hosted by Michelle Obama (LGC Fellow since 1993)

Hosted by Michelle Obama, the podcast will bring listeners the former First Lady’s most candid, human, and personal conversations to show us what is possible when we dare to be vulnerable. Michelle will dive deep into discussions with loved ones — family, friends, and colleagues — on the relationships in our lives that make us who we are. Tune in for episodes on topics ranging from sibling relationships and raising children to girlfriends, women’s health, mentorship, and marriage. Listen here.

Host Jenné Myers (LGC Fellow since 2017) interviews Michelle Morales, President of the Woods Fund Chicago, about how we as Chicagoans must create a "new normal" that is more equitable and vibrant for all. As Michelle says, “If you're volunteering [in a food pantry], why isn't there a question of 'Why is there a food pantry?' or 'Why does a food pantry even have to exist?' If people start asking those questions, it points back to the systems in place that create those conditions." Listen here.

featuring Vaughn Bryant (LGC Fellow since 2016)

Vaughn Bryant of Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, a division of Metropolitan Family Services that works in partnership with community-based and citywide organizations to coordinate, support, and sustain services designed to heal communities that have experienced the highest levels of gun violence, discusses the work his team is doing in response to the public health crisis that is gun violence. He also shares how Chicago organizations are adapting their outreach programming in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We're a rich city. Rich in resources," says Vaughn. "But we have to create the conditions for everyone to be able to access them, and everybody's got to be on board with moving in the right direction." Listen here.

featuring Maria Kim (LGC Fellow since 2008)

What makes someone or something essential? On this episode of How Chicago Cares, Jenné Myers (LGC Fellow since 2017) connects with Maria Kim of Cara Chicago, a Chicago-based social enterprise that reconnects people experiencing poverty with hope, jobs, and opportunity. Jenné and Maria discuss essential employees as the core of our workforce, including Maria's recent op-ed and the role of trauma-informed workplaces in our "new normal" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maria says. "We forget that people are always essential. If we can recognize the essential humanity in each of us and see the talent in the people who have kept us as a country glued together and cleaned, fed, and safe, then maybe we will newly recognize what talent we have in this country." Listen here.

featuring John Rogers, Jr. (LGC Fellow since 1985)

John Rogers Jr. joined The Talk at Brunswick, a podcast produced by the Brunswick Review, a corporate leadership magazine that spotlights interesting conversations from around the world on business, culture, and public affairs. As one of the leading African American CEOs, John says Black wealth matters and racism in business makes it harder to achieve, especially for college-educated Blacks. John shares this thoughts regarding how businesses should consider race and income inequality, and the problems of doing so amid a global pandemic and civil unrest due to racial injustice. John is Founder and CEO of Ariel Investments, a firm with over $10 billion in assets under management. He served as Co-Chair for the Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009 and recently joined the Barack Obama Foundation’s Board of Directors. Listen here.

featuring Lois Scott (LGC Fellow since 1990)

In this episode of ESG Talks, KBRA’s CEO Jim Nadler interviews KBRA Board Member Lois Scott, on trends in corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives. Lois has held various roles in both the private and public sectors throughout her extensive career. From 2011 to 2015, Lois served as CFO for the city of Chicago under Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and was the first woman to serve in that capacity. Lois has long been a champion for women in business and was one of the co-founders of the professional organization, Women in Public Finance. Today, Lois is president of Epoch Advisors and serves on various corporate boards, including KBRA. She is also involved with many charities and other philanthropic causes. Listen here.

featuring Valerie Jarrett (LGC Fellow since 1986)

In part one of her discussion about mentorship, host Michelle Obama (LGC Fellow since 1993) reminisces with her friend and former boss Valerie Jarrett (LGC Fellow since 1986) about personal growth in the work place. Michelle talks with Valerie about a relationship that can make all the difference for us throughout our lives—and that’s a relationship with a mentor. Valerie helped Michelle realize the kind of leader and mother she wanted to be in the workplace. Listen here.

featuring Dr. Gail Christopher (LGC Fellow since 1988)

Join host Martha Williams as she talks with Dr. Gail Christopher, the visionary for and architect of the Truth Racial Healing and Transformation effort for America, launched in 2017 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and several other foundations. Racial Healing "is not anti-racism work. The focus of racial healing is really on eradicating the fallacy of a hierarchy of human value and replacing it with a deep sense of our inner connection as human beings." Listen here.

featuring Dr. Helene Gayle (Daniel Burnham Fellow)

Hear Dr. Helene Gayle, CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the nation’s leading community foundations, discuss how her public health training brought her to the Trust. She presents a three-part strategy for attacking the wealth gap in Chicago and discusses how this work has been amplified by COVID-19. Of our current moment in time, Helene says: “We need to lift up practices and policies that ensure safety, fairness, and justice for all of our people.” For 30 years Dr. Gayle was one of the world’s leading experts on infectious diseases leading global efforts at the CDC, then the Gates Foundation, and finally at Care International. Getting Smart helps education leaders identify and plan what to do next through advocacy, advisory, and learning design. Listen here.

featuring Venu Gupta (LGC Fellow since 2010)

Renowned monk Thich Nhat Hanh has famously written, "No mud, no lotus" – the idea that suffering is inherent in each of our lives, and that we can transform that suffering into something helpful and even hopeful. Venu Gupta of Mother Jones discusses the links between suffering and healing, light and darkness, and love and hate with hosts Jennifer Mulholland and Jeff Shuck, co-leaders of Plenty. Hear a deep conversation that will leave you awakened, energized, and yes, transformed. The Plenty for Everyone podcast talks with conscious leaders to explore abundance in work and life, fulfillment in head and heart, and ways we can all work together to make this world a better place. Listen here.