The New Abnormal

Series Two In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interviewed Dermot McPartland, Creative Director of Nederlander Studios NYC. He instigates cultural interventions for brands; doing things rather than making things, an assembler, a curator and an event organiser. A resolutely proud member of the London Irish diaspora, his background spans twenty years in publishing, advertising, activism, publicity and the arts. Obsessed with ideas and culture (wide & deep) he possesses an uncanny ability to see creative and strategic opportunities for brands within culture. His work output is idiosyncratic, diverse and multidisciplinary - including experience design, activation, content, social, ads, PR and experiential. Dermot has strong international links into the worlds’ of contemporary art, fashion, cinema, music and literature, and has nurtured close links into the nascent start-up creative businesses in the world of communications and entertainment. In this episode, we discuss his views on a wide variety of topics, ranging from the current 'state of the nation' in adland, to the impact of C19 on culture, leading-edge creativity, localism and folk art, the search for optimism, citizen brands, and more. Oh, and we also disagree on the works of Julien Temple. Dermot finishes the podcast with a quote from Seamus Heaney. #Naturally

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Luca Morena, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO at Nextatlas.They're a leader in the global market of digitally empowered marketing intelligence and trend anticipation services, who use unique AI focused early adopter detection to reveal evolving consumer behaviour and provide confident trend prediction for what you can’t see on the horizon, helping clients easily visualize emerging trends.With a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Bologna, Luca's also been a Postdoc at the Laboratory of Ontology at the University of Turin. His main research interests are now in the philosophy of technology, algorithmic culture, and AI. He explains how and why Nextatlas have long been at the forefront of the trend forecasting industry’s evolution as pioneers in AI-powered solutions, but also outlines their launch of 'Generate' the world’s first generative trend forecasting and consumer insights service, which is powered by large language models and the Nextatlas engine.I really enjoyed listening to Luca's points of view as he outlined the dynamic activity undertaken by Nextatlas, trailblazers in the use of AI for predictive trend detection and monitoring, based on a commitment to bringing a scientific approach to a traditionally opinion-led industry. So, I hope you enjoy the podcast!

Series ThreeThis episode of 'The New Abnormal' features Nick Shackleton-Jones, HR Director / Learning at Deloitte UK. He's also the author of 'How People Learn' and has a revolutionary perspective on...how we learn. Nick began professional life as a psychology lecturer (having studied psychology and philosophy at university) and has since worked for major consultancies and corporates in roles encompassing learning strategy, culture, leadership, innovation, technology & multimedia. Responsible for coining the ‘courses to resources’ shift, the affective context model of learning, and introducing the 5Di approach to user-centred learning design, he's the winner of several awards for people development strategy, innovation, and learning content; and is well-known in the 'learning industry' for his ground-breaking work and thinking. In our interview, we discuss his viewpoints across a range of issues including how the brain works in the context of memory (inc System 1 & 2 thinking), learning and individuality, the significance of play, storytelling and catastrophe, behavioural change, why 'Thinking is Feeling', how to reimagine your world, and the intentional design of experiences and resources that promote learning aka 'Learning Design'. 

Series TwoIn this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interviewed Tamira Snell, Senior Advisor at the renowned Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.  CIFS equip and inspire individuals and organisations, decision-makers and the public, to act on the future, today. She's an expert advisor who guides organisations in exploratory insight and innovation processes.With a background in cultural sociology, her field of passion is people – to understand emerging needs, the drivers and barriers behind why and how we live and think, behave and consume the way we do, and to investigate the behavioural patterns and cultural consequences of broader societal currents. As a result, Tamira helps bridge the gap between the present and the future in order to define new opportunity spaces for innovation.In our interview, we discuss her viewpoints around issues inc Design Thinking, Scenario Planning, Health Futures, mega-trends related to Individualism, Immaterialism, Transformation, the No-touch Economy, and Polarisation.Tamira also outlined her preparations to circumnavigate the world in her catamaran, the account of which you can follow on social media. It’s a deeply inspiring story, with some amazing photos!

Series TwoThis episode of 'The New Abnormal' features Livia Fioretti, Head of Insights Academy at TrendWatching. She's ex-head of their amazing Global Insights Network, made up of 900+ professionals and trend enthusiasts across 80+ countries, that helps clients understand what's happening across regions as well as different cultures. Livia's responsible for leading a global team and the conceptualization and delivery of TrendWatching’s insights to clients across a range of industries.  In addition, as their LATAM Lead Trend Analyst, she's also responsible for the company’s Latin American content, helping clients around the globe understand different perspectives re: the particularities of that incredible region. In this episode, we therefore discuss her background and the realities of Livia's day-today role at TrendWatching; along with covering a number of key social / cultural / business megatrends, and a really exciting multi-country / LATAM report that's about to be published. Finally, we also discuss a fascinating Cultural Anthropology course that she attended at Goldsmiths re: 'Culture, Society and the Making of Humanity'.  So...enjoy!

Series TwoIn this episode of 'The New Abnormal' I interview Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK, the national charity working towards a tolerant world where rational thinking and kindness prevail. He's also President of Humanists International, the global umbrella organisation for humanist and other non-religious organisations, building the international humanist network and representing humanism at the UN and other international institutions. Andrew has represented the humanist movement extensively on television including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky, as well as on programmes such a s Newsnight and The Daily Politics. He's also appeared on BBC radio programmes such as the Today programme, The World at One, The Last Word, and Beyond Belief. In this episode, Andrew defines and explains humanism re: issues such as the need to test beliefs / reason, evidence & scientific method / fulfillment, growth & creativity / the search for truth / ethics / justice & fairness / building a better world. I found it deeply interesting to hear his viewpoints, and hope you do too.

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features the renowned design anthropologist and psychologist  Anna Kirah. She's an expert in pioneering qualitative research methods used to gather deep insights to understand people's motivations and expectations as well as their articulated and unarticulated needs, and to link this understanding to the design of services, products and organisational change. Anna's experience in Boeing and Microsoft has given her global recognition for her work related to people-centred innovation, service design & design thinking, co-creation & interdisciplinary collaboration;  as well as how to lead an organisation in a turbulent age. She’s writing a book about design anthropology 'Working on the Edge' (in collaboration with other anthropologists) and is also writing one 'on leadership in an age of change' called Do You Care? So, we discuss all the above - and more - in an episode that I hope you'll find deeply interesting. 

Series Two In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interview Alex Durussel-Baker. The founder of CreativeMornings/Edinburgh, she's also a certified Design Sprint coach, an award-winning UX designer, produces awareness campaign @diabetesbydesign and is a coach at Tribe Women.  With a background in startups and agency design, she founded Korero Studio - a design collective that brings together “plug-and-play” talent to deliver Design Sprints, an innovation methodology to help solve tricky business problems and bring ideas to life in just five days. (Alex specialises in delivering design thinking and strategic workshops for businesses and individuals in the early phases of their product or service). Therefore, in this episode we discuss the dynamic CreativeMornings (a movement begun in NYC 'believing in the power of communities' that, every month, sees people gather in over 200 cities across nearly 70 countries), along with her viewpoints on how to run truly catalytic workshops. Alex also discusses the dynamic @diabetesbydesign which raises awareness and dispels misconceptions surrounding T1D -  informing, inspiring and igniting new conversations around this often misunderstood disease.

Series TwoThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Lore Oxford, Global Head of Cultural Insights at We Are Social, where she combines academic research methods with a digital-first approach to understand and track culture on a global scale. Her work is designed to unearth cutting edge insights that drive cultural impact for multinational brands inc Guinness, Bumble, adidas and Instagram. When she’s not busy analysing her fellow humans, she can be found defending TikTokers and the art of the selfie from contemporary culture snobs. In this episode, we discuss the above, and the latest annual trend report from the agency 'Think Forward' which explains how we're stepping into #BraveNewWorlds. (It’s based on a series of trends identified by their Cultural Insights team, a network of 50 analysts and strategists globally, and supported by a survey of 3,000 people aged 18+ who use social media daily from the US, UK, France, Italy, China and Australia).As she says "we’re on the brink of a renaissance in creativity on social, in which brands and creators alike are going to have to work harder and better to make us laugh, move us, and connect us". 

Series Two In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interviewed Chris Sanderson, co-founder of The Future Laboratory, one of the world's most renowned futures consultancies. Via their unique blend of trend forecasting, consumer insights, foresight, brand strategy and innovation, they inspire and future-proof organisations. Clients include Louis Vuitton, Google, L'Oreal, Facebook, Diageo, Spotify, Unilever and Nissan. Chris discusses the practicalities of running a forecasting business, and a range of issues that the Future Lab have identified as of being of direct importance on a social/cultural/business level, as they relate to brand futures and brand strategy. So we talk about trends such as the 'Pleasure Revolution', 'Cultural Triangulation', the 'Transformation Economy' along with his viewpoints on the focus that this series has taken around 'Hope, Community & Resilience'. And, of course, Chris acknowledges the ever-present influence of the mighty William Gibson. The Future Laboratory have built a reputation for being incredibly dynamic, and this episode reflects on their success.