U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ): Hope is Expanding Empathy and the Moral Imagination

02/01/22 • 36 min

2 Listeners

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Jane Goodall speaks with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), U.S. politician, attorney, and author. Over the course of his career serving as Mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 2006 to 2013, serving as U.S. Senator from 2013 to present, and running for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 election, Senator Booker has developed, sponsored, collaborated on, and passed legislation supporting LGBTQ+ rights, animal rights, climate action, racial justice, women’s rights, voting rights, food justice and system reform, while also addressing the racial wealth gap and other injustices. In this conversation, Senator Booker shares his experiences living with the community he served in New Jersey, and how elders and mentors he met along the way shaped his ethos around seeing the humanity in each of us. He also shares experiences connecting with those with opposing viewpoints and how these interactions have helped him not only as a politician but as a person. This conversation is filled with stories and moments of empathy and hope from both Jane and Senator Booker that will stick with you well after you’ve finished listening. Senator Booker poignantly sums up why hope is such a critically important tenant to enacting change and ultimately, to the work he does every day: “Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word.”

At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to listen to a 2016 archival clip of Dr. Goodall from a series of walking interviews in Gombe. Hear her speak about why we must return to a sense of prioritizing future generations and the world we leave behind - a wisdom she feels we have lost.

Previous Episode

Paul Polman: Hope is Putting the Heart Back in Companies for Net Positive Change

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Jane Goodall speaks with Paul Polman, business leader, campaigner, and author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take. He is also the co-founder and chair of IMAGINE, an organization that strives to build net positive companies that combat climate change, nature loss and global inequality. A leading proponent that business should be a force for good, Paul has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past decade.” In this conversation, Paul shares his journey to business leadership and how growing up in the socially conscious culture of the 1960’s fostered in him a sense of global empathy. From there, Jane and Paul discuss new, environmentally conscious trends in business. Paul sees that corporations hear consumer and staff demands for ethical business practices and understand the necessity of sustainability and social justice. Paul’s work with IMAGINE is to help find ways for these companies to turn those ideas into action internally and within the supply chain. Together, they reflect on the effects of unsustainable production, and globalization, and consider the role of corrupt governments and systems of inequality as perpetuating major problems, like the climate crisis. Finally, they consider the hopeful possibilities, and how to replace environmentally and socially harmful industries while fulfilling the needs of both consumers and laborers. Ultimately, Paul believes in our collective ability to protect our planet and hopes to “bring the heart of humanity back to business.”

At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to hear a clip of Dr. Goodall discussing the necessity of redefining corporate and governmental relationships with the natural world.

Next Episode

Mailbag: From Colombia to the UK, Jane Answers Hopecaster Messages About Solving Big Problems by Starting with a Small Change

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Goodall is joined by her good friend Ruth Mendelson, award winning composer, author and humanitarian (Ruth helped create the music for the Hopecast!). They have worked closely throughout their decades long friendship and Jane wrote the foreword for Ruth’s book, The Water Tree Way. Together, they listen to messages from Hopecasters from around the world about the ways Dr. Goodall has inspired them to dream up projects and efforts to help in their communities - proving that sometimes simple steps can make a big, positive footprint for the planet. Isabella, a 14-year-old from Bogotá, Colombia, shares that caring about animals and the environment is her motivation to create change. Louise from the UK reflects on the importance of education and how Dr. Goodall’s tireless persistence keeps her motivated in her activism. Ruth shares her conviction to be a part of the solution and Jane reminds us “how resilient nature is. Give nature a chance, perhaps a bit of help, and nature will come back.”

Hey Hopecasters! Submit your own questions and comments for a chance to be included in a future Mailbag episode here.