Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Dr. Stan Deetz, exploring why corporations—not governments—make most decisions affecting our lives. Stan reveals how externalized costs and the relentless pursuit of speed are destroying economic systems, from quarterly reporting cycles to high-frequency trading. They discuss practical solutions, including enforcing antitrust legislation, using transaction taxes to make short-termism expensive, and designing collaborative processes that enable diverse stakeholders to make creative decisions together where it matters most—in corporate boardrooms and community spaces.
2025, Communication Theory at the Crossroads - Stan's newest book developing the theory of relational constructionism and co-generative democracy, providing frameworks for designing interaction processes that enable diverse groups to make creative, mutually beneficial decisions together.
Join host Vinny Tafuro and guest Dr. Melanie Sue Hicks, a workforce and employee experience expert with more than two decades of experience in organizational development and culture, for a conversation about workplace dysfunction and its broader economic impact. Today's conversation focuses on the hidden costs of employee disengagement, drawing from Dr. Hicks' research on psychological contracts and generational workplace dynamics. Dr. Hicks introduces the concept of "invisible snake bites" - the accumulated damage from unmet workplace expectations that costs the global economy $9 trillion annually.
Click here to view the episode transcript.
★ Support this podcast ★
Join host Vinny Tafuro and guest Thaddeus Squire, Chief Commons Steward at Social Impact Commons, for a conversation about fiscal sponsorship in the social sector. Thaddeus has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit management field, and today’s conversation focuses on the evolution of fiscal sponsorship. Thaddeus and his organization have coined the term “management commons” to better illustrate the nuance and breadth of what fiscal sponsorship can do beyond the transactional.
Guest Bio
Thaddeus Squire, Chief Commons Steward at Social Impact Commons, has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit management field, focusing on arts and cultural heritage. A serial nonprofit entrepreneur, he founded Peregrine Arts in 2004, a multi-arts producer, followed by Hidden City Philadelphia, among other curatorial projects.
Links Mentioned
Click here to view the episode transcript.
Join host Vinny Tafuro and guest Dr. Riane Eisler, renowned systems scientist and author, as they explore her groundbreaking work on partnership systems and their impact on economic structures. Drawing from her 2019 book "Nurturing Our Humanity," co-authored with Douglas Fry, Eisler discusses how the biocultural partnership-domination lens reveals patterns that conventional economic frameworks miss, offering practical paths toward more equitable, sustainable economic systems.
★ Support this podcast ★Join host Vinny Tafuro for an engaging conversation with guest Dr. Eric Eisenberg, Senior Vice President for University-Community Partnerships at USF. Through the lens of design economics, they explore paradigm shifts in academia, the unique role of communication as an interdisciplinary bridge, and the challenges of creating innovative university-community connections. Dr. Eisenberg shares insights from his 30-year academic journey on how universities can evolve to become true metropolitan partners in addressing complex societal challenges.
★ Support this podcast ★Join host Vinny Tafuro for an engaging conversation with guest Ingrid LaFleur, a curator, Afrofuturist, and pleasure activist. Her groundbreaking work has been featured in prominent outlets such as The New York Times and Time magazine. Their conversation explores the roots of Afrofuturism, the impacts of nonlinear presence, and how Ingrid’s Dinkenish Method World Builds can guide us toward better futures.
Authors & Books Mentioned
About Ingrid LaFleur, aka Dr. Xiluva
Ingrid LaFleur is a cultural strategist, futures researcher, Afrofuture theorist, and pleasure activist dedicated to fostering equitable and just futures. As the founder of The Afrofuture Strategies Institute (TASI), she merges foresight methodologies with the cultural movement of Afrofuturism to cultivate Afrofuture consciousness and inspire transformative action.
A recognized thought leader, LaFleur has shared her expertise through global talks and workshops, including engagements at the Centre Pompidou (Paris), TEDx Brooklyn, Harvard University, and Oxford University. Her groundbreaking work has been featured in prominent outlets such as The New York Times and Time magazine.
LaFleur holds a Master of Science in Foresight from the University of Houston, where she honed her ability to envision and strategize for thriving, inclusive futures.
Click here to view the episode transcript.
★ Support this podcast ★
Join host Vinny Tafuro for an engaging conversation with guest Nathan Stuck, an entrepreneur, B Corp consultant, and the founder of B Local Georgia. Their conversation focuses on the collective impact of B Corps on the wider market and economy as more examples of successful B Corps illustrate how a better-designed business can support a better-designed economy.
About Nathan Stuck
Nathan is an award-winning leader in the B Corp community and the Founder of Profitable Purpose Consulting, a culture, impact, and B Corp consultancy. He founded and chairs B Local Georgia and serves on the board of B Academics, a nonprofit committed to research and experiential B Corp learning opportunities.
He is also the Executive Director of BLD Southeast, a regional annual B Corp conference that brings together B Corps from the southeastern United States for a celebration of business as a force for good.
Nathan teaches an MBA course on B Corps at the University of Georgia, is a regular speaker at conferences and on podcasts around the world, and hosts the B The Change Georgia podcast. His first book, Happy Monday: Designing Your Dream Career, was released in 2022, and his TEDx Talk was released in March 2023.
Connect with the show:
Join host Vinny Tafuro and guest Andy Hines, Assistant Professor and Program Director of the graduate program in foresight at The University of Houston as they discuss Andy’s new book Imagining After Capitalism. The book is the culmination of professional futurist Andy’s 10-year exploration of what comes next after capitalism. Arguing that the absence of compelling positive alternatives keeps us stuck in a combination of fear, denial, and false hope, he offers three “guiding images” for the long-term future.
Connect with the show:
Join host Vinny Tafuro and guest Dr. Paula Seymour, Assistant Professor and Program Director of Social Entrepreneurship at Flagler College, as they explore how design thinking can revolutionize economics for the 21st century. Learn about the three tenets of design economics and hear how visionary thinkers like Hazel Henderson, Marilyn Waring, Riane Eisler, and Kate Raworth have shaped this approach to creating more sustainable, human-centered economic solutions.
Connect with the show:
Click here to view the episode transcript.
★ Support this podcast ★
Connection to Design Economics Tenets
The Three Tenets of Design Economics
Key Pioneering Thinkers Discussed
Practical Applications
Key Quotes
"We find, support and share data-driven and design-centered economic ideas aligned with the three tenets of design economics... our vision is nurturing economic systems that cultivate rather than restrict our human potential." - Vinny Tafuro
"Putting the needs of users first and observing how the user interacts with their environment and then generating ideas and prototyping and designing around the human needs is, again, an integral part of being a social entrepreneur and recognizing that we are not just designing to design, we're designing to bring about change for the greater good." - Dr. Paula Seymour
"Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist." - John Maynard Keynes (quoted by Vinny Tafuro)
"We're claiming to be truly sustainable, as businesses, as societies, but we're doing better with the environment... but we can't figure out the people. It's like, how do we measure it? And everybody's so scared to venture into the realm of the social side, what it means to be sustainable." - Dr. Paula Seymour
"Economic literacy supports democracy. A well-informed citizenry is essential for a functioning democracy, and economic decisions affect education, healthcare, infrastructure, environmental policies, and citizens need this literacy to be able to hold leaders accountable." - Dr. Paula Seymour
"How can you accommodate for two-thirds the largest part of your society if you don't even know it's there?" - Vinny Tafuro
Connect with the show:
Click here to view the episode transcript.
★ Support this podcast ★
