We live in a world where everything is designed to be faster, easier, and more automated. We order groceries without speaking to a clerk. We message colleagues without ever looking them in the eye. And more and more, we move through our days without noticing the people who hold us up along the way.
Today’s episode is about noticing.
Levi Spires has given over fourteen thousand rides as an Uber driver. But what’s striking isn’t the miles he’s logged—it’s the humanity he’s witnessed. For a few minutes at a time, his car becomes a rare space where people lower their guard. A place where someone can unburden, confess, or simply sit in silence without judgment.
Levi reminds us that in an era obsessed with efficiency, it’s these small, inefficient human moments that matter most.
This conversation is a challenge: to move differently in a world already saturated with automation and disconnection. To choose presence over convenience. To remember that being human isn’t about how quickly we get from A to B—it’s about who we see along the way.
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We live in a world where everything is designed to be faster, easier, and more automated. We order groceries without speaking to a clerk. We message colleagues without ever looking them in the eye. And more and more, we move through our days without noticing the people who hold us up along the way.
Today’s episode is about noticing.
Levi Spires has given over fourteen thousand rides as an Uber driver. But what’s striking isn’t the miles he’s logged—it’s the humanity he’s witnessed. For a few minutes at a time, his car becomes a rare space where people lower their guard. A place where someone can unburden, confess, or simply sit in silence without judgment.
Levi reminds us that in an era obsessed with efficiency, it’s these small, inefficient human moments that matter most.
This conversation is a challenge: to move differently in a world already saturated with automation and disconnection. To choose presence over convenience. To remember that being human isn’t about how quickly we get from A to B—it’s about who we see along the way.
Kesem is a national nonprofit whose mission is to support children through and beyond their parent’s cancer. Kesem does year-round programming like care packages, birthday cards, and Friends and Family Days, but the flagship program is a week-long summer camp that is completely free for all families. Kesem serves children aged 6-18 and recruits families from the local area by each chapter.
Kesem at JHU is the JHU chapter of the national organization, and this year, they held camp from August 12-16th at Sandy Hill Camp & Retreat Center in North East, Maryland, about an hour away from the JHU Homewood campus. Kesem is run by passionate student volunteers who work to fundraise, plan programming, and recruit families and volunteers to the chapter. Kesem at JHU served 83 campers this past summer and fundraised $52,042.75 this year to support their families.
Episode Guests:
Maggie “Mochi” Yang is a Fall ‘23 graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where she studied Molecular/Cellular Biology and minored in Psychology. Sandra “Happy Feet” Fahmy is a Spring ‘24 graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where she studied Chemistry and Neuroscience.
Both having joined Kesem at JHU in their freshman year, Maggie and Sandra have both served on the coordinator board since sophomore year and just finished up their senior year as co-directors of the chapter. They just got back from camp last month in August, which was their fourth time at camp (third in-person). They are now both living in Boston during their gap year while they apply to medical school. Maggie is currently working as a clinical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Sandra is a medical assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Coffee & Change
We live in a world where everything is designed to be faster, easier, and more automated. We order groceries without speaking to a clerk. We message colleagues without ever looking them in the eye. And more and more, we move through our days without noticing the people who hold us up along the way.
Today’s episode is about noticing.
Levi Spires has given over fourteen thousand rides as an Uber driver. But what’s striking isn’t the miles he’s logged—it’s the humanity he’s witnessed. For a few minutes at a time, his car becomes a rare space where people lower their guard. A place where someone can unburden, confess, or simply sit in silence without judgment.
Levi reminds us that in an era obsessed with efficiency, it’s these small, inefficient human moments that matter most.
This conversation is a challenge: to move differently in a world already saturated with automation and disconnection. To choose presence over convenience. To remember that being human isn’t about how quickly we get from A to B—it’s about who we see along the way.
