What if every meal you ate was more than just food—it was a conversation with yourself, others, and the planet?

In this episode of Generous Listener, filmmaker and food activist Jian Yi takes us on a journey from his childhood love of storytelling to reshaping global food systems.

Discover how stories can inspire change, how food connects us to culture and sustainability, and why mindful listening is key to navigating today’s challenges. Along the way, Yi shares his time living in a Buddhist monastery, his insights into creating impact through curiosity and humility, and the surprising power of a simple meal.

🎙️ If you’ve ever wondered how the act of listening can transform lives and systems, this episode will leave you inspired.

Explore Ji Yian’s work at Good Food Fund and China Vegan Society. Interested in food systems and climate impact? Check out Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer or The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

Find out more about Generous Listening: https://generouslistening.org/

How can food reshape the way we see the world?

In this episode of Generous Listener, Merve Çağlar sits down with⁠Cooking Sections⁠, the visionary artist duo behind groundbreaking works like the "⁠Climavore⁠" project. Daniel Fernández Pascual and Alon Schwabe share how they use art to challenge industrialized food systems, highlight the importance of local ecologies, and inspire long-term behavioral change.

From collaborating with fishermen in Scotland to working with buffalo herders in Istanbul, Cooking Sections reveals how listening to landscapes, communities, and non-human voices informs their creative process. Through powerful installations and innovative collaborations, they redefine what it means to eat responsibly in a climate-challenged world.

🎙️ Tune in to discover how food, art, and activism intersect—and how we can all become "Climavores" by adapting to our local ecosystems and embracing sustainable practices.

Find out more about Generous Listening: https://generouslistening.org/

What if art could help us rediscover how to listen—to ourselves, to others, and to nature? 

In this episode of Generous Listener, visionary curator and art historian Chus Martínez shares her reflections on generosity, community, and the transformative power of art.

Host Merve Çağlar dives into Chus’s unique approach to exhibition-making, which challenges hierarchies, fosters dialogue, and inspires collaboration across disciplines. Together, they explore how art spaces can combat loneliness, redefine relationships with nature, and become true hubs for connection and imagination.

🎙️ Join us for an inspiring conversation about the role of generosity in creativity and the importance of slowing down to listen and feel deeply.

Find out more about Generous Listening: https://generouslistening.org/

In this episode of Generous Listener, curator, writer, and art professional Fatoş Üstek takes us into the heart of the evolving art world. Drawing from her book The Art Institution of Tomorrow, Fatoş explores the crises facing cultural spaces—from financial constraints to the pressures of populism—and challenges us to rethink the role of art institutions.

Join host Merve Çağlar as they discuss how generous listening can transform organizations into participatory, regenerative spaces. From embracing cultural humility to creating fair practices for artists and audiences, Fatoş reveals how art institutions can become true centers of creativity, inclusion, and societal impact.

🎙️ Tune in for an inspiring conversation about reimagining the future of art in a world in flux.

Find out more about Generous Listening: https://generouslistening.org/

What does it mean to listen with your whole being?

In this episode of Generous Listener, acclaimed photographer and visual storyteller Rena Effendi shares how she captures the unseen stories of humanity—from war zones to moments of quiet resilience.

Join host Merve Çağlar as they explore how empathy and openness allow Rena to build trust across cultural and emotional divides. From photographing life in post-Soviet landscapes to her deeply personal quest to find a butterfly named after her late father, Rena reveals the profound connections between listening, storytelling, and healing.

🎙️ Discover how photography becomes meditation, how universal stories emerge from specific moments, and how listening generously can bridge divides both personal and global.

Find out more about Generous Listening: https://generouslistening.org/

How will we live together?

This was the guiding question behind architect and MIT Dean Hashim Sarkis’s curation of the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale. In this episode of Generous Listener, Hashim reflects on how listening generously—to people, communities, and nature—can inspire spaces that promote equity, sustainability, and connection.

Host Merve Çağlar explores Hashim’s groundbreaking projects, from designing cooperative housing for fishermen to rethinking design education at MIT. Together, they discuss how architecture can move beyond solving problems to resolving them, integrating diverse voices and addressing the complexities of our shared future.

🎙️ Tune in to this inspiring conversation about the transformative potential of design and the power of listening.

Find out more about Generous Listening: https://generouslistening.org/

What if journalism could inspire hope instead of despair?

In this episode of Generous Listener, journalist and author David Bornstein, co-founder of the Solutions Journalism Network, shares how he’s reimagining journalism to focus not just on problems but on solutions. Through his groundbreaking work, David highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and what’s working in our world.

Host Merve Çağlar dives into David’s personal journey—from software developer to storyteller—and how listening generously has shaped his career. Together, they explore the power of stories to shift mindsets, the importance of fostering agency in readers, and the role of journalism in creating a more compassionate, equitable world.

🎙️ Discover how listening deeply can illuminate paths to change in this thought-provoking episode.

Find out more about Generous Listening: https://generouslistening.org/

Healing expert and researcher Ehud joins Dr McKenzie to discuss how listening to himself led him to become a healing expert. Ehud explains why listening is necessary and how listening can help us to reach our full potential and heal the world. Plus, Ehud shares the listening methods he does to listen to himself.  

Philanthropist Peggy Dulany joins Dr McKenzie to talk about the role of listening in philanthropy. Peggy discusses with Dr McKenzie how listening could help us to have a better world, why she founded Synergos Institute and how Synergos Institute helps world leaders to listen generously. She also shares tips on how she strengthens her capacity to listen generously.

Artist and composer Tarek Atoui joins Dr McKenzie to talk about how he challenges our traditional ways of perceiving sound. During their talk, Tarek explains why he believes sound is a catalyst for human interaction and how current social and political realities are referred to in his work. He also shares the fundamental differences between how children and adults approach generous listening.