Fortune Favors the Bold - The Official Mastercard Podcast

Latest Episodes:

How Can We Work Together In a Crisis? (Bonus) May 28, 2020

Show notes

This week, Fortune Favors the Bold brings you a bonus episode. Ashley sat down with Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Mike Froman, the Vice Chairman and President of Strategic Growth at Mastercard to answer the question on all of our minds: How can we work together in a crisis?

Trevor, Mike, and Ashley talk about how the global health and economic crisis is impacting work of all kinds—from positions in the gig economy to traditional nine to five jobs. Even though our lives have changed, they are encouraged by the way businesses and organizations are coming together to share expertise and resources to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect our most vulnerable. Together, they think through how we can take what we’re learning in this difficult time and create a more equitable society on the other side of this crisis.

How Can We Stay Bold? (Live at On Air Fest) Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

This episode of Fortune Favors the Bold is coming to you LIVE from On Air Fest in Brooklyn.

Ashley sat down with comedian, writer, and activist Baratunde Thurston and CEO and founder

of The Helm, Lindsey Taylor-Wood to wrap up our season and answer one final question: what

does it mean to be BOLD? Baratunde, Lindsey and Ashley walk us through their own financial

journeys: how systemic, economic barriers have shaped their financial identities, how they think

about a future where women and people of color have access to financial capital, and how their

professional and personal goals have changed their definition of financial equilibrium. Together,

they think through how we can all set ourselves up to be BOLD in ways that work for us.

How Do We Manage Our Passwords? Mar 05, 2020

Show notes

As our lives move increasingly online, it can seem like everything is password-protected. How do we choose good passwords? And how do we keep track of those passwords? Most importantly, what can we do to really keep all our data safe?

On today’s episode of Fortune Favors the Bold, Host Ashley C. Ford sits down with Eric Mennell, a podcast producer who understands why we need passwords in today’s digital age but can’t ever seem to remember his passwords and ultimately wants a better, smarter and more seamless way to protect his professional and personal information. Ashley turns to cybersecurity experts Rebecca Leddingham and Cormac Hurley to find solutions that will help Eric and so many people like him. They’ll discuss different strategies for keeping our accounts safe, how companies can be responsible for protecting their clients’ data, and imagine a world in which biometrics might make passwords a thing of the past.

How Do I Make Work Work for Me? (Part Two) Feb 27, 2020

Show notes

This week, Ashley heads to Albuquerque, New Mexico to continue exploring the

question, “how can I make my work work for me?” To find answers, we’re doing

something a little different: we’ll meet two people who are already talking through big

questions– about work, life, and having an impact– together. Ashley sits down with Amy

Yeung, founder of Orenda Tribe vintage boutique, and Shondina Lee, a young Navajo

creative and one of Amy’s collaborators. The three discuss Amy’s decision to leave the

corporate world of fast fashion to get closer to her indigenous roots, Shondina’s journey

to representing her community through design, and how our work can be personally

fulfilling while also making the world a better place.

How Do I Make Work Work for Me? (Part One) Feb 20, 2020

Show notes

We’ve been hearing so much about the changing nature of work recently– whether it’s the rise of the gig economy, or millennials rising in the workforce. And we know so many people’s money questions are work questions, so we decided to do a two part series on it!

In this first episode of the series, Ashley talks to Andrew, a plumber’s apprentice and part-time arborist, about how his financial identity has shaped his zig-zagging career path. They discuss Andrew’s hopes for the future, and what it’ll take for him to find both financial equilibrium and meaning in his work.

Then, Ashley convenes a panel of two people who’ve been where Andrew is today. We hear from Heather Marold Thomason, founder of the sustainable butchery Primal Supply (https://www.primalsupplymeats.com/), and Jeremy Ayers, the artisan behind the Vermont-based Jeremy Ayers Pottery (https://www.jeremyayerspottery.com/), about how they found the confidence and perseverance to launch their own businesses and navigate life outside the 9-to-5.

How Can I Travel Responsibly? Feb 06, 2020

Show notes

Travel is often a transformative part of our personal and professional lives. But there’s a growing conversation around the ethics of traveling. From the carbon emissions involved in flying to the impact on local communities, there are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to deciding how, where and why to travel.

This week on Fortune Favors the Bold, Ashley C. Ford explores how to travel more intentionally. She speaks with Jada Yuan, the first-ever New York Times 52 Places Traveler, about the essential role travel has played in her life, and what questions about responsible travel her round-the-world trip inspired. To address those questions, we’ll hear from Justin Francis, founder and CEO of Responsible Travel, a company that helps tourists make more informed decisions about their travel plans. Justin explains how sustainable travel choices -- such as eating locally-sourced food -- can actually make travel a more affordable and emotionally fulfilling experience for everyone. He shares why he’s optimistic about our ability to travel in a way that preserves destinations for both the locals and visitors of the future.

How Can My City Be More Inclusive? Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

The number of people living in cities grows by about 6 million each year. And with all this growth, experts are looking for ways to make cities more comfortable, affordable, and accessible for everyone. Ashley sits down with Shayna Pollock, a self-proclaimed “transit nerd” who works for Central Atlanta Progress, a nonprofit focused on improving the livability of the city. Shayna has questions about how to ensure that everyone can reap the benefits of public transit, and how to spread that message throughout her city.

Ashley brings her questions to Kevin Bacon, an urban designer at Atlanta City Studios -- a “pop up” design studio that’s re-envisioning Atlanta with everyone in mind. They’ll discuss how the physical design of public transit can improve urban life, what needs to be protected, and how communities can prepare to grow without losing the city they love.

What Do We Get When We Pay for School? Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

It’s hard to know what exactly you’re paying for when you pay college tuition. Is it a

chance at a better career? Some time on a lush green campus learning from worldly

professors? The risk of six-figure debt that never seems to shrink? And if students are

paying a fraction of that price or nothing at all in other countries, how do we rationalize

the cost here in the United States? Is college in the United States and abroad still worth

the price tag? Ashley Ford speaks to Katia Maneff, a mom who is considering the cost

of higher education for her daughter both in the United States and the United Kingdom.

To answer Katia’s questions, Ashley turns to journalist Paul Tough and University

College London economics professor Gillian Wyness to get more information on the

tricky decisions we make when we think about how, why, and how much to pay for a

college education.

How Do We Define Ourselves...Financially? Jan 16, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to Season 3 of Mastercard’s Fortune Favors the Bold! Ashley C. Ford is back, and she’s kicking off our season by diving into the financial question that underlies everything else we’re talking about this season: how do we define ourselves financially? For a lot of people, a surefire way to really feel your own financial identity is to start making financial decisions with someone else. In this episode, we’ll be talking to a couple who is in the process of figuring out their own financial identities, including: how to maintain financial independence, what to do if your partner comes from a different financial background than you do, do you have to merge bank accounts”? And how do you even start these big, motional conversations? Ashley will then bring these types of questions to a panel of experts who know how to navigate the murky waters of love and finance. We’ll hear from Anna Sale, host of WNYC’s Death, Sex and Money, CBS news business analyst Jill Schlesinger and Daniel Lavery, AKA Slate’s “Dear Prudence.” Together they’ll give our guests and listeners insight to help their love lives thrive and anxieties subside when money enters the equation.