Meeting People

Puritans of old used theology as a tool to proscribe behaviour they disapproved of. Their descendents use statistics. In my latest episode I speak with Chris Snowdon who is head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs. We discuss the law of unintended consequences when it comes to public health measures and some of the spurious justifications provided for their enforcement. Not only is Chris a very thoughtful commentator but also a funny one. Beyond dissecting long term plans to ban tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and unhealthy foods, we try to define populism without much success. We also cover lockdowns, mask mandates, social media addictivity, the Blob, ISIS's tobacco policy and the general quality of our politicians and journalists today. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and learned a lot so hope you do too.

Chris is an author of several books including Velvet Glove, Iron Fist. You can find him on X: @cjsnowdon, https://twitter.com/cjsnowdon

This podcast was produced by Matt Cooper with music composed by Loverman.

"Actions speak louder than words" is a hackneyed phrase but nowhere is it more applicable than with Alice Rackley and the plastics problem. I really enjoyed to speaking to the CEO of Polytag; a circular economy focused company looking to tackle waste in the realm of packaging. Not only is she a friend, mentor and all-round inspiration but also a force of nature. Beyond plastic packaging we cover modern working, leadership, management, the power of networking, gsd*, and the challenges of being a mother/CEO in 2024. Spoiler alert - Environmental virtue signalling from companies isn't matched by tangible action.

*getting s*%£ done

This podcast was produced by Matt Cooper with music composed by Loverman.

Richard Feynman once said "If you can't explain something in simple terms, you don't understand it." Simon not only explains challenging topics with simplicity but also throws in a healthy dose of entertainment. I was gripped from start to finish during this conversation and learned a lot. We covered the tyranny of experts, the shortcomings of scientism in complexity and systems thinking, the reduction of education to exam-taking, forthcoming societal challenges, the Dunning-Kruger effect and more. Strap-in at 1x speed to get the most out of this discussion.

Books mentioned:
Thinking in Systems: A Primer - Donella Meadows
The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few - James Surowiecki
Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense - Rory Sutherland

This podcast was produced by Matt Cooper with music composed by Loverman.

Amul Pandya converses with independent, adventurous and sometimes courteous free spirits. Creativity is an act of rebellion. Whether they are entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, investors, chefs, or corporate antagonists, Amul's guests all share a common disposition of not just pushing boundaries but re-drawing landscapes.

This podcast was produced by Matt Cooper with music composed by Loverman.