Lily Mott

A weekly podcast featuring young activists, advocates, and change makers who are making a difference around the world

On June 1, 2020, I finished up my workday at Congressman Joe Neguse’s (CO-02) office in Washington, DC and took off running down Independence Avenue. Finally reaching Lafayette Square Park, I pulled out my phone and began to record the Black Lives Matter protest unfolding before me. I spent the next seven hours at the protest, at one point being tear-gassed and fired on by police with rubber bullets. After I got back to my apartment at 1am, I decided to record my experience on my phone as an audio note. The next day, I published that note as the first episode (linked below) in what has since turned into a weekly podcast called “Be the change.”.

While I used this first episode of my podcast to recount my experience and educate my friends and family about what was happening at the protests they’d seen on the news, the podcast quickly evolved to feature the stories of young activists, change makers, and advocates around the country who are leading movements toward change. Since I had never conducted an interview, used audio editing software, or created graphic design content before, I leaned heavily on Google how-tos and Amazon reviews. Nonetheless, within the first few weeks of June, I had ordered recording equipment, designed an Instagram page, and used Audacity to publish four 20-minute episodes. 

Now, more than three years later, I’ve published over 160 episodes, featuring over 160 guests from 18 countries. My listenership has grown at the same time, with more than 21,500 downloads from people in 61 countries, including every continent except Antarctica. Guests on the podcast have discussed a range of issues from local political controversies to international crises like climate change and mental health awareness.

I also launched an online Geneva community for listeners and guests of the podcast to connect and collaborate with one another.

Change comes when you speak the unspoken. Elijah Mckenzie-Jackson is a civic artist and climate justice activist. To get connected with Elijah, find him on Instagram at @elijahmckenziejackson.

Change comes over time. The first episode of “Be the change.” podcast was released on June 2, 2020, and this episode marks three years since that first episode. This episode features some of the most memorable guests from the last three years including: Sophie Beren, Kahlil Greene, Francesca Reicherter, Paxton Smith, Dineo Mya Serame, Isaias Hernandez, Angeles Ponpa, Natalie Magness, Ellis Lloyd Jones, Ideja Bajra, Sophie Sandberg, Marlow Baines, Aaliyan Khan, Bianca Hayles, Hailey Rodgers, Alisha Aslam, Ransom Fox, Rebecca Joseph, Ruhani Walia, Seika Brown, and Austen Wyche.