Michele Blair talks to host Pete Burden. Michele is the sustainability manager for the small city of Laurel in Maryland, USA. It’s a small city, but has its own governance and the ability to write its own legislation. So there’s an opportunity to keep things small, and respond positively despite the sometimes difficult bigger picture.

Michelle’s passionate about, and deeply involved in, the practicalities of integrating sustainability into the community and city. For her there are several parts to that: working closely with all the stakeholders, and trying to find ‘wiggle room’.

With citizens that means involving the community through focus groups, other events, and making it fun. With politicians that means due diligence – being really clear on the benefits. It’s also about avoiding the pitfalls of gaining authority through hierarchy and finding ways to give everyone a voice, allowing people to grow and breathe.

The draft Sustainability Plan was presented to the Mayor, city council, and the community during a launch party in January 2025.

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Bob Eggington, veteran of media, ‘new’, ‘old’ and international, speaks to host Pete Burden about his career in news organisations large and small. About his management practice, honed over 57 years of working. And the importance of context, of kindness, and of ‘ends’ for achieving a healthy transfer of power.

Bob reveals his approach to leadership and management, and communication, and how saying important things honestly and with candour can be beneficial in surprising ways, even though this may not be obvious until many years later. How we all plant seeds for learning – and affect each other. And the relationship between economics and politics and the media, particularly in developing, post-conflict or transitioning countries.

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Angela Fell talks to host Pete Burden about moving from a service-based, charity-type model to mutual support in and by communities themselves. How to actually move to 'asset-based community development', what that involves, and her journey stepping outside the ‘system’ to do this.

Angela covers her experience of growing up in a working class environment in the North of the UK, especially as a woman. About trying to bring about change with people labelled as 'in need', first from a service perspective. Her emerging understanding that the systems involved can inadvertently preserve the status quo. Through trying to implement the ‘Radical Help’ approach back in 2011, and the transition to building the ‘collective power muscle’ of communities. And about her belief in keeping things small and agile.

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Maff Potts, founder and director of the Association of Camerados, speaks to host Pete Burden about the Camerados movement, based on mutuality, a radically different way for people to experience power, and the relationships (and, shush, great outcomes) that emerge from that.

Maff describes some of the hard won lessons learnt during the 10 years of Camerados, how the organisation stays small in order to minimise the dangers of neglecting mission in favour of survival, and his experience with the tyranny of structurelessness in the early days.

Maff reveals how he has worked to change his behaviour in interactions with others – from sitting on a sofa, and knowing nothing, and sitting on the pavement to level things up with someone experiencing homelessness. To the internal, personal work he has had to do to reduce the need to ‘fix people’.

If you’re interested in starting a Public Living Room start here!

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Swarnalakshmi Ravi speaks to host Pete Burden - about her experiences as a young person involved in the Inclusive Neighbourhood Children’s Parliament in India and becoming a spokesperson for this approach at the United Nations in New York and Geneva.

Swarna describes how Sociocracy (a theory and practice of governance) is used by the Children’s Parliament, and how its principles support democracy. She talks about her own childhood experiences of power and about how her values help her address the risks of ‘ego’. She also covers how she has tried to bring the principles of Sociocracy into more traditional organisational structures, and points to the felt sense of power - and the real joy of being heard and really hearing others.

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Huda Jawad, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Faith & VAWG Coalition, and one the 'Three Hijabis' speaks to host Pete Burden about power, politics and faith and the links between them.

From a summary of the transcript: "Huda Jawad is a passionate activist and campaigner against violence against women and girls. She co-founded the Faith and VAWG Coalition to address the barriers faced by women of faith in accessing justice and support. The 'Three Hijabis' are known for organising a petition to ban racists from football, following the 2020 Euros.

Huda shares her personal experiences as a refugee, a woman of faith, and a woman of colour, and highlights how she learned to speak back against power imbalances, use her experience to fight for change, and how she maintains her resilience." (Gemini)

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Simon Fanshawe, author, partner at a diversity and inclusion consultancy, and experienced NED talks to host Pete Burden about Healthy Power and tells a few stories and jokes along the way.

From a summary of the transcript: "Simon emphasises the importance of shifting the focus from superficial diversity practices to tangible outcomes. He highlights the significance of understanding and addressing the barriers faced by different groups and also emphasises the importance of leadership in setting the tone for inclusive practices and creating a culture where everyone feels valued and empowered." (Gemini)

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Richard Lee, who describes himself as a community based activist, talks to host Pete Burden about power and the importance of framing and ‘protocols’.

From a summary of the transcript: "Richard describes his experiences with power, from feeling powerless as a child to using his power to help his community. He highlights the importance of creating spaces for diverse voices to be heard and working collaboratively with others, even when there are power imbalances." (Gemini)

Links: Justspace - an informal alliance of around 80 community groups, campaigns and concerned independent organisations formed to act as a voice for Londoners at grass-roots level. And Fairville - an international and collaborative research project aiming to address embedded urban inequalities.

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Chenai Mukumba, Executive Director of the Tax Justice Network Africa, talks to host Pete Burden about power and influence: from policy to the personal.

From a summary of the transcript: "Chenai shares her journey of discovering power, from a student inspired by a classmate’s charisma to leading a pan-African advocacy network. She reflects on the emotional challenges of navigating influence, balancing dominance with grace, and confronting systemic imbalances. Chenai highlights Africa’s untapped potential, advocating for self-awareness and education to reshape its global narrative. Her story is one of growth, resilience, and a passion for empowering others." (ChatGPT)

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Matt Scott is Chief Exec at Thames Life, in London, but sometimes describes himself simply as a community worker. He talks to host Pete Burden about his experiences of power.

From a summary of the transcript: Matt emphasises the importance of building relationships and creating spaces for people to talk about their concerns and work together. He acknowledges the challenges of working in a system with unequal power dynamics but emphasises the importance of improvisation and collective action. He ends with some important points about executive capture, and the constraints brought by financialisation. (Gemini)

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