Joanne Lockwood is joined by DEI and storytelling collaborators Rita Hallgató and Fiona Dawson to explore what it means to “infuse empathy” into workplace inclusion efforts.

They discuss how personal storytelling can help colleagues understand one another beyond surface differences, and why creating trust and psychological safety is essential if people are going to share lived experience in a corporate setting. The conversation also looks at the current backlash and budget cuts around DEI, arguing for a shift in mindset from viewing inclusion as a cost to treating it as an investment tied to better people experiences, retention, and performance.

Fiona shares lessons from her filmmaking work, including projects spotlighting transgender service members, and how those experiences translate into creating spaces where people feel seen and heard at work. Rita and Joanne consider practical levers inside organisations—such as breaking down silos between DEI, HR, and marketing; building authentic ERG participation; and improving inclusive hiring—so inclusion becomes embedded in culture rather than treated as a standalone initiative.

Across the episode, the central message is that empathy is not just personal—it’s a foundation for sustainable culture change and more inclusive leadership.

Joanne Lockwood is joined by Mark Bateman, CEO of WeQual and author of Disruptive Leadership, to explore how meaningful workplace change is led from the top. They discuss what leadership looks like in practice, how leaders shape culture, and why inclusive leadership requires deliberate decisions about who gets opportunities and who is heard.

The conversation focuses on gender equality in male-dominated environments, drawing on Mark’s experience coaching senior women in global organisations. Together they examine the double standards women face as they progress, including being shut down in meetings, judged more harshly, and pressured to adapt their style to fit existing expectations. They also discuss how confidence, imposter feelings, and the ability to be authentic at work can be affected by these dynamics.

Mark and Joanne dig into the organisational mechanics that sustain inequality, including biased definitions of “what success looks like,” investor expectations, and recruitment practices. They explore practical interventions such as sponsorship (advocacy when someone is not in the room), mentorship, clearer promotion pathways, and approaches like anonymised hiring to reduce bias.

They close by widening the lens to purpose and sustainability: aligning personal purpose with organisational purpose, building diverse teams for better decision-making, and creating cultures where success does not require personal sacrifice. The episode ends as a call for leaders and individuals alike to take responsibility for the change they want to see.

Joanne Lockwood is joined by Alexandra Parritt to explore how stigma around mental health and neurodiversity shows up at work, and what it takes to shift from merely coping to finding strength. Alexandra shares how masking and stereotypes can shape perceptions of capability, and why psychological safety and supportive management can make the difference between a workplace that harms and one that enables people to thrive.

They discuss neurodiversity as a movement that challenges rigid ideas of “normal”, touching on ADHD and autism and the importance of focusing on individuals rather than assumptions or one-size-fits-all adjustments. The conversation also looks at how working patterns, flexibility, and the everyday environment around someone can amplify or reduce stress.

Alongside Alexandra’s experiences, Joanne reflects on identity and authenticity at work, including her perspective as a transgender woman and how expectations of “professionalism” can change over time. Together they make the case for inclusion that benefits everyone, and for practical culture shifts that remove stigma and open opportunity.

Joanne Lockwood speaks with coach and creator Sarah Naylor about what it really means to embrace who you are — kinks, quirks and all — and why self-acceptance is the foundation for a happier life. Sarah shares how divorce and starting again pushed her into deep personal development, exploration, and the choice to stop shaping herself around other people’s expectations.

They discuss fear of judgement, online trolling, and the practical boundaries needed to protect your energy when you put yourself out there. Both Joanne and Sarah reflect on difficult periods of financial pressure and family strain, and the resilience that comes from surrendering what you can’t control while staying aligned with your values.

The conversation also ranges into health and lifestyle choices — from cooking from scratch and questioning convenience culture, to broader reflections on consumption, sustainability, and appreciating nature and sufficiency. Throughout, the central thread is the courage to live openly, find community, and create positive change by modelling authenticity.

Joanne Lockwood is joined by workplace wellbeing advocate and dietitian Celynn Morin for a wide-ranging conversation about what it means to live with vitality, even under pressure. Starting with the gut–brain connection, Celynn explains how food choices, digestion, and the microbiome can influence stress, energy, and mood, and why context matters as much as ingredients when it comes to how we respond to what we eat.

They dig into the habits that shape conscious consumption, from noticing hydration and appetite cues to planning ahead for better choices on the go. Joanne shares his own experiments with food tracking, portion awareness, exercise, and alcohol-free living, while Celynn reframes behaviour change as adding supportive alternatives rather than relying on deprivation.

The discussion moves from nutrition into stillness and regulated breathing as practical tools for stress management. Together they explore mindfulness practices, centring before challenging conversations, and how small pauses can improve communication and decision-making.

Celynn also shares part of her personal story, including leaving the Jehovah’s Witness community, the impact of losing a social world, and rebuilding a sense of self with more curiosity, joy, and freedom. The episode closes with Celynn’s “head, heart, and gut” model and her Wellbeing Calculator, offering listeners a grounded way to assess foundational habits like sleep, mindset, movement, hydration, and mindfulness.

Joanne Lockwood speaks with Hannah Bellamy, Managing Director of Charity: Water UK, about what “clean water” really means and why lack of access remains a daily reality for hundreds of millions of people.

They explore how unsafe or distant water sources drive preventable illness and child deaths, and how the burden of collecting water and managing sanitation falls disproportionately on women and girls. Hannah shares what sustainable solutions look like in different contexts, from deep drilled wells and hand pumps to household filtration systems, and why long-term maintenance and local suitability matter.

Hannah also explains Charity: Water’s transparency model, separating project funds from overheads so public donations can be directed entirely to water projects, alongside the auditing and partner oversight that protects trust. The conversation widens to consider climate impacts on water security, the limits of individual consumption changes, and practical ways listeners can support progress through giving, fundraising, workplace influence, and awareness-building.

Joanne Lockwood is joined by researcher and storyteller Georgie Williams to explore what we can learn from queer lives and communities across borders, and why narrowly defined gender and sexuality “boxes” fail to reflect human diversity.

Georgie shares the origins of their project Slash Queer: building an open, accessible archive of oral histories from around the world, shaped by the people telling the stories. The conversation moves through how western frameworks have been exported through media and colonial histories, and how other cultures have long held broader understandings of gender, sexuality, kinship and social roles.

Together they discuss identity, pronouns, and the practical realities of being read by others. Georgie explains their shift to they/them pronouns and the difference between genuine effort and defaulting to what makes others comfortable. Joanne reflects on transition, “passing”, and the everyday ways couples navigate social scripts.

The episode also addresses safety, bias and access to care, including how healthcare and public spaces can become sites of policing and exclusion for trans and nonbinary people. Throughout, Joanne and Georgie balance humour with clear-eyed challenge: expanding representation, loosening assumptions, and making room for people to belong without having to fit a prescribed template.

Joanne Lockwood is joined by gender diversity speaker and consultant Cynthia Fortlage for a wide-ranging conversation about how binary thinking has shaped society and workplaces, and what it takes to build cultures where people can belong.

Cynthia unpacks what she means by gender as an innate sense of self as well as a set of social expectations, and explores how language and norms shift over time. The discussion challenges common assumptions about sex and gender, draws attention to biological diversity including intersex realities, and reflects on how colonisation and religious interpretation have influenced gender roles and inequality.

They bring the conversation into the workplace, looking at why progress on gender equity remains slow, what COVID revealed and exacerbated, and how bias shows up in pay, progression and everyday safety. Cynthia argues that organisations can be leading forces for change, especially when they treat culture as an ongoing practice rather than a one-off initiative.

Practical themes include the need for psychological safety to enable disclosure and trustworthy data, the importance of continuous learning, and the role of allies and those with power and privilege in shifting systems. Cynthia also shares elements of her own leadership journey, including transitioning while in a C-suite role, and how that experience informs her work with organisations around the world.

Joanne Lockwood speaks with Paris Bartholomew, a speaker, writer, lecturer and trainer, about growing up in the British care system and the long path from instability and trauma to building a life rooted in empathy and purpose.

Paris recounts entering care at six after severe abuse, navigating frequent placement moves, and the impact this had on trust, identity, and relationships. They reflect on the added complexity of being a Black child placed in white environments, where cultural needs and protection from racism were not well understood, and how role models and community links later supported identity formation.

The conversation follows Paris’s transition into independence and education, including using lived experience as evidence of capability when accessing opportunities. Paris also shares their work supporting others through fostering-related training and voluntary roles, including listening support with Samaritans during the COVID period. They describe self-care practices, a PTSD diagnosis, and therapies including EMDR as part of maintaining wellbeing.

They close by discussing the gap between “tick-box” diversity efforts and meaningful inclusion at work, including the importance of safe spaces for learning, trauma-informed practice, and storytelling as a route to connection and culture change. Joanne also highlights Paris’s forthcoming book, which aims to show that adverse childhood experiences can be a backdrop rather than a life sentence.

Joanne Lockwood is joined by management development specialist Helen Joy to explore why middle managers often have one of the toughest roles in an organisation: translating decisions made “above” into day-to-day reality, while also trying to feed insights and concerns back up the chain.

Together they unpack what helps managers create teams where people can thrive—especially through psychological safety, better listening, and coaching-style conversations that resist the urge to jump straight into fixing. They discuss the difference between treating people “the same” and leading fairly by tailoring support to individual needs, and the importance of clarity and communication during change.

The conversation also looks at modern working patterns and technology: hybrid work, asynchronous communication, the risks of micromanagement, and how trust and autonomy can improve motivation. Joanne and Helen reflect on self-awareness, feedback, and emotional intelligence under pressure, finishing with a call to better support and develop managers before (and as) they step into leadership roles.