Stay ConnectedGlobal campaigner and author Sarah Brown chats with people who’ve had a positive influence on the world around them, and unearths the lessons to help us do the same. Find out how to develop the better angel inside yourself. Featuring stories from globally renowned campaigners, Nobel Prize winners, celebrities, politicians and remarkable young people, Better Angels with Sarah Brown champions the activist spirit.
Credits:
Executive Producer: Ben Hewitt
Music: Pete Lyons
Photo: Brian Aris
June Sarpong MBE, writer and broadcaster, takes over as guest host, talking to Justin van Fleet, President of Theirworld and Executive Director of the Global Business Coalition for Education.
Justin describes how a trip to Bolivia as a teenager inspired him to work in education, and how education is providing hope and a degree of normality to thousands of young people trapped in desperate conditions in refugee camps on the Greek islands.
They discuss Theirworld's #WriteTheWrong campaign to provide an education to the 260 million children around the world who every day are denied a place in school.
This podcast interview was recorded in New York in September 2019 during the United Nations General Assembly.
This episode of Better Angels was edited by Warren Borg, Worgie Productions.
Sarah talks to activists at the heart of the Extinction Rebellion campaign, which seemed to burst out of nowhere in the spring of 2019 with its demand for action to end the world's climate crisis and ecological emergency.
In the midst of new actions in London, Clare Farrell, Will Skeaping and Dr Deepa Shah discuss how the movement has made its mark, and how traditional campaigning methods were failing to influence governments.
Clare Farrell is a fashion sustainability expert and co-founded Extinction Rebellion out of horror at the cost of fashion production to people and the planet.
Will Skeaping is a former advertising executive, and co-editor of The Extinction Rebellion Handbook: This is Not a Drill.
Dr Deepa Shah is a London GP and member of Doctors of Extinction Rebellion.
This podcast interview was recorded on 8th October 2019 at Soho Radio with thanks for the studio use.
This episode of Better Angels was edited by Warren Borg, Worgie Productions.
Comedian, Writer and Actor Rosie Jones joins Sarah for a conversation on what drew Rosie to comedy in the first place and the representation of people with disabilities on TV and in the media.
Inspired by the passion for her call for disability, inclusion and equal rights, Sarah jumped at the opportunity to speak to Rosie during the Edinburgh Fringe 2019, where Rosie's sold-out one-woman show entitled 'Backward' provoked the question - "Am I backward, or are they?"
Sarah and Rosie discuss the impact and legacy of the London 2012 Paralympics as a platform for not only athletes, but presenters with disabilities, and the need for more representation of disabilities on British TV outside of disability-focussed programmes. Rosie also highlights the need for more education around disability, and her aim is to get her story out to raise awareness of different disabilities. She is also very funny (Rosie that is, not Sarah!)
Sarah looks back at 3 years of conversations with extraordinary Better Angels Sir Patrick Stewart, Caroline Criado Perez, Sarah Corbett, Theo Sowa CBE, Jamira Burley and Peter Tatchell. This one-off Greatest Hits episode revisits different campaigning styles, why these remarkable campaigners are advocates for change in their field, and their incredible journeys.
Join Sarah and experience a sample of the magic moments where these incredible activists tell us how they're taking down barriers and opening up opportunities for the most vulnerable and marginalised people.
Caroline Criado Perez is a writer and feminist activist and one of Britain's best known campaigners for women's rights and visibility.
Jamira Burley is a youth activist and social justice advocate, fighting to create sustainable and systematic change to improve the lives of young people across the world.
Sir Patrick Stewart supports various social issues including progressive politics for fairness and social justice, addressing domestic violence with the charity Refuge, and being a powerful advocate for a better understanding of the mental health issues faced by our war veterans.
Peter Tatchell is a British human rights campaigner, fighting for LGBT rights and supporting indigenous groups of people suffering unfairness in marginalised territories.
Sarah Corbett is a professional activist and founder of Craftivist Collective - a social enterprise that combines craft and activism to engage people with social justice in a non-confrontational way.
Theo Sowa CBE is CEO of the African Women's Development Fund and is an advisor on a range of international issues with a focus on social issues.
Slay in Your Lane Authors Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené join Sarah to discuss the success of their first book as a best-selling guide to life for black British women, and their newly published book Slay in Your Lane: The Journal.
Yomi and Elizabeth explain the intentions of Slay in Your Lane steering Black British women to find role models, share advice and build stronger connections with each other and in their wider working environments. They also tell Sarah how their project developed, how it hit home with some many women and how they see Slay in Your Lane developing into a movement beyond their expectations.
This episode takes us into more depth on the initial idea, explores how their language focuses on activism, and how they wanted to share the achievements and advice of prominent Black British women whilst adding their own views and recommendations for achieving a balanced and successful working and personal life.
Yomi is an award-winning journalist writing for The Guardian and many other media titles, and Elizabeth is an award-winning marketing manager and is a columnist at the Financial Times.
In this new series of the Better Angels podcast, host Sarah Brown is exploring how different personality types call for change.
For the final episode of this series, Sarah speaks with Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy and Change at Save the Children Kirsty McNeill, who is leading teams to galvanise the public and influence policy makers on humanitarian action, global development and help for children here in the UK.
In this new series of the Better Angels podcast, Sarah Brown is exploring how different personality types call for change.
In this episode of the series, Sarah speaks to a range of guests about the new styles of campaigning, ones that look different to what we usually see and don't always start with big budgets. These campaigns are often down to one person, affected in a personal way, which can launch some of the most innovative ideas.
First we hear from James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand, co-founders of Oscar's Book Prize, an annual prize for the best books written for under-fives, awarded each year in memory of Oscar Ashton. Sarah talks to James and Viveka about their young son Oscar, who passed away 2012 when he was three and a half years old and how Oscar's Book Prize has grown over its six years of operation.
Next, Sarah speaks with Ivan Rosales, a campaigner whose own immigration status gave him insight into the experiences of those living in limbo right now in the United States, as undocumented young people. Using his experience, he founded the New York State Leadership Council, an organisation that empowers immigrant youth to drop the fear and challenge the American immigration system.
Sarah then speaks with Carys Afoko, co-founder of Level Up, a new feminist organisation launched at the start of 2018, with a mission to build a community of feminists who can work together to end sexism in the UK.
Paul Divakar, a renowned Dalit activist and former General Secretary of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, based in Delhi, speaks with Sarah about a personal trauma that inspired him to act.
Finally we hear from Kirsty Mcneill, Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy and Change at Save the Children, who is leading teams to galvanise the public and influence policy makers on humanitarian action, global development and help for children here in the UK.
In this Better Angels interview special, host Sarah Brown speaks with James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand, co-founders of Oscar's Book Prize, an annual prize for the best books written for under-fives, awarded each year in memory of Oscar Ashton.
Oscar's Book Prize champions the vital importance of reading to young minds and as Chair of Theirworld, who recently mobilised a global campaign for investment in early learning and pre-primary education, Sarah understands the importance of advocacy such as this.
Invited this year to be a judge of Oscar's Book Prize 2019, Sarah talks to James and Viveka about their young son Oscar, who passed away in 2012 when he was three and a half years old and how Oscar's Book Prize has grown over its six years of operation.
In this new series of the Better Angels podcast, Sarah Brown is exploring how different personality types call for change. In this episode of the series, Sarah speaks to a range of guests about the Voices of activism.
First we hear from Scottish actor David Tennant about his work supporting various charities, including Comic Relief and Worldwide Cancer Research. Sarah speaks to David about how to best use his well known voice for a good cause.
Sarah then speaks with Omotoke Titilope Olowo, a Theirworld Global Youth Ambassador from Nigeria, who represented her country and the charity at the United Nations meetings in 2018. Sarah speaks with Omotoke about her work as a special needs therapist at a school in Nigeria, and how her work shapes her campaigning voice.
Next, we hear from Kim Polman, founder of Reboot the Future, a non-profit organisation that aims to use the Golden Rule, 'treat others as you would wish to be treated,' to inspire, unite and hold to account leaders and citizens to build an increasingly compassionate and sustainable world.
Finally, Sarah speaks with Natasa Pantelic about her work as a local councillor in England, and how she is finding a voice to make a difference in her local community.
In this Better Angels Interview Special, Sarah Brown speaks to Caroline Criado Perez, a writer and feminist activist and one of Britain's best known campaigners for women's rights and visibility.
Starting with The Women's Room project, a national campaign to call for female experts to be better represented in discussion, Caroline then took on the Bank of England, who were at risk of removing the only other female face, apart from the Queen, from British banknotes. This lead to the Bank of England announcing Jane Austen would feature on the £10 note. In 2018, Caroline's latest campaign culminated successfully in the instillation of the first ever female statue, of suffragist campaigner Millicent Fawcett, in London's parliament square, opposite The House of Commons.
Ever engaged as a feminist activist, Caroline works now to inspire and explore women's participation in the democratic process, and has just published a new book Invisible Women.
Building on her interview in The Noise of Activism, you can hear Caroline's full interview here, and explore what inspires her work.
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