Shows
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 26 - Kent BrayKent Bray is a counsellor and mentor who draws on a 35 year career in elite rugby, the intense world of City of London trading, and recovery from a serious cocaine addiction, to support others in need. He works with individuals, teams and corporations, particularly men struggling with a loss of identity, structure or confidence after life in professional sport.This conversation was such a blessing. Thank you Kent for being so open and honest. We cover a wide expanse of ground - elite performance, manhood, addiction, death, vulnerability, surrender. Kent played rugby for Queensland, New...
2025-11-231h 22
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 25 - Jane DavidsonHere’s my conversation with Jane Davidson, the former Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, and Assembly Member for Pontypridd in the Welsh Assembly, known as the Welsh Assembly/Senedd Cymru. Jane’s stated mission is to mainstream sustainability and she lives this with conviction on her smallholding in West Wales. We get behind her stellar list of achievements as a politician, to understand the woman, her convictions, her drive to improve well-being for all, and where her deep-rooted passion for the natural world began.Jane’s career demonstrated that conviction politicians can change things fundam...
2025-11-071h 30
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 24 - Jesse CoffinoThis conversation about childhood and play was deeply personal and an absolute joy. Jesse Coffino is the CEO of Anji Education, Inc. He has spent the last decade developing the theory and practice of Anji Play on the world stage. Anji Play is a beautiful philosophy for childhood flourishing founded by Ms Cheng Xuequin in Anji County, China. A fluent Mandarin speaker and interpreter, Jesse has taught thousands of educators in every continent and is a sought after speaker at universities and organisations around the world. He is also a father, theorist, strategist, and complex problem solver....
2025-10-241h 40
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 23 - Henry OliverHenry Oliver is a writer, thinker and critic. He writes the popular literary Substack The Common Reader and his excellent 2024 book Second Act is a study of late-blooming talent. We discuss why the humanities matter, stoicism, separating great writing from the writer, routes to truth, and reading literature as a great way of thinking. Henry reads some poetry beautifully and I mangle some Chaucer. Henry OliverThe Common Reader This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuriositydividend...
2025-10-081h 34
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 22 - Todd KashdanTodd Kashdan is insatiably curious. He is also a fabulous conversationalist with a mischievous, maverick streak.Todd is a Professor of Psychology, and the founder and director of the Wellbeing Lab at George Mason University in Virginia, USA. Todd is the most highly cited psychologist working in the field of curiosity research in history, with over 56,000 citations. He is in the top 1% of global scholars. His lab has produced over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles on well-being and resilience, psychological flexibility, meaning and purpose in life, curiosity, and managing social anxiety. Todd’s work has shown that be...
2025-09-231h 26
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 21 - Josh ConnollyJosh Connolly is a coach who uses embodiment practices, breath-work, and his own deeply personal experiences, to help build resilience in others. Josh is a passionate supporter of those affected by parental alcohol issues, an advocate for tapping into, and connecting profoundly with, our emotions and intuition as a way to heal trauma, and he’s a wonderful conversationalist.We connected over a shared frustration with aspects of the widely publicised debate between Gary Stevenson and Daniel Priestley about the economy. Our conversation became much richer – we talk about being a man, role models, vulnerability, stoicism, community, unfa...
2025-05-201h 48
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 20 - John PardeyMy conversation with John Pardey, an architect of unparalleled skill in the field of housing design.A serial winner of the UK’s most respected architecture awards, John has been a Chair and member of the RIBA Awards Group and CABE's National Design Review Panel, and has held lecturing posts at the London South Bank, Westminster, Canterbury and Portsmouth Schools of Architecture and is an external examiner at both Cardiff and Oxford Brookes.An unashamed fan of Jørn Utzon, the master architect of the Sydney Opera House, John has been inspired by the man to...
2025-05-061h 17
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 19 - Marc A. RossMarc A. Ross is a geopolitical strategist and communications expert. He’s the founder of Caracal Global and Brigadoon, and a passionate advocate for his home City of Detroit, its sports teams, its music scene, its architecture and its urban renaissance.A current resident of Washington DC, Marc is at the sharp end of the political shenanigans of US politics and advises companies around the world on geopolitical intelligence and corporate diplomacy. Who better to speak to about the shattering of the old world order in these chaotic times?He’s also an inveterate traveller and...
2025-04-181h 28
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 18 - Anna Koska (take two)My second conversation with the lovely Anna Koska. This one is all about space, creativity, the natural world and where we draw inspiration from.Anna is an artist specialising in fruit, vegetables and the natural world, and alongside her book illustration work, Anna is regularly commissioned by chefs and restauranteurs for food and botanical art.Working in egg tempera, watercolour, pen & ink and oils, Anna’s deeply intuitive sensibility as a natural historian shines through in all her creative outputs which more recently include writing. Her books From Field and Forest and From Coast and Co...
2025-04-081h 09
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 17 - Ben DerbyshireBen Derbyshire is a Past President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is the Chair of the acclaimed architecture practice HTA Design LLP and a Commissioner of Historic England.A wonderfully erudite, engaging and deeply thoughtful man, Ben shares his principles for good architecture and place-making and a wide array of valuable insights, relevant not just to those active in the formation of the built environment, but to anyone with an interest in vibrant, inclusive community. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or...
2025-03-161h 24
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 16 - James MaloneJames Malone is a filmmaker, photographer and former Royal Marines Commando. His production company, Palpa Films, specialises in crafting compelling, extraordinary documentary work. His elite military background has provided a robust foundation for meticulous planning, seamless adaptation, and the creation of powerful stories in the most demanding environments. This is a deeply personal conversation. Certainly the most important conversation I have ever had as a podcaster. James tells his story - a searingly honest story of operating under the highest imaginable stress. Humble, courageous, compelling. Please help spread the word about what James is doing...
2025-03-021h 59
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 15 - Elaine CarnegieEpisode 15: Elaine Carnegie This was a special conversation with the wonderful Elaine Carnegie originally recorded during lockdown in February 2021. Elaine is a workplace health, mental health and wellbeing consultant, and the founder and Managing Director of beingworks. A former Senior NHS Physiotherapist and Fortune 500 executive, Elaine talks to me about her journey to doing critically important work with her team to support employee wellbeing. Poor mental health has a staggeringly negative impact on employees and cost UK business £51 billion in 2024 according to Deloitte research. Elaine is an absolute delight to spend time with, and listen to, and s...
2025-02-211h 02
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 14 - Murray KerrMurray Kerr is an architect and founder of the design practice Denizen Works. Winners of the Stephen Lawrence Prize, The Grand Designs Home of the Year, and Building Design Architect of the Year, Denizen Works projects are characterised by an articulate approach which taps into local history, landscape, microclimate and community. We start our discussion with the golden question “what is architecture?” Murray is an inspiring, considered thinker, and this conversation was a real adventure in space, constraints, bumps in the building process, humility in design and the need to keep pushing forward, always.Denizen Work...
2025-02-181h 39
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 13 - Hugh MacLeodHugh MacLeod is a pioneer. He was one of the first two bloggers that I followed on the internet, back in about 2001, the other being Seth Godin. His blog gapingvoid.com, featuring his doodles on the back of business cards and creative advice for young entrepreneurs, was a huge inspiration to me as I started out on the lonely journey of starting my first company.A cartoonist, linguist and marketer, he has been championing the belief that art has the power to transform business, for over 30 years. His ebook “How to be Creative” on Change This was my f...
2025-02-0951 min
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 11: Rob PoyntonRob Poynton is a deep and creative thinker and author, whose life and work straddle eclectic fields. He teaches strategic leadership at the University of Oxford, and acts as a facilitator, consultant and coach to a host of companies and clients. His work is at the intersection of leadership, creativity, innovation and branding. He draws on multiple influences including improvisational theatre, play and the science of complexity. He lives between a remote off-grid home he built himself in the mountains of central Spain, and Oxford, England. I love this conversation. Rob is so understated and yet so...
2025-02-021h 42
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 10 - Sadie Morgan OBESadie Morgan is the co-founding director of multi award-winning international architecture and design practice dRMM. She was appointed OBE in the Queen’s 2020 New Year’s Honours List and is a Professor at the University of Westminster. She is the youngest ever President of the Architectural Association, the Design chair for HS2 and is a Commissioner for the UK Government’s National Infrastructure Commission. She is the founder of the Quality of Life Foundation which aims to put well-being at the heart of all new place-making and at the forefront of the housebuilding agenda. We discuss her wide-r...
2025-02-0255 min
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 9 - Clare HieattI manage to coax Clare Hieatt, co-founder of Howies, The Do Lectures and Hiut Denim*, out of the shadows during the build up to the 2019 Do Lectures event on her farm in Wales. Clare shares personal insights into her professional life and business partnership with her husband David, writing her book Do Curious, and creating the unique, transformative space which facilitates the magic of the Do Lectures every year.www.thedolectures.comwww.hiutdenim.co.uk* Full disclosure - I have a minority financial interest in Hiut DenimThanks for...
2025-02-021h 19
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 8 - Michael OwenI meet Michael Owen, the founder of Always Wear Red, an uncompromising menswear brand utilising only the very best materials and makers around the UK. Amongst other things we riff on growing up, turning 50 - an occasion that led Michael to start a blog which has grown into a searingly honest, witty and wise look at life through Michael's glasses - and the creative process. We end with a very personal exploration of the indelible impression that the film Kes has left on both of us.Michael has subsequently pivoted and now runs two businesses as well...
2025-02-021h 09
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 7 - David HieattOn the eve of the 10th Do Lectures, I discuss the genesis of the event with co-founder David Hieatt. David shares the ideas and inspiration behind the Do, why and how it came into being, and what he hopes to achieve with it. He also shares rare insights of his life with his wife Clare, and their process in building their much admired first brand Howies, and their second - Hiut - a specialist hand-crafted maker of jeans in Cardigan, West Wales.*https://thedolectures.com/https://hiutdenim.co.uk/*Full disclosure...
2025-02-021h 41
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 6 - Anna KoskaI meet the talented and multi-faceted artist Anna Koska in her rural studio after a joyous walk in the woods. In our first conversation* we talk about painting, writing, bee-keeping, rearing pigs, charcuterie, feeding a family on home grown vegetables, and cooking. Anna is deeply curious about the world, adventurous, unafraid to fail, and her beautiful little studio, sitting as it does on the edge of woodland, with just birdsong and Billie the lurcher for company, was the perfect space to talk.https://www.instagram.com/gremkoska/* second episode coming soon
2025-02-021h 18
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 5 - Luke Sital-SinghI meet acclaimed singer-songwriter Luke Sital-Singh at his studio in Bristol to discuss his journey from teenage music fan to universally respected professional musician described by no less than Lauren Laverne as ‘unbelievably good’. We discuss Luke’s searingly honest, haunting and mournful songs and the creative process behind writing and recording them. We share a fascination with melancholy and discuss how that most misunderstood of aesthetic emotions can be a source of great creativity and the part it plays in Luke’s music. Luke also reveals his fabulously dry sense of humour. Sincere thanks to Luke for personally mixing h...
2025-01-311h 38
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 4 - Jack Adair BevanJack Adair Bevan exudes soul. He’s an author, director and craftsman. Jack co-founded The Ethicurean - a multi award winning West Country restaurant straight out of University. He developed an award-winning artisan vermouth, The Collector, selling it successfully to the best bars and restaurants in the land. But driven by his innate curiosity Jack gave it up to follow a new-found passion - to use his hands to craft classic wooden sailing boats. With rare humility Jack shares his story of learning a new trade, the intense kindness of the folk on the West coast of Scotland, and ho...
2025-01-311h 27
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 3: Tim StrangeIn this episode I meet Tim Strange in his beautiful beach hut on England's South Coast. Tim is an artist, photographer, educator and, notably, one of only 1,881 people to have completed a solo swim of the English Channel (as at 31st January 2025). Tim talks with great clarity about how he came to take on the challenge of the Channel swim. To put this achievement into perspective as at December 2024 7,120 different people have reached the summit of Mount Everest. Tim also talks about studying fine art at Goldsmiths in the shadow of the YBA's, his art practice and how he...
2025-01-311h 18
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 2: Shana DresslerA conversation with all round New York City cool cat Shana Dressler, about art practices, unrequited love, family tragedy, rebounding from failure, Jaques Cousteau, patenting McDonald's Golden Arches and Hugh Heffner's Playboy logo, and social impact. Shana gives a very personal, visceral and searingly honest insight into her life, her love of travel and cultural exploration and how she has switched her professional focus from personal goals to supporting emergent businesses seeking to effect socially progressive and positive change in the world.www.shanadressler.com This is a public episode. If you would like...
2025-01-311h 21
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 1: Dan KieranDan Kieran is a writer, entrepreneur, lecturer, speaker and mentor.The start of my meandering podcast journey was an eclectic conversation with Dan Kieran around the office kitchen table at Unbound, the crowd funding publishing platform that he co-founded to liberate writers - putting them and their readers into a direct relationship. Like a physical Substack of sorts. At the time Dan was growing Unbound as CEO.Channelling an off-piste skier mentality we went all over the place searching for the best powder snow. Dan revealed the personal journey that took him from a junior...
2025-01-281h 37
The Curiosity Dividend PodcastEpisode 12: James TaplinI share a somewhat unstructured, whiskey fuelled conversation with the fabulous Dr James Taplin. James is an innovation expert, maker, grower, community anchor and adventurer. James is as humble as apple pie, always puts others first, and is a Trojan behind the success of the Do Lectures. Recorded back in the late phase of the Covid pandemic remotely, James is a wonderful, natural storyteller, and shares all sorts of eclectic insights.https://www.instagram.com/jrdtaplin/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestaplin/ This is a public...
2025-01-231h 37