Hello! This week we’re returning to one of our favourite topics covered in our very first episode when Geoff was closer to 40 than 50: universal basic income. Except this time it's not money for everyone - it's just for artists - and it raises some important questions about how we recognise the role that art plays in our economy, society and communities. Last year Ireland announced a three-year pilot in which 2,000 artists will receive 325€ a week. Is removing financial stress the key to unlocking creative freedom? Will it mean a wider group of people can access the arts? And what can we learn from our own history, including Mrs Thatcher’s Enterprise Allowance Scheme. These are all big questions that we put to our guests: Eliza Easton, Noel Kelly and Love Ssega - formerly of Clean Bandit - a musician working across artistic boundaries.

Plus: It’s the big 5-0 for Geoff as he records a message to his future self...

Guests

Eliza Easton, Deputy Director, Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (@ElizaEaston)

Noel Kelly, CEO and Director, Visual Artists Ireland (@VisArtsIreland)

Love Ssega, Musician and Artist in Residence, Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall (@LoveSsega)

More information

Learn more about the PEC, led by Nesta

Learn more about Visual Artists for Ireland, including more information about the Basic Income for the Arts Scheme

Ssega mentioned Ella Kissi-Debrah and her mother's fight to get air pollution on her death certificate

Watch the film of Love Ssega's 'Where are we now?' performance at the National Gallery

Read about Love Ssega and his residency at the Philharmonia Orchestra 

Come to the celebration at 6pm on 8th June at the Royal Festival Hall

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Hello! This week we’re getting our wellies on as we dig deeper into the future of farming. Agriculture accounts for around 10% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and has a role in biodiversity loss and pollution. So how can we change the way we farm and use our land in a way that helps ensure food security, restores nature and provides a livelihood for farmers, all while tackling the climate crisis? It's quite a task but we chew it all over with Lydia Collas from Green Alliance and Minette Batters from the National Farmers’ Union. We’re then heading to Dorset to talk to Jyoti Fernandes about the role of ‘agro-ecology’ to feed ourselves, restore nature, and cool the planet.

Plus: Which unexpected (and highly relevant) radio show was Ed obsessed with as a child?

Guests

Lydia Collas, Policy Analyst, Green Alliance (@LydiaCollas / @GreenAllianceUK)

Minette Batters, President, National Farmers' Union (@Minette_Batters / @NFUtweets)

Jyoti Fernandes, Campaigns and Policy Coordinator, Landworkers’ Alliance & Agroecology Smallholder (@fernandes_jyoti / @LandworkersUK)

More information

Visit the websites of alliance.org.uk/">Green Alliance, the NFU and LWA

to-George-Monbiot-livestock-critique.pdf">Read Jyoti's open letter to George Monbiot

Elms: England greener farming payments detail unveiled (Article, BBC News, January 2023)

What is agroecology? (Explainer, The Soil Association)

Contact Reasons to be Cheerful via our website, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Let us know your episode ideas, your comments and feedback!

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Hello! As our Easter egg to you we’ve recorded a great conversation with two inspiring voices from the climate community. The mood around the climate crisis is mainly one of despair and doom, for understandable reasons, but neither Rebecca Solnit nor Thelma Young Lutunatabua think it needs to be that way. In their new book, they explore how it’s possible to change the climate narrative to one of hope, and why making that shift is more important than you'd think. We have the solutions, we know what we need to do, and most importantly: it’s not too late.

Guests

Rebecca Solnit, Author and Activist (@RebeccaSolnit)

Thelma Young Lutunatabua, Digital Storyteller and Climate Activist (@Thelma_Lutun)

More info

Buy a copy of Not Too Late: Changing the climate story from despair to possibility. 

Visit the Not Too Late website or Twitter to learn more about the project.

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Hello! You may not know it, but for decades Britain has enabled the dodgy dealings of the world's criminals, tax dodgers and kleptocrats, says journalist Oliver Bullough. He's been digging deep into Britain’s role as a 'butler to the world' for years, but very little has changed. Estimates suggest that the equivalent of three times the NHS budget is lost to the economy through corruption every year, so why isn’t the government acting? Oliver is joined by Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge to discuss how and why Britain got into the business of dirty money, why we all should care about corruption, and what we can do to change it.

Plus: Has Ed finally got his own back on Geoff following the vegan cheese making incident?

Guests

Oliver Bullough, Journalist and Author of Butler to the World and Moneyland (@OliverBullough)

Dame Margaret Hodge, Labour MP for Barking and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax (@margarethodge)

More information

Buy a copy of Oliver’s book ‘Butler to the World: How Britain became the servant of tycoons, tax dodgers, kleptocrats and criminals

responsibletax.org/">The APPG on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax

Support and learn more about the work of Transparency International (@anticorruption), Global Witness (@Global_Witness), Spotlight on Corruption (@EndCorruptionUK)

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Hello! Have you ever dreamed of running your own bookshop? We are cheerful to report that the book industry is smashing it at the moment, with the number of indie bookshops at their highest level in six years, and book sales above pre-pandemic levels. Ed and Geoff speak to Sian Bayley, news editor at The Bookseller, who tells us about what’s driving this upward trend. We hear from co-founders Rosie May and Sarah Scales of Juno Books in Sheffield about how they made their lockdown dreams a reality. Finally, Aimée Felone, children’s publisher and co-director of Round Table Books in Brixton, tells us about her journey into publishing and what it means to run an inclusive bookshop.

Plus: Buoyed up by his viral musical success, Ed's started learning an instrument...

Guests

Sian Bayley, News Editor, The Bookseller (@sleighbayley / @thebookseller)

Rosie May and Sarah Scales, Co-Founders of Juno Books (@junobookssheff)

Aimée Felone, Managing Director of children’s publisher Knights Of and Co-Director of Round Table Books (@aimeefelone / @roundtablebooks)

More information

BookBar in Finsbury Park, London

Learn more about the work of BookTrust and Lit in Colour

Visit the Bookseller's website - the trade magazine for the publishing industry

Visit Juno Books in Sheffield 

Visit Round Table Books in Brixton, London

Find out about Knights Of, Aimée’s publishing company

CLPE Survey of Ethnic Representation in Children's Literature. Read the most recent report here

Books Aimée recommends in the episode

Knights and Bikes by Gabrielle Kent

For Every One by Jason Reynolds

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson 

Windward Family by Alexis Keir

Mind and Me by Sunita Chawdhary

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Hello! Every day, remarkable acts of diplomacy are happening around the world to bring us one step closer to cooperation on our biggest conflicts and challenges. But how much do we really know about what goes on behind closed doors? And what are the ingredients of a successful negotiation? We speak to climate diplomacy legend and friend of the pod, Christiana Figueres, about her leadership on one of the most extraordinary diplomatic feats: the 2015 Paris Agreement. Gabrielle Rifkind, a specialist in conflict resolution, tells us about the importance of finding the ‘human face’ of conflict. Finally, the EU’s former top diplomat Catherine Ashton talks to us about the highs and lows of her time on the job, and why all of us are diplomats without even knowing it.

Plus: We’ve talked sandwiches, we’ve talked toasters. Have a guess at which gadget has Ed bought for himself this week...

Guests

Christiana Figueres, co-founder of Global Optimism and former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC 2010-2016 (@CFigueres / @OutrageOptimism) 

Gabrielle Rifkind, Specialist in conflict resolution and Director of the Oxford Process (@OxfordProcess)

Catherine Ashton, Former High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and author of And then what? Inside stories of 21st century diplomacy 

More information

Buy a copy of Catherine's book

Listen to Outrage and Optimism, Christiana and Tom Rivett-Carnac's podcast

Learn more about the Oxford Process

'We need to rethink how we do diplomacy,' Guardian Article, Catherine Ashton

Learn more about the Paris Agreement, the legally binding treaty on climate change

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Hello! This week Ed and Geoff sat down with writer, journalist and now Professor of Sociology, Gary Younge. Gary talks about his new book ‘Dispatches from the Diaspora: From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter’, and how his upbringing in a new town - Stevenage - led to a life telling stories from historic moments on both sides of the Atlantic, and what he can teach the next generation of journalists. 

Plus: Both Ed and Geoff both went viral fungal this week. Did you see?

Pre-order a copy of Gary's book here.

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Hello! While we generally aim for cheerfulness, it's also ok to be a little angry too. Senator Bernie Sanders is. After a long career of fighting for a more progressive politics, the self-proclaimed democratic socialist has had enough: capitalism isn't working for the average American (or Brit) anymore. Three billionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of American society combined, and healthcare, education, and childcare are unaffordable. The establishment has consistently written off his policies as ‘radical’ but Bernie is convinced that what he's fighting for is just common sense. Geoff and Ed sit down with the longest-serving independent politician in US history to talk about baseball, how his policies have influenced the Democrats, and whether Ed has finally met his political meme match.

Plus: Which tangy snack has Ed rediscovered?

Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders)

Buy a copy of It's ok to be angry about capitalism by Bernie Sanders

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Hello! As you wearily stood in a queue for a flight that was four hours delayed, having been hit with a hefty fee for a bag that you swore would fit under the seat, have you ever wondered if there was a better way to travel? Well, you’re not alone! 2022 was a bumper year for international train travel, as people took to the rails to see Europe and beyond. While long-distance train travel is better for the environment, it is often expensive and buying tickets can be fiddly. We speak to rail royalty Mark Smith, better known as the Man in Seat 61, who tells us why this is changing. Journalist and author Monisha Rajesh inspires us with tales of her travels around the world by train and finally we talk to Jody Bauer from Eurail, the company that sells Interrail passes, about its 50th anniversary and why it has revolutionised rail travel around Europe.

Plus: Has Ed hired the assistance of a food stylist?

Guests

Mark Smith, founder of the Man in Seat 61 website (Twitter: @seatsixtyone / Instagram: @seatsixtyone)

Monisha Rajesh, Journalist and Author (Twitter: @monisha_rajesh / Instagram: @monisha_rajesh)

Jody Bauer, Research Analyst, Eurail (Instagram: @eurail / @interraileu)

More information

To plan an international train journey visit the Man in Seat Sixty-One

Visit Monisha's website and buy her books Around India in 80 Trains and Around the World in 80 Trains

Visit 33 countries with one pass. Buy an Interrail or Eurail pass and get inspiration for your next trip here

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Hello! Climate change litigation has come on a long way since the 2000 blockbuster film Erin Brockovich. There's been a huge rise globally in the number of cases being filed against negligent governments and corporations, but what does this mean for our efforts to tackle the climate crisis? We hear from Catherine Higham, policy fellow at LSE, and Laura Clarke from ClientEarth about the kinds of climate-related cases being thrashed out in court. We then cross the pond to Canada, where 15-year-old climate activist Sophia Mathur has been busy suing the Ontario government. We find out what inspired her to act, and what her hopes for the future are.

Plus: Where did Ed go for a *bracing* open water swim this week?

Guests

Catherine Higham, Policy Fellow, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE (@CatherineHigha3, @GRI_LSE)

Laura Clarke, CEO, ClientEarth (@LauraClarkeCE, @ClientEarth) 

Sophia Mathur, Climate Activist (@sophiamathur)

More info

Global Trends in Climate Litigation 2022 (Report, Grantham Research Institute, LSE)

Learn more about ClientEarth's work

Learn more about Sophia's journey to becoming an activist

Why 2023 will be a watershed year for climate litigation (Article, The Guardian)

wave.net/">Sign up to The Wave: the newsletter about climate litigation and justice

Links to additional cases mentioned can be found on our website

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