Storytelling Needs an Ecosystem

Storytelling Needs an Ecosystem

From Designing Tomorrow: Creative Strategies for Social Impact by Eric Ressler

March 10, 2026 · 51 min · Episode 79

About this episode

Heather Mason discusses the need for a storytelling ecosystem in the social impact sector.

The social impact sector has gotten very good at describing problems: white papers, statistics, annual reports filled with data on gaps and needs. But it hasn't built a system for telling stories that actually move people. Heather Mason spent 20 years producing the biggest convenings in the sector before building The Impact Lounge, a traveling hub that brings together funders, filmmakers, and creators at Sundance, Cannes, and beyond to build the narrative infrastructure social change has been...

People in this episode

Host: Eric Ressler

Guest: Heather Mason

Topics covered

  • storytelling
  • social impact
  • narrative infrastructure
  • funding
  • creative collaboration

Keywords

  • storytelling
  • social impact
  • The Impact Lounge
  • funders
  • filmmakers
  • narrative infrastructure

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Impact Lounge

More episodes of Designing Tomorrow: Creative Strategies for Social Impact

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Designing Tomorrow: Creative Strategies for Social Impact podcast page.