From What If to What Next

An odd question perhaps... yet in the hands of our guests, Belina Raffy and Sam Knights, a powerful and pertinent one. What if we were to harness the power of humour as a tool in the fight to engage people in the climate emergency? What can humour allow and enable us to do that other approaches don't?

We had a lot of fun making this episode, and I hope you will have as much fun listening to it. As always, do let me know what you think, we love to hear your thoughts on these episodes.

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Welcome to our 54th episode, our 54th journey into the future that is still possible, just. But before I tell you more, a suggestion, as you'll hear in the episode, that this episode will be a lot more enjoyable, and a fuller experience, if you listen to it in a space with fresh bread being baked. So if you've never made bread before, here is a link with an easy-to-make recipe. Good luck!

And so to our episode. It's all about bread, and the role that good, nutritious bread, made from wheat grown well, could play in transforming the world around us. Our guests are Andrew Whitley and Catriona Milligan. They share with us a vision of a future that is delicious in so many ways. I hope you love this episode and do let me know what you thought, and what imaginings it inspired for you.

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Here at 'From What If to What Next' we don't shy away from the big questions of our times! Today we are diving deep into the question of what we eat.

Rather than debating whether veganism is a good thing or not, today we are stepping, with the help of our guests Tomi Makanjola (aka The Vegan Nigerian) and Dr. Melanie Joy, Founding President of Beyond Carnism, into that world that has already become vegan. What would it be like? How might it impact our imagination? How might it improve society in other ways. So today, do join me on a journey to a vegan 2030. It may surprise you. And I would love to hear your thoughts on today's episode .. do let me know.

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Welcome to Episode 52, different from the episode we advertised, a bit of a mix up at What If Towers, but it means some of you now know the subject of our next episode. Oh well. But this week's is such a treat.

Meet Dr Rupa Marya and Rhiannon Osborne (many thanks to her, as this episode was her idea), who bring a delightful and fresh inroad into what society could look like if it were to prioritise health in the full meaning of the word. It's a discussion that is both grounded and hugely aspirational, just like we like it here.

I hope you love this episode. My thanks to both my guests because they were both amazing, and to Ben Addicott as always for making it sound so amazing.

Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

We are joined by two amazing guests to discuss a vitally important issue. Ben Hurst of Beyond Equality and Graham Goulden of Cultivating Minds UK join me to explore what a future in which men work with each other to rapidly deescalate male violence in the world would look like and feel like. It's a powerful and vital discussion. My deepest thanks to them both and, as always, to producer Ben Addicott for making them sound so good. I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode.

Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

Episode 50. That's something worth celebrating! And what a beautiful way to celebrate it, by interviewing the person I've wanted on this podcast since it began, adrienne maree brown. One of the great thinkers and imagineers of our time, it was an honour to finally meet her and to record this episode. I hope you love it. It's been hard keeping this a secret for so long.

I'd like to thank everyone who has made it possible for us to get this far, especially everyone who has subscribed to the podcast, and to all our amazing guests. Next week's 'Ministry of Imagination' episode, in a change to our usual format, will feature myself and producer Ben Addicott visiting the Ministry and answering your questions. Don't miss it! Thank you, and here's to the next 50...

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Today's episode is one of my favourites so far, with two amazing guests. It was inspired by one of our guests, Jon Alexander's new book 'Citizens: why the key to fixing everything is all of us', which is just released and highly recommended. He is joined by the delightful Baratunde Thurston, author of 'How to be Black' and presenter of one of my favourite TED Talks. You are going to love this exploration of what it would mean to live in a world which genuinely valued and empowered us as citizens.

I would LOVE to know what you thought of this episode, and I really hope you love it. And stand by for Episode 50. We have a beautiful conversation lined up with a very special surprise guest. You're going to love it.

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When it comes to building food security, biodiversity, employment, spaces that are good for mental health, and so much more besides, we are missing a huge opportunity. Our cities contain many square kilometres of flat roof spaces, currently visited by a few pigeons and that's about it. But what if they were transformed into vibrant vegetable gardens, public spaces for events, places for communities to meet? And what would creating a vibrant network of such gardens unlock? I'm fascinated by the idea that comes up in this podcast of a network of bridges connecting them, a whole new way to get around a city.

So meet my guests, Paola Krug (here is a link to the guidebook she co-wrote) and Katrien Ligt (you can follow her Hamburg work on Instagram here), both of whom are doing amazing work transforming rooftops. You'll never look at a flat roof in the same way ever again. Enjoy. And do let us know what you thought of this episode.

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You're going to enjoy this one. This week we're talking about mental health, and how different the world would be if we were to take a very different approach to it. I'm joined by Jo Hunter from 64 Million Artists, and by Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu of Project LETS. It's one of those episodes that requires a walk afterwards to really digest what you've heard. My thanks to Jo and Stefanie for their vulnerability and openness in this discussion. I hope you find it useful and inspiring. Thanks as always to Ben Addicott for his production, and to you for listening.

Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

This week this podcast joins you with printing ink on its hands and under its fingernails . We're talking about printmaking and its potential to unleash social change. I have a vested interest here, I love printmaking. And I love social change! So discussing this gives me the opportunity to bring together two amazing printmakers.

Sarah Gillespie makes the most amazing mezzotint prints of moths, ghostly, stunning, and heartbreaking. Katie Gilmartin uses lino printing to engage young gay and trans people in learning the stories of other gay and trans people throughout history. It's a conversation that goes in many different directions and which I hope you'll really love. And I hope it also makes you fall in love with the joy of printmaking! Thanks for listening and see you next time.

Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.