Sanity

Sanity episodes:

• 05.22.2020

  Ep7: Zappos’ Customer Service for Anything | Brian Kalma, Entrepreneur in Residence

  In the midst of a pandemic that impacts just about every single one of us, Zappos decided to create a hotline for anyone looking for help with just about anything. Zappos still sell shoes, of course, but now their customer...

  
• 05.15.2020

  Ep6: Violinist Comforting the Elderly | Chloe Groth + IWF's #InThisTogether | Hadley Heath Manning

  You know when you meet one of those people who just makes you feel comforted and good? Chloe Groth is definitively one of them. Normally a Suzuki violin teacher, as Covid-19 hit New Orleans, Chloe took to NextDoor to offer her...

  
• 05.01.2020

  Ep5: Wildrye Distilling | Troy Downing + Family Meal Sacramento | Clay Nutting

  There are over 750 distilleries across all 50 states that are now producing hand sanitizer. On this episode, hear from one of them. Troy Downing is the co-owner of Wildrye Distilling in Bozeman, Montana. From working with the highway...

  
• 04.17.2020

  Ep4: Feed the Front Line Nola + Krewe of Red Beans | Devin De Wulf, Lisa Nelson, Nathanial Zimet

  If it’s lunchtime in New Orleans, that means Feed the Front Line Nola, organized by Krewe of Red Beans founder Devin De Wulf, is up to three things: -Feeding health care workers at every hospital in the city -Keeping 25+ local restaurants...

  
• 04.15.2020

  Ep3: Team Rubicon | Mike Lee + Trader Joe’s in Manhattan | Katie Scott

  On this episode, hear from Team Rubicon’s Mike Lee about Team Rubicon’s network of 110,000 veteran volunteers, their unique perspective from helping communities rebuild after crises around the world, and the work they are doing related to Covid-19. Also hear...

  
• 04.09.2020

  Ep2: Masks for Heroes | Becky Viera + A Hospital in Central Park | Mark Gundersen

  On this episode, hear from the brainchild behind Masks for Heroes, a nationwide movement to donate personal protective equipment (PPE) and from a volunteer who helped construct a COVID-19 field hospital now operating in Central Park. Becky Vieira is one of...

  
• 04.09.2020

  Ep26: Masks for Heroes | Becky Viera + A Hospital in Central Park | Mark Gundersen

  Becky Viera is a self-described mommy blogger who is on a mission to keep healthcare workers safe one donated mask at a time. Mark Gundersen volunteered with Samaritan 's Purse to help construct the field hospital now operating in Central...

  
• 04.07.2020

  Ep1: Helping kids read | Librarian Tom Bober + Helping brides and grooms cope | Designer Brannon Lewis

  The day before his school's closure due to Covid-19, Librarian Tom Bober thought quickly on his feet and ensured every single student in his school came through the library. By the afternoon, every child had checked out a stack of...

  
• 04.07.2020

  Welcome to Season 2: “Look for the helpers”

  Sanity Media is on a quest to help you stay sane – positive, even – by shining a light on some of the many helpers out there. We think that light is all the more important as we watch COVID-19...

  
• 08.30.2019

  Ep24: “Discomfort is a small price to pay for knowledge" | Kyle Emile, Free Intelligent Conversation

  Kyle Emile talks to strangers. A lot. In cities across the country, and now around the world. His group, Free Intelligent Conversations (FreeIC for short) is on a mission to bridge divides one conversation at a time. The approach is...

  
• 08.13.2019

  "It’s About Being A Decent Human Being" | Karith Foster, Speaker and Comedian

  Often the only person of color in her childhood classrooms, stand-up comedian Karith Foster spends a lot of her time speaking at universities such as Stanford and Oberlin about taboo subjects in a constructive way. She hates labels and the...

  
• 07.26.2019

  “None of Us is Omniscient” | Steven Pinker, Harvard University

  In our latest episode, Steven Pinker, a Harvard University cognitive psychologist, linguist, and author, sheds light on the quest for human progress, the Enlightenment period, and the importance of maintaining – and burnishing – our democracy.  Pinker is the author of...

  
• 06.27.2019

  "Polarization is the Mother of Extremism" | Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, Ideas Beyond Borders

  Human rights activist Faisal Saeed Al Mutar is a survivor of the Iraq Civil War, of being placed on an al-Qaeda death list by a high school classmate, and of the murder of his brother. Faisal escaped Iraq and eventually...

  
• 06.20.2019

  (Mis)perceptions of "The Other" | Uriel Epshtein, Renew Democracy Initiative

  "It's really hard to vilify the other when you know them on a personal level." Uriel Epshtein is the executive director of the Renew Democracy Initiative (RDI), an organization that seeks to revitalize the political center by educating the American...

  
• 05.30.2019

  "I have to instill confidence in every voter, not just the people in my party." | Kim Wyman, WA Secretary of State

  For four years, Washington's Secretary of State Kim Wyman was the only Republican to hold statewide office across the entire West Coast. You could say she knows a thing or two about working across the aisle. In this episode, Secretary...

  
• 05.09.2019

  "If I'm not challenging your world view...I'm not doing my job" | Deb Mashek, Heterodox Academy

  Did you ever choose to stay quiet in a college classroom in fear of rustling feathers? If so, the Heterodox Academy wants you to know you’re not alone. Founded in 2015, Heterodox is a network of over 2,500 academics...

  
• 04.25.2019

  "Polarization Is Not the Problem" | Professor Morris P. Fiorina

  Morris P. Fiorina is an optimistic political scientist like few others. He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and worked in steel mills to put himself through college. A professor at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution,...

  
• 04.05.2019

  The McCain Institute Is On A Mission to Get Us In the Arena | Ambassador Kurt Volker

  Since the fall, the McCain Institute has used its #MavericksNeeded campaign to stand up against injustice and defend the dignity of all people. Following President Trump’s latest round of tweets about Senator McCain, the institute released a fact sheet about the Senator’s legacy...

  
• 03.28.2019

  Putting (Customer) Service Back in News | Jenna Lee

  In journalist Jenna Lee’s words, it’s all too easy to feel disgusted reading and watching the news these days. That’s why the former Fox News co-anchor is on a mission to produce a refreshing, customer service-centered alternative: SmatHER News. The...

  
• 03.14.2019

  Voters Not Politicians | Katie Fahey

  The bright and bubbly Katie Fahey of Grand Rapids, Michigan wanted to do something that captured the energy of the 2016 election that people from across the aisle could actually unite over. Sound impossible? Not to Katie. What started as...

  
• 03.07.2019

  Building A Movement: Democracy Entrepreneurs | Alan Khazei

  Alan Khazei builds movements. First, it was expanding service through City Year, which later became the brainchild for AmeriCorps (which has facilitated 1.2 billion hours of public service!). Then it was expanding social entrepreneurship through Be the Change. Today Alan...

  
• 02.21.2019

  All In Together: Rising Tides Lift All Boats

  Lauren Leader is the co-founder and CEO of All In Together, a non-partisan organization on a mission to help women regardless of party affiliation fully engage in the political process. With partners like Gretchen Carlson and founding sponsors like Deloitte, Boeing...

  
• 02.14.2019

  I Disagree With You, But I Still Respect YoU

  Through lived experiences and bipartisan friendships, over the years Ericka Andersen transformed from being a very partisan person to someone who sees that few issues are black and white. She is the rare, refreshing thought leader who makes a concerted...

  
• 01.18.2019

  Matchmaking for Congress

  In the 1980s, Jonathan Perman worked on Capitol Hill for a Republican from Illinois...he was a Democrat...and that was ok. After growing increasingly frustrated by partisan gridlock in Washington, in 2016 Perman teamed up with the Bipartisan Policy Center to...

  
• 01.03.2019

  50 States of Mind

  Ryan Bernsten, an American playwright and Oxford grad student, is in the middle of a cross-country journey covering all 50 states. Over the past few months he's attended a Trump rally the night before Election Day, chatted with mayors of...

  
• 12.13.2018

  In Better News

  In the fall of 2016, former journalist Erin Ruberry set out to create a newsletter that highlights acts of kindness from Americans across the country. Her own optimism is infectious. Erin built an online space focussed on the Good joins...

  
• 12.06.2018

  Tackling Disconnection | Joan Blades, Living Room Conversations

  As the co-founder of moveon.org, momsrising.org, and Living Room Conversations, Joan Blades is a progressive activist whose main mission is to bridge strengthening political divides. She made headlines when she hosted a Living Room Conversation with Mark Meckler, a co-founder...

  
• 11.29.2018

  Unexpected: The Red Hen, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and the Kindness of Strangers

  On June 25th, 2018 in Old Saybrook, CT, Red Hen restaurant owner Shelley Deproto started her morning with a stream of online threats targeting her restaurant. The night before, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders had been asked to leave...

  
• 11.21.2018

  Why is Thanksgiving Getting Shorter?

  If you think Thanksgiving meals are getting tenser across the country, look to Dr. Keith Chen’s research for concrete proof. After experiencing increasingly partisan conversations both at work and at family gatherings, Chen was inspired to quantify and measure partisan...

  
• 11.15.2018

  Peace, Love & Happiness

  Following the 2016 election, Sherri and Larry Athay set out to spread some peace, love and happiness in their small Connecticut town by way of a rubber duck shop. Their number one seller? The Trump Duck.

  
• 11.08.2018

  Blueberries & Cherries

  Following the 2016 election, Philippa Hughes realized she didn’t know a single Trump voter and set out to change that by hosting small bipartisan dinner parties – “Blueberries and Cherries” – at her home. This in part led to the...

  
• 11.01.2018

  Our Time Will Come

  A Republican advocate for immigration reform, cannabis policy, and combatting climate change, South Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo is squarely one of the most moderate voices in the House of Representatives. In 2016, he likened Donald Trump to Hugo Chavez and...

  
• 10.25.2018

  Bursting Media Bubbles

  In 2016, Annafi Wahed quit her job in finance, moved to New Hampshire, and knocked on doors for Hillary Clinton. She'd never been involved in a campaign in her life, and the experience opened her eyes to the many divides...

  
• 10.25.2018

  Introduction

  Welcome to Sanity. We''re on a quest to help you stay sane – positive, even! – in spite of today’s divisive political climate. Meet your host, Audrey Scagnelli, who spent the bulk of her career working in Republican politics before...