Stories of Impact

Today's episode features Templeton World Charity Foundation President Dr. Andrew Serazin and John Templeton Foundation President Heather Templeton Dill , as they discuss Sir John Templeton's legacy while considering human flourishing at TWCF's first-annual Global Scientific Conference on Human Flourishing . We also hear from conference participants Maritza Trejo , Regional Director for Education P...

We're excited to report that the first-annual global Human Flourishing Conference was a tremendous success, with over 4,000 people attending sessions with luminaries like author Cheryl Strayed, social scientist Arthur Brooks, and more. We're going to bring you a more in-depth exploration next week of the conference, including remarks from Templeton World Charity Foundation President Dr. Andrew Ser...

Today's episode features TWCF President Dr. Andrew Serazin and Dr. Brie Linkenhoker , founder of Worldview Studio , discussing another collective celebration and exploration of human flourishing —  TWCF's Global Scientific Conference on Human Flourishing .  This first annual world-wide conference will take place on November 28 - 29, and will include dynamic dialogues with leading scientists, polic...

Today's episode is all about the impact we can have when we make informed, ethical choices. It can be nearly impossible as a consumer to know where your clothes are coming from and to ensure that they were ethically and sustainably produced, from the spinner of the cloth to the dyer of the fabric to the person sewing the garment together. This is why Dr. Robert Handfield and Dr. MD Rejaul Hasan of...

This week's episode takes us to Kenya, where we meet Tom Osborn , community mobilizer, entrepreneur and research scientist, and Harvard psychology graduate. In his long list of accolades and successes, he is most recently co-founder and executive director of the Shamiri Institute . Shamiri's innovative, interdisciplinary, youth-led caregiving model is increasing student levels of success and stude...

What if we told you that by the end of this unusual episode, you could find yourself thinking completely differently about the role of video games in the lives of children and teens, and that you might actually look forward to playing video games yourself, as a way to become a healthier, happier, and more resilient human being? Today, we'll meet a team of researchers and video game makers from the...

Today we bring you the voices of more members of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute (DISI) community — Dr. Amanda Seed , Dr. Cat Hobaiter , Dr. Dora Biro , Dr. Michael Muthukrishna , Dr. Kristin Andrews , and Dr. Tom Griffiths . They share some of their fascinating research that has been funded by Templeton World Charity Foundation grants. They talk about why they love what we affectionate...

Today's episode is our version of a back to school episode celebrating one of the coolest schools on the planet — the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute (DISI). We're back with four friends from Season 2 of the podcast to further explore Diverse Intelligences: Drs. Andrew Serazin , Erica Cartmill , Pranab Das , and Jacob Foster . These researchers tell us about their work to build a community...

Today is our 20th and final episode of the Luminaries of Human Flourishing season on the Stories of Impact podcast. All season, we've been in conversation with artists, politicians, technologists, environmentalists, doctors, faith leaders, educators, sociologists, and other luminaries. And today we circle back to the beginning, in conversation with President of Templeton World Charity Foundation,...

This episode is an inspiring story about how bringing together vision, community, and cutting-edge science can make the impossible possible. It's a story about American history, climate, globalization, and hope. It's the story of the American Chestnut Foundation 's efforts to do something never before done: To restore a tree that is functionally extinct — the American Chestnut tree. You'll hear fr...

What is culture? How is culture transmitted? And what is unique about human culture, compared to our closest animal species relatives? Today's conversation with Dr. Cristine Legare, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin whose research focuses on the foundations of cultural intelligence, answers all these questions. Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to Stories o...

Today, we hear from Dr. Hafsat Abiola , native of Nigeria, President of the Women in Africa Initiative , Harvard-educated economist, expert in sustainable development, and civil rights and Democracy advocate. Dr. Abiola's father, M.K.O. Abiola, was imprisoned after decisively winning the presidency in an election determined to be fair and free by Nigerian and international observers. Meanwhile her...

In today's episode, we welcome Dr. Brie Linkenhoker , founder of Worldview Studio , a collective of brain and behavioral scientists, human-centered designers, and multimedia producers who create innovative learning experiences. Dr. Linkenhoker is the recipient of grant funding from Templeton World Charity Foundation's Grand Challenges for Human Flourishing program. Her ground-breaking research is...

In today's episode, we welcome Dr. David Addiss , an expert in public health and preventive medicine. Dr. Addiss has spent his career thinking not only about science, but about service. In his early career, he cared for the health of migrants in the San Joaquin Valley of California, then later worked for nearly two decades the Centers for Disease Control in the Division of Parasitic Diseases, wher...

Today's episode is a discussion of the intersections of religion, spirituality, and science, with Dr. Kenneth Pargament , Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University. Dr. Pargament was named in 2022 one of the 50 Most Influential Living Psychologists in the World, and his internationally-acclaimed research addresses the relationship between health and spirituality and religious faith.   M...

This week's episode highlights the relationship between religion, faith, and human flourishing. Our conversation today is with Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford , Church of England, for whom a belief in God and human flourishing — both individual and societal — are inextricably linked. More about this episode Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to po...

This week we hear from Dr. Agnes Kalibata, a Rwandan agricultural scientist and policymaker. Dr. Kalibata draws on her personal history growing up in a refugee camp to shape her work as both UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy focusing on international food systems and the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. This leader uniquely offers her deep personal understanding of ho...

This week we bring you a conversation with Dr. Angela Duckworth, pioneering professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit that advances science to help children thrive. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2013, and in 2016 published Grit , a book that explores what elements lead to success. She makes the case that achievement is not dependent o...

This week we're bringing you a conversation about human flourishing with Vint Cerf, a man globally recognized as one of the "fathers of the Internet." In recognition for his extraordinary contributions to the creation of Internet technology, Cerf has been awarded a U.S. National Medal of Technology, the Turing Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And, drawing on his own experience with be...

Our guest today is Dr. Deepak Chopra, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality. He is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation, and the author of over 90 books translated into over forty languages. In additio...

Today, we're in conversation about the act of listening. Our guests are researchers Netta Weinstein, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Reading, and Guy Itzchakov, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Services at the University of Haifa. Profs. Weinstein and Itzhchakov are part of a research team working to develop a scientific understanding of what listening is, w...

Today, we're talking about a pursuit of well-being that impacts us all — climate health. Today's guest is Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and the first woman to hold that elected office and former United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. Since Robinson's tenure as Ireland's President ended in 1997, she has continued to work tirelessly to promote gender equity, human rights, and, mo...

Today's guest is international superstar dancer/choreographer Judith Jamison. In 1964, at just 21 years old, Jamison made her dance debut in New York with the American Ballet Theater. She soon joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, eventually becoming the company's principal dancer, then its artistic director, and, since 2011, she's been artistic director emerita. Learn more: Judith Jamiso...

In today's episode, we delve into how humans flourish through music and listening with internationally acclaimed musician, composer, and bandleader Wynton Marsalis. At the age of 60, after a long, international career, Marsalis identifies not only as a solo artist and a group leader, but as an educator and a leading advocate of American culture. Learn more: Wynton Marsalis   Subscribe to Stories o...

Today, we hear about human happiness from two of the world's foremost researchers on the subject: Dr. Laurie Santos and Dr. Arthur Brooks. Dr. Santos hosts The Happiness Lab, a podcast "that will forever alter the way you think about happiness." She's also a Professor of Psychology at Yale University and teacher of one of the most popular classes ever in Yale history: The Happiness Class, which tr...