Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast

We have been conditioned to believe that economic growth solves societal problems, but the numbers tell a very different story. 

Philip Schellekens, UNDP's Chief Economist for Asia-Pacific, and host Michael Green explore what the new Social Progress Index Time Series (data from 1990-2023) results mean for Asia-Pacific.

They explain why some of Asia's fastest-growing economies lag in societal well-being while less-rich nations excel. Which countries lead in the Asia-Pacific subregions? Which countries are not delivering on social progress? Could it be Japan, China, Korea, Australia, or New Zealand? 

Philip and Michael also analyze the current technological revolution, detailing how artificial intelligence could trigger a great divergence between nations. Rather than settling into common debates about whether we should panic or get hyped by AI, they focus on how capabilities, systemic vulnerabilities, resilience, and policy choices will shape who survives the next phase of global disruption.

Explore the new edition of the Time Series at https://www.socialprogress.org/social-progress-index-time-series 

This conversation was part of our Index launch event. Watch the full event on our YouTube channel. 

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While global social progress surged steadily for decades, the last ten years have seen an alarming plateau, reveals the new edition of the Social Progress Index Time Series. 

Host Michael Green and Scott Stern, David Sarnoff Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, explore the newly released Index, which tracks long-term global societal well-being (1990-2023) beyond traditional economic measures. They analyze why some of the biggest economies are stalling on fundamental measures of well-being, how European and American development models compare, and whether alternative development strategies offer a better path forward for social progress.

Explore the new edition of the Time Series at https://www.socialprogress.org/social-progress-index-time-series 

This conversation was part of our Index launch event. Watch the full event on our YouTube channel. 

Please follow and rate our show! 

Explore our work at https://www.socialprogress.org/

Interested in the Social Progress Index? Learn more. 

Help us advance social progress across the world! Your donation makes a huge difference to us. Donate now! 

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What does it take for an idea to spread and shape entire systems?

Every year, thousands of brilliant social innovations emerge, yet only a fraction manage to expand beyond their immediate surroundings. Why do so many promising solutions fail to scale? 

In this episode of the Beyond GDP podcast, host Michael Green invited Kieron Boyle, CEO of 100x Impact Accelerator and Professor for the Impact Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Together, they explore how we need to rethink scale beyond simply getting bigger as an organization. 

How can we scale solutions so others replicate and adopt the main idea, and eventually, not think about building a billion-dollar company but an organization that impacts a billion lives? 

How can social innovations shape the systems that surround them?

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When we look at elections, the narrative usually centers on promises of transformation, economic expansion, or fresh starts. But what happens when an entire nation holds together not by alignment with a vision, but by a collective effort to keep the alternative out?

This is the core dilemma defining the face-off between presidential candidates President Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, where voter rejection on both sides far outweighs genuine enthusiasm for a different future. In our latest episode of Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast, Dr. Ricardo Chaves Lima analyzes Brazil’s upcoming presidential and legislative elections on October 4th. Dr. Chaves has a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; he is currently a professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco and is a close partner of IPS Brasil. ‍

‍The incoming president faces global and domestic crises: navigating trade tensions with the U.S., balancing BRICS agreements, managing the climate crisis with some deniers still in power, and repairing a broken education system.

In this episode, we don’t offer campaign predictions. Instead, we pull back the curtain on how budgetary power, institutional barriers, populism and voter psychology will impact the result on October 4th. 

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When the Sustainable Development Goals were unveiled in 2015, they weren't designed for modest, step-by-step improvements. They required a massive, structural leap in how societies function.

Over the past decade, tracking metrics beyond simple GDP has revealed that economic growth alone is failing to hit core benchmarks for social and environmental wellbeing. 

Gains in basic infrastructure like water, sanitation, and connectivity are hitting hard walls, while fundamental freedoms are sliding backward at a pace hard to ignore.

Are we looking at a temporary setback caused by recent global shocks, or has the global development model itself reached its absolute limit?

In this episode, Michael Green analyzes whether his past predictions have come true. 

He also explores 15 years of data with the 2026 Global Social Progress Index to map where the world actually stands, why the biggest nations are causing massive swings in global trends, and what piece of the puzzle must be restored before any real progress can resume.

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Every conversation about artificial intelligence seems caught between apocalyptic doom and miraculous promises. But what is AI actually doing to human progress right now?

In this episode of Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast, host Michael Green sits down with Dr. Emrys Schoemaker, Executive Director of the Global Digital Governance Lab, to discuss what AI actually means for the world right now: Is AI going to lift humanity out of economic and social progress stagnation, or are we heading toward a quiet collapse of trust, resources, and accountability? 

They explore the surprising reality of job displacement across different economies, the threat of accountability issues posed by AI making life-altering decisions, and the environmental impact. They also tackle the messy reality of global AI governance and the battle between big tech monopolies and open-source models.

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Air quality influences our brain function, physical wellbeing, and long-term lifespan far more than we realize. In this episode, we examine the massive, underreported threats floating through our air and why traditional broad-scale data points miss what is happening on a block-by-block level.

Louise Thomas, CEO of Air Aware Labs, shares her journey from British civil service to building an extraordinary digital solution: a tool with air quality insights that track your pollution exposure and help you train, commute and live healthier across the world. 

• How early in life does air pollution actually start to impact us?
• What’s worse: air pollution, smoking, or obesity? 
• Does it really matter what time of day you open your windows?

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With Keir Starmer out and Andy Burnham stepping in as Britain’s seventh Prime Minister in a decade, the new administration faces a nation stuck on a 15-year social progress track. In this episode of Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast, Michael Green addresses Prime Minister Burnham directly, laying out an evidence-based roadmap for positive change grounded in the Social Progress Index.

Michael challenges traditional political reliance on GDP data, exposing why economic growth alone fails to secure voter approval if daily lived experiences remain unchanged. From rethinking Boris Johnson’s failed leveling-up agenda to fixing the structural flaws in the housing market, this episode breaks down what it will truly take to deliver a lasting legacy in the UK.

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Why does treating mental health as a civil rights cause matter? 

In this episode of Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast, host Michael Green explores with guest Jono Wilde the urgent need to rethink how society treats mental health, sharing how decades of neglect and stigma have cost us millions of lives and constant suffering. 

Jono, Executive Director at The Good Life Movement, talks about how treating mental health as a civil rights movement is the solution. Imagine if mental health isn't just treated medically but protected as fundamental human rights. Jono shares a bold framework that could revolutionize mental health policy in the U.S. and beyond. It covers everything from anti-discrimination protections to youth education, community funding, innovative research and more. 

This episode also offers clear solutions and ideas on how we can all support this movement. Advocating for systemic change isn’t easy, but each one of us can make a difference if we address the issue at the root. Tune in to learn how talking openly, investing wisely, and enacting civil rights legislation can transform mental health care and save lives. 

Explore the full Mental Health Civil Rights Bill as part of The Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness Act led by the Good Life Movement: https://goodlifemovement.org/

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Interested in the Social Progress Index? Learn more. 

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Michael Green explores the key factors that influence where people choose to live. From safety to education, and health, discover what truly matters when selecting which U.S. state is better to live in.

Discover the top five states in America for quality of life, as ranked by the U.S. Social Progress Map, and learn about the unique strengths and challenges of each.

Whether you're considering a move, business opportunities or simply curious about the best places to live, this short clip offers valuable insights and data-driven recommendations.

Find how your state, city and neighborhood are performing on social progress at https://www.socialprogress.org/us

Please follow and rate our show! 

Explore our work at https://www.socialprogress.org/

Interested in the Social Progress Index? Learn more. 

Help us advance social progress across the world! Your donation makes a huge difference to us. Donate now! 

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