In Conversation with Nathalie Nahai

In this conversation, I speak with the brilliant Rob Hopkins - cofounder of the Transition Network and Transition Town Totnes, and author of several wonderful books: From What Is to What If? (one of my personal favourites), The Power of Just Doing Stuff, The Transition Handbook, and The Transition Companion. Voted one of the Independent's top 100 environmentalists in 2012, and named among Nesta and the Observer's list of Britain's 50 New Radicals, Rob has appeared on BBC Radio 4's Four Thought and A Good Read, and was featured in the French film phenomenon Demain and its sequel Après Demain. An Ashoka Fellow, Rob has spoken at TEDGlobal and three TEDx events, and holds a doctorate degree from the University of Plymouth and two honorary doctorates from the University of the West of England and the University of Namur. A keen gardener, Rob is a founder of New Lion Brewery in Totnes, and a director of Totnes Community Development Society, the group behind Atmos Totnes, an ambitious, community-led development project. He’s also an artist whose beautiful lino prints you can check out at robhopkins.net, and his podcast, From What If to What Next is really worth a listen if you’re looking for inspiration as to how we can unleash our collective imaginations to create a more resilient world. Recorded on 28th January 2022.

In today’s conversation, I have the treat of speaking with Anthea Lawson - a campaigner and writer, whose powerful book, The Entangled Activist is essential reading for anyone interested in how we might change the world in a more meaningful, integrative way. Having trained and worked as a reporter at The Times, and studied history at Cambridge, her work as an activist has seen Anthea campaign to shut down tax havens, control the arms trade and prevent banks from facilitating corruption and environmental devastation. While working at Global Witness, a human rights and environmental organisation, Anthea also launched a campaign that succeeded in changing the rules on secret company ownership, resulting in new laws being passed in dozens of countries around the world. She’s a rare gem whose rich experience, brilliant mind and grounded presence make for an inspiring and refreshing guide to the hardest challenges we face. I came across Anthea’s work through the renegade economist, Della Duncan, to whom I am grateful for the introduction - and I have to say that while I don’t consider myself an activist per se, this book is one of the most deeply affecting, empowering and illuminating that I have read in a long while. From mapping out the self-righteous, saviour-complex dynamics that arise from our unmet needs, to challenging the extractivist, power-over patterns inherited from our colonial pasts, The Entangled Activist reveals how we can end up re-creating the very problems we seek to fix - and how we might rise to the challenge differently. Recorded on 9th February 2022.

In this first episode of the new season, I have the pleasure of speaking with Indy Johar, the founding Director of 00 and Dark Matter Labs. An architect by training, Indy is a Senior Innovation Associate with the Young Foundation and a visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield. Having co-founded the Impact Hub Birmingham and Open Systems Lab, he was a member of the RSA’s Inclusive Growth Commission and is one of the leading voices in the world of system change, the future of urban infrastructure finance, outcome-based investment, and the future of governance. Whether you’re interested in how our societies might transition and respond to climate breakdown, or you’re curious about understanding the interconnected ways in which we could foster systemic change, this conversation offers an exploration of both past and present, and what steps we might take to create a more democratic, distributed and sustainable future. Recorded on 3rd March 2022.

Tara Lemméy does invention – really big invention. From US National Security to large scale entertainment systems. From drones and autonomous technologies to internet protocols. Ask her what she’s working on and it’s probably a secret. She partners with some of the most innovative CEOs and companies in the world. What’s not a secret, is that you can find her at LENS Ventures making startups, patenting technologies and telling very funny stories. Recorded on 4th February 2021.

In this episode, I speak with Yessi Bello-Perez, a technology and business journalist, editor and copywriter, whose work sits at the intersection of tech, healthcare, business, culture, arts, politics, and economics. The editor of UNLEASH, a customer-first digital media platform, built to inspire, connect and enable HR leaders worldwide, Yessi is also the co-host of Rising Startup Ecosystems, a podcast for fDi Intelligence, the Financial Times’ specialist service. Passionate about people, stories, and innovation, Yessi has years of experience in the B2B and B2C sectors, and a deep knowledge of the European tech ecosystem and its key players. She has been featured in Computer Weekly’s ‘Most Influential Women in UK Tech’ longlist for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) and shortlisted for “Tech Reporter of the Year” at the ITA Awards. Recorded on 12th February 2021.

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Nell Watson, a tech ethicist, machine intelligence researcher and AI faculty member at Singularity University. A longtime friend of the podcast, Nell’s interdisciplinary research into emerging technologies such as machine vision and AI ethics have attracted audiences from all over the world, and inspired leaders to work towards a brighter future at venues such as The World Bank, The United Nations General Assembly, and The Royal Society. A Senior Advisor to The Future Society at Harvard, Nell also serves as an Advisory technologist to several accelerators, venture capital funds and startups, including The Lifeboat Foundation, which aims to protect humanity from existential risks that could end civilisation as we know it, such as asteroid collisions, or rogue artificial intelligence.

In this conversation, I speak with Lewis Garrad – an occupational psychologist, and Partner and business leader for Mercer’s Singapore Career business. Voted a top 101 Global Future of Work Influencer, he is regular contributor to publications such as the Harvard Business Review and Talent Quarterly and he speaks on the subject of people science, HR data, employee engagement and leadership. In his commercial work, Lewis leads a team of economists, social scientists, engineers and consultants to help clients and customers implement data-driven reward, talent, leadership and employee engagement programs to help improve organizational performance. Chartered by the British Psychological Society (BPS) as an Occupational Psychologist, Lewis graduated from the University of Nottingham in the UK with an MSc in Occupational Psychology and a First Class Honours BSc in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. He is also qualified by the British Psychological Society to use both ability tests and personality questionnaires to assess talent. Having supported the development of several organisation and HR capabilities programs, including a leading role in the development of the national Skills Frameworks in Singapore, Lewis has deep expertise in making people programs relevant for C-level executives in global companies as well as facilitating senior leadership teams to help them unlock leadership effectiveness. Recorded on 21st January 2021.

Today I speak with John Featherby, the founder of Shoremount, a business that helps organisations to become more purposeful, adaptable, human and regenerative. As one of the UK’s founding B-Corps, and awarded Best For The World: Changemaker by B Lab, Shoremount models how businesses can achieve the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. And as a certified member of the B Corp movement, they are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. With an MA from CASS Business School, and having grown up around dialogues of change (with his parents having funded the first social impact bond), these influences contributed towards founding Shoremount, an endeavour seeking to put flourishing back at the centre of the workplace. As well as sitting on the investment committee for the UK’s leading impact investment funds, John also holds various Ambassador, Investment Committee and Board roles. Recorded on 21st December 2020.

In this conversation, I speak with Jeremy Dalton, the Head of XR at PwC UK, and author of Reality Check: How Immersive Technologies Can Transform Your Business. Jeremy’s work aims to help clients understand, quantify, and implement the benefits of virtual reality and augmented reality, a set of technologies sometimes collectively referred to as XR, immersive technologies or spatial computing. Alongside his fascinating book on the subject, Jeremy has given talks all over the world on the future of XR and his work has been featured in newspapers, radio and online through The Financial Times, the BBC, and many more. As part of his mission to educate, connect and inspire, he has worked with the World Economic Forum on XR initiatives and currently sits on the advisory board of Immerse UK, a UK government supported cross-sector network for businesses, research groups and educational organisations that are engaged with immersive technologies. Recorded on 15th January 2021.

Today I speak with Toby Daniels, Chief Innovation Officer at Adweek, and the founder of Social Media Week. Working at the intersection of technology, media and marketing for over two decades, Toby is a thought leader in media, marketing and technology, and has been featured in mainstream and trade media, including articles on CNN.com, The New York Times, The Next Web, Huffington Post, AdWeek, PSFK and Fast Company. Having served as the co-founder and former CEO of Crowdcentric Media, a global media and events company, Toby is an advisor to a number of companies, and speaks regularly at conferences and has given talks at PdF Latin America in Chile, Social Media Brazil, The Co-Creation Conference in Phoenix, and SXSW. Recorded on 4th February 2021.