An American University alumna is starting a podcast called “What Does It Profit?” that will launch in October. The podcast’s name originates from a bible verse, Mark 8:36, that reads, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
Dawn Carpenter’s podcast that she hosts discusses capitalism, sustainability and the well-being of people and the planet. Carpenter said that her podcast tries to answer the question, “What is business’ role in society?” She said that her work as an investment banker for 25 years helped shape her views on socially responsible business and investment.
“We can’t put a price tag on what matters most,” Carpenter said in the trailer. “Yet time and again, businesses have put profits above all — leading our world to the brink of a climate catastrophe, an inequality crisis and mass extinction.”
Carpenter has prominent thinkers and capitalists such as Fahmi Quadir, a hedge fund investor; Mary Inman, a whistleblower counsel; and Jody Williams, a Nobel Peace laureate, as guests.
Quadir has started a massive campaign to defend short selling, and she has also appeared in a Netflix documentary series called “Dirty Money.” Short selling is selling shares that you do not own and have borrowed from a broker. It is basically the reverse of “buy low, sell high.” Quadir has spoken out about a German company called Wirecard. In an interview with Financial News London, Quadir described her work to increase transparency in capitalism and business.
Inman is employed with Constantine Cannon, a law firm that primarily represents corporate whistleblowers.
Williams won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her efforts to ban landmines through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
On her desire to do a podcast, Carpenter said, “TV wasn’t really my thing. I wanted to talk about issues.”
Podcasting allows Carpenter to do just that in great detail.
“We are looking at a two-track approach: our podcast becoming a part of a media company or going to a distributor like Vox, for example,” Carpenter said.
Three episodes will be launching throughout October. The first episode will be on shareholder activism, said Carpenter, who previously hosted a podcast called “More Than Money.”
“More Than Money” made its way onto a Causeartist.com list of impactful social enterprise podcasts. It was also a leading iTunes business podcast. Carpenter said that the “What Does It Profit” podcast effectively revises her “More Than Money” podcast since it focuses on the same issues.
