light, and just suddenly it feels like being connected to the plants has been a little demystified for me.But of course, I'm a total. Baby when it comes to understanding herbalism, the spiritual uses of herbs, any of that. So when I saw you recently in a replay of a webinar that you did for another institute that I've been just studying, like their library, I haven't even gotten that deep yet. I was just fascinated that this institute in particular looks at the spiritual aspect of plants in a way that I really had never seen before, but it really resonates with me that the plants are not seen as just something we take things from.They're not seen as inanimate. They're seen as really powerful and as teachers that are always trying to speak to us. So when I saw your workshop on the African American relationship with herbalism and root work in particular. I was just blown away, and so I'm so glad to have you here to share some of your story with us and maybe how the listeners can get started exploring some of our traditions that maybe feel a little lost to us right now. Carolyn Jones: Well, I'm so happy that you enjoyed my presentation and I'm even happier that you were interested and curious enough to invite me on so we could talk about this in more depth. I love the subject and we are all babies when it comes to the plant world. We'll never know everything. It's always a learning process.The interesting thing is, I seemed like I could kill plants to look at them, you know? Oh, wow. I went to a workshop at a Brooklyn Botanic Garden one day, and I said to the gardener, I feel so guilty because it seems like I touch a plant and dies. He said, don't feel guilty. You know how many plants we kill around here?It becomes like an experiment, but I still feel that sensitivity because for me, the love of plants started early. My mother had a rose garden in the front of the house. We grew up in Bedstuy. I grew up in Bedstuy, born in Harlem. We moved to, uh, Brooklyn when I was six, and in the back she grew corn, tomatoes, college, she had a beautiful garden, you know, a Georgia peach.So she brought all that knowledge from her sharecropper parents and. Who unfortunately I never got the chance to meet. They died when she was 16, but she certainly took their knowledge seriously and brought it with her as a form of survival. Now, when I was younger, I didn't really pick up on it. Like I loved looking at it, but worms bothered me.Dalia Kinsey: As much as I love being outside, I really have a thing with spiders. That was another barrier. I thought, if I'm gonna be spending time with plants, I need to be comfortable with everything that's out there. It's good to hear that not necessarily so.Carolyn Jones: Yes. And I'm gonna tell you, just as of last night, I connected with a neighborhood garden, the Q Garden here in Brooklyn, and I actually sat next to someone who was digging out a pot and centipedes were running all over, and I didn't run screaming into the night.Dalia Kinsey: How'd you get to that point? Carolyn Jones: I don't, I don't know how it happened. Okay. When they were talking about a garden bed that had jumping worms, I held a full interview. How do they jump? Where do they jump? Where are they? You know, because I wanted no part of it, but luckily we didn't see any worms. We did see some of, I think it was a Japanese beetle, but that didn't even send me running.But I was really amazed that I didn't run away from the, well, they didn't get on me. So that's a start. They were on the pot. So being around people, I think who. Are not fearful that way. Mm-hmm. I think some of their courage may rub off. I'm not quite sure. We'll see next week, but you know, for now, so that it kept me from gardening.It really did. Mm-hmm. So as I began to develop a community of herbalists around me, more experienced herbalists, and they began to explain how medicines are better when you have fresh plants, you know, not always dealing with the dry herbs, then my mind began to open up more and more. So over time, as you expose yourself to people with different levels of knowledge, I guess this transformation takes place that you're really not aware of.That's the way we grow anyway. You don't think about it unless you really sit down, slow down, as you said. I thought that was very profound. You do have to slow down now. In order to cultivate my love of plants, I started collecting bamboo shoots. I can keep bamboo alive in water. I have like a bamboo garden all the way through the apartment here, the bedroom and living room.It's in here and they're flourishing. So I feel very happy about that. But I also incorporate that I'm a bereavement chaplain and I incorporate plants into that service as well because I find that plants are very comforting. And I just received a, a picture of someone's memorial garden. She had lost her son.I was doing some consultation with her and recommended that she use their backyard or the area that they have. Space. They have to designate it as an altar for him and she Oh, that's beautiful. She a picture of him beautiful memorial garden that the family has created in his memory. So plants will bring peace and depending on the type of plant, it will comfort you.It will dispel loneliness. And it's no secret that you can talk to plants and if you listen, they talk back, you know, energetically. Dalia Kinsey: How does that usually come through? Okay. Energetically, yes.Carolyn Jones: As far as we are talking about herbalism and root work, there are a few herbs that are used for root work. Hiss is one, but it also has many whole body wellness properties as well.It's used for other things.Dalia Kinsey: So how would you recommend somebody get started? Because that is something that's been intriguing is how vast the uses for a plant can be, and that once you start adding in spiritual uses too, from where I'm standing now, it looks like it might be easier for me. To remember the essence of a plant when I'm looking at it in a spiritual way also.But when I look at all of the, it's almost like medication with off-label uses. There's so many different things that one plant can do. Mm-hmm. How do you start getting your feet wet with this? Or how would you recommend somebody even start learning? Carolyn Jones: Most of the healers healing practitioners that I've interviewed, and I must include myself, started from the point of view of how do I want to heal?How do I need to heal? What could I use to heal myself? Who do I want to be? You know, they ask children, what do you wanna be when you grow up? Who do you wanna be when you grow up spiritually? Not what job you wanna have, how much money you wanna earn. None of that. Who and how do you want to be remembered?When it's all said and done, in order to ask that question, I found for myself that I had to get in touch with my own mortality and my own immortality. How do I wanna be remembered? When people think of me, how do I want people to feel when they think of me? Oh, that's really telling. I worked at a funeral home for two years at the height of Covid.Hmm. So I saw a lot of who I consider our libraries. A lot of elders Pass on the kitchen is as Queen of four. I love her. Always taught is your laboratory and having the wisdom to know. Which plant to use for what ailment. Like today, I woke up feeling a little lethargic. I thought I was just a little overtired of something and I saw it was the sun was shining beautifully outside.I said, okay, come on. You gotta go outside. You can't sit in front of the computer all day. Because I had a lot of writing to do and I went outside and that was good, but I was still dragging a little bit and I had some B propolis in my bag in the form of a spray that I felt a little congested and I sprayed it.The dosage is three sprays in the throat, and I had spoken to a colleague of mine yesterday, Amy Anthony. She's was my aromatherapy. Well, she will be my aromatherapy teacher for the rest of her life, but she's also my friend now and team member in the clinic. That we manage. And I sprayed the bee propolis down my throat, remembering that she said how highly antibacterial it is.And next thing you know, everything started clearing up my energy level rose. The congestion expelled itself, and I felt myself again. So the reason that we wanna know about these things from a spiritual point of view and a physical point of view, is for preventative care. When we feel down or lethargic and don't really know where that's coming from to be able to treat yourself, or if you, you're not getting a deep enough sleep to know that you can use lemon balm or mug wart.You might wanna dream your way to a solution. So you'll drink some mug wart tea or. Use a mug board tincture in your water to enhance your dreams. Mm-hmm. It helps you dream lucid dreams, but it also, I always describe it as helps you sleep beneath that sleep. You know that first layer of sleep well, it helps you get down deep into the sleep and you wake up feeling refreshed.You don't feel dragged out. I went to do a house call yesterday and you know, she put her aspirins and stuff in front of me. She said, I don't want to take these, you know, so I offered her some Valerian tincture, valerian, and she recognized right away, Valium. I said, right, that's what they make Valium for.So now you'll not only get rest, but it's gonna help the pain. But I didn't learn that from studying. I learned that. From healed thyself when I called them after surgery and told them I did not wanna take the codeine aspirin and I needed my circulation and my legs to come back. So I had a masseuse come to the house and got a massage for the circulatory problem.And I was given Valerian teacher and I didn't have to touch the codeine aspirin. So it's just a matter of having the resources and tapping into them, but believing same thing. It's all the same thing with rootwork. And one thing that one of the authors from one of the books that I researched before I came on said that it's not logical.If you try to think about this logically, then you lose the magic of it.Dalia Kinsey: See, I wondered if that was an important component, because you mentioned that you thought about what your aromatherapy teacher had said it was good for, as you were essentially giving yourself the medicine. Does that usually go hand in hand?Carolyn Jones: Well, uh, a reference point is always good, but imagine if you just had a book. The first herbal book that I started studying from was Back to Eden. That was usually the entry point for people from my generation. And then, you know, it expanded and expanded along the way. So now I have book cases of books about self-care for different healing modalities, sound included, color, light included.But in speaking about herbs, which to me I just love them. My home is overrun with them to know that I have that plant friend that will help me be it for a spiritual reason. Something as simple as sage to, you know, smudge the homes. Yeah. Yes. Or even boil for a bath.Dalia Kinsey: What are some of the different ways to use it?So you mentioned tinctures, essences. Mm-hmm. How do you know what you could just boil and drink versus what needs to be a tincture? Or is every plant able to be basically worked with different ways?Carolyn Jones: I don't wanna say every, because some plants are poisonous, so we are just gonna reference the general look at plants that.Edible. The reason I mentioned tinctures is because for me, I love tinctures when my schedule gets so busy that I don't really have time to make a cup of tea, but I want to fortify my body so I do have time to open up a bottle and put a couple of droppers full of the tincture in my water or under my tongue to help myself along.Same way I did with the Be propolis, four sprays in my throat and changed my whole body system and the way I was feeling for the day.Dalia Kinsey: Okay, that makes sense. I tried to make my first tincture, multiple tutorials made it sound like it can be as simple as you want it to be, but it came out so bitter that now I'm thinking maybe I should try tease.Carolyn Jones: The thing that we have to know first is our own habit and our own schedule and our own ability to stick to a program, but also have different ways to approach because we change, sometimes I feel like a cup of tea right before bed or in the morning for two weeks, and then I might want tinctures instead, you know?Or I might put it in a cream. Now you were talking about making the tinctures and how it could be simple depending on the recipe. And Amy and I made, we just strained and bottled about 12 tinctures. Yesterday Rose was the most exciting one for us and she used organic corn spirits for some and I brought Benedictine to the table, which the priest, the Benedictine priest used.It has 26 herbs in it and it's delicious. Now you mentioned bitter. That's okay. That something is bitter. Bitters are good for the system. Some things need to be bitter 'cause it helps your digestive system. It helps the enzymes in your body and also it helps cleanse your blood. 'cause look at apple cider vinegar.It's bitter, but it can be mixed with herbs. I know brags actually has a line of drinks that are delicious, but it has a base of apple cider vinegar. They add cinnamon to it. And the main thing people have to remember with that is add water. You know, have more water than the apple cider vinegar 'cause you'll irritate your stomach.Mm-hmm. But you know, he used as many different flavorings, natural flavorings in his drinks. But when I saw that, I like, I could do that myself. So I recommend to people who need that little bit of boost of taste good because sometimes if someone's having a bitter experience, they don't need to taste something that's bitter as well to compound it.So you might wanna put a little honey in there, little bit of cinnamon to soothe it out just so that it'll be more inviting to ingest. Dalia Kinsey: That makes sense. If you've made a tincture and you wanna have it in water, but you want it to be hot or warm, could that destroy what you've already done or.Temperature's. Not a big deal. You can make something into drink that's hotCarolyn Jones: if you want to. Yeah. I've added it to my tea. And when I was at a conference one time at a workshop on tincture, I was amazed we were taking tincture, taste of tinctures that had to be about 30 or 35, 1 after the other. We were passing it down, you know, everybody would shoot a drop under their tongue or something, and we kept it going.So sometimes I will sit on the edge of my bed and pull out my box of tinctures and decide what I'm gonna do for the day, and just take them one by one according to what I wanna do, be it respiratory, digestive, my mood. I learned that Manta was used by the Native Americans for when somebody died. Oh, sof or grief on a handkerchief.Yes. Well, to dispel spirits. Oh, okay. Mm-hmm. So, it's used and, and each culture, maybe each tribe, each tradition does things differently. So, I don't wanna make a blanket statement that all Native Americans do this or whatever. I'm just saying that as an example because one thing that is stressed in my research it said, be aware of the ceremonial practices of different cultures, how they may differ.So, you can't make a blanket statement about that. Now I want to talk about frankincense a little bit. 'Cause you know, frankincense was used in mummification and also it was used by the Egyptians for arthritis in an essential oil form. But it is antibacterial. That I was introduced to by Amy, 'cause she made frankincense water.She put the tears, they're called tears, the resin balls, and she put it in water and did a coal infusion overnight, so it turns the water milky. But you can also to speed it up, heat it. And I remember she served it in class. And I had respiratory issue. Well, really it was sinuses. I couldn't get rid of this sinus congestion, and after I drank that frankincense water, it went away.So sometimes you discover healing in the process just by trying something new, just by keeping your mind open. As an herbalist, I believe that most of my struggle and the people who work with herbs, so discuss the fact that our biggest struggle and disappointment is when people close their minds and their hearts to nature.I do believe in integrative medicine, however, when you take an herb, it's gonna build your body up. The contraindications will come when it is possibly say like St. John's wart. That seems to be the herb with the highest level of contraindications to pharmaceuticals. So, I don't recommend that people, you know, in my consultation, I don't recommend that they ingest it.I may put it in an oil for them or a cream, you know, add it to a cream 'cause it's great for pain and it's great for soothing and your skin will soak it in so you'll get the effect you need without ingesting it and having it have cause a contra ending in your body. Dalia Kinsey: Now when you put it in a cream, is that something you could do with it as a dry herb or it's more you make the tincture and then you can put it in a cream?Carolyn Jones: That would be an oil infusion. Yes. So, in studying aromatherapy, you get to learn base oils and essential oils and how to use them. But also I. You learn about oil infusions in herbalism and tea infusions, so that's with water. But you can also do kitchen herbal infusion like you see garlic oil. Yes. That means that they infuse the oil with garlic or garlic.Honey, you can make garlic honey infusion. I'm looking forward to doing some make and take courses. I'm especially in love with honey, you know, and that's a great antibiotic as to weather, you know, comes into winter. So you cure the garlic in the honey and then you can add it. To tea or just take a spoonful of it and eat it.Dalia Kinsey: Yeah. That's one of the few remedies I do remember in a crystal clear way from my grandma, like she never really was big into cough medicine. Like one, she thought it was too expensive and then had a lot of questions about all the unnecessary ingredients and all of the dyes and stuff. But she would say, you need the entire bulb of garlic, not a clove.She said, put the whole thing in there. Okay. And then a cup of honey. You blend that together and she would put 10 drops of eucalyptus oil and she's like, that's all you need, but when you take it, people will smell you from a mile away. But it tastes delicious to me. So I still do it and people just have to deal with the smell.Carolyn Jones: That's right. I love garlic. I do. As a matter of fact, I just had some garlic last week. I think I had to talk to someone up close. I was trying to turn my head, but I, I was saying to myself, look, deal with it because I feel great. Well, yeah,Dalia Kinsey: It really is one of those things where it just tastes so good, you know, it's doing something good for you. And then because it also reminds me of grandma, I just feel like as soon as I'm blending it up, I'm like, I'm already healed, I can just feel it coming. But I've been sitting in an office and heard my coworker come in the front of the building. And she's like, you're at again from the front. So I know it's pretty loud. Ad breakHave you been kicking around the idea of starting your own podcast? If you have started doing the research, or if you already have a show that you know how many moving parts there are involved in podcasting? From learning new tech to clarifying your message, to overcoming your fears about saying what needs to be said.Speaking truth of power. 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I was always told, I was raised in a very conservative Christian household, and so there was always a high concern about possession and so anything that had to do with plants or nature or.Spirits that you don't know by name. It was something you're supposed to be very, very careful with and probably stay away from, but I've always been drawn to it. Yes,Carolyn Jones: yes, because it's a natural curiosity. So I grew up in a very conservative and religious home as well. My mother did allude to spirits a bit.I'll tell you a story in a minute, but she had a book from Edgar Casey on her bookshelf, the famous psychic healer, and at the age of 10, I was reading this book. So my mind was already opened up and I remember one time my mother told me that we were living in Harlem and in a rooming house, and she saw, this is what she told me.Now, I don't know. She heard and saw the door open and she heard footsteps. Coming in the room, but nobody, she saw nothing and she pulled the covers over her head. She said, I was in the bed with her. She pulled the covers over her head and she said, Lord, have mercy on me in the name of Jesus. And she heard the footsteps turn around and run out of the room.I did. I, I had no judgment. I still don't have any judgment if that's what she experienced. 'cause she said she felt the, the covers moving back. If she had that, that's her experience. I don't wanna dispute that in my studying. I love to read books, especially by surgeons who have a certain spiritual sense about them and they talk about death and spiritual phenomenon.And in my studies, uh, with Robert Moss who died or had a near death, death experience as a child, two or three times, I can't remember right now, but I know it was at least two. And he talks about. Near death experiences a lot, and I read a lot about near death experiences. Who am I to judge if a spirit? Are we not living in a physical form as spirits?Don't we talk about souls regardless of how we are brought up? I don't know if atheists referred to souls. I've had a couple of atheist students in my lifetime, you know, in academia, and they were very interesting people, you know, very clear minded in their thinking as far as I was concerned. To me, that's a personal, my question is what do you need at the moment of transition?Have you taken care of feeding your spirit, the spiritual food it needs in order for you to make transition? Also, how do other cultures so-called primitive cultures look at death? From a child, I read National Geographic magazines and my mother would bring them home. And that was a fascination for me as to how other cultures look at death.I was like, you mean only Baptists are gonna go to heaven? Like, how do other people get there? You know? Right. Heaven full of Baptist. I, I can't imagine. You know, and also, how do you interpret Christianity as an individual? If you're living the principles? Are you living it by convenience? Like you're a Christian one moment and then you're doing something untoward the next whatever untoward is.I don't know what unto is. You know, everybody has, everybody has their own definition of what untoward could be. But meanwhile, my main concern when I'm seeking a spiritual space, Are the people joyful? Because if you are not joyful to me, your spiritual food is not working because you should not be living a life of despair.I find it hard to believe that the creator, an all knowing creator, would put all of us here to live in despair.Dalia Kinsey: Yeah, and it seems like if you, at the end of the day, you get to choose which spiritual tradition is going to feed you, which one is gonna nourish you. I don't really understand why you would pick one that doesn't really support you like in all of your identities, and support your happiness and make your life, enhance your life.You know, add ease rather than make your life even harder. But I know a lot of people are in traditions that make them feel, I. Burdened.Carolyn Jones: Yes. I watched it happen to my aunt. My aunt, God rest her soul is the reason why we had lipstick today. Ooh. I thought she was so pretty with the red, bright red lipstick and the straightened hair with the curls and everything.And all of a sudden she joined this church. And not to say she didn't look good in the natural, but she was dowdy. And by that time, you know, admiring people like Diana Ross and Gina Lola Brita and Sophie Lauren and Diane Carroll and all of them, I'm like, oh, that's not working for me. That look you have now back to that red lipstick.So I then began to analyze why would somebody allow an institution to make them change their whole being? And what is wrong with having red lips? It's a color. So I have to credit Caribbean people for showing me that wearing vibrant colors was beautiful because back in the day, we were supposed to tone ourselves down, you know?Mm-hmm. I'm like, no, but I like that right there. Okay. And that's what I'm gonna be, and I'll just have to be the bane of everyone's existence because I'm going to do it the way I wanna do it, you know? And I'm so glad that I was stubborn that way.Dalia Kinsey: Now, would you say like people were encouraging all women or people assigned female at birth to tone it down, or people putting pressure on black people to turn tone it down?Carolyn Jones: Not necessarily Black people, you know, like in the corporate world, you had to wear black, blue, dark suits, you know, that's, they never tell you, oh, wear, uh, some orange and pink and light up to the room. You know what I mean? Right. You could tone it down without wearing black and. Maybe a dark brown or something, you know, those are pretty colors.They're nice and they have their place, but colors change your aura and it helps people see you better, you know, see your soul better. What are you representing? I remember. And, and, um, sure it's not hard to find a toxic person on a job. And what I would do to counter that, to make myself feel better, I would decide what, what, especially when I was studying holism, decide what color I was gonna wear that day to make myself feel healed all day in spite of.That energy. So it gave me a constant feeling of self care, and this is my message to everyone. Regardless of what you are going through, you deserve to love yourself. And if you don't feel it, act as if my newest emotional wellness package includes salt cave, auricular, massage, flower essences, and aromatherapy to teach people how you don't need a lot of people around you to heal.You can be by yourself. I want to show people places that they can go and be themselves to heal botanic gardens. Listen to the birds. They're talking. If they're not talking to you, they're talking to each other and they couldn't be cursing each other out. As beautiful as they sound. Maybe they are, I don't know.But usually when a bird is angry, you could tell, right?Dalia Kinsey: Yes. We have some really territorial ones that like our bird feeder.Carolyn Jones: Yeah. So you know, listen to the birds singing and watch the animals, how they're handling their lives. You know, take a lesson from the animals. I had even done some research for this podcast to see how animals were used in the root world.Would you like to hear some things?Dalia Kinsey: Oh, yes, please. Carolyn Jones: The first animal that sim used as a symbol is snakes. Okay. And they're seen as powerful symbols of transformation and wisdom and healing. They're associated with spiritual knowledge and the ability to shed all patterns and emerge renewed. So just having that desire to shed what is not working, be it a relationship.Don't be afraid. Yes, it's bumpy. Yes, you could lose everything, but look at how much you could gain in the end, because the piece that surpasses all understanding has no monetary. You can't, you can't buy it. It's all internal. You need your peace of mind. I, I often tell this story that one day I was sitting in my living room when I was deep into trying to transform my life.I was living alone, but I sat down. I had read a book. I used a lot of biblio therapy books to heal myself. I remember just breaking down and crying and resolving that. The next day when I got up, I was going to approach life differently and pick up the pieces where they lay and continued the thread of what was good.Mm-hmm. About what I was doing before and leave the rest behind. And that was the day that my life began. Its full transformation. Dalia Kinsey:I do think it's really empowering to know that even when it feels like you don't have any say, that there's probably still some autonomy there and there's probably still a way for you to take control, but it's.Hard sometimes to see it. I know patterns from childhood can follow you. And it's almost like, I mean, we've, most of us have seen this happen when you train a pet. Mm-hmm. You don't have to always keep the fence locked, they'll just assume it's locked after certain point. And we get stuck in similar patterns.We don't know that we could make a change. It doesn't even occur to us that there might be something we could do to make our lives a little better.Carolyn Jones: Yes. And that happens when we, when mistakenly give our power to someone else who has no interest in preserving it, you know? Right. So a lot of times people, Amy and I were laughing about that yesterday.She said, yeah, Carolyn, you always say, See it for what it is, because Maya Angelou made that statement, when a person shows you who they are, believes them the first time. And I have joked in the past and said, okay, I'm up to about the 16th time now I'm getting there, but now I can honestly say, mm, maybe you have two times.More than likely you have one. Yeah. You know, so it took years for me to get that way because, you know, we brought up, oh, it don't hurt anybody's feelings, so, you know, but what about your feelings? Why are, do you have to be the sacrificial goat? Dalia Kinsey: That's a hard one because yeah, some of us are raised to just keep trying to be polite, put other people's feelings.Ahead of our own. And I know even now as we're all, a lot of people are trying to be more compassionate, more kind. Mm-hmm. They give people a lot of grace and realize like, oh, well maybe someone's coming into this conversation with a lot of trauma, but at what point are you going to prioritize your own wellbeing?And if you aren't for you, who else is gonna do it? Right? Like that's, that's our job is to prioritize our own care and to prioritize our own feelings. And yeah, you care about other people's feelings too, but not more than your own. And it makes some people really uncomfortable to even say that out loud or.I've been called selfish many times, and when I was younger it would hurt my little feelings. But now I'm like, oh, well you've been conditioned to think it's bad to look out for number one. Yeah. But I understand that I am best equipped to do it, and I can offer people more love and more care when I do it.So you can call it selfish. And I guess technically it is because I'm looking out for my own self. Self-care. Self-care. Mm-hmm. Certainly not evil or bad, but some of us were raised to think that it is.Carolyn Jones: Yes. Mm-hmm. And that's how things got the way they are from that mistaken mindset. You know, and, and I wanna say this, especially with women, you know, I, I was so happy when back in the day, women started burning their brass.I didn't like 'em anyway. You know, and claiming their own freedom and their own rights, because I didn't think, I never thought that. I thought the phrase old made was misplaced, you know? So what if someone decides they wanna live in their own world as a woman? You know, why should she be powerless? Why should she choose powerlessness in place of her freedom?The freedom that she has defined that she wants to have? You know, so those old philosophies of what a woman should be or what a man should be, we've just outgrown them. But whether we have learned how to navigate it fully yet is still up for grabs. But at least we're on our way. It seems to me that one has to decide what's more important.Do you wanna stay and suffer and create the definition that's killing you? Just like Judge Judy said on a reel that I saw, when a woman gives up her ability to earn money and choose her career, she's forced to live in unpleasant circumstances many times. You know? And I guess that could go for men too, but I'm speaking from the point of view of someone who had to make that choice and lose everything.'cause I didn't wanna lose my soul. Hmm. Because you can get material things back. You, once you get too far out there, you can't call yourself back. And one thing I would not want to do is die not knowing myself and not having nurtured myself and given myself the love that I deserve. So I feel that you're absolutely correct in being able to take care of yourself.And yes, everyone has had trauma and I don't think it's right for people to compare traumas. Why is the other person's trauma more important than your own? And different traumas, like what is a small trauma in your world, may totally devastate me according to my personages,right? Dalia Kinsey: Yeah. I recently. Well, maybe a few years ago.Mm-hmm. Heard somebody explain that trauma isn't a thing that happens, it's how your body responds to something that was too much for you to handle at the time. Mm-hmm. So you could be going through the same experience with a family member, and it is not traumatic to them, but it is traumatic to you. And it doesn't become less significant because someone else says, well, that's not traumatic enough.That's not big enough. You have to prioritize this other person's emotional experience. Carolyn Jones: So that's a selfish statement. Oh yeah. That, you know what I mean? To just brush somebody off and say, yeah, all right, but that's, you know, you're a cry baby. We all have our inner child that gets wounded. But that inner child, if it was abused, if you were abused as a child, that inner child is damaged and you as an adult, Need to gain the knowledge and the wisdom it takes to nurture that inner child back to health for your own good.Dalia Kinsey: How would you speak to a child that is upset or emotionally devastated? Would you tell them you're being stupid for crying or would you try and soothe them? Maybe try to explain to them that they are safe? Can't we give ourselves that? Yes.Carolyn Jones: Yeah, exactly. We, we, and a lot of people walk around not believing that they deserve that kind of kindness, or maybe they've never seen it.But that goes back to my point of opening one's, mind expanding one circle, go places that you've never been, that looks like people are. You know, growing through their pain as opposed to remaining stagnant. When I first started studying Kundalini yoga, we would meet every Friday strangers for a community circle.And I'm proud to claim at least four people still as close friends, even though we don't see each other often. But we grew through our pain and as I look at each person's life, we benefited from that time together. And we know deep down inside when we have a moment to have one, we go through the salt cave together sometimes, or another one, we had tea together lunch.But that's that connection. It's a lifetime connection where we know that whatever it is we had to come through, we did it together in that time and space. And we can discuss the transformation and we thank each other. For support us during that time, you know, each one of us during that time. So it sounds like it's all about community,Dalia Kinsey: rSo it sounds like it's both. 'cause you mentioned you want people to understand how much healing they could do alone, but then also there's a lot that you can do in community, right?Carolyn Jones: Right. It spreads to community eventually. That's how healers and healing practitioners are made. It starts from one trying to heal themselves, and then as the modalities are introduced, then it expands into this big, beautiful world.Right now, the things that are in my life, I didn't even know they existed 20 years ago, you know? But now it's filled to overflowing and the possibilities are endless. Because each person, as I mentioned, always keeps someone in your life who knows more than you do. That's very important. A lot of people wanna live on ego.Oh, you know, we know the dialogue. No, that's toxic dialogue. Invite people who know more 'cause they'll know more people and they'll introduce you to new things. Open yourself up to new experiences, worms and all these things have, because I opened up my mind to worms. So many new things have happened and so many new people have come into my life.Now I can join a community garden, which is a learning garden. So, and it just happened last night where I now know I have a place that I can go and learn. What this is, what this plant looks like, what a jumping worm is, you know, how not to be afraid of it. What other people know and what other people don't know, and how I can fill in the blanks for them and how they can fill in the blanks for me.Hmm. Yes. Because that's what makes life interesting. Not the part, you know, the part you don't know.Dalia Kinsey: I think that is wisdom in itself. It, like you said, there's a lot of ego driven or maybe fear driven posturing that people do online where they want to act as though they know everything and they keep reiterating.I'm an expert. I'm an expert. I'm an expert. When. In reality, we're never done learning. And if we are, then I guarantee you, you have a knowledge deficit if you think you've finished. And it's more wise to understand that it's normal. It's human not to know everything. And everybody knows something you don't know.And you can learn something from anyone. You can learn something from a child. You can learn something from somebody who's 102 and you think, oh, they're out of touch. Carolyn Jones: There's always something. My favorites are the seniors that I visit. I'm an elder myself, but they're my seniors. And I visit a woman who is 91 and we play phase 10 together.You know, she beats me sometimes. Yeah, whatever. And then, you know, I have others in their eighties and so forth who want to live. They want that longevity. And I was just a part of my. Feeling today was I, I lost my friend recently. We would always talk politics and health. Mostly politics because he wasn't taking care of taking care of his health.He was in his fifties and I found out he died about two months ago and that thing was weighing on me so badly today. I said, I miss my friend. I feel like talking politics 'cause it got so bad at a point we were just saying it's over. That's, that's all we would have to say about politics. We wouldn't even talk about the details anymore.You know, it is done. That sustains me when I step out of my building and someone's there for me to say, good morning too. We didn't have to wake up or at least take a moment to look at the sky and not worry about whether it's gonna rain or whether the sun is shining. Just. Look into the stratosphere knowing that you didn't create it, but you're a part of it. Dalia Kinsey: And that looks like a way that some people are using root work, seeing that like everything as having an energy or having life inCarolyn Jones: it. Yes. And I'm glad you said that because there is something that I grabbed for the purpose of this podcast, the common beliefs of root workers. One, there is one God and angels and ancestors and such support the work of the one God, they supplement religious beliefs.Okay, two, the Earth is sacred, living and breathing. It's a sacred living, breathing entity, so everything is alive around us. Physical death is not final. Acknowledging that the soul is eternal is what the root worker does, and the future can be foretold with divination. So here's what I wanna share with you.When I was in my twenties, I don't know, I was walking down the street and this young Caucasian woman was reading poems for $5. I'm like, why not? You know? So I sat down in the chair and gave her my hand. Mine was open. I didn't do it as a skeptic. And she read my palm and she told me, you know, I see a lot of sons here.I said, but I have daughters. She's like, yeah, but I see sons, you know? And she said, you're gonna have a nice long life, but you're gonna have a lot of hardship and your life is gonna begin to open up after 60. So, you know, I kept all that in the back of my mind, didn't really pay any attention. And then after 60, my life began to open up in such a way, and now I'll be 74 this year.And it's wildly exciting. Just by virtue of me speaking with you about this topic is wildly exciting to me. You know, so all the things that I would think about, I'm an only child, so I didn't have people to discuss all this stuff with, and a lot of these thoughts that we're discussing today, I usually just keeping to myself and study on my own and have my own feeling about it.And then when I'm in light company, we have these wonderful conversations that I go back in my shell, my shell about it, because everyone doesn't subscribe to it. And I'm not trying to argue about it. I believe what I believe and let you know. I let other people believe what they want to believe and, and I think that it, it is a private matter that our deepest beliefs are private matters.You, you know, and it is, our choice is a privilege when somebody shares their belief system with you. Mm-hmm. That's what makes being a death doula so important and being able to help people move to the other side, make their transition in peace. Not in despair, not with regrets, just in peace. It's great work and it's work that people shy away from, but it's spiritual work and I think that is what we are lacking a lot in society today.We've forgotten to do the spiritual work well.Dalia Kinsey: People don't wanna do what they would consider the shadowy side of it. They definitely don't wanna think about their own mortality. Generally speaking, I find people don't even wanna consider that this body urine isn't gonna last forever. That's where it's interesting to see all of this fear that people have around like working with what they see as an unknown, which is.Plants because most of us haven't been raised to really be able to recognize them or forage the way, maybe a few generations back. People might've been able to, they're afraid that they're gonna accidentally kill themselves. And it's like the fear of the unknown and the fear of death. Like it's depicted in like more than what a film, I think about how many movies have I seen where somebody mis identifies a plant and they kill themselves.Carolyn Jones: Oh, I see. Dalia Kinsey: You would think that every other plant is poisonous when in reality, depending on what part of the world you live in, it's not that many compared to all the plants that you could ingest. Nature is not as dangerous as some of us think nature is. I mean, sure nature kills people every day.Mm-hmm. But it's not as dangerous as we think. And then also, when are we going to just lean into living? Are we just gonna focus on fear of death? Are we gonna lean into fully experiencing our life? And for me, that's got to mean fully experiencing nature.Carolyn Jones: Yes. And including death. Right. How can you accept the death of your pet?But you can't accept. You might suffer, you might grieve, but you still know the pet's gonna live a certain amount of time, probably less time, you know, probably die in your lifetime. Right. But you don't wanna accept that you are in that same predicament, you know? And it doesn't have to be a predicament based on how you approach it.There is a, a discussion group that I participate in through the Brooklyn Society of Ethical Culture, where we actually have death discussions. What is that like? It's refreshing, you know. And also there is a museum called The Museum of Morbid Anatomy. They have wonderful workshops, and I took a course through them where you actually had to do an artistic symbol of remembrance for yourself.Oh wow. And the beautiful things that people are doing who are unafraid to breach and approach these subjects. Right.Dalia Kinsey: I think it's a real barrier to fully experiencing your life is continually avoiding your own mortality, because it makes you make kind of strange choices if all you're thinking about is just avoiding death.Instead of thinking about what do I wanna do with my actual time in this particular body? Like you said earlier, getting started with your healing work. No matter what modality you're using, you should know what you're trying to do. What do you wanna do with this life? And if you haven't accepted that, it's finite.I think it really changes a lot of your choices, like you hear all the time that when people were told that death was near, it suddenly made them feel free. To actually do what they wanted with their life. But if you understood early in life, like in your twenties or in your thirties when a lot of people still feel immortal.Mm-hmm. If you understand then that you are in fact mortal, that you can go ahead and take that invitation to live your life right now.Carolyn Jones: Yes. Yes, and I believe that it also helps a person be more empathetic. I think more people should either consider volunteering or have an internship at a funeral home or in a hospital, or even with people who are invalids or even visit some of these senior centers just to make seniors happy.Everybody, you know, sitting in a wheelchair and, and debilitated in some way or another, they weren't always like that. And you can't look at it as a us and them kind of thing, a me, a, me and them kind of thing. You have to see humanity as. Stand before the grace of God go.Dalia Kinsey: Right now, you mentioned before we got on the call that you teach a class about kitchen medicine.So I know a lot of people that there are a lot of people that wanted to explore more natural ways to build up their immune system. Mm-hmm. For just all the time so that they'd have less coals and you know, less inflammation year round. Yeah. But people have been complaining or saying they're concerned that alternative medicine options and herbalism in general is very expensive or difficult for them to access.But if there's some things that are just common that could be found in any kitchen that we are just not aware of how we could be using it, that seems like a really missed opportunity. So I would love to hear more about what type of plants that are around us all the time. That we're not understanding could also function as medicine.Carolyn Jones: Okay. To start, you know, we had mentioned sage and things like that before basil cardamon, like what I love about Ayurvedic medicine is that, uh, east Indian modality of medicine, there are three recognized systems of medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and western medicine. So to that end, we can use Ayurvedic medicine because it speaks to mostly how you cook the manifestation.Stage of a disease is the last stage. Accumulation is the first where we're piling on, and then we are experiencing symptoms. That we don't really pay attention to. It's like, oh, my back hurts, but it'll be okay. It doesn't have to show up the way we expect it to. It could be some other way. Or I'm feeling a little lethargic.I'm feeling a little dizzy. Right? So we have things like garlic we spoke about before and I like to tell people what it could be used in like, I like to play a a, a game. It's called Did I miss something? So Garlic, we can use that in soups, meats, poultry, sauces, and tea. You know, ginger soups, salads, sauces, fish.Tea and rice. Today, I just went to a Thai restaurant and had ginger soup and I didn't want them to put any vegetable in other than scallions. I just wanted to cleanse my digestive system and my blood and everything. And I felt for something very light nutmeg. Oh, and by the way, I'm just gonna throw this in there.When you're making rice, you can squeeze some lemon juice in it and make lemon rice. It's delicious. Mm-hmm. Throw a little parsley. And you know, the thing behind that is learn to love cooking. You know, you don't feel like cooking all the time. True. But at least when you cook, make it count. For your health.Dalia Kinsey:Now that sounds like a tall order. Learn to love cooking. Did you always like cooking or did you have to get into it?Carolyn Jones: Well, yeah, I, I always love cooking because I, I mean, I love experimenting and I love to eat, you know.Dalia Kinsey: So you'd try cooking without a recipe? Carolyn Jones: I, I always cook without a recipe. Oh, okay.Because I mean, I feel like how many mistakes can you make once you just know the basic, once you have the seasoning down pat, and you know whether it's gonna be spicy or, you know, you experiment, you might wanna taste a piece of parsley before you use it, or taste a piece of cilantro before you use it.And also when you go to a restaurant, observe how they season their food. When I go to certain vegan restaurants, I learned, that's how I learned about liquid smoke, the mushroom bacon, and I was spending $8 for a side of mushroom bacon. I said, this has got to stop. I asked waiter one day, what's giving it that taste?So it made me realize that we are not addicted to pork, we're addicted to the hickory taste of pork. Mm-hmm. Pork has no flavor. Dalia Kinsey: Yeah, in general, when I think about it, there's very few types of meat that people like to eat with no seasoning. Mm-hmm. It's usually just all preparation. And so you could do that with whatever products you actually wanna eat.Like I do know some people, maybe they do want to eat meat, but if you don't want to eat meat, but you just are afraid of losing out on the taste. Mm-hmm. It's just a matter of mastering the flavors. Carolyn Jones: It is. And with mushroom bacon, you slice the mushrooms up real quick and I wanna try it with, there are a couple of other mushrooms that I want to try, but I did it with portobello, slice it thin, put enough oil in the frying pan just to layer, you know, so the mushroom will get brown.And I throw some garlic, you know, powder, garlic powder onions on there and said, I like to use paprika 'cause I like color in my food. And the last thing is the liquid smoke and it puts that hickory in there and there you have your, your mushroom bacon and it's absolutely delicious. Oh, that sounds pretty easy.It is. So, you know, a lot of things. It's not like when being a vegetarian and being a vegan, when it, it first started out, the food really was terrible to me. So getting back to what you were saying, Paprika I mentioned meat, dairy, fish, and rice. You could put it on pink Himalayan, sea salt salad, greens, meat, poultry, dairy, rice, fish, soups and sauces and aloe, you know, to cleanse your blood.And it also helps one move. I mean, look, it doesn't work for everyone. Delicious on poultry, pasta, salad, soups, and also you can make tea. Turmeric helps with inflammation. You could put it in soups. You can make a tea with it with golden milk. That's a five spice formula with turmeric, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and a touch of black pepper to help the cinnamon and turmeric get through your system.And that can be used with sauces, poultry, rice, salads, pasta. And you can use it in place of paprika sometimes just to color your food.Dalia Kinsey: Well, I can taste turmeric. I can't taste paprika.Carolyn Jones: True. Yeah. Unless it's smoked paprika. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's a nice taste. Dalia Kinsey: Now what can paprika do? Turmeric's grown in popularity and it's being sold more as a supplement here in the States.Mm-hmm. But I don't know what medicinal properties paprika has.Carolyn Jones: Well, first of all, as I mentioned, I love that it colors the food, right? And anytime you make the food look more appetizing, that's always great. But it is also, it has antioxidant properties and you can usually tell when a spice or a fruit or vegetable is red, it has that reddish color.It works as an antioxidant, like, uh, cherry, you know, the black. The tar cherries that they use to inflammation. Mm-hmm. It improves immunity and alleviates gas. It also is high in vitamin C and E and protects against cardiovascular disease. Once again, looking at the doctrine of signatures, that red color, it helps create healthy red blood cells.And it reminds me if you wanna talk about that of beats, right? Mm-hmm. Because beats wonders for the blood and, and iron content and everything of the blood. Oh,Dalia Kinsey: I do remember hearing that. Now. You said the doctrine of signatures. Can you explain what that is?Carolyn Jones: Well, the doctrine of signatures in is when you can look at a and surmise what organ it, it will help.So according to the physical, characteristics of the plant, like the shape, the color, texture, and the smell, it could reveal their therapeutic value. And that's a whole, that's a whole study. You know, I can imagine that goes deep. Mm-hmm. It does. So you could look at maybe something like Mullen and look at the leaf, and it may have the shape, or you may see the lung, you know what I mean?The shape of the lung in there, or various other plants that might be shaped like the organ that it actually helps. So that's what the, the doctrine of signatures is about.Dalia Kinsey: That's so fascinating to me because it seems like the plants are trying to communicate how they can support us. Visually. But they've looked like that since before we knew what our own lungs look like.Right. So I wonder how people used to figure it out aside from just experimenting.Carolyn Jones: Well, that's what fascinated me about this phase of herbalism where I learned that, and I believe it was the Native Americans used to watch the animals to see how they would heal themselves, and then they would use that plant for healing on them.So really we learned, as I mentioned before, we learn. From each other. And I, we just covered snakes before, but I wanted to share with you about they're associated with wisdom, intuition, and hidden knowledge. So, you know, if you think about it, they're usually used in some type of oc cult setting. Mm-hmm.And they're often seen as messengers from the spirit realm and guides in navigating the unseen they see in the dark. Tra and cats do too. It's it, it speaks about cats being mysterious. We know that. And it speaks to black cats. You know, how many years it took me to get over that black cat thing, even though I didn't believe it, I never believed it.'cause I love black cats. I mean, I thought something was wrong with me because I love black cats. They're sweet and they're beautiful, that they're associated with luck, psychic abilities, and spiritual guardianship. I, I, uh, I don't understand when people don't love cats. 'cause I actually love that movement that they do in root work.Dalia Kinsey: How do people work with totem animals? They're more likely to have an animal around, or they're looking at the animals for notes and messages.Carolyn Jones: It happens different ways. One audio book that I was listening to in preparation for this interview, I was tickled because the author said that root work evolves over time, mainly because a lot of ingredients.For the ceremonial activities may not be available unless you know someone with a possum tail laying around. Right? So, you know, there's no telling what what can be used in and everything based on what belief system it comes from. I've had two encounters. The first time I wanted to reverse something that was happening in my life that someone had inflicted upon me, and I went with my girlfriend who was seriously into it.I won't name the religion or anything type of ceremony, but I got to see people being mounted by spirits and I got to sit with the priests. What I was told to do was, in my mind, untenable. Hmm. So, my girlfriend was very angry with me 'cause she felt like I should do it. But what was very interesting was that life had presented me with a dilemma.I had a choice of either pudding, $400 out for the work or paying my rent, which was $400. And to me, because of what I was told to do, I felt like it would reverse itself on me. 'cause that was my Christian upbringing, right? That it can bounce back really, right. If you wanna talk about karma, which those words weren't used at that time.But now I would say I felt that there would be karmic consequences, which would include me losing the roof over my head. My intuition told me this, so I left it alone and I just let her be angry with me. Yeah, so went and paid my rent and dealt with whatever I had to deal with in other ways in so many other ways that didn't include ritual.Mm-hmm. Except maybe the burning of incense in my home and some other prayers and stuff like that. Something I was comfortable with. Right. I feel that whatever root work one does, you have to be comfortable with it. You can't be scared. I don't believe in viciousness either. It's powerful stuff. The other experience that I had, I've had many, but I'm talking about ritualistic experiences, not like intuitive or psychic experiences.Those are plentiful, but this particular time I had gone to a love feast. It was African love feast, and it's there that I became a true believer in do not play or do not. Go in like now. I wasn't playing, but when I say play, I mean know what you're doing. So they were dancing, they were doing tribal dances in the ceremony.And I got up because I'm thinking as a dancer, and when I danced, all of a sudden it's like I lost, I had no hands and feet that I knew of that were operating. You understand? It was just a swirl. Like if you saw water swirling down the the drain. I was just a swirl of energy. And I remember screaming and they gathered me, and I remember I went back to my Christianity.I said, Lord, that'll do it.Dalia Kinsey: You're like, this is the demon possession they told me about.Carolyn Jones: If you allow me to get up and walk outta here, you don't ever have to worry about me again. And you know, like a dough stands up for the first time when it's born. I remember my legs feeling like that and I dowed my way right on out of there, but I never forgot.And I have a, a healthy respect 'cause it's real. Mm-hmm It's just, you have to choose if that's the route you wanna take to worship. 'cause I see nothing wrong with it for those who understand it. The problem is if you do it and you don't understand it, I believe that initiation is very important when you're dealing with the shamanic world.Dalia Kinsey: I think that's something that a lot of us have lost access to, I think. Well that's why I think who do appeals to a lot of people. 'cause there's not as many rules around formal initiation. It's like passed on by mouth, by books, by wherever you get it. But yeah, that's a good reminder for everyone to really just slow down and pace yourself and make sure that everything you're doing feels right in your body.'cause you're going to get information that way too.Carolyn Jones: That's right. And make sure that you have a trusted teacher if you're going to go the shamanic route. A lot of people are using psychedelics at this time to get in touch with that realm. And all I can say is be sure that you're dealing with trusted individuals.Dalia Kinsey: Yeah. Thank you so much for coming. God, I think that's great parting advice for everybody.Carolyn Jones: Thank you. Thank you for having me. Body Liberation for All ThemeThey might try to put you in a box, tell them that you don't accept when the world is tripping out tell them that you love yourself. Hey, Hey, smile on them. Live your life just like you like itIt's your party negativity is not invited. For my queer folks, for my trans, people of color, let your voice be heard. Look in the mirror and say that it's time to put me first. You were born to win. Head up high with confidence.  This show is for everyone. So, I thank you for tuning in. Let's go. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit daliakinsey.substack.com

“Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision making.[1][2][3][4] Secular humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity. It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently good or evil, nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many secular humanists derive their moral codes from a philosophy of utilitarianism, ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics, and some advocate a science of morality. Humanists International, founded by Julian Huxley and Jaap van Praag, is the world union of more than one hundred humanist, rationalist, irreligious, atheist, Bright, secular, Ethical Culture, and freethought organizations in more than 40 countries. The "Happy Human" is recognized as the official symbol of humanism internationally, used by secular humanist organizations in every part of the world.” I strongly disagree with the religious right with their far-right views on creationism in public education,[14] school prayer,[15] temperance,[16] Christian nationalism,[17], Sunday Sabbatarianism,[18] biological evolution,[14] embryonic stem cell research,[19] LGBT rights,[3][9][15][20] comprehensive sex education,[21][22] abortion,[15][23] pornography, (24], role of government, education, church and state relations, economics, having the Ten Commandments in schools and in public places, Sunday blue laws, contraception, biotechnology, sex and sexuality, marijuana, alcohol, and The Middle East. Jesus spoke the word “Gehenna” not “Hell. In traditional English versions, he does occasionally seem to speak of “Hell” – for example, in his warnings in the Sermon on the Mount: anyone who calls another a fool, or who allows their right eye or hand to sin, will be cast into “hell” (Matthew 5:22, 29-30). But these passages are not actually referring to “hell.” The word Jesus uses is “Gehenna.” The term does not refer to a place of eternal torment but to a notorious valley just outside the walls of Jerusalem, believed by many Jews at the time to be the most unholy, god-forsaken place on earth. It was where, according to the Old Testament, ancient Israelites practiced child sacrifice to foreign gods. The God of Israel had condemned and forsaken the place. The church lacks Attitude Emotional intelligence Emotional literacy Emotional self-regulation Gelotology Hope theory Impermanence Kindness Empathy Life skills-based education Moral development People skills Personal boundaries Positive psychology RULER Social intelligence Social skills Soft skills Study skills Theory of multiple intelligences Vocational skills decision-making and problem-solving; Creative thinking (see also: lateral thinking) and critical thinking; Communication and interpersonal skills; Self-awareness and empathy; Assertiveness and equanimity; and resilience and coping with emotions and coping with stress. I don't believe in absolute certainty and absolute truth. Religion glorifies tribalism, suppression and repression of the flesh and emotions and inner life, skim-reading religious texts, passive acceptance of wrongfulness, elitism, favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism. Jesus is never a Christian, Jesus never went to church. Jesus was a Judaism-practicing Jew. He spoke Aramaic, not English. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/antonio-myers4/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/antonio-myers4/support

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“In America, the ethical movement was propounded by Felix Adler, who established the New York Society for Ethical Culture in 1877.[22] By 1886, similar societies had sprouted up in Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis.[23] These societies all adopted the same statement of principles: The belief that morality is independent of theology; The affirmation that new moral problems have arisen in modern industrial society which have not been adequately dealt with by the world's religions; The duty to engage in philanthropy in the advancement of morality; The belief that self-reform should go in lock step with social reform; The establishment of republican rather than monarchical governance of Ethical societies; The agreement that educating the young is the most important aim.” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/antonio-myers4/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/antonio-myers4/support

Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest running podcast in compliance. In the latest episode of FCPA Compliance Report, Tom Fox speaks with Parijat Jauhari and Susan Divers, both with LRN, about their new tool, Catalyst Reveal, which helps compliance professionals deal with the new DOJ requirements around culture assessment, risk management, monitoring, and improvement. They explain how Catalyst Reveal goes beyond traditional methods of measuring the effectiveness of compliance training and that the platform includes completion data, culture data, and learner sentiment analysis to determine training effectiveness.   They also discuss the importance of benchmarking, which allows for easy comparison of clients within the same industry and revenue band. Plus, find out about their upcoming additions to their product and how it can provide solutions to challenges posed by the Department of Justice. Tune in now to discover how Catalyst Reveal can help compliance professionals fulfill their obligations under the 2023 Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.  Key Highlights ·      Measuring Ethical Culture ·      Enhancing Compliance Training Effectiveness  ·      Challenges in measuring training impact ·      Data Analytics in Compliance Training ·      Benchmarking and Data-driven compliance training  Notable Quotes “This is the most exciting development in this space in all the time that I've been working in ethics and compliance because it allows companies and chief ethics and compliance officers and their teams to move beyond what I would call dead data.” “The culture pulse survey that we've included in this which is the ethical culture pulse survey. That's its full title. It asks questions in real time about levels of engagement from the employee base and levels of respect levels of transparency, levels of organizational justice. And that that is a breakthrough.” “What this tells you is it goes beyond we had a  warm seat. for this training to say, we had people take it, and a lot of people in this group really struggled with facilitation payments or with what is an actual conflict of interest. And this is an area that compliance officers really struggle with.” “We are really using some new technology, machine learning to mine the data because it's you're accumulating it every day that employees are actually.” Resources Parijat Jauhari on LinkedIn Susan Divers on LinkedIn LRN Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fervent fans of The Doughboys know their whole history, detailed on the Rock N' Raw DVD – they first got together in ‘64 and played in various permutations through the rest of the 60's. They gigged incessantly, won a battle-of-the-bands on Zacherle's Disc-o-Teen TV show, were the house band at the legendary Café Wha? in New York City in the summer of '68. They opened for every act imaginable including The Beach Boys, and released two 45's, Rhoda Mendelbaum and Everybody Knows My Name, on Bell Records (which later became Arista Records) before splitting up for what they thought was for good. The band members went their separate and interesting ways – Myke Scavone fronted hard rock ensemble Ram Jam who scored an international hit with Black Betty; Richie Heyman played drums for the likes of Link Wray, Brian Wilson and Jonathan Richman while simultaneously pursuing an acclaimed career as a singer/songwriter (under his full moniker Richard X. Heyman); Mike Caruso landed session work with such notable pop producers as Bo Gentry and Kenny Laguna, and even jammed with Jimi Hendrix!Mike CarusoSince the band re-formed in 2000 at a surprise birthday party for drummer Richie Heyman's birthday, The Doughboys have released six albums (Is It Now?, Act Your Rage, Shakin' Our Souls, Hot Beat Stew, Front Street Rebels and Running For Covers), numerous singles, and a documentary film with accompanying live disc (Rock N' Raw). They've played up and down the eastern half of the country, often sharing bills with such luminaries as The Pretenders, The Yardbirds, The Electric Prunes, Roberta Flack, Robin Trower and many others. They performed at the historic “Who Shot Rock n' Roll?” exhibition at the Allentown Museum, at an all-star tribute to George Harrison at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, at the “Long May You Run” benefit at The Hamilton Live in Washington, DC, and have appeared at prestigious venues like B.B. King's, the Sellersville Theater, the Stone Pony and the Starland Ballroom. Lead singer Myke Scavone is now also a member of The Yardbirds, touring the world as they continue to spread the gospel of the golden era of Rock n' Roll.In 2005, Gar Francis (of Stones tribute band Sticky Fingers fame, as well as work with Billy Idol and Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and The Raiders) entered the picture after the untimely passing of founding member and brilliant guitarist Willy Kirchofer. When Gar joined the band, The Doughboys branched out into recording their own original material, and it wasn't long before they entered the recording studio and laid down tracks for Is It Now?, the first album of their long and storied career.The Doughboys' songs have become huge favorites on radio around the world, especially with Little Steven Van Zandt, who named Shakin' Our Souls his favorite album of 2012, and who has bestowed the much sought after rank of “Coolest Song In The World” on eight of The Doughboys' songs on his Underground Garage channel on Sirius/XM radio. Additionally, Doughboys music is used extensively in film, television and advertising, including in such TV shows as “The Big Bang Theory”, “Californication,” “Breaking Amish” and “The Good Guys” and in the film “Coming Through The Rye.”

Changing the World Using Social Media Sunday, June 25, 2023. 10:30am Emily Newman Social media changes the way we communicate, the way we understand the world, and the way we are perceived by others. Although it has been used for bad, we can and should use it for good. Let's spread a message of respect, caring, and action to make a more humane world online and in person. Emily Newman became a member of WES in 2018 and is still a member of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, where she grew up. She has managed social media for several nonprofit organizations and led numerous workshops to help humanist communities get more engaged online.

Clay Clark Testimonials | "Clay Clark Has Helped Us to Grow from 2 Locations to Now 6 Locations. Clay Has Done a Great Job Helping Us to Navigate Anything That Has to Do with Running the Business, Building the System, the Workflows, to Buy Property." - Charles Colaw (Learn More Charles Colaw and Colaw Fitness Today HERE: www.ColawFitness.com) See the Thousands of Success Stories and Millionaires That Clay Clark Has Coached to Success HERE: https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/testimonials/ Learn More About Attending the Highest Rated and Most Reviewed Business Workshops On the Planet Hosted by Clay Clark In Tulsa, Oklahoma HERE: https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/business-conferences/ Download A Millionaire's Guide to Become Sustainably Rich: A Step-by-Step Guide to Become a Successful Money-Generating and Time-Freedom Creating Business HERE: www.ThrivetimeShow.com/Millionaire See Thousands of Actual Client Success Stories from Real Clay Clark Clients Today HERE: https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/testimonials/

Ethical misconduct can destroy a company's reputation, result in fines and legal action, and erode trust with stakeholders. However, building an ethical culture is not easy, and compliance officers face many challenges in doing so. Ethical culture is not just about having a set of guidelines or policies in place, but rather, it's about employees having strong values and principles that guide their decisions, even when no one is looking. In this episode of All Things Investigations, compliance expert Laura Paredes joins hosts Tom Fox and Mike Bernadis to discuss what ethical culture means, how to achieve it, and signs that a company does or does not have an ethical culture. Laura Paredes is the Compliance Director for the Americas at Ingram Micro, a Fortune 100 company and global technology distributor. She is a compliance expert with over 15 years of experience in the field, focusing on anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and antitrust compliance. Prior to her current role, Laura worked as a compliance attorney and auditor for leading multinational corporations. She has a law degree from Universidad de Buenos Aires and an LLM in International Business and Economic Law from Georgetown University. You'll hear Tom, Mike and Laura discuss: An ethical culture is about employees having strong values and principles that guide their decisions, even when no one is looking. An ethical culture is part of a company's DNA and should allow employees to make the right decision, even if the rule is not written anywhere. Signs that a company has an ethical culture include: Positive peer pressure, where employees feel free to speak up and raise concerns without fear of retaliation. Leadership plays a crucial role in creating and maintaining an ethical culture by communicating the values of the company and reinforcing them through middle management. Transparency and an open-door policy. Signs that a company does not have an ethical culture include employees being afraid to speak up, wrongdoing being allowed, and lack of accountability. An ethical culture is led by committed leadership and requires institutional justice and fairness. Establishing policies and procedures that are relevant and easy to understand is key, along with constant training and communication to employees. Recognizing and rewarding good conduct can have a positive effect on the culture. It's important to have a plan for building an ethical culture and to have leadership and the Board of Directors on board with it. Building alliances and working with other departments, such as audit and finance, can be effective in promoting compliance. KEY QUOTES: "An ethical culture is about employees having strong values, strong principles that they can apply when they're going to make a business decision. It's something that is part of the DNA of the company, and it's something that will allow them to make the right decision even if the rule is not written anywhere." - Laura Paredes "When employees are not afraid to speak up, and they will openly bring concerns up to their managers or to a compliance officer or legal. They will feel free to ask questions they will not feel ashamed of... There is transparency and there is an open door policy and people feel free to speak up without fear of retaliation, that's a good sign." - Laura Paredes "If you can work with an audit, if you can work with finance and share the same tools that they're using to implement the compliance program, to communicate, to create a culture of compliance, then maybe you can reach more people and you can be more effective." - Laura Paredes Resources: Hughes Hubbard & Reed website Laura Paredes on LinkedIn Ingram Micro

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://thecitylife.org/2023/04/28/free-performance-talkback-with-new-york-society-for-ethical-cultures-eco-artist-in-residence-jody-sperling-the-time-lapse-dance-ensemble/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/citylifeorg/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/citylifeorg/support

Patricia Bruder Debrovner who played Ellen Lowell Stewart on As the World Turns will join me live in The Locher Room to help me celebrate the second Anniversary of The Locher Room as we take a look back at her career in show business and her 30 years on As the World Turns.Patricia has been married to her childhood sweetheart, Chuck Debrovner, for 63 years. The couple have two daughters Caroline and Diane and two granddaughters Allison and Jane. Patricia and Chuck have been active members of the New York Society for Ethical Culture for many years. Since 2005, Patricia has been producing their Ethics and Theater program, a monthly play reading series that's followed by an audience discussion of the ethical issues in each play. As producer, she is involved in every aspect of the program - choosing the plays, the directors, casting, preparing the scripts, the flyers and programs, arranging the rehearsals - but the best part is that she has gotten to play a host of delicious roles.Original Airdate: 4/1/2022

Ethics are the foundation of the CPA profession. How do we ensure that we hold ourselves and our firms to the highest ethical standards? Joe meets with Clare Levison, CPA, CGMA, owner, Inspired Responsibility in Blacksburg, Virginia to discuss how our behavior in and outside of work reflects on the profession.

James has spent eight years at the Ethical Society of St. Louis: one year as an Ethical Culture leader-in-training; four years as the Society's outreach director and second leader; and three years as senior leader. In this, his final Platform address, he will offer his reflections on eight years of service, thank the Society's members and friends for the welcome they extended, and think about the future of Humanism.

We had a great conversation with Kyle P. Walker: Activist Concert Pianist and Educator as our guest of Season 3 Episode 6. Kyle, a strong advocate for social equality, believes music can speak to social issues better than verbal language. Having extensive experience both as a performing artist and journalist, he feels a strong responsibility and passion for raising awareness of social justice issues through music in an accessible and engaging way.In this episode, you will hear Kyle's thoughts on how music can speak towards current social issues, how he brings awareness to influential Black music through his innovative and inclusive programs, and more.[Kyle P. Walker – Activist Concert Pianist]A strong advocate for social equality, critically-acclaimed pianist Kyle P. Walker, believes music can speak to social issues better than verbal language can, the understanding of which he brings to both traditional Western repertoire and that of the living world-wide composers with whom he collaborates. Many of his performances have been featured on media broadcasts, including The Green Space at WNYC, WQXR's Mcgraw-Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase, Sunday Baroque, NPR's Public Radio East, CNN, and PBS. He has been featured in recitals at New York's Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and with an orchestra in Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Walker was featured in residency alongside the Boston-based ensemble Castle of our Skins at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The online series of free digital programs explore the ways some Black American composers have found inspiration in the rich tradition of spirituals. Walker is a pianist of DARA + KYLE, an innovative piano/cello duo, and 2021 recipient of the Chamber Music America “Ensemble Forward” career grant. The award-winning duo is committed to bringing excellence and respect to all under-represented composers in the canon. Walker also performs with The Harlem Chamber Players, an ethnically diverse collective of professional musicians dedicated to bringing high-caliber, affordable, and accessible live classical music to people in the Harlem community and beyond. As an advocate of social justice, Walker is a founding member and chamber musician of The Dream Unfinished, an activist orchestra that supports NYC-based civil rights and community organizations through concerts and presentations. As a teaching artist and educator, he has co-presented at the Human Rights Center, New York Society for Ethical Culture, and the Brooklyn Public Library. A dedicated educator, Walker is a member of the piano faculty at NYU Steinhardt's program in Piano Studies. In addition he is also on the faculty of the Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Music Center and on the chamber music faculty of The Artist Program at Suzuki on the Island. He has presented recitals, residencies, and masterclasses at various institutions such as The University of Dayton, The University of Virginia, Belmont University, Allen University, The Harlem School of the Arts, and The Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He has also co-presented extensive workshops alongside The Dream Unfinished, including the Carnegie Hall Music Educator Workshop, speaking about arts activism and building diverse curriculums for students to include composers that reflect the communities they serve. 

What you'll learn in this podcast episode Guidance from the US Department of Justice, particularly the recent 2020 memorandum, stresses that a company's compliance program must reflect and evolve with its risks—and should not be a snapshot or on cruise control. But in assessing those risks, it's helpful to see what other companies in the same area or circumstances have done to meet them. Collective action and coordination can be very useful in dealing with common risks. So, when is benchmarking and a collective approach to risk helpful? And when can it backfire? In this episode of the Principled Podcast, LRN Director of Advisory Services Emily Miner continues the conversation from Episode 6 about benchmarking with her colleague Susan Divers. Listen in as the two discuss the benefits and limitations of benchmarking, and how organizations can ensure they benchmark their E&C programs effectively.    Featured guest: Susan Divers Susan Divers is the director of thought leadership and best practices with LRN Corporation. She brings 30+ years' accomplishments and experience in the ethics and compliance arena to LRN clients and colleagues. This expertise includes building state-of-the-art compliance programs infused with values, designing user-friendly means of engaging and informing employees, fostering an embedded culture of compliance, and sharing substantial subject matter expertise in anti-corruption, export controls, sanctions, and other key areas of compliance. Prior to joining LRN, Mrs. Divers served as AECOM's Assistant General for Global Ethics & Compliance and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Under her leadership, AECOM's ethics and compliance program garnered six external awards in recognition of its effectiveness and Mrs. Divers' thought leadership in the ethics field. In 2011, Mrs. Divers received the AECOM CEO Award of Excellence, which recognized her work in advancing the company's ethics and compliance program. Before joining AECOM, she worked at SAIC and Lockheed Martin in the international compliance area. Prior to that, she was a partner with the DC office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. She also spent four years in London and is qualified as a Solicitor to the High Court of England and Wales, practicing in the international arena with the law firms of Theodore Goddard & Co. and Herbert Smith & Co. She also served as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the Department of State and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN working on the first anti-corruption multilateral treaty initiative.  Mrs. Divers is a member of the DC Bar and a graduate of Trinity College, Washington D.C. and of the National Law Center of George Washington University. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Ethisphere Magazine listed her as one the “Attorneys Who Matter” in the ethics & compliance area. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Rutgers University Center for Ethical Behavior and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Practical Training from 2005-2008. She resides in Northern Virginia and is a frequent speaker, writer and commentator on ethics and compliance topics.  Featured Host: Emily Miner Emily Miner is a director of LRN's Ethics & Compliance Advisory services. She counsels executive leadership teams on how to actively shape and manage their ethical culture through deep quantitative and qualitative understanding and engagement. A skilled facilitator, Emily emphasizes co-creative, bottom-up, and data-driven approaches to foster ethical behavior and inform program strategy. Emily has led engagements with organizations in the healthcare, technology, manufacturing, energy, professional services, and education industries. Emily co-leads LRN's ongoing flagship research on E&C program effectiveness and is a thought leader in the areas of organizational culture, leadership, and E&C program impact. Prior to joining LRN, Emily applied her behavioral science expertise in the environmental sustainability sector, working with non-profits and several New England municipalities; facilitated earth science research in academia; and contributed to drafting and advancing international climate policy goals. Emily has a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with a degree in Anthropology.   Principled Podcast Transcript Intro: Welcome to the Principled Podcast, brought to you by LRN. The Principled Podcast brings together the collective wisdom on ethics, business and compliance, transformative stories of leadership and inspiring workplace culture. Listen in to discover valuable strategies from our community of business leaders and workplace change makers. Emily Miner: Guidance from the US Department of Justice, particularly the recent 2020 memorandum, stresses that a company's compliance program must reflect and evolve with its risks and should not be a snapshot or on cruise control. But in assessing those risks, it's helpful to see what other companies in the same area or circumstances have done to meet them. Collective action and coordination can be very useful in dealing with common risks. So when is benchmarking and a collective approach to risk helpful, and when can it backfire? Hello, and welcome to another episode of LRN's Principled podcast. I'm your host, Emily Miner, director of Advisory Services at LRN. Today I'm continuing my conversation from episode six about benchmarking with my colleague Susan Divers, our director of Thought Leadership and Best practices. We're going to be talking about the benefits and the limitations of benchmarking and how organizations can ensure they benchmark their E&C programs effectively. Susan brings more than 30 years experience in both the legal and E&C spaces to this topic area with subject matter expertise in anti-corruption, export controls, sanctions, and other key areas of compliance. Susan, thanks for coming on the Principled podcast. Susan Divers: Oh, Emily, it's always nice to talk with you. Emily Miner: So Susan, before we get started, let's kind of define benchmarking and summarize the conversation that I had in our last podcast with our colleague Derek. So benchmarking means comparing what you do as an organization in this case to a usually large number of comparable organizations or individuals. And most often, this is done in a quantitative way, although there are also opportunities to benchmark qualitatively. And at LRN, we've been using benchmarks for a number of years now through our research reports. We've conducted major panel research on the role of ethical culture in an organization and in organization's risk of misconduct. So looking at how that varies across countries, across industries. We conduct every year research into ethics and compliance program effectiveness research that you lead and that you and I collaborate on. And we've been doing that for, oh gosh, coming up on, I don't know, maybe eight years now. That's been given us a insightful look into Ethics & Compliance Program best practices, and how they've evolved over time. We've also conducted research on codes of conduct, analyzing nearly 150 publicly listed codes of conduct from the top listed companies around the world and looking at similarities and differences and best practices in that space. But we have a brand new product at LRN that we're launching later this month that I know we're all really excited about called Catalyst Reveal, which is a platform that will, as it's name suggests, reveal insights to our clients about their ethics and compliance program, things like course level data training, data, employee sentiment, ethical culture. It will also give our clients the ability to see how their results along these metrics compare with other organizations in the LRN client universe. So looking at by industry, by company size, and a few other comparable filters. So with that exciting launch as our backdrop, I wanted to talk to you as an expert and a thought leader in this space about benchmarking compliance programs, when to do it, when not to do it, et cetera. So let me turn it over to you, Susan, and let's start with the benefits. What are the benefits of benchmarking in ethics and compliance program? Susan Divers: Sure, Emily, I'd be happy to talk about that. In thinking about this topic, there are really three really good functions that benchmarking is appropriate for. And then there are some where it's not so appropriate and we can talk about all of that. But starting with what it's very appropriate for, the first is if you're setting up a program, you need to figure out kind of what are the basics that you need to do at the outset. And it can be very helpful particularly if it's a new program, and it usually is if it's setting it up to be able to say your management, "We have to have a code. We have to have policies. We have to have audit. And we have to have training" and those are kind of the four basic pillars and being able to make that case. That's very basic, but it can be very helpful in terms of people who are struggling to get started in what we all know is a really complicated area. So that's kind of the first setting where benchmarking I think can be very helpful. And then the second is you've got your program and you're up and going. Now, no two companies are alike, no two industries are alike, and I can get into that a little bit later, but it's helpful to know if you're mainstream or not. Like for example, our Ethical Pulse Culture check lets you sort of get an idea from a short questionnaire embedded in our platform in Reveal whether your culture is really out of whack or pretty much along the same lines as mainstream. And again, that's really helpful because it can show you an area where you're maybe excelling and it's good to take credit for that and scale it, or it can show you an area where you're deficient and it's good to know about that too. And then the last is, and this is where for example Ethisphere has done a lot of really good work, best practices. People are constantly innovating. I'm always amazed at how ethics and compliance programs are changing and getting better. And we can talk about that a little bit, and Reveal's going to be very helpful there. But benchmarking can give you ideas that can be very valuable for enhancing your program. So those are sort of the three big areas where I think benchmarking can be extremely helpful. Emily Miner: Yeah, thanks Susan. And on that last point that you shared, that's really resonating because if nothing else, benchmarking or surveying what other companies are doing out there with respect to ethics and compliance and different facets of that, it gives you as an ethics and compliance professional just an idea of what's possible. Maybe there's a new approach to communicating with your employees that you haven't thought of that might work for your organization. I'm at the SCCE's Compliance & Ethics Institute right now, and there was a session yesterday about one particular organization's sort of their evolution of their compliance program following some significant trust that was lost in the organization to senior leader misconduct. One of the things that they talked about was having employees around the globe put on skits that they turned into videos that dealt with ethics moments and how the actors, which were the employees of the organizations, would kind of get famous around the world for their skits. It was a very lighthearted way of communicating very serious topics that resonated for this particular organization. But a lot of people in the room were asking questions, "Oh, well, how could I put together a skit like that? Did you write the script or did the employees come up with it and this and that?" Just that it's a way of sharing ideas and fostering innovation across the industry that can be really exciting and powerful. Susan Divers:    Yeah, that's a great example, but maybe it's time to talk a little bit about the limits of benchmarking too because that's a good illustration of the point that benchmarking's good for the three things we just talked about. Setting up, making sure that you're in the mainstream and not at either end, or maybe you want to be excelling and then getting ideas and best practices. What it's not good for is saying, "Hey, we met the criteria." And the reason is there isn't a criteria. In fact, there was a quote two days ago or so from the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, and she said, I quote, "It's like running a different company every two years." So the point I'm trying to make here is that your program has to be based on your risks, and those risks can change dramatically, I mean, certainly in the semiconductor area, and that's what she was talking about. The risks have changed, they basically changed radically with all the changes with China and the export sanctions and the war in the Ukraine. So it's not enough to say, "Hey, I'm doing what everybody else is doing in that area." And secondly, the other big problem is comparing apples to apples. I picked three consumer companies to sort of illustrate this. One is Walmart, which obviously is a big consumer company. Another is PepsiCo, another is Mondelez. And if you look at all three, they all have really different risk profiles. They may be in the same area generally, but Walmart's much bigger than the other two. Walmart had a major scandal a number of years ago where they wound up paying, I think it was 137 million in 2019 because in order to get permits for their stores in Latin America, particularly Mexico, their lawyers were actually paying bribes. When you think about it, that should have been something that they were sensitive to on their risk profile and both training and auditing the local lawyers. Also, there was some lawyers on their teams internally. That was a risk and they failed to mitigate it. PepsiCo is bottling, and so do Mondelez has plants, but it's not quite the same level of regulatory intensity as setting up a store, hiring people, environmental health. So I use that example because I'm trying to pick an industry and say, "Well, if you compared yourself to one, you might miss some of the particular risks that you have." One of the also things to bear in mind, and you alluded to it when we started, is that DOJ has never recommended benchmarking in all of the guidance. In fact, they've said things that kind of contradict benchmarking if you were using it to say, "Hey, we met the norm." They've said, "You don't want to be on cruise control," and that's because things change. And they've also said, "You don't want to just take a snapshot of your program at a given time." And that's kind of what the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices was saying too. And that's because any time you're looking backwards rather than forwards, you could miss the iceberg that's looming up ahead and going to sink the Titanic. So at any rate, I think benchmarking can be very useful, but you have to use it for the right purposes and you have to bear in mind the limitations. Emily Miner: Right. Absolutely. It's never the be all end all. It's one data point that we should be collecting and looking at in some situations and not others. And in those situations, it's one of many that we should be considering when we're thinking about program effectiveness. Susan Divers: Yeah, it's an element. Yep, absolutely. Emily Miner: So let's kind of tease this out a little bit more. Where do you see benchmarking being helpful? I know that you gave those three scenarios, but maybe if you could pick out a concrete example to share against any of those three scenarios to illustrate how it can be helpful or when it can backfire. Susan Divers: Sure. Well, let's pick another consumer company, Anheuser-Busch. This is a great example because it illustrates how benchmarking can be used very effectively to drive a best practice. Anheuser-Busch had a very prominent CECO who has very recently left to go to the Department of Justice in the last couple of months. When he was there, he set up an internal data analytics program that was able to pull data from their own systems, payments, SAP of course, onboarding and pick out red flags without, if you will, human intervention. In other words, he was able to take a number of data streams from various parts of the company and meld them together. And because he was very good CECO, he was able to figure out what some of the risk signs were or the red flags. What it did is it enabled Anheuser to manage its third parties, which if you think about it, beer distribute, beer companies have a lot of third parties. And then they could focus in on those companies, those third parties where there were red flags. They didn't have to audit everybody to the same degree of intensity. And that approach of internal data analytics was a best practice that was gathering steam, sorry. But once Matt really took it to the next level and showed how it could be done, then it really became mainstream in the E&C area. And Matt's now at DOJ. So if you're going to go in and have tense talks with regulators, being able to talk about what you're doing in benchmarking is important. And it takes us back to Reveal where Reveal is a really powerful tool that we've developed that will enable you to see red flags or predictive factors. And again, remember looking backwards doesn't really help you because it doesn't tell you if there's a big iceberg about to sink the Titanic. But looking forward and saying, gosh, the data that's coming in from Asia on attempts to pass courses or on our Ethical Pulse Culture check or other features is worrying. It's nothing specific that we know about at this point, but it indicates that, I'm just picking on Asia randomly, it indicates that we need to spend some time in Asia figuring out what's going on. So that's really an excellent use of benchmarking and that's a good story as to how understanding what best practices are emerging and adapting them then for you, because nobody could simply take Matt's system of third party analytics and plug it into their company and come up with the same results. It has to be tailored and it has to be specific. But that's a really good example of what DOJ is talking about in this area where they say you have to tailor it to your risks. So does that make sense? Emily Miner: Yeah, absolutely. It's a great example with Anheuser-Busch and the system that they set up. I want to kind of talk about specific types of data that we collect in ethics and compliance or can collect, because I feel like the kind of two most common ones that organizations want to benchmark are training completion rates, that's a metric that is easy to collect and is often one that is shared, and hotline. "Oh, my hotline reports. How does this compare?" And the hotline providers will publish annual benchmarking reports on hotline. So we've got course completions, we've got hotline data, but we also collect other data points, or there are other places where we could to think about program effectiveness. I'd love to hear from you, as you think about the universe of ethics and compliance data, where do you think kind of benchmarking holds water and where does it not? Susan Divers: That's a great question, Emily, and I'm glad you asked it. Let's start with the hotline because that's a really good example in a lot of ways of two of the pitfalls. One of the major pitfalls that we touched on is are you comparing apples to apples or apples to potatoes? A company, let's take Starbucks for example, they have 300,000, relatively young, many of them first job employees. And are they going to call the hotline if they see something or worried about something? The odds are probably no even though they've got a big kind of young and engaged workforce because they're inexperienced. Most of their employees, I was talking to their CECO last week, and most of their employees really haven't worked extensively in the workplace. So Starbucks might have really low hotline numbers. Another company that's largely unionized, on the other hand, because unionized workers generally know about the hotline and they know about formal complaint processes, they'll have high hotline usage compared to other companies. Let's just pick a slightly ridiculous example, but a big manufacturer of clothing like the Gap or something. You'll have unionized workers in the plants, but Booz Allen is a consulting company. Are you going to compare hotlines between Booz Allen and the Gap? That really is an apples to potatoes comparison. So I think hotline benchmarking, and I know most of my colleagues in the E&C area would agree is very, very difficult because you'd have to really know what the workforces are to try to get an idea. And then secondly, it can be driven by other factors such as when I was at AECOM, we deployed a lot of people in the Middle East and the conditions were harsh. So our hotline complaints would go up when people were under stress, but another company might not have that circumstance. Emily Miner: Yeah, that's such a great point about when you're using benchmarking and you're considering using benchmarking, you have to be really thoughtful about what that benchmark pool is made up of. The union example is such a great one because even within the same industry, you compared the Gap to Booz Allen, but even within the manufacturing industry, for example, not all manufacturing company has a unionized workforce. So you can think, "Oh, well it's manufacturing, so it's comparable," but it might not be depending on the workforce dynamics. That level of insight isn't always available when we're benchmark data sources. Susan Divers: We forgot one thing that both of us know, which is I think the last stat I saw was more than 90% of meaningful issues are not raised through the hotline, they're raised in conversations with managers. So I've never been a fan of hotline benchmarking. Emily Miner: Yes, absolutely. Susan Divers: But to turn to training completions, that's an interesting one too. Again, it really depends. If you're using an old fashioned training provider whose library consists of 45 minute or even longer lectures, sort of Soviet style on the evils of sexual harassment, first, it's probably not very effective. And secondly, a lot of people won't complete a 45 minute course just because it's long. If the training is repetitive and hectoring, they'll drop out. Whereas the kinds of courses that we have and that we emphasize are very engaging, they tend to be shorter, they tend to be more microburst learning. So again, what are you comparing? Do you have a lot of employees on the shop floor? Well, it's hard for them. They can't really just take a break, sit down at their laptop and open up a course on antitrust. So again, I think training completions can be tricky. It doesn't mean it isn't interesting to see that data, but figuring out, again, whether you're making an apples to apples or an apples to potato comparison, I think is really important. And then secondly, remember, it's retrospective looking. It's not telling you anything about what's coming around the corner. Emily Miner: Mm-hmm. One thing that we've focused on in this discussion is comparing ourselves to other organizations. I mean, that was how I even defined benchmarking at the outset, but there's also internal benchmarking, comparing your own performance year over year or whatever the period of time is. When you were just talking about training completion, it made me think about that internal comparison, less so with training completion because I think it tends to be high, a lot of companies mandate it so there can be penalties for not completing training. So if it's high for that reason alone whether or not it's good or relevant to employees or they liked it or whatever. But thinking about metrics like pass/fail rates or number of attempts or test outs or some of those more nuanced training related data points and comparing against yourself year over year and seeing what has changed and what might be the result of that. I mean, maybe you noticed in year one that it was taking the majority of your employees or a significant minority of your employees more attempts than you wanted to answer certain questions correctly related to a certain risk topic. And so then as a result, you rolled out some focused communication and maybe you targeted specific groups of people where you noticed were particularly struggling for additional manager led conversations or whatever. And then in year two, does that pass rate or attempt rate improve? That's a helpful metric because you're comparing apples to apples, you're comparing yourself and you're able to connect it back directly to specific interventions that you may have need to make improvements in that area. So I just wanted to point out that benchmarking can be done internally as well. It's not always an external exercise even though that does tend to be how we talk about it. Susan Divers: Well, and you're exactly right, and that's where it gets really valuable because first you can make sure that you're comparing apples to apples. For example, if you've just done a merger and suddenly your population of employees has doubled, well obviously then you know that you've got a much different comparison year over year, but you can break that down and you can make those comparisons by manipulating the data. Secondly, your Ethical Culture pulse survey is a really good tool year over year adjusted for employee population size. And if we've got new people coming in the company, a merger for example. And it can be proactive. It can, again, spot trends as you were just saying that indicate that you may need to spend more time with people. But the beauty of internal benchmarking, particularly the way Reveal has set that up for our clients and made it easy is that you can get genuine insights looking at what happened last year, what happened this year and you know some of the reasons why there may have been a change. Whereas if you're comparing yourself to, I don't know, Ernst & Young, you don't. You don't have visibility in terms of their numbers. So internal benchmarking, I think you're right to stress that. And it's a very, very valuable tool. Emily Miner: I've done, as you know, a lot of work with organizations evaluating and assessing their ethical culture. The trend that I've noticed with those clients that we've done this type of work year over year over year is that the benchmark, the external benchmark just grows. It's important kind of in year one and maybe year two, but after that it ceases to be relevant and the companies don't really care what it is anymore because it's also they're not shooting for the benchmark. The benchmark is often the average and they want to be above average. And so it's more about competing with yourselves and how did we improve against our own performance last year? And so that's just been interesting to observe. I think as companies get more robust in their use of data and their tools and how it informs their strategy in some areas like ethical culture for example, that external comparison just becomes less relevant over time. Susan Divers: That's a really good point too. And that gets back to the Department of Justice saying, "Don't put your program on cruise control." And I do remember, I think it was 15 years ago when benchmarking was much more trendy and before people really thought through the limitations, someone was bragging that they had benchmarked their program against Boeing. Boeing then subsequently had major meltdowns left, right, and center most specifically and tragically the 737 MAX where people died. And so running around saying, "Hey, my program benchmarks well against Boeing" may not have been really a compliment to the program in the end. But it also misses the point which you're making, which is you have to look at your program and what's gaining traction with your people and where the proactive red flags are emerging because that's what enables you not to be Boeing, not to pick on Boeing, but it's a good example. Emily Miner: So Susan, let's wrap up by offering some recommendations to organizations that are thinking about program effectiveness, how they measure that. They want to have those benchmarks. Maybe they fall into those three scenarios that you outlined at the beginning. What recommendations or best practices would you offer to those organizations, to your peers? Susan Divers: Well, the first one is be really smart about it and avoid comparing apples to potatoes. And to do that, you have to really think it through. What are we comparing to whom and how similar are they? I really, again, think that's most useful for kind of like, "Are we in the mainstream? Or is there something maybe we forgot?" If it turns out that everybody in your industry has suddenly amended their training curriculum to train about trade controls in the wake of the Ukraine war and you haven't, well, that's a helpful benchmark. But I think the main ones that are valuable are what we were talking about with best practices and data analytics and the creative use of data analytics that are tailored to that particular company is a great example of that. And then the second one as you pointed out which I think is equally valuable and really essential too, is internal benchmarking up to a point where you're able to see what direction things are going in. And again, it's more in the nature of red flags rather than a way of saying, "Hey, we met the requirement, we're good." It's, "How are people doing this year compared to last? What does that tell me about where I need to focus my resources?" Emily Miner: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, Susan, thank you so much. And thank you for joining me on this episode. We are out of time for today. So to everyone out there listening, thank you for listening to the Principled Podcast by LRN. It was a pleasure to talk with you, Susan. Susan Divers: Oh, it's always a pleasure to talk to you, Emily. Outro: We hope you enjoyed this episode. The Principled Podcast is brought to you by LRN. At LRN, our mission is to inspire principled performance in global organizations by helping them foster winning ethical cultures rooted in sustainable values. Please visit us at lrn.com to learn more. And if you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen and don't forget to leave us a review.        

I used to see Helen every year at the Messiah Conference.  She was always teaching dance classes and was a lot of fun!We recently reconnected and I was excited to learn more about her.  Here is her story!  Enjoy the music too!Helen Weiner Wilson grew up with only a vague connection to her Jewish roots. She was raised in Ethical Culture, a humanistic religious movement, and regarded belief in God as unscientific superstition. In college, she met people who led her to question her belief system, and it was only after accepting Messiah Yeshua, that she began to understand the significance of her Jewish identity. She is long-time member of Congregation Beth Yeshua in the Philadelphia area, has served as a leader and teacher in congregational dance, and has choreographed a number of the Messianic dances that are used in congregational worship throughout the world. 

Off The Meter represents the culmination of a forty-year career of driving a yellow cab while trying to make a difference in the world.John McDonagh is currently producer and host of Radio Free Eireann and Talk Mac, We and Thee with Malachy McCourt and Corey Kilgannon, a weekly radio shows heard on Pacifica station WBAI, New York. John began his career as a NYC Yellow cab driver after serving in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Vietnam War.  He has been writing and performing at Caroline's, the Comic Strip, the Huntington Cinema Arts Center, NY Society for Ethical Culture, the Puffin Room SOHO, and Rocky Sullivan's pub among others.  He is an active member of Irish American Writers and Artists.  As a political activist, John was a monitor in the Nicaraguan elections in 1990, organized “Cabbies Against Bush” campaign in NYC during the 2004 republican convention, was editor of the Irish People newspaper, hosted an Irish radio show in Perth, Australia, works with Veterans for peace, and is the go-to voice of Irish American activism.  John joins Mick and Mook on September 21st.

Sam Goldman interviews Leah Litman, Assistant Professor of Law and University of Michigan and cohost of Strict Scrutiny podcast, discussing the past, present and future of the Trump-appointee dominated SCOTUS. Follow Leah Litman on Twitter at @leahlitman. Plus: Merle Hoffman, one of the co-founders of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights speaking at the Society for Ethical Culture. Follow @RiseUp4Abortion and @MerleHoffman. Read the dissent to Dobbs v. Jackson here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22067295-dobbs-dissent Refuse Fascism is more than a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support: · Venmo: @RefuseFascism · Cashapp: $RefuseFascism · paypal.me/refusefascism · donate.refusefascism.org Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refuse-fascism/message

Tom Fox welcomes renowned compliance leader, Ty Francis, to the ESG Report! Ty is the Chief Advisory Officer at LRN; he leads the company's worldwide ethics and compliance consulting, ESG, and community outreach strategy. In this week's episode, Ty and Tom discuss LRN's new report, Assessing Corporate Culture, and how it relates to ESG.  The Genesis of the Assessing Corporate Culture Report Tom asks Ty about the genesis of the LRN report. This is the second report LRN produced; the first one was about activating culture and ethics in the boardroom. Their previous research led the team at LRN to realize that most corporate boards did not understand culture. Ty says, “Over the last 10 years culture is so high on those lists, but when you look further into the survey and ask them what they've done to measure this culture, it's nonexistent.” Therefore, LRN sought to discover the general opinion on culture and ethics compliance and provide a roadmap on how to activate these skills within a company.  Roadmap for Building Corporate Culture Tom highlights how the report can be used as a roadmap to build culture. Ty says that building corporate culture starts with defining ethical culture. Ethical culture is the codification of what an organization stands for and the systems that support those beliefs; the core architecture should be reinforced by leadership in how they model desired behavior. The second step in building culture is getting to know the most valuable members within your company, in each department. Culture is extremely important for building relationships within a company and allowing people to hear opinions from all sides.  The Relationship Between ESG and Corporate Culture The culture within a corporate setting has always been an ESG issue. The governance aspect of ESG is directly related to culture as it is something that companies should have been implementing for years. Ty remarks, “It shows the company's values across the board, and I think when you have a mismatch of what the company says it's doing and what they are really doing, that can fragment any ability for a company to demonstrate that it is really a forward-thinking, future-expanding company.” The governance is to be upheld by the board, stewards, stakeholders, and managers. He lists five key considerations for boards:  prioritizing culture on the board agenda,  challenging the board's culture,  mentoring and monitoring,  articulating the desired culture, and  establishing clear communication. Looking Ahead Acknowledging the new legal and regulatory requirements, public pressure and the evolution of thinking surrounding corporate culture, Tom asks Ty if he believes that boards will maintain the corporate culture into 2025 and beyond. Ty believes these pressures will force boards to manage and maintain the corporate culture.  Resources Ty Francis | LinkedIn | Twitter LRN | LRN Report - Assessing Corporate Culture | LinkedIn | Twitter | LRN Report - Benchmark of Ethical Culture |

What you'll learn in this podcast episode Is trust the ultimate currency of stakeholder capitalism? If so, how can corporate leaders create a culture of trust inside and outside of their organizations? In the final episode of season 7 on the Principled Podcast, host Jen Uner talks about the role of values in building organizational trust—and frameworks to help you get there—with LRN Director of Advisory Services Emily Miner. You can listen to the other season 7 episodes mentioned in this discussion here: How values inform decisions: Unpacking the role of the CECO Trust is at stake, and other insights from Edelman's 2022 Trust Barometer You can access other materials mentioned in the discussion here: Aspen Ideas Fest panel discussion with Ellen McGirt Corteva case study LRN Benchmark of Ethical Culture   Featured guest: Emily Miner Emily Miner is the Director of Advisory Services at LRN's Ethics & Compliance Advisory practice. She counsels executive leadership teams on how to actively shape and manage their ethical culture through deep quantitative and qualitative understanding and engagement. A skilled facilitator, Emily emphasizes co-creative, bottom-up, and data-driven approaches to foster ethical behavior and inform program strategy. Emily has led engagements with organizations in the healthcare, technology, manufacturing, energy, professional services, and education industries. Emily co-leads LRN's ongoing flagship research on E&C program effectiveness and is a thought leader in the areas of organizational culture, leadership, and E&C program impact. Prior to joining LRN, Emily applied her behavioral science expertise in the environmental sustainability sector, working with non-profits and several New England municipalities; facilitated earth science research in academia; and contributed to drafting and advancing international climate policy goals. Emily has a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with a degree in Anthropology.   Featured Host: Jen Üner Jen Uner is the Strategic Communications Director for LRN, where she captains programs for both internal and external audiences. She has an insatiable curiosity and an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong which she challenges each day through her study of ethics, compliance, and the value of values-based behavior in corporate governance. Prior to joining LRN, Jen led marketing communications for innovative technology companies operating in Europe and the US, and for media and marketplaces in California. She has won recognition for her work in brand development and experiential design, earned placements in leading news publications, and hosted a closing bell ceremony of the NASDAQ in honor of the California fashion industry as founder of the LA Fashion Awards. Jen holds a B.A. degree from Claremont McKenna College.      Principled Podcast Transcript Intro: Welcome to the Principled Podcast, brought to you by LRN. The Principled Podcast brings together the collective wisdom on ethics, business and compliance, transformative stories of leadership, and inspiring workplace culture. Listen in to discover valuable strategies from our community of business leaders and workplace change makers. Jen Uner: Is trust the ultimate currency of stakeholder capitalism. If so, how can corporate leaders create a culture of trust inside and outside of their organizations? Hello, and welcome to another episode of LRN's Principled Podcast. I'm your host, Jen Uner, strategic communications director at LRN, and today, I'm joined by my colleague, Emily Miner, director of advisory services. We're going to be talking about the role of values in building organizational trust and frameworks to help you get there. Emily, thanks for joining me today on the Principled Podcast, by the way, our final episode of this season seven. Emily Miner: Yeah, thanks for having me, Jen. I'm happy to be here and honored to be rounding out an incredible season on the Principled Podcast. Jen Uner: It has been a great season, and I think we're going to have an opportunity to touch on some of the folks that we've had on the podcast. To get us started though, recently at Aspen Ideas Fest, Fortune senior editor, Ellen McGirt, asked a great question of her panel. She said, "Is trust the ultimate currency of stakeholder capitalism?" It's how we started our conversation today. I of course will say yes, but recently, you spoke with David Bersoff, head of Global Thought Leadership Research at Edelman, and he worked on the Edelman Trust Barometer. You had a chance to speak with him earlier this season, and I'd love for you to recap for us some of the insights that stood out to you. Emily Miner: Yeah. I think based on the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, which is a fantastic annual look at levels of trust in key societal institutions, business, government, media, I think that the 2022 Trust Barometer report would say that the answer to your question and to Ellen's question is yes, trust is the ultimate currency of stakeholder capitalism. In fact, what Edelman found in their research is that business is the only institution in our society that is trusted, and that's actually a first in the 20 plus years that they have been running this type of study. Actually, for the second year in a row is business the most trusted institution. That was one of the takeaways from the Edelman Trust Barometer, and that David helped unpack when we spoke earlier this podcast season. Given that, if business is the only trusted institution for the second year running, it really underlines the question, what does this mean for leaders? How can they ensure that business remains trusted? People are looking more and more to business to help solve or address the problems of the world because we don't trust government, because we don't trust media, because we don't trust NGOs. With that mantle of being the only trusted institution, a lot more is falling on business and specifically business leaders and the expectations for them are a lot higher. I think that that really ... That was a current through the Aspen Ideas Institute that you mentioned through the conversation that took place there. Jen Uner: It really does put a lot of pressure on CEOs and leaders then. One of the stats that I thought was so interesting was how I think it was 60% of employees, they're basing their employment decisions now on the values of the companies that they're looking at and the positions that companies take around social issues, and of course they expect the company to have a position on a social issue, which I thinks it's a rather new thing. Would you say? Emily Miner: Yeah. I don't know if it's new in the past few years because I do feel like this has been a trend that I've observed in the research maybe up to the past decade or a little bit less, but it certainly every year seems to get to ... It grows. I think, first, it was a healthy minority of the global workforce or of the workforce in the United States, and now it's tipping to be a majority of the workforce. You see some of this in demographic changes as millennials grow in the size of our workforce and now Gen Zers as they're entering the workforce and the expectations that those two generations have for their employers. But it's certainly not a concept that millennials invented, but it does seem to be growing. Something that's interesting to me now where despite ... We're potentially heading toward a recession in the United States, and despite that, it's still very much an employee market out there. We're still in the midst of a great resignation, which is now really being more called a great reshuffling because it's not that people are dropping out of the workforce so much as they're leaving their jobs to find better jobs. What some research has shown is that it's not so much that I can find another job that pays me better, but it's that people are no longer satisfied with the status quo and they're looking for opportunities where they can feel more values alignment, where there's more culture of inclusion and equity in the workplace, where they feel that their company is doing something that's contributing positively to the world. Those are strong drivers of why people are jumping ship and looking elsewhere. It'll be interesting to see how that shapes the narrative and the importance of values and multi-stakeholder capitalism more generally as we continue to hopefully be coming out of the COVID pandemic and this great reshuffling in spite of some of the more negative trend lines with respect to our economy. Jen Uner: Yeah. I was just going to bring that up. When you have a business environment that's marred by an economic downturn, that puts a lot of pressure. There's then the business financial pressure on decision-making and performance for the company. Then you layer on top of that some of the social and political challenges that are happening and this need to have a position, and can you have a position on everything? Which are the things that you need to prioritize? I think often corporate leaders in ethics and compliance, our field, chief ethics and compliance officers, for example, the people listening here, they find themselves in a role of counselor to the C-suite as the company and as leaders are facing these kinds of tough decisions. One of the things that really struck me at that Aspen Ideas Institute conversation was Allstate's CEO, Tom Wilson, was one of the panelists and he spoke about a societal engagement framework. I know you had a chance to listen to his presentation. Can you tell me about their approach to decision-making and how they engage on hot button issues? Emily Miner: Yeah, absolutely. I am so inspired by this framework, and beyond that, there's so much common sense in it, and Tom Wilson talked about this societal engagement framework as something that Allstate developed a little over a year ago in response tom, he didn't use this word, but a deluge of social issues that were coming their way and that the company was being asked to take a stand on or take a position on, sign a letter that's going to be on the front page of the New York Times or what have you. It got to this point where they said, "We've got to pause and really think about how we're making these decisions." They developed what they call a societal engagement framework that they run all of these issues or questions through. The way that it starts is, first, as an added outset, how does this issue stack up against our values and the way that we do business? There needs to be a level of values alignment before they'll even entertain going further. But assuming that the issue does, they have four filters, as Tom called it, or you could also think of it as just four questions to ask. The first is, does this issue or does our taking action on this issue help us better serve our customers? The second is, do we, Allstate, have any institutional knowledge about this issue? Third is, can we affect change on this issue? What is our agency here? Then the fourth is, what impact does this issue have on our employees and our reputation? If issue A passes through all four of those filters, then Allstate will come out and they'll take a public stand, and more than just take a public stand, as in the CEO pens a letter that gets published somewhere, they'll actually come out and lead on the issue, engage on it. An example of an issue that passes this values track and the four filters is climate change. Allstate, obviously, an insurance company, and we know from science that the rate of forest fires in the west of the United States, for example, in the intensity of forest fires is ... The climate change plays a role in that. Forest fires are burning down Allstate customers homes. Does taking a stand and working to address climate change help them better serve their customers? Well, absolutely. That's an easy one. Do they have any institutional knowledge about the issue of climate change? Yeah, there's a lot of math and science that goes into determining what policy plans and rates are and the risk of different issues to someone's particular home. They have a lot of institutional knowledge about that. Can they affect change on the issue as a large insurer of homes as well as, of course, other things? Their voice carries some weight. They've worked with the government in the State of California to help shape and advance legislation and regulation, as well as perhaps other jurisdictions at the state level, or nationally as well. Then finally, what impact does this have on their employees and their reputations? Well, they know that climate change is an issue that their employees care about, and so it passes that filter. One distinction that Tom made that I thought was really helpful was that if an issue doesn't pass through the filters, it doesn't mean that they're not going to do anything with it. One of the examples that he gave was the Supreme Court recent ruling that overturns [inaudible 00:12:54]. Allstate's healthcare plan has always covered abortion care, and given the impact that the Supreme Court decision might have on some of their employees that are located in states where abortion care is no longer an option, Allstate has said, "We'll reimburse the travel, et cetera, for our employees in order to access that care." They're responding to that issue, but they're not coming out and taking a public stand on it. They're not taking a lead on reversing the reversal, shall we say, because does it help them better serve their customers? Well, they're not a healthcare insurer. Do they have any institutional knowledge about abortion care and the impacts of abortion or access or lack thereof? No. Et cetera. It doesn't pass the filters, but that doesn't mean that they're not doing anything about that particular issue. Having this societal engagement framework is a way for them to bring some discipline and structure and consistency into how they engage on the increasing number of social challenges, political challenges, climatic challenges that we as a global society and as businesses are faced with. It also tells everybody else, all of their stakeholders, their employees, their investors, their customers, it tells everybody, "This is how we do things. This is our process, and we go through this process." At the end of the day, depending on how you feel about the outcome, at least you know what that process was. I just think it's such a brilliant example of bringing that level of clarity into how they're operating in this multidimensional world and connecting it back to the Edelman Trust Barometer that we were talking about into the role of them as business leaders in fostering trust. Jen Uner: I think this clarity of where you stand and on which issues is an interesting one, because you can't necessarily stand for everything, right? You need to decide where is it your business, really? I think it's interesting how Allstate has chosen to filter a topic and arrive at a conclusion on it. This whole thing about how do you filter and how do you decide, I just find so fascinating. We had Scott Sullivan, he's the current chief integrity and compliance officer for Newmont Mining. We had him on the podcast with Joe Henry, former US compliance officer for Braskem, and they were talking to Susan Divers on our team. They were on a recent podcast and they were talking about some of the challenges they've both faced in decision-making, and one of the things that stood out for me was how they both used values to guide their decision-making and to guide their counseling of their colleagues in the C-suite, because they were both leaning into values and those corporate values might be stated differently or might be prioritized differently between the two organizations, they would arrive at different outcomes. Right? One of them would say, "Well, our policy around vaccines and masking is that you've got to do it, and no one's allowed back to the office without it." Then another organization might prioritize something else that says, "Well, it's up to you. You get to make that decision. You can work from home forever if you need to." I think it's really interesting that values plays a really important part and has a real impact on how corporate policy and ultimately behavior, how that comes to be. I don't know if you could talk to me a little bit about that, because obviously you spend a lot of time consulting on values with companies. Tell me about how that shapes company policy and behavior. Emily Miner:   Yeah. An interesting byproduct of the COVID pandemic I think has been that ... I perceive that the role of values has grown in prominence in terms of the discourse about the role of values in companies has increased. I think it's because the decisions around COVID are so hard. How do we ... Do people come in? Do they not come in? We're risking lives in making this decision. How do we keep, but we can't employ people if we don't have the money to pay the salaries? We have to keep on producing whatever it is that we produce in some level, but how do we do that? These are incredibly complex decisions. When you're in a situation where you have to make these really challenging decisions and there isn't necessarily a playbook for it. The last global health pandemic was over 100 years ago. I think a lot of companies have come out and said, "We didn't have a plan in place," because this wasn't something that was anticipated. When you don't have a playbook, or to use terminology that's common in our industry, ethics and compliance, rules or regulations about something, values help to fill that void and they guide us on what we should or shouldn't do as opposed to a playbook or a rule, which says what you can and can't do. Of course, we need rules, we need regulations, we need to know what we can and can't do and where the lines are. But there are always going to be these unforeseen situations, the variant on the scenario that we didn't anticipate when we wrote the rule, and that's where values come in. I think a lot of leaders, a lot of business leaders turned to their company's values, as well as I'm sure their own personal values, to help them navigate the incredibly complex decisions companies had to make surrounding COVID. I've read a number of accounts from business leaders that have talked about how helpful that was, and they're talking about values more internally and externally. I hope that that's a lens that business leaders will continue to use as strongly coming out of COVID, and that's at the company level, but it trickles down to the individual employee level too, because most companies offer some type of training or onboarding, or you have a code of conduct or you have policies. We have all of these resources that should tell us, again, the cans and can'ts, as well as the shoulds and shouldn'ts. But I think it's something like humans can only keep three or five things in their mind at once. We can only remember so much. Having the presence of really strong values where the values actually mean something, they're not just a nice recruitment tool on your website, but they really mean something, that's going to be infinitely more helpful guiding behavior on a daily basis across a global workforce and all the variation that comes with that. I've really been encouraged by how values have become a more dominant part of the conversation in the business community. You're right, depending on what your values are, you might have completely different outcomes. But again, it comes back to that transparency of the process and the fact that there is a process, the structure of the process that, at the end of the day, most of us can get on board and accept what it is because we understand how we got there. That's what I think is so key. It's just that transparency on how we got there. It's not so much about the end as the journey, so to speak. Jen Uner: Yeah. That makes total sense. I know in our code work, in the consulting work that you do with our clients, speaking of employee level work, we often include frameworks for decision-making, right? That work at the employee level. What are some examples of these tools that can help not just leadership, like we were just talking about a societal bigger picture one, but on the individual level? How does that play out? Emily Miner: Yeah. Actually, after watching Tom Wilson talk about Allstate's societal engagement framework, I actually went online and just Googled Allstate's code because I was curious, how do they ... do they have something similar, a similar framework that they share that they've developed for their employees? In fact, yes. In their code, they have a whole section on ethical decision-making that lists nine questions that employees should ask themselves when they're faced with a decision or a situation where the decision or the course of action is unclear. Is it legal? Okay. Yeah, that's an obvious one, but does it conflict with our values? What are the consequences of this? How would your family and friends perceive this decision or course of action that you take? These are some of the questions that Allstate included in their code that I think we ... The majority of us could probably take any number of tough, sticky, gray area situations and go through it, and is it legal? Okay, well, maybe I'm ... I don't know the law, but how would I feel if my mom knew? How would I feel if this was on the homepage of CNN? We all know how we would feel about that, and that's such a helpful ... It connects to our humanity, the human heart level. It's just really helpful framing that Allstate's providing to their employees. We help a lot of companies write their codes of conduct. Ethical decision-making models or a code in and of itself is a guide for behavior and breaking out different risk topics into what are the behavioral expectations, et cetera. But having a decision-making framework or a list of questions or whatever it is that ... It's issue agnostic, it's situation agnostic, it's just something that anybody can pick up and use. That continuity of Allstate at their company level, as well as how they translate that down to employees, it is just something that I wanted to note. But it's something that we include in most of our codes that we create for our clients. Some of my favorite examples, one of them is John Deere. Their code is beautiful, and it's who they are. It's their culture written down, which is what we always strive for. They include a decision-making framework as well and it include ... There's a series of questions and it's an interactive. You ask yourself this question and then you click yes or no, and it reveals guidance for what your next step is. But also, it starts out with is it consistent with our values? Centering the values first and then going into consistency with rules. They also ask, "Would this build trust with employees, customers, shareholders, or communities, or would it harm trust?" That is how we started at the outset of this conversation around the importance of trust in the business context. Similarly, how would I feel if my actions became public? Et cetera. They have their own framework that's speaks to their culture and to their values. Another example is Corteva, which is an agriscience company, and they also have a framework. Theirs is a little bit different. It asks a series of questions, and then depending on how you answer those questions, they give guidance on who you can consult for advice, and it's going to be different depending on the situation. That's also nice that you're not on your own, right? There are others in our organization that are here to help and can help, and if it's this situation, contact this group, and if it's this other situation, contact this other group. I also thought that's something that they did a little bit differently. They're all different. You talked about the conversation in the earlier podcast, but the goal is the same, which is to provide guidance for behavior that is reflective and supportive of who we are as an organization, what we stand for and what we value. Jen Uner: It's really, really important. One of the things that we know from our Benchmark of Ethical Culture, which is a report that you were very involved in, and it certainly steers a lot of my thinking these days. We know from the Benchmark of Ethical Culture that the companies with the strongest ethical cultures are going to outperform their peers by up to 40% in key business metrics, the standard things that you would want to have as a business like employee loyalty, innovation, adaptability, customer satisfaction, and growth. I think that taking code of conduct seriously, taking value seriously and taking culture building seriously is probably one of the most important things that a company could be doing right now, especially when you look at the Edelman Trust Barometer and the role companies have to take right now in society. Trust becomes super foundational to that. I know you've got some insights that you can share around trust building and how foundational that is for ethical culture. Emily Miner: Yeah. When we conducted our research into ethical culture globally in a business context, we looked at ... I want to say 10 different dimensions of culture and how people and organizations behave and operate, and we did some fancy statistical modeling to look at are there some aspects of culture that are more important than others? How do they relate to each other? What drives what? And all of that. What we found was that there were some dimensions that rose to the top in terms of influencing other elements of culture, as well as those business outcomes that you talked about, and trust was one of them. We found that trust had an outsized impact on whether or not people behaved ethically in an organization, and particularly when they were under pressure. I think that that's such an important idea because if you look at any number of corporate scandals, so often, not in every case certainly, but in many cases, the pressure to perform that was set out or pushed by the organization, by leaders in an organization, is part of why people did what they did. This idea that trust is one of the strongest drivers of whether people behave ethically, especially when under pressure, I think is a big one that certainly makes me sit up a little taller and take notice, because it's something that any chief ethics and compliance officer would say that they're looking for and is a goal of their program. Another area where trust really stood out as a driver of employee loyalty, we were talking earlier about the great shuffling, but I think that also makes it stand out even more for me, just in our current context. People are more likely to stay in your company, you're more likely to retain great talent if they trust you as leaders, as an organization, their peers, and if they feel trusted themselves. Jen Uner: I think one of the things that was evident too in the research is the value of transparency and building trust. Emily Miner:   To wrap up a lot of the threads that we've talked about and as it relates to transparency, one of the findings that was so compelling to me from the Edelman Trust Barometer was that the majority of people are expecting CEOs, specifically CEOs, to take a public stand on any number of social issues of our times. But at the same time, at least in the United States, these issues have become so politicized and polarizing. That's a tough bar to set for CEOs. How do they thread that needle? It's why I think that Allstate's societal engagement framework is just so brilliant, because it helps them figure out how are we going to address these issues? Responding to that majority of the population as Edelman, found they're looking for Allstate CEO and for any number of other companies' CEOs to take a stand. It's a way to respond to that call without politicizing or polarizing or without politicizing the issue, because that's not what it's about. It's not about is this a liberal cause or a conservative cause? Is it a Democratic cause or is it a Republican cause? It's four questions. Does this help our customers, do we know something about it, do we have agency over it, and what impact does it have on our employees? It really takes all of that noise out of the decision-making. I just think it's such a great example of how leaders in general can take up that mantle of society's expectations of business to help solve and address our social issues without having that response fall into any political trap that's going to alienate you or with your employees or with customers. It's such a great example and one that I hope other business leaders take inspiration from. Jen Uner: Well, I think it just really speaks to how important it is to set up those frameworks in advance so that you're not caught in panic mode or in defensive mode when it's not even necessary to be that way. Right? If you've set up those mechanisms in advance, you're going to probably come out ahead because you will have already created a framework that's going to prioritize the human response. Emily Miner: Absolutely. Absolutely. Because what's the next COVID? What's the next unexpected thing? To already have that framework in place is going to be so helpful. Jen Uner: That's why we say rules are good, values are better. Emily Miner: Exactly. Jen Uner: Goes back to that. Emily, thank you so much for joining me on the Principled Podcast today. It's our final episode of season seven, as we take a summer break and we'll resume with season eight in September. In the interim, we'll share encores of our favorite episodes from this season. To close out. My name is Jen Uner, and I want to thank you all for listening to the Principled Podcast by LRN. Outro: We hope you enjoyed this episode. The Principled Podcast is brought to you by LRN. At LRN, our mission is to inspire principled performance in global organizations by helping them foster winning ethical cultures rooted in sustainable values. Please visit us at lrn.com to learn more. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen, and don't forget to leave us a review.

As Ethical Humanists, we strive to live our values. we are committed to ethical action and relationship building. Reciting our values and living them are two totally different things. How do we put our values into action? Which ones are hardest to implement in our daily lives? Does everyone deserve to be treated fairly and kindly? Join Leader-In-Training Louise Jett in exploring radical kindness, Humanist values and Ethical Culture.

Ethical Culture, the Atom Bomb, and Big Moral Questions Sunday, May 29, 10:30am Mike Kravitz Memorial Day Weekend. Current world events have re-ignited the debate over nuclear weapons, left largely dormant after the end of the Cold War. This platform explores some of the history of nuclear weapons, the paradox of their existence and use, Ethical Culture's influence on nuclear policy, and moral questions surrounding our responsibilities with America's nuclear forces.

What you'll learn in this podcast episode As the business world makes an overdue shift from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism, is it possible that we will see an erosion of innovation? How does a company's purpose impact its success? In this episode of the Principled Podcast, LRN Chief Advisory Officer Ty Francis MBE talks about how corporate purpose and stakeholder capitalism fuel innovation with Mark R. Hatch, CEO of clean energy startup SiLi-ion, Inc., an instigator of the maker movement with the founding of TechShop, author of The Maker Movement Manifesto and The Maker Revolution, and researcher on the influence of “organizational purpose” on innovation and business transformation at Pepperdine University. Mark has dedicated his career to educating the business community on innovation and advanced manufacturing and has spoken at the White House on these topics. Listen in as the two discuss what it means to help people—and companies—around the world do the right thing.   Featured Guest: Mark Hatch Mark R. Hatch is an advanced manufacturing entrepreneur, writer, and sought-after speaker and advisor on innovation, the maker movement, digital strategy, and advanced manufacturing. He has held executive positions for innovation, disruptive technology, entrepreneurship, and intrapreneurship in various industry sectors. Mark is the CEO of clean energy startup SiLi-ion, Inc. and an advisor to Studio MFG, an advanced spatial-web innovation consulting and manufacturing design firm. Mark has dedicated his career to educating the business community on innovation and advanced manufacturing and has spoken about these topics to various audiences—including the White House, TEDx, Global Fortune 500 firms, and Harvard University. He has appeared on prominent media outlets such as ABC, CBS, NBC, Bloomberg, CNN, and Fox, and has been quoted in Bloomberg Business, FastCompany, Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The LA Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle among other publications. An avid researcher on the influence of “organizational purpose” on innovation and business transformation, Mark is working on his DBA at Pepperdine University and is a faculty member for digital innovation and strategy at Pepperdine's Graziado School of Business. He is also an entrepreneur in residence at UC Berkeley. Mark holds an MBA from the Drucker Center at Claremont Graduate University and a BA in economics from UCI.   Featured Host: Ty Francis Ty Francis MBE is a Welsh-American business development, operations executive, and subject matter expert in Corporate Governance, Ethics, Compliance and Culture and is currently LRN's Head of Advisory Services, and a member of the Executive Team as a Special Advisor to the CEO.  Ty has utilized his expansive network of industry experts and thought leaders to help companies enhance corporate character, culture, D&I and transparency and has launched E&C programs and forums in the US, UK, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, Singapore, Brazil and the Middle East. He spent over a decade in New York City where he was EVP of Global Programs at the Ethisphere Institute and prior to that led the Corporate Board member business at the New York Stock Exchange's Governance Services division.  In 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Business by the UK's Solent University for his outstanding contribution in the field of corporate governance and international trade. In 2017, Ty was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), by Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition of services to business.  Ty also studied at Stanford's Rock Centre for Corporate Governance and Oxford University's Said Business School and is a Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP).    Principled Podcast Transcription Intro: Welcome to the Principled Podcast, brought to you by LRN. The Principled Podcast brings together the collective wisdom on ethics, business and compliance, transformative stories of leadership, and inspiring workplace culture. Listen in to discover valuable strategies from our community of business leaders, and workplace change makers. Ty Francis: As the business world makes an overdue shift from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism, is it possible that we'll see an erosion of innovation? How does a company's purpose impact its success? Hello, and welcome to another episode of LRN's Principled Podcast. I'm your host, Ty Francis, Chief Advisory Officer LRN. Today I'm joined by Mark Hatch, an accomplished entrepreneur, advanced manufacturing expert, and sought after speaker on topics of innovation, disruptive technology, and the future of work. Mark holds an MBA from the Drucker Center at Claremont Graduate University. And is presently pursuing a DBA, a doctor of business administration, from Pepperdine University. We are going to be talking today about corporate purpose, stakeholder capitalism, and what it means to help people, and companies around the world do the right thing. After several successful decades in business, Mark is now researching the influence of organizational purpose on innovation and business transformation at Pepperdine, while simultaneously serving as CEO of the clean energy startup, SiLi-ion, amongst other things. Mark Hatch, thanks for joining me on the Principled Podcast. Mark Hatch: Thank you very much, Ty. It's great to be here. Ty Francis: Okay so, for those of us saying to ourselves, "Where have I heard this name before," please tell us a little bit about your professional history. Now, we know you as the founder of TechShop, and an instigator in the maker movement. What else? Oh, yes, you've spoken at White House about advanced manufacturing, and at the Clinton Global Initiative, something my wife [inaudible 00:01:58] was actually involved in during her time at Swiss Re. Mark Hatch:   Oh, how fun. Ty Francis: Yeah, she was at Swiss Re for about 10 years and worked very closely with President Clinton. So, that's a name, it's all too familiar in my household. But I also know you're involved in the Singularity University, which sounds very Star Trekky, which is an interesting side note, especially since we're talking about purpose today. So, I've given an overview, but can you give us a little bit more about your backstory Mark? Mark Hatch:   Oh, hit a couple high points. I'm a former green beret, so I was in the army for three years coming out of high school, which was quite entertaining. And then, I started my first company, an interactive multimedia company back in '80s. One of the things I've discovered that I'm really good at is jumping into something way too early. And then, getting beaten up for years and years until it becomes the obvious next thing. The interesting thing about that interactive media though, was that John McAfee of McAfee Antivirus was one of my first investors. I actually got to know John before he became infamous, I guess. I spent a little bit of time at Avery Dennison, a big package goods company. A little bit of time at Kinkos, where I launched the e-commerce portion for Kinkos. And pulled T1 lines around the United States to wire them all up. Spent a little bit of time doing a health benefits ASP and so forth. But most people, if they know who I am at all, is from the maker movement days wrote a couple books in it, and spent a lot of time traipsing around the globe trying to get people to make things again. Ty Francis: Well, I want to touch a couple of those things. So now, you aren't the average professor, as we've just heard, because you've got some real bites to your bark. Within what you just told me, I did read that you raised over $20 million and turned TechShop into that leading brand in the maker movement, growing it from 1 to 12 locations. And more impressively membership and revenue 20X in five years. I got that right, 20X? Mark Hatch: 20, yeah. As long as you start from a very small base, it's really easy to hit those high numbers. Ty Francis: I think you and I have got a different definition of the word easy.  If that wasn't impressive enough, you also grew that $200 million business at Kinkos by 18%. But I think more impressive than that, and someone who runs a P and L you cut costs by 15 million in a single year. Mark Hatch: In a single year, yeah. Ty Francis: That is both impressive. And I get, your students get a kick out of all that experience. We had a pre-conversation before. And I mentioned that I'm lucky enough to know Sir Richard Branson. And he told me years ago how he went into a bookshop, and pulled a bunch of books off the library that were about business. I think the first 20 he counted, none of the authors had actually been in business, or run a business, and were anecdotal at best. Looking at what you've done and what you've succeeded, how has that happened? And how has that paradigm shifted to you now? Mark Hatch: One, I do actually tend to live in the future. It's a bad habit. I've got a very, very clear view of what I believe is going to happen. And I clearly did not take my desert training in the Special Forces very well, where they beat into your head, never mistake a clear view for a short distance. It will kill you. So, I saw interactive multimedia early. I saw dot com early. I've seen many of these things. What I managed to do with TechShop was raise funds, and grow the base quickly enough so that we actually survive for a solid 10 years. But what I do is innovation. My entire career has been on the edge between in a research and development, or the most recent trends, and then commercializing them, turning them into something that a consumer can understand, and acquire. Ty Francis: So, I am seeing a Star Trek theme in all of this, by the way. Seeing into the future. A Q-esque type person here. But this is fascinating. And you, obviously, have an incredible foundation [inaudible 00:06:08] what you are doing, looking at the past, predicting the future. But I do want to tap more into the research you're doing at Pepperdine. And as part of your DBA, again, I'm looking at this and I have an honorary doctorate, and I feel very, very small right now. Mark Hatch: Congratulations. That's quite impressive actually. Ty Francis: Yeah, but apparently when the air cabin crew asks if there's a doctor on the plane, I'm not allowed to raise my hand. When they say, "What can you help this person with?" I can say, "Well, I've got an interesting anecdote about business." So the DBA you're pursuing right now, I mean, I particularly admire the notion of going back to school for an advanced degree. I've had a limited amount of business success. And during the lockdown, I took three courses, one at a side business university at Oxford, one at Stanford, and one at the London School of Economics. The recurring theme through all of those courses... One was executive leadership. One was DEI and leveraging business through it. And the other was international relations and global politics. Organizational purpose was a common theme through all of those postgraduate and diplomas. And it was fascinating how that was a theme, and linking back into business. So, I want you to talk about your work on organizational purpose. But first of all, can you give me, or us a definition of your definition of organizational purpose? Mark Hatch:    There are like three versions of what purpose means. But to get a little bit technical, the short version is really simple. Like the single word, the single concept is why a corporation exists. That's what purpose means, why? Now, usually, when you use the term, what is your corporate purpose? You're not thinking of the single thing that the word means. You're thinking of a corporate purpose statement, or a development of a series of concepts. Or, as they say in business speak, it's a construct. So, I have adopted George et al's from 2021, which is interesting. Most of this good work has happened just in the last few years. So, purpose in the for profit context captures the essence of an organization's existence by explaining what value it seeks to create for its stakeholders. So, you're creating value. But then he goes on and defines it a little bit more, which I like. "In doing so purpose provides a clear definition of firm's intent, creates the ability for the stakeholders to identify with and be inspired by the firm's mission, vision, and values, and establishes actionable pathways, and an inspirational outcome for the firm." Sorry, that's very technical, but that's the best broad version that includes mission, vision, and values, which people tend to associate with purpose when you ask them what a corporate purpose is. But let me back up a little bit. So, the reason I got intrigued with this was, well first of all, I'm very purpose driven personally. I was, usually, involved with technologies that I found intriguing, and could improve humanity in some way. But my experience at TechShop was at a completely different level. People were joining because of the purpose of this idea that we could remake our lives by going to a shop that had, basically, democratized access to the tools of the industrial revolution. We were giving the average Joe access to tools that they had never had access to, unless they were 80 years old, had come up at three machine shop or something. But we were giving them laser cutters, and 3D printers, and so forth.  And I personally got a level of satisfaction out of that. And I got my staff members to perform at levels I had never seen before. We had members that are evangelists. I mean, it seemed like sometimes they would go out on the street and tell people, "Have you heard of this place? You've got to come in." We had this one member, he quit his job. And he didn't have a great job to begin with, but he quit his job as a night watchman, came up and couch surfed. Like that was a thing for a while, couchsurfing.com where you could go and spend the night at somebody's house randomly. This was well before hotel folks came along. He would evangelize each couch that he slept on became a member, like not the couch, the people. Every place that he went, we got new members. And we thought about maybe paying him just to hang around, and sleep on a new couch every night because he was our best attractor. And so, this got me really interested in this concept of what is your corporate purpose? And how does it play out and impact the organization at large? Ty Francis: I think the biggest question that we have, and I have is when people are talking about this concept, how organizations are dealing with this, how are you articulating this to companies, to brands, to leaders, and how to actually put this into practice? Because many of the conversations I have with boards, with GCs, with anyone, they understand the problem. They see what's happening. They read and they see blogs, and they have conversations with the fellow board members. But it's actually the tangibility of creating a strategy that puts this into place. And something they can follow. I guess what's the sticky sauce? What's the magic wand that you throw over your clients, your peers on how do I actually put this into play? Mark Hatch: So the research that I'm doing specifically came out of kind of the question, how do I deal with the naysayers? How do I convince a board, or a C-suite folks that are like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, whatever, whatever. I've got my ESG guy and they're going to keep me between the lanes, and everything's going to be fine." I started down this path as like, what do we actually know about corporate purpose? Where did it spring from? Actually, I go all the way back. What's the original concept of a corporation? Where did that come from? And it goes all the way back. It's crazy. It goes all the way back to pre-Babylonian times. And I won't bore you with all of that, but it turns out you couldn't have a corporation without having a purpose of some kind. It wasn't allowed. The state would not allow it. The king would not allow it. I've got a great quote out of the Law of Corporations 1702, "The sole purpose of a corporation is to improve the society and support the king." Full stop. You can't say, "Okay, I'm here to do like, blah, blah, blah. And I'm going to make this." No, no, no, no. How are you going to help your customers? How are you going to improve society? And how are you going to support the king? And if you don't have an answer to that, I'm sorry, not only will I not give you corporation, if I happen to have given you one, and you have strayed too far, I will shut you down. And this was actually the norm up to about 1880 globally. And there's this great quote. It was Massachusetts Bay Company and they charged this poor sod 200 pounds for overcharging his customer. And then, on Sunday morning, the preacher got engaged talking about the egregious greed, and what can happen. And it was simply against the law. And then, things changed with the 14th amendment, some other bizarre things. But we've had this like weird era, and that's how I would describe it, between 1886 to about 1950, we were set loose. You didn't have to have a purpose at all. You actually didn't need any purpose at all. You could just go down to Delaware and say, "I want to set up a company." And they go, "Great." They still would ask, what are you going to do? And so, in your mind, you had to at least have a customer, or somebody you were going to steal money from. You had to have some idea. So even today in your charters, you have to say, "Okay, I'm going to be in this industry segment," which by the way, you just send them a note and that can change. But about around 1950, that started to shift. So, that was a long winded way of saying, so how do we deal with these guys? And what I wanted to do, and what I'm doing is I'm a practical guy, I'm a practitioner. I don't want to sell them something that doesn't work. What does that mean for your purpose? And so, I'm really intrigued with this idea of empirically based management tools. How do you know something works? Not one of those 19 books that Sir Branson was talking about, but the one that comes out of the trenches. So, I've gone back and I've done a fairly significant review of all of the literature on corporate purpose. What's actually known from a theoretical perspective from doing interviews, which I don't put a lot of weight into because you get what you want out of your interviews. But actual empirical work that's been done in this space. And it turns out those corporations that do have a purpose that's more than simply serving customers, they have substantially superior financial returns. And actually, I think your firm is an example that promulgates that point of view based on research you guys have done in the past. Ty Francis: Our tagline is, principle performance. And I'll add that some research we did last year echoes most of what you're saying. I mean, all of what you're saying. My own advisory team released a report alongside our marketing team. And we called it our LRN Benchmark of Ethical Culture, which is a multi-year, it's a collaborative research effort, which draws data from nearly 8,000 employees, 17 industries, 14 countries. And that study conclusively proves that ethical cultures don't just protect corporate reputations, but they propel the bottom line. Companies with the strongest ethical cultures, strongly outperform by approximately 40% those with weakest ethical cultures. And that was across all measures of business performance, customer satisfaction. You talked about employee loyalty, innovation, adaptability, and growth. It's very simple, and you can make a lot of links to this. But if you keep people happy, if people believe in what you are doing, they will stay. If they stay, they will not leave. If they will not leave, they will not take IP with them. They will not go somewhere else. So, all that money you've invested in hiring them, training them, making them better people they will not take that somewhere else. Mark Hatch: Yeah, your brand positioning, your ability to [inaudible 00:16:32]. The theory is actually pretty well illuminated. Actually, the step that I'm taking... I think we have, in fact, proven that having a higher purpose can, or will result in superior financial success. So, there's my answer to the naysayers. This is really simple besides being the right thing to do, and to feel good about yourself, and your company when you go home at night, and you talk to your kids about what you're doing, your returns are higher. But the next question that I asked is, okay, show me how? Just throwing a purpose together and announcing it from the mountaintop is not the right answer. Now, we are getting results, so kudos to the companies that are executing. But I'm trying to answer the question, okay, how do you operationalize a superior purpose? What are the actual specific financial drivers that create superior firm performance? Innovation, and then specifically radical innovation is historically the largest way that firms create superior returns by far. There are other ways of doing it: brand, financial management, operations, Six Sigma, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But the number one way of improving your financial performance is actually to do innovation. And then radical innovation in particular. That's my little chunk that I'm chewing on is can I show that firms with a higher aspirational purpose actually get superior innovation returns and superior radical innovation returns? And the quantitative numbers have come in. I'm now working on writing it up. And it's clear like it's 0.0001 chance that it's false. In fact, a higher purpose does drive radical innovation in a very significant way. It explains 30% of the variance of that. And like 35 to 37% of all variance in your innovation. It's huge. So, my answer is, okay, install, purpose, and innovate. Point this amazing effort that you've created, point this missile down the range at radical innovation because you're going to get an enormous return out of it. Ty Francis: You've actually answered the next question I was going to ask about, what this means for the future of business, and what is your vision for how company leaders can apply these insights? As you said, it's not enough for somebody to read in a book about what's happening. It's how they can relate that and put that into practice to change the dynamic of their own companies. We're not just talking about this. Investors are asking companies point blank, define your purpose. What are you doing to make the world around you better? Larry Fingers, writing to CEOs every single year. In the UK, the banking industry are asking, "Yes, we get it. You're raising capital for people, but what else are you doing?" It's a little bit, what have you done for me lately kind of thing. Mark Hatch: We've come full circle now. In 1886, we decided, okay, you don't have to have a purpose. But now, we are rewriting the laws. The SEC in the US, the UK, as you mentioned, the French have done it. The Italians have done it. The Germans did it ages ago. But there's an enormous amount of pressure now on corporations to be able to explicitly measure what their social good is. They don't necessarily call it your purpose, but that's what they're getting at. When I came at this, of course, I have the context of working at Singularity University as a speaker. And I know, I know a friend of mine is Salim Ismail, who's driving this whole exponential organization's effort globally. And, in it, he said, sidebar conversation. "So Mark, I've tried to do these exponential innovation efforts without a massively transformative purpose at the beginning of the effort because the corporation was like, 'Yeah, you're making me feel kind of weird about this idea of changing the world and all that. We're an X company, let's just do the execution part and skip the massively transformative purpose part.'" And he said, "Every single time we did that, it failed. Every single time. We got nominal innovation out of it." And it actually makes sense when you think about the internal resistance of individuals in their risk profiles. Typically, you go to work and you want to have things normal. And then, what's going to happen all day long, and you're competent and so forth. But when you start doing innovation and, particularly radical innovation, you don't know what tomorrow looks like. You don't understand who your customer is. You don't know what the value is per se. And you're thrown in the deep end and you got to figure it out. Now, it's not quite that bad, but it is substantially different than your day-to-day. And it's hard. Doing radical innovation is the hardest part of being in business because you don't know how it's going to come out. That as a background, is like, "Oh my goodness, you're kidding me. You just told me that one of the keys to being able to execute this isn't actually reaching for the stars." It's not like, can we get a 15% increase in this? Or can we cut costs by 10% or 5%? It's can you cut cost by 50%? Can we double our market share? Can we open up an entirely new market segment? Just saying those words creates a new tension in somebody's head. You bring them in and say, "Okay, we're going to get 10% here, and 15% there." And everybody goes, "Oh cool, I don't have to change anything. I can go back to my desk and keep stamping those pieces of paper. And I'm good." You come in and say, "I want a 50% increase. And I need a 30% reduction over here," actually you've lost the audience because for the next five minutes, all they're going to be wondering is whether or not they have a job. Am I qualified to do this? That's what got me going. And we live in the most exciting time in all of human history. We've got more technologies coming on stream in amazing and radical ways, and how they're interacting with one another is absolutely stunning. So, this is the best time in all of human history to do radical innovation. This is the best time to go after actually deep purposes. And I feel sorry for these corporations who are going, "Okay, let's try to get a 12% bump over the next two years." They're doomed. In my mind it's like, forget it. You and I and others in this world are going to teach the executive suite that radical innovation is possible, it will drive the bottom line, make them feel better and will, in fact, change the world. And I'm proving it empirically. That's kind of what I'm excited about. Ty Francis: It reminds me of a quote that was a famous NFL coach. And I can't remember it now and I'll come back to you by the end of the podcast. But it was about reaching for perfection that you'll never attain it. But on the way down, you will hit excellence. And I think this is an area why people aren't reaching for the stars is surprising because it's that competitive advantage. When we talk about how this is a competitive advantage, not just on a social scale, but on a business scale, we've been talking to board directors. We had a collaboration with a group called Tapestry Networks. We spoke to 40 directors of publicly traded companies, I mean 40, 50 companies. And they represented about 70 or 80 different companies across their different board positions. We did this specifically to talk about purpose and culture. We released the findings in a report called Activating Culture and Ethics for Boards late last year. And the results, albeit mostly predictable, the boards want to put culture at the top of their priority list, but they still don't fully understand how to measure it. The refreshing part was that they see that the paradigm shifted from board members having a nose in, fingers out ability to more having nose and fingers in because they are starting to see this as a competitive benefit to having both strategy and culture and purpose aligned. And with that, I think they're seeing they have a better understanding of what corporate purpose should be. I think we're trying to see a tangible move in the... I'm using quotation marks here, a "tone from the top" conversation on how boards are impacting priorities, and are influencing culture. So, how does that help your research for what you are doing now for the future of work? Mark Hatch: You've done the surveys, you know what the answers are. But what I'm trying to do is start a small renaissance around, prove it to me. What are the actual ways that you operationalize it? It's like, okay, employee retention. Okay, measure employee retention. But don't just measure employee retention, invest in your employees. If you know that they're going to hang around longer, don't just sit on your hands, and say, "Oh cool, they're going to be here longer. Woo hoo." No, no, no. What that means is you can't actually invest in them in ways that your competitors can't. That's operationalizing this idea of this competitive advantage, invest in your customers, invest in your brand. What are you doing specifically to drive your brand in relations in a deeper way? You've created this competitive advantage. You've got this great purpose now sitting on the shelf. Great. How are you going to operationalize it? And can we measure it? That's my point. It's can we actually measure it and see what the returns are? Ty Francis: The measurement, that's the trick. Everyone knows what they should be doing, but they don't know how they should be doing it. Mark Hatch: And if you don't measure it, then you don't care about it. Ty Francis: Wasn't that the famous misquote from Peter Drucker what you can't manage, you can measure, or the other way around? Mark Hatch: Right. Ty Francis: So we've been talking a lot about boards and purpose, but we know the SEC, and we're talking about the US. Obviously, although I'm American, I'm also Welsh. So, I'm curious if your research extends to Europe, or other regions. I mean, is this universal? Or is it just stage one USA, stage two [inaudible 00:25:55]? Mark Hatch:    It does work at least in the UK. So, I chose my sample's 50/50, US/UK. 50/50, male/female. Native English speakers, try to control for some other variables. This is clearly true in the UK and the US. My suspicion, obviously, is that it's true in a lot of other parts of the world as well. Other research suggests that it is at least pan-European. Gartenberg's work and others. Gartenberg did some quantitative research that had 500,000 companies in it from around the globe. And they were able to show empirically that purpose does, in fact, drive superior financial returns, similar to what your research did. Ty Francis: When you're talking about this corporate purpose, I've noticed working in the States for a long time, that there is in the States and, to a certain extent, in the UK as well, there's a shareholder driven purpose kind of alignment where there's in broader Europe, France, and Germany, and Italy there's more of a stakeholder driven perception. So, there you see in Germany where you've got the different kind of board levels, and with the very straight labor laws in France, you are seeing that connection between leadership, and the employee base having to be aligned because they've got no choice because if they don't like what their companies are doing, they can change it, and quite dramatically. So, that would be interesting to see how that dynamic between the UK and the US, but then certainly further afield of that, how the European companies and organizations are actually using this corporate purpose vehicle to their competitive advantage. Mark Hatch: Right. One might hypothesize that corporate purpose, that's a fundamental driver. But how you operationalize it may vary from region to region. Maybe brand is a better tool than radical innovation. Maybe employee retention is a better one. I'm not sure. I doubt it, frankly. I think innovation is one of the fundamental things that you do as a business. Drucker would say, you're not even an entrepreneur, if you're not doing innovation. You can call yourself a businessman, but you're not an entrepreneur. And so, I suspect that innovation. And then as we're moving, again, the opportunity set available now to innovate is phenomenal. Radical innovation, it should be a fundamental strategy for any business that's trying to drive purpose into their organization, and with their stakeholders. Ty Francis: Well, before we sign off, and before I get a raft of my very angry American listeners asking why this British guy is talking about American football? It was Vince Lombardi, [inaudible 00:28:28]. And his quote was, and I'll see if I can get this right, "Perfection's not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence." Mark Hatch: Yeah. Ty Francis: So Mark Hatch, this has been a fascinating conversation and one that we have merely pricked the surface of. And I'd like to have you back to talk a little bit more definitively, especially when the research is done, to look at those results. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me today and us on this episode.       My name is Ty Francis. I want to thank you all for listening to the Principled Podcast by LRM. If you have enjoyed the conversation today, please do give us a top rating on your favorite podcast app. Goodbye for now. Outro: We hope you enjoyed this episode. The Principled Podcast is brought to you by LRN. At LRN, our mission is to inspire principled performance in global organizations by helping them foster winning ethical cultures rooted in sustainable values. Please visit us at lrn.com to learn more. And if you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen. And don't forget to leave us a review.

Ethical Culture is a tradition with a proud history but an uncertain future. While some Ethical Societies are strong and growing, the movement as a whole is shrinking, and it may not be long until there are only a handful of Ethical Societies left. How can we avoid this future? What do we need to change, in our home Societies and in our movement, to make Ethical Culture radical, vibrant, and growing once again?

These days an unprecedented number of both children and adults report feeling anxious and overwhelmed much of the time. Maybe you are one of them! Many of us find ourselves at the mercy of our smart phones, tablets and other devices, responding to every beep and ping as if our lives depended on it. We also may feel compelled to say yes to every invitation or request that comes our way. But then, when the time comes to follow through, we'd rather enjoy a long walk, spend some fun time with our loved ones or read a good book.   In the words of psychologist Dr. Anthony Rao (Tony), we have lost our “agency,' the ability to make wise decisions and put those decisions into actions that are consistent with the life we want to live. We have lost the ability to be effective agents on our own behalf. And, in doing so, we are setting an example for our children to do the same. Tony joins Marti & Erin in this episode of Mom Enough to discuss highlights of the new book he has written with colleague Paul Napper, The Power of Agency: The Seven Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms. In this lively discussion, Tony emphasizes the first three principles from his book: 1) Clear your mind by reducing stimuli; 2) Associate selectively; and 3) Move (or, as Tony says, “Use your body in more beautiful ways.”) He discusses how these foundational principles can be introduced to children of any age, setting the stage for both parent and child to increase their agency by moving on through all seven principles. Marti & Erin were inspired by Tony's framework and practical tips and think you will be too.   WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE WISE ADVICE OF DR. RAO? What does the word "agency" mean to you? What would it look like if you increased your agency in the way you live your own life? Or helped your children do the same? Think of the first three principles Tony Rao discussed (clear your mind, affiliate selectively and move). What could you do this week to bring those principles to life for you and your children?   CHECK OUT THESE LINKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TOPICS RELATED TO AGENCY: ❉ ENGAGING CHILDREN AS GOOD CITIZENS: HELPING CHILDREN ENVISION THE WORLD THEY WANT AND TAKE ACTION TO REALIZE THAT VISION. Dr. Anne Klaeysen, head of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, offers clear and helpful ways to help our children discover their own values, learn what it means to be kind and fair on a large scale and recognize what they can contribute toward building a humane, ethical society, as children and throughout their lives.   ❉ THE CHEMISTRY OF CALM AND JOY: A CONVERSATION WITH INTEGRATIVE PSYCHIATRIST HENRY EMMONS. Listen as Dr. Emmons discusses the chemistry of emotions and simple, accessible strategies to manage energy, quiet our minds, build resilience and maximize our experience of calm, joy and well-being.   ❉ HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILDREN REFLECT ON EMOTIONS AND BEHAVIORAL CHOICES. Check out this brief clip from the 2017 Night Out For ME presentation.

It's the first edition of Andrew and Jerry Can't Wait!, our bonus episodes where it's just Andrew and Jerry talking about major events in the news.  In this edition, they talk about the Whoopi Goldberg suspension, tying it into the attempts to cancel Joe Rogan and Ilya Shapiro, and the essential nature of the right to be wrong.What happens when we're no longer allowed to be wrong--when apologies aren't enough and we're punished regardless of whether something is ignorance or bigotry?  Conversations are of vital importance to solving the world's problems, but if we're afraid to speak because of the consequences of saying something wrong, what good are those conversations?Andrew and Jerry tie in the role that critical race theory (CRT) has played in all this.  Then they tie in the story of CNN President Jeffrey Zucker and the death of journalistic ethics.

In this episode host Kevin Lawton talks to Emily Miner of LNR about their recent Benchmark of Ethical Culture report. They discuss report findings, how ethics and culture impacts warehouse workers and how companies can create a stronger culture to help improve their overall business performance. 

David Newtown sits down with Dr. Nori Rost, the new leader of the New York Society for Ethical Culture. She discusses the steps that brought her to NYC, and she teaches David how to live a queer and ethical life.

11 years ago on January 15, 2009 — Captain Sullenberger lands USAir Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, an event that would become known as the Miracle on the Hudson 19 years ago on January 17, 2001 — A 2.4 magnitude earthquake strikes the Upper East Side of Manhattan 63 years ago on January 21, 1957 — The Mad Bomber is arrested after planting at least 33 bombs that injured 15 people 50 years ago on January 22, 1970 — The first Boeing 747 enters commercial service on a Pan Am route from JFK Airport to London Heathrow 15 years ago on January 23, 2005 — The FDNY suffers "Black Sunday" when three firefighters are killed are four are injured in two separate fires — Fatal fires break out in Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx early Monday — one victim likely murdered before blaze 105 years ago on January 25, 1915 — Alexander Graham Bell places the first transcontinental long-distance telephone call from New York to San Francisco 2 years ago — Gov. Cuomo Pledges State Funds to Re-Open Statue of Liberty — Sunday, January 21 2 years ago — January 24 in History: Fraunces Tavern Bombing Kills Four — Wednesday, January 24 1 year ago — Survey Says: Bring on the Marijuana, But None For Me, Thanks — Thursday, January 24 A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2010, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com/support and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more. AGBC is more than just a news website: Every evening, just before sundown, A Great Big City checks the Empire State Building's lighting schedule and sends out a notification if the tower's lighting will be lit in special colors for a holiday or celebration. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts. Park of the day Church Triangle Parks Events Lunar New Year: 21st New Year Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival Lunar New Year Celebration Dragon Dance audio via KrisNM on Flickr Concert Calendar This is the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week: Teddy Swims is playing Mercury Lounge on Saturday, January 25th at 7pm. Mat Kearney is playing New York Society for Ethical Culture on Saturday, January 25th at 7pm. Billy Joel is playing Madison Square Garden on Saturday, January 25th at 8pm. LAUNDRY DAY is playing Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, January 25th at 8pm. Goose is playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, January 25th at 9pm. Itzy - Band is playing Kings Theatre on Sunday, January 26th at 8pm. Lauren Alaina is playing Bowery Ballroom on Monday, January 27th at 8pm. Phora is playing Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday, January 28th at 7pm. Stray Kids is playing The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, January 29th at 6pm. Ali Gatie is playing Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday, January 29th at 7pm. Iann Dior with Landon Cube are playing Gramercy Theatre on Wednesday, January 29th at 8pm. Heilung is playing Webster Hall on Wednesday, January 29th at 8pm. The Wood Brothers with Kat Wright is playing Webster Hall on Thursday, January 30th at 7pm. Loud Records 25th Anniversary with Wu Tang Clan , Big Pun tribute, Fat Joe, Mobb Deep and more are playing Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, January 30th at 8pm. The Wood Brothers with Kat Wright is playing Webster Hall on Friday, January 31st at 7pm. George Dalaras is playing Apollo Theater on Friday, January 31st at 8pm. Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events. Today's fact about New York Here's something you may not have known about New York: Ward's Point in Tottenville, Staten Island is the southernmost point of both New York City and New York State Weather The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history: Record High: 72°F on January 26, 1950 Record Low: -6°F on January 24, 1882 Weather for the week ahead: Rain on Saturday. AGBC Weather Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email contact@agreatbigcity.com with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or Player FM, Spotify, Podcast Addict, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode. Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

Today, November 13, 2019, as witnesses take the stand in the first public hearings on the impeachment of President Donald Trump, the Harper's Podcast looks back to another major report on presidential infraction. The Department of Justice released its redacted version of the Mueller Report almost seven months ago, on April 18. Although the 448-page document revealed new depths to the chaos of the Trump presidency, its inconclusiveness was a disappointment and a setback to those who had hoped to see clear grounds for impeachment. On May 30, Harper's Magazine organized a discussion about the report's implications between four experts—Karen J. Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School; Elizabeth Holtzman, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who recommended three articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon; James Oakes, an American historian specializing in slavery, antislavery, and the Civil War; and Brenda Wineapple, author of a recent book on the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. In a conversation that takes on new relevance during the current prosecution, the panelists discussed common misunderstandings of the impeachment process (at least one of which was shared by Donald Trump), the narrowness of the argument that impeachment proceedings might perversely “help” the president, and the provision's larger historical importance as a means of reasserting the limits of presidential power. The panel took place at the New York Society for Ethical Culture and was moderated by Harper's president and publisher John R. MacArthur. This episode was produced by Violet Lucca and Andrew Blevins.

There have been concerns about the ethical use of technology, data, and the results of processing for many decades. We are now dealing with additional emerging ethical issues involving big data analytics, artificial intelligence and the associated biases, the use of personal data found online that is not protected, and also for data that is generated by and transmitted through smart devices, and so many other situations. Are there generational differences in computing ethics? How do computing ethics impact data security and privacy? What are the security and privacy ethical concerns for big data analytics and artificial intelligence? Lynn Fountain discusses these, and many more related topics, with Rebecca in this episode. Lynn also provides information about her latest book, Ethics and the Internal Auditor's Political Dilemma: Tools and Techniques to Evaluate a Company's Ethical Culture published by CRC Press.

In this episode, Chris Johnson, author of the book A Better Life and producer of the movie with the same title, talks about his experience creating these works and what it means to have “a better life.” Chris is a New York-based photographer and filmmaker. He received his undergraduate degree in film production (along with a minor in religious studies) from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. His photography has been seen in various outlets, including The New York Times. He has spent the last three years working on A Better Life, traveling across the United States, Canada, the UK, Ireland, and other countries. Apart from his own film and photographic work, he has also collaborated with artists and directors in various roles and capacities from assistant director and stage manager, for theatre, film, and print. For the book and film of A Better Life, he interviewed many prominent atheist figures such as Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, Dan Dennett, Derren Brown, Pat Churchland, Julia Sweeney, Penn & Teller, and many more. He has given talks on atheism and his work at the Humanist Community at Harvard, New York Society for Ethical Culture, PA State Atheist/Humanist Conference, Sunday Assembly - New York, the Atheist Community of Austin, Freedom from Religion Foundation Annual Conference, and more. In addition, he has also been a guest on various podcasts and TV shows such as The Humanist Hour, Atheist Airwaves, The Phil Ferguson Show, The Atheist Experience, and Pivot TV's TakePart Live.

Bruce Dancis is author of Resister: A Story of Protest and Prison during the Vietnam War, was raised by secular Jewish parents, nurtured at the NY Society for Ethical Culture, and became a passionate advocate for social justice and student leader as a student at Cornell U.