Freedom Matters

Chris Bailey is an author and lecturer who explores the science behind living a deeper, more intentional life. He is the international bestselling author of How to Calm Your Mind, Hyperfocus, and The Productivity Project—which have been published in 35 languages around the world. He is also the author of the Audible Original, How to Train Your Mind.

Alongside his wife, Chris is the host of the podcast Time and Attention, and writes a weekly column at ChrisBailey.com, which is read by tens of thousands of people every week. In addition to his writing, Chris speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can become more productive, without hating the process. His latest TED Talk, How to Get Your Brain to Focus, has been viewed over 13 million times.

However, it took an on-stage panic attack for productivity expert Chris to recognize how critical it is to invest in calm at the same time that we invest in becoming more productive. Productivity advice works—and we need it now more than ever—but it’s just as vital that we develop our capacity for calm. By finding calm and overcoming anxiety, we don’t just feel more comfortable in our own mind—we build a deeper, more expansive reservoir of energy to draw from throughout the day.

Today we dive into his most recently book, How to Calm Your Mind, to understand the difference between anxiety and calm, why calm is so powerful and importantly, how crucially, how to find it.

Host and Producer: ⁠⁠⁠Georgie Powell⁠⁠⁠ 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | ⁠⁠⁠Toccare⁠⁠⁠ 

In this episode we speak with Henry Ajder, a globally recognised advisor, speaker, and broadcaster working at the frontier of the generative AI and synthetic media revolution. Henry’s work has transformed society’s understanding of deepfakes and generative AI.

He has led pioneering research at organisations including MIT, WITNESS, and Sensity AI, influencing international legislation and corporate AI strategy.

A "deep fake cartographer", henry's work has mapped the emergence and evolution of generative technologies and the impact that they have on our lives.

In this episode we discuss:

More about Henry:

Henry presented the BBC documentary series, The Future will be Synthesised, and regularly features in global media including The New York Times, MIT Tech Review, CNN, Reuters, and The Financial Times. He has been published by outlets including WIRED, The Next Web, NYU, and The World AI Summit.

Previously, Henry led Synthetic Futures, the first initiative dedicated to ethical generative AI and metaverse technologies, bringing together over 50 industry-leading organisations.

An established keynote speaker and guest expert, Henry has spoken at venues including SXSW, CogX, The University of Oxford, and Adweek and advises organisations on the opportunities and challenges these game-changing technologies present, including Meta, The European Commission, BBC, The Partnership on AI, and The House of Lords.

Henry Ajder

BBC Radio 4 - The Future Will Be Synthesised

Host and Producer: ⁠⁠⁠Georgie Powell⁠⁠⁠ 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | ⁠⁠⁠Toccare⁠⁠⁠ 

Over the past decade, companies have invested more and more in employee wellbeing. And yet, in recent years, employees perceptions that their companies care about their wellbeing has fallen rapidly. Why is the increase in spend not translating to improved employee wellbeing, and what can be done about it?

This week, I'm in conversation with the Tyler Rice, who is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Digital Wellness Institute. As a leading digital wellness innovator, Tyler’s work focuses on designing new tools, training, and data measurements to drive awareness of the importance of digital wellbeing for enterprise clients.

Today, we'll be discussing workplace wellbeing, and how to create a culture where digital wellbeing can flourish. We explore:

If you want to learn more about the digital wellbeing institute, then support us and them on Digital Wellness Day, on the 5th of May, by joining our free virtual co-working session, powered by Caveday. You can register here: https://www.caveday.org/freedomcave

Find out more:

Digitally Well Workplaces: https://www.digitalwellnessinstitute.com/workplaces

Digitally Well Workplace Certification: https://www.digitalwellnessinstitute.com/certifiedworkplaces

Host and Producer: ⁠⁠Georgie Powell⁠⁠ 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | ⁠⁠Toccare⁠⁠ 

It is impossible to ignore the rapid rise and adoption of Generative AI programs, like chat GPT and Midjourney. At Freedom, we are fascinated with the conversation about whether these tools will support or undermine digital wellbeing and productivity, and the impact that they will have for the future of work. The likelihood is that it will depend a lot on how thoughtfully we use them.

In this episode we welcome consumer psychologist, Dr Paul Marsden, to discuss this very issue. As a positive psychologist, he believes that technology should be designed to support the ARC of happiness, and that there is huge potential for the positive application of generative AI. We are no longer in a situation where AI will simply replace menial, repetitive tasks; it is being proven to be incredibly creative.

We discuss:

Dr Paul Marsden (CPsychol) is a consultant psychologist specialising on the psychological effects of technology on we think, feel and behave. Paul works with businesses to help them understand how tech transforms people’s expectations, relationships and experiences. Paul appeared as himself in the 2022 award-winning movie ‘I am Gen Z’ - a documentary film on teens, tech and wellbeing, and has recently completed a study for WPP digital agency, SYZYGY, on how people feel and respond to new AI technology like ChatGPT.

Learn more about Paul and his work:

Imagine: Public Perceptions of Generative AI in Germany (Survey on the Public Perceptions of Generative AI in Germany - SYZYGY GROUP)
I am Gen Z: I Am Gen Z (I Am Gen Z)
Website: digitalwellbeing.org

Host and Producer: ⁠Georgie Powell⁠ 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | ⁠Toccare⁠ 

Silence isn’t just the absence of noise. It’s a presence that brings us energy, clarity, and deeper connection.

In this episode, we meet with Justin Zorn & Leigh Marz, to discuss just this. Their book, Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise, explores the meaning of silence and the art of finding it in any situation. The book reveals how to go beyond the ordinary rules and tools of mindfulness. It’s a field guide for navigating the noise of the modern world—not just the noise in our ears, but also on our screens and in our heads.

Drawing on lessons from neuroscience, business, spirituality, politics, and the arts, Marz and Zorn explore why auditory, informational, and internal silence is essential for physical health, mental clarity, ecological sustainability, and vibrant community.

In this episode we discuss:

Justin Talbot Zorn has served as both a policymaker and a meditation teacher in the U.S. Congress. A Harvard- and Oxford-trained specialist in the economics and psychology of well-being, Justin has written for the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, Foreign Policy, Wired, CNN, and other publications. He is cofounder of Astrea Strategies, a consultancy that bridges contemplation and action, helping leaders and teams envision and communicate solutions to complex challenges. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife and three children.

Leigh Marz is a collaboration consultant and leadership coach for major universities, corporations, and federal agencies as well as a longtime student of pioneering researchers and practitioners of the ritualized use of psychedelic medicines in the West. In her professional work, she has led diverse initiatives, including a training program to promote an experimental mindset among teams at NASA and a decade-long cross-sector collaboration to reduce toxic chemicals in products in partnership with the Green Science Policy Institute, Harvard, IKEA, Google, and Kaiser Permanente. She is the co-founder of Astrea Strategies. Leigh lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband and daughter.

You can find Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise at Amazon, Bookshop.org  or anywhere you buy books.

For audiophiles, we highly recommend the Audible audio book —read by Prentice Onayemi.

For recent media and articles written by Justin and Leigh, go to Golden Media.

If you’d like to learn more about Justin and Leigh’s consulting work with Astrea Strategies—helping individuals and organizations address challenges and communicate solutions from a deeper place of attention and centeredness—you can find them at astreastrategies.com

If you’d like to learn more about Jarvis Jay Masters, a primary teacher in the book, and his appeal for his freedom—please visit freejarvis.org.

Host and Producer: Georgie Powell 

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | Toccare 

In this episode we speak with Gloria Mark. Gloria is Chancellor's professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. She received her PhD from Columbia University in Psychology and studies the impact of digital media on people's lives. Her new book, Attention Span is the culmination of years of research, understanding attention, distraction, and how to live with digital devices.

In this episode, we discussed the important arguments of her book:

Finally, we discuss a number of ways in which we can reclaim control over our valuable attention.

Find out more about Gloria and order her book here: www.gloriamark.com

Follow her on social media:

Freedom Matters Host and Producer: Georgie Powell https://www.sentientdigitalconsulting.com

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | Toccare https://spoti.fi/3bN4eqO

Amit Gupta is an optimist, a science fiction writer, and co-founder of Sudowrite, the AI-powered creative writing app. He is also an uncle and a son, and a friend to all dogs. He previously founded and sold Photojojo.

In this episode we discuss:

Sudowrite https://www.sudowrite.com/app

Freedom Matters Host and Producer: Georgie Powell https://www.sentientdigitalconsulting.com

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | Toccare https://spoti.fi/3bN4eqO

Dan Clark is CEO of Brain.FM, which creates music for the brain, to help you unlock your best self, by focusing, relaxing and sleeping better. Phil Amalong is the VP Marketing of Freedom, and audio producer and music composer for Freedom Matters. They both love music, and have lived and breathed how music can change the way we function and work.

In this two part episode, we speak firstly with Phil. We talk about how he builds the soundtracks for our podcast, about his career history as a musician and entrepreneur, and why focus sounds have become an important part of the Freedom product.

Focus sounds exist in Freedom, in part due to Brain.fm. Brain.fm's CEO, Dan, explains the science behind how focus sounds work to align the vibrations in our brain so that we can think more clearly and stay focused for longer. Dan has spent years hacking his life to improve his focus, and believes there is still so much to learn when it comes to sound.

Websites:

Freedom Matters Host and Producer: Georgie Powell https://www.sentientdigitalconsulting.com

Music and audio production: Phil Amalong | Toccare https://spoti.fi/3bN4eqO

Music in this episode: 

- Predictions by Brain.fm

- Freedom Matters Theme - composed/produced by Philip Amalong

- Beethoven Piano Sonata Op. 109, Mvt 3 excerpt - performed by Philip Amalong

- Arc - composed/produced by Philip Amalong

- Apex by Brain.fm

- Moon Cycles by Brain.fm

- Pando by Brain.fm

- Predictions by Brain.fm

John Mack is an American artist, photographer, author and founder of Life Calling. A frequent speaker at conferences and universities on the

In this episode we discuss "A Species Between Worlds" and the moral lessons that it shares. We cover the role of technology tools in our lives, and how it distorts our relationship with nature. We also discuss how

Mack was born in 1976 in New York City. Under Life Calling, Mack recently published Notes to Selfie: Bits of Truth in a Phoney World, a volume of thoughts and aphorisms, and a collection of poetry, A Land Between Worlds: The Shifting Poetry of the Great American Landscape. He was an honoree of The Explorer’s Club 50: Fifty people changing the world who the world needs to know about. Mack has also served as an adjunct lecturer for the Graduate program at IADE in Lisbon, Portugal.

For years John has expressed concern over the effects on humanity in the wake of the rapid proliferation of smart-devices. A vanguard in advocating research, activism, and awareness around their unmitigated use, John founded Life Calling, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help us all live fulfilled lives in the Digital Age while retaining our humanity and personal autonomy. It aims to empower humanity through a dynamic series of activations, campaigns, exhibitions and public programming, to help generate a more balanced, nuanced and thoughtful perspective for us all in the Digital Age.

For more from John: www.life-calling.org

Freedom Matters Host and Producer: Georgie Powell https://www.sentientdigitalconsulting.com

Music and audio production: Toccare https://spoti.fi/3bN4eqO

Tanya Goodin is an author, broadcaster, pioneering thinker and campaigner on digital wellbeing and tech ethics - founder of the digital detox movement Time to Log Off and host of the ‘It’s Complicated’ podcast. Her game-changing books on our relationship with technology, ‘My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open’, ‘Off’ and ‘Stop Staring at Screens’, are published in ten languages worldwide.

In this episode we discuss many of the lessons that she has learnt about the costs of using technology. We discuss:

She hasn’t always been a ‘digital canary’. As an award-winning digital entrepreneur and instinctive trend spotter, Tanya spent two decades running one of Britain’s first digital businesses. Her mission now is to make today’s tech issues accessible to users and consumers, so they can consciously manage their digital lives.

Tanya is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a graduate of the University of Oxford, and currently researching for a Masters in Artificial Intelligence (AI) ethics at the University of Cambridge.

Websites: www.tanyagoodin.com and www.itstimetologoff.com

Twitter handle @tanyagoodin

Book link My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open: How to Untangle Our Relationship with Tech

Podcast: Digital Detox Resources, Research and Retreats | Time To Log Off 

Freedom Matters Host and Producer: Georgie Powell https://www.sentientdigitalconsulting.com/

Music and audio production: Toccare https://spoti.fi/3bN4eqO