Episódios
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Today on the 2nd Renaissance I sit down with Kwala ethical investment app co-founder and Gunditjmara woman, Dr Patrice Newell. We decode what the western world can learn from ancestral and age-old wisdoms of sustainable land management, the cross-fertilisation of agricultural management to the world of investing, what she has learnt about agriculture and investings as an active organic farmer and entrepreneur, how she ‘farms with her ancestors watching’, the rise of regenerative agriculture and biosequestration, and how her passion topic of biochar may play a role in Project Drawdown, and why an ethical investment app may be one small step towards a more equitable tomorrow in alignment with the UN SDGs.
A few words on pedigree…
An Aboriginal Australian with a PhD in alternative energy, Dr. Newell was honoured with an Order of Australia for her services to agriculture and the environment. Patrice is a farmer, best-selling author, bee-keeper, podcaster, academic and environmental advocate. Dr Newell produces certified organic food on her 10,000 acre property. Australia’s poor response to our climate emergency has triggered the creation of kwala as a simple tool to help people invest directly in companies that take climate change and social equity seriously and address the 17 UN Sustainability Goals. The Kwala app enables micro-investments in global companies addressing the environmental, social and technological challenges of today. Her latest book is Who’s Minding the Farm in this Climate Emergency.
Quick disclosure: Make sure you do your own research and speak to your financial advisor to see whether sustainable investments is for you. This is not a product plug. I found the conversation with Dr Patrice Newell illuminating and her lived experience an incredible pretext to her finding herself at the intersection of of Sustainability and Fintech and trust you will too.
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In this episode of the 2nd Renaissance, Danish architect Lasse Lind pays a visit to the Thinque studio. Lasse’s specialisation is in the Circular Economy and Sustainable Architecture, and we sit down to explore some of their marquee projects like the new Sydney Fish Markets and, Denmark’s and Australia’s design love affair, what Lasse means by circular, behavioural and digital designs, how sustainable architecture can help lower the emissions of the construction industry which is currently responsible for 1/3rd of the world’s emissions, biomimicry, closed-loop circularity, GXN’s canary in the coal-mine, Lasse’s design mentors and inspirations, and how Lasse’s childhood in Danish nature has shaped his aesthetic, use of light and power-generating materials. It was an illuminating conversation and it opened my eyes to how sustainable form and function can not only beautify our urban environment, but also make a significant environmental contribution when our buildings - in the words of Lasse - become cognitive…
A few words on pedigree…
Lasse Lind is an architect and partner at GXN and 3XN architects in Copenhagen, where he is Head of Consultancy. He studied in Prague, Damascus and at the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture in Hovedstaden, and specialises in sustainability and the circular economy in the construction industry. He also teaches as a guest lecturer at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg.
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In today’s episode of the 2nd Renaissance I welcome Simon Holmes a Court into the Thinque studio to decode the disruptive innovation movement of the ‘Teal Independents’.
We uncover how social technologies combined with a communitarian ethos to win hearts and minds of disenfranchised voters, Simon’s childhood influences on his socially-minded entrepreneurial approach to building a conscious movement, why he asks to be ‘judged by the enemies he has made’ and what it says about him, whether we are reaching a tipping point in the renewable energy mix, how to outpace the competition dollar-for-dollar with a Silicon Valley approach to digital communication technologies, and other good - green - news stories from the vanguard of Climate200.
A few words on pedigree…
Simon Holmes a Court is a senior advisor to the Climate and Energy College at Melbourne University and convenor and founder of Climate200 - a community crowd-funded initiative that supports political candidates committed to: A science-based response to the climate crisis; Restoring integrity to politics; and Advancing gender equity. Simon is also a cleantech investor, climate philanthropist and a director of the Smart Energy Council and the Australian Environmental Grant-Makers Network. Simon is the author of The Big Teal - sharing the story of how enormous change happened at the 2022 Australian federal election. The Big Teal is the story of how a team of inspired young tech-heads and older sages used their real and virtual-world experience to help a cluster of communities get the representation they wanted and create measurable progress towards a Net Zero Carbon economy - in Australia and beyond.
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In today’s episode of the 2nd Renaissance, Jacqui Scruby visits the Thinque Studio. Jacqui is the Teal Independent candidate for Pittwater, Sydney in the 2023 New South Wales elections and as a local resident in this magic peninsula that I call home, I have personally really been looking forward to this deep and meaningful with one of our resident polymaths - Jacqui Scruby. The topics we touch on are global in nature, but local in their implications and whether you are an international or national listener or a fellow Pittwater resident, I believe this conversation has so much savoir-faire on the state of the world and what we would like it to become.
In this conversation, we decode how Jacqui’s professional background and childhood converged at this moment in time to set her up to run on a platform of climate, integrity, and gender equality, what she learnt about disruptive innovation from working alongside Dr Sophie Scamps and other independent female voices in national politics, her war on plastic waste, Jacqui’s views on the Circular Economy, how the green transition can be accelerated, the trust-busting effects of greenwashing, the dichotomy of the world’s largest coal-exporting port sitting just north of the Ku-Ring-Gai national park, the importance of conservation, and her futuristic vision for Sydney’s northern beaches in 2030.
A few words on pedigree…
Jacqui Scruby is an environmental lawyer, management consultant, serial entrepreneur, medical science graduate, climate change warrior and mum. Most recently she was an advisor to the independent federal Member of Parliament, Dr Sophie Scamps. She is running for the seat of Pittwater and has already asserted real world influence with the incumbent government torpedoing gas exploration off the coast of Sydney because of the rise of environmental consciousness in the local community. She is looking forward to continuing to champion the issues of climate, integrity and gender equality and to ensuring that we do not see another ‘lost decade’ on climate action.
Welcome to the 2nd Renaissance, Jacqui.
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Ladies and Gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a journey into the superpower future. Today on the 2nd Renaissance, we have the honor of introducing a visionary and futurist economist who has been mapping out the sustainable future of our world for years - Dr Ross Garnaut. With a keen eye for economics, sustainability and the environment, Dr Garnaut's thoughts and insights are a window into a better and more sustainable tomorrow. He has been shaping the discourse on how we can create a world that is not just economically prosperous, but also environmentally conscious for the last 20 years. In today’s episode, we sit down to decode his latest books - Superpower and Superpower Transformation - and the latent (exponential) potential for Australia in the decarbonised future. It is an energising conversation with a climate optimist, but also a sobering wake up call for immediate climate action.
A few words on pedigree…
Ross Garnaut AO is one of Australia’s leading economists and thinkers. He is a Professorial Fellow in Economics and a Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne as well as a Distinguished Professor of the Australian National University. In September 2008, Professor Garnaut presented the Garnaut Climate Change Review to the Australian Prime Minister. He was a key economic adviser to the reforming Hawke government, and Garnaut has held senior roles in government and business, including as Australian ambassador to China and climate change adviser to the Rudd and Gillard governments.
So, hold on tight as we explore the exciting possibilities of the electrifying future, with none other than one of my climate superheroes - Dr Ross Garnaut, here on the 2nd Renaissance podcast.
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Today on the 2nd Renaissance I sit down with Anthony Duckworth from Dear Coco for a virtual cup flat white. We explore why on earth an international marketing director for one of the world’s largest brands would start a coffee cart side hustle in the middle of a pandemic, how purpose and gut-based instinct marinated the inception of Dear Coco, its role in the circular economy, the human stories he helps shape as he builds community on the side of the Thames, the business’ radical profit and purpose transparence, and how ethical supply chains feed into the story-building around Dear Coco.
Here is a quick word on my friend and one of my favourite clients, Anthony…
Anthony is owner of Dear Coco Street Coffee in London. Built as a love letter to his 6 year old daughter Coco, and named Top 5 Global Coffee Truck in 2022 by American Barista Magazine, amongst tricks from France, Japan, Romania & Sweden. Anthony is the father of 3 daughters, husband & surfer. Anthony has spent 15 years curating humanised experiences that create emotional connections to global brands. In December 2021, in the middle of a global pandemic Anthony put his family’s financial future at risk to launch a coffee dream that existed only in his head, creating a brand that has changed the shape of street coffee & galvanised a community. Anthony focuses his energy on the art of the maximised life, decisiveness in the shadows of uncertainty, IWill over IQ, and the community-building power of a good cup coffee!
I always love catching up with Anthony - whether he wears his corporate attire or his Dear Coco superhero swag. Tune in as we decode how Anthony cross-pollinates sustainable business insights from corporate to SMB and back again…
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Today on the 2nd Renaissance I sit down with an old friend, John Treadgold, who is a sustainable investment expert, as we decode the business case for sustainability. We find out what the difference between ESG and impact investing is, the positive short and long term influence that the financial services industry can have on moving the climate needle, how to finesse our story-telling to convey the massive business opportunity that comes with sustainability, and why John is now so confident speaking his truth and making a significant impact in raising investors’ and the community’s awareness of the climate upside. He is a climate optimist and activist voice and he vulnerably shares his own life stories - the ups and downs - and it becomes clear that just as John has faced personal challenges, bullying and headwinds - and overcome them - his own journey of facing adversity symbolizes the old saying that ‘there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come’. Equally, the time for the ideas that he espouses and has become a voice for - sustainable and impact investment - has come, and John is perhaps the perfect bellwether for this movement.
John is is a communications consultant for companies working on climate-solutions. He specialises in content strategy to help sustainable investors and climate-tech startups accelerate growth (and cut carbon), and translates financial jargon into human meaning for organisations like Perpetual, World Bank Group, MLC and the UN. He's the host of the Good Future podcast and it was great to listen to John for this episode of the 2nd Renaissance. I trust you will find this conversation enlightening and moving.
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In today’s special Christmas episode I sit down with regenerative farmers and food fighters Matilda Brown and Scott Gooding from The Good Farm. Til and Scott share their life journeys of reconnecting with a sustainable diet that includes regenerative meat and animal proteins, the sustainability case for regenerative agriculture, why veganism and vegetarianism is not the climate answer, the importance of soil-based carbon sequestration, how sustainable “comfort food” can save the planet, some Christmas recipes, and why tilling the soil is the new devil (no pun intended, Til).
We discuss how carbon is not the World’s enemy and why the agricultural system can move from being a massive carbon emitter to a carbon sequesterer, and how we can all enjoy a guilt-free regen ham or Swedish meatballs this Christmas. Welcome to the show, Scott and Til - and thanks for whetting my Christmas appetite in a sustainable fashion...
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Today on the 2nd Renaissance, I sit down for a deep and meaningful over a sustainable Modus Operandi beer (or two) with Dan Krigstein - Director of The Growth Intelligence Centre at News Corp Australia. We discuss sustainable news and content, responsible production of news stories in the context of synthetic AI-driven media, the changing role of news in an age of influencers and ‘alternative facts’, the hyperspeed of fake news dissemination, the counter-factual to shortened attention spans, the brand damage that comes from cyber security breaches and recycling exposés, and ultimately how brands and businesses can grow ethically and sustainably into the future - in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I really enjoyed this odyssey into the metaverse and virtual reality with Dan and I know you will too. Now a quick word on pedigree…
Dan is a consumer strategy & analytics leader with global experience across retail, consumer goods, digital & media industries. Dan currently leads News Corp’s Growth Intelligence Centre - supporting publishers, brands, and industries develop growth strategies through unapologetic customer-led thinking and product innovation. Prior to News Corp, Dan spent over a decade building transformative insights capabilities in organisations including Qantas & Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. Dan spends his life thinking about the future and I am in awe of his data-based foresights and human reflections. On with the show…See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Today on the 2nd Renaissance, I have a triangulating conversation with two experts and beloved clients from ResMed on the sustainable future of medical devices. We discuss the circular economy, green tech, sustainable product design, digital ecosystems of health, human-centric design, and why sleep is a critical health driver.
I am joined in the Thinque studio by Jamie Wehbeh Director for Research and Technology and Charles Hartson, Senior Director of Patient Interface Product Development at ResMed. Jamie describes himself as having a love affair with the intersection of technology and innovation and the ‘a-ha moment’ when things come together in new ways, and Charles thrives in an intersecting intersection of people, strategy and product. Like their peers at ResMed, every day they come to work with a focus on building and supporting technology that helps people live healthier, happier lives.
It began over 30 years ago with the invention of a machine that helped people breathe easier and sleep better. And it continues today with digital health solutions that help keep people out of the hospital.
As a father of a 1 and a 5 year old, the topic of good sleep is close to my heart, but of course, as you hear in this conversation, ResMed’s smart and sustainable medical devices literally help humans “keep the lights on” through smart technology. Whether you aware of the debilitating impacts of sleep apnoea, or just have an interest in sustainable medical technologies, this conversation is bound not to put you to sleep.
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Today on the 2nd Renaissance, I sit down in the Thinque studio with Mike Hanley. Mike founded the Content Engine in 2019 to work with ambitious organisations to amplify and scale the impact of their communications through quality content. He is also the former head of Digital Communications at the World Economic Forum.
We look at how content and digital nutrition can help change the world and create signal in the noise. We talk about sustainable content strategies, equitable business, what he learnt at the World Economic forum, and how to create memorable memes that change hearts and minds. Mike is an old mate and client of mine, and it was great to have him in the studio while he was on a hiatus in Sydney away from his current home in Geneva, Switzerland - and to co-create digital nutrition.
As Head of Digital Communications at the World Economic Forum for 8 years, he built the team that turned the Forum into the largest owned media publisher in the world. A graduate of the London School of Economics and the London Business School, he has been working to produce the world's best content with some of the world's top organisations for 25 years. The vision at the Content Engine is to become the world’s most advanced content agency, combining technology and art for effective communications.
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In today’s episode of the 2nd Renaissance, I sit down for a conversation with Ronni Kahn - the founder of OzHarvest - to decode the issue of food waste, food rescue, and the environmental impacts of the current food system - and what we can do to innovate ourselves out of social and environmental injustice. We also talk about Ronni’s spiritual journey, yoga and meditation at Bondi Beach, and what she learnt about creating social impact in Soweto, South Africa.
Ronni Kahn AO is a social entrepreneur and founder and CEO of food rescue charity OzHarvest. Ronni is a passionate advocate and activist renowned for disrupting the food waste landscape in Australia. She appears regularly in national media, serves in an advisory capacity to government and is a sought after keynote speaker. Her mission to fight food waste and feed hungry people is supported by some of the world’s finest chefs. Ronni is an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) and was named Australian Local Hero of the Year. Her journey is the subject of a feature film, Food Fighter and her memoir, A Repurposed Life, has recently been published.
Ronni describes herself as an accidental activist, but I think as you will find in today’s story, there is something very intentional and purposeful about her journey. I left this conversation feeling like Ronni had reached into my heart and soul and I think you will find she has a similar effect on you.
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In today’s episode of the 2nd Renaissance I sit down with Nicky Sparshott - CEO of Unilever Australia and New Zealand to decode Unilever’s sustainability journey - from its origins in Victorian England, to its more recent Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, to Compass and Unilever ANZ's journey to becoming a Certified B-Corp.
We uncover the basis for the commercial, social and planetary success of Unilever’s innovation formula and how purposeful brands prosper. I love how generously Nicky shares her leadership and sustainability insights, and how our viewers and listeners can adapt this to fast-track their own transformation journeys towards a more sustainable - and prosperous future.
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Bonus Episode:
"Into the Virtual Ether" Dave Anderson, Digital Evangelist and Host of Podcast Tech Seeking Human. In today's Bonus Episode of the 2nd Renaissance, I welcome back digital evangelist Dave Anderson into our physical Avalon Beach Studio to talk about digital minds and analogue hearts, and how important deep and meaningful, digital nutrition is an age of clickbait and how organisations need to re-think transformative events as we enter the virtual ether of the Metaverse. We also discuss how technology became our only lifeline during the pandemic, Scandinavian interior design, and geek out about the podcasting equipment. I always love sitting down with my good mate Dave Anderson and tuning into his analogue heart and future-oriented digital mind.
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Today we have a very special guest on the 2nd Renaissance. Not only is Ed
Coper one of my best friends from my high school days in Canberra, but as a young immigrant I also fondly recall a feeling I had that if a then young Ed Coper emerged onto the political scene in the future, Australia would become a more progressive, more inclusive, more enlightened and future-fit society. In a sense, he has now firmly stepped into that hopeful prophecy and arrived with a bang.We do a deep dive into the somewhat dark world of the Disinformation Age, which Ed has masterfully canvassed in his book ‘Facts and Other Lies’, and how leaders and entrepreneurs can a. design a better future story and b. utilise the tools of the digital age to win the hearts and minds to create enlightened ground swell-movements in an ethical fashion.
Ed is a leading communications expert and was on the front lines when the internet collided with democracy, growing Australia's first online political movement GetUp to quickly amass more members than every political party combined.
He powered Change.org's global expansion into over eighteen countries and pioneered techniques to bring politics into the digital age, and has been behind the scenes of many of the last decade's most prominent social movements. He has advised campaigns on every continent except Antarctica, and high-profile changemakers from Malala and Greta Thunberg to Richard Branson.
Ed founded the New York-based Center for Impact Communications, which has led efforts to safeguard US elections from disinformation and overcome vaccine hesitancy. Ed also founded a New York City creative agency that serviced multiple Nobel Peace laureates, political and social leaders to scale their social impact. His groundbreaking campaigns have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for causes, won landmark social change and have featured in several museum exhibitions. Ed is based in Sydney and is director of the Populares communications agency and recently master-minded the rise of the climate activists in the successful Teal Independent Movement.
In some ways today’s show was just an excuse to reconnect with Ed face to face, but I am sure you will find this chat as enjoyable and rewarding as I did.
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This week we speak with John Elkington - one of the wise elders and founders of the global sustainability movement. The Evening Standard named John among the ‘1000 Most Influential People’ in London, describing him as “a true green business guru”, and as “an evangelist for corporate social and environmental responsibility long before it was fashionable”. A CSR International survey of the Top 100 CSR leaders placed John fourth: after Al Gore, Barack Obama and the late Anita Roddick of the Body Shop, and alongside Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank.
John was a faculty member of the World Economic Forum from 2002-2008 and a visiting professor at Cranfield University School of Management, Imperial College and University College London (UCL). He has served on over 70 boards and advisory boards. John has won numerous awards and is the author or co-author of 20 books. John’s Cannibals with Forks in 1997 popularised his ‘Triple Bottom Line’ concept and laid the foundations for sustainable business strategy. He coined the terms environmental excellence, green growth, green consumer, and People, Planet & Profit. The 20th book was published in April 2020: Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism (Fast Company Press).
John co-founded the strategy firm, Volans (a Certified B Corp), to span the yawning divides between what the sustainability industry was doing and what needs to be done. As the company enters its second decade, John is on a mission to “10X” Volans’ impact, by integrating future thinking, sustainability and innovation into corporate strategy. Tune in as we uncover humanity’s grand challenges, and the entrepreneurial opportunities in fixing them.
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This week we speak with Swiss-German futurist, Gerd Leonhard. We investigate what is the meaning of ‘The Good Future’, why ‘Green is the New Digital’, the fact that the pandemic was a test run for climate change and how to re-design capitalism to ensure it is future-fit - and ultimately what the cost of inaction on climate change is. In 2016, Gerd published the book Technology vs. Humanity, a manifesto for digital rights and an investigation into the many areas of life currently impacted by technology disruption without regulation or policy. His Open Letter to the Partnership on AI was published in the British magazine Wired in October 2016, calling on technology leaders at IBM, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Amazon to embrace digital ethics in the emerging era of cognitive automation. Emphasizing a European tradition of humanist values and philosophy, Leonhard pursues a path of technological balance as evidenced in earlier eras such as the Italian Renaissance, which perhaps makes him the perfect guest on the 2nd Renaissance.
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This week we speak with Sarah Wilson - author, minimalist and philanthropist. Sarah is a New York Times and #1 Amazon bestselling author, founder of IQuitSugar.com, and former editor of Australian Cosmopolitan magazine. She campaigns against consumerist waste, and her latest book is This One Wild and Precious Life, a book about connecting to what is important, living a values-led life, and designing a better future for ourselves and our children. We explore climate change driven pre-traumatic stress disorder, why 3.5% of the population needs to rise up in non-violent protest to drive meaningful climate action, the green shoot case for climate optimism, and how to get 12 meals out of one organic chicken and much more. Tune into this manifesto for action and call to arms with Sarah Wilson.
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In this episode we speak with Whitney Teluk. Whitney is a B Corp Consultant and the head of Learning and Development at the co-working space, Hub Australia. Whitney is passionate about transforming communities and facilitating sustainable business. She is a firm believer in the power of using business as a force for good, and we discuss why the B Corp movement is gathering exponential momentum and why this transformation journey can be so powerful for cultures, business and society. Tune into the conversation to find out where you can get started on your own journey of enhancing the 3Ps of People, Planet, and Profit.
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In this week on the 2nd Renaissance we hear from Brett King who is a world-renowned futurist and speaker colleague, an International Bestselling Author, and media personality. In 2020 he was inducted into the Fintech Hall of Fame by CB Insights. President Xi Jinping cited his book Augmented on the topic of Artificial Intelligence in his address to the nation in 2018, and he has the most #1 Bestselling titles in Banking and Fintech globally of any author in the last decade. He splits his time between Bangkok and New York, and increasingly in the metaverse. In this episode we dive deep into his new book ‘The Rise of Technosocialism’ and scenario plan what types of worlds are most sustainable for humanity and the planet, what mistakes we have to avoid and which technologies hold the most merit for driving equity and justice in the near and far horizon futures. Tune in for a space odyssey into Tomorrowland.
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