Episodes

How can comic books reduce human risk? We've all seen airline safety cards that use imagery to communicate complex messages in a simple to understand way. So why couldn't we use that same logic for legal contracts? That's what my guest Professor...

How can we become more influential?That’s a question that fascinates my guest on this episode, Dr Zoe Chance. She teaches a course on it at Yale and has just published a new book called Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts,...

This episode is the second part of my discussion with Gill Kernick about the Grenfell Tower Disaster and the broader lessons we can draw from it.In the previous episode, Gill and I talked about Grenfell. I recommend listening to that before...

What can we learn from the UK's largest residential fire since World War Two, in which 72 people died? The Grenfell Tower disaster happened in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, one of London's wealthiest areas. As a result of catastrophic...

How did the Post Office deliver one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history?My guest Nick Wallis, is a journalist and radio presenter who has written a book called The Great Post Office Scandal which explains how a billion pound...

What does Sustainability have to do with Compliance?On this episode, I’m speaking to a Compliance innovator that has combined both. Dr Sarah Tischler is Head of Compliance for NKG, the world’s largest coffee trading company. Since NKG is...

What is kindness and why does it matter? One of my New Year's resolutions for 2022 is to be kinder to others. So, in this episode, I'm learning more about what being kind means — spoiler alert, it doesn't mean always being nice — and why that...

Why do we live in such a polarised world and what can we do to minimise the dynamic? On this episode, I’m joined by Alex Chesterfield and Ali Goldsworthy, two of the co-authors of a book called Poles Apart - Why People Turn Against Each Other and...

What do fools have to do with managing human risk? On the face of it, they’re likely to be a driver, rather than a solution. But when we use the term to describe in the context of court jesters, then the answer might be very different. As my guest...

This episode is the second part of my discussion with comedian & impressionist Josh Berry. If you haven't yet listened to the first part, I recommend you do that, before listening to this.You'll find Part One here:...

What can comedy teach us about human decision-making?That’s something that my guest on this episode Josh Berry, knows all about. He’s a comedian, impressionist and satirist — though as you’ll hear on the episode, he’s not hugely keen on that third...

How can we prevent people from falling over and injuring themselves? What sounds like a simple challenge, is actually a major issue. In a normal year, over 300,000 people in the UK alone have to go going to hospital after slipping on a surface. That...

How can we manage risk and keep people safe in fragile environments?My guest Colin Pereira is Director at HP Risk Management, a consultancy that assists media organisations operating in challenging environments. Since the business of journalism is...

How can diversity help make Compliance functions more effective? My guest, Mary Shirley is a compliance professional who has been working to promote women in compliance. She’s the co-host of The Great Women in Compliance podcast and the co-author of...

How can we make transport more human? On this episode, I'm exploring the human risk dynamics of transport — both from the perspective of the traveller, but also from the perspective of those who run and design transport networks and policy.Every...

How can counter-intuitive thinking help us to make better business decisions? It’s something that Professor Ian McCarthy explores in his research.Ian has been on the show before, talking about his research Into workplace bullshit. You can hear...

What impact do crowds have on football ⚽️games? Is there such a thing as 'home advantage'? It's a question that is of interest to those of us who watch the sport, but also to non-sports fans because it helps us to understand the psychology of how we...

How can we assess the level of human risk we’re running in a control framework? Unlike technology, humans aren’t always reliable and how they behave under pressure may well be different to how they behave in normal situations.My guest on this...

Why do we sometimes find ourselves feeling unable to influence other people? If you've ever found yourself thinking you're ineffective, invisible or inarticulate, then you're not alone. We've all experienced it. But what if it turned out that those...

What can Compliance learn from Sales? On the face of it, they're very different things: sales is about persuading customers to buy a service or product, whereas Compliance is about telling employees what to do or not do. Yet, perhaps surprisingly,...

How can building a community help business? That's what my guest Jean-Marc Le Tissier helps me to understand on this episode. We're all familiar with the idea of a community, in terms of where we live, but how might it be relevant for businesses...

How can we communicate more effectively in a virtual environment?My guest Mark Bowden is a body language expert who is well known for advising senior business leaders, celebrities and politicians on how to present themselves. He’s also the author...

What determines how we individually react to refugees? That’s the question that my guest on this episode, Dr Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir, has explored in her PhD. Nihan is originally from Turkey and came to the UK to study at LSE - the London School of...

What is Creative Accountancy? That's what I'm exploring on this episode. It's a term I've invented — a deliberate play on the term 'Creative Accounting' — to describe the approach which my guest Alastair Thomson adapts to his role as an accountant....