Here to Help

Admiral William H. McRaven's life lessons extend far beyond his military experience. From the significance of making your bed to the importance of addressing the smallest of problems with great care, Admiral McRaven shares stories and insights that are as applicable in the boardroom as they are in military operations. His celebrated book "Make Your Bed" serves as a backdrop for our conversation, where daily discipline meets transformative leadership.

Admiral McRaven unveils the parallels between SEAL training and corporate success. The story of a harrowing parachuting accident underscores the value of collective resilience, and the power of a supportive network in personal recovery and professional triumph. From selection processes to employee preparation, the Admiral draws a line connecting rigorous military standards to the potential for excellence in the corporate world.

Admiral McRaven's storied career, which spans commanding special operations forces to the helm of the University of Texas, offers a unique vantage point on leadership. Whether discussing integrity's role at the "long green table" or implementing the Rooney Rule to foster diversity in academia, his anecdotes embody the universal truths of leadership. And as the conversation moves to the role of education and healthcare, to the safeguarding of democracy through voter participation, Admiral McRaven’s wisdom is a invaluable for the leaders of today and tomorrow.

This week Chris is joined by US Secretary for Education Dr. Miguel Cardona. Dr. Cardona tells how his own bicultural roots and his family's journey from Puerto Rico have powered his drive for educational equity and excellence. We discuss the imperative to reimagine our schools as incubators for critical skills. 

We address the current teacher shortages head-on, dissecting the ABCs of teaching—Agency, Better working conditions, and Competitive salary—as Dr. Cardona describes the systemic issues at the core of this crisis. 

We look at the impact of the American Rescue Plan on teacher salaries, part of the transformative steps being taken to nurture a teaching environment that's as diverse and dynamic as the students it serves. This episode is a heartfelt tribute to the educators shaping our tomorrow.

Get set for an enlightening conversation with the incredibly talented Ellen McGirt, editor-in-chief of Design Observer. From selling Avon products at a tender age of eleven to pioneering the race and inclusive leadership beat at Fortune, Ellen's journey is nothing short of inspiring. We draw from her well of wisdom as she shares her relentless efforts to amplify diverse voices in the design industry and her latest venture, the Equity Observer. We decode her extraordinary journey that beautifully blends perseverance, resilience, and a deep-rooted desire to drive change.

Transitioning from the art world to journalism is no easy feat, but Ellen McGirt has navigated her way with aplomb. Ellen's cross-country expedition to understand the multifaceted diversity of America has served as a cornerstone in her writing, and we dive into this transformative experience. 

As a closing note, we engage in a thought-provoking discussion with Ellen on the impact of AI on journalism. From potential repercussions to the futuristic vision of technology-dominated workspaces, this conversation is an eye-opener. 

Ever wondered how a ground-breaking show like Reservation Dogs came to be? Join us as Chris sits down with the extraordinary Oklahoma-based filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, the creator of this revolutionary FX series. Sterlin offers us a glimpse into his personal experiences growing up in Oklahoma that helped shape the narrative of the show, while sharing tales of assembling an all-native team both in front of and behind the camera.

Discover how this show has been instrumental in pushing boundaries in Indigenous representation, collecting accolades including Peabody, Television Academy Honors and Independent Spirit Awards along the way. 

Reservation Dogs is a lot more than its accolades; it's a celebration of native life and communities. Sterlin unpacks the profound decision to weave Native history within the narrative, instead of simply explaining it away. We delve into the cultural significance of episodes like 'Deer Lady' in the third season, and the pride Sterlin feels in sharing this narrative with audiences who may not be aware of it. We take you behind the scenes of the casting process that discovered the incredible talents that make the main cast.

Finally, we journey through Sterlin's personal and professional life, highlighting the moments that shaped his storytelling vision. He shares how his first job, his artist father's influence, and his time in college studying film and video studies all played a part in his pursuit of filmmaking. Through Reservation Dogs, Sterlin Harjo continues to use storytelling as a powerful tool to celebrate native communities, stir conversations and transform perceptions. 

What does it mean to create a world that's truly accessible to all? Let's find out together - our guest today is Sinéad Burke, an extraordinary voice in the disability activism space, who is also a writer, academic, and podcaster. Sinéad brings to light the nuanced nature of accessibility, sharing her own lived experiences of exclusion, and how they have shaped her work to raise baseline standards in disability, inclusion, and accessibility. This heartening conversation will open up new perspectives on how accessibility can prompt agency, equity, dignity, and pride. 

Ever wondered how barriers are inadvertently created for disabled people in workplaces? Our deep-dive with Sinéad explores job descriptions, caregiving roles, and organizational expectations, and their impact on access. Hear from Sinéad as she offers actionable advice on fostering a more inclusive work environment. She also shares her love for design and fashion, and the motivation behind founding her organization, Tilting the Lens. The conversation emphasizes the power of collective change and the importance of purposeful investment in the disabled community. So tune in, and walk away with a broader understanding of accessibility and the significance of representation.

This week’s guest is Dr. Ella F. Washington, an organizational psychologist, DEI&B expert, and author of the book "The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion".

Ella is the Founder and CEO of Ellavate Solutions, a Professor of Practice at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and the Co-host of Gallup's Center of Black Voices Cultural Competence Podcast. Dr. Washington continues to deepen her research pipeline and thought leadership as a Gallup Senior Scientist studying race, strengths and other DEI workplace topics. In the wake of the recent SCOTUS decision, Dr. Ella explains why companies can and should recommit to DEI&B.

In this week’s episode, Chris sits down with Elizabeth Hinton. Elizabeth is an American historian and associate professor of History and African American Studies at Yale University, as well as a Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Her research focuses on the persistence of poverty and racial inequality in the twentieth-century United States. Hinton’s book “From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America” traces the rise of mass incarceration to an ironic source: the social welfare programs of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society at the height of the civil rights era. There are 80 million people in the US, or 1 in 3 Americans, that have an arrest or conviction record. Mass incarceration prevents these millions of people from fully participating in society when released. Hinton and Hyams will discuss how we got to this point in America, how the lack of job opportunities contribute to the cycle of police violence and social unrest and what policy recommendations are needed to break this cycle.

In this week's episode, Chris is joined by the remarkable Hannah Fry. Hannah is a Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at University College London.  She is a mathematician, a best-selling author, an award winning science presenter and the host of numerous popular podcasts and television shows. In her day job she uses mathematical models to study patterns in human behavior, and has worked with governments, police forces and health analysts.

Her TED talks have amassed millions of views and she has fronted television documentaries for the BBC, Bloomberg and PBS.  She has also hosted podcasts for Google’s Deepmind and the BBC.

Hannah cares deeply about what data and math reveal to us about being human. A conversation not to be missed.

In this week’s episode, Chris talks with Missy Cummings, professor and the director of George Mason University's Autonomy and Robotics Center.

Missy spent eleven years (1988–1999) as a naval officer and military pilot and was one of the United States Navy's first female fighter pilots, flying an F/A-18 Hornet. 

In October 2021, the Biden administration named Cummings as a new senior advisor for safety at the National National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Her appointment to the NHTSA was met with criticism from Tesla's CEO Elon Musk and personal harassment and death threats from Tesla advocates in response to her previous statements critical of Tesla. 

Missy’s  research interests include artificial intelligence, human-robot interaction and the socio-ethical impact of technology. Cummings has written on the brittleness of machine learning and future applications for drones. In addition, she has spoken critically of the safety of Tesla's Full Self-Driving Capability surrounding its reliance on computer vision.

In this episode, Chris is joined by writer and comedian Monica Heisey where they cover Monica’s journey as a writer, the power of humor, gender, feminism, and the challenges of living in modern society. Monica was born in Toronto and moved to London in 2010 to study Early Modern Literature. Monica began her writing career in media, contributing to the Guardian, The New Yorker, The New York Times and Playboy. From 2015 to 2017 she was Editor-at-Large at Broadly, VICE magazine's women's website.

 Her first book, ‘I Can't Believe It's Not Better', a collection of essays, short stories, awas published in 2015, and Lena Dunham said of it that it’s the “only humor book she ever wants to own.” 2015 was also the year of her first television job, sketch comedy series Baroness von Sketch Show. Since then she has worked on television projects including Netflix’s Schitt's Creek, Workin’ Moms and BBC’s The Cleaner, and Everything I Know About Love. 

Monica’s writing offers a unique blend of humor and social commentary and her debut novel, Really Good, Actually, was published around the world in January 2023, and is currently in development for television. She is working on a second novel.