Transition Culture

During the first Coronavirus lockdown in the UK, a strange phenomenon was seen in towns and cities across the country. As councils became unable, or unwilling, to maintain their usual programmes of spraying weeds and cutting grass, pavements began to feature what had previously been dismissed as 'weeds'. In response, and using a hashtag #MoreThanWeeds, people began using chalk to circle them and to write their names, both common and Latin. In this podcast we explore how different the future would be if we were to cultivate a culture of better understanding and loving weeds. How would it affect the world around us, and how would it affect us? And how does the way we talk about that dazzling diversity of plants that we dismiss as 'weeds' give insights to how many people 'other' groups of people such as immigrants? What does our attitude to weeds tell us about ourselves? For this, our fifteenth episode, we are joined by two people who have been central to this chalky-fingered rebellion. Sophie Leguil is a fr

One of the things we love most here at 'From What If to What Next' is stories of people bringing imagination to their activism, of impactful, thought-provoking projects that engage our imagination and our playfulness. One of the very best examples of this that we've ever seen is The Bank Job in Walthamstow, London, the work of printmaker Hilary Powell and filmmaker Dan Edelstyn, once described as "an act of generosity rare in the art world". Following the release of the great new book 'The Bank Job' (published by Chelsea Green, and keep an eye on your emails as on Wednesday we will have a subscriber-only competition to win a copy) and their impending new film about the project, we were thrilled to invite Dan and Hilary onto the podcast. The Bank Job eradicated £1.2 million of payday lending debt in their community and so much more besides. I already interviewed Hilary and Dan once before when researching 'From What Is to What If', you can find that interview here. It feels like something we will now do

Here are the opening couple of minutes from Episode 14 of the bonus Ministry of Imagination podcast. Subscribe now at www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext.

Every episode of 'From What If to What Next' begins with my inviting my guests to close their eyes and to walk us through what they imagine 2030 could be like if it were the result of our having done everything we could possibly have done. What would it feel like, taste like, sound like? It is often the most powerful and beautiful part of the podcast. And so, our producer Ben Addicott has painstakingly pieced together the best bits of those visions, and together with Tamsin Cornish, written beautiful music to accompany them. When all pieced together, this podcast offers you a deep and rich immersion in a future that is still possible to us, just. It's not Utopia, but it is a walk through the possible. As the poet Rilke once wrote, "the future must enter into you a long time before it happens". This podcast allows it to do so in the most beautiful way. If there was ever a time in history when clear, abundant and positive visions of the future were vitally needed, this is that time. I so hope you love this

And so we reach our thirteenth episode. Wow. Thank you so much for being with us on this journey so far. We have an amazing episode for you today. We live in a world where so much political decision-making seems to be based on short-term thinking, the next opinion poll, next quarter, next election, yet so many of the problems we face are the result of our failing to think in the long term. We use the future as a place to dump the problems we can't resolve, to dump our pollution, carbon emissions, the thorny issues we'd rather avoid. Indigenous cultures and wiser civilisations of the past planned and thought with future generations in mind, so why can't we? And how different would the world be if we did? I am joined for this episode by Roman Krznaric, author of the recent book 'The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short Term World' and one of Britain’s leading popular philosophers, and also by Jane Davidson, author of '#futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country', Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at the U

You are in for such a treat today. It is my honour and privilege to share with you our twelfth episode of 'From What If to What Next'. In the US, as elsewhere, vast amounts of money are poured into mass incarceration and brutal and violent policing. What if instead that money was invested into the communities that bear the burnt of this approach to criminal justice, into healthcare, wellbeing, opportunity, safety? It's a huge question, and such a rich What If question. Luckily we are joined in this podcast by two amazing guests to explore it. Andrea J. Ritchie is a Black lesbian immigrant police misconduct attorney and organizer whose writing, litigation, and advocacy has focused on policing and criminalization of women and LGBT people of color for the past two decades. She is currently Researcher in Residence on Race, Gender, Sexuality and Criminalization at the Barnard Center for Research on Women, where she recently launched the Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action initiative. Zach Norris i

Welcome to Episode 11 of From What If to What Next. So many of those who listen to this podcast are trying, in one way or another, to bring about change in the world. Whether it is the more confrontational activism demonstrated by groups like Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter, or grassroots organising and working to build the alternative, we are all trying to understand how to be the most effective activists we can possibly be. Which leads us to this episode’s question, one that feels increasingly timely, one sent in by subscriber Elke Himmelmann. “What if we had the skills and abilities to talk to decision makers and convince them to act differently?”. What would those skills be, and how might we become adept at using them? We are joined by two amazing guests to explore this. Scilla Elworthy is a three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee for her work with Oxford Research Group to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics. Her most recent book is Th

The uprising of Black Lives Matter and other organisations have led to many calls for the decolonisation of education at every level. But what does it mean to decolonise education? As Boris Johnson dismisses such calls as a "national orgy of self-embarrassment", does decolonising education mean simply changing the curriculum, or does it go much, much deeper than that? And what if we achieved it? What would it be like to live in a world where that had happened? In this deep, rich and fascinating episode of ‘From What If to What Next’ we are joined by two amazing guests to explore this... Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan is an educator, writer and poet from West Yorkshire, UK. Her work disrupts and interrupts questions of history, race, knowledge and power - interrogating the political purpose of narratives about Muslims, migrants, gender and violence in particular. She is the author of poetry collection, Postcolonial Banter, co-author of the anthology, A FLY GIRL’S GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY: Being a woman of colour at Ca

Our question this time was slightly adapted from one sent in by subscriber Pamela Barnes. As the world attempts to claw its way back from the COVID19 pandemic, and as opinion polls show an overwhelming support for not ‘going back’ to how things were before, people are increasingly discussing and exploring new models for an economy that better needs the needs of the population as a whole. One of those key ideas is that of a Wellbeing Economy, an economy that delivers both human and ecological wellbeing. It is an idea that is being taken up by governments now in Scotland, New Zealand and Iceland, and attracting interest from further afield. But what would it be like to live in a Wellbeing Economy? What would daily life look like? What would change, and what would be the same? And how would it impact on democracy, fairness, inclusion? Big questions, but fortunately we are joined by two of the very best people to help us explore them. Dr Katherine Trebeck is Advocacy and Influencing Lead for the Wellbeing Eco

In this episode we are exploring a question sent in by subscriber Joy Cherkaoui. One of the things a future in which imagination is able to flourish will need is spaces in which imagination and creativity are invited. Intentionally. These can take many forms, but we need them. What then are the ingredients of such spaces? What makes a good one? Who gets to create them? How can we ensure that they support and reflect the diversity of the place in which they are situated? Big questions. But luckily in this episode we are joined by two of the very best people to explore it. Tom Doust is Director of Experience and Learning at the Institute of Imagination in London, an organisation which champions opportunities for children and young people of all backgrounds to develop their imaginations, a quality vital to creativity and the next generation’s ability to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Marie Godart works in the field of theatrical creation, climate change and facilitating the imagination. She is c

Doughnut Economics is rapidly moving from the fringe to the mainstream. Amsterdam in Holland was recently confirmed as the first ‘Doughnut City’, using the model to underpin its economic development strategy. Many other cities are also moving towards adopting this powerful and fascinating tool for reimagining cities and their economies. Our question in this episode, your mind-expanding piece of summer listening, is "what if every city used Doughnut Economics?' As usual, I have sought out the two very best people to help me explore this. Kate Raworth is an economist focused on making economics fit for the 21st century. Her book Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist is an international bestseller that has been translated into 18 languages. She is co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, which works with change-makers to turn Doughnut Economics from a radical idea into transformative action. She teaches at Oxford University and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Allow me to present one of my very favourite episodes of ‘From What If to What Next’ thus far. The question we explore is ‘What if imagination were a universal right?’ It emerges from the argument in ‘From What Is to What If’ that imagination is, to a degree, a function of privilege, and that we need to create the conditions for everyone to be able to live a life rich in imagination. But how do questions of colonisation, systemic racism and social exclusion impact this? What is the state of health of our collective imagination today, and how does the fact that we have failed to see imagination as a universal right manifest in the world around us today? My guests to explore this are Ariane Conrad, writer, activist and ‘book doula’ (editorial consultant and collaborative author) who tends to collaborate with authors who defend the rights of people and planet, and Dr. Masum Momaya who has worked at the intersection of arts, culture, social justice and human rights for more than 20 years as an educator, museum

This fifth episode of 'From What If to What Next' has the longest title of any of our shows thus far! It was sent in by subscriber Chris Wells. As we start, hopefully, to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected older people, many people have experienced an end to their lives that was lonely and traumatic. How different would the world feel if its priorities had changed to being one where the end of life was treated with the same love and reverence as birth? My two guests for this episode are Mike Grenville and Mary Nally. Mike is a dying doula and independent funeral Celebrant. He runs workshops on 'death and dying' including Dying To Talk sessions. He has had a long involvement in the Transition movement and he lives in Frome. Mary lives in Summerhill in County Meath, Ireland. She has background in nursing, and founded an amazing organisation called Third Age ("where the third age of life is valued and celebrated"), which she will tell you about in the podcast. She is an A

In our fourth episode, we bring together two of the UK's most pioneering doctors to explore what a very different future for healthcare could be like. What would it be like if doctors' surgeries were key players in the wider Transition of the community, actively stimulating a reimagining of food, energy, community and much more? In this episode we are joined by Dr Jane Myat, doing amazing work at the Caversham Group Practice in Kentish Town, North London since 1997. She is a passionate advocate of finding alternative patient-centred approaches to long-term conditions. Inspired by pioneering GPs such as Sam Everington and by our second guest here, and assisted by Transition Kentish Town, Jane founded the Listening Space, a project centred around a community garden in the courtyard of her family practice. Dr Michael Dixon is a Devon GP whose CV and list of roles within the NHS is glittering and includes numerous national leadership roles. To name just two, he is a Chair of the College of Medicine and Clinic

FWIWN3.mp3 In this third episode of 'From What If to What Next', we're talking about food. Taking a question from Patreon subscriber Tony Buck, we are asking "What If towns and cities set out to intentionally relocalise their food production?" How would it work? Where would you start? How would you involve the local government? How would you ensure that it is inclusive? To explore this complex question, one that COVID-19 has firmly re-emphasised the importance of, we have two guests with many years of experience in this area. Dee Woods describes herself as a “food and farming action-ist and campaigner” and has been involved for many years in London, playing a role in many different projects, whilst also writing and speaking widely on issues around food insecurity, inequalities in food systems, participatory policy making, intersectionality and decolonisation. Christian Jonet is one of the founders and co-ordinators of the brilliant Ceinture Aliment-Terre Liégeoise ( Liége Food Belt) in Belgium, one of the

In this second episode of 'From What If to What Next', we're talking about Universal Basic Income with Alexis Frasz, researcher and cultural strategist with Helicon Collaborative, and Phil Teer, author of 'The Coming Age of Imagination'. What would it be like to live in a world in which UBI was now an integral part of everyday life? How would life, and the world around us feel different? How might we re-frame UBI as a vital strategy for rebuilding our collective imagination? All too often, UBI is discussed as being an economic issue, but might imagination provide a fresh and essential lens through which to explore the idea? I hope you love this episode. Please leave your comments and feedback below. My thanks to Ben Addicott for production and theme tune, and to you for subscribing to this podcast.

Welcome to this, the first ever episode of 'From What If to What Next'. In this first episode, we meet singer, curator, event creator and lover of birdsong Sam Lee, speaking to us direct from a birdsong-filled forest, and Mya-Rose Craig, also known as 'Birdgirl', who is doing amazing work promoting birdwatching among young people and promoting BME engagement with the natural world. Subscribe to this podcast at www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and get it a full two weeks before everyone else, PLUS a subscribers-only podcast called 'The Ministry of Imagination', PLUS other treats such as my recent conversation with permaculture co-founder David Holmgren AND the opportunity to ask the What If questions that shape these episodes. All for just £3 a month.

Here is a taster of Episode One of 'From What If to What Next', my new podcast series. You can unlock this full episode, as well the exclusive 'Ministry of Imagination' podcast, and other exclusives, by subscribing at www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext. This first episode speaks to Sam Lee and Mya-Rose Craig, and is deeply lovely.

In 2011 I gave a talk at Bristol Colston Hall, which as someone who had grown up in Bristol, was hallowed ground. The talk opens with a Captain Beefheart anecdote I am rather fond of.

On Sunday 20th October, at Battersea Arts Centre, following an incredible day of 'Pop Up Tomorrow', I launched 'From What Is to What If'. Here is the audio of the evening, which also features appearances by improv expert Jeremy Finch and Ruth Sapsed of Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination. I hope it gives you an inspiring taste of the evening.