The Human Risk Podcast

What drives people to follow careers that involve dangerous activities like skydiving & stunts? My guest is Nicole Smith-Ludvik, a professional skydiver and stuntwoman. Last year, Nicole starred in two incredible advertisements for Emirates, the Dubai based airline which featured Nicole standing on the top of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.If you haven’t seen the advertisements — and I recommend watching them before you listen to the show — then you can watch them here:Original ad from June 2021- https://youtu.be/uQHhYRuaEtMThe second ad featuring the Airbus A380 from January 2022 - https://youtu.be/fbL9QdWWJzoBehind The Scenes of the Original ad - https://youtu.be/HagU3vUp0Ck Behdin The Scenes of the Second ad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAR1j6UfoG0What I find fascinating about Nicole is that she’s chosen a carer that involves taking real risk. Many of us talk about risk, but she actually runs genuine risk. And yet, as you’ll hear, she thinks very carefully about how she manages it.In our discussion, I learn how Nicole came to be interested in sky diving, how she thinks about risk, what she does to manage it, and what appeals to her about a carer that involves jumping out of planes. Of course, we explore the Emirates ads and I learn how they came about, what went into filming them and — world exclusive here – what Nicole would love to do if they ever film a third one.To read more about Nicole and her career:https://www.khaleejtimes.com/lifestyle/a-widow-at-25-to-surviving-a-critical-accident-how-nicole-smith-ludvik-made-it-to-the-top-of-the-bhttps://www.republicworld.com/world-news/middle-east/who-is-nicole-smith-ludvik-know-the-woman-who-stood-on-top-of-burj-khalifa-in-emirates-ad.htmlMy thanks to Emirates for giving permission for Nicole to appear and to Dr Roger Miles for the idea of inviting her on.
You can hear Roger’s previous appearances on the show here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/dr-roger-miles-on-conduct/https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/human-risk-webinar-recording-conduct/

Why would a bicycle delivery company ban its riders from wearing helmets? Depending on where you're reading this, you'll either think it's normal — hello, for example, to my Netherland's based listeners 🇳🇱 — or irresponsible. On this episode, I'm speaking to Ben Knowles, the CEO of PedalMe who is the man behind the company that made that decision.I'd heard of PedalMe, but not their policy. That changed, when they posted a thread on Social Media explaining the rationale behind it. Not only did they say why, but they posted details fo their risk management framework. It contained some fascinating insights and ideas.I wrote a LinkedIn blog on the subject, that sparked a lot of interest. You can read that — and watch a clip of Ben on a UK TV show discussing the subject — and see the debate it sparked here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/humanrisk_ethics-compliance-behaviouralscience-activity-6897141777678041088-CKwLGiven the level of interest, I thought I'd ask Ben onto the show and he agreed. So, in this special episode — special because I'm getting it out between teh normal schedule to encourage further discussion — I talk to Ben. We explore:- how Ben got into cycling & promoting cycling- where the idea for PedalMe came from and how they think about risk- why banning helmets is part of their attempt to reduce risk compensation- how they incentivise staff to report incidents- their leadership model and a whole lot more.To learn more about Pedal Me visit https://pedalme.co.uk/You'll find them on social media:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pedalmeapp/Twitter - https://twitter.com/pedalmeappTo find Ben:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-knowles-49137748/

Why is something that happened in Iceland in 2008 still of relevance today? The answer is revealed by my guest Jared Bibler. He's the author of a book called 'Iceland's Secret: The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Con'.Having started his career working for a Wall Street Bank, Jared moved to Iceland in 2004, supporting the Icelandic pension funds' foreign investments. He resigned from his job at a leading Icelandic bank days before the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis and was subsequently hired to head a special investigation team at the Icelandic markets regulator. Jared and his team referred more than 30 criminal cases to the Special Prosecutor of Iceland, including the largest stock market manipulation cases to be prosecuted globally.In our discussion, we talk about Jared's career and what he learned while working on both sides of the regulatory fence. This is a tale of Human Risk on an epic scale — I thought I knew a lot about the Icelandic story, but what Jared reveals in his book is mindblowing!We also discuss Jared's motivation in writing the book and the response he's had both in Iceland and elsewhere. As you'll discover, there are many parallels between what happened in Iceland in 2008 and what is going on in other contexts today.For more on Jared and his book, visit https://icelandssecret.com/To learn about Iceland's history - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_IcelandMount Ejsa which dominates Reykjavik - https://visitreykjavik.is/city-areas/mosfellsbaer/mount-esja#The collapse of Lehman Brothers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy_of_Lehman_BrothersBethany Maclean, the reporter who broke the Enron story - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethany_McLeanJolabokaflod the Icelandic tradition of giving books for Christmas - https://www.countryliving.com/life/a46204/jolabokaflod-iceland-christmas-reading-tradition/Jared's webinar with Transparency International (in Icelandic) - https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=434772941474117Russell Napier - https://russellnapier.co.uk/

How can comic books reduce human risk? We've all seen airline safety cards that use imagery to communicate complex messages in a simple to understand way. So why couldn't we use that same logic for legal contracts? That's what my guest Professor Camilla Andersen, set out to discover when she stumbled across the idea during a conversation with a colleague.That led to the creation of Comic Book Contracts (CBCs). In our discussion, Camilla talks to me about the genesis of the idea and how CBCs are being and could be used. We also explore some of the unexpected benefits of this concept and how it doesn't just help people who aren't legal professionals. Surprisingly, it also has an impact on corporate culture. Listener Warning: the episode contains adult language. To find out more about Comic Book Contracts & see some examples visit the CBC website: https://www.comicbookcontracts.com/For more on Camilla and her work at the University of Western Australia visit: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/camilla-andersenTo learn about Alternative Contracting, the business run by Camilla's husband that provides practical support in implementing the Comic Book Contracts: https://www.alternativecontracting.biz/Links to some of the other topics we discuss:Relational Contracting - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_contractThe Aurecon Visual Employment Contract - https://www.comicbookcontracts.com/aurecon-contractBankWest's Banking With Less BS - https://www.bankwest.com.au/about-us/bank-less

How can we become more influential?That’s a question that fascinates my guest on this episode, Dr Zoe Chance. She teaches a course on it at Yale and has just published a new book called Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen. In our discussion, we explore the simple ways in which we can all be more influential and how that can help us to fulfil our potential.To learn more about Zoe visit her website: https://www.zoechance.com/You’ll find Zoe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoebchance?s=20For more on Influence Is Your Superpower: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/603636/influence-is-your-superpower-by-zoe-chance/If you haven’t heard the previous episode of the show featuring Professor Vanessa Bohns, then do listen to that here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/professor-vanessa-bohns-on-influence/Some of the other things we discuss during the show:Influence by Dr Robert Cialdini - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28815.InfluencePredictably Irrational by Professor Dan Ariely - https://danariely.com/books/predictably-irrational/Restauranteur Danny Meyer at Yale - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN0afaCP-rAThe Game by Neil Strauss - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/900.The_GameFormer US President Jimmy Carter - https://www.cartercenter.org/about/experts/jimmy_carter.htmlTwo articles on poster Prince & his charisma - https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthblatt/2013/05/28/improve-your-charisma-and-how-prince-did-it/https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/how-princes-charisma-helped-him-7814476Former US President Bill Clinton - https://www.clintonlibrary.gov/The Secret Life of Pronouns by James Pennebaker - https://www.secretlifeofpronouns.com/Thinking Fast & Slow by Professor Daniel Kahneman - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-slowExplanation of Systems One & Two - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_SlowJonathan Haidt’s Elephant & Rider analogy - https://www.creativehuddle.co.uk/post/the-elephant-and-the-riderZoe’s tweet on why she doesn’t use the Elephant & Rider - https://twitter.com/zoebchance/status/1099743978868654081Jessica Calarco’s research on kids asking for help - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0003122411427177Illusionist Derren Brown - https://derrenbrown.co.uk/A video on the paperclip challenge introduced by Zoe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEmNmMpBJN0The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman - https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/books/Apple CEO Tim Cook - https://www.apple.com/uk/leadership/tim-cook/Former US President Barack Obama - https://barackobama.com/

This episode is the second part of my discussion with Gill Kernick about the Grenfell Tower Disaster and the broader lessons we can draw from it.In the previous episode, Gill and I talked about Grenfell. I recommend listening to that before listening to this one. You'll find it here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/gill-kernick-on-the-grenfell-tower-disaster-part-one/Using historical examples like the 17th century Great Fire of London and a fire in the late 1990s at a gas plant in Australia, Gill illustrates that we didn't adequately learn many lessons from those incidents. I wanted to explore Gill's more significant picture thinking - having looked at past examples relevant to Grenfell, what lessons has she learned about human behaviour?Links to subjects we discuss:Gill's website - https://grenfellenquirer.blog/GIll's book - https://grenfellenquirer.blog/catastrophe-systemic-change-the-book/The Great Fire of London - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London

What can we learn from the UK's largest residential fire since World War Two, in which 72 people died? The Grenfell Tower disaster happened in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, one of London's wealthiest areas. As a result of catastrophic decision-making — both by those responsible for maintaining the building and those responding to the fire — what should have been a containable fire turned into a blazing inferno. In this episode, I explore how those decisions were made and what we can learn from a human risk perspective. My guest, Gill Kernick, is a former resident of Grenfell Tower who works in high hazard industries to develop safety, leadership and culture. She's also the author of a book called Catastrophe and Systemic Change: Learning from the Grenfell Tower Fire and Other Disasters.In this, the first of two parts, Gill and I discuss Grenfell and the human risk lessons that provides.In Part Two, we talk about the other disasters she explores in her book and what we can learn from them. Links to the topics we discuss:Gill's website - https://grenfellenquirer.blog/GIll's book - https://grenfellenquirer.blog/catastrophe-systemic-change-the-book/The Grenfell Tower Fire Wikipedia entry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fireA BBC explainer on Grenfell - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40301289The Piper Alpha Disaster - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_AlphaACM Cladding - https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/ACM_claddingThe Grenfell Tower Enquiry - https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/The Lakanal House Fire - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakanal_House_fireConservative politician Jacob Rees-Mogg's comments on the Grenfell Tower residents' 'lacking common sense' in following the Fire Brigade's instructions - https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/special-shows/ring-rees-mogg/grenfell-survivors-demand-apology-jacob-rees-mogg/UK Prime Minister Theresa May's reaction to Grenfell - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-44440479
Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn's reaction to Grenfell - https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/he-leader-need-jeremy-corbyn-10629102Deepwater Horizon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

How did the Post Office deliver one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history?My guest Nick Wallis, is a journalist and radio presenter who has written a book called The Great Post Office Scandal which explains how a billion pound IT system, unleashed an enormous legal, ethical and political scandal.As Nick explains on the show, hundreds of sub-postmasters were alleged to have engaged in theft, false accounting and/or fraud and were taken to court by the Post Office. This resulted in criminal convictions, imprisonment, loss of reputation and livelihood, bankruptcy, divorce, and even suicide amongst those involved. It subsequently transpired that it wasn’t people that were at fault, but rather the billion point IT system that the Post Office had installed as part of a modernisation program. In our discussion, we explore how the Scandal occurred, Nick’s experience in investigating it and what lessons we can learn.This is a tale of appalling human decision-making with serious consequences. It’s about as human risk-relevant as it gets.To learn more about the subjects we discussed on the show:Nick’s website - https://www.nickwallis.com/Nick’s book The Great Post Office Scandal - https://bathpublishing.com/products/the-great-post-office-scandalThe BBC Radio 4 podcast - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jf7jBBC Radio Surrey - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_surreyThe BBC Radio Surrey Twitter account - https://twitter.com/BBCSurreyThe Justice for Subpostmaster’s Alliance - https://www.jfsa.org.uk/
BBC TV’s Inside Out South program featuring Nick - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ2FLuFVGMgThe Wikipedia page for the Post Office Scandal with links to court hearings and other relevant documents - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandalInfected Blood Scandal - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contaminated_blood_scandal_in_the_United_Kingdom#BackgroundWindrush Scandal - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windrush_scandalHillsborough Disaster - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disasterProfessor Richard Morehead - https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/law/staff/moorhead/Darren Jones MP on Artificial Intelligence - https://thebristolcable.org/2018/06/artificial-intelligence-robots-and-the-future-of-society-interview-with-darren-jones/The Horizon Scandal Fund - https://www.horizonscandalfund.org/

What does Sustainability have to do with Compliance?On this episode, I’m speaking to a Compliance innovator that has combined both. Dr Sarah Tischler is Head of Compliance for NKG, the world’s largest coffee trading company. Since NKG is privately owned and isn’t operating in a regulated industry, on the face of it, they’re not the kind of company you might naturally expect to have a compliance function. And up until a few years ago, they didn’t. Until Sarah came along and persuaded them that they needed one and created a role for herself.Not only has she built out her function, but she’s also added to her responsibilities by taking on responsibility for Sustainability under what they call their Responsible Business Program. Now, you may be wondering what a subject like sustainability has to do with compliance — which was my reaction when I first met Sarah and she told me what she did. But having heard her explanation it not only makes perfect sense, but it’s surprising that more firms haven’t adopted this approach.In our discussion, we talk about how Sarah persuaded NKG to establish a Compliance function, what her approach to the role is, how Behavioural Science supports that and the rationale behind and practicalities of combining it with Sustainability. Relevant links:
Professor Johan Lambsdorff - https://www.wiwi.uni-passau.de/wirtschaftstheorie/NKG - https://www.nkg.de/The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act - https://www.bmas.de/EN/Services/Press/recent-publications/2021/act-on-corporate-due-diligence-in-supply-chains.html]The World Economic Forum paper on the rise of Chief Integrity Officers - https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/the-rise-and-role-of-the-chief-integrity-officer-leadership-imperatives-in-an-esg-driven-world

What is kindness and why does it matter? One of my New Year's resolutions for 2022 is to be kinder to others. So, in this episode, I'm learning more about what being kind means — spoiler alert, it doesn't mean always being nice — and why that matters.My guest Sebastian Boo is a trainer, tutor and researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the founder of Kindness Advantage Ltd, a company that brings kindness training to the workplace. So he knows what he's talking about when it comes to kindness. During our discussion, we explore what kindness is — in particular why it might not mean what we tend to think it means — why it matters and what we can practically do to be kinder.Aside from having a fascinating conversation with Sebastian, the other reason for getting him onto the show is to publicise my resolution so there's hopefully more chance of me sticking to it. Let's see...During our discussion we talk about:Kindness Advantage https://kindness-advantage.com/Kindness: A Pocket Guide https://kindness-advantage.com/the-bookProfessor David Canter’s ( ) research on measuring kindness entitled ‘Development of a measure of kindness’ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351889065_Development_of_a_measure_of_kindnessAn interview with Professor Paul Bloom on his book Against Empathy: https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/1/19/14266230/empathy-morality-ethics-psychology-compassion-paul-bloom
Against Empathy - https://www.google.com/books/edition/Against_Empathy/op67CwAAQBAJ?hl=enThe study undertaken at Coca Cola Span on acts of kindness called Everyday Prosociality in the Workplace: The Reinforcing Benefits of Giving, Getting and Glimpsing - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317355148_Everyday_Prosociality_in_the_Workplace_The_Reinforcing_Benefits_of_Giving_Getting_and_Glimpsing
The Isle of Skye - https://www.isleofskye.com/