Impact in the 21st Century

Anil Seth has spent more than twenty-five years asking one of the most disorienting questions a scientist can ask: what is it that makes you conscious, and are you as real as you feel? A Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science , Seth has published more than 200 research papers and is recognized by...

Paul Hawken has spent more than fifty years asking the same question in different registers: what does it look like when human commerce rejoins the community of life rather than consuming it? He was a 19-year-old press coordinator for Martin Luther King Jr.'s march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. He cured his own lifelong asthma through food at 19, and went on to found Erewhon, one of the first...

David Abram is an ecologist, philosopher, and sleight-of-hand magician whose work sits at the intersection of phenomenology, linguistics, and our embodied relationship with the more-than-human world. Author of The Spell of the Sensuous and Becoming Animal, David is one of the most original and necessary voices asking what we lose when language severs us from the living land and what it takes to fi...

Valdemar Danry is a PhD researcher in the Fluid Interfaces group at the MIT Media Lab, a 2025 Google PhD Fellow in Human-Computer Interaction, and one of the most important voices at the intersection of artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind. His landmark study, Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for an Essay-Writing Task, sparke...

Frank Solomon is a world-renowned big wave surfer, ocean adventurer, and the founder of Sentinel Ocean Alliance . Raised on the rugged coastline of South Africa, Frank has ridden some of the most dangerous waves on Earth, from Mavericks in California to the legendary Dungeons in Hout Bay. But beyond pushing the limits of human courage, he has dedicated his life to protecting the ocean and empoweri...

Nelson Dellis is a six-time USA Memory Champion, Grandmaster of Memory, and one of the world’s foremost experts on training the mind. Driven by his grandmother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s, he turned an average memory into a world-class superpower using ancient techniques and now teaches others to do the same. As founder of Climb For Memory , he scales the planet’s highest peaks, including multiple...

Dr. Raoul Goldberg is a renowned integrative medicine practitioner with decades of experience blending conventional medical expertise with holistic approaches to empower individuals toward optimal health. As a leader in integrative health practices, he has inspired countless people through his innovative methods, combining physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of healing. His work emphasiz...

Most world-changing startups don’t die from lack of money or market fit. They die because the founder never becomes the CEO the mission needs. Jonathan Lowenhar has spent 10 years helping hundreds of founders make that leap before it’s too late. In this episode he gives you the exact tools that decide whether your mission lives or dies: The critical difference between being a great founder and a g...

Jamie Brooker is the co-founder of Kahoot!, the game-based learning platform that has transformed education for over 70 million users worldwide, and the visionary behind We Are Human, a collective dedicated to building values-driven tech for social good. Now, with his latest venture, Project Align, Jamie is helping organizations realign teams and leaders around transformative, purpose-led goals. H...

Colleen Dwyer is a Senior Therapist with Allen Carr’s Easyway (20+ million copies sold), a globally recognized program for smoking and vaping cessation, with over 20 years of experience helping individuals overcome addiction through innovative behavioral change methods. As a leader in online programs, international seminars, and therapist training, she has empowered countless people to reclaim the...

Dr. Patricia Wright is a world-renowned primatologist, conservationist, and National Geographic Explorer whose groundbreaking work has redefined our understanding of lemurs and their fragile habitats. As the founder of Centre ValBio in Madagascar, she has discovered new species, championed biodiversity, and empowered local communities to protect one of the planet’s most unique ecosystems. Her pass...

Rita is a visionary member of Project Kamp, a Portugal-based research community dedicated to prototyping a sustainable way of living in harmony with the planet. As a key collaborator in this innovative experiment, Rita has helped transform a 9-hectare plot of abandoned land and kick start a research place for sustainable practices, from upcycling plastic waste with Precious Plastic to building com...

Alberto Manguel is the acclaimed author of A History of Reading, The Library at Night, and dozens of other works exploring literature, memory, and the profound human need for stories. A lifetime reader and former Director of the National Library of Argentina, Manguel has lived a life shaped by books - reading to Jorge Luis Borges as a teenager, curating libraries across continents, and writing dee...

Hylton is the CEO of Discovery Bank, a trailblazer in digital banking and behavioral economics. With a background in actuarial science and a deep passion for innovation, Hylton has helped shape Discovery’s vision of a shared-value ecosystem—one that rewards people for living healthier and more financially responsible lives. In this episode, Hylton shares the journey of building Discovery Bank from...

Episode #22 of Impact in the 21st Century features the inspiring Dr. Charles Owubah. Dr. Charles Owubah is the CEO of Action Against USA, an organization working to end the global hunger crisis.  Originally from Ghana, Dr. Owubah began his humanitarian work with a Master of Science and Ph. D. in Natural Resource Management and Policy from Purdue University.  From academia and consultancy, Dr. Owub...

Episode #21 of Impact in the 21st Century features impactful guest Danny Glenwright. Danny Glenwright is the President and CEO at Save the Children Canada, where he is spearheading multiple international projects seeking to provide access to essential food, clean water, healthcare, medical treatment to children around the world.  Also on the board of directors for the Canadian Network of Women and...

Alyssa Carson is a space enthusiast, Astrobiology undergraduate student at the Florida Institute of Technology, author of “So You Want to Be An Astronaut”, and has spoken at multiple TED talks. Alyssa, now 21 years old, has attended Space Camp 7 times, Space Academy 3 times, Robotics Academy once, and was the youngest to graduate from Advanced Space Academy. She was also the first person in the wo...

Episode #19 of Impact in the 21st Century features incredible guest Allen Lau. After migrating to Canada aged 19 and graduating with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering at University of Toronto, Allen went on to co-found Wattpad, an online reading community where members can read and write original stories. With 90 million monthly users, Wattpad aims to dissolve the barriers between reader...

Marc Tarpenning is an acclaimed American engineer, technology entrepreneur and a co-founder of Tesla Inc. Marc worked with Tesla as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Vice President of Engineering for several years before he moved on to advise other companies like Berkely SkyDeck. In this episode, Marc discusses the story of how his environmental concerns in 2003 led to him co-founding Tesla, t...

Seth Klein is the acclaimed author of 𝘈 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘳: 𝘔𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺. An expert in climate policy, Seth spent 22 years as the founding director of the British Columbia office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. He is now the Team Lead and Director of Strategy with the The Climate Emergency Unit, a 5-year project of the David Suzuki Institute that Seth launched...

Craig Foster is the subject and creative mind behind the Oscar-winning film My Octopus Teacher, released on Netflix in 2020, which documented the incredible relationship Craig built a small octopus in the kelp forests on the coast of South Africa. Craig is also the Co-founder of Sea Change Project, an NPO dedicated to protecting our oceans and the Great African Seaforest through science, storytell...

Cristina “Mitty” Mittermeier is a marine biologist, photographer, and conservationist who has spent the last 25 years unveiling the wonders and secrets beneath the surface of our oceans, and the impacts of human activity on these ecosystems. Cristina is also a Co-founder of SeaLegacy, an NGO working to create healthy and abundant oceans for us and for the planet.  In this episode of Impact in the...

Equipped with little more than a notebook, binoculars, and her fascination with wildlife, Jane Goodall braved a realm of unknowns to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives. Through nearly 60 years of groundbreaking work, Dr. Jane Goodall has not only shown us the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction; she has also redefined species conservation to...

In this episode of Impact in the 21st Century, hear Scott Harrison's incredible story from nightclub promoter to charity: water founder, learn more about the global challenge of access to water, and discover how you, too, can turn vision into action. Scott Harrison spent almost 10 years as a nightclub promoter in New York City before leaving to volunteer on a hospital ship off the coast of Liberia...

Thank you to RBC for sponsoring this episode! Joshua Dahn is the Founder and Executive Director of Astra Nova - a non-profit, online school which seeks to provide students with more meaningful and formative learning experiences than the national curriculum. Born from a previous educational collaboration with Elon Musk, Astra Nova now aims to reach millions of students around the world through its...