
In Conversation with Nathalie Nahai
Welcome to In Conversation with Nathalie Nahai (formerly known as The Hive Podcast), the series that enquires into our relationship with one another, technology and the natural world.
Join me as we dive into the complex and challenging questions of our time, and explore how some of the greatest minds are forging new and exciting paths forward.
For more resources and information about the show, please visit nathalienahai.com/in-conversation/
Latest episodes

Dec 4, 2021 • 33min
75. Trust, Virtual Communication & Embodied Cognition / Dr Gillian Isaacs Russell
Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with another friend of the podcast, Dr Gillian Isaacs Russell, a celebrated author, psychoanalyst and psychotherapist.
Member of the British Psychoanalytic Council, the British Psychotherapy Foundation, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the International Psychoanalytical Association, Gillian is a Registered Psychotherapist in the state of Colorado and has been in private practice in the UK and USA since 1988.
Her fascinating book, Screen Relations: The Limits of Computer-Mediated Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, examines how some of our most intimate relationships, including that of analyst and patient, are affected by technologically-mediated communication.
Having served on the Editorial Board as Book Reviews Editor, Gillian currently serves on the COVID-19 Advisory Team for the American Psychoanalytic Association, where she received the 2021 Distinguished Service Award.
This episode is sponsored by Pleo, whose event, "Forward", I will be hosting on 9th December 2021. Join me and grab your free ticket here: pleo.io/en/forward
Recorded on 15th February 2021.

Nov 27, 2021 • 53min
74. Values, Culture & The Future Of HR / Perry Timms
Today I speak with another friend of the podcast, Perry Timms – an international and 2x TEDx speaker, advisor and award-winning writer on the future of work, HR and learning.
Founder of PTHR, a micro consulting venture in its 9th year of operation with the ambition to shape, ‘Better Business for a Better World’, Perry’s work in progressive thinking in HR and the workplace of the future, was recognised by his inclusion on HR Magazine’s HR’s Most Influential Thinkers List for 2017, where he also placed 5th most influential in 2018.
The author of two books, Perry’s first volume, Transformational HR, was an Amazon.com Top 30 HR seller shortly after its release, and, due to popular demand and the effects of the pandemic, the 2nd, revised edition came out earlier this year to wide acclaim. His second book, The Energised Workplace, explores Human Energy & Organisation Design, and it was published in April 2020.
Perry serves as Adjunct Faculty at Ashridge Executive Education and Hult International Business School, and is a visiting fellow at Sheffield Hallam University. He is also the world’s only WorldBlu-certified Freedom at Work Consultant and Coach, and he currently leads the London Chapter of ResponsiveOrg.
Recorded on 21st December 2020.

Nov 20, 2021 • 45min
73. Diversity, Inclusion & Meaningful Work / Stephanie MH Moore
In this conversation, I speak with Stephanie M. H. Moore, a Lecturer of Business Law and Ethics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, whose areas of interest and expertise include business ethics, conflict resolution, critical thinking, advocacy, contracts, and legal writing.
A Registered Domestic Relations Mediator, Stephanie graduated first in her class from Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law, and she also holds degrees in English and Telecommunications from Indiana University.
Prior to joining the Kelley School, Stephanie served for four years as a Federal Law Clerk for the Honorable Monroe G. McKay, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Professor Moore also worked in advertising, sales, marketing, and at Indiana University’s Office of Student Conduct, and she has served on the board of several local nonprofits and as an Indiana University Title IX Hearing Panel Officer.
Stephanie has taught Advanced Legal Writing for Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law and frequently serves as a case competition judge, panelist, and facilitator.
This episode is sponsored by Pleo, whose event, "Forward", I will be hosting on 9th December 2021. Join me and grab your free ticket here: www.pleo.io/en/forward
Recorded on 20th January 2021.

Nov 13, 2021 • 42min
72. Behavioural Science, Resilience & Belonging / Octavius Black
In today’s conversation, I speak with Octavius Black – the CEO of Mind Gym, a consultancy that uses the latest psychology and behavioural science to transform how people think, feel and behave so as to improve both the performance of companies and the lives of the people who work within them.
Having read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at The Queen’s College, Oxford University, Octavius went on to work as an analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton, and later became a director of the organisational communications consultancy, Smythe Dorward Lambert.
He co-founded Mind Gym in his kitchen with Sebastien Bailey 20 years ago and floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, and he has co-authored several Mind Gym books, including Wake Up Your Mind, Give Me Time, and Relationships.
Octavius has written for The Times, Financial Times and The Sunday Telegraph, and together with his team, he seeks to equip ambitious companies with the knowledge and capability to be ready for tomorrow.
Recorded on 26th November 2020.

Nov 6, 2021 • 47min
71. Connection, Boundaries & The Problem With Relating Virtually / Dr Aaron Balick
Today I have the pleasure of speaking with another great friend of the podcast, Dr Aaron Balick – a psychotherapist, author and director of the international psychology hub, Stillpoint Spaces, an organisation devoted to sharing ideas from depth psychology widely and with integrity.
After nearly 20 years of experience as a clinical psychotherapist and supervisor, and a decade as an academic in his field, Aaron now works as an author, media contributor and consultant, and speaks internationally to a wide variety of audiences about the impact of social media and technology on the individual and society.
As a psychological consultant for the media, Aaron has advised on, and contributed to a variety of projects that aim to bring quality mental health content to programming for young people and adults alike, and he has been the resident “agony uncle” for BBC Radio 1 and CBBC for many years.
The author of several fantastic books both for adults and children, his new title, The Little Book of Calm: Tame Your Anxieties, Face Your Fears, and Live Free draws upon his years of experience as a clinician and researcher, to offer readers techniques, advice and inspiration on the best and most effective ways to manage anxiety.
Recorded on 14th December 2020.

Oct 30, 2021 • 39min
70. People, Purpose & The Future Of The Workplace / Chris Kane
In this episode, I speak with workplace and change strategist, Chris Kane, the Founder and Director of Six Ideas Ltd. Having started out as a Chartered Surveyor, Chris’ 30-year career spans corporate real estate and workplace strategy, and he has held positions from the CEO of BBC Commercial Projects and Head of the BBC Corporate Real Estate, to the VP of The Walt Disney Company’s CRE.
Of his wide-ranging projects, the largest includes overseeing the BBC’s £2bn property portfolio regeneration to deliver a fit-for-purpose estate using the Corporation’s decade-long ‘analogue to digital’ transformation, as a catalyst for organisational change – an endeavor which also involved masterminding the foundations of new innovative and creative media, business and residential quarters in White City, London and Salford, Manchester.
Chris is also the author of the brilliant book, Where is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century, published by Bloomsbury, a volume that presents a game-changing challenge to the existing ways we work, as well as being a guide to harnessing the true potential of an organisation’s people and workplace.
Recorded on 9th February 2021.

Oct 23, 2021 • 35min
69. Leadership, Sustainability & Building Brands In A Digital Age / Rita Clifton CBE
Today I speak with Rita Clifton CBE – a global brand expert and former Chair of Interbrand, described by the Financial Times as a ‘Brand guru’, and by Campaign magazine as ‘The doyenne of branding’. Alongside her board chairing and non-executive roles, Rita is a writer, keynote speaker, conference chair and practitioner on all aspects of brands, branding and business leadership.
A regular columnist and media commentator, Rita is the author of several books, including the best-selling title The Future of Brands, two editions of The Economist book Brands and Branding, and her new book, Love Your Imposter, which explores new types of business leadership and how we might take our imposter self and use it as a driver to come out stronger.
Having worked as the Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, the London CEO and Chair of Interbrand, and as co-founder of BrandCap, in 2014 Rita received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list, and is now a portfolio chair and non-executive director on the board of businesses including John Lewis Partnership, Nationwide Building Society and Ascential plc.
Previous boards have included ASOS, Dixons Retail plc, Emap, Bupa and Populus Group. Her non-profit boards have included Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the UK Sustainable Development Commission and Green Alliance, and she was recently appointed Chair at Forum for the Future, the leading international sustainability organisation.
Recorded on 11th February 2021.

Oct 16, 2021 • 48min
68. Motivation, Competence & How To Attract The Best Talent / Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
In this conversation, I speak with a great friend of the show, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Professor of Business Psychology at University College London and Columbia University, Tomas is an international authority in psychological profiling, talent management, leadership development, and people analytics.
An incisive and prolific writer, he is also the author of a wide-range of brilliant books, the most recent of which, Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It), was transformed into a TED talk of the same name, which has racked up over 1.3m views.
Currently the Chief Talent Scientist at Manpower Group, and co-founder of Deeper Signals and Metaprofiling, Tomas is also an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab, and his commercial work focuses on the creation of science-based tools that improve organisations’ abilities to predict performance, and people’s abilities to understand themselves.
Tomas has previously held academic positions at New York University and the London School of Economics, and frequently lectures at Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, London Business School, and IMD, as well as being the co-founder and CEO of BrazenX and the former CEO at Hogan Assessment Systems.
Recorded on 27th November 2020.

Oct 9, 2021 • 45min
67. Sex, Business & Revolutionizing Workplace Diversity / Cindy Gallop
Today, I speak with Cindy Gallop, founder & CEO of Make Love Not Porn, the world’s first user-generated, human-curated social sex platform which is ‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference’.
With over 30 years of experience in brand building, marketing and entrepreneurialism, Cindy is a brand and business innovator, consultant, coach and keynote speaker, who works with those who want to change the game in their particular sector.
From brand and business innovation, leadership and advertising, to sextech, social responsibility and diversity and inclusion, Cindy has worked with some of the biggest brands across a gamut of industries, and her unique approach has seen her reach audiences around the world, with her 2009 TED talk, Make love, not porn, attracting over 2.6 million views.
Summarising her style as, “I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business,” Cindy takes a radical, innovative and transformative approach to helping clients envision and achieve their futures, whether in leadership, branding, or in creating more gender-equal, diverse and inclusive workplaces.
Recorded on 15th January 2021.

Oct 2, 2021 • 32min
66. Technology, Adaptation & The Future Of Employee Experience / Brian Solis
Today I speak with the inimitable Brian Solis, a world-renowned digital anthropologist and futurist. An award-winning author and global keynote speaker, Brian’s research, advisory and presentations humanise the relationship between disruptive innovation and its impact on institutions, markets and societies.
He not only helps audiences understand what’s happening and why, he also visualises future trends and inspires people to take leading roles in defining the future they want to see. Brian serves as Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, and his work focuses on thought leadership and research that explores digital transformation, innovation and disruption, customer experience, commerce, and the cognitive enterprise.
He has advised leading brands, celebrities, and startups, and his ideas and work are consistently featured in the press. A regular contributor to leading business and industry publications including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, CMO.com, Adweek and others, Brian is also an official LinkedIn Influencer. His work is followed by over 700,000 people across social media.
Recorded on 24th February 2021.