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PODCAST

The Squirrel News Podcast

Ed Crasnick, Jonathan Widder

A German Journalist and a Jewish Comic discuss the latest and greatest solution based news stories from around the world. A podcast about the amazing, wildly creative things people are doing to solve our biggest social problems today – from goats helping to fight wildfires to prisons without wardens and guns. Hosts: Ed Crasnick, Jonathan Widder Tags: solutions, society, sustainability, social innovation, solutions journalism, constructive journalism.

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All Episodes

00:40:41

#38: The Connection Cure

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2025/04/03

In a new medical trend, more and more doctors are prescribing outdoor pursuits and social activities instead of drugs and medication. Solutions journalist Julia Hotz has spoken about this topic on our podcast before. In this episode she returns to talk with us about the book she has written on the subject in the meantime: "The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging."Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Leon Wolf Links Julia Hotz, The

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00:44:25

#37: Meet a Jew

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2024/05/14

Prejudices about Jews are still widespread today. Yet many young people in Germany have never consciously met a Jew. The project ‘Meet a Jew’ aims to change this by bringing Jewish volunteers together with school classes and clubs. In this episode, project coordinator Masha explains what the encounters achieve and why many participants are amazed by them.Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Leon Wolf Links Project website Squirrel News Squirrel News is a free, curated news

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00:55:14

#36: Rediscovering the past to shape the future –...

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2024/04/23

In this special, personal episode, we continue our conversation about history with a special guest and a special project in which Jonathan's father recently rediscovered the story of Kurt Klein and Gerda Weissmann Klein: two Jews who left Germany during and after World War II, married and became very well-known in the US due to Gerda's book "All but my life" – but remained almost unknown in Germany. In this episode, we speak with their son Jim Klein about how his father Kurt saved Oskar Schindler,

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00:55:02

#35: Personal notes on current events and the past

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2024/02/13

In this episode, Ed and Jonathan, a Jew in LA and Jonathan a German in Berlin, reflect on current political events and their personal relation and experience with it: The rise of the far-right AfD in Germany, mass protests against it, and how Germany deals with the past in general; and on the other hand, the possible comeback of Donald Trump, racism and antisemitism in US history.By the way, we’re just getting started. Much more to come in our next episodes. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan

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00:48:10

#34: MDMA and social change

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2023/09/28

Can psychedelics like MDMA drive positive social change? Journalist Rachel Nuwer wrote a book on "MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World", and in one chapter she describes how taking the drug in a scientific study seems to have helped a former white nationalist leader change his extremist beliefs. In this episode, Rachel explains how this could be possible, how MDMA could have similar effects on others and where the limits are. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by

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00:31:43

#33: Why toilets are a key to progress

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2023/05/25

When thinking about global development, toilets are not the first thing that comes to mind. But facilitating access to toilets for everyone has surprising benefits for health, nutrition, safety, education and the economy. In this episode, Sarika Saluja, General Manager of the World Toilet Organisation, explains why universal access to toilets is more important than we'd think, why even governments are not sufficiently aware of that and how the situation has been improving over the last years. Hosted

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00:35:15

#32: The benefits of the four-day work week

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2023/03/30

A popular saying goes: “nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come,” and the four-day work week (without any salary cuts) seems to be exactly such an idea. More and more companies around the globe are introducing it. In the UK, the world's largest trial so far has just ended with positive outcomes regarding health, productivity, revenues, job satisfaction and more. In this episode, Dale Whelehan, a behavioural scientist and the new CEO of the NGO 4 Day Week Global, tells us why he

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00:34:21

#31: The 'Solar Punks': Bringing power to the people

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2023/03/17

What can citizens do to contribute to halt global warming? Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell set out their plan to turn their London street into a community solar power station. In this episode, Dan tells us why they use art and filmmaking to promote their project, how they crowdfunded the necessary money and how the couple is inspiring more and more neighbourhoods and public institutions to follow their model. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Nicolas Antochewicz Photo: Peter

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00:31:09

#30: Zero-interest loans for Black homebuyers

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2023/02/23

Classical reparations may be a good idea, but financially such one-off payments are not very sustainable. That's why a congregation from the Bay Area came up with another idea and introduced a zero-interest loan programme for Black homebuyers. In our new episode, Susan Russell from the Black Wealth Builders Fund explains to us how it works and how it can drive change in the future. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Jens Krijger. Stories discussed ‘This is not charity’: A

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00:42:36

#29: 'You can't be what you can't see': How to...

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/11/24

Not long ago, nature was our natural environment. Nowadays, more and more children grow up in cities without much contact to trees, hills, meadows and animals. For kids from low-income families it can be even more difficult to spend time outside their towns. And sometimes transport poverty can even prevent necessary hospital visits. San Francisco based non-profit Yoots has taken up the challenge to connect these children with the outside natural world. In our new episode, Yoots founder Craig Flax

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00:35:59

#28: How to tackle food poverty with the tools of a...

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/11/10

Millions of American families depend on food banks, but why until recently has nobody come up with a better solution? Dion Dawson realised that something is wrong with food banks when he had to wait in the rain with his family for hours only to obtain expiring fruits and some unlabeled can goods. Today he's the founder of Dion's Chicago Dream, a non-profit that delivers free healthful, nutritious food to families in need – an approach that solves multiple problems at once. In our new episode, Dion

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00:31:23

#27: Walking clubs for better mental health

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/10/12

After having dealt with anxieties for years, Scott Oughton-Johnson created a walking group for men with similar issues. Now more and more of such groups are starting in the UK. In our new episode, Scott tells use why the idea works so well and how it could develop in the future. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Maris Keller. Links The man who set up a mental health walking group for ‘blokes’, The Guardian Website: theproperblokesclub.co.uk Squirrel News Squirrel News is a free,

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00:45:20

#26: Humor for Humanity

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/09/15

Can humour help solve social problems? Comedian Jimmy Tingle thinks it can. With his project "Humor for Humanity" he aims to raise spirits, funds and awareness for non-profits and social causes. In our new episode, Jimmy explains to us how that works and shares impressing anecdotes on the President of Moldova and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Leon Wolf & Jens Krijger Links Humor for Humanity, Website Squirrel News Squirrel News is a free,

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1:01:26

#25: India's open prisons

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/08/25

A few years ago, authorities in the Indian state of Rajasthan faced a unique problem: inmates who had served their sentences did not want to leave prison. They had done time in open prisons without wardens or guards, but with their familes instead. Since that moment, researcher and activist Smita Chakraburtty has studied Rajasthan's open prisons and contributed to their spreading in India. In our new episode, Smita explains to us how the systems works, what benefits it has and how she effects

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00:27:18

#24: Free pianos for disadvantaged kids

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/08/05

The positive benefits of playing music are well known. But instruments are expensive and courses even more so. St Louis based non-profit Pianos for People aims to eliminate these barriers by providing both free pianos and free lessons to children of low-income families. In this episode, executive director Matt Brinkmann tells us how the concept works and what impact it has on the children. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Leon Wolf. Stories discussed In the key of joy: Pianos

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00:35:07

#23: Standup comedy for men at risk of suicide

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/07/21

Severe depression is a taboo, and when people talk about it, they usually do it with utmost seriousness. Angie Belcher, founder of Comedy on Referral, has another approach: She teaches men at risk of suicide standup comedy – and has just won NHS funding for it. In this episode, Angie explains to us how she came up with the idea and how using self-satire on stage makes people stronger and more self-confident. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Thomas Barth. Stories

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00:46:35

#22: The Good Newspaper

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/07/08

There are several online magazines covering exclusively "good news", but hardly any newspaper. Interestingly, Branden Harvey, the man who founded one of them, had never purchased a printed newspaper in his life before. In this show, Branden tells us why he did it anyway, what kind of impact their stories have, and what the difference is between feel good news and real good news. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Leon Wolf. Links Good Good Good website Squirrel News Squirrel News

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00:24:37

#21: Rehearsal for Life

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/06/23

In our daily lives, we prepare for almost everything, but not for communication about our thoughts and feelings. The organisation Rehearsal for Life prepares young people for crucial situations in daily life using improvisational theater. In this episode, Ed talks with their artistic director, Faith Soloway, associate director and co-writer of the hit Amazon series Transparent, Jackson Jirard, as well as troupe leader Holly Zarnower about how the approach works and what kind of impact it

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00:48:11

#20: People Walking

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/06/08

Loneliness is now considered a public health issue. Is there a cure? Chuck McCarthy may have invented one by chance, when he started a service that connected people who didn't know each other before to talk a walk together. In our new episode, we're talking to Chuck about the great potential of common walks and the suprising outcome of scheduled conversations with strangers. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Thomas Barth. Story discussed The loneliness problem in L.A. starts with

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00:46:48

#19: The unknown advantages of playfulness

The Squirrel News Podcast ·

2022/05/12

Playfulness is a quality most adults don't think about, let alone as something desirable or even a skill. Yet, recent research suggests exactly that. In this episode, we talk with René Proyer, a professor for psychology from Austria who has studied playfulness in depth and explains to us why playfulness can be part of the solution for many problems. Hosted by Ed Crasnick and Jonathan Widder; edited by Thomas Barth. Stories discussed Why adults should embrace their playfulness, BBC Guest: Professor

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38 results

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