From What If to What Next
If there was ever a time for fresh thinking, for being bold, for being visionary and imaginative – for reimagining everything – this is it. Each episode, writer and Transition Movement founder, Rob Hopkins, invites cutting edge thinkers to visualise a new future. Join us as we ask What If...
- Update frequency
- every 9 days
- Average duration
- 46 minutes
- Episodes
- 99
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2024
80 - In conversation with Otto Scharmer
Today’s podcast was recorded live in Paris, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. As part of the wonderful ChangeNOW festival in the Grand Palais Ephémère I had the pleasure of sitting down with Otto Sh…
79 - What if sports could accelerate the shift to a low carbon future?
You’re in for a treat this week. I so enjoyed this conversation. In this episode I was joined by Laura Baldwin, British Olympic sailor, Transition and XR activist, and co-founder of Sport LOCAL for L…
78 - What If biodiversity bounced back?
The diversity of the natural world is declining at a rapid rate, and has been for many decades. Many people present that as being an inevitability, a trade-off to economic progress. But what if we co…
77 - In conversation with Mariame Kaba
We're back, and boy oh boy are you in for a treat. Since Episode One there were two guests I most wanted to have on this podcast. The first, adrienne maree brown, I was fortunate enough to speak to i…
76 - What If cutting our individual carbon use went viral?
Recent research, entitled The Future of Consumption in an 1.5°C World, carried out by the University of Leeds, C40 Cities and Arup, powerfully shows that the world’s comfortably off need to do the mo…
75 - What if we distributed power differently in our organisations?
This was such a beautiful conversation to be part of, with two old friends, and a story that I play at least a small role in.
In 2015, Transition Network, an organisation I had co-founded, undertook …
74 - What if we decolonised economics?
We're never one to shy away from the big questions, and to dive deep into the remarkable and far more delightful world that could yet be created if we do so. This week we are joined by two truly grea…
73 - What if education took place in nature?
If you were one of those kids in school who stared out of the window most of the time, this episode is for you.
I'm joined by Kwesia X, aka City Girl in Nature (check out her many amazing videos), an…
72 - What if we shifted to a not-for-profit economy?
Today's episode brings a big idea, like a really BIG idea, one that you may initially need to suspend disbelief in order to settle into but which, hopefully, by the end, you'll be fizzing with the po…
71 - What if imagination was treasured as a central part of childhood?
This week I'm joined by two of the greatest practitioners of the imagination that I know. Dr. Penny A Hay is an artist, educator and researcher, Reader in Creative Teaching and Learning and Research …
70 - What if we all became better Utopians?
This episode of 'From What If to What Next' focuses on Utopianism, on our ability to imagine better futures. This is such an amazing conversation with two people who know more about Utopias than the …
69 - What if every institution ran Imagination Activist training?
It's time for our Christmas special. We wanted to leave 2022 on a high, with a hugely inspirational story of imagination in action, of imagination going big, one that will leave your mind fizzing wit…
68 - What if the advertising industry helped create a positive future for humanity?
The advertising industry is one of the key things driving the levels of consumption that are pushing us towards climate breakdown. But there are people within the advertising industry who are trying …
67 - What if we eradicated homelessness?
This is not a podcast that shies away from the big and important What If questions, and today we're reaching out for one of the big ones of our time. Homelessness is one of scourges of our times, and…
66 - What if beavers were allowed to reshape our world?
You're in for such a treat. Today's episode is about beavers, and what the future would look like if we allowed them to reshape the world in the way they are so incredibly good at. During the summer …
65 - What if faith communities were a critical part of the emerging imagination infrastructure?
Today's episode was recorded live at the BTS Centre's Convocation 2022, an online event with the theme of 'Imagination and Collective Liberation for a Climate-Changed World'. It was recorded before a…
64 - What if the Black Fantastic reshaped the world?
This week's episode is such a treat. Over the summer I devoured Ekow Eshun's amazing book 'In the Black Fantastic', the catalogue of the exhibition of the same name at the Hayward Gallery which, sadl…
63 - What if disability justice, deep inclusion and liberation were centred in healthcare, education and the arts?
I think you are really going to enjoy this one. My reading over the summer holidays was Shayda Kafai’s brilliant book ‘Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice & Art Activism of Sins Invalid’ (which I no…
62 - What if land were owned and managed for the common good?
Just 1% of the population own half the land in England, and citizens have a Right to Roam over only 8% of its surface. This deliberate exclusion has many bad side effects, not least its impact on our…
61 - In conversation with Cyril Dion
Today’s podcast is something a little different. We’re departing from our usual format a little to spend some time in deeper conversation with one of the great guardians of the collective imagination…