Reasons Revisited

Hello! We're getting technical in this episode, we're finding out why many are claiming blockchain to be the technology which could free us from monopolies and grant us better democracy. Samer Hassan, researcher at Harvard University and UCM in Madrid, and Alice Casey, Head of New Operating Models, Nesta, join us and get us up to speed with what blockchain is all about and whether the hype is true...

Hello! This week we're talking Social Enterprise, the companies whose primary reason for existing is not profit but social or environmental purpose. Karen Lynch, CEO of Belu (formerly of Barclays) and Peter Holbrook, CEO of Social Enterprise UK, join us to tell us why social enterprise works for business and society and how we can have more of them in the Geoffocracy. AND Comedian and Author Jo Bu...

This week we’re talking education and what the big vision should be at our live show at The Politics Festival. We’re joined by Melissa Benn, author of forthcoming book Life Lessons: The Case For A National Education Service and Holly Rigby, a teacher in inner London, who make the case for a broad, lifelong education. Plus comedian Aisling Bea on what we can learn from Love Island, why we need to g...

Hello! This week we're back to technology, but looking at how it can benefit humanity. Through open platforms and open data, handing the power back to the population can allow some very positive outcomes. We speak to Greta Byrum, Francesca Bria and Adam Greenfield to find out how it's working around the world and what we could try here. AND Comedian Cariad Lloyd brings us her (and her husband's) i...

Hello! This episode, like the companies we're talking about, is owned by everyone who works for it. Cooperative ownership allows the workers to own a stake in the businesses they're working for, allowing them more autonomy and reward for its successes and the understanding and responsibility to help when it's failing. Our guests Joe Guinan from the Democracy Collaborative and Ander Etxeberria from...

Hello! This week we've looked up from our phones to look down at the generation of children addicted to theirs. In the wild west of the internet, children aren't as safe as you may hope and it's not just from adult content. Our guests this week Baroness Beeban Kidron, founder of 5Rights Foundation, and Dr Richard Graham, a Consultant Adolescent Psychiatrist, explain why treating children as adults...

Hello! This week we discuss the issue of "boys jobs" and "girls jobs" and how men being under-represented in care roles and women being under-represented in the sciences is a self-fulfilling prophecy taught from an early age. We're joined by scientist Nia John, Carole Easton of the Young Women’s Trust and Australian gender equality supremo Libby Lyons to discuss the proactive ways we can achi...

Hello! Could providing more services free at the point of access (like the NHS and education) relieve need and tackle inequality? Our guests Henrietta Moore and Jonathan Portes think so and we hear from academic Oded Cats on how one idea — free local transport — has worked elsewhere.   AND  Comedian Stuart Goldsmith wants to paint the town pink, artist salaries, Japanese plane board...

Hello. We started our Festival tour at ‘How The Light Gets In’ at Hay-on-Wye, joined by Doughnut Economics author Kate Raworth. Listen to a fascinating discussion about how we think about economic success, going beyond economic growth to the environment, care, fairness and everything else that matters! AND Comedian Rachel Parris wants legislation for women's toilets, some Internet downtime, jigsaw...

Hello! This week we went on an outing to speak to Lord David Willetts about the Resolution Foundation's new report into how to tackle the crisis in wealth, housing and life chances facing the younger generation and how to build political support for these ideas. AND Comedian sisters Flo & Joan recommend a service industry national service, school band for everyone and deanonymising social medi...

Hello. There is a quiet crisis in our justice system: barristers striking, courts creaking, defendants being denied a fair hearing and victims being callously disregarded. It's high time to talk about what has caused it and what we do to fix it? We have best-selling (anonymous) author, The Secret Barrister, and Penelope Gibbs from Transform Justice to give answers. AND Comedian Alfie Brown joins u...

Hello. This week we are talking about over-consumption of meat which is bad for climate change, animal welfare and our health. Our guests Clare Oxborrow and Sam Calvert tell us what needs to change plus pioneering farmer Illtud Dunsford on whether lab-grown meat is an answer. AND Comedian Steve Bugeja brings his ideas including normal life politicians, BA in Crime and quantitative easing for the p...

Hello. We’re on the road again—this time in Sheffield at the Festival of Debate. We’re asking what’s to be done about our universities? Our guests Jo Grady, Joshua Forstenzer and Mark Leach want to rescue the public purpose of Universities from the tyranny of the market’s high fees, casualised staff, distorted assessments of research and teaching, and frustrated students.  Plus we're joined b...

Hello! Sometimes a relationship doesn't work (no, this isn't about Ed and Geoff) and divorce is the only option, but current rules mean that blame has to be thrown around to make it happen, even if that is the last thing the couple (or their children) need. Ayesha Vardag, Nigel Shepherd and Chris Sherwood join us to discuss the case for "no-fault" divorce AND Comedian Catherine Bohart wants some c...

Hello! An extra treat this week for you all. Do pirates deserve to be remembered as fondly as the Levellers? We spoke to Sam Conniff Allende about his new book Be More Pirate, which reexamines the myths and legends around pirates and how we can apply the pirate principles of breaking and rewriting the rules to the modern world. From cooperatives to equal marriage, storytelling to insurance, the tr...

Hello! This week we look at the most urgent political challenge of all: climate change. Our all-star cast of guests tells us where we are, what the challenge looks like from the one of the most extraordinary parts of our planet, the Arctic, and how we convince people to act with a vision of a better world. With Christiana Figueres, the architect of the historic Paris 2015 agreement,. Kim Holmen, h...

Hello! We've been on an adventure again, this time to see the wonderful city of Bristol. With a live audience, we talked about Gentrification and how NOT to price out the locals from their neighbourhoods as a place becomes "cool", "edgy" and "vibrant". Is there more that can be done? Our guests Chris Chalkley, Cllr Paul Smith, Professor Antonia Layard and Delroy Hibbert share their expertise.&nbsp...

Hello! We're on the road again and this time we've come to Liverpool. On this episode, you'll hear inspiring stories from Theresa MacDermott, Cllr Matthew Brown and Neil McInroy (CLES) about the way people can regenerate and transform their communities and build local businesses and wealth. AND  Comedian Tez Ilyas wants slides, a promotion to Doctor and to disprove flat-earthers. CONTACT US r...

Hello! Our technology is watching us. We know that now. But what does it all mean? And is there a way to stop companies collecting and selling our data without our knowledge? Our guests Shoshana Zuboff, Aral Balkan and Mat Lawrence join us to explain why we should be concerned and what can be done. AND Comedian Jamali Maddix wants a shorter work day, kids banned from pubs and greater access to all...

Hello! For richer, for poorer... the vast inequality of wealth in Britain won't get any better on its own. So, here's an idea... A sovereign or social wealth fund. Other countries have successfully saved the money made from natural resources, invested wisely, and been able to put the resources to productive use, even providing their citizens with a regular share of the income. We're joined by&nbsp...

Hello. So many people are, rightly, deeply troubled by the rise in homelessness. People are living on the streets, or with friends and family, or in bed and breakfast accommodation. But there is something that can be done. Juha Kaakinen tells us how ‘Housing First’ has worked in Finland, plus Matthew Downie from Crisis, and Rebecca Evans AM. AND  Comedian Helen Keen brings space trips, coach...

Hello! What links some of the highest cost house prices, criminals and islands thousands of miles away? Dirty money and tax havens. We speak to Luke Harding, Tom Burgis and Naomi Hirst about the damage being done and how the UK can stop being a home for laundered money. AND Comedian Pippa Evans talks to a witch on a bus, shares sandwiches and takes a peek at what you're listening to.   CONTAC...

Hello! If there's something strange in your workplace, who are you going to call? Trade Unions! But with the decline in membership over decades, power has tilted towards employers, meaning worse working conditions and pay. How do we persuade people to join and the bosses to take them seriously? We're joined by Antonia Bance, Head of Campaigns and Communications, TUC, Nat Whalley, Executive Directo...

Hello! We're on a bus with Cat Hobbs, Director of We Own It, and our transport expert Nicole Badstuber returns. There's more to buses than fighting for the second deck front window seat. With 5 billion journeys made per year in the UK, we're owed a service that works. But millions of us just don't have one and it hardly ever gets discussed. We find out why and what needs to be done.&nbsp...

Hello! This week we're sitting down, facing the front of class, and taking notes as James Graham, Jez Bennett and Madeleine Holt teach us how we're failing to tutor the next generation adequately, in particular failing to put creativity at the centre of the curriculum. They tell us what needs to be done. AND Comedian Alice Fraser joins us to put forward the case for sex licenses, house swappi...