From What If to What Next

In the US, as elsewhere, vast amounts of money are poured into mass incarceration and brutal and violent policing. What if instead that money was invested into the communities that bear the burnt of this approach to criminal justice, into healthcare, wellbeing, opportunity, safety? Andrea J. Ritchie is a Black lesbian immigrant police misconduct attorney and organizer whose writing, litigation, and advocacy has focused on policing and criminalization of women and LGBT people of color for the past two decades. She is currently Researcher in Residence on Race, Gender, Sexuality and Criminalization at the Barnard Center for Research on Women, where she recently launched the Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action initiative. Zach Norris is the Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, author of We Keep Us Safe: Building Secure, Just, and Inclusive Communities, and co-founder of Restore Oakland, a community advocacy and training center that will empower Bay Area community members to transform local economic and justice systems and make a safe and secure future possible for themselves and for their families. I hope listening to this podcast moves you as much as it did to record it. Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

So many of those who listen to this podcast are trying, in one way or another, to bring about change in the world. Whether it is the more confrontational activism demonstrated by groups like Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter, or grassroots organising and working to build the alternative, we are all trying to understand how to be the most effective activists we can possibly be. Which leads us to this episode's question, one sent in by subscriber Elke Himmelmann. Scilla Elworthy is a three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee for her work with Oxford Research Group to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics. Her most recent book is The Mighty Heart: how to transform conflict (2020). Robert Philips founded Jericho in 2013 after a 25-year career at the top of the global communications industry. He leads its work on Responsible Tax, Good Work, Social Justice in Tech, Housing, Energy and Infrastructure. He is the chair of #JerichoConversations. Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

Exploring the deep implications of decolonizing education, the podcast discusses a future with communal learning, universal basic income for knowledge acquisition, and nationalized access to knowledge. It also delves into the psychological effects of neglecting history education and challenges faced by marginalized communities in shaping their identity.

Here is Episode Nine. Our question this time was slightly adapted from one sent in by subscriber Pamela Barnes. As the world attempts to claw its way back from the COVID19 pandemic, and as opinion polls show an overwhelming support for not 'going back' to how things were before, people are increasingly discussing and exploring new models for an economy that better needs the needs of the population as a whole. One of those key ideas is that of a Wellbeing Economy, an economy that delivers both human and ecological wellbeing. Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

In this episode we are exploring a question sent in by subscriber Joy Cherkaoui. One of the things a future in which imagination is able to flourish will need is spaces in which imagination and creativity are invited. Intentionally. These can take many forms, but we need them. What then are the ingredients of such spaces? What makes a good one? Who gets to create them? How can we ensure that they support and reflect the diversity of the place in which they are situated? Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

Doughnut Economics is rapidly moving from the fringe to the mainstream. Amsterdam in Holland was recently confirmed as the first 'Doughnut City', using the model to underpin its economic development strategy. Many other cities are also moving towards adopting this powerful and fascinating tool for reimagining cities and their economies. Our question in this episode, your mind-expanding piece of summer listening, is "what if every city used Doughnut Economics?' Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

Allow me to present one of my very favourite episodes of 'From What If to What Next' thus far. The question we explore in this episode is 'What if imagination were a universal right?' My guests to explore this are Ariane Conrad, writer, activist and 'book doula' (editorial consultant and collaborative author) who tends to collaborate with authors who defend the rights of people and planet, and Dr. Masum Momaya who has worked at the intersection of arts, culture, social justice and human rights for more than 20 years as an educator, museum curator, writer and activist. Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

As we start, hopefully, to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected older people, many people have experienced an end to their lives that was lonely and traumatic. How different would the world feel if its priorities had changed to being one where the end of life was treated with the same love and reverence as birth? My two guests for this episode are Mike Grenville and Mary Nally. Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

In this podcast, we're talking about Universal Basic Income with Alexis Frasz, researcher and cultural strategist with Helicon Collaborative, and Phil Teer, author of 'The Coming Age of Imagination'. What would it be like to live in a world in which UBI was now an integral part of everyday life? How would life, and the world around us feel different? How might we re-frame UBI as a vital strategy for rebuilding our collective imagination? All too often, UBI is discussed as being an economic issue, but might imagination provide a fresh and essential lens through which to explore the idea? Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

In this third episode of 'From What If to What Next', we're talking about food. Taking a question from Patreon subscriber Tony Buck, we are asking "What If towns and cities set out to intentionally relocalise their food production?" How would it work? Where would you start? How would you involve the local government? How would you ensure that it is inclusive? To explore this complex question, one that COVID-19 has firmly re-emphasised the importance of, we have two guests with many years of experience in this area. Dee Woods describes herself as a "food and farming action-ist and campaigner" and has been involved for many years in London, playing a role in many different projects, whilst also writing and speaking widely on issues around food insecurity, inequalities in food systems, participatory policy making, intersectionality and decolonisation. Christian Jonet is one of the founders and co-ordinators of the brilliant Ceinture Aliment-Terre Liégeoise ( Liége Food Belt) in Belgium, one of the most remarkable examples of a citizen-led re-imagining of a city's food production. Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.