Today’s One Big Story is about service.  It comes after listening to The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway and the unusual way it popped up on the feed.  Scott Galloway hosts the Pivot podcast with Kara Swisher we've highlighted many times.  Today the Pivot Pod replayed Galloway's Prof G Pod, and it is an interview with Kai Ryssdal, who is also a media icon.  The entire 54 minutes is worth a listen.  Galloway talks about income inequality in the beginning and makes several relevant points.  Next is the interview with Kai Ryssdal, and even though both Galloway and Ryssdal work in media and economics, the conversation goes into service, and the military, (Ryssdal served in the U.S. Navy and was active from 1985 – 1993 and retired with the rank of Lieutenant), they also talk about the media, technology and of course the economy.  Galloway ends the podcast with a mic drop moment, talking about his discomfort with asking for help and how it is a form of narcissism. 

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On The Prof G Pod a couple weeks ago, Scott Galloway interviewed Marketplace's host and senior editor, Kai Ryssdal.  The conversation included economics, media, and technology, no surprise there – it also touched on family, what it means to serve, the absence of our current shared experiences, and much more.  It is a dense 30-minute interview with more info and discussion from Galloway before and after the interview.

Galloway talks at the beginning of the podcast about income inequality and the rise of the billionaire.  He later contrasts the equality discussion with a mention of the misplaced value of equity and its outsized worth when compared to sweat.  We used to value sweat, the work over the investments earned, and in today's world, investments and equity are valued, secured, tax-sheltered, and inherited to several generations under the original earner to keep the wealth gap both wide and long.

Galloway’s interview with Kai Ryssdal, the enduring host of Marketplace from American Public Media, discussed everything from economics to fatherhood's role in their lives.  What made this podcast stand out was not the economics or media portions of the conversation; it was the discussions about restoring trust and mutual respect that moved into a discussion about service.  Ryssdal's military service and their discussion about why service is critical to bringing a divided country back under the same tent.  We are losing too many shared community experiences, like the experience you get from the military or from larger service organizations like the Peace Corps.  Without expanding your personal circle into places with other people, your worldview shrinks. 

Imagine if you never left your hometown, and your friends from grade school and high school were still the core group of people you hung out with.  The Boomers were in the military; some estimates put the Greatest Generation and the Boomers with over 10% serving in the military.  That was cut in half with Gen X, some of that was due to the war in Vietnam and overall war fatigue.  The numbers for military service are not trending up; the same could be said for service corps.  The further we move the generations from opportunities to be with We the People, the less empathy we develop for our countrymen and women.

On another note from the interview, Ryssdal commented about standing up in the discussion.  In an age of rage the steamroller is coming for all the norms, you are still required to uphold the norms.  It's not fair or right, but it's the truth.

Galloway ends the podcast with a conversation about asking for help.  He tells the story of a woman with many means, asking her neighbors for help or a cup of flour.  Her child asks her why she asks others for things they already have, and the mother explains to the child that those neighbors who are not as lucky as they are and don't have the means sometimes ask her for help.  It is a sign of kindness to allow your neighbor to pay it back and to help.  Not asking for help is not always a sign of strength; sometimes, it's a sign of arrogance and often you are taking away your “neighbors” ability to pay humanity back. Galloway wrote a book on topics like this called, Algebra of Happiness.

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With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.

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