Be the Change Podcast

Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual violence, drugging, and the aftermath of assault. Please take care while listening.

Today, October 8th, is the National Day of Action to end sexual violence, and Grace Wankelman is helping organize the "From the Frat House to the White House" action in Washington, DC.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, recorded the day before the National Day of Action, Lily Mott talks with Grace about her experiences with sexual violence and how those experiences led her into advocacy. She also talks about what it was like to be met with dismissal by the institutions she turned to for help.

Grace shares what she learned from years of campus advocacy: that healing doesn’t follow one path, that you don’t have to be healed to do this work, and that stepping back to rest is part of keeping a movement going. She explains why this National Day of Action is meant as a catalyst rather than a one-off event, as well as what she hopes this day will start and how it can be sustained.

She also speaks directly to men about how to making people feel safer, holding their friends accountable, and sometimes "killing the vibe" are great ways to start making change.

Her message for anyone wondering what they can do to get involved: start small, show up for the people in your life, and keep going after the headlines fade.

If you or someone you know has been affected by anything discussed in this episode, support is available. In the US, you can call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). It’s free, confidential, and open 24/7. You can also chat online at https://rainn.org/help-and-healing/hotline/.

To get connected with Grace, find her on Instagram.

Please engage with the following organizations to learn more and get involved in the fight to end sexual violence:

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at [email protected].

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

Change comes when we listen to each other, even when we disagree.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, Lily Mott talks with Filip Janevski, a member of the Council of the City of Skopje in North Macedonia, whom she met at the Changing Narratives Conference with the No Hate Speech Network in Trenčín, Slovakia.

Despite sitting on different sides of the political spectrum, Lily and Filip hit it off immediately, bonding over a shared belief that politics only works when people genuinely listen to one another, rather than just waiting for their turn to speak.

Filip shares what it's like to serve as a local councillor since the age of 23, why he believes local government is where people's everyday lives are most directly shaped, and why he thinks integrity, doing the right thing when no one's watching, is the quality missing most from political life today. Filip and Lily also discuss why voter turnout in local elections is so often overlooked and why every single vote genuinely matters.

His message for anyone feeling disillusioned by politics right now: don't stop believing that respecting one another and finding common ground are possible, even across our differences.

To get connected with Filip, find him on Instagram.

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at [email protected].

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of suicide. Please take care while listening.

Some of the darkest chapters of our lives can become the reasons we keep showing up and moving forward, one step at a time.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, Lily Mott talks with Jessica Arden Lefford, who is running the New York City Marathon with Still I Run, a charity that promotes running for mental wellbeing.

Jess shares how a few casual runs in San Diego turned into a full-blown love of running and a found family through local run clubs, and how, after losing her sister and then her mother to suicide, she found her way to Still I Run.

Jess reflects on what it means to run for people rather than just a personal best and why showing up, even on the hardest days, has become its own form of self-care for her.

When Jess crosses the finish line in New York this autumn, she'll be running for her sister, for her mom, for her team, and for herself, to prove that even after tragedy and through dark chapters, it's possible (and so important) to keep moving forward.

To get connected with Jess, find her on Instagram.

You can support Jess's fundraiser for Still I Run via this link.

To learn more and get involved with Still I Run, visit their page: linktr.ee/stillirun.

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at [email protected].

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

Pay, recognition, competition for opportunities... oh my! Somewhere along the way, the youth sector may have lost the plot on why it does this work in the first place.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, recorded to mark the second anniversary of The Forgotten Generation Podcast, Lily Mott chats with its host, Troy Njenje Mbanga, to talk about what's really missing in the youth and charity sectors today.

Troy traces the podcast back to a poem he wrote about disability and feeling unheard, and reflects on the last two years of conversations. But the heart of this conversation is his diagnosis of a deeper issue: a youth sector increasingly focused on pay, recognition, and competition for opportunities, when the real driving force should be connection, community, and genuine passion for change.

Troy and Lily unpack what it means to stay youth-led, what real youth power looks like, and why remembering where and why you started (as well as keeping the work fun) might be the key to avoiding burnout.

To get connected with Troy, find him on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Listen, read, and subscribe to The Forgotten Generation Podcast and Blog:

Listen to my first interview with Troy here: https://bethechangepodcast.podbean.com/e/troy-njenje-mbanga/

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at [email protected].

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

What does creativity mean in a world increasingly shaped by AI? And how does creativity shape politics?

In this episode, Lily Mott is joined by Tom Spare, the creator of Spare a Thought and co-host of The Political Dispatch, to explore both of these questions.

Lily and Tom talk about what creativity actually means, why expressing the ideas in our heads can help us understand ourselves and the world around us, and what happens when we start relying too heavily on technology to do that thinking for us.

They also explore how AI is changing the creative industries, what this means for young people entering an increasingly uncertain job market, and why skills like communication, curiosity, authenticity, and critical thinking are becoming even more important.

The conversation then turns to politics. Lily and Tom discuss the growing role of humor, graphic design, storytelling, and social media in political communication, and why politics needs creative thinking to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face.

To get connected with Tom, find him on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Listen, read, and subscribe to Spare a Thought:

Listen to The Political Dispatch wherever you get your podcasts: https://thepoliticaldispatch.podbean.com/

Listen to my first interview with Tom here: https://bethechangepodcast.podbean.com/e/tom-spare/

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at [email protected].

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

For climate activists, watching the impacts of the climate crisis unfold can bring a particular kind of anxiety: knowing what is happening, understanding what is at stake, and still having to find the energy to keep fighting for change.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, Lily Mott sits down with climate activist and refugee rights advocate, Natasha “Tash” Pavey, during the UK’s fifth heatwave of 2026 to talk about climate anxiety, rising temperatures, and what it means to keep taking action when the future can feel overwhelming.

Tash shares what it was like to start climate activism as a teenager, how her understanding of the climate crisis has changed as its impacts become increasingly visible, and why she believes community can be one of the most powerful responses to climate anxiety.

As the climate crisis becomes increasingly difficult to ignore, how do we turn our anxiety and frustration into action?

Please leave a rating, share a comment, and subscribe!

Check out the following resources and organizations to learn more and get involved:

To get connected with Tash, find her on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Listen to my first interview with Tash here: https://bethechangepodcast.podbean.com/e/natasha-pavey/

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at [email protected].

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

For many young people, the biggest barrier to making change isn't a lack of ideas or opportunities. Instead, it's the confidence to act on them.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, Lily Mott sits down with autism practitioner, researcher, and #iwill Ambassador Folusho Bello to talk about how confidence has shaped her journey.

Folusho shares how her early volunteer work sparked a passion, what it was like to deliver a keynote speech at the Council of Europe despite deeming herself "very shy," and the research she's conducted (and hopes to pursue further) into early brain-based markers of autism, with a particular focus on young women and girls of color, who are too often overlooked in existing research and diagnosis.

To get connected with Folusho, find her on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Please leave a rating, share a comment, and subscribe!

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at [email protected].

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

In a world of AI and algorithms, it's easy to feel more connected than ever... and further apart than ever, all at once.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, Lily Mott talks with award-winning public speaker and poet De-Mario Knowles about how a single poem, written almost by accident during the pandemic, launched him into a speaking career built around connecting with people.

De-Mario shares how losing his community involvement to COVID lockdowns pushed him toward public speaking, the moment a stranger's message showed him the real impact of his words, and the nerve-wracking, unforgettable experiences that came after, including MC-ing a global leadership conference and introducing a Member of Parliament as "bestie." Along the way, he opens up about balancing his public speaking career with his pre-med studies, and why finding someone doing what you want to do and replicating it in your own way is often the best place to start.

De-Mario's story is a reminder of something simple: change often starts with connection.

To get connected with De-Mario, find him on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Please leave a rating, share a comment, and subscribe!

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

If you have any questions, please email Lily Mott at [email protected].

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

Finding your passion is one thing. Finding your people is another, and sometimes if you're lucky, they arrive together.

In this episode of Be the Change Podcast, Lily Mott talks with Thomas Grimwood, host of two Be the Change Media Network podcasts, Performing Passions and Super Summers, and a fundraiser for the National Autistic Society, about the winding road to finding his passions and his community.

Thomas shares how performing arts became the thing that "helped him find his people" after years of trying different hobbies and workshops. He also discusses how finding real community (your "wildcats," as he puts it in reference to High School Musical, of course!) is always worth the wait, even when it takes time.

As Thomas' story shows, sometimes the biggest change comes not from a single big leap, but from finally finding the people who make you feel like you belong.

To get connected with Thomas, find him on Instagram.

Listen to Performing Passions wherever you're listening to this episode: https://performingpassions.podbean.com/

Listen to Super Summers on all podcasting platforms, as well: https://super-summers.podbean.com/

Please leave a rating, share a comment, and subscribe!

If you have guest suggestions or would like to join me on Be the Change Podcast, please email me at [email protected].

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.

In (another) solo episode, I reflect on the last six years of Be the Change Podcast and shares a vision for its next six.

After spending the past year immersed in a community of changemakers, social impact leaders, and purpose-driven storytellers, I took some time to ask myself some difficult questions:

Using Tommy Robinson's appearance at The Oxford Union as a catalyst, I explore the dangers of echo chambers, the growing polarization of public discourse, and why meaningful change often requires engaging with ideas that challenge us.

To be clear, this episode is not about defending controversial viewpoints. It is about defending the importance of conversation, critical thinking, and intellectual curiosity.

As Be the Change Podcast enters its seventh year, I announce a new direction for the podcast: creating space for thoughtful, respectful conversations with people whose perspectives differ from my own. Rather than debates, clickbait, or "gotcha" moments, this new era will focus on listening, learning, and understanding across disagreement.

If you've ever changed your mind, held an unpopular opinion, or wondered how we can bridge divides in an increasingly polarized world, this episode is an invitation to you. Come join me on this podcast... I want to hear from you!

Please leave a rating, share a comment, and subscribe!

If you have guest suggestions or would like to join me on Be the Change Podcast, please email me at [email protected].

Follow Be the Change Media Network on Instagram: @bethechangemedianetwork.

Follow Be the Change Podcast on Instagram: @bethechangepodcast.

Opinions shared by the guests and hosts of this show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Be the Change Media Network.