Why is it Like That?

What if the economy wasn’t something we had to endlessly grow, but something we had to balance? In this episode, economist Kate Raworth challenges the way we’ve been taught to think about economic success and introduces the idea of Doughnut Economics, a model that focuses on meeting human needs while staying within the planet’s ecological limits. Kate explains why endless growth has become the mis...

How do we measure a good life, and what if we’ve been getting it wrong? In this episode, Lhatu  Lhatu, Director of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Centre explores a radically different approach to progress—one that prioritises wellbeing, community, and environmental balance over economic output. Lhatu shares how Bhutan measures national happiness across multiple domains, why GDP falls short, and...

How do narratives of the past affect our understanding of the present? Designer and filmmaker Alison Page explores reframes the first encounter between Captain Cook and the Dharawal people at Kamay through an Aboriginal lens, showing how story, ceremony and connection to Country carry deep environmental and systems knowledge. This episode looks at how two worldviews collided, then and now, what wa...

What if the apps you continuously scroll through and the products you use every day are quietly shaping your choices and changing your mind? Designer Mike Monteiro pokes and prodes at the deisgn world, unpacking the hidden impact of the design world, from digital screens to everyday objects. This episode explores how design can manipulate (or empower) each and every one of us, and asks why do desi...

What if the answers to our biggest human challenges, from loneliness, death and sustainability, were hidden in the soil? Artist and author Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez explores how fungi-model communication, cooperation, and resilience reveal telling lessons for humans that stretch far beyond the forest floor or mushroom sauce.  Yasmine is the founder of Futures Materials Bank and director of the G...

Please note: This episode contains discussions of depression and suicidal thoughts, which may be distressing to some listeners. If you need to reach out for support, you can contact Lifeline 24 hours a day on 13-11-14. After facing deep personal despair, Dr Paul Callaghan found healing and purpose through Aboriginal law, culture, and connection to Country. In this powerful conversation, Paul share...

Please note: This episode was recorded on the road, so the audio may sound a little different from our usual in-studio recordings. Clothes are worn by everyone, yet the fashion industry is built on systems of exploitation and exclusion. Co-founder of Fashion Revolution, Orsola de Castro, exposes the industry's dark history, from the chemical-laden disaster of distressed denim to the human misery h...

Humans have a tendency to be stuck in their own perspective of the world, and when it comes to designing products and services, this means excluding all the other species that share the Earth with us. But what if we could design for all species and include all the more-than-humans? Damian Lutz is a multidisciplinary designer helping to pioneer a new approach to design called life-centric design th...

We are living our lives more and more online, outsourcing our thinking to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and being sucked into digital systems designed to keep us enthralled, but how are the hidden costs of these systems and why should we all be more considerate of the impacts that they are having on our lives, and the planet? In this episode, UX designer Thorston Jonas exposes many of the insidious...

According to Marine conservationist Joe Roman, whale poop is like snowflakes—no two poops are the same, and they are all individually beautiful. In this episode, we explore the many ways whales are a keystone species for the oceans, helping to fight climate change, cycle nutrients and even helping humans smell better!  Joe Roman is a conservation biologist and author of Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals...

Waste is a luxury for some that comes at the cost of others. For many people, waste is so externalised that they have very little knowledge of just how bad the global waste crisis is and where the things we discard end up. But Betty Adjei knows firsthand and is leading pivotal projects across Africa to change the way people relate to waste.  Betty Adjei is a storyteller and leading voice in the ci...

We live in a very human-centric world, which can become myopic at times. Philosopher Francesca Fernando helps us push through anthropocentrism into the macro world of the possibility of what posthumanism can offer us. Expect your mind to melt in this episode as we explore the world we are in, and the ways we can all envisage better modes of being within it.  Dr. ​Francesca Ferrando is an Award-Win...

Welcome to Why Is It Like That? hosted by designer and social scientist Leyla Acaroglu. Join fascinating thinkers from science, design, and beyond as we explore quirky, counterintuitive questions about the world. Surprising insights, humour, and big ideas, all in one show that invites you to see life differently, one question at a time.