The New Abnormal

Series Two  In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal series, I interviewed the billion-streamed, multi-platinum songwriter and producer Martin Jensen, who topped off a crazy year as an X-Factor judge.  Martin’s breakthrough 'Solo Dance' had over a million streams daily upon its release and was the second-most played track of the past decade across BBC Radio 1, as well as going 8x platinum with...

Series Two This episode of #TheNewAbnormal features an interview with Taji Chesimet, who is an activist, advocate, and student.  He's Executive Director of 'Raising Justice' a nonprofit organization actively working to dismantle systems that deny young people their basic public safety. Their work combines Policy Advocacy, Grassroots Organizing and Education and Training that proves...

Series Four  This episode of 'The New Abnormal' podcast features Jenny Southan, who is Editor, Founder and CEO of Globetrender, the world's leading travel trend forecasting agency and online magazine dedicated to the future of travel. She's also an award-winning freelance travel journalist, contributing to the likes of Conde Nast Traveller, LUX, Baku, The Telegraph, Monocle, Mr...

Series Three This episode of #TheNewAbnormal features James Bidwell, co-founder/Chair of B Corps, Re_Set and Springwise. He's also author of 'Disrupt! 100 Lessons in Business Innovation'.  (Re_Set [described by Seth Godin as “too good to share”] and Springwise are both B Corps). James advises many businesses and several government organisations. He is a visiting lecturer at the Univ...

Series Two  This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features the author & philosopher Ian Olasov.  An adjunct professor and doctoral candidate at the City University of New York, he's twice won the American Philosophical Association's Public Philosophy Op-Ed Prize.  He's also the author of "Ask a Philosopher: answers to the most important - and unexpected - questions"...

Series Three In this episode of 'The New Abnormal' podcast I interview Chris Mayer, Assoc Dean for Strategy & Initiatives at West Point Military Academy in the USA.   We discuss his belief that the intersecting futures of higher education, work, and leadership (and the uncertainty associated with these intersecting futures) will create challenges and opportunities for people and orga...

Series Two  In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast, I interview the dynamic Lucy von Sturmer,  founder of thought leadership agency The Humblebrag and Co-Initiator of global network Creatives for Climate.  The Humblebrag works with some of Europe’s best agencies, brands, artists and sustainable fashion initiatives to use the power of ideas, opinions and creativity to challenge the status quo a...

Series Three In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interview the cultural strategist Amy Daroukakis, who "inspires teams, keep brands culturally relevant and re-imagines products, communication and design".   She's worked across a wide range of sectors, including Retail (Target), Luxury (LVMH), Social (Facebook), Automotive (Hertz), Insurtech (Coya), FMCG (Danone), Hospitality (Park...

Series Three This episode of 'The New Abnormal' podcast features Art Kleiner, a renowned expert on management thinking, thought leadership, organisational learning and scenario planning.  In his new book 'The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology' he illuminates a belief that AI holds incredible promise to improve virtually every aspect of our lives, but we can&ap...

Series Two  In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interviewed Dermot McPartland, Creative Director of Nederlander Studios NYC.  He instigates cultural interventions for brands; doing things rather than making things, an assembler, a curator and an event organiser.  A resolutely proud member of the London Irish diaspora, his background spans twenty years in publishing, advertising, activism, public...

Series Three This episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Luca Morena, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO at Nextatlas. They're a leader in the global market of digitally empowered marketing intelligence and trend anticipation services, who use unique AI focused early adopter detection to reveal evolving consumer behaviour and provide confident trend prediction for what you can’t see on the h...

Series Three This episode of 'The New Abnormal' features Nick Shackleton-Jones, HR Director / Learning at Deloitte UK.  He's also the author of 'How People Learn' and has a revolutionary perspective on...how we learn.  Nick began professional life as a psychology lecturer (having studied psychology and philosophy at university) and has since worked for major consultancies...

Series Two In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interviewed Tamira Snell, Senior Advisor at the renowned Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.   CIFS equip and inspire individuals and organisations, decision-makers and the public, to act on the future, today. She's an expert advisor who guides organisations in exploratory insight and innovation processes. With a background in cultural so...

Series Two This episode of 'The New Abnormal' features Livia Fioretti, Head of Insights Academy at TrendWatching. She's ex-head of their amazing Global Insights Network, made up of 900+ professionals and trend enthusiasts across 80+ countries, that helps clients understand what's happening across regions as well as different cultures.  Livia's responsible for leading a glo...

Series Two In this episode of 'The New Abnormal' I interview Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK, the national charity working towards a tolerant world where rational thinking and kindness prevail.  He's also President of Humanists International, the global umbrella organisation for humanist and other non-religious organisations, building the international humanist networ...

Series Three This episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features the renowned design anthropologist and psychologist  Anna Kirah. She's an expert in pioneering qualitative research methods used to gather deep insights to understand people's motivations and expectations as well as their articulated and unarticulated needs, and to link this understanding to the design of services, products an...

Series Two  In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interview Alex Durussel-Baker.  The founder of CreativeMornings/Edinburgh, she's also a certified Design Sprint coach, an award-winning UX designer, produces awareness campaign @diabetesbydesign and is a coach at Tribe Women.   With a background in startups and agency design, she founded Korero Studio - a design collective that brings together...

Series Two This episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Lore Oxford, Global Head of Cultural Insights at We Are Social, where she combines academic research methods with a digital-first approach to understand and track culture on a global scale.  Her work is designed to unearth cutting edge insights that drive cultural impact for multinational brands inc Guinness, Bumble, adidas and Instagram....

Series Two  In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interviewed Chris Sanderson, co-founder of The Future Laboratory, one of the world's most renowned futures consultancies.  Via their unique blend of trend forecasting, consumer insights, foresight, brand strategy and innovation, they inspire and future-proof organisations. Clients include Louis Vuitton, Google, L'Oreal, Facebook, Diageo,...

Series Two In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interview Matt Klein. He's a Cultural Theorist + CyberPsychologist + Strategist who helps organisations understand emerging social shifts and author preferred futures.  As a quantitative futurist, Matt advises brands like Disney, L'Oréal and American Airlines, as well as TV producers, VC investors, startups, nonprofits, government agencies...

Series Two  In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interview Lydia Caldana, a global brand strategist, trend forecaster and consumer insights analyst.  She identifies emerging behaviours and technologies that guide macro shifts in society to help brands navigate change and develop long-lasting relationships with consumers. Working on strategic projects that answer “what is the future of..?” her res...

Series Two  In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interview Felix De Laet aka Lost Frequencies, who would normally be found manning a DJ booth somewhere in Paris, Tokyo, Berlin or New York.   The global pandemic put a stop to that - but he didn't sit around watching TV.  Instead, he performed a spectacular show  on the roof of the Royal Palace in Brussels, and remixed music for the likes of M...

Series Two  In this episode of The New Abnormal,  I interview Elodie Marteau, a Paris-based foresight strategist & cultural analyst, who helps businesses identify cultural opportunities to future-proof their brand strategy.  Her viewpoints have been published by a wide range of organisations including the Fashion Network, LS:N Global, Trend Atelier, Canvas8 and the Global Scanning Review c/o t...

Series Three In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast, I interview Andy Crysell, Founder & CEO at Crowd DNA, the dynamic cultural insights and strategy consultancy who have offices in London, Amsterdam, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Stockholm and Los Angeles.  Formed in 2008, and operating across 70+ markets, they bring together trends specialists, researchers, strategists, data analysts, des...

Series Two In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast, I interview Mark Shayler, owner at Ape.  He's a  Thinker / Doer / Creator / Speaker / Author,  who helps companies grow sustainably by developing people, strategies and brand - whilst reducing impact. (Mark has saved his clients in excess of £120,000,000). He's also  author of the excellent books "Do Disrupt" and "Do P...