Few inspirational phrases are quoted more often than Mahatma Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world.” It shows up on t-shirts, bumper stickers, even tattooed on people’s bodies. Life coaches, leadership trainers, and American presidents constantly cite it. There is one problem with this quotation, however: Gandhi never said it. And the story of how the “be the change” actually came to be—according to its true originator—is stranger, more intricate, and more astounding than you could ever expect.
In this episode, Decoder Ring’s Evan Chung speaks with Arleen Lorrance, the former Brooklyn high school teacher who actually brought “be the change” into the world in the 1970s. The surprising tale she has to tell involves grindhouse cinema, cosmic rays of light, and Vice President Al Gore. You’ll also hear from Diane Kennedy Pike, whose marriage to the controversial Bishop James Pike plays a pivotal and unexpected role in turning the quote into the inescapable maxim it is today.
This episode was written and produced by Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s Supervising Producer. It was edited by Willa Paskin and Max Freedman, who also produce the show. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Special thanks to Keith Akers.
If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.
Sources for This Episode
Akers, Keith. “‘Be the Change’: Did Gandhi really make this statement?” Compassionate Spirit, June 5, 2009.
Akers, Keith. “‘Be the Change’ — where did this saying come from?” Compassionate Spirit, Aug. 14, 2012.
Denizet-Lewis, Benoit. You’ve Changed, William Morrow, 2026.
Didion, Joan. “James Pike, American,” in The White Album, Simon & Schuster, 1979.
Farias, Miguel and Mansur Lalljee. “Holistic Individualism in the Age of Aquarius: Measuring Individualism/Collectivism in New Age, Catholic, and Atheist/Agnostic Groups,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2008.
Gore, Al. Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit, Houghton Mifflin, 1992.
Juergensmeyer, Mark. “The Gandhi Revival—A Review Article,” The Journal of Asian Studies, 1984.
Lorrance, Arleen. The Love Project, LP Publications, 1972.
Lorrance, Arleen. “The Love Project,” in Developing Priorities and a Style: Selected Readings in Education for Teachers and Parents (ed. Richard Dean Kellough), MSS Information Corporation, 1974.
Lorrance, Arleen. A Transformation of Humanity, LP Publications, 2024.
Morton, Brian. “Falser Words Were Never Spoken,” The New York Times, Aug. 29, 2011.
O’Toole, Garson. “Quote Origin: Be the Change You Wish To See in the World,” Quote Investigator, Oct. 23, 2017.
Pike, Diane Kennedy. Search: The Personal Story of a Wilderness Journey, Doubleday, 1970.
Robertson, David M. A Passionate Pilgrim, Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.
Rudolph, Lloyd I. “Gandhi in the Mind of America,” in Postmodern Gandhi and Other Essays: Gandhi in the World and at Home, University of Chicago Press, 2006.
Schindler, Craig and Gary Lapid. The Great Turning: Personal Peace, Global Victory, Bear & Co., 1989.
Shanas, Bert. “Violence Is Turned into Peace by That Thing Called ‘Love’,” New York Daily News, May 24, 1971.
Shapiro, Fred R. (Ed.). The Yale Book of Quotations, Yale University Press, 2006.
Weber, Thomas. “If Gandhi Didn’t Say It, He Should Have,” Gandhi Marg, Jan-Mar. 2020.
Yost, Barbara. “Diane & Arleen: Soul Mates Share Bond,” Arizona Republic, May 18, 2005.