Throughout his career, Louis Carr has believed that the strongest institutions do more than entertain, inform, or educate. They create spaces where people feel seen, heard, understood, and ultimately served.

That philosophy has shaped nearly four decades at BET, where Louis helped build one of the most influential cultural institutions in America and now serves as its President. Along the way, he has helped redefine the relationship between Black culture, media, and business, earning recognition as an inductee into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

In this episode of From the Culture, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin explore the relationship between service and leadership, culture and community, and representation and responsibility. Together, they discuss why lasting institutions are built on trust, how culture creates belonging, and what it means to steward an institution while continuing to move it forward.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple idea: the places that shape us most deeply are the ones where we feel seen, heard, understood, and served.

Before Arturo Nuñez ever built brands, culture built him.

Growing up in Harlem, Arturo was surrounded by communities, identities, music, food, style, and stories that shaped how he understood people, belonging, and connection. Those early experiences became a foundation he would carry throughout his career.

That understanding would eventually take him inside some of the world’s most influential brands, including Nike, Apple, the NBA, Coca-Cola, and Nubank. Today, he’s bringing that same perspective to hospitality, creating restaurants and spaces where people can gather, connect, and feel part of something.

In this episode of From the Culture, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin sit down with Arturo to explore the power of cultural intimacy and what becomes possible when we understand people, communities, and culture deeply.

Today on From the Culture, we're exploring what it really takes to change a system.

Our guest is Sam Rapoport, Senior Advisor of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for the NFL and one of the driving forces behind opening new pathways for women in professional football. Through initiatives like the Women's Forum and the NFL Women's Careers in Football program, she's helped redefine who gets to lead, coach, and shape one of the world's most influential sports.

Today's conversation goes far beyond football. We talk through how Sam went from feeling like she could never fit into society in her queer youth to being a champion for women in one of the most powerful male-dominated cultural arenas in America. We find out how she learned to say “F it” in the face of potential opposition, we explore how cultures evolve, why representation alone isn't enough, and what it takes to build environments where people don't just gain access—they truly belong.

This is a conversation about leadership, opportunity, and the cultures that shape the future. Here's our conversation with Sam Rapoport.

Today on From the Culture, we're exploring one of the most fundamental human needs: connection.

Our guest is Francesca Hogi—coach, speaker, mediator, former corporate lawyer, and author of How to Find True Love: Unlock Your Romantic Flow and Create Lasting Relationships. Through her work, she's helped thousands of people build healthier relationships by first understanding themselves.

But today's conversation goes far beyond romantic relationships. We explore what trust, vulnerability, and belonging can teach us about leadership, teamwork, and workplace culture. Because the same skills that help us build meaningful relationships at home are often the ones that help us create healthier organizations at work.

This is a conversation about human connection, emotional intelligence, and the cultures we create together. Here's our conversation with Francesca Hogi.

Today on From the Culture, we're asking a simple question: Where does greatness come from?

Our guest is Mathew Knowles: music executive, entrepreneur, educator, author, and the visionary behind one of the most successful music careers of our time. For decades, he's developed talent, built high-performing teams, and helped shape moments that have influenced culture around the world.

But this conversation goes beyond music. We explore how leaders cultivate excellence, the cultures that allow people to thrive, and why the environments we create at work often determine the impact we have far beyond it.

Here's our conversation with Mathew Knowles.

What does it take to build something people actually want in the age of AI? And as technology lowers the barriers to starting a company, what becomes even more important than the idea itself?

Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin sit down with entrepreneur, investor, and UC Berkeley Haas Lester Center Fellow Jim Hornthal to explore how founders can move beyond hype and build organizations that genuinely solve problems. Together, they unpack the mindset behind successful entrepreneurship, why curiosity and resilience matter more than certainty, and how AI is reshaping everything from innovation to leadership.

From founder psychology and organizational culture to evidence-based innovation and the future of work, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at what it takes to create products, teams, and companies that people truly value in a rapidly changing world.

What if the people most companies overlook are actually their greatest untapped source of talent?

Dr. Gil Winch, founder of a call center, Call Yachol, that employs people with disabilities and others often excluded from the workforce, joins Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin to discuss belonging, culture, and why designing workplaces around human potential can create extraordinary results. Through powerful stories and practical insights, he makes the case that inclusion isn't just the right thing to do. It's a competitive advantage.

This week, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin are joined by entrepreneur, craftsman, and Square co-founder Jim McKelvey. Through stories from his life as a glassblower and startup founder, Jim shares lessons on risk-taking, trust, innovation, and what it means to build something that can withstand pressure without losing its integrity.

From unbreakable glass to billion-dollar businesses, the conversation explores how great teams create safety for experimentation, why action matters more than perfection, and how purpose can evolve after success.

What if the most important leadership skill isn't strategy, charisma, or vision, but empathy?

This week, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin sit down with Kathryn Petralia, co-founder of Kabbage, a data-driven company bought by American Express that provides new lending opportunities to underserved communities. They explore how better understanding people’s needs became the foundation of a huge business. Together, they unpack cognitive empathy, building community culture at the office, hiring for self-awareness, and how the best leaders learn to see the world through someone else's perspective. Plus, Kathryn shares her personal philosophy for success.

Blake Mycoskie built one of the world's most influential purpose-driven brands: TOMS. Yet after years of success and accompanying mental health struggles, he found himself asking a difficult question: Is this all there is?

In this episode of From the Culture, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin talk with the industry-shaping entrepreneur about ambition, mental health, conscious capitalism, and the challenge of defining success on your own terms. Blake shares what he learned from his struggles with depression, why achievement alone is never enough, and how leaders can build lives and organizations that stay aligned with their values.

A candid conversation about purpose, fulfillment, and what it really means to be enough.