Last September, Alliance 2030 launched a new podcast with some old wisdom in mind:
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and our grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty.”
Daniel Burnham, the American architect and urban planner, said that way back in 1910: long before gender-neutral language was common; long before the United Nations was around to encourage a similarly lofty worldview.
Skip ahead to present day, and it has been four years since the UN challenged the world to meet its Sustainable Development Goals—and a mere matter of months since we completed our first season of No Little Plans. It’s a podcast about Canadian efforts to meet the goals, and it has already explored the overall SDG program (Episode 1: Leave No One Behind), no poverty (Episode 2: How to Eradicate Homelessness), gender equality (Episode 3: Women’s Rights Are Human Rights) and life below water (Episode 4: Water World).
So far, so good: No Little Plans debuted as a “New & Noteworthy” selection in the iTunes Store, and Apple later named it one of 2018’s best podcasts. We create the show in collaboration with Strategic Content Labs, Canada’s premier brand storytelling and content marketing consultancy, and Vocal Fry Studios, a formidable duo of Vicky Mochama (host) and Katie Jensen (producer).
Together, we are all currently making big plans for Season Two, because the podcast is coming back strong—and soon!—with six new episodes about zero hunger, climate action, decent work and more. We will begin with a deep dive into food insecurity, which is an especially significant concern in the Canadian North. (Up there, it can cost $20 for a dozen cans of Coke—as compared to $5 in urban centres—and plenty more if you want to eat healthy.) We will spend time exploring specific SDGs, but also branch out to investigate projects and people whose work spans across multiple fields of interest and importance.
No Little Plans will continue to be available from the iTunes Store, Spotify, Soundcloud and other podcast providers. If you haven’t already, please find us to listen and subscribe in one of those places.