Better Good with Scott M. Curran

Discover how the best do good—and how you can too. Scott M. Curran sits down with the innovators reimagining how the world does good—bringing you conversations you won’t hear anywhere else: candid stories, proven strategies, and actionable insights listeners can use in their lives, careers, and missions.Dive inside the playbook of the world’s top social impact leaders—so anyone can learn to do more good, better.

Better Good with Scott M. Curran is a society podcast hosted by Scott M. Curran, with 20 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Scott M. Curran hosts Better Good with Scott M. Curran, a society show with 20 episodes published.

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  Better Good with Scott M. Curran

  Amanda Litman on Building the Next Generation of Political Leaders

  Sep 30, 202659 min

  What happens when a new generation decides it’s time to stop waiting for change—and starts running for office themselves? Amanda Litman is the co-founder and president of Run for Something, an organization that recruits and supports young progressive candidates running for state and local office. Since launching in 2017, Run for Something has helped elect more than 1,650 leaders across nearly all 50 states, building one of the largest pipelines of young political candidates in the country. On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran sits down with Amanda to explore what it takes to build the next generation of political leadership—and why some of the most consequential opportunities for change can begin at the local level. Amanda shares the story behind Run for Something, what she has learned from recruiting and supporting thousands of first-time candidates, and why school boards, city councils, state legislatures, and other down-ballot offices can play such an important role in shaping communities and the future of American politics. Before launching Run for Something, Amanda served as National Email Director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, where she oversaw a digital fundraising operation that raised $330 million from more than 3 million donors. She is also the author of When We’re in Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership, a book exploring how Millennials and Gen Z can approach leadership as they increasingly move into positions of responsibility. Her earlier book, Run for Something: A Real-Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself, explored the practical realities of running for state and local office. Amanda and Scott discuss generational change, leadership, political organizing, civic engagement, the challenges facing first-time candidates, and what Amanda has learned from building an organization designed to develop political leaders from the ground up. They also explore a bigger question: What happens when the next generation finally gets the opportunity to lead? This is a conversation about leadership, public service, civic engagement, local government, generational change, and the people preparing to shape what comes next. Guest: Amanda Litman, Co-Founder & President of Run for Something Host: Scott M. Curran Better Good is a podcast series where you'll meet the visionaries and doers tackling the toughest challenges of our time. With moving stories and practical takeaways, Scott M. Curran brings listeners into the art and science of doing good through conversations with the social-impact leaders reshaping how we change the world. Whether you lead a global workforce, run a fast-growing nonprofit, or are simply driven to make a difference, Better Good offers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to leave the world better than you found it. The world's biggest problems won't wait. Neither should you. #Podcast #AmandaLitman #Leadership #CivicEngagement #LocalGovernment #PublicService #GenZ #Millennials #SocialImpact #BetterGood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  Episode #17

  Warwick Sabin: What Democracy Loses When Local Journalism Dies

  Sep 2, 20261h 2mS1

  In the 20th century, local newspapers ran on 30 to 40 percent profit margins, and journalism was a thriving industry. But the internet dismantled that model in less than a generation. Advertising migrated to Google and Facebook, and classified ads moved to Craigslist. In parallel, subscriptions collapsed. Profits dissolved; so did newsrooms. Now roughly 50 million Americans have limited or no access to credible local news. This is most acute in the rural South. On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Warwick Sabin, president and CEO of Deep South Today (https://www.deepsouthtoday.org/), for a conversation about why the collapse of local journalism is one of the most overlooked threats to American democracy—and what a new nonprofit model is doing to rebuild it in the communities that need it most. Warwick explains how Deep South Today united several Southern newsrooms into a single organization, and one publication even won a Pulitzer Prize. He makes the case that nonprofit journalism is like nonprofit healthcare: Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic don't sacrifice quality by removing the profit motive, and neither does Deep South Today. He also reflects on his career and what it means to show up for civic life at a moment when local institutions and democratic accountability are both under pressure. This episode explores themes of local journalism, press freedom, civic infrastructure, nonprofit media, democracy, and what it means to build institutions that serve the public good rather than the bottom line. Guest: Warwick Sabin Host: Scott M. Curran Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji Production by Echo Studios Check out our Podcast: https://www.linktr.ee/scottmcurran Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:51 Early Memories of Doing Good 00:08:27 Meeting the President and Moving to Arkansas 00:12:41 Southern Hospitality and Finding Home 00:16:20 Leadership Lessons from College 00:33:01 Why the South and Why Local Journalism Matter 00:34:43 The Collapse of Local News and Its Consequences 00:38:30 Building Nonprofit News for the Deep South 00:45:29 Investigative Journalism That Saves Lives 00:54:39 The Future: Scaling Local News Across the South Better Good is a podcast series where you'll meet the visionaries and doers tackling the toughest challenges of our time. With moving stories and practical takeaways, Scott M. Curran brings listeners into the art and science of doing good — through conversations with the social-impact leaders reshaping how we change the world. Whether you lead a global workforce, run a fast-growing nonprofit, or are simply driven to make a difference, this show offers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to leave the world better than you found it. The world's biggest problems won't wait. Neither should you.

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  Episode #16

  Nirvan Mullick: The Man Behind the Caine’s Arcade Viral Video

  Aug 19, 20261h 5mS1

  In 2012, a filmmaker named Nirvan Mullick drove to a used auto parts store in East Los Angeles to buy a replacement door handle for his car. Inside, a nine-year-old boy named Caine Monroy had spent months building an elaborate cardboard arcade out of his father's spare boxes, complete with prize tickets, a custom staff shirt, and a fun pass that got you 500 turns for two dollars. Nirvan was Caine's first and only customer that summer. It also happened to be the last day of summer. None of what followed—a short film, a flash mob, millions of viral views, the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for Caine's education, the global movement for children’s creativity—happened without one person recognizing a perfect moment in the making. On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Nirvan Mullick, documentary filmmaker and creator of Caine's Arcade, for a conversation about what it means to notice what everyone else drives past—and what can happen when you do. Nirvan walks through the full story of Caine’s Arcade, and also shares the two-word concept of “perfect moments,” which can change how we think about time, attention, and the possibilities hiding inside everyday moments. Nirvan offers an inside look at two documentaries he's been working on for years: one about Rick Doblin and the decades-long effort to take MDMA through the FDA, and another about Lawn Chair Larry, a Vietnam vet who, in 1982, strapped 42 helium balloons to a Sears lawn chair and flew 16,000 feet above Los Angeles to live out a dream. This episode explores themes of creativity, attention, imagination, social entrepreneurship, and how the best things we do often begin with a single unremarkable moment of showing up. Guest: Nirvan Mullick Host: Scott M. Curran Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji Production by Echo Studios Check out our Podcast: https://linktr.ee/scottmcurran Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Boy Who Built an Arcade from Cardboard 00:03:04 Early Memories of Doing Good 00:05:18 From Filmmaker to Documentary Storyteller 00:07:08 What a Trip: Following Rick Doblin and Psychedelic Medicine 00:15:50 Larry's Launcher: The Lawn Chair Balloon Pilot 00:27:37 The Day Everything Changed: Meeting Caine 00:30:46 Organizing the Flash Mob and Creating a Perfect Moment 00:34:06 Going Viral and Starting the Imagination Foundation 00:39:20 The Global Cardboard Challenge and Lasting Impact 00:46:54 The Philosophy of Perfect Moments 00:51:21 The One Second Film: A Lifetime in 24 Frames 00:55:49 A Perfect Moment with His Father 00:57:50 It Doesn't Matter What You Start With, Only That You Start 00:59:13 Tracking Perfect Moments: A Daily Practice 01:00:19 Giving Yourself Permission to Develop Your Gifts Better Good is a podcast series where you'll meet the visionaries and doers tackling the toughest challenges of our time. With moving stories and practical takeaways, Scott M. Curran brings listeners into the art and science of doing good—through conversations with the social-impact leaders reshaping how we change the world. Whether you lead a global workforce, run a fast-growing nonprofit, or are simply driven to make a difference, this show offers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to leave the world better than you found it. The world's biggest problems won't wait. Neither should you.

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  Episode #15

  What One Solar Light Unlocks for Families in Poverty

  Aug 5, 202659 minS1

  Hundreds of millions of people around the world have to rely on kerosene and disposable batteries to light their homes after dark. This carries real costs in health, safety, and money. For many families, lighting consumes up to 30 percent of the household budget, roughly the equivalent of an American mortgage payment. The alternatives are open flames that burn children, carcinogens that damage lungs, and total darkness after sunset that shuts down education, entrepreneurship, and basic security. Yet safe, reliable solar light exists. Getting it to the right families—and pairing it with the financial literacy to turn savings into economic opportunity—is the mission of Nancy Economou and Watts of Love. On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Nancy Economou, founder and CEO of Watts of Love, for a conversation about what it means to follow a calling you have no formal credentials for, and bringing safe light to people around the world. Nancy traces her path from selling jewelry at Cartier, to nearly two decades as a stay-at-home mother of five boys, to a trip to the Philippines in 2009 that she returned from unchanged. She tells how Watts of Love evolved from three lights in a suitcase into an organization operating in more than fifty countries, with close to half a million homes lit and a growing corps of trained local leaders ready to scale the mission further. She explains how pairing a durable solar light with a financial literacy curriculum has turned a product into a pathway out of generational poverty. And she makes the case that meaningful impact rarely begins with a perfect plan. It begins with noticing something you can't un-see and acting. This episode explores themes of energy access, social entrepreneurship, financial literacy, local empowerment, and creating independence rather than dependency. Guest: Nancy Economou Host: Scott M. Curran Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji Production by Echo Studios Check out our Podcast: ➡️ https://linktr.ee/scottmcurran Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:03 Early Memories of Doing Good 00:06:08 From Cartier to Stay-at-Home Mom 00:07:50 The Scale of Watts of Love Today 00:10:50 The Philippines Trip That Changed Everything 00:12:40 The Moment Watts of Love Was Born 00:14:45 The Hidden Cost of Living in Darkness 00:18:17 Designing the Perfect Solar Light 00:23:29 The Leper Colony and Universal Design 00:30:06 The First Three Lights and Ruth's Story 00:34:26 The Birth of Financial Literacy 00:40:07 The Box Becomes a Bank 00:44:33 Transformation in 60 Days 00:47:33 The Power of Local Partnership 00:50:11 Bringing Light Home: Disasters in the US 00:53:42 Lessons on Dignity, Hope, and Agency 00:56:01 Choose the Crazy Dream Better Good is a podcast series where you'll meet the visionaries and doers tackling the toughest challenges of our time. With moving stories and practical takeaways, Scott M. Curran brings listeners into the art and science of doing good — through conversations with the social-impact leaders reshaping how we change the world. Whether you lead a global workforce, run a fast-growing nonprofit, or are simply driven to make a difference, this show offers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to leave the world better than you found it. The world's biggest problems won't wait. Neither should you.

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  Episode #14

  The Hidden Key to Solving the World’s Global Water Crisis.

  Jul 22, 202652 minS1

  Every morning, more than 2 billion people start their day without access to safe water. For many, that means hours of walking, waiting, and carrying—before the rest of the day can begin. The disease, poverty, and lost education that follow are all preventable. The world has the technology. Infrastructure often already exists nearby. What's missing, for hundreds of millions of families, is the few hundred dollars it costs to connect to it. That's the problem Vedika Bhandarkar has spent years solving, and what Matt Damon’s organization water.org has built around it may be the most underreported development success story of our time. On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Vedika Bhandarkar, President and COO of water.org, for a conversation about the most scalable solution to the global water crisis that most people have never heard of. Vedika traces her path from more than two decades in investment banking to leading the financial strategy behind water.org's WaterCredit model, which pairs every dollar of philanthropy with $20 of lending by local financial institutions. That model has now reached more than 85 million people across the world, with a 98% loan repayment rate that challenges every assumption about who is and isn't "bankable." She explains how water access is the key that unlocks every other development goal—from education and health to gender equality and economic mobility—and makes the case that the water crisis, unlike so many global challenges, is not only solvable but already being solved. This episode explores themes of global development, microfinance, financial inclusion, systems-level change, and what it looks like to redeploy your career skills toward one of the world's most urgent problems. Guest: Vedika Bhandarkar Host: Scott M. Curran Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji Production by Echo Studios Check out our Podcast: ➡️LINK TREE LINK Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:32 Early Memories of Doing Good 00:05:08 Understanding the Global Water Crisis 00:07:54 The Hidden Cost of Water Scarcity 00:10:29 Zipporah's Story: Water as a Catalyst for Change 00:16:43 Why Traditional Approaches Don't Scale 00:20:51 The Power of Microfinance and Water Credit 00:31:49 Water's Connection to Every Global Challenge 00:35:27 Scaling the Solution: Infrastructure and Investment 00:44:06 Call to Action: Government, Business, and Philanthropy 00:46:18 Get Blue Movement and Individual Action 00:48:08 The Vision: A World Where Water Scarcity is Unimaginable Better Good is a podcast series where you'll meet the visionaries and doers tackling the toughest challenges of our time. With moving stories and practical takeaways, Scott M. Curran brings listeners into the art and science of doing good — through conversations with the social-impact leaders reshaping how we change the world. Whether you lead a global workforce, run a fast-growing nonprofit, or are simply driven to make a difference, this show offers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to leave the world better than you found it. The world's biggest problems won't wait. Neither should you.

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