At the Table with Tony Brown
At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, Professor Emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Facing a health scare, Tony first turned to podcasting to stay connected with more than a thousand former students and friends. The goal is to continue to nurture a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others.
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How Do You Know When Change is Calling? with Kelly Brown
11/14/2025
How Do You Know When Change is Calling? with Kelly Brown
In a funny way, knowing when it’s time to make a decision can be tricky. For Tony Brown, he starts to feel irritated and adds notes to a folder calls “things that bug me.” Those notes usually lead to decisions. Today, Tony talks with executive and career coach Kelly Brown. She knows a decision is looming when she feels angst and frustration. Then she’ll ask herself a question: “If I’m doing exactly the same thing in five years, how will I feel?” It’s a question that has “unlocked so much awareness for me in so many ways,” Kelly says. She also asks this: “What is at the heart of the conflict and what is it that I really want? What am I really looking for?” (And don’t forget, a non-decision is a decision too!) At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony started the podcast while facing significant health challenges in order to nurture a generative, “grow together” friendship community with his many friends and former students. In Season 2, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior Riley Reece.
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Secrets of Being a Good Coach with Mia Wise
10/31/2025
Secrets of Being a Good Coach with Mia Wise
Tony Brown is a fantastic coach. (Maybe it’s why so many former students stay in touch!) In this episode, Tony’s former student Mia Wise interviews him about the secrets to effective coaching. Tony says don’t try to replicate his approach – rely on your own strengths - but make sure to start your session with clarity: What’s the problem you are trying to work on? What’s the specific mission – where can you move the needle? What strategies and actions will cause change? What are the stakeholder outcomes and benefits? Address these questions with either a top-down approach (big picture first) or a bottom-up approach (specific strategies first). Both are effective. Use the questions regularly and you’ll soon be a better counselor to your colleagues, friends and family. At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony started the podcast while facing significant health challenges in order to nurture a generative, “grow together” friendship community with his many friends and former students. In Season 2, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior Riley Reece.
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The 5-Year Career Plan with Brandon Busteed
10/24/2025
The 5-Year Career Plan with Brandon Busteed
When you’re considering career options, “you can’t think about your whole life,” says Tony Brown. Instead, consider a five-year path and prioritize working for a good boss because research shows that whether a person is engaged at work is due in large part to their manager. When job hunting, use your network. “Go talk to 10 really interesting people,” Tony says. “You’ll have a sense if they’ll have you at the Xerox machine each day, or they’ll actually going to care about your development.” Guest Brandon Busteed agrees. He’s the CEO of BrandEd, a company that provides education in partnership with premier brands like Sotheby’s Institute of Art and The New York Times. Brandon suggests that when you do get an interview (and you will!) use your time to ask direct questions of your potential manager. What’s their management style? How do they motivate teams? How often do they connect with staff? “That’s your opportunity to assess whether you’re talking to a rock star manager or not," he says. At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony started the podcast while facing significant health challenges in order to nurture a generative, “grow together” friendship community with his many friends and former students. In Season 2, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior Riley Reece.
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Two Bits of News
10/23/2025
Two Bits of News
Hello everyone, we are pleased to be back with another season of At the Table with Tony Brown. Also, we’ve got some news.
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Not the Normal Path with Colin Mutchler
06/27/2025
Not the Normal Path with Colin Mutchler
Colin Mutchler’s career has been anything but a straight path. Out of Duke his parents hoped he’d be a consultant, but instead he pursued his passions. Hobbies (musician, improv performer and more) battle for time with entrepreneurial business ventures. Colin says even in college he had a hard time considering the traditional career path. He’d think to himself, “This is weird, people just want you to get a job, get married, have kids, retire and die. That doesn’t sound interesting as a life.” He talks with his former professor and friend Tony Brown about choosing the road less traveled, how he’s making it work, and why he has no regrets. At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. As always, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior, Penelope North. This is the final episode of Season 1. Season 2 will premiere in the fall of 2025.
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Inclusive Leadership with Todd Sears
05/16/2025
Inclusive Leadership with Todd Sears
Todd Sears took Tony Brown’s class at Duke in 1998. After graduation, Todd turned his attention to building community and belonging wherever he was. At Merrill Lynch he was the first openly gay financial advisor, and he created a team focused on serving the LGBTQ+ community – a first in the nation. Today, Todd is the founder and CEO of Out Leadership. Todd has found success helping companies see the importance of fostering connections among employees. “It’s about getting the right people, the right mix, and making them feel like they’re part of a community,” he says, that’s how you get the best out of people. Tony Brown agrees, saying genuine human relationships power both our professional and personal lives. “Pay attention to these things, reflect on them and act on them,” he says. At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. As always, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior, Penelope North.
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Make Good Dots with Wendy Kuran
05/02/2025
Make Good Dots with Wendy Kuran
What does it take to land a dream job? In this episode, Wendy Kuran talks about pausing to take stock, discovering she wanted something new, and landing in a place that surprised even her - China. Wendy says she was ready to take a leadership role at Duke Kunshan, because she had made “good dots” in her career -- meaning she tried to make her actions purposeful and was serious about making the most of each opportunity. Tony Brown says the path to a dream job is a series of single steps that lead in the right direction. “Be confident that there’s another step forward,” he says. “You don’t have to see all the steps; you need to know your values.” At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. As always, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior, Penelope North. We might use it in an upcoming episode!
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Fix a Crack in the Sidewalk with Hasnain Zaidi
04/25/2025
Fix a Crack in the Sidewalk with Hasnain Zaidi
When Hasnain Zaidi was in Tony Brown’s Social Entrepreneurship class at Duke, he dreamed up a plan for a campus food cart, Holy Crepe, that would fund impact ventures. Tony remembers it as “the best-planned failure” of the class. But the project taught Hasnain a lot, and his career has included successful entrepreneurial projects and other roles. Their conversation explores how to be a force for good and expanding the definition of impact. Tony says “work” is often misconstrued as your job. The real question we should be asking is ourselves is, “How do I make better decisions to enhance my results for the world and for myself?” At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. As always, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior, Penelope North. We might use it in an upcoming episode!
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Finding Your North Star with Linda Zhang
04/18/2025
Finding Your North Star with Linda Zhang
“I heard about Tony's class when I was a freshman. It's this elusive class that people talk about as the single class you have to take before graduating that will change your life forever,” Linda remembers. “I never took notes in most of my classes diligently, but I remember thinking. ‘I have to write down every single word this man says.’” Since graduation, Linda has worked in consulting, traveled the world as a private teacher, consulted for the Ministry of Education in Sierra Leone, served as chief of staff to a Nigerian university president and more – all in just 5 years! She says in her experience, your 20s are all about finding and refining your North Star. At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. As always, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior, Penelope North. We might use it in an upcoming episode!
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Work/Life Balance with Anthony Vitarelli
04/12/2025
Work/Life Balance with Anthony Vitarelli
Seeking success but being firmly grounded in your personal life is a big challenge for many of us. In this episode, Tony Brown sits down with Anthony Vitarelli. Anthony took lessons from Tony Brown’s Duke classes along with him in his professional journey, including stops at the US Department of the Treasury, the Supreme Court, the private financial sector and more. Anthony shares how he’s been able to address work-life balance even when in high-level roles. At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. As always, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior, Penelope North. We might use it in an upcoming episode!
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Finding Vocation with Jennifer Nagda
04/04/2025
Finding Vocation with Jennifer Nagda
What is the difference between career and vocation? How do you use intentionality to direct your life towards a fulfilling vocation? As Tony Brown says, “you can’t just sit down and say, ‘I'm going to decide on my vocation.’ It's like chasing love. You can't chase love.” In this episode, Tony explores vocation with his former Duke student Jennifer Nagda. For more than a decade, her work has centered on the interests of immigrant children in government custody and legal proceedings. “I think one of the things that I took from Tony's class was the importance of intentionality,” she says. “And that there is this aspect of thinking and framing and creating a plan and then getting busy doing. And you don't linger in between.” At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. We might use it in an upcoming episode! As always, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior, Penelope North.
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Considering Leadership with Tommy Sowers
03/28/2025
Considering Leadership with Tommy Sowers
Today we spend time at the table with Tony Brown’s former student, Tommy Sowers. Tommy took Tony’s course Enterprising Leadership about 20 years ago at Duke University. He sat in the third row at first, but soon moved up front, and was hooked. Tommy has actively leaned into leadership positions. After graduation, the Green Beret served in Iraq and Kosovo. He went on to hold major roles in the political, governmental, academic, corporate, entrepreneurial, non-profit and philanthropic worlds. Most recently, he served as president of the nation’s fourth largest private jet charter operation and is now working with Duke students on tech ethics. Tommy talks with Tony about what he learned from Tony about leadership, and how he has applied those lessons in his own career. At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, Professor Emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that.
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Define the Life You Want to Live with Dan Kimberg
03/20/2025
Define the Life You Want to Live with Dan Kimberg
In this episode, Tony Brown has a conversation with Dan Kimberg about the importance of defining the life you want to live and living it. In Tony’s Social Entrepreneurship in Action class at Duke University 20 years ago, Dan and two classmates created a compelling plan to launch Student U, a nonprofit organization intended to support first-generation students in Durham, North Carolina. Student U continues to be a great success story in Durham, and Dan’s relationship with Tony has evolved from being a student in his class to a cherished friendship. Host: Penelope North.
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Welcome
03/20/2025
Welcome
At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, Professor Emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. At the Table with Tony is produced and hosted by Duke University senior
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