Let’s Reboot the Future

In this episode, we’re joined by Gaynor Morrison , a midwife, lecturer and photographer, and the creator of You Were Held . Drawing on her role as a midwife safeguarding lead, Gaynor shares how she supports some of the most complex moments in care, when babies are removed from their mothers following court decisions. Through You Were Held , she offers a simple but profound gift: professional photo...

Rich Good has spent over 40 years exploring the human condition, drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. At the heart of his episode is a black and white photograph of Rich as a young boy, beaming outside a wigwam in his grandmother’s garden in Aberdeen. A child full of love and ready for adventure. He takes us through the journey of that boy’s life, the challenges he faced, the...

Daryl Davis is an American musician, lecturer, activist and author whose life’s work has been shaped by a simple question: why would you hate me when you don’t even know me? He has spent decades studying, seeking out and speaking with members of hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan. Through Daryl’s calm, human conversations, many have chosen to leave these organisations and encourage others to...

Jennifer Nadel shares what it means to trust what you know is right, even when others dismiss it as naive. From protesting as a young girl in the countryside to drafting a law to make it an offence for politicians to deliberately deceive the public, she reflects on how taking action, even when it does not succeed, moves us out of despair and into something more hopeful and generative. Years on, th...

Rachel (Rai) Lewis is the director and co-founder of Plant One , a Cornish woodland creation CIC restoring habitats and connecting communities with nature across the South West. Rai is also autistic, and in this conversation she speaks candidly about what it’s like to move through a world that often perceives her as naïve. She shares some of the traits many autistic people experience - struggling...

Mark Winters is a Texan acoustic rock singer-songwriter with an unexpected past in aerospace engineering. Now a regular touring artist, he blends analytical thinking, creativity, and a hopeful spirit in songs that celebrate reinvention and science-fuelled joy. When Mark says “think like a proton,” he is encouraging his audiences to approach the world with positivity and possibility. Coming to musi...

Ben Solanky, Co-Founder and Director of Empathy Action , speaks up for not allowing your enthusiasm to be dampened. From a young age, Ben was encouraged to bring his enthusiasm and energy to any task he put his hand to. A sliding door event brought him into the world of development, where he learned that championing a cause is not optional, it is a powerful skill, especially when funding and resou...

Sarah Howard, Managing Director of the Global Philanthropy Forum , speaks up against allowing others to judge our ideals as naïve. Growing up in the Bay Area, at the heart of Silicon Valley, shaped Sarah’s cultural context; where ideas that might be labelled naïve elsewhere are re-framed as bold, innovative, and novel. She deeply resonates with this energy and brings a willingness to push at the e...

This week we’re joined by Minnie Moll, CEO of the Design Council, who shares stories that shaped her belief in pushing beyond what many think is possible. From growing up on a boat in the English countryside, Minnie’s deep love of nature and animals fuelled a childhood full of adventure and curiosity, always bringing other children along for the ride. She speaks with real pride about creating the...

Seasoned creative, entrepreneur, and advocate for a regenerative future, Gareth Jenkins joins Let’s Reboot the Future to share how life experiences, from encounters with racism to time spent at Plum Village, gently chipped away at his childhood naivety and led him back to something deeper: a belief that the future doesn’t have to be a continuation of the way things are today, and that we can remak...

American author John Perkins joins Let’s Reboot the Future to reflect on what it really means to follow your heart, and the courage it takes to keep listening to that inner voice even when it disrupts expectations, security and status. John shares how dropping out of college to become a journalist in Boston set him on an unexpected path that allowed him to build skills in both writing and business...

Writer, theatre maker and producer specialising in immersive and site specific performance, Marie Klimis joins Let’s Reboot the Future to share her stories and reflect on how she has learned, and helped others, to think about the world in a different way. Marie reflects on learning early in life that rules need to be questioned, and that being kind, being a good person, and not betraying anyone’s...

Augustus Hoff, conservationist and storyteller, shows how passion can bridge divides and inspire care for the environment beyond our own backyard. He reflects on how growing up in a small Florida town taught him the importance of connecting across differences and inspiring care for the natural world. Now pursuing a master’s in environmental science and policy at CU Boulder, he shares his insights...

Artist and Creative Producer Becky Burchell joins Let’s Reboot the Future to reflect on the power of story and how the arts can create spaces that feel exploratory, creative and safe. Spaces where people can lean in, sit with difficult emotions, and imagine different futures. Growing up in an activist household, Becky was surrounded by conversations about nuclear weapons, peace, and the very real...

Shazam Co-Founder and Tech for Good investor, Dhiraj Mukherjee, speaks this week about the extraordinary things we can achieve if we give people a chance. The desire to contribute and give back has always been part of Dhiraj’s story. From earnest days as a Boy Scout to what looked, from the outside, like a surprising right-angle turn away from Shazam, he chose to take his business knowledge into t...

This week, for Christmas, we are turning Let’s Reboot the Future upside down. Where we usually ask our adult guests what advice they would give to inspire their younger and more naive selves to stay courageous, to hold on to kindness and fairness in their actions, this week we asked children to advise the adults. Sandy from Reboot the Future visited Churchill Church of England Primary School in We...

In this episode, we hear from Anuradha Chugh, a leader whose life and work have been shaped by something many people dismiss as naïve: trust. From childhood roots in a secure and loving home, to boardrooms, redundancy processes, and uprooting her life across continents, Anuradha has carried a steadfast belief that the world - and people - are fundamentally worthy of trust. Yet her story isn’t one...

Emilio Garcia Padron , Imperial College London alumni and founder of NEA Tech Studios , invites us to explore natural systems as a way to solve problems in our academic and everyday lives. He shares his work in the gardens at Imperial College and Lancaster University, where students experiment with tools and the living world to imagine new solutions to their questions and challenges. Emilio encour...

In this episode, John O’Brien MBE , Founder of Anthropy, invites us to let curiosity be the fuel that drives us to act, create, and contribute. John reflects on how his concern for the future of the UK coming out of Covid, inspired him to establish Anthropy, an annual national gathering that brings together responsible leaders and organisations to imagine a positive future for the UK and its role...

Wild storyteller Sophie Austin invites us to stay open to what life can bring, with a stance that is playful and rooted in kindness and love. Her stories remind us of the importance of getting up close to the experience and perspective of others. In her recent work creating a film and leading conversation forums with the public and convicted Just Stop Oil activists, Sophie shares her own shift fro...

Tsitsi Chirikure, Cultural Curator and current Associate at Reboot the Future, asks us to consider how changing the way we relate to nature might also change the way we relate to each other. She shares her work on Himalayan Balsam and invasion ecology, and reflects on how the language used to describe so-called ‘invasive species’ in the UK often mirrors the language used about people with an immig...

Paul Lindley OBE, Founder of Ella's Kitchen, author of Raising the Nation and Little Wins, Chancellor University of Reading and Founder of Just IMAGINE if, reminds us that taking the first step matters more than worrying about what we can’t control.  He shares how drawing on your life experience and investing in your relationships can help bring to life your ideals and the ideas you create to...

Sir Tim Smit KBE says, “People won’t get in your way if you do something so big that nobody has any belief that it’s possible.”  He wants people to realise it’s never too late to become the person they once dreamed they could be.  Sir Tim shares how dreaming big, developing your own voice, and telling stories that excite can make us come alive, like water to parched flowers. Further inspiration Si...

Run through walls to make it happen.  “Writing people off as naïve for thinking they can solve a problem is to underestimate the power of spirit, human innovation, and human resilience.”  Will Hayler, CEO & Co-Founder of Blue Earth , shares how he developed his adventurous spirit for tackling society’s toughest challenges through business - from equality to wellbeing - and the practical lesson...

We have to keep resisting!  Kim Polman won’t be complacent. In this episode she shares why she speaks up in uncomfortable spaces knowing that the ancient, universal principle she champions - treat others and the planet as we wish to be treated - is essential to us creating goodness in our world. Just the thing to keep you going if your ideas have ever been called naïve.   With Kim Polman - Co-Foun...