Stay ConnectedAn occasional series revisiting conversations and ideas from Reasons to be Cheerful (2017-2024), formerly hosted by ex-Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, and Sony Award-winning radio presenter Geoff Lloyd.
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Copyright: © Cheerful
All aboard the Chatterooga Choo-Choo for:
* The return of David Cameron
* Fika and Swedish Work Culture: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/08/fika-four-week-holidays-and-zero-overtime-swedens-stunningly-healthy-work-culture
* The Book Club that took 28 years to read one novel: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/12/california-venice-book-club-finngeans-wake-28-years
* Ezra Klein interviews Maryanne Wolf / Deep Reading: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/22/opinion/transcript-ezra-klein-interviews-maryanne-wolf.html
* Sleep in a record shop: https://thespaces.com/spend-the-night-in-an-east-london-record-store/
Email us: reasons@cheerfulpodcast.com
Music: Ed Seed
Artwork: A chimp with an iPad
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For our last episode of Reasons to be Cheerful in its current form, Hannah Ritchie from Our World In Data tells us why things are more cheerful than we might think when it comes to the long-term trends and talks about her forthcoming book on what we do to make a sustainable world. Then Ed's podcast crush David Runciman reflects on our 6 years, what we have witnessed and how our political system can become fit for purpose. Plus tears, thank yous, Oscar-style tributes and emosh....but don't worry we'll be back in your feed next week with our cheerful chatteroo so we feel like it's not really properly goodbye....
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As this chapter of Reasons to be Cheerful almost draws to a close we wanted to leave you feeling motivated and inspired to take action on the things you care most about, from climate change to inequality. Feeling disempowered and frustrated with the state of the world? Our three guests are here to tell you why doing your bit can be joyful, fun and might just restore your faith in humanity a little bit! We hear from Froi Legaspi from Citizens UK who tells us about his journey into community organising, from Emily Bolton who's working with Grimsby Football Club to build a more optimistic future for the town, and to Dan McCallum, who back in 1998 started an energy co-op in Wales that's now the biggest rooftop solar co-op in the UK.
Plus: Keep sending us your messages of what you've learnt from the pod since 2017! We'd love to hear from you at reasons@cheerfulpodcast.com
Guests
Froi Legaspi, Senior Organiser, Citizens UK (@FroilanLegaspi / @CitizensUK)
Emily Bolton, Founder, Our Future (@EmilyJBolton_ / @OurFutureGY)
Dan McCallum, Co-Founder & Manager, Awel Aman Tawe (@AwelAmanTawe)
More information
Check out the work of Citizens UK including their local chapters
Read more about the work of Our Future and of Awel Aman Tawe
Want to set up your own project? Go to Community Energy England, Wales & Scotland
Dan also mentioned Energy4All
Learn more about the work of We're Right Here, the campaign for a Community Power Act and of Locality
UCL's Policy Lab is undertaking a new project called Ordinary Hope, find out more here
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The last decade or so has witnessed the seemingly unstoppable rise of populism across Europe and the world. The ruling Law and Justice party in Poland were one example of the trend and there were no signs they were going anywhere. But a couple of weekends ago, Poland voted for a change. We explore the shock result, how we got here and what drove the record turnout with Piotr Buras and Anne Applebaum. Then we speak to young climate activist Dominika Lasota about her role mobilising women in the election. What can we learn from Poland and is there hope on the horizon?
Guests
Piotr Buras, the Head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Warsaw Office (@PiotrBuras1 / @ecfr)
Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer at The Atlantic and Pulitzer-prize winning historian (@anneapplebaum / @TheAtlantic)
Dominika Lasota, climate activist and co-founder of the climate campaign group Wschód (@lasotellia / @wschod)
More information
Read Anne's article in the Atlantic: 'Poland Shows that Autocracy is not Inevitable'
Read analysis from the ECFR about Poland's future and its relationship with Poland
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Long-time listeners to the pod will know that Ed never ever talks about his swimming hobby, but the RTBC team have decided to indulge him - just this once, mind - and dedicate a *whole episode* to the boom in outdoor swimming. Whether you’re a seasoned wild swimmer, a winter dipper or a lido goer, there’s a huge number of reasons why you might like to step outside the indoor confines of your local swimming baths. We speak to Kate Rew and journalist - and former Hampstead Ponds lifeguard - Nell Frizzell about why they find outdoor swimming exhilarating, as well as how to avoid swimming in s**t. And Professor Mike Tipton is back to give us a health warning and plenty of advice on how to swim safely.
Plus: How should Geoff navigate the annual rotting gourd display?
Guests
Kate Rew, Founder, Outdoor Swimming Society and author of the Outdoor Swimmers’ Handbook (@kate_rew)
Professor Mike Tipton, Professor of Human and Applied Physiology, University of Portsmouth (@ProfMikeTipton)
Nell Frizzell, Journalist and Author of The Panic Years, Square One and Holding the Baby (@NellFrizzell)
More information
Check out the work of the Outdoor Swimming Society, including articles on how to stay well swimming and the 3% access myth
Buy a copy of the Outdoor Swimmers' Handbook
Watch a video of Mike immersing Chris van Tulleken into 12 degree water
Mike mentioned the Blue Tits swimming group
Check out Nell's books and her essay about being a lifeguard at the Hampstead Ponds
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Would you like to work less, feel happier and maybe even do something good for the planet, all with no loss in pay? It’s a dream that could soon become a reality for many, after the world's biggest four day week trial wrapped up last year. We explore the results and dig back through our audio archives to revisit the history of a shorter working week, why it could be a solution to Britain's flatlining productivity problem, and what comes next for the four day week campaign.
Guests
Andrew Barnes, 4 Day Week - Global (@4dayweek_global)
Kate Bell, TUC (@kategobell)
Rachel Kay, Researcher and Will Stronge, co-founder of think-tank Autonomy (@w_stronge / @Autonomy_UK)
More information
Listen to RTBC 55 Living for the (three day) weekend (October 2018)
Listen to RTBC 126 The Four Day Future: Building a movement for shorter working hours (Feb 2020)
Read the report by think tank Autonomy The Results are In: The UK’s four-day week pilot (Feb 2023)
Read more about the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign
Read more about the global movement for a four day week
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Story hound Michael Lewis is back with a new book that charts the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, once the world's youngest billionaire. A journalist once said that they would read a history of the stapler if Michael Lewis wrote it, and he delivers his most compelling story yet (office stationery absent). Well versed in the world of finance, the Moneyball and Big Short author was granted unparalleled access to SBF, the crypto tycoon who said he wanted to give away his money to good causes. Then - in November 2022 - his company collapsed. Michael tells us what it’s like to write a book where your protagonist is arrested halfway through, why he never wanted to write about cryptocurrency and what his time with Sam Bankman-Fried taught him—and should teach us.
Guest
Michael Lewis, Author and Journalist
More information
Buy a copy of Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
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The winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics was announced earlier this week. Claudia Goldin’s research showed that at the point of having a child women's wages start to lag behind men's. But why is parenthood a penalty for mothers? Could a more generous parental leave offer - including a ‘use it or lose it’ policy for fathers - be the key to achieving gender equality?
Guests
Sam Smethers, former CEO, Fawcett Society
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland
Molly Mayer, former senior research and policy officer, Fawcett Society
Listen to RTBC episode 64 Sharing and Caring: the case for paternity leave (December 2018)
Listen to RTBC episode 194 Go Big #1: A big idea for gender equality (June 2021)
Learn more about the charity Pregnant then Screwed and their research that shows boosting paternity leave has economic benefits
Read about Claudia Goldin’s work and winning the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics
We'll be back on Monday with our next full episode of Reasons to be Cheerful!
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In 2019 Gina Martin - a self-confessed ‘political novice’ - led a successful campaign that resulted in a law change to make upskirting illegal. Since then her activism on gender equality has continued apace but changing legislation is no longer her aim. Why? We find out as we speak to her and activist Ben Hurst, head facilitator at Beyond Equality, who works with young men and boys to engage in conversations about what being a man means today.
Plus: We’re gongoozling with the Queen of Dictionary Corner, Susie Dent.
Guests
Gina Martin, gender equality campaigner, speaker and writer (@ginamartin)
Ben Hurst, activist and educator and Head of Facilitation at Beyond Equality (@therealbenhurst)
Susie Dent, lexicographer (@susie_dent)
More information
Buy ‘No offence but…How to have difficult conversations for meaningful change’ by Gina Martin out now
Buy Roots of Happiness: 100 words for joy and hope by Susie Dent out now
Watch Ben’s Ted Talk: ‘boys won’t be boys. Boys will be what we teach them to be’
Learn about the work of Beyond Equality
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The national living wage is going up to at least £11 an hour from next April. Although it's claimed the rise will help two million of the lowest paid workers, many campaigners are saying it's still not enough for a decent standard of living in the current economic climate. The Real Living Wage is one alternative. It's a voluntary commitment from employers to pay their workers enough to meet their everyday needs, and unlike the government's living wage it's calculated according to the actual cost of living. We spoke to Sheila Blackburn and Margaret Beckett MP in 2021 about the history of the fight for a government-set minimum wage. We also spoke to Lola McEvoy back in 2019 and Gavin Kelly about the Real Living Wage and why the campaign has been so successful to date.
Guests
Dr Sheila Blackburn, Historian, University of Liverpool
Margaret Beckett MP, Former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1995-1997)
Gavin Kelly, Chair of the Living Wage Commission (@GavinJKelly1)
Lola McEvoy, Formerly of the Living Wage Foundation (@Lola__McEvoy)
More Information
Listen to RTBC 78 Living wage against the machine (March 2019)
Listen to RTBC 221 First they ignore you : Part four - the fight for a minimum wage (Dec 2021)
Learn more about the Living Wage Foundation
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