Rapid-fire information, distrust of experts and elites, and acute inequality are just some of the reasons we’re feeling more than thinking our way through important decisions. Like voting. Sociologist and political economist William Davies is the author of Nervous States, How Feeling Took Over the World. He takes us back to the decoupling of reason and emotion in the 17th century, and why we must fuse them back together in the 21st.

For more information on the Forum, go to:

www.oecd-forum.org/

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

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Modern life is digital and fast. Democracy is analogue and slow, and cracks are showing in the system. Young people are blasé about voting, many distrust government, and extremism and populism are bubbling up. Jamie Bartlett is the author of The People vs Tech and the former head of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank, Demos. He says that international cooperation on cybersecurity and private sector ingenuity can help reboot democracy.

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

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New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern was in Paris earlier this month for a global summit on online violent extremism. New Zealand’s initiative, Christchurch Call, is a pledge that countries will set guidelines on how the media should report acts of terrorism, and adopt and enforce laws on objectionable material. This follows the country’s ban on semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles weeks after the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019. In this short interview, Ms Ardern discusses the initiative as well as New Zealand’s landmark Well-Being budget, housing and the future of work.

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

Sound engineer: Borja Ortuzar

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We need more women to work, to be paid the same as men, and to hold powerful positions. This is not just a matter of fairness but of plain economics. The OECD estimates that halving the gender gap in the work force by 2030 would boost GDP by about 6%.

Dame Helena Morrissey is the founder of the UK-based 30% Club. Its goal? To reach a minimum of 3 out of 10 women on boards and in senior management. And this is just the thin edge of the diversity wedge. Ms Morrissey believes the power base should also be more inclusive of different ethnicities and sexual identities. Helena Morrissey is the current head of personal investing at Legal & General.

For more information on the Forum, go to:

www.oecd-forum.org/

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

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Anthony Gooch is head of OECD’s Public Affairs and Communications and director of OECD Forum. Now in its 20th year, the Forum is OECD’s annual thinkfest, bringing together public figures, academics, corporate leaders, and a whole host of people working to shape better policies and better lives. In this conversation, we talk about fragile trust, the hope of civic tech, and the complicated relationship between facts and feelings.

For more information on the OECD Forum and to join the debate:

https://www.oecd-forum.org/

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

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How can we all help shape better policies for better lives? In as little as 15 minutes, our OECD Podcasts bring you insightful interviews with OECD and guest experts on such pressing challenges as the coronavirus pandemic and health, inequality, the world economy, the digital transformation, climate change, social change, the environment, international co-operation, and more.

NOTE: All podcasts express the opinions of the interviewees and do not necessarily represent the official views of OECD member countries.

OECD Podcasts launched 2018: Rory Clarke, Alison Benney, Robin Allison Davis, Clara Young.

Is housing a basic human right? It should be. And yet, investment and speculation in property often get in the way of housing affordability. This is where governments can make a difference. Anna Minton’s message is that if there’s political will, there’s a way. Anna Minton is a writer, journalist and Reader in Architecture at University of East London. She has written two books, Ground Control and Big Capital: Who is London for?

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

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Mental illness comes with a big pricetag. The OECD estimates the total cost of mental disorders in the EU to be more than 4% of GDP--over €600 billion. But no price can be put on the cost of mental illness for the person suffering from it. “It’s okay to not be okay,” is comedian and mental health activist Ruby Wax’s message. To the one in four people in the world who suffer from mental disorders at some time in their life (World Health Organization, 2018), these are words from someone who understands, and the first step to coping with the disease. Ruby Wax was awarded an OBE in 2015 for her services to mental health and holds a Master’s degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy at University of Oxford. She is the president of Relate, a charity that’s pushing for more government financial support for relationship counselling. Ruby is also the author of Sane New World: Taming the Mind and How to be Human.

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

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After visiting his cousin in the city, Aesop’s country mouse concludes that “Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty”. Those who feel they have neither security nor sufficient means in places like Wales, Italy’s Mezzogiorno and France’s Diagonale du Vide beg to differ. Joaquim Oliveira Martins, deputy director of the OECD’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, says the answers to today’s populist angst lie in local strategies and coordination.

For more information, go to:

http://www.oecd.org/cfe/

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

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Our oceans absorb 30% of the CO2 caused by greenhouse gas emissions. And they take in 90% of the heat that's caused by the same emissions. But our oceans are getting tired. UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson, talks to us about ocean biodiversity, coral reefs and acidification. And the miracle of intertidal marshes, seagrass beds, lagoons, and mangrove forests.

Host: Clara Young

Producer: Robin Allison Davis

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