Project Good Podcast

Project Good is a social impact podcast interviewing experts and advocates about the pressing problems that we face globally and hearing how they suggest we move forward in the future.

Project Good Podcast is a society podcast hosted by projectgoodpodcast, with 88 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

projectgoodpodcast hosts Project Good Podcast, a society show with 88 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 #97

  Climate Solutions ft Joshua Harrison

  Sep 22, 20261h 3m

  Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s September focus on climate change solutions, citing NOAA data that July 2026 was the hottest month recorded in the U.S. and outlining key drivers such as heat domes, human-caused climate change, warm oceans, humidity, and El Niño. She interviews Joshua Harrison, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Leaf Island, about his lifelong engagement with environmental issues, including early activism around solar energy and a multidisciplinary background in ecological art. Harrison argues for systems thinking, nature-based solutions like urban greening, and long-term “seven generations” decision-making, emphasizing reconnecting people—especially youth—to hands-on climate action. He explains Leaf Island’s concept of restoring city “leaf cover” to cool urban environments and discusses repurposing styrofoam into lightweight, high-performing growing media for scalable green infrastructure. 00:00 Welcome to Project Good 01:11 Meet Joshua Harrison 03:25 Early Climate Awakening 07:17 Art Meets Systems Thinking 13:06 Nature as Climate Tech 18:29 Reconnecting People to Nature 25:24 2030 Tipping Point 31:00 Politics Values and Power 40:15 Indigenous Science and Fire 45:47 Leaf Island Origin Story 48:41 Turning Waste into Soil 55:13 Hope and Youth Agency 01:01:52 Closing and Resources Joshua Harrison the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Leaf Island, an award-winning green infrastructure company based in New York. He also serves as Director of the Center for the Study of the Force Majeure at UC Santa Cruz. For over three decades, Joshua has worked at the intersection of art, ecology, and systems strategy — from designing immersive installations on ocean collapse to building regenerative models for wildfire impacted landscapes in the American West. His current focus: transforming cities into functioning ecosystems using modular, scalable technologies — starting with rooftops, walls, streets, and coastlines is reshaping how we move forward with this crisis.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #96

  Pain ft Dr. Melissa J. Durham

  Sep 10, 20261h 2m

  Host Annmarie Hylton introduces Project Good’s September focus on pain, highlighting a global crisis of inequitable access to basic pain relief and palliative care alongside opioid overprescription and overdose in high-income nations. She interviews Dr. Melissa Durham, a USC clinical pharmacy associate professor and clinical pharmacist who founded and runs a pharmacy-led pain medication management service for complex chronic non-cancer pain. Durham describes choosing pharmacy, building her pain practice model from the ground up, and navigating barriers to controlled-substance prescribing and dispensing amid regulatory fear. She emphasizes functional outcomes and quality of life, evidence-based monitoring, stigma reduction, and patient privacy, noting harms from misapplied 2016 CDC opioid guideline dose cutoffs while acknowledging improved prescribing trends. The conversation covers personalized care through social determinants and health equity, clinician compassion fatigue and “boundaried compassionate caregiving,” AI for efficiency, and a vision for multidisciplinary pain care access. 00:00 Welcome to Project Good 01:03 Meet Dr Melissa Durham 03:05 Why Pharmacy and Pain 07:41 Opioids and Access Barriers 19:22 Personalized Care and Equity 23:34 Teaching Health Justice 29:53 Compassion Fatigue and Boundaries 41:54 Pain Care Around the World 49:28 Defining Wellness and Thriving 56:14 AI in Healthcare 01:01:23 Closing and Resources Melissa J. Durham is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Southern California (USC) Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, completed a residency in Community-based Pharmacy Practice, and has a Master of Academic Medicine degree, all from USC. Dr. Durham is a clinical pharmacist at the USC Pain Center, where she established and runs a pharmacist-led pain medication management service for patients with a variety of complicated chronic nononcologic pain conditions. She is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with chronic pain through patient-centered and compassionate care. The value of her unique practice model has been recognized and published both nationally and internationally. Dr. Durham is also a practicing community pharmacist and provides a valuable and unique perspective of a clinician who is both a prescriber and a dispenser – a perspective that is valuable to patients, providers, health systems, and industry alike. Dr. Durham is a sought-after speaker on the topics of pain management, risk reduction and harm reduction, and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. She is originally from Central California and resides in Los Angeles.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #95

  Intentional Consumerism ft Courtney Barriger

  Aug 25, 20261 hour

  Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s August focus on intentional consumerism and interviews Courtney Barriger, a sustainable fashion designer, author of Refashion Workshop, and founder of Holding Court. Barriger explains fast fashion’s rapid, cheap production model and shares how modeling exposed her to low-quality, untraceable clothing and raised questions about waste and supply chains. She argues fast fashion is increasing, citing newer platforms like Shein and Temu and the lack of transparency, and discusses growing concerns about toxins in clothing, including PFAs, BPAs, and lead, alongside emerging regulation such as California’s testing requirements and related lawsuits. The conversation links overconsumption to identity and insecurity, recommends practical consumer habits like reading labels and delaying impulse purchases, urges businesses to use third-party certified materials and design for durability and circularity, and highlights innovation in biodegradable, alternative fibers. Barriger describes Holding Court’s made-to-order, low-tox approach and her broader education and storytelling work. 00:00 Welcome to Project Good 01:01 Meet Courtney Barriger 08:56 Fast Fashion Today Bleak 12:22 Toxins and New Regulations 15:53 How We Got Here 19:57 Clothing Waste Deserts 23:14 Global Pushback Strategies 31:18 Clothes And Identity 36:56 What Businesses Must Change 39:57 Luxury Status Trap 45:01 Teaching Kids Consumerism 49:20 Climate Week Fabric Innovation 59:10 Final Thanks And Links Courtney Barriger is an award-winning artist, published author, sustainable fashion designer, and storyteller exploring the intersection of fashion, psychology, mythology, sustainability, and human consciousness. She is the author of ReFashion Workshop, an educational book and creative platform focused on sustainable living, textile awareness, conscious consumerism, and the future of ethical fashion. Through ReFashion Workshop, Courtney examines the environmental, psychological, and cultural impact of what we wear from microplastics and textile waste to identity, storytelling, and consumer behavior in the digital age. Courtney is also the founder of Holding Court a sustainable luxury fashion brand centered around wearable art, ethical production, and environmentally conscious design. Find out more at: https://holdingcourtinc.com/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #94

  Culture & Climate ft Majella Mark

  Aug 18, 20261h 10m

  Host Annmarie Hylton introduces the Project Good Podcast’s August focus on culture and climate resilience amid record heat, wildfires, and political discord over environmental policy. She interviews journalist and storyteller Majella Mark, who experienced Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 and helped respond to severe damage on Carriacou, including destruction of the Carriacou Museum’s top floor and loss of artifacts. Mark explains how preserving cultural institutions protects identity—especially for the African diaspora—and connects culture to biodiversity through land-based practices, fishing traditions and reef restoration, and knowledge of sky and moon cycles. She outlines plans to rebuild the museum as a sustainable community hub and storm shelter using solar, rain catchment, and resilient materials, while using storytelling to document local traditions such as recipes in a cookbook. Mark calls for listening, youth leadership, and locally informed blue economy policies. 00:00 Welcome to Project Good 01:24 Meet Majella Mark 03:12 From Caregiver to Director 08:30 How the Project Began 13:57 Why Culture Must Be Saved 24:23 Culture Protects Nature 30:25 Respect and Listening Gap 42:53 Rebuilding a Resilient Museum 52:55 Old Tech Meets New 55:57 Storytelling and Cookbook Plans 01:01:30 Policy Wish Blue Economy 01:04:40 Doing Good and Capacity 01:09:06 Closing and Where to Follow Majella Mark is a journalist, researcher, and storyteller whose work explores the intersection of culture, technology, social impact, and human behavior. Through her writing, she examines the forces shaping our world, encouraging thoughtful conversations about identity, equity, innovation, and the future of society. Majella has contributed to publications including CultureBanx, Harness Magazine, and Medium, where she brings together data, research, and lived experience to make complex issues accessible and engaging. She is also the author of Purrsuit of Equality Through Women Herstory: The Coloring Book and Cats Are Trash Human Beings, using creativity and humor to spark meaningful dialogue about history, culture, and the human experience. Currently she is the Executive Director of the Carriacou Museum. Learn more at https://www.carriacoumuseum.gd/ .

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #93

  USAID ft Clifford Brown

  Jul 31, 20261h 4m

  Annmarie Hylton introduces Project Good and a July focus on USAID, outlining its creation in 1961, global development and humanitarian roles, and its reliance on grants and contracts, before noting it ceased operations in July 2025 and was merged into the State Department after 2025 funding freezes and mass program terminations. She interviews former USAID Mission Director and attorney Clifford Brown, author of Inside USAID: An Odyssey of Foreign Assistance, about his path from commercial law to overseas development work and how USAID evolved from in-house technical expertise to primarily funding implementers. Brown argues the shutdown was a politically driven “stop work” action led by Elon Musk’s DOGE team that disrupted even “life-saving” programs despite stated exemptions, generated major legal claims, harmed staff and partners, and likely contributed to preventable deaths, while also weakening global health, development knowledge systems, and international efforts tied to broader goals; both emphasize rebuilding trust, human connection, and public awareness. 00:00 Welcome to Project Good 02:13 Meet Clifford Brown 08:16 What USAID Really Did 17:19 Why USAID Was Shut Down 24:10 Human Cost and Fallout 31:24 Aid Freeze Fallout 40:58 Health Security Gaps 44:47 Foreign Aid Misconceptions 48:47 Borders And Trust 01:03:19 Final Thanks And Links Clifford Brown is the author of Inside USAID: An Odyssey of Foreign Assistance. Mr. Brown is also an attorney who graduated from UCLA law school in 1976 and practiced commercial securities and law for eleven years in Beverly Hills,CA. His interest in international affairs and languages, convinced him to join the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1987 when he was the Mission Director for Guinea and Sierra Leone.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Project Good Podcast. 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.