156. The Lie of Scarcity: Creating a New Dream for the Planet with Lynne Twist & Sara Vetter

About this episode

The episode explores the concept of scarcity versus sufficiency in relation to money and purpose, featuring guests Lynne Twist and Sara Vetter.

What if the feeling that there’s “not enough” isn’t actually true—but something you’ve been taught to believe? And what might shift if your relationship with money became rooted in sufficiency instead of scarcity? What if scarcity isn’t a reality—but a story we’ve all been living inside? In this episode, I sit down with Lynne Twist and Sara Vetter for one of the most expansive conversations we’ve had on this podcast—about money, purpose, and what it means to create a different future for our planet. We explore the idea that the dominant paradigm we’ve been operating in—the belief that there’s not enough, that we have to compete, that someone will inevitably be left out—is actually a lie. And how that belief shapes not only our financial lives, but the way we relate to each other and the world. Lynne shares her decades of work in global philanthropy and the profound realization that people living in conditions of hunger are not “less than”—that what’s lacking is not their worth, but their circumstances. And Sara opens up about her own journey from external success and privilege into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with money and purpose. We talk about sufficiency—not as a…

People in this episode

Host: Kate Northrup

Guests: Lynne Twist, Sara Vetter

Topics covered

• scarcity
• sufficiency
• money
• purpose
• global philanthropy
• connection

Keywords

• scarcity
• sufficiency
• money
• purpose
• global philanthropy
• connection
• wealth
• trust

More episodes of Plenty with Kate Northrup

• 162. The Marketing Principles That Will Work in 200 Years — and Why Online Courses Aren't Dead with James Wedmore · June 9, 2026 · 1h 46m
• 161. We Made $2M When Everyone Said Online Courses Were Dead — And It's Because We Did the Opposite of What Everyone Else Did · June 2, 2026 · 43 min
• 160. She Built a $100M Freedom-Based Business and Realized Outer Freedom Was Only Half the Story with Natalie Ellis · May 26, 2026 · 1h 2m
• 159. We Spent Nearly as Much Renovating It as We Paid For It - The Full Financial Breakdown of Our Maine Airbnb with Mike Watts · May 19, 2026 · 1h 2m
• 158. The Truth About Receiving: Money, Vulnerability & Self-Worth with Suzy Ashworth · May 12, 2026 · 53 min
• 157. How We Launched Our First Airbnb for Tax Savings, Passive Income & Long-Term Wealth · May 5, 2026 · 42 min