Choosing to Matter – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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Choosing to Matter

Chris Luebkeman

Business

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/5d. Total Eps: 11

What does it mean to live with intention in a world that pulls us in every direction? This podcast explores the everyday decisions that shape our futures. Hosted by Chris Luebkeman and brought to you by [Y]our 2040, each episode invites a guest to slow down, share a drink, and reflect on how they navigate complexity, purpose, and change. From creatives to change-makers, these are honest conversations that spark action and remind us we all have the power to choose to matter.

Recent rankings

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Apple Podcasts

🇨🇦 Canada - careers
05/01/2026
#47
🇨🇦 Canada - careers
04/01/2026
#24

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/choosingtomatter/posts/?feedView=all
10 shares
https://www.linkedin.com/company/vicafe-ag/
4 shares
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahgerberhoward/
1 share

https://www.instagram.com/choosingtomatter
10 shares

https://ethz.ch/en.html
2 shares

RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 83%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

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Shaping Philanthropy's Next Chapter with Sarah Howard

Season 1 · Episode 10

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 • Duration 43:56

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris

Shaping Philanthropy's Next Chapter with Sarah Howard
Episode 10

In this episode, Chris sits down with Sarah Howard, connector, storyteller, and Managing Director of the Global Philanthropy Forum.

From her beginnings in California as a filmmaker capturing human stories across South Sudan, Honduras, and small island states, Sarah has woven together a career at the intersection of media, philanthropy, and systems change. Her journey has been shaped as much by serendipity, as by her own determination to engage with the world directly.

What drives Sarah is a belief that philanthropy can be society's "risk capital," helping us leap into new possibilities at a time of tectonic shifts in climate, technology, and governance. She shares how legacy, storytelling, and lived experience inform her work to make philanthropy fit for purpose in the 21st century, while also exploring the deeper human values that must guide how we shape the future.

This is a conversation about vision, legacy, and the drive to design new systems of value.

🍸 Cocktail of the episode: A Vesper martini

🎧 A thought to leave you with:

What philanthropic risks would you take today to ensure a better tomorrow for all?

Episode Resources:
Sarah Howard
Global Philanthropy Forum

Connect with Choosing to Matter

Instagram: @choosingtomatter

LinkedIn: @choosingtomatter

Explore all our platforms

Credits:
Host: Chris Luebkeman
Executive Producer: Jonelle Simunich
Guest Relations: Taline Frantz
Editors: Viktoria Bacheva and Asmita Mehta
Sound Designer: Taline Frantz
Design and Manager: Kinny Tran-Marazza
Graphic Designer: Nazaré Sarabúa

Presented by: [Y]our 2040
Website: your2040.com/podcast

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Narratives that Move the World with Ana Rold

Season 1 · Episode 8

Wednesday, November 19, 2025 • Duration 42:08

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris

Narratives that Move the World with Ana Rold
Episode 8

In this episode, Chris sits down with Ana Rold, media entrepreneur, futurist, and founder of Diplomatic Courier and World in 2050. Ana was a child refugee who learned to adapt to new surroundings and gained a unique perspective on how other cultures and societies live. Years later, after moving to the USA, she went on to build platforms that shape global dialogues. Her journey is marked by resilience, curiosity, and communication. Her move to Boston opened the door to new cultures, ideas, and possibilities; a turning point that set her on the path toward building Diplomatic Courier a global platform for meaningful dialogues.

What drives Ana is a conviction that truth and storytelling matter in building collective intelligence for a better world. She reflects on navigating disinformation, the role of narratives in shaping belief, and how fostering dialogue across divides can help the future "arrive well." Together, she and Chris explore themes of resilience, foresight, and the responsibility of turning words into action.

This is a conversation about truth, dialogue, and the courage to create spaces where ideas drive change.

🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Cape Cod

🎧 A thought to leave you with:

How are you using your voice, today, to shape a future you want to live in?

Episode Resources:
Ana Rold
Diplomatic Courier

World in 2050

Coffee, Resilience, and Supply Chains with Ramon Schalch

Season 1 · Episode 7

Wednesday, November 5, 2025 • Duration 47:13

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris

Coffee, Resilience, and Supply Chains with Ramon Schalch
Episode 7

In this episode, Chris sits down with Ramon Schalch, CEO of Vi Collective, hiker, cyclist, and lifelong adventurer.

From early dreams of becoming a professional ice hockey player to rebuilding his path after a career-ending injury, Ramon found a new calling in coffee. What began as childhood fascination with the smell of beans grew into a journey across Colombia's coffee farms and eventually to leading one of Switzerland's most recognized sustainable coffee brands.

Ramon shares what drives his work today: building resilient value chains, strengthening the lives of coffee farmers, and exploring innovation from 3D-printed clay cups to global collaborations in sustainable farming. Together, he and Chris explore the meaning of choice in business, in community, and in shaping a livable future.

This is an inspiring conversation about resilience, responsibility, and the quiet power of daily choices.

🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Espresso Martini (virgin)

🎧 A thought to leave you with:

Do you know your coffee (or tea) supply chain?

Episode Resources:
Ramon Schalch
ViCAFE

Connect with Choosing to Matter

Instagram: @choosingtomatter

LinkedIn: @choosingtomatter

The Serendipity of Science with Zina Cinker

Season 1 · Episode 6

Sunday, November 2, 2025 • Duration 51:30

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris

The Serendipity of Science with Zina Cinker
Episode 6

In this episode, Chris sits down with Dr. Zina Cinker, physicist, global platform creator, and Director General of MATTER. From a childhood shaped by both art and science, to a chance discovery of graphene, to launching PuzzleX and Xpanse as platforms that translate deep science into human stories and explore how Quantum connects to everything, Zina's journey is driven by curiosity, serendipity, and a fearless embrace of the unknown. Her love of Isaac Asimov, the Sufi wisdom passed down through her family, and her refusal to fit into any one box make her path as unconventional as it is inspiring.

What drives Zina is the belief that science is not just discovery, but translation, the ability to bring the awe of new knowledge into forms that move people. Together, we explore the power of serendipity, the role of creativity in science, and why embracing complexity can spark entirely new ways of seeing the future. This is an inspiring conversation about risk, intuition, and the courage to create what doesn't yet exist.

🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Whisky (Laphroaig) + Tea

🎧 A thought to leave you with:

How do we harness exponential technologies with enough imagination - and responsibility - to serve humanity?

Episode Resources:
Zina Cinker
PuzzleX
Xpanse
MATTER

Nature, Cities, and Endurance with Russell Galt

Season 1 · Episode 5

Sunday, November 2, 2025 • Duration 42:55

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris

Nature, Cities, and Endurance with Russell Galt
Episode 5

In this episode, Chris sits down with Russell Galt, ecologist, strategist, and lifelong advocate for the natural world.

From growing up in the Scottish Highlands to tracking hyenas in South Africa, cycling across Continents, and now working at the intersection of conservation, cities, and carbon markets, Russell's journey is one of curiosity, courage, and commitment. Along the way, his love for whisky and bagpipes, and his stories of wilderness encounters, bring a deeply personal dimension to his path.

What drives Russell's work is a conviction that nothing is too broken to be repaired. Not bicycles, not communities, not even our relationship with nature.

Together, we explore the lessons of resilience, the urgent need to reimagine cities as ecosystems, and the power of individual choices to ripple outward. This is a hopeful conversation about endurance, generosity, and building futures where people and nature thrive together.

🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Whisky [Talisker]

🎧 A thought to leave you with:

What if every city was designed as an ecosystem: resilient, alive, and deeply connected to nature?

Episode Resources:
Russell Galt
Nature Broking

Connect with Choosing to Matter

Instagram: @choosingtomatter

LinkedIn: @choosingtomatter

Climate Extremes and Urgent Choices with Sonia Seneviratne

Season 1 · Episode 4

Thursday, October 30, 2025 • Duration 52:14

Climate Extremes and Urgent Choices with Sonia Seneviratne
Episode 4

In this episode, Chris sits down with Sonia Seneviratne, climate scientist, professor at ETH Zurich, and a leading voice in climate extremes. From her early fascination with astrophysics and childhood astronomy books to pivotal moments in the Amazon rainforest and now shaping global climate assessments, Sonia's journey is one of curiosity turned into environmental responsibility.

What drives Sonia's work is a deep commitment to fact-checking reality and speaking truth at the intersection of science and society. Together, we explore her path from physics and biology to environmental science, her role as a coordinating lead author and bureau member of the IPCC - and Vice Chair of the IPCC's Working Group I - she sees herself as both a teacher and a "climate doctor." This is a powerful and inspiring conversation about truth, responsibility, and the urgent choices before us.

🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Black Tea

📍 The ingredients:
00:30 Tea, roots, and Sri Lankan connections
03:00 A Voyager and the dream of astrophysics
04:00 Shifting from the stars to our planet's emergency
06:00 Biology, physics, and finding a path toward environmental science
09:00 Rainforests, shamans, and seeing the atmosphere is alive
12:00 A family of musicians and entrepreneurs
19:00 Droughts, vegetation, and the hidden role of water in CO₂ cycles
22:00 The 1.5°C report and why every fraction of a degree matters
26:00 Wearing many hats: scientist, teacher, translator, advocate
29:00 Inspired by truth-tellers and exposing propaganda
34:00 Understanding extreme events through physics and statistics
37:00 Redefining "normal": when extremes become the baseline
39:00 The limits of adaptation and why mitigation is essential
41:00 Family, weekends, and finding joy outside the climate crisis
45:00 Net zero as a journey; one step at a time 47:00 Healthy diets, lifestyle shifts, and climate as a mutual benefit 49:00 Choosing to matter: the first step is personal 50:00 Looking back from the future: decisions you'll be proud of 51:00 Closing reflections and gratitude

From Snowy Slopes to Climate Science with Reto Knutti

Season 1 · Episode 3

Thursday, October 30, 2025 • Duration 54:05

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris

From Snowy Slopes to Climate Science with Reto Knutti

Episode 3

In this episode, Chris sits down with Dr. Reto Knutti, climate scientist, professor at ETH Zurich, and a trusted voice on climate science in Switzerland. Here we explore Reto's personal journey from a ski village in the Bernese Alps to becoming a leading figure in global climate modeling and science communication.

Through stories of mountaineering, margaritas in Colorado, and early inspirations in physics, Reto shares what drives his work: not just understanding climate change, but helping society make meaningful, informed decisions. Together, we discuss the complexity of climate modeling, the tensions between science and advocacy, and what it means to "choose to matter" in a world that urgently needs collective action.

This is a deeply thoughtful and hopeful conversation about science, trust, and finding clarity in a time of global uncertainty.

🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Margarita

📍 The ingredients:
00:30 Welcome and favorite drink
00:59 Memories of Colorado and cultural connection
02:11 Growing up in the Swiss Alps
03:16 Early academic interests and discovering physics
04:43 Entry into climate science and working with Thomas Stocker
11:58 Modeling climate change: from box models to complex systems
15:10 What we've learned—and still don't know—about climate impacts
22:56 Science, politics, and the limits of advocacy
25:45 The fine line between scientific facts and opinion
28:00 The challenge of communicating complexity in a simplified world
29:35 What inspires hope, and what does not in today's climate landscape 33:26 The role of individual vs. political action in driving change 36:16 Why net zero demands more than technology 39:20 We can't afford to stay in the sleeping bag: on taking action 43:04 What it means to matter as a scientist in society 50:58 Reflections on choosing to make a difference

Workforce Innovation and Equity with Cynthia Hansen

Season 1 · Episode 2

Thursday, October 30, 2025 • Duration 43:47

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris

Workforce Innovation and Equity with Cynthia Hansen

Episode 2

In this episode, Chris sits down with Cynthia Hansen - Managing Director of the Innovation Foundation empowered by the Adecco Group, and a change-maker in global workforce inclusion. Together, they explore Cynthia's journey from her first job at a veterinary office to teaching in Japan, leading initiatives at the World Economic Forum, and now steering a foundation that pushes the boundaries of corporate philanthropy.

Along the way, Cynthia shares how her personal story - from growing up in a multicultural family on the U.S.A. West Coast to raising trilingual children in Switzerland has shaped her vision for a more inclusive and opportunity-rich future. She reflects on the art of balancing professional ambition with personal fulfillment, the power of small actions, and why embracing both grit and humanity is essential for leadership.

This is a thoughtful and inspiring conversation about purpose, agency, and crafting a legacy that truly matters in a complex, interconnected world.

📍 The ingredients:
00:30 Welcome and favorite drink
02:23 Early career beginnings: veterinary office to convalescent hospital
06:16 Leading the Innovation Foundation and redefining corporate philanthropy
10:58 Family transitions, trilingual kids, and life in Switzerland
12:24 Career pivots: from aspiring vet to professor to global leader
16:19 International experiences and lessons from Japan
18:12 Designing with, not for communities
22:02 Conversations with her kids on stereotypes and identity
22:56 Hopes for future generations and climate-conscious living
23:45 Making high-stakes choices as a CEO
26:27 What inspires change and what keeps her going
27:30 Books that leave a mark: from India to leprosy to social change
30:22 Technology, AI, and the "serendipity engine" 34:30 Looking ahead to 2050: challenges, hope, and self-correcting systems 37:04 Balancing life, leadership, and letting go of what doesn't matter 41:58 Lessons learned and staying true to a personal North Star