What if we could prevent hate, violence, misogyny, and discrimination before they take root?
John speaks with Leslee Udwin, award-winning filmmaker and founder and president of Think Equal. Udwin shares how making the Peabody Award-winning documentary India’s Daughter transformed the direction of her life and led her to focus on the attitudes and beliefs that can underlie violence and dehumanization.
They explore why Udwin believes early childhood education offers a critical opportunity to build empathy, emotional literacy, inclusion, peaceful conflict resolution, and other prosocial skills. Think Equal now has a presence in 42 countries and uses stories, lesson plans, and practical classroom tools to make this learning explicit.
The conversation also examines behavior as communication, the power of storytelling to develop empathy, healthier definitions of strength and masculinity, and why investing in prevention may ultimately be far more effective than responding to violence after it occurs.
In this episode:
• How India’s Daughter led to the creation of Think Equal
• Why Udwin argues empathy must be taught early
• Storytelling as a tool for building empathy
• Rethinking children's behavior as communication
• Teaching boys that strength can mean empathy and self-control
• Moving from reacting to violence toward preventing it
• Why Udwin calls teachers “architects of the character of our next generation”
Leslee Udwin LinkedIn Profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesleeudwin/)
Think Equal Website (https://thinkequal.org/)
India's Daughter Film Trailer (https://youtu.be/FGPiWcBjosY?si=ztEg7LOnhoLaaaka)
Music by Aylex
