Accidental Gods

Pull from the heart, don't push from the head: Spreading Stories that Work with Matt Golding of Antidote

16 snips
Mar 18, 2026
Matt Golding, strategist, writer and filmmaker who builds positive storytelling for social change. He explains Antidote’s mission to surface shareable collective-action stories. Short takes cover his three-step storytelling method, why early positive stories failed, and the practical, repeatable filters that help everyday community efforts gain mainstream traction.
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ANECDOTE

Post Pandemic Stories Lost Their Moment

  • Early post-pandemic films of community projects 'didn't work' because projects took too long to finish and public attention moved on.
  • Matt recounts National Lottery commissions where good stories missed viral impact due to timing and audience belief barriers.
INSIGHT

Cynicism Is The Biggest Barrier To Collective Stories

  • Major barrier was audience disbelief and internal cynicism: even social-change teams doubted small community projects could scale.
  • That cynicism is cultural, not only ideological, and erodes mainstream uptake of collective-action stories.
ADVICE

Filter Stories To Prebunk Cynical Pushbacks

  • Use a filter to select collective-action stories that are 'bulletproof' and appeal broadly, then pre-address likely cynical pushbacks in the storytelling.
  • Matt built a repeatable selection framework to find unifying gateway examples in the UK.
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