Utopia is Now

Dr Jeff Rotman is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing and co-director of the Better Consumption Lab at Deakin Business School. He is the recipient of the 2021 Vice-Chancellor’s Early Career Researcher Award for Career Excellence. He specialises in research on consumer psychology with a specific focus on the areas of ethics, emotion, and sustainability. Links _______________________ Jeff Rotman: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/jeffrey-rotman Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow Timestamps ____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 1:34 - Our minds handle risk strangely – and that’s partly why we delayed climate action so long 12:46 - What is motivated reasoning and why is it crucial to understand? 22:18 - Group identity and survival 33:07 - Us vs. them morality, selective reasoning, and green beard traits 46:19 - What are the ways we can shift our perception to mitigating climate change? 53:28 - Is shame an effective motivator in mitigating climate change? 1:03:12 - Status seeking as a strategy for encouraging green solutions 1:09:28 - The one marketing insight that everyone should know 1:12:50 - What is Jeff’s Utopia? Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

Professor Harini Nagendra is the Director of the Research Centre at Azim Premji University in Bangalore, India, and leads the University’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability. Nagendra is known for her research spanning over 30 years on forest conservation, and urban sustainability, with several seminal publications in both areas of work. Her interdisciplinary work on forests combines remote sensing, biodiversity studies, and institutional analysis, and is recognised for elucidating the link between pattern and process in the human-dominated landscapes of South Asia.

Links _______________________ Harini Nagendra: https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/people/harini-nagendra Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow

Timestamps

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0:00 - Teaser 1:06 - Introduction 13:30 - If you could share one thing about India, what would it be? 15:03 - How much does India’s ecological history inform India today? 18:01 - Western vs Eastern mismatch of environmental problems and solutions 28:13 - How is India experiencing Climate Change? 32:15 - How is the Indian government responding to environmental & climate-related disasters? 35:04 - Transdisciplinarity, cognitive dissonance, and growth vs environmentalism 50:41 - The importance of culture, art, and literature in creating change 58:19 - Harini Insights as an author of fictional novels? 1:05:32 - Is a Green Party viable in India?< 1:10:40 - Outlook of India's environment

Credits

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Thumbnail: Headshot

Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

#ecology #climatechange #india

Chris has more than 15 years of experience in researching climate policy and climate communications. Chris is also a contributing author for the IPCC Working Group I Sixth Assessment Report, serves as a Non-Executive Director of the award-winning environmental news organization DeSmog, is an Associate of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and holds the position of Research Associate in the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex. Chris's new book is titled Liberalism and the Challenge of Climate Change, which is the subject of the following podcast.

Links _______________________ Tim Buckley: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christopher-shaw-a5554214 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow Timestamps ____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 0:32 - Chris’s Story 9:21 - What is liberalism and why is it a challenge to climate change 16:36 - Previous movements have brought about change, why can’t individuals bring about change to climate change action as well? 23:04 - Liberalism is complacent to catastrophe 28:12 - Are anti-liberal solutions to climate change a dog whistle for left-wing politics to thrive? 39:26 - What are some non-liberal solutions to climate change? 50:19 - Can the West give up liberalism in favor of mitigating climate change? 1:00:46 - Final takeaways Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X #liberalism #climatechange #freedom

Tim Buckley, Director, Climate Energy Finance (CEF) has 30 years of financial market experience covering the Australian, Asian and global equity markets from both a buy and sell side perspective. Tim was formerly Director Energy Finance Studies, Australia/South Asia, IEEFA, and was a Managing Director, Head of Equity Research at Citigroup for 17 years until 2008.

Links

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Contact: Tim Buckley: https://au.linkedin.com/in/tim-buckley-0a654313

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ

Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr

Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow

Timestamps

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0:00 - Why is Finance important for mitigating the ecological crisis?

9:30 - How is the green energy transition going?

29:23 - Are we decarbonising fast enough?

36:49 - Tim on governments being captured by fossil fuel interests

43:52 - How can financial analysts justify investing in fossil fuel companies?

54:59 - Parting thoughts

Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

#renewableenergy #climatechange #finance

Rodolfo Dirzo is Professor of Biology and Earth Systems Science at Stanford University. Rodolfo's scientific work examines the study of species interactions in tropical ecosystems from California, Latin America, and other tropical areas of the world. Recent research highlights the decline of animal life (“defaunation”), and how this affects ecosystem processes/services (e.g. disease regulation). Rodolfo teaches ecology, natural history, conservation biology, and biocultural diversity at undergraduate and graduate levels at Stanford, and conducts science education programs with underserved children in the Bay Area.

Timestamps _____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 0:49 - Introduction to Rodolfo Dirzo 8:39 - Defaunation & global trends in declining animal populations 15:13 - What is ecology? 18:12 - Risks of declining animal populations 27:49 - The Wolves in Yellowstone - Trophic cascading 34:24 - A slight digression on COVID-19 & animal trafficking 38:42 - What is the sixth extinction & why is it significant? 45:40 - What are the causes of the sixth extinction? 54:25 - Why Biological Loss is just as critical as climate change 1:05:21 - What can we learn from previous mass extinctions 1:08:10 - What can we do to mitigate biodiversity loss

Lionel Page is a Professor of Economics and the Director of the Behavioural and Economic Science Cluster at the University of Queensland. He has worked on a wide range of topics in behavioural economics, such as risk preferences, social preferences and strategic behaviour.

Timestamps _____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 1:14 - A Quick Story & Introduction to Lionel Page 8:48 - Rationality & Emotions 30:54 - Evolutionary Psychology & Being Optimally Irrational 50:52 - How might our decision-making processes need to change to address problems like climate change? 58:49 - How can we overcome our short-termism? 1:08:10 - Is belief in conspiracy theory rational? 1:16:35 - What is Lionel’s Utopia

Aaron Vansintjan is the Author of 'The Future is Degrowth' & Co-Editor of Uneven Earth. Aaron completed his PhD Candidate in the Department of Film, Media, and Cultural Studies at Birkbeck, University of London. He studies gentrification in Montreal and Hanoi. His PhD research draws on the fields of urban geography, comparative urbanism, political ecology, ecological economics, and food studies.  

Timestamps 

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0:00 - Teaser

0:41 - Who is Aaron and his pathway from Philosophy 

8:41 - What Degrowth Isn’t 

17:06 - The History of Growth 

25:11 - Fragmentation, isolation & the consequent impacts on communal care 

32:44 - Is capitalism to blame for ecological, economical, social and spiritual damage? 

39:30 - How can Degrowth be implemented in practice? 

45:43 -  CRITIQUE OF DEGROWTH 1 - Matt Huber’s Class Critique of Degrowth - Aaron’s Rebuttal 

55:02 - More Degowth Policies to appeal to the ecologically minded and the working class 

1:06:20 -  CRITIQUE OF DEGROWTH 2  - Ought we be A-Growth rather than Degrowth? - Aaron’s Rebuttal 

1:17:47 - What is Aaron’s Utopia (as a critic and sci-fi writer)  

Credits 

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Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

Professor Karoly was leader of the Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub in the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program, based in CSIRO, during 2018 to June 2021. During 2012-2017, he was a member of the Climate Change Authority, which provides advice to the Australian government on responding to climate change, including targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He was involved in the Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001, 2007, 2014 and 2021 in several different roles and was a part of the revered group of IPCC authors who shared the Nobel Peace prize with Al Gore in 2007. He was awarded the 2015 Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Scientific Excellence in Earth Sciences and elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2019.  

Links

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Contact: utopiaisnow2020@gmail.com 

David Karoly: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/67077-david-karoly

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ

Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr

Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow  

Timestamps

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0:00 - Teaser

1:54 - Intro to David Karoly 

12:01 - The Moral Sentiments of a Climate Scientist 

22:54 - What is the current state of the climate 

30:32 - How has David coped with conducting research and consistently encountering distressing evidence for 40+ years? 

38:47 - Climate Change & Social Justice 

46:10 - Climate change as Class War 

51:23  - How do you manage to take time for yourself in the face of the Sisyphean task of fighting against climate inaction? 

57-52 - “Certain things, they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone”. -J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.  If you could, what would you stick under a big glass case? 

1:00:52 - What can people do to help fight climate injustice?  

Credits 

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Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

Rob Karpati is a long-term finance leader in multi-national corporate environments. Focusing on strategic transformation and on global process optimization over a 30+ year career, Rob's strength has been integrating complex end-to-end processes in ways that optimize value across multiple stakeholders. Using Finance as a business improvement ‘activator’, Rob has worked cross-culturally and cross-regionally in bringing together diverse stakeholders toward common perspectives on overall value.

Links ___________________ 

Contact: utopiaisnow2020@gmail.com 

Rob Karpati: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-karpati-3044a85/

New Yorker Article: https://bit.ly/3W6Ou6U

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ

Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr

Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow

Timestamps ___________________ 

0:00 - Who is Rob? 

3:01 - Who are Artisanal Miners and what is their Story? 

6:51 - What materials/minerals are mined by Artisanal Miners and how does it impact the Global North 

11:07 - What are the characteristics of artisanal miners? 14:55 - Where are Artisanal Miners mainly located? 

16:41 - What is the day-to-day life of an artisanal miner? 

32:23 - How can the artisanal mining industry be formalised?  

36:10 - Does formalisation of work really provide workers with dignity? 

44:34 - Is growth in key mineral extraction positively correlated with negative impacts on artisanal miners? 

47:56- Can we improve the standards of Artisanal Miners without having the need to have shareholders of mining firms profiteering? 

53:59 - What can people do to help artisanal miners?

Credits __________________ 

Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

Professor James Hope-Ward (PhD) is the current Dean of Programs for STEM at the University of South Australia (UniSA). James has a mixed background in civil engineering and environmental science, putting himself under the broad heading of "environmental engineering". At UniSA, James coordinates two courses relating to hydraulics and environmental modeling. His research involves the study of big-picture sustainability problems such as the limits to the planet’s energy supplies, climate change and economic growth.  

Timestamps 

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0:00 - James’s Story & The Problem with Green Growth 

15:33 - James Research, Relative v Absolute Decoupling, Upholding the Status Quo 

30:19 - The Growth Paradox, Long-Termism & Decentralising Power 

55:54 - What is the Way Forward? 

1:00:34 - What is James’s Utopia?   

Credits 

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Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

Timothée Parrique is a social scientist, originally from Versailles, France. He is currently a researcher at the School of Economics and Management of Lund University (Sweden).He holds a PhD in economics from the Centre d’Études et de Recherches sur le Développement (University of Clermont Auvergne, France) and the Stockholm Resilience Centre (Stockholm University, Sweden). Titled “The political economy of degrowth” (2019), his dissertation explores the economic implications of degrowth.   

Links _____________________ 

Contact: utopiaisnow2020@gmail.com 

Tim's Website: https://timotheeparrique.com/

Tim's Twitter: @timparrique 

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ

Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9JrInstagram/

Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow  

Timestamps _____________________ 

0:00: Who is Timothee? 

4:28: How did Timothee discover Degrowth? 

10:30: What is Degrowth & How does this differ from other Economic Thought? 

16:53:  The importance of detaching growth from prosperity 

31:07 - What & who is an economy for? 

44:40 - What are the Philosophical underpinnings of degrowth? 

59:28- What would Tim’s Degrowth Utopia look like? 

1:07:21 - How can we enact Degrowth now?  

Credits ____________________ 

Thumbnail: Headshot 

Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

Director of Energy Finance Studies (Australia/South Asia), Tim Buckley has 25 years of financial market experience covering the Australian, Asian and global equity markets from both a buy and sell-side perspective. Tim was a top-rated equity research analyst and has covered most sectors of the Australian economy. For many years, Tim was a managing director, head of equity research at Citigroup, as well as co-managing director of Arkx Investment Management P/L, a global listed clean energy investment company that was jointly owned by management and Westpac Banking Group. 

Links _______________________  

Contact: utopiaisnow2020@gmail.com  

Tim Buckley: https://au.linkedin.com/in/tim-buckley-0a654313 

Timestamps ______________________  

0:00 - Teaser 

1:01 - Introduction to Tim Buckley 

7:54 - Overview of Climate Change & Finance 

17:24 - Has the finance industry been moving to reflect the breakdown of the climate? 

24:48 - The Economic Case for Renewables 

37:11 - Is the real reason for climate inaction cognitive bias, not self-interest ?  

44:48 - The Australian Election & Climate Politics 53:13 - What can we, the people, do to enact change?

Rob is the former General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer of Airbnb. Rob is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia. He worked for 14 years with the U.S. Justice Department. In 1999, Rob left the U.S. Attorney’s Office and moved to California to become eBay’s third attorney, handling a wide variety of litigation, IP and regulatory/compliance matters for the company globally. Later in his career, Rob joined Airbnb as General Counsel in the spring of 2016, where he grew the legal team from 30 to over 150 legal professionals in 20 offices around the world.   

Links _______________________ 

Find Rob & his book: https://www.intentionalintegrity.com/ 

Join our community: https://forms.gle/3gmq2WahzJZZ9Bny9 

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ 

Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr 

Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow  

Timestamps 

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0:00 - Intro

2:29 - Diogenes the Cynic and the business world 

5:00 - What the hell is a Chief Ethics Officer? 

10:11 - Why did Rob become a Chief Ethics Officer? 

14:21 - Rob's gripes with Milton Friedman 

19:13 - How Important is a motive when doing the right thing? 

23:51 - Rob's definition of ethics 

27:01 - To what extent do companies, like Airbnb, do the right thing as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself 

29:47- Shashwats Story & the business culture of India 

37:49 - Where do we draw the line and hold people accountable for ethical quandaries? 

42:57 - How to create a more empathetic legal system and navigate 'grey' ethical spaces? 

46:41- How do we incentive ethical leadership? 

50:39 - How do we create an ethical environment? 

58:24 - How can we find the courage to be ethical leaders? 

1:01:15 - What is Rob's Utopia?  

Mentioned 

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1) Diogenes the Cynic 

2) Brian Chesky 

3)#MeToo Movement 

4) Milton Freedman 

5) Conscious Capitalism 

6) Stakeholder Capitalism 

7) Alex Edmans 

8) Give and Take by Adam Grant 

9) The Power of Ethics by Susan Liautaud 

10) Gunda's (Hindi word for gangsters) 

11) Free Will by Sam Harris 

12) Paul Millerd 

13) Mahatma Gandhi 

Credits

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Cover Art: Airbnb Logo

Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

Welcome to Utopia is Now.  

In today's conversation, we talked to Cheryl Kiser, the executive director of the Lewis Institute for Social Innovation at Babson College. Cheryl inspires people to create a positive social impact in any role, any sector, and any community and empowers people to see the UN Global Goals as a $12 trillion market opportunity for addressing the biggest challenges of our time, such as poverty, climate action, and inequality. She is a global leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social innovation and is the author of the book Creating Social Value: A Guide for Leaders and Changemakers. Her infectious energy is sought by countless corporate executives and luminaries, so much so that she has directly influenced the strategy, operations, and mindsets of dozens of Fortune 500 companies, global NGOs, community organizations, and academic institutions.   

Links 

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Find Cheryl: https://bit.ly/2Wh6jWI 

Cheryl's Book: https://amzn.to/3y7bUx2 

Join our community: https://forms.gle/3gmq2WahzJZZ9Bny9 

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ 

Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr 

Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow  

We were recently featured in the top 10 Utopia Podcasts in Feedspot! Check it out here: blog.feedspot.com/utopia_podcasts/  

Timestamps

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0:00 - Introduction 

2:54 - Cheryl's story 

10:00-  The evolution of business since the 1960s 

21:24 - What the hell is a business? 

29:19 - Return on relationships - A societal mispricing problem 

46:43 - Purpose-driven value & positive-sum games 

50:18 - The role of language in transforming the world 

1:03:52 - Cherly's gripes with 'Utopia' 

1:09:56 - What is Cherly's Utopia   

1:13:27 - Wrapping up  

Mentioned in this episode: 

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1) The Lewis Institute for Social Innovation 

2) Corporate Social Responsibility & ESG 

3) Two Beats Ahead by Panos A. Panay & R. Michael Hendrix 

4) Martin Buber 

5) The Uncommon Table 

6) Merck Pharmaceuticals

7) Alex Edmans 

8) Grow the Pie by Alex Edmans 

9) Good Company by Arthur Blank
10) The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business by Don Tapscott 

11) Neighbour of Choice Program 

12) Terence McKenna 

13) Creating Social Value: A Guide for Leaders and Change Makers by Cheryl Kiser 

14) David Stangis 

15) Marcel Proust 

16) Eduardo Galeano  

17) Khalil Gibran

Credits 

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Cover Art: Henri Matisse - The Beast on The Loose

Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X  

#Language #Relationships #Business #Utopiaisnow