Richard Westcott chats with Jack Newman, Angélique Acquatella and Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg about what really drives inequality — from technology and trade to health and local policy — and how institutions can bridge the gap between national goals and everyday realities.

In this podcast episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Jack Newman, Angélique Acquatella and Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg about the forces that shape inequality today. 

Drawing on economics, politics and public policy, our guests examine why gaps persist, look at the roles of technology and trade, explore evidence on health inequalities in the UK, and discuss the delivery gap between national ambitions and local capacity. They share examples of when place-based approaches can work, what gets in the way, and how institutions can support more inclusive growth.

Season 5 Episode 2 transcript: MS Word / PDF

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform: 

For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

With thanks to:

Audio production by Alice Whaley
Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves


What really drives inequality?

We practice meditation because the present moment is the only place where we can truly find ourselves, love others, and be loved by the divine. This is why we gather, why we sit, why we breathe together. We practice surrendering to what lies beyond our control and responding rather than reacting to life's challenges. We cultivate curiosity about what's arising within and around us, learning to do difficult things like changing and growing. Because we trust there's a limitless reservoir of strength, compassion, and resilience flowing through us at every moment. 


Host: Brandon Nappi 


Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast 


You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders 

71: "Why We Practice" - reflection and meditation with Brandon Nappi

Omid Safi was raised in a Muslim family where mystical poetry, particularly “love” poetry, and spirituality, were the currency of daily life. Poetry still “perfumes” Omid's social interactions, intellectual pursuits, and his curiosity about the ways religion, love, and justice intersect. Safi is a professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He specializes in the study of Islamic mysticism and contemporary Islam and frequently writes on liberationist traditions of Dr. King, Malcolm X, and is committed to traditions that link together love and justice.  He has delivered the keynote for the annual Martin Luther King commemoration at the National Civil Rights Museum. In this episode of The Leader’s Way, host Brandon Nappi talks with Omid about his own spiritual path, the longings we each carry for community and belonging, and Omid’s forthcoming book on the famed mystic Rumi. 

Host: Brandon Nappi 

Guest: Omid Safi 

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast 

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders 

72: Rumi, Love, and Mysticism with Omid Safi

Joseph Yoo was baptized, raised, and ordained in the United Methodist Church, and is now an Episcopalian priest and the planter of Mosaic Episcopal Church located in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Joseph is the author of When the Saints Go Flying In: Stories About Faith, Life, and Everything in Between and is known for his dynamic presence on Instagram and TikTok, where he reflects on everything from scripture to social justice to pro wrestling. In this conversation, Joseph and Brandon talk about the curious and winding paths we travel as we follow the spiritual calling of our lives, and the people who, through the unfolding of their lives, teach us about God.  


Host: Brandon Nappi 

Guest: Joseph Yoo 

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast 

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders 

73: It's Okay to Have Jesus & a Therapist with Joseph Yoo

What does “community” actually mean? Is community something we achieve or is it something we practice? Claire Brown and Austin Sauerbrei are partners, parents, and community practitioners, living and working in small town rural America. Claire is the rector of a small Episcopal church and Austin is a community organizer with the 50+ year-old statewide nonprofit, SOCM. Their daily lives are a whirlwind of tending to relationships and building muscle for faithful community engagement in their small town. With humor, candor, and wisdom honed by years of deep listening, they offer insights about the tensions and opportunities that arise when we acknowledge how intertwined we are with one another. 


This episode is worth watching on The Leader’s Way YouTube channel! In this interview, Austin and Claire model what it looks like to engage in thought-partnership and parenthood, passing their youngest child, Ardy, between them as they respond to host Whitney Kimball Coe’s questions about how we do the thing we call “community.”  


Learn more about The Rev’d Claire Brown: https://www.revclairebrown.com/ 

 
Learn more about Austin Sauerbrei’s new graphic novel, Trouble! At Coal Creek: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2529-trouble-at-coal-creek 

“Have You Met the Community?” with Claire Brown and Austin Sauerbrei

In today’s episode, I talk with a truly special group of scholars, Candace Borders, Alison Kibe, and Jeania Ree Moore. They met as Graduate Writing Fellows and connected by giving each other feedback on their writing. While they share academic fields and methodologies, their ethics of care and investment in each other’s work allowed them to try out a new form of peer-review group, as “group consultations.” Conjoining the structure and duration of a peer-review writing group with the feedback process of an individual consultation, their group offers a unique model that can be formed by grad students who share a department and discipline. Sharing a discipline or department can have its’ challenges with respect to going “too deep” into the content, possible competition, and uneven experiences with working with advisors and gaining access to resources. Our guests offer a pathway based on Black feminist writing practices and theory that can mediate these challenges to offer a truly collaborative, compassionate, and accountable group writing and feedback model. 

Jeania Ree Moore is a writer, clergyperson, and interdisciplinary scholar of theology, religion, and African American studies. She is a PhD candidate in African American Studies and Religious Studies at Yale University, where her research draws on theology, ethics, and related disciplines to engage a range of sites in Black history and culture.  

Alison H Kibbe is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the College of Charleston. She is a scholar, multidisciplinary artist, and cultural organizer. In her scholarly work, Alison specializes in critical food studies, Black geographies and Black mobilities, and cultural production across the Caribbean and African Diaspora.

Candace Borders is an interdisciplinary scholar, educator, and curator. Her research explores the intersections of race, gender, class, and the urban Midwest, with particular attention to role of Black women’s activism in shaping the urban landscape.  She is a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Center for the Humanities, Washington University in St. Louis and received her PhD in American Studies and African American Studies from Yale University. 


Synergies, not Thorns with Jeania Ree Moore, Dr. Candace Borders, and Alison H. Kibbe

If you’re considering applying to Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, this episode is for you! 

It’s the SEMINARIAN TAKEOVER episode of The Leader’s Way Podcast. Berkeley Divinity School at Yale students Whitney Kimball Coe ’26, Misty Krasawski ‘26, and Jae Kirkland Rice ’27, pull back the curtain on what it’s like to be at seminary and divinity school.  

Our seminarians tell stories about how they made the decision to apply to Yale Divinity School and the questions, longings, and experiences that led them here. In this episode, we learn that there is no single path that leads a person to seminary, but many. We hear about worship at Berkeley, favorite courses, the importance of staying “prayed up,” and the ways God surprises us throughout this journey. 

 

Learn more at the Berkeley at Yale website: https://berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/ 

Special episode: The Seminarian Takeover!

Richard Westcott talks to Diane Coyle and César Hidalgo about how knowledge, ideas and intangible assets are becoming central to modern prosperity.
In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Diane Coyle and César Hidalgo about how knowledge, ideas and intangible assets are becoming central to modern prosperity. They discuss what makes intellectual capital distinctive, how AI may widen or narrow inequalities, and why some places benefit more than others. The conversation also explores the challenges of measuring intangible value and what kinds of skills, institutions and infrastructure are needed for countries and regions to turn intellectual capital into broader, long-term growth.

Season 5 Episode 3 transcript: PDF / MS Word

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

Follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky.

With thanks to:

Audio production by Alice Whaley
Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves

Is intellectual capital the key to future prosperity?

Socio-cultural anthropologist Todne Thomas, Associate Professor of Divinity and Religious Studies at Yale Divinity School, discusses researching a 2015 arson of a predominantly Black church in Tennessee, what it says about humanity, and why in-depth study of American religious life is critically important.

https://divinity.yale.edu/news/2025-12-12-what-a-2015-church-burning-reveals-about-race-religion-and-life-in-america-with

What a 2015 Church Burning Reveals About Race, Religion, and Life in America with Prof Todne Thomas

In this tender and powerful episode, Leader’s Way host Brandon Nappi interviews Nelba Márquez-Greene, a devoted advocate for survivors of gun violence and someone who has been named one of the “Ten Women Changing the World,” according to People Magazine’s October 2019 issue. A Community Scholar at the Yale School of Public Health, Nelba also hosts the “Shared Humanity” podcast and video series, which focuses on the humans behind the headlines of gun violence in a moment in history where all too often we focus on everything but our shared humanity. Márquez-Greene seeks ways to partner with community organizations, clergy, and those looking to strengthen their response to the trauma of gun violence and injustice in our communities.  

 
Nelba would like to dedicate this episode to all clergy who have ever prayed for her and her family and all people who are in winter seasons of their souls. 


Host: Brandon Nappi 

Guest: Nelba Márquez-Greene 

 
Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast 

 
berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast 


You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders 

76: Walking with Survivors of Gun Violence with Nelba Márquez-Greene

Gostovanje u emisiji HRCAK "Glas mladih", učenici III. OŠ Čakovec i učiteljica Nataša Boj, 14.3.2017.
Voditeljica: Spomenka Lovrinović
Učenici: Fran Meglić, Filip Cvjetićanin, Maksimilijan Hižman, Leo Stričak
Ttema: ICT, programiranje, algoritmi, škola, slobodno vrijeme,...

Glas_mladih_III_os_cakovec_mladi_programeri_2017

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