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.
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Host Scott M. Curran takes listeners inside the playbook of the world’s top social impact leaders—so anyone can learn to do more good, better.
As CEO of Beyond Advisers, a consultancy advising world-leading foundations, brands, and changemakers, Scott has spent more than two decades guiding transformative initiatives tackling humanity's hardest challenges. He previously served as General Counsel of the Clinton Foundation and teaches one of the nation’s first law school courses on Social Impact Law.
On this podcast, he 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.
Dr. David Fajgenbaum on Using AI to Cure Disease
Season 1 · Episode 1
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 • Duration 50:30
Imagine you’re a healthy young adult with your entire life ahead of you. Then one day, doctors tell you you’re going to die. Not someday. Now. That happened to David Fajgenbaum (https://davidfajgenbaum.com/). But he survived. And now he’s pushing the frontiers of medical research to help save others.
In the debut episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by doctor, scientist, and nonprofit founder Dr. David Fajgenbaum for a powerful and inspiring conversation about how nearly dying from Castleman disease while in med school led him to found his nonprofit, Every Cure (https://everycure.org/). David traces his mother’s positive influence on him as a child to the impact her death from cancer had on his future. He shares how the love of his family brought him back from the edge of death, and how this led to the breakthrough research he is now pioneering on the frontlines of fighting disease. He reflects on how Every Cure went from an idea with zero dollars to a nine-figure mission in just a few years, and reveals practices that other organizations can follow. With vulnerability and insight, David demonstrates how personal struggles can become a force that changes the world. This episode explores themes of family, grief, resilience, vision, teamwork, and the preciousness of life itself.
Guest: Dr. David Fajgenbaum
Host: Scott M. Curran
Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman and Kieron Banerji
Production by Echo Studios
Joan Garry on Being a Successful Leader
Season 1 · Episode 1
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 • Duration 50:46
When the world’s on fire, who shows up? Nonprofits. Yet few people know exactly how deeply embedded they are in daily life. They make our communities the special places they are, from animal rescues to food banks, schools to places of worship. But how can they survive, much less thrive, especially when the world around us is so chaotic and adversarial? There is perhaps no better person to answer this question than Joan Garry (https://joangarry.com/).
On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Nonprofit Leadership Lab (https://nonprofitleadershiplab.com/) founder Joan Garry for a candid and insightful conversation about why some organizations succeed, so many fail, and how all leaders and nonprofits can enjoy more success. Joan reconstructs her delightfully twisty career arc from working at MTV in the early 1980s to leading GLAAD in the late 1990s, to later realizing that her highest and best purpose was helping other nonprofit leaders succeed. She shares how she fell into activism by simply wanting to protect her young family from laws that weren’t inclusive of them, and how her membership-based business grew out of a decision to devote herself more fully to her family. She breaks down the common pitfalls that hold leaders from accomplishing their worthiest goals, and reveals hidden secrets to nonprofit success (hint: better board relations and better marketing!). This episode explores themes of leadership, purpose, scarcity, legacy, growth, and transformation.
Guest: Joan Garry
Host: Scott M. Curran
Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji
Production by Echo Studios
Chapters:
Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:53 Early Memories of Doing Good
00:05:46 From MTV to Don King
00:08:12 Taking the Leap to GLAAD
00:09:58 Turning Around a Failing Organization
00:13:19 Why Nonprofits Are Messy
00:14:54 Building the Nonprofit Leadership Lab
00:18:45 The Biggest Challenges Nonprofits Face
00:21:00 The Vision for Scaling Impact
00:32:51 Advice for Nonprofit Leaders and Board Members
00:47:40 Legacy and Making Your Mark
Check out our Podcast: https:// (https://www.linktr.ee/scottmcurran)
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.
Mayor David Holt of Oklahoma City on Leadership in Divided Times
Season 1 · Episode 5
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 • Duration 57:23
What does it look like when a politician actually does their job? Not the culture warring. Not cable news. Not pitting you against your neighbor to score political points. But the actual work of public service: showing up every day for all the people you serve, bridging divides instead of deepening them, and measuring success by outcomes, not optics. Almost sounds quaint, doesn't it? We're living through a moment when the question of what real civic leadership is feels harder to answer than it should. So we're going to Oklahoma City to find out.
On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Mayor David Holt of Oklahoma City (https://www.okc.gov/Government/Elected-Officials/Mayor)—who is also the 83rd President of the United States Conference of Mayors—for a refreshing conversation about public service, civic leadership, and bridging political divides in one of America's most dynamic cities. David traces his path from a service-oriented Oklahoma family to working in Washington, D.C., and back home to lead what he calls a purple city in a deep red state. He breaks down how Oklahoma City went from economic depression and post-bombing devastation to becoming America's 20th largest city—a story built on pragmatic, nonpartisan leadership and a civic model that keeps winning voter approval by margins most politicians can only dream of. He explains why the 70% of Americans in the middle can still find common ground and get things done when the system lets them, and why mayors may be the most important class of leaders in the country right now. This episode explores themes of bridging divides, nonpartisan governance, civic investment, community building, pluralism, and what it means to lead by the power of your example rather than the example of your power.
Guest: Mayor David Holt
Host: Scott M. Curran
Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji
Production by Echo Studios
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Check out our Podcast: https://www.linktr.ee/scottmcurran
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Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:26 Early Memories of Doing Good
00:08:40 From Capitol Hill to the White House
00:13:25 Returning Home and Finding Purpose in City Hall
00:23:18 The Oklahoma City Turnaround Story
00:26:53 Building Consensus Through Pragmatic Leadership
00:28:37 The Power of Non-Partisan Elections
00:33:23 Leading a Purple City in a Red State
00:37:48 The Role of Mayors in National Politics
00:50:00 The Oklahoma City Bombing and Lessons on Unity
00:54:23 The Oklahoma City Declaration
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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.
From Advertising to Activism: Mega Desai on Transforming Women's Lives in India
Season 1 · Episode 4
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 • Duration 47:43
Menstrual equity. There’s a good chance you’ve never really thought about what that means. But you should. Because it affects women, men, families, workplaces, and entire economies. If talking about menstruation feels uncomfortable, good. Growth usually starts there.
Let’s start with some simple facts:
Half the world’s population is women.
Every single one of us was born from a woman.
And every one of those births began with a missed period.
Menstruation isn’t a niche issue. It’s biology. It’s economics. It’s education. It’s dignity. It’s opportunity. This week we celebrate International Women’s day, which is also an opportunity—to talk about women’s health, cultural stigmas, economic growth, and human dignity.
On this episode of Better Good, Scott M. Curran is joined by Megha Desai, the President of the Desai Foundation, for a perspective-shifting conversation about menstrual equity. She talks about her family’s attitudes toward menstruation as she was growing up, and what this taught her about the challenges women face. She explains what period poverty is, why menstrual equity is important for every society, and the impact of over-regulating women’s bodies. She traces her swerving career that took her from branding and social impact, showing how they connect. This episode explores themes of equality, women’s rights, politics, and storytelling.
Guest: Megha Desai
Host: Scott M. Curran
Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji
Production by Echo Studios
Check out our Podcast: linktr.ee/scottmcurran
Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:35 Early Memories of Doing Good
00:05:18 International Exposure and Perspective
00:07:24 From Advertising to Nonprofit Leadership
00:10:21 Taking Over the Desai Foundation
00:13:28 The Mission: Health, Livelihood, and Menstrual Equity
00:15:33 Why Women's Work Matters for GDP
00:17:06 Getting Comfortable with Periods
00:22:58 Menstrual Equity in America
00:27:45 Changing Hearts and Minds
00:31:51 The Vision for Menstrual Equity
00:35:29 Measuring Success and Building Partnerships
00:43:34 A Rallying Cry for Change
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.
Skye Perryman on How to Save Democracy
Season 1 · Episode 3
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 • Duration 39:57
There are only two ways to run the world. Guns or lawyers. That's it. It's either the threat of force or the rule of law. Everything we call civil society, from the contracts that govern business to rights that protect our privacy and freedom itself, depend on that second path. And lawyers are the custodians of that path. Yet we too often forget this. We joke about lawyers, but they protect civil society so each of us can achieve our version of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Skye Perryman (https://www.instagram.com/skyeperryman/?hl=en), the President and CEO of Democracy Forward (https://democracyforward.org/), for an urgent conversation about how to preserve democracy. Skye traces her trajectory from her childhood in Texas, to a career in private practice, to her current role on the front lines of some of the most critical legal battles of our time. She unpacks why the rule of law must be protected, how autocratic tactics deliberately weaponize overwhelm and exhaustion, and why courage is the most valuable currency of this period in American history. Skye discusses the many legal causes Democracy Forward has taken on during the second Trump administration, and she reminds us of the power of being present in our communities and the importance of listening to the stories of other people’s experiences. And for all the lawyers out there, she explains why this is a do-or-die moment for the legal procession, and why it’s time to go back to the basics and defend the Constitution. This episode explores themes of the law, rights, democracy, purpose, autocracy, justice, community, and courage.
Guest: Skye Perryman
Host: Scott M. Curran
Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji
Production by Echo Studios
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Check out our Podcast: https://www.linktr.ee/scottmcurran
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Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:59 Early Memories of Doing Good
00:06:28 From Private Practice to Public Service
00:07:57 Founding Democracy Forward
00:10:11 The Value of Law Firm Training
00:12:58 Democracy Forward's Mission
00:17:30 Normalizing the Abnormal
00:21:20 Courage is the New Currency
00:29:52 A Call to Action for Lawyers
00:37:05 Building a Democracy That Holds Everyone
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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.
Nishant Roy on Social Impact Through Business
Season 1 · Episode 6
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 • Duration 50:48
"Chief Impact Officer" wasn't a job twenty years ago. But a decade ago, it became one of the fastest-growing roles in business. Today, it's complicated because the idea that companies should “do good” has been dragged into the culture wars. So what does it look like when a company actually takes that responsibility seriously and builds purpose into its operations?
On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Nishant Roy, Chief Impact Officer of Chobani, for a candid conversation about purpose-driven business, corporate responsibility, and what it really means when a company says profit and purpose can coexist. Nishant traces his path from his immigrant family's roots and service in the U.S. Air Force—including deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq—through Goldman Sachs, USAID, and a fateful LinkedIn message that led him to Chobani's founder, Hamdi Ulukaya. He explains how Chobani went from an SBA loan and a shuttered factory in upstate New York to the number one yogurt brand in America, and why how a company makes its products matters as much as what's on the shelf. From cutting sugar across an entire food category, to hiring refugees in rural New York, to building a sustainable supply chain that pays farmers for imperfect fruit, Nishant makes the case that corporate impact isn't marketing—it's operations. This episode explores themes of purpose-driven leadership, career reinvention, food systems, refugee inclusion, and why the work of doing good doesn't stop just because the acronyms change.
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Guest: Nishant Roy
Host: Scott M. Curran
Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji
Production by Echo Studios
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Check out our Podcast: ➡️ https://www.linktr.ee/scottmcurran
-
Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:04:46 Early Memories of Doing Good
00:08:41 From the Air Force to Wall Street
00:11:57 Government Service and Global Development
00:13:52 The LinkedIn Message That Changed Everything
00:17:50 Making Career Pivots with Purpose
00:28:54 The Chobani Story and Food Revolution
00:34:10 Supply Chain Innovation for Impact
00:40:55 Building a Melting Pot Workforce
00:47:47 Proof That Profit and Purpose Go Together
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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.
Alex Amouyel on Changing the World with Salad Dressing
Season 1 · Episode 7
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 • Duration 45:54
What if a bottle of salad dressing could change the world? In 1982, Paul Newman—movie star, race car driver, and American icon—bottled a homemade salad dressing with a friend, put his face on the label, and made one simple decision: every cent of profit would go to charity. Forever. Newman's Own has now generated more than 600 million dollars for charitable causes—and the "Newman's Own exception," an act of Congress that followed, made it possible for other foundations to fully own mission-driven businesses that give their profits away.
On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Alex Amouyel (https://www.yourimpactlife.com/about), President and CEO of the Newman's Own Foundation, for a conversation about purpose-driven business, child hunger in America, and one of the most revolutionary models in philanthropy. Alex explains how a for-profit food company fully owned by a charitable foundation gives 100% of its profits away—and why Newman had to fight Congress just to make it legal. She unpacks the foundation's work on child nutrition, school meals, and indigenous food justice at a time when one in five American children live in food-insecure households. And she introduces 100% for Purpose, a movement inspired by Newman's Own and Patagonia to help the next generation of businesses put their profits toward good causes. This episode explores themes of philanthropy, corporate responsibility, and food justice.
Guest: Alex Amouyel
Host: Scott M. Curran
Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji
Production by Echo Studios
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Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:04:06 Early Memories of Doing Good
00:05:30 From BCG to Save the Children
00:08:02 Restructuring a Global NGO
00:10:15 The Clinton Global Initiative Years
00:12:17 MIT Solve and Opening Innovation
00:22:09 Paul Newman's Legacy and the Hole in the Wall Gang
00:26:32 Nourishing Children Who Face Adversity
00:28:08 The Newman's Own Exception and Tax Law
00:36:59 100% For Purpose Movement
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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.
The $500 Million Bet on America's Future | Dr. Carmen Rojas
Season 1 · Episode 13
Wednesday, July 8, 2026 • Duration 01:00:49
Every foundation in America operates on a two-way bargain with the public that rarely gets named out loud: accept significant tax advantages, and deploy those resources in service of the public good. Most foundations show you one side of that equation—the grantmaking—and keep the other side, the endowment, largely invisible. Dr. Carmen Rojas thinks that needs to change.
On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Dr. Carmen Rojas, president and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, for a conversation about what foundations owe the public, why MCF made the decision to expand its grantmaking from roughly $30 million to $130 million in a single year, and what it actually looks like to lead a major institution with courage when the stakes are high. Carmen traces her path from growing up in a Nicaraguan immigrant household in San Francisco to studying democratic fragility at UC Berkeley, building the Workers Lab to support low-wage worker organizing, and now leading one of the country's most consequential foundations. She explains why she believes philanthropy's greatest risk right now is caution, why she treats MCF as a financial institution first, and why she calls on foundations, nonprofits, and everyday people alike to find their own form of courage in action, not just words. This episode explores themes of philanthropic accountability, democratic values, economic justice, and power-building in communities historically excluded from it.
Guest: Dr. Carmen Rojas
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
00:01:22 Early Memories of Doing Good
00:05:43 The Systems That Made Success Possible
00:09:22 What MCF Does and Why It Matters
00:11:46 From Venezuela to Philanthropy
00:18:34 The Workers Lab and Individual Shame
00:25:25 Understanding Philanthropy's Two-Way Gift
00:32:46 Making Government Work for People
00:36:28 Meeting the Moment with Courage
00:42:05 Courage is Not the Absence of Fear
00:45:47 Messages to Philanthropy, Nonprofits, and Everyone
00:52:26 Books for This Moment
00:56:27 A Vision of Love, Curiosity, and Learning
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.
Kevin Maguire on Modern Fatherhood and the Evolution of Men
Season 1 · Episode 12
Wednesday, June 24, 2026 • Duration 01:07:11
On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) sits down with Kevin Maguire, author of The New Fatherhood (https://www.newfatherhood.com/book/), for a special Father's Day conversation about what it really means to lead a family today.
For thousands of years, fatherhood came with a clear job description: protect, provide, preside. But today's dads are expected to do all of that and more (as they should!): be present, emotionally available, vulnerable, and an equal partner at home. The old rules are fading. The new rules are still being written. But most men didn’t have anyone who prepared them for this.
Kevin didn't arrive at this topic as a researcher. He arrived as a father of two confronting the questions millions of men ask quietly: Who am I beyond my job? What kind of father do I want to be? How do I show up for the people I love in a world that keeps changing? His search for answers became a newsletter, then an online community, and now a book and movement that's becoming a go-to guide for modern dads navigating parenting, striving for work-life balance, and building emotional resilience without a map.
This conversation is for any—or anyone helping to raise the next generation—looking for clarity, community, and a path forward in modern fatherhood.
You can pre-order Scott’s forthcoming book, Better Good, here: https://www.bettergoodbook.com/
Guest: Kevin Maguire
Host: Scott M. Curran
Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji
Production by Echo Studios
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Check out our Podcast: ➡️ https://www.linktr.ee/scottmcurran
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Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:04:44 Early Memories of Fatherhood
00:07:01 The Three Ps: Traditional Anchors of Fatherhood
00:10:38 Old Rules vs New Rules
00:17:37 From Google to Fatherhood
00:21:25 You Are Not Your Job
00:24:01 Paternal Postpartum Depression
00:28:27 Vulnerability as Strength
00:32:52 Scarcity vs Abundance Fatherhood
00:43:28 The Last Time Meditation
00:52:06 Building the New Fatherhood Community
00:57:12 The Polarized Future of Fatherhood
01:00:31 The Future: Communities of Care
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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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