To get a free copy of the Infectious Generosity book, visit ted.com/generosity   

When John M. Sweeney first read about the old Italian tradition of “café sospeso”, he didn’t know he’d create a viral movement. The simple and powerful idea originates in the working-class cafés of Naples, where generous Neapolitans who could afford to do so would buy two coffees — but consume only one, leaving the other for a less fortunate person to claim. Chris chats with John about why he took this concept from an exploratory Facebook page to the Suspended Coffees movement that now has more than 2,000 participating cafes worldwide. They talk about the profound power of random acts of kindness, the beauty of gifting economies and how the philosophy of generosity can change an entire community – and the world at large.

Transcripts for The TED Interview are available at: go.ted.com/TTIscripts

Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.