“The idea that you could use the law to help other people fight for bigger radical change was the only thing I ever wanted to do” In this episode, David Johnston sits down with Ravi Naik, co-founder for the UK’s first data right agency A.W.O and a leading solicitor in the field of data protection and protecting human rights in a digital age, working on agenda setting cases against Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, and Google. Together the two discuss how the intersection between human rights and technology is disrupting the discipline of law as we know it, why meeting societies rapidly changing needs requires a multifaceted approach to law, plus Ravi’s involvement in the prosecution of Cambridge Analytica - the case that changed the course of history for data rights and protection. 

“The future is a verb, not a noun. It's not something that we passively stumble into, it's something we all actively shape and define”In this episode, David Johnston sits down with director and architect Liam Young, co-founder of the Urban Futures think tank Tomorrows Thoughts Today and the nomadic research studio Unknown Fields.The pair discuss how ‘humanness’ in the future will exist in tech blind spots, the importance of visual language to best detail a story, and the power of using fiction as an emotional Trojan horse to travel through potential futures in order to build the correct infrastructure today.

“We need a new mythology of what technology is. We need nature-based technologies that will lead us towards a new form for not being saviours of the earth, but living with Earth symbiotically” In this second episode of series 2, creative studio Accept & Proceed's founder David Johnston meets with Julia Watson, an Australian designer of urban, indigenous, and spiritual landscapes and author of Lo-TEK, Design by Radical Indigenism. Johnston and Watson discuss why we need to redefine the meaning of technological innovation, the importance of diversity in building resilient environments and why nature-based technologies can help us live symbiotically with nature.

Architect Indy Johar discusses the need for a new paradigm in work culture and design, exploring empathy in leadership, fear in economic systems, and transitions towards a world of care and interdependence. He shares insights on running Dark Matter Labs unconventionally and reconfiguring traditional structures in organizations.

In this episode, Damon Gameau, actor and filmmaker behind ‘That Sugar Film’ and ‘2040’, discusses the film industry's approach to climate change, the need for a utopian vision of the future, and how understanding human psychology can create a better future for people and the planet.

Seetal Solanki, founder of materials research design studio Ma-tt-er and author of ‘Why Materials Matter’, discusses the importance of broadening the definition of ‘materials’, brands using the pandemic to pivot, and challenging perspectives within a capitalist society. They also explore the radical possibilities of materials, digital materiality, cryptocurrency's carbon footprint, the impact of materials in the creative industry, overcoming imposter syndrome, and finding hope in open conversations.

Refik Anadol, media artist and director, discusses using data to create parametric data sculptures as public art. They explore the intersection of spiritual and virtual realms, optimism and transformative losses, art and data visualization, collaboration and the power of imagination, and reflection on creativity, responsibility, and the future.

Clare Farrell, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, discusses the broken democracy system, parallels between COVID-19 and global warming, and inspiring radical action. They explore Citizens' Assembly as a democratic solution, the origins and early actions of Extinction Rebellion, teaching sustainability in fashion, and the role of design in making change.

“Business has some serious thinking to do. We're in danger of losing our way. In amongst a crisis and chaos is a really good time to just go ‘are we doing this right?’”In the latest episode of Endless Vital Activity, David Johnston speaks with David Hieatt, the co-founder of Hiut Denim Co and The DO Lectures; the self-funded talk series that aims to create a safe space to ask better questions about the world we live in.Johnston and Hieatt discuss the pitfalls of ‘selling out’, the need for purpose-led businesses and the power of anonymity when asking what needs to change in the world.

“It's not an asteroid coming in. It's not nuclear war. It's not a killer virus. We are the weapon of mass destruction.”In the first of this six-part series, creative studio Accept and Proceed’s founder David Johnston meets with renowned, multi-disciplinary physician of internal medicine and internationally recognised educator on the microbiome Zach Bush MD.In light of the current coronavirus pandemic, the duo explores the explosion of chronic disease, the morality of the advertising world and the impact of consumer behaviour on our internal and global ecosystems.