Blue Sky

Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz traded New York City for a goat farm in Maine. Then a pandemic-era cookbook project led them to create Community Plate, a series of story-sharing potluck suppers that bring strangers together over food. They've now hosted 51 suppers across Maine. In this conversation, they share what makes the gatherings work, from rectangular tables and real china to phone-free dinners and food-focused story prompts, and how anyone can start one in their own community. This optimistic couple is making a dent in the loneliness epidemic and would love to see more efforts like theirs take off in other parts of the country. In this episode: 00:00 Introduction and Transition to Goat Farming 04:34 From Cookbook to Community Building 11:24 Anatomy of a Community Plate Supper 21:04 Fostering Connection Without Pressure 30:21 Expanding the Vision and Final Thoughts Learn more about Community Plate: https://www.communityplate.me/

News can feel relentlessly negative, but as this week's guest points out, that's a choice about what gets covered, not a reflection of what's actually happening in our communities. Mebane Rash is the founder and CEO of EdNC, a nonprofit, paywall-free online newsroom that covers every public school and all 58 community colleges in North Carolina. She joins Bill to talk about building a newsroom on the principle of "do no harm," why her team aims to be the best in the world at listening, and how being in schools day in and day out makes it hard not to be optimistic. Mebane started EdNC in 2015 with three people and a mandate to "fail forward, fail fast." Today her 15-person team spends four days a week on the road in all 100 counties, and half of EdNC's readers now live outside North Carolina. When Hurricane Helene devastated the western part of the state, EdNC didn't just report on the damage; they used that same reporting to write grants and bring funding into the hardest-hit counties, earning the North Carolina Press Association's Public Service Award. She also shares what she saw in Singapore's classrooms, why she's never seen cell phones be a real problem in thousands of school visits, and how she thinks about AI as just the latest change teachers will figure out, as they always have. Chapters: 00:00 A Journey into Public Policy Journalism 03:58 Building a Modern Education Platform 10:54 Listening as a Core Value 20:09 Journalism During Times of Crisis 30:04 Technology and Future Educational Models 40:46 The Path Forward for EdNC

Joe Fiveash, a longtime digital media executive with stops at the Weather Channel, IBM Watson, and Raycom Media, joins Bill Burke to talk about Introships, the nonprofit he now leads that helps college students figure out what career path is right for them before they chase a traditional internship. What started over a decade ago as a handful of Atlanta parents pooling their kids together for office rotations has grown into a structured program now serving students nationwide. Joe walks through how Introships works — combining personality and career aptitude testing, live presentations from professionals across dozens of industries, weekly group coaching, and one-on-one guidance — all designed to help students identify the intersection of what they're good at, what genuinely interests them, and what can support a living. He also discusses how the program intentionally opens doors for first-generation college students who don't have built-in industry connections, why human-to-human relationships still matter in an AI-driven hiring landscape, and why spending time with young people leaves him more optimistic about the future, not less. Chapters: [00:00] Intro to Joe Fiveash and his background in digital media [02:30] How Introships started — a group of Atlanta parents pooling their kids for office rotations [06:00] Why "intro-ships" come before internships — helping students explore before they commit [09:30] Joe's philosophy on work and career as a foundation for a fulfilling life [13:00] How the program works for students, and the three groups who participate [18:00] Addressing the internship access gap — leveling the playing field for first-generation students [21:30] How the program has grown — and why Joe is intentional about not scaling too fast [24:00] The four parts of the program: aptitude testing, live presentations, group coaching, and one-on-one debriefs [29:00] Why storytelling from real professionals matters more than databases and career quizzes [33:00] Reflections on working with young people — optimism, energy, and "not knowing what they don't know" [35:30] How AI is reshaping career interest — and why students are wary but employers see opportunity [39:00] The importance of mentorship and horizontal relationships in career growth [42:00] Building a growing alumni network — from 120 presenters to a broader career-support ecosystem [46:00] How to get involved — as a student, presenter, or donor

Educators John Holdridge and Lowell Libby join Bill Burke to talk about the Can We? Project, a Maine-based initiative launched in 2018 that teaches high school students the mindset and skills needed for constructive dialogue across political, social, and cultural divides. Through full-day retreats held in schools across Maine (and now New Hampshire), students learn to move past their first instinct to react and their second instinct to rationalize, and instead reach what one student memorably called her "third thought" — genuine understanding. John and Lowell share the origin story of the project, how it's expanded into events like Can We Connect? (which brings 250+ students together at the Augusta Civic Center), and how students themselves are taking the work into their own hands—organizing intergenerational dialogues, community conversations, and even a nationwide online class built around the question, "Is American democracy on fire?" It's a hopeful, practical look at how young people are relearning face-to-face conversation in a digital, polarized world. Chapters: 00:00 Intro to John Holdridge and Lowell Libby and the Can We? Project 02:00 The origin story: a student's concept of the "third thought" 06:00 How the Can We? Project works — full-day retreats, student-chosen topics, and ground rules for dialogue 10:00 Why college students said high school conversations didn't carry over — the gap that sparked the project 14:00 The "big sort," bowling alone, and how Americans have self-segregated into like-minded communities 18:00 Students leading their own intergenerational dialogues — including a town hall on U.S. foreign policy 23:00 Can We Connect? — bringing 250+ students from across Maine together for a day of youth-led dialogue 27:00 Breaking down assumptions: the "ladder of inference" and the gun control conversation between rural and urban teens 32:00 The mindset of curiosity, care, and courage — and "swimming toward the shark" 36:00 School smartphone policies and how phone-free retreats change how students connect 40:00 A nationwide online class asking, "Is American democracy on fire?" — and what happened on election night 45:00 Closing thoughts on optimism, democracy, and the next generation

Sam Demma had his sights set on a professional soccer career from age five — training in Italy at 13, playing for one of Canada's top club teams by 17 — until three major knee injuries and a torn labrum ended that dream in his final year of high school. What came next is the subject of this conversation: how Demma rebuilt his sense of purpose, first through small volunteer garbage cleanups with a friend, then through public speaking, and eventually through writing. Just shy of his 27th birthday and about to publish his third book, Return on Goodwill, Sam has delivered close to 800 talks across four continents. In this episode, he shares the stories behind his books — Empty Your Backpack, born from a conversation with a bullied student, and Be Someone's Taco, inspired by a pandemic-era gesture that brought a friend to tears — and unpacks the idea at the heart of his new work: that doing good with no expectation of return has a way of coming back around. The conversation also covers: The mentor (a high school teacher) and the "small consistent actions" lesson that changed Demma's trajectory Why closing the loop — telling people the impact they had on you — matters more than we think The practice of "assuming positive intent" and how it protects your energy day to day How Stephen Covey's circles of concern, influence, and control connect to Demma's philosophy Building a speaking career from scratch: years of cold outreach, a mentor who changed his approach to business, and the slow climb to hundreds of events a year Chapters: 00:00 Sam Demma's Journey: From Soccer to Success 05:07 Finding Purpose After Athletic Setbacks 11:11 The Power of Intentional Appreciation 16:05 Empty Your Backpack: Letting Go 20:49 Be Someone's Taco: Acts of Kindness 27:04 Return on Goodwill: A Life Philosophy 32:09 Practical Tips for an Optimistic Life