The Creative Process · Arts, Culture & Society: Books, Film, Music, TV, Art, Writing, Creativity, Education, Environment, Theatre, Dance, LGBTQ, Climate Change, Social Justice, Spirituality, Feminism, Tech, Sustainability

“I have a granddaughter who's just going into high school, and she is filled with idealistic thoughts and is optimistic. She's a person who is both in love with art and in love with science. She's vivacious and just everything about her seems like life is beautiful, and 'I'm going to be able to do this and that.' And, of course, when I talk to her, I do everything I can to encourage this kind of openness and optimism, and belief in herself and her ability to do worthwhile things. And not be too concerned about is she going to be able to have a job with enough income to be where she wants to be. She's not thinking on those levels. And so it’s how to perpetuate and strengthen that kind of spirit and hope, that it can be validated by giving this generation the opportunity to do things. Because I believe that if she and people who think and feel like her were really given the opportunity to be influential and to do things that would have a tremendous shift in the way the world is going. She doesn't think in terms of quarterly profits. She thinks in terms of human happiness and human good, human fairness, and the beauty of nature. And all of these things that naturally come together in our head. And so that's what I think we need to do. I think the universities can play a part. Schools play a part, but there has to be a broader general sense that this is how we should conceive the future. And, you know, galleries, podcasts, books, newspapers, universities, schools, every kind of institution needs to offer something to help this.”Harold P. Sjursen is an educator and administrator having served on the faculty of both a liberal arts college and school of engineering. His background is in the history of philosophy, but since childhood has sustained an interest in science and technology. His current research interests focus on the philosophy of technology, global philosophy, and technological ethics. His engineering education projects address issues related to the internationalization of higher education, the integration of the liberal arts and engineering and ethics beyond the codes for engineers.http://harold-sjursen.orgwww.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Harold P. Sjursen is an educator and administrator having served on the faculty of both a liberal arts college and school of engineering. His background is in the history of philosophy, but since childhood has sustained an interest in science and technology. His current research interests focus on the philosophy of technology, global philosophy, and technological ethics. His engineering education projects address issues related to the internationalization of higher education, the integration of the liberal arts and engineering and ethics beyond the codes for engineers.“I have a granddaughter who's just going into high school, and she is filled with idealistic thoughts and is optimistic. She's a person who is both in love with art and in love with science. She's vivacious and just everything about her seems like life is beautiful, and 'I'm going to be able to do this and that.' And, of course, when I talk to her, I do everything I can to encourage this kind of openness and optimism, and belief in herself and her ability to do worthwhile things. And not be too concerned about is she going to be able to have a job with enough income to be where she wants to be. She's not thinking on those levels. And so it’s how to perpetuate and strengthen that kind of spirit and hope, that it can be validated by giving this generation the opportunity to do things. Because I believe that if she and people who think and feel like her were really given the opportunity to be influential and to do things that would have a tremendous shift in the way the world is going. She doesn't think in terms of quarterly profits. She thinks in terms of human happiness and human good, human fairness, and the beauty of nature. And all of these things that naturally come together in our head. And so that's what I think we need to do. I think the universities can play a part. Schools play a part, but there has to be a broader general sense that this is how we should conceive the future. And, you know, galleries, podcasts, books, newspapers, universities, schools, every kind of institution needs to offer something to help this.”http://harold-sjursen.orgwww.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

“With UnPrisoned and with really my whole body of work as a producer, I'm really drawn to stories that make people feel seen that take issues that have stigma and shame attached to them, and making those issues just more palatable and more human. And few people realize that 50% of American families are touched by incarceration. And when you meet someone like Tracy McMillan, who really is a miracle, this is a woman who's now in her fifties who grew up in 22 different foster homes because her father was incarcerated when she was so little. And yet for all of his mistakes, the fact that he was a career criminal, he still, when he could change her diapers, he was present when he could be there. He braided her hair, and there was real love there. But they were separated not only by his mistakes, but by a system that is really unforgiving and really unfair, especially to black and brown men. So, the idea that we could tell a story where a young woman who was raised that way and by that person turns out to be Kerry Washington. You know, turns out to be somebody who you want to be, turns out to be Olivia Pope, this woman that we all see as so beautiful and such a hero and so strong and so powerful, I felt was just an incredible opportunity. And when we first put Tracy and Kerry in the same room, Kerry said to Tracy, 'You know you're a miracle, right?'And I don't think it really hit Tracy before that moment. When you really look at the data, when you look at the foster-to-prison pipeline, over 80% of males who age out of foster care end up incarcerated. So there are two broken systems that work hand in hand here. And we had the opportunity of a real success story.”Joy Gorman Wettels is the founder of Joy Coalition, an impact producing venture with a focus on creating purpose-driven film and television content for a global audience. She executive-produced the newly-released UnPrisoned, and is currently working on a multi-part storytelling ecosystem inspired by landmark civil rights documentary Eyes on the Prize. Her body of work includes, notably, the critically acclaimed series Home Before Dark, the influential 13 Reasons Why, created by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Brian Yorkey and directed by Oscar-winner Tom McCarthy (Spotlight).Other works include The Meddler, named Vanity Fair's #1 film of 2016, and the forthcoming adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. She serves on the Advisory Council for UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers and the Advisory Board for Hollywood, Health and Society at USC. As part of their commitment to social change, Joy Coalition works in collaboration with the Office of the Surgeon General in response to the youth mental health crisis. She’s accepted a Sentinel Award, Television Academy Honors for advancing social change, and the 2018 Mental Health America Media Award. www.joycoalition.com www.imdb.com/name/nm2229726www.imdb.com/title/tt20228406/mediaviewer/rm1596470273/?ref_=tt_ov_iwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Joy Gorman Wettels is the founder of Joy Coalition, an impact producing venture with a focus on creating purpose-driven film and television content for a global audience. She executive-produced the newly-released UnPrisoned, and is currently working on a multi-part storytelling ecosystem inspired by landmark civil rights documentary Eyes on the Prize. Her body of work includes, notably, the critically acclaimed series Home Before Dark, the influential 13 Reasons Why, created by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Brian Yorkey and directed by Oscar-winner Tom McCarthy (Spotlight).Other works include The Meddler, named Vanity Fair's #1 film of 2016, and the forthcoming adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. She serves on the Advisory Council for UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers and the Advisory Board for Hollywood, Health and Society at USC. As part of their commitment to social change, Joy Coalition works in collaboration with the Office of the Surgeon General in response to the youth mental health crisis. She’s accepted a Sentinel Award, Television Academy Honors for advancing social change, and the 2018 Mental Health America Media Award. “With UnPrisoned and with really my whole body of work as a producer, I'm really drawn to stories that make people feel seen that take issues that have stigma and shame attached to them, and making those issues just more palatable and more human. And few people realize that 50% of American families are touched by incarceration. And when you meet someone like Tracy McMillan, who really is a miracle, this is a woman who's now in her fifties who grew up in 22 different foster homes because her father was incarcerated when she was so little. And yet for all of his mistakes, the fact that he was a career criminal, he still, when he could change her diapers, he was present when he could be there. He braided her hair, and there was real love there. But they were separated not only by his mistakes, but by a system that is really unforgiving and really unfair, especially to black and brown men. So, the idea that we could tell a story where a young woman who was raised that way and by that person turns out to be Kerry Washington. You know, turns out to be somebody who you want to be, turns out to be Olivia Pope, this woman that we all see as so beautiful and such a hero and so strong and so powerful, I felt was just an incredible opportunity. And when we first put Tracy and Kerry in the same room, Kerry said to Tracy, 'You know you're a miracle, right?'And I don't think it really hit Tracy before that moment. When you really look at the data, when you look at the foster-to-prison pipeline, over 80% of males who age out of foster care end up incarcerated. So there are two broken systems that work hand in hand here. And we had the opportunity of a real success story.”www.joycoalition.com www.imdb.com/name/nm2229726www.imdb.com/title/tt20228406/mediaviewer/rm1596470273/?ref_=tt_ov_iwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

“I think maybe what we've learned is how important family and community are. What I noticed in Madagascar is how genuinely happy they are despite not having a lot in life. We have so many material possessions here in the US, and not to say that's all bad if people want to pursue that, but I just definitely noticed how it wasn't so much about what you have, but like who you are as a person. I would want them to know that anything is possible. You just need to persevere and that can have such a huge ripple effect. Not only one person's life, but anybody, whether that's a community or the whole world on a global scale. I wouldn't want people to feel discouraged because I think there are definitely moments along the way of that and people will just not want to try to do that because people around them may say ‘It's not possible.’ But if you keep going, then it will eventually come to life.”Maggie Grout is the founder and CEO of Thinking Huts, an international NGO that increases global access to education with innovative, humanitarian-driven technology solutions. Founded by Maggie  8 years ago, when she was15, Thinking Huts seeks to empower young people, especially girls, to achieve more opportunities by obtaining an education. Grout gave a TEDx talk in 2021 on “how we can tackle the global education crisis with 3D printing.”Grout was born in a rural village in China and adopted at a young age, but where she came from largely shaped her outlook on life and subliminally led her to start Thinking Huts in 2015. Growing up in London and Colorado, Grout was exposed to the melting pot of cultures in British and American society, but she often wondered why so many people were unaware of how others lived an ocean away. She understood what poverty looks like firsthand and how education empowers people to attain greater opportunities.www.thinkinghuts.orgwww.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Maggie Grout is the founder and CEO of Thinking Huts, an international NGO that increases global access to education with innovative, humanitarian-driven technology solutions. Founded by Maggie  8 years ago, when she was15, Thinking Huts seeks to empower young people, especially girls, to achieve more opportunities by obtaining an education. Grout gave a TEDx talk in 2021 on “how we can tackle the global education crisis with 3D printing.”Grout was born in a rural village in China and adopted at a young age, but where she came from largely shaped her outlook on life and subliminally led her to start Thinking Huts in 2015. Growing up in London and Colorado, Grout was exposed to the melting pot of cultures in British and American society, but she often wondered why so many people were unaware of how others lived an ocean away. She understood what poverty looks like firsthand and how education empowers people to attain greater opportunities.“I think maybe what we've learned is how important family and community are. What I noticed in Madagascar is how genuinely happy they are despite not having a lot in life. We have so many material possessions here in the US, and not to say that's all bad if people want to pursue that, but I just definitely noticed how it wasn't so much about what you have, but like who you are as a person. I would want them to know that anything is possible. You just need to persevere and that can have such a huge ripple effect. Not only one person's life, but anybody, whether that's a community or the whole world on a global scale. I wouldn't want people to feel discouraged because I think there are definitely moments along the way of that and people will just not want to try to do that because people around them may say ‘It's not possible.’ But if you keep going, then it will eventually come to life.”www.thinkinghuts.orgwww.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

“I definitely believe at the moment that fashion brands, big fashion in particular, they just exist to exploit people. It's an excuse to exploit the poor, basically. I see fashion as part of this very extractive global economic society where 100, 150 years ago, that extraction was very obvious. You had the enslavement of people. You had taxation. You had literally armies turning up and occupying the land that they wanted and just taking resources or land. These days it's more subtle, but the brands are still following those colonial pathways.I'm like sat here in London and, you know, there's a reason why British brands go to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, following the same colonial trade routes. It's also a system very much based on really unfair debt and a total lack of debt justice whereby Global South economies are having to earn foreign capital by opening themselves up to these export industries, whether that's cotton or coffee or garments. 80% of everything that Bangladesh exports are garments. It is a ludicrous position for an economy to be in. And it's very deliberate exploitation as well. Brands make these sourcing decisions very, very deliberately.They go where they think that workers' rights will be suppressed and environmental legislation will be suppressed. And if anything does happen that the government will step in and do the suppressing and just give them a sort of carte blanche to do whatever they want.So at the moment, it's very difficult to point at any part of the fashion industry and go, that's not exploitative. You know, that's exploiting the land, that's exploiting these people, that's based on fossil fuels. Those toxic dyes are going into the river. It's a deeply exploitative, industry.”Tansy E. Hoskins is an award winning author and journalist who investigates the global fashion industry. She’s the author of The Anti-Capitalist Book Of Fashion, Foot Work, and Stitched Up. This work has taken her to Bangladesh, India, North Macedonia, and to the Topshop warehouses in Solihull.www.plutobooks.com/9780745346618/the-anti-capitalist-book-of-fashion/www.amazon.co.uk/Foot-Work-What-Your-Shoes-Are-Doing-to-the-World-Tansy-Hoskins/dp/1474609856/www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Tansy E. Hoskins is an award winning author and journalist who investigates the global fashion industry. She’s the author of The Anti-Capitalist Book Of Fashion, Foot Work, and Stitched Up. This work has taken her to Bangladesh, India, North Macedonia, and to the Topshop warehouses in Solihull.“I definitely believe at the moment that fashion brands, big fashion in particular, they just exist to exploit people. It's an excuse to exploit the poor, basically. I see fashion as part of this very extractive global economic society where 100, 150 years ago, that extraction was very obvious. You had the enslavement of people. You had taxation. You had literally armies turning up and occupying the land that they wanted and just taking resources or land. These days it's more subtle, but the brands are still following those colonial pathways.I'm like sat here in London and, you know, there's a reason why British brands go to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, following the same colonial trade routes. It's also a system very much based on really unfair debt and a total lack of debt justice whereby Global South economies are having to earn foreign capital by opening themselves up to these export industries, whether that's cotton or coffee or garments. 80% of everything that Bangladesh exports are garments. It is a ludicrous position for an economy to be in. And it's very deliberate exploitation as well. Brands make these sourcing decisions very, very deliberately.They go where they think that workers' rights will be suppressed and environmental legislation will be suppressed. And if anything does happen that the government will step in and do the suppressing and just give them a sort of carte blanche to do whatever they want.So at the moment, it's very difficult to point at any part of the fashion industry and go, that's not exploitative. You know, that's exploiting the land, that's exploiting these people, that's based on fossil fuels. Those toxic dyes are going into the river. It's a deeply exploitative, industry.”www.plutobooks.com/9780745346618/the-anti-capitalist-book-of-fashion/www.amazon.co.uk/Foot-Work-What-Your-Shoes-Are-Doing-to-the-World-Tansy-Hoskins/dp/1474609856/www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcastPhoto credit: Sarah Van Looy

“In terms of the impacts of climate change on health when we started 30 years ago, because there was very little data then, so we made suggestions as to what we thought the health outcomes we thought would be affected like vector-borne diseases, crop failures, water availability, sea level rise, increasing disasters related to climatic extreme events, and obviously the effects of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. In particular, elderly people, but not just elderly people. So we suggested a whole range of different health impacts that could occur. And I think, in general, those ideas have stood the test of time, but of course, as the situation has moved on, we've also become much more preoccupied with what kind of action we need to take.So when we started, we were mainly talking about the effects of extreme heat without being able to attribute them to climate change because obviously heat waves have occurred throughout history, and populations are more or less adapted to different climates. But now I think the science has moved on, and we can be much more competent about attributing either some extreme events or trends in extreme heat exposure, for example, to human-induced climate change. So it isn't just natural fluctuation. So that's a change. And as the evidence becomes stronger, of course, it also strengthens the case for climate action, which sadly, as we know at the moment, is not sufficient to really have the desired effect.So our knowledge has advanced, but the actions that we need to put into practice have not gone at the same speed. And so we're really facing an increasing climate emergency. And we don't know quite where it's going to end up, but it could end up 2.5%, 3% hotter than pre-industrial times on global average as we reach the end of the century.”Andy Haines was formerly a family doctor and Professor of Primary Health Care at UCL. He developed an interest in climate change and health in the 1990’s and was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the 2nd and 3rd assessment exercises and review editor for the health chapter in the 5th assessment. He was Director (formerly Dean) of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine from 2001- October 2010. He chaired the Scientific Advisory Panel for the 2013 WHO World Health Report, the Rockefeller /Lancet Commission on Planetary Health (2014-15) and the European Academies Science Advisory Council working group on climate change and health (2018-19). He currently co-chairs the InterAcademy Partnership (140 science academies worldwide) working group on climate change and health and is also co-chairing the Lancet Pathfinder Commission on health in the zero-carbon economy.  He has published many papers on topics such as the effects of environmental change on health and the health co-benefits of low carbon policies. His current research focuses on climate change mitigation, sustainable healthy food systems and complex urban systems for sustainability. He was awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2022.www.lshtm.ac.ukhttps://tylerprize.org www.interacademies.orgwww.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Andy Haines was formerly a family doctor and Professor of Primary Health Care at UCL. He developed an interest in climate change and health in the 1990’s and was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the 2nd and 3rd assessment exercises and review editor for the health chapter in the 5th assessment. He was Director (formerly Dean) of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine from 2001- October 2010. He chaired the Scientific Advisory Panel for the 2013 WHO World Health Report, the Rockefeller /Lancet Commission on Planetary Health (2014-15) and the European Academies Science Advisory Council working group on climate change and health (2018-19). He currently co-chairs the InterAcademy Partnership (140 science academies worldwide) working group on climate change and health and is also co-chairing the Lancet Pathfinder Commission on health in the zero-carbon economy.  He has published many papers on topics such as the effects of environmental change on health and the health co-benefits of low carbon policies. His current research focuses on climate change mitigation, sustainable healthy food systems and complex urban systems for sustainability. He was awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2022.“In terms of the impacts of climate change on health when we started 30 years ago, because there was very little data then, so we made suggestions as to what we thought the health outcomes we thought would be affected like vector-borne diseases, crop failures, water availability, sea level rise, increasing disasters related to climatic extreme events, and obviously the effects of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. In particular, elderly people, but not just elderly people. So we suggested a whole range of different health impacts that could occur. And I think, in general, those ideas have stood the test of time, but of course, as the situation has moved on, we've also become much more preoccupied with what kind of action we need to take.So when we started, we were mainly talking about the effects of extreme heat without being able to attribute them to climate change because obviously heat waves have occurred throughout history, and populations are more or less adapted to different climates. But now I think the science has moved on, and we can be much more competent about attributing either some extreme events or trends in extreme heat exposure, for example, to human-induced climate change. So it isn't just natural fluctuation. So that's a change. And as the evidence becomes stronger, of course, it also strengthens the case for climate action, which sadly, as we know at the moment, is not sufficient to really have the desired effect.So our knowledge has advanced, but the actions that we need to put into practice have not gone at the same speed. And so we're really facing an increasing climate emergency. And we don't know quite where it's going to end up, but it could end up 2.5%, 3% hotter than pre-industrial times on global average as we reach the end of the century.”www.lshtm.ac.ukhttps://tylerprize.org www.interacademies.orgwww.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast