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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.