Simon Kuestenmacher is a demographer and social commentator. He is a co-founder of The Demographics Group--a research and public speaking group based out of Melbourne, Australia. Simon and Luke discuss the trend in the need for meaningful work, ageing populations and other societal forces influencing the future of our cities and work.

Dr Adam Fraser is an Australia-based peak performance researcher and keynote speaker. He has worked with high-profile corporate, governmental, academic and sporting clients. In this episode, Adam and Luke discuss insights from his two latest books: Strive and The Third Space.

Dr Fabian Braesemann is a departmental research lecturer in artificial intelligence and work at the University of Oxford's Oxford Internet Institute. Previously, Fabian was a research fellow at the Oxford Future of Real Estate Initiative. Fabian's paper, "The global polarisation of remote work" was published in late-2022. It addresses the location and skills-based inequalities of remote work.

Marisa Poster is the co-founder of PerfectTed, a UK-based beverage start-up "on a mission to spread positive energy through matcha". Marisa came across matcha while managing symptoms of both ADHD and anxiety at university, but found that many consumers were put off by the grassy taste of some matcha powders. Marisa and her co-founders, Teddy and Levi, went about developing a canned drink within their suite of products which was showcased on the 2023 season of BBC's Dragon's Den. PerfectTed gained offers from all dragons, and accepted the combined offer of two dragons.

Professor Paul X McCarthy is an academic and serial entrepreneur applying data science to the social sciences. Alongside his coauthors, Paul has been researching the personality traits of successful employees and entrepreneurs.

Jonathan Wilson is an entrepreneur and former US Navy SEAL. After 11 years of service, Jonathan joined Goldman Sachs as an associate and returned to the Navy after two years of civilian life. After his second stint in the Navy, Jonathan founded the SEAL Future Foundation, a not-for-profit. In recent years, Jonathan stepped down from his role as CEO of the not-for-profit, and began working on INVI Mindhealth. Jonathan discusses his time in the Navy, including war service, and how a sense of service guided him along his entrepreneurial journey.

Prof Louise Mahler is an associate professor and consultant in the fields of verbal and non-verbal communication. Louise and Luke discuss the most common public speaking blunders, the human factor missing from virtual meetings, what would be needed for virtual reality to emulate in-person interactions, and Louise's key tips for effective communication. Keep an eye out for Louise's new book, Gravitas, about to hit bookstores.