Earth Cast
By Olivia Taylor
Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) interviews a series of changemakers, thinkers, and disruptors who problematise nuanced sustainability topics and explore possible future imaginaries.
Earth Cast's vision is to create accessible, free, and inclusive educational resources which aim to shed light on diverse climate narratives.
Together we will discover fresh perspectives and the most useful levers in society for change.
Earth CastJun 07, 2021
S3E37 A Manifesto for Surgical Health in Africa
🎙️Season 3 | A Manifesto for Surgical Health in Africa *SEASON FINALE*
🎙️In this episode, @olivia_earth and Professor Bruce Biccard discuss the learnings from season three. Bruce talks about what he did not expect from his guests, the positive responses regarding tackling this topic, strategies for advocacy, and so much more!
Bruce's work in surgical outcomes in Africa has shown him that until such time as people have access to safe surgery and health equity, any attempts to address climate change and sustainability in Africa will be futile.
Through his work with many clinician investigators across Africa, and other leading experts in the field globally, Bruce has written a book to bridge the gap from academics to the public to explain what could be done to change the plight of surgical health in Africa. This podcast series discusses the draft of the book. You as a listener have the opportunity to read the draft and suggest revisions to make the book more accessible to governments, civil society and communities to ensure it achieves its goal of promoting and improving surgical health in Africa.
Bruce Biccard is Professor and Second Chair in the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. His research interests include global surgery, surgical outcomes and perioperative medicine. He is a proponent of international collaborative research and works extensively with the African Perioperative Research Group (APORG). Their work has been published in high impact medical journals including The Lancet.
In his spare time Bruce is an avid ultra distance cyclist having completed iconic events such as the Race Across South Africa and the Rhino Run.
🎙To follow more of Bruce’s work and the African Perioperative Research Group, and access the draft sections of the book, please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book.
S3E36 Professor Salome Maswime & Dr Tinashe Chandauka | Global Health System Strengthening
🎙️In this episode, Bruce speaks to Professor Salome Maswime and Dr Tinashe Chandauka about health strengthening, a manifesto for safe surgery, the principles on how to get people involved in activities in surgical care and, so much more!
🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book.
Salome Maswime is the Professor and Head of the Global Surgery Division at the UCT; and an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. She is the vice-President of the Women in Global Health South Africa; founder and President of the South African Clinician Scientists Society, and Chairperson of the Health Systems Trust board.
Tinashe Chandauka is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nandi Life Sciences LLC. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Texas Medical Center Innovation’s Accelerating Cancer Therapeutics (ACT). He holds a PhD from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar and a medical degree from the University of Cape Town (distinction and honours). He holds medical licenses in the United Kingdom and South Africa. He is a member of the board of directors of AMREF, a global Africa focused healthcare charity.
S3E35 Professor Lydia Cairncross & Professor Wayne Morriss | Political Leverage and Activism
🎙️In this episode, Bruce speaks to Professors Lydia Cairncross and Wayne Morriss about advocacy for safer surgery and anaesthesia for all. They address the concerns of financing for the health care sector and political leverage - how do we make governments accountable and what strategies should we use to communicate surgical needs to politicians?
🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book.
Lydia Cairncross is Professor of Surgery and Head of Surgery at the University of Cape Town. She is an endocrine and oncology surgeon by background and brings to her surgical work and leadership, a strong equity and public health lens, seeing surgery as part of a continuity of care in the health system. She is also a Steering Committee member of the People’s Health Movement of South Africa – a global network of health activists who campaign at a grassroots and policy level for the right to health for all.
Dr Wayne Morriss is a practising anaesthesiologist and clinical associate professor in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is the current President of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists. He served as Chair of the Education Committee from 2012-2016 and Director of Programmes from 2016-2020. Dr Morriss has lectured in 60+ countries worldwide. He has published articles on a range of global anaesthesia-related topics, including workforce, international standards, patient safety, and pain management education.
S3E34 Prof. Emmanuel Malabo Makasa & Prof. John Meara | Health Advocacy and Resource Constraints
🎙️In this episode, Bruce speaks to Professors John and Emmanuel about resource constraints regarding Africa-wide surgery (focusing on safe anaesthesia), climate adaptation, pandemic preparedness and, so much more!
🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book.
Emmanuel Malabo Makasa is an Adjunct Professor of Global Surgery, a Public Health Epidemiologist and an Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgeon. He is the founding director of the Southern Africa Development Community’s University of Witwatersrand based Regional hub and collaboration Centre for Surgical Healthcare Improvement (WITSSURG) based in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa and its spoke, the Centre for Surgical Hdealthcare Research (CSHR) in the Republic of Zambia. He leads SADC’s technical experts working group on surgical healthcare and he the current Secretary General of the International Federation of Surgical Colleges (IFSC).
Professor Makasa has extensive experience in global health diplomacy, national surgical health policy formulation and implementation and has worked as a senior health systems manager, as an academician and as a specialist clinician. He has a track record of mobilising and coordinating multiple state and none-state actor stakeholders within the United Nations Systems, the Global Health community, health professional groups and within clinical care around surgical systems improvement. He has presented on and published about safe, equitable and affordable universal access to surgical healthcare.
John G. Meara, MD, DMD, MBA is the founder and Director Emeritus of the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC) in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery, and the Boston Children’s Hospital Professor of Surgery in the Field of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Meara serves as the Plastic Surgeon-in-Chief of the Department of Plastic & Oral Surgery and the Chair of the Medical Staff Executive Committee at Boston Children's Hospital. He was Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, was a commissioner on the Lancet Global Health Commission on High-Quality Health Systems in the SDG Era, the Lancet Oncology Commission, and the Lancet Commission on Diagnostics [Twitter: @JohnMeara].
S3E33 Dr Nicky Kalafatis & Professor Rupert Pearse | Improving Health Care: Collective Competency and Information Sharing
🎙️In this episode, Bruce discusses ‘collective competency’ and leadership with Dr Nicky Kalafatis and Professor Rupert Pearse. The discussion takes these concepts outside of the surgical space and into environmental health and sports and leadership.
Part 2 of the book proposes a surgical quality of care model which Bruce has called the ‘inside-out’ model. This model is based on a sequential approach to improving surgical care from within a hospital. To improve surgical care and outcomes in Africa, Bruce argues that we first need to address the personal needs of the surgical staff, such as personal health, nutrition, education and security, before they will have the emotional space to provide better care for surgical patients while at work. Once the personal needs of the staff are addressed, then education is necessary to develop a programme theory of how surgical teams can improve patient outcomes through planned interventions. As the whole surgical team is needed, from nurses to head surgeons and anaesthetists, to effectively deliver these interventions, it is important that the traditional steep hierarchy of the medical field is removed, to promote a ‘collective competency’ where everyone can contribute to providing this care. ‘Collective competency’ means we are encouraging the autonomy and agency for every team member to deliver the components of care that are needed.
Dr Nicky Kalafatis is an anaesthetist and intensivist currently working in the UK. She spent 25 years in the public health sector in South Africa and was an examiner for the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) for both Anaesthesia and Critical Care. She is passionate about teaching and training and researched ‘fitness for purpose’ of South African anaesthetists as part of her PhD. She remains involved in South African anaesthesiology and is currently reviewing the national anaesthesiology curriculum as part of the College of Anaesthetists’ review committee. Her understanding of ‘collective competence’ is one of the key principles discussed in the podcast.
Professor Rupert Pearse graduated in 1996 from St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, UK. After time working in general medicine and anaesthesia, he returned to St George’s Hospital where he developed many of his current research interests and completed his training in Intensive Care Medicine. In 2006, he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Intensive Care Medicine at Queen Mary University of London and was promoted to Professor in 2014. He gave up anaesthesia practice to concentrate on his clinical duties on the Adult Critical Care Unit at the Royal London Hospital and his research into improving patient outcomes following major surgery.
Rupert has played a leading role in a number of large multi-centre trials, and a large part of his research takes place in the global health context. Together with Prof Bruce Biccard, he is joint lead of the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Perioperative & Critical Care. He is also Director of Clinical Research for his NHS trust and university, and chairs the NIHR-HTA Commissioning Committee.
🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book.
S3E32 Professor Sue Fawcus & Adjunct Professor Agya Prempeh | Surgery & Survival: Exploring Health Equity in Africa
🎙️In this episode, Bruce discusses experiences of working in Africa with Professor Sue Fawcus and Adjunct Professor Agya Prempeh. The stories they recount provide a tapestry for discussing surgical health in Africa, health equity, the ‘inverse care’ law, the relationship between surgery and primary healthcare, and its place in health systems resilience, especially in light of the profound impact of ‘climate change’ on health in Africa.
🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book.
S3E31 Professor Bruce Biccard | Championing Surgical Safety in Africa - An Anaesthetist's Story
🎙️Season 3 | A Manifesto for Surgical Health in Africa
🎙️In this episode, @olivia_earth speaks to Professor Bruce Biccard about his personal journey to advocacy for safe surgery and anaesthesia in Africa. His work in surgical outcomes in Africa has shown him that until such time as people have access to safe surgery and health equity, any attempts to address climate change and sustainability in Africa will be futile.
Bruce Biccard is Professor and Second Chair in the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. His research interests include global surgery, surgical outcomes and perioperative medicine. He is a proponent of international collaborative research and works extensively with the African Perioperative Research Group (APORG). Their work has been published in high impact medical journals including The Lancet.
Through his work with many clinician investigators across Africa, and other leading experts in the field globally, he has written a book to bridge the gap from academics to the public to explain what could be done to change the plight of surgical health in Africa. This podcast series discusses the draft of the book. You as a listener have the opportunity to read the draft and suggest revisions to make the book more accessible to governments, civil society and communities to ensure it achieves its goal of promoting and improving surgical health in Africa.
In his spare time Bruce is an avid ultra distance cyclist having completed iconic events such as the Race Across South Africa and the Rhino Run.
🎙To follow more of Bruce’s work and the African Perioperative Research Group, and access the draft sections of the book, please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book.
S2E30 Social Enterprise Stories | Season Finale Q&A
🎙In S2E30, Delicia Govender and Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) host a season finale Q&A with Chief Etienne Davids and Nthabiseng Msingatha from episodes 28 and 29.
🎙In celebration of Mandela Day 2023, Earth Cast collaborated with Push Local Ventures and recorded a live webinar at the Zapods Podcast Production studio in Cape Town. This three-part season, Social Enterprise Stories, follows the journey of two trailblazers in the EdTech and Sustainable Property Development Sector. We hope you enjoy the episode.
S2E29 Chief Etienne Davids | Ancient Knowledge in a Modern World
🎙In S2E29, Delicia Govender and Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speak to Chief Etienne Davids, the Co-Founder of SpringBean Media - a proudly indigenous IXam or Khoi and Sān Social Entrepreneurship Enterprise. Etienne focusses on self-sufficient, sustainable solutions backed by ancient knowledge and indigenous wisdom.
Chief Etienne discusses how he is creating micro-cities or bushman cities which foster communities that live in harmony with nature while navigating the pace of globalisation. He also unpacks the importance of a name and, so much more!
🎙To follow more of Chief Etienne’s work, you can find him in the field.
In celebration of Mandela Day 2023, Earth Cast collaborated with Push Local Ventures and recorded a live webinar at the Zapods Podcast Production studio in Cape Town. This three-part season, Social Enterprise Stories, follows the journey of two trailblazers in the EdTech and Sustainable Property Development Sector. We hope you enjoy the episode.
S2E28 Nthabiseng Msingatha | Persistence and Passion: EdTech Solutions for Youth Employment
🎙In S2E28, Olivia Taylor and Delicia Govender speak to Nthabiseng Msingatha about how she is focused on driving Human Capital Development for a Just Energy Transition in South Africa. Nthabiseng credits her empowerment of young people, to develop an informed career identity, to her big risk appetite, resilience in the face of adversity and, tapping into her entrepreneurial passion Nthabiseng is the Co-Founder and CEO of YouMeta EdTech.
🎙To follow more of Nthabiseng’s work, you can find her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nthabiseng-msingatha/
In celebration of Mandela Day 2023, Earth Cast collaborated with Push Local Ventures and recorded a live webinar at the Zapods Podcast Production studio in Cape Town. This three-part season, Social Enterprise Stories, follows the journey of two trailblazers in the EdTech and Sustainable Property Development Sector. We hope you enjoy the episode.
S1E27 Dr Chantal Naidoo | The Nexus of Finance and Sustainability Transitions
Chantal is the founder of Rabia Transitions, a nonprofit research initiative working at the nexus of finance and sustainability transitions. She has worked in the public and private finance sectors for nearly 30 years. Her climate finance work notably includes
serving as a regional advisor to the Green Climate Fund supporting African governments to access climate finance, and with the Development Bank of Southern Africa focused on designing green funds, climate finance policies, and designing bespoke renewable energy investment programs. During 2022, Chantal was also seconded to the South African Presidency, where she served as Lead Researcher to the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team supporting their mandate to consider the Just Energy Transition (JET) Partnership forged at COP26 and develop a JET Investment Plan.
Chantal has several policy and academic published works and has a doctorate from the University of Sussex looking at the role of financial systems in sustainability transition processes, with masters and undergraduate degrees in accounting, development finance and tax law. She is a also research fellow at Sussex University, Stellenbosch University and a Visiting Researcher at the Grantham Institute of Climate Change and Environment.
🎙To follow more of Chantal’s work, you can find her on LinkedIn and Rabia’s website: www.linkedin.com/in/chantalnaidoo/ | www.rabiatransitions.org
S1E26 John Belizaire | The Future of the Grid & Wasted Energy
🎙 In S1E26, Olivia Taylor speaks to John Belizaire about how energy poverty came about, and its uneven distribution across communities, the biggest challenge facing the energy transition, energy poverty, wasted energy & crypto, innovative technologies, the future of the grid, and so much more!
Since the age of 14 selling floppy discs in high school, John has had an entrepreneurial spirit and interest in technology. He was a recipient of the Intel Scholarship Program and he went on to receive a computer science and engineering degree from Cornell University. When he was 28 years old, he sold his first start-up company for $150 million.
He has gone on to become a versatile CEO and serial entrepreneur who has successfully founded and scaled several more multi-million dollar technology companies. Today, he is CEO of Soluna, a company helping to shape the future of renewable energy development. His expertise as both a highly effective business leader and technology strategist has enabled his new venture and operational success steering complex initiatives from concept to funding, launch and growth.
🎙 To follow more of John’s work, you can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter.
S1E25 Bathandwa Vazi | (Decentralising) Power to the People
Bathandwa Vazi is a qualified town and regional planner with an Honours degree in Public Administration and holds an MBA. She is an established professional with 10 years of experience in local and provincial government across South Africa, advising and supporting them on best practices, as well as developing various plans and strategies including climate action plans and revenue enhancement strategies.
Bathandwa’s experience broadly ranges across sustainable energy and climate change approaches in urban development including the areas of local-level energy data and policy development, energy efficiency, renewable energy, informal sector electrification and related local government structures, mandates and project implementation. This includes capacity building, facilitation, training, a learning network and, materials development specifically towards the re-skilling of professionals in the area of local government and sustainable energy.
🎙To follow more of Bathandwa’s work, you can find her on LinkedIn.
S1E24 Jotham Makarudze | Project Finance and Partnerships for Facilitating the Just Energy Transition
🎙In S1E24, Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Jotham Makarudze about project finance, what it is, and why has it been so successful for enabling the financing of REIPPPP in SSA. Jotham also explains how project finance is facilitating a deeper and more just energy transition and how it can stop the perpetuation of inequalities. He also unpacks whether project finance can only succeed under capitalism, and so much more!
Jotham is a Project Finance Professional at a Development Finance Institute. He has over 16 years’ experience in credit analysis, deal structuring and project finance with exposure to projects across the energy, ICT and transport sectors on the African continent with 8 years at Senior level.
Jotham has previously worked as a Credit Analyst for a credit rating agency and as an Investment Analyst covering listed and unlisted banks and corporates across Africa. He is a CFA charterholder and holds a Bcom honours degree in Financial Analysis and Portfolio Management from the University of Cape Town, a Bcom degree from Wits University, and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria.
🎙To follow more of Jotham’s work, you can find him on LinkedIn.
S1E23 Prof. Peter Newell | Power Shifts: Making Sustainability the 'New Normal'
Earth Cast Season One: The Just Energy Transition
🎙 In S1E23, Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Peter Newell where he unpacks the global political energy transition: identifying and recognising who participates and who makes decisions, mobilising for change, bringing future ideas into the present paradigm to ensure a socially just ecological transition, the international oil economy, ensuring “no one gets left behind”, and so much more!
Peter Newell is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex and co-founder and research director of the Rapid Transition Alliance. His recent research focuses on the political economy of low carbon energy transitions, but he has undertaken research, advocacy, and consultancy work on different aspects of climate change for over 25 years.
Peter has worked at the universities of Sussex, Oxford, Warwick and East Anglia in the UK and FLACSO Argentina. He sits on the board of directors of Greenpeace UK and has undertaken advisory work the governments of the UK, Sweden and Finland and for international organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the Global Environment Facility and the Inter-American Development Bank.
His single and co-authored books include Climate for Change; Governing Climate Change; Globalization and the Environment; Climate Capitalism; Transnational Climate Change Governance, Global Green Politics and Power Shift: The Global Political Economy of Energy Transitions.
🎙 To follow more of Peter’s work, you can find him on Twitter.
S1E22 Dr Nthabiseng Mohlakoana | An Ethnography of Energy: African Opportunities & Gender Inclusivity
Earth Cast Season One: The Just Energy Transition
🎙 In the first episode of season one, Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Dr Nthabiseng Mohlakoana about her personal journey exploring the energy sector, her findings regarding tackling the dual goals of decarbonization and development, and their interconnections with gender equality, what an energy transition is, the enabling factors (and barriers) for a deep and just transition, as well as the Just Energy Transition in an African context and its potential for growth.
Dr Nthabiseng Mohlakoana is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST), Stellenbosch University. She has published articles and book chapters on energy access and use, productive uses of energy in the informal food sector and addressing gender issues in energy governance and access.
Nthabi has 20 years of experience in research focusing on energy policy implementation, energy access and use as well as gender mainstreaming in the energy sector. At the CST she is part of the energy team working on the South African energy transition with a focus on the socio-economic issues such as energy access, energy poverty, jobs, skills development, gender as well as impact on communities and their livelihoods.
Most of her research in recent years emphasizes the importance of gender equality in planning and implementation of energy and other basic services interventions dictated by policies, in line with the SDGs and other important intervention strategies. Nthabi’s work aims at finding solutions that address and lead to the eradication of energy poverty and addressing inequalities in the global south.
🎙To follow more of Nthabi’s work, please visit here.
EP21 Jamila Janna | Environmental Racism & Inclusivity: World Ocean Day Special
Jamila is a filmmaker, social media strategist, and marine biologist from KwaZulu-Natal, whose work focuses on community engagement in decision-making. Miss Janna has a background in stable isotopes, estuarine and coastal ecology, filmmaking, science communication and marine activism which has allowed her to participate meaningfully in stakeholder engagements and public speaking. Jamila has a passion for advocating for sustainable usage, fighting environmental racism, and sharing intersectionality narratives about marine environmentalism.
To follow more of Jamila’s work, you can find her on Instagram @xhosawanderer.
EP20 Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert | Partnerships for Conservation
In this episode Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert about honey badgers & bee keepers, family planning for women and girls and how this affects conservation, aligning business with biodiversity, the importance of partnerships & collaboration, working with Eskom, the African Wild Dog Program, and so much more!
Harriet is Head of Conservation at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, a South African-based NGO, where she provides strategic scientific oversight to a diversity of conservation projects across southern Africa. A trained carnivore conservation biologist, Harriet received a Doctorate for her research on African Wild Dogs, from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University. A Council Member (and former President) of the Southern African Wildlife Management Association, Harriet sits on several national and international committees, including several linked to the IUCN. She has published more than 50 scientific papers and book chapters, and is a Fellow of the Eugène Marais Chair of Wildlife Management, at the Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria. Her main research interests are large carnivore conservation and management, the data-science-policy interface, and the contribution of the wildlife economy to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. She also dabbles in road ecology and is passionate about the role of conservation evidence in driving effective action.
To follow more of Harriet's work, you may find her on the @endangeredwildlifetrust socials.
EP19 Faine Loubser | The Great African Sea Forest
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Faine Loubser about The Great African Sea Forest, emotional ecology, ocean accessibility, marine protected areas, cold water swimming, independent media, strategic partnerships, and so much more!
Faine is a documentary filmmaker and environmental storyteller with a deep passion for the ocean. Her love for nature was fostered by her parents through long camping trips deep in the Namib desert and along the west coast of South Africa.
Over the past years she has developed her media skills working with GoPro as a content manager and filmmaker, Wavescape Surf and Ocean Festival as a curator, and several documentaries as a director, producer and underwater cinematographer.
She continues to deepen her relationship with the kelp forest, learning, observing and documenting this ecosystem in order to share its beauty and stories and ultimately work for its long-term protection.
Resources mentioned:
@9milesproject
@Seathebiggerpicture | @Shamier_ocean
@sentinelocean | @franksolomon
@newfcongress
To follow more of Faine's work, you can find her on Instagram @fainepearl.
EP18 Roushanna Gray | The Art of Foraging & Immersive Nourishment
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Roushanna Gray about food as a powerful learning tool & connector that all people can relate to, access to land & limiting policies, the importance of preserving plant & animal names in vernacular, the untapped potential of seaweeds, whether foraging is a romanticised notion, how to personally re-connect with nature, and so much more!
Roushanna Gray is the founder of Veld and Sea, an immersive and experiential wild flavour focused business based in Cape Town. The concept of Veld and Sea is to track the edible landscape through the seasons, with workshops that invite others to experience what nature’s flavour of the moment is. In Summer coastal foraging, in Autumn and Winter land-based harvesting and in the Springtime the focus moves to the flowers.
Resources mentioned:
- KHWA TUU Heritage Centre, West Coast
- Protect The West Coast - in solidarity with stopping over 100 mining companies from destroying sensitive natural ecosystems, & preventing accessibility to coastal areas impacting land and ocean sovereignty, water rights, as well as putting the indigenous Guriqua people's cultural traditions and livelihoods at risk.
- EDUCATION - this knowledge should be a part of our schools' curriculum.
- Books - plant ID books available in Kirstenbosch bookshop. Local ocean guidebooks at most good bookstores.
- Spotify playlist WILDFOOD FOR THOUGHT: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37eX74khpmD8cQTer6fS4P?si=BDcNG7NhQ86w3mvfwsTXCA
To follow more of Roushanna's work, you can find her on Instagram @veldandsea.
EP17 Aaniyah Omardien | World Oceans Day & The Importance of Community
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Aaniyah Omardien about World Ocean's Day & restoring historic injustice, the innovative work being done by The Beach Co-Op, storytelling & the power of community, the colonial context of conservation in South Africa, the role of women and girls in the marine environment, and so much more!
Aaniyah is an intersectional environmentalist living in Cape Town. She has worked in marine conservation for 17 years. After leaving WWF as the Acting Head of the Freshwater and Marine Programs in 2010, she consulted in the environmental sector and became a mother. In 2015 she started a voluntary group, with scientific advice from Professor Peter Ryan, that collected marine debris. In 2017, Aaniyah founded a non profit company, The Beach Co-op (TBCO), which emerged from these early informal gatherings. Aaniyah was selected as part of the first cohort of Women for the Environment in Africa and has embarked on this journey for 2021 with 20 other African women. In addition, she is a registered PhD student at the Education and Learning Research Centre at the university currently known as Rhodes University.
To follow more of Aaniyah's work, you can find her on Instagram @aani_crab or through the @thebeachco_op news streams.
EP16 Samir Randera-Rees | Water Wars & Poverty Traps
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Samir Randera-Rees about the importance of intergenerational storytelling, Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs), poverty traps & environmental degradation, building stakeholder trust, understanding & respecting community needs & their solutions, and so much more!
Samir is the programme manager for Water Source Areas at WWF-SA and has a Masters in Conservation Ecology, and a Conservation Leadership MBA from the African Leadership University. He is the Founder and CEO of Whispers of the Wild and a former presenter on 50|50. Samir and the WWF team have helped to make the Water Source Areas one of the country’s highest conservation priorities, and mobilised tens of millions of rands into these areas, which has gone towards empowering communal farmers, clearing thirsty alien trees, building youth capacity in the green economy and starting green businesses. This work earned him recognition when he won the Mail & Guardian Greening the Future award. Samir’s overarching approach to conservation is that it can only be effective with a good scientific understanding of the systems that you are working in, as well as an understanding of the hearts, minds and ambitions of the communities that interact with them.
To follow more of Samir's work, you can find him on Instagram @samirrr_photography or through the WWFSA news platforms.
EP15 Elzanne Singels | Plants! Conservation vs Commercialisation
EP14 Niharika Elety | Regenerative Fashion
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Niharika Elety about regenerative fashion, sustainable supply chains and the people behind them, the real cost of a garment & affordability, the role humans play in the ecosystem, greenwashing, and so much more!
Niha is a Creative Artist and Sustainability Activist on Instagram. She uses fashion, art and heritage as a vehicle to bring awareness about sustainability and its importance. Her platform looks to amplify and incorporate Indian heritage to bring inclusivity to the sustainable fashion and environmental movement. She is passionate about using media to amplify social and environmental justice initiatives and BIPOC knowledge. Niha is also the Founder and Co-creator at Tega Collective a sustainable fashion brand that champions Adivasi communities from India and their textile traditions.
To follow more of Niha's work, you can find her on Instagram @nihaelety.
EP13 Jolynn Minnaar | Fracking, Film & The Future of Energy
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Jolynn Minnaar about fracking in the Karoo, economic development & job opportunities, gender-based violence, storytelling, dispelling myths about the gas industry, the possibility of a just renewable energy transition & divesting, climate change, Eskom's rolling power cuts, building inclusive wildlife filmmaking communities, and so much more!
Jolynn Minnaar is a filmmaker who focuses on stories that matter. She is an award winning South African director who I have often heard described as fearless. Her films have screened at many prestigious festivals and for her documentary work, she is one of the Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans, Glamour Women of the Year as well as a member of the prestigious 21 Icon family. Jo's passion lies in capturing intimate, insightful portraits that challenge perceptions and inspire new thought.
To follow more of Jolynn's work, you can find her on Instagram @Jolynnminnaar.
EP12 Andile Ngcobo | Agribusiness, Bees & Opportunities
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Andile Ngcobo about financial savviness, agriculture supply chain trends, the transition from subsistence production to commercial farming & the use of pesticides, bees & climate resilience, upskilling, the limitless career opportunities that lie in the agri sector, and agriculture as a viable investment opportunity.
Andile Siphesihle Ngcobo is a 27-Year-old farmer in Pietermaritzburg, managing Tusokuhle Farming (Pty) Ltd. He is an experienced Farm Manager skilled in Strategic Management, Sustainable Development, Business and Agricultural Production Planning, Public Speaking, and Leadership. Andile was on the front cover of the Farmers Weekly in January 2019 and holds a Diploma in Agriculture from Cedara College of Agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal.
To follow more of Andile's work, you can find him on Instagram @as_ngcobo.
EP11 Maxine Gray | Philanthropy vs Impact Investing | Partnership or Competition?
In this episode Olivia speaks to Maxine Gray about the history and role of the sustainable development goals, financial services’ ability to enable responsible and impact seeking investment behaviours, the role of philanthropy in achieving the SDGs and its potential to focus on creating strong partnerships, tackling global problems with local innovation, and so much more!
Maxine Gray is passionate about the intersection of sustainable development, business strategy, human behaviour and being a catalyst for societal change. She has a Bcomm (Economic Science, Management and Business Finance) and a Bcomm Honours (Business Finance and Investment) but considers herself to be a lifelong learner. Within her role at Investec Wealth & Investment she focuses on driving the development and implementation of business strategy, change management, and sustainability. Additionally, Maxine is a Philanthropy Consultant working with Private Client Charitable Foundations in developing their strategic philanthropic direction of achieving sustainable societal upliftment.
Maxine is a UN Young SDG Innovator Alumni and Mentor on the 2021 Young SDG Innovators programme with the United Nations Global Compact focusing on sustainable business, innovation and the Sustainable Development Goals. Maxine was named the UN Global Compact Network SDG Pioneer for South Africa in 2020. The foundation of her career is in Risk Management and Governance as a former Operational Risk Manager within IW&I SA. Maxine is a One Young World Ambassador and Board member of imagine.nation (NPO) focusing on early childhood development and entrepreneurship in rural communities within South Africa.
To follow more of Maxine’s work, you can find her on Instagram @MaxineGray.
EP10 Jackie May | Fast Fashion Hot Planet
EP09 Denisha Anand | Restorative Justice & Indigenous Plant Intimacies
Denisha is an intersectional environmentalist working in marginalized biodiversity spaces characterised by racialised neglect. She holds a BSc degree in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, a BSc Hons in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology and, is currently completing a Masters degree in multispecies ethnography and plant knowledge systems at the University of the Western Cape, research site Kamiesberg, Northern Cape.
Denisha is also the environmental/restoration project manager and oversees the management of a 109ha wetland system in Cape Town called Princess Vlei. She is a progressive environmental educator and advocate for restoration and rehabilitation of neglected biodiversity areas associated with BIPOC and, in particular, illegal evictions and abuse against displaced people.
To follow more of Denisha’s work, you can find her at www.princessvlei.org/ or @vegetal_involutioist/@theplanthropologist.
EP08 Bonné de Bod | Filmmaking & Authentic Documentary
Bonné is an award-winning television presenter and filmmaker, and well-known for her in-depth reporting on wildlife and environmental issues. She has been on South Africa's popular wildlife and environment programme 50/50 for nearly a decade which is known as the longest running wildlife and environmental television programme in the world. She is also a special correspondent for SABC's Newsroom and kykNET's Grootplaas. In addition her series 'Rhino Blog' is on DStv's People's Weather where it is ranked the most popular show.
Bonné has also produced and presented in 'STROOP', a documentary feature film on the rhino poaching crisis. Her in-depth knowledge from four years filming on the ground and doing undercover work in Asia has led to Bonné facilitating discussions on illegal wildlife trafficking for the United Nations Environment Programme as well as talks on radio, film festivals and wildlife symposiums.
To follow more of Bonné's work you can find her on Twitter @Bonne_de_Bod.
EP07 Yusuf Omar | Celebrating Diverse Voices Through Storytelling
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Yusuf Omar about transparency and independence in journalism, social media algorithms, what makes a top news story, "eco-anxiety", and digital activism!
Yusuf Omar is a Co-founder of Hashtag Our Stories, which is a global video publisher reaching millions of people daily on social media platforms. Hashtag Our Stories have empowered over 10,000 trained mobile journalists across 140 countries. However, Yusuf’s career started with the more traditional route and was the former CNN Senior Social Media Reporter. Yusuf has won international acclaim as a multi award winning journalist and has spoken on TEDx and even worked as a correspondent documenting wars in Syria and Congo.
To follow more of Yusuf's work, you can find him on Instagram and Twitter @YusufOmarSA.
EP06 Edie Lush | Are the Sustainable Development Goals Achievable?
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Edie Lush about how to motivate change using storytelling, the inclusivity of the Sustainable Development Goals, purpose, profit, and so much more!
Edie Lush is a British-American journalist & author, the executive editor of Hub Culture, a communication trainer and MC. She is co-host for the award winning Global Goals Cast podcast which tells the stories of the champions making the world a better place. And as such, Edie has thousands of interviews under her belt. In her role as Executive Editor at Hub Culture she is responsible for creating impactful social media content around the globe, from events in Davos to the UN General Assembly in New York to the COP Climate Summits.
Eide has been the Economics and Political correspondent for Bloomberg Television, a columnist at The Week magazine and the Associate Editor of Spectator Business magazine. Her work has appeared in many publications including Prospect, the Spectator and the BBC. She runs her own business providing senior Leaders, Influencers, Academics and Executives with Communication training - focusing now on increasing impact in both online and in person appearances.
To follow more of Edie's work, you can find her on Instagram and Twitter @EdieLush
EP05 Gracelin Baskaran | Creating Equitable Economic Growth
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Gracelin Baskaran about development economics, the complexity of the sustainability polycrisis, mining, and making decisions at the margin!
Gracelin is a consultant economist for the World Bank. She is a US-national with experience living and working in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America. Gracelin is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Cape Town, where she undertakes research on balancing social spending with fiscal sustainability. Gracelin has published widely and was a Fulbright Fellow and holds an MPhil and PhD in Development Economics from the University of Cambridge.
To follow more of Gracelin’s work you can sign up to her newsletter www.gracelinbaskaran.com.
EP04 Ben Goldsmith | Rewilding & Biophilia: How to Re-Enchant Nature?
Ben is the co-founder and CEO of Menhaden Capital, a London-listed investment trust with a focus on energy and resources. However, Ben has many other interests which boast a huge diversity:
Some of these include: Chair of the Conservative Environment Network, Trustee of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Co-founder of the UK Environmental Funders' Network, Executive producer of Fire in Babylon, a film on the great, undefeated West Indies cricket team of 1975-1991 and, the Co-founder of the Ibiza Preservation Fund, the Aeolian Islands Preservation Fund and the St Vincent and the Grenadines Preservation Fund.
To follow more of Ben's work you can find him on Twitter @BenGoldsmith.
EP03 James Mwenda | The Violence & Peace of Game Ranging
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to James Mwenda about hope & optimism, species conservation, poaching & the threat of extinction, education and, so much more!
James is a member of the rhino unit team at @olpejeta Conservancy in central Kenya, where he and his teammates provide care and protection for the last northern white rhinos in existence. A 2018 recipient of the African Ranger of the Year Award, James has become a global ambassador for conservation and the realities of extinction.
To follow more of James' work you can find him on Instagram @jemu_mwenda.
EP02 Aunnie Patton Power | (Ad)Venture Finance
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Aunnie Patton Power about impact investing, climate change, distributive ownership and, how to get involved with accelerators!
Aunnie is the founder of Intelligent Impact, A firm working in technology for social impact advisory, and a university lecturer on Innovative Finance, Impact Investing and Technology for Impact. Aunnie is also, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Skoll Centre for Entrepreneurship, an Associate Fellow at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics' Marshall Institute and Adjunct Faculty at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business.
To follow more of Aunnie's work you can find her on Twitter @Aunnie.
EP01 Wandile Sihlobo | Agriculture, Land Reform & Economics
In this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Wandile Sihlobo about inclusive growth, permaculture, land expropriation without compensation, and so much more!
Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture.” He was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 after serving on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture between 2018 and 2019.
To follow more of Wandile's work you can find him on Twitter @WandileSihlobo.