A podcast on humanitarian issues that helps me DO something (instead of feeling like an entitled jerk)

I listen to podcasts every time I get the chance – on a run, walk, long drive. It’s like reading a book only you get to multi-task. Right up my alley.

So, it should come as no surprise that, while thumbing through topics to be covered at my company’s biggest user event of the year, SAS Global Forum, I was consumed by the Global GoalsCast.

I found myself devouring Global GoalsCast like a madwoman. It told the stories of people and organizations making strides toward a more sustainable world.

Here’s the deal. Each episode presents a topic that relates to one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (check out this quickie podcast and the below image from GlobalGoalsCast.org to find out what those are).

While these seemingly larger-than-life goals are the underpinning of the podcast, you’ll hear one-off stories about how people, real people, are taking small steps to achieve them. My favorites to date:

• The story of Priti, a girl in India who was too poor to buy a mandatory school uniform in grade school, but was the first in her family to attend college. 
• The major trust issue fueling “fake news” and he said/she said headlines.
• A journey to Antarctica told through veteran explorer Robert Swan and his son Barney that gives a history lesson on the discovery of the Antarctic Ozone Hole in the early 1980s and NASA’s Operation IceBridge project that tracks glacial retreat.

Pass the popcorn please, I’m transfixed.

“Things you can say to show off for your mother-in-law”

In addition to fascinating human stories, you’ll also get a ton of “sticky facts” which are great to share over your next wine date with girlfriends or as Claudia Romo Edelman, Global GoalsCast co-host and a special advisor at UNICEF, says, “things you can say to show off for your mother-in-law.”

(Did I mention that Claudia – whom I mistakenly called “Claudio” at the beginning our SAS Global Forum video interview (cue foot in mouth) – is delightful and insightful? If I didn’t, she is.)

But back to the sticky facts. Here’s a taste: Migrants add 4 percent more to the global economy each year than they would have if they would have stayed home. Did you know that? I didn’t.  

The episode on girls’ education (remember, the one featuring Priti) alone was eye-opening. I learned:

• There are 250 million children who can’t read, write or even do basic math.
• Education, terrorism and poverty are the issues CHILDREN want world leaders to tackle based on a UNICEF survey in 14 countries.

There are even more sticky facts from the interview with Claudia and I-Sah Hsieh, Director of Corporate Social Innovation at SAS. 

Legitimately, the best part (i.e., where you and I come in)

After delivering these facts, Claudia and co-host Edie Lush, (a veritable journalist and communications renaissance woman) tell you actions you can take NOW to make a difference. Yes, actual things that move the needle, even if just a bit.

Some you’ve heard, like to decrease carbon emissions, ride a bike rather than drive to work. Or carpool. (Note: Anyone want to squeeze between one booster and two car seats in my minivan? Let me know.)

Some you may not have heard, like GatherIQ™, a free crowd-sourcing app that allows you to dig into charts and visualizations to see patterns about the causes closest to your heart (think access to clean water, migration patterns, endangered wildlife, conservation, etc.). Check it out on the web, Apple App store or Google Play.

Fun fact: Global GoalsCast uses information from GatherIQ™ to provide sticky facts in each episode. And I won’t lie, I throw out a fist bump each time SAS is mentioned for supplying this data. (Dork.)

What now

I plan to do a few things. I’ll keep recycling my Starbucks cup. Might wow my mother-in-law with my latest sticky fact. I’ll dig around GatherIQ and Tweet out some info. And I’ll keep listening to the Global GoalsCast.

Because I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of feeling deflated about humanitarian issues.

My thought is that the more knowledge we have to compel us to take small actions, the closer we’ll inch toward a lasting planet our grandchildren and great grandchildren want to live in. 

So join me. Share the facts. Share the reality. Let’s ready the world for change.