Welcome back, for Season 2 of Better Circles - now also in video format, so if that's your thing, head over to youtube.com/@BetterCircles

In our first episode of 2026 (though we recorded it in late 2025), Luke and Fi chat about some big changes happening at Into, as well as Fi's new column in Renew magazine, Luke's experiments transforming marathon trash into plogging bags, and we get into what's making us feel hopeful, existential, and connected… sometimes all at once.  

If you want to follow up on things we talked about, here are some handy links:

And if you're in or near Collingwood, Victoria, on 9 Feb 2026, come to Into to support Luke's fundraising for the Bob Brown Foundation Takayna run: https://takayna.org/screening/into-carry-screening-collingwood/

Kunal’s the Compost (and Kombucha) King of a permaculture farm in India; co-founder and director of All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT-EFF), the largest decentralised film festival in the world; and a service designer tackling waste systems in Melbourne… and that’s not everything!

Much like a screening of ALT-EFF, this chat left Fi and Luke inspired, energised and ready to take action, and we hope you feel the same way.

We also promised a fact check for this episode. Kunal mentions an often-quoted statistic that to make a movement into a wide-spread transformation only requires 5% of the population to be on board: that a “critical mass” of people is much smaller than we think it is.

We went looking for references, and we couldn’t find any studies that magical 5% backed up by research but here’s what we did find:

Research on the impact of non-violent protests by Erica Chenoweth, Ph.D, found that only 3.5% of a population needs to take part in non-violent protest to create social change: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world

And research on social tipping points by Damon Central, Ph.D, found that 25% of of people need to take a stand before large-scale social change occurs: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-behavior-spreads/201905/the-25-percent-tipping-point-social-change

Finally, we also have a source for the idea we discussed, where people underestimate how much other people support climate action, compared to their own values, which makes being visible and vocal about wanting to see change in this area even more important: https://behavioralscientist.org/we-still-underestimate-others-support-for-climate-action/.

Follow along at https://www.instagram.com/bettercircles.co/

Katie Falkiner has a note above her desk: "You'll never start a revolution by being dreary." She's woven this approach into her multidisciplinary career that spans writing, systems and city design, and imagining the future of active transport.

No guest this episode, just Fi and Luke hanging out in the comfy chairs and having a chat. 

We talk about the power of short feedback loops in making positive change – building your own sense of hope, positivity and ability to have an impact. And how we're each trying create those positive experiences through teaching workshops, making pickles from veggie scraps and turning pants into bags.

We also go down a bit of a rabbit hole about a new startup that's fermenting, rather than farming milk, and how we feel about that.

If you're keen to get involved with Luke's sewing and upcycling workshops, you can find them all here: https://intocarry.co/pages/workshopcategories.

And the cooking classes at the Moving Feast kitchen are all here: https://movingfeast.net/movingfeastcookingclass.

We chat to multidisciplinary artist and workshop facilitator, Nicky Tsekouras about their art practice, including the gorgeous collage on the wall of IntoCoffee that features in the background of our podcast photos and video clips. 

We go down a few rabbit holes and tangents talking about the most surprising materials Nicky has found to use in their collages, street posters and street art, and how seeing waste materials as resources is one of the most powerful creative things you can do, whether you're making art, making bags or making food.

We'd love to hear your 'it's still good!' stories, too! Share a photo of the clothes you're still wearing after lots and lots of years, your repair success stories, or the beloved item you rescued from going to waste and tag @bettercircles.co on Instagram, and we might feature them on a future episode!

This week, we sit down with Frankie Cox. While some chefs are playing Checkers, Frankie's playing Chess. Frankie is a visionary food specialist and founder of Green On. She thinks global and acts local with her unique approach to food, health and community sustainability.

Frankie and Luke compare notes about running sustainable cafes that use food, conversation and community to have a positive impact, and we talk about what it takes for someone to change their habits.

We also get into the tricky topic of recycling, up-cycling and down-cycling materials that might be better off designed out of products altogether.

Luke and Fi chat about food, fashion, and clean energy.

In this episode, find out out why Fi loves food co-ops and thinks convenience isn't always great, celebrate clothes that last and learn who Luke would name a sandwich after.

To find out more about some of the things we talk about in this episode, check out:

The Brunswick Food Co-op

The Open Food Network (for more food co-ops and local producers)

City of Melbourne's community batteries

Project Planet

Let us know what you thought of the episode and join the conversation at instagram.com/bettercircles.co

Gemma Baxter is an urban innovation climate specialist. Her multidisciplinary approach to work and impact is one of many reasons she’s now leading the Innovation Program at MAVlab, managing all 79 councils within Victoria.

In our first episode of Better Circles, we get out our deck of conversation starter cards to talk about the joy of seeing the impact of your work, the power of community and storytelling, and why making imperfect progress is a better goal than giving up.

Welcome to Better Circles, a podcast where we bring great people together, to share ideas that are good for the planet.

The scary part of change is the unknown. As the world recognises we need urgent climate action, we explore conversations with industry professionals to paint the picture of a truly sustainable world. Every episode we'l sit down with our deck of conversation starter cards and talk about the things that are making us feel hopeful and inspired.