Stories of Impact

It’s Thanksgiving week in the United States, and this Thursday, many of us will be with friends and family for the kick-off to six weeks of holiday cheer. But for so many people in America, the holidays can be a very lonely time. Loneliness and disconnection have consequences not only for individual health, but for the health of the nation. Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas is the Science Director at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, which tracks cutting edge research studies that focus on how important our relationships, our tendency towards generosity and cooperation, and our sense of mattering or contribution to our communities are to our health and wellbeing over the course of our lives. She wants to understand the science of loneliness. transcript of this episodeFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

Today, we meet Dr. Nap Hosang, a Jamaican-born obstetrician and gynecologist with a long, distinguished career focused on preventing unintended pregnancies in the United States and globally. After decades of service in healthcare, Dr. Hosang has begun a new chapter of his career as the co-founder and CEO of Cadence Health, whose mission is to give people who don't want to become pregnant access to safe, effective, affordable contraceptives, without a prescription, wherever those people are located. Listen in to learn why Dr. Hosang believes Cadence’s success in the US will make a global impact. transcript of this episodeFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

In our last episode, we learned about the Rome Call for AI Ethics, which asked representatives from world business, educational institutions, governments, and religions to support ethical principles around artificial intelligence, including transparency, fairness, inclusivity, impartiality, reliability, and security and privacy. We are back with the same guests again today: scientists and technology experts, aligned with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist faith traditions. They’ll tell us more about what they have learned in the years since they first responded to that global call from the Vatican. They’ll also share what not only what concerns them about AI, but what gives them a sense of optimism and hope. And we’ll hear more about what they bring to the international dialogue around emerging technology from their perspective as persons of faith. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

Artificial intelligence is the ability of machines to perform tasks, such as learning and problem-solving, that are typically associated with human intelligence. And every single aspect of how we live our lives may ultimately be transformed by this technology. At the start of this year, it seemed as though AI shifted from a relatively niche technology known to industry insiders, into a subject that had suddenly captured broad public consciousness. Especially as ChatGPT burst on the scene as a tool available to virtually anyone, AI became a source of fascination, anxiety, and confusion. It’s happening fast. It’s on everybody’s mind. So what exactly is AI? transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagram YouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

In our last episode with Dr. David Addiss, Heather Buesseler, Dr. Liz Grant, and Dr. Corinne Reid, we explored the role of compassion in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and learned that the SDG’s were motivated by a compassionate desire to end global human suffering across a variety of sectors. This week we’re back with these four researchers, as they offer more personal insight about what draws them to study the science of compassion. This week the researchers’ objective is to encourage all of us to think about where we can make greater space for compassion in our own lives. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagram YouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

We begin Season 7 with a friend of the podcast — Dr. David Addiss, who listeners will remember from an emotional episode last year about the role of compassion in healthcare. Dr. Addiss is back for another evocative discussion about compassion, and he’s joined by his research colleagues Heather Buesseler, Dr. Liz Grant, and Dr. Corinne Reid. In this conversation, these four public health experts discuss their research findings around the role of compassion in the international effort to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. the transcript of this episodeFacebookTwitterInstagram YouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

Today is our final episode of the sixth season of Stories of Impact, and Richard Sergay is back in conversation with Templeton World Charity Foundation President Dr. Andrew Serazin, looking back over the year of stories we’re just wrapping up, and looking a little bit ahead at what’s to come. transcript of this episodeFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

Today’s episode is all about medical professionals — the hardship, overwhelm, and burnout that pre-existed the pandemic and only got worse when it started. It's about research measuring the effectiveness of a program that offers healthcare workers the support they need to flourish, even in the midst of intensely stressful circumstances. And it’s about the positive impact the programs’ simple tools have made, not only in the lives of those first responders, but in the lives of their patients. This is a hopeful story, led by Dr. Leandro Chernicoff, co-founder and Academic and Research Director of AtentaMente, a nonprofit based in Mexico City, which teaches social and emotional skills. We also hear from Dr. Mariana Gil-Veloz, pediatric infectious disease professional and AtentaMente Stress Toolbox instructor. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

If you’ve been a long-time listener to the Stories of Impact podcast, you’ll expect by now to be surprised by the kinds of studies Templeton World Charity Foundation invests in. TWCF-funded projects are not only ground-breaking — they’re often “rule-breaking,” asking challenging questions often left untouched by other funders. Today’s story is about one of those cutting-edge scientific studies, one that explores the possibility of a paradigm shift in how educators not only educate students, but each other. The study we hear about in this episode is the kind of research project that Sir John Templeton himself would have enthusiastically embraced, one that sits at the intersection of science and religion, and is designed to tap into curiosity and passion for interdisciplinary and lifelong learning. Meet Dr. Sibel Erduran, a professor of Science Education at the University of Oxford, and the leader of a research project guided by the TWCF mission to explore Big Questions in the Classroom. Her research brings together science educators and religious educators who learn with and from each other. It’s a project that aims to break down divides between the space of scientific and religious study, in order to discover what happens when the silos disappear. Dr. Erduran’s study explores how argumentation can help students bridge disciplinary divides to achieve deep understanding. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

Today, we’re back with Richard’s fascinating interview with Lord Martin Rees, the UK’s Astronomer Royal and the co-founder of the Centre for Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge. Joining them in conversation are two of the Centre’s research associates, nuclear war expert Dr. Paul Ingram, and geohazards and geo-communications scholar Dr. Lara Mani. They discuss the Centre’s research around potential risks to civilization and life on Earth as we know it, from nuclear weapons to pandemics to natural disasters. And perhaps most importantly, they share what gives them a sense of hope — for the future of humanity and for the planet. Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Share your comments, questions and suggestions at info@storiesofimpact.org Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation

Today, we’re speaking with Dr. Christopher Hays, the president of ScholarLeaders International and director of the Faith and Displacement Project at the Fundación Universitaria Seminario Biblio de Colombia. Dr. Hays explains how the Faith and Displacement Project is working with an established network of churches in Colombia to train people to help their fellow citizens who have been displaced from their homes due to political violence. Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Share your comments, questions and suggestions at info@storiesofimpact.org Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation

Today is the second in a two-part series that explores the subject of forgiveness. We hear more about the ground-breaking, six-site, five-country, four-continent study of Dr. Everett Worthington’s REACH forgiveness method’s effectiveness. We’re joined in conversation with Dr. Tyler VanderWeele, project Research Director; Principal Investigator Dr. Man Yee Ho; and site directors Andrea Ortega Bechara (Columbia) and Dr. Shaun Joynt (South Africa). They describe the impact of the study on individual participants and their communities, how they hope to scale the study, and who they consider an exemplar of forgiveness. transcriptPart 1 of our Forgiveness seriesFacebookTwitterInstagram YouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.org Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation

Today we bring you the first of a special two-part series that dives deep into the subject of forgiveness. Our guests include Dr. Everett Worthington, Science Director in a worldwide research project studying the REACH forgiveness method’s effectiveness in facilitating not only individual forgiveness, but community forgiveness, a study that he and several colleagues conducted across six sites, five countries, and four continents. We’ll also hear from two of those research collaborators today: Ukrainian citizens Dr. Liudmyla Shtanko and Dr. Sergiy Tymchenko, who were in the midst of the forgiveness research project when Russian began to wage war in their country. Dr. Shtanko and Dr. Tymchenko will open up about how they coped with the brutality being inflicted upon them, and how forgiveness played a role in their thinking and planning for a hopefully peaceful and free future. transcript Season 4 episodeFacebookTwitterInstagram YouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.org Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation

The Stories of Impact podcast is coming to you for the next two weeks for a special exploration of forgiveness. Long-time listeners to the podcast may recognize Dr. Everett Worthington, who returns to discuss the largest-ever scientific study of forgiveness in the world. He joins Ukrainian citizens and fellow researchers Dr. Liudmyla Shtanko and Dr. Sergiy Tymchenko, for these important and timely conversations. We will be honored to bring you these three courageous and thoughtful experts, and introduce you to their colleagues, as they discuss applying the science of forgiveness to their own pain and heartache, and share the findings of their research. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

In this episode of Stories of Impact, we’re listening to a session from the Templeton World Charity Foundation’s Global Scientific Conference on Human Flourishing, which took place last fall. The conference aimed to showcase the latest and most meaningful scientific advances in understanding how humans flourish across cultures and alongside innovative new tools and strategies. Today’s session is a remarkable discussion on the human need for beauty and purpose in order to flourish, featuring a presentation by Dr. Dacher Keltner, musician ELEW discussing his approach to his art and performing for us on piano, and a panel with Dr. Frank Wilczek and Dr. Katherine Cotter, moderated by Dr. Philip Ball. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

In this episode of Stories of Impact, we’re listening to a session from the Templeton World Charity Foundation’s Global Scientific Conference on Human Flourishing, which took place last fall. The conference aimed to showcase the latest and most meaningful scientific advances in understanding how humans flourish across cultures and alongside innovative new tools and strategies. Today’s session is a discussion on climate change and other global challenges to human flourishing, featuring moderator Philip Ball, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Dr. David DeSteno, and Dekila Chungyalpa. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

This the conclusion of a special three-part series on polarization. In today’s episode, we hear some good news from three leaders of Templeton World Charity Foundation’s Listening and Learning in a Polarized World Initiative. Dr. Andrew Serazin, president of TWCF; Virginia Cooper, project lead; and Dr. Eric Marshall, Principal Advisor, celebrate the $20 million investment in exploring polarization, and share what innovative tools and solutions will be discovered during the five year open-science, interdisciplinary study. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

This the second of a special three-part series on polarization. In today’s episode, we consider what writers, researchers, and scholars say we can learn from the history of polarization in other countries and learn about some of their potential solutions for polarization. Today’s episode features researchers Jay J. Van Bavel and Dominic J. Packer, co-authors of The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony. We also hear from Dr. Hahrie Han, Professor of Political Science and the Director of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University; Uriel Epshtein, Executive Director of the Renew Democracy Initiative; Joshua Fryday, Chief Service Officer for the State of California with California Volunteers; and Evan Mawarire, a Zimbabwean clergyman who founded #ThisFlag Citizen’s Movement. transcriptFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeinfo@storiesofimpact.orgTempleton World Charity Foundation

The first of a special three-part series, this episode defines polarization and explores its causes and effects. Next, we consider what we can learn from the history of polarization in other countries, share the antidotes to polarization that research has uncovered, and finally, explain why it’s important to make a long-term investment in polarization research. Today’s episode features researchers Jay J. Van Bavel and Dominic J. Packer, co-authors of The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony. We also hear from Alison Taylor, Executive Director at Ethical Systems, a research collaborative affiliated with NYU; Dr. Hahrie Han, Professor of Political Science and the Director of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University; Uriel Epshtein, Executive Director of the Renew Democracy Initiative; and Joshua Fryday, Chief Service Officer for the State of California with California Volunteers. Read the transcriptof this episodeSubscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcastsFind us onFacebook,Twitter,Instagramand YouTubeShare your comments, questions and suggestions atinfo@storiesofimpact.orgSupported byTempleton World Charity Foundation

Have you ever been in a group of people, everyone focused on the same thing — a sports competition or a sermon or a performance — and you’ve had a feeling that you’re being transported or transformed by what you’re experiencing? It’s when you’re been a part of a collective moment of being that is so powerful and so meaningful that you forget about any self-consciousness or shyness or hesitation, and you feel swept up in what might be called celebration or rapture, or joy, or love. There’s actually a term for those beautiful, resonant, collective experiences — collective effervescence. Today, we’re exploring the collective effervescence of Koolulam, “a social-musical initiative aimed at strengthening the fabric of society, centering around mass-singing events.” Featuring Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York, University at Buffalo, Dr. Shira Gabriel and Koolulam’s co-founders, Or Taicher, Michal Shahaf, and Ben Yaffet. Music for this episode courtesy of Koolulam, featuring One Day and other choral works Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcastsFind us onFacebook,Twitter,Instagramand YouTubeShare your comments, questions and suggestions atinfo@storiesofimpact.orgSupported byTempleton World Charity Foundation