Aspen UK

In this episode, Vanessa Griffiths, deputy director of Sustainable Business at the Environment Agency leads a conversation on the future of the countryside with Minette Batters, President of the National Farmers Union; Mark Bridgeman, President of the Country Land & Business Association; Beccy Speight, Chief Executive for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; and Crispin Truman, Chief...

In this episode, Marcus Brigstocke, comedian, actor and broadcaster leads a panel on the future of comedy. He is joined by fellow comedians Stephen K Amos, Simon Evans and Elf Lyons. Together they describe what the Government could be doing to support performers and their industry, discuss why they believe people’s attitudes towards the arts will be “revitalised” post-Covid, and explore how the gr...

A fascinating chat about the future of cities with some of the top experts in the field - Aziza Akhmouch, Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development division of the OECD; Kulveer Ranger, former head of the Digital London Office; and Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG in the UK are in conversation with Andrea Coleman from Bloomberg Philanthropies. They discuss whether Covid is...

In this episode, Dave Haslam, DJ and Author of Life After Dark: A History of British Nightclubs and Music Venues, leads a panel on the future of nightlife. He is joined by Marti Burgess, owner of Lakota (Club) and chair of the Bristol @ Night Panel; Shain Shapiro, CEO of Sound Diplomacy; and Rebecca Swarray aka DJ Mix-Stress, the founder and curator of RebeccaNeverBecky. In this discussion, they e...

In this episode, Baroness Rosie Boycott, chair of Feeding Britain and board member of the Food Foundation; Arif Husain, chief economist and director of research, assessments and monitoring at the United Nations World Food Programme; and Tim Smith, chair of the UK’s Trade and Agriculture Commission join Arthur Potts Dawson, chef and sustainable food innovator for a conversation on the future of foo...

Beirut and its people have still not recovered from the enormous blast that killed 190 people and injured thousands in August 2020. In this episode, Zeina Arida, director of the Sursock Museum in Beirut; Omar Christidis, founder and CEO of Arabnet; Mohamad Kantar, co-founder of Impact Lebanon; and Dr. Zeina Mohanna, board member of Amel Association International discuss the future of Lebanon. The...

In this episode, Lord Richard Allan, former Director of Policy in Europe for Facebook; Dr Victoria Nash, deputy director of the Oxford Internet Institute and Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award talk to Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute about the future of online safety. Together they discuss the role of parents, teachers and children in keeping themselves safe online and bein...

A cultural conversation in partnership with Brunswick Arts.  In this episode, Richard Ovenden, Bodley's Librarian at the University of Oxford and Philippe Sands, author and renowned international lawyer talk about the preservation of knowledge with Caroline Daniel, partner at the Brunswick Group. They discuss why archives matter, explore the lengths individuals and governments go to to destro...

In this episode we discuss the future of ethical capitalism with Sir Ronald Cohen, a preeminent international philanthropist, venture capitalist, private equity investor, and social innovator. He is joined by Gillian Tett, co-founder of the Financial Times’ Moral Money, Chair of the FT Editorial Board in the US, a columnist, author and philanthropist. They discuss how Covid-19 and the current poli...

In this conversation, Angie Hobbs, professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield and Mary Ann Sieghart, visiting fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and former Assistant Editor at The Times discuss the ethical challenges of Covid-19. They explore the ethical frameworks that could have been used to decide how the government dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic, stre...

In this episode, Michael Eisner, former chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company is in conversation with Alan Yentob, BBC TV executive, producer and presenter. They discuss the importance of technology and the impact it has had, and will continue to have, on our ability to communicate, Michael shares the advice he would give to a young person trying to make it in the entertainment industry. The...

In this episode we discuss the future of feminism with Professor Rosie Campbell, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights and Philippa Thomas, presenter at BBC World News. Together they discuss whether progress towards greater gender equality will be...

Never has international cooperation been needed more but in an increasingly connected world are some foreign policies becoming less connected, and are some individual nations closing in on themselves? In this episode, Baroness Catherine Ashton, former EU Foreign Affairs Minister; Brett Bruen, president, Global Situation Room and Tom Fletcher, visiting professor at New York University and former Fo...

This episode is in collaboration with UK Youth How do young people think the future is going to plan out for them? In this episode, Ndidi Okezie, CEO of UK Youth leads a conversation on the future for youth. She is joined by Olivia Disley of Wigan Youth Zone, Ty Goddard, director of the Education Foundation, Jermain Jackman, singer, songwriter and co-chair of Hackney Young Futures and Ella Roberts...

With so much at stake in our world the future direction of our leading political party is crucial. Lord Daniel Finkelstein, journalist, politician and The Times columnist leads a conversation on the future of Conservatism. He is joined by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, MP for Chingford & Woodford Green; Amber Rudd, former MP and Home Secretary, and Nick Timothy, former adviser to Theresa May and autho...

In this episode, a group of renowned innovators and entrepreneurs discuss the future of innovation. Led by Toby Coppel, the co-founder of Mosaic Ventures, they also include Sherry Coutu CBE, founder and chair, Founders4Schools and founder of the Scaleup Institute; Brent Hoberman CBE, co-founder and executive chairman of the Founders Forum, and Rob Chapman, CEO of Founders Intelligence. Together th...

As many of us are adjusting to a new normal work life, will working from home be one of the lasting legacies of the coronavirus pandemic? In this episode, Omar Abbosh, former chief executive of communications, media and technology at Accenture and Jonas Prising, chairman and CEO of the ManpowerGroup talk to Heather Landy, executive editor of Quartz about the future of work. They discuss the import...

In this episode, we discuss the future of relations with China with Isabel Hilton, CEO of The China Dialogue Institute; Lord Peter Mandelson, Chairman of Global Counsel, Former EU Trade Commissioner and First Secretary of State; and Simon Shen, International Relations scholar. They are in conversation with Rosie Blau, Editor of 1843 Magazine and former China Correspondent at The Economist. Togethe...

In this episode, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright joins Aspen UK’s Chairman Ed Williams for a conversation on democracy during and after Covid-19. They discuss international systems, whether Covid-19 is driving a further nail in the coffin of multilateralism, describe America's role in the world and explore where we can find the next generation of global leaders.  Madeleine’s l...

In this episode we discuss the future of learning with Andria Zafirakou MBE, the winner of the Global Teacher Prize in 2018; Sam Butters, CEO of the Fair Education Alliance; Simon Nelson, CEO of Futurelearn; and Vikas Pota, Honorary Lecturer at UCL Institute of Education. They are in conversation with Amy Baker, the CEO of the PIE (Professionals in International Education) discussing what the curr...

Are you happy? A simple question that many of us are still unable to answer without some ambiguity. In this conversation Professor Lord Richard Layard, economist and best-selling author of “Can We Be Happier?” (2020) talks about the evidence base for positive psychology with BBC news presenter, executive coach, and psychology researcher Philippa Thomas. Together they discuss how society can be mad...

Since the murder of George Floyd many communities have been reflecting on both individual and systemic racism. In this special conversation, we talk with a panel of emerging black leaders from different walks of life about changes that can and should be made across sectors in the UK including politics, technology and finance. Dayo Okewale, chief of staff at the House of Lords, leads the discussion...

In this episode Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and author of ‘Red Notice’ and Sir Anthony Brenton, former UK Ambassador to Moscow talk about engagement with Russia. With Caroline Wyatt, BBC news presenter and former Moscow correspondent they talk about the global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, analyse Putin’s regime, and discuss why it is important for the UK to have a...

In this discussion, Paul Lindley OBE, founder of Ella’s Kitchen, Amy Clarke, chief impact officer at Tribe Impact Capital and Mike Barry co-chair of CGF Sustainability Steering Group explore the future of ethical business, moderated by David Bentley, CEO of Porter Novelli. Together they discuss how the covid-19 crisis will help businesses have a more ‘human lens’ on what is ethical, and describes...

A cultural conversation in partnership with Brunswick Arts.  In this episode, Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum and Olafur Eliasson, artist and founder of Studio Olafur Eliasson talk to Caroline Daniel, partner at Brunswick about the future of things. Together they describe what ‘things’ mean to them and why they matter, explore why objects have many voices and stories to share, and...