GUEST OVERVIEWStephen Hecht co-founder of Million Peacemakers provides inspiration to anyone that doubts their ability to change the world for the better, at scale. Stephen is proof that good intentions, a little creativity, underpinned by clear goals can result in monumental impact, at any age.  Million Peacemakers is a non-profit organization that empowers people to transform conflict into what they call Nonflict. Stephens's inspiration came from his multi-faith work and his own transformation in focussing on the commonality in people over the differences.Over 225,000 people around the world trained in the first 5 years with a focus on youth, families, and businesses, Stephen is changing the world one peacemaker training session at a time.Stephen has led Nonflict way workshops in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, the USA including Puerto Rico, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Bulgaria, England, Germany, Spain, and Canada.He was also a speaker at the Vatican in March 2019 for an international conference on Religions and the UN Sustainable Development Goals and was invited back 3 weeks later to speak about creating a culture of peace in the world.I hope you enjoy this episode of empathy, compassion and conflict resolution with Stephen Hecht What We Discuss Growing up in Montreal CanadaBeing involved in the family retail business from an early ageBeing aware of his seriousness as a child His uncle’s defining influenceEarly conflict in his family businessThe defining experience of visiting Israel  Witnessing intra-group conflict His education path The early experience of conflict in business as globalization set inMeeting Dr. Amir Kafir Joining Young President Organization Building Love Thy Neighbor to live in Montreal to create interfaith unity in 2009 - 19min Hi three MarriagesPeace Action Network Building the three-step model for NonflictThe ways of confronting conflict Conflict defined The steps to conflict resolution Einstein Creating a Million Peacemakers How Serendipity has enabled themWorking with the Vatican and The PopeHis principlesHis Hard Choices Discovering new ideasWhere in History? Impossible QuestionFailure Keeping up with technology Social Links Million Peacemakers Instagram Facebook Twitter Links In the Show Young Presidents OrganizationCardinal Turkson Sustainable Development Goals Robin Sharma The 5 am ClubThe Vatican Martin Luther King  Nelson Mandela  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Week’s Guest If you missed last weeks‘ guest was Marcus G Miller. He was born and raised in Jersey, from a sax-playing accountant father and a schizophrenia suffering Mother, he graduated Harvard University, became a hedge fund trader before becoming a professional jazz musician and mathematician.Marcus has since performed at the Obama White House, Madison Square Garden, The World Economic Forum at Davos, The Montreux Jazz Festival, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and recently spoke at the TED Summit in Edinburgh. Marcus is a genuine polymath and is exploring the structural similarities between math, and music, to enable creative problem solvers to unlock their imagination and to ‘jam’ on the world’s toughest challenges.I hope you enjoy the intellectual curiosity and expansive imagination of Marcus G Miller.   The Podcast we Love Big Questions with Cal Fussman has been one of our weekly listens since Tim Ferris persuaded him to start one. We just caught up on some recent episodes and loved the interview with Muhammad Ali’s daughter Hana, three years after Ali’s passing.She talks about her dad and the book she has written called 'At Home With Muhammad Ali.The conversation opens a window into how life was like in the moments when the cameras weren’t around and his unique capacity to connect with the world. What a giant of a man. What a giant of a man. We found this online As we increasingly seek control over our privacy rights online, China just introduced a new rule requiring face scans of customers signing up for new mobile plans that came into effect Dec. 1, amid widespread adoption of facial-recognition technology across the country.Read here the piece on the policy is part of a broader push by the Chinese government to limit people’s ability to stay anonymous online increasing their fear that biometric data could be compromised.Is this the state of things to come?Recommended to usWe have not seen it yet but we have been told that if you are in London a must see theatre experience is stage adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s The Neapolitan Novels - into a two part play My Brilliant Friend, five action-packed hours now at the national theatreMovie of the week Diego MaradonaLove him or loathe him  Diego Maradonna documentary is mesmerizing as it tells the story of this celebrated and controversial soccer player as he arrives in Naples in 1984, for a world-record fee. It recounts the miracles he performed on the field and includes more than 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archives, and decades-old news footage and interviews with historians and journalists. Wonderful storytelling.Mulling on this We found this article on Fast Company asking the question is digital distraction as bad as we thnk?We all know the pitfalls and potential mental health effects of too much screen time, but this piece acknowledges the downsides but also focuses on the upsides of connectivity and the value in seeking many consider to be the ever elusive balance.Tools we’re Using We just installed Google Duo, Google’s latest attempt to wrestle share of our time and attention from Apple’s Facetime and Facebook’s What’s App. The value is that is allows simple video calls between Iphones and Android. And Like What’s app it offers end to end encryption and its delivered in a simple user interface. So far ..we quite like.Social Impact ou might have missed this but a few months ago AS Roma decided to not only announce new signings but to do so alongside missing children.The idea from their head of strategy, Paul Rogers, grew out of his love of the story of 90’s rock band Soul Asylum, whose video for their hit song Runaway Train also featured missing children."Paul explains that Roma had built up quite a sizable social media presence and going into the summer transfer window, and he s... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest OverviewBorn and raised in Jersey, from a sax-playing accountant father and a mother with schizophrenia, a Harvard graduate, a hedge fund trader turned professional jazz musician and mathematician is this week’s guest Marcus G Miller.In this episode Marcus explains how he started playing saxophone at age nine and how through the guidance of a teacher Michael Ghegan and the mentoring of world renowned saxophonist Bruce Williams he ended up on stage at age 13. An avid reader and a world level fencer, we went on to graduate from Harvard University with a degree in Mathematics before joining Ray Dalio’s hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. However his passion drew him back to New York City to pursue a career as a jazz musicianMarcus has since performed at the Obama White House, Madison Square Garden, The World Economic Forum at Davos, The Montreux Jazz Festival, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and recently spoke at the TED Summit in Edinburgh. Marcus is a genuine polymath and is exploring the structural similarities between math, and music, to enable creative problem solvers to unlock their imagination and to ‘jam’ on the world’s toughest challenges.I hope you enjoy the intellectual curiosity and expansive imagination of Marcus G Miller.    What we discuss:His upbringing in Jersey The impact of his accountant father His early desire to compete and winThe impact of being skilled at music hadThe challenges he faced as he grew up The motivation to successHis mentor Michael GheganBruce Willams his teacher Subbing for Brice as a young teenagerConfidenceDeciding to study math at Harvard His love of math How he is drawn to building the connection between math and music The subjective creative approach of doing both Base level reality and the propositions of logicThe underlying structure and overlap of math and music The non logical way of getting from Point A to BThe importance of fun in exploring possibilities in math and music and getting access to moreThe similarity in systems and subjectivity and individuality of Math and music Solving problems and go deeper Building rooms in your house of understandingWhere sparks of ideas come from?The importance of imagination and his disciplineTraining to be available to receive ideasOrder and structure in his life How he avoids social media and uses his phone The power of long-hand writingThe resistance and being open to ideas Managing his use of social media Becoming a hedge fund trader for Bridgewater The serendipity of getting a NYC gig while in the second semester Joining the Hedge Fund Leaving the hedge fund Focusing on music His search for meaning and connection How he’d change education to foster curiosity and creativity and improvisation  How Jazz is a conversation and has narrativeConnection between Jazz and Language Higher order language to think freely FearlessTo arrange ideas and music Teach kids to think freely. Creativity, structure and boundaries The bridge between math and music Links to SocialWebsiteInstagramSpotify FacebookLinks in the Show Tequila Jazz track  Bruce Williams Jazz Michael Ghegan War of Art - Stephen PrestfiledNir Eyal - DistractedRob Schneiderman Goethe FaustHarvard University Ray Dalio BridgewaterAion Carl Jung Mintons Jazz Bar  St Nicks jazz Julliard Music SchoolBach Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi Everyone This is our weekly digest episode where we share some of what we liked, discovered and was recommended to us.We start with: LAST WEEKS EPISODELast weeks guest was Emily Oberman Partner at Pentagram Design. In this engaging 2 parter we cover her upbringing; being immersed in art, discovery and joy, and how humor and singing was never far; the work ethic her parents instilled; and being introduced her to Monty Python,The Marx Brothers and MAD Magazine at an early age.She explains why the idea of being a beautiful weirdo has remained with her throughout her career as she seeks out oddness in everyone she meetsWe discuss her early design influences, her approach to design and the role of story and ideas her work. We explore how Emily met and formed a 17 year partnership, with Bonnie Siegler, in the New York design firm Number17 before we dive deep into her 20 seasons of driving the identity of Saturday Night Live. We also discuss her leadership experience at Pentagram and the challenges of combining that with motherhood.  PODCAST WE LOVED CODE SWITCH - NPRRegardless of where you live, race and identity are part of the often cultural charged narrative. So if you ever find yourself in a conversation about race and identity where you just get...stuck, Code Switch can help.Created by journalists of color, and as they say themselves - this isn't just the work they do, it's the lives they lead.' It's a great listen, its funny and it will certainly make you reflect on some of your own cultural assumptions.WHAT WE DISCOVERED CONTRACT FOR THE WEBIn the 90's I think many of us expected The internet herald some from of global online utopia. Fast forward 25 years, flooded with fake news, election meddling, online bullying and a slew of other ills The Internet descended into a nightmarish mess. Its creator, Tim Berners-Lee, wants to reverse the slide.On November 25, Berners-Lee unveiled the Contract for the Web, an action plan he crafted with the help of over 80 other experts. It aims to boost privacy protections online, reduce digital incivility and discourage government crackdowns on the Web while ensuring that everyone on the planet gets access to the internet. There might well be hope for the future of The Internet. RECOMMENDED TO USARCADIA EARTH We recently took the recommendation of previous guest Alessandro Armillotta and visited Arcadia Earth her in Manhattan. It's an immersive augmented reality driven journey through Planet Earth that educates us on the impact of our behavior on the climate. On this large scale multi-sensorial journey will guide you through underwater worlds, fantasy lands, and inspirational art installations. powered by augmented reality, virtual reality, projection mapping, and interactive environments. As we explored, we learned how small lifestyle changes can have a massive impact on the future of our planet. MULLING ON THIS APOCALYPSE WHEN?It's easy to fall into the trap of helplessness and indifference in the face of the number of apocalyptic predictions about the impact of climate change. Bill McKibben suggested climate-driven fires in Australia had made koalas “functionally extinct.” Extinction Rebellion said “Billions will die” and “Life on Earth is dying.” Vice claimed the “collapse of civilization may have already begun.” This article by Michael Shellenberger in Forbes provides a more balanced view.  TOOL WE ARE USING STORY ART - INSTAGRAM STORY EDITORWe just started using this neat little tool called StoryArt. It's basically an Instagram story editor that offers 1000's of story templates to help you create collage layouts for your Instagram story.  You get the free version first and we just upgraded the $2 for the paid one.  MOVIE OF THE WEEKWHAT'S MY NAME - MUHAMMAD ALIWe loved this HBO two-part documentary which paints an intimate portrait of Ali - the man who was a beacon of hope ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview Born and raised in New York, to a graphic designer father and illustrator mother, her prolific life in design and branding was almost destined, welcome this week’s guest, partner at international design firm, Pentagram, Emily ObermanIn part two we explore how Emily met and formed a 17 year partnership, with Bonnie Siegler, in the New York design firm Number17 before we dive deep into her 20 seasons of driving the identity of Saturday Night Live. We also discuss her leadership experience at Pentagram and the challenges of combining that with motherhood Finally we discuss diversity and of course her quick fire questions and answers.I hope you enjoy this curiosity, humour and design principles of Emily Oberman What we discuss Forming Number17 With Bonnie SieglerWorking for smart good people and products she likes The experience of creating the credits of SNL The challenge of motherhood and a leadership in designThe hard work she has had to doDriving diversity in Pentagram and leading by example Social Links Instagram Linkedin Links in the Show Debbie MillmanVH1 ViacomNumber17 Agency M&CoDC comicsThe Wing Ready Player One Pentagram Lorne Micheals Saturday Night Live Monty Python MAD Comic Marx BrothersMetropolitan museum The HighlineHudson river park Devil in the White City Book  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview Emily Oberman - a partner at the international design firm, Pentagram, was born and raised in New York, to a graphic designer father and illustrator mother, discusses her prolific life in design and branding. In part one of this two-part episode Emily recounts the impact of her upbringing based on the idea of art, discovery, and joy, how humor and singing were never far and explains how the work ethic her parents instilled has served her well through her three decades in design. Emily discusses how her parents introduced her to Monty Python, The Marx Brothers, and MAD Magazine and how the idea of being a beautiful weirdo has remained with her throughout her career as she seeks out oddness in everyone she meetsWe cover Emily’s serendipitous journey from studying design at Cooper Union in NYC, her sojourn into film studies and how that set her on her path to a life in design, content, and storytelling. We discuss Emily’s early design influences, her approach to design and the role of story and ideas in her work. We end part one with Emily recounting how she ended up working under her mentor Tibor Kalman at design firm M&Co In part two we explore how Emily met and formed a 17-year partnership, with Bonnie Siegler, in the New York design firm Number17 before we dive deep into her 20 seasons of driving the identity of Saturday Night Live. We also discuss her leadership experience at Pentagram and the challenges of combining that with motherhood Finally, we discuss diversity and of course her quick-fire questions and answers.I hope you enjoy this curiosity, humor and design principles of Emily Oberman What we discuss The environment of art, discovery, and joy that defined her upbringingHow her parents injected humor and wit in everything they did Her appreciation for art, design and the power of idea-driven design The impact of her parents instilled in her from an early ageThe idea of being a beautiful weirdo How she embraces the off and seeks oddness in all places Why her family all share that goal of beautiful weirdnessEmily Oberman shares the impact of a teacher who recognized her talent and nurtured itEmily explains how she introduced her to Greek literature. Emily breaks down her decision to go to Cooper UnionStudying acting Why she is a worrierThe illustrators she was inspired by How her love of theatre and film led her to take a year to study acting How this led her to love film and ultimately motion graphics Design as performance Examples of how she approaches design using examples Ready Player One and the women’s co-working space, The Wing Forming Number17 With Bonnie SieglerWorking for smart good people and products she likes The experience of creating the credits of SNL The challenge of motherhood and leadership in designThe hard work she has had to doDriving diversity in Pentagram and leading by example Social Links Instagram Linkedin Links in the Show Debbie MillmanCooper UnionTibor KalmanMilton Glaser Max Fleischer Bob Kane Jack Kirby Mort Drucker Stella AdlerColors magazine VH1 ViacomNumber17 Agency M&CoDC comicsThe Wing Ready Player One Pentagram Lorne Micheals Saturday Night Live Monty Python MAD Comic Marx BrothersMetropolitan museum The HighlineHudson river park Devil in the White City Book  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ok this is our first weekly bonus roundup where we share some of our discoveries from where our curiosity has taken us.Starting with A Podcast we loved Making sense with Sam Harris - episode 163 Sam has a fabulous interview with British comedian, writer and award show host Ricky Gervais - Ricky is a breathe of fresh air and excludes common sense as speaks with clarity and brutal candorhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-sense-with-sam-harris/id733163012?i=1000444315356We found this online PR agency Porter Noveli published new report on Purpose and Gen Z. It’s well worth a read if you want to understand this generations' expectations of brands, their social impact and purposehttps://www.prdaily.com/what-purpose-driven-companies-need-to-know-about-gen-z/This was recommended to us by our upcoming guest Joshua Spodekhttps://www.drawdown.org/Project Drawdown is a world-class research organization that reviews, analyses, and identifies the most viable global climate solutions, and shares these findings with the world. You’ll be surprised how simple some of them are Movie of the weekGame Changers If your not vegetarian or vegan watch this and be prepared to re orientate your view of what you eat and how you live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSpglxHTJVMMulling on...Could we go zero waste ? Reduce the endless packaging that results in recycling and increase composting in the most efficient manner? after watching Bea Johnson I think I could it’s a wonderful insight into how we live and how we could live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmfDTtduRh4A tool we are usingEver wanted to have Instagram accessible and useable on your desktop and be able to easily add a post or story, The Grids App does just that. We love it. https://gridsapp.net/This weeks podcast This week Roberto Rabanne - the photographer of some of the most iconic musicians and artists over the last 5 decades and the only photograther to have shot all of the legendary 27 Club. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/050-roberto-rabanne-photographer-icons-imagining-better/id1448602773?i=1000457197944 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest OverviewBorn in Panama, raised in Brooklyn from age 13, a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, a self taught photographer who’s captured iconic images of music, art, and fashion for over 5 decades, is this week’s guest Roberto Rabanne.   In part two we delve into how Roberto continues to evolve his career into new multimedia expressions of his art as well as his pursuit of a new entrepreneurial venture that’s centered around the development of hemp-based products and in particular a new supercar the Rabanne 420. I hope you enjoy the humor, eloquence, generosity of spirit and expansive vision of Roberto RabanneWhat we discuss His reinvention of his archive work in new mediumsHis creative partnerUsing his imagery on Leon SpeakersHis evolving business modelInspired by blotter acid paper   His Off the Grid Flat Pack House inspired by Phillip Johnson’s Glass House Rabanne 420 Hemp Car HyperCar Henry Ford Hemp Car Expanding his work into Hemp material development Imagination to make it happenThe impact of climate change and Hemp as a solution Conscientious Objection to the Vietnam War Social LinksInstagram Links In the ShowGreta ThunbergRichard Avedon Guy Bourdin Helmut Newton Alex Liberman Henry Ford Hemp Car Henry Rollins Testing a Hemp Car Claudia Berk Noah Kaplin Phillip Johnson Glass HouseWhole Earth Catalog Stewart BrandMandela Gavrilo Princip The Heart of Darkness  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in Panama, raised in Brooklyn from age 13, a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, a self taught photographer who’s captured iconic images of music, art and fashion for over 5 decades, is this week’s guest Roberto Rabanne.  In part one of this 2 part interview Roberto recounts the experience of growing up in a racially charged 1960’s Brooklyn, his self-directed education and passion for reading, the impact of his mother and aunt, and how his early exposure to Motown and the Beat culture led him to embrace photography as his preferred form of self expression.Roberto discusses the experience of being at the heart of documenting the 1960’s counter-cultural movement and the writers, artists and musicians he worked with. We also explore the commonalities of the movement with what we are experiencing with the emerging environmental movement and youth leaders like Greta Thunberg.We also discuss how his curiosity for people lead him to photograph musicians from the Grateful Dead, Dylan, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, Amy Winehouse, Sade, and Gaga. In fact he’s the only photographer to have shot all members of the 27 Club - those iconic and groundbreaking musicians who died at the age of 27.Finally in Part One Roberto explains how his career pivoted into fashion when a serendipitous encounter led him to working for the legendary Alex Liberman of Conde Nast.          I hope you enjoy the humor, eloquence, generosity of spirit and expansive vision of Roberto Rabanne.Thanks to previous guest Alessandro Armillotta for the recommendation and connection.What we discuss Coming to New York as a 13 year migrant from Panama Growing up as an only child in Brooklyn in a balkanised community How reading and a love of Russian literature saved him Becoming involved in the counter cultural movement His early exposure to music and MotownMeeting members of the beat generation How seeing a Bresson print made him realize his photography future How he worked in a store to save for his first camera How he gravitated toward music photography Moving to Sf and his experience of psychedelics Living in the same house as Neil Cassidy Seeing the Grateful Dead and becoming friends with Gerry Garcia His willingness to sit in the background and observe Being acceptant of everyone Documenting culture How the counter cultural movement is still playing outThe impact of the movement and that moment in time His views on micro-dozing How he’s using his back catalog to create new artistic expressions The people and bands he shot The 27 club Being curious about people kept him relevant His switch fashion Pivoting in 1979Working with Conde NastSocial Links Instagram Links in the Show West Side Story MotownAllen Ginsberg Dostoyevsky Tolstoy Henri Cartier Bresson Yashica 2.25 Neil Cassidy The Grateful Dead Jimi Hendrix Craw daddy Rolling stone East village other Greta ThunbergRichard avedon Guy Bourdin Helmut Newton Alex Liberman  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest OverviewBorn in England and raised in Italy by a trend-spotting mother and entrepreneurial father, innovation infused his education, welcome this week’s guest, and founder of social impact and sustainability start-up AWorld - Alex Armillotta. In this episode, Alex discusses how his childhood prepared him, how his father coached him and his mother inspired him to his life as an e-commerce and now social impact entrepreneur. Alex explains the evolution of his entrepreneurial journey in eCommerce, how his experiences led him to conceive and launch the innovative social impact and sustainability eCommerce app, AWorld. Alex breaks down the elements of this ground-breaking app and provides insight into how AWorld enables people, companies, and organizations to collectively invest in creating a more sustainable future for our planet.I hope you enjoy the conviction, faith, and focus of New York-based social and environmental entrepreneur Alessandro Armillotta. What We Discuss  Moving to Italy age six Alex’s comfort with difference His Father’s approach to educating him and supporting his self-discovery Underperforming at school Early entrepreneurial risk-taking Dropshipping explained Creating his most successful business Buy2BeeAffiliate marketing explainedBuilding and scaling eCommerce businesses Building and selling his technology business Being hired and moved to New York  Gaining insights from China and learning about affiliate marketing Building a tech company in Italy How he started to connect the dots and form a plan How he first conceived the AWorld ideaThe importance of making a sustainability impact and not just profit The core elements of the AWorld application Where the AWorld application could goHis quick-fire questions and answers What he has learned from Tommy Hilfiger Social LinksAWorld Linkedin Instagram Links In The ShowJuventus Tommy HilfigerBuy2BeeShopifySustainable Development GoalsWeChatDQ Institute Commonsense media Books Contagious This is MarketingStorybrand Show Chernobyl Karaoke SongWonderWall Oasis  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.