100 Stories · Episode 14 · August 26, 2026
Progress is Possible
with Whitney Williams
01Watch & listen
02Episode overview
Why do some stories break through while others disappear?
And who has the power to make one version of reality become the story everyone else has to live inside?
In this episode of 100 Stories, Paige Williams talks with social entrepreneur, philanthropist, political leader, and documentary producer Whitney Williams about the power of story in politics, philanthropy, filmmaking, and social change.
Whitney shares what she learned growing up in a family of changemakers, including a lesson from her father that stayed with her: “There’s a genius on every block.”
They explore:
Why one human story can sometimes move people more than a massive statistic
How philanthropy decides which problems receive attention
Why communities closest to a problem need to be part of telling the story
What Whitney learned from running for governor of Montana
How gender narratives shape who we imagine as a leader
How money, media, and repetition influence political narratives
Why artists and storytellers can challenge dominant stories
What happens when we keep talking to our neighbors instead of retreating from one another
Why Narrative Intelligence may be something we develop collectively, not only individually
Whitney’s work raises a central question for Narrative Intelligence:
Who gets to tell the story, who gets heard, and who has to live with the consequences?
100 Stories: The Narrative Intelligence Project explores one question across 100 conversations:
How malleable are the stories we live by, and what does it take to change one?
Take the Narrative Quotient assessment at StoryKeys.co and subscribe to follow the full inquiry.
