Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Barbara Kellerman – the Founding Executive Director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, and a member of the Kennedy School faculty for over twenty years.

A world-leading authority on the subject of leadership, Barbara has held professorships at Fordham, Tufts, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Washington, Uppsala, Dartmouth, and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and she is the cofounder of the International Leadership Association (ILA).

Having received the Wilbur M. McFeeley award by the National Management Association for her pioneering work on leadership and followership, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Leadership Association, Barbara has spoken to audiences all around the world, and has appeared on media outlets including CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, NPR, MSNBC, Reuters, and the BBC.

Alongside articles for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and the Harvard Business Review, Barbara has authored many books including Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence (2010);  Professionalizing Leadership (2018), and Leaders Who Lust: Power, Money, Sex, Success, Legitimacy, Legacy (co-authored with Todd Pittinsky). Her new book, The Enablers: How Team Trump Flunked the Pandemic and Failed America, is now out.

Recorded on 19th January 2021.

65. Leadership, Followership & The Power Of Context / Barbara Kellerman

Today I speak with the inimitable Brian Solis, a world-renowned digital anthropologist and futurist. An award-winning author and global keynote speaker, Brian’s research, advisory and presentations humanise the relationship between disruptive innovation and its impact on institutions, markets and societies.

He not only helps audiences understand what’s happening and why, he also visualises future trends and inspires people to take leading roles in defining the future they want to see. Brian serves as Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, and his work focuses on thought leadership and research that explores digital transformation, innovation and disruption, customer experience, commerce, and the cognitive enterprise.

He has advised leading brands, celebrities, and startups, and his ideas and work are consistently featured in the press. A regular contributor to leading business and industry publications including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, CMO.com, Adweek and others, Brian is also an official LinkedIn Influencer. His work is followed by over 700,000 people across social media.

Recorded on 24th February 2021.

66. Technology, Adaptation & The Future Of Employee Experience / Brian Solis

Today, I speak with Cindy Gallop, founder & CEO of Make Love Not Porn, the world’s first user-generated, human-curated social sex platform which is ‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference’.

With over 30 years of experience in brand building, marketing and entrepreneurialism, Cindy is a brand and business innovator, consultant, coach and keynote speaker, who works with those who want to change the game in their particular sector.

From brand and business innovation, leadership and advertising, to sextech, social responsibility and diversity and inclusion, Cindy has worked with some of the biggest brands across a gamut of industries, and her unique approach has seen her reach audiences around the world, with her 2009 TED talk, Make love, not porn, attracting over 2.6 million views.

Summarising her style as, “I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business,” Cindy takes a radical, innovative and transformative approach to helping clients envision and achieve their futures, whether in leadership, branding, or in creating more gender-equal, diverse and inclusive workplaces.

Recorded on 15th January 2021.

67. Sex, Business & Revolutionizing Workplace Diversity / Cindy Gallop

In this conversation, I speak with a great friend of the show, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Professor of Business Psychology at University College London and Columbia University, Tomas is an international authority in psychological profiling, talent management, leadership development, and people analytics.

An incisive and prolific writer, he is also the author of a wide-range of brilliant books, the most recent of which, Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It), was transformed into a TED talk of the same name, which has racked up over 1.3m views.

Currently the Chief Talent Scientist at Manpower Group, and co-founder of Deeper Signals and Metaprofiling, Tomas is also an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab, and his commercial work focuses on the creation of science-based tools that improve organisations’ abilities to predict performance, and people’s abilities to understand themselves.

Tomas has previously held academic positions at New York University and the London School of Economics, and frequently lectures at Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, London Business School, and IMD, as well as being the co-founder and CEO of BrazenX and the former CEO at Hogan Assessment Systems.

Recorded on 27th November 2020.

68. Motivation, Competence & How To Attract The Best Talent / Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Today I speak with Rita Clifton CBE – a global brand expert and former Chair of Interbrand, described by the Financial Times as a ‘Brand guru’, and by Campaign magazine as ‘The doyenne of branding’. Alongside her board chairing and non-executive roles, Rita is a writer, keynote speaker, conference chair and practitioner on all aspects of brands, branding and business leadership.

A regular columnist and media commentator, Rita is the author of several books, including the best-selling title The Future of Brands, two editions of The Economist book Brands and Branding, and her new book, Love Your Imposter, which explores new types of business leadership and how we might take  our imposter self and use it as a driver to come out stronger.

Having worked as the Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, the London CEO and Chair of Interbrand, and as co-founder of BrandCap, in 2014 Rita received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list, and is now a portfolio chair and non-executive director on the board of businesses including John Lewis Partnership, Nationwide Building Society and Ascential plc.

Previous boards have included ASOS, Dixons Retail plc, Emap, Bupa and Populus Group. Her non-profit boards have included Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the UK Sustainable Development Commission and Green Alliance, and she was recently appointed Chair at Forum for the Future, the leading international sustainability organisation.

Recorded on 11th February 2021.

69. Leadership, Sustainability & Building Brands In A Digital Age / Rita Clifton CBE

In this episode, I speak with workplace and change strategist, Chris Kane, the Founder and Director of Six Ideas Ltd. Having started out as a Chartered Surveyor, Chris’ 30-year career spans corporate real estate and workplace strategy, and he has held positions from the CEO of BBC Commercial Projects and Head of the BBC Corporate Real Estate, to the VP of The Walt Disney Company’s CRE.

Of his wide-ranging projects, the largest includes overseeing the BBC’s £2bn property portfolio regeneration to deliver a fit-for-purpose estate using the Corporation’s decade-long ‘analogue to digital’ transformation, as a catalyst for organisational change – an endeavor which also involved masterminding the foundations of new innovative and creative media, business and residential quarters in White City, London and Salford, Manchester.

Chris is also the author of the brilliant book, Where is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century, published by Bloomsbury, a volume that presents a game-changing challenge to the existing ways we work, as well as being a guide to harnessing the true potential of an organisation’s people and workplace.

Recorded on 9th February 2021.

70. People, Purpose & The Future Of The Workplace / Chris Kane

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with another great friend of the podcast, Dr Aaron Balick – a psychotherapist, author and director of the international psychology hub, Stillpoint Spaces, an organisation devoted to sharing ideas from depth psychology widely and with integrity.

After nearly 20 years of experience as a clinical psychotherapist and supervisor, and a decade as an academic in his field, Aaron now works as an author, media contributor and consultant, and speaks internationally to a wide variety of audiences about the impact of social media and technology on the individual and society.

As a psychological consultant for the media, Aaron has advised on, and contributed to a variety of projects that aim to bring quality mental health content to programming for young people and adults alike, and he has been the resident “agony uncle” for BBC Radio 1 and CBBC for many years.

The author of several fantastic books both for adults and children, his new title, The Little Book of Calm: Tame Your Anxieties, Face Your Fears, and Live Free draws upon his years of experience as a clinician and researcher, to offer readers techniques, advice and inspiration on the best and most effective ways to manage anxiety.

Recorded on 14th December 2020.

71. Connection, Boundaries & The Problem With Relating Virtually / Dr Aaron Balick

In today’s conversation, I speak with Octavius Black – the CEO of Mind Gym, a consultancy that uses the latest psychology and behavioural science to transform how people think, feel and behave so as to improve both the performance of companies and the lives of the people who work within them.

Having read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at The Queen’s College, Oxford University, Octavius went on to work as an analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton, and later became a director of the organisational communications consultancy, Smythe Dorward Lambert.

He co-founded Mind Gym in his kitchen with Sebastien Bailey 20 years ago and floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, and he has co-authored several Mind Gym books, including Wake Up Your Mind, Give Me Time, and Relationships.

Octavius has written for The Times, Financial Times and The Sunday Telegraph, and together with his team, he seeks to equip ambitious companies with the knowledge and capability to be ready for tomorrow.

Recorded on 26th November 2020.

72. Behavioural Science, Resilience & Belonging / Octavius Black

In this conversation, I speak with Stephanie M. H. Moore, a Lecturer of Business Law and Ethics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, whose areas of interest and expertise include business ethics, conflict resolution, critical thinking, advocacy, contracts, and legal writing.

A Registered Domestic Relations Mediator, Stephanie graduated first in her class from Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law, and she also holds degrees in English and Telecommunications from Indiana University.

Prior to joining the Kelley School, Stephanie served for four years as a Federal Law Clerk for the Honorable Monroe G. McKay, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Professor Moore also worked in advertising, sales, marketing, and at Indiana University’s Office of Student Conduct, and she has served on the board of several local nonprofits and as an Indiana University Title IX Hearing Panel Officer.

Stephanie has taught Advanced Legal Writing for Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law and frequently serves as a case competition judge, panelist, and facilitator.

This episode is sponsored by Pleo, whose event, "Forward", I will be hosting on 9th December 2021. Join me and grab your free ticket here: www.pleo.io/en/forward

Recorded on 20th January 2021.

73. Diversity, Inclusion & Meaningful Work / Stephanie MH Moore

Today I speak with another friend of the podcast, Perry Timms – an international and 2x TEDx speaker, advisor and award-winning writer on the future of work, HR and learning.

Founder of PTHR, a micro consulting venture in its 9th year of operation with the ambition to shape, ‘Better Business for a Better World’, Perry’s work in progressive thinking in HR and the workplace of the future, was recognised by his inclusion on HR Magazine’s HR’s Most Influential Thinkers List for 2017, where he also placed 5th most influential in 2018.

The author of two books, Perry’s first volume, Transformational HR, was an Amazon.com Top 30 HR seller shortly after its release, and, due to popular demand and the effects of the pandemic, the 2nd, revised edition came out earlier this year to wide acclaim. His second book, The Energised Workplace, explores Human Energy & Organisation Design, and it was published in April 2020.

Perry serves as Adjunct Faculty at Ashridge Executive Education and Hult International Business School, and is a visiting fellow at Sheffield Hallam University. He is also the world’s only WorldBlu-certified Freedom at Work Consultant and Coach, and he currently leads the London Chapter of ResponsiveOrg.

Recorded on 21st December 2020.

74. Values, Culture & The Future Of HR / Perry Timms

Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with another friend of the podcast, Dr Gillian Isaacs Russell, a celebrated author, psychoanalyst and psychotherapist.

Member of the British Psychoanalytic Council, the British Psychotherapy Foundation, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the International Psychoanalytical Association, Gillian is a Registered Psychotherapist in the state of Colorado and has been in private practice in the UK and USA since 1988.

Her fascinating book, Screen Relations: The Limits of Computer-Mediated Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, examines how some of our most intimate relationships, including that of analyst and patient, are affected by technologically-mediated communication.

Having served on the Editorial Board as Book Reviews Editor, Gillian currently serves on the COVID-19 Advisory Team for the American Psychoanalytic Association, where she received the 2021 Distinguished Service Award.

This episode is sponsored by Pleo, whose event, "Forward", I will be hosting on 9th December 2021. Join me and grab your free ticket here: pleo.io/en/forward

Recorded on 15th February 2021.

75. Trust, Virtual Communication & Embodied Cognition / Dr Gillian Isaacs Russell

In today’s conversation, I speak with César Christoforidis, the Senior Vice-President of Global Partnerships & Strategy at Emplifi (previously known as SocialBakers), where he spearheads the partner growth strategy and manages strategic relationships with Facebook, Google, Twitter, TikTok, and Linkedin.

With a passion for new technologies and helping humanity to cultivate a healthy mix of human/tech solutions to improve our everyday lives, César’s work also focusses on how we might build strong, sustainable and helpful communities.

Having led a team of digital consultants as Sales Director UK & EMEA for Experian Hitwise, one of the world’s leading online marketing intelligence solutions, César’s 15 years of experience in digital and software solutions spans everything from Social Media, Live Shopping, eCommerce and Influencer marketing, to Affiliate Marketing, PPC, Display, Messaging, and Email.

Recorded on 6th January 2021.

76. Perception, Sustainability & Customer Experience / César Christoforidis

Today I speak with Toby Daniels, Chief Innovation Officer at Adweek, and the founder of Social Media Week.

Working at the intersection of technology, media and marketing for over two decades, Toby is a thought leader in media, marketing and technology, and has been featured in mainstream and trade media, including articles on CNN.com, The New York Times, The Next Web, Huffington Post, AdWeek, PSFK and Fast Company.

Having served as the co-founder and former CEO of Crowdcentric Media, a global media and events company, Toby is an advisor to a number of companies, and speaks regularly at conferences and has given talks at PdF Latin America in Chile, Social Media Brazil, The Co-Creation Conference in Phoenix, and SXSW.

Recorded on 4th February 2021.

78. Constraints, Creativity & The Opportunities Of Going Virtual / Toby Daniels

In today’s episode, secreted away within this special book-related season, is a rather special conversation, that I have come to look forward to as a tradition.

As we turn again to the deepest night of the year, I rejoin Della Duncan and Manda Scott for a shared solstice offering from The Hive, Accidental Gods, and the Upstream Podcast.

As we come together to reflect on this extraordinary year, we share some of the joys and challenges we’ve faced, the stories we’ve encountered, and what they’ve taught us. We touch on some of the inspiring books, conversations and explorations that have gotten us through, and offer our ideas and visions for what we might create together as we move into 2022.

Recorded on 5th December 2021.

77. A Special Solstice Conversation / Della Duncan & Manda Scott

In this conversation, I speak with Jeremy Dalton, the Head of XR at PwC UK, and author of Reality Check: How Immersive Technologies Can Transform Your Business. Jeremy’s work aims to help clients understand, quantify, and implement the benefits of virtual reality and augmented reality, a set of technologies sometimes collectively referred to as XR, immersive technologies or spatial computing.

Alongside his fascinating book on the subject, Jeremy has given talks all over the world on the future of XR and his work has been featured in newspapers, radio and online through The Financial Times, the BBC, and many more.

As part of his mission to educate, connect and inspire, he has worked with the World Economic Forum on XR initiatives and currently sits on the advisory board of Immerse UK, a UK government supported cross-sector network for businesses, research groups and educational organisations that are engaged with immersive technologies.

Recorded on 15th January 2021.

79. Virtual Reality, Technology & Emotional Connection / Jeremy Dalton

Today I speak with John Featherby, the founder of Shoremount, a business that helps organisations to become more purposeful, adaptable, human and regenerative.

As one of the UK’s founding B-Corps, and awarded Best For The World: Changemaker by B Lab, Shoremount models how businesses can achieve the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. And as a certified member of the B Corp movement, they are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

With an MA from CASS Business School, and having grown up around dialogues of change (with his parents having funded the first social impact bond), these influences contributed towards founding Shoremount, an endeavour seeking to put flourishing back at the centre of the workplace.

As well as sitting on the investment committee for the UK’s leading impact investment funds, John also holds various Ambassador, Investment Committee and Board roles.

Recorded on 21st December 2020.

80. Humility, Purpose & The Pursuit Of Adventure / John Featherby

In this conversation, I speak with Lewis Garrad – an occupational psychologist, and Partner and business leader for Mercer’s Singapore Career business. Voted a top 101 Global Future of Work Influencer, he is regular contributor to publications such as the Harvard Business Review and Talent Quarterly and he speaks on the subject of people science, HR data, employee engagement and leadership.

In his commercial work, Lewis leads a team of economists, social scientists, engineers and consultants to help clients and customers implement data-driven reward, talent, leadership and employee engagement programs to help improve organizational performance.

Chartered by the British Psychological Society (BPS) as an Occupational Psychologist, Lewis graduated from the University of Nottingham in the UK with an MSc in Occupational Psychology and a First Class Honours BSc in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. He is also qualified by the British Psychological Society to use both ability tests and personality questionnaires to assess talent.

Having supported the development of several organisation and HR capabilities programs, including a leading role in the development of the national Skills Frameworks in Singapore, Lewis has deep expertise in making people programs relevant for C-level executives in global companies as well as facilitating senior leadership teams to help them unlock leadership effectiveness.

Recorded on 21st January 2021.

81. AI, Up-Skilling & Future-Proofing Your Career / Lewis Garrad

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Nell Watson, a tech ethicist, machine intelligence researcher and AI faculty member at Singularity University.

A longtime friend of the podcast, Nell’s interdisciplinary research into emerging technologies such as machine vision and AI ethics have attracted audiences from all over the world, and inspired leaders to work towards a brighter future at venues such as The World Bank, The United Nations General Assembly, and The Royal Society.

A Senior Advisor to The Future Society at Harvard, Nell also serves as an Advisory technologist to several accelerators, venture capital funds and startups, including The Lifeboat Foundation, which aims to protect humanity from existential risks that could end civilisation as we know it, such as asteroid collisions, or rogue artificial intelligence.

82. Empathy, Participation & The Future Of AI / Nell Watson

In this episode, I speak with Yessi Bello-Perez, a technology and business journalist, editor and copywriter, whose work sits at the intersection of tech, healthcare, business, culture, arts, politics, and economics.

The editor of UNLEASH, a customer-first digital media platform, built to inspire, connect and enable HR leaders worldwide, Yessi is also the co-host of Rising Startup Ecosystems, a podcast for fDi Intelligence, the Financial Times’ specialist service.

Passionate about people, stories, and innovation, Yessi has years of experience in the B2B and B2C sectors, and a deep knowledge of the European tech ecosystem and its key players. She has been featured in Computer Weekly’s ‘Most Influential Women in UK Tech’ longlist for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) and shortlisted for “Tech Reporter of the Year” at the ITA Awards.

Recorded on 12th February 2021.

83. Trust, Autonomy & Empowering People To Work / Yessi Bello Perez

Tara Lemméy does invention – really big invention. From US National Security to large scale entertainment systems. From drones and autonomous technologies to internet protocols.

Ask her what she’s working on and it’s probably a secret. She partners with some of the most innovative CEOs and companies in the world.

What’s not a secret, is that you can find her at LENS Ventures making startups, patenting technologies and telling very funny stories.

Recorded on 4th February 2021.

84. Technology, Humanity & Becoming Our Most Possible / Tara Lemméy

In this first episode of the new season, I have the pleasure of speaking with Indy Johar, the founding Director of 00 and Dark Matter Labs. An architect by training, Indy is a Senior Innovation Associate with the Young Foundation and a visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield. 

Having co-founded the Impact Hub Birmingham and Open Systems Lab, he was a member of the RSA’s Inclusive Growth Commission and is one of the leading voices in the world of system change, the future of urban infrastructure finance, outcome-based investment, and the future of governance. 

Whether you’re interested in how our societies might transition and respond to climate breakdown, or you’re curious about understanding the interconnected ways in which we could foster systemic change, this conversation offers an exploration of both past and present, and what steps we might take to create a more democratic, distributed and sustainable future.

Recorded on 3rd March 2022.

85. Interdependence, Transition & Agency In An Age Of Volatility / Indy Johar

In today’s conversation, I have the treat of speaking with Anthea Lawson - a campaigner and writer, whose powerful book, The Entangled Activist is essential reading for anyone interested in how we might change the world in a more meaningful, integrative way. Having trained and worked as a reporter at The Times, and studied history at Cambridge, her work as an activist has seen Anthea campaign to shut down tax havens, control the arms trade and prevent banks from facilitating corruption and environmental devastation. While working at Global Witness, a human rights and environmental organisation, Anthea also launched a campaign that succeeded in changing the rules on secret company ownership, resulting in new laws being passed in dozens of countries around the world. 

She’s a rare gem whose rich experience, brilliant mind and grounded presence make for an inspiring and refreshing guide to the hardest challenges we face. I came across Anthea’s work through the renegade economist, Della Duncan, to whom I am grateful for the introduction - and I have to say that while I don’t consider myself an activist per se, this book is one of the most deeply affecting, empowering and illuminating that I have read in a long while. 

From mapping out the self-righteous, saviour-complex dynamics that arise from our unmet needs, to challenging the extractivist, power-over patterns inherited from our colonial pasts, The Entangled Activist reveals how we can end up re-creating the very problems we seek to fix - and how we might rise to the challenge differently.

Recorded on 9th February 2022.

86. Entanglement, Activism & Working With The Shadow / Anthea Lawson

In this conversation, I speak with the brilliant Rob Hopkins - cofounder of the Transition Network and Transition Town Totnes, and author of several wonderful books: From What Is to What If? (one of my personal favourites), The Power of Just Doing Stuff, The Transition Handbook, and The Transition Companion. 

Voted one of the Independent's top 100 environmentalists in 2012, and named among Nesta and the Observer's list of Britain's 50 New Radicals, Rob has appeared on BBC Radio 4's Four Thought and A Good Read, and was featured in the French film phenomenon Demain and its sequel Après Demain. An Ashoka Fellow, Rob has spoken at TEDGlobal and three TEDx events, and holds a doctorate degree from the University of Plymouth and two honorary doctorates from the University of the West of England and the University of Namur. 

A keen gardener, Rob is a founder of New Lion Brewery in Totnes, and a director of Totnes Community Development Society, the group behind Atmos Totnes, an ambitious, community-led development project. He’s also an artist whose beautiful lino prints you can check out at robhopkins.net, and his podcast, From What If to What Next is really worth a listen if you’re looking for inspiration as to how we can unleash our collective imaginations to create a more resilient world.

Recorded on 28th January 2022.

87. Storytelling, Longing And Unleashing The Creative Imagination / Rob Hopkins

Today I speak with Dr. Ruth Gotian - author of the recently published book, The Success Factor, a fascinating read that explores how we might understand and learn from the mindset and skill set of peak performers, from Nobel Prize winners and astronauts to Olympic champions and political change-makers. 

The Chief Learning Officer and Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology, and former Assistant Dean of Mentoring and Executive Director of the Mentoring Academy at Weill Cornell Medicine, Ruth has made her name in management thinking and was hailed by the journal Nature and Columbia University as an expert in mentorship and leadership development. 

Selected as one of 30 people worldwide to be named to the Thinkers50 Radar List in 2021, Ruth was also a semi-finalist for the Forbes 50 Over 50 list, and recently won the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement, Radar Award given to a “thinker with the potential to change the world of theory and practice”. 

A regular contributor to Forbes, Psychology Today and Harvard Business Review, Ruth’s work has been widely published in academic journals, and her take on what pro-social success can look like in a rapidly changing world is what drew me to speak with her on the show today.

Recorded 9th February 2022.

88. Leadership, Motivation & Reimagining Success / Ruth Gotian

In this conversation, I speak with Indra Adnan - an author, psycho-social therapist and political entrepreneur, and a global consultant on soft power. The Founder and Co-initiator (together with Pat Kane) of “The Alternative UK political platform”, Indra has been writing, consulting, network-building and event-organising on the themes of future politics, conflict transformation, the role of the arts and integral thinking, for the past 20 years.

The Co-Lead in Bounce Beyond, a social enterprise network doing transformative work to cohere and connect the next global economies, Indra is also the author of the fascinating book, The Politics of Waking Up: Power & Possibility In The Fractal Age.

She has consulted to the World Economic Forum, NATO and a variety of governments, and she runs community collaboratories around the UK, building Citizen Action Networks (CANs) to reconnect people to cosmo-local eco-systems of solutions that are available. Central to her vision of an Alternative politics is the interdependency of the complex individual, the community and the planet: I, We, World - which is just one of the many themes we’ll be exploring in our conversation today.

Recorded on 13th April 2022.

89. I, We & The World: On Community, Agency & Power / Indra Adnan

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Octavia Raheem, beloved author, mother, activist, yoga teacher and practitioner, whose books - Gather, and Pause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change - offer revolutionarily gentle, powerful ideas and practices to restore the body, mind and spirit. 

Having received national attention for her work training yoga teachers and diversifying the yoga and wellness industry, Octavia’s work as a yoga professional focuses on practical tools to teach individuals how to manage stress, anxiety, and fatigue through yoga and meditation in a way that is accessible to all levels and abilities, and restorative to the nervous system. Her work has been featured in Yoga Journal, Mantra magazine, Well + Good, CNN, WXIA, and Atlanta Magazine, and she is one of the most vibrant and inspiring voices I have come across in the re-imagining of what it means to reclaim our rest.

If you’re searching for a way to come home to yourself, or to transform ethnic or race-based stress and trauma, Octavia’s teachings offer a path towards refuge, and her voice is a powerful guide to surviving, healing and thriving in difficult times.

Recorded on 15th April 2022.

90. At The Threshold: On Fierce Compassion & Reclaiming Our Rest / Octavia Raheem

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Yanniek Schoonhoven, a regenerative farmer, co-founder of the Regeneration Academy, coordinator of the Re-Generation Festival, and trainer for the regenerative agriculture research program in Murcia, Southern Spain.

Holding a master degree in Environmental Sciences, Yanniek has worked with farmers throughout Southern Spain for several years as part of Commonland and AlVelAl, two projects that aim to initiate, catalyse and enable large-scale and long-term restoration initiatives. 

With a shared mission to transform degraded landscapes into thriving ecosystems and communities, these projects take a practical, holistic approach to developing viable solutions based on social and ecological needs, science and entrepreneurship. 

The folks at Commonland have been working tirelessly since 2013 to build a universal proof of concept that brings farmers, landowners, entrepreneurs, communities, nature organisations and legislators together to create real returns on investment per hectare. Called 4 Returns, this framework is capable of initiating, organising and following through on large-scale and long-term restoration initiatives that integrate ecology, land use and business - a framework we’ll be exploring in greater depth a bit later.

I’m really delighted to be having this particular conversation today, not least because I’ve seen the work they’re doing on the farm, and experienced their passion, determination and open-heartedness first-hand. I’m also excited to be sharing this with you, because it offers a practical example of the transformation we can achieve, at a large scale, when we’re able to envision a different, more regenerative path forward, and work collaboratively with others to make it happen.

Recorded on 5th May 2022.

91. Fertile Ground: Regenerative Agriculture, Restoration & Reciprocity / Yanniek Schoonhoven

In this conversation, I speak with Mark Gallagher - author, conference speaker and Managing Director of Performance Insights, an organisation that provides corporate clients with deep-dive insights and executive coaching from the world of Formula One.

His book, "The Business of Winning: Insights in Transformation from F1 to the Boardroom", is a compelling insider's account of nearly 40 years in the Formula One industry, in which he explores what it takes to succeed in a competitive business with high technology, high finance and immensely high stakes. 

Having joined the world of Formula One back in 1983, Mark’s career includes more than a decade on the management board of the highly successful, race winning Jordan Grand Prix team, running the world famous Cosworth engine business, and establishing the commercial arm of Red Bull Racing which went on to become 4-times World Champions. During his career he has worked with many of the sport’s leading drivers, including former World Champions Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button. Today he works closely with a number of the sport’s major stars including David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen and Jacques Villeneuve.
 
Mark may not seem like the most obvious guest to have on the show, but what has consistently struck me in our various conversations together, is the power and potential that his industry holds, in helping us to innovate, collaborate and imagine our way out of some of the most pressing issues of our time - most crucially, how we can unhook ourselves from reliance on fossil fuels, and decarbonise our energy industries.

Recorded on 18th May 2022.

92. An Unlikely Ally: Formula 1 & The Race To Decarbonise Our Energy Industry / Mark Gallagher

Today, I have a rather unusual guest… Following a sudden non-dual experience one morning in February 2016, Jessica Corneille decided to change the course of her life by quitting her career in the arts and cultural heritage preservation, to play her part, instead, in helping to de-stigmatise, de-pathologise and raise awareness around spiritual awakening, enlightenment, and non-dual experiences within mainstream psychology.

She graduated with Distinction from a Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of Greenwich, where she focused her studies on “exceptional human experiences” (including transpersonal, anomalistic and parapsychology), and is now a qualified research psychologist, focussing predominantly on awakening experiences of a spontaneous nature. 

Jessica has presented her work at a number of academic conferences, including with the British Psychological Society, and she is the Communications Coordinator for the Scientific and Medical Network. She is also a collaborator of the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium and Spiritual Crisis Network, and runs support-groups for people undergoing spiritually transformative experiences.

With a desire to challenge the default pathologisation of awakening experiences, Jessica’s research aims to inform and encourage mainstream psychology to look beyond the current designated spectrum of ‘normality’, to encompass the transpersonal as something that is intrinsic to the human experience, and in helping individuals come to the realisation of their highest human potential.

Recorded on 30th May 2022.

93. Wellbeing, connection & spontaneous non-dual experiences / Jessica Corneille

In this final episode of the season, I speak with Tracey Follows - a futurist and author of The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st-Century Technology? 

The CEO of Futuremade, a futures consultancy advising global brands and applying  foresight to boost business, Tracey has appeared on BBC Business Matters, Radio 4, Talk Radio, and on the Megyn Kelly show in the US. A contributor to the FT, Guardian, and the Daily Mail, she has her own contributor column in Forbes, and hosts The Future of You podcast. 

Tracey has spoken at UN HQ, keynoted at events such as the Financial Times Tech Live and Think With Google, and spoken alongside Silicon Valley CEOs at the FT's Global Boardroom, as well as UK Government and Parliamentarians at Think Digital Identity, delivering her Tedx at the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 

She has covered topics as diverse as the future of luxury, retail, media, cities, gender, work, defense, justice, entertainment, and AI ethics, decoding what future trends mean for businesses, brands and organisations.

Recorded on 9th June 2022.

94. Dreaming Possible Futures: Identity, Neurotechnology & Sovereignty Of The Self / Tracey Follows

Welcome to The Hive Podcast, the series that inquires into our relationship with one another, with technology and the natural world.

Join me, Nathalie Nahai, as we dive into the complex and challenging questions of our time, and explore how some of the greatest minds are forging new and exciting paths forward.

For more resources and information about the show, please visit nathalienahai.com/the-hive-podcast.

The Hive Podcast

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