Reasons Revisited

Hello! Advances in technology are enabling new ways to monitor and manage people at work. How can we ensure workers don’t lose out from the rise of ‘algorithmic management’? Future of work expert Beth Gutelius tells us about a Californian law cracking down on issues in the warehouse industry. Then Anna Thomas from the Institute for the Future of Work and Mary Towers from the TUC talk us through th...

Hello! This week we’re getting our heads around the mind-boggling world of digital currencies. The Guardian’s UK tech editor Alex Hern answers our questions about Bitcoin — from how it actually works to its extraordinarily high energy use. Josh Ryan-Collins from UCL tells us why the Bank of England is exploring introducing its own digital currency. And Rachel Statham from IPPR explains why the dis...

Hello! We’re celebrating the start of September with an episode on rewilding — the idea of restoring eco-systems so nature can take care of itself. Alastair Driver from Rewilding Britain talks us through what it is and how to make it happen. Steve Micklewright explains how Trees for Life is rewilding parts of the Scottish Highlands. And Jan Stannard from Heal Rewilding talks about their plans to m...

Hello! For the final part of our special series on this year’s COP 26 climate summit, we’re exploring how the climate movement is pushing world leaders to act. Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate tells us about her journey into activism and what she is calling for now. Then Tommy Vickerstaff from  350.org  explains how we can all get involved in campaigning around the COP. Hosted on...

Hello! For the latest stage of our journey through the world of COP 26, we’re exploring the politics of the climate summit. Experts Pete Betts, Farhana Yamin and Saleemul Huq are back to talk us through the outcomes we need from COP 26 and the challenges in making them happen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello! In the second episode of our series on the COP 26 climate summit, we’re exploring what’s at stake in tackling the climate crisis. Scientist Emily Shuckburgh explains the need for urgent action. Then Saleemul Huq from the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh and former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed talk about how the climate crisis is impacting co...

Hello! For the next few weeks we’re treating you to some special episodes about COP 26, the crucial climate summit taking place in Glasgow this November. First, we're talking through the basics and asking how on earth we got to where we are today. Author Alice Bell gives a whistle-stop history of our understanding of the climate crisis and the political response to it. Then two COP veterans, clima...

Hello! We spend lots of time exploring great ideas around the world but this week we’re looking closer to home. It’s Reasons to be Welsh! First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford tells us about where the Welsh Government is leading the way on innovative ideas from tackling the climate crisis to inequality, the importance of devolution in making it happen AND his love of cheese. Then we catch up with...

Hello! Lee-doh or ly-doh? We’re asking the big questions about the lido revival taking place across the UK. Many towns and cities saw their outdoor pools close during the twentieth century but lidos are back on the up. Journalist Chris Beanland talks us through the history here and around the world. Emma Pusill tells us about the amazing community groups taking lidos into their own hands. And we c...

Hello! It’s our 200th episode! We’re talking about the groundbreaking Environmental Justice Commission, which has just published an ambitious plan for putting fairness at the heart of tackling the climate crisis. Caroline Lucas and Hilary Benn, two of the co-chairs of the commission, talk us through some of the key ideas. Then Paul Nowak from the TUC explains why it is vital to put the interests a...

Hello! How can we properly switch off from work in an era of phones, email and remote working? We’re exploring the ‘right to disconnect’ — the idea that people should have a right to disengage from messages and calls outside of their working hours. Professor Anna Cox explains the importance of work-life boundaries. Andrew Pakes from the Prospect Union tells us what a right to disconnect could look...

Hello! How can we ensure everyone has access to the essentials for a decent life? A coalition of campaigners argue we need a new ‘Social Guarantee’ based on three pillars: living wage jobs, universal public services, and fixing our safety net with a living income. We talk  through the idea and how to make it happen with Social Guarantee expert Maeve Cohen who tells us about the thinking...

Hello! For the final week of our Go Big podcast book tour, we’re talking to incredible people successfully campaigning for change around the world. Ali Abdi and Elbashir Idris talk about the campaign for the first Halal Nando’s in Cardiff and the amazing community activism fighting for social justice that it inspired. Fast food worker and union activist Adriana Alvarez tells us about the remarkabl...

Hello! It’s the third episode of our podcast book tour, exploring ideas from Ed’s new book ‘Go Big’. We're revisiting citizens’ assemblies and the role they could play in repairing our democracy. Experts Graham Smith, Archon Fung and Becky Willis talk us through what citizens’ assemblies are, where they’re being used, and how they fit into the wider need for participation and deliberation in polit...

Hello! From New Zealand to Finland, countries are experimenting with alternatives to using gross domestic product (GDP) as the primary measure of national success. For our second special episode on ideas from Ed’s book Go Big , we’re asking: could changing what we measure help to transform the economy? Katherine Trebeck from the Wellbeing Economy Alliance talks us through the recent developments....

Hello! For the next few episodes we’re going big with some of the ideas from Ed’s new book, Go Big . This week: could better parental leave for dads help promote gender equality? Icelandic Prime Minister and friend of the pod Katrín Jakobsdóttir explains Iceland’s world-leading approach. Then Molly Mayer from the Fawcett Society and Jeremy Davies from the Fatherhood Institute talk us through where...

It’s the big day! Ed’s book ‘ Go Big: How to Fix Our World ’ is out now. To celebrate, here’s an extract from the audiobook read by Ed. Buy the audiobook here:  https://adbl.co/31yPi9O Buy the book from your favourite bookshop or online:  https://bit.ly/3u9CVOL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello! A big theme of the podcast has been the need for big change. We’re chatting to two people with really interesting perspectives on that. FT writer Martin Sandbu talks about why this is a moment that demands a transformation of our economy and what it could look like. Then Heather McGhee, one of the leading thinkers on the US left, talks about her new book on building coalitions for progressi...

Hello! We’re talking buses with King of the North AKA Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. Back in March, Andy announced plans to bring the region’s buses under public control. We ask him what that will mean and what it shows about the power of devolution. Then Pascale Robinson from Better Buses for Greater Manchester talks about campaigning for the change. And transport expert Ian Taylor tal...

Hello! For the last few years, Preston has been pioneering a bold experiment in how to create a fairer local economy. What can we learn from their ‘community wealth building’ approach? Preston City Council leader Matthew Brown is back to tell us about how the Preston model is taking shape. Tony Greenham from South West Mutual explains how a new generation of regional banks can support the agenda....

Hello! We’re incredibly excited to be talking to one of our favourite authors, Michael Lewis, about his new book,  The Premonition: A Pandemic Story.  He explores what went wrong in the US response to coronavirus through the lives of a number of people at the heart of pandemic planning. We chat to Michael about what he discovered, his approach to writing, and how he finds such compelling...

Hello! We’re talking about football… but not just about football. Hot on the heels of the European Super League fiasco we’re exploring ideas to change where power lies in football - and asking what they mean for society more widely. Uli Hesse tells us about the ‘50+1’ rule in Germany. Thomas Hanna from The Democracy Collaborative and Vidhya Alakeson from Power to Change explain how to promote fan...

Hello! This week we're exploring a vision for how we can address the environmental crisis and build a better society in the process. Friends of the pod Mat Lawrence and Laurie Laybourn-Langton are back to chat about  Planet on Fire  - their 'manifesto for the age of environmental breakdown'. Then climate justice activist Dominique Palmer talks about building a movement to push for this k...

Hello! President Biden sparked a major debate when he described spending on social care and childcare as an investment in infrastructure. We’re exploring why the question of what counts as ‘infrastructure’ really matters. US policy expert Julie Kashen talks us through the US infrastructure debate then Professor Sue Himmelweit from the Women’s Budget Group explains why it could have far-reaching im...

Hello! Finland has just been named the world’s happiest country for the fourth year running. To celebrate, we’re going on a virtual Nordic trip to explore the secrets behind their success. We ask Finnish journalist Anu Partanen and authors of ‘Finntopia’ Danny Dorling and Annika Koljonen what we can learn from Finland about how to build a better society. Then we have our first ever president on th...