Episode Length: ~5 minutes
Theme: Innovation, empathy, ethical tech, trauma-informed design, inclusive mental health
Listen if you’ve ever wondered:
* Why tech feels so cold even when it’s meant to support people.
* How innovation can uplift—or exploit—marginalized communities.
* What it means to build with people instead of for them.
Episode Summary:
In this powerful five-minute episode, I unmask the illusion of “innovation” as we know it—and ask what’s left when we build without empathy. Spoiler alert: it’s not progress.
We unpack why most digital health tools fail the very people they claim to serve, the truth about how your data is used (or abused), and how trauma-informed, human-centered design isn’t a luxury—it’s a responsibility. This isn’t a takedown. It’s a calling-in.
Because innovation without empathy?
That’s just extraction.
Key Stats Mentioned:
* Only 3% of U.S. digital health startups serve underserved populations (Rock Health, 2024)
* 50%+ of mental health apps share user data with third parties, often without full consent (Mozilla Foundation, 2023)
* 1 in 3 U.S. adults experience anxiety or depression; only 1 in 10 feel adequately supported by digital tools (Harvard School of Public Health, 2024)
Topics We Cover:
* The empathy deficit in tech
* The real-world consequences of scale-first thinking
* What trauma-informed, justice-driven innovation looks like
* Building with care, not just code
Let this episode hold you if:
* You’re a founder, builder, or creative who wants to lead with heart
* You’ve ever felt unseen inside a product that claimed to support your healing
* You believe the future of tech should be warm, not just fast
✨ Favorite Line:
“Nobody ever healed from being optimized.”
Links + Mentions:
* Rock Health: Equity in Digital Health Report (2024)
* Mozilla Foundation’s Privacy Not Included (2023)
* Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Mental Health Data (2024)
If you loved this episode…
🎧 Subscribe, leave a review, or forward it to a fellow builder who needs to hear it.
