Hello! This week we're discussing the impacts of the climate crisis on our mental health, and how we can support ourselves and each other in response. 

From the trauma of the effects of extreme weather events like floods and droughts, to worrying about climate change in our every day lives, there’s a growing body of evidence which shows more and more of us are struggling.

Email your comments, questions and episode ideas to [email protected] or at www.cheerfulpodcast.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

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Hello! This week we’re looking at the role of Magistrates in our justice system. Little is widely known about the volunteer system which presides over 90% of criminal cases, and as the government launches a campaign to get 4,000 new magistrates to apply, we find out how what more can be done to raise awareness and increase diversity. We’re joined by chair of the Young Magistrates Network, Luke Rigg, criminal lawyer Raj Chada and Penelope Gibbs, founder of Transform Justice. 

Email your comments, questions and episode ideas to [email protected] or at www.cheerfulpodcast.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

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Hello! This week we're looking at the circular economy, a system that could transform our lives and contribute mightily towards reducing carbon emissions. In the UK, per person we produce the second highest amount of electronic waste by throwing away our unwanted phones and laptops.

In a circular economy, we reduce usage of materials, reuse them and recycle. To help us understand the circular economy we're joined by Patrick Shroeder from Chatham House, Susan Evans from the Green Alliance, and Malena Sell from Sitra, the innovation company helping Finland towards its goal of eliminating waste by 2050. Plus, Ed's got a new thermometer and Geoff's becoming a social butterfly.

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Hello! This week we’re joined by the wonderful Jon Ronson for a special episode. The acclaimed journalist, documentary maker and author, talks to Ed and Geoff about his new podcast series ‘Things Fell Apart’, which explores the extraordinary human stories behind the origins of what have become known as the culture wars. Ed gets into the kitchen, and Geoff develops an unlikely crush. 

Email your comments, questions and episode ideas to [email protected] or at www.cheerfulpodcast.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello! This week we head for the peatlands, get in the sea, and go in search of UK's lost rainforests to explore ecosystems beyond the trees. Could restoring these habitats play a significant part in achieving net-zero? And what else needs to be done to tackle the UK's nature crisis?

Joining us are Kate Jennings (with a canine cameo), Guy Shrubsole and Richard Unsworth. 

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Happy New Year! To start 2022, Ed and Geoff talk to one of the UK’s most acclaimed and prolific scriptwriters, Jack Thorne (Help, Kiri, His Dark Materials, The End of History, This Is England.) Jack is a co-founder of Underlying Health Condition - a pressure group campaigning for proper inclusion and representation of disabled people in the entertainment industry. Jack talks about his own experience of disability, his career, his politics, and he gives Geoff a break from being Ed’s personal TV recommendation service. 

Read Underlying Health Condition’s report: https://underlyinghealthcondition.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/finalised-underlying-health-condition-report-tv.pdf

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the fourth and final episode about how progressive victories were won, we're taking a look at the introduction of the national minimum wage. It feels unthinkable now that there shouldn't be a minimum rate that workers are paid, but it wasn't too long ago that hourly rates of £1 or £1.50 were commonplace. The road to a national minimum wage was long and winding but campaigning, persuasive leadership, new academic thinking all helped to create something that's become part of the fabric of working life in the UK.

To help us understand the history of the labour market, what pre-minimum wage Britain was like, and who the key players were in the fight we're joined by historian Sheila Blackburn, Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Liverpool. We're also honoured to be joined by Margaret Beckett MP who served as Secretary of State for Trade & Industry under Tony Blair from 1997 and also by Gavin Kelly, Chair of the Living Wage Commission who joins us to talk about where the minimum and living wage conversation goes from here.

Plus, Geoff asks Ed for advice on some split loyalties between his wife, and the dry cleaner.

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