Through the 2020 lockdowns I’ve had a lot more time to listen to some podcasts. I’ve tended to focus on a few that I’ve found engaging because they deal with the need for social change and renewal. I’m not particularly interested in drama, sport, escapism or historical discussion, so the range of the podcasts I find interesting are limited to organisations that have a remit to promote social change, such as Nesta, Compass, Demos, and a few others.
I’ve put this list together with a link to each of the podcast websites. I’ve been downloading them from iTunes onto my phone, as I prefer to listen to podcasts when I’m out for a walk, or on my way into Leicester. I’ve found that podcasts are sufficiently distracting from the task of shopping, because I can focus on the flow of the discussion, rather than worrying about hunting for bargains (when the non-essential shops are open).
The Speaking of Jung podcast is one of my favourites. It’s helped me to understand and learn more about the work of Jungian depth psychology, and issues of personal development that are associated with a Jungian approach to individuations. Laura London is an excellent host who is committed to ensuring that Jung’s work is understood in its full context, especially as it is practised by professional analysts who are willing to share their insights. It’s been great to hear how relevant Jungian models of psychosocial development are, particularly at a time of crisis, and what we can adapt for our own lives which will allow us to develop a more meaningful social experience.
I find the Living Myth podcast a strong companion to the Jung podcasts, as Michael Mead tunes into the spirit and insight that Jung understood. Mead’s focus in on the way the deep stories of our cultures have a role in helping us to make the transition from chaos to order, from adolescence to wisdom, and from the intractable to the imaginable. Michael Meads relates these ideas in a spoken address, in which he shares his thoughts and experiences accumulated over his lifetime, and across the cultures that he has studied and engaged with. Meads never preaches, but encourages his listeners to find their own paths of transformation in what might often be felt to be dark and troubling times.
The theme that connects these podcasts is the meaning crisis, which is the central theme of The Emerge Podcast with Daniel Thorson. Daniel asks questions in his discussions with metamodern thinkers about the fragmentation of agreed frameworks of understanding of our social worlds, and the norms that have hitherto connected them together. Daniel ask how we might survive and thrive in a world that is increasingly chaotic and disconnected? The question that is posed in each of the episodes of the podcast relate to what we might do to guard ourselves against a life of meaninglessness and quiet desperation? Daniel asks what we might expect our roles and responsibilities to be in this turning of the ages, and what the next phase of the human experiment might bring as the gyre turns and our consciousness is turned with it?
I intend to add more reflexive and philosophical podcasts to my lists in 2021, particularly as they relate to the discussion of metamodernism and the need to develop a pragmatic approach to our experience that keeps us connected while also allows scope to expand our consciousness and think new ideas into being.
On a more practical note, I’ve been wondering how to keep up with British politics and news during the lockdown. I’ve largely given up on the BBC and other mainstream news providers, so I supplement my news service subscriptions with Steve Richard’s excellent podcast Rock N Roll Politics. Steve has a wealth of experience covering the ins and outs of Westminster politics, and is a regular on the BBC. His podcast, however, allows him to expand and develop his thinking, as he is looking at events as they emerge. His recent innovation for audience interaction has come from his experience hosting live events, in which he turns the discussion of current affairs into an engaging and participative performance. Steve steers clear of hyperbole, and he doesn’t have an axe to grind, so his views are always presented in a balanced and fair manner.
I took the name of my podcast from the focus of Jamie King’s podcast Steal this Show, in which Jamie looks at and discusses issues of innovation and social reorganisation from a decentralising technology mindset. Jamie asks how the technology that is now starting to merge into the network systems of the internet are going to have a profound effect on the way that we manage our economy, share knowledge, and connect with one another. The radical potential for blockchain, for example, might leave the news media world we take for granted today in a completely different state in a couple of years’ time. The open ledger which ensures that payments are processed and distributed to the originators of content hasn’t been fully explored in systems thinking about media yet. We’ve not started to get people ready for the days when the large-scale providers of news are eclipsed by smaller and more independent operators. We know it’s coming so listening to Jamie discuss it is a great way to get my head around the change it will bring about.
As the technical platforms change and augment with our lives in new and not yet understood ways, it’s essential to draw inspiration from a values-based approach to social and community development. The Community Development Podcast has become a firm fixture for me to listen to, as I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Russell Todd and learn from his passionate advocacy for community empowerment. It’s often said that community media is largely a project of community development, so listening to Russell’s podcasts has been an essential way for me to learn more about community development in practice. I wish more people recognised what Russell practices, which is that the process of sharing our stories and recording our concerns using different types of media, is a way of nurturing and identifying the capacity that we have as communities to grow and develop for ourselves, rather than being told by external agencies how we might do it from a cookie-cutter template.
One of the defining principles is that communities are able to represent and define their terms of development in a way that suits their local needs. The Local Trust Podcast is one of the best discussions of this idea in practice. The Local Trust is an organisation that is dedicated to putting power, resources and decision-making into the hands of local communities, to enable them to transform and improve their lives and the places in which they live. This is done by trusting local people. The podcast is an engaging way of illustrating these ideas in practice and discussing how the work of the trust is experienced by people working to establish local projects that meet their needs. There is some discussion from a policy point of view, but it doesn’t get bogged-down in jargon while still demonstrating the value of long term, unconditional, resident-led projects.
The Renew Normal podcast from Demos is a series of discussions and interviews with Polly Mackenzie who is joined by leaders, thinkers and campaigners to discuss how we can find opportunity from the adversity created by the Covid-19 pandemic, and what we can do to shape a better future. The discussions are quite wide-ranging, and cover topics such as globalisation, human rights, the role of the care services, and the use of technology in bridging social divides.
Similarly, the Social Change Agency podcast is a discussion with people who are ‘inspiring change-makers.’ The focus of the podcast is on the practical steps that community advocates must take to apply for funding, set up digital campaigns, work with young people, support trustees, and so on. The practical advice offered in the podcast is much needed, particularly as many podcasts can veer into theoretical hyperbole and loose touch with the practical implications of building sustainable organisations for social change.
There is, in all of this, a political dimension, and the Compassion in Politics podcasts covers the need for a more deliberative and mutually understanding approach to the politics of lasting social change. Likewise, the Compass podcast, It’s Bloody Complicated, seeks to share discussion between progressive parties who may wish to foster political change in alliance with one another. The question posed in both of these podcasts is how do we build back better, and what can we do to build a good society?
I’ve listened to many hours of discussion about the practical process of fostering change on the ground based on the needs of local communities. These podcasts are an invaluable resource that have helped me to get a better grasp of the issues and the challenges that lie ahead of us. They have also helped me to feel better connected to the networks of people who are advocating these ideas, and have given me a sense of potential direction as I develop my own podcasts in 2021.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://decentered.co.uk/my-2020-podcast-list/