Claudia Rankine is the author of six collections of poetry, including Just Us: An American Conversation, Citizen: An American Lyric and Don’t Let Me Be Lonely; three plays including HELP, which premiered in March of 2020 at The Shed, NYC, The White Card, which premiered in February 2018 (ArtsEmerson/ American Repertory Theater) and was published by Graywolf Press in 2019, and Provenance of Beauty: A South Bronx Travelogue; as well as numerous video collaborations. She is also the co-editor of several anthologies including The Racial Imaginary: Writers on Race in the Life of the Mind (FENCE, 2015). In 2016, she co-founded The Racial Imaginary Institute (TRII). Among her numerous awards and honors, Rankine is the recipient of the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, the Poets & Writers’ Jackson Poetry Prize, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, United States Artists, and the National Endowment of the Arts. Rankine teaches at Yale University as the Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut. Welcome to my conversation with Professor Rankine. The Ethics Incubator is an independent, cross-sector laboratory and collaborative platform for innovative ethics. Find out more: ethicsincubator.net Biography source: http://claudiarankine.com/about/

The Ethics Incubator is an independent, cross-sector laboratory and collaborative platform for innovative ethics. Find out more: http://ethicsincubator.net

[We apologise for the sound quality for this Zoom interview while we all shelter-at-home in July 2020.] Ertharin Cousin is CEO & Founder of Food Systems for the Future. Former Executive Director of the World Food Programme, US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, EVP of Feeding America, and SVP of Albertson's. 30+ years of experience and relationships in national and international nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors. Welcome to my conversation with Ertharin Cousin. -- The Ethics Incubator is an independent, cross-sector laboratory and collaborative platform for innovative ethics. Find out more: http://ethicsincubator.net Biography source: https://fsfinstitute.net/team/

[We apologise for the sound quality for this first Zoom interview while we all shelter-at-home in June 2020.] Rob Chesnut is a senior advisor to Airbnb, a role he took on in 2020 after spending four years as the company’s General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer. He previously led eBay’s North America legal team, founding its Trust and Safety team, and has worked as general counsel for LiveOps, Inc. and Chegg. He served 14 years with the U.S. Justice Department, where he prosecuted CIA employee Aldrich Ames for espionage. Welcome to my conversation with Rob Chesnut. Watch this interview and other interviews at: [ethicsincubator.net]

[We apologise for the quality issues with this audio, and we are grateful to David Hanson for this conversation at Stanford University in April 2019] David Hanson develops robots that are widely regarded as the world’s most human-like in appearance, in a lifelong quest to create true living, caring machines. To accomplish these goals, Hanson integrates figurative arts with cognitive science and robotics engineering, inventions novel skin materials, facial expression mechanisms, and collaborative developments in AI, within humanoid artworks like Sophia the robot, which can engage people in naturalistic face-to-face conversations and currently serve in AI research, education, therapy, and other uses. Hanson worked as a Walt Disney Imagineer, both a sculptor and a technical consultant in robotics, and later founded Hanson Robotics. As a researcher, Hanson published dozens of papers in materials science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and robotics journals — including SPIE, IEEE, the International Journal of Cognitive Science, IROS, AAAI, AI magazine and more. He wrote two books including “Humanizing Robots” and received several patents. Hanson was featured in the New York Times, Popular Science, Scientific American, WIRED, BBC and CNN. He also received earned awards from NASA, NSF, Tech Titans’ Innovator of the Year, RISD, Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, and the co-received the 2005 AAAI first place prize for open interaction of an AI system. Hanson holds a Ph.D. in Interactive Arts and Technology from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a BFA in film Animation video from the Rhode Island School of Design. Welcome to my conversation with David Hanson. Watch this interview and other interviews at: [ethicsincubator.net/ethics-and-trut…anson-interview]

Michael Signer is an award-winning former mayor, a corporate executive, and an author whose leadership in support of democratic values, and against extremism and intolerance, has been recognized around the nation. Mike served as Mayor of Charlottesville from 2016 to 2018, during the violent "Unite the Right" rally in August 2017. He and the people of Charlottesville received the Anti-Defamation League's Levenson Family Defender of Democracy Award in 2017. He has received senior appointments from three Virginia governors. He is the founder and chair of Communities Overcoming Extremism: the After Charlottesville Project, a project whose goal is to increase the capacity of leaders in the public and private sectors to address extremism through alliances and collective wisdom. The project's sponsors and partners include the Ford Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, the Charles Koch Institute, the Center for American Progress, the Aspen Institute's Justice and Society Program, and Georgetown University's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. He is Vice President and General Counsel of WillowTree, Inc., a digital design agency with nearly 300 employees. He serves on the firm's executive team and directs many corporate and strategic matters, including the firm's Social Impact practice. Mike's books include Demagogue: The Fight to Save Democracy from Its Worst Enemies (St. Martin's Press 2009) and Becoming Madison: The Extraordinary Origins of the Least Likely Founding Father (PublicAffairs 2015). He has written opinion pieces and essays for The Atlantic,The Washington Post, Time, Vox, Democracy, and The New Republic, among others. He has held many leadership roles in nonprofits and civic organizations. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from U.C., Berkeley, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow; a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law; and a B.A. in politics, magna cum laude, from Princeton University, where he was a work-study student. Welcome to my conversation with Mike Signer. [Edited from Mike Signer’s official bio: https://www.michaelsigner.com] Watch this more interviews here: http://ethicsincubator.net

It is an honor to launch my Ethics & Truth  stream with my discussion with US Senator Russell Feingold on ethics, truth and more.  Whatever one’s politics, Senator Feingold offers a globally-minded perspective on some of today’s most challenging ethical questions—and on my personal mantra that integrating ethics into our decision-making tethers us to our humanity. His official bio from LegitAction's website  is as follows [link]: "Russ Feingold is known for his independence, his honesty and his work ethic. He has always stood up for the middle class families, students and workers who need economic opportunity, often drawing the ire of wealthy special interests and lobbyists. A lifetime Wisconsin resident, Feingold represented Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2011, earning a reputation for doing what’s right, not what’s politically convenient. Whether it was opposing the war in Iraq, serving as an early voice for fiscal responsibility, or being the only senator to oppose the Patriot Act, Feingold has shown that you can make a difference if you’re willing to speak truth to power. As one of the namesakes of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, Feingold established himself as a bipartisan voice and an accomplished legislator who is leading the fight against runaway special interest money in American elections." Watch the full video interview here [http://ethicsincubator.net/ethics-and-truth-interviews/russ-feingold-interview]

Meeting Norman Lear gave new meaning to the words “inspired” and “gratitude.” Within minutes of starting our conversation, his wisdom called me out on my difficulty being “over and done”—putting the past in its place and living for the present and future. He further fueled my gratitude for being a citizen of a democracy with the strong reminder of our power…but only if we vote…and our responsibility for the consequences of failing to vote. His stories of World War II set me inside the Air Force plane as bombs were dropping. He asked his iconic television characters Archie Bunker (All in the Family) and Maude (Maude) to confront today’s issues. He pulled no punches about his own views of President Trump. And he left me with this unforgettable message: we all matter. Welcome to my conversation with the extraordinary Norman Lear. "Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film, political and social activism, and philanthropy. At 95, he has no plans to retire. His re-imagined Cuban-American version of the iconic One Day at a Time was ranked among the Top Ten new shows of 2017, and its critically acclaimed second season is now streaming on Netflix. His weekly podcast, All of the Above with Norman Lear, is available on PodcastOne. He is also an executive producer on the award-winning Epix docuseries America Divided, now in its second season. Lear is currently in production on the pilot of Guess Who Died, an NBC comedy featuring the overlooked demographic of senior citizens. Born in 1922 in New Haven, Connecticut, Lear flew 52 combat missions over Europe in World War II before beginning his television career. His classic shows of the 1970s and ‘80s — All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, among others — collectively reached as many as 120 million viewers per week and are said to have transformed the American cultural landscape, bringing the social and political issues of the day into American living rooms for the first time. With the rise of the radical religious right, Lear put his career on hold in 1980 to found People For the American Way, the nonprofit organization that remains a relevant and effective force defending all aspects of the First Amendment. Lear was among the first seven television pioneers inducted in 1984 into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. In 1999, President Clinton presented him with the National Medal of Arts, noting that “Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it.” His memoir, Even This I Get to Experience, was published in 2014, and the 2016 documentary Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You received an Emmy nomination as the representative program for the PBS American Masters series. In 2017, Lear received a Peabody Lifetime Achievement Award and was a Kennedy Center Honoree. He is the father of six, the grandfather of four, and the husband of Lyn Davis Lear.” The Ethics Incubator website: [ethicsincubator.net] Also Watch this interview here: [http://ethicsincubator.net/ethics-and-the-arts-interviews/3038]

Jin Xing is the consummate performer who brings to life the very essence of performance art and its importance to society. Often called the “Oprah Winfrey of China,” she has also become a voice and a platform for blending entertainment with discussion on her wildly popular talk show. The following is her official biography from her Shanghai studio Jin Xing Dance Theatre (official link: http://www.jinxing-dance-theatre.com/about.html?lang=en) "Jin Xing is a true icon as artist and opinion leader in today's Chinese society. Trained as a dancer and being a highly decorated officer in the PLA at an early age, Jin Xing pursued further studies in the U.S. and Europe for several years before returning to her home country in 1995. She founded Jin Xing Dance Theatre, the country's first independent dance company and led it to international acclaim. In addition to her awarded dance career Jin Xing proved her versatile talent by establishing Shanghai Dance Festival, China's first festival for contemporary dance, as well as excelling in movies and theatre plays. Her achievements in the cultural field have received manifold recognition: two honorary doctor degrees in the UK and the French government's "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Lettres et des Artists", just to name a few. Since 2012, Jin Xing has commanded a highly influential voice in public through her strong TV presence, among others as host of her own talk show, and through her huge fan base in the Chinese blogosphere, which reaches more than 9 million followers. Jin Xing represents a new generation of China. Her name means more as a synonym for courage, freedom, self-responsibility and the endless power of an artful spirit.” Welcome to my conversation with Jin Xing. The Ethics Incubator website: [ethicsincubator.net] Also Watch this interview here: [http://ethicsincubator.net/ethics-and-the-arts-interviews/jin-xing]

[We apologise for some challenges with the quality of this video, but we are grateful to Laolu for such a provocative conversation] Video of this conversation here: [http://ethicsincubator.net/ethics-and-the-arts-interviews/laolu-senbanjo] Laolu is a Brooklyn based Nigerian born Performance and Visual Artist, Singer/Songwriter/Musician, Human Rights Lawyer and Activist whose mantra is “Everything is my canvas.” He considers himself a 'keeper of the Yoruba culture.' His Sacred Art of the Ori Yoruba body paint ritual (which he created) was featured on Beyonce’s Grammy Award winning Visual Album, “Lemonade.” He’s graced the cover of the Washington Post, had features in the NY Times, Vogue, BBC, CNN, VICE and more. His ever growing list of collaborations have been with brands like Kenneth Cole, Nike, Equinox Fitness, and with other artists such as Alicia Keys, Swiss Beatz, Seun Kuti, Tony Allen, Alek Wek, and Danielle Brooks. You can find his music on iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music. Listen to his TED talk on TED.com You can also buy his cologne Bvlgari’s Black Essence featuring his original Art work at Bulgari.com Welcome to my conversation with Laolu Senbanjo. (Bio excerpted from http://www.laolu.nyc/about/) The Ethics Incubator website: [http://ethicsincubator.net]