TLP476: Engineering Social Change with Jed Brewer

Jed Brewer is the president and founder of Good Loud Media, a nonprofit organization that uses music and video to drive social impact in underserved communities around the world.  

In this episode, Jed describes how Good Loud Media operates by bringing together Grammy-winning musicians, renowned psychologists, and subject matter experts to create targeted media campaigns.  

Jed explores the concept of empathy in leadership and violence prevention. He explains how mass violence stems from a "death of empathy" where people demonize their enemies, and how perspective-taking through music can help restore human connection even in conflict zones.

Jed shares his approach to networking as a superpower for creating change. He emphasizes that success is always a team effort and encourages leaders to view their network as the foundation of any meaningful impact.

Listen to this episode to discover how music can be engineered to solve complex social problems and learn practical strategies for building powerful networks that drive systemic change.

You can find episode 476 on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Watch this Episode on YouTube | Jed Brewer on Engineering Social Change

https://bit.ly/TLP-476

 

Key Takeaways

[02:23] Jed reveals something people can't find about him online, that he grew up playing in rock bands and learned at 14 that "music has the power to bring us together" and can "create a place where people feel welcome when they don't feel welcome in other places."

[03:36] Jed explains his journey from being a preacher's kid to prison chaplain and also describes how his passion developed through the fusion between music and technology that led him to study engineering while maintaining his love for music, understanding that "technology is a way to drive that forward."

[07:02] Jed explains how he got into prison outreach and outlines his startup experience. He reveals a breakthrough discovery. 

[13:07] Jed explains the business case for underserved populations, noting that pharmaceutical companies are "leaving money on the table" because potential customers aren't aware of life-saving products like HIV medications that "could be using these products."

[15:47] Jed connects his faith background to his mission, explaining that his personal faith centers on "love your neighbor as yourself" and finding ways to "reduce human suffering."

[17:03] Jed explains how he brings high-caliber people together and he describes the Narcan project. Jed identifies the messaging challenge where some people viewed Narcan as "something that drug users would have" he also outlines his collaborative process where he works with subject matter experts.

[24:27] Jed describes distribution strategy where they put the song "everywhere" - radio, social media, and in-person community outreach - celebrating most when "people amplify it to their own network."

[26:54] Jed explains his international focus where he started building relationships with creatives worldwide for cost-effective production and he reveals their focus on preventing mass violence. Jed describes their Nigerian mental health success where they embedded therapeutic breathing exercises in music.

[32:57] Jed explains music's unique power, noting that unlike speeches that tell people what to think, music tells them "what to think and how to feel at the same time" because "people don't have their guards up about music."

[35:48] Jed defines empathy through perspective taking, explaining that empathy begins with consciously thinking "what would it be like to be this other person" and seeing enemies as human beings, even those you disagree with.

[40:18] Jed emphasizes networking importance, stating "Your network is your net worth" and "I don't think anybody succeeds alone" because success is always team success, so "the question is, who's on your team?"

[44:25] Jed describes his leadership transition where Good Loud Media is shifting from him "doing everything" to "setting other people up to be the people that are doing things" as they expand internationally.

[47:27] Jed delivers his closing call to action, saying "You have a vision in your head of something that you can do to make the world a better place... Do it. Now is the time... The world needs you."

[49:10] And remember...“Where words fail, music speaks.” - Hans Christian Andersen

 

Quotable Quotes

"I learned as a kid that music has the power to bring us together. I learned when I was 14 that music can create a place where people feel welcome when they don't feel welcome in other places."

"I have always been a firm believer that networking is just how we all get where we're going. We all do better when we've got the riches of friendship."

"Dig your well before you're thirsty."

For me, the living out of that faith has to do with love your neighbor as yourself…I think that all of us can agree that whenever possible, lessening the amount of suffering in the world and lessening the amount of suffering that our neighbors and that our loved ones face is the morally right thing for us to pursue."

"I have discovered few things that produce as much genuine magic as simply asking... There's a famous phrase, you have not, because you ask not. I have learned to ask pretty boldly for things, and most of the time people say yes."

"Your network is your net worth. The people that, you know, are. That is your riches in life."

"I don't think anybody succeeds alone... I think that success is always team success."

"You're telling them what to think and how to feel at the same time. Music is a guided meditation that has both a cognitive and an emotive aspect happening in parallel."In mass violence, there's a death of empathy."

"The only way forward is to see our enemies as human beings. And that really is what empathy is."

"I think empathy in many ways begins and ends with perspective taking."

"There are different seasons in life and there are different phases, and we pass in and out of them."

"You have a vision in your head of something that you can do to make the world a better place. I know you do... Do it. Now is the time. Not next week, not next year. Do it. Get started. It won't get easier. The best time to do it is right now.We need you. Get to work. This is your moment, the sign you've been waiting for. This is that sign. Get started with your thing that's going to make the world a better place."

 

Resources Mentioned

• The Leadership Podcast | theleadershippodcast.com

• Sponsored by | www.darley.com

• Rafti Advisors. LLC | www.raftiadvisors.com

• Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | selfreliantleadership.com

• Jed Brewer Website | http://goodloudmedia.org

• Good Loud Media Facebook | http://facebook.com/goodloudmedia

• Jed Brewer LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/jed-brewer-29bb325

• Good Loud Media Instagram | @goodloudmedia/