We're flipping things for the final episode of season five, and host Leigh Mathews is being interviewed by the wonderful Mel Harwin who has over 15 years experience working as a leader, implementor, human designer and evaluator in the international development, social, and environmental programs globally. Mel's experience, curiosity and critical th…

Ethics is a term we throw around quite often in the doing good sector. But what does it really mean? Where do ethics apply? Is it at the organisational level, the individual level, or both? In the humanitarian sector, where staff are regularly placed in situations where they are required to make decisions that can deeply affect the lives of others,…

In the aftermath of the #metoo movement, we saw the emergence of #aidtoo and the resulting exposure of harassment, abuse and discrimination in the development and humanitarian sector. While the reports are shocking to read, it’s no surprise – abuse, sexual misconduct, racism, and discrimination have been long prevalent in the sector, and we continu…

Organisations all over the world are engaging in a long overdue self-analysis and reflection of how they operate and how they engage with communities whom they have traditionally worked ‘on behalf of’. This can be both confronting and challenging, but it’s also entirely necessary if we want to dismantle the harmful systems and structures rooted in …

Working in a sector that is traditionally seen as ‘doing good’ can mean that often, actions and behaviours that are not good at all, and in fact, cause harm are able to proliferate. The international development sector is built upon colonial ideals and has traditionally perpetuated those through a harmful system of top-down do-gooding that actively…

As somebody who has spent their entire career working to protect the rights of vulnerable children, today’s episode was challenging to record. While we know that children’s rights are violated daily, we don’t expect that harm to be caused by the very institutions created to protect them. Australia’s family court was established in the 1970s, underp…

Today’s episode is a deep dive into exploring doing good in the context of activism. This podcast exists to explore why we do good, how we do good, and what the implications of our do gooding are. In activist communities, we often see a spectrum of people – from those who participate in activism sporadically, to those who dedicate their entire live…

Today’s conversation is a topic very close to my own heart, and one that’s formed a core part of my professional career: children living in orphanages. The evidence tells us that growing up in an orphanage is harmful, yet it’s still happening at scale with millions of children globally stuck in institutions. A key fact that I want to continue to dr…

Ethics don’t exist in a vacuum, they are developed over time, at an individual level through the course of our relationships with people, animals, the environment, and systems. In our modern world, it’s difficult to be independent of systems we don’t ethically align with. Advances in medical technology are moving at an unprecedented pace, and the f…

Today’s episode unpacks a topic that can be uncomfortable for some of us, but is something that we will all experience. Death. \ Death is the natural end of life, one certainty that every human being will experience, yet something we are often deeply unfamiliar with and shy away from. My guest today is Zenith Virago, a professional Deathwalker of o…

This week alone, in the midst of a devastating global pandemic, we have seen a massive earthquake hit Haiti, and horrific images and stories streaming out of Afghanistan documenting the fall of government and takeover by the Taliban. It’s difficult to process these events when we are already suffering collectively, and difficult to know what to do …

Opening season 5 with this episode seems fitting, with the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) damning report that found escaping human caused climate change is no longer possible. Even if earth’s climate was stablised in the near future, some of the climate change induced damage could not be reversed in centuries, or …

The concept of shared value has gained popularity in recent years, with recognition that solving social and environmental problems requires the input, participation and action of all stakeholders. Leveraging the resources and innovation capacity of the private sector is key to solving the world’s most pressing problems, and as the logic goes – if b…

Working in the international development sector is complex. From the outside, it can seem like an exciting, adventurous life – living in places that are perceived to be dangerous, or hard. But for humanitarian workers, it’s not always easy – especially for those working in conflict zones, or emergencies. Burnout and PTSD are common, and often left …

Accessibility is often taken for granted by people who are not disabled. Everyday situations like shopping, catching transport, accessing public bathrooms, using the internet can be extremely challenging for those who have a disability. Disability is so individual, and so misunderstood, and our world does not do well at accepting, accommodating and…

Today’s guest has quite the life story. Born in a remote village in the far west of Nepal, At the age of 7, Sushil went for a walk beyond the hills that surrounded his village and a few months later found himself homeless, living on the streets of Kathmandu. Sushil’s story of street living, his time in an orphanage and his perspective on volunteers…

Everything is connected, and every action we take impacts somebody, something, or someplace. As I get older, and learn more about the world, the connections become clearer. Things that seem straightforward on the surface are incredibly complex, and intersect with things that seem completely unrelated. I love this about the world – how we can seem t…

I’m fascinated by the different ways humans express what it means to do good: why they do good, how they do good, and what their consequences of their actions are. One of most widely used mechanisms for doing good is through religion. As with everything humans do, this is interpreted in vastly different ways: all driven by a personal interpretation…

I often lament that doing good is not done well enough, and talk about the need to pay more attention to the why, the how, and the impact of doing good. I’m a strong proponent of not engaging in the act of doing good unless you have a deep knowledge and understanding of the cause you are wanting to support, and the charity you want to support it th…

We need to talk about power. In the doing good sector, the people who are in the positions of power are those who make decisions about money. Who gets it, how much, when, how and why. In many cases, these decision makers are not representative of the communities who are meant to benefit from these decisions. They don’t have lived experience, they d…

Right now, in West Papua the long struggle for independence from Indonesian rule has reignited, triggering a brutal crackdown that involves chemical weapons, horrific killings, and mass displacement. All of this is occurring on Australia’s doorstep, yet we barely hear or see a thing about it in the news. Rewind, just over twenty years ago to Timor …

Allyship has been on everyone’s lips this year – and the conversation is incredibly overdue. But what does it mean to be an ally? How do we move beyond tokenism to a place of genuine allyship? What kind of self examination is required? What are the barriers in place and how do we break them down? To unpack these big questions, I invited Sarah Sheri…

Doing good is tricky at the best of times. Even at an individual level, it’s difficult to get it right. When it comes to tackling the world’s biggest problems such as climate change, education, violence, gender inequality, immigration and living standards it’s even tougher. Some countries are doing better than others at solving these problems withi…

Access to quality education is a huge issue globally, and parents everywhere want the best for their children. In Australia, where large areas of the country have been in a hard lockdown due to COVID-19, schools have been closed to students for a lengthy period of time, and parents have been forced to home school their children. Some children have …

There’s a common misconception in the doing good sector that the people working within it must be wholesome, values driven and above things like racism and sexual exploitation. But the reality is that the sector is driven by harmful structures that perpetuate the very things we are trying to ‘fix’ through our work. I’ve always found the psychology …

Today's episode features Kelly Dent of World Animal Protection talking about ending the global wildlife trade. The global trade in wildlife is worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually and includes both the legal and illegal trade in animals. While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora boasts a mem…

Have you ever raised money for a cause online? Have you ever donated to a crowdfunding or fundraising platform? If so, you’ve participated in the online fundraising sector. While online fundraising has undoubtedly been a huge benefit to charities, exposing their brand and their work to a global audience and raising enormous amounts of money in the …

Joining me today is Associate Professor Tobias Denskus from Malmø University in Sweden, and we're talking about communication in the development sector. Communicating well can be tricky at the best of times, but when it comes to communicating about development issues, it becomes even tricker. For a long time, the vast majority of charities communic…

Art is something we consume, or participate in every day – whether we realise it or not. Every podcast we listen to, book we read, or tv show or movie is a piece of art. A lot of the time we don’t realise that we are participating in it at all. I invited Jade Lillie, Head of Sector Development at the Australia Council for the Arts to chat with me a…

Today we have feminist, teacher and human trafficking survivor advocate Sophie Otiende talking 'freedom business'. The anti-trafficking sector is big business - with countless organisations trying to tackle the issue from wildly different perspectives. The 'raid and rescue' model, practiced by well known organisations and endorsed by celebrities ha…

Today's episode features the amazing Eva Galperin, and we're talking about stalkerware, surveillance and Tik Tok.⁠ ⁠ Back in 2018, Eva tweeted "“If you are a woman who has been sexually abused by a hacker who threatened to compromise your devices, contact me and I will make sure they are properly examined”. ⁠ ⁠ Her tweet was retweeted more than 10,…

Joining me for a bonus episode today is Dr. Jessica Kaufman from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. We're chatting about Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison's recent announcement about a potential COVID-19 vaccination, and his statement that the vaccine would be "as mandatory as you could possibly make it". Jess and I discuss the ethi…

Today on the Good Problem Podcast we have the amazing Nic Holas talking about the evolution of HIV activism.⁠ Nic is a queer activist, writer and the co-founder of The Institute of Many, an advocacy platform and grassroots movement for people living with HIV. ⁠In addition to his work with The Institute of Many, Nic is the Campaigns Director at Chan…

Today's episode features...me! In a departure from regular programming, i've put together a short episode on child sex trafficking to help provide some objective facts around the issue. There's been a huge surge in interest in this issue recently, accompanied by a significant increase in information being shared across social media platforms. While…

Today's episode features Jon Cornejo from the advocacy organisation, Charity So White which exists to tackle institutional racism in the charity sector. Jon and I talk about the importance of shifting the conversation to power and privilege instead of diversity and inclusion and how these structures and cultures actually reinforce inequality in the…

Today's episode features Tyson Yunkaporta: academic, author, arts critic, researcher, and member of the Apalech Clan with community and cultural ties all over the country. Tyson is the author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World - an incredible book that shares indigenous ways of thinking that respect the complexity of the world…

Today's episode of The Good Problem Podcast features the amazing Clementine Ford. We chat about power, privilege and feminism in the context of doing good. ⁠We also discuss her recent tweet about coronavirus and what it means to make mistakes.⁠ ⁠Clementine is a freelance writer, speaker and feminist thinker. Her books, Fight Like A Girl, and Boys W…

Today Nathan Parker and I talk about the COVID-19 crisis in the United States. We chat about why we haven't learned from past disasters, and how the development of a distributed digital infrastructure can help better coordinate the response and create a greater resilience for future disasters. Nathan is a problem solver and man of many talents - yo…

Today on the Good Problem Podcast we have the amazing Emily Braucher of ReFresh Communication talking cross cultural communication and how important it is to listen to those we are working with.⁠ I loved this chat with Emily, and I love this topic - I could talk about it for days on end! So much goes wrong because we consistently look at, and hear …

Today we have Part 2 of my episode with Professor Andrew MacLeod: corporate director, futurist, writer, speaker, humanitarian and traveller. Andrew and I unpack child sexual exploitation and abuse of children within the aid and international development sector, particularly within the United Nations. ⁠ ⁠This episode offers a fascinating perspective…

Today's guest is Professor Andrew MacLeod: corporate director, futurist, writer, speaker, humanitarian and traveller. Andrew and I explore his fascinating career working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the United Nations in conflict and natural disaster settings including the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Pakistan, and the Phili…

On today's episode, Lonny Grafman of Humboldt University and I talk community centred design, service learning, and how important failure is. Lonny's work is prolific - check it out here. Lonny is reading: UNFU CKTHE WORLD by Cabot O'Callaghan, and Sinai: a novella by David Gallagher Lonny is listening to: 99% invisible by Roman Mars…

Today's episode features Erika Cramer, Queen of Confidence. In a bit of divergence from our regular programming, Erika brings a different perspective to doing good. We follow Erika's life journey through all its traumas and challenges to where she is today as a mother, entrepreneur and confidence coach, and what she's learned along the way: authent…

Today Natalie Jesionka, a professor, media professional and human rights advocate joins me to discuss what the development sector might look like in a post-covid-19 world. What will international development work look like? Will the ways we work and program change for good? Natalie is reading The Overstory by Richard Powers Natalie is listening to …

Today's episode features Dr. Delia Pop, Director of Programmes at Hope and Homes for Children, and soon to be Director of Tanya's Dream Initiative Fund. We explore how Covid-19 is affecting children living outside of family care around the world, in orphanages, institutions, and foster care arrangements. With tourism halted, funding for orphanages …

Today's episode features Leigh Barnes, Chief Customer Officer at the Intrepid Group. We explore how Covid-19 has affected the tourism sector: How will tourism survive this? What responsibility does the tourism sector hold toward communities they have profited off, or those reliant on tourism for survival? What will tourism look like once this is ov…

Mat Tinkler from Save the Children Australia and I unpack what Covid-19 means for the most vulnerable members of our society - children. We chat about the challenges in keeping 'eyes on the child' in the middle of a global pandemic, the extra risks posed by Covid-19 in places like Cox's Bazar, or Al-Hawl refugee camps, and how NGOs are trying devel…

Shawn Humphrey is a man of many ideas, many projects and many thoughts! Shawn and I chat about the 'Do Gooder Industrial Complex' and Shawn's projects including the Sidekick Manifesto, Two Dollar Challenge, and Imagine Social Good. Shawn is reading: Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words, by David Whyte Emerg…

Welcome to the first episode of Season 2! Today's guest is Peter Mares - lead moderator at the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership, and journalist of over 25 years. Peter and I talk ethics in the time of Covid-19 and what an ethical framework looks like in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic. What Peter is reading: Solved, by Andrew We…

The final episode of Season 1 features ethicist and philosopher Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. Often called the "world's most influential living philosopher", Peter is credited with starting the modern animal rights movement, and the concept of effective altruism…