Two Inconvenient Women

They unpack why critical thinking is vanishing from schools and why that matters for our future. They link AI, search habits and assessment pressure to shrinking curiosity and recall. They explore metaphors like hawk and salmon to describe stepping back, resisting norms and going upstream. They highlight global reports, intuition, wonder and practical ways to reclaim deeper, relational learning.

In many cultures around the world, we are entering a new calendar year and with that often comes a sense of renewal, hope and possibility. But where does hope sit in a world that seems so overwhelmingly fraught with problems? What place do 'resolutions' or 'good intentions' have in our lives when facing so many obstacles? How can we reclaim hope from being seen as something ephemeral and return it to what it truly is - an active verb with its sleeves rolled up, ready to take action?In this conversation, Rachel and Holly talk about active hope and the process of actively creating a healthier, more hopeful future. We explore some of the ways that new habits can become life-long changes in our lives and help create healthier ways of living, as well as how we can re-think our relationship to hope, by seeing it as something we do, rather than something we have.In this episode we reference the following:Nick Cave - The Red Hand Files (website)Morgan Phillip's Learning Lunch - Our Shared World (webinar recording) David Whyte - Everything is waiting for you poem)  Kim's Stories of Triple WellBeing episode (podcast)Hope is the thing with feathers - Emily Dickinson (poem)Fixer Upper - Frozen (song)Triple WellBeing Card Deck (resource)Triple WellBeing Practitioners (training course) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 2024 comes to a close, we thought we'd take a moment to reflect on what's unfolded this year and - more significantly - what's been unfolding through our organisation over the past 9 years to make us do what we do in the way that we do it.In this episode, Holly and Rachel explore ideas such as: What does success look like? What does it mean to run an organisation 'regeneratively'? How does our business strategy reflect our values? How is showing up as our authentic selves part of the impact of our organisation? What does it mean to practise what we preach?During the conversation, we reference the following:The Triple WellBeing Manifesto (website page)School for Social Entrepreneurs (website)Stories of Triple WellBeing (podcast)Frédéric Laloux - organisational Structures (model / website)The Story of Triple WellBeing (ebook) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The hosts delve into our primal need for gathering and the importance of belonging. They discuss the challenges of modern connections, contrasting individualism with communal practices. The impact of AI on human interaction takes center stage, raising concerns about losing authentic connections. They also highlight the dynamics of social settings, balancing comfort and vulnerability, while exploring how to create inclusive spaces that foster genuine relationships. Their personal stories reveal the power of shared experiences in building community and combating loneliness.

In the UK we're coming up to Christmas, and with that the cultural pressure to consume, buy gifts and accumulate lots of 'stuff'. In this episode we explore some of the narratives around our consumer culture, thinking about where this has come from and how we can actively disrupt our cultural stories to shift from 'consumer' to 'citizen'. We explore the meaning behind gift-giving, the impact of giving, receiving and witnessing acts of care and kindness, the scarcity versus abundance mindset and the many, many ways we can show people we care above and beyond just buying stuff.In this episode we referenced the following:Jon Alexander - Citizens (Book & website)Common Cause Foundation (non-profit organisation)ThoughtBox Care Calculator (free resource)ThoughtBox Food & Clothes curriculum (teaching resource)Rachel & Holly's homemade gifts! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week saw the conclusion of COP29 - the 29th annual UN Conference of Parties summit on climate change. The fact that we're now on our 29th conference and global emissions are still rising is perhaps an indication that this is not working. This year in particular saw a lot of people from inside the conference speaking out about its flaws.In this episode Holly and Rachel explore some of the inconvenient truths about the business as usual story of 'leaders saving the world', discussing the flaws of this current system of climate negotiations and reflect on why and how this current model of COP just doesn't work. We turn attention and discussions onto the role of 'citizening' as an active verb, and reflect on how more and more people are no longer waiting for 'them' to fix things, but are instead quietly and loudly just getting on with 'us' changing the world.In this episode we reference the following:The history of climate negotiations in 83 seconds (video)COP26 Tuvalu address (video)Open letter from inside COP 29 (letter)Climate Majority Project (citizens movement)Three stories of our time - Joanna Macy (website)Alok Sharma COP26 (video)Jon Alexander - Citizens (website /book)Rebecca Solnit research (article)The Hypocrite (short film)Transforming Leadership Course (online course)Re-Action Collective: Citizen Friday (movement)How to Citizen (Podcast) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What on earth are we eating? This is a topic we've wanted to explore deeply over time, recognising that there are many episodes that will unravel under the title of 'food'. In this episode we spend time thinking about our changing relationship with food and how our abilities to make healthy food choices are hampered by so many broken systems around us. From the lack of learning about growing or cooking in schools to the rise of GMO crops and the link between UPFs (ultra-processed foods) and health issues, we explore some of the complexities of our global food systems and reflect on where and how we have lost our relationship with food.In this episode we reference the following:Triple WellBeing Curriculum - Exploring FoodSeeds of Freedom (website & films)UK's unhealthy food habits (article)Ultra Processed People - Chris van Tullekan (book)Care Calculator (resource)Michael Pollen on cooking (RSA video)Clarkson's Farm (TV series)Chefs in Schools (Social enterprise)Inglorious fruits and veg (campaign)Tristram Stuart - The global food-waste scandal (Ted Talk)Gut - Guilia Enders (Ted Talk and Book)Rachel's favourite carrot (image)Quasimodo the Cucumber (image) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the most inconvenient truths for many people in the world is that 'we are nature', and that we (like all natural beings) are heavily influenced by the rhythms of the natural world; whether that is the sun and moon, the light and the seasons, the climate or the foods we eat. So what happens when we actively ignore - or even fight against - these natural rhythms and the needs of our mammalian selves? What is the impact on our bodies, our minds, our health and our wellbeing?In this episode we explore some of life's rhythms that govern our lives and help us to navigate our way in the world, and think about why and how our dominant culture is actively ignoring these in our structures and systems, and what some of the ramifications of this somewhat imbalanced way of living may be. In this episode we reference the following:The Wheel of the Year (visual)Laurence Winram (land artist)Circadian Rhythms (short video explainer)Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer (book)Ffyona Campbell - Author, traveller & foragerAnti-light pollution movement (French protest)In time of Daffodils - EE Cummings (poem) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We recorded this podcast on the morning of the US Presidential election results, with Donald Trump re-elected into office for another 4 years. Recognising the enormity of this moment in time, and the wide-rippling influences that US politics and policies have on so much of the world, this conversation felt important to have live and in-the-moment as the results were unfolding.Disclaimer: This is not a political analysis podcast as we are not deconstructing the resonance of the politics or the voting decisions being made. Instead, we wrangle with the complexities of this moment in human history. We explore the inconvenience of nuance in a world fixated on binaries; we discuss the role and resonance of leadership; we reflect on the influences on our cultural narratives and the capacity to keep holding onto active hope in the face of such adversities.In this episode we reference the following:Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling (book)The Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien (book)The Master and His Emissary - Dr Iain McGilchrist (book)The Divided Brain - Dr Iain McGilchrist (TedTalk)The Peace of Wild Things - Wendell Berry (poem)Yawanawá community elder's headdress - the harpy bird (image) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week in the UK it’s the school half term holiday and the ThoughtBox team are slowing down too, taking time for some reading, research and essential time in nature. We aren't recording a podcast this week, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share a gift with you instead. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to check out our other podcast series yet, here is the first episode of Stories of Triple WellBeing® where I’m joined by two other wonderfully inconvenient women - Tina Farr and Clare Whyles of St Ebbe’s School in Oxford, UK sharing how they're positively disrupting their school culture to put Triple WellBeing at the heart of learning.Rachel and I will return again next week for another episode...You can listen to the rest of the Stories of Triple WellBeing® podcast on:✳️ Spotify✳️ Acast✳️ Apple PodcastsAnd most other podcasting platforms.In the episode, we refer to:St Ebbe's Primary SchoolKen Robinson - Do Schools Kill Creativity?ThoughtBox - Transforming Education Leadership SummitDebra Kidd - Pedagogue in ResidenceMatthew Syed - Rebel IdeasOtto Scharmer - The Essentials of Theory UBrené Brown: Listening to shameThoughtBox - Triple WellBeing® FellowshipForest SchoolThe Harmony ProjectOPAL - Outdoor Play and Learning Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.