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We are excited to launch a new season for “Musings….” This season we have changed the title to reflect a shift in our focus. The new title is “Musings on Wellbeing.” Why the change? At a time of increased polarization in the United States and Europe, as well as threats to peace in the Middle East and Africa, the time is right to dive deeply into the concept of wellbeing. After all, isn’t that what we all seek for ourselves, our families, our communities, and our planet? Together with host Ch ...
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Episode 31: Musings with Milica Jelača Jovanović
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What does it mean to live a life in tune—with yourself, your passions, and your wellbeing? In this episode of Musings on Wellbeing, host Charlie Bresler and his guest, internationally renowned pianist Milica Jelača Jovanović, explore how the pursuit of excellence can both shape and challenge our inner lives. Raised in a family of classical musician…
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What does wellbeing look like in the corporate world—and how can companies truly support the personal growth of their employees? In this episode of Musing on Wellbeing, Charlie Brelser is joined by Richie Goldman, Co-Founder of Men’s Wearhouse, author, marketing strategist, and writer of Curmudg. Together they explore the intersection of career, mi…
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Episode 29: Musings with Patricia Natalicchio
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Within the realm of education, what does it mean to support the well-being of both children and adults? In this inspiring episode of Musings on Wellbeing, host Charlie Bresler explores how an intentional approach to learning environments can cultivate academic success, personal growth, and emotional balance. Patricia Natalicchio joins Charlie for t…
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This episode of Musing on Wellbeing examines the intersection of well-being, sustainability, and activism. Our choices as consumers shape the world around us, but how can we ensure those choices align with our values? From ethical labor practices to climate solutions, understanding the impact of our actions is key to creating a healthier planet and…
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What if the secret to lasting wellbeing isn’t discipline, guilt, or fear—but pleasure? In this episode of Musings on Wellbeing, host Charlie Bresler explores how joy, purpose, and connection can be more powerful motivators for healthy behavior than the traditional messages of restriction and willpower. Joining the conversation is Dr. Sarah Matyko, …
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Welcome to the new season of Musings. As you've likely noticed from the artwork, Musings is taking a new direction — we're broadening our horizons to consider the idea of "wellbeing" as a whole. What does it mean to be truly "well," physically, mentally, and emotionally? In this first episode, Charlie Bresler swaps his host chair for the guest chai…
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Episode 25: Musings with Shameran Abed & Scott MacMillan Part 2
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How important is hope and a feeling of agency over your own life? I think we’d say those are crucial to anyone. But if you’re born into a consistent cycle of poverty, if your family and community have struggled for generations, hope and agency can seem as fantastical as unicorns. Welcome to part 2 of Charlie Bresler’s discussion with Shameran Abed,…
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Episode 24: Musings with Shameran Abed & Scott MacMillan Part 1
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“When people ask me now what BRAC stands for, I like to say that we stand for an idea – an idea of a world where everyone has an equal opportunity to realize their potential." --Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC Founder For Shameran Abed, BRAC was basically an elder sibling. The organization, formed in 1972, preceded Shameran’s birth by about a decade and…
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“I was instilled with this idea that I come from a lot of privilege and lot of ease in my own life, and to use that as power to clear the barriers for others to exercise their own privilege and power.” Rena Greifinger has used her power and privilege to help some of the most underrepresented and marginalized people in the world. Director of Individ…
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Episode 22: Musings with Vincent van der Holst
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Musings host Charlie Bresler wrote a piece called “You Don’t Have to Be Brave to Save Lives,” (www.thelifeyoucansave.org/you-dont-have-to-be-brave-to-save-lives) about how us ordinary humans can do good from the comfort of our living rooms. Someone should probably send that URL to Vincent “Vin” van der Holst. Founder of BOAS, a company that both sa…
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Episode 21: Musings with Annabelle Chauncy
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In 2008, Australian entrepreneurs Annabelle Chauncy and David Everett founded School for Life. The mission statement tells it all, really: “To educate poverty out of existence.” The co-founders met in Kenya where they were working as volunteers, and they saw in real time how education changes lives for the better, for individuals and their communit…
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Episode 20: Musings with Dr. Wendy Harrison
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Born on a dairy farm in West Sussex, Dr. Wendy Harrison has been around animals and agriculture her entire life. In fact, she stated her desire to be a vet at the ripe old age of six. While doing post-doc research and study at the University of Georgia, Dr. Harrison took a volunteer position at the non-profit Heifer International. She describes hav…
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Episode 19: Musings with Felix Brooks-church
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Starvation isn’t only a deficit of calories, it’s also a deficit of nutrients. Children especially suffer when the food they do get doesn’t meet all their nutritional needs. Felix Brooks-church has some big ideas to end the “hidden hunger” of micronutrient deficiency, and in 2013, he and David Dodson co-founded the non-profit organization Sanku to …
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Episode 18: Musings with Joshua Ross and Adam McCurdie of Humanitix
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What do concert tickets and philanthropy have in common? Generally, not much, but a couple of friends of The Life You Can Save are working very hard to change that. Tech entrepreneurs Joshua Ross and Adam McCurdie could have made a fortune building their ticketing platform start up, but a trip to war-torn Sri Lanka fueled their desires to do work t…
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Episode 17: Musings with Peter Singer
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When the book The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty was first published in 2009, it completely changed (and re-ignited) the conversation around poverty, ethics, and philanthropy. Clearly it affected Musings host Charlie Bresler, who, after reading the book, ultimately approached its author about starting a non-profit based around p…
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Most of us in the west have our first pair of shoes long before we can actually walk. Not true for Caroline Teti, who had her first pair of shoes at 12, when it was time to go to high school. From a very early age, Caroline understood the importance of education for finding a way out of the limitations that come from poverty — fewer choices, poorer…
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One of its first three employees, journalist Dylan Matthews is a senior correspondent and head writer for Future Perfect at Vox. For those unfamiliar, Future Perfect tells stories about people and organizations “finding the best ways to do good.” Dylan came across Peter Singer’s book The Life You Can Save at a formative age, helping cement his inte…
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Episode 14: Musings with Will Rayward-Smith
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Will Rayward-Smith has spent his adult life learning about the effects of climate change. Fortunately, unlike many who feel overwhelmed by the climate crisis, Will has dived in to help bring about lasting change. A specialist in decarbonization and transitioning to clean energy with a PhD in Clean Energy from Cambridge, Will understands the urgency…
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What drives us to do good things? And what dissuades us from doing those good things, even if we generally believe ourselves to be good people? This has been the topic underlying Season One of the Musings podcast, and Charlie has had some truly fascinating conversations on that question. In Season Two, Charlie plans to look at a different perspecti…
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Episode 12: Musings with Nicholas D'Agosto
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The “mildly talented” (100% his term, not ours) actor, Nick D’Agosto tweeted enthusiastically about The Life You Can Save, and when the team saw the tweet, they jumped on it! They reached out and connected Nick and Charlie, and a friendship was formed. Nick invited Charlie to appear on his (Nick’s) podcast, “God & Other Delicacies,” and now Charlie…
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It seems almost ridiculously simple: when donors give money directly to recipients, poverty goes down. Michael Faye, co-founder of GiveDirectly and Segovia, and CEO of Taptap Send, came to this “cash works” realization in the early 2000s. Michael was working on his PhD in Business Economics at Harvard University, evaluating ways to help bring about…
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“Money, although it won't make us happy in and of itself, is an incredibly powerful tool in our lives, when we use it in alignment with things that matter to us. Because whether we like it or not, money is needed and necessary to accomplish things that matter.” John Hagensen, Managing Director at wealth management firm Creative Planning, probably h…
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The only thing more high-impact than tennis champion Marcus Daniell’s serve is his philanthropy and his mission to encourage other athletes to give. An Olympic bronze medallist with five ATP titles, Marcus realized he had a unique opportunity to help the less-fortunate not only by donating but by using his platform to spread the word. In 2020, he c…
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Episode 8: Musings with Ankur Shah Delight
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“Typical tech nerd”? Whatever that is, Ankur Shah Delight probably doesn’t fit the definition. The once-math and computer science student is now an Executive Coach with Momentum Lab, where he helps people discover themselves through finding a purpose that truly aligns with their values. Of Eastern Indian heritage and one of the few students of colo…
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Am I even making a difference? Is helping one cause, one kid, or one family going to make a difference that lasts? In this episode, Charlie welcomes Ingrid Srinath’s musing on this topic. She shares that making a difference is a combination of giving now, advocating for policy change, and building the ecosystem that can support both of those. Ingri…
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Daniel Petre is an insightful no-nonsense conversational partner, so be ready for some frank talk in these musings. A former Microsoft executive, who worked closely with Bill Gates and later founded several highly successful venture capital funds. Daniel has worked and lived among high-powered, monied individuals. He has been struck by how “old ric…
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Is it possible for life to be both fulfilling and moral? How do we strike a balance between our obligations to others and living a pleasurable life? In this conversation, Charlie and Neela Saldana, a fellow board member of The Life You Can Save, muse on how cultural differences, religion, identity, education, wealth, family upbringing, even travel …
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From bingo to the Bellagio, Elaine Wynn’s life hasn’t followed what one might term a “conventional” path. She and her now-ex-husband Steve Wynn were introduced by their fathers when both were very young. They started their lives together running Steve’s father’s bingo business; a series of opportunities took them to Las Vegas, where they built some…
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In this episode, guest Professor Joshua Greene and host Charlie Bresler hit upon an important question — and have somewhat different answers. Many of us claim to be pretty “moral” human beings with an admirable set of values. But do we always live up to it? Obviously not, or we likely wouldn’t need police or lawyers or jails. The question Josh and …
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If you enjoy the introductory music that begins our show, you’ll really love this episode — host Charlie Bresler is talking with composer and musician José González, who generously agreed to allow his music to grace Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers. José has had a fascinating history: his parents fled the dictatorship in their native Argent…
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Musing with Michael (Mike) Schur is a bit like playing chess with Garry Kasparov. No matter what conversational move you make, he has a counter that will likely stun you. No wonder his book is called How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question… In this episode, host Charlie Bresler is musing with Michael Schur. Creator of the crit…
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Introduction to Musings about Ourselves and Other Strangers
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Most of us think we know ourselves pretty well. But do we? We all have a moral code we aspire to live by, but sometimes we fall short, and we may not always understand our motivations to act or not to act. In this podcast, host Charlie Bresler is interviewing some fascinating people in the quest to find out why there can be a pretty big gap between…
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