What if we could not just appreciate nature, but be nature? Things would get a lot better, fast.

In this episode, Deepa speaks to Melina Angel about Biomimicry, from its practical application in design to its many values as a practice and a relationship with becoming nature, not just emulating it.

As a practitioner, academic and systems poet, Melina uses biomimicry to understand, work with and shift societal challenges. She lives in Bogóta, Colombia and teaches in Costa Rica, Colombia & the USA.

The conversation is fluid and weaves through the challenges of systems, explores the opportunity in seeing private sector businesses as living organisms and gets into what it takes to confront our own vulnerabilities. We flirt between the concrete and the visceral trying to see a way forward for much more intentional living, designing and creation new structures for society as a whole. It gets animated and into the messiness of what’s really needed to transform the social sector - and where that often starts with ourselves and holding up the mirror to challenge the role that we think we’re playing and the one that we really are.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

The ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.

Host: Deepa Mirchandani

Music: Unreasonable World by Bernard Schimpelsberger (http://www.bernhard.co.at/)

To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions, please take a look at https://www.deepandmeaningful.co. 

What if trauma carries a hidden gift; biological adaptability for future generations?
Join host Deepa Mirchandani and guest Dr. Rana Dajani as they unpack a ground‑breaking epigenetic study on three generations of Syrian women and discuss why decolonising science starts with decolonising our own minds.
This conversation is from one of our Group ADDA sessions and in it we share Deepa’s conversation with Dr. Rana and also snapshots of the rich group discussion that followed. We had participants from India, Kenya, the USA, Spain and the UK and what ensued was lively and heartfelt.
We hope you enjoy the conversation and keep it going.
For more information about Dr. Dajani’s research: 
Epigenetic signatures of intergenerational exposure to violence in three generations of Syrian refugees: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-89818-z

In this episode, Deepa Mirchandani shares a conversation with Rajni Bakshi, an award-winning journalist and author known for her work on social, political, and economic issues. Her celebrated book, Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom, reimagines value, exchange, and monetary systems driven by equity. Rajni also hosts Ahimsa Conversations, a channel exploring the modern relevance of non-violence.The conversation explores corporate sustainability, the role of social and environmental responsible investment, and the challenges posed by violent structures and systems in our global society. They reflect on activism,, and the value placed on money, alongside Rajni’s critique of the East India Company and the evolution of marketplaces. Rajni’s reflections invite us to question how we organise ourselves and reimagine a more just, nonviolent way of living.We hope you enjoy the conversation.Find more of Rajni's work here:- Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom (Book): https://g.co/kgs/rMUu12U- Ahimsa Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC63Bx1fQYOkCEom93k4T2tg/videosRajni’s recommendations:

• Samdhong Rimpoche - The non-violent essence of human beings
• Nipun Mehta - The role of community
• Amy Domini - Socially Responsible investing (SRI)
• Lewis Hyde - Violence in the global market system ; Book recommended: The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World, and Common as Air
• Satish Kumar - The Resurgence Trust
• Steffi Bednarek: Climate change, fragmentation and collective trauma
• Rajagopal P.V.: On indirect violence generating direct violence
• Margaret Mead - Identifying a healed femur bone as the first sign of civilisation, emphasising early human compassion and care.
• Nick Robbins - the value generation in terms of human well-being and ecological restoration. Book recommended: The Corporation that Changed the World
• Monica Sharma: The innate capacity of human beings to care beyond the self
• Faisal Devji: On the concept of ‘humanity’ within violence
• John Ruskin: Critique of modernity and modern industry. Book recommended: Unto this Last
• Peter Kropotkin
• Real World Economics
• World Social Forum
• Economy of Permanence - JC Kumarappa
• Bapu Kuti: Journeys in Rediscovery of Gandhi (Book) - Rajni Bakshi

The ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.Host: Deepa MirchandaniProduction: Urban Luka Jurc BlagovicMusic: Unreasonable World by Bernard Schimpelsberger (http://www.bernhard.co.at/)Original design: Rory Lawrence (WayMoby - https://waymoby.co.uk/)To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions where we host small spaces for big messy topics, please check out https://www.deepandmeaningful.co. The Adda: https://www.deepandmeaningful.co/the-addaListen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/EP10_SpotifyListen on Apple Podcast: https://bit.ly/EP10_applepodcastWe’ll see you next time!

"We may all be refugees, but we don't live the same stories." – Olivier Nkunzurwanda

What does it mean to have control over your own story?

In this episode of #theADDA, Deepa Mirchandani chats to Olivier Nkunzurwanda, a social entrepreneur who turned displacement into action. Forced to flee the DRC, Olivier arrived in Uganda as a refugee. But instead of being defined by that label, he built something that would change lives - the Refugee Innovation Centre, a space where digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and education empower people to shape their own futures, and provides the skills to share their stories and experiences.

This conversation isn’t about survival. It’s about agency, ownership, and the power of storytelling. Who gets to tell the stories of refugees? And what happens when they tell their own?This episode is audio-only to ensure the best possible quality across limited bandwidth. We hope you enjoy it.

You can explore the transformative work of the Refugee Innovation Centre here: https://www.facebook.com/refugeeinnovationcentre/

Olivier's recommendations:

- Refugee Innovation Centre: ⁨@refugeeinnovationcentre1094⁩ 

- Ramawanja Rural Foundation:  ⁨@rwamwanjaruralfoundationltd⁩ 

The ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.

Host: Deepa Mirchandani

Production: Urban Luka Jurc Blagovic

Music: Unreasonable World by Bernard Schimpelsberger (http://www.bernhard.co.at/)

Original design: Rory Lawrence (WayMoby - https://waymoby.co.uk/)

To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions, please check out https://www.deepandmeaningful.co.

The Adda: https://www.deepandmeaningful.co/the-adda

Listen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/EP10_Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcast: https://bit.ly/EP10_applepodcast

We’ll see you next time!

ABOUT THE ADDA:

"Adda" is the Hindi word for the place where people come together to deliberate, disagree and move on better for the experience of having had the chance to do it.Back in 2020 we opened up a deliberately small online space for people to have messy conversations. The backdrop at the time was a global pandemic, institutional racism and collective hypocrisy showing up at the time of BlackLivesMatter, sexual violence and dominant culture and power dynamics being called out coupled with collective isolation, fear and a growing cancel culture. Places to be open about the unknown, uncertainties and just not having all the answers didn’t really exist. That’s where the ADDA started.Today, we continue to be a space where the topics affecting our world are unpicked, so that we can better understand them and ourselves. We come with a sense of curiosity and a desire that by exploring different perspectives maybe we can grow and show up a little bit better in the world. We’re believers that good conversations lead to better perspectives and better perspectives undoubtedly lead to better decision making and action. We’re really pleased that you’re here to be part of it!

In this episode, Deepa Mirchandani speaks to Emily Bazalgette, a facilitator, coach, and grief tender who supports the creation of graceful endings. She’s also the author of GriefSick, a writing project that speaks to chronic illness and grief.

Emily joins Deepa to explore the quiet ongoing griefs we rarely speak of: chronic illness, endings without ceremony, and the illusion of control in a world that is constantly changing.

Their conversation delves into Emily's reflections on longing for ritual, for ways to mark the unspoken losses of daily life, and the strange aliveness of grief. They consider why disabled and chronically ill people may be the wisest guides for navigating uncertainty and collapse, and how looking at endings could be useful for organisations and funders and creating a healthy society.

This conversation invites reflection on the many ways that grief manifests in our lives and encourages us to rethink endings and reimagine what it means to tend to one another and ourselves. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Learn more about Emily’s work:

• GriefSick: https://griefsick.substack.com
• Foregather: https://foregather.substack.com/p/welcome-to-foregather

The ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.

Host: Deepa Mirchandani

Production: Urban Luka Jurc Blagovic

Music: Unreasonable World by Bernard Schimpelsberger (http://www.bernhard.co.at/)

To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions, please check out https://www.deepandmeaningful.co.

We’ll see you next time!

ABOUT THE ADDA:"Adda" is the Hindi word for the place where people come together to deliberate, disagree and move on better for the experience of having had the chance to do it. We're a space where the topics affecting our world are unpicked, so that we can better understand them and ourselves. We come with a sense of curiosity and a desire that by exploring different perspectives maybe we can grow and show up a little bit better in the world. We’re believers that good conversations lead to better perspectives and better perspectives undoubtedly lead to better decision making and action. We’re really pleased that you’re here to be part of it!

In this episode, Deepa Mirchandani sits down with Matt Klein, cultural theorist, strategist, and Head of Global Foresight at Reddit, to explore the value of global trends and why you need to dig deep to understand what they reveal about human behavior today and in the future.

As algorithms conspire to shape our realities and quick fixes dominate our thinking, Matt and Deepa discuss the challenges of critical thought, the power of cultural foresight, and whether seeing the patterns and connections between the nodes in an era of blinders and biases can actually give us hope.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.Explore Matt’s work:

- Zine: https://zine.kleinkleinklein.com/

- META Trends 2025: https://zine.kleinkleinklein.com/p/meta-trends-2025

The ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.

Host: Deepa Mirchandani

Production: Urban Luka Jurc Blagovic

Music: Unreasonable World by Bernard Schimpelsberger (http://www.bernhard.co.at/)

Original design: Rory Lawrence (WayMoby - https://waymoby.co.uk/)

To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions, please check out https://www.deepandmeaningful.co.

The Adda: https://www.deepandmeaningful.co/the-adda

Listen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/EP11_Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcast: https://bit.ly/EP11_applepodcast

We’ll see you next time!

______________________________________________________________________ABOUT THE ADDA:"Adda" is the Hindi word for the place where people come together to deliberate, disagree and move on better for the experience of having had the chance to do it.Back in 2020 we opened up a deliberately small online space for people to have messy conversations.

The backdrop at the time was a global pandemic, institutional racism and collective hypocrisy showing up at the time of BlackLivesMatter, sexual violence and dominant culture and power dynamics being called out coupled with collective isolation, fear and a growing cancel culture. Places to be open about the unknown, uncertainties and just not having all the answers didn’t really exist. That’s where the ADDA started.

Today, we continue to be a space where the topics affecting our world are unpicked, so that we can better understand them and ourselves. We come with a sense of curiosity and a desire that by exploring different perspectives maybe we can grow and show up a little bit better in the world. We’re believers that good conversations lead to better perspectives and better perspectives undoubtedly lead to better decision making and action. We’re really pleased that you’re here to be part of it!

In Episode 9 Deepa Mirchandani shares a conversation with Satish Kumar, a peace pilgrim, activist, and founder of Resurgence Magazine and Schumacher College. Satish has inspired thousands over decades to connect deeply with the land, their communities and themselves.The group session explored what it means to show up with radical love, the struggles of working in the impact and regenerative worlds and how to deal with the complexities of our time. The multifaceted conversation covered topics like education systems, societal expectations, and challenging norms. Guiding us through this conversation, Satish offered us the chance to understand and feel into what we bring into the world and how to trust our own paths. We hope it nurtures you as much as it did those in the circle.The ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.Host: Deepa MirchandaniProduction: Urban Luka Jurc BlagovicMusic: Unreasonable World by Bernard Schimpelsberger Original design: Rory Lawrence (WayMoby)To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions where we host small spaces for big messy topics, please check out https://www.deepandmeaningful.co. The Adda: https://www.deepandmeaningful.co/the-addaWatch it on YouTube Listen on Apple PodcastWe’ll see you next time!

Welcome to the ADDA, a space for better conversations.This Group ADDA is thrilled to have Robin Rutchik, director of Tuqtuqilal, a regenerative centre that promotes community development through artisanal production, agroecology, ecotourism and education in rural Guatemala. Robin’s lived there for over a decade, bringing her learning in permaculture and green building design to the organisation’s philosophy of earth care, people care and fair share. When it comes to designing “village projects” or regenerative land programmes, the environmental intentions are often noble and get much consideration, but the engagement, involvement and permission of the local, host communities are often side-lined or ignored altogether. What does it take to really place the local community at the heart not only of the programme, but in the design of the organisation itself?Find out more about Tuqtuqilal here: https://www.tuqtuquilal.com/enThe ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.Host: Deepa MirchandaniProduction: Urban Luka Jurc BlagovicMusic: Unreasonable World by Bernard Schimpelsberger (http://www.bernhard.co.at/)To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions where we host small spaces for big messy topics, please check out https://www.deepandmeaningful.co. The Adda: https://www.deepandmeaningful.co/the-addaListen on Spotify: Listen on Apple Podcast: We’ll see you next time!

In episode 7, we are thrilled to be in conversation with Elyes Mkacher. Elyes is a regenerative farmer, a holistic thinker, a professional permaculture designer and educator. He’s the founder of Dar Emmima, a permaculture education center based in Chebba, Tunisia, you can find the link to Dar Emmima and Elyes’ in the show notes below. I hope you enjoy our conversation!

You can find more of Elyes's work here:

The ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.

Host: Deepa MirchandaniProduction: Urban Luka Jurc BlagovicMusic: Unreasonable World by Bernard Schimpelsberger

To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions where we host small spaces for big messy topics, please check out https://www.deepandmeaningful.co.

Visit the Adda websiteWatch this episode on YouTubeListen on Spotify and Apple Podcast

We’ll see you next time!

This is a snapshot of one of our group conversations with Gemma Drake, a designer, systems thinker and coach for social change. In this conversation we explore the challenges and differences between systems thinking and design, what that means for those of us that work in social change and how we hold spaces for multi-stakeholder systems design, particularly when they all don’t always necessarily agree. The rest of the conversation was held in confidence for participants to be able to share and learn together freely. Hope you enjoy it!

The ADDA is brought to you by The Deep & Meaningful Consultancy.

Host: Deepa Mirchandani Production: Urban Luka Jurc Blagovic Music: ⁠Unreasonable World⁠ by ⁠Bernard Schimpelsberger⁠

To find out more about the Deep & Meaningful Consultancy, to sign up for our monthly newsletter and also check out our Group ADDA sessions where we host small spaces for big messy topics, please check out ⁠https://www.deepandmeaningful.co⁠.

Visit the ⁠Adda website⁠ Watch this episode on ⁠YouTube⁠ Listen on Spotify and ⁠Apple Podcast⁠

We’ll see you next time!