Brandon Stover On Life

Dr. Yael Joffe is Founder and Chief Science Officer of 3x4 genetics, which is brining the future of personalized healthcare by make use of the power of your unique genetics. This digital health company is pioneering the application of genomics to improve human health and sports performance by giving people access to more personalized, DNA-data-driven recommendations for fitness, food, supplements and lifestyle. Pioneering in the field and even cobbling together her own PHD, Yael became a world-renowned scientist in the rapidly-evolving discipline of nutrigenomics. She has over 20 years of experience in nutrition, genetics, sound research, clinical practice and scientific integrity, is a highly sought-after speaker, has co-authored two books, ‘It’s Not Just Your Genes’ and ‘Genes To Plate’, and has been published in multiple peer-reviewed scientific journals. She has also trained hundreds of healthcare practitioners globally in nutrigenomics as course creator and adjunct professor. Yael is going share how we can use genetics to help everyone, everywhere personalize every health decisions, addressing root causes not just patching symptoms.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• How genetics and epigenetics can enhance health, wellbeing, and performance
  What are the problems with modern medicine's one size fits all model to healthcare?
  How does knowing your genetics help with your nutrition and diet?
  How Yael went from budding architect to world renowned scientist and entrepreneur
  How to keep pursuing an idea when everyone else says your crazy
  How we can start taking responsibility for your own health
  and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/78

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:46) - Why is Yael so passionate about cold water swimming?

(05:58) - Genetics and epigenetics 101

(12:18) - What are the problems with modern medicine's one size fits all model to healthcare?

(15:08) - The problem of focusing on symptoms rather than root causes

(19:18) - 3x4 Genetics solution to enhance health, wellbeing, and performance

(26:53) - Why work with health practitioners rather than go direct to consumer

(30:12) - How does the science of 3x4 compare to 23andMe?

(34:10) - How does knowing your genetics help with your nutrition and diet?

(40:15) - Ethical considerations for genetic data and how to stay safe

(44:41) - How Yael went from budding architect to world renowned scientist and entrepreneur

(55:10) - Most important lessons Yael learned from her mentors

(57:01) - How to decide if a project is having impact and when to move on

(1:01:04) - Passing along important lessons in entrepreneurship through family generations

(1:04:43) - How to keep pursuing an idea when everyone else says your crazy

(1:08:50) - How we can start taking responsibility for your own health

(1:11:48) - How we can push the world to Evolve

Sibongani Kayola is Country Director of GiveDirectly Liberia, and someone deeply interested in the interaction between psychosocial factors and financial behavior. GiveDirectly is a nonprofit that lets donors like you send money directly to the world’s poorest households. Globally, GiveDirectly delivered $165M+ to over 534K households in 8 countries across 25 different programs in 2021. Sibongani joined the GiveDirectly Liberia program in 2018 and had a goal to deliver cash to ~12,000 people in 2 years. Fast forward to 2021 they enrolled and paid over 100,000 Liberians in a single year!  As country director she provides strategic leadership for GiveDirectly’s in-country operations. She is responsible for managing a US$ 70M portfolio (2022-2025), leading in-country fundraising and resource mobilization and managing relationships with entities such as the Liberia Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, USAID and the World Bank. And today, Sibongani shares her learnings of giving money directly in Liberia and how we can end poverty in our lifetime by direct giving, an efficient, proven, and empowering way to help.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• What are the drivers of global poverty
• The step by step journey from donating your cash to someone receiving it
• The effectiveness of giving cash directly for lifting someone out of poverty
• Key considerations when looking for a meaningful career solving global issues
• How an everyday person can make change to solve big issues
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/77

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:54) - What are the drivers of global poverty?

(06:05) - How does US poverty compare to global poverty?

(07:02) - The State of Liberia in 2018 making poverty worse

(10:32) - How much someone in Liberia lives on in a day

(12:40) - The first steps to giving cash directly to people in Liberia

(13:51) - What happens when they refuse to take the cash?

(16:51) - The step by step journey from donating your cash to someone receiving it

(18:50) - How country governments respond to GiveDirectly

(21:33) - How communities change when money is given directly to citizens

(24:15) - GiveDirectly's effectiveness compared to goods or service nonprofits

(26:17) - Long-term research and considerations of giving cash directly

(28:40) - Can crypto help end poverty?

(31:04) - How to provide financial literacy to receivers of cash

(34:08) - How Sibongani went from working in mental health to poverty

(37:23) - Key considerations when looking for a meaningful career solving global issues

(41:58) - Challenges to growing the GiveDirectly Liberia program

(46:15) - How an everyday person can make change to solve big issues

(49:16) - How we can push the world to Evolve

Robbie Bent is Co-founder of Othership,  a physical location and an on-demand Breathwork platform featuring the world's best facilitators in the space. Years ago, breathwork, plant medicine, and hot/cold therapy helped Robbie turn away from a lifetime of alienation and addiction. Now, his mission is to create a community and safe space for people to feel belonging, connection, and emotional resilience without the social crutch of alcohol or drugs. His brand, Othership, includes physical and online opportunities to dial into the breath, self-regulate our emotions, and connect with one another. How backyard ice baths sparked a community that’s redefining well-being. Prior to Othership, he led ecosystem development at Ethereum and was multiple time founder. Today, Robbie is going share how backyard ice baths sparked a community that’s redefining well-being and how we can tap into the power of the human nervous system to shift our state for better mental health. 

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• Why Robbie lived 8 days in a cave
• How our modern life is effecting our mental health
• How breathwork can foster emotional fitness, mental health, and friendship
• How Othership went from a backyard to growing startup
• How Robbie went from a failed startup and drug addiction to helping hundreds of people with mental health
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/76

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(02:16) - Why Robbie lived 8 days in a cave

(04:28) - How the cave experience changed his perception

(12:39) - How our modern life is effecting our mental health

(16:49) - How breath is connected to wellbeing

(20:18) - How breathwork can foster emotional fitness, mental health, and friendship

(27:37) - Using music to make wellness practices fun

(30:19) - How Othership went from a backyard to growing startup

(37:49) - How Robbie went from a failed startup and drug addiction to helping hundreds of people with mental health

(43:36) - The first steps to getting out of depression

(47:39) - What success and enough means for Robbie

(51:44) - How Robbie is using a retreat to prepare for fatherhood

(53:17) - The difficulties of keeping a wellness routine

(55:42) - How to get started with breathwork and hot/cold therapy for wellbeing

(58:59) - How we can push the world to Evolve

Want the top 3 lessons and premium, detailed deep-dive show notes for this episode for FREE? Subscribe at evolvepodcast.substack.com

Brandon Stover it the founder of Plato University, an alternative, online university that turns your passions into purpose by helping you master skills and launch a career solving global challenges. As a podcaster, he hosts the Evolve podcast. From climate change to education to mental health, he mines the wisdom of visionaries and experts for the tools and tactics to solve these global issues. He is also the founder of the Social Good Media Network, a media group united around the goal of helping listeners understand the global challenges we face and how we can work together to solve them. Before these ventures, I spent half a decade of experience as a designer, marketer, and educator. 

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• How to listen to others and TRULY understand them
• How I am changing the higher education paradigm
• And the dark challenges I faced that led me to finding my purpose
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/75

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(06:36) - How to navigate difficult conversations

(09:01) - How to calm the voice of judgement in your mind

(11:00) - How to connect and recognize other's emotions

(12:33) - How podcasting made me a better listener

(16:20) - How podcasting skills transfer to other areas of life

(20:28) - Podcasting as a container for deeper conversations

(24:09) - Chasing the golden ticket and reaching depression

(28:24) - How I started the path to finding purpose

(32:35) - Does fear play into my decisions

(37:42) - How students start finding their purpose at Plato University

(40:30) - How did Plato University start

(45:03) - How millennials and gen z are demanding purpose in their life

(53:40) - What does Plato University look like at scale?

(57:53) - How do employers look at education?

(52:04) - What does a degree signal in Higher Education?

(1:05:29) - What does compassion mean?

Want the top 3 lessons and premium, detailed deep-dive show notes for this episode for FREE? Subscribe at evolvepodcast.substack.com

H.D. Lee is Founder of Nomadic School, which is dedicated to adolescents’ and young adults’ exploration of the beauty, truth, and goodness within in connection to Something larger than oneself. He is a seeker and practitioner of wholeness through living an authentic and inspired life. The life roles which bring him insight, healing and growth are son, father, friend, learner, artist, musician, writer, teacher, and coach. H.D. Lee runs a life coaching practice with a focus on self- actualization and Self-realization. In other words, his work often involves the questions of the discovery and fulfillment of one’s potential, as well as life meaning and purpose. His clients are young adults, adults, and couples who come from more than twenty different countries and cultural backgrounds. H.D. Lee serves in an advisory role for the social educational non-profit HundrED in Finland, and Xinzhai-Better (心斋-貝德幼兒全人教育中心) in China. Fluent and literate in Chinese, French, and English, H.D. has lived or worked in the US, Germany, France, England, Taiwan, China, and Belgium. Formerly an information technology and business consultant for many years, H.D. Lee also taught transpersonal & positive psychology to international students at Sofia University (USA). H.D. is currently launching a school .

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• What is the Self and how you can discover it
• How the economic system & industrial complex have effected education
• Why traditional education does not help learners wrestle with the fundamental question of life
• How to create a transdisciplinary school model for student discovery of the self
• How to help students find meaning and purpose through learning
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/74

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:10) - How Dean's life culminated into education

(06:41) - Why start a new school

(11:52) - Dean's mission with Nomadic School

(12:38) - What is the Self & how do we discover it?

(16:32) - How the economic system & industrial complex have effected education

(21:44) - Why traditional education does not help learners wrestle with the fundamental question of life

(23:44) - How to create a transdisciplinary school model for student discovery of the self

(29:12) - A day in the life of a Nomadic School learner

(34:25) - Challenges of starting a school with a radical model

(39:29) - How to help students find meaning and purpose through learning

(47:56) - What is the meaning of life

(49:11) - Call to action

(51:02) - How to push the world to Evolve

Want the shownotes & resources delivered to your inbox? Subscribe at evolvepodcast.substack.com

Vriti Saraf is Founder & CEO of k20, the social learning community for global educators. They offer programs to engage educators, like masterminds, think tanks, incubators, and conferences, and a community of educators from all over the world. Vriti has worked with public, private, and charter schools both locally & internationally, across the k20 spectrum. An alumna of Teach for America & Relay Graduate School, Vriti served as a teacher, dean of instruction, and network director of professional learning at Ascend Public Charter Schools, where she built the network’s first teacher residency program. At the same time, she worked with first year teachers as an adjunct professor at Relay. Most recently, she spent several years building schools around the world with Whittle School & Studios. As Global Director of Professional Learning, she constructed the professional learning and growth infrastructure for educators.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• Why silos exist in education and how they rob teachers of their powers
• How educators can have more innovative research practices
• How Web3 and the metaverse will change education
• Where to find to leading resources for education and technology
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/73

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:25) - k20's Mission

(01:56) - Why do silos exist in education?

(05:11) - How the education systems robs teachers of agency and creativity

(07:34) - How is education siloed from other industries like tech?

(10:39) - How teachers are taught

(13:20) - What is the k20 eduverse?

(16:57) - What is the metaverse?

(19:14) - Creating the City of Learning

(21:16) - A 24 hour education conference on Twitter

(25:09) - How educators can have more innovative research practices

(31:32) - How Teach for America transformed Vriti

(35:48) - How Vriti went from educator to founder

(38:28) - The power of virtual relationships

(41:30) - How Web3 will change education

(52:37) - Must hear advice for founders and educators alike

(53:51) - Call to action

(55:15) - How to push the world to Evolve

Want the shownotes & resources delivered to your inbox? Subscribe at evolvepodcast.substack.com

Victoria Ransom is the Founder & CEO of Prisma, the world's first connected learning network for K-12 that fully replaces regular school. Victoria's track record as a serial entrepreneur comes from developing 3 companies including Wildfire,  a social marketing software company, Victoria led the company to profitability in just one year and built the company to tens of thousands of customers, 400 employees, and eight offices worldwide. Clients included 31 of the world’s top 50 brands. Wildfire was acquired by Google in August 2012 for $450M. Victoria joined Google as Director of Product, initially leading Wildfire and later Google Express.  But after having 3 children, Victoria and her husband and cofounder Alain Chuard, wondered, could they prepare their children to thrive in a tumultuous, ever-changing world? So they set out to reimagine what school could be.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• What are the problems of today's education system
  How to personalize a student's learning and scale it for others
  How to foster a community of learners online in engaging experiences
  How to decide big problems worth solving
  and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/72

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:22) - What are the problems of today's education system

(05:31) - How to research education from an outside perspective

(07:40) - How school funding and higher education influence K-12 education

(10:24) - What is Prisma?

(14:10) - What is the purpose of education?

(15:23) - A day in the life of a Prisma learner

(19:56) - How to personalize a student's learning

(23:16) - How to scale personalized learning

(28:02) - Curating vs creating educational content

(31:43) - How to celebrate student learning

(34:37) - Badges vs grades

(37:36) - How to foster a community of learners online

(40:16) - Creating engaging online experiences for students

(45:32) - Results of Prisma learning

(49:42) - How has Prisma's model changed

(53:40) - How to decide problems worth solving

(58:26) - How to launch a company during a recession

(1:02:17) - How Prisma built their team of educators

(1:03:48) - Call to Action

(1:04:16) - How we can push the world to Evolve

Want the shownotes & resources delivered to your inbox? Subscribe at evolvepodcast.substack.com

Carla Marschall & Elizabeth Crawford are educators, curriculum designers, and authors of Worldwise Learning: A Teacher′s Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future, which helps educators create a “Pedagogy for People, Planet, and Prosperity” that supports  educators in nurturing “Worldwise Learners”: students who both deeply understand and purposefully act when learning about global challenges. Carla has worked in a variety of leadership roles in international schools in Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, and Singapore over the past ten years and her current role is Director of Teaching & Learning at UWC South East Asia. Elizabeth has taught in a variety of school contexts, including elementary and middle schools in France and the United States and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• How to connect students to global problems; even in kindergarten
• How to help them understand problems at a systems level
• How to help students act on creating solutions for problems
• How to write a book with someone you just met on Twitter
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/71

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:32) - What education needs in 2021

(04:25) - How scripted, top down models are a problem for education

(07:15) - How poverty effects education

(10:22) - What traditional education does really well

(14:05) - What is global competence?

(18:36) - Why its important to connect content personally to a student

(22:30) - What is the 3 parts of the Worldwise Learning Cycle?

(27:59) - Why is systems thinking important for students?

(31:58) - How to create knowledge transfer through real world problems

(33:09) - Examples of the Worldwise Learning Cycle in action

(40:55) - How a teacher can implement this into their practice

(44:38) - How could this be used for adults?

(47:25) - How to write a book with someone you just met on Twitter

(55:03) - How Carla and Elizabeth personally changed their teaching

(58:14) - Call to Action

(59:14) - How to push the world to Evolve

Want the shownotes & resources delivered to your inbox? Subscribe at evolvepodcast.substack.com

Raya Bidshahri is a serial education entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and award-winning educator, and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the School of Humanity, a revolutionary online high school with a progressive model and skill-based curriculum. Raya works with governments, investors, EdTech companies, and education providers to ideate and execute revolutionary education models for the 21st-century world. Featured by the BBC as one of the most influential and inspiring women globally, she is a global thought-leader on the future of work and education. Raya is also the Founder of Awecademy, an award-winning organization offering future-focussed & wisdom-based education. She has served on the founding teams of multiple organizations including SciFest Dubai, and SheWorks. She serves as an advisory board member to multiple EdTech companies and is a member of the Bett Future Education Council. 

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• What's wrong with what, where, how, and why we are learning in schools
• How regulation, higher education, and accreditation stifle education innovation
• How to create personalized learning for students
• How an education entrepreneur can go from idea to a full school
• Why entrepreneurs should tackle problems that really piss them off
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/70

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:19) - Raya's experience in traditional schooling

(04:15) - School of Humanity's mission

(04:48) - What are the core problems of traditional education?

(07:46) - Why is there a lack of personalization in schools?

(09:34) - Are traditional schools unethical?

(11:32) - How do other stakeholders effect schools?

(14:05) - How are the trends from the future of work effecting education?

(16:19) - How does regulation stifle innovation in education?

(19:42) - What is the School of Humanity and how is it different?

(23:04) - What is the purpose of education?

(24:23) - How to create personalized learning paths for students

(29:06) - What are the 600 skills and competencies learners need in the 21st century?

(30:32) - What is existential intelligence and why should students develop it?

(33:34) - How to create competency based education

(37:38) - How to evaluate skills students are learning

(39:48) - A day in the life of a School of Humanity learner

(43:27) - How to explain radically new education models to others

(46:32) - Results from School of Humanity's model

(48:35) - How to build a vibrant online community for learning

(53:25) - Can AI help personalize learning in the future?

(55:55) - Why entrepreneurs should tackle problems that really piss them off

(59:12) - Raya's prior startup Aweacademy

(1:00:03) - How an education entrepreneur can go from idea to a full school

(1:09:37) - Must hear advice for founders

(1:12:06) - Closing

Want the shownotes & resources delivered to your inbox? Subscribe at evolvepodcast.substack.com

Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), and is considered a pioneer in the comprehensive humane education movement that works to create a peaceful, healthy, and just world for all people, animals, and the environment through education. Zoe is a frequent keynote speaker at educational, animal protection, environmental and other conferences and has given six TEDx talks including her acclaimed talk, “The World Becomes What You Teach”, which became one of the 50 top-rated TEDx talks within a year of its video release. She is the author of seven books including "The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries;" Nautilus silver medal winner "Most Good, Least Harm," Moonbeam gold medal winner "Claude and Medea," and "Above All, Be Kind."

As a special treat, Zoe and I also got to chat with Andra Yeghoian, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Coordinator, about her work in San Mateo County implementing Zoe's philosophy in 23 school districts serving 113,000 students.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• Why we must educate students to solve the worlds most pressing problems
• How to change the education system at scale
• How an entire county of 23 schools districts is creating 113,000 Solutionaries
• How to face extremely difficult challenges like solving the education crisis
• Step by step how to identify the root of a problem and begin creating a solution
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/69

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:38) - Zoe's Mission with the Institute for Humane Education

(01:59) - Why our current education system's goal is insufficient

(05:03) - How an educator in San Mateo county experiences these problems

(07:58) - Why education is the root of all other systems

(11:11) - What's at stake if we don't fix education

(14:28) - What is a Solutionary

(17:05) - Step by step of how to think like a Solutionary

(24:11)  - Why San Mateo County implemented this philosophy

(29:18) - How to implement a Solutionary curriculum

(33:11) - The results of implementing this curriculum in San Mateo County

(37:35) - Is it right to expose kids to global issues

(44:19) - The pushback educators experience when implementing curriculum

(50:27) - What is a Solutionary Fair

(52:55) - How effective is this solution at solving the education crisis

(57:03) - How Zoe started the Institute for Humane Education

(1:01:10) - How to change education at scale

(1:03:41) - How to face extremely tough challenges

(1:10:44) - Call to Action

(1:11:37) - How to push the world to evolve