We may think of ‘globalism’ as a recent development, but its origins date back centuries,  when courageous seafarers pioneered routes across the oceans with the objectives of exploration, trade and profits. Improvements in ship design, compasses and mapping, enabled navigation across unprecedented distances. The embarkation points were the vibrant ports of the West – Venice, Amsterdam, Lisbon – and their destinations the exotic ports of the East – Malacca, Goa, Bombay – where they tracked down the elusive spices. 

This development of maritime communication brought benefits apart from culinary delights: the spread of ideas on art, literature and science. But it was not beneficial for everyone concerned: colonial ambitions could be disastrous for local populations who were often exploited as labour. 

Author and journalist, Nick Nugent gives a fascinating insight into this period of the maritime spice trade with stories of how famous ports were developed, what damage was caused and what benefits came out of it that feed into our current system of global supply chains that cross continents to bring us our food, clothes and more. 

George Mehok is an exciting mix between thriller author, software designer and angel investor for new companies working on the edge of our technological revolution. His debut novel, Going Dark, skillfully keeps us on the edge of our seats. He weaves today’s most challenging issues with threads back to 1791 and a secret military unit tasked with delivering a secret message to Thomas Jefferson that altered the trajectory of the War of Independence against Britain.

In Going Dark, that same secret unit, generations later, is tasked with an equally pivotal mission. George feeds into his story-telling real-life experiences working with banks, phone companies, the aerospace industry and more, injecting them with innovations that win George and his team awards. The constant theme is how technology whether in the 2020s or 1790s has been pivotal in shaping out history, such that George will also be talking about powerful figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump. How did they get to be where they are today. 

To find out more about what makes the world tick in the way it does, if you have business idea seeking investment, or simply want to meet the author who could become the next great thriller writer of his generation, join George with Humphrey Hawksley on the Goldster Magazine Show Podcast.

TJ Halbertsma is the living equivalent of Superman – one moment Clark Kent; in a suit and tie, commuting to work in an office, in his own words, “just an ordinary guy”. Next, spinning through an imaginary revolving door and you find the same person achieving extraordinary feats. From climbing some of the most notoriously dangerous mountains such as the Eiger and Denali, to crossing the English Channel on a stand-up paddleboard, walking to both Poles and ‘escaping’ from Alcatrez. 

Success hasn’t always come easily and the author extols the virtues of grit, resilience and commitment. In his book,‘Many Worlds to Conquer’, this remarkable dutchman recounts some of these true life adventures and, in his humility as ‘an ordinary guy doing extraordinary things’, makes his stories all the more inspiring, thrilling – and, relatable.

The term ‘rat-race’ was coined long before we had smartphones and social media. It has even more meaning today when we’re at risk of becoming rats in a worldwide laboratory, monitored and manipulated by technology giants and artificial intelligence.  Therefore, it is even more important to take control of our own minds father than let other do it for you. Michael Hutchinson shows the way through yoga, with a combination of bodywork, breathwork and attention, a concept often referred to as mindfulness.

Michael trained under a late renowned teacher, TKV Desikachar in the 1980s when yoga was just beginning to be recognised in the West. He abandoned a successful career in physics to concentrate on teaching and building awareness of the benefits of yoga. His book, Breath for Health, is based on over thirty years of training and practice. Michael has taught breathing several times at the annual World Yoga Festival and is well-respected for his sensitive approach to the needs of people who are hesitant about working with their breath. He is also Chair of British Council for Yoga Therapy.

Craig Brown’ latest book A Voyage Around the Queen not only became an immediate best-seller, but also gathered praise for being a unique, deep and thought-provoking portrayal of the late Queen Elizabeth and the monarchy. Craig is best known as a humourist for Private Eye and the Mail whose tools of the trade are usually sharp lines and throwaway wisecracks. Craig has written eighteen books including Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret and One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time where he wraps his satirist’s eyes around the iconic treasures of our age. 

In A Voyage Around the Queen, we learn how Dirk Bogarde watched Death in Venice with her; Andy Warhol envied her fame; Donald Trump offended her, and E.M. Forster confessed he would have married her, if only she had been a boy. “Though by nature reserved and unassuming, her presence could fill presidents and rock gods with terror. 

For close to a century, she inhabited the psyche of a nation,” Craig writes. On Princess Margaret, he says, “Andy Warhol photographed her. Jack Nicholson offered her cocaine. Gore Vidal revered her. John Fowles hoped to keep her as his sex-slave. Dudley Moore propositioned her. Francis Bacon heckled her. Peter Sellers was in love with her.” 

With great panache, Kim Lengling explains hope, kindness, fear and that slate of emotions that weave their way through all our lives.  Her podcast is called Let Fear Bounce. Among her many books are Nuggets of Hope: Cultivate Kindness and Paw Prints on the Couch: How Pets Enrich Lives. Her office manager is called Dexter, a loyal hound who barks at squirrels and birds and remind the boss when to take a break. Very often that will be to appear as a guest on the Voices for Vets show of her local radio. 

One of Kim’s missions is to explain how kindness can be a beacon of hope and connection in a world overshadowed by stress and uncertainty. She speaks compellingly about the transformative power of kindness with the maxim: It costs nothing to be kind, and its rewards are immeasurable. She swears by the positive impact that animals have on our sense of wellbeing and fulfilment. With Kim, discover how to turn everyday moments into opportunities for spreading joy. Learn how small gestures, like a smile or a helping hand, can create ripples of positivity that extend far beyond their initial impact, touching lives you may never know. 

Kim’s mission is clear: to inspire you to make your slice of the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time.

Dr Orit Gal is an entrepreneur, advisor, and senior lecturer in Strategy & Complexity at Regent’s University London. She specialises in analysing trends and identifying potential for systemic change within complex environments. Her extensive experience includes collaborations with tech startups, non-government organisation, innovative policy think-tanks, and corporate market research. Her current research focuses on the future of cities, exploring the interplay between technological efficiency, social friction, and the inherent serendipity of urban life. Having the opportunity to closely observe decision-makers operating in messy, dynamic, and highly complex environments, she has focused her work on exploring the intersection between complexity science and operational design.

Her website is called Social Acupuncture which explains and teaches Complexity Science, with a mission to break down obstacles and push through change. Whether running a city, an organisation, or a social campaign, the greatest challenges standing in your way are always complex, says Orit. Involving numerous players and constrained by multiple interdependent forces, they form systemic patterns that are seemingly impossible to break. Tackling them requires creative new approaches that not only address their complex nature but are uniquely designed to take advantage of it.  

Mihir Bose face and voice became known to millions after he won the job as the BBC’s first non-white sports editor building on his earlier reputation as a sports correspondent on The Telegraph and Sunday Times. Among his latest books is Thank You Mr Crombie – a tribute to the Home Office official who allowed him to settle in Britain and pursue his career and dream. Mihir compellingly tells how Britain has taken enormous strides to create a multi-racial society since the days in the Sixties when landlords refused to rent him a room. 

Another recent book is Dreaming the Impossible: The Battle to Create a Non-Racial Sports World. His characters run from players and coaches to boardroom executives in a fascinating story which takes us deeply inside the world of sport giving us glimpses that we would never see on Match of the Day. 

There is very little Mihir does not know about the money, the sweat, manipulation and how sport binds people and communities together. 

Angela van Breemen is a soprano soloist, a poet, a wildlife activist and she has just published her first novel. For those Goldster creative writers, how does that feel?  Past Life’s Revenge is a crime thriller with a twist of surrealism. Since childhood, David Harris has suffered from debilitating nightmares. He has sought the advice of psychiatrists and other health professionals without obtaining any relief. When he meets an attractive young psychic, Emma Jackson, she encourages him to seek the help of her friend Anna Tungsten, a hypnotherapist. As the story unfolds from here, David realises he had to exact revenge and stop a murderer from killing again. Angela has recently released her first album In the Breezewith lyrics drawn from her poetry. But how does anyone blend a love for dark psychological drama with the melody of Celtic music. And if the red squirrel is the most endangered and the Scottish Wildcat the rarest species in Britain, what are their counterparts in Ontario, Canada. 

No, the world is not broken. Gloom can be conquered. As for those headline stories about the young going astray, homelessness, prison overcrowding, come and meet Goldster’s light that shines through fog. The charity work of the magnificent and bubbly Eva Hamilton stretches from Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Calcutta when she was in her twenties to founding Key4Life which helps thousands serving time in some of Britain’s most dangerous prisons.   Eva and her colleagues have turned around lives of the most vulnerable young men, many raised without a father and challenged by poor mental health.  Her methods include therapy with horses which she brings inside prisons and immediately sees how young prisoners calm and form relationships with them. In earlier work, she set up  the Seeing is Believing programme with HRH The Prince of Wales, (now HM King Charles), and took six hundred of Britain’s top business leaders into deprived inner-city areas. Her mission – to persuade businesses to employ the less privileged in our society.  Eva’s success jumps out of grim statistics.  The national rate of reoffending among released prisoners is 64%. Among those who join Eva’s programmes, it is just 7%.