Braver New Worlds

Braver New Worlds is a podcast for people navigating change, questioning inherited narratives, and trying to lead with intention and humanity even when the path forward is unclear. It’s about the stories we need to share–about ourselves, our work, and our vision–for the future want to create. Each episode is a thoughtful human conversation with someone actively trying to change something, whether that’s through their work, their being, or their relationship with community. We discuss personal stories, public responsibility, and how identity, values, and lived experience shape the way we see and show up in the world.

Braver New Worlds is a society podcast hosted by Nathan Cody Young, with 28 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Nathan Cody Young hosts Braver New Worlds, a society show with 28 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #28

  Rebuilding a Shared Reality: Media, Trust, and the End of Institutions with Jackie Bryant

  Aug 18, 20261h 7m

  The old media system is breaking apart. Newspapers and magazines have shrunk, audiences increasingly get their news from social feeds and video, and anyone with a phone can become a publisher. That democratization has opened space for voices and perspectives that traditional institutions often ignored. But what happens when the institutions disappear and every individual is left to build their own audience, verify their own information, and navigate their own personalized reality? In this episode of Braver New Worlds, Nathan talks with journalist, writer, editor, professor, and content strategist Jackie Bryant about what we have gained—and what we may be losing—as media becomes increasingly fragmented. Jackie makes the case that independent media is a vital check on legacy institutions, but warns against treating individual creators as a complete replacement for journalism’s editorial structures, institutional knowledge, fact-checking, and economic support. The conversation moves from the history of San Diego’s media ecosystem and the literal origins of the “soapbox” to the collapse of monoculture, algorithmic feeds, media literacy, the economics of journalism, and the difficult future facing young reporters. Jackie shares what she sees among her journalism students, why being a creator often means becoming your own editor, producer, marketer, administrator, and public punching bag, and why the promise of independent media can become another burden for working-class media workers. About Jackie Bryant Jackie Bryant is a journalist, writer, editor, professor, and content strategist based in San Diego. Her journalism focuses heavily on cannabis business and culture while also spanning travel, food, wine, spirits, arts and culture, and organized labor. She is a content director and editor for Leaf Magazines, works with brands on fractional content strategy and copywriting, and teaches in the Journalism and Media Studies department at San Diego State University. She also writes Cannabitch, a newsletter about cannabis culture, and co-hosts the Happy Half Hour podcast with Troy Johnson at San Diego Magazine. Find Jackie Instagram: @jacqbry LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacquelineannebryant Threads: @jacqbry Bluesky: @jacqbryant Newsletter: cannabitch.substack.com Website: jackiebryantwriting.com Happy Half Hour: sandiegomagazine.com/listen/happy-half-hour-podcast/ Puff Puff Press: puffpuffpresspodcast.com

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #28

  Rebuilding a Shared Reality: Media, Trust, and the End of Institutions with Jackie Bryant

  Aug 17, 20261h 7m

  The old media system is breaking apart. Newspapers and magazines have shrunk, audiences increasingly get their news from social feeds and video, and anyone with a phone can become a publisher. That democratization has opened space for voices and perspectives that traditional institutions often ignored. But what happens when the institutions disappear and every individual is left to build their own audience, verify their own information, and navigate their own personalized reality? In this episode of Braver New Worlds, Nathan talks with journalist, writer, editor, professor, and content strategist Jackie Bryant about what we have gained—and what we may be losing—as media becomes increasingly fragmented. Jackie makes the case that independent media is a vital check on legacy institutions, but warns against treating individual creators as a complete replacement for journalism’s editorial structures, institutional knowledge, fact-checking, and economic support. The conversation moves from the history of San Diego’s media ecosystem and the literal origins of the “soapbox” to the collapse of monoculture, algorithmic feeds, media literacy, the economics of journalism, and the difficult future facing young reporters. Jackie shares what she sees among her journalism students, why being a creator often means becoming your own editor, producer, marketer, administrator, and public punching bag, and why the promise of independent media can become another burden for working-class media workers. About Jackie Bryant Jackie Bryant is a journalist, writer, editor, professor, and content strategist based in San Diego. Her journalism focuses heavily on cannabis business and culture while also spanning travel, food, wine, spirits, arts and culture, and organized labor. She is a content director and editor for Leaf Magazines, works with brands on fractional content strategy and copywriting, and teaches in the Journalism and Media Studies department at San Diego State University. She also writes Cannabitch, a newsletter about cannabis culture, and co-hosts the Happy Half Hour podcast with Troy Johnson at San Diego Magazine. Find Jackie Instagram: @jacqbry LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacquelineannebryant Threads: @jacqbry Bluesky: @jacqbryant Newsletter: cannabitch.substack.com Website: jackiebryantwriting.com Happy Half Hour: sandiegomagazine.com/listen/happy-half-hour-podcast/ Puff Puff Press: puffpuffpresspodcast.com

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #27

  From Idea to Business Success: Trust, Community, and Self Belief with Nichole MacDonald

  Aug 10, 20261 hour

  What separates an idea from a successful business? For entrepreneur and inventor Nichole MacDonald, the answer isn't creativity—it's validation, community, and trust. Nichole is the founder of Sash, a hands-free bag company that grew from handmade backyard prototypes into a nationally recognized brand with one of the most engaged customer communities in consumer products. But behind that success story lies a much more complicated journey: failed businesses, financial hardship, years spent selling face-to-face at farmers markets, and countless lessons about manufacturing, marketing, and leadership. Nichole shares the practical lessons she learned building a physical product company from scratch: why founders should validate ideas before investing heavily, how small experiments create momentum, and why maintaining relationships with customers may be the greatest advantage a business can have. The conversation expands into leadership, advocacy, and politics. Drawing on her experience leading women's business organizations and advocating for small-business policy, Nichole argues that trust is the missing ingredient in many institutions today. She outlines a vision for connecting communities, innovators, and policymakers in new ways, while reflecting on the role curiosity and courage play in building a better future. Whether you're launching a business, leading a team, or simply wondering how meaningful change happens, this episode offers an honest look at the messy, human work of creating something that lasts. About Nichole MacDonald Nichole MacDonald is an entrepreneur, product creator, and advocate for women and small business owners. She is the founder of Sash Bag, an alternative to the traditional handbag that grew into a multimillion-dollar direct-to-consumer business and a community of more than 22,000 women. Nichole has spent more than two decades working in consumer product development and manufacturing. Her entrepreneurial experience—from hand-sewing early Sash Bag prototypes, selling directly to customers at farmers markets, and eventually scaling the company nationally—has shaped her approach to product development, marketing, community building, and leadership. Her work has increasingly expanded into advocacy for women entrepreneurs and small businesses, including leadership roles with the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), serving as president of both the San Diego and California chapters. At the heart of Nichole’s work is a belief in staying close to the people you serve—listening to them, building trust, and using that relationship to create better products, businesses, and communities. Today, she works with entrepreneurs, creators, and leaders to build businesses rooted in authenticity, community, and purpose through consulting, speaking, and educational work. — Connect with Nichole MacDonald Website: nicholemacdonald.com LinkedIn: Nichole MacDonald Instagram: @nichole.macdonald Facebook: Nichole MacDonald TikTok: @california.mac Sash Bag: thesashbag.com

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #26

  Shared Equity, Collective Power, and Rethinking Who Owns Housing with Josh Newton

  Aug 4, 20261h 1m

  EPISODE SUMMARY What if the goal of homeownership wasn't a payout at the end, but a say in what happens along the way? In this episode, Nathan sits down with Josh Newton, researcher, lecturer, and co-founder of the San Diego Community Wealth Building Coalition. Together they dig into two financial ownership models most people have never heard of: community land trusts and limited equity housing cooperatives. Josh walks through how these models separate land ownership from what's built on top of it, why "limited equity" might be the wrong name for what's actually a form of shared equity, and how one-share-one-vote governance makes cooperative housing more democratic than the corporations most of us assume are the default. Along the way, Josh takes apart two of the most common arguments used to explain the housing crisis, supply-and-demand theory and "filtering." He also shares a real local example born out of decades of displacement: Barrio Logan's Tierra Indígenas land trust.. The conversation moves from mechanics to something bigger: what it would look like if cities were governed from the neighborhood up instead of the top down, and what's actually standing in the way. Hint: it’s a combination of education, funding, and political will… and not the models themselves. ABOUT JOSH NEWTON Josh Newton is a Researcher and Lecturer in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of California, San Diego. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of Texas at Arlington. He has written on the impact of philanthropic foundations in housing and community development, housing precarity and grassroots solutions in informal subdivisions, and the economic and political benefits of community land trusts and limited equity housing cooperatives. Outside of academia, he co-founded the San Diego Community Wealth Building Coalition to expand and support community land trusts and housing, worker, and food cooperatives in the region through education, technical assistance, and policy advocacy. LINKS LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/city-josh-newton/ Instagram: instagram.com/cityjoshnewton/ Website: cityjoshnewton.com San Diego Community Wealth Building Coalition: https://www.instagram.com/sdcwbc/ Tierras Indígenas Community Land Trust Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tierras_indigenas/ Website: https://www.tierrasindigenasclt.org/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #25

  Community Over Competition and Advocating for Culture with Susanna Peredo Swap

  Jul 28, 20261h 3m

  Episode Summary Susanna Peredo Swap has spent the last decade building something rare: a creative community in San Diego that operates on collaboration instead of competition. As founder of Vanguard Culture, she's brought together thousands of artists across every discipline — starting, almost by accident, from a single potluck where the first fifty people to RSVP were invited to bring not just food, but talent. In this conversation, Susanna traces that arc from a scrappy email newsletter to a nonprofit and unpacks the philosophy underneath it: a "yes, and" approach borrowed straight from her years in theater, where saying yes to one more collaborator almost always makes the work better. She and Nathan dig into the tension between boldness and hubris; how a decade of professional rejection as an actor left her with less fear of failure; and stepping up to your creative strength, whether that’s in how you put your own work forward or how you build community. We also talk about why she thinks the "starving artist" mindset is a kind of self-imposed sabotage, and the economic case for why a city's investment in its creative sector pays for itself many times over. ABOUT SUSANNA PEREDO SWAP Susanna Peredo Swap is an award-winning producer, journalist, and film director with 25+ years of experience in arts administration, acting, jazz vocals, arts advocacy, and public relations. At the San Diego International Airport Art Program, she curated over 80 exhibitions and led a dynamic performing arts series. She currently serves on several boards and advisory committees, including the San Diego Museum Council, San Diego Press Club, Burnham Center for Community Advancement, and One San Diego. She recently co-led Arts & Culture for World Design Capital San Diego–Tijuana, served on the board of Women in Tourism & Hospitality International, and advised UCSD-TV's ARTS Channel. Her passion for the arts led her to found Vanguard Culture, a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting San Diego's creative workforce — an organization that has won 82 awards for Excellence in Journalism, 2 Gold Anthem Awards presented by the Webbys, a feature on the National Geographic Channel, and an official Vanguard Culture Day designation from the County of San Diego marking 10 years of service to the arts community. LINKS Website: vanguardculture.com Newsletter: Sign up here Free resource guide for creatives: Access here San Diego Arts Pass LinkedIn: Vanguard Culture Instagram: @vanguardculture Facebook: Vanguard Culture YouTube: @VanguardCultureSD Threads: @vanguardculture

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Braver New Worlds. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.