The Human Risk Podcast

What can war and politics teach us about human risk? On this episode, I'm joined by a guest with insights into both fields. About MikeDr Mike Martin is a former British Army officer who's a senior visiting research fellow in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, where he's interested in the evolutionary psychology of warfare and humans, internal conflict in societies and strategy formation.He’s had a fascinating career, having served with distinction in the British Army as a political officer in Afghanistan. His job was to talk to all sides in the. And build relationships. In fact, he invented that job for the British military, and a new unit was created as a result. Since leaving the army, Mike's been a senior executive in a global charity that works to bring people and communities together, and he currently runs his own business advising organizations on how to understand and navigate conflicts.More recently, Mike has moved into politics and is a parliamentary candidate for the Tunbridge Wells constituency where he’ll be standing for the Liberal Democrats in the next election.Discussion TopicsIn our discussion, we explore: Mike's career, what drove him to move from the military to war studies, and then onto politics.Insights into the human risk of decision-making around the war in Ukraine,Misconceptions people have about the realities of war; andWhat drives his passion and interest in politics;To Find Out MoreFor more information on the topics we discussed: Mike’s War Studies Research at Kings College: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/dr-mike-martinHis biography: https://www.threshedthought.com/drmikemartinbio/His new book ‘How To Fight A War’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Fight-War-Mike-Martin/dp/1787389308/His official website as Liberal Democrat Candidate in Tunbridge Wells: https://mike-martin.co.uk/His Twitter account where he shares insights into the war in Ukraine: https://twitter.com/threshedthought Finally, to pre-order my new book ‘Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & Compliance’ visit: https://www.human-risk.com/humanizing-rules-book

On this special episode of the show, I’m interviewing a doctor whose photograph went viral. In 2019, Doctor Gordon Caldwell, a retired Consultant Physician and Clinical Lead with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) had a photograph taken of himself lying next to a long line of forms. The photograph’s purpose was to highlight the amount of paperwork medical professionals need to fill in. Gordon is a tireless campaigner against bureaucracy, and he wanted to make the point that time spent filling in forms is time not spent looking after patients. I saw the photograph and posted it on LinkedIn with some comments (link below). The level of responses I received made me realise he’d struck a chord. So I invited him onto the show! Fortunately, Gordon agreed, and during our discussion we explored: The genesis of the photograph and why Gordon felt motivated to take itThe reasons why there is so much bureaucracy within the NHSThe impact this has on patient careWhat Gordon sees as ways to improve itThe original article I saw about Gordon’s campaign in The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/21/pictured-doctor-shows-army-pointless-forms-burying-nhs-hospitals/A subsequent piece he wrote for The Spectator: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-nhs-is-drowning-in-paperwork/To pre-order my new book ‘Humanising Rules: Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & Compliance’ visit https://www.human-risk.com/humanizing-rules-book

My guest Marc Ross is aa senior geopolitical strategist and communications executive that helps companies and politicians get their message across. As you’ll hear on the show, Marc specializes in navigating today's interconnected business environment with geopolitical intelligence, strategic planning, economic diplomacy, and communications and has extensive experience with global Fortune 100 companies, trade associations, and national political campaigns in the US and UK. In our discussion, we explore Marc’s experience in helping politicians on the campaign trail he tells me which ones he thinks are good at communicating and which ones need a bit of help. How has communications shaped the war in Ukraine and what are the ways in which people who aren’t natural-born communicators can get their message across? As Marc explains, it's no good if you’re a politician with great ideas if you can’t get elected to implement them. We also talk about companies and some of the differences between the way politicians and corporate leaders communicate. You’ll learn why sometimes the art of the communications strategist is to keep things out of the news and whether spin doctors deserve the reputation they have. To find out more about Marc visit: https://www.caracal.global.You'll also find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcaross/ To hear the podcast Marc records with Gerald Ashley: https://open.spotify.com/show/508cIDKvHZiyhmYhQcqdW1?si=1b812a7e0aca4bb1For more on my new book 'Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behaviorual Science to Compliance' visit https://www.human-risk.com/humanizing-rules-book

What can financial crime teach us about human risk? On this episode, I'm joined by Ray Blake, co-host of "The Dark Money Files," a podcast that examines how the banking system is used by organized crime and corrupt individuals to launder their ill-gotten gains.Since 2015, Ray and his co-host, Graham and Barrow, have been shedding light on the techniques used by criminals to perpetrate financial crime and what people working in banking can do to prevent it.In our discussion, we explore how Ray became interested in financial crime prevention, what prompted him and Graham to start the podcast, and the human risk dynamics relevant to fighting financial crime. Ray shares some intriguing insights — such as the fact that if financial crime were a standalone economy, it would be entitled to its own seat at the G7! — and his thoughts on what can be done to help mitigate the risks posed by financial crime.To find out more about Ray and the Dark Money Files, visit https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/You can find Ray on social media as follows:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayblakeafc/Twitter - https://twitter.com/rayblakeTo find out more about my new book 'Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behavioral Science to Ethics and Compliance' which is available for pre-order now (release date in March) visit https://www.human-risk.com/humanizing-rules-book

What happens when we bring all of ourselves to work? That’s not something we do by choice. As my guest on this episode, Gabriella Braun, explains, we can’t leave part of ourselves at home when we go to work; we will naturally bring all that we are into the workplace.That concept explains the title of Gabriella’s book ‘All That We Are: Uncovering the Hidden Truths Behind Our Behaviour at Work’. It’s an astonishing collection of stories in which she shares insights from over twenty years of taking psychoanalysis out of the therapy room and into the staff room.As you’ll hear, in her work, she helps people to understand why employing humans means employing them in their entirety — the good and the bad. In the book and in our discussion, she talks about why a board loses the plot and nearly causes their company to collapse — spoiler alert: they survive — and why a lawyer becomes paranoid at work. And she makes some amazing revelations about her own life.To find out more about Gabriela and her book, visit her website https://www.gabriellabraun.co.uk/To pre-order my new book ‘Humanizing Rules; Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & Compliance’ visit www.linktr.ee/humanizingrules

Why do people fall for misinformation, and what can we do to prevent it? On this episode, I’m speaking to Professor Sander van der Linden of Cambridge University. He’s the author of a new book called ‘Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity’. Sander is often referred to as Cambridge University’s Teacher against the Dark Arts. More formally, he’s the Professor of Social Psychology in Society in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge and Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab. His research interests centre around the psychology of human judgment and decision-making. In particular, he is interested in the social influence and persuasion process and how people are influenced by (mis)information and gain resistance to persuasion through psychological inoculation.In our discussion, we explore the nature of misinformation, why it is so prevalent and why we’re all prone to falling for it. We also discuss how social media networks propagate it and why our natural instinct that de-bunking things that aren’t true is actually ineffective in combating it. Rather than this, Sander proposes a solution of pre-bunking, and during our conversation, he explains what it is, how it works and why it is an effective vaccine against the virus of misinformation. As you'll hear on the show, Sander has a fabulous way of explaining complex science in very easy-to-understand ways, and his book comes highly recommended. To find out more about Sander and how you can pre-order ‘Foolproof’ visit his personal website: https://www.sandervanderlinden.com/His faculty webpage is: https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/sander-van-der-lindenYou’ll find him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/sander_vdlindenFinally, to pre-order my new book ‘Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & Compliance’ visit www.linktr.ee/humanizingrules

Paul Armstrong, thought leader in technology, behavior, and data, discusses the interconnections between these topics. He highlights the TBD Conference, his book, and the importance of informed decision making. The podcast explores the challenges of implementing new systems, advancements in technology, and the intersection of technology, behavior, and data. They also discuss the future of venture capitalism and the need for diverse voices and sustainable long-term thinking.

How can stereotypes — particularly those relating to gender and ethnicity — drive us to draw the wrong conclusions? If I say the word American, you’re more likely to think of a white person. If I say the word Doctor, you’re more likely to think of a man. There’s a famous riddle involving a surgeon (link below) that you may have heard, which has an obvious answer that we often struggle to find. Obviously, that is, if you look beyond stereotypes. It’s something that my guest Kirsten Morehouse has researched. Kirsten is a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, with a secondary field in Data Science, where she works under the supervision of Professor Mahzarin Banaji . Kirsten is also the co-president of Harvard’s Women in Psychology (WiP). She uses behavioural and computational methods to study humans’ attitudes and beliefs about social groups, especially beliefs that conflict with consciously held values or ground-truth data. I’m interested in this subject because although stereotypes — like other forms of bias — can serve a useful purpose, or at least did for our ancestors — they can also drive very poor decision-making. If we want to mitigate human risk and get the best out of people, we need to recognise where inaccurate stereotypes cloud our judgement.To learn more about Kirsten and her research, visit her website: https://kirstenmorehouse.wordpress.com/ To read the surgeon riddle research we referred to on the show: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100044 For more on her colleague Tessa Charlesworth: https://tessaescharlesworth.wordpress.com/ To learn more about Caroline Criado Perez and her book ‘Invisible Women’ - https://carolinecriadoperez.com/To pre-order my book ‘Humanizing Rules: Bringing BeSci to Ethics & Compliance’ visit:
Direct from the publisher US: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Humanizing+Rules%3A+Bringing+Behavioural+Science+to+Ethics+and+Compliance-p-9781394177400Direct from the publisher DE/CH/AU: https://www.wiley-vch.de/de?option=com_eshop&view=product&isbn=9781394177400&title=Humanizing%20RulesDirect from the publisher UK: https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Humanizing+Rules%3A+Bringing+Behavioural+Science+to+Ethics+and+Compliance-p-9781394177400Amazon US : https://www.amazon.com/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?Amazon Germany : https://www.amazon.de/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?

What is Rail Activism? My guest, Jon Worth, is a proponent of Cross Border Rail within Europe. On this episode, I’m exploring why Jon thinks this is important and how he’s getting his message across. As you’ll hear, Cross Border Rail is full of Human Risk In Action. I'm also fascinated by how Jon approaches his mission with passion, commitment, and a healthy dose of humour.On the episode, you’ll learn why I think this subject is so fascinating and how human decision-making by politicians and train operators is filled with Human Risk. To find out more about Jon and his work, visit: https://jonworth.eu/ To read an article that Jon wrote about our discussion: https://jonworth.eu/european-railways-and-the-implementation-gap/ To hear the episode featuring Pete Dyson, the co-author of ’Transport for Humans’ that covers related themes: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/pete-dyson-on-making-transport-more-human/

What do we mean when we say we trust a person or an organisation? It’s a word we use a lot that we intuitively understand. Trust plays a vital part in how we interact with others. If we trust someone, we’re more likely to engage with them. If we don’t, we might avoid engaging them or expend extra effort in keeping an eye on what they’re up to. But what makes a person or organisation trustworthy? Does it matter as much as we might think, and what does the presence or absence of trust do to us? My guest Hilary Sutcliffe has been exploring trust for several years, so she’s ideally placed to answer these questions and a whole lot more. Hillary is the director of Society Inside, a not-for-profit that supports responsible innovation. She’s also the founder of TIG Tech - a group that promotes the idea of trust in governance for tech companies.In our discussion, we look at what trust is, why it matters, what the seven key drivers of Trust are, how trust plays out when it comes to technology and innovation and a whole lot more.You can learn more about Hilary and her work at Society Inside here: https://www.societyinside.com/ Hilary’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilary-sutcliffe-01235220/For more on TIGTech and Hilary’s work on trust in technology - https://www.tigtech.org/aboutHilary's YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/@SocietyInside/videosOn the show, we discuss: Rutger Bregman’s book Humankind - https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/humankind-9781408898956/The Inter-American Development Bank Report on Trust: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/more-trust-will-power-stronger-recovery-latin-america-and-caribbean-idb-report The Edelman Trust Barometer: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/more-trust-will-power-stronger-recovery-latin-america-and-caribbean-idb-reportBaroness Onora O'Neill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onora_O%27NeillDoctor Roger Miles: https://www.drrmiles.com/aboutRoger previously appeared on the show: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/dr-roger-miles-on-conduct/Pierre Benoit Jamie - https://ifris.org/en/membre/joly-pierre-benoit/Matthew Syed’s Book Rebel Ideas - https://www.matthewsyed.co.uk/book/rebel-ideas-the-power-of-diverse-thinking/To pre-order my book ‘Humanizing Rules: Bringing BeSci to Ethics & Compliance’ visit:
Direct from the publisher US: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Humanizing+Rules%3A+Bringing+Behavioural+Science+to+Ethics+and+Compliance-p-9781394177400Direct from the publisher DE/CH/AU: https://www.wiley-vch.de/de?option=com_eshop&view=product&isbn=9781394177400&title=Humanizing%20RulesDirect from the publisher UK: https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Humanizing+Rules%3A+Bringing+Behavioural+Science+to+Ethics+and+Compliance-p-9781394177400Amazon US : https://www.amazon.com/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?Amazon Germany : https://www.amazon.de/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?