Reading Ahead

What makes a good leader – and can leadership be taught? 

In Episode 4 of Reading Ahead, University of Reading Chancellor Paul Lindley OBE brings together two people at very different points in their leadership journeys.  

Major General Nick Cowley, Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, has spent 25 years leading in the British Army. Daniel Tapp is a first-year University of Reading student and one of the first scholars on our Global Sustainability Leaders Scholarship. 

Together, they explore how leadership is learned, the importance of character and curiosity, and what it takes to make good decisions in a rapidly changing world. 

What can a student and a Major General learn from each other about leadership? Watch the full conversation to find out.

Can businesses grow, create value and help tackle the challenges facing society? 

In Episode 3 of Reading Ahead, University of Reading Chancellor Paul Lindley OBE is joined by Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean of Henley Business School Africa, and entrepreneur, ESG adviser and Reading alumna Amy Clarke. 

Together, they explore purpose, profit, sustainability and how ethical practices can become part of business as usual.

What skills will young people need most in the century ahead? 

In Episode 2 of Reading Ahead, University of Reading Chancellor Paul Lindley OBE is joined by Dr Naeema Pasha, founder of the World of Work Institute at Henley Business School, and Martin Allen Morales, founder of Ceviche and CEO of the Institute of Imagination.

Read Dr. Naeema Pasha's new white paper: https://assets.henley.ac.uk/v3/fileUploads/WOW-Paper-2026.pdf

And buy her book, Futureproof Your Career: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/futureproof-your-career-9781472988379/

We know our climate is changing. So how do we turn knowledge into action? 

In the first episode of the Reading Ahead podcast, University of Reading Chancellor Paul Lindley OBE is joined by Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez, Professor of Meteorology at Reading, and broadcast meteorologist, Laura Tobin. 

They explore climate anxiety, communicating climate science, individual and collective action, and how we can work together to address one of the biggest challenges facing society in the century ahead. 

Subscribe now for a new episode every fortnight. 

https://www.reading.ac.uk/planet/

Welcome to the new podcast from the University of Reading! Across our first series, made in our centenary year, we'll be exploring some of the biggest challenges facing us in the century ahead, and what universities can do about them.