Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Heston Blumenthal, a self-taught chef and restaurateur known for The Fat Duck and blending cooking with science, talks candidly about living with ADHD and bipolar. He explores how neurodiversity fueled his daring creativity, the science behind sensory dining and unusual dishes, the role of mindful eating and food’s emotional power, and why he now advocates to reduce stigma.

Eric Schlosser, investigative journalist and author of Fast Food Nation, reflects on how the food industry has worsened. He discusses greed driving food systems, exploitation of migrant farmworkers, industrial meat and safety risks, ultra-processed foods, subsidies that distort diets, concentrated corporate power, and why collective political action — not just consumer choice — matters.

Ece Temelkuran, award-winning journalist and novelist who writes on democratic decline and exile. She traces how democracies erode slowly, the moral crisis behind political backsliding, and how neoliberal individualism weakens solidarity. She reflects on exile, belonging, and why rebuilding democracy needs emotional ties, mutual support, and seeing strangers as the foundation for collective survival.

Katharine Viner, Editor-in-chief of The Guardian who led its digital transformation and global expansion, discusses defending liberal values in a polarised age. She talks about mixing facts with ideas to inspire hope. She explains editorial independence, navigating internal debates, the move to multimedia storytelling, and the role of AI as a tool for journalism.

George Saunders, prize-winning fiction writer known for moral, power-focused stories, discusses truth, power and storytelling. He talks about how repeated lies and denial shift norms and blunt satire. He explores climate denial, elite disconnect from everyday decency, and whether fiction and community action can push back against cruelty.

Clara Mattei, an economist and author who studies political economy and alternatives to capitalism, argues capitalism is enforced, not natural. She explores capitalism’s pillars, colonial extraction, austerity as political tool, and how economic narratives sustain inequality. She also discusses building local alternatives like participatory budgeting and community-led projects.

Kishore Mahbubani, veteran Singaporean diplomat and former UN ambassador, offers a clear-eyed take on shifting global power. He discusses Europe’s strategic misreading, NATO expansion’s role in the Ukraine conflict, the case for talking to adversaries, pragmatic settlements for Ukraine, and how Asia’s rise should reshape Western policy.

Mehdi Hasan is a prominent broadcast journalist in America who’s forthright anti-Trump and pro-Palestinian opinions have thrust him to the fore of many of the big issues facing the country today. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Zeteo, previously hosting The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC, and his work straddles the line between conventional journalism and advocacy-driven argument. In this episode of Ways to Change the World he tells Krishnan Guru-Murthy why he believes American democracy is facing an “existential threat’, what he expects to happen next in Gaza and whether Labour can withstand the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. In the podcast, Mehdi makes accusations against several US companies. Comcast rejects any suggestions it may have engaged in misconduct by donating to the new $400 million ballroom under construction at the Trump White House. Responding to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who asked the media and Internet company if there had been a quid pro quo, they said: “Comcast’s pledged donation included no specific limitations or conditions on how the proceeds were to be used or spent. Furthermore, Comcast made the donation with no expectations of receiving anything in return and the implication that the donation has anything to do with a potential transaction involving Warner Brothers Discovery is categorically false.”When Paramount settled their lawsuit with President Trump they said the money was going to be allocated to Trump's future presidential library, not paid to him "directly or indirectly".The company also noted the settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret.Responding to reports in the Financial Times that a donor to Donald Trump’s reelection campaign had received the first barrels of oil obtained from Venezuela after America seized president Maduro, a White House spokesman said: “President Trump always does what is in the best interest of the American people, such as brokering this historic energy deal with Venezuela immediately following the arrest of narcoterrorist Nicolás Maduro. The media’s continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest are a tired attempt to distract from the incredible work only this president is capable of achieving.” The White House has also rejected accusations of corruption. Israel denies accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

In this engaging discussion, Nick Lowles, founder of Hope Not Hate, shares three decades of experience fighting racism and far-right extremism. He defines the far right's growing appeal and the danger of mainstreaming extremist ideas. Lowles emphasizes the power of kindness in politics and how community strength can combat hate. He discusses the complexities of immigration, stresses the importance of framing issues wisely, and calls for consistent condemnation of all forms of extremism. His insights are a rallying cry for action and understanding.

Rebecca Kuang, a bestselling novelist and PhD student, dives deep into the fractures of America's higher education system. She argues for debt-free access and academic freedom, highlighting how censorship stifles critical thinking. Kuang critiques the policing of campus discourse and connects her work, especially her novel Yellowface, to contemporary issues like anti-Asian sentiment and cultural appropriation. She also defends the originality of literature against the rise of AI, asserting that true creativity can't be mimicked.