Go To on Why Empathy Doesn't Scale

There's a problem with leading with your heart: empathy doesn't scale. One sick child and we open our wallets. A thousand sick children and we change the channel. Behavioral psychologist Paul Slovic has spent years studying this—the more people suffering, the less we feel. Kelly reflects on her conversation with investor and philanthropist Olivia Walton, who figured out how to beat compassion fade by doing something smarter than making the moral case for maternal health. She built a business case: for every dollar you invest in maternal health, you get eleven back. It's about understanding that empathy burns hot and burns out, but when you make the business case, you've built a diesel engine—it just keeps running. This episode has been made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: ⁠https://www.ingeborginitiatives.com⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever wonder “What should I actually do with my life?” Today we’re excited to introduce you to Suzy Welch. As a three-time New York Times bestselling author and the professor behind NYU’s wildly popular "Becoming You" class, Suzy has spent years studying the art of decision-making and the pursuit of authentic purpose. On her podcast, Becoming You, Suzy helps you find your authentic purpose in this messy, scary, and altogether beautiful world we share. Find Becoming You with Suzy Welch wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Olivia Walton went from asking questions as a business journalist to creating solutions as a philanthropist—and she's learned that the best way to fix maternal healthcare in America isn't just a moral argument, it's an economic one. In this third episode of our Women of Consequence series, Kelly sits down with the founder and CEO of Ingeborg Investments and Ingeborg Initiatives, chair of Crystal Bridges Museum and maternal health advocate to talk about why storytelling is the through line of everything she does. It's about understanding that maternal health isn't just about moms—it's the groundwater for thriving families, communities, and economies. This episode was made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: ⁠https://www.ingeborginitiatives.com⁠ Olivia Walton recently wrote an op-ed in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and in it she announced a moonshot call-to-action for maternal health: a five-year sprint to cut U.S. maternal mortality in half. At a time when far too many mothers in the United States are dying from preventable causes, we believe meaningful progress will require urgency, collaboration, and a willingness to scale what works. We hope you’ll take a moment to read Olivia’s op-ed HERE. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/mar/11/opinion-olivia-walton-a-five-year-sprint-to-cut-us-maternal-mortality-in-half/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most of us are still waiting for that one perfect mentor to appear and show us the way. Podcaster Liz Moody decided to stop waiting and start sending emails to strangers instead. The result was a room full of powerful women comparing notes on things nobody talks about out loud, and a philosophy that might just change who you invite into your corner. In this special Thanks For Being Here episode—part of our March Women of Consequence series— Kelly and Liz talk about why the group you're craving probably won't build itself, what happens when women stop holding their cards to their chests, and the one rule Liz lives by that has gotten her a book deal, a husband, and a thriving career: never be the one to say no to yourself. This episode has been made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: https://www.ingeborginitiatives.com⁠ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We carry around this dangerous myth that brave people feel brave—that somewhere out there, women are standing up in meetings and saying the hard thing without their heart rate changing, that courage is a feeling you either have or don't have. Kelly blows up that whole idea by sharing what she learned from her conversation with Olympian Allyson Felix: when Allyson hit send on the New York Times op-ed that would take on Nike and change their maternity policy, she was shaking. There was never a moment she felt ready, never a moment she wasn't scared. It's about understanding that courage isn't a feeling or a personality trait—it's what you do in the moment between knowing what you need to say and saying it. This episode has been made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: ingeborginitiatives.com". To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Allyson Felix has 11 Olympic medals, which makes her the most decorated American track and field athlete in history. But here's the thing—most people know her name because of what happened when she got pregnant. After nearly a decade with her sponsor Nike, they offered her a new contract at 70% less than her previous salary. And when she asked for one thing—protected time to recover from childbirth without performance penalties—they said they wouldn't set that precedent for all female athletes. So, Allyson sat in her daughter's NICU room, watched her tiny baby fighting to come home, and decided to risk everything by going public. In this second episode of our Women of Consequence series, Kelly talks with Allyson about integrity, knowing your worth, and understanding that sometimes you speak up not for yourself but so the next woman doesn't have to fight the same battle. This episode has been made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: ⁠https://www.ingeborginitiatives.com⁠ Link to Allyson's New York Times article. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/allyson-felix-pregnancy-nike.html Check out our episode with Linda Villarosa which Kelly mentions in this podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-deep-with-linda-villarosa-on-being-seen/id1532951390?i=1000633982048 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Writer Anne Lamott tells Kelly about the "other mother" from her childhood—her best friend's mom who thought she was fabulous when her own parents had concerns. It's about the gratitude you carry for the rest of your life when someone champions the parts of you that feel unseen and how those other mothers—the ones who celebrated instead of shaped—end up changing who we become. This episode has been made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: https://www.ingeborginitiatives.com Link to live Zoom event with Kelly and Anne (March 11, 2026 7pm ET/4pm PT): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/R5kpMFa1RfiCJtlV7WsGZA?cmid=cb7fa38f-b413-4923-890e-d8c91450e2fb#/registration Anne's event which Kelly mentioned at the top of the show is Unscripted: Good Writing – An Evening with Anne Lamott & Neal Allen, at the Curran Theater in San Francisco (March 17, 2026 7pm) https://us.atgtickets.com/events/anne-lamott-neal-allen/curran-theater/ If you enjoy listening to Kelly talk with other writers, check out our episode with author George Saunders: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-george-saunders-on-creativity/id1532951390?i=1000746827373 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelly reflects on a moment from Tuesday's conversation with Laura Modi, founder of the infant formula company Bobbie, who had 48 hours to decide whether to take on thousands of desperate new parents during the 2022 formula shortage or stand by her current customers. Laura went against every growth model and turned the new customers away to protect those who already trusted her—not because of data provided in a spreadsheet or advice from consultants but because she trusted what she knew in her bones.  This episode was made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit ingeborginitiatives.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laura Modi had mastitis five days into motherhood— blistered and bleeding, fever raging—and when she finally turned to formula, she discovered the first ingredient was corn syrup. So, she did what any sleep-deprived new mom would do: she went down a 2 AM research rabbit hole and emerged determined to change an entire industry. In this first episode of our Women of Consequence series, Kelly talks with the co-founder and CEO of infant formula brand Bobbie about what happened during the 2022 formula shortage when she had 48 hours to decide between chasing growth or serving existing customer—and why she raised $70 million to buy a manufacturing facility even though less than 5% of manufacturers in this country are run by women. This is a story about being underestimated, trusting lived experience over spreadsheets, and understanding that when you're not just the CEO but also the customer, you're dangerous in the best possible way. This episode has been made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: ingeborginitiatives.com.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Newly appointed Judge Kristine Burk's investiture ceremony became unexpectedly tender when her 19-year-old son Tyler took the podium. Moving beyond the usual formal speeches, Tyler crafted an acrostic poem for "JUDGE" that revealed the everyday magic of his mom - from her unshakeable belief in second chances, to her instinct for helping strangers in need, to the joyful warmth she radiates to everyone around her. (Previously aired) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices