What Is Life Worth: Defining the Value of Life After Tragedy w/ Kenneth R. Feinberg
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
Release Date: 10/14/2025
Future-Proofing Your Life: Technology, AI, and Taking Your Next Steps Forward w/ Crystal Washington
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
Join host Dr. Chris Meek as he sits down with Crystal Washington, one of Forbes' 50 Leading Female Futurists, to explore how we can navigate an increasingly complex technological landscape while staying true to our human values. Crystal, a certified futurist and technology strategist who has worked with Fortune 100 companies like Google, American Express, and Pfizer, breaks down the intimidating world of artificial intelligence, social media, and emerging technologies into actionable insights that anyone can understand and apply. In this engaging conversation, Crystal shares her expertise on...
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The Responsibility to Remember w/ Andrew H. Card Jr and Leon Panetta
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
In this milestone 250th episode of Next Steps Forward, Dr. Chris Meek is joined by two of the most consequential public servants of our time: Andrew Card and Leon Panetta. In a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation, these former White House Chiefs of Staff reflect on lives shaped by service, leadership under pressure, and a shared commitment to preserving the lessons of September 11, 2001. From Leon Panetta’s upbringing as the son of Italian immigrants and his journey through Congress, the CIA, and the Department of Defense, to Andrew Card’s path from the Merchant Marine Academy to...
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The Future of Free Enterprise: Gentry Collins on Empowering Entrepreneurs
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
In this week’s episode of Next Steps Forward, Dr. Chris Meek sits down with Gentry Collins, Founder and CEO of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, to explore how small and medium-sized businesses can thrive in today’s economy. Gentry, a seasoned political strategist and partner at CAP Public Affairs, has worked at the highest levels of American politics, from serving as National Political Director of the Republican National Committee to advising across multiple sectors of the economy. Together, Chris and Gentry discuss the meaning of “equal access to the marketplace” and...
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Faith in Action: Shane Manney on Purpose, Service, and Global Impact
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
Shane Manney, Founder and Executive Director of 5 Stones International, a mission-driven nonprofit expanding hope, training, and humanitarian aid around the globe, joins program host Dr. Chris Meek on this installment of Next Steps Forward. Shane shares his powerful journey from U.S. Marine Corps service and frontline security work to building a ministry rooted in faith, fitness, and relational discipleship. You’ll hear how 5 Stones uses mixed martial arts, tactical training, and international outreach to help individuals discover identity, purpose, and meaning in Christ while serving...
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The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear Into Your Superpower w/ Michelle “MACE” Curran
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
Next Steps Forward host Dr. Chris Meek welcomes Michelle “MACE” Curran, former U.S. Air Force combat pilot, elite Thunderbirds Lead Solo, bestselling author, and trailblazing motivational speaker, to the program to discuss courage, confidence, and breaking through fear to live a life of purpose and possibility. Michelle’s journey from a small-town girl in Wisconsin to one of the most respected fighter pilots in the world is nothing short of remarkable. During her 13-year career in the U.S. Air Force, she flew F-16s in combat missions across the globe and made history as only the second...
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The Heart of a Cheetah: Africa’s Path to Prosperity w/ Magatte Wade
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
What if the key to ending poverty in Africa isn’t more aid but more freedom? In this powerful episode of Next Steps Forward, host Dr. Chris Meek sits down with globally recognized entrepreneur, author, and thought leader Magatte Wade to challenge some of the most deeply held assumptions about Africa, capitalism, and human flourishing. Born and raised in Senegal, Magatte shares her firsthand experience of a culture rich in dignity, community, and tradition, yet constrained by limited economic opportunity. From her early years in West Africa to her current work spanning Austin, Texas and the...
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Redefining Love, Aging, and Life on Your Own Terms w/ Vicki Larson
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
In this week’s episode of Next Steps Forward, host Dr. Chris Meek sits down with award-winning journalist and author Vicki Larson to explore love, independence, aging, and the evolving landscape of journalism. Vicki shares insights from her latest book, LATitude: How You Can Make a Live Apart Together Relationship Work, explaining what it means to pursue committed relationships while maintaining separate households and why this approach is growing in popularity. She also discusses her acclaimed book, Not Too Old for That: How Women Are Changing the Story of Aging, and offers empowering...
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Fire It Up: How Couples Rebuild Trust, Joy, and Emotional Closeness w/ Carolyn Sharp
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
This week on Next Steps Forward, Dr. Chris Meek is joined by Carolyn Sharp, a nationally recognized relationship expert, licensed independent clinical social worker, and award-winning author of Fire It Up: Four Secrets to Reigniting Intimacy and Joy in Your Relationship. With more than 30 years of experience helping couples build resilient connections, Carolyn offers deep insights into the nature of true intimacy, why it often fades, and how attachment styles, subtle relationship patterns, and major breaches of trust shape long-term connection. She also explains how couples can reignite...
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Fighting Trafficking, Restoring Hope: A Conversation w/ Brittany Dunn
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
This week on Next Steps Forward, Dr. Chris Meek welcomes Brittany Dunn, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Safe House Project, one of the nation’s leading organizations dedicated to ending human trafficking and supporting survivors on their path to freedom and restoration. With a decade of global business experience and years of hands-on leadership in the anti-trafficking movement, Brittany brings a rare combination of strategic insight, operational expertise, and deep compassion for the individuals Safe House Project serves. Under her co-leadership, the organization has expanded...
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Building Healthier Workplaces w/ Dr. Katina Sawyer
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
On this week’s installment Next Steps Forward, Dr. Chris Meek welcomes Dr. Katina Sawyer, organizational psychologist, associate professor at the University of Arizona, and co-founder of Workr Beeing. Together, they explore the roots of her work in organizational psychology, what truly drives workplace well-being, and the inspiration behind her mission to help companies create healthier, more human-centered cultures. Chris and Katina also discuss the evolving nature of work-life balance, how the pandemic and generational shifts are reshaping our expectations of work, and the promises and...
info_outlineIn this powerful and emotionally resonant episode of Next Steps Forward, host Dr. Chris Meek welcomes renowned mediator and attorney Kenneth R. Feinberg, one of the foremost experts in administering compensation funds in the aftermath of national tragedies. Feinberg will take the audience through the heart-wrenching and historic journey of valuing human life when presented with the unthinkable.
In particular, he will discuss the story behind his appointment as Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, where he worked pro bono for 33 arduous months, personally awarding over $7 billion to victims and families, and conducting nearly 1,000 individual hearings amid profound grief and emotional intensity. He will also reflect on the uniquely bipartisan support the 9/11 compensation program received, his firm belief that it shouldn’t be replicated, and the program’s rarity as an apolitical, national response during a time of crisis. Throughout the hour he will explore topics of leadership, responsibility, empathy and how law - or any profession in the public sphere - can become a vehicle for healing and service.
Mr. Feinberg exemplifies how deeply personal experiences of loss can shape programs designed to restore dignity and stability. His journey reveals how public policy leaders must balance objective frameworks with emotional intelligence and unwavering moral clarity. Join them for a conversation that transcends compensation formulas: this is about healing, restoring trust, and discovering what it truly means to do the right thing in times of profound tragedy.
About Kenneth R. Feinberg: Kenneth R. Feinberg has been key to resolving many of our nation’s most challenging and widely known disputes. He is best known for serving as the Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, in which he reached out to all who qualified to file a claim, evaluated applications, determined appropriate compensation, and disseminated awards. Mr. Feinberg shared his extraordinary experience in his book What Is Life Worth?, published in 2005 by Public Affairs Press, and in his follow-up book Who Gets What, published by Public Affairs Press in 2012.
Mr. Feinberg has been appointed to two presidential-level commissions because of his experience and expertise, and has had a distinguished teaching career as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Columbia University Law School, New York University Law School, and the University of Virginia Law School.