Rephonic
Artwork for PathBreakers
Detroit
Fresno
Memphis
Kresge Foundation
Live Again Fresno
Community Power Collective
University Innovation Alliance
Climate Justice
Environmental Justice
New Orleans
Outlier Media
Live6 Alliance
Truck Routes
Higher Education
Education Innovation
Baby Bonds
Motel Drive
East Los Angeles
Community Choice Energy / Aggregation
Deep South Center For Environmental Justice

PathBreakers is a video podcast from The Kresge Foundation featuring community leaders who are reimagining what's possible in American cities. Hosted by Tracey Pearson and Jamie Bennett, with special guest hosting by Rip Rapson, each episode is an intimate conversation about the vision and determination it takes to create change. Season 2 goes into four cities with one central question: Who has po... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes22Foundeda year ago
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Artwork for PathBreakers

Latest Episodes

Most real estate developers have dollar signs in their eyes. But in the rare instance when the developers actually come from the communities being redeveloped, they are able to see the equations very differently. This is the case for father-daughter ... more

There’s a two-mile corridor along Walker Avenue in South Memphis that Marlon Foster calls The Knowledge Quest Kid Zone. It’s a multi-site neighborhood campus dedicated to holistically and measurably improving the lives of South Memphis kids and the p... more

Memphis is a city with serious momentum and serious ambition. Neighborhoods that were written off are being reinvested. Families who have been here for generations are choosing to stay and build. Leaders across sectors are making long-term bets on th... more

When a $6 billion bridge comes to your neighborhood, who decides what the residents get in return? Simone Sagovac and the community-elected Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition have spent nearly 20 years ensuring that the answer is written ... more

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Recent Guests

Simone Sagovac
Project Director at the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition
Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition
Episode: Simone Sagovac is Organizing for Community Benefits
Caitlin Murphy
Executive Director at the Live6 Alliance
Live6 Alliance
Episode: Caitlin Murphy is Leading Neighborhood Development without Displacement
Orlando Bailey
Executive Director of Outlier Media
Outlier Media
Episode: Orlando Bailey's Newsroom is Accountable to its Readers
Mary Sheffield
Mayor of Detroit, first woman in that role
City of Detroit
Episode: Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield is Tending to Every Neighborhood
Rip Rapson
President and CEO of the Kresge Foundation
Kresge Foundation
Episode: Rip Rapson is Leading Kresge into a New Chapter
Darrick Hamilton
Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy; founding director of the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy
The New School
Episode: Dr. Darrick Hamilton is Utilizing Academic Research for Social Action
Dr. Beverly Wright
Founder and director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Episode: Dr. Beverly Wright is Cultivating the Next Generation of Climate Leaders
Bridget Burns
CEO of the University Innovation Alliance
University Innovation Alliance
Episode: Dr. Bridget Burns is Fostering Inter-Institutional Problem Solving at Colleges Across the Country
Cardell Orrin
Executive Director of Stand for Children Tennessee
Stand for Children Tennessee
Episode: Cardell Orrin is Catalyzing Community to Support Education in Tennessee

Hosts

Tracey Pearson
Host on PathBreakers, Communications Team at The Kresge Foundation; central figure in leading conversations with community leaders and city change-makers.
Jamie Bennett
Co-host, interviewer; works at intersections of arts, culture and equitable community development; long-running collaborator with Tracey.

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 14 ratings
  • Love this show!

    The Marygrove and Fresno episodes are my favorites. A great listen when the world seem chaotic.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Stephyjames123
    United States2 months ago
  • Great insights

    Inspiring! Gives me hope to hear how important work continues in local ways despite all that’s coming at the nonprofit sector

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    NoraBrighy
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners appreciate practical takeaways and sustained commitment to community-led change.
People like the grounded, human stories behind policy and funding decisions.
Audience notes the episodes on local transformation and Fresno focus as especially compelling.

Chart Rankings

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Rip Rapson is Leading Kresge into a New Chapter
Q: How has philanthropy evolved over the 20 years at Kresge?
Philanthropy has shifted from simply moving large sums to becoming a holistic, multi-sector, long-term instrument that can convene, deploy capital, and influence policy and community-building across sectors.
Rip Rapson is Leading Kresge into a New Chapter
Q: What are you taking into consideration when you make grant decisions about risk and leadership?
Rip highlights the importance of courage, integrity, community voice, and cross-sector alignment, emphasizing multi-programmatic grants and the need to connect education, transportation, housing, and open space to create livable neighborhoods.
Richard Burrell is Making Space for Healing in Fresno, California
Q: How do you balance healing-focused work with the realities of funding and scaling a community organization?
He emphasizes deepening relationships as a form of scalable impact, noting that sustainable healing comes from ongoing community engagement rather than rapid expansion or franchising.
Simone Sagovac is Organizing for Community Benefits
Q: What has been the impact of the programs funded by the agreements so far?
The programs have delivered significant benefits, including air filtration for homes, a home swap program, long-term health studies, and multiple air monitoring stations, collectively delivering tens of millions in value and improving living conditions.
Simone Sagovac is Organizing for Community Benefits
Q: How did the coalition start and what enabled it to grow?
It formed as the bridge process began in 2008, with local leaders and residents electing a community board and later expanding to include city, state, and cross-border partners to push for a broader set of protections and benefits.

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Frequently Asked Questions About PathBreakers

What is PathBreakers about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Path-focused conversations feature community leaders, funders, and city changemakers who are building more equitable urban futures block by block. Across seasons, the show emphasizes neighborhood-led revitalization, displacement prevention, data-informed advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration, often spotlighting how residents shape policy and investment in Detroit and other cities. A notable hallmark is pairing practical playbooks with human-centered storytelling, drawing on experiences from housing, education, climate justice, and culture-centered organizing to illuminate scalable models for city-building.

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Which podcasts are similar to PathBreakers?

These podcasts share a similar audience with PathBreakers:

1. The Ezra Klein Show
2. The Daily
3. This American Life
4. Today, Explained
5. The NPR Politics Podcast

How many episodes of PathBreakers are there?

PathBreakers launched a year ago and published 22 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact PathBreakers?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for PathBreakers?

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What guests have appeared on PathBreakers?

Recent guests on PathBreakers include:

1. Simone Sagovac
2. Caitlin Murphy
3. Orlando Bailey
4. Mary Sheffield
5. Rip Rapson
6. Darrick Hamilton
7. Dr. Beverly Wright
8. Bridget Burns

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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