Stanford Social Innovation Review Podcast

Financing the growth of operations to achieve major scale is undoubtedly the biggest challenge facing social entrepreneurship. This panel discussion explores the current challenges and constraints in mobilizing capital flow to compelling social enterprises. Experts cover a range of strategies and channels available to social entrepreneurs for financing growth plans, including emerging alternatives to create new asset classes (hybrid, for-profit, and for-benefit models). https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/panel_discussion_-_Skoll_world_forum_financing_the_growth_of_operations

Businesses are not the only organizations rocked by financial scandals. Nonprofits such as the Red Cross, United Way, and many others have been hit as well. In this Stanford Social Innovation Review sponsored audio lecture, Deborah Rhode discusses the need for an ethics upgrade in the nonprofit sector, which by its do-good nature is expected to take the moral high ground. She considers typical pitfalls that nonprofits are vulnerable to, and calls for clearer rules governing transparency and accountability. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/deborah_rhode_-_ethics_in_the_nonprofit_sector

Former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, James Joseph believes we must support those over 50 launching new careers later in life so they may continue to make significant contributions to society. In this audio lecture recorded at the Encore Career Summit, sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, Joseph reflects on what it takes to be a great leader in the second half of life. Using Nelson Mandela as a prototype, he reflects on how skills such as the ability to work with one's enemies are critical elements of the mature leader. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/james_a._joseph_-_leadership_in_the_second_half_of_life

In India and Africa, syringes are frequently reused, despite the obvious dangers of cross infection and death. Marc Koska talks about his involvement with Star Syringe, which designed and licensed an auto-disable syringe that prevents syringe reuse. He discusses how single-use syringe adoption is progressing in India, and also talks about the activities and aims of his charity SafePoint Trust. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/marc_koska_-_preserving_the_right_to_safe_injections

Dan Burden has studied and defined what makes for a pedestrian-friendly community. Even more important, he knows why such places are so valuable for everyone—walkers and drivers alike. In this audio lecture, Burden discusses why walkability is crucial to the sustainability of communities, and what they can do to encourage it. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/dan_burden_-_environmental_sustainability_in_walking_cities

Social entrepreneurship efforts need marketing as much as any business enterprise. In this audio lecture, Oxford business professor Douglas Holt asserts that there is a systematic way to learn from the marketing success of companies such as Apple, Harley Davidson, and Coca-Cola. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/douglas_holt_-_marketing_for_social_entrepreneurship

If you haven't bought a flat-screen TV yet, chances are you're waiting for the prices to drop. Technologies get cheaper by virtue of the "experience curve," a phenomenon where, as companies get better at what they do, costs become lower. In this Stanford Social Innovation Review sponsored audio lecture, Robert Searle argues that nonprofits also can have experience curves, achieving a greater volume of outcomes for the same cost. He discusses the types of outcome metrics on which nonprofits should focus. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/robert_searle_-_can_nonprofits_get_more_bang_for_the_buck

What fuels the creation of a nonprofit organization? In this panel discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, panelists talk about their experiences founding an education-related nonprofit in the United States and a microenterprise in Africa. They explore how they came up with the ideas for their enterprises, how they focused and manifested those ideas, and what smart and not-so-smart choices they made along the way. A portfolio manager adds her insights on what elements make a startup appealing to potential funders. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/brian_lehnen_scott_morgan_anne_marie_burgoyne_-_year_one_in_the_life_of_a_n

The notion of "golden years" of endless leisure is giving way to a new form of practical idealism: real jobs tackling real problems and making real impact. The Encore Careers campaign aims to engage millions of baby boomers in careers later in life, producing a windfall of human talent to solve society's greatest problems. In this 2008 Encore Careers Summit panel discussion sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, panelists share their "encore" journeys, and how they've had the energy to stay professionally vital and active. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/the_encore_careers_summit_-_journeying_through_multiple_careers

From investment to football to soap operas to jobs, culture can be a force for good in the world. In this panel discussion sponsored by the Skoll World Forum, experts on social entrepreneurship share their experiences and insights about how to use culture and media as tools for conflict resolution. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/panel_discussion_-_Skoll_world_forum_conflict_resolution

How can the United States and the world benefit from the work of people who have been dedicated to social change over the last 30 years? What can those with the most diverse array of backgrounds and careers do to impact social, economic, and political policy, particularly in this unprecedented era of new political leadership? In this panel discussion from the 2008 Encore Careers Summit, activist leaders from the women's, civil rights, and environmental movements discuss how we can reinvent this country by drawing on lessons from the past. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/the_encore_careers_summit_-_lessons_for_a_new_social_movement

When an earthquake hits, what should you do? Should you get out of the house? The answer, says Elizabeth Hausler, founder of Build Change, depends upon where you live. In this audio interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Hausler describes how the strategies of Build Change are helping villages in Indonesia and China to build earthquake-resistant housing. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/elizabeth_hausler_-_making_homes_safe_from_earthquakes

Should the internet be regulated? In this audio lecture, Jeffrey Eisenach presents the potential for harm caused by cyberspace while outlining the challenges faced by regulation to the digital economy. In the end, he emphasizes the necessity of global institutions and frameworks to bring order to the online sphere. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/jeffrey_eisenach_-_global_regulation_and_the_digital_economy

In this audio interview, forecaster Paul Saffo covers a range of interesting subjects, including different methodologies for forecasting social trends. Topics he offers predictions about include global warming, the mortgage crisis, and the decline of the nation state. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/paul_saffo_-_forecasting_future_trends

In a climate resistant to government spending on social causes, the focused donations of billionaire philanthropists may be the greatest force for societal change in our world. So says journalist Matthew Bishop in this Stanford Center for Social Innovation sponsored talk. Discussing his recent book, Philanthrocapitalism, Bishop shares anecdotes, analysis, and profiles of a small group of people who are influencing the lives of many by bringing their success in capitalism to giving, rather than to making money. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/matthew_bishop_-_philanthrocapitalism

What does the ability to resist marshmallows have in common with a successful life? In this fascinating audio lecture, David Brooks of the New York Times talks about neuroscience and sociology, what these seemingly disjointed topics have in common, and why they are important. He explores why some people succeed and why some people don't, and how success fits into the transformation from a global, physical economy to a global, human-capital economy. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/david_brooks_-_neuroscience_and_sociology

In this audio interview, Asia Society President Vishakha N. Desai speaks with Nobel Prize winning economist and globalization "rockstar" Joseph Stiglitz on matters concerning international development. The conversation focuses on Stiglitz's concept of "the economics of information," and his latest book, Making Globalization Work. In this fascinating in-depth interview, Stiglitz discusses intellectual property rights, the shifting global balance of power, challenges facing Africa, and much more. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/joseph_stiglitz_-_globalization_and_international_development

When huge disasters like Hurricane Katrina strike, who better to help out than the companies that provide many of the goods and services that relief agencies depend on? In this audio interview, Eric Nee, co-host of Social Innovation Conversations, converses with Tom Lehner, manager of the Partnership for Disaster Response, on how business has been providing an organized response to some of the most disruptive natural catastrophes occurring around the world over the past four years. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/thomas_lehner_-_putting_business_to_work_in_disaster_relief

Vinod Khosla, Silicon Valley venture capitalist, says he used to be an environmentalist, but is now more of a "pragmentalist." In this Stanford Center for Social Innovation sponsored audio lecture, Khosla turns conventional wisdom about what passes for "green technology" on its head. He takes a hard look at how innovations such as hybrid cars and fuel cell buses may, in fact, be exacerbating our problems, and offers concrete, iconoclastic suggestions as to what science, business, and government should be focusing on instead. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/vinod_khosla_-_moving_from_greenwashing_to_truly_green

In an age of consumer surplus, where people are encouraged to shop as "retail therapy," where does environmental sustainability fit in? In this panel discussion from the Commonwealth Club of California, leaders in business, design and innovation discuss why a deeper understanding of human nature will be central to a successful 21st century business strategy. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/panel_discussion_-_capitalism_and_environmental_sustainability