ChangeMakers

The UK’s Nana’s against Fracking are a grassroots movement that spread across regional UK communities to stop gas fracking. The movement was led by a legion of women who had never, or only at a distance, been involved in making change, but felt compelled to act when they found out about the catastrophic effects of fracking on the environment and community Tina and the Nanas were a magnificent exam...

How on earth can any of us challenge might of authoritarian government? Samuel Chu has been contesting government over-reach and human rights abuses in China, Russia, Belarus and more - and as a US citizen and community organiser has a refreshing take on how we can all contribute to a movement against authoritarianism. In this episode he explores how community organising has helped him think strat...

While we know that too many women live with the ever-present threat of violence our societies seem to struggle with what to do about it. While we have refuges services, and at times the issue is raised in national debate, we seem unable to address the problem at its core. In the UK, Love and Power is a new organisation that is seeking to end vioelcne aganst women by putting women who have expeiren...

If you are in Australia you probably know of Andrew Denton the comedian, but did you know he is also a highly successful changemaker?  In this chat Andrew shares his journey of a life that began in comedy, then ventured into long form interviews with the popular television show “Enough Rope”, then a decade ago took him to a decision to try and change the laws on Voluntary Assisted Dying. Andr...

Mona grew up as a child of refugees fleeing political persecution. Now as an adult in the UK, she has created a new kind of organisation - Revoke - to support people seeking refuge and asylum that builds on her own experience. In this episode of ChangeMakers she tells us about her journey, about the political activism of her parents in Iran, and their work in Denmark as part of a broader refugee c...

What are some of the skills or insights shared by some of America’s extraordinary change makers, people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Alicia Garza or Loretta Ross? In particular, what can these people teach us about how to build larger movements for change? Anand Giridhardhas, author of Persuaders , talks us through what he discovered when he interviewed these and other American change makers. In...

What would it mean if we had local authorities and councils that saw their mission as building relationships with the communities they serve? This week we talk with Nick Kimber, the Director of Strategy and Design at the London Borough of Camden. He has helped create a council that builds relationships with the community it serves in everything that it does, from child protection to garbage collec...

Today we talk with one of the world's leading communication specialists for progressive change. Anat Shenker-Osorio has spend decades working with communities, movements and progressive political candidates across the world helping them to sharpen and improve how they communicate their ideas. Anat brings a deep understanding of change making principles in her work - and today she unpacks where her...

If climate change affects everything - then what do we do to reimagine how we work, live and care for each other? This episode is with Dr Kim Loo - a leading Australian community climate activist and local Sydney-based General Practitioner, who has connected her role as a community doctor and her passion for the natural world to make sure she is building a healthy community for us all.   Here...

As a tribute to the magnificent Andre Braugher and his alter ego Captain Holt - we are re-releasing this episode with Brooklyn 99 writers and cast recorded back in 2018. What can we learn when a Hollywood TV show gets into ChangeMaking? Comedy show Brooklyn 99 took on police racism. How did they do it in a way that people didn’t turn off? We interviewed Terry Crews, Dan Good (Series Creator) and t...

In our last episode for 2023 we bring you an episode from 2021 - recorded in the weeks after the Presidential Election - that explores Deep Canvassing. Deep Canvassing uses the story telling and listening techniques of community organising to talk to voters about how they might vote in an election. It has been shown to be radically effective at engaging and persuading people. It is a very differen...

Today we talk with Anhaar Kareem - a 16 year old Australian woman who is part of the Make it 16 campaign seeking to give young people the vote. She shares her journey into making change - and the influences of he family and the place where she lives. She shares where the campaign came from, why young people feel like they need the vote more than ever, and some of the battles she and others have fa...

Broad based organising in the United Kingdom has a long history - starting with the pioneering work of "TELCO" (The East London Citizens Organisation). In this chat, Emmanuel Gotora - Lead Organiser at TELCO and Assistant Director at Citizens UK shares that story while also sharing his story of his journey into organising. This is an episode about the slow but powerful journey of leadership develo...

They say "don't meet your heroes" but thankfully that isn't always true. Jane McAlevey is one of those people who would call "bullshit" on people calling her a hero - but I'm an Australian - so I say bullshit back. Jane is a fighter - and this conversation with her recorded in 2021 demonstrates that. Jane has taught us many of the rules about how to fight and how to win. Jane is not well (see this...

Chanel Contos joins us on ChangeMakers to discuss her new book Consent Laid Bare and the challenge of how to end rape culture. She shares the journey she took to helping Australia learn about the culture of rape and sexual assault that continues to exist amongst teenagers and how we might go about ending it. Today we talk about the problem and strategies to bring down the pillars that hold up a co...

Let's talk about race. In this chat Gloria Tabi shares her experiences of racism at work in Australia and how she has come to lead change in the workplace around racial exclusion and discrimination. This is a powerful conversation about the brutality of exclusion and about the challenging strategies required to understand and change racism in the workplace. Gloria's organisation - Everyday Inclusi...

Let's talk about race. In this chat Gloria Tabi shares her experiences of racism at work in Australia and how she has come to lead change in the workplace around racial exclusion and discrimination. This is a powerful conversation about the brutality of exclusion and about the challenging strategies required to understand and change racism in the workplace. Gloria's organisation - EVERYDAY INCLUSI...

How do anthropologists use curiosity to see and support people to make change in the world? And what is an anthropologist anyway? In this conversation we talk with Nikita Simpson about how she came to work as an anthropologist, having worked up a curiosity about the similarities and differences between communities and cultures from growing up in a bi-racial family in Australia. She takes us to the...

In this episode from 2021, we look at the power of public servants and how they make change with one of Australia's most senior former public servants - Peter Shergold. In what ways are public servants ChangeMakers, and how can advocacy groups build more powerful relationships with them? This chat is with one of Australia’s most senior former public servants – Peter Shergold – who was a senior off...

What would it take for communities reliant on fossil fuels to be leaders in the climate transition? In this chat Elise Ganley, the National Lead Organiser for the Real Deal for Australia project explores how communities like Gladstone and Geelong are leading the way in designing policies that create an economic transition in ways that are shaped by their interests. Elise lives in Gladstone and gre...

We are all different - but some of these differences are hard to see. That includes differences based on our neurodiversity or our mental health. This conversation is with Jacinta Dietrich the co-host of the Differently Brained podcast. She is autistic and has lived with the challenges of mental health. She co-created a podcast to make a space for people to share how they live differently.  Jacint...

If you are in Australia you might have heard of GetUp, or if you are in the United States you probably know about MoveOn - but you might not be aware that these kinds of digital advocacy movements operate in 20 countries around the world. These groups are linked through a global network called OPEN (Online Progressive Engagement Network) and today we talk with Nina Hall who has written the book ab...

Making change is be invaluable, but without resources it is hard to do. This episode digs into the question of how to raise money to make changemaking happen. We talk with Martha McKenzie the Executive Director of the Civic Power Fund in the United Kingdom. The Civic Power Fund is dedicated to raising resources for community organising - providing seed grants and creating understanding amongst phi...

It’s been one year since the Australian Federal Election that swooped an unprecedented number of community independents into the House of Representatives, and it’s been 10 years since that “Voices for” movement started. In celebration of Voices for Indi, we are sharing this Chat with Nick Haines - in case you missed it (ICYMI). Nick worked on Cathy McGowan’s campaign and his mum Helen Haines is th...

In the 2022 Australian Federal Election the Greens won an unprecedented number of seats in Queensland - producing what came to be known as the “Green Wave.” Max Chandler-Mather was at the centre of that movement - and is now the current Member for Griffith. In this conversation he shares how the Queensland Greens translated community organising techniques into an electoral force.  He shares his un...