The Space In Between Podcast

Artificial intelligence is advancing at dizzying speed. But the hardest questions about AI may not be technical at all. Who should decide what responsible AI looks like? Can we create meaningful AI regulation without stifling innovation? And at a moment of deep distrust in both government and Big Tech, how do leaders build the coalitions needed to move forward? In this episode of The Space In Betw...

When division deepens and confidence in our institutions erodes, ordinary people still have far more influence than we may realize. In this episode, Leigh speaks with author and civic-engagement leader Paul Loeb about citizenship—not as a legal status, but as a civic mindset: the choice to care about what happens beyond our individual lives and to participate in shaping our communities, institutio...

AI agents going rogue. Systems behaving deceptively. Technology advancing faster than most of us can fully understand. It’s easy to feel as though AI is an unstoppable force and the rest of us are simply along for the ride. In this episode, Leigh challenges that passive stance with a simple but powerful shift: we don’t just need humans in the loop. Humans ARE the loop. If you’ve never heard the te...

In this special bonus episode, I follow up on my conversation with Bree Rose, who shared her experience as the mother of Storm, her nonbinary teenager. I wanted to hear Storm’s perspective on their journey, and our conversation was fun, deep, and reminded me that young people today hold incredible wisdom and insight despite a world too often torn by polarization. Now 17, Storm speaks candidly abou...

Conversations about transgender youth and gender identity increasingly unfold in a highly polarized climate, where deeply personal decisions get pulled into cultural and political conflict. Behind those debates — and ongoing threats to the rights, safety, and well-being of transgender people — are real families trying to support their children and make consequential decisions without the benefit o...

What does it really mean to be authentic—and who gets to decide? In this episode of The Space in Between , host Leigh Morgan talks with author, political strategist, and podcast host Maya Rupert about how race, gender, identity, and power influence who is perceived as “real,” trustworthy, and qualified. Drawing from her book, The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authe...

What does it take to stay in the game when life doesn't go your way? In this engaging and deeply personal conversation, Space In Between host Leigh Morgan welcomes back longtime friend, former tech CEO, author, TEDx speaker, and fellow Duke University athlete Everett Harper for a conversation that begins on the playing field—but quickly expands into leadership, resilience, and what it means to sta...

In this solo episode of The Space in Between host Leigh Morgan explores how to stay awake, engaged, and fully human in a time when fear, outrage, political division, and emotional overwhelm can sometimes constrict our capacity to lead and be our fullest selves. Drawing from her own experience responding to the 2025 dismantling of USAID, Leigh reflects on what happens when we care deeply about suff...

What happens when data challenges something you deeply believe — something that has shaped your identity, your work, and your moral compass? In this episode of The Space In Between , Leigh sits down with Alice Shobe for a powerful conversation about feminism, boys and men, blind spots, and what it takes to expand our frame without abandoning our convictions. Alice has spent her life pushing into s...

There are conversations that do more than inform us, they recalibrate us. This episode with Sherri Mitchell (Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset) is that kind of conversation: a profound, clear-eyed, and ultimately hopeful exploration of how we stay grounded as leaders and community members in an often dehumanizing time. Sherri calls us to cultivatie connection, accountability, deep humanity, and integrity with...

In a polarized world, it’s become easy to assume that the other side is broken, deficient, dangerous, or beyond repair; and if we are honest, sometimes it really feels this way. But if this is our dominant mindset, creativity, trust, accountability, and connection can be eclipsed by pessimism about what 'could be'. In this episode, host Leigh Morgan explores a different starting place which she ca...

What does it look like to carry authority with humility? In this thoughtful and deeply human conversation, Leigh Morgan sits down with Bartow County, Georgia’s Chief Magistrate Judge Brandon Bryson — whose life and leadership have been shaped by family, faith, service, and a profound respect for the people who enter his courtroom. Presiding over cases that touch every corner of community life has...

What if the spaces you move through every day are quietly shaping your mood, your relationships—and even your sense of agency and hope? In this episode, Leigh sits down with renowned designer Elizabeth MacPherson-Hearn to explore the powerful idea that there is no such thing as a neutral space. Together, they unpack how the environments we inhabit influence how grounded, connected, and open we fee...

In this timely episode of  The Space In Between , host Leigh Morgan sits down with  John Wood Jr . — a national leader in the American depolarization movement, former GOP candidate for Congress and an inspiring voice for principled bridge-building — to explore one of the most pressing tensions of our time: how to hold strong convictions without becoming self-righteous or contributing to...

Anger is having a moment. You feel it. I feel it.  Everyone seems to be carrying around a lit match… just waiting for something to burn.  But here’s the uncomfortable question: What if the biggest problem isn’t anger itself… but how we’re using it?  In this solo episode, I take on something most of us don’t w...

In this timely episode of The Space In Between , host Leigh Morgan sits down with Deb Roy, director of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication , to explore how the modern information ecosystem is reshaping democracy, trust, and our relationships with one another. At a time when misinformation, algorithmic amplification, and fragmented media environments are fueling polarization, Deb offers a...

When Dr. Susan Blumenthal spearheaded a bold effort to move imaging technology from missiles to mammograms, she didn’t just advance innovation—she showed what’s possible when conviction meets creativity and unlikely coalitions. In this conversation, Leigh sits down with the former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and global public health leader to explore her decades of bipartisan service across bot...

In this episode of The Space In Between , host Leigh Morgan and Dr. Vardit Ravitsky (President and CEO of The Hastings Center for Bioethics) explore what moral courage in practice actually looks like when the choices are thorny, the facts are contested, and the consequences are deeply human. Leigh and Dr. Ravitsky explore how bioethics helps us navigate today’s most charged issues—vaccines and pub...

What happens when the story of “more is always better” stops working—economically, socially, and spiritually? In this episode of The Space In Between , Leigh Morgan sits down with wellbeing economist and global influencer Gaya Herrington to explore why a 'growth-at-all-costs' mindset and economic system is colliding with real-world limits, and what a healthier paradigm could look like—on...

In this episode of The Space In Between , host Leigh Morgan sits down with Stephiney Foley —West Point graduate, Army officer, tech leader, proud immigrant and founder and CEO of YuziCare —to explore service-driven leadership , motherhood as a catalyst for systems change , and how we build real connection across political difference in polarized times . Together, they unpack what leadership looks...

In this solo episode of The Space In Between Podcast , host Leigh Morgan introduces a theme we’ll return to again and again this year: staying high agency in unsettled times . With clear-eyed realism about polarization, distrust, and today's often trying times, Leigh offers a grounded reframe: agency isn’t optimism or control—it’s the felt sense that your actions matter , even when circumstan...

In this special 2025 EOY solo episode of The Space In Between , host Leigh Morgan reflects on the lessons of 2025—both her personal insights as well as key lessons from 55 podcast episodes this year.  She explores the “quiet shift” that's happening across workplaces, families, and communities: everyday people choosing nuance, integrity, and aliveness over disconnection and certainty. She expl...

Most weeks on The Space In Between , host Leigh Morgan talks with leaders, innovators, and bridge builders out in the world. This week, she invites you into something closer: a candid conversation with her sister, Melinda Morgan Thomas , about the complicated alchemy of sibling relationships—and their slow burn journey from rivalry to real closeness. Along the way, the Morgan sisters explore how f...

In a time of rising distrust and deep polarization, what does it mean to be an engaged citizen—and how is Gen Z shaping that answer? Host Leigh Morgan sits down with Cynthia Lietz, Dean of the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University, to explore how today’s students are navigating trauma, digital overload, and democratic uncertainty while still showing up...

In this episode of The Space In Between , Leigh hosts behavioral science expert Shirin Oreizy —founder and former CEO of Next Step and noted coach to leaders — who shares practical tools for holding firm to our values and bridging divides. We explore behavioral science insights including why fear of loss can loom larger than potential gain, how smart framing of issues can unlock connection, and wh...