Two Inconvenient Women

In the UK we're coming up to Christmas, and with that the cultural pressure to consume, buy gifts and accumulate lots of 'stuff'. In this episode we explore some of the narratives around our consumer culture, thinking about where this has come from and how we can actively disrupt our cultural stories to shift from 'consumer' to 'citizen'. We explore the meaning behind gift-giving, the impact of giving, receiving and witnessing acts of care and kindness, the scarcity versus abundance mindset and the many, many ways we can show people we care above and beyond just buying stuff.

In this episode we referenced the following:

• Jon Alexander - Citizens (Book & website)
• Common Cause Foundation (non-profit organisation)
• ThoughtBox Care Calculator (free resource)
• ThoughtBox Food & Clothes curriculum (teaching resource)
• Rachel & Holly's homemade gifts!

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This week saw the conclusion of COP29 - the 29th annual UN Conference of Parties summit on climate change. The fact that we're now on our 29th conference and global emissions are still rising is perhaps an indication that this is not working. This year in particular saw a lot of people from inside the conference speaking out about its flaws.

In this episode Holly and Rachel explore some of the inconvenient truths about the business as usual story of 'leaders saving the world', discussing the flaws of this current system of climate negotiations and reflect on why and how this current model of COP just doesn't work. We turn attention and discussions onto the role of 'citizening' as an active verb, and reflect on how more and more people are no longer waiting for 'them' to fix things, but are instead quietly and loudly just getting on with 'us' changing the world.

In this episode we reference the following:

• The history of climate negotiations in 83 seconds (video)
• COP26 Tuvalu address (video)
• Open letter from inside COP 29 (letter)
• Climate Majority Project (citizens movement)
• Three stories of our time - Joanna Macy (website)
• Alok Sharma COP26 (video)
• Jon Alexander - Citizens (website /book)
• Rebecca Solnit research (article)
• The Hypocrite (short film)
• Transforming Leadership Course (online course)
• Re-Action Collective: Citizen Friday (movement)
• How to Citizen (Podcast)

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What on earth are we eating? This is a topic we've wanted to explore deeply over time, recognising that there are many episodes that will unravel under the title of 'food'. In this episode we spend time thinking about our changing relationship with food and how our abilities to make healthy food choices are hampered by so many broken systems around us. From the lack of learning about growing or cooking in schools to the rise of GMO crops and the link between UPFs (ultra-processed foods) and health issues, we explore some of the complexities of our global food systems and reflect on where and how we have lost our relationship with food.

In this episode we reference the following:

• Triple WellBeing Curriculum - Exploring Food
• Seeds of Freedom (website & films)
• UK's unhealthy food habits (article)
• Ultra Processed People - Chris van Tullekan (book)
• Care Calculator (resource)
• Michael Pollen on cooking (RSA video)
• Clarkson's Farm (TV series)
• Chefs in Schools (Social enterprise)
• Inglorious fruits and veg (campaign)
• Tristram Stuart - The global food-waste scandal (Ted Talk)
• Gut - Guilia Enders (Ted Talk and Book)
• Rachel's favourite carrot (image)
• Quasimodo the Cucumber (image)

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One of the most inconvenient truths for many people in the world is that 'we are nature', and that we (like all natural beings) are heavily influenced by the rhythms of the natural world; whether that is the sun and moon, the light and the seasons, the climate or the foods we eat. So what happens when we actively ignore - or even fight against - these natural rhythms and the needs of our mammalian selves? What is the impact on our bodies, our minds, our health and our wellbeing?

In this episode we explore some of life's rhythms that govern our lives and help us to navigate our way in the world, and think about why and how our dominant culture is actively ignoring these in our structures and systems, and what some of the ramifications of this somewhat imbalanced way of living may be.

In this episode we reference the following:

• The Wheel of the Year (visual)
• Laurence Winram (land artist)
• Circadian Rhythms (short video explainer)
• Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer (book)
• Ffyona Campbell - Author, traveller & forager
• Anti-light pollution movement (French protest)
• In time of Daffodils - EE Cummings (poem)

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We recorded this podcast on the morning of the US Presidential election results, with Donald Trump re-elected into office for another 4 years. Recognising the enormity of this moment in time, and the wide-rippling influences that US politics and policies have on so much of the world, this conversation felt important to have live and in-the-moment as the results were unfolding.

Disclaimer: This is not a political analysis podcast as we are not deconstructing the resonance of the politics or the voting decisions being made. Instead, we wrangle with the complexities of this moment in human history. We explore the inconvenience of nuance in a world fixated on binaries; we discuss the role and resonance of leadership; we reflect on the influences on our cultural narratives and the capacity to keep holding onto active hope in the face of such adversities.

In this episode we reference the following:

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling (book)
• The Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien (book)
• The Master and His Emissary - Dr Iain McGilchrist (book)
• The Divided Brain - Dr Iain McGilchrist (TedTalk)
• The Peace of Wild Things - Wendell Berry (poem)
• Yawanawá community elder's headdress - the harpy bird (image)

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This week in the UK it’s the school half term holiday and the ThoughtBox team are slowing down too, taking time for some reading, research and essential time in nature. We aren't recording a podcast this week, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share a gift with you instead. 

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to check out our other podcast series yet, here is the first episode of Stories of Triple WellBeing® where I’m joined by two other wonderfully inconvenient women - Tina Farr and Clare Whyles of St Ebbe’s School in Oxford, UK sharing how they're positively disrupting their school culture to put Triple WellBeing at the heart of learning.

Rachel and I will return again next week for another episode...

You can listen to the rest of the Stories of Triple WellBeing® podcast on:

✳️ Spotify

✳️ Acast

✳️ Apple Podcasts

And most other podcasting platforms.

In the episode, we refer to:

• St Ebbe's Primary School
• Ken Robinson - Do Schools Kill Creativity?
• ThoughtBox - Transforming Education Leadership Summit
• Debra Kidd - Pedagogue in Residence
• Matthew Syed - Rebel Ideas
• Otto Scharmer - The Essentials of Theory U
• Brené Brown: Listening to shame
• ThoughtBox - Triple WellBeing® Fellowship
• Forest School
• The Harmony Project
• OPAL - Outdoor Play and Learning

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In this week's episode we explore the role of stories in shaping the lives we are living. Each of us is born into a story. It forms our perspective on the world, shaped by the culture we're part of, the education we receive and the values and mindsets that we are taught. These stories help us to make sense of the world around us and our place within it and shape the world in which we live. In this episode, we explore the ever-growing appreciation that the dominant story of human progress is actually limiting our capacity to thrive and pushing us into a world of personal, social and ecological crisis. So what happens when we change the story? What other stories are out there, creating healthier futures for people and planet? How can we feed ourselves different stories? What happens when we live our lives by these stories instead?

In this episode we reference the following:

• Three Stories of our Times - Joanna Macy (Website)
• Two Loops Theory - Berkana Institute (Framework)
• Do we live in a selfish world - Global Action Plan (Video)
• Common Cause Foundation (organisation)
• The Danger of a Single Story - Chimamanda Adiche (Ted Talk)
• Utopia for Realists (and how we can get there) - Rutger Bregman (book)
• The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (free ebook)
• Stories of Triple WellBeing (ThoughtBox podcast)
• Vinted & Depop (Second hand clothes apps)
• The Lord of the Rings - J R Tolkein (book)
• 2040 - The Regenerators (documentary)
• Naughty from Matilda the Musical (song by Tim Minchin)

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In this week's inconvenient conversation we start to unravel some of the challenges, complexities and issues of the education system and why it needs to transform. Diving into the painful truth behind the impact of the education system on our world, and exploring the responses that we're seeing from teachers, pupils and wider societies, join Rachel and Holly as we hold this space with deep care and support for us all in this complex time and these spaces of change, and with celebration for all those out there working to create healthier ways of living and learning together.

This won't be the last time we take a dive into the realities and complexities of our education system, so see this as a part one of a series of conversations.

During this episode we reference the following:

• Schooling the World (1 hour documentary)
• Changing Education Paradigms - Ken Robinson (TED Talk)
• The Transforming Education Summit (a ThoughtBox programme)
• Global Action Plan - A three-thirds curriculum (article)
• The Story of Triple WellBeing (free ebook of research into the education system)
• Citizens - Jon Alexander (book)

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

This week’s conversation explores the idea of ‘unlearning’ and what it means to widen our perspectives, change our minds, shift our behaviours and ‘update’ our knowledge about the world. Unlearning can be something of a provocative term for some people, and yet holds the invitation for us to shift some of the habits, behaviours and mindsets that are contributing to so many of the crises we face in order to enable a healthier future for people and planet.

In this conversation we explore some of the different resonances of unlearning in our cultural contexts, think about what and why we need to unlearn, and talk about what it looks like as a process for healthy growth.

During this episode we reference the following:

• The Blind Men and the Elephant
• The Death of the Author - Roland Barthes
• The Amritsar massacre
• The Danger of a Single Story - Chimamanda Adiche
• Controversy around teaching Of Mice & Men
• Doughnut Economics - Kate Raworth
• Thinking in circles not straight lines - Blogpost (Rachel Musson)
• Can changing our perspective change everything - Blogpost (Rachel Musson)
• Neuroplasticity in action (2 minute video)
• The Work That Reconnects - Joanna Macy
• From domination to restoration - Article (Jon Conradi)

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When we allow ourselves to fall in love with the world, everything changes. But sometimes we need someone to help us to fall in love in the first place...

This special episode is a dedication to the life, work, wisdom and utter brilliance of Dr Stephan Harding, a globally renowned ecologist, teacher, elder and truly beautiful soul who recently passed away. His work has had a profound influence on both of us and a significant influence on the work we do at ThoughtBox. We therefore wanted to give this episode to Stephan in order to share our appreciation and to reflect a little on some of the magic he weaved during his lifetime; in particular the infectious way he inspired hundreds of thousands of people to fall in love with the world.

Dr Stephan Harding | 8th July 1953 - 2nd September 2024

In this episode we reference the following:

• Wild Podcast - Why settling Mars is a really dumb idea - Kelly Weinersmith
• Why You Want a Physicist to Speak at Your Funeral, Aaron Freeman
• Cosmic Eye video
• The Deep Time Walk App
• Outrage & Optimism Podcast with Dr Stephan Harding
• How flowers talk to bees (David Attenborough)
• Wild Geese - Mary Oliver poem

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