podcast summer road trip starts today!

Today, we leave on the inaugural Champions of the Lost Causes podcast summer road trip! Five weeks of interviewing people all across America who are changing the world by championing causes.

I started the podcast four years ago because I was curious. Why do people champion causes? What sustains them? What helps them succeed? Every guest I've talked to has taught me something and encouraged me. I not only see my own Coliseum work and motivations more clearly, but each episode also strengthens my core belief in humanity. I have become more steadfastly convinced that goodness is humanity's predominant trait – un-killable, indefatigable and everlasting! Goodness will win out in the end. It is inevitable, despite all the evidence that suggests otherwise.

In my first 40 episodes, I learned primarily from my hometown of Memphis, which often gets a bad rap for its persistent problems, but is also so full of goodness, y'all. I am an unapologetic homer for Memphis, but I do see its flaws and wounds. I choose to see the good alongside its problems, and I confidently root for and work with those who know Memphis can be even better!

About the time I got the podcast into an early rhythm, the pandemic struck. Zoom calls quickly showed just how accessible people were, and I did manage to do a handful of non-Memphis interviews (even one international episode!). That opened my eyes to the wider Champions' national and global ecosystem.

Technology connects us in useful ways, but there's no substitute for seeing the work first-hand, and meeting the Champions doing the work face to face! On this road trip, we will do just that!

It all starts with today in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Then we'll head to Tulsa, Kansas City and Wichita, then Denver, Arizona and out to LA. Up the state of California to the Pacific Northwest, then back east through Montana, Iowa, Missouri, and finally home to Memphis. Seventeen states over five weeks! Here we come!