Catalyze

Latest Episodes:

Episode 22: Michelle Jana Chan ’96 May 29, 2019

Show notes

This episode features Michelle Jana Chan ’96, an award-winning journalist based in London. Michelle began her career with Newsweek magazine in New York, Beijing, and London, before she moved into radio and then television as a news producer for CNN.

She is now travel editor of Vanity Fair, contributing editor at Conde Nast Traveller, and the BBC’s presenter of Global Guide. She also writes for the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Travel & Leisure, and Tatler.

Michelle has been the Travel Media Awards’ Travel Writer of the Year, the AITO Travel Writer of the Year, and Latin American Travel Association’s Writer of the Year. Her writing has been included in three anthologies. Her debut novel, titled Song, was published in July 2018.

In our conversation you'll hear more about Song, about Michelle's forthcoming new book Duet, and about the rest of her incredible travel-writing career.

Episode 21: David Royle ’78 May 22, 2019

Show notes

Today you'll hear from David Royle, Morehead-Cain Class of 1978. Originally from Bristol, David leads the editorial team that launched the Smithsonian Channel—which is the youngest channel to have ever won an Emmy.

David was previously Executive Vice President of Production for National Geographic Television & Film, where he helped launch the National Geographic Channel. He was the Executive Producer of the award-winning television series National Geographic Explorer. Under his leadership, Explorer won more News and Documentary Emmy Awards than any other show on TV.

As an independent filmmaker in New York, prior to working for National Geographic, David produced and directed programming for a wide range of broadcasters.

David has won all of America’s major broadcasting awards, including: nine Emmys, the George Polk Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Peabody Award, and du Pont-Columbia University Awards Silver and Gold Batons.

After graduating from Carolina, he earned a master of arts at the University of Minnesota as a Rotary International Journalism Scholar.

Episode 20: Audience Q&A with Taylor Branch ’68 May 16, 2019

Show notes

You're about to hear the second half of a recorded visit with Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Taylor Branch. Last week we published a moderated Q&A with him, and now you're about to hear an audience Q&A. This conversation was recorded live during a recent visit Taylor made to the Foundation, when he was in Chapel Hill to be inducted into the NC Media and Journalism Hall of Fame.

A member of the Morehead-Cain class of 1968, Taylor is best known for his trilogy of books chronicling the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and much of the history of the American Civil Rights Movement. The first of those books—Parting the Waters—is what won him the Pulitzer Prize.

Taylor grew up in Atlanta in the 50s and early 60s. After graduating from Carolina, he earned an M.P.A. from Princeton University. Taylor has worked as an editor and columnist for a number of national magazines. Over the years, he developed a friendship with Bill Clinton—a relationship that continued into Clinton's time in the White House. Taylor later wrote a book about that relationship, which he titled The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President.

Taylor's many awards include a MacArthur Fellowship (also known as a "genius grant"), the National Humanities Medal, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Lifetime Achievement Award, and the BIO Award from Biographers International Organization.

Taylor now lives in Baltimore with his wife, Christy.

Episode 19: Taylor Branch ’68 Apr 30, 2019

Show notes

Catalyze Season Three continues with a bonus episode featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author Taylor Branch ’68. This interview was recorded in front of an audience during a recent visit Taylor made to the Foundation, when he was in Chapel Hill to be inducted into the NC Media and Journalism Hall of Fame.

Taylor grew up in Atlanta in the 50s and early 60s. After graduating from Carolina in 1968, he earned an M.P.A. from Princeton University. Taylor has worked as an editor and columnist for a number of national magazines. Over the years, he developed a friendship with Bill Clinton—a relationship that continued into Clinton's time in the White House. Taylor later wrote a book about that relationship, which he titled The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President. In our upcoming conversation, you'll hear some entertaining stories from Taylor about that experience.

Taylor now lives in Baltimore with his wife, Christy.

Episode 18: Jim Exum ’57 Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

Today you'll hear from Jim Exum, one of eight members of the first class of undergraduate Morehead-Cain Scholars: the Class of 1957. Jim is also a former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

After attending law school on a full scholarship at New York University, Jim practiced law in North Carolina until 1967, when he began a term in the North Carolina House of Representatives. The same year he joined the House, the governor appointed him Resident Superior Court Judge in Guilford County.

In 1975, Jim joined the North Carolina Supreme Court, where he eventually became Chief Justice. Jim wrote more than 400 opinions for the court.

In the mid-90s, Jim returned to private practice. As a lawyer, he has helped brief and argue more than 40 appeals in state and federal appellate courts.

Throughout the early 2000s, Jim served as Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence at Elon Law. He taught law as a professor there from 2000 until his retirement in 2018.

Jim has received multiple awards for his commitment to civil liberties and justice.

Episode 17: Danae Ringelmann ’00 Mar 20, 2019

Show notes

On this episode of Catalyze, you'll hear from Danae Ringelmann ’00, co-founder of Indiegogo—a crowdfunding platform that disrupted the fundraising industry when it hit the market in 2008.

While Danae and her team were getting the company off the ground, people told them it was a mistake to host it online. In more recent years, the company has faced criticism for its “anything-goes” approach to its mission of democratizing finance. Danae and her team have weathered it all, helping 15 million people raise $1.3 billion for all kinds of projects—including independent films, an electric bike company you'll hear about in a few minutes, and many, many niche products that most likely would never have gotten off the ground otherwise.

Through her work with Indiegogo, Danae has been named to a number of major influencer lists, including Fortune Magazine's 40 under 40. She's spoken at all kinds of conferences around the world. She's even testified for a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee about innovative ways for small businesses to raise capital.

A few months ago, Danae stepped back from Indiegogo to pursue new directions in her life, which she discusses in the recorded conversation. However, she still serves on Indiegogo's board.

Episode 16: Jim Cooper ’75 Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

You're about to hear from U.S. Representative Jim Cooper, Morehead-Cain Class of 1975. Born in Nashville, TN, Jim represents the state's 5th District, which includes Nashville and surrounding areas. In Congress, he's known for his bipartisan work on the federal budget, health care, and government reform. When Congress is not in session, Jim teaches part-time at Vanderbilt.

After Carolina, Jim won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford, where he earned a B.A./M.A. in politics and economics. He also has a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Episode 15: Jenny Youngblood Campbell ’95 Mar 06, 2019

Show notes

You're about to hear from Jenny Youngblood Campbell ’95, chief marketing officer for the dating app company Tinder. Jenny formerly worked as a managing director at the marketing agency 72andSunny—with clients including adidas, Google, Starbucks, Uber, and eBay. Before that, she was a senior global brand director at Nike. In our conversation, you'll hear more about her fast-paced career, the cultural value of the high-profile companies she's worked for, and her year-long trip around the world with her husband and their two young children.

Episode 14: Peter Henry ’91 Feb 27, 2019

Show notes

On this episode, you'll hear from Peter Henry ’91, an expert in global economics and a recent recipient of UNC's Distinguished Alumni Award. Peter was the youngest person ever to serve as dean of New York University Stern School of Business. In January 2018 he stepped down—after eight years in the role—to return to his economic policy research. Prior to NYU, Peter was a member of the faculty at Stanford University.

Peter led an economics advisory group for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. He then led the Presidential Transition Team in reviewing international lending agencies including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Peter has also advised the governments of Ghana and Jamaica on macroeconomic policy.

His current research focuses on the impact of economic reform on the lives of people in developing countries. In his first book, which is called Turnaround, Peter argues that the secret to emerging countries' success (and to the future prosperity of the developed world as well) is discipline.

At Carolina, Peter was a reserve wide receiver on the varsity football team. He later received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford, where he earned a BA in mathematics and a Full Blue in basketball. Peter also has a PhD in economics from MIT.

Episode 13: Jim Reston ’63 Feb 20, 2019

Show notes

You're about to hear from author and playwright Jim Reston, who graduated in the Morehead-Cain Class of 1963. Jim is from Washington, D.C. and has been not only an eyewitness to major historical events of the last few decades, but actually participated in them: from the Civil Rights movement, to the Vietnam War, to the Watergate scandal, and more.

Jim's father was James Reston Sr, a prominent New York Times journalist and editor—but Jim managed to blaze his own trail in the writing world. Jim has published eighteen books, three plays, and numerous articles in national magazines. His various works have been translated into many different languages, optioned by Hollywood, and included on international best-seller lists.

From 1976 to 1977, Jim advised David Frost for the famous Frost/Nixon Interviews, which 57 million people watched from around the world. His narrative of that experience, published in 2007, was the main inspiration for the hit London play, "Frost/Nixon." In the Hollywood adaptation of the play, which was nominated for five Academy Awards, Jim's character is played by the actor Sam Rockwell.

Jim has been a fellow at the American Academy in Rome, a fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, and a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

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