Meet Krystal Birungi, Carolina Morgado, Nice Leng’ete and Bhavreen Kandhari – four incredible women who are working on the frontlines of science, conservation, human rights, and environmental advocacy. Krystal is an entomologist with Target Malaria in Uganda developing gene-drive mosquitoes; Carolina is the executive director of Rewilding Chile; Nice leads community-based campaigns to end female genital mutilation in Kenya; Bhavreen co-founded Warrior Moms in India to force accountability on air pollution.
Topics discussed: growing up with endemic malaria and the arrival of the Global Fund; proof-of-concept gene-drive trials in Italy and timelines to 2030; resistance to insecticides and drugs; elimination as a realistic regional goal; Chile’s Route of Parks as connected protected areas; park creation as local economic engine; carbon storage in temperate rainforests and kelp systems; Chile’s Cape Froward as a new national park; conservation grounded in community livelihoods and guide certification; outlawing FGM in Kenya in 2011 and the limits of law alone; elders’ councils and alternative rites of passage; mother-to-girl and father-to-son forums; measurable outcomes from community ceremonies and schooling; Delhi school closures during severe smog; COVID as a natural experiment in pollution control; formal complaints versus performative fixes; collective action by parents; clean air as a right, not a luxury.
02:08 Krystal Birungi - The scientist using gene drive to fight malaria
10:27 Carolina Morgado - Rewilding landscapes and communities in Chile
19:42 Nice Leng’ete - Creating an alternative rite of passage for girls in Africa
28:12 Bhavreen Kandhari - The warrior mum fighting for clean air
Find out more:
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rosefrom Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato from HearThat? If you have a guest suggestion, feedback or interested in sponsorship, please reach out amy@fixthenews.com
This week's headlines include: deforestation in the Amazon takes another plunge; Mexico reduces poverty; Nigeria boosts child health; no more corporal punishment in Czechia and the world is surprisingly becoming less grumpy.
Welcome to our first edition of NewsFix - your weekly dose of good news! On today's episode: global air-pollutiondeaths fall as the 'clean-air' era begins, hidden progress on youth literacy, why we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a new atlas to map the human body, how AI is helping farmers in India, species extinction is losing speed and some big news for the humble zipper.
NewsFix is brought to you by the team at Fix The News and hosted by Anthony Badolato from Hear That. If you want to find out more about what's gone right in the world this week, subscribe to our newsletter.
Meet David Fajgenbaum, a physician scientist who is savinglives by repurposing existing medications to treat different diseases through his organisation Every Cure. This conversation will challenge the way you look medicine and unlock the possibility that some of the solutions we’re looking for, arehiding in plain sight, on the shelves of your local pharmacy. From the near-death experience that changed the course of David’s life to how he’s harnessing the power of AI for good, this episode is a total game changer. Topics discussed: how a repurposed drug saved David’s life, living life in ‘overtime,’ what it’s like to swim upstream against the medical system, the AI advantage in fast-tracking drug matches to our 18,000 knowndiseases, how Viagra is saving sick kids, the economics of repurposing existing drugs and what we can expect from the future of medicine.
Find out more:
You can check out David’s recent TED talk or his book ChasingMy Cure. You can also support Every Cure and if you want to let his team know about a repurposed drug that’s worked foryou, click here.
Are you interested in how 80,000 Hours can help you use your career to make a difference? Check out their free resources here.
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rosefrom Fix The News and sound design by Anthony Badolato from Hear That!
Two weeks ago, Amy was on the ground in New York during the UN General Assembly and Climate Week. Attending various events, including the Clinton Global Initiative, Amy spoke with some incredible people who work on the frontlines of climate, healthcare, education and crisis response. Despite dwindling aid budgets and mounting challenges, these people are meeting this moment with big, bold ambition while quietly reshaping the future of development. From the ‘miracle drug’ for HIV to energy access for all and the rewilding project that will mend ecosystems across the heart of South America, this episode may expand what you think is possible. These are the people who are fighting for a better future every single day.
Here's who you’ll meet:
Carolyn Amole, Clinton Health Access Initiative
Erica Coe & Frank Aswani, Coalition for Mental Health Investment
Sandra Chukwudozie, Salpha Energy
David Harris, Christel House
Elpida Kokkota, Mexoxo
Geeta Mehta, SocialCapital Credits
Emily Benson & Melanie Joiner, Integrate Health
Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, Mercy Corps
Deli Saavedra & Mario Haberfeld, Jaguar Rivers Initiative
Timecodes:
03:58 - HIV 'Miracle Drug'
09:36 - More funding for mental health
16:38 - The shift from aid to self-sufficiency
17:44 - Making solar energy accessible to underserved communities in Nigeria
22:54 - Working Groups at the Clinton Global Initiative
24:17 - A comprehensive education model that alleviating poverty
28:03 - The group who are democratising access to education for women
32:53 - The social currency that banks good acts in communities
37:46 - Putting women at the centre of healthcare in Togo & Guinea
42:51 - Mercy Corps, the humanitarian organisation serving 38 million people
46:18 - Cross-continental conservation initiative restoring the heart of South America
52:45 - Final Thoughts
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News, with audio production by Anthony Badolato, Hear That? If you want to know more about this series or are interested in sharing it with your networks, send us an email: amy@fixthenews.com
In our final episode of the series, we’ll uncover the surprising stories behind the science of the world’s first jab for malaria and how this ‘orphan’ vaccine became a lifesaving intervention that has already reached 5 million children. We look at what's next for the malaria vaccine, the threats of funding cuts to global health and answer the big question – is it working?
Here’s who you’ll meet:
Angus Hervey: Founder of Fix The News
Teresa Chirwa-Ndanga: Journalist & human rights activist, Malawi
Dr Joe Cohen: Project Lead, Malaria Vaccine at GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals
Dr Mehreen Datoo: Clinical research fellow-Malaria vaccine trials, Oxford University
John Bawa: Director, Malaria Vaccine Implementation, PATH.
Dr Scott Gordon: Head of Gavi's Malaria Program
A Shot At History is produced by Fix The News. Series Producer, Amy Davoren-Rose, Fix The News. Associate Producer & Audio Director, Anthony Badolato, Hear That?
Rolling out a new vaccine across an entire continent takes an extraordinary chain of people - from the scientists in the labs, to delivery truck drivers and healthcare workers on motorbikes who stop at nothing to get this vaccine into far-flung villages. In this episode, we’ll show you what it takes to navigate the last mile challenges of transporting a cold-chain vaccine across the hottest continent on earth and the surprising heroes who are stepping up to champion the world’s first malaria vaccine.
Here’s who you’ll meet:
Angus Hervey: Founder of Fix The News
Teresa Chirwa-Ndanga: Journalist & human rights activist, Malawi
Zacharia Kafuko: Director of 1Day Africa
Amanda Clemens: Social Mobilisation Coordinator, Ministry of Health, Sierra Leone
Kombra Network, Sierra Leone: Sallamatu Barrie – School Health club Champion, Reverend Christina Sutton and Dr Ramadan Jalloh.
Special music credit: "Wok Dae Ya" by Speedo'o
A Shot At History is produced by Fix The News. SeriesProducer, Amy Davoren-Rose, Fix The News. Associate Producer & Audio Director, Anthony Badolato, Hear That?Producers for Sierra Leone, Marcus Costello and Jodie Bennet.
For more information about this production, email amy@fixthenews.com
As one of our oldest and most relentless enemies, the arrival of two malaria vaccines, has the potential to change the future of humanity. In this first episode, we’ll show you what’s at stake for the millions of families across Sub-Saharan Africa who carry the burden of malaria, the economic and personal cost of this disease and the remarkable tale of the world’s first malaria vaccine that fought all possible odds to make it out of the lab and change the world.
Here’s who you’ll meet:
Angus Hervey: Founder of Fix The News.
Teresa Chirwa-Ndanga: Journalist & human rights activist, Malawi.
Dr Mary Hamel: Senior Technical Officer, Team Lead,Malaria Vaccines at WHO
Zacharia Kafuko: Director of 1Day Africa
Dr Rose Jalang'o: Head of the National Vaccines and Immunization Program, Kenya
Alanta Colley: Public health worker & science communicator
A Shot At History was produced by Fix The News. Series & Story Producer, Amy Davoren-Rose, Fix The News. Associate Producer & Audio Director, Anthony Badolato, Hear That? Research Producer, Marcus Costello and AudioCraft.
If you want to know more about this series or are interested in sharing it with your networks, send us an email: amy@fixthenews.com
Over a year ago, we decided that we wanted to tell the storyof the malaria vaccine; one of the most important yet hidden stories of progress in the world right now. We knew that this would be a massive undertaking, but it turned out to be more epic that we could have possibly imagined. Over three episodes, we’re going to show you what it takes to develop and roll out a new vaccine, why this one matters so much and how it could change the trajectory of human history. First episode drops Friday 5th September.
If you want to find out more about our work, go to fixthenews.com
What do KPop Demon Hunters and Bluey have to do with stories of progress? Well, you’ll hear the answer in this ‘Ask Us Anything’ episode. From controversial opinions on the climate crisis, to our very first News Fix bulletin, Gus and Amy dive into a range of topics and answer some big, burning questions from subscribers. Other topics discussed: Why solar energy is such big news, the role of solutions journalism in Gaza, good humans everywhere, individual action versus systemic change, the question of scale and the launch of our audio documentary about the malaria vaccine, A Shot At History.
What did you think of our News Fix? If you want to send us a question, feedback or nominate a potential guest for the podcast, go to our website or email amy@fixthenews.com
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.
Meet Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, bestselling author andour first repeat guest on the podcast! In this episode we chat with Rutger about his new book Moral Ambition and why it’s time for people to stop wasting their talent and start making a difference. From his early midlife crisis to what we can learn from the abolitionists and why the world needs to redefinesuccess, this is a conversation for our times. Topics discussed: Why the biggest waste of time is the misallocation of talent, the ‘mother of all movements,’ what it takes to build a wildly better world, on taking the long view, the problem with online activism, money is not a dirty word in creating social movements and why the School for Moral Ambition is paying people to quit their jobs.
Find out more:
https://www.givingwhatwecan.org
Don’t forget to ‘Ask Us Anything’ – email yourquestion to amy@fixthenews.com or leaveus a voice note here. You have until 9am Wednesday 27th September AEST.
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News and sound design by Anthony Badolato from Ai3 - Audio & Voice.
Meet Paulie Stewart, an Australian punk rocker who teamed up with a group of nuns to help disabled kids in Timor Leste. From walking on the wild side, to almost crossing over to the other side – Paulie’s story is about full circles, second chances, and the one of the most unlikely and inspiring partnerships. Topics discussed: the deathbed encounter that changed Paulie’s life, why the Alma Nuns are more punk than Billy Idol, the impact of Paulie’s work in Timor, the power of faith and the unexpected twists that have defined his extraordinary life journey.
If you want to support the Alma nuns, you can donate through their funding platform, Myriad Australia.
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.
Meet Wawira Njiru, a nutritionist and social entrepreneur in Kenya who’s gone from serving lunch to 25 children out of a makeshift kitchen to establishing Food4Education, a nonprofit organisation that serves half a million hot, nutritious and affordable school meals every day. From the uncalculated cost of childhood hunger to powering an 'engine of potential', Wawira’s story shows how thinking big and starting small can change the world. Topics discussed: why the world's future leaders need a school meal today, the logistics of feeding half a million kids, the power of scaling a simple idea, why optimism matters, the ripple effects of school meals on communities and how a well-fed future could change Africa.
You can support Wawira’s work at Food4Education.org and for more inspiration, check out her 2025 TED talk here.
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.
Meet Boyan Slat, founder of The Ocean Cleanup - the world’s largest cleanup in history. After starting as a high school project in the Netherlands in 2011, Boyan’s mission has gone global, removing tens of millions of kilograms of plastic from oceans and rivers. It’s an epic job and with plastic pollution on the rise, the cleanup is doubling down on its goal to remove 90% of ocean plastic by 2040. From the recent launch of the cleanup’s 30 Cities program to dealing with critics on social media, Boyan’s engineering mindset will change the way you think about the world. Topics discussed: mother nature vs human nature; why TOC is not a lifelong project; behind-the-scenes of the cleaning up the world’s most polluted river; what motivates Boyan to keep going in the face of impossible odds and why addressing the root cause is not the best way to tackle ourproblems.
For more information check out: theoceancleanup.com
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.
A new chapter begins on July 31st, 2025.
Depending on where you get your news, 2024 probably sounded like a complete disaster. And while a lot of terrible things happened, not everything that happened in the world was terrible. From breakthrough treatments for HIV and obesity, to the rise in global happiness and the decline in deforestation in the Amazon – there were a lot of bright glimmers of progress that you just didn’t hear about.
Go to our website to read the full list of our 86 Stories of Progress from 2024.
Other topics discussed: our word of the year (hint – it’s not "brain rot"); the surprising news about global reproductive rights; the good news for obesity; how 90 million kids got fed at school; the medical breakthrough of 2024; LGBTQ+ victories in Thailand & Greece; China’s 3000 kilometre green wall; the hidden stories of hope in Gaza and Ukraine; why 2025 is going to be a big year in the Amazon; how the clean energy transition is fuelling hope for future; the biggest environmental story of the year; incredible wins for animals; and why stories of progress matter now more than ever.
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.
Meet Steven Pinker, a cognitive psychologist and public intellectual who is one of the world’s greatest thinkers on the topic of progress. He is the author of 12 books, including ‘Better Angels of Our Nature,’ which played a key role in the origin story of Fix The News. After five years of email correspondence between Steven and Gus, this is their first face to face conversation. From progress to politics and the rise of tattoos, this episode offers a big dose of perspective about the current state of the world.
Other topics discussed: why longstanding peace never makes headlines; the best metrics for human progress; the decline of mental health in rich countries; the problem with word police; changes in social norms and how they happen; why today’s election in the US is better than 1968; the cognitive illusion perpetuated by mass media; how graphs and data can help change beliefs; designing better institutions to help drive more progress; two lessons that Steven learned the hard way; the power of reasonable hope.
This episode wraps up season three of this podcast. To celebrate, we’re offering new and existing subscribers a 30% discount on 12-month subscriptions to our weekly newsletter. If you want to make your inbox a more hopeful place: go to fixthenews.com and enter the code PINKER at checkout.
Find out more about Steven Pinker:
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.
Meet Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo, a psychologist and narrativetherapist who uses a travelling caravan to bring mental health services to townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Tackling gender-based violence andhigh rates of youth depression, Ncazelo’s cutting edge methods for healing trauma are now being used across the globe.
We are proud to support Ncazelo’s organisation, Phola,as one of our charity partners at Fix The News.
Find out more about Ncazelo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6IWbbuYVgw
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.
Meet Sonia Vallabh, a lawyer turned scientist with one of the most compelling stories we have ever heard. In 2011, Sonia was diagnosed with prion disease, a rare and fatal genetic illness with no viable treatment. Against all odds, Sonia and her husband retrained as a patient–scientists and set out to cure the disease before Sonia misses her window. Thirteen years later, they've found a way to shut off enough genetic signals to halt the disease - and save hundreds of thousands of lives around the world.
Find out more:
https://www.ted.com/talks/sonia_vallabh_my_quest_to_cure_prion_disease_before_it_s_too_late?subtitle=en
https://www.broadinstitute.org/bios/sonia-vallabhThis podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.
Two weeks ago, Amy attended the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, where she met some incredible change makers who are driving solutions across healthcare, water access, food security, conservation and scientific discovery. In this episode we'll take you behind the scenes of the two-day event and introduce you to some of the people she met in the corridors, including her interview with the legendary Dr Jane Goodall.
Correction: Coalition for Mental Health Investment
Five organisations are part of the coalition - The McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) has joined the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), Clinton Global Initiative, Kokoro, and Wellcome.
The quote about “every country is a developing country when it comes to mental health” is attributed Shekhar Saxena.
Find out more:
https://www.clintonfoundation.org
https://www.thementalhealthcoalition.org
https://www.whywaste.io
https://carolinafarmtrust.org
https://www.millersocent.org
https://sungai.watch
https://www.adventurescientists.org
https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org
This podcast is hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose from Fix The News. Audio sweeting by Anthony Badolato at Ai3 – audio and voice.